Solid material comminution or disintegration – Apparatus – Combined or convertible
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-10
2001-05-29
Husar, John M. (Department: 3725)
Solid material comminution or disintegration
Apparatus
Combined or convertible
C241S101742, C241S189100, C241S191000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237865
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority of German Patent Application Serial No. 298 11 073.3, filed Jun. 20, 1998, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus for screening and/or crushing screen materials, and more particularly to a screen crusher for use in a bucket of an earth moving machine, with the bucket being swingable about a horizontal rotation axis and including a back wall which is formed as screening bottom and supports screening shafts provided with screening elements.
German Pat. No. DE 93 04 186 U1 describes a screen crusher for soil materials for use in the bucket of an earth moving machine or a bucket loader. The bucket has a back wall formed as crusher screen with rotating shafts which extend substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the bucket. During screening operation, the bucket is swung about its axis of rotation so that the crusher screen is aligned substantially parallel to the ground. This screen crusher suffers the drawback that the drive assemblies for rotating the shafts are mounted laterally to the bucket. The lateral structural space that is required for accommodating the drive assemblies thus forms a dead space during operation, so that, for example, upon ingress of the bucket of the screen crusher into a silo, or along a building wall, the screen material situated between the side wall of the bucket and the building wall cannot be reached. Also, the housing of the drive assemblies is exposed to substantial wear and contamination. As a consequence, fastening screws of the covering plates become nondetachable when damaged or contaminated so that the screws or the covering plates must be removed. Maintenance and inspection of the drive assemblies are therefore significantly complicated.
A further drawback of this conventional screen crusher resides in the substantial length of the shafts which are thus exposed to great forces. Shaft bearings as well as drive assemblies must therefore be designed in a very robust fashion. However, in order to prevent the screen crusher from becoming too heavy, the torque being applicable is limited. As a consequence, in particular materials that are too large to penetrate through the screen and thus are difficult to crush prevent a complete filling of the bucket in view of the danger to overload the screen crusher. Moreover, the design of this conventional screen crusher causes during screening and/or crushing operation a hurling of rocks out of the bucket in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the bucket and towards the operator's cab when the shafts rotate. Not only can this result in damage to the operator's cab but also exposes persons to harm. Therefore, the conventional crusher screen is highly suspect with respect to safety concerns.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for screening and/or crushing screen materials, obviating the afore-stated drawbacks.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for screening and/or crushing screen materials, which produces a better screening operation at increased throughput rate.
These objects, and others which will become apparent hereinafter, are attained in accordance with the present invention by providing a bucket which is articulated to an earth moving machine and swingable about a horizontal rotation axis, with the bucket having a back wall formed as a screening bottom and supporting screening shafts provided with screening elements, whereby the screening shafts extend transversely to the rotation axis.
The arrangement of the screening shafts in transverse disposition with respect to the rotation axis of the bucket has several advantages. The shafts can be made shorter compared to conventional designs, so that significantly higher torque can be transmitted. The transverse disposition enables the arrangement of several screening shafts in a bucket, thereby realizing a more intense movement of the screen material. The more intense movement improves not only the screening result but also leads to an increase of the throughput rate. As in this type of rotary screens, the material is moved by the rotation of the screening shafts or screening elements towards the screening bottom, the transverse disposition of the shafts results also in a longer screening path compared to the conventional screen crusher.
The apparatus according to the invention is suitable for screening and/or crushing different screen material, such as, for example, excavated soil, filter cake, coal, compost, but is also applicable to separate the excavated soil from larger solid pieces, such as boulder or wood. The apparatus according to the invention can also be designed for use in a typical shovel of earth moving machines such as, e.g., wheel loaders, diggers, loaders and tractors.
According to another feature of the present invention, the screening elements may be formed by screening disks mounted on the screening shafts, and crushing members positioned between spaced-apart screening disks. This results in a structurally simple design which is easy to manufacture. The shafts are sturdy while still exhibiting a comparably lightweight structure.
According to still another feature of the present invention, the crushing members may be retained laterally in pockets of the screening disks, and each crushing member is secured by a tensioning element. An example for a suitable tensioning element includes a screw bolt. The pockets are suitably configured in a slightly conical manner or taper towards the ends. Positioned between two screening disks is a crushing member which is received in the screening disks in complementary side sections of the pockets. Thus, the crushing member is held and guided in the pockets and can be secured by means of the tensioning element.
According to still another feature of the present invention, the screw bolt may extend through the shaft and is threadably engageable from behind in an internal thread of the crushing member. By turning the screw bolt, the crushing member is drawn into the conical pockets and secured. When exchanging a crushing member, the screw bolt is loosened by a few turns, and subsequently the crushing member is ejected from the pockets by hammering onto the screw head of the bolt, and the screw bolt is then fully unscrewed. Thus, few manipulations are required to replace the crushing member in a simple and rapid fashion.
Suitably, the crushing members may be made of hard wear-resistant material. Optionally, the crushing members may have working areas that are reinforced by armoring.
According to yet another feature of the present invention, the apparatus may have screening elements with screening disks and spacers, whereby the screening disks and spacers are arranged on a screening shaft in alternating disposition. The screening disks have a greater diameter than the spacers and form with the corresponding screening disks on the neighboring screening shafts a screening bottom which has a fineness which depends from the distance of the screening shafts and the axial distance of the screening disks.
The screening disks may have an outer contour of round, oval or polygon configuration, with a spacer being arranged between two neighboring screening disks.
The screening elements may be composed of two detachable disk segments. This is advantageous as individual screening elements may be exchanged, without requiring a dismantling of the entire screening shaft. In this context, it is possible to divide the screening disk and the spacer in individual disk segments. A disk segment of the spacer may, however, also be connected in one-piece with the respective disk segment of the screening disk. In the latter case, one screening element has only two disk segments, thereby reducing the number of components.
As already described, the crushing members of the screening elements are exchange
Fransen Hendrikus
Luttermann Erich
Többen Josef
Day Ursula B.
Feiereisen Henry M.
Husar John M.
Neuenhauser Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG
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