Material or article handling – Device for emptying portable receptacle – Rotary cradle
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-25
2002-04-16
Keenan, James W. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Device for emptying portable receptacle
Rotary cradle
C294S068260, C414S425000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06371718
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improved materials handling devices, and more particularly, to containers into which materials are easily loaded and unloaded and which provide for the efficient storage and transportation of the materials deposited therein. The present invention is also directed to unloading facilities associated with the containers which facilitate the removal of the materials deposited in the containers from such containers. The present invention is particularly well suited to provide a materials handling device for storing and transporting scrap metals, which materials handling device includes a container into which and from which the scrap metal is easily loaded and unloaded.
2. Description of Prior Art
In virtually every industrial process, raw materials are combined or otherwise manipulated to form a finished product. In many cases, the raw materials are stored in bulk and then subdivided into smaller shippable quantities. The smaller quantities may then either be used directly or further subdivided into even smaller quantities by a manufacturer.
For example, scrap iron is typically recycled by steel mills by collecting and remelting it for use in new products. The individual pieces of scrap iron are generally of many different weights and sizes and are commonly collected by scrap metal dealers in scrap yards. The scrap metal is often sorted in the scrap yard by placing the scrap metals in piles of related materials. The materials may be related, for example, by metallic composition (e.g., aluminum, steel, copper, etc.) by size of individual scrap pieces or other criteria. After sufficient scrap metal has been accumulated, the piles of scrap metal are loaded into containers for transportation to a steel mill for remelting and use in producing new steel materials.
The container into which the scrap is loaded for transportation from the scrap yard to the steel mill may be, for example, a railroad car or the bed of a truck. Also, by way of example, the container may be a shipping container, which shipping container is then in turn loaded generally by using a crane into a railroad car or onto the bed of a truck.
Generally, the scrap metal is loaded into the container by grasping the scrap metal with one or more conventional crane-operated grappling hooks and then positioning the grappling hook over the container and opening the hook to cause the scrap metal to fall into the container. The container is then transported to a steel mill where the scrap metal is unloaded, typically by a similar grappling hook method.
More particularly, in the typical unloading process, there is provided at the steel mill a scrap metal unloading station or area where the container of scrap metal may be unloaded. In the unloading area, there is generally provided one or more cranes which are fitted with one or more grappling hooks. The scrap metal in the container is seized by the crane-operated grappling hook, which hook is lifted from the container by the crane and is then positioned over yet another container commonly referred to as a “charge bucket”. The hook is then released causing the scrap metal to fall into the charge bucket.
The function of the charge bucket is to collect the scrap metal, transport it into the steel mill and transfer the scrap metal from the charge bucket into a melting furnace where the scrap metal can be melted and used in producing new steel products. Conventional charge buckets typically hold about 150,000 to 200,000 pounds of scrap metal and are located on transfer cars. The transfer cars are wheeled platforms that travel on rails to permit the charge bucket to be easily moved from the unloading area to the melting furnace. The transfer car having the charge bucket disposed thereon is then pulled or pushed into the steel mill meltshop where its contents are deposited into one or more furnaces and melted.
The grappling method of unloading the container has significant limitations. For example, unloading the container by the grappling method is a slow process and requires a relatively large amount of time. Also, for example, pieces of scrap metal may move or shift positions during the transportation to the steel mill interfering with the grappling operation and requiring hand effort or other machinery to aid in the unloading operation. Still further, near the end of the unloading process it becomes increasingly difficult to grapple the remaining scrap metal requiring hand effort or other machinery to aid in the completion of the unloading operation. Finally, scrap metal has a tendency to fall from the grappling hook as the scrap metal is transported from the container to the charge bucket, creating a safety hazard and requiring still further hand effort or machinery to keep the unloading area free of fallen scrap metal pieces.
A presently available improvement to this conventional grappling hook-based scrap metal loading and unloading system utilizes a self-dumping container as illustrated in
FIGS. 1A and 1B
and discussed in more detail below.
In
FIG. 1A
there is shown an unloading station
10
where scrap metal from a container
12
is unloaded into a charge bucket
14
. Containers of the type of container
12
generally hold about 10,000 pounds of scrap metal. The scrap metal is typically loaded into the container
12
at the scrap metal yard using either the grappling hook-based system described above for pieces of scrap large enough to be grappled or by other methods, such as by hand or with a utility tractor equipped with a bucket for pieces of scrap metal too small or otherwise not suitable for grappling.
The container
12
is unloaded into the charge bucket
14
at the steel mill in the fashion described below. The charge bucket
14
used in this improved system is typically cylindrical having an open top
16
and a flat bottom. The charge bucket
14
is disposed over a transfer car
18
, which transfer car
18
includes a plurality of wheels
19
which ride along a pair of rails
20
to allow the charge bucket
14
to be moved between the unloading station
10
and the melt furnace in the steel mill. A planar stage or platform
22
is located near the top of the charge bucket
14
and extends inwardly toward a center
24
of the charge bucket
14
. As illustrated in
FIG. 1
, in some charge buckets
14
, the planar stage
22
is not present and a simple bar
23
extends across a portion of the charge bucket
14
, and the container
12
rests on the bar
23
and a lip
25
of the charge bucket
14
. The container
12
used in this improved system is generally rectangular and includes a planar bottom
26
, two opposed side walls
28
and
29
, a front wall
30
, a rear wall
32
and an open top
34
. A bale assembly
40
is mounted on the side walls
28
and
29
of the container
12
. The bale assembly
40
includes a movable bale
42
mounted between two complicated locking devices
44
on either side of the container
12
. The locking devices
44
permit the bale
42
to be maintained in either a nearly vertical locked position, shown in dashed lines in
FIG. 1A
of the drawings, in which pivotal rotation of the bale
42
relative to the container
12
is prevented or in a pivotal position, shown in solid lines in
FIG. 1A
of the drawings, in which the bale
42
and container
12
are free to pivot relative to one another. Even in its lowest pivotal position, a portion of the bale
42
still extends above the open top
34
of the container
12
as illustrated in FIG.
1
A.
In normal operation, the container
12
is filled with scrap metal at the scrap yard. The container
12
is then hoisted onto a transportation means, such as a railcar or truck bed by a crane. During this hoisting operation, the bale
42
is in its locked position to prevent any pivotal movement of the bale
42
relative to the container
12
thereby preventing the container
12
from pivoting and unintentionally permitting the scrap metal to fall out of the container
12
during the hoisting operation. A
Foster Harry L.
Holman Gerald R.
Mirarchi Alan J.
Payne Roger M.
DKW Law Group, P.C.
Keenan James W.
Keywell, L.L.C.
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