US3776153A

US3776153A - Self-propelled tie destroying machine

Info

Publication number: US3776153A
Application number: US00304925A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Stewart
Original assignee: CANNON Inc
Current assignee: CANNON Inc
Priority date: 1972-11-09
Filing date: 1972-11-09
Publication date: 1973-12-04
Anticipated expiration: 1990-12-04

Abstract

A device for destroying railroad ties which comprises fire brick insulated open-topped fire box mounted on a self-propelled tracktravelling vehicle. The device is provided with at least one plenum chamber from which extends, along the top of one side of the fire box, a series of nozzles which are downwardly and inwardly directed into the box. These nozzles deliver air for combustion across the top of the box so as to form an air curtain which inhibits the escape of particles of ties being burned in the box. An endless conveyor is located adjacent the open top of the box on the side remote from the nozzles and ties are loaded onto this conveyor by means of a crane. The conveyor has a series of hydraulically operated pusher plates arranged longitudinally thereof which are operated by temperature sensitive elements within the fire box to distribute ties from the conveyor into area in the box where the combustion of ties already therein is substantially complete. The device also envisages the provision of a water wall boiler within the box which generates steam to drive a turbine which in turn drives air compressor motors to pressurize the air for the nozzles. An alternative embodiment includes a blower and a ducting system which will preheat ambient air and utilize the air to form the air curtain.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Stewart Dec. 4, 1973 SELF-PROPELLED TIE DESTROYING MACHINE [57] ABSTRACT Inventor; J Kenneth Stewart, Columbia; A device for destroying railroad'ties which comprises fire brick insulated open-topped fire box mounted on [73] Assigneez Cannon, Inc phmipsbu-rg, NJ a self-propelled track-travelling vehicle. The device is Y provided with at least one plenum chamber from Filed! 1972 which extends, along the top of one side of the fire box, a series of nozzles which are downwardly and in- [211 App]' No" 304,925 wardly directed into the box. These nozzles deliver air Relamd Application Data for combustion across the top of the box so as to form [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 204,611, Dec. 3, an air curtain which inhibits the escape of particles of 1971, abandoned. ties being burned in the box. An endless conveyor is located adjacent the open top of the box on the side [52] US. Cl 110/10, 1lO/l9, 110]] 19 remote from the nozzles and ties are loaded onto this [51] Int. Cl. conveyor by means of a crane. The conveyor has a se- [58] Field of Search 110/8 R, 8 C, 18 R, ries of hydraulically operated pusher plates arranged ll0/l8 C, 19, 119; 144/309 longitudinally thereof which are operated by temperature sensitive elements within the tire box to distribute [56] References Cited ties from the conveyor into area in the box where the UNITED STATES PATENTS combustion of ties already therein is substantially 526 284 9/1894 Anderson 1 10/8 The device also ehvisages the Provisim of a 2,961I977 1l/l960 Coleman ll0/8 water within the which geherates 3,128,808 4/1964 Blix, Ji 144 309 steam to drive a turbine which in drives air 3,392,690 7/1968 Mandelbaum et al. 110/ l 19 pressor motors to pressurize the air for the noules. An

3,465,696 9/1969 Amundsen... 110/8 alternative embodiment includes a blower and a duct- 3,610,180 10/1971 S6012! et al 110/8 ing system which will preheat ambient air and utilize Primary Examiner -Kenneth w. Sprague Attorney-Christopher Robinson et al.

the air to form the air curtain.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures I4 CONDENSER SELF-PROPELLED TIE DESTROYING MACHINE This application is a continuation-in-part of my parent application Ser. No. 204,611 filed Dec. 3, l97l now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A problem existing in railroads toaday is thatthe destroying old railroad ties after they have been removedfrom the roadbed. This problem has been accentuated by the need to decrease atmosphere pollution. The invention seeks to provide a device which will effectively destroy ties leaving little residue or pollution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention'provides a device fon destroying railroad ties and the like comprising an insulated open-topped fire box mounted on a self propelled vehicle for movement along the railroad track; means forproviding a curtain of. combustionsuppoirti'nggas:under pressure from one edgeof thebox across the opentop.

thereof to inhibit the escape of particles of ties being burned therein; and means for delivering tiesto be burned in the box and to distribute them selectively therein. The invention also relatesto the means forproviding the curtain of combustionsupporting' gas.

