Belt press
AssigneeRexnord Inc.
InventorRobert E. Crandall
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conveyor belt tensioning system having two fluid piston and cylinders units on each lateral side of the belt. The units are parallel to each other and are attached to a tensioning roll. A pair of cables are attached to both of the pistons and pass around pulleys in a manner as to compensate for any differences in force between the pistons such that the pistons move in the same direction the same amount.
Claims7
In a belt press which includes a frame, a plurality of rolls, and a continuous belt which passes over said rolls, the improvement comprising a belt tensioning system, comprising:
- first and second fluid actuators, one of said actuators located on each side of said belt;
- first and second pistons extending from each of said actuators;
- means mounting said actuators and pistons on longitudinal members of said frame such that the motion of the pistons is constrained to be parallel to the direction of travel of said belt;
- a belt tensioning roll mounted on said pistons in contact with said belt, the axis of said belt tensioning roll being perpendicular to the direction of travel of said belt;
- a plurality of pulleys rotatably fixed on said frame;
- and
- a pair of cables, each of said cables being attached to both said first and second pistons and cooperating with said pulleys so as to provide means for compensating for the differences in force exerted by said pistons such that the pistons move together, thereby maintaining the angle between said belt tensioning roll and said belt as said pistons move in their respective cylinders.
A method for maintaining the tension in a belt of a belt press by means of a belt tensioning roll, supported by two pistons controlled by two fluid actuators which are mounted on two laterally spaced frame members of the belt press, comprising the steps of:
- a. mounting two pulleys on each of the two frame members of said belt press;
- b. connecting said pistons to each other by means of two cables trained around said pulleys such that the pistons are constrained by said cables to move together;
- c. adjusting the length of the cables until the belt tensioning roll is at right angles to the direction of travel of the belt;
- such that the cables maintain said right angle as the pistons move relative to their respective fluid actuators in response to the changes in tension of said belt.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.