US2563444A

US2563444A - Belt unloading mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2563444A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1951-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1968-08-07

Description

Aug. 7, 1951 A. R. YOUNG 2,563,444

BELT UNLOADING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 24, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

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Patented Aug. 7, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BELT UNLOADIN G MECHANISM Arthur R. Young, Detroit, Mich. Application August 24, 1948, Serial No. 45,876

8 Claims. (01. 198--188) This invention relates to apparatus for controlling delivery of material from an endless conveyer to a series of bins or hoppers.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character that is automatic in its operation to control flow of material into the hoppers.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character that assures a more uniform distribution of material to the hoppers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character that is automatically operative to regulate the amount of material delivered to each of the hoppers.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character that materially reduces loss of material over the head of the conveyer.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the aforementioned character that effects a saving in time and labor as compared with conventional apparatuses now in use.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character that is simple and rugged in construction and that can be installed and maintained relatively inexpensively.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a top pan view Showing apparatus embodying the present invention associated with the belt conveyer and one of the hoppers for receiving material from the conveyer, and

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

The present invention is primarily adapted and preeminently suited for use in foundries. It is not limited to such use, however, and can be used in any capacity where apparatus of this character has utility.

In conventional foundry practice, tempered sand is delivered to a row of overhead hoppers by a belt conveyer. This sand is taken from the hoppers as recluired and spouted into molds on molding machines located adjacent to the hoppers. Finished molds are then taken from the molding machines and placed on the pouring lines.

Since large amounts of sand are used in this manner, it must be delivered at regular intervals to the hoppers. Usually, sand is delivered to the row of hoppers more or less continuously by a suitable eonveyer and sand is diverted into the respective hoppers as required by plows which are moved manually to and from the surface of the conveyer belt.

In at least one type of conventional installation, the conveyer belt passes directly over the hoppers and V-shaped plows associated with the hoppers are disposed above the belt. The plows are pivotally mounted so that they can be lowered to a position on the belt or raised to a position above the belt. When the plows are lowered they scrape sand from the conveyer belt into their respective hoppers; and when the plows are raised, sand on the belt merely passes over the hoppers without interference from the plows.

The system particularly described above requires the constant attention of a workman who operates the plows manually to keep the hoppers supplied with sand. .Labor costs are high, and this procedure is therefore expensive. Moreover, the procedure is wasteful both of man power and sand, since constant vigilance is necessary to keep a l of the hoppers properly and eenerally uniformly filled. Even then a considerable amount of sand is not diverted into the hoppers but passes over the head of the conveyer. This sand must then be collected and reconditioned for re-use. The result is inefieciency and increased cost of operation. In addition to the above, this system is haphazard in operation and does not assure uniform distribution of sand to the hop ers or proper regulation of the amount delivered to any particular hopper.

In the drawing I have shown, by way of illustrat on, a preferred embodiment of ap aratus for perform ng the above o erations automatically.

According to the present invention, a hopper I0- is dis osed beside an endless belt conveyer l2 and the lat er is supported on a horizontal platform I4 which extends from the inner side of the hopper. The p atform l4 provides a flat unyielding surface for surmort ne the belt l2 as it passes the bin Hi. The end walls I 6 and I8 of the hopper l0 extend substantially above the belt I2! and the inner edges of the extending wall portions prefveniently may deliver sand to a row of hoppers III in the manner hereinabove suggested. Thus, while only one hopper I9 is here shown, it is contemplated that any desired or necessary number of hoppers may be arranged beside the conveyer belt l2. According to the present invention, each of the hoppers H3 is equipped with an automatically operable plow for diverting sand as required from the belt l2 into the hopper. Each of these. plows is identical in construction; and operation and a detailed description of one therefore will suffice.

Essentially, the automatic plow of this invert tion comprises a row of blades 23],. 2:2, 2 3- and- 26 arranged in a diagonal line from edge to edge of the conveyer belt I2 and with the ends thereor in overlapping relation so as to deliver material at. one edge of the belt and into the hopper W. The

blades

20, 22, 24 and 26 are carried by armsazfi, 30, 32 and 34 respectively, which arms are mounted ona common. pivot rod. 3-6: carried. by the endwalle t and. iii. Each. of the. arms 28- 3.4 can bev rocked; on the pivot. 35 to. move its respective: blade to-"and: from: the conveyer belt L2; In practice the arms.- Bil-35 are actuated by a pivoted. vane 38- located hopper. in adjacent. the outer wall thereof and mounted to swing on pivots 40 andu ir. which'are journaled in the end walls 16; and. I8; Adjnstab'lesetserews 44, 4a,. 4:8 and 50 carried: by and. movable with the vane engage respeetivearmss 2 8., 321,. 32 and 34- atthe right. of pivot rod. 35 as viewed. in the drawing. The-screws. A t-50 are. independently adjustable so that they can beset to: engage their respec- 2o- 2e by lugs 54=,--and each-pivot extends-through! and. is supported by one flange oi'its respective supporting arm. At the outer ends thereof the arms r ll-34 are formed with depending portions 56.- which extend downwardly behind the blades 28- -26- and. limitrontwardswinging movement of the: blades 211-26. As a res-ul-tof this construc tion, the blades. 29 -2.5 can swing inwardly for limited-distances to accommodateany downward movement. of the supporting arms which may 00 our after the blades engage the; belt I21. same time ,,-the depending portions 50 form. rigid back-up members for the blades 2 ll-2-fi which: prevent the sand or other materiah on the com veyer belt- I.2 from pushing against and passing under the blades.

