US2423279A - Ore reclaiming machine - Google Patents

Description

L. C. WREN ORE REGLAIMING MACHINE July 1, 1947;

Filed Dec. 29, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORIVGY July 1, 1947:. c. WREN I 2,423,279

'ORE RECLAIMING MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGZ July 1, c. W N

ORE RECLAIMING MACHINE Filed Dec. 29, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ANFNTOR Zoo/5 ankle;

July 1, 1947. W E 423,279

ORE RECLAIMING MACQIN'E' Filed Dec. 29, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. lav/5 4075x 55 Wife-N A T DEM/5) Patented July 1, 1947 ORE RECLAIMING MACHINE Louis Charles Wren, Dartford, England, assignor to The General Electric Company, Limited,

London, England Application December 29, 1944, Serial No. 570,343 In Great Britain October 20, 1943 8 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for reclaiming ore and like material of the type comprising a bridge carried at each end on a bogie adapted to run on a rail (or rails), the distance between the bogies being greater than the width of the pile against which the machine is adapted to operate; a harrow adapted to agitate the face of the pile so as to cause the loosened material to fall into a transverse conveyor, running along the length of the bridge, adapted to deliver the material into a fixed longitudinal conveyor by the side of the pile, the said harrow and transverse conveyor be ing carried on the said bridge; and means, also carried on the said bridge, for driving the said bogies in either direction along the said rails. Such machines are described in British patent specification No. 534,034.

In normal operation, the bogies are driven slowly forward against the pile until all the material has been despatched by the transverse conveyor into the longitudinal conveyor and thus to the place Where the material is used. There should then be left a plane surface, level with the bottom of the transverse conveyor, over which the bridge could be moved backwards to its starting point. But it sometimes happens that the surface left is not plane; there project from it ridges or lumps rising a few inches above the plane along which the bottom of the transverse conveyor has moved. Then, when the bridge is 1 run backwards, the said bottom may become jammed against the said projections and the bridge become immovable until it is released by digging or other costly or time-wasting operations. The object of this invention is to provide means for decreasing the danger of such jamming.

According to the invention in a machine of the type specified, the said harrow and transverse conveyor are rotatable about a horizontal axis fixed relative to the said bogies, and means are provided for rotating them about the said axis so as to raise the bottom of the said conveyor above the position that it occupies in normal operation.

The bogies may be connected by a frame independent of the structure of which the harrow and transverse conveyor form part. The said axis is then part of this frame, and the said means then rotate the said structure relative to the said frame. But preferably the bogies are connected only through the said structure, which then constitutes the bridge; the said means then rotate the entire bridge relative to the bogies. In this case the means for rotating the bridge may comprise a pair of hydraulic rams, one of which is carried by each bogie and on which rests the forward side of the bridge, 1. e., the side on which the harrow and transverse conveyor are disposed; the rearward side of the bridge is then hinged to the bogies. The rams may be operated by a pump driven by an electric motor. Clamps, operated for example by hand wheels and screw bolts, may be provided that hold the bridge to the bogies, or, in the first alternative, the said structure to the said frame, in normal operation and are released only when the transverse conveyor is to be raised in preparation for the movement of the machine backwards. The clamps may be ganged with a switch in the circuit of the said motor, so that the motor cannot be started, and the rams operated, until the clamps are released.

One embodiment of the preferred form of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings which show a reclaiming machine of the kind described in British patent specification No. 534,034; only those parts relevant to the invention will be described, the rest of the machine being generally similar to that described in the said specification.

In the drawings Figure 1 shows a part plan at the floorof the machine, omitting the left-hand side, which is similar to the right-hand side.

Figure 2 shows an end View from the righthand side of Figure 1, but omitting the details of the transverse conveyor and harrow.

Figure 3 shows a section, at right angles to the rails and viewed from the left-hand side of Figure 2, across the hinge at the far end bogie in Figure 2.

Figure 4 shows details of the left-hand bogie structure (Figure 1) in a section through the line of the rails, viewed from the left-hand side in Figure 1.

Figure 5 shows a section through the clamping arrangement, at right angles to the line of the rails, viewed from the left-hand side on Figure 4.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a machine embodying a modified form of the invention.

