GB2515489A - Vibrating screen and support beam therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

A support beam 18 has an elongate member, with integrally formed mounting flanges 25 at spaced locations along the member. The beam 18 can be used as a subcomponent of a vibratory screen separator apparatus (10, fig.1). The form of the beam 18, particularly the integrally formed mounting flanges 25, may give advantages in the quick and simple assembly of the beam to the vibratory screen separator (10,fig.1).

Description

Vibrating Screen and Support Beam Therefor This invention relates to a vibrating screen and in particular to a vibrating screen for separating excess water from particulate material, such as sand, gravel, iron ore, sludge or other particulate material and/or for grading, classifying or sorting particulate material by size, and to a support beam for supporting the deck thereof.

Vibrating screens are commonly used to separate excess water from particulate materials, for example in sand quarrying to remove excess water from sand following grading and/or washing processes, and are used to sort, grade or classify particulate material, such as sand.

A typical vibrating screen comprises a frame, defined by a pair of substantially parallel side walls, interconnected by transversely extending bridging members.

Supported upon the frame is one or more substantially horizontal polyurethane or wire mesh decks having small openings or slots for water and/undersize particles to pass through.

The deck is vibrated at a frequency to shake out excess water and/or undersize material through the openings and to convey the material across the deck to one end of the screen whereby the dry and/or oversize material is discharged onto a conveyor or into a collection bay or hopper. The frame is mounted on a base via resilient linkages, such as springs, and the frame, and thus the deck, is typically vibrated by means of a pair of counter rotating rotors defining eccentric masses, driven by one or more drive motors, to impart circular or reciprocating vibratory motion to the deck, or by an eccentric shaft imparting a circular motion to the deck.

A plurality of the transverse bridging members arranged between the frame side walls define elongate support beams upon which are mounted elongate support bars extending parallel to the side walls of the frame, said support bars providing support for the deck(s). Typically the support beams comprise elongate pipes or tubes or box section pipes mounted between the side walls of the frame, the support bars being mounted upon the support beams by an assembly of U shaped clamps mounted around the support beams and a plurality of threaded fasteners.

The attachment of the support bars to the support beams is therefore a labour intensive, time consuming and complex process.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a vibrating screen comprising a frame upon which is mounted at least one deck having a plurality of openings therein for passing water and/or undersize particles therethrough, said frame being mounted on a base and being provided with vibration generating means for imparting vibration to said at least one deck, wherein said frame comprises pair of substantially parallel side walls, a plurality of transverse bridging members extending between said side walls, wherein at least some of said bridging members define support beams upon which said at least one deck is supported via a plurality of elongate support members extending substantially parallel to the side walls of the frame, wherein each of said support beams incorporate integrally formed mounting flanges at spaced locations therealong for attaching respective elongate support members thereto via suitable fasteners.

Preferably each of said mounting flanges defines a substantially planar, horizontally extending upper mounting face extending transverse to the respective beam. One or more mounting apertures may be provided in said mounting face for securing a support member thereto, said mounting apertures preferably comprising threaded holes.

The support beams may be arranged in one or more common planes such that said support members may extend between the respective support beams in the or each plane.

Preferably the support beams comprise cast metal beams. The use of cast beams adds stiffness to the structure and enables the stiffness and wear resistance of the beams to be tailored to the particular application.

Each of the support beams may have an inverted U shaped cross section having an open lower side, making the beams easier to manufacture and minimising the weight of the beams.

End mounting flanges, preferably comprising flat plates extending normal to the axis of the beam and having a plurality of mounting apertures therein, may be integrally formed on each end of each support beam for mounting the support beams to the side walls of the frame via suitable fasteners.

The fasteners for securing the support members to the support beams and/or the support beams to the side walls of the frame may comprise nut and bolts or similar threaded fasteners.

By providing a bolted construction heat related problems associated with welded structures, such as the introduction of stress hot spots, are avoided and assembly and manufacture of the apparatus is greatly facilitated.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a support beam for mounting between side walls of a frame of a vibrating screen, said support beam comprising an elongate member incorporating integrally formed mounting flanges at spaced locations along the length thereof for mounting elongate screen support bars thereon for supporting a deck of a vibrating screen.

The elongate member may have an inverted U shaped profile having an open lower side.

An end mounting flange may be integrally formed on each end of the elongate member for securing the support beam to respective sides of the frame of a vibrating screen.

Preferably the support beam comprises a metal casting.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of vibratory sizing screen having tiered polyurethane decks and incorporating support beams in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a modified vibratory sizing screen having mesh decks incorporating support beams in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the vibratory screen of Figure 2 with the decks removed to show the support beams; Figure 4 is a perspective view from above of a support beam of the vibratory screen or Figures 1 or 2 in accordance with the present invention; Figure 5 is a perspective view from below of the support beam of Figure 4; and Figure 6 is a perspective view of a single tier dewatering screen incorporating support beams in accordance with the present invention.

A vibrating screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings. The screen 10 comprises a pair of tiered decks 12A,12B, either formed from polyurethane panels having a plurality of small slots formed therein (as shown in Figure 1) or mesh panels (as shown in Figure 2). The decks 1 2A.1 2B are mounted on a support frame comprises spaced apart side walls 14,16 joined by transversely extending support beams 18 defining transverse bridging members extending between the side walls 14,16 of the frame.

