WO2024170988A1

WO2024170988A1 - Belt

Info

Publication number: WO2024170988A1
Application number: PCT/IB2024/051020
Authority: WO
Inventors: Silvano LUSVARDI
Original assignee: Plastorgomma SRL
Current assignee: Plastorgomma SRL
Priority date: 2023-02-15
Filing date: 2024-02-05
Publication date: 2024-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 2025-08-15
Also published as: IT202300002508A1

Abstract

A conveyor belt, of the kind used as a conveyor element which provides a rest and support for objects and drags the latter, which comprises a lower resistant body (1) and a covering layer (2) secured to the top of the lower resistant body (1) integrally thereto The covering layer (2) is arranged so as to form an upper surface (21) on which objects can rest. The overall height dimension of the straight cross-section (thickness) of the belt (normal to the longitudinal axis of the belt) is equal to the standard height dimension(s) envisaged for the standard conveyor belt(s) on the market.

Description

BELT

DESCRIPTION

The subject of the present invention is a belt of the kind used as a conveyor element.

Conveyor belts such as V-belts, which are usually made of heat-sealable materials, have been on the market for a long time and are mainly used as conveyor elements on production lines for various products, including both loose and packaged products, in numerous industries, which certainly include the ceramic industry, for the production of tiles.

In order to perform this function better, the conveying side of the belt is often given a layer of material a few millimetres thick, whose nature, quality and structure lends the belt various characteristics, including greater surface grip, which guarantees the product conveyed greater stability. Until now, the overlays on the conveying side of the belt were made by processes comprising gluing, vulcanising, and heat-welding thin layers of materials with higher friction characteristics than those of the material of which the belt is made.

However, the application of these overlays to the conveying side of the belt increases the total height of the belt with respect to the original standard dimension thereof and this has the consequence of altering the height of the conveying surface with respect to that envisaged with reference to the use of belts available on the market which have standard dimensions, thereby determining the need to adapt the original design, for example by modifying the diameter of the pulleys around which the individual belt is wound compared to those designed on the basis of the standard dimensions of the belts available on the market, or forcing users to connect conveying systems with different heights using belts, with or without overlays, along the production lines.

1

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Conveyor belts mainly consist of belts produced in various trapezoidal sections, with standard dimensions according to ISO regulations, to which a covering layer consisting of different material from that of the belt body, i.e. the overlay, is frequently applied during a second production stage. Indeed, in the case of heat-sealable TPU belts, the belt body is produced with high hardness TPU (from 60 to 100 ShA) in order to provide greater tensile strength and prevent the belt stretching during rotations, while the surface of the belt which comes into contact with the product conveyed should have the opposite characteristics to the belt body, i.e. greater elastic deformability and high grip, which can only be obtained with low-hardness materials.

As a consequence of these additional applications to the standard belts usually on the market, an individual belt takes on different dimensions with respect to the standard belts as the addition increases the total height thereof, which means that it may be necessary to resort to dimensional variations such as modifying the diameter of the pulleys around which the belts are wound and/or lower the conveying surface (of the belts).

Indeed conveyor belts mainly consist of belts produced in various trapezoidal sections, with standard dimensions according to existing regulations (ISO), to which covering layers consisting of different material from that of the belt body, i.e. the overlay, are frequently applied during a second production stage.

In the case of heat-sealable TPU belts, for example, the belt body is produced with high hardness TPU (from 60 to 100 ShA) in order to provide greater tensile strength and curb belt stretching during rotations, while the surface of the belt which comes into contact with the product conveyed should have the opposite characteristics to the belt body, i.e. greater elastic deformation and high grip, which can only be obtained with low-hardness materials.

2

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) The object of the present invention is to create a (conveyor) belt with a high- grip conveying surface while maintaining the overall dimensions of the straight section of the original standard ISO belt.

The main object of the present invention is to create a conveyor belt as described in the description and illustrated in the annexed figures and in accordance with the claims.

The advantages provided by the invention are simplicity and costeffectiveness, especially in the event of use of co-extrusion technology to produce the product.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly in the detailed description that follows of a preferred embodiment illustrated, in the form of a non-limiting example, with the aid of the annexed figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows the outline of the straight cross-section, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a standard conveyor V-belt;

Figure 2 shows the straight cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a conveyor V-belt made according to the invention.

With reference to the aforesaid figures, 1 denotes the outline of a straight cross-section, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a standard V-belt.

The external outline of the section in Figure 2 is identical to the outline of the cross section in Figure 1 . Therefore the belt whose section is shown in Figure 2 features, externally, the same geometric and dimensional conformation as the belt with the outline in Figure 1 , which is a standard belt, produced normally and available on the market, and obviously present in technical publications and catalogues whose targets are users.

The straight cross-section in Figure 2 is that of a conveyor V-belt according to the invention (of the kind used as a conveyor element which provides a rest

3

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26) and support for objects and drags the latter by friction), which comprises a lower resistant body 11 and a covering layer 2, the latter being secured to the top of the lower resistant body 11 integrally thereto. The covering layer 2 is delimited on the top thereof by an upper surface 21 which has the same transverse dimension as the outline in Figure 1 .

The same applies to the height h, which is the overall height (thickness) dimension of the (straight) section of the belt (normal to the longitudinal axis of the belt), the said height h being equal to the height (thickness) dimension h of the standard V-belt produced normally, available on the market, and obviously present in technical publications and catalogues whose targets are the users.

In particular, the said lower resistant body 11 is made of high hardness TPU, preferably between 60ShA and 100ShA.

The covering layer 2 is made of low-hardness materials with greater elastic deformability than the material of which the lower resistant body 11 is made.

The creation of the belt according to the invention is achieved by means of a co-extrusion process by which the material intended to form the lower resistant body 11 and the material intended to form the covering layer 2 are co-extruded utilising a co-extrusion process which advantageously allows the final moulding of the complete product to be achieved in a single operation. Instead of TPU, thermoplastic rubbers or other elastic materials can be used in the forming process.

4

SUBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)

Claims

1 ). A belt, of the type used as a conveyor element that provides a rest and support for objects and drags them by friction, the said belt being characterised by the fact of comprising a lower resistant body (1 ) and a covering layer (2) which is bound integrally, in an upper position, to the said lower resistant body (1 ) and is designed to form an upper surface (21 ) on which the objects rest, it being envisaged that the overall height dimension of the straight section of the belt, normal to the longitudinal axis thereof, amounts to the standardised height dimension(s) envisaged for conveyor belt(s) available on the market according to ISO/DIN standards.

2). A belt according to Claim 1 characterised by the fact that the said lower resistant body (1 ) is made of TPU, PVC, thermoplastic rubber, or another plastic material.

3). A belt according to Claim 2 characterised by the fact that the said lower resistant body (1 ) is made of TPU, PVC, thermoplastic rubber, rubber, or another plastic material with a different hardness to that of the covering layer (2).

4). A belt according to Claim 3 characterised by the fact that the covering layer (2) is made of soft, low hardness materials with greater elastic deformability than the material of which the lower resistant body (1 ) is made.

5). A belt according to one of the previous claims characterised by the fact of being made by means of either a co-extrusion, a gluing, a vulcanisation, or a heat-sealing process by which the material designed to form the lower resistant body (1 ) and the material designed to form the covering layer (2) are mutually joined.