Manufacturers use conveyer systems in high temperature applications, such as textile drying, thermal curing of polymer coatings, cooking of food products, and shrink-wrap applications. For example, conveyor belts are used to convey products that are to be exposed to a heat source, such as by forced hot air in a conveyorized oven where the products conveyed are cooked, dried or cured. In other examples, products are heated by radiant heat where heat is driven through a belt by using heated platens over which the belt travels or heated by microwave energy where a microwave field cooks, dries or cures the products. Conveyer systems allow the movement of articles through ovens in a continuous fashion as opposed to batch processing, improving productivity. However, typical conveyer systems include belts that are difficult to install, difficult to maintain, and/or belts that degrade quickly when exposed to elevated temperatures.
With respect to maintenance, oftentimes, typical conveyer systems exhibit poor tracking. For example, in food applications, metallic or synthetic conveyer belts are subject to the effects of misalignment (off tracking) or thermal shock (which changes belt dimensions dramatically) during actual use, leading to belt degradation and wear on the parts of the system. To reduce the effects of machine misalignment, installation of conveyer belts and calibration of conveyer systems take considerable amounts of time and have an associated high labor expense. Even in the best of circumstances, where alignment is precise, the dimensions of the belt and/or the equipment changes with heat extremes, expanding and contracting with these hot and cold excursions, leading to degradation and wear. In addition, conveyor system downtime is expensive in the context of a manufacturing facility. Furthermore, frequent replacement of conveyer belts adds considerably to fixed expenses because conveyor belts are expensive, increasing costs associated with the manufacturing of articles. As such, improved conveyer belts and systems incorporating same would be desirable.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds