NZ214033A - Tipping vehicle body: emptied by screw conveyor - Google Patents

Description

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PATEK-rOF'ICE J ._ 3 1 OCT J985 _flECEfvm J MtW ZEMAfP PATENTS ftCT 1953 COVLETE SPEOFI CATION BULK TIPPING DESPMOffS I MRHONY tflCN STEBSNS, an Australian citizen of 3511 Pacific Highway, Springwood, Queensland, 4127, Australia, do hereby declare the invention, fen; which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 2 1 (T\ FIELD OF THE INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to bulk material handling and more particularly to a vehicular means whereby such material may be transported and tipped.

PRIOR ART It is common to provide central despatch points in the distribution of bulk supplied concrete, to which raw materials from quarries, etc., are freighted for measurement into delivery vehicles, such as the 10 common rotating hoppers which ship loads of premixed concrete. Most modern building projects are dependent on large supplies of ready mixed concrete, trucked from supply points, in a fleet of specialised trucks. The capacity of these trucks is restricted by government 15 regulation and safety factors, making a large fleet of small capacity trucks a necessity. The need to agitate the wet cement within the revolving drum so as to avoid setting, etc., of material, increases the bulk and weight of the truck in providing, supporting and powering the 20 rotating agitator. The central process and despatch point is nessarily central to potential building sites, as once mixed, the concrete begins its chemical setting reactions, such that transport times are restricted. Central process points are therefore remote from quarries 25 and a second fleet of trucks is required to transport raw materials from their point of origin. The amount of essential plant in this style of operation is large and •314033 e comprises a considerable capital outlay.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bulk handling system which is capable of delivering larger batches of materials, such as the precursors of 5 concrete, to building sites, all properly proportioned in composition to suit the user's needs. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION i ■ ■ ■ ■■■ ■' ■■ ■ - ■ ■ The present invention achieves its objects by 10 the provision of a bulk material handling system wherein there is provided a bulk tipping despatcher which comprises a tipping storage body suitable for containing quantities of bulk material therein, said tipping storage body having a floor extending between a pivot end and a discharge end, 15 and upstanding side walls, a material conveying mechanism extending along the floor from a discharge location to discharge material out of the end thereof at said discharge end of the tipping storage body, said tipping storage body being provided with a pivot point at the pivot end thereof 20 about which said tipping storage body may be tipped upwardly, and an elevating means whereby said tipping storage body may be tipped upwardly about said pivot, whereby the contents of said tipping storage body are led gravitationally to at least one discharge location when the 25 tipping storage body is tipped, said discharge location , being provided in operative association with 3aid material - 3 " ' F A ? y.

// V (% <0. v r ' '' t' r n 214033 IS conveying mechanism extending along said floor by which material delivered to said discharge location is transported along the length of the tipping storage body to a discharge point at the elevated discharge end of said tipping storage body for discharge from said tipping storage body, said tipping storage body being internally divided with separating means to provide separate storage coapartaents for the material to be despatched.- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof and wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bulk tipping despatcher for use in a bulk handling system; Fig. 2 is a sectional view through a tipping body which may be employed in a tipping despatcher as shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows an alternate form of tipping body; 2 1 «n Fig. 4 shows a flat bottomed tipping body; Fig. 5 shows an alternate flat bottomed tipping body; Fig. 6 shows an adaption of an existing tipping body; Figs. 7 and 8 show a particular embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 9 illustrates yet another form of the invention; and Figs. 10 and 11 show details of a tipping body.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION In Fig. 1, bulk tipping despatcher 10 is shown mounted on a trailer 13 coupled at 11 to prime mover 23. Preferably a tri-drive or triple axle 12, type prime mover is employed, where available, so as to be able to transport the maximum permissible loads. Any vehicle type suited to hauling large loads is within the scope of the invention. Trailer 13 is shown with a triple set of wheels. In order to transport the greatest loads, the drive and trailer may be chosen such as to take advantage of whatever maximum carrying capacitor motor vehicle regulations will permit on the road. With the wheel, ground contact shown in Fig. 1, upwards of ten cubic metres and more of rock, sand, etc., can be handled. This enables greater delivery capacity of concrete to a building site than can be achieved with a 2 1 ' 0 ready mix vehicle of the standard rotating agitator type now in the field, which is limited by road regulations and safety considerations to a five cubic metre capacity.

