Gewerkschaft Eisenhutte Westfalia, Gmbh

Manfred Redder

Dieter Grundken

Franz Roling

Gunther-Dietmar Schoop

Helmut Temme

Hartmut Schewinski

Horst Linke

Michael Sauer

Bernd Steinkuhl

Volker Behm

Dieter Gr/u/ Ndken

Reinhold Br/u/ Ggemann

A scraper-chain conveyor channel section comprises a return trough and a conveyor trough. The return trough is constituted by a pair of side walls interconnected by a floor plate. A respective support bar is fixed to each of the side walls of the return trough. The support bars have portions extending upwardly beyond the side walls of the return trough. The conveyor trough is arranged between the upwardly-extending portions of the support bars. The conveyor trough is constituted by a pair of side walls interconnected by a floor plate. Respective connection means are provided for connecting the conveyor trough to each of the support bars. Each of the connection means includes a plurality of bolts and a plurality of clamping members. Each of the bolts is seated in a respective pocket in the associated support bar, and is engageable with a respective clamping member to force that clamping member into engagement with a respective clamping face on the conveyor trough.

Scraper-chain conveyor channel section

The pans of a scraper-chain conveyor are interconnected by way of a dog-bone type connector with enlarged end regions and a central shank which fits into shaped compartments in the side walls of adjacent pans. A hook-like projection on one of the end regions engages in a recess adjoining one of the pockets and a complementary web-like projection on the other end region lies in an opening adjoining the other of the pockets. A swivelling locking plate is fitted to the side wall to overlap the web-like projection and retain the connector in place.

Connection devices for interconnecting the pans of scraper-chain

To facilitate the fixing of attachments to the side walls of scraper-chain conveyors upstanding recesses are provided in the side walls in upper regions where the upper flanges merge with the side walls. The recesses, which can be milled, open from the upper flanges and have a depth less than the thickness of the side wall upper regions. The recesses are generally U-shaped as viewed from the exterior. The recesses are enlarged or undercut internally to be deeper all round so as to provide shaped pockets which exactly match the shape of non-circular heads of threaded elements which are received therein and fill the recesses.

Fixing of attachments to the side walls of the pans of scraper-chain

A composite floor plate assembly for locating between side walls of a pan of a scraper-chain conveyor has an access plate fitted into an aperture in a floor plate proper. A locking bar secures the access plate in position. The access plate has the same thickness as the floor plate but lies wholly flush with the floor plate as does the locking bar and the fixings to prevent collision with the scraper-chain assembly.

Scraper-chain conveyors for mineral mining

A conveyor channel section or pan is composed of upper and lower components each having U-shaped rolled side walls with inwardly-directed flanges and floor plates. Additional side plates fixed to the exteriors of the side walls of the lower component project upwardly alongside the side walls of the upper component. Recesses in the side plates mate with fittings on the side walls of the upper component and upstanding nuts and bolts secure the fittings in the recesses. The end regions of the pan can be provided with inclined deep pockets formed within welded-in shaped joining pieces which receive toggle-like coupling pieces used to connact adjacent pans together.

Channel sections of scraper-chain conveyors

A scraper-chain conveyor channel section comprises a pair of side walls and a floor plate extending between the side walls and connecting the side walls together. Each of the side walls has upper, lower and intermediate inwardly-extending flanges. The floor plate is connected to the intermediate flanges of the two side walls. Each of the side walls is constituted by an upper profiled bar and a lower profiled bar, each of the profiled bars being a generally U-shaped rolled section. Each of the lower profiled bars has a bottom flange and a top flange parallel to the bottom flange. The top flange of each lower profiled bar forms a support surface for the associated upper profiled bar, and constitutes part of the intermediate flange of the associated side wall. Each of the side walls is provided with a connecting bar for laterally supporting the associated upper profiled bar. Each of the connecting bars is secured to the exterior of the associated lower profiled bar, and projects upwardly beyond the top flange of that lower profiled bar.

