AU763637B2 - Chain conveyor flight bars - Google Patents

Description

im" S F Ref: 469784

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT 4 4 4 4* .444 4 4.

*4*

ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: Advanced Conveyor Technologies Pty Ltd 17-23 Captain Cook Drive Carlngbah New South Wales 2229 AUSTRALIA ADDRESS FOR SERVICE

ALTERED

Peter Howard and Roger Harold Coleman .%ckoQr C o,.I M' f;t E Level 33 tSi 1 Market Street Chain Conveyor Flight Bars ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION DETAILS [311 Application No(s) [33] Country PP4370 AU [32] Application Date 29 June 1998 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815 CHAIN CONVEYOR FLIGHT BARS Field of the Invention The following invention relates to flight bars or scraper bars of chain conveyors of the type typically used in the underground coal mining industry. Chain conveyors include an elongate pan having a smooth surface along which a pair of parallel chains are drawn.

Attached to each chain there extends a plurality of transverse flight bars or scraper bars which slide along the smooth surface of the pan upon being drawn therealong by the chains. Each flight bar is attached to both of the chains.

Two piece scraper bars or flight bars are known to include a pair of overlapping components which, in combination, extend throughout the width of the pan and are held together by means of threaded fasteners having their longitudinal axes extending parallel to the direction of extent of the conveyor chains. That is, the threaded fasteners extend S •transversely of the flight bars in a horizontal direction. The individual components of the flight bar must clamp onto the pair of chains or onto themselves so as to secure the bar to 15 the chains. As the threaded fasteners extend in a direction normal to that at which a clamping force of the components onto the chain is desired, little chain clamping force results. Accordingly, the chain links work loose of the flight bars in time.

Disclosed in European Patent Publications 0 079 192 and 0 270 702, German Patent Specifications 2031927, 3525984 and 3016151, USA Patent 4,383,603 and Australian Patent 561891 are chain conveyors including flight bars.

The above-discussed chain conveyors and in particular the flight bars employed therein do not provide well for wear of the flight bars, that is the flight bars require frequent replacement. Still further, wear of the flight bars also causes wear of the drive sprockets and again their replacement.

Object of the Invention It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantage and/or more generally to provide an improved chain conveyor flight bar.

[N:\LIBLL]1703:pvh:lam 2 Disclosure of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a chain-conveyor flight bar configured to be driven in use along a conveyor pan by a pair of parallel drive chains, the flight bar including: an elongate upper member; an elongate lower member having opposite ends and being configured for attachment to the upper member; and attachment means for attaching said members to each other thereby in use to attach the flight bar to the chains by holding a part of each chain captive between the members, such that the members extend transversely relative to the chains, such that the upper member has a respective portion disposed beyond each respective end of the lower member, each portion having a lower surface extending upwardly from a position adjacent the respective end of the lower member to a corresponding end extremity of the upper member, and such that the lower member has a lowermost pan-engagement surface extending from one end of the lower member to the other end of the lower member, the pan-engagement surface being configured for sliding in use along the conveyor pan and being lower than all parts of the upper member when the flight bar is being driven in use by the chains.

0 Preferably, said attachment means includes at least one threaded fastener configured to extend substantially vertically when the flight bar is being driven in use on a horizontal conveyor pan.

In a preferred embodiment, the flight bar has a first side which in use constitutes a leading side and an opposite, second side which in use constitutes a trailing side when the flight bar is being driven in use in a forward direction along the conveyor pan by said chains, wherein the upper member defines two pairs of recesses, each pair for corresponding to a respective chain in use, each pair consisting of a front recess at said first side and a rear recess at said second side, the front and rear recesses of each pair being aligned and each recess of each pair being configured to accommodate, in use, a portion of a respective vertical chain link 30 of the respective chain to which the pair corresponds, the rear recess of each pair being shallower than the front recess of that pair and the flight bar having a configuration such that, when being driven by the chains in use, wearing of the flight bar at said rear recesses, which wearing results in said rear recesses deepening, results in the flight bar being disposed closer to driving portions of drive sprockets driving the chains, which driving portions are disposed rearwardly of said second side.

Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of the flight bar of a chain conveyor; Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the upper bar member of the flight bar of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic top plan view of the flight bar of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a schematic top plan view of a further flight bar, similar to that of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a schematic side elevation of the flight bar of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a schematic bottom plan view of the flight bar of Figure 4; Figure 7 is a schematic sectioned end elevation of the flight bar of Figure 4, sectioned along the line 7-7; Figure 8 is a schematic top plan view of a further flight bar; Figure 9 is a schematic side elevation of the flight bar of Figure 12; and Figure 10 is a schematic bottom plan view of the flight bar of Figure 12.

Figure 11 is a schematic top plan view of the upper bar member of the flight bar of Figure 12; Figure 12 is a schematic section side elevation of the upper bar member of the flight bar 20 ofFigure8;and Figure 13 is a schematic sectioned end elevation of the upper bar member of Figure 9, sectioned along line 10-10.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments In Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted a flight V. 0. bar 10 of a chain conveyor, the flight bar 10 being adapted to engage a pair of generally parallel coextensive chains 11. The chains 11 are driven so that the bar 10 is dragged over an elongated pan of a chain conveyor.

