TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a belt-conveying aerial system .

In detail, the present invention regards a belt-conveying aerial system of the type comprising a pair of top fixed load- bearing ropes, which are coplanar with respect to one another, a pair of bottom fixed load-bearing ropes which are also coplanar with respect to one another and are parallel to the top ropes, and a belt conveyor, which extends between the two pairs of load-bearing ropes.

BACKGROUND ART

The belt conveyor is of a modular type, i.e., formed by a succession of modules aligned with respect to one another along the ropes and stably connected together via the ropes themselves .

Each module comprises a rigid supporting frame of its own, which in turn comprises, for each top load-bearing rope, a row of top jaws for attachment to the top load-bearing rope itself and, for each of the bottom load-bearing ropes, a row of bottom jaws for attachment to the bottom load-bearing rope itself .

The frame supports a plurality of top idle rotating rollers for resting and guiding of a concave forward or loading branch of a motor-driven conveyor belt, and a plurality of bottom rollers for supporting and guiding a return branch of the conveyor belt itself.

The belt conveyor is progressively formed by installing in succession the various modules between the load-bearing ropes. In order to install the modules, an installation vehicle is provided, which comprises a carriage that is motor-driven or pulled by service ropes and is coupled to the top load-bearing ropes in order to displace in opposite directions along the load-bearing ropes themselves.

The carriage carries suspended therefrom a pair of supporting platforms for the staff responsible for installing, which are set on opposite lateral sides of the module that is being installed and of the load-bearing ropes and is provided with a device for attachment of the module during connection to the load-bearing ropes.

Even though known installation vehicles of the type described above are used, they render the operations of clinching of the jaws to the load-bearing ropes frequently problematical. This may be basically put down to the fact that, during lifting and positioning of each module, the top load-bearing ropes inevitably yield, increasing their deflection and thus approaching the bottom load-bearing ropes. Consequently, the effective distance between each top load-bearing rope and the corresponding underlying bottom load-bearing rope is instantaneously different from the distance according to the design and, in particular, different from the distance between the corresponding rows of top and bottom jaws. Following upon deflection, coupling of the jaws to the respective load- bearing ropes is possible only by moving the bottom load- bearing ropes away from the top ones, and this requires, in addition to a considerable physical effort, dedicated installation equipment, use of which is on the other hand rendered difficult by the small extension of the supporting platforms .

The foregoing determines long times and high costs for assemblage of the modules. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is to provide a belt- conveying aerial system, the constructional characteristics of which enable the problems highlighted above to be solved in a simple and inexpensive way.

According to the present invention, a belt-conveying aerial system is provided, comprising a pair of top fixed load- bearing ropes parallel to one another and set at a distance apart from one another in a transverse direction, a pair of bottom fixed load-bearing ropes each set parallel to and underneath a respective top load-bearing rope, and a belt conveyor, connected to said load-bearing ropes; the belt conveyor comprising a conveyor belt, a plurality of modules aligned with respect to one another along said load-bearing ropes in order to support and guide said conveyor belt; each said module comprising a rigid supporting frame of its own and, for each load-bearing rope, a respective row of attachment members; the system further comprising a vehicle for installing said modules on said load-bearing ropes; the installation vehicle comprising a top supporting carriage mobile longitudinally in opposite directions on said top load- bearing ropes, and at least one pair of resting or treading platforms, which are suspended from said top carriage and are set on opposite lateral sides of said load-bearing ropes and of said modules, said system being characterized in that said installation vehicle further comprises, for each bottom load- bearing rope, at least one pair of wheels, which are arranged upstream and downstream of said module in said longitudinal direction and are rotatable in contact with the respective bottom load-bearing rope; spacer means being set between said wheels and said carriage for keeping the wheels at a given distance from said carriage. Preferably, in the system defined above, the spacer means comprise, for each said wheel, an upright, which is orthogonal to said load-bearing ropes and is stably connected to said carriage, said wheels being hinged to a terminal portion of the corresponding said upright . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting example of embodiment thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 illustrates, partially and in side elevation, a preferred embodiment of a belt-conveying aerial system provided according to the teachings of the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross section according to the line II-II of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a detail of Figures 1 and 2.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In Figures 1 and 2, designated, as a whole, by 1 is a belt- conveying aerial system comprising a pair of top fixed load- bearing ropes 2 stretched between two anchorage points, not visible in the attached figures, in positions parallel to one another and set at a distance apart from one another in a transverse direction.

