Vibrating screen

Abstract

A vibrating screen having a plurality of crossbeams and a exciter beam. The crossbeam comprises: an elongated main body defining an internal cavity and openings at the opposed ends thereof; a pair of end support members secured to the opposed ends of the main body, and which extend inward from a periphery of the main body such that a portion of each of the support members at least partially overlaps the opening; the pair of support members including a plurality of apertures in the portion which at least partially overlaps the opening. The exciter beam comprises: a main body defined by a top wall, a bottom wall spaced from the top wall, and a pair of laterally spaced side walls extending transversely between the top and bottom walls; and wherein the at least one of the pair of side walls includes at least one access opening.

Description

[0001] HP03-300

[0002] 1

[0003] VIBRATING SCREEN

[0004] FIELD OF INVENTION

[0005] The invention relates to components for a vibrating screen, more specifically a crossbeam and an exciter beam, and a vibrating screen comprising said components.

[0006] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Vibrating screens are used in the minerals industry for a variety of purposes, including classification (in which material is separated based on its size); dewatering (which involves removal of process water from the ore); heavy media recovery (which involves draining and rinsing to recover the media) and medium recovery for reuse in the process (e.g. ferro silicon or magnetite); scalping (removing coarse material during primary and secondary crushing); trash removal (screening of grit, wood and oversize material); grading (preparing products with size ranges); and desliming (e.g. removal of material smaller than 500 pm).

[0008] A conventional vibrating screen typically has a chassis with two opposed sidewalls and support members in the form of square hollow section crossbeams, although crossbeams of various profiles and structural section could be used, extending laterally between the sidewalls. The crossbeams form a support onto which a plurality of screen panels are mounted in order to create a screen deck.

[0009] In order to secure the crossbeams to the sidewalls, an external flange is welded around an outer periphery of both ends of the crossbeams with the flange having openings which corresponds to openings in the sidewalls through which fasteners are received to secure the flange to the sidewall. In such a configuration, the ends of the fasteners are located peripherally outside the crossbeam and are subject to wear due to material grinding against said fasteners. The term external flange means that the flange extends peripherally outward from the crossbeam, wherein the openings in the flange are outside the walls of the crossbeam.A current problem faced with crossbeams having external flanges is that high wear occurs on these external flanges and on the ends of the fasteners used to secure the crossbeam to sidewalls. This high wear may increase the rate of failure of the fasteners and increase the likelihood of separation between the crossbeam and the sidewalls. The external flanges furthermore increase the geometric complexity of the crossbeam which increases the cost and difficulty associated with rubber-lining the crossbeam.

[0010] A conventional vibrating screen further typically has an exciter beam which is secured to the two opposed side walls and which supports the drive mechanism or exciters which imparts motion to the screen deck. The exciter beam is usually in the form of hollow sections which are created by welding top, bottom, and side walls together.

[0011] A current problem faced with exciter beams is the weight of these beams and the welding required to join the different walls of the beam as these are only joined on the outer faces of the walls.

[0012] It is among the objects of an embodiment of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the above disadvantage or other disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

[0013] The various aspects detailed hereinafter are independent of each other, except where stated otherwise. Unless it is technically unfeasible, features of one aspect may be combined with any of the other aspects to create new aspects. However, any claim corresponding to one aspect should not be construed as incorporating any element or feature of the other aspects unless explicitly stated in that claim.

[0014] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify indispensable features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.In this application, ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) are assigned arbitrarily herein, and are used to differentiate between parts, and do not indicate a particular order, sequence, or importance.

[0016] According to a first aspect, there is provided a crossbeam for a vibrating screen, the crossbeam comprising:

[0017] o an elongated main body defining an internal cavity and openings at opposed ends of the main body;

[0018] o a pair of end support members secured to the opposed ends of the main body, each end support member extending inward from a periphery of the main body such that at least a portion of the end support member overlaps at least part of the openings at the opposed ends of the main body; and

[0019] o wherein each of the end support members include a plurality of apertures located in the portion which overlaps the openings, such that the plurality of apertures are located inward from the periphery of the main body.

