AU7940801A - Clamping arrangement for a skirt panel - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2(2)

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: CLAMPING ARRANGEMENT FOR A SKIRT PANEL The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us CLAMPING ARRANGEMENT FOR A SKIRT PANEL The present invention is generally directed to continuous belt conveyor systems, and is in particular directed to a clamping arrangement for a skirt panel of the conveyor system.

It is common practice, for example in the mining industry, to use continuous belt conveyor systems to transport material between different locations. Such conveyor systems typically comprise a continuous belt and a plurality of roller sets for supporting the belt over a portion of the length of the belt to thereby allow travel of the belt in a direction parallel to its elongate extent.

These roller sets are spaced along the length of the belt portion being supported.

Each roller set comprises a series of rollers located end to end in a plate lateral to the direction of travel of the belt. The rotational axis of each roller is located at an angle relative to the adjacent roller such that the supported belt is shaped into an elongate trough. The trough shape of the belt helps to minimise spillage of 15 material from the belt.

A hopper assembly typically supplies material to the belt, the hopper assembly including a housing for supporting the hopper over and closing off the sides of section of the conveyor belt. The housing prevents the loss of material from either side of the conveyor belt during loading thereon by the hopper assembly. This housing includes skirt panels located on either side of the conveyor belt, with a wear plate assembly being supported by each skirt panel within the confines of the "trough" provided by the conveyor belt. This wear plate is typically mounted in a vertical plane to provide side walls for this trough. A small gap is provided between a lower edge of the wear plate and the surface of the conveyor belt. On either side of the conveyor belt, a skirt is supported adjacent the wear plate and rests against a peripheral edge surface of the belt.

This skirt, which is typically made of rubber, prevents the escape of material through his gap.

The skirt needs to be removed or its position adjusted on a regular basis for maintenance purposes and to adjust for wear of these skirts. To this end, the Applicant has developed a clamping arrangement for a skirt panel which 2 facilitates the maintenance of the conveyor system by allowing ready removal or adjustment of the position of these skirts. This clamping arrangement is described in the Applicant's Australian Patent No. 714374. The described clamping arrangement utilises rotatably mounted clamp assemblies for clamping the skirt. This arrangement does allow for ready removal and adjustment of the position of the skirt. It would however be preferable in certain applications to provide a mechanical arrangement which is more economical to manufacture, but still allows for the ready removal and adjustment of the skirts.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved clamping arrangement for a skirt panel.

With this in mind, there is provided a clamping arrangement for a skirt panel of a continuous belt conveyor system, the clamping arrangement being adapted to clamp a skirt adjacent the skirt panel, the clamping arrangement including: 15 a clamp support bracket; at least one clamping member supportable on the clamp support bracket; at least one clamping member supportbl extending from on the clamp support bracket; :at least one clamping member support extending from the clamp support .bracket for supporting the clamping member adjacent the clamp support bracket, the clamping member supporting including means for accommodating at least one wedge; wherein the accommodation of said at least one wedge by the clamping member support acts to urge the clamping member in a direction towards the *:**Eclamp support bracket to thereby allow for the clamping of the skirt therebetween.

The clamping member may be in the form of an elongate plate and may include at least one aperture for accommodating a clamping member support therethrough. This enables the clamping member to be supported adjacent the clamp support bracket.

The clamp support bracket may include abutment means which can abut a peripheral portion of the clamping member with the opposing peripheral portion of the clamping member engaging the skirt. The abutment means can be in the form of an elongate flange extending from the clamp support bracket.

3 The clamping member support may be in the form of a plate within which is provided a slot. It is also envisaged that the clamping member support be in the form of a rod or other elongate bar having a slot extending therethrough. The slot may be of a sufficient width and length to accommodate a wedge therein when a clamping member is supported thereon. The accommodation of the wedge in the clamping member support urges the clamping member against the clamp support bracket. The periphery of a skirt can be held between and thereby clamped between the clamping member and the clamp support bracket when the wedge is accommodated in the clamping member support.

The clamping member support may further include a stop means at or adjacent a peripheral end thereof. This abutment means acts to prevent the clamping member from being readily dislodged from the clamping member support after location thereon. The stop means may be for example in the form of ledge or plate provided at the peripheral end of the clamping member support.

15 The clamp support bracket may be supported on the skirt panel. It is *e*e*e however also envisaged that the clamp support bracket be an integral part of the side frame of the skirt panel.

