GB2257680A

GB2257680A - Conveying equipment.

Info

Publication number: GB2257680A
Application number: GB9213672A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hartmut Grathoff
Original assignee: MAN Gutehoffnungshutte GmbH
Current assignee: MAN Gutehoffnungshutte GmbH
Priority date: 1991-07-03
Filing date: 1992-06-26
Publication date: 1993-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 2012-06-26
Also published as: DE4121996A1; FI922834A; KR930002212A; SE9202034L; SE9202034D0; GB2257680B; FI922834A0; FI100589B; DE4121996C2; GB9213672D0; FR2678592A1; JPH05208732A; SE503821C2

Description

CONVEYING MEANS The present invention relates to conveying means for flowable material, especially ship discharging equipment.

A continuously conveying ship discharger with a receiving element for material to be unloaded from the ship hold, a vertical conveyor and a horizontal conveyor adjoining thereto, mounted on a movable portal, is known from the not prior published patent application DE 40 40 618.0. The vertical and horizontal conveyors are separate conveying units in this ship discharger.

A constantly conveying loader for pourable material with a material receiving element and a worm conveyor (first vertical conveyor), which is rotatable about a vertical axis and transfers pourable material in an almost free jet onto a vertical belt conveyor (second vertical conveyor) provided with material receiving chambers is known from the also not prior published patent application DE 41 16 467.9. Two independent conveying devices, which must each have an individual drive, are provided in this loader for vertical conveying (in the second vertical conveyor) and for horizontal conveying on a horizontal jib.

There is scope for simplifying equipment for generally vertical and horizontal conveying and,in particular, for finding a solution for deflection from a generally vertical conveying direction into a generally horizontal conveying direction while allowing a change of angle to be brought about in the deflection region.

According to the present invention there is provided conveying means for flowable material, comprising a jib arm arranged to be raisable and lowerable and to be pivotable about a substantially vertical axis, a drop arm pivotably connected to the jib arm at one end thereof, adjusting means to adjust the angle of the drop arm relative to the jib arm, an endless belt conveyor extending in both arms and provided with receptacles for flowable material, drive means arranged in the jib arm at the other end thereof to drive the conveyor, a plurality of guide rollers guiding outward and return runs of the conveyor in the arms and carried by rigid carrier means in the drop arm and flexible carrier means in the region of the junction of the arms, curved support means supporting the flexible carrier means, and tension setting means setting the conveyor tension.

In a preferred embodiment the conveying means, for example a continuously conveying ship discharger, comprises a jib arm which is pivotable about a vertical axis and raisable and lowerable about a horizontal mid position, a discharge snout arranged at a waterside end and able to pendulate about a vertical mid position, and a combined vertical-horizontal endless belt conveyor with material-receiving compartments, a drive drum for the conveyor being disposed at a delivery end of the horizontal conveyor portion.The conveyor is guided by guide rollers within frame structures of the arms and the frame structure with the vertical conveyor portion can be redisposed pivotably by way of a pivot coupling, such as a knuckle bolt, by means of hydraulic piston-cylinder units, which are articulated on the one hand to end cross frames of the frame structures and on the other hand to an intermediate frame. The upper and lower runs of the conveyor in the region of the junction of the arms bear by way of a plurality of the guide rollers, preferably carried by link chains, by way of sliding or roll able elements on curved, preferably circularly arcuate, rails, while the guide rollers in the vertical conveyor portion are carried by rods, the tension setting means for the conveyor being arranged in the horizontal conveyor portion.

Such a continuously conveying ship discharger may include a portal movable on the pier. The jib arm is preferably raisable and lowerable about the horizontal mid position through an angle of + 20 and the discharge snout preferably pivotable through an angle of up to *200about a vertical mid-position. The single combined verticalhorizontal endless belt conveyor, which is provided with materialreceiving compartments, is arranged in frame structures of the pendulable discharge snout and the horizontal jib arm, with the drive drum of the conveyor disposed in the jib arm at the land side end of the horizontal conveyor part. In the knee region between the pendulable discharge snout and the jib arm, the conveyor is deflected by way of a plurality of guide rollers which are arranged on an arc.

In order that the conveyed material in the knee region is not accelerated out of the compartments of the vertical conveyor part, the deflection of the loaded conveyor should preferably take place over a relatively large radius. For this reason it is desirable to ensure that the resultant of the centrifugal acceleration V2/R and the gravitational acceleration g extends at such an angle to the surface of the compartment base that the material does not slip out under consideration of the smallest possible coefficient of friction. Since the angle of movement of the knee joint can be variable in the order of magnitude of 90" + 40 , the guide rollers are carried by tension rods in the vertical region and by chain links in the knee region.

Due to the uninterrupted transition of the vertically extending conveyor part of the discharge snout into the horizontal part on the jib arm, additional equipment for material transfer in the region of the junction and for drive of the vertical conveyor part are superfluous. Any weight (ballast) to be mounted on the discharge snout and at the waterside end of the jib arm can thus be reduced to a minimum.

In the junction region of the discharge snout and the jib arm a preferably U-shaped intermediate frame, the direction of which is disposed approximately in the bisector between a waterside transverse end frame of the jib arm and an upper transverse end frame of the discharge snout, can be mounted at the knuckle bolt. Connected between the transverse member of the intermediate frame and the jib arm and discharge snout can be at least two hydraulic piston-cylinder units, which execute strokes of equal length and thus pivot the snout.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of a continuously conveying ship discharger embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation, to an enlarged scale, of a discharge snout of the discharger; Fig. 3 is an elevation, to an enlarged scale, of the region of the junction of the discharge snout with a jib arm of the discharger; Fig. 4 is an elevation, to an enlarged scale, of the lower part of the discharge snout; Fig. 5 is a cross-section of end cross-frames of the jib arm and discharge snout along the arrowed section lines in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a detail elevation, and associated arrowed cross sections, of the lower end of the region of the junction of the jib arm and discharge snout; and Fig. 7 isan elevation, to enlarged scale, of part of discharger to illustrate the curve radii of conveyor belt runs of the discharger during deflection in the junction region and at the end of the jib arm remote from the junction.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a ship discharger for the transloading of pourable mass material,comprising a discharge snout (1) mounted to be pendulable at a horizontal jib arm 2. The discharger also includes a movable portal 25, a turntable 24, a rocker mechanism 27, a throw-off jib 26, a pylon 28, guy ropes 29 and a ballast jib 30.

As illustrated more closely in Figs. 2 to 7, the discharge snout 1, which can pendulate through up to +20 about its vertical mid position, consists of a frame structure 8 and a lower member, which is guided at the lower end of the structure in linear bearings 22.

Arranged on the lower member is a lower vertical conveyor, with a conveying worm 3 and a transfer channel, and a deflecting drum 21.

The discharge snout 1 is connected in a junction or knee region to the jib arm 2, which similarly comprises a frame structure 9. The connection is effected by knuckle bolts 10 interconnecting an end transverse frame 8a of the frame structure 8 of the snout 1 and an end transverse frame 9a of the frame structure 9 of the jib arm 2.

Pivotably mounted on the bolts 10 is a U-shaped frame 11, and two or four hydraulic piston-cylinder units 12 are connected between the frame 11 and the frames 8a and 9a. The units 12 serve as a pendulum drive whereby the snout 1 can be pivoted through about 20 from the vertical towards the waterside or towards the land side.

Extending in the snout 1 and jib arm 2, and passing through the knee region, is an endless belt conveyor 4, which comprises a belt 6 with compartments 5 for flowable material to be conveyed and which is deflected around the drum 21 and also around a drive drum 7 at the landward end of the jib arm 2. The outward and return runs of the conveyor belt 6 are guided by long guide rollers 14 and stub guide rollers 15, which in the knee region are carried by two link chains 16 and in the discharge snout by two rods 19. The rods 19, which are guided in the frame structure 8, depend from the lower ends of the link chains 16, and the lower member of the discharge snout, i.e. the member with the drum 21, in turn depends from the rods.

The deflection of the conveyor 4 between the vertical and the horizontal, in particular the guidance of the link chains 16 in the knee region, is achieved with two circularly arcuate rails 13, which are fastened to the U-shaped frame 11. The link chains 16 bear on the rails 13 by way of chain members, dogs or, in the case of the illustrated embodiment, support rollers 17. The rails 13 could in principle also be fastened to one of the end transverse frames 8a and 9a and supported by rollers at the frame 11 and at the other one of the end transverse frames.

Two vertically arranged slide tracks 18, into which the rollers 17 of the chains 16 engage and raise the chains off the rails 13, are fastened in the upper region of the snout 1 directly beside the rails 13. Expediently, hydraulic pipes and electrical cables to the lower member of the snout 1 are also conducted by way of the chains 16 and the rods 19, since compensation for length change is then not required.

Instead of the link chains 16, which are made up of individual chain members or links, steel cable reinforced rubber belts, to which the guide rollers are fastened, or the like can be used.

The link chain length results from the radius of the conveyor guidance and the maximally attainable angle of the knee joint, thus about 90" + 40 = 1300.

As can be seen from, in particular, Fig. 3, the upper ends of the chains 16 are connected by way of tensioning devices 20 to the end transverse frame 9a of the frame structure 9, while the lower ends of the chains 16 are connected to the two rods 19. The rods 19 are guided to be movable longitudinally in the discharge snout 1, together with the lower member guided in the bearings 22. The devices 20 serveto set the tension force at the lower, not driven, deflecting drum 21.

The tensioning devices 20 could also be arranged between the chains 16 and the rods 19 or between the rods 19 and the lower member of the snout 1, although they would then be less accessible and require movable cable feeds.

If the own weight of the lower member of the snout 1 just corresponds to the required conveyor tensioning force, a zero force can be set in the devices 20. In the normal case, however, the own weight of lower member of the snout is greater than the required tensioning force and the devices 20 must be set to absorb tension forces.

The tensioning devices 20 can be represented by hydraulicpistoncylinder units. It is then possible to set the tension force in dependence on the respectively conveyed material and the angle of the jib arm to the horizontal, i.e. the conveying height.

If the devices 20 are constructed to be fixedly settable, the tensioning force can be made variable automatically in dependence on the jib arm angle (but not also on the material flow) in the following manner: The radius of each of the rails 13 is made somewhat larger than the mean value between the radii of the upper run 6a and lower run 6b of the conveyor belt 6. The belt tension is then reduced for a high jib arm setting, thus when less lifting work is to be performed and a lower belt bias is required, and conversely increased for a lower jib arm setting.

Expediently, the force in the rods (19) or in the link chains 16 is measured continuously by a force sensor (23) and an automatic emergency switch-off is performed if there is a sudden substantial change. Additionally or alternatively, the drive of the drum 7 can be appropriately influenced by the sensor 23. Such a substantial change in measured force may occur, for example, when the vertical conveyor at the free end of the snout 1 is brought to a stop during a lowering operation or due to sticking of the conveyor at the rim of the hold of the ship during raising of the snout.

The sensor 23 can be provided by, for example, load-measuring bolts between the lower part of the snout and the rods 19 or, if the tensioning devices 20 are piston-cylinder units, by a pressure sensor incorporated in these units.

It can also be recognised from Fig. 2 that the lifting travel of the lower member of the snout 1 results from the difference of the maximum and the minimum knee angle and from the radius of the conveyor belt guidance in the knee joint. For example, total tensioning travel of 2.8 metres results in the case of a stroke of 800 and 2 metres.

The effective length of the snout 1 changes by this amount, which is, however, an advantage rather than a disadvantage, because a shorter snout is desirable for a high jib arm setting and a longer snout is preferable for a lower jib arm setting, i.e. in the case of an empty ship or low water.

Detail features of the lower part of the snout 1 are illustrated to enlarged scale in Fig. 4. The guide rollers 14 and 15 which guide the runs of the conveyor belt 6 in the snout are mounted at equal spacings on the rods 19, in particular with a long roller 14 in the centre and a respective stub roller 15 to the left and the right thereof. Also evident in Fig. 4, apart from part of the frame structure 8, are the lower vertical conveyor with conveyor worm 3 and transfer channel thereof to the vertical stretch of the conveyor 4, and the deflecting drum 21.

Figs. 5 and 6 show that the long guide rollers 14 in the knee region are connected to links of both chains 16 on either side of the conveyor belt 6. For this purpose each chain 16 carries a respective end of the axle of each roller 14. The rollers 14 support the upper, normally loaded run 6a of the belt 6 over its entire width. The stub rollers 15 are arranged in pairs and each chain 16 carries a respective roller of each such pair in cantilever manner. The rollers 15 support the edge region of the lower, unloaded run 6b of the belt 6. Expediently, the axles of the long rollers 14 extend outwardly beyond the chains 16 and serve as axles for the rollers 17, by which the chains bear on the rails 13.

The rollers 17 are provided in preference to sliding elements, as they move under contact pressure on the rails 13 and in the slide tracks 18 and wear is thus reduced or avoided.

The deflection of the conveyor belt 6 with its compartments 5 around the drive drum 7 in the region of the centre of the ship discharger is illustrated in Fig. 7. Here, the radius of deflection can, by contrast to the deflection at the rails 13, be smaller, because the centrifugal acceleration V2/R and the gravitational acceleration g co-operate with the running direction of the compartments 5 during emptying of material therefrom at the upper belt run 6a.

Claims

1. Conveying means for flowable material, comprising a jib arm arranged to be raisable and lowerable and to be pivotable about a substantially vertical axis, a drop arm pivotably connected to the jib arm at one end thereof, adjusting means to adjust the angle of the drop arm relative to the jib arm, an endless belt conveyor extending in both arms and provided with receptacles for flowable material, drive means arranged in the jib arm at the other end thereof to drive the conveyor, a plurality of guide rollers guiding outward and return runs of the conveyor in the arms and carried by rigid carrier means in the drop arm and flexible carrier means in the region of the junction of the arms, curved support means supporting the flexible carrier means, and tension setting means setting the conveyor tension.

2. Conveying means as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the arms is formed by a frame structure.

3. Conveying means as claimed in claim 2, wherein the frame structures of the arms comprise end cross frames and the arms are pivotably connected together by pivot couplings at the cross frames.

4. Conveying means as claimed in claim 3, the adjusting means comprising piston-cylinder units pivotably connected between the cross frames and an intermediate frame pivoted at the pivot couplings.

5. Conveying means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the curved support means comprising circularly arcuate rails supporting rollable or slidable support elements of the flexible carrier means.

6. Conveying means as claimed in claim 5, comprising slide tracks arranged at the upper end of the drop arm to guide the support elements away from the rails.

7. Conveying means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the flexible carrier means comprising link chains.

8. Conveying means as claimed in claim 7, wherein the chains comprise two chains disposed one on each side of the conveyor and the guide rollers comprise first rollers guiding the conveyor run uppermost in the region of the junction of the arms and pairs of second rollers guiding the conveyor run lowermost in said region, each first roller being carried by both chains and the rollers of each pair of second rollers being carried one by each chain.

9. Conveying means as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first and second rollers are mounted on axles connected to the links of the chains.

10. Conveying means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the rigid carrier means comprising rods.

11. Conveying means as claimed in claim 10, comprising guide means for the conveyor in the lower part of the drop arm, the guide means depending from the rods.

12. Conveying means as claimed in claim 11, wherein the rods and guide means are guided by linear bearings in the drop arm to be displaceable substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof.

13. Conveying means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the tension setting means being connected between the jib arm and an upper end of the flexible carrier means.

14. Conveying means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, comprising force-sensing means to sense forces in at least one of the rigid carrier means and the flexible carrier means and to influence at least one of the tension setting means and the conveyor drive means in dependence on the sensed forces.

15. Conveying means as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the conveying means being ship discharging equipment.

16. Conveying means substantially as hereinbefore ';scr,bed with reference t the accompanying drawings.