AU610985B2

AU610985B2 - Feeder-breaker apparatus

Info

Publication number: AU610985B2
Application number: AU29712/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Alan Potts
Original assignee: MMD Design and Consultancy Ltd
Current assignee: MMD Design and Consultancy Ltd
Priority date: 1984-12-21
Filing date: 1989-02-07
Publication date: 1991-05-30
Anticipated expiration: 2005-12-18
Also published as: GB2168667B; GB2208614A; GB8822970D0; GB2168667A; AU5141985A; GB2208614B; ZA859636B; GB8530870D0; AU586657B2; GB8432477D0; AU2971289A

Description

112 T. zAxMAnlsj bdoWpIILjqba P:q ZAkXMAfisNOdONW1I~fIH~O9C)V 'id 01 S1.25 S F Ref: 85936 FORM COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRAL$ PATENTS ACT 1952 10985 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: Class Int Class CQmplete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: Name and Address of Applicant: Address for Service: MMD Design Consultancy Limited Cotes Park Lane Cotes Park Industrial Estate Somercotes Derbyshire DE55 4NJ UNITED KINGDOM Spruson Ferg~lson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Males, 2000, Australia Complete Specification for the invention entitled: Feeder-Breaker Apparatus The following statement is a full description of ths invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us 5845/3 5845/2 p m n i -1- FEEDER-BREAKER APPARATUS The pre.ent invention relates to a feeder-breaker apparatus for use in mineral handling.

In mining and quarrying mineral which is won, for instance, by blasting techniques needs to be transported away from the mining/quarrying site. This can be done by vehicles having buckets which scoop up loads of the won mineral and then deposit the loads into a hopper for transport away by belt conveyor. The won mineral contains lumps of mineral of varying sizes. The larger lumps of mineral part;cularly elongate pieces of mineral (commonly referred to as slabs) can cause blockage problems, particularly at transfer points and accordingly it is desirable that the conveying system be fed with won mineral which does not contain lumps of mineral po, above a predetermined size. In addition, since conveying systems have a lc maximum continuous rate at which they can convey material difficulties 0 a arise if intermittent surges of material are deposited onto the conveyor.

oo01 It is the object of the present invention to overcome or .°100 substantially ameliorate the problems and/or disadvantages of the prior art.

In one broad form the present invention provides a mineral breaker ooo having a pair of side by side breaker drums rotatably mounted on opposed end walls of a breaker housing, the upper portion of one of the end walls having a opening through which mineral to be broken can be discharged into the breaker at substantially the same level or slightly above the upper 0" level defined by the breaker drums the drums being provided with conveying means which on rotation of the drums urges mineral to move along the drums oo away from the opening.

0 25 In such an arrangement the mineral breaker ensures that lumps greater than a maximum desired size are broken down before being deposited onto the take-away conveyor.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a side view of an embodiment according to the present invention;

I

KLN:1435b TO: THE COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS

AUSTRALIA

KLN/21391 I I.

iai lll i i_ 2 Figure 2 is a part plan view of the embodiment of Figure 1 as viewed in the direction of arrow C; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line D-D in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure I.

The mineral handling apparatus according to the present invention is generally shown at 10 and includes an elongate storage compartment 14 having an inlet end 14A and an outlet end 14. The storage compartment 14 Is constructed from interconnected panels 15 which are bolted to one another to define an elongate open topped channel-shaped construction which is seen in Figure 4 has inwardly directed bottom side walls 19.

o00o, Conveniently the compartment 14 is open ended at end 14-a so as to o o0 facilitate deposit of won mineral into the compartment.

00o Located at the bottom of the storage compartment 14 and extending 0 along its length is a conveyor assembly 20. The conveyor assemby 20 is 0000 o016 composed of side plates 22 which are bolted to one another and to the walls 0 of the storage compartment. The conveyor assembly 20 includes an upper run defined by a floor 20b over which laterally spaced flights 20q sweep.

The flights 20£ are connected by a pair of continuous chains 20d which are 0 0 0 trained about a sprocket shaft 60h which is driven by a motor 60A which is 0 preferably a hydraulic motor.

A mineral breaker housing 30 is bolted to the storage 00 o compartment/conveyor assembly construction at the outlet end of the compartment. The housing 30 Is also bolted to support brackets 32 which are connected to the compartment 14, Accordingly the storage 0 o 5 compartment/conveyor assembly and breaker housing 30 define a composite rigid unitary structure.

