GB2081203A

GB2081203A - Ship's unloader

Info

Publication number: GB2081203A
Application number: GB8124063A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: PHB WESERHUETTE AG
Current assignee: PHB WESERHUETTE AG
Priority date: 1980-08-07
Filing date: 1981-08-06
Publication date: 1982-02-17
Also published as: DE3029863A1; FI812432L; SE437650B; ZA815303B; SE8104715L; BE889843A; AU7369381A; DK346481A; GB2081203B; FR2488229A1; FR2488229B1

Abstract

In order to provide for the continuous discharge of particulate material from a ship's hold, a ship's unloader has a L-shape formed by a vertical support 2 and a horizontal take-up arm 3, rotatable about a vertical axis. An endless bucket conveyor 1 passes around both the support 2 and the arm 3, for picking up material adjacent to the arm 3 and carrying the material up out of the hold. The material is discharged radially from the bucket conveyor 1 on to a ring conveyor 19, and thence onto a conveyor belt 22. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Ship's unloader The invention provides an unloader as set forth in Claim 1 or in Claim 7. The remaining Claims set forth preferred features of the invention.

The invention enables particulate materials to be unloaded continuously from a ship's hold, in a relatively simple manner. Loss-free conveyance of the particulate material can be provided from adjacent the take-up arm. The energy consumption need not be high, and the installation costs can be relatively low. High conveyance rates are possible, with suitable design, e.g. over 1,000 tons or 2,000 cubic metres per hour, without greatly damaging the grains or the lumps of the material, which is important for abrasion-sensitive materials such as sulphur, coal or fertilisers; as little dust is formed, there is less pollution. There can also be relatively little noise. Furthermore, there is no gross abrasion, which is important for materials which can cause high wear of a conveyor.Materials such as raw asbestos having a high angle of repose can be conveyed, though the invention is particularly useful for materials that flow fairly easily, suchas coal or fertilisers; there is however an upper limit on the size of the lumps that can be conveyed. The apparatus can operate at full efficiency until a residual layer of material is reached; this residual layer can bey very low, say only 10 cm thick.

Description of Preferred Embodiments Two embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a slide view, partly in vertical section, of a first ship's unloader, also showing a ship's hold and a quayside travelling crane; Figure 2 is a side view, partly in vertical section on a larger scale, of a second ship's unloader; Figure 3 is a section along the line Ill-Ill of Figure 2; Figure 4 corresponds to Figure 2, but shows the first unloader; Figure 5 is an end view of the first unloader; and Figure 6 is a section along the line VI--VI of Figure 4.

Figure 1 shows the unloader 1 or 1' suspended in the hold of a ship 2 by means of a travelling quayside crane 3 having a jib 4 and a parallel arm link 5 as well as conventional hoisting gear 6.

The first and second unloaders of Figure 2 and 4 only differ in some respects, and the same references are used for like components.

The unloader 1 of Figures 2 and 3 has a bucket conveyor or chain 7 which passes right around a vertical support 8 and a substantially horizontal take-up arm 9. The support 8 and the arm 9 are rigidly fixed together and form an L-shape. The support 8 is relatively thin (as seen in Figure 2), enabling the arm 9 to have a good reach.

The bucket chain 7 comprises a series of individual buckets 10 (see Figure 6) carried on two parallel sprocket chains 11 having rollers 12 which are guided by angle irons 1 3 or other suitable stationary guides. The descending bucket chain 7 is guided by the stationary guides 13' suitably curved (second guide means) through 900 so that it travels radially onwards in a horizontal direction, and then is guided by end sprockets 1 4 (third guide means) back through 1800 to pass along the bottom of the arm 9.

The lower run of the bucket chain 7 is then guidedthrough 900 around a pair of sprocket wheels 18 (fourth guide means) journalled in the zone where the horizontal arm 9 joins the vertical support 8, thus reducing friction in this zone. The vertical, rising run of the bucket chain 7 is close to the vertical, descending run, but is on the other side of the support 8. At the top, there is an upper discharge end 1 6 formed as an upper extension of the support 8. The bucket chain 7 passes slightly more than 1800 over drive sprockets 1 7 to provide for overhang and discharge, and is then guided by suitably curved stationary guides 13" to run vertically downwards, the sprockets 1 7 and the curved guides 13" forming first guide means.

The drive for the bucket chain 1 drives the sprockets 17 and suitable drive means are known though two electric motors 1 8 are illustrated in Figure 5. From the upper end 16, the material is discharged radially on to further conveying means comprising a concentric, horizontal, rotary ring, disc or table conveyor 1 9 surrounding the upper end 16, the conveyor 1 9 being shown in Figures 2 and 3 as having conveying blades 20 and being in a stationary trough 21. Suitable conveyors 1 9 are known. The material is transferred from the conveyor 1 9 to a conveyor belt 22 carried on the crane jib 4.

