US2888170A

US2888170A - Indicating mechanism for underbunker coal control gates

Info

Publication number: US2888170A
Application number: US684004A
Authority: US
Inventors: Melvin N Mccloskey
Original assignee: Webster Manufacturing Inc
Current assignee: Webster Manufacturing Inc
Priority date: 1957-09-16
Filing date: 1957-09-16
Publication date: 1959-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 1976-05-26

Description

y 1959 M. N. MOCLOSKEY 2,888,170

INDICATING MECHANISM FOR UNDERBUNKER COAL CONTROL GATES Filed Sept. 16, 1957 INVENTOR MELVIN N. M0 CLOSKEY ATTY.

United States INDICATING MECHANISM FOR UNDERBUNKER COAL CONTROL GATES Me lvin N. McCl'oskey, Titlin, Ohio, assignor to Webster lgllalll ufacturmg, Inc, Tilfin, Ohio, a corporation or Application September 16, 1957, Serial No. 684,004 3 Claims. (Cl. 222- 41) present application 'is a continuation-in-part.

The invention is specifically concerned with apositionindicating mechanism for the control gates associated with underbunker coal conveyor systems of the, type set forth in the above-mentioned application whereby the operator may at all times be apprized of the condition of the gate or gates utilized in the system, ie whether the gates are closed or open and, if open, whether they are in conveyor feeding or conveyor by-passing position.

Systems of the type involved herein are associated with an overhead coal bunker of fairly large capacity and which is divided into a series of individual bins, the bins being arranged in alignment and extending in a row throughout the entire length of the bunker floor. The 'bins are open at their top and may selectively be fed by the'usual overbunker conveyor. Beneath the bunker floor and similarly extending the full length thereof is an underbunker conveyor which is adapted to selectively receive coal from the various bins above and which, accordingly, communicates with the various bunker or bin outlets through the medium of a series of gravity chutes, each chute discharging into a s'o-called'three-way hopper'w'hich has associated therewith plural gate devices capable ofbeing selectively operated to distribute the coal in a predetermined manner. The gate may be operated to discharge the coal directly into the underbunker conveyor from the bin above; it maybe operated to bypass the coal around the conveyor and discharge the same for consumption at some remote point, as for example to a Weighing scale preparatory to bein'gfed to a stoker for the operation of a boiler or the like; or it maybe operated to discharge the contents of the conveyor issuing from a remote point in the conveyor system, for example from another bin in the series directly into the hopper for subsequent discharge thereby to the scene of boiler operation. By such an arrangement, it is possible by selective operation of the gate devices associated with the various hoppers to withdraw coal from anydesired portion of the bunker for use at various boiler locations, or for other disposition thereof as desired, and even for transfer of coal from one bunker bin to another bin, utilizing suitable elevator mechanism for this purpose. Since the gates associated with conveyor systems of the type briefly outlined above are disposed and operable within the bunker, or within respective by-pass hoppers which are fed from the bunker bins, and are therefore entirely concealed, the operator may, at times, be at a loss to ascertain the condition of one or more of the gates in the system. Furthermore, in manipulating these gates, in the event that one of them should become clogged in the vicinity of one of the extreme positions of which it is Patented .May 26, .1959

capable of assuming, the operator will, under certain circumstances, not be aware of such clogged condition and he will act upon the assumption that the gate is either fully open or fully closed when, intact, the gate is in a mid-position.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the operation of the gates ordinarily associated with underbunker coal conveyor systems and, toward this end, it contemplates the provision of a novel and eflicient indicating assembly including ,pointerand scale .instrumentalities which may be installed as original equipment on the usual gate operating shaft, or which maybe .applied to exist- 'ing gate installations, and which will render to the operator of the system a visual indication of the-position of the gate with which it is asociated, i.e. an indication of whether the gate is in its conveyor feeding position, its by-pass position, or any intermediate position, as well as indicating the extent to which the gate is partially open in such intermediate position.

The provision of an indicating mechanism of the character briefly outlined above being among the principal objects of the invention, it is another object thereof to provide such a mechanism which is applicable to the gate operating shaft entirely externally of the bunker or hopper casings where it is plainly visible to the operator and whereby it may be installed, serviced, adjusted or otherwise attended to without requiring dismantling of any portion of the bunker or hopper structure or of the gate itself.

The provision of an indicating mechanism of this sort which is comprised of a minimum number ofparts and which therefore may be manufactured at a relatively low cost, and which furthermore is rugged and durable and therefore unlikely to get out of order, are further desirable features which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this time enumerated, will become more readily apparent as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of this specification, one illustrative embodiment of the invention has been shown as being associated with a typical underbunker coal conveyor system.

In this drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view 'of an indicating mechanism constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and showing'the same operatively installed on a coal by-pass feed hopper associated with an under-bunker conveyor system,.and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. l in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a fragmentary portion of the lower end region of a coal 'chute is designated at 10, the chute leading or depending from the hottom wall of one of a series of overhead bins (not shown) associated with a conventional coal bunker. The extreme lower end of the chute 10 is confined within an upstanding flange 12 provided on the top Wall 1'4 of "a by-pass hopper '36 associated with an 'underbunk'er conveyor assembly 18 a fragment of the casing of such "assembly being shown in Fig. 2 at 20.

The details of the bunker structure, the chute '10, conveyor assembly 18 and other portions of the system to,

which the present invention is applicable are illustrated in my above-mentioned copending application and reference may be had to this application for a full understanding of the system. In the present application, only such portions of the system as are pertinent .to an under standing of theindicating mechanism of the ,present in;-

asssnvo vention have been illustrated in the drawings and described herein.

The by-pass hopper 16 is provided with vertical front and

rear walls

22 and 24 respectively,

side walls

26 and 28, a bottom wall (not shown), and the previously mentioned top wall 14. A horizontal section of the side Wall 26 is flared outwardly as at 30. The top wall 14 is provided with an opening 32 therein, this opening being bounded by the previously upstanding flange 12 and being in vertical register with the lower open end of the coal chute 10.

The rectangular opening 32 is adapted to be eifectively closed by means of a horizontally reciprocable or slidable seat gate member in the form of a generally rectangular plate 34 having a shallow trough-like depression 36 formed in the medial regions thereof, thus providing lateral side wings or flanges 38 which are tractionally supported on a series of supporting rollers 40 rotatably mounted on pins 42 carried by the hopper

casing side walls

26 and 28. The gate member 34 is movable from the normally closed position thereof illustrated in Fig. 1 wherein it underlies and efiectively closes the opening 32, in opposite directions away from the opening so as to uncover either end of the latter and allow coal to pass downwardly through the opening 32 and into the hopper 16. When the gate 34 moves to the left as viewed in Fig. 1 the coal will pass through the opening 32 and downwardly through the hopper casing and be discharged from the latter for subsequent conduction to a weight scale prior to introduction to a stoker or the like. When the gate moves to the right as viewed in this figure, the coal will pass through the opening 32 and enter the conveyor casing 20 for lateral passage along the upper run of the conveyor and away from the hopper. Accordingly, the top wall of the conveyor casing 20 is formed with an opening 44 therein in communication with a chute 46, the upper rim of which underlies the left hand end of the opening 32 in the top wall 14 of the by-pass hopper 16 as seen in Fig. 1, and also underlies the left hand end of the gate 34 when the latter is in its extreme right hand position. Thus, when the gate is moved to its extreme right hand position, coal will fiow by gravity through the

opening

32 and 44 and be deposited in the conveyor casing 20 on the upper run of the conveyor.

Movement of the gate 34 between its normally closed position over the opening 32 and either of its open positions is eifected under the control of a hand wheel 50 mounted exteriorly of the hopper casing 16 on a transverse shaft 52 rotatably iournalled in bearing plates 54 on the

casing side walls

26 and 28. The shaft 52 carries a pair of spaced pinions 56 thereon in the medial regions thereof which mesh with toothed racks 58 mounted on the underneath side of the gate member 34. From the above description it will be seen that turning movement of the hand wheel 50 in one direction or the other will effect corresponding rotation of the pinions 56 which, in turn, will cause toothed racks 58 to be moved horizontally and longitudinally in one direction or the other to move the plate assembly 34 between the various positions of which it is capable of assuming.

