WO1982000118A1

WO1982000118A1 - Material storage apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1982000118A1
Application number: PCT/AU1981/000083
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ltd Jacques
Original assignee: Rogerson A
Priority date: 1980-07-04
Filing date: 1981-07-03
Publication date: 1982-01-21

Abstract

Mobile storage apparatus for granular, particulate and similar flowable material. The apparatus has a hopper-like storage compartment (1) for such material and a conveyor (4) extends longitudinally of the base (3) of the compartment (1) and is operable to transport the material to a discharge outlet at the rear (5) on the compartment (1). A baffle (9) is located over the conveyor (4) in vertical spaced relationship and extends longitudinal of the conveyor (4). That baffle (9) is arranged relative to each of the side walls (2) of the compartment (1) so that a clearance space (15) exists between each of those walls (2) and the baffle (9), and material passes through the clearance spaces (15) in order to come under the influence of the conveyor (4). The baffle (9) is adjustable whereby the size of each clearance space (15) can be varied and actuator means (18) is connected to the baffle (9) so as to be operable to selectively adjust the baffle (9) to suit particular circumstances.

Description

MATERIALSTORAGEAPPARATUS

This invention relates to storage of material of granular, particulate, flake, crystalline, or powder-like form, which will be hereinafter referred to as material of the kind indicated. The invention is particularly althoug not exclusively concerned with such apparatus which is mobile for the purpose of transporting the material from one place to another. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to mobile storage apparatus although that is not the only possible application of the invention. Mobile storage apparatus may be fixed to a prime mover or drawn in a trailer like fashion by prime mover. Such mobile apparatus may be required to transport materials having widely different^' characteristics such as sand, crushed rock aggregates, screen rock products,, asphalts, lime, cement, river gravels, wood chips, grains, seeds, sugar, fertilisers of all descriptions, industrial wastes and many other particulate materials. Some of those materials tend to compact during storage and transport making subsequent removal difficult. That difficulty is of particular concern in storage apparatus of the kind incorporating a conveyor for shifting stored material to a discharge point and the invention is directed to an apparatus of that kind.

Apparatus of the foregoing kind usually has the conveyor extending longitudinally of the storage compartment and arranged substantially mid-way in the width of that compartment. At least the lower part of the compartment side walls converge inwardly and downwardly to form a hopper section which directs the stored material into the ϋ

O FI zone of the conveyor. A baffle is generally provided above the conveyor to prevent the full weight of the stored material from bearing on the conveyor. In operation, the material engaging the conveyor is moved to the discharge point and expelled from the storage compartment while further material progressively drops down past both sides of the baffle to engage the conveyor.

Under ideal conditions that progressive movement of material onto the conveyor and out of the compartment continues until the compartment is empty. In actual practice however, it is found that some material compacts to such a degree that it bridges over the space between the baffle and the compartment side walls. As a result the material does-_not drop to the conveyor and it is necessary to loosen the material so it will drop or remove it from the compartment by means other than the conveyor. If bridging is tobe minimized the baffle needs to be arranged to provide a relatively large space on each side, but that can have the disadvantage of allowing some types of material to pack down against and jam the conveyor. It is a principal object of the present invention to provide material storage apparatus of the conveyor discharge type which overcomes or minimizes the aforementioned dis¬ advantages. According to the present invention there is provided storage apparatus for material of the kind indicated, including a compartment for receiving and holding said material, conveyor means in the base of said compartment and operable to move said material to a discharge point, baffle means located within said compartment adjacent to but spaced above said conveyor means and extending substantially the full length of said conveyor means, said baffle means having a fixed part and a movable part, a clearance space between said movable part and an adjacent side wall of said compartment and through which said material moves onto said conveyor means, and actuator means operable to cause movement of said movable part relative to said fixed part and thereby alter the size of said clearance space. The essential features of the invention and further optional features, are described in detail in the following passages of the specification which refer to the accompanying drawings. The drawings however, are merely illustrative of how the invention might be put into effect, so that the specific form and arrangement of the features (whether they be essential or optional features) shown is not to be understood as limiting on the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation view of a mobile storage device to which the invention may be applied.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line II-II of Figure 1 and showing one embodiment of the invention. Figure 3 is a view taken along line III-III of Figure 2 showing portion only of the storage compartment of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a crosss-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the baffle in a different position of adjustment. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to a truck mounted material storage compartment 1 as shown in Figure 1. In a typical construction, as shown in Figure 2, the side walls 2 of the compartment 1 converge downwardly, at least in a lower part of the compartment to a substantially flat and relatively narrow base 3. A conveyor 4 is operable to move along the base 3 and direct material through a discharge opening (not shown) at the rear 5 of the compartment 1. It is usual for the conveyor 4 to be of the continuous chain type with spaced scraper plates 6 connected to and extending transverse of the chain 7 so that material receiving pockets 8 are formed between the plates 6 (figure 4) . The plates 6 bear against or lie close to the surface of the base 3 during movement along that surface. Other forms of conveyor may be used however, such as conveyors of the belt type or auger type.

The baffle 9 includes a fixed part 10 which is located a suitable distance above the conveyor 4 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor 4. In the form shown, the fixed baffle part 10 has two substantially flat side surfaces 11 which diverge downwardly from a central ridge 12 of the baffle 9. Such an arrangement inhibits collection of material on the baffle 9 during the final stages of an emptying operation. Any suitable support

OMPI may be provided for the fixed baffle part 9. In the example shown hov/ever, a series of cross members 13 extend between the compartment side walls 2 at spaced intervals along the length of the compartment 2 and at a location above the fixed baffle part 10. Each cross member 13 is connected to the fixed baffle part 10 such as by way of a downwardly extending strut or column 14.

