JP7820622B2 - Bucket Conveyor - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. Test dates: April 25th, 2022 to June 30th, 2022 Test location: Kitabu Second Water Reclamation Center, 1-6-8 Suehirocho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Tester: Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha Test content: Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha conducted a demonstration test of a bucket conveyor jointly invented by Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha and Argotec Co., Ltd. at the above-mentioned test location, Kitabu Second Water Reclamation Center (see copy of public sewerage occupation permit).

The present invention relates to a bucket conveyor that uses a series of buckets to transport sediment.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a bucket conveyor such as that described in Patent Document 1 is known as a bucket type conveying device that stores and conveys an object such as powder or granular material in a bucket supported by an endless chain.
This bucket conveyor stores and transports powdered or granular materials in a number of buckets supported at both ends by a pair of left and right endless chains, and the endless chains are rotated from the upper horizontal moving area to the lower moving area, turning back and forth, and the materials in the inverted buckets are dropped and transported out through a discharge outlet located below a discharge outlet side sprocket that inverts the up and down position of the buckets, and the buckets have a storage bottom made of a flexible sheet that stores the powdered or granular materials.
Furthermore, it is disclosed that a push-down means for pushing up the bottom of the bucket toward the opening side and pushing down the transported material to discharge it is provided on the sprocket rotation shaft that supports the discharge port side sprocket.

JP 2012-240832 A

However, in Patent Document 1, the transported material is in the form of powder or granular material, and when the transported material is residue containing moisture, even if a push-down means is provided that pushes up the storage bottom made of a flexible sheet toward the opening side and pushes down the transported material to discharge it, there is a problem that not all of the transported material can fall into the discharge outlet, resulting in the so-called carry-back phenomenon.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a bucket conveyor which is an improvement over the conventional bucket conveyor disclosed in Patent Document 1 and is used for transporting waste materials.

A first invention is a bucket conveyor including, within a predetermined conveyor case, at least a first sprocket arranged at one end and a second sprocket arranged at the other end, a pair of left and right endless chains stretched side by side at a predetermined interval between the first sprocket and the second sprocket, and a large number of buckets, each open at one end, supported at both ends across the pair of left and right endless chains, wherein the buckets form a circulation path including an outward route area in which articles are fed through an article inlet provided in a predetermined area at the one end of the conveyor case and are received by the buckets and conveyed sequentially, and a return route area in which the buckets turn around at the second sprocket at the other end, face the open side vertically downward, and sequentially discharge articles from an article outlet provided in the predetermined area at the other end of the conveyor case, and convey the buckets again toward the first sprocket with the open side facing vertically downward,
a drive motor connected to the second sprocket to circulate the endless chain;
a take-up unit disposed on the other end side of the endless chain to adjust tension applied to the endless chain,
The surface of the bucket is provided with a flexible sheet made of a rubber plate,
the flexible sheet has a concave-convex portion that forms a gap between the sheet and the received object to allow air to pass through, and that can improve the peeling effect by allowing air to enter between the sheet and the object,
the concave-convex portion has a pattern formed of a continuous groove consisting of a plurality of thin grooves or notches,
a pair of left and right side plates arranged along the pair of left and right endless chains,
The bucket is disposed between the pair of left and right side plates,
A clearance of a predetermined distance is provided between the flexible sheet and the side plate to allow water from the transported object to be easily drained.
A second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, one bucket is provided for every two chain pitches of the endless chain.
A third invention is the first invention or the second invention, in which the bucket is provided with a scraper that protrudes at a predetermined angle from the tip of the storage section and scrapes and picks up the transported objects that do not fall at the discharge port but are brought back to the forward path side area and fall, and stores them in the storage section,
The scraper protrudes longer than the tip of the side plate,
The scraper is characterized in that notches are formed on both sides of the protruding tip.
A fourth invention is characterized in that, in the third invention, the scrapers are provided on buckets at predetermined intervals.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is the fourth aspect of the present invention, further comprising: a first horizontal region on the outward path extending horizontally a predetermined distance from a first sprocket; a vertical region on the outward path extending vertically upward from an end of the first horizontal region on the outward path; a second horizontal region on the outward path bending horizontally at an upper end of the vertical region on the outward path and extending toward the second sprocket; a third horizontal region on the homeward path bending back at the second sprocket and extending toward the vertical region; a vertical region on the homeward path extending vertically downward from an end of the third horizontal region; and a fourth horizontal region on the homeward path bending horizontally at a lower end of the vertical region on the homeward path, extending toward the first sprocket, and then bending back at the first sprocket to be endlessly continuous with the first horizontal region on the outward path.
The bending region between the first horizontal region on the outbound side and the vertical region on the outbound side, and the bending region between the vertical region on the return side and the fourth horizontal region on the return side are each provided with a guide rail for guiding the endless chain.

