Belt splicer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9796135-B2
Application number	US-201514825868-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 13, 2015
Priority date	Aug 13, 2015
Publication date	Oct 24, 2017
Grant date	Oct 24, 2017

Abstract

A belt splicer for splicing butt ends of thermoplastic belts together. The splicer uses a plurality of cranks in conjunction with heavy springs to close and rapidly open jaws holding butt ends of a belt in place against a heating wand for melting and against each other for welding the melted ends together. The rapid opening of the jaw also lowers the wand, which is locked in place by a wand lock during the melting of the butt ends.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A belt splicer comprising:
a first jaw and a confronting second jaw supporting belt butt ends to be spliced together;
a first jaw opener connected to the first jaw and a second jaw opener connected to the second jaw, each of the first and second jaws including:
a spring mechanism connected to one of the first and second jaws and having a spring; and
a crank mechanism having a crank coupled to the spring mechanism to compress and release the spring and to move the one of the first and second jaws toward the other of the first and second jaws;
wherein the release of the spring thrusts the one of the first and second jaws away from the other of the first and second jaws;

a master shaft connected to the crank mechanism of the first jaw opener to turn its crank;
a slave shaft coupled to the master shaft to rotate together in synchronism, wherein the slave shaft is connected to the crank mechanism of the second jaw opener to turn its crank in synchronism with the crank of the first jaw opener so that the first and second jaws are closed together and so that the compressed springs of the first and second jaw openers are released simultaneously to thrust the first and second jaws open.

2. A belt splicer as in claim 1 wherein the crank mechanism further comprises a connecting arm and wherein the crank includes a pair of parallel crank arms connected across a gap by a pin pivotally connected to one end of the connecting arm whose opposite end is pivotally connected to the spring mechanism.

3. A belt splicer as in claim 2 wherein the crank arms have slots aligned across the gap and wherein the crank mechanism further includes a roller having trunnions extending from its side into the aligned slots to roll along the aligned slots to lock positions at the ends of the slots at which the roller is biased by pressure from the compressed spring against the connecting arm to block the crank.

4. A belt splicer as in claim 3 wherein the connecting arm has indentations along each side to receive the roller when the crank is in the locked position.

5. A belt splicer as in claim 1 further comprising:
a heating wand;
a wand positioner connected to the heating wand to raise and lower the heating wand between a raised position between the confronting first and second jaws for melting butt ends of a belt and a lowered position below the first and second jaws, wherein the wand positioner biases the heating wand toward the lowered position;
a cam on one of the master and slave shafts; and
a wand lock that locks the wand positioner in the raised position and that is engaged by the cam when the jaws are thrust open to unlock the wand positioner and return the heating wand to the lowered position.

6. A belt splicer as in claim 1 further comprising:
a heating wand; and
a ramp mechanism including a ramp along which the heating wand rides in going between a raised position between the confronting first and second jaws for melting butt ends of a belt and a lowered position below the first and second jaws.

7. A belt splicer as in claim 6 wherein the ramp mechanism further includes a rod connected to the ramp, wherein the ramp translates with the rod to raise and lower the heating wand.

8. A belt splicer as in claim 7 further comprising a wand lock engaging the rod to lock the heating wand in the raised position.

9. A belt splicer as in claim 1 comprising a plurality of first and second jaw openers disposed at spaced apart locations along the width of the splicer.

10. A belt splicer as in claim 1 further comprising a ratchet wrench rotating the master shaft to open and close the first and second jaws.

11. A belt splicer as in claim 1 wherein the slave shaft is coupled to the master shaft to rotate together in synchronism in opposite directions.

12. A belt splicer comprising:
a first jaw and a confronting second jaw supporting belt butt ends to be spliced together;
a first jaw opener connected to the first jaw and a second jaw opener connected to the second jaw, each of the first and second jaw openers including:
a spring mechanism connected to one of the first and second jaws and having a spring; and
a crank mechanism having a crank coupled to the spring mechanism to compress and release the spring and to move the one of the first and second jaws toward the other of the first and second jaws;
wherein the release of the spring thrusts the one of the first and second jaws away from the other of the first and second jaws;

a shaft coupled to the crank mechanisms of the first and second jaw openers to turn their cranks, the shaft having a cam;
a heating wand; and
a wand positioner that includes a wand lock that locks the heating wand in a raised position between the confronting first and second jaws for melting butt ends of a belt and that is engaged by the cam when the jaws are thrust open to lower the heating wand to a lowered position below the first and second jaws;
wherein the wand positioner includes a ramp along which the heating wand rides in going between the raised position and the lowered position.

13. A belt splicer comprising:
a first jaw and a confronting second jaw supporting belt butt ends to be spliced together;
a first jaw opener connected to the first jaw and a second jaw opener connected to the second jaw, each of the first and second jaw openers including:
a spring mechanism connected to one of the first and second jaws and having a spring; and
a crank mechanism having a crank and a connecting arm pivotally connected at a first end to the crank and at an opposite second end to the spring mechanism to compress the spring;
wherein the crank further includes a roller and a track along which the roller rolls as the crank is rotated in a first direction to compress the spring toward a critical position at which the spring is compressed greatest;
wherein, when the crank is rotated in the first direction past the critical position, spring pressure from the compressed spring rotates the crank, which forces the roller, at an end of the track, against the connecting arm to stop the crank from further rotation in the first direction.

14. A belt splicer as in claim 13 further comprising
a master shaft connected to the crank mechanism of the first jaw opener to turn its crank;
a slave shaft coupled to the master shaft to rotate together in synchronism, wherein the slave shaft is connected to the crank mechanism of the second jaw opener to turn the its crank in synchronism with the crank of the first jaw opener so that the first and second jaws are closed together and so that the compressed springs of the first and second jaw openers are released simultaneously to thrust the first and second jaws open.

15. A belt splicer as in claim 14 further comprising:
a heating wand;
a wand positioner connected to the heating wand to raise and lower the heating wand between a raised position between the confronting first and second jaws for melting butt ends of a belt and a lowered position below the first and second jaws, wherein the wand positioner biases the heating wand toward the lowered position;
a cam on one of the master and slave shafts; and
a wand lock that locks the wand positioner in the raised position and that is engaged by the cam when the jaws are thrust open to unlock the wand positioner and return the heating wand to the lowered position.

16. A belt splicer as in claim 14 wherein the slave shaft is coupled to the master shaft to rotate together in synchronism in opposite directions.

Assignees

• Laitram Llc

Inventors

• Guttenberg Robert G
• Nazar Gabriel

Classifications

• B29L2031/7092

  Conveyor belts · CPC title

• B29C66/4324

  for making closed loops, e.g. belts · CPC title

• B29C66/1142

  Single butt to butt joints · CPC title

• B29C66/8222

  Pinion or rack mechanisms · CPC title

• F16G3/10

  Joining belts by sewing, sticking, vulcanising, or the like; Constructional adaptations of the belt ends for this purpose · CPC title