US2158321A - Ore pulverizer - Google Patents

Description

May 16, 1939. l C;- R BROWN l 2,158,321-

ORE PULVERI ZEH Filed June 8, 1957 2 sheeig-sheet 1 sa I 1N n 2 E Q N (D) t INVENTOR I] BYCYRUS RBRowN WMWRNEY C. R. BROWN May 16, 1939.

ORE PULVERI ZER Filed June 8, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BQY Rus R. BRow N. 0.

ATTo'RNEY i Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE ORE PULVERIZER Cyrus R. Brown, Denver, Colo., assignor of ifty percent to Charles N. Ford, Springer, N. Mex., lamwiifty percent to Sim Galley, Wagon Mound,

Application June 8, 1937, Serial No. 146,980

3 Claims. (Cl. 83-12) This invention relates to improvements in ore of an inch, this will be effected if the surfaces crushers and pulverizers for use in powdering of the rollers are normally spaced this distance crystalline material, and preparing ores for minapart. y eral separation treatment. l It is evident that so long as the surfaces of c This application relates more particularly to the rollers donot come intocontact, there will 5 an improvement in the construction of the mill be no pressure transmitted through them to the described and claimed in application Serial No. bearings in which they are journalled when the 77,478, filed May 2, 1936, by Rupert H. Enoch. machine is idle.

Gold, and sometimes other minerals, nearly One of the objects of this invention is to proalways occur in metallic state in quartz and vide an ore pulverizer composed of one or more 1U other rock formations and it is customary to pairs of cylindrical rollers mounted for rotation grind the ore to liberation in ball or rod mills in bearings, the bearings of each cylinder or where the material is subjected to attrition in roller being movable towards and away from the suchamanner that the gold freed from the quartz bearings of the other roller, and in which the is reduced to very small particles that are dlfbearings of at least one of the rollers is acted 15'1 cult to recover by ordinary methods. upon by powerful springs that tend to move them It is evident that a great advantage would be towards the bearings of the other cylinder and gained if the metallic gold could be freed from against adjustable stops positioned between the the gangue without further subdividing it and opposed bearings for limiting the movement of l0 this may be effected by means of a device emthe rollers towards each other, thereby keeping 20 ploying a crushing action in lieu of a grinding the surfaces of the rollers out of actual contact. action. Another object of this invention is to so pro In the ore pulverizing device described and portion the capacities of the several pairs of 'rollclaimed in the above identified application, the ers arranged in tandem relation and spacedA promineral is released from the gang'lle OI 11011- gressively shorter distances apart that eachr pair 25 mineraliferous portions by a crushing action efof rollers will have a slightly greater capacity than fected by passing the ore, which has first been the pair directly above for the purpose of prereduced to about l" minus, successively between venting clogging that would otherwise take place,

a number of pairs of cylindrical rollers that are due to the smaller distance between the rollers.

:10- biased towards each other by powerful springs. The above and other objects that may appear 301 VIn order to quickly pulverize the ore, it is passed as the description proceeds are attained by means in succession between several pairs of rollers; which will now be described in detail and for each successive pair reducing still further the this purpose reference will be had to the accom ore delivered to it. panying drawings in which the invention has :15 It has been found that the perpheral Speed been shown in its preferred embodiment and in 35 of the several pairs of rollers must be increased which l from the rst to the last so that the capacity Figure 1 is a side elevation ofthe machine, porper unittime of each succeeding pair of rollers tions having been broken away to better show will. remain the same or increase from the first the construction;

.mtowards'the last. Figure 2 is an end elevation, looking in the 40 In the machine, of which this is an improvedirection of the arrow 2, portionsv being broken ment, the rollers oi each pair are normally in away to better show the construction;

contact and the entire force of the springs that Figure 3 is aview looking downwardly through tend to move the rollers towards each other is plane 3-3, Fig. 1; the housing being shown in resisted by the rollers themselves and their trunsection on a horizontal plane; l 45 nions and bearings. The result of this is that Figure 4 is a section taken on line 44, Fig. 3; the pressure against the rollers and their bear- Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5 5, Fig. 3; ings is almost as great when the machine is runand ning idle as when it is working and this makes Figure 6 is a section taken o-n line 6-6, Fig. 3.

