Screening panel equipped with replaceable wearing / functional section

Abstract

A screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section comprising of a screen panel; a plurality of reusable reinforcement & rubber / polyurethane; a fixing system including a metallic reinforcement (23) and screen deck (21) made of polyurethane; wherein said reusable reinforcement & rubber / polyurethane are configured to provide anti clogging screen panels with reusable / recyclable reinforcing section to reduce the material throwaway; wherein the said metallic reinforcement (23) includes plurality of holes at the centre where the depth, the diameter of the cavity / holes and the number of holes are configured as application and operating parameters; and wherein the said reinforcement with male protrusion pins and cavity / holes combined (25) is employed and said male and female joints enable panel to withstand heavier loads

Description

[0001] TEGA-2024-03

[0002] SCREENING PANEL EQUIPPED WITH REPLACEABLE WEARING / FUNCTIONAL SECTION

[0003] Field of Invention:

[0004] The present invention in general relates to screening panel for screening / separating or grading of minerals in the mining quarrying or other industries and in particular to screen panels equipped with replaceable wearing / functional section including mechanical interlocking between reinforcement & rubber / polyurethane configured for improved screening efficiency, reusing reinforcement and thereby capable for reducing carbon footprint.

[0005] Background of the invention:

[0006] The conventional polymer-based screening panels consist of a reinforcement embedded inside a wear resistant polymeric part. In the bulk handling material application, the polymeric part provides resistance to wear while the embedded reinforcement provides the structural strength to the screening panel so it can sustain the mechanical forces of the application. Screening panel system for ore screening decks that is now widely used by the mining industry, replaced the earlier screening cloths and large wire screening frames. These screening panels are known to be either of Rubber or Polyurethane with steel reinforcements. It is also known that such panels are manufactured by hot vulcanized method or casting. The panels are adapted to be secured with the support frame of the screen machine by bolting. The panels may also be secured to the frame with an alternate method using a pin and separate lug arrangement. A difficulty encountered in using these panels is that the whole panel needs to be replaced even if there is a minimum defect in the aperture zone due to cutting of aperture or wearing of aperture where screening area thickness is reduced. Even after the end-of-life of the panel, the entire left-out portion of the panel (i.e. the screening panel consisting of the reinforcement embedded inside the worn out polymer material) needs to TEGA-2024-03 be scrapped. These left-out portions of both the polymeric and reinforcement parts cannot be separated from each other since the reinforcement is chemically bonded with the polymer by application of the adhesives. At times, the separation process is time consuming and tedious.

[0007] Accordingly, there was a long felt need to design screen panels with design features which allows easy separation of the polymer from the reinforcement. These reinforcements can then be re-used to manufacture new set of panels. This also reduces the throwaway weight of each panel. The separated PU / Rubber can be used for other purpose, such as road construction, wheel manufacturing or several other purpose which are not mentioned here. The present invention meets the aforesaid long felt need.

[0008] The present innovation describes about a new concept and design of reinforcement of the product (Product refers to the screening panel consisting of a reinforcement embedded inside a polymer material). The proposed concept describes about a new design of reinforcement of the screen panel. The design features in the reinforcement of the panel allows mechanical interlocking with the polymeric part of the product, instead of the chemical bonding in existing product. After end-of-life of the panels, the reinforcement can be easily separated from the polymer material. The separated parts can then be reused or recycled or repurposed for other applications. The new screen panels proposed through the present invention has few discrete point connections between reinforcement and the rubber / polyurethane, which also provides additional secondary vibration in panels to reduce clogging.

[0009] Objects of the invention:

[0010] Thus, it is an object of the invention to reduce the clogging of the screen panels hence increasing screening efficiency and the material output.

[0011] Another object is to reuse or recycle or repurpose the reinforcement used in the screening panel. TEGA-2024-03

[0012] Yet another object of the invention is to reduce the throwaway material at end of the life and increase the sustainability.

[0013] Still another object of the invention is to have a firm fixing between reinforcement and the abrasion resistant polymeric material.

[0014] Still another object of the invention is to reduce the manufacturing cost by reusing the reinforcement section multiple times.

[0015] Still another object of the invention is to reduce the manual interventions for removing the clogged particles from aperture of the screening panel.

[0016] Still another object of the invention is to reduce the down time due to the shutdown of equipment for removing the clogged particles from aperture of the screening panel.

[0017] An additional object of the invention is to reduce carbon footprint and reduction of per kg of CO2 emission.