The present invention provides a bucket conveyor that is an improvement over conventional bucket conveyors for transporting waste materials.

1 is a schematic front view of a bucket conveyor according to the present invention; 1 is a schematic plan view of a bucket conveyor according to the present invention; 1 is a schematic side view of a lower horizontal conveying section of a bucket conveyor according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the vicinity of the inlet of a lower horizontal transport section of a bucket conveyor according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram comparing the bucket of the present invention with a conventional bucket when the conveying direction is vertical. 1 is a schematic side view of an upper horizontal conveying section of a bucket conveyor according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the vicinity of the discharge port of an upper horizontal transport section of a bucket conveyor according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a flexible sheet attached to a bucket. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a method for attaching the flexible sheet. 1A is a schematic diagram of a bucket conveyor scraper seen from the side, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the scraper seen from the front. 1A is a perspective view of an example of a flexible sheet of a bucket conveyor according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the flexible sheet of FIG. 1A. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the results of evaluation of the peelability between the flexible sheet according to the present invention and a conventional flexible sheet.

An embodiment of a bucket conveyor of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various design changes are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 1, the bucket conveyor 1 of the present invention is configured in a specified conveyor case 10, and includes at least a first sprocket (also referred to as an inlet-side sprocket) located at one end, a second sprocket (also referred to as a drive-side sprocket; see Figure 6 below) 41 located at the other end, a pair of left and right endless chains 20 stretched side by side at a specified interval between the first sprocket 21 and the second sprocket 41, and a number of open-ended buckets 30 supported at both ends across the left and right endless chains 20. The circulation path includes an outbound area X where buckets 30 receive and sequentially transport objects M loaded from an inlet 14 provided in a specified area (also referred to as the lower horizontal transport section) 11 at one end of the conveyor case 10, and a return area Y where buckets 30 are turned around at the second sprocket 41 at the other end, sequentially discharge objects M from an object discharge outlet 15 provided in a specified area at the other end of the bucket conveyor 10 with the opening facing downward in the vertical direction V, and then transport the buckets 30 again toward the first sprocket 41 with the opening facing downward in the vertical direction V.

Explaining in more detail, the endless chain 20 in the circulation path is made up of a first horizontal region X1 on the outward path extending a predetermined distance in the horizontal direction H from the first sprocket 41, a first vertical region X2 on the outward path bending upward in the vertical direction V from the end of the first horizontal region X1 on the outward path and extending, a second horizontal region X3 on the outward path bending in the horizontal direction H at the upper end of the first vertical region X2 on the outward path and extending toward the second sprocket 41, and a second vertical region Y2 on the outward path bending in the horizontal direction H at the second sprocket 41. The first horizontal region Y1 extends from the end of the third horizontal region Y3, the second vertical region Y2 extends from the end of the third horizontal region Y3, and the third horizontal region Y3 extends in the horizontal direction H at the bottom end of the second vertical region Y2, extends toward the first sprocket 21, and then folds back at the first sprocket 21, continuing endlessly to the first horizontal region X1 on the outbound side, and wraps around the bent region between the first horizontal region X1 on the outbound side and the first vertical region X2 on the outbound side.

