JPH0474242B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a slat-type conveyor, and in particular,
This invention relates to a conveyor device that has been improved to be suitable for carrying out heat treatment such as heating and cooling in the range of -100°C to +300°C while conveying food.

[Conventional technology]

In the present invention, the slat type conveyor refers to the following as described in the World Encyclopedia published by Heibonsha.
A conveyor with a structure in which a plate-like member is suspended between a pair of chain conveyors.

However, this is intended to include a structure mechanically equivalent to this, and the above-mentioned plate-like member is a general term for a perforated plate, a mesh plate, a lattice plate, etc.

Slat conveyors are widely used in various manufacturing plants, and their primary purpose is to automatically move objects at a constant speed.

However, in food processing, there are many cases where food is not only simply moved, but also heated, cooled, etc. during transportation. Conveyors in tunnel kilns used for bread making and kamaboko production, etc.
This is an example. The slat conveyor may also be passed through a cooling tank.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

As mentioned above, when performing heat treatment using a slat conveyor, special performance is required compared to conveyors for general use.

That is, while general conveyance means have been technologically improved with the goal of making them faster, in this case it is desirable to accommodate as many objects as possible and keep them there for as long as possible.

When trying to achieve the above objective using the conventional technology, the first thing that can be considered is to reduce the conveyance speed. However, if the conveyance speed is reduced, the efficiency of food processing will be reduced.

Therefore, in order to accommodate as many objects as possible without changing the loading and unloading time interval of the objects, it is conceivable to extend the installation length of the conveyor. However, if this measure is taken, the area required for installing the equipment will increase.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved conveyor device capable of storing a large amount of conveyed objects and making one round over a long period of time without changing the time interval of loading and unloading and without increasing the required installation area. This is what we are trying to provide.

[Means for solving problems]

The slat-type conveyor of the present invention, which was created to achieve the above object, has a
Automatically fold in half. That is, when the objects to be conveyed are loaded (placed side by side) on the conveyor, the slat plates are lined up horizontally, and when they move and enter the heat treatment equipment, they are half-folded into a continuous mountain shape (accordion shape). The object to be transported is held between two slat plates, and is configured so that it returns to its horizontal state once it leaves the heat treatment apparatus.

As a mechanism for operating the slat plates as described above, a means (for example, a rail) is provided for holding the opposite ends of the shaft connecting the slat plates at alternate positions and guiding them in a substantially horizontal direction.

Then, every other connecting shaft that is not held down hangs down, and the slat plate is folded in half like an accordion.

In order to ensure the above-mentioned operation, a screw for screw feeding is provided along the above-mentioned horizontal guide means.

[Effect]

According to the above configuration, it is possible to increase the storage capacity within the heat treatment equipment and extend the time for passing through the heat treatment equipment without changing the speeds of the loading and unloading points of the slat type conveyor. The required area does not increase.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is an external view of one embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a slat-type conveyor constructed according to the present invention, which passes through a cooling chamber 2. The right side of the figure is the loading side, and the left side is the unloading side.

2a and 2b are inspection windows (more specifically, inspection window doors) of the cooling room.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the conveyor 1 shown in FIG. 2, with the drive section omitted.

Reference numeral 3 denotes slat plates connected in an endless ring, and 3a exemplifies one slat plate. The slat plate of this example is constructed in a grid pattern.

Reference numeral 3b denotes a connecting shaft on which the slat plate 3a is rotatably attached to the adjacent slat plate.

Although only one reference number is given to the drawing, a large number (approximately 100) of the slat plates are connected. Therefore, the number of connecting shafts is also approximately 100.

Guided rollers 4 as guided members are attached near both ends of every other connecting shaft in the conveyance direction of the large number of connecting shafts. Therefore, the number of guided rollers in this embodiment is also approximately 100.

At a location passing through position C where the cooling chamber is provided,
A guide rail 5 is provided to support the guided roller 4 and guide it horizontally.

As a result, every other connecting shaft portion of the slat plate is supported, and the unsupported connecting shaft portions hang down due to gravity and are half folded into a ∨∨∨∨∨ shape (continuous W-shape). Therefore, the food placed on each slat board is held between the two slat boards, as shown in the example of food 6 with drawing reference numbers in this figure, and its storage density is reduced. will increase significantly. Inversely proportional to this, its traveling speed decreases and it takes a long time to pass through the cooling chamber C.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram depicting the cooling chamber 2 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 as seen through.

In this embodiment, a screw is provided to screw-feed the guided roller 4. The screw is connected to guided rollers 4 provided at every other connecting shaft 3b.
The interval between the connecting shafts 3b is reduced by regulating the interval between the connecting shafts 3b, and the slat plate is conveyed in the continuous W-shaped half-folded form. In FIG. 1, the screw is omitted and only the position of the shaft 7 is shown.

With this configuration, the posture and position of the slat plate in a half-folded state are stabilized, and even if the length of passage through the heat treatment apparatus is large, the slat plate operates smoothly and reliably.

As can be easily understood from this example, when carrying out the present invention, the length of the endless annular slat plate connecting belt is appropriately lengthened, and only one part of the belt is bent into a continuous W-shape. It is necessary to provide some leeway.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By applying the present invention, a large amount of workpieces can be stored without extending the time interval for loading and unloading workpieces on a slat-type conveyor, and without increasing the required installation area. It has an excellent practical effect in that it can be allowed to stay in the heat treatment equipment for a long time, and it greatly contributes to making the heat treatment plant more compact and improving its efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the structure and operation, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Conveyor, 2...Cooling chamber, 3...Endless annular slat plate connection body, 3a...An example of a slat plate, 3b...Connection shaft, 4...Guided roller, 5...
...Guidance rail, 6...Food.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A slat-type conveyor in which a large number of plate-like members each having two parallel sides are connected in an endless ring shape and are wound around a sprocket, (a) adjacent plate-like members are mutually rotated; A guided member is provided at both ends of every other movably mounted connecting shaft, and means for supporting and guiding the guided member in a substantially horizontal direction is provided, (b ) A screw is provided which is positioned in at least a part of the area where the guided member is guided in a substantially horizontal direction and screws the guided member, (c) The screw is connected to the connecting shaft. The interval between the guided members provided every other time is regulated to shorten the interval between the connecting shafts, and a large number of plate-like members pivoted by the connecting shafts are folded in half to form a continuous W-shape. A slat-type conveyor device for heat treatment, which is characterized by being adapted to be conveyed after being leveled.