Storage cart for bulk material

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage cart (1) for bulk material (6), said storage cart comprising: a cart frame (2) that travels on rail bogies (3); a loading container (5) which has a floor conveyor belt (8) extending in the longitudinal direction (7) of the cart and which has lateral walls (16); and a transfer conveyor belt (21), that is connected to the floor conveyor belt (8) and protrudes beyond a front cart frame end (24), for forwarding the stored bulk material (6) in a conveying direction (9) to an upstream cart. A front portion (12) of the floor conveyor belt (8) is bent upwards with respect to the conveying direction (9) and protrudes beyond a lower end (20) of the transfer conveyor belt (21) so that a rear portion (11) of the floor conveyor belt (8) is positioned lower than the lower end (20) of the transfer conveyor belt (21). The low position of the rear portion (11) of the floor conveyor belt (8) allows the loading container (5) together with the lateral walls (16) to be positioned low so as to enable simple loading from the side using an excavator.

Description

Description Storage wagon for bulk material Technical area

[0001] The invention relates to a storage wagon for bulk material, with a wagon frame movable on rail bogies, with a loading container which comprises a floor conveyor belt running in the longitudinal direction of the wagon and side walls, and with a transfer conveyor belt adjoining the floor conveyor belt and projecting over a front end of the wagon frame for transferring the stored bulk material in a conveying direction to a wagon arranged upstream. State of the art

[0002] A storage wagon of this type is known, for example, from AT 505187 A1. This storage wagon can be combined with any number of similar storage wagons to form a loading train. Bulk material is transported within each wagon in the conveying direction by means of the floor conveyor belt and transferred to the upstream storage wagon by means of the assigned transfer conveyor belt. The storage wagon also serves for loading bulk material using an excavator. For this purpose, a longitudinally movable auxiliary conveyor belt with a hopper is mounted on the loading container. In a loading position, the auxiliary conveyor belt is lowered so that the hopper is close to the ground. During operation, the bulk material loaded into the hopper by the excavator is transported into the loading container via the auxiliary conveyor belt. Description of the invention

[0003] The invention is based on the object of improving a storage wagon of the type mentioned above so that more efficient loading using an excavator is possible. In particular, the loading of ballast from an adjacent track is to be simplified.

[0004] According to the invention, this object is achieved by the features of independent claim 1. Dependent claims specify advantageous embodiments of the invention.

[0005] With regard to the conveying direction, a front section of the floor conveyor belt is bent upwards and projects over a lower end of the transfer conveyor belt, so that a rear section of the floor conveyor belt is positioned lower than the lower end of the transfer conveyor belt. The resulting deep arrangement of the rear section of the floor conveyor belt enables a low arrangement of the loading container including the side walls, enabling easy side loading using an excavator. The floor conveyor belt with the deep rear section and the upwardly bent front section as well as the upwardly facing transfer conveyor belt form a conveying system arranged on the same wagon frame for transferring the bulk material to an upstream storage wagon or to a screening wagon. In addition, the loading container forms a storage space for the loaded bulk material.The bulk material loaded onto the storage wagon can thus either be transported further via the conveyor system or stored and transported by moving the storage wagon along the track.

[0006] Advantageously, the front section of the floor conveyor belt is angled upwards relative to the horizontal at an incline angle of at least 15°, in particular at least 20°. This achieves the required incline height to protrude above the lower end of the transfer conveyor belt. On the other hand, the front section can be made significantly shorter than the rear section of the floor conveyor belt, thus providing a larger area in the longitudinal direction of the wagon for loading the loading container. In particular, the rear section of the floor conveyor belt is more than twice as long as the front section of the floor conveyor belt.

[0007] For a particularly low loading container, the rear section of the floor conveyor belt is ideally positioned below the top edge of the wagon frame. In particular, the rear section of the floor conveyor belt runs between the side longitudinal beams of the wagon frame. The upper limits of the longitudinal members define the upper edge of the vehicle frame.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, an energy module for supplying a traction drive is arranged on the wagon frame. This allows the storage wagon to move autonomously on a construction site during loading. For example, an excavator continuously picks up ballast next to the track traveled by the storage wagon and loads it into the loading container. The excavator and storage wagon move synchronously along the track during this loading process.

