Mobile Bridge for Un-crushed Material Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for transferring excavated, uncrushed waste from excavators to dumping locations beyond their reach are inefficient, often requiring costly haul trucks or conveyor systems that may not handle oversized or wet materials effectively, diverting excavator resources and consuming fossil fuels.
Innovation Solution
A mobile bridge system with one or more skips that move between a loading end and a dumping end, allowing for the transfer of uncrushed material using a conveyor or intermediate transfer mechanism, synchronized to maintain continuous operation and reduce the need for excessive accelerations or speeds, enabling efficient transfer of material up to several hundred feet away.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If haul trucks are used to transport waste beyond excavator reach, then dumping distance is extended, but operational costs increase and fossil fuel consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile bridge as an intermediary structure that extends the excavator's reach. The bridge carries skips that can be positioned along its length, allowing waste to be transferred from the excavator to a distant dump location without requiring haul trucks. This mediator enables extended dumping distance while eliminating fossil fuel consumption associated with wheeled vehicles.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical system of haul trucks (internal combustion engines, wheels, roads) with a mechanically-driven bridge system powered by the excavator's existing mechanical energy. The bridge uses mechanical components such as winches, cables, and skip mechanisms to transport waste, substituting fossil-fuel-dependent vehicles with a mechanically-efficient system that utilizes the excavator's power directly.
2Productivity
If conveyor systems are used to transport waste, then continuous flow is achieved, but oversized rocks and wet/sticky materials cannot be handled
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile bridge system is dynamically configurable, allowing the bridge to be repositioned and the skips to be moved along its length. This dynamic adaptability enables the system to handle various material types including oversized rocks and wet/sticky materials that would clog conventional conveyors. The system can adjust its configuration based on material characteristics while maintaining continuous operational capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operational parameters of material handling by using discrete skip containers instead of continuous conveyor belts. This parameter change allows the system to accommodate variable material sizes, shapes, and moisture contents. The skips can be selectively positioned and emptied, providing versatility in handling different material types while maintaining productivity through continuous cyclic operation.
3Length of stationary object
If excavator is used to re-handle waste, then dumping distance is extended, but excavator productivity decreases due to diverted resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the waste handling function by separating the excavation task from the transport task. The excavator focuses solely on excavating and loading waste into skips, while the mobile bridge system handles the transport and positioning functions. This segmentation allows the excavator to maintain high productivity by not diverting resources to re-handling operations, while still achieving extended dumping distance through the bridge system.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile bridge system serves multiple functions: it acts as an extended conveyor, a positioning platform, and a discharge mechanism. By making the bridge multi-functional, the excavator can continuously perform its primary excavation function while the bridge handles various transport and discharge operations, thereby maintaining excavator productivity while achieving extended dumping capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A material handling apparatus may be employed to transfer discrete loads of excavated waste from an excavator or other excavation equipment to a dumping location beyond the reach of the excavator. The material handling apparatus may include a mobile bridge supported by two or more crawlers that enable movement of the mobile bridge. The material handling apparatus may further include a conveyance mechanism that transfers material between first and second ends of the mobile bridge. The conveyance mechanism may transfer material to haul trucks at the second end of the mobile bridge, which may be disposed above the first end of the mobile bridge. The conveyance mechanism may receive material from an intermediate transfer mechanism at the first end of the mobile bridge.