Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
~2~ 72
The present invention relates to a wear and abra-
sion resistant wall structure which in use is subjected
to abrasion by lump or particulate material comprising
magnetic particles. Such walls may have the form of
wall surfaces in chutes, ducts, conveyor helt unloadin~
stations etc., but above all in mills. In the mining
industry use is -thus made of mills for grinding ore,
in which the walls are subjected to heavy wear and are
therefore constituted by or coated with a wear an~
abrasion resistant wall material. Such mills may com-
prise ball or rod mills for grinding ore containing a
given amount of magnetic material. The mills may be
of the type for primary and secondary grinding in which
the material to be ground consists of magnetic material,
for example magnetite, and in which the coarse material
of the charge constitutes grinding balls or pebbles,
so-called autogenous grinding.
~ s already mentioned, the mills for such purposes
must have a wear and abrasion resistant inner side.
Therefore, the mills are often provided with a lining
of abrasion resistant material, such as elastomeric
or plastic material, ceramic material or sometimes
steel material. The lining of abrasion resistant ma-
terial is usually fastened by mechanical means such as
fastening bolts~, clamping ribs or like means. How-
ever,in U.S. ~atent 3,913,~51 (October 21, 1975, Sven
E. ~ndersson) the inventor suggests that a wear re-
sistant rubber lining for mills and chutes be mag-
netically retained to the inner side of the mill bar-
rel or chute in that the si~e of the ~ear resistantrubber layer facing the barrel or chute has been laminated
with a layer of permanent--maSnetic material.
..
~ 2~ 3972
Mill linings mainly have two tas}cs. One is to provide
a protection for ~he mill barrel and the end walls there-
of against mechanical and corrosive abrasion, and the
other is to transmit energy from the mill to the charge.
This implies that the appearance of the inner side of
the mill, the so-called profile, is of great importance
to the grinding capacity, particularly in secondary
grinding (fine grinding).
It has also b~en tried to improve t~e function and
durability of the mill lining in various ways and use
has been ma~e of sundry materials having different pro-
files on the inner side of the lining. Especially in
handling hard minerals, such as sulphide and the like
ores, steel material has had a relatively short life
because a not negligible loss of material has arisen
by corrosion in wet grinding apart from the factual
and virtual mechanical abrasion. Therefore ~ttempts have been
made to use rubber as a substitute for steel linings.
In addition to its good wear resistant properties, com-
pared to steel, rubber has a better resistance tocorrosion and also a sound reducing effect on the grind-
ing operation. Further, the rubber lining is consider-
ably more lightweight than steel linings. However, an
inherent disadvantage of rubber is its lesser ability
to withstand sliding abrasion, as compared to steel.
In conventional mill linings having longitudinal shell
plates and so-called lifters, it is important that
said lifters be replaced when they have been subjected
to so heavy an abrasion that the charge begins to
3~ slide along the lining. When the lifters are exposed
to sliding abrasion, they are thus subjected to acce-
lerated wear, and as a consequence the interjacent shell
plates will also commence to wear rapidly. To rea-
lize a good lining economy the lifters therefore have
to be replaced in due time, usually three to four sets
of lifters are worn out for each set of shell plates.
Change of lifters is effected at a time when the lining
72
profile is better than that of a new lining, as for ca-
pacity and fine grinding properties. After a change of
lifters the grinding capacity may often be lowered by
10-20~.
Rubber lifters -thus suffer from the drawbacks that
- the grinding capacity will vary considerably during
their life of use and that the lifters will have to be
changed when the lining profile is at its besti in other
words, one must allow for a running-in period of
lower capacity and undesirable coarse rests in tne
discharged material ground. This particularly applies
to fine grinding operations in mills running at a speed
of over 75% of the so-called critical sp-eed.
Exchange of lif-ters and barrel plates involves quite
some costs in terms of dismounting and mounting as well
as standstill costs.
A It would be highly desirable ~ a mill lining
could be worn to the same extent all over the lining
and ~ the life thereof could be e~tended to periods
of one year or more so that the necessary exchanges could
r be performed during normal standstill periods, that is
the holiday period.
