Abstrict A feeder distributor is mounted above an annular crushing chamber
of a gyratory crusher and operates to distribute feed uniformly
around the entire circumference rather than at one revolving point.
A rotating cylinder has a rotating bottom plate of larger diameter
connected to it by ribs leaving a circumferential opening between
the cylinder and the plate. The circumferential opening is sized
to prevent the flow of material when the cylinder and plate are
not rotating. When rotating, the material is thrown off of the plate
around the entire circumference of the plate by centrifugal force.
This provides good continuous distribution of material around the
entire crusher chamber regardless of the feed rate into the cylinder.
Claims The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property
or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. In a crusher having a frame which supports a crusher mantle
head for gyratory movement and a stationary concave surrounding
the crusher mantle, the mantle and concave defining an annular crushing
chamber therebetween, a feed distributor comprising:
support means carried by the frame;
a circular material distributor plate carried by said support means
for rotation independently of the movement of the crusher head;
a frusto conical material bin having an opening therethrough supported
by said distributor plate in coaxial relationship above the surface
thereof and positioned to define a circumferential opening between
the bottom of the bin and the top surface of the distributor plate;
a material hopper means supported above said frusto conical material
bin, said hopper having a discharge spout coaxial with said bin
for supplying material to said bin; and,
power drive means operably connected to effect the simultaneous
rotation of said material bin and said distributor plate;
whereby the material fed to the distributor plate from said bin
will flow radially outwardly from the circumferential opening and
be distributed by centrifugal force evenly around the entire crushing
chamber.
2. A crusher according to claim 1 wherein the interior of said
frusto conical material bin is provided with a plurality of spaced
apart vanes which serve to enforce rotational movement of material
in said bin with the rotation of said bin.
3. A crusher according to claim 2 in which said frusto conical
material bin is supported in elevated relationship with respect
to the top surface of said circular distributor plate to define
a circumferential opening sized to prevent the flow of material
therefrom when said distributor plate and said material bin are
not rotating.
4. A crusher according to claim 2 in which said frusto conical
material bin is supported in elevated relationship with respect
to the top surface of said circular distributor plate by a plurality
of spaced apart ribs that are secured to said distributor plate.
5. A crusher according to claim 4 wherein the diameter of the base
of said frusto conical material bin is smaller in diameter than
the diameter of said distributor plate.
6. In a crusher having a frame which supports a crusher mantle
for gyratory movement within a stationary concave, said mantle and
concave defining a crushing chamber;
a support means carried by the frame;
a circular feed distributor plate carried by said support means
for rotation about a vertical axis which coincides with the axis
of the crushing chamber;
a hollow cylindrical material feed bin supported by said distributor
plate in coaxial relationship therewith and positioned above the
surface of said distributor plate to define a circumferential opening
between the surface of the distributor plate and the bottom edge
of said hollow cylindrical bin;
regulating means associated with said hollow cylindrical bin for
adjusting the size of the circumferential opening between said distributor
plate and the bottom edge of said hollow cylindrical feed bin to
accommodate the size of material feed being processed; and
power drive means connected to rotate said distributor plate, said
cylindrical feed bin and said regulating means in unison.
7. A crusher according to claim 6 wherein said regulating means
includes a positionable sleeve surrounding said hollow cylindrical
bin in coaxial relationship therewith;
securing means to secure said sleeve in a selected axial position
relative to said hollow cylindrical bin to regulate the size of
the circumferential opening between the top surface of said distributor
plate and the adjacent bottom edge of said hollow cylindrical bin
to a predetermined size according to the feed material being processed.
Description BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to rock crushing machines having a conical
head and a surrounding shell that defines therebetween an annular
crushing chamber, and in particular to such a machine having a feed
distributor for evenly discharging feed to the annular crushing
chamber. More particularly, this invention is an improvement to
the feed distributing arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3785578.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Crushers known to the prior art which include feed distributing
devices are of various types.