[0018] All throughout the specification including the claims, the words "screen panel", "mining", "quarrying", "mineral", "ores", "abrasion resistant", "wear resistant", "sections", "zones", "wear zone / section", "reinforcement zone / section" are to be interpreted in the broadest sense of the respective terms and includes all similar items in the field known by other terms, as may be clear to persons skilled in the art. Restriction / limitation, if any, referred to in the specification, is solely by way of example and understanding the present invention.

[0019] Brief Description of accompanied drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 illustrates representation of the conventional screening panel.

[0021] Figure 2 illustrates the exploded view of the conventional screening panel where it comprises of conventional reinforcement and polymer screen deck.

[0022] Figure 3 illustrates the exploded view of one of the embodiments having a reinforcement holed at centre of the depth. TEGA-2024-03

[0023] Figure 4 illustrates isometric view of the reinforcement with holes at centre of the depth.

[0024] Figure 5 illustrates partial section view of the one of the embodiments representing the joints formed during polymerization.

[0025] Figure 6 illustrates isometric view of the reinforcement with protruded pins.

[0026] Figure 7 illustrates isometric view of the reinforcement with both holes at centre of the depth and protruded pins combined.

[0027] Figure 8 illustrates isometric view of the reinforcement with either cavity or protruded pins of round, square oval, slot, or any other feasible section.

[0028] Figure 9 illustrates isometric view of the reinforcement designed to occupy higher volume.

[0029] Figure 10 illustrates isometric view of the screening panel for embodiment where a reinforcement designed to occupy higher volume is used.

[0030] Figure 11 illustrates exploded view of the screening panel for embodiment where a reinforcement designed to occupy higher volume is used.

[0031] Figure 12 illustrates isometric view of the polymeric deck for embodiment where a reinforcement designed to occupy higher volume is used.

[0032] Detailed description of the invention:

[0033] The present invention as described below, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular embodiments, drawings, methodologies and material described, as these may vary as per the person skilled in the art. It is also to be understood that terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing and particular embodiments only and it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. TEGA-2024-03

[0034] Before the present invention is described, it is to be understood that unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Further, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the methodologies and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are described, as these may vary within the specification indicated. Unless stated to the contrary, any use of the words such as "including," "containing," "comprising," "having" and the like, means "including without limitation" shall not be construed to limit any general statement that it follows to the specific or similar items or matters immediately following it. Embodiments of the invention are not mutually exclusive but may be implemented in various combinations. The described embodiments of the invention and the disclosed examples are given for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation of the invention as set forth the appended claims. Further the terms disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary methods of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.

[0035] It is also to be understood that the terms “a”, “an”, “the” and like are words for the sake of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms. Moreover, it will be understood that the illustrations are for the purpose of describing a particular exemplary embodiment of the invention and are not limited to the invention thereto.

[0036] “Screening”, “grading”, “classification”, “screening panel”, “clogging”, “secondary vibrations”, “screening efficiency”, “reinforcement”, “polymer deck” are to be interpreted in the broadest sense of the respective terms and includes all similar items in the field known by other terms, as may be clear to persons skilled in the art. Restriction / limitation, if any, referred to in the specification, is solely by way of example and understanding the present invention.

[0037] To reduce the material clogging while screening & reuse / recycle the reinforcement section thus reducing throwaway of screening panel, the TEGA-2024-03 present invention provides a simple mechanism which will help reducing significant amount of material clogging and increase the sustainability of the product.

[0038] In one of the embodiments of the invention, the Screen panels with reusable reinforcement & rubber / polyurethane provides anti clogging screen panels with reusable / recyclable reinforcing section to reduce the material throwaway. Wherein said fixing system comprises a metallic reinforcement (23) and screen deck (21) made of polyurethane.

[0039] Typically, the metallic reinforcement (23) has the holes at the centre of the depth, the diameter of the holes and the number of holes is designed based on the application and operating parameters. The reinforcement (23) is either coated with the corrosive resistance paints or galvanized, also it can be used without any corrosive resistance coating. The reinforcement (23) is then placed in the mould and arranged at the centre of the product and polyurethane matrix is poured in the heated mould. The polyurethane flows into the holes and it creates a joint between two sides of polyurethane deck (21) separated by reinforcement (23). The number of joints and their positions are designed with respect to the loading conditions. Since the reinforcement (23) is not coated with the adhesives which bonds metal to polyurethane deck (21), there is no bond between reinforcement (23) and screen deck (21) which is essential for the flexibility of the screening panel for anti-clogging and reuse or recycling of reinforcement (23).