[0020] The main body may be defined by top, bottom, and side walls with the cavity extending longitudinally between the top, bottom, and side walls. The periphery of the main body may be defined by the top, bottom, and side walls such that the support members extend transversely and peripherally inward relative to at least one of the top, bottom and side wall to overlap at least a portion of the opening in the opposed ends of the main body. The support members may at least partially cover the openings at the opposed ends of the main body.

[0021] The plurality of apertures of the end support members may be configured to receive fasteners to secure the crossbeam to sidewalls of the vibrating screen.

[0022] The main body may have a hollow interior with the portion of the pair of end support members extending inward from a peripheral region of the main body covering at least part of the hollow interior.

[0023] The main body may have a substantially cuboid shape.

[0024] Optionally, the pair of end support members may only partially overlap / cover the openings in the main body whereby an opening is defined in the support members to allow access into the cavity of the main body through the opening. Stated differently,each end support member may include an opening such that the end support member only partially overlap / cover the opening in the main body.

[0025] Optionally, a portion of each end support member may extend transversely to and peripherally outward past the periphery of the main body which is defined by the top, bottom, and side walls of the main body. Each end support member may be secured to the opposed ends of the main body by creating a joint between an outer face of the top, bottom, and side walls of the main body and an inner face of the end support member. The inner face of the end support members may be defined as the face which faces inward towards the elongated body. The joint between the top, bottom, and side walls of the main body and the inner face of the end support member is preferably created by welding although suitable alternatives may be used.

[0026] Optionally, an upper surface, also the outer face of the top wall, of the main body provides a support base for supporting a plurality of screen panels. It is to be appreciated that the upper surface / top wall of the main body may provide a support base onto which a variety of screen panel supports, which support or otherwise secure the support panels, are secured.

[0027] The crossbeam may comprise, an elongated body having a cuboid shape defined by top, bottom, and side walls, the main body further having a cavity extending longitudinally between the top, bottom, and side walls and defining an opening in opposed ends of the main body; a pair of support members secured to the opposed ends of the main body, the support members extending transversely and peripherally inward relative to at least one of the top, bottom, and side walls so that a portion of each of the support members at least partially cover the opening; and wherein the pair of support members include a plurality of openings in the portion which at least partially covers the opening so that the plurality of openings are peripherally inwardly spaced from at least one of the top, bottom, and side walls.

[0028] According to a second aspect, there is provided an exciter beam for a vibrating screen, the exciter beam comprising:

[0029] o a main body having a central section and a pair of support sections extending longitudinally from opposed ends of the central section, the main body defined by a top wall, a bottom wall spaced from the top wall, and a pair of laterallyspaced side walls extending transversely between the top and bottom walls; and

[0030] o wherein the at least one of the pair of side walls includes at least one access opening formed by a cut-out formation in the side walls to allow access to a cavity defined between interior faces of the side, top, and bottom walls.

[0031] Optionally, the support sections of the main body extend laterally beyond the central section. In other words, the width of the support sections may be larger than the width of the central section. In use, the support sections and more specifically the outer face of the top wall provide a support face onto which exciter are secured.

[0032] Optionally, each opposed end of the support section may include an opening with an end plate secured to the opposed end to overlap at least a portion of the opening. A plurality of apertures may be located in the end plate where it overlaps the opening. The plurality of apertures may be configured to receive fasteners to secure the exciter beam to sidewalls of the vibrating screen,

[0033] Optionally, the exciter beam may include a recessed portion formed by a cavity in an inner face of the top wall so that the recessed portion is recessed relative to the remainder of the inner face. By machining a cavity to form the recessed portion the overall weight of the exciter beam may be significantly reduced.

[0034] Optionally, the recessed portion may extend longitudinally along the inner face of the top wall substantially the entire length of the main body. Alternatively, the recessed portion may extend substantially the entire length of the central section of the main body. In other words, the recessed portion may be omitted from the support section of the main body which support the exciters.