To eliminate the need for lifters in ball mills,
Norwegian Patent 22,213 suggest the use of electromagnets
for liftin~, during the rotation of the mill, the grind-
ing balls of magnetic material to the requisite height
level and then letting them fall onto the material be-
ing ground. According to said Norwegian Patent the
electromagnets are arranged close to the outer side of
a mill barrel consisting of lamellae of magnetizable r,la-
terial, the arrangement being such that the grinding
balls are retained against the mill barrel solely as they
are lifted to a suitable level.
In mills for grinding non-manetical material,
electromagnets have also been used for magnetic sepa-
ration of undesirable magnetic substances in the ma-
terial being ground. Such a magnetic separating apparatus
~l2~7~2
is disclosed by German Patent 482,598. In this case the
electromaynets thus do not serve as a substitute for
lifters but to separate the undesirable matter and safe-
guard that said matter is discharged through -the respec-
tive outlet of the separating apparatus~
One object of the present invention therefore is to
lmprove the linings of prior art mills and to permit
extending their life.
Another object of the invention is to provide a
wear protection for walls automatically regenerating
itself.
A further object of the invention is to provide a
mill barrel with means producing an automatically re-
generating wear protection on the inner side of the
mill barrel.
It is often desirable to have the possibility of
increasing the speed of rotation of the mill since the
grinding capacity rapidly increases, as the speed in-
creases up to and over the so-called critical speed.
At a speed of 80-85% and more of the critical speed
the lining profile cannot comprise lifters but the
lining must present a smooth inner side. During grind-
ing the lining will thereby be exposed to sliding abra-
sion, from which an accelerated wear results. Comprehen-
sive grinding experiments with secondary grinding (finegrinding) at so-called supercritical speed have proved
to yield very good grinding results. However, this type
of grinding could not be made economically profitable
bec~use the current lining materials would entail too
high lining cos~ts. To improve the life of the lining the
wear due to sliding abrasion of the lining must be re-
duced. Still another object of the invention therefore
is to reduce the wear due to said sliding abrasion also
in this type of mills.
For the realization of the above objects the pre-
sent invention provides a wear and abrasion resistant
wall structure which in use is subjected to abrasion
7~2
by lump or particulate materials comprising magnetic
particles. At least the side of the wall structure which
is subjected to wear and abrasion is preferably consti-
tu-ted by or coated with an abrasion resistant wall ma-
terial, for example in form of shell plates and li~ters.
According to the invention, the wall structure shallhave magnet means so placed as to attract magnetic par-
ticles in the charge and retain said particles in the form
of an automatically regenerating abrasion protective layer
on the surface of the wall structure subjected to wear
and abrasion, within at least such zones as are normally
exposed to a heavier abrasion than the other zones of
the wall structure.
When the invention is utilized for mills driven
at high speed and haviny a smooth inner side, the harm-
ful slidirg abrasion can be restricted by furnishing
the smooth lining, in conformity with the present inven-
tion, with magnets in a system that provides an all-cover-
ing becl of mag-netic particles, a "fluidized bed" t which is
magnetically retained in such a profile that the charge is
raised to a suitable level for maximum grin~ing capacity.
Abnormal shearing forces between the charge and the mill
barrel are taken up in said fluidized bed, thereby pre-
venting an exaggerated sliding directly against the
inner side of the lining.
~ hen the invention is to be utilized for the grind-
ing o non-magne-tic material, such as sulphide ores,
one must add magnetic material, for example magnetite,
to the charge to obtain the automatically regenerating
abrasion protective layer on the lining. The magnetic
material should be relatively fine-grained (up to abou-t
5 mm~. As the finer material will come to lie at the
~ill barrel the magnetic material will place itself at
the zones on the lining to be coated with the automa-
ticall~ abrasion protective layer. Magnetic residues, ifany accompanying the ground material out of the mill can be
collected by causing the ground material to pass a simple
magnetic separating drum of conventional construction at
the outlet of the mill. These residues can then again be
introduced into the grindin~ cycle or be otherwise col-
lected.
A great advantage which is inherent in the present
invention is that the ma~netic circuit when permanent mag-
nets are used will be constantly closed, on the one hand,
by metal inserts or the mill barrel or drum made from a
magnetic metal material and, on the other hand, by the
fine-grained layer of magnetic particles attracted b~ the
magnets. This will automatically provide a good safety
against demagnetization.