[0009] Advantageously, the energy module is located behind the loading container, with a receiving conveyor belt with detachable fastening means arranged above the energy module. This receiving conveyor belt is available when needed to load the loading container with bulk material from the rear. Otherwise, the space above the energy module can be used for a transfer conveyor belt of a downstream storage car. A support device between the energy module and the loading container serves as a support for both the receiving conveyor belt and the transfer conveyor belt of a coupled storage car. The excavator intended for bulk material loading, for example, is used to assemble and disassemble the receiving conveyor belt.

[0010] To expand the storage wagon's range of applications, the transfer conveyor is mounted on the wagon frame and can be pivoted upwards and / or sideways. Pivoting upwards and downwards facilitates the transfer of the bulk material to receiving devices of different heights on various attachable wagons. Lateral pivoting allows the stored bulk material to be discharged sideways at a suitable location next to the track.

[0011] In a further improvement, the front end of the front section of the floor conveyor belt is higher than the top edges of the side walls of the loading container. Thus, the front end of the front section of the floor conveyor belt extends beyond the particularly low-lying loading container. This facilitates side loading using an excavator across the entire length of the loading container.

[0012] Advantageously, at least one side wall has a lower and an upper side wall section, with the upper side wall section being able to be pivoted outwards about a horizontal axis. To facilitate loading, the upper side wall section is pivoted downwards. In this position, the side wall is, for example, no higher than 1500 millimeters above the track level of the track being used. This means that the loading container is clearly visible to an operator in an excavator positioned to the side of the storage wagon. To increase the loading volume, the side wall is pivoted upwards. In this case, the height of the upper edge of the side wall above the track level is, for example, no more than 1800 millimeters, which means that the excavator operator can still oversee the further loading of the partially filled loading container.

[0013] In a further development of the storage wagon, a sensor is installed to detect the height of the bulk material loaded into the loading container. This sensor could be a line sensor on the upper edge of the lower side wall section. This allows the filling of the loading container to be monitored. When the bulk material reaches a specified height, for example, the floor conveyor belt is automatically activated to distribute the bulk material within the loading container and, if necessary, transport it further to an upstream storage wagon.

[0014] In a further improvement, the sensor is coupled to a control device for controlling a swivel drive of the upper side wall section to swivel the upper side wall section upward when a limit for the fill level of the loaded bulk material is reached. This automatically increases the loading volume when more bulk material is loaded into the loading container than can be transported further by the floor conveyor belt. This allows for efficient loading of the storage car without operator intervention. During the entire loading process, no person needs to enter the danger zone on the track. All processes are automated or controlled by the operator in the excavator. Short description of the drawings

[0015] The invention is explained below by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures. They show schematically: Fig. 1 Storage wagon in a side view Fig. 2 Coupled storage wagons of a loading train Fig. 3 Cross section of the storage wagon with the upper side wall sections swung down Fig. 4 Cross section of the storage car with upper side wall sections swung upwards Description of the embodiments

[0016] The storage wagon 1 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a wagon frame 2 which can be moved on rail bogies 3 on a track 4. A loading container 5 for receiving bulk material 6 is arranged on the wagon frame 2 between the rail bogies 3. The loading container 5 comprises a floor conveyor belt 8 which runs in a longitudinal direction 7 of the wagon and conveys the received bulk material 6 in a conveying direction 9. With respect to this conveying direction 9, the floor conveyor belt 7 is divided by a kink 10 into a rear section 11 and a front section 12. The front section 12 is bent upwards by an angle of inclination α relative to a horizontal line 13. The angle of inclination α is advantageously in a range between 15° and 25° in order, on the one hand, to achieve a low position of the rear section 11 and, on the other hand, to achieve good upward conveyance of the bulk material 6.The rear section 11 runs horizontally between outer longitudinal members 14 of the carriage frame 2. In this way, this rear section 11 is arranged below an upper edge 15 of the carriage frame 2 and occupies a correspondingly low position.