Connection means for connecting two components such as conveyor channel sections or guide sections includes an elongate connector. The connector is insertible into laterally-open recesses formed in coupling elements attached to the two components. The laterally-open recesses define an elongate aperture which is slightly longer than the connector so that the connector is received within the aperture with a predetermined amount of axial play. A retaining element prevents axial movement of the connector within the aperture by filling up the space available for said predetermined amount of axial play. The retaining element is an annular disc made of corrosion-resistant, resiliently deformable plastics material. That portion of the resilient element which, in use, is positioned at the mouth of the aperture is, at least partially, of reduced wall thickness when compared with the wall thickness of the remaining part of the retaining element. This permits the retaining element to be deformed as it is positioned within said space.

Retaining element

A scraper-chain conveyor is constituted by a plurality of channel sections joined together end-to-end in such a manner as to permit limited articulation therebetween in the horizontal and vertical directions. Each channel section has a pair of side walls connected together by a floor plate. The floor plate of each channel section comprises an upper plate and a lower plate. The lower plates of the channel sections overlap one another, with vertical play, at the interfaces between adjacent channel sections. The upper plates of the channel sections abut one another at said interfaces.

Connection means for connecting two components such as conveyor channel sections or guide sections includes an elongate connector. The connector is insertible into laterally-open recesses formed in coupling elements attached to the two components. The laterally-open recesses define an elongate aperture which is slightly longer than the connector so that the connector is received within the aperture with a predetermined amount of axial play. A retaining device prevents axial movement of the connector within the aperture by filling up the space available for said predetermined amount of axial play. The retaining device comprises a C-shaped resilient member and a wedge-shaped member. The resilient member is made of corrosion-resistant, resiliently-deformable plastics material, and the wedge-shaped member is made of metal. The wedge-shaped member can be driven into the resilient member to expand the resilient member against the walls of said space, thereby fixing the retaining device in position. The wedge-shaped member is then held captive within the resilient member, thereby maintaining the retaining device in the fixed position.

Retaining device

A channel section for a scraper-chain conveyor is constituted by a pair of sigma-shaped side walls, and a floor plate welded to the central flanges of the side walls. The sigma-shape of the side walls define V-shaped grooves in the side walls, each of these grooves being defined by a pair of outwardly-divergent inclined wall portions. Each end zone of each side wall is provided with a coupling element for coupling the channel section to an adjacent similar channel section. Each of the coupling elements is welded into a cut-away part formed at the adjacent end zone of the respective inclined wall portions. The coupling elements are provided with recesses for the reception of a connector such as a toggle bolt connector. Each of the side walls is provided with elongate stiffening members welded thereto adjacent to the upper and lower flanges respectively. The coupling elements protrude outwardly beyond their side walls as far as the outer edges of the stiffening members.

Scraper chain conveyor channel section

A drive frame for a scraper-chain conveyor comprises a pair of generally parallel side plates. A pair of aligned bearing bushes rotatably support a drive shaft of a chain drum. The bearing bushes are mounted in apertures in the side plates. The bearing bushes are welded to their respective side plates, thereby strengthening the drive frame.

Conveyor drive frame

A scraper-chain conveyor sprocket drum is rotatably mounted in a drive frame by means of roller bearings at each end of the sprocket drum. A respective slide ring seal is provided between each bearing and the adjacent end of the sprocket drum. Lubricant is supplied to both bearings and both seals, a respective lubricant path being provided for the bearing and seal at each end of the sprocket drum. Each lubricant path includes a lubricant supply passage leading to a bearing space surrounding the respective bearing, and a lubricant discharge path leading from a seal space surrounding the respective seal, each seal space being connected to the associated bearing space.

Lubricating sprocket drum mounting

Connection means for connecting two adjacent channel sections of a scraper-chain conveyor comprises two coupling elements fastened to the outer sides of the adjacent ends of the channel sections, and a coupling member for connecting the two coupling elements. The coupling member has a shank provided at each end with an enlarged head portion. The coupling elements are provided with laterally open recesses for receiving, with a predetermined amount of axial play, the coupling member. One of the coupling elements is provided with a projection which mates, with an all-round clearance, with a recess in the other coupling element. One head portion of the coupling member is provided with an axially extending locking member which extends behind a complementary locking member fastened to one of the channel sections. The other head portion of the coupling member is provided with at least one locking projection which co-operates with a corresponding locking recess in the adjacent coupling element.

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Lunen, Germany

Manfred Redder