Chute Liner Mounting Formation and Locking Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing chute liner replacement process in chutes with shelves is inefficient, requiring shutdowns of material flow, which disrupts production and increases costs due to prolonged downtime.
Innovation Solution
A chute liner design featuring a base with a mounting formation that passes through a locking formation aperture in the shelf, combined with a locking member that engages the mounting formation to securely clamp the liner to the shelf, allowing for quicker and more efficient replacement without shutting down the material flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If conventional liners are used in chutes with shelves, then the liners can be replaced, but the replacement requires shutting down material flow which disrupts production and increases downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The chute liner is divided into modular components including a base plate, arms, and mounting formations that can be independently replaced. The base plate with mounting formations allows the liner to be segmented into replaceable units that can be swapped without shutting down the entire chute system, enabling maintenance while material flow continues.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting formations are pre-configured in the base plate with alignment features and mounting holes positioned to allow rapid installation and removal of liners. This preliminary preparation of the mounting structure enables quick replacement operations without requiring shutdowns, as the mounting formations are already in place and ready for liner exchange.
2Device complexity
If liners are mounted directly on the shelf, then the structure is simple, but the locking members are exposed to rock material flow which causes wear and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The locking members are nested within recesses in the shelf, with only the necessary mounting portions extending through the shelf thickness. This nesting arrangement protects the locking members from direct exposure to rock material flow while maintaining a simple mounting structure, as the locking members are housed within the shelf geometry rather than being externally exposed.
Solution Approach 2:
The base plate acts as an intermediary component between the locking members and the shelf. The mounting formations on the base plate interface with the shelf's locking formations, allowing the locking members to be protected within the shelf while still achieving secure liner attachment. This intermediary base plate structure shields the locking members from harmful rock material contact.
Data Source
AI summary
A chute liner for mounting on a shelf of a chute having at least one locking formation aperture therein. The chute liner includes a base for mounting on the shelf and an arm extending away from the base to a free end. The base has an operatively lower surface and an opposed operatively upper surface that contacts material passing through the chute. At least one mounting formation descends from the operatively lower surface of the base and passes through the locking formation aperture. The mounting formation forms a passage extending therethrough below the shelf and a locking member is displaced into the passage to operatively engage the mounting formation.