[0017] The loading container 5 is bounded laterally by side walls 16 arranged at an angle to the outside. Due to this angled arrangement, a large loading volume is achieved despite the narrow floor conveyor belt 8. A rear wall 17 of the loading container 5 is also inclined at an angle to the outside and guides bulk material 6 loaded into the loading container 5 from the rear onto the Floor conveyor belt 8. At the front, the loading container 5 is delimited by the diagonally upwardly extending front section 12 of the floor conveyor belt 8. Preferably, a front end 18 of this front section 12 is higher than the upper edges 19 of the side walls 16.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the floor conveyor belt 8 has a continuous conveyor belt with deflection rollers at the bend 10. Alternatively, the floor conveyor belt 8 comprises a separate conveyor belt for the rear section 11 and a separate conveyor belt for the front section 12. At the bend 10, the two conveyor belts adjoin one another, with a gap between the conveyor belts bridged by a cover. During operation, the bulk material 6 is conveyed from the conveyor belt of the rear section 11 of the floor conveyor belt 8 via the cover to the conveyor belt of the front section 12 of the floor conveyor belt 8.

[0019] The front end 18 of the floor conveyor belt 8 projects over a lower end 20 of a transfer conveyor belt 21 mounted on the carriage frame 2. At the lower end 20 of the transfer conveyor belt 21 is a receiving hopper 22 that catches the bulk material 6 dropped by the floor conveyor belt 8 at the front end 18. To transfer the bulk material 6, the transfer conveyor belt 21 is directed diagonally upward, with a front end 22 of the transfer conveyor belt 21 projecting over a front carriage frame end 24. Advantageously, an incline angle ß of the transfer conveyor belt 21 is adjustable by means of an actuator 25, with an average value corresponding to the incline angle α of the front section 12 of the floor conveyor belt 8. The incline angle ß can thus be adjusted to a receiving height of a preceding carriage. In addition, the transfer conveyor belt 21 can be pivoted laterally by means of a further actuator 25 in order to discharge bulk material 8 laterally.

[0020] Behind the loading container 5, an energy module 26 is arranged on the vehicle frame 2. This energy module 26 comprises, for example, a motor-generator unit with an internal combustion engine and a fuel tank. Alternatively or additionally, an electrical energy storage device is arranged in the energy module 26. The energy available from the energy module 26 The energy provided serves to supply belt drives I of the conveyor belts 8, 21. If necessary, a receiving conveyor belt 28 arranged above the energy module 26 is also supplied with energy. If necessary, such a receiving conveyor belt 28 is mounted with detachable fastening means 29 to enable loading of the storage carriage 1 from the rear. The receiving conveyor belt 28 uses a support device 30, which is also provided for supporting a transfer conveyor belt 21 of a downstream storage carriage 1.

[0021] In particular, the energy module 26 serves to supply a drive 31, by means of which the storage car 1 can be moved independently along track 4. This makes it possible to move the storage car 1 along with a laterally positioned excavator during a loading process. The excavator picks up bulk material 6 next to the track 4 on which the storage car 1 is traveling. Such a process occurs, for example, during the rehabilitation of a neighboring track, where rails 32 and sleepers 33 of the neighboring track are first removed. A ballast bed 34 thus exposed is picked up by the excavator and continuously loaded into the adjacent storage car 1.

[0022] An additional increase in the efficiency of the lateral loading process is achieved with a split side wall 16. Each side wall 16 has a lower side wall section 35 and an upper side wall section 36 over the length of the loading container 5. The upper side wall section 36 can be pivoted outwards about a horizontal axis 38 running in the longitudinal direction 7 of the wagon by means of a pivot drive 37. In this way, the upper edge 19 of the respective side wall 16 can be temporarily lowered, as shown in Fig. 3. The low arrangement of the loading container 5 and the lowered side wall 16 facilitate the loading process using an excavator because the excavator bucket only has to overcome a small height when pivoting. In Fig. 3, a maximum fill level 39 of the loading container 5 is shown with a dash-dotted line.

[0023] Advantageously, a sensor 40 is arranged which detects this maximum fill level 39. Specifically, the sensor 40 detects the reaching of a predetermined upper limit of the fill level 39 while the loading container 5 is being loaded with bulk material 6. A pressure-sensitive line sensor, for example, is used as a sensor 40 at the upper limit of the respective lower side wall section 35. The sensor 40 is coupled to a control device 41 for controlling the drives 25, 31, 37 of the storage wagon 1. As soon as a maximum fill level 39 is detected, the control device 41 receives a corresponding signal. Routines for different operating modes are stored in the control device 41. The respective operating mode is selected by an operator, for example, via a remote control. The operation of the storage wagon 1 is thus also possible by an operator of the loading excavator.

