Pneumatic unloader

Abstract

To provide a pneumatic unloader capable of controlling an attitude so that the attitude of a vertical boom is always held in a vertical state even when a horizontal boom is made to rise and fall.SOLUTION: A pneumatic unloader 1 which holds a vertical expansion pipe 5 hanging down while being provided with a suction nozzle 6 at its tip end by a vertical boom 11, and tiltably connects the vertical boom 11 to a tip end of a horizontal boom 8 that can be raised / lowered freely, and conveys a bulk material form the suction nozzle 6 by sucking to perform cargo handling, comprises: a tilting cylinder 12 (tilting device) for setting a tilting angle of the vertical boom 11 to the horizontal boom 8; and a control device for controlling the tilting cylinder 12 so that an attitude of the vertical boom 11 is always held in a vertical state even when the horizontal boom 8 is made to rise and fall.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pneumatic unloader. [Background technology]

[0002] A pneumatic unloader is known as an unloader that unloads various bulk materials such as grains from ships moored at a quay by inserting a suction nozzle into the bulk material and sucking it in (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] This type of pneumatic unloader is equipped with a horizontally extending telescopic pipe that is connected to a receiver tank located on the quay side and extends horizontally, a vertically extending telescopic pipe that is connected to the end of the horizontally extending pipe via a vent pipe and bends downward, and a suction nozzle that is connected to the end of the vertically extending pipe and can be inserted into the cargo, and unloads the cargo by sucking the loose cargo through the suction nozzle using the suction force of a vacuum blower.

[0004] Here, the base end of the horizontal telescopic pipe is held by a horizontal boom which is connected to a receiver tank so as to be able to freely tilt, and the upper end of the vertical telescopic pipe is held by a vertical boom which is connected to the tip of the horizontal boom so as to be able to tilt freely and hangs down, and the vertical boom is tilted by a tilting cylinder which is equipped on the tip side of the horizontal boom. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-23001 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-23004 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in such conventional pneumatic unloaders, although the tilting angle of the vertical boom relative to the horizontal boom can be adjusted using a tilting cylinder, it does not have the function of maintaining the vertical boom in a vertical position.Therefore, when the horizontal boom is raised or lowered, the vertical position of the vertical boom is lost and it tilts, which causes gaps to form between the bulk goods and the suction nozzle inlet, resulting in some parts not being sucked in, a decrease in suction air pressure making the lifting capacity unstable, and energy loss due to the sucking in of ineffective air.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a pneumatic unloader that can control the attitude of the vertical boom so that it is always maintained in a vertical position even when the horizontal boom is raised or lowered. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention is a pneumatic unloader in which a vertical boom holds a vertically extending pipe that is attached to the tip of a suction nozzle and hangs down, and the vertical boom is connected to the tip of a horizontal boom that can be tilted freely, and loose materials are sucked in and transported through the suction nozzle to perform cargo handling. a tilting device for setting a tilting angle of the vertical boom relative to the horizontal boom; and a control device for controlling the tilting device so that the attitude of the vertical boom is always maintained in a vertical state even when the horizontal boom is raised or lowered.

[0009] Furthermore, in carrying out the present invention more specifically, an angle detector is provided for detecting the angle at which the horizontal boom is raised and lowered, It is preferable that the control device calculates a tilting angle that maintains the vertical boom in a vertical state based on the detection value of the angle detector and controls the tilting device to achieve that tilting angle, and furthermore, it is preferable that the control device be configured to be able to release the vertical boom attitude control by the control device as appropriate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the pneumatic unloader of the present invention, posture control is performed so that the vertical boom is always maintained in a vertical position even when the horizontal boom is raised or lowered, and gaps can be prevented from forming between the loose items and the suction port of the suction nozzle.This prevents the occurrence of areas that are not sucked up, and also provides the excellent effect of maintaining good suction air pressure to stabilize lifting capacity and reduce energy loss due to sucking in useless air. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a pneumatic unloader of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control system for the tilting cylinder of FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a flowchart showing a specific control procedure in the control device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram relating to the attitude control of the vertical boom in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention. The pneumatic unloader 1 shown here is equipped with a horizontally extending telescopic pipe 3 that is connected to a receiver tank 2 located on the quay side and extends horizontally, a bend pipe 4 that is connected to the tip of the horizontally extending pipe 3 and bends downward, a vertically extending pipe 5 that is connected to the bottom end of the bend pipe 4 and extends vertically, and a suction nozzle 6 that is connected to the bottom end of the vertically extending pipe 5 and is inserted into it, and the suction force of a vacuum blower 7 is used to suck loose material through the suction nozzle 6 to unload it.

[0014] The horizontal telescopic pipe 3 has a double-tube structure in which its base end is held by a horizontal boom 8, which is connected to the receiver tank 2 so as to be able to be raised and lowered freely, and which extends and retracts in response to the lateral extension and contraction of the horizontal boom 8. On the other hand, the horizontal boom 8 is raised and lowered by the winding and unwinding operation of a wire 10 by a hoisting device 9 on the top of the receiver tank 2.

[0015] The vertical telescopic tube 5 has its upper end embraced by a vertical boom 11 that is tiltably connected to the tip of the horizontal boom 8 and hangs down, forming a double-tube structure that expands and contracts in response to the vertical expansion and contraction of the vertical boom 11, while the vertical boom 11 is tilted by the expansion and contraction operation of a tilting cylinder 12 (tilting device) that is equipped on the tip side of the horizontal boom 8.

[0016] Each of the horizontal boom 8 and the vertical boom 11 has a double-cylinder structure that is extendable and contractable in its own longitudinal direction. The horizontal boom 8 extends and contracts laterally by the extension and contraction operation of a horizontal telescopic cylinder (not shown) that is installed along the longitudinal direction of the horizontal boom 8, and the vertical boom 11 extends and contracts vertically by the winding and unwinding operation of a wire using an elevating device (not shown) at the top of the vertical boom 11.