Next, the configuration of the bucket conveyor 1 of the present invention will be described. The first horizontal area X1 and third horizontal area Y3 are divided into a lower horizontal conveying section 11 shaped like a rectangular tube and extending in the front-to-back direction at the lower level, the second horizontal area X3 is divided into an upper horizontal conveying section 12 shaped like a rectangular tube and extending in the front-to-back direction above the lower horizontal conveying section 11, and the first vertical area X2 and second vertical area Y2 are divided into a vertical conveying section 13 shaped like a rectangular tube and extending in the up-down direction between the lower horizontal conveying section 11 and the upper horizontal conveying section 12.

As shown in Figure 1, the conveyor case 10 is generally crank-shaped. The walls of the conveyor case 10 are provided with multiple inspection hatches 16 at necessary locations so that the transport status of the transported goods M can be seen.

In addition, an inlet 14 for the transported item M is formed in the upper wall portion 11a of the lower horizontal conveying section 11, which is the first horizontal area X1, and an outlet 15 for the transported item M is formed in a position below the second sprocket 41 in the upper horizontal conveying section 12.

The first sprocket 21 is an inlet-side sprocket installed on the inlet 14 side of the lower horizontal conveying section 11. As shown in Figure 3, the first sprocket 21 has a rotating shaft 21a rotatably held on both wall surfaces 11b, 11b of the lower horizontal conveying section 11, and is provided with a pair of gears 21b, 21b on the rotating shaft, around which the endless chain 20 is wrapped. This gear 21b has 12 teeth.

The second sprocket 41 located at the other end is the drive sprocket 41 installed in the upper horizontal conveying section 12. As shown in Figure 6, a pair of gears 41a, 41b, around which the endless chain 20 is wrapped, are provided on the rotating shaft 41a. These gears 41a, 41b have 12 teeth.

Furthermore, a third sprocket (relay sprocket) 42 is rotatably arranged inside the case 18 at the upper bend where the first vertical area X2 and the third horizontal area X3 (the vertical conveying section 13 and the upper horizontal conveying section 12) are connected. As in Figure 3, this third sprocket 42 has a pair of gears on the rotating shaft that are rotatably held on both wall surfaces of the upper horizontal conveying section 12, and around which the endless chain 20 is hung. This gear has 12 teeth.

As shown in Figure 4, the endless chain 20 of this embodiment is composed of a pair of opposing left and right link plates 22, and the ends of each link plate 22 are rotatably connected to adjacent link plates 22 in the serial direction (front-to-back direction) by connecting pins 23. A roller (not shown) is rotatably attached to this connecting pin 23 so as to maintain the distance between the link plates 22. Gears 21b, for example, are engaged between adjacent rollers in the front-to-back direction (see Figure 3, for example).

Such an endless chain 20 has one bucket for every two chain pitches, and as shown in Figure 5, a large conveying (storage section 30a) capacity is ensured by changing the attachment of buckets 30 from the conventional chain pitch S, which is equivalent to two connecting pins 23a, to a double pitch T, which is equivalent to one connecting pin 23. That is, in comparison with the chain pitch, if the hatched area of the conveying amount of the transported object M in the bucket 30 at double pitch T (hereinafter referred to as the "conveying amount hatched area") is 100 ^cm2 , the conveying amount increases by approximately 1.8 times compared to 56 ^cm2 , which is twice the hatched area of the conveying amount (28 ^cm2 ) at the conventional chain pitch S (100 ^cm2 ÷ (28 ^cm2 + 28 ^cm2 ) ≈ 1.8 times).
As a result, the maximum conveyance amount can be secured in the vertical conveying section 13, and it is only necessary to increase the size of the bucket 30, and there is no need to increase the size of the sprocket.

The buckets 30 are arranged in large numbers with both ends supported across the left and right endless chains 20 and one end open. The goods M are stored and transported in an area partitioned by the side plates 31 of the buckets 30 and connecting members 32 (see Figure 8 below), which serve as partition plates and are described below.