In a preferred construction the'combustionsuppor-t ing gas is air andthe means forsupplying it is a series-- of closely longitudinally spaced nozzles downwardly and inwardly directed into the fire box.

According to a feature of the invention, aheat. ex-

changer such as a water wall boiler and superheater is provided in the'fire box and may, in the preferred coristruction in accordance with the invention, generate steam to drive a steam turbine which in tur'nd'rives-apump for pressurizing theair curtain.

According to a feature of the invention, the meansfor distributing the ties in the fire box-.iscontrolledin response to a signal from a temperature-responsive means in the fire box. v

Again, according to a preferredembodiment, the means for delivering the ties include an: endless con veyor which is longitudinally located along the-upper edge of the fire box opposite the nozzles and 'the means for distributing the ties comprising a series of longitudinally spaced ram driven pusher plates.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the combustion supporting gas is ambient airwhichhas. been preheated by passing along the outside fire box surfaces and the means for supplying the ambient airis a ducting system consisting of an inlet portion, an outlet portion and a powered blower located there between.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT The following is a description by way of example of I Referring now to the drawings: A fire box is.

mounted on the flat bed 11 of a self-propelled rail-' travelling vehicle 13 whichis mounted on wheel bogies l4 and controlled from a cab l6.-The fire box is lined v to the duct 33. From the duct, the air is distributed as V an overfire curtain. Because this embodiment utilizes a self-contained power source for the blower, such as a with refractory bricks 18 or the like and is open-topped at 20.

Extending longitudinally along one edge of the fire box are a plurality of downwardly and inwardly dicreate a turbulent condition within the fire box lll and" to ensure virtually complete combustion leaving little or noresidue. The incinerator works in the fashion of the APC Model 24D Trench Incinerator manufactured by. Air Pollution Control Products Company of Richmond, VaJLThat isto say air is blown through the nozzles 2'1 downwardly across the fire box where theair is -defiect'ed5 by the curved back wall to the bottomof the fire box-then: across it in close contact with the ties being; bumed' therein and directed finally upwardly at the front wall until'it reaches the underside of the air curtain. Y The fire in the fire box may be started by or maintained byjets ofcombustible gas such as propane from suitable nozzles 24in the wall of the fire box.

Iioeated'in-the wall of the fire box is a water wall tube boi1'er@25 ,and a superheater 26 is located in the fire boxso asto generate steam to drive a turbine 27 which in turn,.through gear ring 28, drives the fans 22. If desired, a' certainquantity of steam may be bled over from: the turbine andmixed with the air to be passed through the nozzles 21. The turbine may be provided with condenser 28 in known fashion.

Referring to the alternative embodiment of the in-' vention, as shown in FIG. 3, the fire box 10 is provided with spaces 35. 36 arnd 37 between the inner and outer walls. Ambient air is drawn into these

spaces

35, 36 and 37 by a blower 38 via air intake openings located at the inlet-portion'end 34 of the fire box 10. The air passes overthe walls and bottom of the fire box 10, causing a'cooling effect on the walls and being itself heated: The heated air is drawn into the blower 38 from where itpasses under'pressure through a plenum chamber 39 diesel engine, the superheated 26 and turbine 27 may be disposed with. Further, as large amounts of air provide the necessary cooling effect on the fire box walls, the entire wall tube boiler 25 may be eliminated.

