US2542977A - Material loading apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 27, 1951 c. F. BALL MATERIAL LOADING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 7, 1947 H004UMUHUUUUMUUUUMMU Feb. 27, 1951 c. F. BALL MATERIAL LOADING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fil ed March 7, 1947 Patented Feb. 27, 1951 UNITED STATE-S PATENT OFFICE Manufacturing Company,

Pennsylvania a corporation of Application March 7, 1947, Serial No. 733,007

12 Claims. (01. 198-10) This invention relates to material loading ap paratus and more particularly to improvements in the material gathering mechanism of an apparatus for loading coal, iron ore, hard rock or similar materials in mines.

In material loading apparatus, particularly in mobile loading machines for loading coal, iron ore, hard rock or similar materials in mines, the loose material to be loaded is moved onto the loading conveyor by means of swlngable gathering arms driven by crank disks which run close to the top deck of the gathering head. A very de sirable gathering arrangement for material load ing apparatus includes an inclined deck up which material may be moved for deposit on a conveyor, and gathering arm mechanisms including gatheringr arms guided at their upper ends and moved by crank pins carried by disks rotating on axes perpendicular to the plane of the deck surface. With such an arrangement, abrasive material being handled by the loading apparatus tends to work in and pack between the disk and the underlying deck surface, exerting considerable drag with a resultant large loss of power and over loading of the material gathering mechanisms. Desirably, in order that the deck surface may have a minimum number of projections above it, the crank disks may be recessed into the deck surface and rotate, as it were, in shallow pockets. This does not, however, obviate the 'difficulty from dirt and other abrasive material working its way between the bottom surfaces of the crank disks and the underlying deck surface. It is further desirable that the crank disks be supported and driven by heavy shaft members received in a drive mechanism, carried by the deckwall which underlies the crank disks, and this results in the formation of an opening through the underlying wall near the central portion of the latter, through which opening it is important to prevent the passage of dirt and other abrasive material into the bearing structure. Accordingit is desirable, for the reasons pointed out, to use a crank disk received in a pocket formed in the deck surface, with, in order to provide as much strength as possible, the lower surface of the crank disk very close to the Wall which forms the bottom wall of the pocket, and to pro vide adequate means not only for preventing the ingress of dirt or other abrasive material into the bearings for the crank disk but also adequate means for preventing the building up or packing of a solid layer of abrasive material between the bottom of the disk and the opposed surface, and it is tl -iecoritemplation of the present invention to provide an improved structure ineluding means for accom lishing each and both of these results. As this crank disk and shaft drive of the gatherii possess many-ad vantages, it is very important to avoid the build ing up or packing of a solid layer of abrasive material between the disk and the underlying deck plate, for a substantial portion of the power required to effect disk rotation may, under such conditions, be due t'o friction, and Were nothing done to keep" down this friction, the gathering mechanism would be overloaded, greatly decreas ing operating ef'ficiency.

It is accordingly an object of the present in vent-ion to provide a material loading apparatus having improved material gathering mechanism which overcomes, to a large extent, the packing of dirt or other abrasive materials between the close running surfaces of moving parts of the gathering mechanism, and for preventing access of dirt to the bearing structure. Another object is to provide an improved material gathering mechanism of the kind wherein crank disks are employed for actuating gathering arms, having improved means substantially to avoid packing of dirt-between the bottoms of the disks and the closely underlying surfaces of the deck of the gathering head. A further object is to provide an improved gathering mechanism wherein the rotatable crank disks for actuating the gathering arms are formed with bottom cavities for receiving any dirt obtaining access between the disks and the closely underlying surfaces of the head plate, and to provide discharge openings 01 dirt vents in the underlying plate with which the cavities communicate as the disks revolve for discharging any dirt collected in the disk-cavities. Still another object is to provide a gathering" head having crank disks for driving the gathering arms, wherein the head deck is recessed in a novel manner to receive the crank disks, with the deck surface closely underlying the disks, and having improved means for preventing the packing of dirt or other abrasive material be tween the disksand the underlying deck surface. A still further object is to provide the deck rec'esses with open sides, with the crank disks projectiiig' laterally beyond the sides of the deck, so that the dirt-collecting cavities in. the diskbottom at projecting sides open freely down wardiy in an improved manner, thereby to sup pl'e "eiit, to some extent, the bottom discharge openings the underlying deck surface. Yet another object is to Dl'bilid improved difli lie-i means for the crank disk bearings, so" that access 6f diifi t0 and packing of dirt ar'OUlIl'd the upper disk bearing is substantially precluded.- The'se and other objects and advantages of the invention will, however, hereinafter more fully appear.-

In the accompanying drawings there is show'i'i for purposes of illustration one form which the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawin s:

