GB2079234A

GB2079234A - Conveyor for piling material

Info

Publication number: GB2079234A
Application number: GB8117873A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: BELTLINE AB
Current assignee: BELTLINE AB
Priority date: 1980-07-01
Filing date: 1981-06-11
Publication date: 1982-01-20
Also published as: AU7239881A; DE3124852A1; GB2079234B; FR2486045A1; SE8004857L; JPS5748509A; SE426473B

Abstract

A conveyor comprising a conveyor belt for piling or loading material, e.g. for loading ships comprising a feeding conveyor section and a discharging conveyor section pivotable relative to said feeding section at least in a horizontal plane utilizes a single conveyor belt (3) consisting of spaced tensile force absorbing elements (4) and a flexible intermediate portion (5) between these elements (4) the belt extending from the feeding section to the discharging section (2) around guide wheels (39, 40) cooperating with the tensile force absorbing elements (4) of the conveyor belt and arranged adjacent the joint between the feeding section (1) and the discharging section (2), such guide wheels being provided for the load supporting run (3A) of the conveyor belt as well as its return run (3B). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Discharging device This invention relates to a materials discharging device for stacking or loading of ships and the like comprising a feeding member and a discharging member movable relative to said feeding member as well as a conveyor belt running over an end drum arranged at the discharging member.

Stacking means comprising a feeding or loading member provided with a separate conveyor belt and a discharging or unloading member movable or, more correctly, versatile relative to said feeding member and also provided with a separate conveyor belt are previously known. By having the unloading member versatile relative to the loading member an essentially greater action radius is obtained in comparison with conventional stacking means having feeding and discharging members integrally formed and provided with a common conveyor belt and, consequently, a larger amount of material can be removed from the same site of the stacking means.However, this advantage is obtained at the expense of substantially higher costs of operation, which is i.a. due to the fact that at the known stacking means provided with a versatile discharging member the material must first be conveyed by means of the conveyor belt of the feeding member up to a level making transfer of the material from the conveyor belt of the feeding member to the conveyor belt of the discharging member possible by a free fall, before it can be conveyed up to the intended discharging level on the latter belt.

It is therefore the object of this invention to eliminate the disadvantage of the known stacking means provided with a pivotable discharging member, which disadvantage the upward conveyance of materials required merely for reloading has, and consequently to provide such a stacking means or discharging device so constituted that no reloading need be carried out between feeding member and discharging member and that the material can be conveyed on the same conveyor belt in the feeding member as well as the discharging member.

This object is achieved by the device of the invention having the characteristic features defined in the claims.

The invention is described in the following more in detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic lateral view of a device according to the invention used as stacking means, Fig. 2 is a schematic top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1 Fig. 3 shows a section taken substantially along the line Ill-Ill in Fig. 1 through the load supporting part and return part of the conveyor belt inciuded in the device and illustrates schematically roll stands for supporting the belt, Fig. 4 shows schematically a section taken substantially along the line IV-lV in Fig. 1, Fig. 5 shows schematically a section taken substantially along the line V-V in Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an end drum of the conveyor belt, Figs. 7 and 8 show schematically a modified embodiment of an end drum as seen from the side and from above, respectively, Fig. 9 shows schematically a top plan view of the guide wheels of the conveyor belt in the joint between the feeding and discharging member with the latter turned 900 relative to the former, Fig. 10 is a schematic view taken substantially along the line X-X in Fig. 9, Fig. 11 is a schematic lateral view and Fig. 12 is a top plan view of a modified embodiment of the device according to the invention and Figs. 13 and 14 show a further modified embodiment of the device according to the invention as seen from the side and from above, respectively.

The discharging device of the present invention comprises a feeding or loading member generally designated by 1 and a movable discharging or unloading member movable relative to said member 1 at least in the horizontal plane and generally designated by 2, and a conveyor belt 3 extending continuously through these members and of the type consisting of two tensile force absorbing elements 4 placed in spaced relationship to each other and formed integraliy with the belt, preferably having a cross-sectional form like a trapezoid and a longitudinal reinforcement, and a flexible intermediate portion 5 between the tensile force absorbing elements 4.