The tipping despatcher of Fig. 1 is pivoted at 15 for upward tipping movement upon operation of elevating mechanism 16 which may be the standard tilting mechanism used in standard tipper trucks. Indeed, it is possible to convert existing tipping trucks for operation in the bulk handling system of present invention with fitting of a new tray body which may be pivoted at the front, and as is described below, the elevating means 16 may be moved to the back from its normal position. Tipping despatcher body 10 is divided into a number of separate compartment, these being four in number in Fig. 1, i.e. 19 to 22. When the makings of concrete are being transported, it is possible that sand or aggregate be damp such as to set off any cement associated therewith prior to arriving at the site. It is wise therefore, to provide separate containment for at least the cement in the novel tipping despatcher. Its container might be covered to protect it in the event of rain. There can be advantages in filling material into the despatcher where compartments are defined for each of the components of the concrete to be delivered to a particular site. It might be possible, where weighing equipment is not available, to measure J ■ ^ out the material using proportions by volume and making use of preset volutes developed by the body's partioned structure.

In the base of the tipping despatcher body 5 is a longitudinally operative conveyor mechanism 18 and in the present embodiment an auger delivering material upwards of the tilted despatcher is preferred. A suitable drive unit 24 may be provided at the bottom end. Alternatively, a belt with suitable flights or 10 lugs, where necessary, might be employed to despatch the contents upwardly to spill them out into outlet 17.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a suitable material storage body for a tipping despatcher as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 shows a bin 30 with sloping 15 sides 32 directed inwardly to auger 31 which extends along the length of the despatcher to the outlet. A dividing wall 34 may be employed to compartmentalise the body with the conveyor, passing therebeneath through opening 35.

Fig. 3a is a view of an alternative material storage body 40 for a tipping despatcher. Fig. 3 shows a bin with two side mounted material conveying means such as augers 4 3 and 4 4 located within cavities 41 and 42 which extend the length of the material storage 25 body to convey material passed to the conveying means, to the upper end of the tilted storage body when required. The material storage body of Fig. 3 is provided with a • ? 1 ' floor raised to an apex with sloped floor surfaces leading to respective sides and openings 46 and 47 to the conveyor means. The conveyors might be mounted within the acute corner channels created where the 5 sloped floor surfaces meet as shown in Fig. 3b. When augers are laid in these corners, curved backing surfaces 48 and 49 need be provided to enable the augers operation, v Other forms of known conveyor means may be suitably mounted at the two side locations. 10 The construction of Fig. 3a will allow the mounting of side conveyors in such a way that they might be easily accessed from the side of the truck for maintenance and repairs. Augers need only be mounted along the open edges and cover plates then bolted 15 thereover. The reverse of the installation procedure offers a readily effected maintenance schedule in the event of damage to a conveyor.

Fig. 4 is a view of another construction for a material storage body 50 which employs a flat bottom 20 and divider walls 51 to separate the various components held within the body 50 for transport. On tipping of the body 50 material therein will flow down the flat bottom against the lower edge of wall 51. In order that the material be led to the central conveyor means, the 25 wall 51 is in two parts, welded together, and angled backward at the base from respective side walls towards the centre so that material flowing down the flat bottom 2 1 against wall 51 meets two sloping surfaces 53 and 54 causing flow towards the centre. In the tilted position all material is guided to the centre point 55 over the conveyor means 57 located in conveyor channel 56 set 5 into the floor of the body.

Fig. 5 shows a further flat bottomed arrangement for a material storage body 60. In this embodiment > separate conveyors are provided, one for each material stored within the body between separating walls 10 thereacross. A construction of this type, coupled with load cells to continously weigh the contents being delivered, enables the delivery of small quantities of materials where full loads are not required. Instead of despatching a part filled truck to a small job, a full 15 truck may be despatched to a series of small jobs with suitable small mixers at each site, and appropriate amounts of material measured off at each site. To enable such opexaticn, each material stored may be provided with its separate conveyor and four are shown in Fig. 5 these 20 being shown as 61 to 64. Each of the conveyors 61 to 64 is covered over except at the point of delivery from their respective compartment within the body 60. In Fig. 5, an angled dividing wall 65 acts with the flat bottom in the tilted position to lead material to the corner 25 over conveyor 64 where it flows to the conveyor through opening 66. A wall of the type in Fig. 4 will direct material to one of the two central conveyors so that each 2 1 d ^ compartment may be separately emptied.

