CN-121990304-A - Conveyor system for conveying material in a work machine

Abstract

A conveyor system for conveying material in a work machine. The conveyor system includes a conveyor frame and an endless flexible member that moves relative to the conveyor frame. The annular flexible member defines a first edge portion, a second edge portion, and a conveying surface therebetween for receiving material. The annular flexible member further includes a first wall extending vertically from the first edge portion and a second wall extending vertically from the second edge portion. The conveyor system further includes one or more rollers defining one or more discrete roller segments and one or more gap segments. As the endless flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame, the discrete roller segments respectively contact one or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion, and the gap segments respectively pass the first wall and the second wall.

Inventors

• D. J. Heim
• M. J. Fritsk

Assignees

• 卡特彼勒路面机械公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251023

Priority Date

20241102

Claims (20)

1. 1. A conveyor system for conveying material in a work machine, the conveyor system comprising: A conveyor frame; an annular flexible member movable relative to the conveyor frame, the annular flexible member defining a first edge portion, a second edge portion, and a conveying surface therebetween for receiving material, a first wall extending vertically from the first edge portion and a second wall extending vertically from the second edge portion, and One or more rollers, each of the one or more rollers defining one or more discrete roller segments and one or more gap segments, wherein when the endless flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame, The one or more discrete roller segments respectively contacting one or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion to strike and support the annular flexible member with the conveyor frame, an The one or more gap segments allow the first wall and the second wall to pass therethrough, respectively, providing a passageway for the first wall and the second wall through the one or more rollers.
2. 2. The conveyor system of claim 1, wherein each of the first wall and the second wall includes a corrugated profile to accommodate bending in the annular flexible member as the annular flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame.
3. 3. The conveyor system of claim 2, wherein the corrugation profile defines a plurality of alternating ridges and grooves that extend continuously along a circumference of the annular flexible member.
4. 4. A conveyor system as in claim 1 wherein each gap segment is positioned between two consecutively arranged discrete roller segments.
5. 5. The conveyor system of claim 1, wherein the one or more discrete roller segments respectively define one or more first diameters and the one or more gap segments respectively define one or more second diameters that are smaller than the one or more first diameters.
6. 6. The conveyor system of claim 1, wherein: The endless flexible member is movably wrapped and tensioned around the conveyor frame, One or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion define a first side that conveys the material and a second side opposite the first side that is free of the material when the annular flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame, an The one or more discrete roller segments are in rolling engagement with one or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion of the second side to strike and support the endless flexible member with the conveyor frame.
7. 7. The conveyor system of claim 1, further comprising first and second side plates coupled to the conveyor frame and disposed outwardly and upwardly from the first and second walls, respectively, to define a gap with the annular flexible member.
8. 8. A conveyor system as in claim 1 wherein the first wall, the second wall and the conveying surface together define a conveying cavity to retain the material received therein throughout the conveying movement of the annular flexible member.
9. 9. The conveyor system of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more gap segments defines a gap that is greater than a maximum width of each of the first wall and the second wall.
10. 10. A conveyor system as in claim 1 wherein the first and second walls are integrally formed with the annular flexible member and are made of the same material as the annular flexible member.
11. 11. A milling machine, comprising: a machine frame; A milling assembly coupled to the machine frame and including a milling drum for milling material from a surface located below the milling machine; a conveyor system for conveying the material away from the milling assembly to clear the milling assembly of the material, the conveyor system comprising: A conveyor frame; An annular flexible member movable relative to the conveyor frame, the annular flexible member defining a first edge portion, a second edge portion, and a conveying surface therebetween for receiving the material, a first wall extending vertically from the first edge portion and a second wall extending vertically from the second edge portion, and One or more rollers, each of the one or more rollers defining one or more discrete roller segments and one or more gap segments, wherein when the endless flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame, The one or more discrete roller segments respectively contacting one or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion to strike and support the annular flexible member with the conveyor frame, an The one or more gap segments allow the first wall and the second wall to pass therethrough, respectively, providing a passageway for the first wall and the second wall through the one or more rollers.
12. 12. The milling machine of claim 11, wherein each of the first wall and the second wall includes a corrugated profile to accommodate bending in the annular flexible member as the annular flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame.
13. 13. The milling machine of claim 12, wherein the ripple profile defines a plurality of alternating ridges and grooves that extend continuously along a circumference of the annular flexible member.
14. 14. The milling machine of claim 11, wherein each gap segment is positioned between two discrete drum segments arranged in series.
15. 15. The milling machine of claim 11, wherein the one or more discrete roller segments respectively define one or more first diameters and the one or more gap segments respectively define one or more second diameters that are smaller than the one or more first diameters.
16. 16. The milling machine of claim 11, wherein The endless flexible member is movably wrapped and tensioned around the conveyor frame, One or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion define a first side that conveys the material and a second side opposite the first side that is free of the material when the annular flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame, an The one or more discrete roller segments are in rolling engagement with one or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion of the second side to strike and support the endless flexible member with the conveyor frame.
17. 17. The milling machine of claim 11, further comprising first and second side plates coupled to the conveyor frame and disposed outwardly and upwardly from the first and second walls, respectively, to define a gap with the annular flexible member.
18. 18. The milling machine of claim 11, wherein the first wall, the second wall, and the conveying surface collectively define a conveying cavity to retain the material received therein throughout the conveying movement of the annular flexible member.
19. 19. The milling machine of claim 11, wherein each of the one or more gap segments defines a gap that is greater than a maximum width of each of the first wall and the second wall.
20. 20. The milling machine of claim 11, wherein the first wall and the second wall are integrally formed with the annular flexible member and are made of the same material as the annular flexible member.