A clearance space 15 is provided between each side wall 2 of the compartment 1 and the adjacent lower edge 16 of the baffle 9 (Figure 2) and that space 15 is selected to minimise the possibility of material bridging. Preferably, the clearance space 15 is substantially the same on both sides. In accordance with the invention, a movable baffle part 17 is connected to a lower edge of each side surface 11 of the fixed baffle part 10 and actuator means 18 (Figure 5) is provided to move both parts 17 between operative and inoperative positions.

Each movable part 17 is preferably in the form of a plat hingedly connected as at 19 along one edge of the lower longitudinal edge of a respective side surface 11 of the fixed part 10. In the operative position, as shown in Figure 2, the plates 17 each extend laterally outwards from the fixed part 10 and in the preferred arrangement shown forms a continuation of the adjacent side surface 11 of the fixed part 10. That is, the two plates 17 diverge downwardly at substantially the same angle as the side surfaces 11 of the fixed part 10. In the inoperative position as shown in Figure 6, the two plates 17 extend more directly downwards, preferably to provide an

OMPI obstruction no larger than the maximum width of the fixed part 10.

When the movable plates 17 are in their outer operative position (Figure 2) a clearance space 15 of minimum size is provided between the outer edge 16 of each and the adjacent compartment side wall 2. The plates 17 may be moved to adopt any other position between those shown in Figures 2 and 6 so that the size of the space 15 can be selected according to the nature of a particular material so as to minimise the possibility of that material compacting against and jamming the conveyor 4.

Actuator means 18 for moving the plates 17 between the operative and inoperative positions may comprise at least one pneumatic or hydraulic piston-cylinder assembly 20 connected to the fixed baffle part 10 or other suitable support so that its piston rod 21 is arranged for up and down movement. The lower end portion of the rod 21 may be connected to each plate 17 through pivoted links 22 or the like so that the plates 17 respond to up and down movement of the rod 21. Obviously, other forms of connections may be adopted as may other types of actuators.

In normal operation of the apparatus according to the invention, the movable baffle plates 17 will be kept in the operative or extended position (Figure 2) until a bridging condition exists. That is, the conveyor 4 will be operated with the plates 17 in their operative position until or unless the rate of discharge of material reveals that the conveyor 4 is simply tunnelling through compacted material. The plates 17 will then be moved into or towards the inoperative or collapsed position (Figure 6) so as to

OMPI release the wedging influence of those plates 17 on the compacted material. Material will then fall onto the conveyor 4 so that discharge can continue at a suitable rate. Under some circumstances the plates 17 may be held

5 at a position between the fully extended and fully collapsed conditions.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the present invention provides a simple yet effective means of ensuring proper operation of the discharge conveyor

10 in apparatus of the kind under consideration. Although the invention has been described as applied to apparatus in which a clearance space is provided on both sides of the baffle, there may be situations under which it can be applied so as to have a clearance space on one side only. Further-

15 more, it may be desirable under some circumstances to provide for independent actuation of each baffle plate in the two sided arrangement described. That is, there may be provision for moving either plate into or out of its inoperative position independent of movement of

20. the other plate. Still further, the movable baffle plates may be controlled by electrical and/or mechanical actuator means rather than fluid operated means as described.

Finally, it is to be understood that various 5 alterations, modifications and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

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Claims

1. Storage apparatus for material of the kind indicated, including a compartment for receiving and holding said material, conveyor means in the base of said compartment and operable to move said material to a discharge point, baffle means located within said compartment adjacent to but spaced above said conveyor means and extending substantially the full length of said^* conveyor means, said baffle means having a "fixed part and a movable part, a clearance space between said movable part and an adjacent side wall of said compartment and through which said material moves onto said conveyor means, and actuator means operable to cause movement of said movable part relative to said fixed part and thereby alter the size of said, clearnace space.

2. Storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said baffle means has two movable parts each of which is located on a respective opposite side of said fixed part, and a respective said clearance space is provided between each said movable part and the respective adjacent side wall of said compartment.

3. Storage apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said fixed part has two substantially flat side surfaces which diverge downwardly towards said conveyor means from a central ridge of the baffle means, said central ridge extending substantially in the longitudinal direction of said conveyor means, and each said movable part forms an extension of a respective said side surface at the edge thereof remote from said central ridge.

4. Storage apparatus according to any preceding claim,

O PI _ wherein the or each said movable part is hingedly connected to said fixed part, and said actuator means is operable to move the or each said movable part between open and closed positions at which the size of said clearance space is at a maximum and minimum respectively.

5. Storage apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said actuator means includes a fluid operated piston- cylindrical assembly and a pivoted linkage interconnecting said assembly and the or each said movable part, whereby said movable part swings about its hinged connection in response to extension and contraction of said assembly.

6. Storage apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each said movable part is a plate-like flap.

7. Storage apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said compartment forms part of a mobile assembly.

8. A mobile assembly including a storage compartment for material of the kind indicated, a discharge opening at one end of said compartment, conveyor means at the base of said compartment and extending lengthwise thereof, said conveyor means being engageable by material stored in said compartment and being operable to move said material through said discharge opening, baffle means located within said compartment so as to overlie said conveyor means in vertical spaced relationship and extending in the longitudinal direction of said conveyor means, means mounting said baffle means for movement towards and away from side walls of said compartment, a clearance space between each longitudinal side of said baffle means and the respective adjacent side wall of said compartment through which said material moves

OMPI to engage said conveyor means, and actuator means operable to cause said movement of said operable means relative to said compartment side walls where the size of said clearance space can be selectively varied.

9.... Storage apparatus constructed and attached to function substantially as herein particularly described with reference to what is shown in the accompanying drawings.