GB2144205A

GB2144205A - Incinerator with loading ram

Info

Publication number: GB2144205A
Application number: GB08319822A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gordon Michael Priest
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-07-22
Filing date: 1983-07-22
Publication date: 1985-02-27
Also published as: GB8319822D0

Abstract

In order to prevent jamming when an incinerator 1 is loaded with waste from a parallel-sided hopper 3 using a ram 5, the ram head has a front plate 6 and at least one side plate 8 which can float sideways in relation to the front plate 6 so as to contact the side of the hopper 3. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Incinerator with loading RAM Background of the invention The present invention relates to an incinerator having an opening for loading the incinerator with waste and a ram for pushing the waste into the incinerator, the ram moving in a substantially parallel-sided hopper into which waste is put, in front of the head of the ram. The ram section is normally square or rectangular.

The established method of feeding loose bulk waste material into the incinerator is to fill the hopper with the waste, open the feed door of the incinerator (which covers the incinerator opening), and push the material from the hopper into the incinerator, subsequently withdrawing the ram, closing the feed door and repeating the process.

The incinerator may operate at temperature of about 1 000 C while the hopper is at approximately ambient temperature. The ram is therefore subject alternately to both these temperatures, and expands and contracts cyclically. The actual temperature difference can vary over a wide range, dependent upon the type of material being incinerated, the rate of feed, and other process conditions. Thus the expansion of the ram can vary over a wide range.

However, maximum expansion must be allowed for in design, to ensure that the ram can be withdrawn, and the cross-sectional dimensions of the ram when cold must be smaller than the hopper section by the maximum amount of expansion expected.

However, the allowance for expansion is a cause of jamming, which occurs during the advance and return of the ram due to items becoming wedged in the gap between the ram and the hopper sides, This jamming may be serious and take a considerable time to free. If the jamming occurs when the ram is stationary in the furnace, the ram head can be overheated, being heated to temperatures of up to 1000"C or above. If the ram is permanently damaged, or if the ram cannot be freed, the incinerator has to be shut down.

The invention The present invention provides incinerators as set fourth in Claim 1 or 9, and also provides loading rams as set forth in claim 10 or 11. The remaining claims set forth preferred features of the inventions.

The sideways float of the side member (and preferably of both side members) means that the side members can always be in contact with the sides of the hopper, leaving no space for material to be trapped. If, however, some material does become trapped (often sharp-edged materials such as nails or thin sheet metal), the floating side can move inwards and allow the ram to continue moving without being jammed, the material normally finishing up behind the ram. The floating side members should be as free floating as possible, though some spring biasing may be applied, but are preferably arranged such that they remain vertical (as seen looking along the axis of the ram) and horizontal (as seen looking horizontally at right angles to the axis of the ram).To ensure that the side member of the ram is always in contact with the sides of the hopper (unless there is some intervening material), some form of biasing must be provided.

This can be provided by springs, or by making use of the weight of the side member itself. For instance, if the ram head has a base member fixed to the front member, and the side member is connected to the base member by parallel arm links, spaced along the axis of the ram and inclined outwards from the vertical, there is a sideways pressure developed by the moment of the weight of the side member, which is at a distance from the pivot axes of the bottoms of the parallel arm links. The spring biasing can be used to avoid a tipping moment.

Preferred embodiment The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic top view of a loading ram of an incinerator, just part of the incinerator being indicated; Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the head of the loading ram; Figure 3 is a centre-line vertical section, on a larger scale, through the ram head of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a plan of the ram head of Figure 3, showing the right-hand part; and Figure 5 is a view of a spring for biasing the side members outwards, on a yet larger scale.

