Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 022206l7 l997-ll-06
A 96/01946
AN ON-TRACK BULK MATERIAL LOADING WAGON
The invention relates to an on-track bulk material
loading wagon comprising a chassis frame supported on on-track
undercarriages and, extending in the longitudinal direction
of the wagon and arranged above the chassis frame, a bottom
conveyor belt which is inclined relative to the horizontal to
form a lower and a higher deflection end and with which side
walls extending in the longitudinal direction of the wagon are
associated for laterally defining and forming a storage space, a
vertical adjustment device for changing the inclination of the
bottom conveyor belt being provided between the bottom conveyor
belt and the chassis frame and having a vertical adjustment
drive.
From EP O 501 318 Bl, one such loading wagon is already
known which is coupled during operation with other like wagons
to form a loading train. In doing so, the higher deflection end
of the bottom conveyor belt of each loading wagon respectively
projects beyond the end of the chassis frame and overlaps
the lower deflection end of the bottom conveyor belt of the
adjoining loading wagon so thàt a continuous conveyor belt line
is formed. The ejection end of the bottom conveyor belt is
designed for adjustment in a vertical direction by means of a
vertical adjustment device, while a transverse displacement
drive simultaneously allows an adjustment of the bottom conveyor
belt in the transverse direction of the wagon. If the loading
wagons are used for storing bulk material, the desired filling
level in the storage space is obtained by vertical adjustment
of the ejection end in combination with a corresponding change
of the rotational speed of the succeeding, receiving bottom
conveyor belt. If, on the other hand, bulk material is only to
be transported along the length of the loading train via the
bottom conveyor belts arranged in series, the higher deflection
ends are placed in a lowered position directly above the lower
deflection ends of the adjoining conveyor belts. This lowered
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position is also assumed in order to stay within the clearance
gauge during transit travel.
The object of the present invention is to create a bulk
material loading wagon of the specified kind in which the
transporting direction of the bulk material can be reversed
with only little additional structural expense and minim~l
retooling operations.
This object is achieved according to the invention in
that, in a bulk material loading wagon of the kind mentioned at
the beginning, each of the two deflection ends - spaced from
one another in the longitudinal direction of the wagon - of the
bottom conveyor belt is respectively designed to be distanced
with respect to the chassis frame in a vertical direction by
means of the vertical adjustment device.
An embodiment of this kind makes it possible in a most
simple manner to change the transport direction of the bulk
material to the opposite direction when required, without
having to turn around the bulk material loading wagons or
the entire loading train by time-consuming shunting. For this
purpose it is merely necessary, after briefly distancing
the loading wagons from one another by a small amount in
the longitudinal direction of the track as needed, to lower
the previously higher deflection end and to raise the lower
deflection end, after which a problemfree transport of bul-k
material in the opposite direction can be carried out in
connection with a reversing of the conveying direction of the
bottom conveyor belt. In doing so, a particular advantage lies
in the fact that the entire capacity of the storage space of
the loading wagon is available without restriction regardless
of the respective conveying direction.
Additional advantages according to the invention become
apparent from the sub-claims and the drawings.
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The invention is described in detail in the following with
reference to embodiments represented in the drawings in which,
in the various examples, parts having the same function are
denoted by the same reference numerals.
Figs. 1 and 2 each show a side view of a respective
embodiment of the loading wagon according to the
invention, and
Figs. 3 and 4 show a further variant of the loading
wagon in a train formation in the two different
operation positions.
The on-track bulk material loading wagon 1 represented in
Fig. 1 comprises a chassis frame 2 which is supported on a
track 4 or mobile thereon via on-track undercarriages 3 and
which is provided with coupling devices 5 for incorporation
into a train formation composed of an optional number of like
wagons. Located above the chassis frame 2 is a bottom conveyor
belt 6, extending in the longitudinal direction of the wagon
and inclined relative to the horizontal, with which at both
longitudinal sides side walls 7 are associated. The latter
extend in the longitudinal direction of the wagon between two
higher or lower deflection ends 8,9, spaced from one another,
of the bottom conveyor belt 6 and serve for laterally defining
and forming a storage space 10 for bulk material. Arranged
between the chassis frame 2 and the bottom conveyor belt 6 are
two vertical adjustment devices 11,12 by means of which the
inclination of the bottom conveyor belt 6, including the side
walls 7, may be changed. For that purpose, each of the vertical
adjustment devices 11,12, spaced from one another in the
longitudinal direction of the wagon and respectively associated
with one half 31,32 - with respect to the longitudinal
direction of the wagon - of the bottom conveyor belt 6,
comprises a vertical adjustment drive 13,14. These, as well
as a conveyor drive 15 of the bottom conveyor belt 6, can be
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actuated by means of an energy source 16 accommodated
underneath the chassis frame 2.
Each vertical adjustment device 11,12 is designed as a
pivoting frame 17 which is mounted on the chassis frame 2 for
pivoting about a horizontal axis 18 extending in the transverse
direction of the wagon, the vertical adjustment drive 13 or 14
respectively being hinged, on the one hand, to the chassis
frame 2 and, on the other hand, to the pivoting frame 17.