it very diflicult to start. In the drawings, reference numeral I0 desig- 50, Y

It has been found that a successful operation nates the upright corner posts of the frame of of a roller type of pulverizer does not require the machine. These posts are connected at their the surfaces of the rollers to come into actual upper ends by cross members Il that are secured contact. If, for example, the ore is to be reduced in place by means of bolts I2 or other suitable to particles no greater than one one-hundredth means. Extending between the twoupright cor-155;

ner posts on one side, are channel beams I3, these are spaced one above the other in the manner shown most clearly in Fig. 1. The beams are supported from the corner post by means of angle brackets I4 and are positioned with their open side towards the top. Extending between the front and rear corner posts on each side are heavy steel bars I5, which are provided at their ends with nuts I6. Positioned in the channels are bearing blocks I'I and I8 and these are provided with openings for the bolts I5. Bearing block I'I is spaced from the adjacent corner post by means of a spacer I9. The bearing block I8 is slidable on the bolt I and is biased towards the block I'I by means of a heavy helical spring 20 that extends between the block I8 and a housing 2| that is slidable on the bolt. This housing is shown most clearly in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 and will be described more in detail as the description proceeds. Journalled between the pairs of bearing blocks I 'I and I8 are cylindrical rollers 22 provided at their ends with trunnions or shafts that extend through the bearing blocks in the manner indicated in Fig. l. The rollers are formed with hardened steel surfaces and one roller of each pair is provided at its ends with plates 23 that project beyond the periphery of the roller in the manner shown in Fig. l. Plates 23 lap the ends of the other roller of the pair and serve to guide material into the space between the rollers. Extending through the right hand roller of the upper pair, as shown in Fig. 1, is a shaft 23a. A fly wheel 25 is connected to one end of this shaft and a belt pulley 26 is connected to the other end thereof. Positioned between the fly wheel and the frame is a sprocket wheel 2'I that cooperates with a sprocket chain 28 which, in turn, is operatively associated with a sprocket wheel 29 carried by the shaft of the roller directly beneath. The other end of this shaft is also provided with `a sprocket wheel 30 that cooperates with a sprocket chain 3l, which, in turn, cooperates with a sprocket wheel 32 on the shaft of the roller directly beneath. The other end of this same shaft is provided with a sprocket wheel 33 that transmits motion by means of the sprocket chain 34 to the next lower roller and this continues until the lowermost roller of the series is reached. The diameters of the several sprocket wheels are so proportioned that the driven roller of each pair increases in peripherial Speed downwardly, for example, the peripherial speed of the rollers of the second pair from the top is greater than the peripherial speed of the top roller and the peripherial speed of the third roller from the top is greater than that of the roller directly above. The object in this is to equalize the capacity of the several rollers to compensate for the different distances apart when the pulverizer is operating.

It is well known that a solid, such as a piece of ore will take up more space after it is crushed than before; this is due to the interstitial cavities in the crushed ore and the cubical volume of a given volume of a frangible solid will increase in proportion to the extent of its subdivision.