The unitary structure is supported in a supporting frame 40 which basically comprises a pair of arms 41 (only one being visible In Figure 1) which are mounted on a base 42 via legs 43. The base 42 Is conveniently provided with motive means which enable the whole apparatus to be moved across the ground to a different location. In the illustrated embodiment the motive means is In the form of a pair of continuous tracks 44.

The unitary structure Is attached to the arms 41 via a pivotal connection 48 so that the conveyor assembly is inclined and the breaker housing is raised from the ground by a sufficient distance to enable a take-away conveyor (not shown) to be located beneath it.

KLN:1435b C4~_~1 3 The inlet ends 14a of the compartment Is provided with a foot pad 38 which in use engages the ground. The position of the pivotal connection 48 is such that the centre of gravity of the unitary structure is located to the left of the pivotal connection as viewed in Figure 1 thereby ensuring that the unitary structure normally rests on the foot pad 38. A ram 50 is provided for moving the unitary structure about the pivot to lift the foot pad 38 clear of the ground to enable the motive means to move the apparatus.

In use, won mineral is deposited into the storage compartment and the conveyor assembly moves the deposited won mineral toward the breaker.

Adjustable control means are provided, which in the illustrated embodiment s take the form of hydraulic valves operated by control levers 60. The levers 60 enable an operative to control the hydraulic motor 60A and thus control the rate of feed of mineral to the breaker. In this way both the o 0 rate of deposit of mineral from the apparatus onto the take-away conveyor and feed of mineral to the breaker can be accurately controlled.

0 00 The mineral breaker is preferably provided with a pair of breaker drums 80 which are in line with the direction of feed of the conveyor assembly 20, The drums 80 are driven by a motor 87 preferably at constant 0 o 0 o rate. The motor 87 is preferably an electric motor, The breaker drums preferably include conveying means which in the illustrated embodiment are in the form of helical ribs 82 which on rotation of the drums serve to urge o °o mineral along the drums away from the conveyor assembly, The drums 80 are spaced apart laterally to define a gap 84 through which dirt and undersized mineral can readily fall. The drums 80 include picks 86 which quickly 0 oa25 break down over sized lumps of mineral and direct the broken mineral through gap 84.

The breaker drums 80 are rotatably mounted in opposed end walls,A8N, 87 of the breaker housing, and as shown in Figure 4 the upper portion of end wall48 is provided with an opening 89 (defined by wall face through which mineral is discharged from the compartment into the breaker.

Accordingly mineral is discharged from the compartment at substantially the same level or slightly above the level of the upper level of the breaker drums This enables the overall height of the apparatus to be kept to a minimum by avoiding the need to position the conveyor means above the breaker to drop mineral down into it as with conventional arrangements.

i 4 It is to be appreciated that other constructions of irneral breaker may be incorporated into the above apparatus. For instance a breaker having a single drum aligned with the conveyor means may be provided.

Additionally, the breaker drums 80 may have different teeth formations other than those shown in the drawings and the conveying means for each drum may be defined by the breaker teeth themselves as for example as described in our European patent publication 0096706 wherein teeth defining aSd4=~see helical formation for movement of mineral along the breaker drum are disclosed.

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0 0 On 1:1435b

Claims

1. A mineral breaker having a pair of side by side breaker drums rotatably mounted on opposed end walls of a breaker housing, the upper portion of one of the end walls having an opening through which mineral to be broken can be discharged into the breaker at substantially the same level or slightly above The upper level defined by the breaker drums the drums being provided with conveying means which on rotation of the drums urges mineral to move along the drums away from the opening.

2. A mineral breaker according to Claim 1 wherein the conveying means comprise helical ribs. o

3. A mineral breaker according to Claim 1 wherin the conveying °o oe deiscr-s 0 means comprise breaker teeth arranged in464=sg4eet helical formations, o

4 A mineral breaker as hereinbefore described with reference to oo oo 00 and as shown in the accompanying drawings. 000 0 0 a 0 o DATED this SECOND day of FEBRUARY 1989 MMD Design Consultancy Limited 0 o0 O 0 0 00' Patent Attorneys for the Applicant SPRUSON FERGUSON 0 LI C 6 0