The conveyor belt 3 is supported by support rolls 7 (Fig. 4) included in roll stands 6 and cooperating with its tensile force absorbing elements 4 with the intermediate portion 5 hanging like a sack between the tensile force absorbing elements 4 of the conveyor belt along at least the upper load supporting part (3A) of the conveyor belt.

In the embodiment of a discharging device according to the invention shown as a stacking means in Figs. 1 and 2 the conveyor belt 3 extends endlessly between an end drum arranged in the feeding member 1 and a discharging drum 9 arranged in the end of the discharging member 2, and between these drums 8, 9 the conveyor belt 3 is thus supported in roll stands 6 arranged in the feeding member 1 as well as in the discharging member 2, which in addition to the two support rolls 7, which bear on each their tensile force absorbing elements 5 of the conveyor belt located straight opposite to each other, comprise two lateral support rolls 10 between which the tensile force absorbing elements 4 of the conveyor belt are running, and an upper support roll 11.The lateral support rolls 10 are arranged to prevent the tensile force absorbing elements 4 from separating at the passage over the support rolls 7 of the relative roll stand, while the upper support roll 11 is intended to prevent said elements 4 from being brought out of engagement with the support rolls 10, especially when changing from a flat to a steep extension with respect to the load supporting part 3A of the belt and from a steep to a flat extension with respect to the return part 3B of the belt.

The discharging member 2 movable relative to the feeding member 1 comprises a stand 12, which rests with spaced support wheels 1 3 on a guide rail 14 formed by a rail or the like and having an arcuate extension and which is movable on this rail 14 about a shaft 14, on which the stand 12 is mounted. This shaft 15 is located in tjib centre of curvature of the arcuate guide rail 14, which can enclose a substantially greater angle than 1 800 so that the stand 12 can be displaced at least 900 by means of any hydraulic, electric or manual drive mechanism known per se, e.g. lifting jack 20 and line 21, in each direction from the position shown in Fig. 2, in which the two members 1 and 2 lie on a line with each other.A projecting arm 1 7 is articulatedly attached to the stand 12 of the discharging member, preferably by means of a shaft 16, said arm being stayed by means of supporting cables 18, which are anchored to the stand and to a supporting line stay 1 9 articulatedly connected to the stand. Even if this is not shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the supporting cables 18 can be connected to a cable drum of a windlass arranged on the stand 12 for lifting and lowering the projecting arm 17, and this applies especially in the cases when the discharging drum 9 is arranged at the end of the projecting arm 17.

On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the projecting arm 1 7 is at its end provided with an extension arm 22, at which the unloading drum 9 is arranged and which is pivotable at least 1 800 relative to the projecting arm 1 7. More exactly the extension arm 22 is connected with a shaft 23 mounted in the projecting arm 1 7 and a motor 24 is arranged on the projecting arm 1 7 for swivelling the extension arm 22, which motor drives the shaft 23 via a transmission with a suitable gear not shown in detail for swivelling the extension arm 27 in one direction or the other.

At least at the places along the discharging member 11, where the conveyor path formed by the conveyor belt changes its direction, i.e.

becomes steeper and/or flatter, stands 29 are arranged in which roll stands 6 are suspended for carrying the two parts 3A and 3B of the conveyor belt at different levels, and if necessary, one or more roll stands 6 may be arranged also between these stands 29 for at least the load carrying part 3A of the conveyor belt.

Even along the feeding member 1 a number of roll stands 6, as stated above, are arranged in a stand 30 for supporting the conveyor belt along this portion and the end roll 8 is mounted in a stand 31 associated with the feeding member 1.

