MXPA99009221A - Portable crusher - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable rock crusher (10) is adapted for attachment to a boom (16) of an earthmoving vehicle (14). The crusher has a hopper (32) with a material inlet (49) and a material outlet (44) spaced from the inlet. A pair of jaws (46, 48) is located within the hopper and positioned between the inlet and outlet. The jaws are movable relative to one another to vary the spacing therebetween and an actuator (68) is provided to control relative movement between the jaws. Material moving from the inlet to the outlet thereby passes between the jaws and is crushed upon relative movement of the jaws to provide an aggregate at the outlet.

Description

PORTABLE CRUSHER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a portable crusher device for preparing aggregate and the like. When a remote site is developed, for example a mine or a quarry, it is necessary to provide or improve roads that lead either to the site or roads within the site itself. These roads are necessary to allow the equipment used in the development of sites to move freely and, typically, the roads are made of crushed stone that can be deposited, smoothed and compacted to provide a useful path. However, the distance from the site and the difficulty of access can make it impractical to have a stone crusher conveniently located to produce aggregate for road construction. However, a conventional mobile type crushing plant may be too large or heavy to be used on the site, at least until the roads have been developed. In most locations there is a large supply of dynamited stone available, but it is impractical and economical to have a stone crusher available. stone located on the site. Even if a shredder is available, it is not convenient to take the dynamited stone from the mine or quarry, crush it to the right size to build the road and then transport it back to the mine to build the road. In U.S. Patent No. 4,441,415, there is shown a shredder adapted to shred or flatten metal scrap and, in particular, body shells. The shredder is mounted on a tug and includes a pair of crusher jaws. One of the jaws is stationary while the other is pivoted, where the pivot point is placed at the exit of the shredder. The relative movement of the jaws is achieved by means of hydraulic cylinders that act directly on the mobile jaw. This reference does not show a shredder for aggregate material. U.S. Patent No. 3,959,897, shows a rock crusher adapted to be mounted on a dredging device. The shredder includes a pair of jaws, one is stationary and the other is pivoted and acts through a hydraulic cylinder. The pivot point of the movable jaw is located near the exit of the shredder and the cylinder acts through eccentric arrow. Therefore, an object of this invention is to avoid or mitigate the above disadvantages.

SrjH &RIQ OF THE INVENTION In general terms, the present invention provides a portable crusher for attaching to a hoist arm for a soil remover vehicle. The crusher has a hopper with a material inlet and a material outlet separated from the inlet. A pair of jaws are placed inside the hopper and positioned between the entrance and the exit. The jaws are movable relative to each other to vary the spacing between them and an actuator is provided to control relative movement between the jaws. The material moving from the inlet to the outlet thus passes between the jaws and is crushed with the relative movement of the jaws to provide an aggregate at the outlet. Preferably, the actuator is a hydraulic actuator and one of the jaws is fixed while the other can be pivoted relative to the hopper, under the control of the actuator. It is also preferred that the jaws be pushed and separated and that the thrust be provided by a mechanical spring. By providing a shredder that can be attached to the hoisting rake of an earthmoving vehicle, it is possible to transport the shredder before upgrading roads to the location where raw material is available for crushing and forming aggregates. In addition, the material feed between the inlet and the outlet can be controlled by the operation of the lifting arm lifting mechanism and the hopper can be used to transport the crushed material, if convenient. Therefore, the invention provides a portable crusher comprising: a hopper having a material inlet and a material outlet separated from the inlet; a pair of jaws inside the hopper positioned between the entrance and the exit, the jaws are movable relative to each other, whereby the material that moves from the entrance to the exit passes through the jaws and is crushed; and an actuator for effecting relative movement between the jaws; wherein the pair of jaws comprises a first movable jaw connected to the actuator, and a second stationary jaw, the first jaw has a first end at the inlet and a second end at the outlet; The improvement consists in that the first end of the first jaw is connected to the pivot with the hopper and the second end of the first jaw is connected to the actuator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a hydraulic breaker mounted on a wheeled vehicle; Figure 2 is a section of a shredder shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a jaw used in the shredder shown in Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a