[0035] Optionally, at least one of the pair of side walls may include a plurality of access openings longitudinally spaced from one another. In a preferred embodiment, each of the pair of side walls may include two access openings which are longitudinally spaced from one another. It is preferred that the access openings are only in the central section of the main body and do not extend towards the support sections.

[0036] Optionally, the exciter beam may further include access covers which are secured to either or both of the pair of side wall / s in which the access openings are formed and wherein the access covers are dimensioned to cover the access openingwhen secured to either or both pair of side wall / s. The access covers and the pair of sidewalls may include corresponding apertures through which fasteners may be received to secure the access cover to the pair of sidewalls.

[0037] According to a third aspect, there is provided a vibrating screen comprising: o a chassis comprising opposing sidewalls and a plurality of longitudinally spaced crossbeams according to the first aspect extending between the opposing sidewalls and wherein the support members of each crossbeam are secured to the opposing sidewalls, with upper faces of the crossbeams forming a support base which supports a plurality of screen panels forming a screen deck.

[0038] Optionally, the vibrating screen may include one or more screen decks wherein the vibrating screen includes one or more sets of plurality of longitudinally spaced crossbeam wherein each set forms a support base which support a plurality of screen panels to form one or more screen decks. The one or more sets may therefore be vertically offset to one another. The plurality of longitudinally spaced crossbeams in each set may also be vertically offset to one another to create a curved profile.

[0039] The vibrating screen may further include the exciter beam according to the second aspect. The exciter beam may extend between and be secured to the opposing sidewalls.

[0040] The vibrating screen may further include a pair of exciters which are secured to the upper face of the exciter beam at the support section. The pair of exciters impart motion to the screen deck (or multiple screen decks). Each exciter in the exciter pair may include a gearbox coupled on each side to an out-of-balance mass, where the gearbox rotates the out-of-balance masses in opposite directions (i.e. the out-of-balance masses being contra-rotated by the exciters).

[0041] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a vibrating screen comprising: o a chassis comprising opposing sidewalls and an exciter beam according to the second aspect extending between and secured to the opposing sidewalls. The vibrating screen may further include a pair of exciters which are secured to the upper face of the exciter beam at the support section. The pair of exciters impartmotion to the screen deck (or multiple screen decks). Each exciter in the exciter pair may include a gearbox coupled on each side to an out-of-balance mass, where the gearbox rotates the out-of-balance masses in opposite directions (i.e. the out-of-balance masses being contra-rotated by the exciters).

[0042] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] These and other aspects of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0044] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a vibrating screen including a crossbeam and an exciter beam in accordance with a first and a second aspect of the invention;

[0045] Fig. 2 is a front view of the vibrating screen of Fig.1 ;

[0046] Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the vibrating screen along the line 3-3 shown in Fig. 2;

[0047] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the crossbeam in accordance with the first aspect of the invention;

[0048] Fig. 5a is a sectional view of the crossbeam along the line 5-5 shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 5b is a perspective of Fig. 5a showing a portion of the crossbeam;

[0049] Fig. 6 is a perspective view from the top of the exciter beam in accordance with the second aspect of the invention;

[0050] Fig. 7 is a perspective view from the bottom of the exciter beam of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a similar view to that of Fig. 8 showing the exciter beam and exciters secured to the exciter beam.