As described above, the transported objects M fed through the inlet 14 are sequentially stored in a number of consecutive buckets 30, both ends of which are fixed to a pair of left and right endless chains 20. The transported objects M stored in these buckets 30 are then transported along the outbound area X toward the discharge outlet 15. The objects M then turn around at the second sprocket 41 on the other end, change direction from the vertical direction of the vertical conveying section 13 to the horizontal direction, and then, with the opening facing downward in the vertical direction V, the transported objects M are sequentially dropped and discharged from the discharge outlet 15 for transported objects provided in a specified area on the other end of the bucket conveyor 10.

In other words, as each bucket 30 passes under the inlet 14 as the endless chain 20 moves around, it reverses its position when it approaches the outlet 15, thereby discharging the transported goods M contained in the bucket 30 into the outlet 15.

In addition, the curved regions between the first horizontal region X and the first vertical region X2 on the outbound side X are each provided with a guide rail 25 for guiding the endless chain 20. In addition, the curved regions between the second vertical region Y2 on the inbound side and the third horizontal region Y3 on the inbound side are each provided with a guide rail 26 for guiding the endless chain 20. These guide rails 25, 26 are curved so as to guide the endless chain 20 and change its direction of travel along the circulation path.

1, no intermediate sprockets are arranged inside the case 17 of the bent portion, which is the bending region, and two rows of guide rails 25, 26 (ascending rails 25a, 25b and descending rails 26a, 26b) are arranged facing the endless chain 20, and the endless chain 20 moves along these guide rails 25. These bent guide rails 25, 26 (ascending rails 25a, 25b and descending rails 26a, 26b) are fixed to the inner wall surface of the case 17 of the bent portion on the lower row side.
In FIG. 1, it is shown that the descending rails 26a and 26b are not arranged at the inspection hatch 16 of the case 17 at this bent portion, but in this embodiment they are arranged.

In addition, in general bucket conveyors, when the chain tension is high, although this depends on the conveying amount and machine length, in large bucket conveyors, wear occurs on the guide rails and chain rollers inside the case at the bend, so relay sprockets are used to promote smooth movement of the endless chain.
In contrast, in the case of the guide rail 25 of the embodiment of the present invention, the endless chain 20 moves along the guide rail 25 within the case 17 of the bent portion, but when the chain tension is small, such as in a small bucket conveyor, the wear caused by the guide rail 25 is said to be small, so the guide rail 25 is considered sufficient. This reduces the number of intermediate sprockets and streamlines maintenance.

The bucket conveyor 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a drive motor 40 that connects to the second sprocket 41 to drive the endless chain 20 in a circular motion, and a take-up unit 60 that is located at the other end and adjusts the tension applied to the endless chain 20.

As shown in Figures 1 and 6, a drive motor 40 is located near the discharge port 15 and drives the endless chain 20 in a circular motion. A take-up unit 60 is located near the drive motor 40 and adjusts the tension applied to the endless chain 20. As the drive motor 40 moves forward and backward in the direction of travel of the bucket 30, a variable-shaft second sprocket 41 is attached coaxially to the rotation shaft 40a of the drive motor 40 and moves integrally with it. As a result, the drive motor 40 itself can move forward and backward in the direction of travel in the upper horizontal conveying section 12 within the range of area Z, allowing the tension to be adjusted (see Figure 7).

In addition, a drive motor 40 is arranged in the direction of the second horizontal region X3 (the right end in the figure), and a second sprocket 41 is fixed to the drive motor rotation shaft 40a coaxially with the rotation shaft 20a, so that the second sprocket 41 rotates synchronously as the drive motor 40 rotates.

In this embodiment, the take-up unit 60 is located on the upper horizontal conveying section 12, but in conventional bucket conveyors, the take-up unit 60 is typically located on the first sprocket 21 near the inlet 14 of the lower horizontal conveying section 11. By not locating the take-up unit 60 on the lower horizontal conveying section 11 as in the past, the first sprocket 21 on the inlet side can be used as a fixed axis, allowing the transported item M to be scraped up without being left behind in the lower horizontal conveying section 11 and stored again in the storage section 30a of the bucket 30 (see Figure 4). Note that the configuration of the take-up unit 60 itself is publicly known, so a detailed description will be omitted here.

