Abstrict The invention concerns an apparatus for charging at least one top-loading
crusher (1) with material which is fed batchwise by a plurality
of transport vehicles (2) and is introduced into the crusher (1)
by a bucket (5) which is loaded in each case by at least one transport
vehicle (2) in a receiving position (A) adapted to the plane of
movement of the transport vehicle (2) and can be raised into a transfer
position (B) in which the bucket (5) is tipped in order to empty
it into the crusher (1), the crushed material being withdrawn from
the crusher (1) by means of a conveyance device (3). The crusher
(1) is arranged on a transportable supporting framework (4) on which
at least two buckets (5) acting as intermediate bunkers can be raised
and lowered in order to produce a continuous charging of material
for the crusher (1), the buckets feeding the charge material to
a receiving hopper (7) which serves as further intermediate bunker
and is arranged in front of the crusher (1), as seen in the direction
of the flow of the material.
Claims We claim:
1. A crusher system comprising:
a top-loading crusher for converting bulk charge material to comminuted
material;
a transportable supporting framework, said crusher being carried
by said framework at a lower portion thereof;
a plurality of buckets arranged along sides of said framework;
means for elevating said buckets from a loading position near a
bottom of said framework to a discharge position at a top of said
framework, said elevating means orienting said buckets at said loading
position to direct openings of said buckets for receiving charge
material from external transport vehicles, said elevating means
reorienting said buckets at said discharge position to direct said
bucket openings for discharging said charge material; and
a hopper disposed between said crusher and said discharge position
for directing charge material from said buckets to said crusher,
said hopper receiving charge material intermittently from said buckets
and continuously feeding said charge material to said crusher.
2. The system according to claim 1 wherein
each bucket can be loaded from several sides at the loading position.
3. The system according to claim 1 wherein
said hopper is located directly above said crusher.
4. The system according to claim 1 further comprising
a continuous conveyor disposed between an outlet of said hopper
and an inlet of said crusher for delivering charge material from
said hopper to said crusher with a continuous feed.
5. The system according to claim 4 further comprising
a screen disposed between said hopper and said conveyor.
6. The system according to claim 1 wherein
said buckets are arranged on opposite sides of said framework.
7. The system according to claim 1 wherein
said buckets are arranged on three sides of said framework.
8. The system according to claim 1 further comprising
a screen disposed between said hopper and said crusher.
Description FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for loading at least
one top-loaded crusher with charge material delivered by a plurality
of transport vehicles, the charge material being fed to the crusher
by a bucket which is loaded by in each case at least one transport
vehicle which is in a receiving position adapted to the plane of
movement of the transport vehicle and can be raised into a transfer
position in which the bucket is tipped in order to discharge it
into the crusher, the comminuted material being withdrawn from the
crusher by means of a conveyance device.
In quarries and open-pit ore and coal mining, loose material brought
by transport vehicles, particularly dump trucks or shovel loaders,
is comminuted in crusher installations before it is transported
away by a conveyance device, in particular a conveyor belt system.
The size or capacity of the crusher is dependent in this connection
on the loading capacity and the possible haulage cycles of the transport
vehicles.
Loading devices are known in which the transport vehicles discharge
the material into an intermediate bunker which is set up at the
site and from which the charge material is fed to the crusher by
an intermediate conveyor. For higher throughputs the intermediate
bunkers must be made correspondingly large, thus resulting in a
considerable expense for construction. In order to keep the upper
discharge edge of the intermediate bunker as low as possible for
loading by the transport vehicles, the intermediate conveyors must
be made relatively long so that they can bridge over the difference
in height to the charging opening of the crusher which is loaded
from the top. This results in a very expensive installation which
cannot be moved because of its large weight so that optimal association
of the crusher with the specific place of excavation is not possible.
As intermediate conveyors flight conveyors are customarily used,
which can limit the capacity of the crusher system.
