Abstrict A jaw crusher has converging and opposed jaws defining a space
for passage of material to be crushed. An improved design for supporting
the jaws in floating relation on a frame structure of the crusher
includes: upper and lower elongated resilient members connected
with the frame structure and upper and lower reaction members connected
to each jaw for respective interaction with the elongated resilient
members, the upper and lower reaction members being substantially
diametrically opposed to each other for permitting oscillatory movement
of the jaws while at the same time limiting travel of the jaws in
all directions on the frame structure. The improved jaw with upper
and lower reaction members as described above facilitates drop-in
assembly of the jaws in the crusher.
Claims What is claimed is:
1. In a jaw crusher including a supporting frame structure, first
and second opposed downwardly converging crusher jaws defining therebetween
space for passage of material to be crushed, means supporting the
second jaw on the frame structure for opposed crushing action relative
to the first jaw, and eccentric means for imparting oscillatory
vibration to at least one of the first and second jaws for producing
crushing action, an improved design for supporting the first jaw
in floating relation on the frame structure and for facilitating
assembly or disassembly of the crusher, comprising
upper and lower elongated resilient members connected with the
frame structure and arranged opposite a face of the first jaw, and
upper and lower reaction members connected to the first jaw for
respective interaction with the upper and lower elongated resilient
members, the upper and lower reaction members encompassing diametrically
related portions of the upper and lower elongated resilient members
relative to their respective axes for permitting oscillatory movement
of the first jaw in response to the eccentric means while at the
same time limiting travel of the jaw in all directions on the frame
structure,
the upper and lower elongated resilient members being cylindrical,
the upper and lower reaction members also being cylindrical in configuration
and no more than about 180.degree. in extent to facilitate their
movement relative to the upper and lower elongated resilient members.
2. The improved jaw crusher of claim 1 wherein the upper reaction
member is arranged generally below the upper elongated resilient
member and the lower reaction member is arranged generally above
the lower elongated resilient member, the upper elongated resilient
member being replaceably connected to the frame structure to facilitate
assembly and disassembly of the first jaw from the crusher.
3. The improved jaw crusher of claim 2 wherein the lower elongated
resilient member is connected with the frame structure by additional
floating mount means for permitting increased movement of the first
jaw relative to the frame structure.
4. The improved jaw crusher of claim 3 wherein the upper and lower
elongated resilient members are formed from compressible tires.
5. The improved jaw crusher of claim 4 wherein the second jaw is
similarly supported in floating relation on the frame structure
by upper and lower elongated resilient member and upper and lower
reaction members as the first jaw.
6. The improved jaw crusher of claim 2 wherein the second jaw is
similarly supported in floating relation on the frame structure
by upper and lower elongated resilient members and upper and lower
reaction members as the first jaw.
Description FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to rock crushing machines and more
particularly to such machines wherein oscillatory vibration or motion
is produced in opposed jaws by means of eccentric masses or the
like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. No. 3079096 entitled "Crushing Apparatus"
issued Feb. 26 1963 to David P. McConnell, father of one of the
inventors herein. The crusher described and claimed in that patent
is particularly representative of the prior art with respect to
the present invention and is accordingly discussed in greater detail
below. The jaw crusher of the present invention includes certain
features in common with the apparatus of the above patent and also
in common with a copending application, Ser. No. 06/943552 entitled
"Improved Jaw Crusher with Multiple Drive Means" and filed
Dec. 18 1986 by David P. McConnell, one of the inventors herein.
Accordingly, both U.S. Pat. No. 3079096 and the copending application
referred to above are incorporated herein as though set forth in
their entirety in order to provide a more complete understanding
of the present invention particularly as to common crushing apparatus
features.
The crushing apparatus of the present invention also includes certain
features in common with apparatus disclosed in another copending
patent application, Ser. No. 06/823309 filed Jan. 28 1986 by David
P. McConnell, one of the inventors herein, entitled "Jaw Crushing
Apparatus" and now assigned to the assignee of the present
invention. Accordingly, that copending and commonly owned reference
is also incorporated herein as though set forth in its entirety.