[0051] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0052] With general reference to Figs. 1-3 of the drawings, the invention is described in relation to a vibrating screen 100, and more specifically a sloped vibrating screen (or banana vibrating screen), comprising a plurality of crossbeams 10 (shown in more detail in Figs. 4, 5a and 5b) in accordance with a first aspect of the invention and an exciter beam 50 (shown in more detail in Figs. 6-8) in accordance with a second aspect of the invention. Vibrating screens 100 are well known and are used to separate materials according to their size or to separate slurries of materials into their liquid and solid components.A general description of the vibrating screen 100 is provided as follows. The vibrating screen 100 receives material (such as aggregate, rocks, gravel, slurry, a mineral solution, or the like) via a feed area 102 above a screen deck 104a and allows liquid or particles smaller than the apertures (not shown) in the screen deck 104 to fall therethrough and be transported to a fine particle (or liquid) discharge area (generally indicated by arrow 106) usually underneath the screen deck 104. Coarse particles (which are larger than the apertures) remain on top of the screen deck 104a and exit from the vibrating screen 100 at a coarse particle discharge area (shown generally by arrow 108). The vibrating screen 100 shown in Figs.1-3 is in the form of a multi-deck sloped screen where a second screen deck 104b is provided below the first screen deck 104a. In this configuration the vibrating screen 100 has the advantage of being able to simultaneously separate materials into multiple particle size fractions by utilizing two separate screening decks 104a, 104b where the apertures in the second screening deck 104b are smaller than in the first screening deck 104a, allowing for a more efficient and precise separation process compared to a single deck screen.

[0053] The screen decks 104a, 104b each have a curved profile when viewed from the side (as shown more clearly in Fig. 3) and include a plurality of removable screen panels 110. It is to be appreciated that the vibrating screen 100 may include a single screen deck or the screen deck may be substantially horizontal.

[0054] The vibrating screen 100 includes a pair of upright sidewalls 112a, 112b spaced laterally and extending longitudinally for substantially the entire length of the screen decks 104a, 104b. The vibrating screen 100 further includes two sets of longitudinally spaced crossbeams 10a, 10b with each set vertically offset from one another and extending between the pair of upright sidewalls 112a, 112b. As shown, the crossbeams 10a, 10b of each set are also vertically offset from one another to create the curved profile.

[0055] A plurality of laterally spaced cleats 113 are secured on top of the upper face of the crossbeams 10a, 10b and supporta plurality of panel supports 114, onto which the plurality of screen panels 110 are secured, which are transverse to the crossbeam 10 and extend for substantially the entire length of the screen decks 104a, 104b. It is to be appreciated that the upper face of the crossbeam 10, 10b may support a variety of panel supports depending on the type of removable screen panel used.The crossbeam 10 in accordance with the first aspect of the invention is shown in more detail in Figs 4-6. The crossbeam 10 comprises an elongated main body 12 defining an internal cavity and openings 20 at the opposed end of the main body 12. In the embodiment shown, the main body 12 has a cuboid shape which is defined by top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b with the internal cavity extending longitudinally between the top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b. In other words, the main body 12 is a substantially hollow cuboid having openings 20 in opposed ends.

[0056] The crossbeam 10 furthermore includes a pair of end support members 22 which are secured to opposed ends of the main body 12 and which allow the crossbeam 10 to be secured to the pair of upright sidewalls 112a, 112b as shown in Figs. 1-3. Each of the support members 22 extends inward from a periphery of the main body 12 such that at least a portion of the support member 22 overlaps at least part of the opening 20 at the opposed ends of the main body 12. The periphery of the main body 12 may be defined by the top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b such that each of the support members 22 extends transversely therefrom peripherally inward to at least partially cover the openings 20 in the opposed ends of the main body 12.

[0057] The support members 22 are secured to the ends of the main body 12 by creating a joint between an outer face of the top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b and an inner face of each of the support members 22. The inner face of the support members 22 can be defined as the face of each of the support member 22 which faces the main body 12. Alternatively or in addition, a joint may be created between an inner face of the top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b and the inner face of each of the support members 22. Preferably, the joint between the outer and / or inner face of the top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b and the inner face of the support members 22 may be created by welding although suitable alternatives may be used.

[0058] The support members 22 furthermore includes a plurality of apertures 24 which are located in the portion that overlaps the opening 20, such that the plurality of apertures 24 are peripherally inwardly spaced from the top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b. The plurality of apertures 24 extend longitudinally through the support members 22 or in other words transverse to the inner face of the support members 22.The plurality of apertures 24 may correspond to openings (not shown) in the upright sidewalls 112a, 112b allowing the support member 22 to be secured to the upright sidewalls 112a, 112b via suitable fasteners, such as bolts, which are received through the apertures 24 in the support member 22 and the upright sidewalls 112a, 112b. It is to be appreciated, that with the fasteners received through the plurality of apertures 24 in the support members 22, ends of the fasteners are located within the cavity.

