Handling plant for dumping and discharging bulk materials
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to bulk material handling devices and, in particular, to a new and useful handling plant for dumping and discharging bulk materials which includes a bridge member which is advantageously supported on a trackway for movement over a storage space adjacent a pile for the purposes of picking up the material and delivering it to the pile and which also includes means for removing material from the pile and delivering it to a discharge location. 
     The present invention relates particularly to a handling plant for dumping and discharging bulk material into or from a pile and includes a loading bridge which is movable over and spans the pile on which bulk conveyors are supported and which also carries a removing and dumping gear on trolleys which are movable along the support beams of the bridge in defined trackways. A known device of this type includes one for discharging bulk material from a dumped pile and which comprises a bridge structure with a horizontal girder spanning the pile and which is adapted to travel thereover. A trolley is mounted for moving along the girder. The trolley includes a transverse projecting at both sides of the girder and carrying a supporting frame secured thereto, on which a jib is pivotally mounted. The jib carries a bulk material removing gear at its end. A conveyor is mounted in the job for discharging the bulk material taken up by the removing gear, and this is followed by an elevator mounted in the girder, by which the material is transferred onto a belt conveyor extending along and supported on the bridge. For the purpose of dumping the bulk material in the loading space, the device comprises a second trolley which is movable on the same rails as the trolley for the removing gear and it carries an ejector. To dump the material, the material is fed to the ejector by the belt conveyor supported on the bridge. With this device of the prior art, bulk material can be dumped in or discharged from a pile. However, the two operations cannot be effected simultaneously. At any reversal of the operation, the respective eliminated gear must be moved to the end of the bridge (German Auslegeschrift 1,756,635). 
     Another known device is a traveling bridge for dumping and removing bulk material in and from piles, in which bucket-wheel conveyor jibs, each reaching up to the middle of the bridge, are pivotally mounted at fixed locations in the zone of the bridge supports. The bucket-wheel jibs are pivotable about horizontal axes and mounted on swing columns which are rotatable about their vertical axes. Cable lines attached to booms which are connected to the swing columns are provided for lifting and lowering the bucket-wheel jibs. To supply and discharge the material, the bucket-wheel jibs are followed by belt conveyors which transfer the material to a main conveyor. For both the dumping and removing of material in and from piles, an additional, horizontally and vertically pivotable dumping belt, which receives the material from the supply belts, is mounted in the center of the bridge girder. The disadvantage of this device is the necessity of providing two bucket-wheel jibs, each of which is capable of receiving or dumping material only at one side of the pile and to a limited extent, (German Auslegeschrift 1,141,591). 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a device for handling bulk material which avoids the drawbacks of the prior art and comprises only a single removing gear. In addition, it includes simple means to remove bulk material from one storage place and, simultaneously, and independently thereof to dump another bulk material, while permitting removal and dumping of both materials over the entire width of the pile. Further, the construction of the handling plant has to be as simple as possible and weight-saving. Also, the control of the handling plant has to be simple. 
     In accordance with the invention, the removing gear and the dumping gear are mounted on two separate tracks for traveling independently of each other along the entire length of the loading bridge. The invention has the advantage that an uninterrupted and uniform removal of the piled material and a simultaneous loading of the storage place over the entire width of the pile are ensured so that idle periods are eliminated. The handling plant is simple in construction and its operation is economical and easy to follow. 
     In an advantageous embodiment, the track for the removing gear is mounted above or below the track for the dumping gear. In another embodiment, the tracks for both the removing and the dumping gear are provided at the same level. If an operation of the handling plant in both longitudinal directions of the pile is provided, the dumping gear is equipped, according to a further embodiment of the invention, with a reversible cross-belt conveyor terminating at either side of the loading bridge. In another development of the invention, for a circular shape of the storage place, the loading bridge carries on its end supply and discharge belt, conveyors which are pivotable about vertical and horizontal axes. To ensure satisfactory and uniform removal and dumping of material from and into piles, the belt conveyors of the removing and dumping gears may be provided with measuring devices for the rate of flow, controlling interdependently the feed and discharge of bulk material to and from the storage place. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a handling plant for dumping and discharging bulk material from a pile which includes a loading bridge which is adapted to span and to be moved over the pile and which has first and second support beam portions extending longitudinally of the bridge which have respective first and second trackways thereon with a dumping gear comprising a first trolley which is movable along the first trackway and has conveyor means for receiving the bulk material and dumping it downwardly and which also includes a removing gear comprising a second trolley movable along the second trackway and including conveyor means for picking up the bulk material and for transferring it to another conveyor for delivery into the pile. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a handling plant which is simple in design, rugged in construction, and economical to manufacture. 