side view similar to Figure 2 of an alternative embodiment of the shredder; Figure 5 is a side view similar to Figure 1 of yet another embodiment of the shredder; and Figure 6 is a side view similar to Figure 1 of yet another embodiment of the shredder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to Figure 1 there is shown a hydraulic breaker 10 which is connected to a lifting arm unit 12 of a dirt removing vehicle 14 using wheels. The lifting arm unit 12 includes a pair of arms 16 laterally separated and connected to each other. pivoting with the towers 18 and moving around the pivot point with the towers, by means of lifting cylinders 20. The lifting arm unit 12 also includes a leveling linkage 22 comprising a leveling cylinder 24 connected to a pair of links 26, 28. The lifting arm unit 12 and the wheeled vehicle 14 are of the conventional type and are well known in the field of soil removal and need not be described in greater detail. Of course, it will be understood that the other configurations of the wheeled vehicle or the crawler vehicle can be used to support the shredder 10. The shredder 10 is provided with mounting points 28, 30 to be connected through respective pins to the lift arms or arms 16 and links 26. In the configuration, the mounting points 28, 30 correspond to those of a conventional bucket, for example of the type that is used with the lifting arm unit 12, so that the vehicle 14 can be used with the disposer 10 or with a conventional bucket unit. Referring to Figure 2, the crusher unit 10 comprises a hopper indicated generally as 32 and having a pair of lateral walls 34 laterally spaced and interconnected by a floor 36. The floor 36 it projects forward from the side walls 34 to provide a tapered flange 38 to facilitate the ingress of material into the hopper 32. The side walls 34 are also connected at the upper rear edge by a rear wall 40 and an upper wall 42 The end wall 40 ends before the floor 36 in order to provide an elongated and transverse outlet 44. A pair of jaws 46, 48 are positioned within the hopper 32, where the lower jaw 46 is secured through the bolts 50 with the floor 361. The jaw 48 is secured to a transverse plate 52 extending between a pair of jaws. arms 54. The arms 54 are located adjacent to the side walls 34 and are pivotally mounted with the side walls on the bolts 56. The jaws 48 can therefore pivot about the pins 56 towards and away from the jaw 46. The forward end of the jaws 46, 48 is therefore separated to define an inlet 49 which is aligned but spaced from the outlet 44. The jaws 46, 48 are shown in greater detail in Figure 3 and are formed with a upper grooved surface 58 having triangular teeth 60 that progressively increase in height and join from front to back. The shape of the upper surface 58 is simply an example and is a standard form of the crusher jaw, as elaborated by ESCO Canada Ltd. and, therefore, is not described in more detail. The bolts 50 are placed on standard centers so that different forms of crusher jaws can be used depending on the material to be crushed. Referring again to Figure 2, each of the arms 54 has a bracket 62 on the opposite side of the jaws 48 and which extends rearwardly. The bracket 62 has a projecting tongue 64 that receives an end of a helical spring 66. The opposite end of the coil spring 66 is supported on a cross bar 67 that extends between the side walls 34. The spring 66 is a compression spring that acts to push the arm 54 around the pin 56 in order to achieve maximum separation between the jaws 46, 48. The relative movement between the jaws 46, 48 is controlled by an actuator in general indicated 68. The actuator 68 includes a hydraulic cylinder 70 and a piston 72 slidable within the cylinder 70. The hydraulic fluid is supplied to a chamber 74 defined between the piston 72 and the cylinder 70 through a pipe 76 from a convenient service location on the vehicle 14. The flow passing through the pipe 76 is controlled by a valve unit which causes the chamber 74 expands when it admits fluid or contracts under the influence of spring 66 when it draws fluid. The piston 72 has a ball 76 formed at one end and which engages a receptacle 78 mounted on the plate 52. The opposite end of the actuator 68 is dome-shaped as indicated at number 78 and is supported in a recess 80. partially cylindrical formed in a transverse bar 82 extending between the rear plate 40 and the upper plate 42. The ball 76 and the receptacle 78 together with the dome 78 and the recess 80 allow relative rotational movement as the arm 54 it oscillates around pin 56 to inhibit bending stresses on the actuator. In operation, the position of the shredder 10 is adjusted through the lifting arm unit 12 so that the floor 36 is flush with the ground on which the row of stone material is located. The vehicle 14 is advanced so that the material enters the hopper 32 through an inlet 49 defined between the jaw 48, the side plates 34 and the floor 36. The lifting arm unit 12 is then deployed to rotate the crusher around the pivot points 28 of the lifting arm 16, so that the stones generally indicated as S fall between the jaws 46, 48. Although some of the stones S are small enough to pass between the jaws 46, 48 and outside from exit 44, the The majority is held between the jaws 46, 48. The hydraulic fluid is