The bucket 30 has a removable storage section 30a made of a flexible sheet 33 that stores the transported object M. As shown in Figure 8, the bucket 30 consists of a pair of left and right side plates 31, a connecting member 32 that connects the side plates 31, and a flexible sheet 33 made of an elastic rubber material or the like that can store the transported object M, which is fixed to the front and rear ends of the connecting member 32 in the traveling direction by fastening means 34 consisting of bolts 34a and nuts 34b.

The side plates 31 are fixed to the support pieces (not shown) of the endless chain 20 via connecting members 32 so that the inner surfaces of the side plates 31 face each other, forming a pair on the left and right.

To prevent gaps from forming between the buckets 30 and spilling the transported goods M, the front and rear flexible sheets 33 are attached to the connecting member 32 in the front-to-rear direction of the buckets 30 at an overlapping portion W (see Figure 10(a)). For this reason, the connecting member 32 is formed with through-holes 32a-32d for attaching the generally rectangular flexible sheet 33. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the single plate of generally rectangular flexible sheet 33 is bent at approximately the center in the front-to-rear direction, which is its length, to form a generally U-shaped cross section. After aligning the through-holes 33a-33d formed in the flexible sheet 33 with the through-holes 32a-32d of the connecting member 32, the flexible sheet 33 is inserted and tightened using fastening means such as bolts and nuts, and the flexible sheet 33 is fixed to the connecting member 32.

Furthermore, because the flexible sheet 33 is a consumable item, only the flexible sheet 33 needs to be replaced, which has the advantage of being hassle-free and easy to maintain. In other words, replacement of only the flexible sheet 33 using a simple fastening means is all that is required, allowing maintenance personnel to handle the maintenance themselves. When the time required to replace one flexible sheet 33 was actually measured, it was found to be completed in less than five minutes.

The dimensions of the flexible sheet 33 are not particularly limited, and can be variously adjusted to suit the size of the bucket 30. When the flexible sheet 33 is attached to the connecting member 32, the clearance Q on both sides of the flexible sheet 33 and the side plate 31 in the direction of travel is adjusted to, for example, 1 mm to 3 mm, which has been confirmed to improve drainage within the bucket 30 when transporting screen residue. In this way, it is preferable to have a predetermined clearance Q on both sides of the flexible sheet 33 (see Figure 8).

The bucket 30 is also equipped with a scraper 35 that scrapes and picks up any transported items M that do not fall at the discharge outlet 15 but are brought back to the forward-side area Y and dropped there, and stores them in the storage section 30a.

The scraper 35 is a scraping member that protrudes rectangularly at a predetermined angle from the tip of the storage section 30a and scrapes up any transported items M that do not fall into the discharge outlet 15 and are brought back into the circulation path, and then stores them back in the storage section 30a. This prevents the transported items M from piling up in the circulation path, even if the so-called carry-back phenomenon occurs.

In addition, as shown in Figure 8, the tip of the connecting member 32 protrudes longer than the tip of the side plate 31, and as shown in Figure 10, scrapers 35 are provided on the bucket 30 at predetermined intervals, inclined at a predetermined angle θ. For example, one scraper is provided for every 10 buckets. This allows the transported goods M piled up on the bottom surface of the case in the fourth horizontal area Y3 to be scraped out and scooped up and stored in the storage section 30a of the bucket 30, as shown in Figure 4.

10(a), the scraping member is a rectangular plate-like member that protrudes from the position sandwiched between the flexible sheets 33 at a predetermined angle of about 45° in the direction of travel, and is adjusted so as not to come into contact with the bottom surface of the case of the lower horizontal conveying unit 11. This protruding portion (height or length) P protrudes from the side plate 31 by approximately 3 cm.
10(b), the scraper 35 has rectangular notches 35a and 35b formed on both sides of the protruding tip. The provision of these notches 35a and 35b has the effect of scraping off any spilled material along the concave shape of the inner surface of the casing bottom plate and transporting it again.

The scrapers 35 are provided on the buckets 30 at predetermined intervals. The reason for providing them at such intervals is that the bucket conveyor of the present invention has been found to reduce the carry-back phenomenon, and so such spacing is not problematic. Furthermore, it reduces the workload involved in installing and replacing scrapers 35 on buckets 30.