Referring now to the incorporated references, U.S. Pat. No. 3079096
disclosed a jaw crusher of the type generally referred to above
wherein an eccentric mass was supported for rotation behind each
of its opposed jaws. Substantial forces acting upon the jaws were
absorbed by resilient means including wheels with pneumatic tires
arranged in shoes or cylindrical tracks. In addition to absorbing
tremendous shock loading on the jaws, the resilient tires permitted
the jaws to move away from each other as necessary when uncrushable
material formed, for example, from hardened steel or the like, entered
between the jaws.
Accordingly, the jaw crusher of the reference was particularly
effective in crushing materials such as rock while preventing the
jaws or other portions of the crusher from being damaged by uncrushable
material passing between the jaws.
Other jaw crushers including opposed vibratory jaws operated by
rotating eccentric masses have also been disclosed in the prior
art. For example, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 1247701 issued
Nov. 27 1917 to Michaelsen. However, at least for purposes of the
present invention, these other prior art jaw crushers are believed
to be generally equivalent to that of the above incorporated reference.
Although the prior art jaw crushers discussed above were very effective
for their purpose, it has been found desirable to further improve
their design for further enhancing jaw crusher operation in a variety
of applications.
In particular, it has been found that assembly and disassembly
is relatively difficult for such crushers with opposed jaws. This
is most noticeable in connection with the jaws themselves which
tend to experience substantial wear during operation of the crusher
and must accordingly be replaced or rebuilt relatively frequently.
Accordingly, there has been found to remain a need for a jaw crusher
exhibiting improvements in the areas discussed above as well as
in other areas.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an
improved jaw crusher capable of overcoming disadvantages such as
those discussed above.
It is a further related object of the invention to provide a jaw
crusher having an improved design for supporting at least one jaw
in floating relation on a frame structure of the crusher while facilitating
assembly and disassembly of the crusher, the improved design including
upper and lower elongated resilient members connected with the frame
structure behind the one jaw, and upper and lower reaction members
connected to the one jaw for respective interaction with the upper
and lower elongated resilient members, the upper and lower reaction
members being formed in substantially diametric relation for encompassing
diametrically opposed portions of the upper and lower elongated
resilient members in order to permit oscillatory movement of the
one jaw in response to the eccentric means while at the same time
limiting travel of the one jaw in all directions on the frame structure.
Preferably, the crusher is designed with both jaws being similarly
configured and mounted on its frame structure.
It is preferred that the upper elongated resilient member be replaceably
connected to the frame structure to facilitate assembly and disassembly
of either or both jaws as drop-in units. It is also preferred that
the lower elongated resilient member be connected with the frame
structure by additional floating mount means for permitting increased
movement of the first jaw relative to the frame structure. Such
a configuration is described in greater detail within the incorporated
copending reference entitled "Jaw Crushing Apparatus".
The additional floating mount provided at the bottom of the jaw
is particularly important when the overall configuration of the
jaw crusher is considered. As described in greater detail below,
lower Portions of the jaws converge toward each other and are preferably
generally parallel in order to achieve fine crushing of material
hefore it exits from the hottom of the crusher. Increased movement
made possible by the additional floating mount at the bottom of
the jaws allows these portions of the jaws to move even further
apart from each other in order to allow uncrushable material to
pass through the crusher without damaging or plugging the crusher.
It is yet another related object of the invention to provide an
improved crusher jaw of drop-in configuration as described above
for use with a crusher. Here again, it is preferably contemplated
that two drop-in jaws of similar design be employed in a single
crusher.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent
in the following description having reference to the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of a jaw crusher constructed in accordance
with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view taken from the left side of FIG. 1 in order to
show additional features of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the opposed jaws in the crusher
to better illustrate their construction and configuration.
FIG. 4 is a view of one of the jaws taken from the right side of
FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A jaw crusher constructed according to the present invention is
generally indicated at 10 in the drawings and includes a base frame
assembly 12 and a fabricated floating irame or jaw carriage structure
14. The base frame assembly 12 includes a platform 16 and upright
frame members 18 and 20. Both the base frame assembly 12 and jaw
carriage frame 14 are substantially reinforced as illustrated.