At the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the conveyor belt 3 runs over this roll as extended with its tensile force absorbing elements 4 engaging in grooves 32 corresponding to the cross-sectional profile of these elements in discs 34 attached to the shaft 33 of the end roll only shown schematically in Fig. 6, which discs are thus the very roll 8. Even if not shown in the drawings a cylindrical mantle can be arranged between these discs as a support for the intermediate portion 5 of the conveyor belt. The end roll 8 is driven by a motor not shown and thanks to the engagement of the tensile force absorbing elements of the conveyor belt in the groove 32 of the roll an effective and non-skid transfer of driving force from the driven end roll 8 to the conveyor belt 3 is obtained.

The unloading roll 9 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is embodied in the same way as the end roll 8 and this roll can also be driven by a separate motor.

For guiding the tensile force absorbing elements 4 of the conveyor belt into the groove 32 of the end roll 8 as well as the unloading roll 9 roll stands 35 with two or three support rolls 36 are arranged immediately in front of the relative roll 8, 9, as shown in Fig. 6.

A feeding pocket 37 is also arranged in the feeding member 1, under which pocket the conveyor belt is running for receiving material from said pocket 37. After this the conveyor belt 3 is moved together to the sack form shown in Fig. 3 by the roll stands 6 arranged in the stand 31 and is then carried in this form until it is again moved apart to run as extended over the unloading roll 9 for delivering its load.

In order to be able to turn the discharging member 2 relative to the feeding member 1 a pair of pulleys 39 provided with grooves 38 corresponding to the cross-sectional profile of the tensile force absorbing elements are arranged in the end of the stand 30 facing the discharging member, between which pulleys the load supporting belt part 3A will pass with its tensile force absorbing elements 4 engaging in the groove 38 of the relative pulley and in contact with each other, and a similar pair of pulleys 40 is arranged for the return part 3B of the conveyor belt at the end of the discharging member 2 facing the feeding member 1. These pulleys 39, 40 are in each pair arranged symmetrically on both sides of a vertical radial plane through the axle 15, around which the discharging member 2 is pivotable, i.e.

the pulleys in each pair have their shafts 41 and 42, respectively, adapted at the same perpendicular distance to said radial plane to support the sides of the tensile force absorbing elements facing each other in said vertical radial plane between themselves.

The pairs 39,40 of the pulleys arranged between the feeding member 1 and the discharging member 2 should further be arranged in the relative member 1, 2 so that they have the axle 1 5, i.e. the swivelling centre of the discharging member, located between themselves when the members 1 and 2 are in line with each other. Even if one pair of the pulleys can be located at a shorter distance from the axle -15 5 than the other pair it is substantially more advantageous to have the two pairs 39, 40 located at the same distance from the axle 15, this distance being less than the radius of the equally big pulleys.

When the discharging member 2 is pivoted around the axle 1 5 the load supporting part 3A and the return part 3B of the conveyor belt will be broken around the relative pulley 39, 40 and the difference in length arising is so small that it is quite negligible at swivelling of the feeding member 45" in either direction.When turning the discharging member 450, e.g. 900, which position is illustrated schematically in Figs. 9 and 10, where the distance between the axle 1 5 and the relative pair of pulleys is shown to be about equal to the radius of the pulleys, the difference in length will be somewhat greater, but this is compensated by the fact that the end roll 8 is movable relative to the stand 31 against the action of a constant counter-force, e.g. a counter-weight holding the conveyor belt constantly stretched.

For guiding the tensile force absorbing elements 4 of the conveyor belt in the groove 38 of the pulleys a roll stand 6 should be arranged immediately before the relative pair of pulleys. The roll stand shown in Fig. 9 in the direction of motion of the belt after the pulleys 3 is the first roll stand in the roll stand arrangement 29 disposed on the stand 12 of the discharging member.

