Conveyor system wear indication devices and methods

摘要

A wear-indicating conveyor track including an upper surface configured to interface with a moveable conveyor and one or more indicators disposed on or in at least the upper surface of the track. The one or more indicators can be configured to be substantially obscured by a conveyor placed on the track upon initial use, and the one or more indicators can be configured to be substantially unobscured by the conveyor when the conveyor is moving relative to the track and the track is in need of repair or replacement.

主权项

1. A method of indicating lateral wear on a conveyor, the method comprising:
moving a conveyor along a curved track, the curved track including a laterally inner rail, a laterally outer rail, and an indicator of lateral wear of the track, the laterally outer rail having a laterally outermost edge, the laterally inner rail having a laterally innermost edge and a wear edge, the wear edge engaged with the conveyor; passing the conveyor over the indicator such that the conveyor obscures a top view of the indicator when the track is in a first wear state; and wearing away, with the conveyor, a portion of the wear edge of the laterally inner rail such that the track is in a second wear state in which, compared to the position of the conveyor in the first wear state, the conveyor has laterally shifted toward the laterally innermost edge of the inner rail and laterally away from the laterally outermost edge of the outer rail, thereby revealing a portion of the indicator of laterally wear of the track such that the portion is unobscured from the top view, wherein the indicator is embedded within the curved track and is a different color than the track.