The flexible sheet 33 is a single elastic, rectangular rubber sheet that can be attached to and detached from the bucket 30. The roughly U-shaped portion attached to the connecting member 32 serves as the storage section 30a for the transported item M when the bucket 30 is transported horizontally with its opening facing upward. For this reason, the roughly U-shaped area is made longer and larger than the opening of the bucket 30.

The thickness of this flexible sheet 33 is preferably 6 mm in total, with 2 mm on the surface and 4 mm inside. If it is thicker than this, it will not be easy to bend it into a roughly U-shape and attach it to the connecting member 32. On the other hand, if it is less than 6 mm, its durability will be insufficient.

Furthermore, the flexible sheet 33 has an uneven portion that forms a gap through which air can pass between the surface on the receiving side of the object in the storage section and the received object. Specifically, as shown in Figures 11(a) and 11(b), the flexible sheet 33 has a structure of a surface 33a and an interior 33b, and the surface 33a has patterns 33a1 and 33a2 (uneven portions) consisting of a plurality of fine grooves or notches. This allows air to enter between the object M and the uneven portion, further improving the peeling effect and making it easier for the object M to fall into the discharge port 15. When an uneven pattern is formed, the shape of the pattern is not particularly limited. For example, the uneven portion may be arranged in a V-shaped pattern as shown in Figure 11(a), or may be arranged in parallel stripes, a lattice pattern, or a diamond lattice pattern.
The applicant has conducted evaluation tests on flexible sheets having different cross-sectional shapes, which will be described later with reference to FIG.

The manufacturing method for flexible sheet 33 is not particularly limited, and various methods such as injection molding, extrusion molding, roll molding, press molding, and hybrid molding can be used. When the unevenness formed on the sheet surface has a complex structure or is large in size, it is preferable to manufacture it by press molding using a mold.

Furthermore, to supplement the strength, the flexible sheet 33 may be a sheet made of a composite material in which a flexible material (e.g., a rubber material) and carbon fiber are strongly bonded together, thereby increasing the strength and durability of the flexible sheet 33.
In this case, the sheet made of flexible material may be made of the same material or different materials.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11(c), the material is not limited to carbon fiber, and multiple layers of carbon fiber plates 36 may be used.
Alternatively, carbon fibers may be kneaded into a sheet made of rubber material.

[Measurement of peeling effect]
A comparative test was conducted on the peeling ability of simulated screen residue using flexible sheets of different shapes. The experiment involved attaching three different bucket rubber shapes to the bucket 30, placing the same type and amount of simulated screen residue in the storage section 30a, and evaluating the situation in which the residue fell into the discharge outlet 15, i.e., evaluating the peeling effect. The results are explained below with reference to Figure 12.

1. When the bucket rubber shape is plain sheet rubber, the simulated residue peeling evaluation was "X", indicating that it is not suitable for use in a bucket conveyor for screen residue, etc. This is because, as shown in the rubber cross-section image in Figure 12, there is absolutely no gap between the simulated residue and the rubber plate (rubber sheet), so no air can get in. As a result, the simulated residue does not peel off.

2. When the bucket rubber is a semicircular, uneven rubber plate (rubber sheet), the simulated residue peeling evaluation was rated "X," indicating that it is unsuitable for use in a bucket conveyor for screen residue, etc. This is because, as shown in the cross-sectional image of the rubber in Figure 12, the unevenness creates gaps, but because the unevenness is spaced widely, there are areas where the simulated residue sticks. As a result, the simulated residue does not peel off.

3. When the bucket rubber shape used in this embodiment is a continuously grooved rubber plate (rubber sheet), the simulated residue peeling condition evaluation was "Good," indicating favorable results for use in a bucket conveyor for screen residue, etc. This is because the continuous grooves inevitably create gaps between the simulated residue and the rubber plate. As a result, the simulated residue easily peels off.

Note that no peeling evaluation tests have been conducted on scattered dot patterns, but if the transported item M becomes covered with moisture-containing residue, there will be no gaps in that area, preventing air from entering, which may weaken the peeling effect.

