CA1165085A - Openable closing device for freight and storage tanks - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract So that the freight or storage tank for bulk material, that has at least one long emptying hole on the bottom, can be closed and opened, the tank has at least one flexible belt that extends essentially over the length of the opening and whose one end is attached to the tank, and under which is a roller or roller system that is approximately of the same length and that supports the belt when in the closed position and that can be removed from the closed position, as well as elements to move the roller or roller system across the opening between two extreme positions. Elements that guide the roller or roller system between the said two extreme positions by way of the top dead center and operating elements that force the roller or roller system over the said top dead center are fitted onto the tank's frame so that the opening is closed more firmly the greater the tank's load and so that the load's weight is used in opening the opening and so that a loosening effect upon the tank's contents is achieved when the opening is opened.

The belt may also be endless essentially covering the whole width of the opening and mounted over the roller system's rollers.

Description

1 11~508~ `

An openable closing de~ice for freight or storage tank This invention relates to an apparatus for closing, so as S to be opened, the freight or storage tank for bulk material, such as granules, powders~ or semisolid subs-tances This invention relates particularly to an apparatus for opening and closing such a tank that has at least one long emptying hole at the bottom, one or two fle~xible belts that are essentially as long as the opening and are fastened at one end to the tank, a roller or roller system that is under the belt and is approximately of the same length supporting the belt in the closed position and that can be remo~ed from the closed position9 and elements for moving the roller or roller system across the opening between two extreme positîons~

The emptying of the tank is based either partially or com-pletely on the utilization of gravity. The clo;sing devices in use are usually rigid flaps that are hinqed onto the tank's frame ~n a suitable manner. The sealing of the doors, their staying in shape, and maintenance have become problems in heavy applications such as in earthload trans-port equipment and in railway equipment. During the winter it is often difficult to start the material moving when it is frozen on the other side o~ the door. 8ecause the door 5 opening movement doesn't create any breaking up of the unloadin~ material, the frozen crust prevents the material from starting to move. Further the flap-doors' construc-tional difficulties often compel making them unnecessarilysmall in comparison to tha tank's volume. In especially heavy applications such as in transporting rocky material or ore, the door must withstand strong impacts during loading to which a flap door construction is not well suited. When the transporting of masses is in question, for example in using so-called whole freight-train trans-portations, lt is des~red that the opening and closing of the doors could be done automatically by giving an impulse from a device that is near the rails. The door arrangsments in use are not well suited for this.

In vehicle applications such as in highway and in railway transpGrtations the main restriction in the dimensions of the tank is its width being 2.5-~ m, The length may be as much as 15-20 m for light goods. When using typical flap-and sectional doors long tanks require several doors because as the length of the door increases~ it is difficult to achieve the necessary rigidness that the sealing requires.

Such an opening and closing device for silos is known which consists of a belt that covers the silo s opening when it is in the unwound position and whose one end is fastened to one side of the silo's opening while the other end is fast-ened to a roller that moves back and forth under the silo s opening and around which the belt winds as the roller moves toward the said okher'side of the silo's openingO

Further it is known from the German public act 1943940 that a flat-bottomed silo may be emptied of bulk material that is still in the silo by tilting the bottom toward the out-let opening to empty'the silo of the material that is still there.

The purpo-se of the present invention is to now achieve an apparatus for closing, so as ta be opened, the Freight or ,storage tank for bulk material so that the greater the weight applied to the closing device the more securely it closes and further, so that' the weight of the tank's con~
tents is used to open the closing device.

A further purpose of the invention is to achieve a closing device for freight or storage tank that upon opzning breaks up the contents of the tank so that it starts moving more easily. It is also the purpose of the invention to achieve 1 :I BS0~3~