[0059] As shown in this embodiment, the support members 22 includes a central opening 23 such that the support members only partially overlaps the openings 20 to allow access into the cavity of the main body 12 through the central opening 23. This allows access to ends of fasteners which extend through the apertures 24 in the support members 22 which are used to secure the crossbeam 10 to the upright sidewalls 112a, 112b. Where other fasteners are used, such as rivets, the central opening 23 may be omitted such that the support members 22 fully overlap / cover the opening 20. A portion of the support members 22 may also extend peripherally outward past at least one of the top 14, bottom 16, and side walls 18a, 18b.

[0060] It is to be appreciated that the pair of support members 22 can be described as flanges with at least a portion of the flange extending peripherally inward to cover / overlap at least a portion of the opening in the ends of the main body. As mentioned above, a portion of the flange may extend peripherally outward past a periphery of the main body defined by an outer face of the top, bottom, and side walls allowing a joint to be created between the outer faces of the top, bottom, and side walls and the support member.

[0061] The top wall 14 of the main body 12 may be arranged to allow the plurality of cleats 113 to be secured to the crossbeam 10. In the example embodiment shown, the top wall 14 includes a plurality of sets of holes which are longitudinally spaced and which correspond to holes in the cleats 113. The spacing of the sets may therefore differ based on the width of the screen panels used.

[0062] With the current invention, the area of the support members 22 or flanges which are subject to wear is decreased as the largest portion of the support members 22 is located peripherally inward from the periphery of the main body 12 defined by the walls . As mentioned above, the apertures 24 through which fasteners extend to secure thecrossbeam 10 to the sidewalls 112a, 112b are located peripherally inward from the periphery or the walls 14, 16, 18 of the main body 12. This allows the fasteners to be located within the main body 12 which significantly reduces wear on the fasteners. The current design of the crossbeam 10 therefore reduces the wear on the support members 22, the rate of failure of the fasteners, and the likelihood of separation between the crossbeam 10 and the sidewalls 112a, 112b due to the support members 22 or fasteners failing by reducing wear on the support members 22 and the fasteners.

[0063] In certain scenarios, the components, such as the inside of the upright sidewalls 112a, 112b and the outer face of the crossbeams 10 are rubber-lined to protect the components from wear. In such scenarios the crossbeam 10 has the additional advantage that the rubber lining of the crossbeam 10 is easier as opposed to a prior art crossbeam as the support member 22 extends from the periphery of the main body inwards as opposed to outward as in prior art crossbeams whereby the shape of the crossbeam 10 to be rubber-lined is simplified.

[0064] The current crossbeam 10 furthermore provides a weight reduction as the support members 24 may have a smaller overall area relative to external flanges of prior art crossbeams.

[0065] Reference is now made to Figs. 6-8 which shows the exciter beam 50 in accordance with the second aspect of the invention. The exciter beam 50 extends between the opposing sidewalls 110a, 110b above the first screen deck 104a as shown in Figs. 1-3. The exciter beam 50 supports, or in other embodiments houses, a drive mechanism that imparts motion to the screen decks 104a, 104b. The drive mechanism comprises an exciter pair 116a, 116b, with each exciter 116a, 116b including a gearbox (not shown) coupled on each side to an out-of-balance mass (not shown) where the gearbox (not shown) rotates the out-of-balance masses (not shown) in opposite directions (i.e. the out-of-balance masses being contra-rotated by the exciters). It is to be appreciated that other configurations are also possible.

[0066] The exciter beam 50 includes a main body 51 defined by a top wall 52 onto which the exciters 116 are secured on opposed ends of the exciter beam 50 (as shown in Fig. 8). The exciter beam 50 further includes a bottom wall 54 spaced from the top wall 52, and a pair of laterally spaced side walls 56a, 56b or webs extending betweenthe top wall 52 and the bottom wall 54. In the example shown, the exciter beam 50 includes a central section 58, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 6, and a pair of support sections 60, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 6, extending longitudinally from opposed ends of the central section 58 onto which the exciters 116 are secured. As shown the support sections 60 extend laterally beyond the central section 58 so that the support sections 60 have an increased width relative to the width of the central section 58 to accommodate the exciters 116.