According to the present invention, in order to render a visual indication of the particular position which the gate assembly 34 assumes at any given instance, the gate operating shaft 52 has associated therewith an indicating mechanism which has been designated in its entirety at 60. This assembly involves in its general organization a stationary scale bar 62 of elongated design and having a vertical portion 64, a horizontal portion 66 and an upstanding vertical flange 68. The bar 62 is supported from the inclined portion 30 of the bypass chute side wall 26 by means of a plurality of brackets 70 which may be welded as at 72 or otherwise secured to the outer face of the inclined portion 30'.

Each bracket 70 is formed with a laterally extending vertically disposed flange 74 to which the vertical portion 64 of the scale bar 62 is secured by means of anchoring screws 76 or the like. The scale bar 62 is provided with suitable indicia such as has been shown at 80, 82 and 84 respectively and which may be labelled as at 86 to indicate the positions of the gate assembly 34 when the latter is in its extreme right hand position as viewed in Fig. 1 so that it uncovers the opening leading into the chute 46, in its closed position wherein it completely covers the opening 32, or in its extreme left hand position wherein it uncovers a portion of the opening 32 but completely covers the rim of the chute 46. The

indicia

80, 82 and 84 on the scale bar 62 are 'designed for cooperation with a pointer 88 carried on and depending from a longitudinally shiftable reciprocable rack or carriage 90 which is U-shaped in cross section as seen in Fig. 2 and includes parallel sides 92 and a connecting base 94. Each side 92 of the rack 90 is formed with an elongated longitudinally extending slot 96 therein through which slot the gate operating shaft 52 extends. The base portion 94 of the rack 90 is adapted to rest upon the horizontal portion 68 of the scale bar 62 and the rack 90 is thus slidable along this horizontal portion 68 to the limit permitted by the ends of the slot 96 so that the pointer 88 will be moved along the scale bar 62 for cooperation with the

indicia

80, 82 and 84 respectively. Suitably secured to the upper face of the horizontal portion 94 of the carriage or rack 90 is a rack element proper 100 having teeth 102 formed thereon which mesh with a pinion 104 fixedly secured to the gate operating shaft 52 and rotatable in unison therewith.

From the above description it will be seen that-upon turning movement of the'hand wheel 50 in one direction or the other and consequent turning movement of the gate operating shaft 52 to move the gate assembly 34 longitudinally in either direction, the pinion 104 will impart motion to the rack element 100, and consequently to the carriage or rack assembly 90. Since the pinion 56 meshes with the toothed rack 58 on the side of the shaft 52 opposite the region of engagement between the pinion 104 and toothed rack 100, it is obvious that upon turning movement of the gate operating shaft 52 the carriage 92 will move in a direction opposite to the direction of motion of the gate assembly 34. Furthermore, because of the fact that the effective diameter of the pinion 104 is less than the effective diameter of the pinion 56 the amplitude of displacement of the carriage 92, and consequently of the pointer 88, will be less than the amplitude of displacement of the gate assembly 34. By such an arrangement the overall size of the indicating assembly 90 of the present invention need not be large despite the relatively large displacement which is effected by the movement of the gate assembly 34 between its two extreme positions.

