GB1411678A - Material handling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1411678 Unloading ships; endless conveyers for particulate material; counterbalancing DRAVO CORP 1 Aug 1973 36647/73 Headings B8A B8B and B8E Unloading apparatus comprises a support mast 12 movable along the quay 18 by wheels 14 on rails 16 having a boom 30 pivotable in a vertical plane about a pivot 32 on the mast by luffing gear 34, 36, 38 and having a trolley 60 movable therealong by hydraulic motors 72 driving gears 64 in engagement with rack members. A digging assembly 80 is pivotable about a shaft 84 on the trolley 60 by a double acting hydraulic cylinder 88 and comprises an endless chain assembly 100 having buckets 104 passing over sprocket wheels 96, 98 being driven by gears 122 driven by motors 124 engaging a ring gear 122 internal of the wheel 96. Guide brackets 112, 114 guide the chains to taper towards the lower end while sprocket wheel assemblies 106 supported by links 108 can be actuated by a hydraulic cylinder 110 to tighten the chains or to allow them to slacken to form a bottom horizontal section as in Fig. 5 so that the buckets 104, then scrape over the surface of the material being picked up. The digging assembly delivers material through a shoot 130 to a conveyer 132 running along the boom 30 which conveyer in turn delivers to a hopper 150 the outlet of which, controlled by a sliding door 154, Fig.6, delivers to belt conveyers 149 running on the quay 18. The arrangement allows all parts of the hold 23 to be reached by pivoting the digging assembly 80 and moving the trolley 60 without luffing the boom 30 although this may also or alternatively be used. An operators cab 151 and a power winch 160 are supported to run on rails 153, 154 running round the boom 30. The boom 30 is counterbalanced by weights 42 coupled by links 44 being attached to falls 48 attached to the boom 30 at 50. The other end of the weights is secured to the mast at 46 so that as the boom moves upwards from the horizontal where all the weights are effective to the chain line position some weights become ineffective by being supported by the mast at 46 thus reducing the effective counterbalancing effect as required.