GB2168667A

GB2168667A - Feeder-breaker apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2168667A
Application number: GB08530870A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Potts
Original assignee: MMD Design and Consultancy Ltd
Current assignee: MMD Design and Consultancy Ltd
Priority date: 1984-12-21
Filing date: 1985-12-16
Publication date: 1986-06-25
Also published as: GB8530870D0; AU5141985A; GB2208614B; GB2168667B; GB2208614A; ZA859636B; AU2971289A; AU586657B2; AU610985B2; GB8432477D0; GB8822970D0

Abstract

A mineral handling apparatus includes an elongate storage compartment having an inlet end and an outlet end, the compartment at its inlet end being adapted to receive the deposit of intermittent loads of won mineral, a mineral breaker 80 attached to the outlet end of the compartment so as to enable the breaker to deposit discharged mineral onto a take-away conveyor, conveyor means 20 for moving won mineral through the compartment toward said outlet end in order to feed said mineral into the breaker, and adjustable control means for adjusting the rate of movement of the conveyor means to thereby provide a controlled rate of feed of mineral to the breaker. <IMAGE>

Description

.SPECIFICATION c Feeder-breaker apparatus The present invention relates to a feeder breaker apparatus for use in mineral handling.

In mining and quarrying mineral which is won, for instance, by blasting techniques needs to be transported away from the min ing/quarrying site. This can be done by vehicles having buckets which scoop up loads of the won mineral and then deposit the loads into a hopper for transport away by belt con veyor. The won mineral contains lumps of mineral of varying sizes. The larger lumps of mineral particularly elongate pieces of mineral (commonly referred to as slabs) can cause blockage problems, particularly at transfer points and accordingly it is desirable that the conveying system be fed with won mineral which does not contain lumps of mineral above a predetermined size. In addition, since conveying systems have a maximum continu ous rate at which they can convey material difficulties arise if intermittent surges of ma terial are deposited onto the conveyor.

It is a general aim of the present invention to provide a mineral handling apparatus which is able to receive intermittent surges of won mineral and to discharge the won mineral onto a conveyor system a a controlled discharge rate and maximum lump size of mineral which is compatable with the conveyor system.

According to the present invention there is - provided a mineral handling apparatus includ ing an elongate storage compartment having an inlet end and an outlet end, the compart ment at its inlet end being adapted to receive the deposit of intermittent loads of won min eral, a mineral breaker attached to the outlet end of the compartment so as to enable the breaker to deposit discharged mineral onto a take-away conveyor, conveyor means for moving won mineral through the compartment toward said outlet end in order to feed said mineral into the breaker, and adjustable con trol means for adjusting the rate of movement of the conveyor means to thereby provide a controlled rate of feed of mineral to the breaker.

In such an arrangement the conveyor means serves to control the rate at which won min eral is discharged onto the take-away con veyor and the mineral breaker ensures that iumps greater than a maximum desired size are broken down before being deposited onto the take-away conveyor.

Reference is now made to the accompany ing drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of an embodiment according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a part plan view of the embodi ment of Fig. 1 as viewed in the direction of arrow C; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line DO in Fig. 1; and Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1.

The mineral handling apparatus according to the present invention is generally shown at 10 and includes an elongate storage compartment 14 having an inlet end 14a and an outlet end 14b. The storage compartment 14 is constructed from interconnected panels 15 which are bolted to one another to define an elongate open topped channel-shaped construction which is seen in Fig. 4 has inwardly directed bottom side walls 19. Conveniently the compartment 14 is open ended at end 14a so as to facilitate deposit of won mineral into the compartment.

Located at the bottom of the storage compartment 14 and extending along its length is a conveyor assembly 20. The conveyor assembly 20 is composed of side plates 22 which are bolted to one another and to the walls of the storage compartment. The conveyor assembly 20 includes an upper run 20a defined by a floor 20b over which laterally spaced flights 20c sweep. The flights 20c are connected by a pair of continuous chains 20d which are trained about a sprocket shaft 60b which is driven by a motor 60a which is preferably a hydraulic motor.

A mineral breaker housing 30 is bolted to the storage compartment/conveyor assembly construction at the outlet end of the compartment. The housing 30 is also bolted to support brackets 32 which are connected to the compartment 14. Accordingly the storage compartment/conveyor assembly and breaker housing 30 define a composite rigid unitary structure.

The unitary structure is supported in a supporting frame 40 which basically comprises a pair of arms 41 (only one being visible in Fig.