Instead of four conveyors, one might be employed with a series of walls such as 65 dividing the body 60 into compartments, each leading to an opening to the conveyor and each opening covered with a slidable cover so that each may be separately operated to discharge contents from one only of the compartments. In this way a single, accessible, side mounted conveyor may be fitted to a flat bottomed body for a maximum capacity and greatest ease of operations and servicing.

Fig. 6 shows a conveyor arrangement which might be added to an existing flat bottomed storage body 70 with dividing walls 71 like those of Fig. 4 leading to a central covered conveyor 74 having an opening 75 in the cover 73 to lead contents flowing down the tilted bottom 72 and surfaces of wall 71 into conveyor 74. As in Fig. 5, the conveyor opening 75 may be closed by an operable slide so as to enable separate discharge of contents of one compartment at a time.

Figs. 7 and 8 show how a bulk tipping despatcher 80 hooked up to a prime mover at its pivot end 84 is made to tip so as to enable contents to be fed into a mixing unit 91. The tipping despatcher 80 is mounted on a rear wheel set 81 upon lifting rams 86 on either side of the tipping body operative to elevate the rear end of the tipping body 80 around pivot end 84. It will be obvious that if no specific provision be made, the rear wheel set 2 1 '• r will interfere with movement of a mixer 91 beneath the tipping body rear end for simple feed thereto because the upward pivot movement of the body 80 takes it upwards in an arc to reduce it's overhang over the rear wheel set 81 limiting movement of the mixer beneath the body 80. A long over hang might be provided rearwardly but this may not be desirable or even permissible given road vehicle standards as might be applied from time to time.

In order to enable the mixing unit 91 to move beneath the tipping body 80 discharge end, the wheel set 81 can be provided with a link. 85 to the tipping body 80 so that its upward movement, pulls the rear set of wheels forward to provide a useful overhang of the rear end over the set of wheels. Whilst a simple link 85 is effective to enable this, there may be some tracking problems with the rear wheel set and a tracking arm can be provided forwardly to the prime mover connection point. To accommodate the forward movement of wheel set 81 from position 90 shown in outline, the tracking arm may be composed of telescopic links 82 and 83, wherein arm 83 slides inside 82 to enable the linkage to shorten when the lifting body is raised.

The tipping body in Fig. 7 and 8 is provided with a sand gravel hopper 88 at the forward end, before the link point of lifting ram 86 and a rearward cement hopper 89. A water tank 87 is shown for use where sites have no other water supply to enable cement mixing. 2U<~ The tipping body 80 may be of the form shown in Fig. 10 with, as shown in Fig. 8, an enclosed screw auger 94 which might be of the form described in Fig. 11. In Fig. 8, auger 94 feeds the contents of the bins to discharge point 92. Water might be separately fed from outlet 93. The sand/cement outlet 92 might be provided with fabric tubular extension, so as to feed dry material into the hopper of mixer 91 without too much dust. The enclosed auger 94 and dust bag around the outlet nozzle allow dust free feed of the cement components.

In Fig. 9 is shown a variation of the tipping body shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The tipping storage body 100 of Fig. 9 is provided on a wheel set 101 which moves forward to the position shown in phantom at 102, being dragged by link 103 connected between the wheel set 101 and the tipping storage body 100. The tipping body 100 is tipped by a pair of rams on each side such as ram 104 connected between the body 100 and the wheel set 101. The means of supporting the tipping body 100 on the wheel set 101 is explained in more detail in Fig. 10.

In Fig. 9, the tipping body 100 is provided with a conveyor means 111 along its bottom, powered by a forward engine in compartment 108 provided also with a pump to pump water from a forward tank 107. An inspection door 109 enables access to this equipment. 2 1 - ^ The tipping body 100 is provided with a forward, supporting leg, foldable therebeneath to support the front end in the usual manner when unlinked from a prime mover. The body 100 rests upon side beams 110 carried by the wheel sets as shown more clearly in Fig. 10. The tipping body may have its capacity increased by the use of hungry boards capping its upper edges in the usual manner. The body may be sub-divided by partitions so as to enable delivery of small loads at a number of stops. The cement powder might be fed simultaneously with the sand/gravel component, or separately, depending on whether provision is made to valve the outlet of the separate storage compartments to the conveyor means which may be either an auger or belt mechanism. In order to ease the load on an auger, it is preferable that it be covered over most of its length, being open at the lower end of a compartment where material is tipped onto the body being tilted and provided at that point with a smaller pitch so as to reduce the starting torque required to begin conveying.