From the above description it will be observed that the indicating mechanism 90 of the present invention is positioned on the by-pass hopper assembly 16 at a region in the vicinity of the hand wheel 50 so that the operator, when stationed at the hand wheel for gate shifting purposes may readily observe the position of the pointer 88 and ascertain therefrom the existing position of the concealed gate assembly 34. Because of the fact that the assembly is disclosed wholly exteriorly of the casing associated with the by-pass hopper 16 the same is readily accessible for purposes of inspection of parts, replacement or repair thereof. Furthermore, because of this accessible position, the assembly is capable of being readily installed on existing gate control shafts 52 not originally equipped with such indicating mechanism.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to-without departing from the spirit of the invention. Only insofar as the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with an apparatus for handling loose comminuted or other material commonly handled in bulk and including a container for the material provided with an elongated opening therein for discharge by gravity of the material therethrough, a horizontally reciprocable feed gate selectively movable in opposite directions within the container between an intermediate central closed position wherein it completely closes said opening and two laterally displaced open positions wherein different regions of the opening are uncovered for selective feeding of the material through the opening at horizontally displaced regions therealong, a driven rack mounted on said feed gate and extending longitudinally therealong, a control shaft for said gate mounted for rotation about a fixed axis and projecting into said container from a region exteriorly thereof, and a driving pinion mounted on said shaft and meshing with said rack whereby turning movement of the shaft in opposite directions will effect longitudinal shifting movement of the rack and consequently of the gate in opposite directions respectively, of a second pinion fixedly mounted on said shaft exteriorly of the container, an elongated scale bar fixedly mounted on said container exteriorly thereof and extending transversely of said shaft, an indicator rack mounted for shifting movement in opposite directions longitudinally of said scale bar, said indicator rack meshing with said second pinion on the side of the control shaft opposite to said driven rack whereby tuming movement of the shaft in one direction will effect longitudinal shifting movement of the indicator rack in the opposte direction, and cooperating pointer and indicia means on said indicator rack and scale bar for indicating the extent of displacement of said feed gate from its central position.

2. The combination with an apparatus for handling loose comminuted or other material commonly handled in bulk and including a container for the material provided with an elongated opening therein for discharge by gravity of the material therethrough, a horizontally reciprocable feed gate selectively movable in opposite directions within the container between an intermediate central closed position wherein it completely closes said opening and two laterally displaced open positions wherein different regions of the opening are uncovered for selective feeding of the material through the opening at horizontally displaced regions therealong, a driven rack mounted on said feed gate and extending longitudinally therealong, a control shaft for said gate mounted for rotation about a fixed axis and projecting into said container from a region exteriorly thereof, and a driving pinion mounted on said shaft and meshing with said rack whereby turning movement of the shaft in opposite directions will effect longitudinal shifting movement of the rack and consequently of the gate in opposite directions respectively, of a second pinion fixedly mounted on said shaft exteriorly of the container, an elongated scale bar fixedly mounted on said container exteriorly thereof and extending transversely of said shaft, an indicator rack overlying said scale bar, cooperating guide means on the indicator rack and scale bar permitting longitudinal shifting movement of the indicator rack relative to the scale bar, said indicator rack meshing with said second pinion whereby turning movement of the shaft in one direction or the other will efiect longitudinal shifting movement of the indicator rack in a corresponding direction, and cooperating pointer and indicia means on said indicator rack and scale bar for indicating the extent of displacement of said feed gate from its central position.

3. The combination with an apparatus for handling loose comminuted or other material commonly handled in bulk and including a container for the material provided with an elongated opening therein for discharge by gravity of the material therethrough, a horizontally reciprocable feed gate selectively movable in opposite directions within the container between an intermediate central closed position wherein it completely closes said opening and two laterally displaced open positions wherein different regions of the opening are uncovered for selective feeding of the material through the opening at horizontally displaced regions therealong, a driven rack mounted on said feed gate and extending longitudinally therealong, a control shaft for said gate mounted for rotation about a fixed axis and projecting into said container from a region exteriorly thereof, and a driving pinion mounted on said shaft and meshing with said rack whereby turning movement of the shaft in opposite direc tions will effect longitudinal shifting movement of the rack and consequently of the gate in opposite directions respectively, of a second pinion fixedly mounted on said shaft and positioned exteriorly of the container, an elongated scale bar fixedly mounted on said container exteriorly thereof and extending transversely of the shaft, an indicator rack mounted for shifting movement in opposite directions longitudinally of said scale bar, said indicator rack meshing with said second pinion whereby turning movement of the shaft in one direction or the other will effect longitudinal shifting movement of the indicator rack in a corresponding direction, and cooperating pointer and indicia means on said indicator rack and scale bar for indicating the extent of displacement of said feed gate from its central position, said driving pinion having an efiective diameter larger than the elfective diameter of said second pinion whereby comparatively large displacements of the feed gate will result in comparatively smaller displacements of the indicator rack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 495,590 Kaucher Apr. 18, 1893 1,327,455 Willis et al. Jan. 6, 1920 2,350,763 Jackson June 6, 1944 2,626,719 Stock Jan. 27, 1953