A moving arrangement for pallet cars
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023914625
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-01-05
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-12
AI Technical Summary
In sintering and pelletizing plants, manually moving heavy pallet cars along rails is cumbersome and unsafe, often resulting in undesired movements and difficulty in precise positioning, posing safety risks.
A pallet car moving arrangement featuring a movable mechanism with retractable and swivelable arms engaged to pallet cars, driven by a motorized system along rails, utilizing chain wheels and endless chains for efficient and controlled movement, which can be fully or semi-automatic.
This solution reduces manual labor, enhances safety, and speeds up pallet car handling by enabling precise and controlled movement of pallet cars within sintering or pelletizing plants, improving operational efficiency.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
[0001] A MOVING ARRANGEMENT FOR PALLET CARS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a moving arrangement for moving pallet cars along pallet car rails. The invention also relates to a sintering or pelletizing plant. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In sintering and pelletizing plants the material to be treated, for example iron ore or zinc ore, is fed onto pallet cars running on pallet car rails. The pallet cars pass through treatment zones, in which thermal treat- ments of the material, such as drying, firing and cool- ing, are performed. Since the pallet cars are heavy and have not any own drive motor, the plant operators must often move the pallet cars manually using auxiliary devices, such as winches. Moving pallet cars manually has drawbacks, for example it may be difficult to avoid undesired movement of the pallet car and to stop the pallet car at a desired point, which may cause dangerous situations at the plant SUMMARY An object of the present invention is to provide a pallet car moving arrangement by which the above-described problems may be reduced. The object of the invention can be achieved by a pallet car moving arrangement according to claim 1. The pallet car moving arrangement according to the in- vention comprises at least one rail, a moving mechanism movable in opposite directions along the rail and con- figured to engage the pallet car for moving the pallet car along pallet car rails, and a drive device for moving the moving mechanism along said at least one rail. Significant advantages can be achieved by the means of the invention. With the pallet car moving arrangement described herein, manual work required to move horizon- tally the pallet cars in the sintering or pelletizing plant can be reduced and thus the handling of pallet cars can be speeded up and the safety of the process improved. The pallet car moving arrangement according to the invention can be made fully or semi-automatic. Moreover, the pallet car moving arrangement can be uti- lized in many ways in the sintering and pelletizing plants, for example the arrangement can be placed in connection with a sintering / pelletizing machine or pal- let car turning device or used in a pallet car storages and workshops. In an embodiment of the invention the moving mechanism comprises at least one or two arms configured to engage the pallet car to be moved. In an embodiment of the invention the arm or arms are movable, e.g. retractable and / or swivelable, to a posi- tion wherein the arm or arms are arranged to pass the pallet car on the pallet car rails when the moving mech- anism is moved along the rail(s). In an embodiment of the invention the moving arrangement comprises two or more parallel rails, and the moving mechanism is movable in opposite directions along the rails. In an embodiment of the invention the moving arrangement further comprises two chain wheels and an endless chain for each rail. The chain wheels are arranged at a dis- tance from each other in a direction of movement of the moving mechanism, the endless chain is arranged around the chain wheels, the moving mechanism is connected to an upper portion of the endless chain, the upper portion of the endless chain is supported by the rail, and the drive device is configured to rotate one of the chain wheels. In an embodiment of the invention parallel chain wheels are connected to a connecting shaft, and drive device is configured to rotate one of the connecting shafts. In an embodiment of the invention the moving mechanism comprises a moving table movable in opposite directions