One type involves transmitting the motion of a crushing cone, or
the motion transmitted to a crushing cone, through gears or pulleys,
to a feed distributor over the annular crushing chamber. By the
selection of gear or pulley sizes and design of the gear train the
feed distributor may be made to turn at a selected speed which may
be faster or slower than the drive turns the cone or an eccentric
bearing around the cone shaft. A feed distributor of this type is
shown in U.S. Pat. No. 475330. More modern versions of such a feed
distributor are shown in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2621860
and 2917247.
Another type provides a feed distributing cone pan or plate resiliently
mounted above the crushing chamber and flexibly connected to the
crushing cone so the turning or gyrating motion of the crushing
cone causes the feed distributor to wobble and this motion is utilized
to distribute feed material around the annular crushing chamber.
Such a feed distributor is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1761240; 2586122
and 2656120.
Neither of the first two types of the prior art have any provision
for adjusting the speed of operation of the feed distributor while
the crusher was in operation and independent of the rate of gyration
or rotation of the crushing head. Still another type has one or
more drive motors separate and independent of the crusher drive.
The feed distributor of this type can be adjusted to operate at
selected rates independent of the rate of gyration or rotation of
the crusher head. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2737289; 3212720; 3358939;
3384215 and 3565353 are illustrative of this type of crusher.
In such machines force is applied to the feed material to move the
feed in a generally horizontal plane to a location over the crushing
chamber where gravity is relied upon to direct the material between
the cone and the surrounding shell structure.
A further type is exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3506203 and 3604636
which disclose feed distributors that direct a flow of feed material
around an annular crushing chamber and down an inclined path.
Still another type of material distributor is of the rock and roll
type and is connected to move with the crusher head thereby taking
part of the gyratory movement of the crusher head. This type of
distributor has the disadvantage of being dependent at the rate
at which the material is fed to the distributor. Variations in the
feed causes a variation in the manner in which the material is distributed
to the crushing chamber, the material sometimes being heavy and
sometimes light. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2207858; 2656120 and 3614023
are of this type.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
material feed distributor for crushers that may be preassembled
as a single unitary assembly that may be simply and easily mounted
on a crusher and removed therefrom as a unit providing clear access
to the interior of the crusher.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
complete material feed distributor is removably mounted on the frame
above the annular crushing chamber of a gyratory crusher. A cylindrical
material enclosure is provided with an inwardly extending annular
flange at its lower end which is adapted to be removably attached
to the crusher frame. A plurality of arms project radially inwardly
away from the enclosure wall to support a platform centrally located
within the material enclosure. A circular material distributor plate
is supported on the platform by means of a tubular pillar for rotation
about a vertical axis which is centrally disposed with respect to
the material feed enclosure and the annular crushing chamber. The
circular material distributor plate extends radially outwardly of
the lower peripheral edge of a cylindrical feed bin which is in
the form of a frustum of a cone. The feed bin is connected to the
distributor plate by spaced vertical ribs which arrangement provides
a circumferential opening between the bottom of the feed bin and
the distributor plate. The opening is sized to prevent material
flow when the distributor plate is not rotating. A feed hopper is
supported by the material feed enclosure over the conical bin and
is provided with a discharge spout coaxial with the vertical axis
about which the distributor plate and frusto-conical bin rotate.
A driving motor is supported by the material feed enclosure and
is drivingly connected to the conical bin to rotate it and the distributor
plate in a horizontal plane above the annular crushing chamber to
discharge the material falling through from the discharge spout
and through the conical bin through the circumferential opening
outwardly from the peripheral edge of the distributor plate into
and all around the annular crushing chamber. The feed distributor
provides uniform material feed around the entire circumference of
the distributor plate and excellent distribution around the annular
crushing chamber.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary section view partly in elevation of a gyratory
crusher in which the present invention has been incorporated;
FIG. 2 is a view in horizontal section taken in a plane represented
by the line II--II in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a modified form of the
invention in which the material bin is vertically adjustable; and,
FIG. 4 is a view in horizontal section taken in a plane represented
by the line IV--IV in FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings, an upper portion of a gyratory crusher
10 is shown. The crusher 10 includes a frame top shell 12 an annular
bowl 14 arranged within shell 12 and a conical crushing head 16
within bowl 14. The crushing head 16 and bowl 14 cooperate to define
an annular crushing chamber 17.