As mentioned in the foregoing, it has already been
suggested -to use magnetism in conjunction with mill bar-
rels. In the mill disclosed by U.S. Patent 3,913,851the abrasion and wear resistant elastomer lining of
the mill is kept in position ayainst the inner side of
the mill barrel by magnetism. In this case, the elasto-
mer lining proper is thus kep-t in position by magnetic
forces replacing the normal mechanical anchorage of
the lining. With the exception of the er~odiment
A shown in Fig. 3 of ~ patent, there is no closed mag-
netic clrcuit on the side of the magnets remote from the
mill barrel, and, thus, there is a great risk of succes-
sive demagnetization.
The present invention however is based on the rea-
lization that magnetism might be used to provide an
automatically regenerating wear protection layer for
the inner side of the mill barrel, which may in it-
s~lf have been formed from an abrasion and wear resis-
tant material, for example elastomeric material. The
invention is thus based on a technical idea different
from that of the U.S. Patent 3,913,851.
In the mill disclosed by the above-mentioned Nor-
wegian Patent 22,213 the grinding balls of iron shallbe lifted in relation to, and then be allowed to fall down
onto, the material which is to be ground and which there-
7fore shall not partake in the lif-ting operation in which
the ma~netic grin~ing balls of iron are attracted against
the inner side of the mill barrel by the stationary
electromagnets arranged outside the mill barrel. In
said prior art mill the object of the electromagnets
is a different one from that of the magnets in the wall
structure exposed to wear according to the present in-
vention arld besides the magnetization is supposed to
be temporarily interrup-ted for release of the grind-
ing balls such that said balls can fall onto the mate-
rial being ground, which stays by gravity in the lower
region of the mill by slidiny along the mill barrel,
thereby exposing it to abrasion and necessitating a
lining of abrasion resistant material even though the
wear caused by the cJrinding balls proper has been re-
duced. The present invention has another object name-
ly that of providing a wear protection which pro-
tects the wall structure, particularly the mill wall,
against abrasion and which automatically regenerates
itself.
These and further objects of the invention as well
as the advantages gained thereby will appear in the
course of the following description of some preferred
embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings
in which:
Figs. 1-3 illustrate three embodiments of a mill
having a wall struc-ture in accordance with the present
invention and show sections through part of the mill
barrel and the lining fixed thereto;
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a further embodiment of
a mill having a wall structure in accordance with the
present invention, Fig. 5 showing a section on line V-V
in Fig. 4;
Figs. 6-9 show sections of further embodiments of
mills having wall structures in accordance with the
invention;
Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate an embodiment of a stan-
7;~
- dardized wall element exploiting the principles of the
invention, Fig. 10 showing a cross-section on line X-X
in Fig. 11, and Fig. 11 showing a longitudinal section
on line XI-XI in Fig. 10;
Fig. 12 shows a section corresponding to Fig. 10
- when the standard element is mounted in a mill barrel;
and
Fig. 13 illustrates how the principles of the inven-
tion may be app]ied to protec-t other wall structures
than those in mill barrels.
The mill shown in Fig. 1 has a mill barrel 10 wi-th
a lining clamped to the inner side thereof. Said lining
comprises shell plates 11 of wear resistant rubber and
has protruding fastening flanges 12. The lining also
comprises lifters 13 which include an elastomer or rub-
ber por-tion 14 with an undercut groove 15 therein for
accommodating a metal bar 16 with bolts 17 welded there-
to which project through holes in the mill barrel and
cooperate with washers 1~ and nuts 19. T-bolts may be
substituted for said bolts and said bars. The mill lin-
ing 11, 13 is thus kept in position in that the protrud-
ing fastening flanges 12 of the barrel plates 11 are
clamped to the mill barrel 10 by means of the metal
bar 16 located in the undercut groove 15 of the lifters
14. Other methods for fastening the lining also fall
within the scope of the inven-tion.
According to the invention, the lifters 13 have
been provided with inserts 20, to which a number of
permanent magnets 21 are secured. The permanent mag-
ne-ts project slightly from the surfaces of the lifters
13 at their leading sides when the mill rotates in the
direction of the arrow 22. It may sometimes be advan-
tageous however to have the permanent magnets terminate
immediately below the surfaces of the lifters. The
south and north poles of the permanent magnets 21 are
alternately facing outwards and the permanent magnets
7~
will thus attract magnetic par-ticles in the charge of
the mill such that said particles are retained in the
form of a layer 23. This layer serves as an automatical-
ly regenerating wear protection means for the lifters 13
since the charge impinges upon said layer and is pre-
vented from exerting an equally heavy abrading ef-
fect on the lifters as if no layer 23 existed. The
magnetic particles in the layer 23 may certainly come
loose when the charge impinges upon the layer 23 but
new magnetic particles in the charge will be attracted
so that the protective layer 23 is maintained intact
also during the continued rotation of the mill barrel.
