CA1236974A

CA1236974A - Charging bucket assembly

Info

Publication number: CA1236974A
Application number: CA000477499A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Alois Leonfellner
Original assignee: Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Brunswick Mining and Smelting Corp Ltd
Priority date: 1985-03-26
Filing date: 1985-03-26
Publication date: 1988-05-24

Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure:
A charging bucket assembly is disclosed. The bucket assembly comprises an inner cylinder having a plurality of abutments at the lower end thereof, a plurality of pie-shaped segmental plates hingedly connected to the lower end of the inner cylinder and adapted to close the lower end of the inner cylinder upon engagement of the abutments, an outer cylinder secured concentrically to the lower end of the inner cylinder, a ring surrounding the inner cylinder and adapted for connection to a hoist, and means interconnecting such ring to the pie-shaped segmental plates to close the pie-shaped segmental plates upon upward movement of the ring along the inner cylinder while allowing the pie-shaped segmental plates to open upon seating of the outer cylinder upon a support.

Description

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CHARGING BUCl~T ASSEMBLY
This invention relates to a charging bucket assembly and more particularly to a hoist operated bucket assembly for charging concentrates or other loose material into a metallurgicai furnace or other containers.
In loading metallurgical furnaces, it is often advantageous to use a bucket assembly provided with a bottom gate which allows Buick discharge of the concentrateO A charging bucket assembly of this type is disclosed in Canadian Patent No. 827,586 issued November lQ 18, 1969. However, the gate operating mechanism of the bucket assembly disclosed in the above patent is of complex construction and expensive to make and more particularly to maintain in good operating condition.
It is therefore the object ox the present invention to provide a new bucket assembly which is of simple construction and relakively less expensive to construct and maintain in good operating condition.
The charging bucket assembly, in accordance with the present invention, comprises an inner cylinder havincJ
~Q a plurality of abutments at the lower end thereof, a plurality of pie-shaped segmental plates hingedly connected at the lower end of the inner cylinder and adapted to close the lower end of the inner cylinder upon engagement of the above abutments, an outer cylinder secured concentrically to the lower end of the inner cylinder, a ring surrounding the inner cylinder and I.

adapted for connection to a hoist, and means inter-connecting ths ring to the pie-shaped segmental plates to close the pie-shaped segmental plates upon upward movement of the ring along the inner cylinder while allowing the pie-shaped segmental plate to open upon seating of the outer cylinder upon a support.
The means interconnecting the ring to the pie-shaped segmental plates are preferably chains attached at one end to the ring and at the other end to the pie-shaped segmental plates at a predetermined distance from the hinge connection.
The abutments are preferably secured to the other wall of the inner cylinder and the pie-shaped segmental plates hingedly connected to the inner wall of the outer cylinder. The outer cylinder preferably extends downwardly a distance such as to allow full opening of the pie-shaped segmental plates when the outer cylinder of the charging bucket assembly seats upon a support.
The invention will now be disclosed, by way of ù example, with reference to a preferred embodiment lllustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure l is a side view of the bucket assembly in accordance with the inventioni Figure 2 is a top view of the bucket assembly;

Figure 3 is a view of one of the pie-shaped segmental plates used to close the bottom of the bucket assembly; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the mechanism ,. ,~

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for operating each pie-shaped segmental plate.
Referring to the drawings, there is shown a bucket assembly comprising an inner cylinder 10 and an outer cylinder 12 concentrically secured to the lower end of the 5 inner cylinder by means of radially projecting plates 14 which are welded between the inner and outer cylinders. A
plurality of pie-shaped segmental plates 16 are hingedly connected to the low end of the inner cylinder through a rod 18 secured to the edge of each pie-shaped segmental l plate and engaging a pair of brackets 20 welded to the inner wall of the outer cylinder. Abutment members 22 are welded to the lower end of the inner wall of the inner cylinder to abut the pie-shaped segmental plates when they are moved to close the bottom of the inner cylinder. A
ring 24 surrounds the outer wall of the inner cylinder at a small distance therefrom to allow free movement of the ring along the cylinder. Each pie-shaped segmental plate is attached to the ring 2~ by means of a chain 26 which is connected at one end to the ring and at the other end to a ,~ rod 28 extending across a slot 29 in each pie-shaped segmental plate. Each chain passes through an opening 30 in the inner cylinder and extends into the closed space formed by abutment member 22. An additional rod 31 is located in the center of the slot 29 to guide the chain 26. Chains 32 are connected to plates 34 secured to the ring for hoisting the bucket assembly. Stoppers 36 are provided around the circumference of the inner cylinder to stop the downward movement of the ring 24 when the outer I' ~;~3~

cylinder is seated on a supporting structure.
For transport of the loose material loaded in the bucket assembly, the ring 24 is attached to a suitable hoist. The ring 24 exerts an upwardly directed force on 5 the pie-shaped segmental plates 16 through chains 26 to maintain the pie-shaped segmental plates in closed position against abutments 22. When the outer cylinder is seated on the structure of a metallurgical furnace or other containers and the hoist released, ring 24 slides by gravity along the wall of the inner cylinder until it contacts stoppers 36. Chains 26 are thus loosened and the pie-shaped segmental plates open to discharge the material contained in the bucket assembly.
Although the invention has been disclosed with reference to a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not limited to such embodiment but by the scope of the claims only.

Claims

1. A charging bucket assembly comprising:
a) an inner cylinder having a plurality of abutments at the lower end thereof;
b) a plurality of pie-shaped segmental plates hingedly connected at the lower end of the inner cylinder and adapted to close the lower end of the inner cylinder upon engagement of said abutments;
c) an outer cylinder secured concentrically to the lower end of said inner cylinder;
d) a ring surrounding said inner cylinder and adapted for connection to a hoist during transportation of the bucket; and e) means interconnecting said ring to the pie-shaped segmental plates to close the pie-shaped segmental plates upon upward movement of said ring along said inner cylinder when the bucket is attached to the hoist during transportation while allowing the pie-shaped segmental plates to open upon seating of the outer cylinder of the bucket upon a support, thereby releasing the ring.

2. A charging bucket assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said means interconnecting the ring to the pie-shaped segmental plates are chains attached at one end to the ring and at the other end to the pie-shaped segmental plates at a predetermined distance from the hinge connection.

3. A charging bucket assembly as defined in claim 1 or 2, further comprising stoppers located on the outer wall of said inner cylinder for stopping the downward movement of the ring along the outer wall of the inner cylinder.

4. A charging bucket assembly as defined in claim 1 or 2, wherein said abutments are secured to the outer wall of the inner cylinder.

5. A charging bucket assembly as defined in claim 1 or 2, wherein the pie-shaped segmental plates are hingedly connected to the inner wall of the outer cylinder.

6. A charging bucket assembly as defined in claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer cylinder extends downwardly a distance such as to allow full opening of the pie-shaped segmental plates.