There is also known a stationary crusher which is loaded batchwise
by dump carts. Each dump cart discharges the charge material into
a bucket which is in a receiving position and can be lifted to a
transfer position above the crusher. The charge material is in this
case discharged directly into the crusher, which is therefore loaded
batchwise, so that it is not working on material between two consecutive
loadings. In addition to the lost time resulting from this, this
known apparatus has the disadvantage that the crushed material is
also obtained batchwise. With the known construction this is unimportant
since the removal of the crushed material is also effected by dump
carts, i.e. batchwise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is so to develop an apparatus
of the aforementioned type that, despite the batchwise delivery
of the charge material by a plurality of transport vehicles, preferably
ground-level conveyance means, which are not restricted to rails,
such as dump trucks and wheel loaders, continuous operation of the
crusher results and thus continuous removal of the crushed material
can be obtained. At only a small investment expense, high throughputs
are thereby obtained and relocation of the apparatus is possible.
The solution of this problem which is provided by the invention
is characterized by the fact that the crusher is arranged on a transportable
supporting framework on which at least two buckets, acting as intermediate
bunkers, can be raised and lowered to produce a continuous charging
of material for the crusher, the buckets feeding the charge material
into a receiving hopper which serves as further intermediate bunker
and is arranged in front of the crusher, as seen in the direction
of flow of the material.
By this proposal of the invention there is obtained a charging
device for at least one crusher which does not require a stationary,
expensive charging bunker or intermediate conveyor, so that, on
the one hand, investment expenses are reduced and, on the other
hand, the prerequisite is created for developing the charging device
movable so as to adapt it to the varying place of loading. By the
provision of at least two buckets which alternately receive the
charge material and transfer it into the crusher a certain supply
of charge material is built up which, in cooperation with the charging
hopper which is arranged in front of the crusher and which also
has the effect of an intermediate bunker, results in continuous
loading of the crusher, the mobility of the supporting framework
seeing to it that, as the excavation of the charge material proceeds,
the delivery conditions for the transport vehicle can be always
optimally the same.
Another advantage of the apparatus of the invention is that the
lower receiving position of the buckets can be adapted in simple
manner to the specific conditions and the specific transport vehicles
used. If shovel loaders are used as transport vehicles instead of
dump trucks, the receiving position of the buckets can be raised,
for instance, by lowering them less on the supporting framework.
Such an adaptation of the lower receiving position of the buckets
can be effected, for instance, also in quarries which have different
levels, without any structural change in the loading device being
necessary.
By the use of at least two buckets, the loading device of the invention
is suitable also for large throughputs since charging by a plurality
of transport vehicles is possible and, in connection therewith,
the arrival and departure of which can be readily controlled. In
this way, despite the batchwise delivery, continuous operation of
the crusher is obtained, the dumping of the buckets being suitably
controllable so that sudden discharges of the buckets are avoided.
By the oppositely directed movement of the buckets between the receiving
and transfer places the possibility is finally created of recovering
energy upon the lowering of the empty bucket, so that in practice
up to 30% of the lift energy can be saved.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, each bucket can be
loaded from several sides in its receiving position. For this purpose,
each bucket is developed on its top with a plurality of opening
edges which extend at an angle to each other so that two or three
transport vehicles can simultaneously load the material to be crushed
into the bucket.
In a further development of the apparatus of the invention, the
receiving hopper is arranged directly above the crusher in the supporting
framework. As an alternative to this, a continuous conveyor can
be arranged between the receiving hopper and the crusher.
In a further development in accordance with the invention, the
buckets are arranged on opposite sides of the supporting framework.