A material feed distributor 20 is mounted on top of the frame top
shell 12 and over the annular crushing chamber 17. The distributor
20 has a cylindrical feed enclosure 21 with an inwardly projecting
annular flange 22 at the lower end of the enclosure 21. The annular
flange 22 is adapted to seat on an annular flange 23 formed around
the top of the frame top shell 12 and is secured thereto by a plurality
of bolts 24.
A plurality of arm members 26 project radially inwardly of the
enclosure 21 to support a platform 27 which is secured to the arm
members by bolts 28. To this purpose, the inner ends of each of
the arm members 26 have a plate 29 welded to their inner ends which
plates serve as a rigid base for platform 27. The arms 26 rest upon
the annular flange 22 with the bolts 24 passing through a flange
31 welded to each arm member 26 before passing through enclosure
flange 22 and the top shell flange 23. Thus, the same bolts 24 which
serve to connect the arm members to the flange 22 will also secure
the entire distributor 20 to the crusher top shell 12.
A support 40 mounted on platform 27 includes a rotating assembly
42 for rotation about a vertical axis X centrally located in relation
to the material feed enclosure 21 bowl 14 and crushing chamber
17.
The support 40 includes an upright post 43 connected to the platform
27 as being welded in an opening 44 formed in platform 27 the axis
of which coincides with the axis X. Bearings 46 and 47 mounted around
post 43 rotatably support a hub 48. The hub 48 has a radially outwardly
extending flange 49.
The rotating distributor assembly 42 comprises an annular collar
51 that is disposed on top of the hub flange 49 and is secured thereto
by a plurality of bolts 52. An upright tubular support 54 is secured,
as by being welded to the top of the collar 51 and in coaxial relationship
to the post 43 and hub 49. The tubular support 54 receives a circular
material distributor plate 56 which is coaxially arranged with the
axis X. A frusto conical material feed bin 62 is connected to the
plate 56. This is accomplished by welding the bottom or base portion
63 of the frusto conical bin 62 to the upper inner edge portions
of a plurality of upstanding spaced apart ribs 64. The ribs 64 are
individually secured to the top surface of the distributor plate
56 being rigidly reinforced by operation of a circular collar portion
66 to which the ribs are welded. The circular collar 66 is welded
to the distributor plate 56. With this arrangement, a circumferential
opening S is formed between the base 63 of the frusto conical bin
62 and the top of the distributor plate 56. A sheave 68 is secured
around the circumference of the frusto conical bin 62 by suitable
means such as welding. A motor 71 is mounted on the outer surface
of the material feed enclosure 21 by means of a bracket 72. The
motor drive shaft 73 is connected to drive a variable speed device
75 also secured to the exterior of the enclosure 21. A sheave 74
is secured to the extending end of the variable speed device output
shaft 77. Thus, the rotating speed can be changed via the variable
speed drive 75 to change the discharge rate of the distributor to
the optimum rate. An endless belt 76 is entrained around sheave
68 and 74 to effect rotational movement of the frusto conical bin
62 and thereby the distributor plate 56.
A feed hopper 82 having a discharge spout 84 depending therefrom
is arranged so that the discharge spout 84 projects downwardly discharging
into the frusto conical bin 62; the axis of spout 84 being coaxial
with the bin 62. Hopper 82 is mounted on top of the cylindrical
enclosure 21 by means of a plurality of bolts 86.
Internally within the frusto conical bin 62 are a plurality of
vertically arranged fins or vanes 91. Thus, feed material discharged
from the hopper 82 into the bin 62 will be rotated with the frusto
conical bin 62 and the distributor plate 56. The bottom portions
92 of the ribs 64 will promote the rotation of the material on the
distributor plate 56. This arrangement has been found to prevent
slippage of the material relative to the bin and plate thereby preventing
undue wear on the bin and plate.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed,
the material feed bin 62 has been disclosed as a frustum of a cone.