The bucket chain 7 is provided with a covering 23, in effect forming a closed conveyor duct and thus reducing dust generation. On the inlet side, i.e. on the bottom rear side of the support 8, the lower part 24 of the covering 23 is pivoted at 25, and is sprung by conventional means 26 (shown schematically as a spring) into the position shown in Figure 2. It can thus pivot outwards to the right.

away from the free end of the arm 9. This reduces the risk of foreign bodies jamming, piercing or otherwise damaging the inlet part of the covering 23.

The support 8 is carried on a large axial bearing 27 so that it can swing through 3600 about the vertical axis of the bearing 27. The drive is a conventional drive with suitable drive means, such as a ring gear and pinion, drive means in the form of an electric motor 28 being illustrated in Figure 4. The bearing 27 is in turn carried by the jib 4 using the parallel-arm linkage so that the axis of the support 8 remains vertical when the jib 4 is raised or lowered.

The unloader operates as follows: The particulate material in the ship's hold is picked up in effect from above by the horizontal arm, being picked up at the end of the arm and along the bottom of the arm 9, and can be removed from practically the whole area of the ship's hold. The length of the horizontal arm 9 is limited by the hatch or hold side of the ship, but the arm 9 can be swung around the vertical axis of the support 8 and the whole unloader 1 can be manoeuvred by the quayside crane 3. The arm 9 can be set at such a depth that a top layer of a suitable thickness can be removed from the hold, but it does not pierce into the particulate material like a drill. Relatively good take-up of particulate material can be ensured, even for material which is difficult to convey.

The buckets 10 pick up the material in a horizontal take-up zone substantially without friction, i.e. without much dragging of the material, and convey the material first horizontally and then vertically, there being substantially no friction or abrasion in the vertical run of the conveyor. The material is discharged into the conveyor 19. As a single conveyor and a single drive are used for the horizontal and for the vertical conveyance, there is no transfer from one conveyor to another, thus reducing mechanical complexity and dust generation. The power consumption of the bucket chain can be relatively low while a relatively high discharge rate can be achieved.

Figure 4 illustrates that the front covering 23 can terminate at the second guide means 13' or can extend nearly to the front end of the arm 9. In the particular embodiment of Figure 4, the movable part 24 is omitted and the back covering 23 terminates somewhat higher. Furthermore, the fourth guide means are in the form of suitable curved stationary guides 29.

In general, the support 8 and the arm 9 can be of any suitable construction, and conventional constructions are readily available. However Figures 4 to 6 illustrate that stiffeners can be applied, outside the covering 23.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate that a conventional front loader 31 can be incorporated for removing material which could not be removed by the normal action of the bucket chain 7.

Claims

1. A ship's unloader for the continuous discharge of particulate material from a ship or the like, comprising a generally vertical support, a generally horizontal take-up arm on the lower end of the support, the take-up arm and vertical support forming a generally L-shape, an endless bucket conveyor passing around said support and the take-up arm, for picking up particulate material adjacent to the take-up arm and carrying the particulate material up said support, and further conveying means adjacent the upper end of said support for receiving particulate material discharged from the bucket conveyor.

2. The unloader of Claim 1, wherein the inlet zone of the bucket conveyor has a covering which is yieldably supported.

3. The unloader of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the return run of the bucket conveyor is guided around at least one guide wheel in the zone where the take-up arm joins said support.

4. The unloader of any one of the preceding Claims, wherein on one side of the support, there is a substantially vertical descending run of the conveyor, at the bottom portion of the support the conveyor being turned radially outwards through about 900 to pass along the top of the take-up arm, at the radially-outer end of the take-up arm, the conveyor being turned down and back through about 1 800 to pass substantially horizontally along the bottom of the take-up arm, and at the rear of the bottom portion of the support, the - conveyor being turned up through about 900 to pass substantially vertically, parallel to and relatively close to the descending run but on the other side of the support.

5. The unloader of any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said support and the take-up arm are mounted so that they can swing about a substantially vertical axis, the bucket conveyor discharges in a generally radial direction with respect to said axis, and said further conveying means comprise a conveyor which moves circumferentially about said axis, around the upper end of said support.

6. The unloader of any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said support and the take-up arm are mounted so that they can swing through 3600 about a vertical axis.

7. A ship's unloader for the continuous discharge of particular material, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, Figures 2 and 3 or Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.