Material or article handling – Static receptacle and means for charging or discharging – or... – With means to handle dust
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-24
2001-01-16
Bratlie, Steven A. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Static receptacle and means for charging or discharging, or...
With means to handle dust
Reexamination Certificate
active
06174121
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a door for installation in a dust retention system designed to be located above a product vessel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
When dumping grain from a road train into a hopper a significant amount of dust is thrown up from the hopper the dust can “envelope” the road train and linger for some time. Mechanical dust retention systems have been designed to contain dust within the hopper so as to overcome or at least reduce this problem. A known dust retention system consists of a series of pressed steel doors hinged to a longitudinal beam which forms part of a grated floor structure through which the road train dumps the grain. Each of the steel doors is hinged at several points with a torsion spring acting on the door so as to urge it closed in an upward direction.
Although the known dust retention system is relatively inexpensive to manufacture it suffers from at least the following drawbacks:
i) the hinged doors rely on moving parts for operation which require frequent maintenance or replacement;
ii) the hinged doors are, with the sound of grain impacting on the solid steel surface, relatively noisy;
iii) the doors are difficult to install demanding a relatively large amount of downtime;
iv) the doors are subject to corrosion thereby requiring cleaning and frequent maintenance; and,
v) the rate of flow of particulate material is unacceptably restricted.
Also, it is known to have flexible doors which flex under the weight of particulate material being dumped onto the flexible doors. It is difficult to correctly position the flexible doors for use at a desired angle to the floor structure. In addition the flexible doors often need adjustment or maintenance. There is therefore a need for a means of adjusting the flexible doors that also accommodates maintenance of the dust retention system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a dust retention system which provides for easy adjustment of a door in the dust retention system.
According to the present invention there is provided a dust retention system for location above a product vessel, said system comprising:
a support member adapted to be mounted above the product vessel; and,
a door including an engaging portion detachably mounted on the support member and retained in place by an adjustment means for adjusting the door to a desired angle with respect to the support member, the door also including a striking portion adjacent the engaging portion with at least a section of the striking portion being constructed of a resiliently flexible material;
whereby, in use, product falling onto the striking portion causes the resiliently flexible material of the striking portion to be deflected by the weight of said product thereby forcing the door from a closed position, where dust is inhibited from escaping the product vessel, into an open position where the product passes across the door and into the product vessel, and thereafter the door, without the weight of said product, returning to the closed position under a bias force exerted by said resiliently flexible material. Preferably, the door is detachably mounted substantially above the support member.
Preferably, the adjustment means includes a retainer for retaining the door on the support member and for retaining the door at said desired angle to the support member. Preferably the retainer cooperates with the support member to apply oppositely directed forces on the door in order to maintain the door at said desired angle.
Typically, the retainer applies a downward force to the door and the support member applies an upward force to the door, wherein the upward force is applied to a point of the engaging portion closer to the striking portion, than a point of the engaging portion where the downward force is applied. The support member acts as a fulcrum balancing the weight of the striking portion against the downward force applied by the retainer. Typically, the retainer is an elongate member, having a V-shaped cross section.
Preferably, the adjustment means further includes one or more adjustable fasteners that fasten the retainer and the engaging portion to the support member. Typically, each fastener is a bolt secured with a nut.
Preferably, the support member includes a flange for the engaging portion of the door to sit on, wherein the flange applies an upward force to the door, More preferably, the downward force is applied to the door by the tip of the V-shaped member.
Typically, the door is generally oblong shaped with the engaging portion formed along a longitudinal edge thereof. More typically, two doors are formed integrally with one another to form a double door member, wherein the two doors are joined along a longitudinal edge.
Preferably, the flange on the support member is one of a pair of opposed flanges, each one acting as the flange for each door of the double door member.
Preferably, each adjustable fastener extends from the support member upwardly through a hole in the engaging portion of the doors of the double door member and through a hole in the retainer to sandwich the engaging portion between the retainer and the support member.
Preferably, the engaging and striking portions of the door are formed integral with each other. More preferably, the striking portion is constructed entirely from the resiliently flexible material.
Typically, the resiliently flexible material is a metallic material. More typically, said material is stainless steel spring sheeting. In one embodiment the stainless steel spring sheeting is Grade 304.
Typically, the striking portion of the door is constructed of a sheet material of substantially constant thickness. In one embodiment, the sheet material is less than approximately 1 mm in thickness.
Typically, the support member is a rail. More typically, the rail includes a longitudinal groove designed to releasably engage the fastener of the adjustment means so as to detachably connect the doors and adjustment means to the rail. Preferably, the groove includes a keyway formed continuous with the longitudinal groove and has a shape that is complementary to a head of the fastener. Preferably, the longitudinal groove is positioned between the two opposed flanges.
Preferably, each of the doors of the double door member extend from the support member at an angle of between approximately 20° to 40° relative to a horizontal plane. Advantageously, this allows for a relatively free flow of the product under the influence of gravity across the doors and into the product vessel. Preferably, the angle of the V-shaped member is less than an angle between the doors of the double door member.
Typically, opposing ends of the support member are configured to detachably mount to opposing beams disposed above the product vessel. More typically, opposing ends of the support member each include a recess shaped to removably locate each end of the support member upon a corresponding lug of each of the opposing beams.
Typically, the support member and the doors of the double door member form a double door row that is one of a series of form a double door row that detachably mounted between and disposed transverse to a pair of opposing beams so that a space defined between said opposing beams is substantially sealed to inhibit the escape of dust from the product vessel. More typically, the series of double door rows are arranged so that with said doors in a closed position, a relatively small gap exists between the opposite edges of the doors facing each other. The relatively small gap allows any product resting on the door adjacent said opposite edge to fall into the product vessel so as to avoid contamination of product in said vessel.
Typically, the product vessel is a hopper or a silo. In one example, the product is grain where dust problems are particularly prevalent when loading a hopper or silo. Alternatively, the product is sugar, coal, sands, woodchips, or practically any other product where dust control during loading/unloading is beneficial.
REFERE
Bratlie Steven A.
Brian Investments Pty Ltd
LandOfFree
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