The jaw carriage frame 14 includes opposed upright side Plates
24 and 26 which are rigidly interconnected by cross members 28.
The jaw carriage frame 14 is resiliently supported upon the base
frame 12 by a plurality of coiled springs 30 interposed between
the upright frame members 18 and 20 of the base frame 12 and the
cross members 28 of the jaw carriage frame 14. The springs 30 are
positioned relative to both the upright frame members 18 and 20
and the cross members 28 by means of positioning cups 32.
A pair of crusher jaws 34 and 36 are mounted on the jaw carriage
frame 14 in a manner described in greater detail below ior allowing
oscillatory or vibratory movement of the jaws in synchronized relation
with each other. The mounting of the jaws 34 and 36 upon the jaw
carriage frame 14 is of particular importance because of the very
substantial shock forces acting upon the jaws during operation of
the crusher.
In any event, it will be more apparent from the following description
that, in their oscillatory or vibratory movement, the jaws experience
an upward stroke where they move upwardly and away from each other
followed by a downward stroke where the jaws move downwardly and
toward each other. The upward and downward strokes of the jaws produce
vibratory and oscillatory movement in order to develop crushing
force on rocks or other material passing between the jaws.
As noted above, the crusher jaws 34 and 36 are of substantially
similar construction except that they are formed as mirror images
of each other. Accordingly the following description for the crusher
jaw 34 also applies to the crusher jaw 36 with similar primed numerical
labels being employed. Although both jaws 34 and 36 are described
as being similarly configured and mounted in the crusher, it is
again noted that one jaw could be relatively fixed with the other
jaw being mounted in the manner described below.
Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 3 the crusher jaw 34
is formed with an upper hardened face plate 38 and a lower hardened
face plate 42. Both plates 38 and 42 are secured to a backing plate
40 preferably by means of countersunk bolts or studs (not shown)
in order to permit their removal or replacement on the jaw.
The angular relationship between the upper and lower face plates
38 and 42 on the crusher jaw 34 and the upper and lower face plates
38' and 42' on the jaw 36 is important for achieving more effective
crushing action on rocks or other material passing between the jaws.
Generally, it is desirable for the lower face plates 42 and 42'
to be substantially parallel with each other, for example, when
fine crushing is desired within the crusher 10. At the same time,
the upper face plates 38 and 38' form a wider converging angle for
receiving material to be crushed in the crusher 10.
For a further discussion of the jaws 34 and 36 and their preferred
configuration, reference is made to the incorporated references
noted above.
It is again noted that the present invention is particularly directed
toward the manner in which the crusher jaws 34 and 36 are supported
for oscillatory vibrating movement in the floating frame structure
14. In addition, the invention is particularly concerned with the
configuration of the jaws 34 and 36 themselves in order to permit
them to be of a drop-in design for facilitating installation and
removal of the jaws from the crusher 10.
Continuing with reference to FIGS. 1 2 and 3 the upper end of
the jaw 34 is supported by an elongated resilient member 43 which
is connected to the jaw carriage frame 14 and interacts with an
upper reaction member 44 attached to or forming an integral portion
of the jaw 34.
The lower portion of the jaw 34 is supported relative to the jaw
carriage frame 14 by series connected resilient floating mounts
46 and 48. The floating mount 46 comprises an elongated resilient
member similar to the upper member 43. Both the upper elongated
resilient member 42 and the floating mount or lower elongated resilient
member 46 are formed from compressible and resilient tires 50.
A lower reaction member 52 is attached to or integrally formed
on a lower portion of the jaw 34 for interacting with the lower
elongated resilient member 46.
The tires or wheels 50 in the lower elongated resilient member
46 are arranged upon a shaft or axle 54 which in turn is supported
in resilient, floating relation on the jaw carriage frame 14 by
the second resilient floating mount 48.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 the second resilient floating
mount 48 also comprises compressible and resilient tires 56 mounted
on opposite ends of the axle 54 and arranged within additional mounting
means in the form of rigid shoes or cylindrical tracks 58. Each
of the shoes or tracks 58 is rigidly supported by an adjusting block
60 which is positioned, for example, to adjust spacing between the
jaws by means of an adjusting screw assembly 62 secured to the base
frame assembly 12.
