Variable slope 3-shaft vibrating mechanism

Abstract

Disclosed is a vibrating material sorting screen with a substantially variable tilt angle and a tilt angle measuring device where the screen has a gear box which is horizontal when the screen is horizontal and inclined when the screen is inclined and further where the gear box has a plurality of oil level sensors or indicators therein which are sized, placed and configured to provide proper oil volume while the screen is oriented horizontally or at various inclines.

Claims

1. A method of sorting material comprising the steps of: providing a material sorter having a material receiving surface; providing a plurality of at least three shafts, configured to manipulate said material receiving surface; providing a plurality of at least three gears each coupled to a different one of said plurality of at least three shafts; providing a means for housing oil lubricating said plurality of at least three gears; simultaneously varying, in unison, a slope angle of said material receiving surface and a slope angle of said means for housing oil, both with respect to a ground reference over a range of angles which is substantially greater than 3 degrees; and wherein said three gears are each directly coupled to one and only one of said plurality of shafts.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: providing a means for measuring an oil level at a downhill end of said means for housing when said plurality of shafts are not rotating.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of providing a means for varying an incline of said material receiving surface over a range of angles where said range of angles is substantially greater than 3 degrees.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said material sorter is a screen.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said plurality of shafts is a plurality of eccentric shafts configured to vibrate said material receiving surface.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of providing a means for varying an incline of said material receiving surface over a range of angles where said range of angles is substantially greater than 3 degrees.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the steps of: providing an oil level measurement device at a downhill end of said lubricating oil housing.

8. A method of screening material comprising the steps of: providing a vibrating screen having a material receiving surface; providing a means for continuously varying a continuously variable slope angle of said material receiving surface with respect to a ground reference over an extended range of angles which is substantially greater than 3 degrees; providing a means for measuring said continuously variable slope angle; providing a means for housing a plurality of gears each coupled to one of a plurality of eccentric shafts; providing a means for measuring an oil level at a downhill end of said means for housing when said plurality of eccentric shafts are not rotating; detecting varying reductions in said oil level when said plurality of eccentric shafts are rotated at variable rotation rates; and regulating rotation rates of said plurality of eccentric shafts so as to maximize a reduction in said oil level from said oil level when said plurality of eccentric shafts are not rotating.

9. A method of claim 8 wherein said plurality of gears comprises at least three gears, where each of said plurality of gears is directly coupled to one and only one of said plurality of eccentric shafts.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of providing a means for varying an incline of said system over an extended range of angles where said extended range of angles is substantially greater than 3 degrees.

11. A method of screening material comprising the steps of: providing a vibrating screen having a material receiving surface; providing a means for varying a variable slope angle of said material receiving surface with respect to a ground reference over an extended range of angles which is greater than 3 degrees; providing a means for measuring said variable slope angle; providing a means for housing a plurality of gears each coupled to one of a plurality of eccentric shafts; providing a means for measuring an oil level at a downhill end of said means for housing; detecting varying reductions in said oil level when said plurality of eccentric shafts are rotated at variable rotation rates; and regulating rotation rates of said plurality of eccentric shafts so as to change a deviation in said oil level from said oil level when said plurality of eccentric shafts are not rotating.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention may be more fully understood by reading the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a vibrating screen of the prior art, shown in a horizontal configuration.

(3) FIG. 2 is an elevation view of a vibrating screen of the prior art, shown in an inclined operating configuration.

(4) FIG. 3 is a side view of a partially dismantled three-shaft gear box of the present invention.

(5) FIG. 4 is a view of the three-shaft gear box of FIG. 3 in an inclined orientation and in a non-operating state.

(6) FIG. 5 is a view of the gear box of FIGS. 3-4 shown in a horizontal orientation and in a non-operating state.

(7) FIG. 6 is a view of the gear box of FIG. 4 in an operating state.

(8) FIG. 7 is a view of the gear box of FIG. 5 in an operating state.

(9) FIG. 8 is a side view of the system of the present invention in a horizontal orientation.

(10) FIG. 9 is a side view of the system of the present invention in an inclined orientation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(11) Now referring to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like matter throughout, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a vibrating screen system 100 of the prior art. Vibrating screen system 100 is a horizontal system which is configured to be used in a level or horizontal orientation, with respect to a ground level 101 which is parallel with and adjacent to system bottom line 104, which is parallel with top screen 105. It should be noted that the gear case 102 is shown in a totally non-skewed level orientation as well; i.e., the gear box 102 is parallel with the top screen 105 and with the ground line 101.

(12) Now referring to FIG. 2, there is shown the vibrating screen system 200 of the prior art which shows a gear box 202 which is skewed with respect to a bottom line 204 of system 200 and with respect to top screen 205, but is level or non-skewed with respect to the ground line 101. The angle between ground line 101 and bottom line 204 is theta 0 and is herein referred to as the slope or the slope angle. In FIG. 1, 0 is 0 and is not shown.