1) which are mounted on a base 42 via legs 43. The base 42 is conveniently provided with motive means which enable the whole apparatus to be moved across the ground to a different location. In the illustrated embodiment the motive means is in the form of a pair of continuous tracks 44.

The unitary structure is attached to the arms 41 via a pivotal connection 48 so that the conveyor assembly is inclined and the breaker housing is raised from the ground by a sufficient distance to enable a take-away conveyor (not shown) to be located beneath it. The inlet end 14a of the compartment is provided with a foot pad 38 which in use engages the ground. The position of the pivotal connection 48 is such that the centre of gravity of the unitary structure is located to the left of the pivotal connection as viewed in Fig. 1 thereby ensuring that the unitary structure normally rests on the foot pad 38. A ram 50 is provided for moving the unitary structure about the pivot to lift the foot pad 38 clear of the ground to enable the motive means to move the apparatus.

In use, won mineral is deposited into the storage compartment and the conveyor assembly moves the deposited won mineral toward the breaker. Adjustable control means are provided, which in the illustrated embodiment take the form of hydraulic valves operated by control levers 60. The levers 60 enable an operative to control the hydraulic motor 60a and thus control the rate of feed of minieral to the breaker. In this way both the rate of deposit of mineral from the apparatus onto the take-away conveyor and feed of mineral to the breaker can be accurately controlled.

The mineral breaker is preferably provided with a pair of breaker drums 80 which are in line with the direction of feed of the conveyor assembly 20. The drums 80 are driven by a motor 87 preferably at constant rate. The motor 87 is preferably an electric motor. The breaker drums 80 preferably include conveying means which in the illustrated embodiment are in the form of helical ribs 82 which on rotation of the drums serve to urge mineral along the drums away from the conveyor assembly.

The drums 80 are spaced apart laterally to define a gap 84 through which dirt and undersized mineral can readily fall. The drums 80 include picks 86 which quietly break down over sized lumps of mineral and direct the broken mineral through gap 84.

The breaker drums 80 are rotatably mounted in opposed end walls 86, 87 of the breaker housing, and as shown in Fig. 4, the upper portion of end wall 86 is provided with an opening 89 (defined by wall face 90) through which mineral is discharged from the compartment into the breaker. Accordingly mineral is discharged from the compartment at substantially the same level or slightly above the level of the upper level of the breaker drums 80.

This enables the overall height of the apparatus to be kept to a minimum by avoiding the need to position the conveyor means above the breaker to drop mineral down into it as with conventional arrangements.

It is to be appreciated that other constructions of mineral breaker may be incorporated into the above apparatus. For instance a breaker having a single drum aligned with the conveyor means may be provided. Additionally, the breaker drums 80 may have different teeth formations other than those shown in the drawings and the conveying means for each drum may be defined by the breaker teeth themselves as for example as described in our European patent publication 0096706 wherein teeth defining a discrete helical formation for movement of mineral along the breaker drum are disclosed.

Claims

1. A mineral handling apparatus including an elongate storage compartment having an inlet end and an outlet end, the compartment at its inlet end being adapted to receive the deposit of intermittent loads of won mineral, a mineral breaker attached to the outlet end of the compartment so as to enable the breaker to deposit discharged mineral onto a takeaway conveyor, conveyor means for moving won mineral through the compartment toward said outlet end in order to feed said mineral into the breaker, and adjustable control means for adjusting the rate of movement of the conveyor means to thereby provide a controlled rate of feed of mineral to the breaker.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said control means is manually operable.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the mineral breaker includes at least one rotatable breaker drum whose axis is aligned with the direction of feed of said conveyor means.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3 wherein the breaker includes a pair of rotatable breaker drums, the drums being provided with conveying means which on rotation of the drums urges mineral to move along the drums away from the outlet end of the compartment.

5. Apparatus according to Claim 4 wherein the breaker includes opposed end walls in which the breaker drums are rotatably mounted, the upper portion of the end wall adjacent said outlet end of the compartment including an opening through which mineral is discharged from the compartment into the breaker at substantially the same level or slightly above the upper level defined by the breaker drums.

6. Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the compartment is supported on a support frame which is mobile.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6 wherein the compartment is pivotally supported on said support frame and is pivotally movable between an operative position whereat the inlet end of the compartment rests upon the ground and a transport position whereat the inlet end of the compartment is raised from the ground to thereby permit the compartment and attached breaker to be moved to a different location by the mobile support frame.

8. A mineral handling apparatus substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.