In Fig. 1 the automatically regenerating wear pro-
tecting means of magnetic particles has been illustrated
only on the leEt-hand lifter to make a comparison with
conventional lifters appear more clearly. At the right-
hand lifter it is shown by dash and dot lines 100, 101,
102 and 103 how a conventional lifter entirely of rub-
ber material changed its profile during the course of
a lengthy test in a mill where the inventive principle
was tested simultaneously with the use of conventional
lifters. The portions 14 of the lifters 13, the shell
plates and the conventional lifters consisted of the
same wear resistant rubber material. The mill had a
diameter of ~.9 m and was continuously driven for secon-
dary ~rinding with the aid of lumps of magnetite and of
quartz in mixture (particle size maximum 60 mm), so-
called pebbles. The conventional lifters originally had
the profile represented by line 100, while lines 101,
102 and 103 represent the profiles of the remaining
lifter rests after continuous operation for 7 months, 14
months and 21 months, respectively. When profile 103
had been reached, i.e. after 21 months, the time had
come to insert new conventional lifters. After the sarne
-time the rubber portion 14 of the lifters 13 equipped
with permanent magnets 21 had been subjected to wear in
a minor degree only, as has been shown by the dotted llne
14l on the right-hand lifter in Fig. 1.
~ t could be established during the testing period that
the automatically regenerating wear protection layer
23 was not entirely homogeneous but comprised an inner
per se homogeneous layer 23' of very fine-grained magne-
tic material and an outer inhomogeneous layer 23" of
coarser magnetic mineral particles and heavily worn down
magnetite grinding bodies or pebbles.
The tes-tsmade thus show that the invention results
in an extraordinarily essential improvement of the life
of the mill lining by the provision of the automatically
regenerating wear protection layer 23 of magnetic fine-
grained material contained in the charge.
Fig. 2 shows another example of how it has been found
possible to utilize the invention ~or the protection
of a mill barrel against wear. In this case the mill had
been designed as a primary mill, i.e. a mill for grind-
ing of coarse starting material. The mill lining had
A 20 been given~wave shape in that the shell plates 24 had
been formed as steps having a low portion 25 and a high
portion 26 which is however lower than the upper side
of the lifters 27. The fixation of the lifters and the
shell plates had been realized in substantially the
same manner as in Fig. 1. In the embodiment according
to Fig. 2, however, not only the lifters 27 but also the
shell plates 24 had been provided with metal inserts
20 and permanent magnets 21 secured thereto. As a result,
the permanent magnets placed on successively higher
levelswill provide a slightly inclined surface profile
with a protective layer 23 of magnetic particles which
were attracted b~ the permanent magnets in the sar,le way
as in Fig. 1. Also in this case it could be established
that the protective layer 23 had a laminar cqmposition
3S including an inner flne-grained part layer~and outer,
coarser part layers~ The layer 23, when tested in a mill
having a diameter of 2,9m, had a thic~ness of about 5 cm
9~2~ 72
11
and contained some worn down grinding balls. The layer
23 formed a continuous fluldized bed which ofEered an
efficient protection against the abrasion of the li~ing.
Fig. 3 shows a further embodiment in which lifters
28 produced from a rubber or elastomeric material are
vulcanized to a metal sheet 29 which protrudes in either
direction. These lifters are kept in position with
the aid of rubber or elastomer elernents 30 having a
metal profile member 31 vulcanized tiherein-to and co-
operating with T~bolts 32, washers 33 and nuts 34, saidelements 30 clamping the metal sheet 29 to the r~ill bar-
rel 10. Same as in the earlier described embodiments,
the lifter 28 has permanen-t maynets 21 vulcanized there-
into. Said rnagnets 21 are mounted on a metal insert 20
and retain a re~enerative, protective layer 23 which
is formed by magnetic particles in the charge of the
mill being attractedand retained by the permanent mag-
nets21. In this case the permanent magnets have been
placed in such a manner that the protective layer 23
also extends a distance beyond the lirter proper, thus
protecting also the low portion in front of the lifter
where normally high abrasion occurs.