a closing device for freight or storage tank tha-t upon open-ing tilts the bottom of the tank toward ~he outlet opening so that all o~ the material in the tank flows toward the outlet opening as a result of gravity.
S ' . .
Thus in accordance with the invention an apparatus is achiev-ed for closin~, so as to be opened, a freight or storage tank for bulk material in which the roller~s or roller sys-tem's moving elements comprise elements that are fitted on the tank s frame and guide the roller or roller system be-tween two extreme positions by way of the top dead center and operating elements for forcing the roller or roller system over the top dead center 7 ~ .
Thus with the aid of the invention a closing oevice for freight and storage tank is achieved that is partially self-closing and partially self-opening. When the roller or roller system has passed the top dead center~ it imme-diately becomes self-closing or self-opening depending upon onto which side of the top dead center it has fallen~ When the tank is opened, the roller or roller system must be raised slightly as it is removed from in front of the open-ing. This creates a breaking-up effect in the tank s contents which aids in unloading the material from the tank. When the roller or roller system has passed the top dead center, the weight of the unloading material forces the roller or roller system to open still further~ and the closing device has thus become self-opening. After the kank is emptied and the roller or roller system is moved toward the closed position~ it becomes in the same manner self-closing after it has passed the top dead center~ ~oth the weight of the roller or roller system and the weight of the material being feed into the tank force the roller or roller system into its closed position and the more securely closed the greater the welght applied to the roller or roller system.

~ ~SV~5 The invention is described below in more detail by refer-ring to the accompanying drawings of which figure 1 is a cross-sectional vertical view of a silo equipped with a closing device in accordance with the in vention, figures 2 and 3.similarly illustrate cross-sectional verti-cal views of an alternatiue realization equipped with an auxiliary device that changes the shape of the silo s bottom3 ~igure 4.illustrates.a longitudinal profile of a freight tank equipped with an openable closing device in accor-dance with the invention9 figu~e ~ is a profile of the cut along line A-A in figure 4~ and figure 6 is a cross~sectional uertical view of a storage tank equipped with a realization proposed in the invention.

In figure 1 the.storage tank in general is designated by 2û the number 1~ On the bottom of the storage tank 1 there is an outlet opening 5 toward which the side walls 2 and 3 and the end walls 4 are inclined. The storage tank 1 is also supported by the frame constructio~ 6, onto which the openable closing device in accordance with the invention is 2S fitted, below the opening 5.

The outlet opening 5 is a long, narrow opening which couers the whole length of the storage tank 1. The openable clos~
ing device in accordance with the invention comprises arms 8 that are fastened with bearings to the tank s 1 frame con-structlon 6~ around the tank s 1 longitudinal axle 7 at a longitudinal~ distance away from each other, the upper part of the arms a being similarly fastened with bearings around the tank s 1 longitudinal axle 9 at the center of the sup-port arm 10 whicn has two rotating rollers 11~ ooe fitted at each end of the support arrn 10 and which cover the ~hole length of the o~ening 5. 7he roller system formed .

, .

~ ~esos~

by the rollers 11 carries a belt 12 whose other end is fastened ko the inner surface of one 2 of the tank s 1 side walls and which is as wide a5 the opening 5 and ak least long enough 50 that ~hen the roller system is in the extreme position that closes the opening 5~ the belt reaches over the rollers 11 and is between the other roller 11 and the side wall 3. The position of the rollers 11 when they are in the open position is schematically drawn with dashed lines.
Further a hydraulic cylinder 13 is placed between the arm 8 and the tank~s 1 frame construction 69 with whlch the rollers' 11 arm 8 may be turned around the articulated axle 7.
~ 15 The lower articulated axle 7 is between the extreme posi-tions of the upper articulated axle 3~ whereat the roller system formed by the rollers 11 moves with the aid of the hydraulic cylinder 13 from one extreme position to another by way of the top dead center, Thus the rollers 11 must rise slightly when moving from the closed position to the open position illustrated by dashed llnes, whereat they at the same tlme break up the bulk material in the tank 1~
which assists in starting this material moving as it is attempting to flow out of the opening 5. Furthermore the weight of the material in the tank 1 is suited to help open the closing device after the arm's,8 upper articulated axle 9 has passed its top dead center.

After the tank is emptied the roller system formed by the rollers 11 is pulled back with the aid of the hydraulic cylinder 13, at which time the roller system formed by the rollers 11 turns to the closed position illustrated in figure 1. When filling the ank 1 the weight of the bulk material presses the roller 11 that is against the tank s 1 side wall 3 more firmly against the lower edge of the side wall 3 the greater the weight of the tank s 1 contents. .