The pivoting frame 17 is composed of two parallel beams 19,
extending approximately in the longitudinal direction of the
wagon and inclined with respect to the plane of the chassis
frame 2, the lower end of which is articulatedly connected to
the chassis frame 2 by means of the axis 18. The other ends of
the beams 19 are mounted on a carrier frame 20, connected to
the side walls 7, of the bottom conveyor belt 6 for adjustment
in the longitudinal direction thereof. For the purpose of said
longitudinal adjustment, the higher end of the beam 19 is
equipped with a flanged roller 21 which is mounted in a guide
22 connected to the carrier frame 20 and extending in the
longitudinal direction of the frame.
Each of the two deflection ends 8 and 9 may be spaced with
respect to the chassis frame 2 in a vertical direction by means
of the vertical adjustment devices 11 and 12. The deflection
end 8 which is higher up in the position shown in Fig. 1 can be
lowered by means of the vertical adjustment drive 13, and the
lower deflection end 9 can be raised by means of the vertical
adjustment drive 14 in order to assume the position shown in
dash-dotted lines. A retaining device 23 is provided in each of
the end regions - with respect to the longitudinal direction
of the wagon - of the chassis frame 2 for the purpose of
temporarily fixing or releasably securing the carrier frame 20
of the bottom conveyor belt 6 to the chassis frame 2 in order
to create the necessary stability during working operation.
The retaining device 23 may have a locking bolt 24 which is
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operable by remote control by means of a drive, for example,
and by means of which the respective lower deflection end 8,9
of the bottom conveyor belt 6 is fixed in its position
immediately above the chassis frame 2.
Evident in Fig. 2 is another embodiment of the loading
wagon 1 in which the carrier frame 20 of the bottom conveyor
belt 6 is mounted at its center - with respect to the
longitudinal direction of the wagon - on a pillow block 25
about a horizontal pivot axis 26 extending in the transverse
direction of the wagon, the pillow block 23 for its part being
attached to the chassis frame 2. This formation allows the
carrier frame 20 or the bottom conveyor belt 6 to tilt for
vertically adjusting the two deflection ends 8,9 with respect
to the horizontal, after which the lower deflection end can be
locked in the respective position by means of the retaining
device 23. In this simplified variant, the vertical adjustment
device 11 is limited to the arrangement of a hydraulic vertical
adjustment drive 13 provided directly between the chassis frame
2 and the carrier frame 20 and linked to both frames 2,20,
the drive 13 being associated with the one half 31 of the
bottom conveyor belt 6. A second vertical adjustment device 12
associated with the other half 32 of the bottom conveyor belt 6
(as indicated in dash-double-dotted lines) may be provided to
increase stability. Alternatively it would also be possible,
however, to design the vertical adjustment device for example
as a rotary drive acting directly on the carrier frame 20 via
the pivot axis 26, or similarly.
The embodiment represented in Figs. 3 and 4 shows a bulk
material loading wagon 1 in the operating position in which
it is coupled with other like loading wagons to form a train
formation travelling as a unit. The wagon is equipped with two
vertical adjustment devices 11,12, each of which is positioned
in the end region - with respect to the longitudinal direction
of the wagon - of the chassis frame 2 and has a respective
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vertical support frame 27 on which the carrier frame 20 of
the bottom conveyor belt 6 is mounted. Vertical adjustment
is accomplished by means of a slotted guide 28 which extends
vertically in the support frame 27 and in which a pin 29
connected to the carrier frame 20 is mounted for vertical
adjustment by means of the vertical adjustment drive 13 or 14.
In order to furnish the slotted guide with the play in the
longitudinal direction of the wagon which may be required
during the vertical adjustment procedure, one of the pins
29 may be fastened to the carrier frame 20 so as to be
displaceable by a small amount in the longitudinal direction
of the bottom conveyor belt 6. The support frame 27 of the
vertical adjustment device 11,12 is mounted to the chassis
frame 2 for adjustment perpendicularly to the longitudinal
direction of the wagon and is connected to a transverse
displacement drive 30 whereby the respectively associated
deflection end 8,9 is transversely adjustable, as needed, in
order to ensure an unimpeded transfer of bulk material from
one loading wagon to the next when operating in track curves.
To change the transport of bulk material from the
conveying direction indicated by small arrows 33 in Fig. 3
to the reverse direction (arrows 34) shown in Fig. 4, it is
necessary to briefly space apart the individual loading wagons
1 of the loading train in the longitudinal direction of
the train, specifically by such a distance that the facing
deflection ends 8,9 of adjoining loading wagons 1 do no longer
overlap. This can be accomplished in a simple manner either
by uncoupling the loading wagons 1, or, for example, by a
longitudinally adjustable design of the coupling devices 5.
Thereafter, the higher deflection end 8 on all loading wagons 1
is lowered by means of the vertical adjustment devices 11,12,
and the lower deflection end 9 is raised, after which the
wagons are again pushed together to the original distance. As
a result, the deflection ends 8,9 of the succeeding bottom
conveyor belts 6 overlap one another again, and the conveyor
- - -
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drives 15 of the bottom conveyor belts 6 need only to be
switched to the opposite direction to now allow the transport
of bulk material according to the situation represented in Fig.
4.
