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EP-3738733-B1 - BRISTLE BRUSH AND CONVEYOR BELT FORMED BY A PLURALITY OF SAID BRISTLE BRUSHES

EP3738733B1EP 3738733 B1EP3738733 B1EP 3738733B1EP-3738733-B1

Inventors

  • BALSELLS MERCADE, ANTONI
  • Carrer Vives, Josep Mª
  • Balsells Vives, Bernat
  • LUCAS SERRA, SANTIAGO

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20190513

Claims (12)

  1. A conveyor belt formed by a plurality of bristle brushes, each bristle brush comprising a support plate (1), a plurality of flexible bristles (2) emerging from one of the surfaces thereof, the ends of the bristles (2) furthest from the support plate (1) defining a support surface intended to receive a part to be transported and/or cut, said support plate (1) comprising a leading edge (11) and a trailing edge (12), said leading (11) and trailing (12) edges defining complementary shapes, characterized in that said brushes are joined in a staggered manner.
  2. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein said support plate (1) comprises coupling elements (3, 4).
  3. The conveyor belt according to claim 2, wherein said coupling elements are anchors (3) provided with a longitudinal hole or flanges (4) that fit in complementary housings (5).
  4. The conveyor belt according to claims 1 and 3, wherein said flanges (4) are placed in the projections of the support plate (1) and said housings (5) are placed in the recesses of the support plate (1).
  5. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the plurality of flexible bristles (2) is a hemispherical or conical surface.
  6. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein said support plate (1) is smooth on its surface opposite the flexible bristles (2).
  7. The conveyor belt according to claim 6, wherein said support plate (1) is smooth on its surface opposite the flexible bristles (2), said opposite surface comprising an adhesive substrate (15).
  8. The conveyor belt according to claim 7, wherein said adhesive substrate (15) is coated with a protective sheet (16) before its first use.
  9. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, which is made up of a single piece.
  10. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, which is made of a polymer.
  11. The conveyor belt according to claim 3, wherein said anchors (3) are made of a material that is harder than the material of the support plate (1) and the flexible bristles (2).
  12. The conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein each projection of the leading edge (11) and trailing edge (12) of the support plate (1) is formed by a straight central portion and two straight side portions, at an oblique angle.

Description

The present invention relates to a conveyor belt formed by a plurality of bristle brushes, which is modular and enables forming, by joining a plurality of said brushes, a homogeneous base, such as an endless conveyor belt. Background of the invention Brushes are currently known which, when duly fixed to a set of mechanical elements, form a movable surface by way of an endless conveyor belt. Said conveyor belts are used in different industrial areas to transport and/or handle elements which must be elevated, or which cannot be in contact with a rigid or continuous surface. There are brushes comprising a plurality of bristles mechanically fixed to a support plate and multiple brushes are linked to form a larger surface or conveyor belt. This system has several drawbacks, such as the manufacturing cost (fixing the bristles to a support plate), the weight (said support plate must be thick in order to properly fix the bristles), the power required to move the conveyor belt (the greater the weight, the higher the power required), etc. An example of this type of brushes is described in EP 2 656 987 A1, which describes a plastic, modular and self-engaging bristle brush, comprising a set of runners including a pair of opposite guiding and self-centring ends which project from the perimeter of the brush, said runners being distributed so that the ends of contiguous brush runners are able to fit together by overlapping each other. In addition, said runners include at their guiding and self-centring ends articulated joining means between contiguous brushes for the self-engaging thereof, converting the set of multiple brushes into a cutting base, leaving the material above it, enabling its handling, cutting, die-cutting, etc., which in turn forms an endless conveyor belt. The bristle modules, preferably injected, moulded or printed in 3D, are manufactured in different materials with different hardnesses for different applications, either cutting, handling or transport on an endless belt. Initially the materials of the bristle brushes were relatively rigid plastics, and a specific turning radius was necessary to rotate the conveyor belt, generally greater than 150 mm. For some cutting and subsequent handling applications, highly flexible materials were chosen, the handling being easier and more pleasant, and at the same time allowing very low turning radii, from 30 mm, due to the bending of the base. The design described in this document has the drawback that, when joining the modules by a single axis, said axis must withstand all the stresses, so it creates micro-separations between modules in the forward direction of the belt, which, although they do not generally affect the operations, they can be improved from the standpoint of durability and aesthetics. US4328726A discloses an apparatus for cutting patterns from successive contiguous segments of an elongated layup of sheet material having a zoned vacuum table which includes an endless bristle mat conveyor, for shifting a layup along the table to position a segment of the layup in the cutting zone of the table and for holding the layup segment in the cutting zone, and a carriage assembly, which moves a cutting mechanism relative to the table and in cutting engagement with the segment to cut patterns from the segment in response to signals from a programmable controller. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor belt formed from a plurality of bristle brushes that is very flexible, allowing a conveyor belt to achieve very small turning radii. Description of the invention The mentioned drawbacks are resolved with the conveyor belt of the invention, while presenting other advantages which will be described below. The conveyor belt according to the present invention is defined in claim 1, and each bristle brush comprises a support plate, a plurality of flexible bristles emerging from one of the surfaces thereof, and said support plate comprising coupling elements, the ends of the bristles furthest from the support plate defining a support surface intended to receive a part to be transported and/or cut or handled, wherein said support plate comprises a leading edge and a trailing edge, said leading and trailing edges comprising complementary shapes, of a polygonal shape, for example, hexagonal, which enables a plurality of brushes to be assembled in a staggered or interspersed manner. The geometry of the bristle brush, as described above, enables a homogeneous transition to be obtained when passing over a gear or roller during its movement forming a conveyor belt, especially in the change of direction at the end of said conveyor belt, since the flexible materials tend to yield slightly in the shaft area, creating micro-separations between the brushes. In addition, in the bristle brush, said support plate also comprises coupling elements. According to a first embodiment, said coupling elements are anchors provided with a longitudinal hole. This