Ifhe vane-38 also is generally rectangular in form. as perhaps best shown in Fig. 1, and it is sufficiently large so that it substantially fills the entire crossseetiorr 'of the hopper when in the angular or diagonal position shown by full. lines in. F.'ig.-2. Vane 38* conveniently can be'made of: sheetmetala Any-suitable means may be provided for cooperatively associatingthe vane 33 and adjust ing screws. 44-. In the form of the invention here shown,v an angle iron 53 extends along andis. welded or otherwise attached to the upper marginal edge of the vane 38. Transverse support ing angles-B0, 6'2, 64 and 66' are fastened to: the

angle 58. The supports Ell, $2,843 and E5 correspond in number to the arms 2834 and each support is disposed in alignment with a respec= tive one of the arms. Adjusting screws l -5i3 are carried by respective supports Eli-53, and each screw preferably is provided with a lock nut 68 which holds it in selected adjusted position.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the adjusting screws M 50 project from thesupports 69-66 and engage their respective supporting. arms 28- 5- 23 in such manner that movement of the vane 35% is necessarily co-ordinated with movement of the blades '2-'026 and vice versa.

material in the hopper it is approximately at the level or below the lower edge or vane?- 38 there is little or no resistance to pivotal movement of the vane. Consequently, the weight of blades "Ml--26 acting through the supporting arms 28*34 and adjusting screws 4450 will swing the vane 38 to the left to the full-line positionshown in Fig. 2. when the blades go -2e are thus positionedthey collectively form a barrier for material on the. belt i2; and as. the belt moves. in the direction of. thearrow in Fig. 1, the blades divert material. on the belt laterally into the hnpper l8. Manitestly, all. of the sand or othermaterial on. the belt. it. will be swept off by the blades. 2G.-2fi as. long as all of them. are incontactwith thebelt.

Material delivered to the hopper. I ll iallsdownwardly through the elongated slot. orspace between the inner side of the hopper and. the'lower edge of. the vane 38.. Consequently, in use there will. bea peak. height of: the. material directly under this. slot, and. the materialwill slope away fromthe peak toward the outer side of the hopper I0. Thus the.--material inthe: hopper does not interfiere withswinging movementof the vane 38 from thefullline back. into. the hopper to substantially the dotted-line position. As. soon: as the level of material the hopper L0. reaches. the. lower edge of. the vane 38- it-will. begin to pile up against thev vane, and. the-weight of material against. the vane forcesthelatter to. swing to. the right. as indicated. by the arrow in Fig- 2; As the vane 38' swings in this. direction it. reacts through screws id-5:0 andarn1s..28 --34. to. raise the blades Zil-Zfi.

Adjusting screws. 4450 can beset so that the: blades 2026 are raised fromthe belt l2 simultaneously or any predeterminedsequence.or

7 order. Where there are a large number of. hop-- Atthe a pers to be filled, important advantages in. operationare. obtained. if the blades. are raised sequentially-oneaiter the'other from thebelt l2. Usually, it will desirable. first to liftthe outermost blade 20- and :then to lift the other blades one after the other as the hopper fills. Thus. the adjusting screw 44 is'set. so that it'willliit the blade 20 almost immediately when the vane 38 begins to swing to: the outside of the hopper. After the blade 20 has raised slightly from the belt l2, adjusting screw 46- engages arm. 3-0 to raise the blade 2-2. Shortly after-the bladeZZihasb'eenraised from the belt I 2, adjusting screw 48 engagessupporting arm 32 to raise the blade 24-. Finally, after all of the other blades have been raised from the belt I 2, adjusting screw 50 engages supporting arm 34 to-raise theblade 2 6 In this manner, some sand is permitted to go through the-plow toother hoppers: as soon as: the.

first blade 20 is raised and. this will occur as soonas the hopper [i0 is filled to a point'where the: vane: 3-8-begins= to Swing to the right. The sand which goes through the plow will be that portion of. the-sand which would normally be: diverted. by

the'hopper ID to the next adjacent hopper in the series where it is collected and swept into the latter hopper by the plow associated therewith. As the hopper Ill continues to be filled, the blades are raised progressively and sequentially from the belt l2 and proportionately reater amounts of sand are permitted to pass through the plow to the adjacent hopper.

From the foregoing, it will be readily apparent that if sand is delivered to the hopper I faster than it is withdrawn, it eventially will be filled to a point where all of the blades 2 0-45 are raised from the belt I2. As the blades rise, one after the other, progressively greater amounts of sand pass to the adjacent hopper or hoppers. When all four are raised, all the sand is permitted to pass without interfence.