[0040] The screening panels when replaced at the end of the wear life, the reinforcement (23) are separated from the screen deck (21) by cutting the joints with the knife. Since reinforcement (23) is exposed at bottom, it has clear access to put knife and tear these joints. Once reinforcement (23) is removed it is reused in manufacturing the new panel, or easily recycled if not in usable condition.

[0041] Alternatively, the rubber matrix is used instead of the polyurethane. Reinforcement (23) is set in the mould of the hot vulcanization rubber moulding and the rubber flows into the holes to create the joints. TEGA-2024-03

[0042] In another embodiment of the present invention, the thermoplastic polyurethane matrix is used instead of thermoset polyurethane. The thermoplastic polyurethane is a recyclable material which eliminates the material going to waste or landfill. The reinforcement with the holes (23) used and the joints are created when thermoplastic polyurethane flows from the holes.

[0043] In another embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcement with male protrusion pins (24) instead of the holes is used. The reinforcement (24) is placed in the mould of any suitable manufacturing process and either of polyurethane, rubber, thermoplastic polyurethane, or any other wear resistant polymer flows around the pin and creates female cavity in the polymer deck. This type of joints is more suitable to the polymer matrix with lesser shear strength values.

[0044] In another embodiment of the present invention, the reinforcement with male protrusion pins and holes combined (25) is used. The combination of the male and female joints enable panel to withstand heavier loads.

[0045] Alternatively, the reinforcement (26) has the holes or hollow cavity at the centre of the depth to flow and produce the polymeric joint or the male protruded section, the shapes of the cavity or protruded section can be round, square oval, slot, or combination or any other feasible section.

[0046] In an embodiment said reinforcement (23) is set in the mould of the hot vulcanization moulding and the polymer material flows into the holes to create the joints and said reinforcement (31) has fixing holes on its top side and configured for incrementing the volume of reinforcement in the structural zone of the panels, thereby reducing the material throwaway of the polymeric material.

[0047] In another embodiment of the present invention, the higher volume reinforcement (31) is used rather than conventional to reduce the throwaway in the structural zone of polymer deck (32). The design maximizes the reinforcement section, which is reused multiple times, hence lesser volume TEGA-2024-03 for the polymer matrix thus reducing the throwaway. The design offers a perpendicular joint with respect to the depth of the panel, resulting in axial loads due to the material on polymeric joints. The tensile strength of polymers is significantly higher compared to the shear strength of the polymers which improves load carrying capacity.

[0048] In another embodiment of the present invention, the riveting is done at the position of the joints where the holes are there in the reinforcement (23) after manufacturing of the panels. The rivets take significantly higher shear loads hence it is used in extreme load conditions. After removing rivets and cutting joints reinforcement (23) is ready to reuse.

[0049] In another embodiment of the present invention, the glass fibre composite reinforcement is used and has provisions to use any material which can withstand the loads.

[0050] Alternatively, there is a provision for all above stated embodiments the parts and techniques and arrangements are interchangeable and can be used in any combinations.

[0051] ESG Screen Panels - reducing carbon footprint

[0052] Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Screen reduces carbon emissions from production of panels to operation at site while simultaneously increasing performance metrices for end user by reducing undersize reporting to oversize and oversize reporting to undersize. The following are the performance enhancements of ESG Screen panels for blast furnace operation as an example:

[0053] • Increase in Mean Sinter Size: o Productivity of BF: Increase by 4.5% (Increase by 53 T / day or 0.01 Mn Ton / year) o Fuel Rate: Reduced by 3.5% (Decrease by 5.7 kg / thm or 12.6 Mn ton coal / year)

[0054] • Increase in Mean Coke Size: TEGA-2024-03

[0055] • Productivity of BF: Increase by 1.6% (Increase by 33 T / day or 0.0066 Mn Ton / year) o Fuel Rate: Reduced by 0.3% (Decrease by 0.24 kg / thm or 0.5 Mn ton coal / year)

[0056] • Presence of (- 12 mm) iron ore fines in the BF feed: o Productivity of BF: Increase by 15% o Fuel Rate: Reduced by 0.4%

[0057] Selecting ESG Screen Panels is a commitment to sustainability as well as a wise business move. ESG Screen Panels provide a useful and efficient solution, regardless of your goals — meeting environmental standards, cutting operating expenses, or just making the world a cleaner place.

