AU2018219986A1 - Liner bolt - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A liner bolt 10 for fastening a liner 12 to a wall 14 of a piece of equipment is described. The liner bolt comprises a bolt 16 adapted to pass through a hole 18 provided in the liner 12 and inserted into an aperture 20 provided in the wall of the piece of equipment. The liner bolt 10 also comprises an elongate, 10 expandable sleeve 22 received on the bolt 16, and having one end adapted to engage an interior surface of the aperture 20. In use, when the bolt 16 is inserted into the aperture 20 with the sleeve 22, as the bolt 16 is tightened it causes the sleeve 22 to expand so that it becomes firmly secured in the aperture 20 to fasten the liner 12 to the wall. Drawing to accompany Abstract: Figure 1 1)2 ~' ~i. ~>w

Description

“LINER BOLT”

Field ofthe Invention

The present invention relates to a liner bolt for fastening a liner to a piece of equipment and relates particularly, though not exclusively to such a liner bolt for fastening a liner to a chute or bin employed in the mining industry.

Background to the Invention

In many industries, Abrasion Resistant wear plates (AR Plate) or steel liners are used where friction between two parts or materials may cause significant wear and tear. For example, many machines used in the mining industry employ liners to protect surfaces exposed to highly abrasive materials, such as ore. Such liners are expendable items that are installed to prevent excessive wear or damage to expensive equipment. When the liner has almost worn through due to abrasion, it is removed and replaced with a new or refurbished liner.

A wear plate or liner is typically welded or bolted to the surface it is intended to protect from wear. When replacing a liner, for example, in an ore bin, scaffolding must be installed external to the bin to enable workmen to access the nut fastening the liner to the wall of the bin. There are significant costs incurred due to the time, labour and equipment associated with the erection and removal of the scaffolding, as well as with the labour and equipment associated with holding the nut external to the chute or bin. Further, given that scaffolding is a regulated trade that can only be used after a licensed scaffolder has inspected and signed off the scaffold as being safe, there are additional costs relating to the work that may not be obvious.

The present invention was developed with a view to providing a liner bolt that is simple to use and can substantially eliminate the above-noted labour and equipment costs.

2018219986 20 Aug 2018

References to prior art in this specification are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not to be taken as an admission that such prior art is part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.

Summary of the Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a liner bolt for fastening a liner to a wall of a piece of equipment, the liner bolt comprising:

a bolt adapted to pass through a hole provided in the liner and inserted into an aperture provided in the wall of the piece of equipment; and, an elongate, expandable sleeve received on the bolt, and having one end adapted to engage an interior surface of the aperture wherein, in use, when the bolt is inserted into the aperture with the sleeve, as the bolt is tightened it causes the sleeve to expand so that it becomes firmly secured in the aperture to fasten the liner to the wall.

Preferably the sleeve is formed with a protrusion designed to engage with a matching recess provided in the aperture so that when the bolt is tightened the sleeve does not rotate with the bolt. Alternatively, or in addition, an outer surface of the sleeve may also be serrated to inhibit rotation in the aperture.

The expandable sleeve preferably comprises a hollow cylinder having a plurality of fingers forming the cylindrical wall of the sleeve at the one end adapted to engage with the interior surface of the aperture and/or to expand to a diameter larger than an internal diameter of the aperture.

In one embodiment the liner bolt further comprises a nut received in screwthreaded engagement on the distal end of the bolt, and wherein as the bolt is tightened the nut engages with the sleeve and causes the sleeve to expand. Preferably the nut is a tapered nut.

2018219986 20 Aug 2018

In one embodiment the liner bolt is removed by loosening the bolt until the nut disengages from the sleeve and the sleeve can be loosened and the bolt removed from the aperture to remove the liner from the wall. In another embodiment the bolt is a shear bolt and the liner bolt is removed by continuing to tighten the bolt until it shears.

In another embodiment the sleeve has an internal thread and is received in screw-threaded engagement on the bolt. Typically the sleeve has the internal thread on its entire internal surface. Alternatively, the sleeve has the internal thread on part only of its internal surface. Advantageously the sleeve also has a tapered internal surface at the one end wherein, in use, when the distal end of the bolt engages with the tapered internal surface it causes the sleeve to expand so that it becomes firmly secured in the aperture.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. Likewise the word “preferably” or variations such as “preferred”, will be understood to imply that a stated integer or group of integers is desirable but not essential to the working of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of several specific embodiments of a liner bolt, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric, exploded view of a first embodiment of the liner bolt according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an isometric view of the liner bolt of Figure 1 in its fastened condition; and,

2018219986 20 Aug 2018

Figure 3 is a section view in side elevation of a second embodiment of the liner bolt according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

A first embodiment of a liner bolt 10 in accordance with the invention, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, for fastening a liner 12 to a wall 14 of a piece of equipment. The piece of equipment may, for example, be a bin. The liner bolt 10 comprises a bolt 16 adapted to pass through a hole 18 provided in the liner 12 and inserted into an aperture 20 provided in the wall 14 ofthe piece of equipment. An elongate, expandable sleeve 22 is slidably received on the bolt 16, and has one end adapted to engage with an interior surface of the aperture 20.

