SIDE WALL OF A PALLET CAR FOR A TRAVELLING GRATE MACHINE, PALLET CAR COMPRISING SUCH A SIDE WALL AND METHOD FOR CONVERTING A PALLET CAR

Abstract

A side wall of a pallet car for a travelling grate machine including an upright portion, a wing portion and a lower connection flange, where the wing portion has an upper surface acting as an extension of a loading surface of the pallet car, the upper surface of the wing portion being arranged at an angle with respect to the horizontal.

Claims

1. A side wall of a pallet car for a travelling grate machine, said pallet car comprising a car body carrying a perforate floor configured as a loading surface for bulk material, said side wall forming a retainer for said bulk material wherein said side wall is configured to have an elbow shape comprising an upright portion above a wing portion and a lower connection flange below said wing portion, said upright portion, said wing portion and said lower connection flange being formed in one piece; wherein said lower connection flange is essentially horizontal and extends back underneath said wing portion forming a groove between said wing portion and said lower connection flange; wherein said wing portion has an upper surface acting as an extension of a loading surface of the pallet car, said upper surface of said wing portion being arranged at an angle with respect to the horizontal; and wherein said lower connection flange comprises a bore hole accessible from outside the pallet car for connecting said side wall to said pallet car, and said wing portion extends over said bore hole.

2. The side wall according to claim 1, wherein said lower connection flange comprises at least one bore hole accessible from outside the pallet car for receiving therethrough a locking device for grate bars of said perforate floor.

3. The side wall according to claim 1, wherein said angle with respect to the horizontal is in the range between 2 and 70.

4. The side wall according to claim 1, wherein said side wall comprises at least one lower section and at least one upper section, the lower section comprising said lower connection flange, said wing portion and said upright portion, wherein said lower section comprises an upper connection flange for connecting said upper section thereto, said upper section forming an extension to said upright portion.

5. The side wall according to claim 4, wherein said bore hole is accessible through said groove.

6. The side wall according to claim 1, wherein said lower connection flange comprises at least one essentially horizontal bore hole for receiving therethrough at least one downholder of a locking device for grate bars of said pallet car.

7. A pallet car for a travelling grate machine, said pallet car comprising: a car body with wheels for travelling on rails of said travelling grate machine, a perforate floor arranged on said car body, said perforate floor being formed by a plurality of grate bars, said perforate floor being configured as a loading surface for bulk material, a side wall according to claim 1.

8. A method for converting a pallet car of a travelling grate machine comprising the steps of: removing an original side wall of said pallet car, mounting a side wall according to claim 1 onto said pallet car.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein said step of removing said original side wall of said pallet car comprises: removing a locking device from said pallet car prior to removing said original side wall, said locking device comprising downholders engaging said grate bars.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein said step of mounting said side wall onto said pallet car comprises the further step of reinstalling said locking device.

11. The side wall according to claim 3, wherein said angle with respect to the horizontal is in the range between 5 and 45.

12. The side wall according to claim 3, wherein said angle with respect to the horizontal is in the range between 5 and 20.

13. The side wall according to claim 3, wherein said angle with respect to the horizontal is in the range between 10 and 25.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Preferred embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0029] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pallet car according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through a side wall of the pallet car of FIG. 1;

[0031] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lower section of the side wall of FIG. 2;

[0032] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through the lower section of FIG. 3 at the level of the connection bore;

[0033] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view through the lower section of FIG. 3 at the level of the bore hole for the grate bar locking device;

[0034] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a grate bar locking device of FIG. 1.

[0035] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pallet car according to a second embodiment, for which protection is not sought; and

[0036] FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through a side wall of the pallet car of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The general layout and functioning of a travelling grate machine, as e.g. used in sintering or pelletizing plants, is well known such as for example from U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,673 and is thus not repeated herein.

[0038] FIG. 1 shows a pallet car 10 according to a first embodiment of the disclosure. Such a pallet car 10 comprises a car body 12 with wheels 14 travelling on rails (not shown) of the travelling grate machine. The top of the car body 12 comprises a perforate floor 16 for supporting the bulk material to be treated thereon. The perforate floor 16 is formed by a plurality of grate bars 18 arranged with spaces therebetween to permit the passage of air, either in a downward direction or in an upward direction. The grate bars 18 are maintained in place by means of a locking device 20 passing through an end casting 22 of the car body 12 and engaging the grate bars 18 from below.

[0039] A windbox (not shown) may e.g. be located below the pallet car 10 for feeding hot air either upwards or downwards through the pallet car 10. The hot air passes through the spaces between the grate bars 18 and traverses the bulk material (not shown) arranged on the pallet car 10. In sinter plants, hot air is sucked through the windbox in a downward direction, i.e. the hot air traverses the bulk material from top to bottom. In pellet plants, on the other hand, there are sections in which hot air is sucked through the windbox in a downward direction and sections in which hot air is blown through the windbox in an upward direction.

[0040] A side wall 24 is connected to the end casting 22 of the car body 12 to form a retainer wall for the bulk material deposited onto the pallet car 10. Such a side wall 24 may comprise one or more lower sections 25 and one or more upper sections 26, wherein the upper sections 26 increase the height of the side wall 24.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 2, a side wall 24 of the first embodiment of the disclosure, in particular, a lower section 25 thereof, is configured to have an elbow shape comprising an upright portion 30, a wing portion 32 and a lower connection flange 34. The wing portion 32 acts as an extension of the loading surface formed by the perforate floor 16, thereby increasing the loading capacity of the pallet car 10. The upright portion 30 shown herein comprises an upper connection flange 36 for receiving a connection flange 38 of the upper section 26 thereon. The flanges 36, 38 may be connected together using bolts 40 or the like. The lower connection flange 34 is essentially horizontal and configured to be connected to the end casting 22 of the car body 12 by means of bolts 42 or the like.