     The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     In the Drawing: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a loading bridge constructed in accordance with the invention; and 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawing in particular, the invention embodied therein, comprises a handling plant for dumping and discharging bulk material into or from a pile and which comprises a loading bridge, generally designated 1, which includes a first or upper beam 4 having a first trackway portion 15 thereon along which a dump gear, generally designated 17, is movable, and a lower beam 2 having a trackway portion 10 along which a removing gear 12 is movable in the longitudinal direction of the bridge structure. Upper beam 4 and lower beam 2 comprise box beams which are interconnected by means of struts 3. 
     Loading bridge 1 is supported on rails 7 and 8 by means of undercarriages 5 and 6, respectively. The loading bridge is indicated as spanning a storage space 9 of a container or hopper 9a. Such a storage space may be of any geometric configuration including rectangular or circular. 
     In accordance with a feature of the invention, the removing gear 12 includes a trolley 11 which travels along the track 10 in the longitudinal direction of the loading bridge 1. The removing gear 12 also includes a pivotal support lever structure 14a having sprocket guide wheels for a vertical conveyor 14 which may be pivoted about a horizontal axis 13 so that buckets or other pickup devices associated with the conveyor may be oriented in respect to the storage space or lifted upwardly therefrom when necessary. In addition, when it is necessary to move the bridge over the top of a pile, the vertical conveyor can be swung upwardly about its horizontal axis 13 and then brought into a new initial position. 
     In accordance with another feature of the invention, a dumping gear 17 includes a trolley 16 which travels along the trackway 15. Trolley 16 carries a conveyor belt 19 which provides a pickup and transfer conveyor which feeds the bulk material over a discharge drum 19 and onto a cross-conveyor 20. Conveyor 20 comprises a cross-belt conveyor which is reversible and it is guided over discharge pulleys or drums 21 and 22 which project beyond the width of the loading bridge 1. Telescopic discharger tubes 23 and 24 extend downwardly from the respective outer discharger ends of the cross-conveyor 20 and these tubes are provided with baffle plates for guiding the bulk material. 
     In accordance with another feature of the invention, and end portion of the bridge at the location 25 supports a cantilever structure 27 which may be pivoted about a vertical axis 26. The pile pickup conveyor 28 is mounted on the top side of the cantilever structure 27 and picks up material at its one outer lower end and delivers it upwardly into a feeder 56 for transfer to the conveyor 29 associated with the belt 18 and the material is passed over this conveyor and the discharge drum 19 to the cross-conveyor 20 and through discharge tube 23 or 24 to the storage place. 
     If a pile is to be removed from storage place 9, the material is taken up by a vertical conveyor 14 and delivered through the appropriate transfer devices (not shown), to a bridge belt 30. Bridge belt 30 is trained to run along the beam 2 and it is positioned to deliver material to a discharge belt 31 which is picked up by the vertical conveyor 14. The discharge belt 31 is mounted at the lower end of the cantilever structure 27 and it is positioned to extend obliquely upwardly from the lower end which is adjacent the discharge end of the conveyor bridge belt 30. 
     If a conveyor flight, which is not shown, is arranged along the storage space 9, the cantilever structure 27 and conveyors 28 and 31 may be omitted. In such a case, the material to be dumped may be supplied to conveyor 29 by a belt conveyor, which is not shown, but which extends in a direction of the plant and the removed material may be received from the bridge conveyor 30 by a conveyor, which has not been shown, which also extends in the longitudinal direction of the plant. 
     After removal of an aisle or area from the storage place 9, along its entire width 32, the handling plant bridge conveyor 30 can be instantly used for dumping another bulk material in the cleared space. Thus, a simultaneous removal and dumping of bulk material is made possible in a single operation. Another possible method of simultaneous removal and dumping is, for example, to remove one half of the pile width 32 in the traveling direction of loading bridge 1 and, in a second operation, to dump new material in the space thus cleared and simultaneously remove the other half of the pile in the longitudinal traveling direction. 
     In any operation, removing gear 12 and dumping gear 17 can be moved along the entire length of the bridge independently of each other. In order to obtain a uniform dumping and removal of piles, the conveyors of both gears 12 and 17 may be coupled together so that the transported amount of material of dumping gear 17 does not exceed that of removing gear 12, and conversely. Further, because of the simple, straightforward arrangement of the removing and dumping gears, the inventive handling plant makes it possible to provide an automatic control both for the combined removing and dumping operation and for individual operations in a single direction. 
     While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.