The clamping member may also be tethered to the rest of the clamping arrangement or to the skirt panel. In one preferred embodiment, the clamping 20 member may be secured by at least one chain to the clamp support bracket. The or each wedge may also be similarly tethered to the clamping arrangement or the skirt panel. This ensures that all of the components necessary to allow for the clamping of the skirt to be always readily accessible.

The clamping arrangement may also include position adjustment means for adjusting the position of the clamp arrangement on the skirt panel relative to the conveyor belt. The position adjustment means may include at least one set screw supported on the skirt panel. The set screw may be supported on a tongue extending from the skirt panel. The screw may engage a cooperating threaded bore or nut provided in the clamp support bracket. The support bracket may then be adjusted in position relative to the conveyor belt by rotation of the set screw.

Other adjustment arrangements are also envisaged. For example, the position adjustment means could alternatively be provided by a threaded rod extending from the clamp support bracket, this threaded rod being accommodated through an aperture provided in a tongue extended from the skirt panel. A nut may be provided on the end of the threaded rod. The position of the clamp support bracket would in this arrangement be adjusted by rotation of the nut.

A wear plate is also typically supported on the skirt panel, with one of the peripheral edges of that wear plate being located adjacent to the conveyor belt.

This wear plate needs to be readily adjusted in position due to the wear of the periphery of the wear plate to thereby ensure that the gap between the liner plate and the conveyor belt remains small. Therefore, according to the present invention, the clamp support bracket may be interconnected with the wear plate.

Preferably, the wear plate and the clamp support bracket may be secured to the skirt panel by means of a common fastening means. For example, a bolt may extend through the wear plate, an elongate aperture provided in the skirt panel, 15 and an aperture provided in the clamp support bracket. Therefore, any adjustment of the position of the clamp support bracket will also result in the adjustment of the position of the wear plate. This arrangement facilitates the periodic adjustment of the wear plate position.

The clamping arrangement according to the present invention does not *4 20 require the rotatably mounted clamping assemblies of the clamping arrangement S"described in the abovenoted Australian Patent No. 714374. The clamping arrangement according to the present invention is therefore likely to be more economical to manufacture.

It will be convenient to further describe the invention by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention. Other embodiments of the invention are possible, and consequentially, the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not to be understood as superceding the generality of the preceding description of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of a first preferred embodiment of a clamping arrangement for a skirt panel according to the present invention; Figure 2 is an end view of the clamping arrangement of Figure 1 in a clamping position; Figure 3 is an end view of the clamping arrangement of Figure 1 in an open position; Figure 4 is an end view of a second preferred embodiment of the clamping arrangement for a skirt panel according to the present invention shown in a clamping position; Figure 5 is the clamping arrangement of Figure 4 shown in an open position.

Referring initially to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a skirt panel 1 of a hopper assembly (not shown) supporting a clamping arrangement 3 according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. The skirt panel 1 supports a wear plate 5, one peripheral edge 7 of the wear plate being located adjacent a conveyor belt 9. The conveyor belt 9 is supported on rollers 11. The clamping 15 arrangement 3 clamps a skirt 13 which rests against the moving conveyor belt 9.

oo* This skirt, which is typically made from rubber, blocks the gap between the wear plate periphery 7 and the conveyor belt 9. As the skirt 13 is in contact with the moving conveyor belt 9, this skirt 13 experiences constant wear and must be periodically adjusted in its position or replaced. To this end, the clamping arrangement 3 facilitates the removal or adjustment in the position of the skirt 13.

The clamping arrangement 3 includes a clamp support bracket 15 located on the skirt panel 1. The clamp support bracket 15 includes a front plate 17 from which extends clamping member supports 19. The clamping arrangement 3 further includes a clamping member 21 which is shown in the form of a plate which is tethered by a chain 23 to the clamp support bracket Figure 1 shows two such clamping arrangements 3 (the skirt 13 and tether chain 23 are not shown for clarity reasons). Apertures 25 are provided through each clamping member to enable a cooperating clamping member support 19 to extend therethrough. Each clamping member support 19 is in the form of a plate having a slot 27 extending therethrough. The slot accommodates a wedge 29 therein.