The bucket conveyor of the present invention can be used to transport not only screen residue, but also sediment, dehydrated cake, etc.

1 Bucket conveyor 10 Conveyor case 11 Lower horizontal conveying section 12 Upper horizontal conveying section 13 Vertical conveying section 14 Inlet 15 Outlet 16 Inspection hatch 17 Case of bent section (lower side)
18 Bend case (upper side)
20 Endless chain 21 First sprocket (inlet side sprocket)
22 Link plate 23 Connecting pin 30 Bucket 30a Storage section 31 Side plate 32 Connecting member 33 Flexible sheet 34 Fastening means (bucket)
35 Scraper 36 Carbon fiber plate 40 Drive motor 41 Second sprocket (drive side sprocket)
42 Third sprocket (relay sprocket)
60 Take-up unit M Conveyed object X Outward path area X1 First horizontal area X2 First vertical area X3 Second horizontal area Y Return path area Y1 Third horizontal area Y2 Second vertical area Y3 Fourth horizontal area

Claims (5)

a first sprocket arranged at one end of the conveyor case, a second sprocket arranged at the other end of the conveyor case, a pair of left and right endless chains suspended in parallel at a predetermined interval between the first sprocket and the second sprocket, and a large number of buckets, each open at one end, supported at both ends across the pair of left and right endless chains, the bucket conveyor comprising a circulation path including an outgoing side area in which the buckets receive and sequentially transport objects fed through an object inlet provided in a predetermined area at the one end of the conveyor case, and a return side area in which the buckets turn around at the second sprocket at the other end, face the open side vertically downward, and sequentially discharge objects through an object outlet provided in the predetermined area at the other end of the conveyor case, and convey the buckets again toward the first sprocket with the open side facing vertically downward,
a drive motor connected to the second sprocket to circulate the endless chain;
a take-up unit disposed on the other end side of the endless chain to adjust tension applied to the endless chain,
The surface of the bucket is provided with a flexible sheet made of a rubber plate,
the flexible sheet has a concave-convex portion that forms a gap between the sheet and the received object to allow air to pass through, and that can improve the peeling effect by allowing air to enter between the sheet and the object,
the concave-convex portion has a pattern formed of a continuous groove consisting of a plurality of thin grooves or notches,
a pair of left and right side plates arranged along the pair of left and right endless chains,
The bucket is disposed between the pair of left and right side plates,
A bucket conveyor characterized in that a predetermined clearance is provided between the flexible sheet and the side plate to allow moisture from the transported objects to be easily drained. A bucket conveyor as described in claim 1, characterized in that one bucket is provided for every two chain pitches of the endless chain. The bucket is provided with a scraper that protrudes at a predetermined angle from the tip of the storage section and scrapes and picks up the transported objects that do not fall at the discharge port but are brought back to the outward path side area and fall, and stores the objects in the storage section.
The scraper protrudes longer than the tip of the side plate,
3. The bucket conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the scraper has notches formed on both sides of the protruding tip end. A bucket conveyor as described in claim 3, characterized in that the scrapers are provided on buckets at predetermined intervals. The endless chain is
a first horizontal region on the outward side extending horizontally a predetermined distance from a first sprocket; a vertical region on the outward side extending vertically upward from an end of the first horizontal region on the outward side; a second horizontal region on the outward side bending horizontally at an upper end of the vertical region on the outward side and extending toward the second sprocket; a third horizontal region on the homeward side turning back at the second sprocket and extending toward the vertical region; a vertical region on the homeward side extending vertically downward from an end of the third horizontal region; and a fourth horizontal region on the homeward side bending horizontally at a lower end of the vertical region on the homeward side, extending toward the first sprocket, turning back at the first sprocket, and continuing endlessly to the first horizontal region on the outward side;
5. The bucket conveyor according to claim 4, wherein a curved region between the first horizontal region on the outbound side and the vertical region on the outbound side, and a curved region between the vertical region on the return side and the fourth horizontal region on the return side are each provided with a guide rail for guiding the endless chain.