[0067] The side walls 56a, 56b or webs of the exciter beam 50 may be substantially planar and extend the entire length of the exciter beam 50. The side wall or webs 56a, 56b each include at least one cut-out formation 62 allowing access to a cavity 64 defined between the side walls 56a, 56b, the top 52, and bottom wall 54. In the example shown, the sidewalls or webs 56a, 56b each include a pair of cut-outs 62 which are longitudinally spaced from one another. In the example shown, only one cut-outs 62 is visible with the other cut-out covered. These cut-out 62 significantly reduce the overall weight of the exciter beam 50 as well as provide access to cavity 64 so the top 52, bottom 54 and sidewalls 56a, 56b can be joined along their inner walls / surfaces, for example by welding, which would be impractical if the cut-outs 62 were omitted. By allowing the inner faces / walls of the top 52, bottom 54 and sidewalls 56a, 56b to be joined, the strength of the joint between the outer face of the side walls 56a, 56b and the top 52 and bottom 54 wall can be reduced which significantly simplifies the construction of the exciter beam 50, reduces the joint material required and simplifies the manufacturing process.

[0068] The exciter beam 50 further includes access covers 66 which are configured to be secured to the sidewall or webs 56a, 56b to cover the cut-outs 62. The access covers 66 are preferably thinner than the sidewalls 56a, 56b to still ensure the overall weight of the exciter beam 50 (main body 51 and access covers 66) is reduced. The access covers 66 furthermore restores the shear and / or structural capacity of the exciter beam 50.

[0069] To enable further weight saving the inner face of the top wall 52 includes a cavity or recess 68, shown more clearly in Fig. 7, which is machined into the inner face. The cavity or recess 68 is therefore a section which is recessed relative to theremaining inner face and which extends substantially the entire length of the central section 58.

[0070] The exciter beam 50 furthermore includes end plates 70 which are secured to opposing ends of the exciter beam 50, more specifically outer ends of the of the support sections 60, and which provides a face whereby the exciter beam 50 is secured against the upright sidewalls 112a, 112b. The end plates 70 may overlap at least a portion of an opening in the opposing ends of the exciter beam 50. A plurality of apertures (not shown) which are configured to receive fasteners to secure the exciter beam 50 to the sidewalls 112a, 112b of the vibrating screen 100, may be located in the end plate 70 where it overlaps the opening.

[0071] Various modifications may be made to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention. For example, the vibrating screen may be a single deck screen which is sloped or horizontal.

[0072] The terms “comprising”, “including", “incorporating", and “having" are used herein to recite an open-ended list of one or more elements or steps, not a closed list. When such terms are used, those elements or steps recited in the list are not exclusive of other elements or steps that may be added to the list.

[0073] Unless otherwise indicated by the context, the terms “a” and “an” are used herein to denote at least one of the elements, integers, steps, features, operations, or components mentioned thereafter, but do not exclude additional elements, integers, steps, features, operations, or components.

[0074] The presence of broadening words and phrases such as "one or more," "at least," "but not limited to" or other similar phrases in some instances does not mean, and should not be construed as meaning, that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases are not used.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS Crossbeam 10

[0075] Main body of crossbeam 12

[0076] Top wall of elongated main body 14

[0077] Bottom wall of elongated main body 16

[0078] Side walls of elongated main body 18

[0079] Openings in opposed end of elongated main body 20 End support members of crossbeam 22

[0080] Central opening in end support member 23 Apertures in support members 24

[0081] Exciter beam 50

[0082] Top wall of exciter beam 52

[0083] Bottom wall of exciter beam 54

[0084] Side walls of exciter beam 56a, 56b

[0085] Central section of exciter beam 58

[0086] Opposed end of exciter beam 60

[0087] Cut out formations in side walls of exciter beam 62 Cavity of exciter beam 64