[0058] Examples-

[0059] 1) A 40 mm thick deck panel of 16 mm X16 mm aperture size was prepared for evaluation, it has metallic reinforcement and polyurethane wear resistance matrix. The reinforcement was manufactured with 5 mm plate and 25 mm depth. 8.5 diameter 16 holes on the outer section i.e. 4 holes on each side of reinforcement were used for interlocking. The product was manufactured with the PU open casting process. The panels were tested and able to withstand 850+ kg load before snapping out, which is many times more than actual requirement. The anticlogging property of panels also improved significantly. Upon testing the reinforcement is removed by knife and took just 5 mins each panel to separate the reinforcement manually. The removed reinforcement was in a similar condition & reused in manufacturing another PU panel.

[0060] 2) A 40 mm thick Rubber deck panel of 20 mm X 25 mm aperture size was prepared for evaluation, it has metallic reinforcement and Rubber wear resistance matrix. The reinforcement was manufactured with 5 mm plate and 30 mm depth. 10 mm diameter 20 holes on the outer section i.e. 4 holes on each fixing side of reinforcement and 6 holes each on TEGA-2024-03 non - fixing side were used for interlocking. The product was manufactured with the Rubber injection moulding process. The panels were tested and able to withstand 500+ kg load before snapping out, which is many times more than actual requirement. The anticlogging property of panels also improved significantly. Upon testing the reinforcement is removed by knife and took just 3 mins each panel to separate the reinforcement manually. The removed reinforcement was in a similar condition & reused in manufacturing another Rubber panel.

[0061] While the present invention has been described with reference to a specific preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes could be made to this embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. The above-mentioned description are provided to serve the purpose of clarifying the aspects of the invention, and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that they do not serve to limit the scope of the invention. By way of example, the total arrangement of the different sections is customized. The above-mentioned three idler assembly as example is just one of the many configurations that the mentioned components can take on. All modifications and improvements have been incorporated herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

TEGA-2024-03We Claim1. A screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section comprising of: a screen panel; a plurality of reusable reinforcement & rubber / polyurethane; a fixing system including a metallic reinforcement (23) and screen deck (21) made of polyurethane; wherein said reusable reinforcement & rubber / polyurethane are configured to provide anti clogging screen panels with reusable / recyclable reinforcing section to reduce the material throwaway; wherein the said metallic reinforcement (23) includes plurality of holes at the centre where the depth, the diameter of the cavity / holes and the number of holes are configured as application and operating parameters; and wherein the said reinforcement with male protrusion pins and cavity / holes combined (25) is employed and said male and female joints enable panel to withstand heavier loads.

2. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement with male protrusion pins (24) are adapted instead of the holes; and wherein said reinforcement (24) is placed in the mould with polyurethane, rubber, thermoplastic polyurethane, or other wear resistant polymer configured to flow around the pin and creates female cavity in the polymer deck.

3. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement (23) is coated with the corrosive resistance paints or galvanized.TEGA-2024-034. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 2, wherein said reinforcement (23) is placed in the mould and arranged at the centre of the product and polyurethane matrix is poured in the heated mould; and wherein said polyurethane flows into the holes and creates a joint between two sides of polyurethane deck (21) separated by reinforcement (23).

5. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 4, wherein the number of joints and their positions are configured with respect to the loading conditions.

6. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement (23) is not coated with any adhesives which bonds metal to polyurethane deck (21), there is no bond between reinforcement (23) and screen deck (21) which is essential for the flexibility of the screening panel for anti-clogging and reuse or recycling of reinforcement (23); and wherein said ESG Screen Panels are configured for reducing carbon footprint.

7. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 1, wherein under condition that screening panels needs replacement at the end of the wear life, the reinforcement (23) is separated from the screen deck (21) by cutting the joints with plane knife; wherein said reinforcement (23) is exposed at bottom and possess clear access to put knife and tear these joints; and wherein after removing rivets and cutting joints, the said reinforcement (23) is ready for reuse.

8. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement (23) is set in the mouldTEGA-2024-03 of the hot vulcanization moulding and the polymer material flows into the holes to create the joints; wherein said reinforcement (31) has fixing holes on its top side and configured for incrementing the volume of reinforcement in the structural zone of the panels, thereby reducing the material throwaway of the polymeric material; and wherein the tensile strength of said polymers is higher compared to the shear strength of the polymers thereby improving load carrying capacity.

9. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polyurethane matrix is used instead of thermoset polyurethane, where said thermoplastic polyurethane is a recyclable material.

10. The screening panel with replaceable wearing / functional section as claimed in claim 1, wherein said riveting is done at the position of the joints where the cavity / holes are there in the reinforcement (23) after the manufacturing of the panels; wherein the shapes of the cavity or protruded section is round, square oval, slot, or combination thereof.Dated 13«i-Aug 2024(Pawan Kumar Maheshwari)IN / PA- 761

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