GB2277725A

GB2277725A - A rail vehicle for transporting and discharging bulk material

Info

Publication number: GB2277725A
Application number: GB9409045A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Josef Theurer; Manfred Brunninger
Original assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Industrie GmbH
Current assignee: Franz Plasser Bahnbaumaschinen Industrie GmbH
Priority date: 1993-05-07
Filing date: 1994-05-06
Publication date: 1994-11-09
Anticipated expiration: 2014-05-06
Also published as: DE4414241A1; FR2704821A1; FI942124A; HU216704B; HUT67902A; HU9401311D0; FR2704821B1; SK280753B6; GB9409045D0; CZ97194A3; CZ279535B6; FI108343B; GB2277725B; SK48394A3; CN1095684A; CN1041542C; FI942124A0

Description

1 2277725 A Loading Vehicle for Transporting and Storing Bulk Material The

invention relates to a loading vehicle for transporting and storing bulk materiall comprising a chassis frame supported on on-track undercarriages, a vehicle body provided for storage with a base conveyor belt located in the base region thereof and extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a transfer conveyor belt adjoining the said base conveyor belt, projecting over the chassis frame and designed to pivot by means of a,,pivot drive about a vertical axis of rotation, i.e. to slew.

A loading vehicle of this kind, which can be connected in an advantageous manner to other similar loading vehicles to form a loading train, is already known from US 4,576,538. Each transfer conveyor belt projects over the vehicle body of the adjoining loading vehicle, so that the latter can be filled by means of the projecting transfer conveyor belt. With a loading train of this kind, extendable as desired by an appropriate number of loading vehicles, it is possible to transport the bulk material accumulated by a ballast bed cleaning machine, for example, from one end of the loading train via the respective base- and transfer conveyor belts to the foremost loading vehicle and to store it therein. Each projecting transfer conveyor belt is separably connected to the intake region of the adjoining vehicle body by a centreing device so that in track curves the transfer conveyor belt can be automatically pivoted about a vertical axis of rotation. This ensures that even in track curves the discharge region of the transfer conveyor belt is always positioned centrally relative to the adjoining vehicle body. A pivoting drive of the transfer conveyor belt is in this case in a floating position, enabling an unobstructed pivoting movement to be 2 performed.

Associating a special ballasting vehicle which has funnel-shaped discharge chutes with the transfer conveyor belt in order to ballast the track is also already known in connection with loading vehicles of this kind, as described in US 4,809,617.

The object of the present invention is now to create a loading vehicle of the type previously defined, in which the stored or conveyed bulk material can be discharged in order to ballast the track, retaining the advantageous conveyor system and involving only little extra constructional expense.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a loading vehicle described in the introduction in that the transfer conveyor belt is mounted in a lower region adjoining the chassis frame so as to pivot in addition about a horizontal axis of rotation extending at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the transfer conveyor belt and is connected to a second pivot drive, i.e. the conveyor can luff about the lastmentioned axis.

This constructionally very simple measure enables the transfer conveyor belt also to be used, without time-consuming conversion work of any kind, for targeted and direct discharge onto the travelled track or alternatively onto the adjacent track. To achieve this it is merely necessary to pivot the transfer conveyor belt about the horizontal and, if appropriate, also the vertical axis of rotation, so that the distance of the discharge end away from the track plane decreases. In addition to the more targeted introduction so as to ballast the sleeper bearing surfaces of the travelled track for instance. the reduced height of drop also ensures ejection of ballast which is gentler on the formation protection layer of an adjacent track. In the raised state, the transfer conveyor belt can be used immediately and without any restrictions for transferring material to another loading

1 3 vehicle following it in the transporting direction. As another particular advantage, it should also be mentioned that loading vehicles designed according to the invention can be coupled together in any number without any problem at all, producing a continuous conveying path. In order to discharge the stored bulk material to the side, each transfer conveyor belt can be pivoted as desired about the vertical and horizontal axis of rotation.

An advantageous development of the invention is that the horizontal axis of rotation is disposed in a transition region from a portion extending parallel to a plane formed by the chassis frame to an adjoining portion of the transfer conveyor belt extending at an angle to the plane. This two-part design of the transfer conveyor belt serves to ensure - in each angular position of the said transfer conveyor belt relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle - disruption-free transfer of material from the base- to the transfer conveyor belt.

Another development is that the second pivot drive is linked to each one of the two portions of the transfer conveyor belt. Thus the transfer conveyor belt is vertically adjustable independently of the angular position relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

If, according to another development, the horizontal axis of rotation is provided in the lower end region of the transfer conveyor belt, this permits a constructionally particularly simple design.

According to another refinement of the invention, it is provided that with the free end of the transfer conveyor belt is associated a separably secured chute with preferably four discharge openings spaced apart from one another at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the belt. With the assistance of a relatively simple auxiliary means which can be -c 4 brought into the operative position with only little manipulative effort, a particularly targeted discharge of ballast is thereby ensured.

According to another development of the invention, the chute may have two flanged rollers in its lower end region by which the discharge openings may be precisely centred automatically even in track curves.

The invention is described in more detail in the following with the aid of embodiments shown in the drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows a side view of a loading vehicle with a base conveyor belt and a transfer conveyor belt projecting over the vehicle end, Fig. 2 shows a partial side view of another embodiment of a loading vehicle, Fig. 3 shows a partial side view of the free end of the transfer conveyor belt connected to a chute, and Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the transfer conveyor belt and the chute shown in Fig. 3.