[0088] Access cover of exciter beam 66

[0089] Cavity in inner face of top wall 68

[0090] End members of exciter beam 70

[0091] Vibrating screen 100

[0092] Feed area of vibrating screen 102

[0093] First screen deck 104a

[0094] Second screen deck 104b

[0095] Fine particle discharge area 106

[0096] Coarse particle discharge area 108

[0097] Removable screen panels 110

[0098] Upright sidewalls 112a, 112b

[0099] Cleats 113

[0100] Panels supports 114

[0101] Exciter pair 116a, 116b

Claims

CLAIMS1. A crossbeam for a vibrating screen, the crossbeam comprising:an elongated main body defining an internal cavity and openings at opposed ends of the main body;a pair of end support members secured to the opposed ends of the main body, each end support member extending inward from a periphery of the main body such that a portion of the support member overlaps at least part of the openings at the opposed ends of the main body; andwherein each of the end support members include a plurality of apertures located in the portion that overlaps the openings, such that the plurality of apertures are located inward from the periphery of the main body.

2. The crossbeam of claim 1, wherein the pair of support members only partially overlap the openings in the opposed ends of the main body with an opening defined in each support member allowing access into the cavity through the opening.

3. The crossbeam of claims 1 or 2, wherein a portion of each end support member extends transversely to and peripherally outward past the periphery of the main body.

4. The crossbeam of claim 3, wherein each support member is secured to the opposed end of the main body, by creating a joint between an outer face of atop, bottom, and side walls of the main body and an inner face of the end support member.

5. The crossbeam of any one of the preceding claims, wherein an upper surface of the crossbeam provides a support base for supporting a plurality of screen panels.

6. An exciter beam for a vibrating screen, the exciter beam comprising:a main body having a central section and a pair of support sections extending longitudinally from opposed ends of the central section, the main body defined by a top wall, a bottom wall spaced from the top wall, and a pairof laterally spaced side walls extending transversely between the top and bottom walls; andwherein the at least one of the pair of side walls includes at least one access opening formed by a cut-out formation in the side walls to allow access to a cavity defined between interior faces of the side, top, and bottom walls.

7. The exciter beam according to claim 6, wherein the support sections of the main body extend laterally beyond the central section.

8. The exciter beam according to claim 7, which includes a recessed portion formed by a cavity in an inner face of the top wall so that the recessed portion is recessed relative to the remainder of the inner face.

9. The exciter beam according to claim 8, wherein the recessed portion extends longitudinally along the inner face for substantially the entire length of the main body.

10. The exciter beam according to claim 8, wherein the recessed portion extends longitudinally along the inner face for substantially the entire length of the central section of the main body.11.The exciter beam according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein at least one of the pair of side walls includes a plurality of access openings longitudinally spaced from one another.

12. The exciter beam according to any one of claims 6 to 10, further including access covers which are secured to either or both of the pair of side wall / s in which the access opening is formed and wherein the access cover are dimensioned to covers the access opening when secured to either or both pair of side wall / s.

13. A vibrating screen comprising:a chassis comprising opposing sidewalls and a plurality of longitudinally spaced crossbeams according to any one of claims 1-5 extending between the opposing sidewalls and wherein the support members of each crossbeam are secured to the opposing sidewalls, with upper facesof the crossbeams forming a support base which supports a plurality of screen panels to form a screen deck.

14. The vibrating screen of claim 13, wherein the support members of the crossbeams are secured to the opposing sidewalls with fasteners which extend through the apertures in the support members and corresponding openings in the opposing sidewalls and wherein end of the fasteners are located within the cavity of the crossbeam.

15. The vibrating screen of claims 13 or 14, further comprising the exciter beam according to any one of claims 6-12 wherein the exciter beam extends between the opposing sidewalls.

16. The vibrating screen of claim 15, further including a pair of exciters secured to the upper face of the exciter beam at the support section wherein in use the exciter impart motion to the screen deck.

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