The support frame may be mounted on a base frame (not shown) via resilient mountings to allow the support frame to move with respect to the base frame. The support frame may be suspended from the base frame via suitable resilient mounts, such as springs.

A vibration generating means is mounted between the side walls 14,16 of the support frame. The vibration generating means comprises a motor driven eccentrically loaded rotor mounted within a support pipe 20 mounted between the side plates 14,16 for rotation about a rotational axes extending transverse to the decks 12A,12B.

Rotation of the rotor causes a rotating out of balance force to be applied to the support frame, imparting a vibratory motion to the tiered decks 12A,12B and to the material carried thereon. Such vibratory motion causes the material placed on the decks to be agitated, preventing blocking of the openings in the decks and causing material on the decks 12A,12B to be conveyed towards one end of the screen 10.

The ends of the tubular support pipe 20 are bolted to the side plates. Thus the tubular support pipe 20 of the rotor forms a structural component of the frame of the screen, linking the side walls 14,16 of the frame.

The side walls 14,16 are interconnected by the support beams 18 defining elongate transverse bridging members (see Figure 3). Flat mounting flanges 30 are provided at each end of the beams 18 having apertures therein whereby the mounting flanges 30 can be bolted to the side walls 14,16 so that the frame can be assembled without welding, making the frame cheaper and easier to fabricate while avoiding the heat problems associated with welding (such as distortion and embrittlement of the steel components).

As best shown in Figures 4 and 5, each support beam 18 comprises a cast member, preferably formed from an alloy selected for strength and wear resistance, having an inverted U shaped cross section with an open base (see figure 5).

Each support beam 18 incorporates a plurality of spaced apart mounting flanges 24 along its length, integrally formed therewith, each mounting flange 24 comprises vertical wall portions extending from opposite sides of the beam, the upper side of said wall portions defining a planar mounting face 25 extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the beam for supporting a deck support bar 26 thereon, as shown in Figure 3, upon which the respective deck 12A,12B rests.

The support bars 26 extend side by side, spanning adjacent support beams 18, to extend parallel to the side walls 14,16 of the frame. Holes 28 are formed at either end of each mounting flange 24 on opposite sides of the beam 18 for receiving threaded fasteners, such as bolts, to secure the support bars 26 to the support beams 18. The lower face of each mounting flange may be machined to provide a seat for a nord lock washer and nut to be received on a distal end of each bolt.

The flat mounting flanges 30 are integrally formed on each end of the beam 18 having holes 32 therethrough for the insertion of bolts to secure the ends of the beam to respective side walls 14,16 of the frame.

The support beam of the present invention could be applied to any type of vibrating screen, for example a vibratory screen for screening, grading or classifying particulate materials, such as sand, gravel, iron ore or any other particulate material. As an example, Figure 6 shows the use of the cast support beams 18 extending between the side walls 14,16 of a single deck dewatering screen for mounting support bars 26 thereon.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) described herein but can be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (16)

1. Claims 1. A vibrating screen comprising a frame upon which is mounted at least one deck having a plurality of openings therein for passing water and/or undersize particles therethrough, said frame being mounted on a base and being provided with vibration generating means for imparting vibration to said at least one deck, wherein said frame comprises pair of substantially parallel side walls, a plurality of transverse bridging members extending between said side walls, wherein at least some of said bridging members define support beams upon which said at least one deck is supported via a plurality of elongate support members extending substantially parallel to the side walls of the frame, wherein each of said support beams incorporate integrally formed mounting flanges at spaced locations therealong for attaching respective elongate support members thereto via suitable fasteners.
2. 2. A vibrating screen as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said mounting flanges defines a substantially planar, horizontally extending upper mounting face extending transverse to the respective beam.
3. 3. A vibrating screen as claimed in claim 2, wherein one or more mounting apertures are provided in said mounting face for securing a support member thereto.
4. 4. A vibrating screen as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said support beams are arranged in one or more common planes such that said support members may extend between the respective support beams in the or each plane.
5. 5. A vibrating screen as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said support beams comprise cast metal beams.
6. 6. A vibrating screen as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each of the support beams has an inverted U shaped cross section having an open lower side.
7. 7. A vibrating screen as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein end mounting flanges are integrally formed on each end of each support beam for mounting the support beams to the side walls of the frame via suitable fasteners.
8. 8. A vibrating screen as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said fasteners comprise bolts, screws or similar threaded fasteners.
9. 9. A support beam for mounting between side walls of a frame of a vibrating screen, said support beam comprising an elongate member incorporating integrally formed mounting flanges at spaced locations along the length thereof for mounting elongate screen support bars thereon for supporting a deck of a vibrating screen.
10. 10. A support beam as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of said mounting flanges defines a substantially planar, horizontally extending upper mounting face extending transverse to the respective beam.
11. 11. A support beam as claimed in claim 10, wherein one or more mounting apertures are provided in said mounting face for securing a support member thereto.
12. 12. A support beam as claimed in any of claims 9 to 11, wherein said elongate member has an inverted U shaped profile having an open lower side.
13. 13. A support beam as claimed in any of claims 9 to 12, wherein an end mounting flange is integrally formed on each end of the elongate member for securing the support beam to respective sides of the frame of a vibrating screen.
14. 14. A support beam as claimed in any of claims 9 to 13, wherein said support beam comprises a metal casting.
15. 15. A vibrating screen substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
16. 16. A support beam for a vibrating screen substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.