The bar 10 includes an upper bar member 12 which is secured to a lower bar member 13 by threaded fasteners which pass through passages 14 in the member 12 to engage nuts Each threaded fastener will include a head located within shaped recess 16, so that the head of each threaded fastener is engaged within the bar member 13. When the threaded fasteners are tensioned, the bar member 13 is secured to the bar member 12, so that the flight bar 10 is also secured to the chains 11.

The upper bar member 12 has an elongated central portion 17, provided at each extremity with a downwardly extending projection 18. The lower bar member 13 is located between the extensions 18.

The chains 11 have horizontally oriented links 19 joined by vertically oriented links The links 19 pass through the bar member 12 via a pair of generally parallel passages 21 which are joined by leading and trailing recesses 22. The vertical links 20 are associated with the leading recesses 24, and trailing recesses 23.

Preferably the upper bar 12 is provided with recesses 25 to receive nuts The chains 11 are driven in the direction of the arrow 126 so that the flight bar 10 is driven by engagement of the vertical links 20 in the recesses 23.

The lower bar 13 engages the above-mentioned pan, in conveying mined material along the pan. When the bar 13 becomes worn, it can be replaced thereby enabling reuse of the bar 12.

Figures 4 to 7 of the accompanying drawings schematically depict a modification of the flight bar of Figure 1, with the reference numerals employed with reference to Figures 1 to 3, also being used in Figures 4 to 7.

i In Figures 8 to 13 there is schematically depicted a further flight bar. Corresponding reference numerals have been employed in these figures.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 13, the leading recesses 24, and trailing recesses 23 include upper recess portions 26 and 27, with the recess portions 26 having drive surfaces 28 which engage the leading face of the links 20. More particularly, the leading recesses 24 extend Sinto the bar 10, a greater distance than the trailing recesses 23. That is, the recesses 24 extend a distance 29 into the bar 10, while the recesses 23 extend a distance 30. The distance 29 is 25 greater than the distance 30. In this configuration the web 31 between the recesses 23 and 24 is spaced rearwardly (relative to the direction of movement 126) with respect to the central plane S 32 of the bar 10, so that the portion 33 of the web 31 rearwardly of the plane 32 is deeper than the portion 34 forward of the plane 32.

In the embodiment of Figures 8 to 13, there is one vertical passage 14 to receive a threaded fastener, and two horizontal passages 14 which also receive a threaded fastener. In this embodiment the upper bar member 12 has a recess 35 to receive an eyelet 36 of the lower flight bar 13. The portion of the passage 14 in the eyelet 36 aligns with the portions of the passage 14 formed in the upper bar member 12. A similar construction is provided on the other side of the flight bar It should be appreciated that in respect of the embodiment of Figures 8 to 13, it could be constructed in a similar manner to the flight bars of Figures 1 and 4, that is with the lower bar member extending between two downwardly extending projections, such as the projections 18 of Figures 1 and 4.

The embodiment of Figure 8 provides a particular advantage in respect of ameliorating problems associated with the drive sprockets engaging the bar as the bar wears. Typically, the surface 28 will wear and eventually permit engagement of the bar 10 with the drive sprocket.

To ensure that the bar 10 does not engage the next forward link 20, the distance 29 is increased.

C Co CCo..

CCC.

Claims (4)

1. A chain-conveyor flight bar configured to be driven in use along a conveyor pan by a pair of parallel drive chains, the flight bar including: an elongate upper member; an elongate lower member having opposite ends and being configured for attachment to the upper member; and attachment means for attaching said members to each other thereby in use to attach the flight bar to the chains by holding a part of each chain captive between the members, such that the members extend transversely relative to the chains, such that the upper member has a respective portion disposed beyond each respective end of the lower member, each portion having a lower surface extending upwardly from a position adjacent the respective end of the lower member to a corresponding end extremity of the upper member, and such that the lower member has a lowermost pan-engagement surface extending from one end of the lower member to the other end of the lower member, the pan-engagement surface being configured for sliding in use along the conveyor pan and being lower than all parts of the upper member when the flight bar is being driven in use by the chains.

2. A flight bar according to claim 1 wherein said attachment means includes at least one threaded fastener configured to extend substantially vertically when the flight bar is being S driven in use on a horizontal conveyor pan.

3. A flight bar according to claim 1 or claim 2, having a first side which in use constitutes a leading side and an opposite, second side which in use constitutes a trailing side when the flight bar is being driven in use in a forward direction along the conveyor pan by said chains, wherein the upper member defines two pairs of recesses, each pair for corresponding to a respective chain in use, each pair consisting of a front recess at said first side and a rear recess S" at said second side, the front and rear recesses of each pair being aligned and each recess of each pair being configured to accommodate, in use, a portion of a respective vertical chain link 30 of the respective chain to which the pair corresponds, the rear recess of each pair being shallower than the front recess of that pair and the flight bar having a configuration such that, when being driven by the chains in use, wearing of the flight bar at said rear recesses, which wearing results in said rear recesses deepening, results in the flight bar being disposed closer to driving portions of drive sprockets driving the chains, which driving portions are disposed rearwardly of said second side.

4. A chain-conveyor flight bar substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or Figures 4 to 7 or Figures 8 to 13. Dated this 4 t h day of June 2003 ADVANCED CONVEYOR TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: HALFORD CO