AU2004201449B2 - Ore Screening Panels - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: 20042 Lodgement Date: 8 th April 2004 Nominated Patentee: Screenex Australia Pty Ltd Invention Title: Ore Screening Panels The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to the applicant.

Ore Screening Panels Field of the invention This invention relates to improvements in ore screening panels used in the separation and grading of materials in the mining and quarrying industries.

Background to the invention io Australian patent 482212 proposed a modular screening panel system for ore screening decks which is now widely used by the mining industry and replaced the earlier screening cloths, and large wire screening frames. The screening panels were all of the same size [eg. 300mm] and made of reinforced polyurethane. The panels are adapted to be secured to an underlying support frame using dependent spigots which are a force fit into corresponding apertures in the support frame.

Patent 517319 provided an alternative method of securing the panels to the frame using a pin expanded fastening concept.

The panels are supported on frames extending across the machine and two sides of each panel lie on a support frame as disclosed in patent 525477. The frames are subject to wear from the abrasive fines from the ore being screened and this can be exacerbated when liquids accompany the mined material. In dewatering and heavy media separation the frames can be subject to increased rates of wear.

Other panel fastening systems of the rail and edge clip kind similar to those disclosed in patents 627919 and 704990 also encounter problems of wear on the support frames It is an object of this invention to alleviate the wear to screening panel support frames.

Brief Description of the Invention To this end the present invention provides an ore screening panel deck having a plurality of screening panels abutting each other and supported on an underlying support frame in which each panel includes a screening surface bounded by 4 sides in which at least two sides are adapted to lie on an underneath support frame and abut an adjacent panel the improvement being the provision of complementary recesses on adjacent panels so that the vertical interface between two abutting panels is longer than the depth of each panel and includes at least one non vertical face.

This invention is predicated in part on the discovery that the interface between adjoining panels overlying a support frame is the major source of corrosion and wearing materials for the support frame. During screening, liquids and fines can penetrate down the vertical interface between the panels and contact the frame. By lengthening the path of travel and creating at least one change of direction the sealing between the panels is improved and the functional life of the frame is to increased.

In another aspect the present invention provides an ore screening panel having a screening surface bounded by four sides with at least two opposing sides incorporating means to fasten the panel to a frame one of said opposing sides having an edge portion that incorporates a recess adjacent the upper surface and a ledge defining the lower surface of said recess and the other of said opposing sides having a complementary edge potion that incorporates an upper ledge defining the upper surface of a recess in the lower portion of the edge.

In some screening decks the opposed edges that are not fastened to the underlying frame may also incorporate the edge seal of this invention.

The panels are made from hard elastomeric material such as rubber or polyurethane.

The panels can be made by any moulding process, preferably by injection moulding. Any suitable means may be used to fasten the panels to the support frame including headed spigots as disclosed in patent 482212, pin expanded spigots as disclosed in patent 517319 or clip on systems of the type disclosed in patents 627919 and 704990 Detailed Description of the Invention A preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which; Fig. 1 is schematic view of a pair of screening panels in accordance with a first embodiment of this invention; Fig. 2 is schematic view of a pair of screening panels in accordance with a second embodiment of this invention; Fig. 3 is schematic view of a pair of screening panels in accordance with a third embodiment of this invention; Fig. 4 is schematic view of a screening panel in accordance with a fourth embodiment of this invention.

In all the figures the screening panels 10 and 20 are apart from the modifications proposed by this invention conventional modular screening panels. They are made from polyurethane or some other hard wearing plastic or rubber material and have a 1o shore hardness of 70-90 selected to correspond to the type of particulate ore to be screened.

The screening surface 16 or 26 can be of any configuration of screening apertures and those disclosed in Australian patents 538559 and 608392 are just two examples.

With reference to the embodiment in figure 1 the panel 10 is secured in place on the screen deck [not shown], by virtue of a series of protrusions 12 dependent from two sides and composed of the same material as the panel. The protrusions shown are of the kind proposed in patent 517319 which rely on pins 28 to fasten them within apertures in the support frame [not shown]. The headed spigots according to patent 482212 may also be used as shown in figures 2 and 3. The protrusions 12 may be arrayed on all four sides if desired. Panel 20 has similar protrusions 22 on two opposing sides of the screening surface 26.

One edge in panel 10 carrying the pin expanded spigots 12 incorporates a stepped recess 13 above the shoulder 11 while the opposite edge has a cantilever ledge 14 and a recess 15 below.

The panel 20 is similar with one edge carrying the pin expanded spigots 22 incorporating a stepped recess 23 above the shoulder 21 while the opposite edge has a cantilever ledge 24 and a recess 25 below.

As can be seen in figure 1 the panels mate together so that the protrusions 12 and 22 form one spigot into which the pin 28 is inserted to secure the panel to the support frame. The cantilever ledge 14 of panel 10 seats on the shoulder 21 of panel 20. The interface between the panels 10 and 20 is now stepped and longer than a vertical face as in the prior art. This provides a more effective seal to inhibit fines and liquids from contacting the support frame. The relative dimensions of the ledge 14 and the shoulder 21 are not critical as long as they mate.

In figure 2 the same sealing arrangement (13,24 and 14, 23) is used as in figure 1 but solid spigots 17 on panel 10 and 27 on panel 20 secure the panels to the support frame.

In Figure 3 the fastening system is the same as in figure 2 but a different edge seal is used. A channel 29 is formed at the top of face 11 in panel 10 with the outer wall of the channel 29 lower than the screening surface 16. On the opposite face 15 a hook like rib 30 is formed of complementary shape to the channel 29. In panel face 21 has a channel 39 identical to channel 29 of panel 10 which receives the jo hook shape rib 30 to provide an S shaped seal between the two panels 10 and On the opposite face 25 of panel 20 is a hook rib 40 identical to rib 30 of panel It is within the scope of this invention to provide a number of variations to the sealing interface between the panels. The cantilever ledge 14 may have an inclined lower surface and the shoulder 21 may have a complementary v groove that matches the incline. Similarly the cross section of the channel 39 and rib 30 may be varied.

Figure 4 illustrates a further embodiment of the invention where the edge seal is incorporated on the non fastening edges of the panel. The panel 10 has pin expanded fastening lugs 12 (as used in the embodiment of figure 1) on the opposed edges 51 and 52. The opposed edges 53 and 54 incorporate a ledge recess 56 on side 53 and a complementary cantilevered ledge projection 57 on side 54.

In some screening arrangements the edge seals may be incorporated in all four sides of the panel.

Those skilled in the art will realise that there are other ways of implementing the present invention without departing from the essential teaching of achieving improved sealing between abutting panels to protect the support frame.

Claims (4)

1. An ore screening panel having a screening surface bounded by four sides with at least two opposing sides incorporating means to fasten the panel to a frame, wherein for at least one pair of opposing sides, one of said opposing sides has an edge portion that incorporates a recess adjacent the upper surface and a lateral ledge defining the lower surface of said recess and the other side of said opposing pair has a complementary edge portion that incorporates an upper lateral ledge defining the upper surface of a recess in the lower portion of the edge, such that when two adjacent panels abut, the lower surface in the recess of said edge portion of said one side abuts the upper surface of the upper ledge in the edge portion of said other side of the abutting panel.

2. An ore screening panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pair of opposing sides with complementary edge portions also incorporates means to fasten the panel to a frame.

3. An ore screening panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein one pair of opposing sides incorporates fastening means to fasten the panel to a frame and the other pair of opposing sides incorporate the complementary edge portions.

4. An ore screening panel as claimed in claim 2 or 3 in which the recess is channel shaped so the outer wall of the channel is lower than the inner wall of the channel.