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US 5,850,903 AGranted
Conveyor belt support
AssigneeHuwood International Limited
InventorBrian William Walters
Life of this patent
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AssigneeHuwood International Limited
InventorBrian William Walters
Estimating the term…
The present invention relates to extensible endless conveyor belt support structures and systems. A support structure has vertical support members (8) connected by V-shaped arrangements of pivotally connected (17, 19) link members (7, 9). By mounting at least the upper belt run rollers (4) on the vertical supports (8) the load can be more effectively supported whilst providing a relatively high ratio of extended to contracted length. By using telescopically extendable (14, 15) vertical supports (8), any increase in overall height of the support structure upon contraction thereof is minimized or avoided. By also having detachable lower belt run rollers (23) the support structure can be inserted into an endless conveyor belt installation without dismantling or even stopping running thereof. The invention also provides systems including setting devices for holding the support structures in their contracted form and deploying and collecting them into and from their extended conditions. Preferably the setting device includes a retractor means for drawing in the support structure during collection thereof.
An endless conveyor belt support structure which is longitudinally extendable between an extended condition for supporting the endless conveyor belt, and a contracted condition, which support structure comprises a plurality of pivotally interconnected support members at opposite sides of the support structure, at least some of said support members being substantially rigidly interconnected by crossmembers to corresponding support members at the opposite side of the support structure, at least some of said support members mounting upper belt run support roller means at an upper edge portion of the support structure and at least some of said support members mounting lower belt run support roller means, said support members being interconnected so as provide for longitudinal extension and contraction of said sides of the support structure in generally concertina-like manner, characterised in that said support structure comprises a plurality of generally vertically extending support members interconnected by generally V-shape arrangements of pivotally connected pairs of link support members in which the V-shape opens out or closes up for extension or contraction of the support structure.
An endless conveyor belt support structure which is longitudinally extendable between an extended condition for supporting the endless conveyor belt, and a contracted condition for insertion into and removal from an endless conveyor belt installation, which support structure comprises a plurality of pivotally interconnected support members at opposite sides of the support structure, at least some of said support members being substantially rigidly interconnected by crossmembers to corresponding support members at the opposite side of the support structure at an upper edge portion of the support structure, at least some of said support members mounting upper belt run support roller means at an upper edge portion of the support structure and at least some of said support members mounting lower belt run support roller means, said support members being interconnected so as provide for longitudinal extension and contraction of said sides of the support structure in generally concertina-like manner, at least some of said support members being longitudinally extendable between a contracted form in the longitudinally contracted condition of the support structure, and an extended form in the longitudinally extended condition, so that the overall height of the support structure can be reduced in its longitudinally contracted form.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.