The present invention relates to a bar conveyor belt, particularly for the food industry.

In the food industry, plants (ovens, dryers, refrigerators, etc.) are known provided with endless conveyor belts on which the products to be treated are placed.

These known conveyor belts essentially comprise a plurality of metal bars, welded at their ends to the links of chains driven along guides extending along a predetermined path within the plant interior. To enable the belt to be driven along a curved path, the individual bars must not be fixed together such that they preserve their parallelism, but instead must be able to also assume a slightly angled relative position, this being achieved by forming in each link, rigid with a bar, a longitudinal slot in which the adjacent bar engages. These known conveyor belts are driven by two different methods: one of these consists of pulling the longitudinal belt spirally wound about a rotating drum, to the lateral surface of which the belt adheres with an edge by friction caused by the combined effect of the winding and the pulling; the other method consists of engaging an edge of the belt with a drive sprocket applied to its support structure.

In the first case the links welded to the ends of the individual bars are arranged for friction coupling to the surface of the rotating drum; in the second case the links welded to the ends of the individual bars are provided with outwardly projecting appendices which form overall a sort of articulated rack in which the drive sprocket can engage. Examples of conveyor belts driven by the first method are described for example in EP1010648 and in US59541 , while examples of conveyor belts driven by the second method are described for example in Italian utility model application MI2005U000149 and in Italian patent application MI2006A001395. Italian utility model application MI2005U000149 of the same applicant already describes a conveyor belt of the aforesaid type, in which each chain link consists of a shaped plate having a flat appendix engageable by the sprocket teeth. This plate does not present an involute profile, and determines unsatisfactory engagement with the sprocket teeth, resulting in friction and wear. Moreover, the flat shape of the appendices poorly withstands the large stresses in play, with the passage of time they deforming because of the thrusts exerted by the teeth of the drive sprocket.

Italian patent application MI2006A001395 of the same applicant partly overcomes the limits of the preceding solution by forming the appendix of each chain link with complete involute profile. This solution has partly reduced the drawbacks related to the unsatisfactory coupling between the chain links and the drive sprocket, but has not completely solved the problem of the limited power transmissible by the drive sprocket to the chain links, as the open shape of the link appendices itself represents a limit to the maximum stresses which can be impressed on the appendices without causing deformation and loss of the involute profile.

Consequently this known solution also presents limits relative to the maximum operative speed attainable and to the weight of the products to be conveyed. These drawbacks are eliminated according to the invention, by a conveyor belt as claimed in claim 1. A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a portion of the conveyor belt according to the invention, Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective detailed view of the coupling between a belt portion and a drive sprocket, Figure 3 shows it in plan view, and

Figure 4 shows it applied to a plant within the food industry.

As can be seen from the figures, the conveyor belt of the invention comprises a plurality of metal bars 2 formed of steel or of other material compatible with the nature of the plant to which the conveyor belt is to be applied.

Each bar 2 is connected at its ends to chain links 4 which overall form two articulated chains 6 and are associated with traditional inserts 8 made of suitable plastic material, and comprising a portion 10 emerging upperly from the upper surface of the conveyor belt to form a containing side wall, and a skid-shaped lower portion 12 for sliding the insert along a corresponding guide rail 14 of the entire conveyor belt.

Each link 4 of the chain 6 consists of a U-bent metal plate with an inner arm 16 close to the side wall 10 of the insert 8, and an outer arm 18.

The two arms 16 and 18 are not flat, but are shaped such that the link 4 has that portion close to the top of the U-shaped element narrower than the upstream portion, such as to enable partial co-penetration between the links, as shown in the drawings.

Moreover, all the links 4 of each chain 6 are disposed such that the top of the U-shaped element is positioned downstream, with reference to the direction of advancement of the belt, indicated by the arrow 20 in Figure 2. - A -

The outer arm 18 of each link extends outwards to form an appendix 22, bent firstly outwards, then towards downstream, then inwards, until it rests on the outer surface of the same outer arm 18. This appendix 22 is of tooth shape, with complete involute profile, to form with the appendices 22 of all the other links 4 of the chain 6 a sort of articulated rack engageable by a drive sprocket 24 for the conveyor belt.

The connection between the ends of each bar 2 and the corresponding links 4 of the chain 6 is such that the bar 2 passes through a hole provided in the inner arm 16 of the link and a facing hole provided in the outer arm 18 of the same link, to abut against the inside of the top of the appendix 22, the bar 2 also being welded to the inner arm 16, to the outer arm 18 and to the top of the appendix 22. However the welding to the outer arm 18 may not be necessary.

The articulated connection between adjacent links 4 is achieved by engaging that bar portion bounded by the two arms 16 and 18 of the downstream link 4 in longitudinal slots 26 provided in the narrow portion of the upstream link, partially housed in the wide part of the downstream link.

The operation of the conveyor belt of the invention is apparent from that described: rotating the shaft 28, to which the sprocket 24 is connected, results in rotation of the sprocket itself which, being coupled to the rack formed by the appendices 22 of all the links 4 of the chain 6, causes the chain to advance together with all the bars connected to it.

Moreover in contrast to known conveyor belts, the belt of the invention has spaces between the appendices 22 of adjacent links which are completely free, enabling the teeth of the sprocket 24 to more greatly penetrate into these spaces, making it possible to have at least three teeth simultaneously engaged.

This circumstance, which itself enables higher drive forces to be developed on the belt, but with relatively low stresses on the individual appendices 22, together with the fact that the substantial non-deformability of the appendices, due to their shape and to the presence in their interior of the end of the bars 2, enables the stress impressed on the individual appendix 22 to be substantially increased, results in a substantial increase in the load applicable to the conveyor belt. This means that: - greater operating speeds can be attained,

- heavier loads can be conveyed,

- more drive sprockets can act on the same conveyor belt and be spaced further apart,

- the shoes can be made of special materials enabling higher working temperatures to be achieved but having higher friction coefficients than traditional self-lubricating thermoplastic materials. In this respect, these materials generally have lower friction coefficients but cannot be used in environments in which the working temperatures exceed 100 ⁰ C.