In this embodiment, a nut 24 is received in screw-threaded engagement on the bolt 16. In use, the bolt 16 is inserted into the aperture 20 with the sleeve 22, and with the nut 24 received on the distal end of the bolt 16. When the bolt 16 is tightened the nut 24 engages with the one end ofthe sleeve 22 and expands the sleeve so that it becomes firmly secured in the aperture 20 to fasten the liner 12 to the wall 14. On the other hand, when the bolt 16 is loosened the nut 24 disengages from the sleeve 22, and the sleeve can be loosened and the bolt 16 removed from the aperture 20 to remove the liner 12 from the wall 14. The nut 24 is preferably a tapered nut. Alternatively, an internal surface of the sleeve 22 may be tapered and the nut 24 may be a conventional nut. The nut 24 may be a captive nut, which in conjunction with the nib 30, ensures it cannot rotate with the bolt 16 when being removed.

Preferably the sleeve 22 is formed with a protrusion or nib 30 designed to engage with a matching recess 32 provided in the aperture 20, so that when the bolt 16 is tightened and the nut 24 engages with the sleeve 22, the sleeve does not rotate with the bolt 16. When fitting a liner bolt 10 to an existing chute or bin, a recess 32 must be cut into the liner bolt hole or aperture 20 in the chute or bin shell plate. The nib 30 can be formed either via broach or

2018219986 20 Aug 2018 stud welding a suitable insert in place. When retrofitting the liner bolt 10 into an existing installation, it may be necessary to insert a (new) notched sleeve (to accept the protrusion) into the existing aperture 20. It is expected this will be achieved by either using locking threads or stud welding techniques. The sleeve 22 may also be serrated or similar to prevent rotation.

The expandable sleeve 22 preferably comprises a hollow cylinder having a plurality of fingers 26 forming the cylindrical wall of the sleeve at the one end adapted to engage with the nut 24. Nut 24 is typically a tapered hex nut, and therefore the sleeve is formed with six fingers adapted to engage with the six sides of the tapered hex nut 24. As the tapered nut 24 is drawn into the one end of the sleeve 22 during tightening of the bolt 16, the six tapered sides of the nut 24 engage with the six fingers 26 of the sleeve 22, causing the fingers to expand and enlarging an outer diameter of the sleeve 22, so that it becomes wedged in the aperture 20. The fingers 26 engage with the interior surface of the aperture 20 and/or expand to a diameter larger than an internal diameter of the aperture 20. A washer 28 and conical washer 34 may be provided in order to seat the bolt correctly in the hole 18 of the liner 12.

In this embodiment, the liner bolt 10 may be removed by undoing the bolt 16 to release the nut 24, relaxing the sleeve 22 and pulling the bolt 16 through, or alternately by undoing the bolt 16 completely and pushing the sleeve out of the aperture 20.

In a variation of this embodiment, the bolt 16 is a shear bolt, such that it can be removed by continuing to tighten the bolt until it snaps. The advantage of this variation is that removal is assured in every instance as the potential for relative movement between the bolt 16 and any other part is eliminated. This is because the removal action is in fact increasing the clamping force generated by the nut 24 as it is drawn ever more tightly into the sleeve 22 until the bolt 16 fails. Installation and removal of this embodiment is simply effected by a calibrated torque wrench or pneumatic gun. The nut 24 and the sleeve 22 will be punched clear if it does not release from the aperture 20 after the bolt 16 shears.

2018219986 20 Aug 2018

Figure 3 illustrates a second nutless embodiment of the liner bolt 40 according to the invention. This embodiment is similar in some respects to the first embodiment, and therefore the like components will be identified using the same reference numerals. The liner bolt 40 is used for fastening a liner 12 to a wall 14 of a piece of equipment, and comprises a bolt 16 adapted to pass through a hole 18 provided in the liner 12 and inserted into an aperture 20 provided in the wall 14 of the piece of equipment. As with the first embodiment an elongate, expandable sleeve 42 is received on the bolt 16 and has one end adapted to engage an interior surface of the aperture 20.

