Laitram, LLC

Sandra A Christiana

Andrew A Corley

Christopher G Greve

David W Bogle

Robert S Lapeyre

Paul L Horton

David C Weiser

Kyle J Sedlacek

Timothy J Hicks

Richard J Sofranec

A modular plastic conveyor belt hingedly interconnected by hinge pins made of a highly oriented polymer material. The hinge pins are preferably extruded from a material including a highly oriented polymer, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or nylon. Alternative materials include highly oriented acetal or polyurethane. Plastic hinge pins made with these polymers having their long molecules oriented along the axis of the shaft of the hinge pin are exceptionally strong and resistant to deformation.

Oriented polymer hinge pins in modular plastic conveyor belts

A modular conveyor belt constructed of a series of rows of belt modules with a hinge formed in each row and aligned in the direction of belt travel with hinges of adjacent rows. The hinge allows the belt to conform to a non-coplanar carryway support to form, for example, a trough. In some versions, the hinge is a living hinge formed by flexible or thinned-out regions of the belt between rigid regions. In other versions, the hinge is formed by interleaved hinge eyes between modules along each row interconnected by a hinge pin along an axis oriented in the direction of belt travel.

Modular trough conveyor belt and modules

A sectional article transfer assembly for receiving articles stripped from the conveying surface of a moving conveyor belt. The article transfer assembly includes, as a first piece, a transfer edge member having a base portion lying on and supported by a support frame and a belt-abutting portion that extends from the base portion to closely abut the conveying surface of a conveyor belt as it passes around a sprocket. The belt-abutting portion can have fingers or a beveled straight edge, for example. The transfer edge member mates with a second piece, a transfer plate member, which has a recessed portion that overlaps and mates with the base portion of the transfer edge member and a flat top article-transfer plate continuous and coplanar with an upper surface of the transfer edge member to form an extension of the conveying surface of the belt along which articles arc conveyed. In preferred versions, the two pieces can each be made of different materials, such as a durable material for the transfer edge member and a low-friction material for the transfer plate member. Other combinations of materials can be used to adapt the characteristics of the sectional transfer assembly to different operational demands.

Article transfer assemblies for conveyor belts

Growing community of inventors

Harahan, LA, United States of America

Sandra A Christiana