In order therefore to enable the crusher to be operated at maximum capacity and to keep the surface of the rollers of each pair closer together as the crushing progresses, the peripherial speeds of each successive pair of rollers must be increased. If we disregard the increase in Volume due to the crushing, then the length of the rollers times the distance between them, times the peripherial speed should be equal for all of the successive pairs. Due to the increase in volume with the successive crushing operations the peripherial speeds should increase faster than the decrease in the distance between the rollers. The top of the frame or assembly is provided with a hopper 35 which serves to' direct crushed ore into the space between the uppermost pair of rollers and as these are driven in such directions that their adjacent surfaces move downwardly, the material that falls into the space between the rollers after being reduced in size is fed to the pair of rollers directly beneath, and this continues until the material reaches the bottom, when it is discharged into the opening 36. The roller assembly is enclosed in a housing comprising side members 31 and end members 38. The function of the housing is to keep the dust from escaping into the surrounding air, and to act as a guide to direct the material to the discharge opening.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 6, in which the channel I3 has been sho-wn in longitudinal section, as have also been shown the bearing blocks I'I and I8, it will be seen that the bearing blocks are separated by means of two spacers 39 and 40. By referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the spacer blocks 39 and 40 are each provided with an inclined edge 4I so that each block is in effect a wedge. Block 40 has a threaded opening 42 through which a bolt 43 extends. This bolt passes through the flanges of the channel and is provided on the outside with a head 44 and on the inside with a nut 45 that is held against rotation by means of a pin 46. It is evident that by rotating the bolt 43, the block 49 will be moved transversely of the channel and will thereby alter the distance between the adjacent surfaces of the bearing blocks I'I and I8.

From Figs. 3, 4 and 5 it will be seen that thel bolts or rods I5 are provided near one end with a threaded section 41 on which is rotatably mounted a nut 48. This nut is formed by a worm gear whose toothed periphery has been designated by reference numeral 49. Collars or bushings 50 serve to space the nut 48 equidistantly from the opposite walls of the housing 2|. One end of the spring 2D abuts the outside wall of the housing in the manner quite apparent from an inspection of Figs. 1, 3 and 4. Since there are two channel bars I3 for each set of rollers, there are also two sets of bolts or bars I5 for each set of rollers, as indicated more clearly in Fig. 2. In order to adjust the tension of the springs of each bar uniformly and simultaneously, the nuts 48 are interconnected by means of a shaft 5I that carries a worm 52 which cooperates with the worm gear 59 in a manner shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 5. Sleeves 53 serve to hold the worm 52 in a central position and are themselves held in adjusted position by means of pins 54. Shaft 5I is provided at one end with a hand wheel 55 by means of which the shaft and the two worms 52 can be simultaneously rotated, thereby effecting a simultaneous and equal adjustment of the tension of springs 20.

It has heretofore been explained that the principal object of this invention is to provide a machine ofthe type illustrated with means for holding the rollers of each pair in predetermined spaced relation in opposition to the action of the springs, and this is effected by means of the Wedges `39 and lIU whose relative positions can be adjusted by means of the bolts 43.

The material that is fed into the hopper is rst crushed to a l minus size and the rollers of the upper pair are spaced a considerable distance apart, but are close enough to effect a considerable reduction of the ore as it passes between them. The ore from the upper pair of rollers drops into the space between the rotating rollers of the pair directly beneath, which are adjusted closer than the pair directly above and rotated at a greater peripherial speed, and is there further reduced. From this pair of rollers the ore'passes through the pair directly beneath and this is continued until it has passed between all the different series of rollers and is reduced to the size desired. The lowermost pair of rollers is adjusted so' that the surfaces are very close together butvare still out of contact, and thereiore, when the machine is running idle, the pressure exerted by the springs 20 is not transmitted to the rollers and their bearings but is opposed entirely by the spacer blocks 39 and 4I), and therefore the power required to start the crusher and to run it when idle, is very much less than would be the case if the pressure exerted by the springs were transmitted to the roller surfaces and toy their bearings. It is evident that the crushing and pulverizing can be effected just as well and perhaps better by rollers that are spaced apart a short distance than if the peripherial surfaces were in actual contact.

It is evident that when ore is fed to the space between any pair of rollers, it will tend to move the rollers apart and this can only be effected by overcoming the force exerted by the springs and also the inertia of the parts. The pressure of the springs is adjusted so as to get the effect desired and no greater force should be employed than is necessary to obtain the desired results.