Figure 1 shows part of an incinerator 1 having a feed door 2 closing the incinerator opening. There is a parallel-sided waste hopper 3 which has a top opening 4 (indicated by dashed lines) closed by a removable cover (not shown). As can be seen, the opening 4 is in front of the head of a ram 5 which is actuated by a pusher 5'. The ram 5 has a front member or plate 6 to which is fixed a base member or plate 7. The ram head has also two side members or plates 8, 9. Purely by way of illustration in Figure 1, the left-hand side member 9 is shown as being very short, but it is preferably the same length as, and a mirror image of, the side plate 8. This enables the front plate to pass well into the incinerator 1 without risk of fouling the sides of the opening on returning.The side members or plates 8,9 are mounted on freely moving parallel arm links 10, 11, 12, which are described in more detail below, and are biased by springs 13, 14, which are also described in more detail below, acting as pressure adjusters. The expansion allowance is indicated by the facing arrows in Figure 1. The side plate 8 is of L-shape in horizontal section, one limb of the L extending normal to the side of the hopper 3 and overlapping the side of the front plate 6, and the other limb extending parallel to the side of the hopper 3.

Figures 3 and 4 show that the front plate 6 and the base plate 7 have a rigid frame (20). The frame mounts a position sensor 15 and mounts rollers 16 which contact the sides of the hopper 3 only when the ram has expanded to the maximum calculated extent-the front roller 16 is opposite a suitable cut-out 17 in the side plate 8.

The parallel arm links 10, 11 which are shown in Figures 3 and 4 are only shown shematically, but are of the type known as "Rose" bearings, having ball-and-socket joints at each end, which are pivoted to projecting parts or brackets 18 mounted as appropriate on the front plate 6, base plate 7 and side plate 8. In this way, the links 10 are spaced along the axis of the ram, and are inclined outwards from the vertical. The positions of the lower brackets 18 for the links 10 are not shown in Figure 4, but can be moved nearer the edge or towards the centre, according to the amount of outwards pressure or moment which is required.

The links 10 in a general sense keep the top edge of the side plate 8 horizontal. The links 11 are spaced one above the other, and they keep the side plate 8 vertical, in a general sense.

The biasing springs 13 bias the side plate 8 outwards, and one such spring is shown in detail in Figure 5. Figure 5 is conventional, and need not be described in all its detail. The spring is carried on a small plate 19 secured to the frame 20 of the ram head. As shown in Figure 5, the spring 13 can merely abut against the side plate 8, or can be received in a small bush 21. If the bush 21 is used, the sleeve 22 which is carried by the plate 19 would be correspondingly shorter. The bush 21 is shown in the forward position in Figure 4.

As an alternative to using the swinging links and springs, it would be possible to have rectilinear slides, constraining the side plate 8 to move strictly rectilinearly in a lateral direction, the side plate 8 being sprung outwards by suitable biasing springs.

Claims

1. An incinerator having an opening for loading the incinerator with waste and a ram for pushing the waste into the incinerator, the ram moving in a substantially parallel-sided hopper into which waste is put, in front of the head of the ram, the ram head having a front member relative to the front member so as to contact the side of the hopper.

2. The incinerator of claim 1, wherein the side member is of L-shape in horizontal section, one limb of the L extending normal to the side of the hopper and overlapping the side of the front member, and the other limb extending parallel to the side of the hopper.

3. The incinerator of claim 1 or 2, wherein the side member is mounted by freely-moving parallel arm links.

4. The incinerator of claim 3, wherein the parallel arm links have ball-and-socket type connections at each end.

5. The incinerator of claim 3 or 4, wherein the ram head has a base member fixed to the front member, the side member being connected to the base member by freely-moving parallel arm links, spaced along the axis of the ram, and inclined outwards from the vertical.

6. The incinerator of claim 5, wherein the upper ends of the parallel arm links are connected to internally projecting parts fixed to the side member.

7. The incinerator of claim 5 or 6, wherein the side member is also connected to the front member by freely-moving parallel arm links spaced one above the other.

8. The incinerator of any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is at least one spring springing the side member outwards.

9. An incinerator having an opening for loading the incinerator with waste and a ram for pushing the waste into the incinerator, the ram moving in a substantially parallel-sided hopper into which waste is put in front of the head of the ram, the ram head being substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

10. A loading ram for moving in a substantially parallel-sided hopper into which waste is put, in front of the head of the ram, for pushing the waste into a incinerator having an opening for the waste, the ram having a head having a front member and at least one side member which can float sideways relative to the front member so as to contact the side ofthe hopper.

11. A loading ram for moving in a substantially parallel-sided hopper into which waste is put, in front of the head of the ram,-for pushing the waste into an incinerator having an opening for the waste, the ram having a head substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.