This construction promotes the downward flow of the feed material
to the distributor plate 56. The diverging wall of the bin 62 causes
a downward force to develop which tends to overcome any resistance
to movement that may be caused by friction between the feed material
particles. However, it is contemplated that the bin 62 may be formed
as a cylinder if so desired.
The material moving downwardly through the frusto conical bin 62
onto the distributor plate 56 is spread evenly over the plate surface.
When the unit is rotating, the material will be thrown off of the
plate around its entire circumference by centrifugal force. A continuous
supply of material will always be available on the plate to replace
the material thrown from the plate. Thus, there will be continuous
material distribution around the entire annular crushing chamber
regardless of the feed rate into the frusto conical bin.
The circumferential opening or space S is sized so as to prevent
the flow of material when the distributor plate 56 and the material
bin 62 are not rotating. This prevents clogging of the crushing
chamber from an overfill when crushing is not being accomplished.
When crushing is being accomplished, the material is fed into the
crushing chamber under controlled conditions evenly and uniformly
around the entire circumference of the chamber. The arrangement
herein set forth is the antithesis of the prior art wherein material
is spot fed into the crushing chamber at changing locations which
are relatively small when compared to the circumference of the annular
crushing chamber.
A modified arrangement of the distributor is shown in FIG. 3. The
rotating distributor assembly 100 is mounted over the annular crusher
chamber as previously described, and includes a support 104 which
is mounted for rotation on a stationary post 106. A distributor
plate 107 having an annular upstanding flange portion 108. Upstanding
from the top surface of plate 107 are a plurality of spaced apart
support ribs 111. A cylindrical feed bin 112 is connected to the
plate 107 by being welded to the support ribs 111. The arrangement
is such that the space S that is formed between the top surface
of the flange portion 108 and the base edge of the cylindrical bin
112 is sufficiently large to accommodate the largest size of material
contemplated to be crushed. However, to increase the usability of
the distributor so as to handle a large range of material from the
largest to the smallest size an adjustable feed control means 115
is provided. To this purpose the feed control means 115 comprises
a cylindrical sleeve 116 which is freely fitted around the cylindrical
bin 112. Vertical slots 117 are provided in the cylindrical sleeve
116 and are spaced in accordance with the spacing of the ribs 111.
Thus, the sleeve 116 is vertically movable with respect to the bin
portion 112 with the slots 117 accommodating the vertical ribs 111.
As shown in FIG. 4 vertical angles 118 are welded or otherwise
secured to the external surface of the sleeve. The radial extending
legs 119 of the angles 118 are each provided with openings 121 and
are selectively alignable with any one of a plurality of vertically
spaced complementary openings 122 formed in the ribs 111. Bolts
123 pass through the aligned openings 121 and 122 of the legs 119
and ribs 111 respectively, to secure the sleeve in an adjusted
position relative to the top surface of the flange 108. Thus, the
size of the opening P between the bottom edge of the sleeve 116
and the top surface of the flange 108 can be adjusted so as to provide
the optimum distribution of the size of material to be distributed.
Rotation of the distributor is effected in the manner set forth
with the device of FIG. 1 that is, an electric motor (not shown)
driving through a variable speed device 127. The output shaft of
the variable speed device 127 is provided with a sheave 128 connected
by an endless belt 129 to another sheave 131 welded to the exterior
of the cylindrical bin 112.
With the arrangement, the space P can be changed to accommodate
different sizes of material feed or change feed rates or compensate
for variation in the moisture content of the feed. Through operation
of the variable speed device 127 the rotating speed of the distributor
can be varied to accommodate the different feed rates.
Under spot feeding condition, when the feed rate is low, crushing
occurs only where the feed is entering the crushing chamber and
the remainder of the chamber is not working. |