Belt splicing apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus for joining together ends of a conveyor belt, the portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus comprising:
- first and second press assemblies;
elongated platens of the first and second press assemblies for being clamped on belt ends to longitudinally extend widthwise across conveyor belt ends;
heaters of the first and second press assemblies operable to heat the platens;
at least one bladder of the first press assembly being inflatable to increase the clamping force applied to the belt ends by the platen of the first press assembly, the at least one bladder having a pair of opposite ends and extending longitudinally therebetween; and
at least one first fan assembly of the first press assembly intermediate and spaced from the ends of the bladder for directing air past the bladder transverse to the longitudinal extent thereof and toward the platen of the first press assembly for cooling the platen.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus is provided that includes an upper press assembly and a lower press assembly which include, respectively, upper and lower platen assemblies. The upper and lower press assemblies may each include a forced air cooling system for rapidly cooling platens of the platen assemblies. The upper and lower press assemblies may include insulating assemblies with resilient members that support the upper and lower press assemblies. The resilient members provide structural support and insulate the platens from the frame which reduces the power required to heat the platens. In one form, the apparatus includes a power supply circuit that can alternate between providing power to upper and lower heaters in response to the apparatus being connected to different types of standard power supplies. Further, the power supply circuit permits the use of a single recipe for a particular belt irrespective of the type of power supply.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus for joining together ends of a conveyor belt, the portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus comprising:
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first and second press assemblies; elongated platens of the first and second press assemblies for being clamped on belt ends to longitudinally extend widthwise across conveyor belt ends; heaters of the first and second press assemblies operable to heat the platens; at least one bladder of the first press assembly being inflatable to increase the clamping force applied to the belt ends by the platen of the first press assembly, the at least one bladder having a pair of opposite ends and extending longitudinally therebetween; and at least one first fan assembly of the first press assembly intermediate and spaced from the ends of the bladder for directing air past the bladder transverse to the longitudinal extent thereof and toward the platen of the first press assembly for cooling the platen. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus for joining conveyor belt ends together, the portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus comprising:
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upper and lower press assemblies; upper and lower platen assemblies of the upper and lower press assemblies; a heater of one of the upper and lower platen assemblies of one of the upper and lower press assemblies; and an insulating assembly of the one press assembly including a plurality of resilient members of metallic material supporting the one platen assembly. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A conveyor belt splicing apparatus for joining ends of a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt splicing apparatus comprising:
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a housing including upper and lower housing portions having unclamped and clamped positions relative to ends of a conveyor belt; upper and lower platens of the upper and lower housing portions for being clamped on the belt ends with a clamping force with the upper and lower housing portions in the clamped position; a heater associated with one of the housing portions and operable to heat the platen thereof; at least one first bladder and at least one second bladder associated with the one housing portion and being inflatable to increase the clamping force the platen of the one housing portion applies against the belt ends; a gap between the at least one first bladder and the at least one second bladder; and at least one fan assembly associated with the one housing portion and arranged to direct airflow through the gap between the at least one first bladder and the at least one second bladder toward the platen of the one housing portion to cool the platen. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification