JP7468553B2 - Conveyor chute and method for transporting raw materials for iron making using the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a conveyor chute suitable for placement at the transfer points of belt conveyors that transport iron-making raw materials such as iron ore, sintered ore, coal, and coke, and a method for transporting iron-making raw materials using the conveyor chute.

In steelworks, many conveyor belts are in operation to transport raw materials for steelmaking. Conveyor chutes are used to switch between traveling in the same direction as the raw materials for steelmaking or in a cross direction, preventing the raw materials from scattering and allowing them to transfer to the next conveyor belt.

The conveyor chute is composed of an inlet for feeding the iron-making raw materials transported by the upstream belt conveyor, an outlet for feeding the iron-making raw materials fed from the inlet to the downstream belt conveyor, and a housing that defines a closed space inside, leaving the inlet and the outlet. In order to reduce the impact of the iron-making raw materials directly falling onto the downstream belt conveyor, a wear-resistant material (liner) is attached to the inner wall of the conveyor chute as shown in Figure 7, and the iron-making raw materials are first hit against the wear-resistant material before being sent to the downstream belt conveyor. However, when transporting iron-making raw materials that contain moisture due to rainfall, etc., the fed iron-making raw materials may adhere to the wear-resistant material of the conveyor chute, and if the amount of adhesion increases, the fall trajectory of the iron-making raw materials from the outlet of the conveyor chute changes as shown in Figure 8, and the iron-making raw materials are loaded on the downstream belt conveyor in a state where they are offset in the width direction of the conveyor belt.

If the raw materials for iron-making are transported in an uneven state, they will spill off the side of the conveyor belt (fall), resulting in transport losses, and the transport line will need to be stopped temporarily and workers will need to manually collect the raw materials with shovels or use heavy machinery to collect the raw materials, making it difficult to transport the raw materials efficiently. In addition, if the raw materials for iron-making are transported in an uneven state, the conveyor belt will also meander, which raises concerns that the conveyor belt may come into contact with the support rolls that restrain the conveyor belt laterally, damaging the end faces of the rolls.

To solve these problems, conveyor chutes such as those in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed. These involve arranging guide plates (fall direction adjustment plates, flow straightening plates) inside the conveyor chute that allow the tilt angle to be changed, and by appropriately adjusting the tilt angle of the guide plates, the raw materials for ironmaking are guided and led to the center of the width of the downstream belt conveyor, preventing the raw materials from being loaded in an uneven state and preventing the conveyor belt from meandering.

JP 2000-313518 A JP 2002-128252 A

However, in the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2, the raw materials for iron and steelmaking fall directly onto the downstream belt conveyor through a guide plate provided at the top of the conveyor chute, which has the drawback that wear and damage to the conveyor belt due to the impact of the fall is unavoidable.

The object of the present invention is to propose a conveyor chute that allows raw materials for iron-making to be transferred to a downstream belt conveyor while maintaining a stable loading state, and that can reduce the impact on the downstream belt conveyor caused by the falling of the raw materials for iron-making, and a method of transporting raw materials for iron-making using the conveyor chute.

The present invention is a conveyor chute that is placed at the transfer point of a belt conveyor that transports raw materials for iron-making, and is characterized in that it has an inlet for feeding raw materials transported by the upstream belt conveyor, a discharge outlet for supplying the raw materials fed from the inlet to the downstream belt conveyor, and a housing that defines a closed space inside, leaving the inlet and the discharge outlet, and a protrusion is provided on the inner wall of the housing to temporarily receive the raw materials fed from the inlet, and a guide plate is provided directly below or below the protrusion, the tilt angle of which can be changed, and the raw materials once received by the protrusion are guided through the discharge outlet to the downstream belt conveyor.

In the conveyor chute having the above-mentioned configuration, the guide plate is suspended and held so as to be tiltable around the shaft as a fulcrum, the guide plate has a tilting means for moving a rod connected to the back surface of the guide plate back and forth to change the tilting angle of the guide plate, a measuring means for measuring the loading state of the iron-making raw materials loaded on the downstream belt conveyor, and a control unit for driving the tilting means based on the measurement results measured by the measuring means, the protrusion is a single plate-shaped member or a stepped member having at least one step, the housing has a front wall located on the opposite side to the upstream belt conveyor, The housing has a front wall located on the opposite side of the upstream belt conveyor and an opposite wall facing the front wall, and at least one protrusion is provided on the front wall and the opposite wall, alternating along the height direction, so that the iron-making raw materials fed from the feed opening are alternately delivered toward the guide plate and fall sequentially, and the guide plate has an elastic layer made up of at least two layers on its guide surface.

The present invention also relates to a method for transporting raw materials for iron-making using the above-mentioned conveyor chute, characterized in that the raw materials for iron-making introduced through the inlet are first received by the protruding portion, and then the raw materials that fall through the protruding portion are guided and guided by the guide plate to be supplied to the downstream belt conveyor through the outlet.

According to the present invention, when raw materials for iron-making are transferred from the upstream belt conveyor to the downstream belt conveyor, the stacked state of the raw materials for iron-making is stabilized, which suppresses meandering of the conveyor belt and prevents raw materials for iron-making from falling off the belt conveyor, eliminating the need for manual labor or heavy machinery to recover fallen materials, leading to labor savings.

In addition, according to the present invention, the raw iron-making materials supplied from the upstream belt conveyor are first received by a protrusion provided inside the conveyor chute, and then guided via a guide plate from the discharge outlet of the conveyor chute to the downstream belt conveyor. This reduces the impact of the raw iron-making materials falling onto the downstream belt conveyor, reducing wear and damage to the conveyor belt and thus extending the life of the conveyor belt.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, even if raw materials for iron-making adhere to the guide plate, it is possible to improve the loading condition of the raw materials on the downstream belt conveyor by adjusting the tilt angle of the guide plate, and the frequency of cleaning the guide plate can be reduced (reducing the labor required for cleaning).

1A and 1B are schematic diagrams showing an embodiment of a conveyor chute according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional side view, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a method for adjusting the tilt angle of the guide plate. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a method for adjusting the tilt angle of the guide plate. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a control flow in a control unit, a measuring means, and a tilting means. FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of a conveyor chute according to the present invention. FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of a conveyor chute according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a situation in which a conventional conveyor chute is used to transfer raw steel materials from an upstream belt conveyor to a downstream belt conveyor. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a situation in which a conventional conveyor chute is used to transfer raw steel materials from an upstream belt conveyor to a downstream belt conveyor.

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.
1(a) and (b) are schematic diagrams showing an embodiment of a conveyor chute according to the present invention, which is installed at the transition point between an upstream belt conveyor and a downstream belt conveyor, (a) is a cross-sectional view of the side, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of (a).

In Figures 1(a) and 1(b), reference numeral 1 denotes the upstream belt conveyor, reference numeral 2 denotes the downstream belt conveyor arranged to transport steelmaking raw materials g (see Figures 2 and 3) perpendicular to the upstream belt conveyor 1, and reference numeral 3 denotes a conveyor chute arranged at the transition point between the upstream belt conveyor 1 and the downstream belt conveyor 2.

The conveyor chute 3 is equipped with an inlet 3a for feeding the iron-making raw materials g transported by the upstream belt conveyor 1, a discharge outlet 3b for supplying the iron-making raw materials g fed from the inlet 3a to the downstream belt conveyor 2, and a housing 3c that defines a closed space inside, leaving only the inlet 3a and the discharge outlet 3b.

Here, the housing 3c is shown as an example consisting of a front wall 3c1 located on the surface facing the upstream belt conveyor 1, a facing wall 3c2 facing the front wall 3c1, a pair of side walls 3c3 located between the front wall 3c1 and the facing wall 3c2, and a top wall 3c4 located at the upper ends of the front wall 3c1, the facing wall 3c2, and the side wall 3c3, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example. The inlet 3a can be formed by providing an opening in the facing wall 3c2, and the outlet 3b can be an opening formed at the lower end of the combination of the front wall 3c1, the facing wall 3c2, and the side wall 3c3.

The reference numeral 4 in the figure denotes a protrusion provided on the inside of the front wall 3c1 of the housing 3c, which temporarily receives the raw iron-making materials g fed through the feeding port 3a.

The protrusion 4 is made up of two horizontal plates 4a, 4b and one vertical plate 4c that is connected to each end of the horizontal plates 2a, 2b and forms a step d between them, and is made of a stepped member that steps down toward the facing wall 3c2.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a stepped member with one step d is shown as an example, but two or more steps d may be formed by appropriately increasing the number of horizontal plates 2a, 2b and vertical plates 2c, and this is not a limitation. In addition, the protrusion 4 may be a single plate-like member that is horizontally arranged, or a single plate-like member that has a downward slope that decreases as it moves away from the front wall 3c1.

The reference symbol 5 in the figure denotes a guide plate provided directly below the protruding portion 4. The guide plate 5 is suspended and tiltable around an axis 5a (pivot) as a fulcrum, and the tilt angle can be changed as appropriate. It has the function of guiding the raw iron-making materials g once received by the protruding portion 4 to the downstream belt conveyor 2 through the discharge port 3b.

The guide plate 5 may have a flat guide surface, or may have a convex guide surface in which the center of the width direction protrudes over the entire length, or may have a concave guide surface in which the center of the width direction recesses over the entire length. The guide plate 5 may also be provided below the protruding portion 4.

In addition, the reference numeral 6 in the figure denotes a tilting means having a rod 6a connected to the back surface of the guide plate 5, which moves the rod 6a back and forth to change the tilt angle of the guide plate 5, and 7 denotes a measuring means for measuring the loading condition of the iron-making raw materials g loaded on the downstream belt conveyor 2.

The tilting means 6 can be an actuator such as a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder, and the measuring means 7 can be a laser sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc.

The reference numeral 8 in the figure denotes a control unit. The control unit 8 outputs a tilt command to the tilting means 6 based on the information on the loading state of the iron-making raw materials g obtained by the measuring means 7, and drives the tilting means 6 to adjust the tilting angle of the guide plate 5.

It is preferable that the control unit 8 presets a tilt angle according to the deviation of the iron-making raw materials g on the downstream belt conveyor 2.

Figures 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams of how to adjust the tilt angle of the guide plate 5, and Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the control flow in the control unit 8, the measuring means 7, and the tilting means 6.

When the raw iron making materials g transported by the upstream belt conveyor 1 are fed into the conveyor chute 3, as shown in the upper diagram of Figure 2, the raw iron making materials g first fall onto the protruding portion 4 and pile up, forming an inclined surface at that location that is equivalent to the angle of repose of the raw iron making materials g. From then on, the raw iron making materials g fall and are transported along the inclined surface of the piled raw iron making materials g to the bottom of the conveyor chute 3, and are transferred to the downstream belt conveyor 2 via the guide plate 5. At this time, the impact of the falling raw iron making materials g is mitigated by the protruding portion 4 on the guide plate 5 and the downstream belt conveyor 2.

On the downstream belt conveyor 2, the loading state of the iron-making raw materials g involved in the transfer is constantly measured by the measuring means 7, and the information is sent to the control unit 8. If the control unit 8 determines that the imbalance of the iron-making raw materials g exceeds a threshold value, the control unit 8 sends a tilting operation command to the tilting means 6, and the tilt angle of the guide plate 5 is adjusted so that the iron-making raw materials g are loaded in the center of the downstream belt conveyor 2, as shown in the lower diagram of Figure 2.

As the operation progresses, raw materials g for iron-making are attached to the guide plate 5 as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 3, and the position at which the raw materials g fall onto the downstream conveyor belt 2 changes, causing the raw materials g to become biased. The control unit 8 judges whether the bias of the raw materials g for iron-making exceeds a threshold value, and if it is judged that the bias of the raw materials g for iron-making exceeds the threshold value, a command is sent from the control unit 8 to the tilting means 6 as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 3, and the tilt angle of the guide plate 5 is adjusted. In this way, in the present invention, even if raw materials g for iron-making are attached to the guide plate 5, the loading state of the raw materials g for iron-making on the downstream belt conveyor 2 can be maintained in a stable loading state by adjusting the tilt angle of the guide plate 5.

5 and 6 are diagrams showing another embodiment of the conveyor chute according to the present invention. The conveyor chute 3 has protrusions 4 arranged alternately on the front wall 3c1 and the opposite wall 3c2 of the housing 3c in a staggered manner along the height direction. The conveyor chute 3 transfers the raw iron materials g input from the input port 3a alternately between the protrusions 4 on the front wall 3c1 and the protrusions 4 on the opposite wall 3c2, and sequentially drops them toward the guide plate 5 to supply them to the downstream belt conveyor 2. This makes it possible to effectively reduce the impact of the falling raw iron materials g applied to the guide plate 5 and the downstream belt conveyor 2 even with a high conveyor chute 3.

The number of protrusions 4 provided on the front wall 3c1 and the facing wall 3c2 can be set as desired, but it is preferable to position the protrusion 4 located at the top of the front wall 3c1 higher than the protrusion 4 located at the top of the facing wall 3c2.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide surface (surface of the guide plate 5) of the guide plate 5 that guides the iron-making raw materials g can be provided with an elastic layer composed of at least two layers that combines the functions of protecting the guide plate 5 and suppressing adhesion of the iron-making raw materials g, for example, an elastic layer 9 composed of a first elastic layer 9a that is placed directly on the guide plate 5 and a second elastic layer 9b that is layered on the first elastic layer 9a.

Both the first elastic layer 9a and the second elastic layer 9b are made of a flexible elastic material such as urethane or rubber. The first elastic layer 9a is a layer that elastically deforms upon impact with the iron-making raw materials g to promote the peeling of the iron-making raw materials g, thereby suppressing adhesion of the iron-making raw materials g to the second elastic layer 9b. It is preferable that the first elastic layer 9a is thicker than the second elastic layer 9b and is made of a material with a greater elastic force (repulsion force) than the second elastic layer 9b.

The second elastic layer 9b is a layer that protects the guide plate 5 by serving as the collision surface for the iron-making raw materials g, and is preferably made of a material that is thinner than the first elastic layer 9a and has a smaller elastic force than the first elastic layer 9a. Note that while the elastic layer 9 has been illustrated as having a two-layer laminated structure, the elastic layer 9 may have a three or more layer laminated structure and is not limited to being made of two layers.

By providing the elastic layer 9 on the guide plate 5, it is possible to prevent the iron-making raw materials g from directly colliding with the guide plate 5, and to avoid damage to the guide plate 5. Even if the iron-making raw materials g adhere to the surface of the elastic layer 9, the iron-making raw materials g transported thereafter will continuously collide with the elastic layer 9, and the elastic layer 9 will elastically deform, facilitating the peeling off of the iron-making raw materials g.

The second elastic layer 9b is directly impacted by the iron-making raw materials g, so the surface of the second elastic layer 9b gradually wears away (consumes). For this reason, it is preferable to make the second elastic layer 9b replaceable relative to the first elastic layer 9a. This allows only the second elastic layer 9b to be replaced when the second elastic layer 9b reaches the end of its wear due to impact with the iron-making raw materials g.

In the embodiment of the present invention, an example has been described in which the upstream belt conveyor 1 and the downstream belt conveyor 2 are perpendicular to each other, but the upstream belt conveyor 1 and the downstream belt conveyor 2 do not necessarily have to be perpendicular to each other, and the present invention can also be applied to conveyor lines that intersect at an angle other than perpendicular.

In a conveying line in which a conveyor chute 3 with a capacity of ¹⁰⁰ m3 as shown in Fig. 1(a) and (b) is arranged at a transfer point of a belt conveyor, fine ore as a raw material g for iron making is conveyed (at a conveying speed of 1 to 2 m/s). The loading state of the raw material g on the downstream belt conveyor 2 is constantly monitored by a measuring means 7, and when the deviation of the raw material g exceeds a threshold value, the tilting means 6 is driven by a command from a control unit 8 to adjust the tilt angle of the guide plate 5. As a result, it was confirmed that the loading state of the raw material g for iron making can be stably maintained. In addition, it was confirmed that the downstream belt conveyor 2 used in this type of conveying line can be extended by about three times in the case of applying the conveyor chute according to the present invention, because the impact caused by the fall of the raw material g is mitigated, compared with a conventional conveyor chute (e.g., a height of 3 m from the upstream belt conveyor 1 to the downstream belt conveyor 2) that directly drops the raw material g from the upstream belt conveyor 1 to the downstream belt conveyor 2.

The present invention provides a conveyor chute that can prevent the conveyor belt from meandering due to the uneven distribution of raw materials, and can extend the life of the conveyor belt by absorbing the impact caused by the falling of the raw materials, and a method for transporting raw materials using the conveyor chute.

Reference Signs List 1: Upstream belt conveyor 2: Downstream belt conveyor 3: Conveyor chute 3a: Inlet 3b: Outlet 3c: Housing 3c1: Front wall 3c2: Facing wall 3c3: Side wall 3c4: Top wall 4: Projection 4a: Horizontal plate 4b: Horizontal plate 4c: Vertical plate 4d: Vertical plate 4e: Horizontal plate 5: Guide plate 5a: Shaft 6: Tilting means 6a: Rod 7: Measuring means 8: Control unit 9: Elastic layer 9a: First elastic layer 9b: Second elastic layer g: Iron-making raw material d: Step

Claims (7)

A conveyor chute arranged at a transfer point of a belt conveyor for transporting raw materials for iron making,
The apparatus comprises an inlet for introducing raw materials for iron-making transported by an upstream belt conveyor, an outlet for supplying the raw materials introduced from the inlet to a downstream belt conveyor, and a housing for defining a closed space on the inside except for the inlet and the outlet,
A protrusion is provided on an inner wall of the housing for temporarily receiving the iron-making raw materials fed from the feed opening, and a guide plate is disposed immediately below the protrusion or below the protrusion, the guide plate having a variable tilt angle and for guiding the iron-making raw materials once received by the protrusion through the discharge opening to a downstream belt conveyor,
The protrusion is a stepped member having at least two horizontal plates arranged horizontally or having a downward slope as it moves away from the inner wall, and a vertical plate forming a step between the horizontal plates. The conveyor chute according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide plate is suspended and tiltably supported on a shaft portion as a fulcrum. The conveyor chute described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide plate has a tilting means for moving a rod connected to the back surface of the guide plate back and forth to change the tilting angle of the guide plate, a measuring means for measuring the loading state of the raw materials for iron making loaded on the downstream belt conveyor, and a control unit for driving the tilting means based on the measurement results measured by the measuring means. The housing includes a front wall located on a surface facing the upstream belt conveyor and an opposing wall facing the front wall,
4. The conveyor chute according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is provided on the front wall. The housing includes a front wall located on a surface facing the upstream belt conveyor and an opposing wall facing the front wall,
The conveyor chute of any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the protrusions are provided at least one on the front wall and the opposing wall, alternately arranged along the height direction, so that the iron-making raw materials charged from the charging port are alternately delivered toward the guide plate and dropped sequentially. The conveyor chute described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the guide plate has an elastic layer composed of at least two layers on its guide surface. A method for transporting raw materials for iron making using a conveyor chute according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A method for transporting iron-making raw materials using a conveyor chute, characterized in that the iron-making raw materials fed from the inlet are first received by the protrusion, and then the iron-making raw materials falling through the protrusion are guided and guided by the guide plate to be supplied through the discharge outlet to the downstream belt conveyor.

Images