In the drawings 1 is one of the two rails along which the machine is carried by two bogies 2, one at each end, Each bogie has two forward driven wheels 3 and one rearward trailing wheel 4. Between the two forward wheels each bogie carries a hydraulic ram 5 and a clamping arrangement 6. The two bogies are connected by the bridge structure I which is hinged to them by hinges 8 near the trailing wheels 4 and rests with its forward side on the rams 5. The bridge 3 structure carries a harrow 9 and transverse conveyor l at the forward side.

Referring now particularly to Figure 1, the wheels 3 are driven through worm gearing by a shaft H driven through mitre gearing by the main propelling shaft I2 carried on the bridge I. The shaft l2 passes through the hinge 8 and is driven by motors M, M carried on the bridge. The motor M which is equipped with a variable speed unit U can rotate the shaft l2 through gearing G in one direction to effect travel of the machine toward the pile, and the motor 1 is operable to propel the machine through its gearing G at a relatively high speed in either direction. I3 is an electric-motor-driven oil pump arranged to pump oil to the rams through a feed pipe M.

Referring now particularly to Figures 2 and 3 for details of the hinge arrangement, the hinge comprises a fixed hollow bearing sleeve 15 which passes through, and on which pivots, a hinge block 15 bolted to channel girders H which form part of the floor of the bridge I. The sleeve I5 is carried by the reinforced channel girders l3 which are fixed to a girder l9 forming part of the bogie structure. The propelling shaft i2 passes through the sleeve I5 and drives the shaft H through the mitre gearing arrangement 25 which is also bolted to the girder [9.

Referring now particularly to Figures 4 and 5 for details of the ram and clamping arrangement, the forward end of the girder IT has bolted to it the ram head 21, which rests on the ram 5 bolted to the bogie girder 2, and passes between guides formed by the flanged upright girders 22 welded to the bogie girder 2.

The girders 22 are joined at the top by channel girders 23 to which are welded plates 24 which carry bearings, the lower one threaded, for a screw bolt 25 adapted to be screwed down on to the girder if by means of the hand wheel 25. The girders 23 also have welded to them small upright girders 21 to which are fixed a switch 28 adapted to be operated by a lever 29 carried by the screw bolt 25 when the latter has been screwed up a sufficient distance to allow the girder l1, and hence the whole bridge structure, to be rotated about the hinges 8 by the rams 5. The switch 28 is interlocked with the start ing circuit of the motor of the pump l3 so that this motor can only be started, and hence the rams 5 operated, when the girders IT at each end of the bridge have been unclamped by withdrawal of the screw bolts 21's.

The machine shown in Fig. 6 is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 1-5, differing therefrom only in that the two bogies 2 are connected by a frame 30 independent of the structure of which the harrow 9 and transverse conveyor form part. The horizontal axis about which said structure rotates is coincident with the propelling shaft l2 and the hinge arrangement is similar to that described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 save that the hollow bearing sleeve is carried by members fixed to the frame 30. For convenience, the parts of the machine shown in Fig. 6 which are the same as the parts of the machine shown in Fig. l are denoted by the same reference characters.

I claim:

1. A machine for reclaiming ore or like material comprising a bridge carried at each end on a bogie adapted to run on a rail, a harrow carried by the bridge adapted to agitate the face of the pile against which th machine i adapted to operate, a transverse conveyor carried by and running along the length of the bridge adapted to deliver into a fixed conveyor by the side of the pile loosened material brought down by the harrow, and means carried by the bridge for driving the said bogies in either direction along the said rails, said machine being adapted to leave behind it a plane surface level with the bottom of the transverse conveyor from which an occasional lump or ridge projects and which prevent the machine from being moved back, wherein the said harrow and transverse conveyor are rotatable about a horizontal axis fixed relative to the said bogies and comprising rotating means for rotating the said harrow and transverse conveyor about the said axis so as to raise the bottom of the transverse conveyor above the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine whereby to clear said lumps and ridges and allow the machine to be moved back after reclaiming ore.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the said bogies are connected by a frame, forming part of the said bridge, independent of the structure of which the harrow and transverse conveyor form part and wherein the said rotating means rotates the said structure about an axis fixed relative to the said frame.

3. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the said bogies are connected only through the said bridge and wherein the said rotating means rotates the entire bridge relative to the bogies.

4. A machine according to claim 1 comprising clamping means for fixing the rotatable structure in the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine.