In Fig. 10 is shown a sectional view through a tipping despatcher body 105 with sloped sides leading down into a conveyor such as an auger along the bottom at 111. The body of the despatcher material container may be ribbed externally by members such as 115 and 116 for strength and londitudinal boxing 114 may add to the structural integrity of the tipping body. The tipping 7 1 1 ~ body 105 is shown resting on a wheel set 113 beneath a cross brace 112 connecting two parallel side beams permanently supported on the wheels. These may simply be I-beams as illustrated capped at the top by a support 5 pad 117 which may be grooved as shown to receive a mating surface 118 attached beneath the box beam 119. The interlocking support pads provide a resting surface for the tipping body 105 in its lowered position with the load secured against transverse movement. The two 10 parallel beams 110 and 120 provide a frame which is connected to the link such as 103 in Fig. 9 by which the wheel set is drawn upon lifting of the tipping body 105.

In Fig. 11, the auger 124 is shown mounted in 15 a shell 121 with drive shaft 122 extending out the end thereof. Shell 121 is provided with an upper flange 124 by which the conveyor means may be bolted beneath a tipping body. The conveyor means is provided with an outlet 125 from the shell 121.

The advantage of the invention lies in the use of a tipping truck arrangement with many wheel pairs to distribute load and enable the transport of large loads. Rotating barrel cement trucks might be increased in size, but they pose stability problems on curved roads and 25 are restricted, by regulations, in size for road travel. The present bulk handling system puts a cement mixing vehicle on site, which because it travels the roads 2 1 4* unladen, is able to be given a ten cubic metre capacity, double its normal allowable capacity. The tipping despatcher is employed to deliver a dry load of pre-xneasured concrete constituents to the building site, whereat, its contents are discharged into the cement mixer vehicle where water is added and concrete mixed. Transport of dry materials has many advantages; materials may be transported over any distance without fear of the concrete going off; should a day come up wet, an order may be turned back prior to arrival at the site and mixing, without the waste associated with premixes; no money is wasted in transporting water. The present invention allows the concrete components to be despatched from a quarry so as to do away with the need for the now used premixed centres. There is a saving in plant as fewer larger trucks are employed; less expensive laud is required with abandonment of local distribution points; trucks may be backloaded with other materials to make their run profitable both ways.

The tipping despatcher uses existing construction techniques, and existing tipper trailers may be converted with their elevating mechanism reversed to the back of the trailer and a bin with conveying means fitted thereon.

Rear end tipping is preferable to enable the mixer truck to be backed up to the conveyor outlet. Should the tipping be the more conventional form with elevation of the front end, a more elaborate cross feed outlet would be required to despatch into a mixer truck parked alongside the trailer.

The tipping despatcher has advantages in tipping materials at a receiving point, as its feed to a height enables the creation of a single peaked pile instead of the usual arrangement of low level piles along the line of travel of the vehicle as it moves to exhaust its contents. Alternately, the tipping despatcher can produce a peaked windrow. Being provided with an auger capable of delivering the various grades of stone for concrete manufacture, the despatcher is useful for delivering a wide range of materials so that the conversion of tipping trailers to the new system is advantageous to its owner in making his vehicle useful in a wider range of applications.

The tipping despatcher may be built with weighing devices attached thereto to enable loading of metered quantities of materials. A sensor element might be placed at the pivot point or a number of sensors might be provided at a range of locations. These might be hydraulic load cells, directly coupled to a suitably graduated scale, or more elaborate electronic devices might be employed.

While the above has been given by way of illustrative example, many modifications and variations as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art may 2 be made thereto without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth and claimed in the following claims.

Claims (22)

214033 I CLAJM XS:

1. A bulk tipping despatcher which comprises a tipping storage body suitable for containing quantities of bulk material therein, said tipping storage body having a floor extending between a pivot end and a discharge end, and upstanding side walls, a material conveying mechanism extending along the floor from a discharge location to discharge material out of the end thereof at said discharge end of the tipping storage body, said tipping storage body being provided with a pivot point at the pivot end thereof about which said tipping storage body may be tipped upwardly, and an elevating means whereby said tipping storage body may be tipped upwardly about said pivot, whereby the contents of said tipping storage body are led gravitationa1ly to at least one discharge location when the tipping storage body is tipped, said discharge location being provided in operative association with said material conveying mechanism extending along said floor by which material delivered to said discharge location is transported along the length of the tipping storage body to a discharge point at the elevated discharge end of said tipping storage body for discharge from said tipping storage body, said tipping storage body being internally divided with separating means to provide separate storage compartments for the material to be despatched, o

2. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said tipping storage body is mounted upon a motive - 18 - 214033 vehicular means with said pivot point at the forward end of said tipping storage body relative to said vehicle means so as to be tipped upwardly at the rear of the vehicle to enable contents to be discharged rearwardly.

3. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein said tipping storage body is provided with at least one load cell whereby an indication is gained of the amount of material loaded into said tipping storage body.

4. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said separating means comrpise division walls wherein each wall is disposed to provide downwardly angled surfaces when said tipping storage body is tilted to its unloading condition, said angled surfaces guiding contained materials to a discharge location.

5. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said tipping storage body is provided witn inwardly sloping sides so as to direct contents therein to the centre of the body base and an auger delivery means being provided along the centre of the body base to transport material therein to an outlet of said tipping storage body.

6. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said tipping storage body is provided with inwardly sloping sides so as to direct contents therein to the centre of the tipping storage body base and belt style delivery means being provided along the centre of the tipping storage body base to transport - 19 - \ > % p O material therein to said discharge point of said tipping storage body.

7. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said tipping storage body is provided with a weather-proof cover over at least a portion thereof to protect the contents thereunder from being wetted.

8. A bulk tipping despatcher as defined in Claim 1 wherein said tipping storage body is mounted on a motive vehicular means so that the rear end of the storage body can be raised upwardly to enable the contents to be discharged rearwardly, a supporting wheel assembly beneath the rear of the tipping storage body being interconnected to the tipping storage body by a linkage means operative to draw the wheel assembly forward of the bulk tipping despatcher upon the tipping storage body being tipped upwardly.

9. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said linkage means comprises a rigid arm pivotally connected to said wheel assembly at one end and pivotally connected at its other end to said tipping storage body at point on said body forward of the wheel assembly.

10. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 8 or 9 wherein a tracking means is provided to hold the wheel assembly in alignment with the tipping storage body, said tracking means comprising a telescopic arm connecting the wheel assembly to the front end of the tipping storage body. A © - 20 - jjsr 23DECI9R7 ' , . _ inwt. 'irtT'iyrii^'BmKrii^ 214033 %

11. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 10 wherein the tipping storage body rests upon a pair of parallel side members disposed on opposite sides of the wheel assembly, each side member extending along a portion of the length of the tipping storage body.

12. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in Claim 11 wherein said tipping storage body is formed with box beans ^ along the length thereof, said box beams being so disposed as to provide supporting shoulders on said tipping storage body that rest upon the side members.

13. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the side members and box beams are provided with locating support surfaces thereon which come together when the tipping storage body is rested upon the wheel assembly, said support surfaces being formed with longitudinally extending mating surfaces operative to interlink and prevent sideways movement of the tipping storage body relative to the wheel assembly.

14. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in Claim 13, wherein one support surface is grooved and the other is provided with a complimentary projection to be mated therein.

15. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 14, wherein said tipping storage body has a triangular cross section with sloping sides angled down to a lowermost apex in which is provided an auger conveying mechanism extending along the length therof. - 21 -

16. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 15, wherein said tipping storage body is elevated by means of a pair of side mounted rams disposed between a supporting wheel assembly and the upper edges of the tipping storage body.

17. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 15 wherein said tipping storage body is provided with at least one load cell whereby an indication is gained of the amount of material loaded into said tipping storage body.

18. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 17 wherein said separating means comprise division walls wherein each wall is disposed to provide downwardly angled surfaces when said tipping storage body is tilted to its unloading condition, said angled surfaces guiding contained materials to a discharge location.

19. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 18, wherein said tipping storage body is provided with inwardly sloping sides so as to direct contents therein to the centre of the body base and an auger delivery means being provided along the centre of the body base to transport material therein to an outlet of said tipping storage body. - 22 - i £ • . . ■ x e ' 1 2 JAK';9S8 •\

20. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 19 wherein said tipping storage body is provided with inwardly sloping sides so as to direct contents therein to the centre of the tipping storage body base and a belt style delivery means with material engaging flight aeans therealong being provided along the centre of the tipping storage body base to transport material therein to said discharge point of said tipping storage body.

21. A bulk tipping despatcher as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 20 wherein said tipping storage body is provided with a weather-proof cover over at least a portion thereof to protect the contents thereunder from being wetted.

22. A bulk tipping despatcher substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. by his attorneys JMIBS W. PIPER £ CO 2 3 DEC1987£