Universal belt scale

A universal belt scale for weighing material being transported on a conveyor belt, comprising:

• a pair of opposite stringers extending parallel to one another;
• cantilevered beams coupled to each stringer at a mounting location, said cantilevered beams supporting an idler assembly at respective support locations on the cantilevered beams;
• sensing means coupled to the cantilevered beams for sensing deflection of the cantilever beams responsive to weight of material being conveyed by the belt;
• and
• means for adjusting a distance between the mounting location and the support location on each of said cantilevered beams to adjust an effective length of the cantilever beams according to a particular size and weight of a particular idler assembly being supported by the beams such that the sensing means are capable of accurately determining the weight of material being transported by the belt.

A universal belt scale for weighing material being transported on a conveyor belt, comprising:

• a pair of opposite stringers extending parallel to one another;
• a pair of cantilevered beams each having a neutral axis, one of said cantilever beams being coupled to each stringer, said cantilevered beams supporting an idler assembly which includes a carry roller rotatably supporting a conveyor belt, said cantilevered beams supporting said idler assembly so that a top of the carry roller is positioned in a coplanar relationship with respect to a neutral axis of the beams such that a weight of material transported by the belt can be accurately measured;
• sensing means coupled to each cantilevered beam for sensing deflection in the beams and determining the weight of material being conveyed by the belt;
• and
• said cantilevered beams being mounted to said stringers and extending inwardly thereof to support said idler assembly at locations inboard of the stringers such that the beams can deflect without interference from the stringers to allow said carry roller to be positioned between said stringers, the cantilevered beams being the sole means for supporting the idler assembly such that the weight of material on the belt can be accurately measured by the sensing means without being affected by additional support structures.

A method of installing a universal belt scale on an existing idler assembly of an operating belt conveyor system while the belt is moving, comprising the steps of:

• securing a pair of independent weigh beams to opposite stringers, each said weigh beam having a mounting surface at a first end being secured to a top side of one said stringer;
• securing each said independent weigh beams to an existing, operating idler assembly by means of a hinged plate adjustment bracket, each said weigh beam having a lower support portion for securing to the existing idler, said hinged plate adjustment bracket coupling the idler assembly to the support portion;
• removing a preexisting mounting means previously used to secure the idler assembly to said stringers;
• and
• adjusting the hinged plate adjustment bracket to vary a position of the idler assembly relative to the weigh beam to provide clearance between the idler assembly and the stringers and to position a roll of the idler assembly in substantially the same plane as a neutral axis of the weigh beam.

A universal belt scale for weighing material being transported on a conveyor belt, comprising:

• a pair of opposite stringers extending parallel to one another and providing a primary structural support for a belt conveying means;
• a pair of vertically oriented upstanding members coupled independently to each stringer;
• a cantilevered beam extending from each said upstanding member for supporting an idler assembly which includes a carry roller rotatably supporting a conveyor belt, said cantilevered beam creating a moment arm having a length determined by a position on the cantilevered beam where the idler assembly is supported and a pivot point on the upstanding member about which the moment arm rotates, the length of the moment arm defining a full scale capacity of the belt scale;
• sensing means coupled to a side of each said upstanding member for sensing a moment arm force exerted on the cantilevered beam from a weight of material being conveyed by the belt;
• and
• means for adjusting the pivot point on the upstanding member and thus the moment arm length to vary a full scale capacity of the universal belt scale.