5. A machine for reclaiming ore or like material comprising a bridge carried at each end on a bogie adapted to run on a rail, a harrow carried by the bridge and adapted to agitate the face of the pile against which the machine is adapted to operate, a transverse conveyor carried by and running along the length of the bridge adapted to deliver into a fixed conveyor by the side of the pile loosened material brought down by the harrow, means carried by the bridge for driving the said bogies in either direction along the said rails, said machine being adapted to leave behind it a plane surface level with the bottom of the transverse conveyor from which an occasional lump or ridge projects and which prevent the machine from being moved back, a pair of hydraulic rams one of which is carried by each bogie, wherein the said bridge is connected to the said bogies only through hinges at the rearward side of the bridge and wherein the forward side of the bridge rests on the said rams, and comprising means carried by the bridge for actuating said rams so as to rotate the bridge about the said hinges and thereby lift the bottom of the transverse conveyor above the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine so that it will clear the lumps and ridges and thus permit the machine to be moved back after reclaiming ore, and clamping means for fixing the bridge in the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine.

6. A machine for reclaiming ore or like material comprising a bridge carried at each end on a bogie adapted to run on a rail, a harrow carried by the bridge and adapted to agitate the face of the pile against which the machine is adapted to operate, a transverse conveyor carried by and running along the length of the bridge adapted to deliver into a fixed conveyor by the side of the pil loosened material brought down by the harrow, means carried by the bridge for driving the said bogies in either direction along the said rails, said machine being adapted to leave behind it a planesurface level with the bottom of the transverse conveyor from which an occasional lump or ridge projects and which prevent the machine from being moved back, a pair of hydraulic rams one of which is carried by each bogie, wherein the said bridge is connected to the said bogies only through hinges at the rearward side of the bridge and wherein the forward side of the bridge rests on the said rams and comprising means carried by the bridge for actuating said rams so as to rotate the bridge about the said hinges and thereby lift the bottom of the transverse conveyor above the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine so that it will clear the lumps and ridges and thus permit the machine to be moved back after reclaiming ore.

7. A machine for reclaiming ore or lik material oomprising a bridge carried at each end on a bogie adapted to run on a rail, a harrow carried by the bridge and adapted to agitate the fac of the pile against which the machine is adapted to operate, a transverse conveyor carried by and runnin along the length of the bridge adapted to deliver into a fixed conveyor by the side of the pil loosened material brought down by the barrow, means carried by the bridge for driving the said bogies in either direction along the said rails, said machine being adapted to leave behind it a plan surface level with the bottom of the transverse conveyor from which an occasional lump or ridge projects and which prevent the machine from being moved back, a pair of hydraulic rams one of which is carried by each bogie, wherein the said bridge is connected to the said bogies only through hinges at the rearward side of the bridge and wherein the forward side of the bridge rests on the said rams and comprising means carried by the bridge for actuating said rams so as to rotate the bridge about the said hinges and thereby lift the bottom of the transverse conveyor above the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine so that it will clear the lumps and ridges and thus permit the machine to be moved back after reclaiming ore, clamping means for fixing the bridge in the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine and interlocking means interlocking the said clamping means and means for actuating the said rams so that the rams can only be actuated when the clamping is released.

8. A machine for reclaiming ore or like material comprising a bridge carried at each end on a bogie adapted to run on a, rail, a harrow carried by the bridge and adapted to agitate the face of the pile against which the machine is adapted to operate, a transverse conveyor carried by and running along the length of the bridge adapted to deliver into a fixed conveyor by the side of the pile loosened material brought down by the harrow, means carried by the bridge for driving the said bogies in either direction along the said rails, said machine being adapted to leave behind it a plane surface level with the bottom of the transverse conveyor from which an occasional lump or ridge projects and which prevent the machine from being moved back, a pair of hydraulic rams one of which is carried by each bogie, wherein the said bridge is connected to the said bogies only through hinges at the rearward side of the bridge and wherein the forward side of the bridge rests on the said rams and comprising an electric-motor-driven oil pump carried by the bridge for actuating said rams so as to rotate the bridge about the said hinges and thereby lift the bottom of the transverse conveyor above the position that it occupies in normal operation of the machine So that it will clear the lumps and ridges and thus permit the machine to be moved back after reclaiming ore, clamping means for fixing th bridg in the position that it occupies in normal operation, and a switch operated by the said clamping means and electrically interlocked with the starting circuit of the said pump motor so that said motor can only be started when the clamping is released.

LOUIS CHARLES WREN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,265,131 .Stamp May 7, 1918 1,583,665 Cox May 4, 1926 1,966,459 Osgood July 17, 1934 2,017,005 Levin Oct, 8, 1935

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