~ ~5~

The belt 1Z prevents particles from flowing in between the rollers 11 and the tank's 1 side walls 2 and 3~

In thri apparatus illustrated in figure 1 the closing device closes more securely the greater the weight of the tank s 1 contents. When the roller system formed by the rullers 11 has passed its top d~ad center with the aid of the hydraulic cylinder 13~ the weight of the rollers 11 and the force that the tank~s 1 contents app~y to them assist in opening the closing device to the position illustrated by dashed lines in figure 1 In the reali7atinn illustrated in figures 2 and 3 the stor~
age tank 1 is equipped with a bottom 18 that is slightly inclined toward the central outlet opening 5~ The outlet opening S is fixed 50 as to close with two separate rollers 13 which are fitted on both sides of the tank s 1 central longitudinal vertical plane ano which are both fastened with bearings onto the tank s 1 longitudinal axle 9 that is at the upper ends of their arms 8~ whereas the arms' 8 lower ends are fastened with bearings to the tank's 1 frame construction 6 so as to turn around the same tank s 1 lon-gitudinal, articulated axle 7 r The articulated axles 7 are slightly further away from the tank's 1 central longi-tudinal vertical plane than the axles 9 when the rollers 13are against each other in the position closing the opening S0 The turning movement of the arms 8 is achieved with a hydraulic cylinder 13 that is fitted between each arm 8 and the frame construction 6. Alternatively îf only one 3û cylinder is used~ it is then fitted between the arms 80 ûne end of a flexible belt 12 is fastened to the circum-ference of each roller 11 at point 17, The flexiole belts 12, as well as the rollers 11, are as wide as the outlet ~5 opening S is long and the other ends of the belts 12 are fastened to the upper edges of the correspondir19 side walls 2 and 3. Furthermore a plate 15 is fastened to the 1 ~5~

lower surface of each belt 12~ the plate being essentially as high as the side walls Z and 3 and fitted against the inner surface of the side wall 2~ and correspondingly 3, when the tank 1 is full, so that it is in between the side wall 2~ and correspondingly 3~ and the belt 12. The rollers 11 are run by motors and are fixed so as to rokate in oppo-site directions when in their open position so that thelower part of each belt 12 is wound around its roller 11 at which time t'ne belts 12 tighten and rise off of the tank s 1 side walls Z and 3 and off of the bottom 18 so - that the inner surface of t'ne tank 1 becomes inclined to-ward the outlet opening,5. At this time the plates 15 rise off of the side walls 2 and 3 along with the belts 12.

To return the belts 12 to their unwound position in which they are against the tank's 1 side walls 2 and 3 as well as against the bottom 18 when the rollers 11 turn with the . arms 8 to in front of the outlet opening 5, the tank 1 is equipped with tightening elements which consist of a spring

2~ 16 that is fastened to the under side of the tank s 1 bottom 18 as well as a wire 14 that is fitted between the spring 16 and the plate 15 that is fastened to the belt 12~
the upper end of the wire 14 being fastened to the plate 15 and the lower end to the spring 16 and the wire being fixed so as to go from the spring 16 along the outer surface of the tank 1 through the hole in the side wall 2, and corres~
pondingly 3~ to the plate 15 that is fastened to the belt 12.

As seen more specifically in figure 3 the spring 16 tightens when the belt 12 along with the plate 15 that is fastened to it rise off of the tank s 1 side wall 2, and correspon-dingly 3~ as a result of the turning and rotating mouement of the roller 11. As the roller 11 rotates in the opposite direction and turns to the closed position illustrated in figure 2~ the spring 16 pulls back, with the aid of the wire 14, the plate 15 and thus al50 the belt 12 that is ~ 1~50~
~, fastened to it to the position in which they rest against the tank's 1 side wall 2, and correspondingly 3~ as well as against the bottom 1~

The cylinders 13 are not necessary if the spring 16 is strong enough to be able to alone pull the belt 12 back against the tank~s 1 side wall 2~ and correspondingly 3; and against the bottom 18 as well as a~ the same time to turn and to wind the roller 11 into the closed position illus-tra~ed in figure 2~ At the same time however the electric 'motor that is fitted.in the roller 11 must be strong enough to be able to alone rotate the roller 11 so as to wind the belt 12 aro~nd the roller 11 in such a manner that the rollers 11 and belts 12 move into the open position illus-15 trated in figure 3.

