Ecological conveyor belt

The conventional belt conveyors are reliable helpers in surface mines, thermal power plants, in the food industry, post offices, airports, but also in construction and reconstruction of buildings. They mostly transport material horizontally or with a slope of up to 18 degrees. The conveyor belt is made of rubber or plastic and the transported gravel, sand, grain or coal is easily held on it due to friction. Transport in larger inclinations is possible, but to overcome the force of gravity, it is necessary to modify the surface of the conveyor belt, for example by vulcanizing projections, grooving or retrofitting transverse ribs. This solution is not entirely complete and conceptual because the divided belt can hold less material. And there is still the problem of high dustiness during transportation…

The university team came up with the idea how to solve the problem. What about simply pushing the conveyed material to the conveyor belt? Imagine two horizontal conveyor belts one above the other, the bottom one is flat and the upper one has a shape of a convex trough. Each one moves independently of the other and the transported material is literally squeezed between them. It must be added that the design is not as simple as it might seem and requires many years of work and looking for the optimal solution. They have furnished the upper belt with pressure rollers to ensure the pressure of the material while preventing the raw material during transport from falling over the edges of the belt. This technology has many advantages. It is undemanding with respect to space, the conveyor belt can transport material from the ground floor to the upper floors, literally in the perpendicular direction. The conveyor transports more material at the same time, while the material is protected from the weather. Belts without transverse ribs are easier to clean, they are utilized more economically and they produce less dust, which has a positive impact on the environment. There are many good reasons why the technology of a double belt conveyor and roller mills was patented and why it is also protected by a utility model.

This device was developed by the team lead by Leopold Hrabovský from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VŠB-TUO in cooperation with the company SE-MI TECHNOLOGY, a.s. within the project TAČR (Technology Agency of the Czech Republic) Alfa