AU2014100314A4 - Bulk material loading arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

THIS invention relates to a loading station and method for the loading of bulk materials into rail carriages. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a loading station and method that allows for simultaneous loading of a plurality of railway carriages. The loading station includes a length of railway for receiving a plurality of railway carriages, and an overhead loading configuration comprising a plurality of loading stations suitable for simultaneous loading of at least some of the plurality of railway carriages. Each loading station comprises a bottom discharging hopper arrangement that can be preloaded with the bulk materials. Figure 1

Description

- 1 BULK MATERIAL LOADING ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION THIS invention relates to a loading station and method for the loading of bulk materials into rail carriages. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a loading station and method that allows for simultaneous loading of a plurality of railway carriages. The handling and transportation of bulk material is a process that is ubiquitous in trade and industry. A popular mode of transportation of bulk material is rail transportation. There are however a number of shortcomings that are associated with the existing rail transportation approach, in particular insofar as the transportation of bulk materials is concerned. Bulk materials, such as coal and ore, are typically transported in purpose built railroad cars, including hopper cars and rotary car dumpers. The loading of the bulk material into the cars is however a factor that influences the efficiency and economic viability of rail transport of bulk materials. Typically, bulk cargo is dropped or poured into a suitable railroad car using a spout or shovel bucket. It will however be appreciated that this is -2 effectively a batch process in which the railroad cars are loaded sequentially. This results in the process of loading the carriages being a time-consuming one, which renders the process inefficient. It also results in sub-optimal utilization of locomotives due to extended standing times. It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a loading station and method for the loading of bulk materials that will, at least partially, alleviate the above disadvantages. It is also an object of the invention to provide a bulk material loading station which will be a useful alternative to existing sequential loading arrangements. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided a loading station for use in the loading of bulk materials into railway carriages suitable for receiving the bulk material, the loading station including: a length of railway for receiving a plurality of railway carriages; an overhead loading configuration comprising a plurality of loading stations suitable for simultaneous loading of at least some of the plurality of railway carriages; characterized in that each loading station comprises a bottom discharging hopper arrangement that can be preloaded with the bulk materials. There is provided for each bottom discharge hopper to be in the form of a bottom discharge container located on top of a pedestal. The bottom discharge container may be the same as or similar to that disclosed in the applicants co-pending application PCT/IB2011/052755 -3 entitled "Bottom Discharge Container", or to that disclosed in the applicants granted patent ZA2001/8903 entitled "Container for Transporting Bulk Materials", the content of both being incorporated herein by reference. There is also provided for each bottom discharge container to be in the form of an elongate receptacle of semicircular cross-section. Preferably the semicircular receptacle is manufactured from one half of a large diameter pipe, another half being used to manufacture and adjacent receptacle. There is provided for the bottom discharge container to include at least one bottom opening door. There is provided for the bottom opening doors to be configured to be displaceable to an open condition under a gravitational basis, and for each container to include a locking arrangement that retains the door, against the bias in a closed position. There is also provided for the bottom opening door(s) to include an actuation mechanism for opening the doors. The actuation mechanism may be adapted to unlock the locking arrangement that retains the door in the closed position. The actuation mechanism may be manually, pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically driven. Preferably all of the bottom opening doors of the hopper arrangements of the loading station are configured to be simultaneously openable.

-4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention are described by way of non-limiting examples, and with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 is an illustration of a loading station in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, with the hopper arrangements in the process of being loaded by a loading vehicle; Figure 2 shows the loading of a hopper arrangement from an end of the hopper arrangement; Figure 3 is an illustration showing the railway carriages arriving at the loaded loading station; and Figure 4 shows the railway carriages being loaded using the loading station. DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION A non-limiting example of one embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying figures, which is a schematic perspective representation of a loading arrangement in accordance with the invention. The loading arrangement 10 comprises a length of railway 11, suitable for receiving railway carriages 12 adapted to receive a bulk material to be transported, and an overhead loading arrangement comprising a plurality of hopper arrangements 20 for use in simultaneously loading bulk material 13 into the railway carriages 12.

-5 Each hopper arrangement 20 includes a receptacle 21 having bottom opening doors 22, with the receptacle being located immediately above, but elevated from, the railway line 11 in order for railway carriages to fit between the railway line 11 and the hopper arrangements 20. The receptacle 20 may take many forms. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4 the receptacle takes the form of a bottom discharge container similar to that disclosed in the applicants own prior pending application PCT/IB2011/052755 entitled "Bottom Discharge Container", or to that disclosed in the applicants granted patent ZA2001/8903 entitled "Container for Transporting Bulk Materials", the content of both being incorporated herein by reference. However, it may also take a different form, for example a length of large diameter pipe may be longitudinally cut in two semicircular halves, with each halve then being used to form a receptacle for use in a hopper arrangement. Open ends of the semicircular halve can be closed off, and bottom opening doors can be constructed in the receptacles so formed. The salient aspect is that, whatever the construction and configuration of the receptacles, it has to be of a bottom discharge configuration. In addition, the bottom opening doors must extend substantially the full area of the bottom surface of the receptacles to facilitate efficient discharge of material therefrom. The bottom opening doors 22 are unlocked by way of a suitable actuating mechanism 23, which may again take many different forms. The doors are typically configured to open under gravitational bias, and the actuating means are therefore provided to unlock the door so that it can be automatically displaced to an open position due to the weight of the load contained therein. Actuation may be manual, pneumatic, electronic, or any combination thereof. It is however important that all doors are opened substantially at the same time in order to make the most of the potential time saving brought about by the use of this loading arrangement. The doors can be closed one at a time after the load has been loaded into the railway carriages, as this will not have an impact on standing time.

-6 In the embodiment shown in the figures, the hopper arrangements 20 are loaded using loading vehicles 30 customized for this purpose. More particularly, the loading vehicle 30 is in the form of a truck 31 adapted to handle, transport and discharge a bottom discharge container 32 using a built in actuating mechanism 33. However, it will be appreciated that many other modes of loading may be utilized, for example the use of a backhoe. The gist of the invention is that the overhead displacement arrangement is adapted to receive a plurality of loaded bottom discharge containers, or functionally similar receptacles, thus allowing the loading station to be preloaded, which reduces operational down time and wastage. It will be appreciated that the above is only one embodiment of the invention, and that there may be many variations without departing from the spirit and/or the scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

1. A loading station for use in the loading of bulk materials into railway carriages suitable for receiving the bulk material, the loading station including: a length of railway for receiving a plurality of railway carriages; an overhead loading configuration comprising a plurality of loading stations suitable for simultaneous loading of at least some of the plurality of railway carriages; characterized in that each loading station comprises a bottom discharging hopper arrangement that can be preloaded with the bulk materials.

2. The loading station of claim 1 in which each bottom discharge hopper is in the form of a bottom discharge container located on top of a pedestal.

3. The loading station of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the bottom discharge container includes at least one bottom opening door.

4. The loading station of claim 3 in which each bottom opening door is configured to be displaceable to an open position under gravitational bias, and wherein each container includes a locking arrangement that retains the door, against the bias, in a closed position.

5. The loading station of claim 4 in which the bottom discharge container includes an actuation mechanism for opening the door by unlocking the locking arrangement that retains the door in the closed position.