Material crushers are generally used to crush and reduce the size of material and are employed in a variety of fields, including but not limited to, mining, ceramics, recycling, iron and steel industries, etc. These material crushers may be used as primary crushers or as secondary or tertiary crushers in the processing of material requiring reduced size. The prior art fails to teach or suggest a crusher or method of the present invention.
While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and which:
Referring now to
A first side plate 40 and a second side plate 45 may each be attached to corresponding end of the wall 30, by welding, mechanical fasteners, a high strength epoxy or the like. The side plates 40, 45 may be arranged to be substantially parallel to one another and preferably substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the chamber 20. The side plates 40, 45 are preferably between about 5 inches and 15 inches apart, and more preferable about 9¼ inches apart. The wall 30 and side plates 40, 45 may be of any suitably durable material known in the art, such as iron, steel, or the like.
The wall 30 may also include an intake aperture 50 therein for receiving material to be crushed into the chamber 20 for crushing. The intake aperture 50 may be of any dimension known in the art and suitable for receiving uncrushed material into the chamber 20. An inlet door 60 may pivot between a position away from the intake aperture 50, as shown in
The inlet door 60 preferably includes an arcuate inner face 65. The curvature of the arcuate inner face 65 preferably has a radius similar to the radius of inner circumferential surface 35 such that when the inlet door 60 is in a position over the intake aperture 50, the arcuate inner face 65 is substantially flush with the inner circumferential surface 35 of the chamber 20. Also, when the inlet door 60 is in a position away from the intake aperture 50, this configuration advantageously provides for the guiding of material by the inner face 65 towards the intake aperture 50.
One or both of the side plates 40, 45 may rotationally support a rotary drive shaft 70 extending into the chamber 20. In one embodiment, a portion of the drive shaft 70 within the chamber 20 may be substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the chamber 20. The rotary drive shaft 70 may be driven by any suitable drive mechanism known in the art, such as an electronic motor, a gas engine, or the like.
One or more impact tools 80 may be secured to the drive shaft 70 within the chamber 20. The impact tools 80 may be of any type known in the art suitable for impacting and crushing the desired material, such as, hammers, chains, blow bars, or the like. The rotary drive shaft 70 may rotate the tools 80 along a path of travel substantially concentric with the inner circumferential surface 35 of the chamber 20. The tools 80 are preferably arranged on the drive shaft 70 such that there is clearance between the end of each tool 70 and the inner circumferential surface 35 of up to about ½ inch and preferably about ⅛ inch.
In use, the inlet door 60 may initially be positioned away from the intake aperture 50. Material to be crushed may be directed towards the intake aperture 50 and into the chamber 20. At least a portion of such material may contact the inner face 65 of the inlet door 60 thereby being guided towards the intake aperture 50. Over time, material may adhere to and build up on the inner face 65 such that the intake aperture 50 may be partially to fully blocked thereby. When such build up occurs, the inlet door 60 may be pivoted to a position above the intake aperture 50 such that the inner face 65 of the inlet door 60 is substantially flush with the inner surface 35 of the chamber 20 such that the impact tools 80 may strike the adhered material and remove such material from the inner face 65 whereby the material then enters the chamber 20 to be crushed.
The inlet door 60 may be pivoted over the intake aperture 50 by an operator when the operator observes a build up. Alternatively, the inlet door 60 may be pivoted over the intake aperture 50 automatically at regular time intervals. The inlet door 60 may be positioned over the intake aperture 50 for up to about 30 seconds, more preferably about 10 seconds, and even more preferably about 1 second; after which, the inlet door 60 may be automatically pivoted away from the intake aperture 50. Alternatively, the inlet door 60 may be pivoted over the intake aperture 50 and subsequently pivoted away at the discretion of an operator. Additionally, the flow of material to the crusher 10 may be temporarily ceased when the inlet door 60 is over the intake aperture 50 and the flow of material resumed when the inlet door 60 is pivoted away from the intake aperture 50.
The tubular wall 30 may also include a discharge aperture 55 therein for discharging crushed material from the chamber 20. An arcuately shaped screen 90 may pivot between a position over the discharge aperture 55 where the reduced or crushed material mall fall through the screen 90, as shown in
The screen 90 may be pivotally secured to the wall 30 by way of one or more hinge assemblies. Alternatively, the screen 90 may pivot about a bar extending between one or both side plates 40, 45. Also, in one embodiment, the screen is secured to a frame 95 which may be pivotally secured to the wall 30 and/or one or both side plates 40, 45. The curvature of the screen 90 may have a radius similar to the radius of inner circumferential surface 35 such that when the screen 90 is in a position over the discharge aperture 55, the screen 90 is substantially flush with the inner circumferential surface 35 of the chamber 20. The screen 90 and/or frame 95 may be secured to the wall 30 and/or one or more side plates 40, 45 during operation of the crusher 10 by mechanical fasteners and the like. For service or replacement of the screen 90, the screen 90 and/or frame 95 may be pivoted away from the discharge aperture 55 thereby providing an operator easy access to repair, replace or otherwise service the screen 90.
The screen 90 may be any suitable screen known in the art. The screen 90 may be pivoted manually by an operator, or by a mechanism such as double acting piston assembly, a motor, such as an electric motor, or the like.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications may readily appear to those skilled in the art.
This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application entitled “Self Cleaning Granular Materials Crusher”, U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/605,685 filed on Aug. 31, 2004.
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4312509 | Oct 1994 | DE |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060055186 A1 | Mar 2006 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60605685 | Aug 2004 | US |