A peripheral edge of a skirt 13 may be clamped between the clamping member 21 and the front face 17 of the clamp support bracket 15 as shown in Figure 2. The clamp support bracket 15 further includes a lip 16 located above the clamping member support 19. When the clamping member 21 is supported on the clamping member support 19, the lip 16 of the clamp support bracket rests against an upper peripheral portion of the clamping member 21 when in its clamping position as shown in Figure 2. A lower peripheral portion 21b of the clamping member 21 is urged towards the front face 17 of the clamp support bracket 15 when supported on the clamping member support 19 when the wedge 29 is located within the slot 27 of the clamping member support 19. A force needs to be applied to the wedge 29 to push the wedge into the slot 27. This then results in a clamping force being applied to a skirt 13 located between the clamping member lower peripheral portion 21b and the front plate 17 of the clamp support bracket 15. The skirt 13 and the clamping member 21 may be lifted off 15 the clamping member supports 19 following removal of the wedges 29 from the *oo clamping member support 19 (see Figure The tether chain 23 maintains the location of the clamping member 21 in a position close to the associated clamp ***support bracket 15. The wedges 29 can also be similarly tethered to the clamp support bracket 15 (not shown in the drawings).

0. 20 Figures 4 and 5 show an alternative preferred embodiment of the clamping arrangement according to the present invention. The same reference numerals are used for features corresponding to the features of the clamping arrangement •of Figures 1 to 3 for clarity purposes. The main difference is the provision of a ledge 31 located at the end of the clamping support member 19. This ledge 31 acts as a stop to prevent the clamping member 21 from falling off the end of the clamping member support 19. Figure 5 shows the clamping member 21 both in a maintenance position with the clamping member 21 still sitting on the clamping member support 19 and in a fully removed position where the clamping member 21 is lifted away from the clamping member support 19.

The provision of the ledge 31 facilitates skirt maintenance as the clamping member 21 does not need to be fully removed from the clamping member support 19 while the skirt is being replaced or readjusted in position.

The clamping arrangement 3 according to the present invention also allows for adjustment of the position of the clamp support bracket 15 and thereby the wear plate 5. Support bolts 33 are provided between the wear plate 5 and the clamp support bracket 15. These support bolts 33 are supported in an elongate aperture 35 provided in the skirt panel 1. Therefore, the wear plate 5 can move together with the clamp support bracket The position of the clamp support bracket 15 can be adjusted by means of set screws 37 supported on tongues 39 extending from the skirt panel 1. The set screws 37 engage a cooperating threaded bore 41 provided in the clamp support bracket 15 the position of which can be adjusted by rotation of the set screws 37.

This can result in the raising or lowering of the clamp support bracket 15 relative 15 to the skirt panel 1. The movement of the clamp support bracket 15 will also result in the movement of the wear plate 5. This enables the gap between the wear plate peripheral edge 7 and the conveyor belt 9 to be adjusted.

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Claims (9)

1. A clamping arrangement for a skirt panel of a continuous belt conveyor system, the clamping arrangement being adapted to clamp a skirt adjacent the skirt panel, the clamping arrangement including: a clamp support bracket; at least one clamping member supportable on the clamp support bracket; at least one clamping member support extending from the clamp support bracket for supporting the clamping member adjacent the clamp support bracket, the clamping member supporting including means for accommodating at least one wedge; wherein the accommodation of said at least one wedge by the clamping member support acts to urge the clamping member in a direction towards the oooo oo:• clamp support bracket to thereby allow for the clamping of the skirt therebetween. 5555

2. A clamping arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the clamp support bracket includes an abutment means for abutting a peripheral portion of the S.. clamping member while an opposing peripheral portion of the clamping member engages the skirt.

3. A clamping arrangement according to claim 2, wherein the clamping *•.*member is in the form of an elongate plate, and the abutment means is in the form of an elongate flange extending from the clamp support bracket.

4. A clamping arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the clamping member support includes a slot extending therethrough for accommodating the at least one wedge.

A clamping arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a stop means is provided on the clamping member support to prevent the :u 9 clamping member being readily dislodged from the clamping member support when located thereon.

6. A clamping arrangement according to claim 5, wherein the stop means is a ledge provided at peripheral end of the clamping member support.

7. A clamping arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims including tether means for tethering at least the clamping member to the clamp support bracket.

8. A clamping arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims including tether means for tethering a said wedge to the clamp support bracket. o•

9. A clamping arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims further including position adjustment means for adjusting the position of the clamp support bracket, the skirt panel further supporting a wear plate, the wear plate moving together with the clamp support bracket, the position adjustment means including at least one set screw supported on the skirt panel, and a cooperating threaded bore or nut provided in the clamp support bracket. S 11. A clamping arrangement for a skirt panel substantially hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. DATED this 15t day of October 2001 MAYDAY ENTERPRISES PTY LTD CEREND PTY LTD WATERMARK PATENT TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN VIC. 3122