On the other hand, if sand is drawn rapidly from a hopper after one, two, or three of the blade have been raised so that the sand is no longer being supplied to the hopper at a rate sufficiently to overcome or compensate for withdrawal, the level of sand in the hopper will drop and the weight of the raised blade or blades will force the vane 38 back to the left. As the vane 38 moves in this direction, the blades drop progressively onto the belt l2 and progressively increasing amounts of the sand are again delivered to the hopper l0.

If the hopper II] is full so that the blades 20-46 are elevated from the conveyer belt l2 and only small amounts of sand are taken from the hopper, the amount taken may be compensated by less than all of the blades. As soon as the level of sand in the hopper l0 falls to a point where the first blade 2%! is dropped onto the belt l2, some sand will be diverted from the conveyer into the hopper and this alone may be sufficient to fill the hopper to a point where the blade 2|] is again raised from the conveyer belt. On the other hand, if a greater amount of sand is required to compensate for the amount withdrawn from the hopper l0, it may be necessary to lower two, three, or even four of the blades onto the conveyer belt l2. This is done automatically in the manner suggested.

In view of the foregoing it will be readily apparent that I have achieved the object of the invention. Sand is delivered to the hopper directly according to the rate of withdrawal, and all of the operations which control delivery of material. to the hopper ar entirely automatic. By properly adjusting the screws 4 l-5ll, a desired level of sand may be maintained in the hopper. By reason of this arrangement, sand is taken oil the conveyer automatically as it is needed; and if an adequate supply of sand is maintained on the conveyor, none of the hoppers supplied by the conveyer need ever be empty. A uniform distribution of sand to the several hoppers is obtained and the amount of sand delivered to any particular hopper can be easily regulated. Since the entire operation is automatic, there is a substantial saving in time and labor which previously was required. The construction of the apparatus is simple and rugged, thus assuring low cost both in installation and in maintenance.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A multiple blade automatic plow for delivering sand or the like from an endless conveyer belt to a hopper at one side of the belt comprising a plurality of plow blades arranged diagonally across the conveyer belt with the individual blades disposed in overlapping relation; a pivoted supporting arm for each of said blades; a pivoted vane in said hopper; and actuators carried by and movable with the vane and engaging said arms, said actuators operable by pivotal movement of the vane in one direction to raise the blades from the conveyer belt and operable by pivotal movement of the vane in the opposite direction to lower the blades onto the conveyer belt. i

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said actuators are individually adjustable to engage and release their respective arms sequentially upon pivotal movement of said vane.

3. A multiple blade automatic plow for deliverin sand or the like from an endless conveyer belt to a hopper at one side of the conveyer belt comprising a vane mounted in the hopper for swinging movement about a generally horizontal axis; a plurality of individually adjustable set screws carried by the vane; a plurality of pivoted arms disposed above the conveyer belt, each arm being engaged by a respective one of said set screws and adapted to be rocked about its pivot by swinging movement of the vane; and a plurality of generally upright blades each carried by a respective one of said arms, said blades arranged diagonally across the conveyer belt and disposed in overlapping relation with respect to each other, said blades being individually actuatable relative to the conveyer belt by said vane acting through said arms and said set screws being adjustable to move the blades in predetermined sequence.

4. A multiple blade automatic plow for delivering granular material from an endless conveyer belt to a hopper comprising a plurality of pivoted arms disposed about the conveyer belt; gen erally upright blades each carried by a respective one of said arms, said blades arranged diagonally across the conveyer belt from edge to edge there-- of and disposed in overlapping relation with respect to each other; a vane mounted in the hopper for swinging movement about a generally horizontal axis; and means operable by said vane and engageable with said arms to move the blades relative to the conveyer belt.

5. A multiple blade automatic plow for delivering granular material from an endless conveyer belt to a hopper disposed beside the belt comprising a plurality of generally upright, individually movable blades above the conveyor belt; a pivoted carrier for each of said blades; and control means for actuating said pivoted carriers to move said blades to and from said belt, said control means being responsive to the level of material in the hopper and operative to move the blades in predetermined sequential order onto the belt as the level of material in the hopper drops and to raise the blades from the conveyer belt in reverse order as the level of material in the hopper rises.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein the control means is pivotally mounted in the hopper at the side thereof remote from said conveyer belt.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said control means comprises a generally upright pivoted vane in said hopper, and adjustable means carried by and movable with said vane for actuating said carriers.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein said control means comprises a pivoted vane mounted in the hopper at the side thereof remote from said conveyer belt, and a plurality of adjustable means carried by and movable with fsaid wane, ,said 7 adjustable ,.means. engegi1 g ires pective ,carriers and perable by movement .121

the vane about its pivot to actuateusaidvcarriers in rpredetermined sequence.

:ARTHUR R. YOUNG. B

. :Number REFERENCES CITED 55 1124 .The following references are 10f greecondk 'in :L-the 57:3;381

file of this patent:

.UNITED :STATES BAENES Name .Date

Hewlett (Jan. L16, "1945 FOREIGN .EATENTS Country Daite Germany Augiwi, 1 932 Great Britain Nov.;19," 1 945