(13) Now referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a side view of the three-shaft gear box 300 of the present invention, which has a cover removed to expose the internal components. Gear box 300 may employ many well-known prior art structures, including, but not limited to, the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,650 entitled Lubricating System for a Vibratory Apparatus, issued on Dec. 19, 2000. three-shaft gear box 300 includes left gear 302, center gear 304, and right gear 306, all disposed between left gear box side 312 and right gear box side 316 and between gear box bottom 320 and gear box top 330. three-shaft gear box 300 is shown having a means for measuring the oil level and oil pool orientation within the three-shaft gear box 300. The means for measuring oil level includes left side vertical oil height sensor array 340, which can be sensors extending vertically at the left side. These sensors can be contact sensors which sense contact with the oil or may be optical sensors paired with opposing optical transmitters on the opposing side of the three-shaft gear box 300. Electrical and mechanical sensors and any other type of sensor could be substituted as well. Bottom oil height sensor array 350 is shown extending across the bottom of the three-shaft gear box 300. This could be a single line of sensors or multiple lines of sensors. Right side vertical oil height sensor array 360 can be similar to left side vertical oil height sensor array 340. Any suitable means for measuring the oil pool level at varying depths and locations could be substituted. In some embodiments of the present invention, it might be desirable to utilize a simpler oil level or oil volume indicator, such as including multiple oil level plugs or a clear sight glass or clear hose, which would permit visual inspection of the oil level and oil volume. If multiple oil level plugs are used, each oil level plug could be associated with a predetermined inclination angle or range of inclination angles.

(14) Now referring to FIG. 4, there is shown the three-shaft gear box 300 of FIG. 3 except that it has been inclined with a slope angle of 0, and non-operating oil pool 402 is also shown. The non-operating oil pool 402 is shown at the downhill end of three-shaft gear box 300, as would be expected.

(15) Now referring to FIG. 5, there is shown the three-shaft gear box 300 of FIG. 3 except that it has been inclined with a slope angle of 0, where 0 is 0, and non-operating oil pool 402 is also shown. The non-operating oil pool 402 is shown evenly distributed across the three-shaft gear box 300, as would be expected.

(16) Now referring to FIG. 6, there is shown the three-shaft gear box 300 of FIG. 5 except that it has been inclined with a slope angle of 0, where 0 is 0, and operating oil pool left dead zone 602 is also shown. Operating oil pool right dead zone 604 is also shown. If the oil level determination means determines that no oil is in the bottom right end of the gear box 300, it can be deduced that a large portion of the remainder of the oil is either airborne in a mist, on the gears or in dead zone. If the oil is in either the operating oil pool left dead zone 602 or the operating oil pool right dead zone 604, it will be in contact with each gear and will be providing the desired lubrication. Since many factors can affect the size of the dead zones, such as the temperature, the speed of the gears, the pressure within the gear box, the amount of oil in the gear box, and the slope angle 0, it may be necessary to regulate one or more of these variables (except slope angle 0) to assure that proper dead zones are being maintained for each chosen slope angle 0. The present invention provides all of the information if a thermometer, a pressure sensor and some means for determining oil level are included in the three-shaft gear box 300. The first slope angle determination device 810 can be an electronic sensor coupled with a system for processing data from the other sensors so as to provide information to an i/o device 850, which could be a touch screen display or any suitable substitute. The electronic control system could be used to control at least some of the parameters being monitored so as to regulate the dead zone size.

(17) The dead zones in the gear case are believed to allow oil to be pushed into them, preventing excess turbulence and heat buildup from over-churning the oil. The turbulence and air currents are believed to create these dead zones whether the gear case is mounted horizontally or at some angle 0. With the existence of turbulence and the creation of the dead zones, the gear case is able to provide adequate lubrication at any normal screening slope. A screen with a fixed gear case construction will be able to operate horizontally or at an extended range of slope angles, thus increasing the capabilities and applications a single screen machine can operate in. The term extended range is used herein to extend from 0 degrees up to 10-15 degrees or more. A range of 0-3 degrees would not be considered an extended range. Extended range should be interpreted to cover various ranges and could include a range from 3-15 degrees or any ranges contained within this range.

(18) FIG. 7 shows the three-shaft gear box 300 of FIG. 6, but inclined at slope angle.

(19) FIG. 8 shows the variable angle screen 800 of the present invention disposed at a slope angle 0 of 0, which can include various additional structural features, such as outer hydraulic cylinder 802, inner hydraulic cylinder 804 and foot pad 806, all shown in a configuration where no lifting forces are being applied to the variable angle screen 800 to create a slope angle 0 greater than 0.

(20) Also shown are first slope angle determination device 810 and air bubble 812, which assumes a simple level mechanism is used. It should be understood that other more or less sophisticated angle determination devices could be used, including electronic and other mechanisms.

(21) Also shown is tether 822 which could be attached to the top of variable angle screen 800 and hang downward to nearly the bottom of variable angle screen 800 at level termination point 826 and acts like a plumb bob. The location of the free end of tether 822 is adjacent the gauge 824, which provides for measurement of slope angle. The location of the tether attached to the vibrating screen section is shown primarily for illustrative purposes and is not preferred. It may be preferred to deploy a similar system on the base or frame section which would not be vibrating as much as the upper sections of the screen. Also shown is computer/communication electronics module 850 which can provide communication and control for any electronic components on variable angle screen 800. Similarly, the electronics module 850 is shown for illustrative purposes, but it may be preferred to mount it at a lower portion on the screen system which vibrates less.

(22) FIG. 9 shows a view of the variable angle screen 800 disposed at a non-zero slope angle. Inner hydraulic cylinder 804 is shown exposed, and tether 822 is shown hanging down to inclined termination point 928, which indicates the slope angle when read against the gauge 824.

(23) It should be understood that while the description is focused on three-shaft gear cases, the present invention is intended to include any multiple-shaft gear case from two shafts, three shafts, four shafts or more.

(24) It is thought that the method and apparatus of the present invention will be understood from the foregoing description and that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construct steps, and arrangement of the parts and steps thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of their material advantages. The form herein described is merely a preferred exemplary embodiment thereof.