The rollers 11 squeeze more firmly against each other thegreater the load applied to them. After the rollers 11 have turned from their closed position illustrated in figure 2 past the top dead center that is perpendicularly above the art;culated axle 7~ the material flowing out of the tank 1 attempts to open the rollers 11 further so that they mo~e into the position illustrated in figure 30 The rollers 11 may at the same time rotate in opposite direc- .
tions so as to wind the belts 12 around the r~llers 11 or alternat`ively the winding may be done after the rollers 11 ha~e turned into the position illustrated in figure 3.

After the tanl< 1 is emptied the arms 8 along with their 3û rollers 11 are turned to in front of the opening 5 with the aid of the cylinders 13 and at the same time the elec~
tric motors that are in the rollers 11 are disconnected so that the roLlers 11 are able to rotate freely in oppo-site directions, at which time the belt 12 along with its plate 15 withdraws with the aid of the spring 16 and the wire 14 to the posit,ion illustrated in figure 2.

50~

The freight tank 1 which is illustrated in figures 4 and 5 and which is advantageously placed on the railway~carrs chassis (not shown in the ~igure) has a long and quite wide outlet opening S that is bordered by the lower edges of the tank's 1 inclined side walls 2 and 3 and of the end walls 4, The outlet opening 5 when opened can be closed with two roller systems that are fitted onto the tank's 1 frame 6 so as to turn in opposite directions D The roller systerns are illustrated in figure 5 in the closed posi.tion while 1û the open position is illustrated schematically with dashed lines, Both roller systems consist of three rollers 11 , 11 and 11'' tha~ are crosswise on the tank 1~ one behind another and essentially cover the whole length of the open-ing 5. These rollers are fastened at both ends with bear-ings to common support arms 10 which are ~astened with bearings at their center to the upper end of the lever arm 8 so as to turn around the longitudinal axle 9O The lower ends of the lever arms 8 are analogously fastened with bearings to the tanl<'s 1 frame 6 similarly so as to turn around the longitudinal axle 7O At this point when the roller systems are against each other in the position illus-trated in figure 5~ the lower articulated axle 7 is slightly further away from the tank's 1 central longitudinal vertical plane than the upper articulated axle 9. The lever arms ~=~n~ 8 are connected to each other with the aid of a lever system 19 that is connected so as to be operated by the manual lever 20 that is on one side of the tank's 1 frame 6 and whose movement is transferred to the lever arms ~ 8 through the lever system 19 and moves the roller systems from the closed position illustrated in figure S to the open position illustrated in the same figure by dashed lines, and back again. The more detailed description of the lever system is not considered necessary because the manner in which the turning movement o~ the manual lever 20 is transferred ko the lever arms ~ so that khey move ~ ~&5~)~35 in opposite directions is evident to expert~ in this field.

An endless belt 12 is fitted around the rollers 11'; 11' ~
and 11''' of both roller systems. In the position illustra-S ted in figure 5 the weight of the material in the tank 1presses the front rollers 11 of the roller systems with a greater force against each other the heavier the load in the tank 1. At this point the belts 12 that are between the front rollers 11~ are squeezed slightly together thus sealing the split between the rollers 11 effecientlyD
In the same manner the weight of the material in the tank 1 attempts to turn the roller systems around the upper arti-culated axle 9 in such a manner that the last roller 11 attempts to rise, at whîch time the flexible belt 12 is pressed between the last roller 11~'' and the lower edge of the tank s 1 side wall~ and correspondingly 3, forming a ~irm seal between the roller 11''' and the lower edge of the side wall 2, and correspondingly 3a 2û
Upon approaching an unlaading station the freight tan!< s 1 manual leuer 20 is fixed so as to colloid with an immovable catch near the unloading station~ the surface of the catch being advantageously inclined so that the manual lever Z0 is turned upward, at which time its movement is transferred to the lever arms ~-a~ ~ through the lever system 19 50 ~hat the lever arms ~a~d ~ move the roller systems away from each other. As the rollar systems move away from each other, the belts 12 perform as roller belts which aid in the opening of the closing device, because no friction is formeo between the tan~'s 1 contents and the upper surfaces of the belts 12 when the rollers 11', 11'', and 11''' are able to rotate freely on the support arms 10. ~fter the upper articulated axle 9 has passed the top dead center at which point it is perpendicularly above the lower articu-lated axle 7, the weight of the material flowing out of the tank 1 assists in opening the roller systems into the posi~