The housing 2| is slidable in the channels I3 in the manner quite apparent from Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Since the bolts or bars I5 extend entirely through the frame and are provided at their ends with nuts I6, they resist the force tending toseparate the rollers and there is therefore no' strain put on the connections between the channels I3 and the corner posts.

Attention is called to Fig. 1 in which the space between the uppermost pair of rollers has been designated by letter s and to the space between the rollers directly beneath where the corresponding space has been designated as s. The spaces between the rollers of each pair decreases downwardly, but the rollers do not come into actual contact.

By the expedient of increasing the peripherial speeds of the rollers of each succeeding pair, it is possible to effect a desired reduction with exactness because the material does not crowd and separate the rollers. If the successive pairs of rollers were of the same length and rotated at the same peripherial speed, the distance between the surfaces of successive pairs would have to increase slightly in order to prevent clogging.

In the embodiment herein described and shown on the drawings, means has been provided for simultaneously and equally adjusting the two bearings for each roller and this is believed to be novel in machines of this class.

For the purpose of assisting in directing the materials into the space between the rollers deector plates 6l! may be provided whenever desired.

Since this invention is an improvement only,

on thefmaohi-ne shown and described in the application above identfied,^it is not the intention to 'claim in this application anything that is nels of eaclh pair being onthe same vertical level,

a stationary bearing and a movable bearing supported on each side member, a roller mounted for rotation between each pair of stationary bearings, another roller mounted for rotation between each pair of movable bearings and means for interconnecting the several rollers journalled in the stationary bearings to obtain simultaneous rotation, the interconnecting means being so related to the circumference of the rollers that the peripherial speed of each roller is greater,

than that of the roller directly above, the rollers mounted in the movable bearings being independently rotatable, resilient means for urging the movable bearings towards the stationary bearings, means comprising adjustable wedges to limit the movement of the bearings in a direction to decrease the distance between the roller surfaces, said wedges resting on the upper surfaces of the channels, between the corresponding bearings, means for moving each wedge, comprising a bolt threadedly connected with the wedge and rotatable in openings in the flanges, and means on the bolt for engaging a flange surface for resisting longitudinal movement of the bolt in the flange openings whereby when it is rotated it will move the wedge transversely of the channel.

2. In an ore pulverizing device having a plurality of pairs of superpositioned rollers, arranged for successively receiving and comminuting ore fed to the top pair of rollers, having a frame provided with a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of horizontal bearing supports, the supports of each pair being at the same height and horizontally spaced, two bearings on each support, one bearing on each support being stationary thereon and the other movable therealong, a power driven roller mounted between the stationary bearings on each pair of supports and another roller mounted between the corresponding movable bearings, the power driven rollers being the same size, the upper power driven roller having a pulley attached to one end for attachment to a power mechanism, means for interconnecting the several driven rollers to eiect simultaneous rotation in the same direction, the gear ratios being so selected that the lower of any two vertically spaced rollers will turn at a greater peripheral speed than the one above, and means for limiting the distance between adjacent surfaces of rollers of each pair, comprising wedges positioned on the bearing supports, and means comprising a bolt threadedly connected with each wedge and rotatably connected with the support, -for moving the wedge in the direction of the axes of the roller to effect a spacing of the bearings.

3. An ore pulverizing device having a frame, comprising a pair of parallel supports of channel shaped cross section, arranged with their flanges extending upwardly, two bearing blocks in the channel of each support, one of which is held against movement thereon, the other being movable along the support, the bearing blocks on each support having aligned openings, a guide bar extending through the openings, and immovably attached to the stationary bearing block, a roller mounted for rotation between each pair of stationary bearing blocks, another roller rotatably mounted between each pair of movable bearing blocks, a wedge member positioned in each channel, one edge of the member being in engagement with one bearing block, the inclined side facing the other bearing block, a complementary wedge member positioned between the inclined side of the first wedge member and the other bearing block, the complementary wedge member being shorter than the distance between the flanges CYRUS R. BROWN.

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