then supplied through the pipe 76 to expand the chamber 74 and pivot the arm 54 around the pin 56. The jaws move more towards each other and crush the stones S located between the gag, which causes them to disintegrate into small fragments. These fragments then pass between the jaws and through the outlet 44 to provide a supply of crushed stone. The actuator 68 is operated in cycles between the extended and retracted positions, in a regular manner, typically at 60 Hz to provide a continuous grinding operation. The stones S fed in this form from the hopper 32 between the jaws 46, 48 are fragmented to pass out of the outlet 44. The spring 66 opposes the rotational movement of the arm 54 under the influence of the actuator 68 and thus returns the arm to the position in which the jaws 46, 48 are separated. This allows the actuator 68 to have a single action and a relatively simple cycle valve is used to supply fluid through the pipe 76. Once the stone S has been crushed, the vehicle 14 can be relocated to acquire additional stones and crush them in a similar way. In case of If a stone S is stuck inside the jaws, the unfolded cylinder 24 can be extended to allow the stone S to fall towards the hopper 32. It will therefore be observed that when the crusher unit is mounted on the lifting arm 16 it is possible to transport the shredder to a convenient location to perform the crushing operations. Providing the separate jaws 46, 48 between the inlet 49 and the outlet 44 of the hopper 32 allows the stones to be continuously crushed and use gravity to induce flow through the crusher jaws. At the end of the grinding operation, the hopper 32 can be used to transport the crushed material to a suitable site or can be used to compact and smooth the crushed material in a manner similar to that achieved with a conventional bucket unit. It will be appreciated that the mounting points can be selected to conform to a standard configuration of the machine, for example, the hopper can be configured for use with a 360 ° excavator or with a backhoe mounted on the back by proper positioning of the the mounting points. An additional embodiment of the shredder is shown in Figure 4, where similar components will be identified with like reference numbers with the suffix "a" added to avoid confusion. In the embodiment of Figure 4, the shredder 10a has a lower jaw 46a and an upper jaw 48a to direct the material from the inlet 49a to the outlet 44a, in the rear wall of the hopper 32a. The spring 66a extends between a ladle 62a on the arm 54a and a transverse rod 90. The spring 66a is a tension spring having hooked ends secured to the eyes 92 of the ladle 62a and the rod 90, respectively. The rotation of the arm 54a around the pin 56a will cause the extension of the spring 66a to push the arm away from the lower jaw 46a. An actuator 68a is positioned within the hopper 32a and has a piston 72a with a ball 76a received in the receptacle 78a. The fluid is supplied to the chamber 74a from a reciprocating pump indicated generally as 94. The pump 94 has a piston 96 slidable within a cylinder 98 which is directly connected to the chamber 74a. The piston 96 is connected to a connecting rod 100. The connecting rod is pivotally secured to a crank 102 which is secured to an output date of the hydraulic motor 104. The motor 104 can be of any convenient shape and receives hydraulic fluid at through the pipe 76a from a service that is in the vehicle.

The operation of the shredder 10a is similar to that described above, wherein the cyclic extension and retraction of the actuator 68a are induced by the fluid flow between the interconnected chambers 98 and 74a as the piston 96 reciprocates under the control of the crank. 102. The cylinder 98 is dimensioned to produce the required stroke of the piston 72a and produces the oscillatory movement of the arm 54 and the arm 54a around the pin 56a. An additional modality is shown in Figure 5 where again the same reference numbers will be used to denote similar components using the suffix "b" to avoid confusion. The shredder 10b has a pair of jaws 46b, 48b where the upper jaw 48b is mounted on the arm 54b to pivot about the pin 56b. The arm 54b is urged away from the jaw 46b by a helical spring 66b acting through a rod 110. The rod 110 extends parallel to the rear wall 40b and is pivotally connected by the pin 112 with a tongue 114 on arm 54b. The rod 110 passes through a hole formed in a bracket 114 which is secured to the rear wall 40b and the spring 66b located between the bracket 114 and a cover 116, threaded on the rod 110. The pivotal movement of the arm 54b will cause so the compression of the spring 56b between the bracket 114 and the cover 116. The rotation of the arm 54b is induced through a tilting mechanism indicated generally with the number 120, connected to an actuator 68b. The tilting mechanism 120 includes a pair of links 122, 124 which are pivoted by the pins 126 on opposite sides of a shoulder 128. The opposite end of the link 122 is secured by a pin 130 to a bracket 132 on the crossbar 80b at the apex of the hopper 32b. Link 124 is similarly connected through pin 134 and plate 136 to arm 54b. The shoulder 128 is secured to the piston 72b of the actuator 68b which, in turn, is slidable within the cylinder 70b. The fluid to the actuator 68b is