In the joint between the projecting arm 1 7 and the extension arm 22 pivotable relative to said arm 1 7 two pulleys 43 suspended in a similar way in the projecting arm are arranged for the load supporting part 3A of the conveyor belt as well as two breaking rolls 45 arranged in an arm 44 hanging down from the extension arm 22, between which the return part 3B of the belt is running on its end with its tensile force absorbing elements 4 engaging in guide grooves 46 in one of the two breaking rolls 45, which guide grooves are arranged in a spaced relationship to each other which substantially corresponds to the distance between the tensile force absorbing elements 4 of the belt in extended state.The breaking roll 45 provided with the guide grooves 46 is shown in the form of two discs 48 attached to a shaft 47, while the other roll 45 has a cylindrical form to be able to receive and to be a support for the whole belt width at swivelling of the extension arm 22 to the right in Fig. 2. In addition the pulleys 43 and the breaking rolls 45 are arranged in the same way as the pulleys 39, 40 in the joint between the members 1 and 2 in respect of the distance to the shaft 23, around which the extension arm 22 is pivotable.

Within the scope of the invention it is possible to have the retu m part of the conveyor belt hanging on its end the whole way between the end rolls 8 and 9, but in such a case the advantage is lost gained by turning the belt after the discharging roll 9 and re-shaping its sack form after the breaking rolls 45, viz. exclusion of spillage from the return part 3B of the conveyor belt. If the belt is turned it must again be turned before it runs over the end roll 8 and a belt turning device, not shown in detail, is arranged for this in the position 30 at 48 which can consist of breaking rolls of the same type as those designated by 45 or of rolls supporting only one of the two tensile force absorbing elements 4.

Instead of the end roll 8, over which the belt passes in extended state, a turntable 49 of the type shown in Figs. 7 and 8 can be arranged, about which the belt 3 with maintained sack form passes with one tensile force absorbing element 4 in contact with a separate wheel 50 on a higher level than the other element engaging in a groove 51 a in another wheel 51 of the turntable 49, the wheel 51 being operated while the other wheel 50 of the turntable is freely mounted to be able to move relative to the wheel 51 and to balance the difference in speed between the tensile force absorbing elements 4. As a support for at least the upper element 4 of the belt a number of support rolls 52 are arranged on the periphery of the turntable.

In Figs. 11-14 two alternative embodiments of the discharging device of the invention are shown which are arranged as a direct continuation of a belt conveyor 55, the conveyor belt 56 of which is of the type indicated above and is also the conveyor belt 3 of the relative discharging device.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 11 and 12 the feeding member 1 of the discharging device comprises a firmly anchored column 57, at which the discharging member 2 is pivotably mounted with a stand 58 around a vertical shaft 59 with the pulleys 39 for the load-supporting part 3A of the conveyor belt and the pulleys 40 for its return part suspended on both sides of said shaft 59 in the column 57 and the stand 58, respectively. In this the discharging member 2 is pivotably mounted around a horizontal shaft 60 and is by means of a windlass 61 with line 62 vertically adjustable about its horizontal shaft 60.

In this embodiment a belt turning device is arranged at 63 for turning the return part 3B and re-shaping the sack form of the conveyor belt to avoid spillage and possibly for return load.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 13 and 14 the feeding member 1 of the discharging device comprises a column 66 firmly anchored to a tower 65, at which the pulleys 39 for the load supporting part 3A of the conveyor belt are suspended, while the discharging member 2 of the device comprises a column 68 pivotable around a shaft 67 on the tower 65, at which the pulleys 40 for the return part 3B of the conveyor belt are suspended. Also in this embodiment the projecting arm 1 7 of the discharging member is pivotably attached to the column 68 by means of a horizontal shaft 69 vertically adjustable around this shaft by means of a windlass 70 with line 71.

In this embodiment a counterweight 72 is arranged for taking up the load on the column 68 caused by the discharging member 2.

This invention is not restricted to what is described above and shown in the drawing but can be changed and modified in several different manners within the scope of the inventive thought defined in the claims. Thus, the conveyor belt need not be suspended like a sack between the joints of the discharging device but can be arranged between these in any known manner without this encroaching upon the versatility of the discharging device.