The system 1 then comprises a pair of bottom fixed load- bearing ropes 3, which are also stretched between two fixed points (not visible in the attached figures) , and are each set parallel to and underneath a respective top load-bearing rope 2 and at a distance from one another, conveniently the same as the distance between the top load-bearing ropes 2.

The system 1 further comprises a belt conveyor 4, in itself known and not described in detail, which extends between the load-bearing ropes 2, 3. The belt conveyor 4 comprises a plurality of modules 5, just one of which is visible in the attached drawings. The modules 5 are aligned with respect to one another along the load-bearing ropes 2, 3 in order to support and guide a respective stretch of a conveyor belt 6 (Figure 2) having a forward branch 7 and a return branch 8, which are mobile on supporting idle rollers 10 and 11 carried by the frames 13 of the aforesaid modules 5.

Each frame 13 is then provided, for each load-bearing rope 2, 3, with a respective row 14 of jaws 15 for attachment to the corresponding load-bearing rope 2, 3, which are in themselves known and is not described in detail.

Once again with reference to Figures 1 and 2 and, in particular to Figure 3, the system 1 further comprises a vehicle 18 for installing the modules 5 on the load-bearing ropes 2, 3. The installation vehicle 18 comprises a top supporting carriage 19 set above the top load-bearing ropes 2 and mobile in opposite directions on the top load-bearing ropes 2 themselves in a longitudinal direction 20. The carriage 19 comprises, for each top load-bearing rope 2, a longitudinal member 21 parallel to the load-bearing ropes 2, 3 and a pair of wheels 23, which are set one upstream and the other downstream of the corresponding module 5 and are hinged to opposite terminal portions of the corresponding longitudinal member 21 so as to turn about respective axes 23A orthogonal to the load-bearing ropes 2, 3.

The carriage 19 carries, coupled to the longitudinal members 21, an intermediate portion of a cylindrical beam 24 comprising two opposed terminal portions 25 that project in cantilever fashion beyond the carriage 19. Fixedly connected to the free end of each terminal portion 25 is a top terminal portion of a rigid upright 27, coupled to a bottom terminal portion of which is a shuttle 28 for the staff responsible for installing the modules 5, which has a treading platform 29 that is horizontal irrespective of the inclination of the load-bearing ropes 2, 3, as may be seen in Figure 3. Once again with reference to Figure 3, the uprights 27 and the corresponding shuttles 28 are set on opposite lateral sides of the load-bearing ropes 2, 3 and of the corresponding module 5 that is being installed.

Once again with reference to the attached figures, the installation vehicle 18 further comprises, for each bottom load-bearing rope 3, a pair of wheels 30, which are set one upstream and the other downstream of the module 5 in the longitudinal direction and are rotatable in contact with the respective bottom load-bearing rope 3. Each wheel 30 is carried by a corresponding upright 31 that keeps it at a fixed distance from the carriage 19 and from an overlying wheel 23 and has a top terminal portion 32 fixedly connected to the corresponding longitudinal member 21 in the proximity of the axis 23A, and a fork-shaped load-bearing bottom terminal portion 33 hinged to the corresponding wheel 30 in a rotatable way about an axis 34 of its own parallel to the axes 23A. As may be seen once again from the attached figures, the axes 23A and 34 are intersected by a common line A orthogonal to the load-bearing ropes 2, 3 and to the axes 23A and 34.

From the foregoing, it emerges clearly that the structure of the carriage 19 and, in particular, the fact that it comprises two sets of wheels arranged at a given and fixed vertical distance from one another keeps the top load-bearing ropes at a fixed and predefined distance from the bottom load-bearing ropes irrespective of the load applied on the carriage 19, and this enables an easy and fast coupling of the jaws 15 to the respective load-bearing ropes 2, 3, without the need to use dedicated installation equipment.