Rope Cam Dipper Hoist Attachment for Mining Shovels
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mining shovels experience high wear and maintenance issues at the bail bushing pin joint due to high loads and rotation, leading to significant downtime, and the bail and/or equalizer occupy valuable space, limiting the dig dump height.
Innovation Solution
A hoist rope attachment assembly that directly couples the hoist rope to the dipper using cams and rope guides, which are integrated or retrofitted onto the dipper, allowing for improved load distribution and reduced interference with material loading, thereby reducing wear and increasing operational height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bail bushing pin joint is used to couple the hoist rope to the dipper, then the rope shovel can perform digging operations, but the pin joint experiences high wear due to high loads and rotation, requiring time-consuming maintenance and resulting in significant downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the bail bushing pin joint from the system by directly coupling the hoist rope to the dipper body. This removes the wear-prone rotating connection while maintaining the functional ability to perform digging operations, thereby eliminating maintenance downtime associated with pin joint wear.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a rotating pin joint connection to attach the hoist rope, the patent inverts the approach by directly integrating the rope attachment into the dipper body structure itself, eliminating the intermediate rotating component that caused wear and maintenance issues.
2Reliability
If a bail and/or equalizer is used to couple the hoist rope to the dipper, then the rope shovel can perform digging operations, but the bail and/or equalizer consumes a significant amount of space, limiting the overall dig dump height
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the bail and equalizer components from the system by directly coupling the hoist rope to the dipper body. This extraction eliminates the space-consuming intermediate structures, thereby increasing the available dig dump height while preserving digging operation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the hoist rope attachment function directly into the dipper body structure, eliminating the need for separate bail and equalizer components. This integration reduces the overall height occupation while maintaining the functional capability to perform digging operations.
Data Source
AI summary
A mining machine assembly includes a dipper having a main body, the main body having a front side, a back side, a bottom side, and a top side. A ground engagement portion extends from the front side, the ground engagement portion including digging teeth. The mining machine assembly also includes a hoist rope attachment assembly coupled to the dipper. The hoist rope attachment assembly is configured to directly couple a hoist rope to the dipper. The hoist rope attachment assembly includes a cam having a first portion extending from the top side of the main body of the dipper, and a second portion that extends from the first portion and away from the main body and digging teeth.