The loading vehicle 1 shbwn in Fig. 1 for transporting and storing bulk material essentially consists of a vehicle body 3 joined to a chassis frame 2, in the base region of which body is arranged a base conveyor belt 4 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. With respect to the conveying direction shown by an arrow 5, the base conveyor belt 4 is immediately preceded by a transfer conveyor belt 6. A lower portion 8 thereof, parallel to a plane 7 formed by the chassis frame 2, is positioned partly beneath a discharge end 9 of the base conveyor belt 4. Provided in the transition region from this lower portion 8 to an adjoining upper portion 1 ' extending at an angle to the plane 7 is a horizontal axis of rotation 11 extending at right angles to the longitudinal direction Qf the belt. A pivot drive 12 serves to pivot the transfer conveyor belt 6 about an axis of rotation 13 which is vertical or extends perpendicularly to the plane 7. Another, second pivot drive 14 is attached on the one hand to the lower portion 8 and on the other hand to the inclined upper portion 10 of the transfer conveyor belt 6. The transfer conveyor belt is separably connected to the vehicle body 3 by a cable 15 and is provided with a drive 16.

A drive 17 is associated with the base conveyor belt 4 which is arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the plane 7 formed by the chassis frame 2. An engine 18 serves to supply power to all the drives of the loading vehicle 1 which is designed for mobility by means of on-track undercarriages 19 on a track 20. Shown at the rear end of the loading vehicle 1 is another transfer conveyor belt 6 of another loading vehicle 1 which is not shown in detail. Any number of loading vehicles 1 of this kind can be combined in the known manner to form a loading train.

As shown by an arrow, the transfer conveyor belt 6, or the inclined portion 10 thereof, may be lowered by means of the second pivot drive 14 about the horizontal axis of rotation 11 from an upper end position, shown in solid lines, into a second, lower end position, shown in dot and dash lines. In this lower end position, the transfer conveyor belt 6 runs approximately parallel to the plane 7 formed by the chassis frame 2. Before the lowering movement is initiated, the cable 15 must be detached from the vehicle body 3. In every position or angular position which can be set by the second pivot drive 14, the transfer conveyor belt 6 can be freely rotated about the vertical axis of rotation 13 by means of the first pivot drive 12. In the lowered position, because of the smaller height of drop, the bulk material transported or stored in the loading vehicle 1 can be used in a totally 6 targeted manner to ballast the track 20. It is also possible, however, to use the transfer conveyor belt 6 in the lowered position and also rotated about the vertical axis of rotation 13 for introducing ballast onto an adjacent track. If there is a formation protection layer on this track, a discharge of ballast which is gentler on the said protection layer is ensured within the scope of the lowered position of the transfer conveyor belt 6.

The transfer conveyor belt 6 shown in Fig. 2 is designed to be linear or to extend in one plane and is connected in its lower end region 21 to the chassis frame 2 for rotation about the horizontal axis of rotation 11. A second pivot drive 25 connected to the cable 15 and linked to the vehicle body 3 serves to pivot the transfer conveyor belt 6 about the horizontal axis of rotation 11. All other parts are constructionally identical to those of the loading vehicle 1 described in connection with Fig. 1.

According to Fig. 3 and 4, the free end of the lowered transfer conveyor belt 6 is separably connected to a chute 22. This has four discharge openings 23, spaced apart from one another at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the belt and is designed to be supported on the track 20 by two flanged rollers 24. With this auxiliary means formed by the discharge chute 22, it is advantageously possible to concentrate the discharged ballast exactly in the sleeper bearing region of the track 20.

With the pivot drive 12 adjusted without pressure, the discharge end of the transfer conveyor belt 6 and of the discharge chute 22 are automatically centred with respect to the track 20 by means of the flanged rollers 24. The expressions "vertical" and "horizontal" used in connection with the axes of rotation 11 and 13 relate to the situation in which the wheel contact points of the on-track undercarriages 19 lie in a horizontal plane.

Claims

Claims

7 1. A loading vehicle for transporting and storing bulk material, comprising a chassis supported on on-track undercarriages, a vehicle body on said chassis for storage of said material, a base belt conveyor located in the base region of the body and extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a transfer belt conveyor adjoining the said base conveyor, projecting from the chassis frame, and pivotable by means of a slewing pivot drive about a vertical slewing axis, characterised in that the transfer conveyor is mounted, in a lower region adjoining the chassis frame, so as to luff about a horizontal axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the transfer conveyor and is connected to a second pivot drive for luffing.

2. A loading vehicle according to Claim 1, characterised in that the horizontal axis is arranged in a transition region from a portion extending parallel to a plane formed by the chassis frame to an adjoining portion of the transfer conveyor extending at an angle to the said plane.

3. A loading vehicle according to Claim 2, characterised in that the second pivot drive is linked to each one of the said two portions of the transfer conveyor.

4. A loading vehicle according to Claim 1, characterised in that the horizontal axis is provided in the lower end region of the transfer conveyor.

5. A loading vehicle according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that associated with the free end of the transfer conveyor is a separably secured chute with discharge openings spaced transversely to the longitudinal direction of the belt.

6. A loading vehicle according to Claim 5, characterised in that the chute has two fanged rollers in its lower end region.

8 7.. A loading vehicle as claimed in Claim 5 or 6 in which the chute has four said openings.

8. A loading vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

9. A loading vehicle substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1, 3 and 4 or Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.