tion illustrated in figure 5 with dashed lines. After the tank 1 is emptied and it has moved forward, ~he manual lever 20 colloids with another catch that turns it downward, at which time the manual lever s 20 movement is once again S transferred to the lever arms ~ 8 through the lever system 19 so that the lever arms ~ 8 are turned back into the closed position illustrated in figure 5. Thus the emptying of the freight tank 1 may be dane as the tank 1 is moving, for example along the rails~
1û
The freight tank illustrated in figures 4 and 5 is especial-ly suitable for the transporting of coal, peat, and chips, and other such loose goods by railway ~rom one place to another.
Figure 6 illustrates an extensively automated but yet simple realization of an openable closing device in accordance with the invention. In this realization the outlet opening 5 that is bordered by the lower edges of the tank's 1 side 2û walls Z and 3 as well as by the lower edge of the end walls 4 is closed, so as to be opened, with one and only one roller system which consists of thres rollers 11', 11 and 11''' which are placed crosswise under the opening 5 one behind-another and which are essentially as long as the opening 5. 80th ends of the rollers 11', 11''~ and 11 are fastened with bearings onto two support arms 10 so that the rollers 11 , 11'' J and 11''' rotate, and the support arms 10 are in turn fastened with bearings, so as to turn, at their center onto the upper end of the lever arms 8~ around the tanl< s 1 longitudinal axle 9, whereas the lower ends of the lever arms 8 are similarly fastened with bearings, so as to turn, to the tank's 1 frame 6 with the aid of the tank s 1 longitudinal articuIated axle 7.
When the roller systsm is in the closed position illustra-ted in figure 67 the upper articulated axle 9 is on the tank's 1 central longitudinal vertical plane, whereas the lower articulated axle 7 is a small distance away from this ~ ~S~0~5 vertical plane, so that khe roller system when moving with the lever arm 8 must move from the closed position illu5-trated in figure 6 by way of the top d~ad centPr to the open position illu3trated in figure 6 with dashed lines~
S
In this realization ~he first roller 11' of the roller system is run by a motor and mbves the roller system into the open position illustrated by dashed lines in figure 6 when the front roller 11' is ro~ated with the aid of its motor. After the roller system has passed its top dead center~ the weight of the material flowing out of the tank 1 assists in moving the roller system into the ope.n position illustrated by dashed lines in figure 6.

A lever bar 21 is also fitted onto the tank's 1 frame 6 One end of the lever bar 21 is fastened with bearings, so as to turn, to the tank's 1 frame 6 with the aid of its . longitudinal axle 23 and near the middle of the lever bar 21 there is a downward open slot 22 that is fitted so as to .20 catch the tap 24, that is near the middle of the lever arm 8 and protrudes in the tank's 1 longitudinal direction, when the roller system opens and the lever's 8 tap 24 slides along the lower edge of the lever bar 21 toward its other end. The leuer arm's 8 tap 24 and the lever bar's 21 slot 22 prevent the roller systcm from turning back to the closed position after the motor that is fitted in the front cylinder 11' and that turns the endless belt 12 has stopped running and the spring Z7 that is fitted between the lever arm's 8 tap 24 and the lever bar s 21 articulated axle 23, ~ttempts to pull the roller system back to the closed position illustrated in figure 60 The tightened sprin~ 27 may be released and the roller system allowed to return to the closed position by lifting the free end 26 of the lever bar 21 so that the lever arm s ~ tap 24 35 i5 released from the lever bar's 21 slot Z2.

If necessary the spring 27 may be equipped with a hydraulic ~ l~5o8t~j absorberO So as to prevent the roller system from turning around the upper articulated axle 9 in the wrong direction when the motor in the front roller 11' is starked, a catch 25 is fitted on the lever arm 8 onto whir,h the lower edge of the rollers' support arrn 10 that i5 between rollers 11 and 11~'' rests when the roller system is in the closed position illustrated in figure ~.

