Abstrict A horizontal shaft impact rock crusher having breaker plates which
are coupled to a shaft or pins which rest in voids along an edge
of the crusher and are held in place by a retainer device, such
that the breaker plates with the shaft or pins still attached can
be removed from the crusher by releasing the retainer devices.
Claims What is claimed is:
1. A rock crusher comprising: a housing; a rotor, disposed at least
in part within said housing, said rotor having a substantially horizontal
drive shaft; said rotor configured for impacting material introduced
into said housing; a first breaker plate disposed substantially
above said rotor, said first breaker plate configured for decelerating
objects impacted by said rotor; a second breaker plate, disposed
substantially below and behind said first breaker plate and substantially
behind said rotor; said second breaker plate configured for decelerating
objects impacted by said rotor; a pivot shaft coupled to said second
breaker plate; said housing having a void therein along a periphery
of said housing, which void is configured to receive said pivot
shaft therein and further configured to, at least partially, retain
said pivot shaft while objects impact said second breaker plate
as said rotor turns; and, said void is further configured such that
said pivot shaft can be completely removed from said crusher while
said pivot shaft remains coupled to said second breaker plate.
2. A crusher of claim 1 further comprising a retainer bar and a
removable top shaft slot cover, which are detachable from said housing
to expose a portion of said pivot shaft.
3. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said void is a slot in a reinforcing
plate along an edge of said housing.
4. A crusher of claim 3 wherein said slot is angled rearward of
a vertical line extending down from a top portion of said slot.
5. A crusher of claim 4 wherein said slot has a depth axis which
is not substantially parallel to a force vector which is representative
of average impact forces on said second breaker plate.
6. A crusher of claim 5 wherein said depth axis is substantially
orthogonal to said force vector.
7. A crusher of claim 6 wherein said housing further having pivot
shaft end caps which, at least partially, retain said pivot shaft
in said void.
8. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said housing further having pivot
shaft end caps which, at least partially, retain said pivot shaft
in said void.
9. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said pivot shaft is pivotally coupled
to said second breaker plate.
10. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said pivot shaft pivots with respect
to said housing and is fixed with respect to said second breaker
plate.
11. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said first breaker plate is coupled
to a first breaker plate pivot shaft which is disposed in a first
breaker plate pivot shaft slot disposed adjacent to said void.
12. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said pivot shaft is a directly
coupled trans-crusher pivot shaft.
13. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said pivot shaft does not extend
across said crusher.
14. A crusher of claim 1 wherein said pivot shaft is a first pivot
pin disposed on a first side of said crusher, and said crusher further
comprises a second pivot pin disposed on an opposing second side
of said crusher.
15. A crusher of claim 14 wherein said second breaker plate is
fixed with respect to said first pivot pin and said second pivot
pin, and said first pivot pin and said second pivot pin pivot with
respect to said housing.
16. A crusher comprising: a housing; a rotor, disposed at least
in part within said housing, said rotor having a substantially horizontal
drive shaft; said rotor configured for impacting material introduced
into said housing; a plurality of breaker plates disposed substantially
within said housing; each of said plurality of breaker plates having
coupled thereto, at least one of a plurality of shafts which extends
at least between at least one side of one of said plurality of breaker
plates and said housing; and, a plurality of means for selectively
retaining each of plurality of shafts to said housing such that
when each of said plurality of means for selectively retaining is
manipulated, each of said plurality of shafts is at least partially
released from retention and is freer to be removed from said housing
while having a breaker plate remaining coupled thereto.
17. A crusher of claim 12 wherein said plurality of means for selectively
retaining comprises: a plurality of voids for receiving therein
said plurality of shafts; and, at least one selectively movable
shaft cover which inhibits movement of at least one of said plurality
of shafts from at least one of said plurality of voids, when said
movable cover is deployed for retention of at least one of said
plurality of shafts and releases at least one of said plurality
of shafts when deployed for permitting access to at least one of
said plurality of shafts.
18. A crusher of claim 13 wherein said plurality of voids are a
plurality of slanted slots along a periphery of said housing, and
said selectively movable shaft cover is a removable top shaft slot
cover disposed over at least one of said plurality of slanted slots.
19. A crusher of claim 12 wherein said plurality of means for selectively
retaining comprises a plurality of clamps.
20. A rock crusher comprising: a housing; a rotor, disposed at
least in part within said housing, said rotor having a substantially
horizontal drive shaft; said rotor configured for impacting material
introduced into said housing; a first breaker plate disposed substantially
above said rotor, said first breaker plate configured for decelerating
objects impacted by said rotor; a second breaker plate, disposed
substantially below and behind said first breaker plate and substantially
behind said rotor; said second breaker plate configured for decelerating
objects impacted by said rotor; at least one pivot shaft fixed to
said second breaker plate, said housing having a plurality of voids
therein at least one of said plurality of voids being disposed along
each of opposing sides of a periphery of said housing, each of said
plurality of voids is configured to receive a shaft therein and
further configured to, at least partially, retain a shaft while
objects impact said second breaker plate as said rotor turns; each
of said plurality of voids is further configured such that a shaft
can be completely removed from said crusher while said pivot shaft
remains coupled to said second breaker plate; a retainer bar which
is detachable from said housing to expose a portion of said pivot
shaft; a removable top shaft slot cover, which is detachable from
said housing to expose a portion of said pivot shaft; wherein each
of said plurality of voids is a slot in a reinforcing plate along
an edge of said housing; wherein said slot is angled rearward of
a vertical line extending down from a top portion of said slot;
wherein said slot has a depth axis which is not substantially parallel
to a force vector which is representative of average impact forces
on said second breaker plate; and, wherein said housing further
having a pivot shaft end cap which, at least partially, retains
said pivot shaft in said slot.