Thus, the combination of the first and second resilient floating
mounts 46 and 48 together with similar mounts 46' and 48' for the
other jaw 36 provide a number of advantages within the present invention.
Initially, they further extend the effective stroke of the jaws
as described above for increasing crushing capacity of the apparatus
10 while also more readily permitting uncrushable material or objects
to pass between the jaws and out of the crusher without damaging
or plugging the crusher. Other advantages for the series connected
floating mounts 46 and 48 are set forth in the incorporated reference
entitled "Jaw Crushing Apparatus".
It is again noted that oscillating vibratory travel of each jaw,
for example, the jaw 34 is permitted by radial spacing between
the pneumatic tires 50 and the lower reaction member 52 together
with similar spacing between the tires 56 and the cylindrical track
58 of the second resilient floating mount.
The tires 50 in the upper elongated resilient member 42 are similarly
arranged upon a shaft or axle 64 which is adjustably and replaceably
connected to the jaw carriage frame 14 by means of a replaceable
and adjustable mounting blocks 66 and 68 arranged at each end of
the axle 64. The replaceable construction for the upper elongated
resilient member 43 is important in connection with the drop-in
configuration of the jaw 34 as described in greater detail below.
Referring now particularly to FIG. 3 the drop-in configuration
for the jaw 34 is particularly dependent upon the configuration
for the upper and lower reaction members 44 and 52. Generally, these
members are diametrically arranged with relation to each other so
that, in combination, they limit travel of the jaw in all directions
in response to operation of eccentric means generally indicated
at 70 and described in greater detail below.
With the upper and lower elongated resilient members 43 and 46
being formed from cylindrical tires, for example, the upper and
lower reaction members 44 and 52 are also cylindrical but limited
in extent to less than 180.degree. in order to facilitate their
movement relative to the tires 50.
As may be best seen in FIG. 3 the lower reaction member 52 is
approximately 180.degree. in extent while being arranged generally
above the lower elongated resilient member 46. At the same time,
the upper reaction member 44 is arranged generally beneath the upper
elongated resilient member 43. Thus, the lower reaction member 52
tends to support the jaw 34 on the jaw carriage frame 14 and to
prevent downward travel of the jaw. At the same time, the upper
reaction member 44 tends to prevent or limit excessive upward travel
of the jaw 34 for example, in response to operation of the eccentric
means 68.
Furthermore, because of the arrangement of the reaction members
44 and 52 with the upper elongated resilient member 42 being removed
from the jaw carriage frame 14 as described above, the entire jaw
34 can simply be raised upwardly as viewed in FlG. 3 or lowered
downwardly ior installation in the crusher. At the same time, the
upper reaction member 44 also serves a restraining function in preventing
the upper end of the jaw 34 from collapsing inwardly toward the
jaw 36 particularly when the crusher is empty.
Referring particularly to FIG. 1 the eccentric means 68 is illustrated
as an elongated eccentric mass arranged upon a shaft 72 supported
at its opposite ends by bearings 74 on the jaw carriage frame 14.
The elongated configuration of the eccentric mass 68 permits it
to be of reduced diameter so that it can be mounted more closely
adjacent the jaw 34 as may also be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.
The shaft 72 is connected by means of a universal drive assembly
76 with a drive shaft 78 which is interconnected with a drive motor
80 by drive belts generally indicated at 82. The universal drive
assembly 76 permits the shaft 72 to be disconnected from the drive
shaft 78 so that the eccentric means 68 can be assembled and disassembled
from the crusher 10 as part of the drop-in jaw assembly 34.
Once again, it is noted that the other jaw 36 is of substantially
similar construction and mounting as the jaw 34.
Accordingly, there has been described a novel jaw crusher 10 wherein
the jaws 34 and 36 are of drop-in configuration for facilitating
installation and removal or replacement of the jaws in the crusher.
As noted above, this is particularly important since wear is primarily
experienced within the jaws themselves.
Various modifications and additions are believed apparent in addition
to those specifically discussed above. Accordingly, the scope of
the present invention is defined only by the following appended
claims. |