along the rails, and the moving arrangement comprises at least two arms attached to the moving table. In an embodiment of the invention the arms are config- ured to engage a centre part of the pallet car and / or a front and / or rear surface of the pallet car. A sintering or pelletizing plant according to the in- vention characterized in that the plant comprises two parallel pallet car rails along which pallet cars are arranged to run, and a pallet car moving arrangement as described above. The pallet car moving arrangement is placed in connection with, e.g. between, the pallet car rails. In an embodiment of the invention plant comprises a sintering / pelletizing machine comprising a removal point, via which pallet cars are removable from the sintering / pelletizing machine, and a feeding point, via which pallet cars are insertable into the sinter- ing / pelletizing machine. The pallet car moving arrange- ment is placed in connection with the removal point and / or feeding point. In an embodiment of the invention the pallet car moving arrangement is configured to move pallet cars toward the feeding point to be inserted into the sinter- ing / pelletizing machine and / or move pallet cars removed from the sintering / pelletizing machine away from the removal point. In an embodiment of the invention the plant comprises a pallet car turning device, and the pallet car moving arrangement is placed in connection with the pallet car turning device and configured to feed pallet cars to and / or remove pallet cars from the pallet car turning device. In an embodiment of the invention the pallet car moving arrangement is configured to feed pallet cars removed from sintering / pelletizing machine to the pallet car turning device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following the invention will be described in detail by means of examples with reference to the ac- companying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a pallet car moving arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention and a pallet car turn- ing device, and Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a sintering or pelletizing plant according to an embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Fig. 1 shows a pallet car moving arrangement 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 is used for moving pallet cars 2 along pallet car rails 3. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 may be used in a sintering and / or pelletizing plant 13, for example in connection with a sintering or pelletiz- ing machine 14, a pallet car turning device or in a pallet car storage or workshop. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 the pallet car moving arrangement 1 is in- stalled in connection with the pallet car turning de- vice. In an embodiment shown in fig. 2 the pallet car moving arrangement 1 and the turning device 17 shown in fig. 1 are installed in connection with the sintering or pelletizing machine 14. The pallet car moving arrange- ment 1 is configured to move the pallet cars 2 away from the sintering / pelletizing machine 14 after the pallet cars 2 have been removed from the sintering / pelletizing machine 14. Alternatively or additionally, the pallet car moving arrangement 1 is configured to move the pal- let cars 2 to / toward the sintering / palletizing machine 14, after which the pallet cars 2 are inserted in the sintering / palletizing machine 14. The pallet car 2 comprises a frame 30 and a grate 31 attached to the frame 30. The pallet car 2 comprises two side walls 32 extending upwards from the opposite sides of the frame 30. The frame 30 further comprises a front wall 33 and a back wall 34. The grate 31 is surrounded by side walls 32, the front wall 33 and the back wall 34. The frame 30 further comprises a center part ex- tending between and connected to the sides of the frame 30. The center part is located under the grate 31. The sides of the pallet car 2 are provided with wheels 36 on which the pallet car 2 is movable along pallet car rails 3. Each side of the pallet car 2 comprises two wheels 36. The wheels 36 are rotatably mounted on the frame 30 of the pallet car 2. The weight of an empty pallet car 2 is typically 6500 kg - 10000 kg. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 comprises at least one rail 4, typically two or more rails 4, and a moving mechanism 5 movable in opposite directions along the rail(s) 4. The moving mechanism 5 is configured to en- gage the pallet car 2 for moving the pallet car 2 along the pallet car rails 3. The pallet car rails 3 are parallel. The rail or rails 4 are arranged between the pallet car rails 3, typically at a lower level than the pallet car rails 3. The pallet car rails 3 are parallel with the rail(s)4. The moving mechanism 5 may comprise at least one or two arms 11 configured to engage the pallet car 2 to be moved. The arms 11 are configured to engage the centre part and / or a front surface and / or rear surface of the pallet car 2. The arm(s) 11 are retractable and / or swivelable to a position wherein the arm 11 or arms 11 are arranged to pass the pallet car 2 on the pallet car rails 3 when the moving mechanism 5 is moved along the rail(s) 4. The moving mechanism 5 is provided with an actuator 35, such as a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, electrical actuator or pneumatic or electrical linear actuator, by which the arm(s) 11 can be retracted and / or swivelled. The moving mechanism 5 may comprise a moving table 10 which is movable in opposite directions along the rail(s) 4. The arms 11 are mounted on the moving table 10. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 further comprises a drive device 6 for moving the moving mechanism 5 along rail(s) 4. The drive device 6 may be electric or hy- draulic drive motor, or manually operated drive device. The drive device 6 may be mounted on the rail 4, on the moving mechanism 5 or on another structure, such as a support attached to the floor of the plant. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 may further comprise two chain wheels 7 and an endless chain 8 arranged in connection with each rail 4. The chain wheels 7 are arranged at a distance from each other in a direction of movement of the moving mechanism 5 and / or in the longitudinal direction of the rail(s) 4. The rail 4 may be arranged between the chain wheels 7. The endless chain 8 is arranged around the chain wheels 7. The end- less chain 8 has an upper portion 8.1 and a lower portion 8.2. The moving mechanism 5 is connected to the upper portion 8.1 of the endless chain 8. The upper portion 8.1 of the endless chain 8 is supported by the rail 4, e.g. the upper portion 8.1 may be arranged against the upper surface of the rail 4. The drive device 6 is configured to rotate one of the chain wheels 7. The other chain wheel 7 may be freely rotatable. When the chain wheel 7 is rotated, the endless chain 8 rotates around the chain wheels 7 and thus moves the moving mechanism 5 along the rail(s) 4. In case the pallet car moving arrangement 1 comprises two or more parallel rails 4, the parallel chain wheels 7 may be connected to connecting shafts 9, and the drive device 6 is configured to rotate one of the connecting shafts 9. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 may be provided with position sensors monitoring the position of the pallet cars 2 on the pallet car rails 3 and / or the position of the moving mechanism 5 on the rail(s) 4, and a control unit configured to receive data from the position sen- sors and to operate the drive device 6 and / or the arm(s) 11 based on said data. The invention also relates to a sintering or pelletizing plant 13 which comprises a pallet car moving arrangement 1 as described above. The plant 13 comprises two paral- lel pallet car rails 3 along which pallet cars 2 are arranged to run. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 is placed in connection with, e.g. between, the pallet car rails 3. As shown in fig. 2, the sintering / pelletizing plant 13 may comprise a sintering or pelletizing machine 14, in connection with which the pallet car moving arrangement 1 is arranged. The sintering / pelletizing machine 14 may comprise a removal point 15, via which pallet cars 2 are removable from the sintering / pelletizing machine 14, and a feeding point 16, via which pallet cars 2 are insert- able into the sintering / pelletizing machine 14. The pal- let car moving arrangement 1 may be placed in connection with the removal point 15 and / or feeding point 16. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 may be configured to feed pallet cars 2 to / toward the feeding point 16 to be inserted into sintering / pelletizing machine 14 and / or move pallet cars 2 removed from the sintering / pelletiz- ing machine 14 away from the removal point 15. Additionally or alternatively, the pallet car moving arrangement 1 may be arranged in a pallet car storage or workshop of the sintering / pelletizing plant 13. Additionally or alternatively, as shown in fig. 2, the sintering / pelletizing plant 13 may comprise a pallet car turning device 17, in connection with which the pallet car moving arrangement 1 is arranged. In this embodiment the pallet car moving arrangement 1 is con- figured to feed pallet cars 2 to the pallet car turning device 17 and / or remove pallet cars 2 from the pallet car turning device 17. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 may be configured to feed pallet cars 2 removed from the sintering / pelletizing machine 14 to the pallet car turning device 17, as shown in fig. 2. The pallet car turning device 17 may comprise a support frame 18 and a rotary frame 19 mounted on the support frame 18. The support frame 18 is placed on the mounting surface of the pallet car turning device 1, for example on the floor of the sintering or pelletizing plant 13. The support frame 18 may comprises a support structure 20 at each end of the support frame 18. The support structure 20 may comprise two vertical bars 20.1 con- nected to a horizontal bar 20.2. The rotary frame 19 is rotatable relative to the support frame 18 about a rotation axis 21. The rotation axis 21 may be horizontal. The rotary frame 19 may be rotatable 180° or at least 180° about the rotation axis 21. The rotary frame 19 comprises a receiving mechanism 22 con- figured to receive the pallet car 2 and to hold the pallet car 2 during the rotation of the rotary frame 19. The receiving mechanism 22 may comprise a first receiv- ing arrangement 22.1 configured to receive at least one wheel 36 on the first side of the pallet car 2, and a second receiving arrangement 22.2 configured to receive at least one wheel 36 on the second side of the pallet car 2. The rotary frame 19 may comprise a transverse member 23, such as one or two transverse beams, to which the first receiving arrangement 22.1 and the second re- ceiving arrangement 22.2 are connected. The first re- ceiving arrangement 22.1 and the second receiving ar- rangement 22.2 are arranged at the opposite ends of the rotary frame 19. The first receiving arrangement 22.1 may comprise a first pair of vertically spaced rails, between which the wheels 36 on the first side of the pallet car 2 are arranged to be inserted. The second receiving arrange- ment 22.2 may comprise a second pair of vertically spaced rails between which the wheels 36 on the second side of the pallet car 2 are arranged to be inserted. The pallet car turning device 17 comprises a rotating device 25 configured to rotate the rotary frame 19 about the rotation axis 21. The rotating device 25 may be electric, hydraulic, or manually operated. The rotating device 25 is typically attached to the support frame 18. The rotary frame 19 may comprise two shafts at the op- posite ends of the rotary frame 19. The shafts are ro- tatably mounted, e.g. mounted on bearings, on the sup- port frame 18. The rotating device 25 is connected to one of the shafts. The pallet car turning device 17, e.g. the rotary frame 19, may further comprise a locking mechanism 28 config- ured to lock the wheels 36 of the pallet car 2 during the rotation of rotary frame 19. The locking mechanism 28 may comprise two movable locking members, e.g. lock- ing bars, arranged at both ends of the rotary frame 19. The locking members are movable between successive wheels 36 and arranged to engage the wheels 36 on the first and second sides of the pallet car 2. The rail(s) 4 of the pallet car moving arrangement 1 may be placed under the rotary frame 3 of the pallet car turning device 17 so that moving mechanism 5 can pass under the rotary frame 19. The pallet car moving arrangement 1 may be operated as follows. The moving mechanism 5 is moved on the rail(s) 4 toward the pallet car 2 to be moved. The moving mech- anism 5, e.g. the arm(s) 11, engages the pallet car 2 to be moved. The moving mechanism 5 engages the center part or the front side or the back side of the pallet car 2. Thereafter, the moving mechanism 5 is moved along the rail(s) 4 and the moving mechanism 5 moves the pallet car 2 along the pallet car rails 3. When the movement of the pallet car has been completed, the moving mech- anism 5, e.g. the arm(s) 11, disengages from the pallet car 2. Thereafter, the moving mechanism 5 is moved along the rail(s) 4 toward the next pallet car 2 to be moved. The arm(s) 11 of the moving mechanism 5 may be retracted and / or swivelled to a position in which the arm(s) 11 can pass the pallet car(s) 2 on the pallet car rails 3. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea of the invention may be implemented in various ways. The in- vention and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above, instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.