supplied through the control line 76b from the appropriate valve to cause the reciprocating movement of the piston 72b within the cylinder 70b. With the links 122, 124 aligned, the jaw 48b is closer to the jaw 46b. As the rod 72b of the piston moves reciprocatingly, the shoulder 128 moves laterally causing the links 122, 124 to pivot about their respective pin connections and thereby cause the arm 54b to rotate about the pin. 56b. An action of crushed is provided in this form with the reciprocating reciprocating movement of the piston rod inside the cylinder 70b, to reduce the stone S and form an aggregate. The stroke of the actuator 68b can be adjusted so that in one limit the links 122, 124 are aligned as shown in Figure 5 and in the other limit, the shoulder is offset as shown by the dotted line and chains in the Figure 5. The alternative control is to allow the stroke of the actuator 68b to move the links 122, 124 beyond the aligned position, so that the shoulder 128 moves to either side of the position indicated by the dotted lines and chains . As the links move over the center, the jaws will separate. As a result, two oscillations of the jaws will occur for each cylinder chain. The initial separation between the jaws 46b and 48b can be adjusted by means of spacers indicated at 138 located below the plate 136 with a corresponding adjustment in the position of the cup 116 on the rod 110. In this form, an aggregate of different nominal size. Another modality is shown in Figure 6 where the similar components will be identified with the same reference numbers using the suffix "c" to avoid confusion. In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the actuator 68c is in the form of a double acting hydraulic motor having a piston 72c and a cylinder 70c. The actuator 68c acts directly between the bracket 80b and the arm 54c. The hopper 32c is provided with a front wall 140 extending from the upper apex of the hopper 32c downwardly beyond the pivot pin 56c. In this form, the front wall 140 protects the actuator 68c. The oscillation of the jaws 46c and 48c are controlled by the actuator 68c which is reciprocated in a cyclic fashion by fluid supplied from a suitable valve through the pipes 76c. The cyclic movement of the actuator 68 can be obtained using a cyclic operation of several of conventional type. For example, a solenoid-operated and spring-operated valve can be used to operate the solenoid switch by proximity sensors associated with the piston rod or by using a mechanical link connected between the reversible valve and the upper jaw 48 to reverse the flow towards the actuator. In each of the above embodiments, the minimum typical separation between jaws 46c, 48c is order of 2 inches although the separation of up to 3 or more inches can be contemplated if relatively large aggregates are required. Typically, the displacement of the jaws between the minimum and maximum separation would be of the order of 1/2 to 1 inch in order to provide the required grinding action. As mentioned before, the actuator 68 produces an oscillating movement of the order of 60 Hz through suitable valves. Using a 10"diameter cylinder, the proper crushing force is obtained at 50 psi Therefore it will be noted that by providing a compact mechanism located inside a hopper that can be attached to a soil remover vehicle, a shredder is provided portable that can be used in remote locations to facilitate the production of the aggregate Although the invention has been described in relation to certain specific embodiments, other modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. CLAIMS; A portable shredder comprising: a hopper having a material inlet and a material outlet separated from the inlet; - a pair of jaws inside the hopper placed between the entrance and the exit, the jaws are movable one in relation to the other, by means of which the material that moves from the entrance to the exit passes between the jaws and is crushed; and - an actuator for effecting relative movement between the jaws; wherein the pair of jaws comprises a first movable jaw connected to the actuator, and a second stationary jaw, the first jaw has a first end at the inlet and a second end at the outlet; The improvement consists in that the first end of the first jaw is connected to the pivot with the hopper and the second end of the first jaw is connected to the actuator.
2. 2. The shredder according to claim 1, wherein the shredder is adapted to be attached to a ground remover vehicle.
3. The shredder according to claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises a hydraulic cylinder and a slideable piston within the cylinder.
4. 4. The shredder according to claim 1, in where the actuator comprises a hydraulic motor. The shredder according to claim 1, wherein the first jaw is further connected to a pushing means to maintain the separation between the first and second jaws. The shredder according to claim 5, wherein the pushing means comprises a spring. The shredder according to claim 1, wherein the first jaw is connected to an actuator via a tilting means, the swiveling means comprises first and second links having first ends pivotally connected to the actuator, the first link is connected at its second end to the hopper and the second link is connected at its second end to the first jaw.