Description

Conveyor system for conveying material in a work machine Technical Field The present invention relates to a conveyor system in a work machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a conveyor system that includes a conveyor belt having upstanding walls to retain milled material during conveyance of the material. Background Machines such as cold mills typically include one or more conveyor belt assemblies. Conveyor belt assemblies typically include a conveyor belt (or endless flexible member) that can receive material (e.g., mill material) from a milling operation performed by a machine. The conveyor belt may be used to convey received material away from the machine by a conveying operation of the conveyor assembly. The material being transferred typically comprises a granular material such as asphalt, bitumen and/or concrete. Such granular material may move or be jostled while being conveyed and may therefore escape or spill from one or more sides of the conveyor belt, for example, due to vibrations accompanying the conveying operation. To control material spillage, side plates may be placed along the sides of the conveyor belt. In addition, rubber wear pads or elements can seal or close the gap between the side plates and the conveyor belt. However, contact between these elements and the moving conveyor belt (e.g., prolonged contact) may wear the elements, which in turn reveals gaps between the side plates and the conveyor belt, and may cause material spillage. Therefore, these elements need to be frequently adjusted or replaced. Chinese patent publication No. CN202170718U discloses a conveyer belt with raised edges for preventing material from splashing, which aims to solve the technical problems that the raised edges and the transverse partition plates are easy to loosen and damage during threaded connection, and the material is easy to overflow and splash, etc. The edge-raised conveyor belt comprises a base belt, two wavy raised edges and transverse partition plates, wherein the two wavy raised edges are arranged on the base belt, the transverse partition plates are arranged between the two wavy raised edges, two ends of each transverse partition plate respectively form a baffle plate integrated with the transverse partition plates, and the transverse partition plates are fixed on wave crests of the wavy raised edges. The baffles protrude forward and are inserted into the grooves of the undulating raised edges so that, when the conveyor belt runs onto the drum, no gap remains between the undulating raised edges and the transverse partition, despite the fact that the undulating raised edges are stretched, so that spillage and splashing of bulk material is effectively avoided. Disclosure of Invention In an embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a conveyor system for conveying material in a work machine. The conveyor system includes a conveyor frame and an endless flexible member that moves relative to the conveyor frame. The annular flexible member defines a first edge portion, a second edge portion, and a conveying surface therebetween for receiving material. The annular flexible member further includes a first wall extending vertically from the first edge portion and a second wall extending vertically from the second edge portion. The conveyor system further includes one or more rollers. Each roller defines one or more discrete roller segments and one or more gap segments. As the endless flexible member moves relative to the conveyor frame, the discrete roller segments respectively contact one or more of the conveying surface, the first edge portion, and the second edge portion to strike and support the endless flexible member with the conveyor frame. The one or more gap segments allow the first wall and the second wall to pass therethrough, respectively, providing the first wall and the second wall with a passage through the one or more rollers. In another embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a milling machine that includes a machine frame and a milling assembly coupled to the machine frame, and includes a milling drum for milling material from a surface located below the milling machine. The milling machine further includes a conveyor system for conveying material away from the milling assembly to clear the milling assembly of material. The conveyor system includes a conveyor frame and an endless flexible member that moves relative to the conveyor frame. The annular flexible member defines a first edge portion, a second edge portion, and a conveying surface therebetween for receiving material. The annular flexible member further includes a first wall extending vertically from the first edge portion and a second wall extending vertically from the second edge portion. The conveyor system further includes one or more rollers. Each roller defines one or more discrete roller segments and one or more gap segments. As the endless flexible member moves relative to the con