Located adjacent the other upper edge of the fire box is an endless conveyor 30 onto which ties are placed by means of a crane 31 which is operated by the operator in the cab to pick up ties from the side of the roadbed and laythem on the conveyor 30'. The conveyor 30 then moves the ties longitudinally of the fire box and a plurality of hydraulic ram driven plates 32 are located at spaced intervals along the conveyor 30. Operation of the rams 33 forces the plates to move across the conveyor and displace a tie therefrom to load it into the fire box 10. Control of the rams 33 may be either by the operator in thecab or may be under the automatic control-oftemperature-sensitive devices (not shown) located throughout the fire box. Thus where a previously loaded tie is almost completely .incinerated the temperature-sensitive devices will locate a drop in temperature in that area of the fire box and will, in conventional fashion provide a signal to operate a servo valve to actuate the appropriate ram 33 to move its plate 32 across the conveyor 30 and load a further' tie to be burned into that area. The device has the advantage that it can be moved into an area where ties are being removed and the ties can be destroyed quickly and efficiently with minimum of pollution to the surrounding atmosphere.

It is of course to be understood that variations could be provided within the scope of the invention. For example, the conveyor 30 could be replaced by some other loading means and the crane- 31 could be rev placed by a pick-up conveyor.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A device for destroying railroad ties and the like comprising an open-topped fire box mounted on a selfpropelled vehicle for movement along a railroad track; nozzle means extending longitudinally of and adjacent one edge to the box and downwardly and inwardly directed thereinto for providing a curtain of combustion supporting air under pressure across the top of the box to inhibit the escape of particles of ties being burned therein; means for delivering ties to be burned in the box including an endless conveyor longitudinally located along the upper edge of the fire box opposite said nozzles; and means to distribut the ties selectively in the box comprising a series of longitudinally spaced a water wall boiler and superheater. I

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which-a steam turbine driven fan means, is provided for pressurizing the air curtain and in which steam from the heat exchanger is used to drive the turbine.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim I in which the means to distribute the ties are controlled in response to a signal obtained from temperature-sensitive means in the fire box whereby to supply new ties to areas of the fire box where combustion of prior fed ties is substantially completed. I

5. A self-contained device for destroying -railroad ties and the like comprising an open-topped fire box mounted on a self-propelled vehicle for movement along a railroad track; means on the vehicle for providing a curtain of combustion supporting gas under pressure from one edge of the box across the top thereof to inhibit the escape of particles of ties being burned therein; and means mounted on the vehicle for delivering ties to be burned in the box and to distribute them selectively therein.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which the combustion supporting gas is air and the means for providing it, is a blower, inlet means to supply air to the blower, and outlet means to distribute air from the directed into the fire box.

Claims

1. A device for destroying railroad ties and the like comprising an open-topped fire box mounted on a self-propelled vehicle for movement along a railroad track; nozzle means extending longitudinally of and adjacent one edge to the box and downwardly and inwardly directed thereinto for providing a curtain of combustion supporting air under pressure across the top of the box to inhibit the escape of particles of ties being burned therein; means for delivering ties to be burned in the box including an endless conveyor longitudinally located along the upper edge of the fire box opposite said nozzles; and means to distribut the ties selectively in the box comprising a series of longitudinally spaced ram driven pusher plates.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which heat exchange means is provided in the fire box and comprises a water wall boiler and superheater.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which a steam turbine driven fan means is provided for pressurizing the air curtain and in which steam from the heat exchanger is used to drive the turbine.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the means to distribute the ties are controlled in response to a signal obtained from temperature-sensitive means in the fire box whereby to supply new ties to areas of the fire box where combustion of prior fed ties is substantially completed.

5. A self-contained device for destroying railroad ties and the like comprising an open-topped fire box mounted on a self-propelled vehicle for movement along a railroad track; means on the vehicle for providing a curtain of combustion supporting gas under pressure from one edge of the box across the top thereof to inhibit the escape of particles of ties being burned therein; and means mounted on the vehicle for delivering ties to be burned in the box and to distribute them selectively therein.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which the combustion supporting gas is air and the means for providing it, is a blower, inlet means to supply air to the blower, and outlet means to distribute air from the blower as the curtain.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the inlet means to supply air to the blower is such that the air passes along the fire box walls preheating the air and providing cooling for the walls.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the outlet means is a longitudinal duct downwardly and inwardly directed into the fire box.