Fig. 1 is" fidp new Of a gathering Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view-of the gathering head shown in Fig. 1, with parts of. the outer casing broken away to show structural details.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional 1 view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 44 of Fig. 1, but with the crank pin turnedthrough 90. into its forward position, showing details of the crank disk and arm structure.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional View, on 'a're duced scale, taken on line 5-5 of Fig. i. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the portion of the headdeck underlying the crank disk and with the latter removed, showin the dirt discharge opening. In this'illustrative embodiment of the invention, there is shown a gathering head, generally designated I, of a mobile loading machine of the frontal attack type for loading coal, iron ore, hard rock or similar material from the floor of a mine. The gathering head is normally disposed in a downwardly inclined position, as shown in Fig. 2, during the loading operation and has an tical construction having their smooth upper .i.

plane surfaces 1 lying substantially iiush with the-top surface of the deck. As illustrated, the deck has its top plate circularly cut away at 8 at the-front and-rear of each disk and the deck is circularly recessed at 9, to countersink the disk within the deck, and the recess 9 open laterally at their opposite sides and the outer sides of the disks overhang the'outer sides of the gathering head while the inner sides of the disks run closeto the loading conveyor 5. These disks have integral crank arm portions Iii, Ill formed with upstanding crank pins H, II, herein located 180 apart with respect to the disk axes and to which;

swingable gathering arms 12 are pivotally connected. These gatherings arms have forwardly projecting picks or claws l3, l3 lying above the head nose 3 close to the top deck surface and are armed with picks or teeth 14. The gather-v ing arms have curved guide bar portions l5, I5, likewise armed with picks or teeth, projecting rearwardly from the arm pivots andformed with downwardly opening arcuate slots l6, which re-- ceive guide blocks I! pivctallymounted on the gathering head. These curved guide bars and guide blocks serve to compel movementof the gathering arms in predetermined pathsas the crank disks are rotated so that the gathering arms gather the material and move the material rearwardly along the topof thehead-nose and deck toward the receiving end of the loading conveyor 5.

close to the top of the head deck and the plane top surfaces of the crank disks so that an eflec tive wiping or clearing action is attained, pre- Venting the jamming and crushing of hard lumps of material being loaded, greatly increase ing operating efficiency. Also, by providing the:

gathering head with a smooth top deck and by avoiding pockets or recesses in the disks. and

It will be noted that the gatheringarms and their guide bar portions are relatively ..stronger structure results.

4 undue projections on the arms and other associated parts, undesirable pocketing and trapping of hard lumps is substantially avoided.

As shown in Fig. 4, the crank pins ll support bearings I9 enclosed within the hublike portions 28 of the gathering arms, and a retainer ring 2| is supported on the crank pin and fitted within the bottom bore of the arm hub; and this retainer ring is formed with a peripheral upstanding flange fitted in a circular recess in the arm hub, thereby to provide a dirt seal. A washer 22, secured to the upper end of the crank pin, engages the inner race of the upper bearing for holding the bearings and arm hub in place on the crank pin. Each crank disk has a downwardly extendingaxial shaft fitted and secured in the hub 26v of a worinwheel 21. The worm wheel hub is. journaled in spaced upper and lower bearings 28 supported within a gear casing 29 attached at its upper sideto a plate 3i) integral with the gathering head beneath the head deck. The upper, pincipal bearing is arranged with respect to its support and the disk so that the maximum radial thrust of the disk on the bearing is supported close to the point of bearing support.

A worm -3I meshes with and drives the worm wheel and is secured to a transverse shaft 32, likewise suitably journaled within the gear casing. Each worm shaft has a sprocket 33 secured thereto exteriorly of the gear casing, and each sprocket is driven by a drive chain 3 3 in any suitable and known manner. By supporting the-gear casing only at its upper side On the gatherin head, a much Such .manner of "support of the gear casing necessitates, however,

the top plate closely to underlie the crank disk,- and such close-relation of the disk and plate is desirable so that'stable support of the ,disk with respect to its bearing mounting is provided.- An annular member 35 is secured to the upper side of each gear casing close to the bottom of the crank disk and has an upstanding annular flange 35 received in an annular recess formed between depending annular flanges 3i on the bottom of the crank disk, thereby to provide a dirt seal. Since the manner of mounting the crank disks and the driving means therefor are fully disclosed in a copending application to W. E. Overturf, Serial No. 732,958, filed March 7, 1947, further description thereof herein the packing of dirt or other material between the close running surfaces of the disks and head plate comprises cavities provided by hollowing out, at 42, the bottom of each disk all around except beneath the crank arm portion ID, and the cavity so provided is adapted to receive the dirt or other material which'passes beneath the disk. The closely underlying surface of the head plate 35 is cut away at 3 to provide a dirt vent, and this cut-away portion cuts through the wallsof the bore 40 at 44. Thus, as the crank disk revclves, the disk cavity passes over the opening 43 in the head plate so that any dirt collected in the disk cavity may be thrown out and may drop down through the open bottom of the head. Also,