[0042] The side wall of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is more closely described by referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the side wall 24 of FIG. 2. As can be seen, the upper connection flange 36 comprises bore holes 44 for allowing bolts to pass therethrough to connect the upper section 26 to the lower section 25. Similarly, the lower connection flange 34 comprises bore holes 46 for allowing bolts to pass therethrough to connect the lower section 25 of the side wall 24 to the end casting 22 of the car body 12. Furthermore, the lower connection flange 38 comprises bore holes 48 for the locking device 20 and a bore hole 50 for connecting the locking device 20 thereto.

[0044] A preferred embodiment of the locking device 20 for the grate bars 18 is more closely described by referring to FIG. 6. The locking device 20 comprises a connection plate 52 comprising, in this embodiment, two parallel downholders 54 which are designed to pass through the bore holes 48 of the lower connection flange 38 and through bore holes (not shown) in the end casting 22 of the car body. The downholders 54 cooperate with connection elements of the grate bars 18 to maintain the latter in place. The removal of the locking device 20 disengages the downholders 54 from the connection elements of the grate bars 18 and allows the latter to be removed and replaced. In order to maintain the locking device 20 in place, the connection plate 52 further comprises a through hole 56 for passing a pin or the like therethrough for connecting to the bore hole 50 of the lower connection flange 38 of the side wall 24.

[0045] The particular shape of the side wall 24 will now be more closely described by referring back to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0046] As clearly seen on these figures, the upper surface 60 of the wing portion 32 is not horizontal, but arranged at an angle with respect to the horizontal. This angle is preferably in the range between 2 and 70, more preferably between 5 and 45, more preferably between 5 and 20, and most preferably between 10 and 25. Due to the angle of the upper surface 60 of the wing portion 32, the dead-zone in the corner 62 between wing portion 32 and upright portion 30 can be minimized.

[0047] Also, the upright portion 30 has an inner surface 64, i.e. the surface facing the bulk material, that is not vertical, but arranged at a slight angle with respect to the vertical. This angle is generally dependent on the existing pallet car structure and may be maintained as per the original design. Typically, however, this angle is in the region of about 3.

[0048] According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the side wall comprises an essentially horizontal lower connection flange 34, essentially extending back underneath the wing portion 32. A narrow groove 66 is formed between the wing portion 32 and the lower connection flange 34. Such a groove 66 allows for the lower connection flange 34 to be bolted to the end casting 22 of the car body 12 through bore hole 46. One of the major advantages thereof is that the bolts (visible on FIG. 2) remain accessible from the outside of the pallet car 10, thereby allowing easy access for maintenance reasons.

[0049] FIG. 7 shows a portion of pallet car 10 according to a second embodiment, for which protection is not sought. Such as in the first embodiment, the pallet car 10 comprises a car body 12 with wheels 14 travelling on rails (not shown) of the travelling grate machine. The top of the car body 12 comprises a perforate floor 16 for supporting the bulk material to be treated thereon. The perforate floor 16 is formed by a plurality of grate bars 18 arranged with spaces therebetween to permit the passage of air, either in a downward direction or in an upward direction. The grate bars 18 are maintained in place by means of a locking device (not shown).

[0050] Also, such as according to the first embodiment, the side wall 24 of the second embodiment of the disclosure, in particular, a lower section 25 thereof, comprises an upright portion 30, a wing portion 32 and a lower connection flange 34. The upright portion 30 comprises an upper connection flange 36 for receiving a connection flange 38 of the upper section 26 thereon. The flanges 36, 38 may be connected together using bolts 40 or the like. The lower connection flange 34 is essentially vertical and configured to be connected to a vertical projection 68 of the end casting 22 of the car body 12 by means of bolts 42 or the like. The locking device passes through the lower connection flange 34 and the vertical projection 68 to engage the grate bars 18 from below. Alternatively, the locking device passes through an end casting 22 of the car body 12 to engage the grate bars 18 from below.

[0051] The side wall of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is more closely described by referring to FIG. 8.

[0052] The end casting 22 of the second embodiment comprises a vertical projection 68 on the upper side thereof. The vertical projection 68 is preferably formed in one piece with the end casting 22.

[0053] The side wall 24, more particularly the lower section 25 thereof has a lower connection flange 34 which is essentially vertical and arranged alongside the vertical projection 68. Both the lower connection flange 34 and the vertical projection 68 comprise boreholes therethrough for connecting the lower connection flange 34 to the vertical projection 68 by means of bolts 42 or the like.

[0054] Preferably, the lower section 25 of the side wall 24 further comprises one or more strengthening ribs 70 connected to the underneath of the wing portion 32. The strengthening ribs 70 are shaped such that, when the lower section 25 is connected to the end casting 22, they come into contact with the upper side of the end casting 22 and the lateral portion of the vertical projection 68 such that the vertical projection 68 is sandwiched between the lower connection flange 34 and the strengthening ribs 70.

[0055] Further details and features of the side wall 24 of the second embodiment are similar or identical to the ones of the first embodiment and are thus not repeated herein.