Figs. 4 and 5 show still another embodiment of the
invention in which the lifters are otherwise designed
and provided with a prot~ect~ve shield. The mill barrel
10 is thus lined with ~ plates 35 which are united
with metal sheets 36 projecting in either direction. J
Between successive shell plates 35 there are ~
lifters 37 having an outer protective sheath 38 of non-
magne-tic, wear resistant metallic material~ Inwardly
of the metal protective shield 38 there are provided
permanent magnets 21 which are secured to an insert 20
of magnetic metallic material. The permanent magnets and
the insert are kep-t in position with the aid of a poly-
urethane rubber layer 39. Other plastic or elastomericmaterials are conceivable. The lifters are kept in posi
sition with the aid of a pro~ile bar 40 inserted therein,
12
which is held clamped against the undercut groove form-
ed in the lifters by means of bolts 41 and nuts 42
which penetrate the mill barrel lO. The permanent mag-
nets 21 are arranged with theirsouth and north poles
as lndicated on the drawings such that a protective
- layer 23 of magnetic particles from the charge will
be formed on the outer side of the protective shield
38.
The lifters 37 can be given a relatively short length,
for example of lO0 mm. The requisite total lifter length
is obtained by placing several lifters one after the other
and retaining them with the aid of a common fastening
bar 40 or with the aid of several such fastening bars ~ol-
lowing upon each other. This embodiment is especially
intended for use in rod grinding, i.e. grinding in mills
where use is made of rod-shaped grinding bodies and
in which there is the risk that worn spear-like rod ends
will penentrate into the lifters and danlage them. The
magnet system is symmetrically designed, which means
that the rotation of the mill can be reversed.
Fig. 6 shows a similar embodiment in which the per-
manent magnets are placed in a symmetrical arrangement.
In this case the lifter 43 of rubber or other elastomeric
material has a metal profile member 44 vulcanized there-
to, in which an undercut g6roove 45 is~ provided for co-
operation with T-bolts and nuts ~ . The lifter clamps
shell plates 35 in position with the aid of the me-tal
sheets ~6 vulcanized to said shell pla-tes.
In the embodiment according to Fig. 6 the perma-
nent magnets 21 are secured to an insert 20 and havetheir active pole surfaces at the bottom of conical
recesses 48. As a result, particulate magnetic material
i~ the charge will fill out said conical recesses and
thus serve as a regenerative, protective layer outside
the permanent magnets and also outside the rubber or
elastomer portions of the lifters 43. In this case, -too,
the lifter is symmetrical, for which reason the direction
7~:
13
of rotation o~ the mill can be reversed.
In the embodiments earlier described, permanent mag-
nets have been utilized to form the regenerative, pro-
tective layer of magentic particles. In Fig. 7 is shown
a further embodiment in which electromagnets are em-
ployed for the same purpose. Said embodiment resembles
that of Figs. 4 and 5, but instead of a protective shield
of non-magnetic material, use is made of embedded magne-
tic steel plates 49 which serve as pole plates on
electromagnets 50 secured to a magnetic steel insert 20.
The magnets 50, the insert 20 and the pole plates 49 are
secured by casting in a polyurethane rubber layer 39
which protrudes from between the pole plates 49. With
the aid of the electromagnets 50 which are connected
by leads (not shown) to a power source (not shown), there
is formed a regenerative, protective layer 23 of magnetic
particles comprised in the charge. In this case also the
lifter is symmetrical so that the direction of rotation
of the mill can be reversed.
The embodiments illustrated, in which the magnets are
secured to an insert vulcanized into elastomeric, plastic
or rubber material, provide the great advantage that
the magnets will be resiliently retained and as a con-
sequence are capable of better withstanding heavy
shocks from large pieces of material in the charge.