In accordance with the invention, it is also possible to arrange
the buckets on three sides of the supporting framework. Finally,
it is possible to provide a screen between the receiving hopper
and the crusher or continuous conveyor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
Various illustrative embodiments of the loading device of the invention
are shown in the drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective showing of a first embodiment,
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic showing of the embodiment of FIG. 1 seen
in side view;
FIG. 3 is a side view, corresponding to FIG. 2 of a modified embodiment;
FIG. 4 shows a third possible embodiment, also in a diagrammatic
side view;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a partial view of a supporting framework provided with
a track-laying undercarriage;
FIG. 7 is a partial view, corresponding to FIG. 6 using a wheel
undercarriage, and
FIG. 8 is another partial view of a supporting framework provided
with walking legs.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIMENT
The perspective view of the first embodiment given in FIGS. 1 and
2 shows the use of the loading device in open-pit mining. The material
to be loaded is fed to a crusher 1 by a plurality of transport vehicles
2 which in this embodiment are shown in the form of dump trucks
but could, for instance, also be shovel loaders. The material which
has been crushed in the crusher 1 is removed by means of a conveyor
3 which comprises an ascending transfer conveyor belt which feeds
the material coming from the crusher 1 to a conveyor belt system
which can be noted in the background in FIG. 1.
In the first embodiment, the crusher 1 is arranged within a supporting
framework 4 which is provided with a bucket 5 on each of two opposite
sides. These buckets 5 can be lifted from a lower receiving position
A into a transfer position B. In the transfer position B, the buckets
5 are tipped, as shown by the left-hand bucket 5 in FIG. 1 and the
right-hand bucket 5 in FIG. 2.
As can be noted in particular from FIG. 1 in this arrangement
the supporting framework 4 is lowered to slightly below the plane
of movement 6 of the transport vehicles 2 in the manner that the
supporting framework is arranged in a slight trough. In this way
there is the possibility of loading the buckets 5 which are in the
receiving position A by a transport vehicle 2 which is developed
as dump truck without it being necessary for the transport vehicles
2 to travel over ascending ramps. The opening edges 5a of the buckets
5 are located approximately at the height of the plane of movement
6 of the transport vehicles 2.
The arranging of the supporting framework 4 in a slight trough
can be dispensed with by the use as transport vehicles 2 for instance,
of shovel loaders which transfer the material to be crushed at a
distance above their plane of movement 6. Adjustment of the discharge
edge, i.e. of the opening edge 5a of the buckets 5 in the receiving
position A can be varied in simple fashion by changing the specific
lowermost position of the buckets 5 on the supporting framework
4.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a receiving hopper 7
is arranged in the supporting framework 4 below the transfer position
B of the buckets 5. A screen 7a can be provided between this receiving
hopper 7 and the crusher 1.
In the second embodiment, shown in FIG. 3 the crusher 1 is arranged
outside the supporting framework 4. The latter is provided instead
with a continuous conveyor 8 for instance a flight conveyor or
a conveyor trough which feeds the material to be crushed from the
receiving hopper 7 to the crusher 1 not shown in the drawing. A
screen 7b can also be placed between the hopper 7 and the conveyor
8.
In the case of both embodiments the buckets 5 are guided by means
of wheels 5b on travel rails 9 which are curved at their upper end
so that the buckets 5 are brought positively at the transfer position
B into tipped position in which they discharge the material into
the receiving hopper 7. The raising and lowering of the buckets
5 is effected by means of ropes 10 which pass over pulleys 4a arranged
in the supporting framework 4 and can be wound onto rope drums 11
by the driving of which the raising and lowering of the buckets
5 is effected. When the buckets 5 are being let down, the energy
can be stored, or it can be used directly to assist in the lifting
of another bucket 5.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 three buckets 5 can also be arranged
in lifting manner on the supporting framework 4. The top view of
FIG. 5 shows that each bucket is developed with two or three opening
edges 5a extending at an angle to each other so that several transport
vehicles 5 can simultaneously discharge their material to be crushed
into the corresponding bucket 5.
In order to adapt the location of the loading device described
above to a changing location of feed, the supporting framework 4
can be transported together with the crusher 1 or the continuous
conveyor 8. This can be done by means of a track-laying undercarrriage
12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6. Instead of a track-laying undercarriage
12 walking legs 13 can also be used, as shown in FIG. 8 or an
undercarriage with wheels 14 as shown in FIG. 7. |