Claims (10)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus for closing, so as to be opened, a freight or storage tank for bulk material, the tank having at least one long emptying opening on the bottom, one or two flexible belts that are essentially as long as the opening and are fastened at one end to the tank, a roller or roller system that is under the belt and of approximately the same length and that supports the belt in the closed position and can be removed from the closed position, and means for moving the roller or roller system across the opening between two extreme positions, said means for moving the roller or roller system comprising guiding means fitted onto the tank's frame to guide the roller or roller system between the said two extreme posi-tions by way of the top dead center and operating means for forcing the roller or roller system over the said top dead center.

2. The apparatus of Claim 1 in which the guiding means for the roller or roller system comprise two lever arms that are fitted at the opening's longitudinal distance apart from each other and whose upper ends are attached with bearings to the roller or roller system and whose lower ends are attached with bearings to the tank's frame at such a point to pivot around an axis in the longitudinal direction of the opening so that the roller's or roller system's top dead center is between the said two extreme positions.

3. The apparatus of Claim 1 in which a flexible belt is fitted on the inside of the tank which belt is long enough so that when one end thereof is attached to the upper edge of the tank's side wall and the other end to the roller, the weight of the bulk material urges the belt against the tank's side wall and against the bottom when the tank is closed, the roller or roller system further comprising means for rotating that roller onto which the other end of the belt is attached so that the flexible belt is wound around said roller in such a way that the belt tightens and forms a sliding surface in the tank that is inclined toward the opening and furthermore the tank comprises returning means that is fastened onto the belt and that strains as the other end of the belt is wound around the roller and that retacts the belt against the tank's side wall and bottom after the tank has been emptied.

4. The apparatus of Claim 1 in which the roller's or roller system's operating means comprises at least one drive cylinder between the tank's frame and the roller or roller system or its guiding means.

5. The apparatus of Claim 1 adapted to be used in freight tanks in which the roller's or roller system's operating means comprise power transmission means that are connected to the guiding elements and attached with bearings to the freight tank's frame and adapted to operate the guiding means that transfer the roller or roller system over the top dead center, upon receiving an impulse from outside of the freight tank.

6. The apparatus of Claim 1 in which the roller system com-prises at least two support arms that are at the opening's longitudinal distance apart from each other and that are articulated to the guiding elements so as to pivot around an axis longitudinal axle with the opening, the rollers being mounted with bearings onto the support arms in such a way that the roller that is trailing in the closing direction is pushed around the support arms' articulated points upward against the opening's edge as a result by the weight of the tank's bulk material preventing the roller system from turning away from the opening, the attachment of the rollers to the support arms being such that at the same time it allows the roller system to freely turn away from the opening pivoting around the support arms' articulated points after the roller system has returned from over its top dead center.

7. The apparatus of Claim 1 in which the flexible belt is long enough to be pressed firmly between the roller or roller system and the opening's edge or another roller or roller system when the roller or roller system is in the extreme position closing the opening.

8. An apparatus for closing, so as to be opened, a freight or storage tank for bulk material, the bottom of the tank having at least one long emptying opening, the apparatus com-prising one or two roller systems that are under the opening and movably fitted onto the tank's frame and being of approxi-mately the same length as the opening, the roller system having an endless belt that essentially covers the whole width of the opening and that is fitted over the rollers, means fitted onto the tank's frame to guide the roller system across the opening between two extreme positions by way of a top dead center, and operating means to force the roller system to move over the top dead center.

9. The apparatus of Claim 8 in which the roller system's operating means comprise a power source that is connected to run at least one roller on the roller system so as to move the upper part of the endless belt that is fitted around the rollers in the opposite direction from the roller system's opening direction and aids in removing the roller system or it removes the roller system from the opening.

10. The apparatus of Claim 9 in which the roller system's operating means further comprises a returning means adapted to strain as the roller system is opened by the power source and by the weight of the bulk material so that the element retracts the roller system to its closing position and locking means to lock the roller system into the open position.