[0017] Here, in Figure 1, reference numeral 13 denotes an encoder (angle detector) that detects the hoisting angle θ2 (see Figure 4) of the horizontal boom 8, and reference numeral 14 denotes a stroke sensor that detects the stroke length of the tilting cylinder 12. As shown in the block diagram of Figure 2, detection signals 13a and 14a from the encoder 13 and stroke sensor 14 are input to a control device 15, which outputs a control command 15a to an operating system 16 of the tilting cylinder 12 (for example, a hydraulic system if the tilting cylinder 12 is hydraulically driven).

[0018] More specifically, the hoisting angle θ2 of the horizontal boom 8 detected by the encoder 13 is input to the control device 15, and the stroke length of the tilting cylinder 12 detected by the stroke sensor is also input to the control device 15. The control device 15 geometrically calculates the tilting angle θ1 (see Figure 4) at which the vertical boom 11 should be kept vertical relative to the hoisting angle θ2 of the horizontal boom 8, calculates the stroke length of the tilting cylinder 12 that should achieve this tilting angle θ1, and outputs a control command 15a that controls the operating system 16 of the tilting cylinder 12 to achieve this stroke length.

[0019] In other words, the tilting angle θ1 of the vertical boom 11 relative to the horizontal boom 8 is automatically determined by the stroke length of the tilting cylinder 12. Therefore, if the hoisting angle θ2 of the horizontal boom 8 is known, it is geometrically determined what the tilting angle θ1 of the vertical boom 11 should be relative to the horizontal boom 8 to keep the vertical boom 11 in a vertical state. If the tilting cylinder 12 is controlled to the stroke length that will achieve that tilting angle θ1, the vertical boom 11 will be kept in a vertical state.

[0020] FIG. 3 shows the specific control procedure in the control device 15. First, in step S1, the hoisting angle θ2 of the horizontal boom 8 is detected. Then, in step S2, a geometric calculation is performed to determine what the tilting angle θ1 of the vertical boom 11 should be to keep the vertical boom 11 vertical, based on the hoisting angle θ2 of the horizontal boom 8. Next, in step S3, a control command 15a is output to cause the operating system 16 of the tilting cylinder 12 to achieve the tilting angle θ1 determined in step S2.

[0021] In other words, as shown in Figure 4, the erection angle θ of the vertical boom 11 with respect to the horizontal plane is the sum of the tilting angle θ1 of the vertical boom 11 and the hoisting angle θ2 of the horizontal boom 8. Therefore, in controlling the attitude of the vertical boom 11 to a vertical state where the erection angle θ is maintained at 90°, if the hoisting angle θ2 of the horizontal boom 8 is detected by the encoder 13, then the tilting angle θ1 of the vertical boom 11 can be controlled to an angle obtained by subtracting the hoisting angle θ2 from 90°; therefore, the tilting angle θ1 should be realized by the tilting cylinder 12.

[0022] Therefore, according to the above embodiment, posture control is performed so that the posture of the vertical boom 11 is always maintained in a vertical state even when the horizontal boom 8 is raised or lowered, and it is possible to prevent gaps from forming between the loose items and the suction port of the suction nozzle 6, thereby avoiding the occurrence of areas that are not sucked in, and also maintaining good suction air pressure to stabilize the lifting capacity and reduce energy loss due to sucking in useless air.

[0023] Here, the attitude control of the vertical boom 11 by the control device 15 can be released as appropriate by a release signal 17 (see Figure 2) output by manual operation by the operator from the driver's seat, and in normal lifting operations, the attitude control of the vertical boom 11 is always active so that the attitude of the vertical boom 11 is always maintained in a vertical state even when the horizontal boom 8 is raised and lowered. However, when it is desired to efficiently suck up loose material remaining in the corners of the hold towards the end of the lifting operation, it may be difficult for the suction nozzle to approach the loose material if the vertical boom 11 is left in a vertical position. In such cases, it is preferable to tilt the vertical boom 11 slightly from the vertical position so that the suction nozzle 6 can approach the loose material in the corner, so the attitude control of the vertical boom 11 by the control device 15 can be released and the vertical boom 11 can be manually tilted from the vertical position.

[0024] Furthermore, the pneumatic unloader of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it is possible to use a tilting device of a type other than a tilting cylinder, and to use an angle detector of a type other than an encoder, and of course various other modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1 Pneumatic unloader 5 Vertical telescopic tube 6 suction nozzle 8 horizontal boom 11 Vertical Boom 12 Tilting cylinder (tilting device) 13 Encoder (angle detector) 15 Control device 15a Control Command 16 Operation system 17 Release signal

Claims

1. A pneumatic unloader in which a vertical boom holds a vertical telescopic pipe that is attached to the tip of a suction nozzle and hangs down, and the vertical boom is connected to the tip of a horizontal boom that can be tilted freely, and loose materials are sucked in and transported through the suction nozzle to perform cargo handling, a tilting device for setting a tilting angle of the vertical boom relative to the horizontal boom; a control device for controlling the tilting device so that the attitude of the vertical boom is always maintained in a vertical state even when the horizontal boom is raised or lowered.

2. an angle detector for detecting an angle at which the horizontal boom is raised and lowered; 2. A pneumatic unloader as described in claim 1, wherein the control device calculates a tilting angle that maintains the vertical boom in a vertical state based on the detection value of the angle detector, and controls the tilting device to achieve that tilting angle.

3. 3. A pneumatic unloader according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the attitude control of the vertical boom by said control device can be appropriately released.

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