Description BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
In the past, rock crusher designers have endeavored to improve
the ease of maintaining horizontal shaft impact rock crushers. While
many improvements have been made to reduce the expense associated
with repair and maintenance of such crushers, removal of all of
the breaker plates on such crushers remains a non-trivial task.
Most crushers usually have two breaker plates. A primary breaker
plate is disposed nearest the feed opening and nearest the top of
the crusher. These crushers typically have a secondary or rear breaker
plate, which is generally located lower in the crusher and more
toward the rear of the crusher. Some attempt has been made to reduce
the removal time for the primary breaker plates. One example is
the crusher shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6089481 entitled APPARATUS
FOR RELIEVING THE LOAD ON ADJUSTING RODS OF A CRUSHER, issued to
Gregory A. Young. This patent shows a primary breaker plate pivot
shaft disposed near a front edge of the tiltable portion of the
crusher. When the crusher housing is tilted for repair, the pivot
shaft of the primary breaker plate can be lifted out of the crusher
while the breaker plate is still attached. Another example of an
attempt to reduce the removal time for primary breaker plates (or
curtains, as they are sometime called) has been to hang one or more
of them on a single cradle. However, it is typical that when a repair
is needed on any of the breaker plates, the breaker plate pivot
shaft, which is typically directly coupled to each of the breaker
plates and typically extends wall-to-wall across the crusher, (a
directly coupled trans-crusher pivot shaft) is either driven or
pulled from the crusher, and then the breaker plates may be removed.
While this approach of driving or pulling the pivot shaft prior
to breaker plate removal has been used extensively in the past,
it does have some drawbacks. First of all, depending upon the condition
of the breaker plate pivot shaft (which can be bent), or any distortion
of the breaker plate itself, or the crusher frame, this can involve
significant effort and can leave the crusher out of service for
an extended time period.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and systems
for rapidly removing and replacing all of the breaker plates in
horizontal shaft impact rock crushers in an efficient manner.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and
method for repairing and maintaining a horizontal shaft impact rock
crusher in an efficient manner.
It is a feature of the present invention to utilize directly coupled
trans-crusher pivot shafts mounted in slots with movable structures
for permitting rapid access to the shafts and thereby permitting
rapid removal of all breaker plates, with the breaker plate pivot
shaft remaining therein.
It is another feature of the present invention to utilize short
pivot shafts or pins mounted in slots with movable structures for
permitting rapid access to the pins or shafts and thereby permitting
rapid removal of all breaker plates, with the breaker plate pin
or shaft remaining coupled thereto.
It is an advantage of the present invention to achieve improved
efficiency in replacing the entire complement of breaker plates
in horizontal shaft impact rock crushers.
The present invention is an apparatus and method for repairing
and maintaining horizontal shaft impact crushers which are designed
to satisfy the aforementioned needs, provide the previously stated
objects, include the above-listed features, and achieve the already
articulated advantages. The present invention is carried out in
a "wasted time-less" manner in a sense that the time consumed
with separating (driving or pulling apart) a breaker plate and its
associated pivot shaft prior to removal of a breaker plate from
a crusher, has been eliminated.
Accordingly, the present invention is a system and method including
a horizontal shaft impact crusher having a movable breaker pivot
shaft slot cover or retaining member which permits access to and
removal of a pivot shaft from a void near a periphery of the crusher
while the pivot shaft remains directly coupled to the breaker plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The invention may be more fully understood by reading the following
description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, in conjunction
with the appended drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a horizontal shaft impact
crusher of the present invention, employing a removable pivot shaft
slot cover.
FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a horizontal shaft impact crusher
of the present invention, in which the housing has been tilted and
where the removable pivot shaft slot cover has been removed, exposing
the pivot shaft slots.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the top
of the crusher of FIG. 2 showing the configuration of pivot shaft
slots in more detail.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Now referring to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like
matter throughout, and more specifically referring to FIG. 1 there
is shown a system of the present invention generally designated
100 including a horizontal shaft rotor 10 a feed opening 12 a
primary breaker plate 14 a secondary breaker plate 16 and a discharge
opening 18. Primary breaker plate 14 is coupled to the crusher 100
by primary breaker plate pivot shaft 24. Primary breaker plate pivot
shaft 24 is preferably a trans-crusher directly coupled pivot shaft
which extends from wall-to-wall of the crusher 100 and extends directly
through a portion of primary breaker plate 14. Similarly, secondary
breaker plate pivot shaft 26 is preferably a trans-crusher directly
coupled pivot shaft which extends from wall-to-wall of the crusher
100 and extends directly through a portion of secondary breaker
plate 16. Primary breaker plate pivot shaft 24 and secondary breaker
plate pivot shaft 26 are preferably disposed in a pivot shaft-mounting
slot 30 (FIG. 3) which are covered by removable top shaft slot cover
20. It should be understood that primary breaker plate pivot shaft
24 or secondary breaker plate pivot shaft 26 as shown in FIG. 1
could be trans-crusher shafts or short shafts or pins which merely
extend from the respective breaker plate to the housing of the crusher
100.