Figs. ~ and 9 show a still further embodimen-t of
a wall structure according to the present invention,
utilized in a ball mill. The lining comprises two types
of standard elements, one type corresponding to the
shell plates while the other type corresponds to the
"lifters", even though this mill has no lifting means
projecting into the interior of the mill. The elements
51 carresponding to the shell plates have metal sheets
S2 vulcanized thereinto on their sides facing the
mill barrel 10, and the rubber part 53 of the element
extends with a layer 54 over said metal sheets. Perma-
nent magnets 21 and metal inserts 20 connected to them
14
and serving as magnet cores are vulcani~ed into the ele-
ments 51. Protective plates 55 of non-magnetic metal ma-
terial are secured -to the outer sides of the permanent
magnets 21 for their protec-tion. The parts 53 of the
shell elements 51, which parts are formed from elasto-
meric material, have rib-shaped elevated portions 56
between the rows of permanent magnets to cause the
layer of particles forming the protective layer 23 to
curve arcuately upwards between adjacent magnets and to
reduce the risks of the pro-tective layer 23 being caused,
during the initial formation thereof, to slide along the
lining because of shearing forces.
The wall elements 57 corresponding to the lilters
similarly have permanent magnets 21, metal inserts
20 and protective plates 55 which together with a me-
tal profile bar 58 having an undercut groove 59 are
vulcanized or embedded in the elastomer portion 60
of the wall elements 57. The elastomer portion whi~h
may consist of polyurethane rubber, extends with a layer
61 beneath a part of the metal profile bar 58 and has
a rib-shaped elevated portion 62. The wall elements 57
are secured to the mill barrel 10 by means of T-bolts
46 and nuts ~7, thereby clamping the barrel plates 51
in position.
In the embodiment illustrated, each of the elements
51 and 57 comprises four permanent magnets and two me-
tal inserts 20 such -that the elements are relatively
small and readily handled at the mounting thereof. They
may of course be manufactured in optional lengths.
In the embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 9, a con-
tinuous protective layer 23 of reasonably uniform thickr
ness made up of magnetic particles in the material be-
ing ground will be retained against the lining. In the
embodiment illustrated, the shell plates 51 have bu-t
two rows of permanent magnets 21,but with broader barrel
plates still more rows of magnets can of course be placed
beside each other.
72
Figs. 10--12 show a lining which is used in a mill
and is formed from standard elements. The standard elements
63 which are manufactured with the shape illustrated
in Figs. 10 and 11, comprise permanent magnets 21 em-
bedded in elastomerlc material 6~, preferably polyurethanerubber or some suitable plastic material, so that the
elastomeric material will constitute elevated portions 65
with longitudinal.V-shaped recesses 66 for~ed thereinr The
elastomeric material leaves one longitudinal side of
the permanent rnagnets free such that the magnets slight-
ly protrude from the elastomeric material. However, the
magnets can be allowed to protrude from the elas-tomeric
material also on -the opposite longitudinal side. It
will be realized that in this embodiment no metal in-
sert of magnetic material is embedded in the elastomericmaterial. Instead,the magnetic circuit between the per-
manent magnets is closed by means of the metal wall,
in the present instance a mill barrel, to be equipped
with a wear protection means. This will appear from
Fig.12. In the said e.mbodiment, magnetism is thus uti-
- lized not only to produce the protective layer 23 of
magnetic particles bu-t also to retain the lining
asainst its support. The adaptation of the elements
63 to the arcuate shape of the mill barrel is fa-
cilitated by the recesses 66 and the bridges 67 ofelastomeri.c material remaining beneath thern, which
serve as elastomer springs. The standard elements 63
are of unsymmetrical shape to facilitate a correct orien-
tation of the elements and their perrnanent magnets in
relation to the~adjacent elements.
The invention has been described in the foregoing
with reference to rotary mill ~arrels, but it is realized
that the invention is also useful for vibratory mills
and also for the protection of wall surfaces other than
mill barrels.
The invention is thus useful for many different types
of wall structures which are subjected to abrasion by
16
material containiny magnetic particles which can form
the contemplated,'automatically regenerating protective
layer. By way of example, reference is made to Fig. 13
which shows an unloading station 69 for a conveyor belt
70 which conveys particulate materlal containiny mag-
- netic particles, for example mangetic concentrates.
Fig. 13 is only schematical, and the wall elements 68
can to advantage be formed in conformity with Figs. 10
and 11, although elevated portions 65 arP not neces-
sarily required. Alternatively, the wall elements can
be formed as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. As will appear from
Fig. 13, the principles of the invention have been
applied only to the most exposed parts of the unloading
station ~9 and the chute 71 beneath it, which may open
above a further conveyor 72, a carriage, a bin of ma-
terial, a screen or like means.