However, in this embodiment there is no nut, as the sleeve 42 has an internal thread 44 and is received in screw-threaded engagement on the bolt 16. In this embodiment the sleeve 42 has the internal thread 44 on part only of its internal surface, namely a shoulder 46. Alternatively, the sleeve 42 could have the internal thread on its entire internal surface. Advantageously the sleeve 42 also has a tapered internal surface 48 at the one end wherein, in use, when the distal end of the bolt 16 engages with the tapered internal surface 48 it causes the sleeve 42 to expand so that it becomes firmly secured in the aperture 20 to fasten the liner to the wall 14.

As with the first embodiment, the expandable sleeve 42 preferably comprises a hollow cylinder having a plurality of fingers 50 forming the cylindrical wall of the sleeve at the one end adapted to engage with the interior surface of the aperture 20. The tapered internal surface 48 is on the inside of the fingers 50.

The liner bolts are available for the fixing of liners or similar to chutes and bins, without the need to access the nut external to the chute or bin. The bolts are available in a range of diameters and lengths, and can be retrofitted to any liner system.

Now that preferred embodiments of the liner bolt have been described in 30 detail, it will be apparent that the described embodiments provide a number of advantages over the prior art, including the following:

2018219986 20 Aug 2018 (i) They are simple in design and easy to use.

(ii) They eliminate the need for scaffolding external to the bin or chute when installing or replacing liners.

(iii) They eliminate the labour and equipment associated with the erection and removal of scaffolding, including the need for a licensed scaffolder.

(iv) They eliminate the labour and equipment associated with holding the nut external to the chute or bin.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts that various modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing embodiments, in addition to those already described, without departing from the basic inventive concepts of the present invention. For example, it would be understood that the nut 24 need not be a hex nut. Any suitable nut can be used that is adapted to engage with the sleeve when the bolt is tightened so that the sleeve expands and becomes firmly secured in the aperture. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described.

Claims (12)

1. The Claims defining the invention are as follows:

   1. A liner bolt for fastening a liner to a wall of a piece of equipment, the liner

   5 bolt comprising:

   a bolt adapted to pass through a hole provided in the liner and inserted into an aperture provided in the wall of the piece of equipment; and, an elongate, expandable sleeve received on the bolt, and having one end adapted to engage an interior surface of the aperture wherein, in use, when

   10 the bolt is inserted into the aperture with the sleeve, as the bolt is tightened it causes the sleeve to expand so that it becomes firmly secured in the aperture to fasten the liner to the wall.
2. 2. A liner bolt as defined in claim 1, wherein the sleeve is formed with a protrusion designed to engage with a matching recess provided in the

   15 aperture so that when the bolt is tightened the sleeve does not rotate with the bolt.
3. 3. A liner bolt as defined in claim 1, wherein an outer surface of the sleeve is also serrated to inhibit rotation in the aperture.
4. 4. A liner bolt as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the expandable

   20 sleeve comprises a hollow cylinder having a plurality of fingers forming the cylindrical wall of the sleeve, at the one end adapted to engage with the interior surface of the aperture and/or to expand to a diameter larger than an internal diameter of the aperture.
5. 5. A liner bolt as defined in any one of the preceding claims, further

   25 comprising a nut received in screw-threaded engagement on the distal end of the bolt, and wherein as the bolt is tightened the nut engages with the sleeve and causes the sleeve to expand.
6. 6. A liner bolt as defined in claim 5, wherein the nut is a tapered nut.
7. 7. A liner bolt as defined in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the liner bolt is

   30 removed by loosening the bolt until the nut disengages from the sleeve and

   2018219986 20 Aug 2018 the sleeve can be loosened and the bolt removed from the aperture to remove the liner from the wall.
8. 8. A liner bolt as defined in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the bolt is a shear bolt and the liner bolt is removed by continuing to tighten the bolt until it shears.

   5
9. 9. A liner bolt as defined in claim 1, wherein the sleeve has an internal thread and is received in screw-threaded engagement on the bolt.
10. 10. A liner bolt as defined in claim 9, wherein the sleeve has the internal thread on its entire internal surface.
11. 11. A liner bolt as defined in claim 9, wherein the sleeve has the internal 10 thread on part only of its internal surface.
12. 12. A liner bolt as defined in any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the sleeve also has a tapered internal surface at the one end wherein, in use, when the distal end of the bolt engages with the tapered internal surface it causes the sleeve to expand so that it becomes firmly secured in the aperture.