Claims

1. Materials discharging device provided with conveyor belt for stacking or loading of e.g. ships, barges, waggons etc., comprising a feeding member and a discharging member pivotable relative to said feeding member at least in a horizontal plane, at one end of which the conveyor belt of the discharging member is running over an end drum, characterized in that the same conveyor belt (3) consisting of spaced tensile force absorbing elements (4) and a flexible intermediate portion (5) between these elements (4) is arranged for the feeding member (1) as well as the discharging member (2) and that circular means (39, 40) cooperating with the tensile force absorbing elements (4) of the conveyor belt are arranged in the joint between the feeding member (1) and the discharging member (2) for the load carrying part (3A) as well as its return part (38).

2. Discharging device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said means (39) arranged for the load carrying part (3A) of the conveyor belt support between themselves the tensile force absorbing elements (4) of this part bearing upon each other in a vertical plane relative to the pivot axle (1 5) of the discharging member, while said means (40) arranged for the return part (38) of the conveyor belt support between themselves the tensile force absorbing elements (4) of this part bearing upon each other or hanging vertically extended in a vertical plane relative to said pivot axle (15).

3. Discharging device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the means (39) arranged for the load supporting part (3A) of the conveyor belt are suspended at the end of the feeding member facing the discharging member and that the means (40) arranged for the return part (3B) of the conveyor belt are suspended at the end of the discharging member facing the feeding member (1).

4. Discharging device as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3, characterized in that the means (39) arranged for the load supporting part of the conveyor belt consist of two pulleys (39) with shafts (41) parallel to the pivot axle (15) of the discharging member and symmetrically located on each their side of said plane through said pivot axle (15), the pulleys (39) being provided with grooves corresponding to the cross-sectional profile of the tensile force absorbing elements for engagement with these elements.

5. Discharging device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims with the tensile force absorbing elements of the return part bearing upon each other at the outlet of the discharging member, characterized in that the means (40) arranged for the return part (3B) of the conveyor belt consist of two pulleys (40) with shafts (42) parallel to the pivot axle (15) of the discharging member and symmetrically located on each their side of said plane through said pivot axle (15), a turning device (45) for the return part (3B) of the belt being arranged before as well as after the joint between discharge and feeding member.

6. Discharging device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims 1-4, with the tensile force absorbing elements of the return part hanging vertically extended at the outlet of the discharging member, characterized in that said means arranged for the return part (3B) consist of conducting roliers (45) with shafts parallel to the pivot axle (1 5) of the discharging member and symmetrically located on each their side of said plane through said pivot axle (15), one of these pulleys (45) having two grooves corresponding to the cross-sectional profile of the tensile force absorbing elements arranged in a spaced relationship to each other corresponding to the distance between the tensile force absorbing elements of the belt in extended state.

7. Discharging device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that said means arranged for the load supporting part (3A) and return part (38) of the conveyor belt are located on both sides of the pivot axle (1 5) of the discharging member with feeding member (1) and discharging member (2) being on a line with each other.

8. Discharging device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that said means arranged for the load supporting part (3A) and the return part (38) of the conveyor belt are located at the same distance from the pivot axle (15) of the discharging member.

9. Discharging device as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that said distance is equal to and preferably less than the radius of the circular means.

10. Discharging device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, provided with a discharging member which is articulated at least in one position between its ends, characterized in that means are arranged for the load supporting part and the return part of the conveyor belt in each joint, which are similar to those arranged in the joint between the feeding member and the discharging member (2).

11. Discharging device as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the discharging member (2) is vertically adjustable around a horizontal shaft (16; 60; 69).

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12. A materials discharging device substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated in, Figs. 1 to 6 and 9 and 10, or Figs. 1 to 6 and 9 and 10 as modified by Figs. 7 and 8 or Figs. 11 and 12 or Figs. and 14 of the accompanying drawings.