any dirt collected between the walls of thebore 40. and the outer disk-flange 31 will be discharged through the cut-away portion M and the opening 43. The provision of the relief cavity in the bottom of each crank disk, even while the disk bottom runs close to the top surface of the underlying plate, prevents packing of dirt, since the dirt is loosely received in the disk-cavity, and so is readily carried around, as the disk revolves, and discharged through the dirt vent. The cavities 42 in the disk-bottom, at the outer overhanging sides of the disk, freely open downwardly so that dirt may drop downwardly in such manner as to supplement, tosome extent, the bottom discharge openings 43.. Thus supplemental'dirt vents are provided at the outer sides of the head, and these vents :and the discharge vents 43am cumulatively' of a radial dimension equal to the radial dimensions of the cavities in the disk-bottoms, so that any dirt which may collect in the cavities is effectively discharged.

As a result of this invention, an improved material loading apparatus is provided having improved "gathering mechanism wherein excessive friction, due to packing of dirt or other abrasive material between the close running parts and access of dirt to the bearing structure, are substantially avoided. It will further be evident that by recessing the crank disks into the deck of the gathering head, with the top surfaces of the crank disks flush with the top surface of the deck, and by running the gathering arms and the curved guide bars relatively close to the tops of the disks and head-deck, an effective clearing action is attained. It will also be evident that by the provision of the cavities in the bottoms of the crank disks and the cut-away portions in the closely underlying. plates of the head-deck, packing of dirt or other material betweenthe close running surfaces of the disks and head plate is substantially avoided. Further, by pro viding crank disks with bottom dirt-collecting cavities and by arranging the disks so that they overhang at their outer sides the sides of the gathering head, together with the bottom discharge open ng in the head-deck, any dirt which collects in the disk cavities may freely drop out. By arranging the deck pate close to the bottoms of the crank disks, a more stable bearing support for the disks results, although such a structure necessitates the close positioning of the head plate to the disk bottoms. The relatively narrow spaces between the disk bottoms and the underlying deck plate do not, however, become packed with dirt since the provision of the bottom diskcavities and the dirt vents eliminate such packing'. Other advantages of the invention will be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art.

While there is in this application specifically described one form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes or illustration and that the invention may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a material loading apparatus, a gathering head having a top deck, material gatheringv mechanism mounted on said head including a rotatable crank disk journaled' in said head with its top surface substantially flush with the top surface of said deck, said head having a portion underlying said disk provided with a plane upper surface lying close to the bottom of said disk, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between the close running surfaces of said disk and head portion comprising a dirt collecting chamber formed in the bottom of said disk and opening downwardly, and an opening in said head portion through which any dirt collected in said disk chamber is discharged as said disk revolves.

.2. In a material loading apparatus, a loading head having a top deck, material gathering mechanism mounted on said head including a rotatable crank disk journaled in said head with its top surface substantially flush with the top surface of said deck, said disk having a solid crank arm portion andan upstanding crank pin at the outer extremity of said crank arm portion, said head having a portion underlying said disk provided with an upper plane surface lying close to the bottom of said disk, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between. the adjacent surfaces of said disk and said head portion comprising a hollowed out portion all around the bottom of said disk except along the crank arm portion to provide a dirt collecting cavity, and said head portion having a discharge opening therethrough with wh ch the cavity provided by said hollowed-out portion communicates assaid disk revolves.

3. In a material loading apparatus, a loading head, material gathering mechanism mounted on said head including a rotatable crank disk for actuating a gathering arm, a bearing support on said head beneath said disk by means of which the latter is journaled, said head having a portion below said disk provided with a plane top surface lying close to the bottom of said disk, said head portion having a circular bore: receiving a portion of said bearing support, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between the close running surfaces of said disk and said head portion comprising a dirt collecting chamber formed in the bottom or" said disk and facing downwardly, and an opening in said head portion cutting through the walls of said bore for discharging any dirt collected in said diskchamber and between the walls of said bore and said bearing support portion.

4. In a material loading apparatus, a gathering mechanismincluding a rotatablecrank disk having an upstanding crank pin for actuating a gathering arm, a bottom support by means of which said disk is journaled and including a plate underlying said disk with its plane top surface lying close to the bottom surface of said disk, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between the close running surfaces of said disk and plate comprising a dirt receiving cavity in the bottom of said disk and-a discharge opening in said plate with which said cavity communt cates as said disk revolves.