[0002] LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS: 1 pallet car moving arrangement 2 pallet car 3 pallet car rail 4 rail 5 moving mechanism 6 drive device 7 chain wheel 8 endless chain 8.1 upper portion of the endless chain 8.2 lower portion of the endless chain 9 connecting shaft 10 moving table 11 arm 13 sintering / pelletizing plant 14 sintering / pelletizing machine 15 removal point 16 feeding point 17 pallet car turning device 18 support frame 19 rotary frame 20 support structure 20.1 vertical bar 20.2 horizontal bar 21 rotation axis 22 receiving mechanism 22.1 first receiving arrangement 22.2 second receiving arrangement 23 transverse member 25 rotating device 28 locking mechanism 30 frame 31 grate 32 side wall 33 front wall 34 back wall ı3 35 actuator 36 wheel
Claims
CLAIMS 1. A pallet car moving arrangement (1) configured to move pallet cars (2) along pallet car rails (3), char- acterized in that the pallet car moving arrangement (1) comprises at least one rail (4), a moving mechanism (5) movable in opposite directions along the rail (4) and configured to engage the pallet car (2) for moving the pallet car (2) along the pallet car rails (3), and a drive device (6) for moving the moving mechanism (5) along said at least one rail (4).
2. The pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the moving mechanism (5) comprises at least one or two arms (11) configured to engage the pallet car (2) to be moved.
3. The pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the arm or arms (11) are retractable and / or swivelable to a position wherein the arm or arms (11) are arranged to pass the pallet car (2) on the pallet car rails (3) when the moving mechanism (5) is moved along the rail(s) (4).
4. The pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the moving arrangement (1) comprises two or more parallel rails (4), and the moving mechanism (5) is movable in opposite directions along the rails (4).
5. The pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to any of preceding claims, characterized in that the mov- ing arrangement (1) further comprises two chain wheels (7) and an endless chain (8) for each rail (4), wherein - the chain wheels (7) are arranged at a distance from each other in a direction of movement of the moving mechanism (5),- the endless chain (8) is arranged around the chain wheels (7), - the moving mechanism (5) is connected to an upper portion (8.1) of the endless chain (8), - the upper portion (8.1) of the endless chain (8) is supported by the rail 4, and - the drive device (6) is configured to rotate one of the chain wheels (7).
6. The pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to claims 4 and 5, characterized in that parallel chain wheels (7) are connected to a connecting shaft (9), and drive device (6) is configured to rotate one of the connecting shafts (9).
7. The pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to any of preceding claims 4-6, characterized in that the moving mechanism (5) comprises a moving table (10) mov- able in opposite directions along the rails (4), and at least two arms (11) attached to the moving table (10).
8. The pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to any of preceding claims 2-7, characterized in that the arms (11) are configured to engage a center part of the pallet car (2) and / or a front and / or a rear surface of the pallet car (2).
9. A sintering or pelletizing plant (13), characterized in that the plant comprises two parallel pallet car rails (3) along which pallet cars (2) are arranged to run, and a pallet car moving arrangement (1) according to any of the preceding claims, which pallet car moving arrangement (1) is placed in connection with, e.g. be- tween, the pallet car rails (3).
10. The sintering or pelletizing plant (13) according to claim 9, characterized in that the plant (13) com- prises a sintering / pelletizing machine (14) comprisinga removal point (15), via which pallet cars (2) are removable from the sintering / pelletizing machine (14), and a feeding point (16), via which pallet cars (2) are insertable into the sintering / pelletizing machine (14), and the pallet car moving arrangement (1) is placed in connection with the removal point (15) and / or feeding point (16).
11. The sintering or pelletizing plant (13) according to claim 10, characterized in that the pallet car moving arrangement (1) is configured to move pallet cars (2) toward the feeding point (16) to be inserted into the sintering / pelletizing machine (14) and / or move pallet cars (2) removed from the sintering / pelletizing machine (14) away from the removal point (15).
12. The sintering or pelletizing plant (13) according to any of preceding claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the plant (13) comprises a pallet car turning de- vice (17), and the pallet car moving arrangement (1) is placed in connection with the pallet car turning device (17) and configured to feed pallet cars (2) to the pallet car turning device (17) and / or remove pallet cars (2) from the pallet car turning device (17).
13. The sintering or pelletizing plant (13) according to claim 12, characterized in that the pallet car moving arrangement (1) is configured to feed pallet cars (2) removed from sintering / pelletizing machine (14) to the pallet car turning device (17).