A more detailed understanding of the present invention can be achieved
by now referring to FIG. 2 which shows the crusher 100 after the
housing has been tilted for maintenance and the removable top shaft
slot cover 20 has been removed. Additionally, the present invention
would preferably include pivot shaft end caps disposed at the ends
of each pivot shaft. These end caps (not shown) could be any structure
designed to keep primary breaker plate pivot shaft 24 and secondary
breaker plate pivot shaft 26 from sliding out of the pivot shaft-mounting
slot 30. The end caps could be held in place with clamps, pins,
bolts, rivets, welding or any suitable structure or process. Primary
breaker plate pivot shaft 24 and secondary breaker plate pivot shaft
26 are each shown in a pivot shaft-mounting slot 30 in a reinforcing
plate 25 on the crusher 100.
An even more detailed understanding of the present invention may
be achieved by now referring to FIG. 3 which shows an enlarged
view of a portion of the top side of the crusher 100 with one of
the pivot shaft-mounting slots 30 empty and the other pivot shaft
mounting slot 30 occupied by primary breaker plate pivot shaft 24.
The shape of a pivot shaft-mounting slot 30 is shown as being slanted
with respect to the top of the crusher 100. A force vector 34 is
shown which represents the primary direction of impact forces upon
primary breaker plate 14 during operation. The slanted shape of
pivot shaft-mounting slot 30 helps to retain the primary breaker
plate pivot shaft 24 and secondary breaker plate pivot shaft 26
in place during operation when the primary breaker plate 14 and
secondary breaker plate 16 are experiencing forces, such as shown
by force vector 34. The slanted shape of pivot shaft-mounting slot
30 also permits much of the impact forces during operation of the
crusher 100 to be absorbed by crusher housing and reinforcing plate
25 in lieu of additional operational impact forces being absorbed
by retainer bars 22 removable top shaft slot cover 20 the pivot
shaft end caps or any other structure designed to keep the primary
breaker plate pivot shaft 24 and the secondary breaker plate pivot
shaft 26 in place in the pivot shaft-mounting slot 30. Pivot shaft-mounting
slot 30 is shown having a depth axis 35 which is substantially orthogonal
to force vector 34. Retainer bars 22 are designed to be removable
and when in place, prevent the pivot shaft 26 from exiting the slot
30.
In operation, the apparatus and method of the present invention
as described in FIGS. 1-3 could function as follows:
A rock crusher 100 is provided with a removable primary breaker
plate which can be removed without driving or pulling the shaft
from the primary breaker plate.
The crusher 100 is also provided with a secondary breaker plate
which can be removed without driving or pulling the shaft from the
secondary breaker plate.
The primary breaker plate is removed. (Note: this could be using
the same method as described below or with a known prior art method
using cradles.)
A mechanism holding the secondary pivot shaft for the secondary
breaker plate is manipulated to permit removal of the secondary
pivot shaft from a void.
The secondary breaker plate is removed, with the secondary breaker
plate pivot shaft still directly coupled thereto.
Throughout this description, reference is made to secondary breaker
plates, because it is believed that the beneficial aspects of the
present invention would be most readily apparent when used in connection
with crushers using two breaker plates; however, it should be understood
that the present invention is not intended to be limited to merely
dual breaker plate designs and should be hereby construed to include
other multiple breaker plate crushers as well. In such crushers,
all non-primary breaker plates may be viewed as secondary and may
be able to employ the innovative aspects of the present invention.
In all designs, it should be understood that if two or more breaker
plates are used in the crusher, their associate pivot shafts need
not necessarily be located in close proximity to each other. As
is shown in FIGS. 1-3 other locations could be used especially
for additional breaker plates beyond the second breaker plate.
Additionally, throughout this description, the pivot shafts are
described as trans-crusher wall-to-wall pivot shafts where the breaker
plates pivot about the pivot shaft. It should be understood that
the pivot shafts herein need not be trans-crushers; i.e., they need
not extend across the crusher. Each breaker plate could be supported
by two or more pins, at least on each side acting as pivot shafts.
It also should be understood that the breaker plate may preferably
pivot with respect to said pivot shaft or pins; they need not. The
breaker plates could be firmly fixed to the pivot shafts or pins,
and the pivot shafts or pins could pivot with respect to the crusher
housing.
It is thought that the method and apparatus of the present invention
will be understood from the foregoing description and that it will
be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construct
steps, and arrangement of the parts and steps thereof, without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of
their material advantages. The form herein described is merely a
preferred exemplary embodiment thereof. |