5. In a material loading apparatus, a. gathering mechanism including a rotatable crank disk having an upstanding crank pin for actuating a gathering arm, a, bottom support by means of which said disk is: journaled and including a plate underlying said disk with its top surface lying close to the bottom surface oi said disk, said disk having an annular hub-like portion projecting from itsbottom and said plate hav ing a circular bore with which the outer peripheral surface of said annular portion has a close running lit, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between the close running surfaces of said disk and plate comprising a dirt receiving cavity in the bottom of said disk and a discharge communicates as saiddiskrevolvesl said plates opening cutting through the walls of said bore to discharge any dirt between the walls of said bore. and. said annular disk portion. i 6. In a material loading apparatus, a gathering mechanism including a rotatable crank disk having an upstanding crank pin for actuating a gathering arm, said disk having a solid crank arm portion at the outer extremity of which saidcrankpin is carried, a supporting plate un'-' derlying J said disk with. its plane top surface lying'close to the bottom surface of said disk, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between the close running'surfaces of said disk and plate comprising a dirt receiving cavity all around the bottom of said disk'except along said crank arm portion and a discharge opening in saidplate with which said cavity communicates assaid'disk revolves.

7. In a material loading apparatus, a gathering head, material gathering mechanism mount-- ed on said head including a rotatable crank disk for actuating a gathering arm, a bearing mounting supported by said head beneath said disk and supporting a hearing by means of which said disk is rotatably supported and closely underlying said disk so that stable support oi said disk with respect to its bearing mounting is provided, said head having its top surface closely adiacent to the bottom of said disk, and dirt relief means associated with said disk and said head for preventing the packing of dirt between the close running surfaces of said disk and head and for preventing access of dirt to the bearing, said dirt relief means including a dirt receiving cavity in the, bottom of said disk and a dirt vent in said head, said cavity and said vent being so arranged that as said diskrevolves any dirt collected in said cavity may dropdown through said vent.

8. In a material loading apparatus, a gathering head having a top deck, material gathering mechanism mounted on said head including a rotatable crank disk, said deck having a por tion underlying said disk provided with a plane upper surface close to which the bottom of said disk moves during disk rotation, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between said surfaces comprising a dirt receiving chamber formed in the bottom of the disk and opening downwardly and an opening provided by said deck portion through which dirt which obtains access to said disk chamber is discharged as the disk revolves;

' 9, In a material loading apparatus, a gathering head having a top" deck, material gathering mechanism mounted on said head including a rotatable crank disk, said deck having aportion underlying said disk provided with a plane upper surface close to which the bottom'of said disk is disposed, said deck having an opening therethrough and supporting a bearing for said'disk coaxial with said opening, and said disk having a driving and supporting member extending through said opening, and means for preventing the packing of dirt 'between the lower surface of said disk and the upper surface of said deck portion and for preventing the access ofdirt tosaid' bearing comprising an arcuate dirt collecting chamber disposed outwardly of said opening and inwardly of the periphery of said disk, and dirt discharge means in said deck portion through which dirt collected in said arcuate chamber may be discharged as saiddisk revolves.

. 10. In a material loading apparatus, a gathere' ing head having'a top deck, material gathering mechanism' mounted on said head including .a'

rotatable crank pin supporting crank disk, said, deck having a portion underlying said disk pro-j vided with a plane upper surface close to which: the bottom of said disk is disposed, said deck. having an opening therethrough and supporting a bearing for said disk coaxial with said opening,

and said disk having a driving and supporting member extending through said opening, and meansofor preventing the, packing of dirt. between the lower surface of said disk and the up-. per surface of said deck portion and for preventing the access of dirt, to said bearing comprising an arcuate dirtcollecting chamber dis-- posed'outwardly of said opening and inwardly of the periphery of said disk, and dirt discharge, means in said deck portion through which dirt collected in said arcuate chamber may be discharged as said disk revolves, said disk having a central portion lying in part within said opening and a connected radially extending crank arm forming portion intermediate the ends of said arcuate chamber supporting and providing ,a' reinforcing member for said crank pin.

11. In a material loading apparatus, a gathering head having a top deck formed with a recess open at the outer side of the head, material gathering mechan sm including a rotatable crank disk journaled within said head and arranged within said recess with the bottom of said disk lying close to the bottom of said recess, said disk at its outer side projecting outwardly through the open side of said recess so that the disk overhangs the side of said head, and means for preventing the packing of dirt between said disk and the recess bottom comprising a cavity in the bottom of said disk having a portion which extends outwardly beyond the outer side of the bottom of the recess, and dirt discharge meansin the recess-bottom and spaced inwardly of the disk periphery and with which said cavity communicates as said disk revolves, said outwardly extending portion of said cavity which opens disk and the recess bottom comprising a cavity inthe bottom of the disk of substantial radial dimension, and discharge vents from said recess cumulatively of a radial dimension equal to the radial dimension of the cavity and with which said cavity communicates as the disk revolves.

" CHARLES F. BALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

, UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 2,338,160 Arentzen Jan. 4, 1944

Images