[0024] In an operating mode for transferring the bulk material 1 within a network of several storage wagons 1 arranged one behind the other (Fig. 2), the signal from the sensor 40 causes an automatic activation of the belt drives I . In this way, the bulk material 6 accumulated in one of the loading containers 5 is transferred to a front storage wagon 1, so that loading space is freed up at the loading point for further bulk material 6.

[0025] An operating mode for storing bulk material 1 aims to accommodate the largest possible quantity of bulk material 1 in the loading container 5 of the storage wagon 1 currently loaded by an excavator. In this operating mode, the control device 41 automatically activates the swivel drives 37 of the side walls 16 as soon as the maximum permissible fill level 39 is detected with the upper side wall sections 36 lowered. By swiveling the upper side wall sections 36 upwards, additional loading space is created, which can accommodate bulk material 6 up to an extended maximum fill level 39 (Fig. 4).

[0026] Further operating modes relate to a mixed operation, in which bulk material 6 is both transferred to an upstream storage wagon 1 and stored in the storage wagon 1 currently loaded by an excavator. Accordingly, the drives 27, 31, 37 of the storage wagons 1 are controlled by the respective control device 41. The control devices 41 of the coupled storage wagons 1 are connected via a cable or via an air interface. One of the control devices 41 serves as the master controller and triggers control commands from the other control devices 41. In this way, the belt speeds of the conveyor belts 8, 21, 28 are coordinated to ensure uniform loading of all storage cars 1.

[0027] Advantageously, the respective traction drive 31 is also automatically controlled by the control device 41. A corresponding operating mode is useful for the continuous removal of the ballast bed 34 of an adjacent track. During ballast removal, the excavator moves along the exposed ballast bed 34 and, in the process, fills the storage wagon 1 traveling adjacent to it on track 4. The automated control of the traction drive 31 enables the storage wagon 1 to move forward in a manner coordinated with the current excavator position. For example, a transponder is arranged in the excavator, which is coupled to a receiver of the control device 41. This continuously transmits the position of the excavator to the control device 41.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Storage wagon (1) for bulk material (6), with a wagon frame (2) which can be moved on rail bogies (3), with a loading container (5) which comprises a floor conveyor belt (8) running in the longitudinal direction (7) of the wagon and side walls (16), and with a transfer conveyor belt (21) which is connected to the floor conveyor belt (8) and projects beyond a front wagon frame end (24) for transferring the stored bulk material (6) in a conveying direction (9) to a wagon arranged upstream, characterized in that with regard to the conveying direction (9), a front section (12) of the floor conveyor belt (8) is bent upwards and projects beyond a lower end (20) of the transfer conveyor belt (21), so that a rear section (11) of the floor conveyor belt (8) is arranged lower than the lower end (20) of the transfer conveyor belt (21).

2. Storage trolley (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the front section (12) of the floor conveyor belt (8) is bent upwards relative to a horizontal (13) by an angle of inclination (α) of at least 15°, in particular of at least 20°.

3. Storage trolley (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rear section (11) of the floor conveyor belt (8) is arranged below an upper edge (15) of the trolley frame (2).

4. Storage trolley (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that an energy module (26) for supplying a travel drive (31) is arranged on the trolley frame (2).

5. Storage trolley (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the energy module (26) is arranged behind the loading container (5) and that a receiving conveyor belt (28) with releasable fastening means (29) is arranged above the energy module (26).

6. Storage trolley (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the transfer conveyor belt (21) is arranged on the trolley frame (2) so as to be pivotable upwards and / or laterally.

7. Storage trolley (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a front end (18) of the upwardly bent front section (12) of the floor conveyor belt (8) is higher than upper edges (19) of the side walls (16) of the loading container (5).

8. Storage trolley (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one side wall (16) has a lower side wall section (35) and an upper side wall section (36) and that the upper side wall section (36) can be pivoted outwards about a horizontal axis (38).

9. Storage wagon (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that a sensor (40) is arranged to detect the height of the bulk material (6) loaded into the loading container (5).

10. Storage wagon (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the sensor (40) is coupled to a control device (41) for controlling a pivot drive (37) of the upper side wall section (36) in order to pivot the upper side wall section (36) upwards when a limit for a fill level (39) of the loaded bulk material (6) is reached.

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