FORM 2
THE PATENT ACT 1970
(39 OF 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)
1 TITLE OF THE INVENTION :
A SYSTEM FOR ONLINE CONTINUOUS CLEANING OF ACCUMULATED DUSTS FROM DOWN SHOP LEAD(DSL) RAILS OF EOT CRANES.
2 APPLICANT (S)
Name : JSW STEEL LIMITED.
Nationality : An Indian Company.
Address : Dolvi Works, Geetapuram, Dolvi, Taluka Pen, Dist. Raigad,
Maharashtra-402107,India; Having the Registered Office at JSW CENTRE,BANDRA KURLA COMPLEX,BANDRA(EAST), MUMBAI-400051,. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA,INDIA
3 PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
COMPLETE
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes at steel melt shop. More particularly, the present invention is directed to providing a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes involving an extended DSL Current collector assembly cage attached to crane platform which serves as DSL rail maintenance platform with a air blowing fan mounted on it, directed to the DSL rails, to provide for on-line cleaning of accumulated dust which resulted in proper visibility of all joints favouring ease of checking/inspection during running condition of crane and safety and convenience of maintenance during shutdown to thereby reduction in delays/downtime at steel melting shop crane running bay area.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail is used for supply of electrical power to electrically overhead travelling (EOT) cranes running in production shops/bays in large steel plants. DSL rails are used to provide the electrical power to crane drive and electrical equipment like motors, CPP and PLC, etc. It is common experience that, there is heavy accumulation of dust in the grooves at crane running bay DSL rail at dusty shop environment such as in steel melting shop. Due to this, operating personnel are unable to inspect the expansion, rigid, feeder clamp and isolation joints properly.
The total components involved in DSL rail installation in each crane bay include:
Total Length of DSL Rail =239 mtrs
Total nos. of DSL Rail = 239 mtrs. X 7 Nos.
Total nos. of Insulator = 574 nos.
Total nos. of Rigid Joint = 144 nos.
Total nos. of Expansion Joint = 36 nos.
Total nos. of Feeder Clamp = 42 nos.
Total nos. of Isolation Joint = 36 nos.
Total Distance of DSL Rail from Top to Bottom =150mm X 6 =900mm.

3 phase supply alongwith neutral line is provided for feeding power to Cranes in each bay. For each of the 3 phases there are 2 lines (rail) each, namely Rl - R2 ,Y1 - Y2 & Bl - B2 phase . By sequence top DSL rail is considered as Neutral line and rest 6 rails refers to the Rl - R2 ,Y1 - Y2 & Bl - B2 phase, arranged from top to bottom. Gap between the phases is 150mm and Y2 , Bl & B2 are at the bottom level. In conventional practice maintenance person approaches the rails from the top that is the neutral rail. As there is no proper platform, maintenance personnel are unable to approach Y2 , Bl & B2 rail.
The nature of breakdown generally occurring in the DSL rails are accounted to failure of: a. Expansion joint; b. Rigid Joints; c. Feeder clamp; d. DSL rail bending; e. Mounting Insulators; f. Feeder cables.
Due to dust accumulation on DSL rail, all joints are not properly visible. If left unattended, joint slowly gets loosen. Due to high current passing through DSL rail, sparking occurs at joints and damages the hole of DSL. As a result of this, rail alignment gets disturbed leading to bending and damage. It also results in damage to the current collector assembly.
It is very critical to identify the exact HOT spot at rail joints occurring due to looseness of bolts. If left unattended, it generates major breakdown of DSL rail. To attend breakdown, specialized man power is required to climb on DSL rail itself as there is no separate platform. This practice damages the insulator on which the DSL rail is mounted. Also the person is unable to reach DSL rail (Y2, Bl & B2 phase) which is at the bottom as there is no proper approach. It takes more time and more manpower, which affects production. For preventive maintenance of DSL rails, power shutdown is also essentially required for safety.
Following are the problems relating to attending to failure/breakdown of the DSL rails in conventional practice:
a. Power Shutdown has to be taken.
b. Specialized Manpower is required for climbing on rails and carry out maintenance of DSL
c. For DSL cleaning, two persons are required. Cleaning is carried out from one end to
other in a staggered manner.
d. Duration for cleaning all 7 rails takes about 16 hrs.
e. Shop productivity is adversely affected.

Some possible approaches to remedy the above problems are:
1. Manual Cleaning
2. using brush system for cleaning.
However, such approaches to cleaning DSL rails are not practicable and also cannot be performed without power shutdown. Limitation of brush system is that due to physical contact and presence of high voltage, chances of spark and further breakdown are high. Manual cleaning is also not practically feasible because approach to DSL rails is restricted. Moreover cleaning area is very long and complete shutdown is required for manual cleaning.
There has been thus a continuing need in the art to developing a system for cleaning of dust deposition on DSL rails for EOT cranes on a continuous basis which would overcome the above stated problems experienced in the conventional practice by providing safe and operator friendly access to the DSL rails by the maintenance persons for inspection while the crane is in operation and maintenance with shutdown thus minimizing power shutdown and downtime of plant operations and resultant loss of productivity.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The basic object of the present invention is thus directed to providing a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes at dusty shop environment such as in steel melt shop facilitating safe and convenient operators access for ease of inspection and maintenance without affecting production and crane operation.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes wherein DSL Current collector assembly cage is extended which serves as DSL rail maintenance platform.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes wherein an extended platform with a blower mounted on it directed to the DSL rails continuously drive off the deposited dusts during running condition of crane.

A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes which would favour easy and safe approach to DSL rails (Y2, Bl & B2 phase) which are at the bottom.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes which would avoid maintenance persons stepping on DSL rail thus preventing damage to mounting insulators.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes which would ensure on-line cleaning of dust accumulated on DSL rail without requiring power shutdown.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes which would eliminate additional manpower requirement for cleaning of DSL rail.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of cranes wherein inspection and maintenance of expansion, rigid, feeder clamp and isolation joints is safe and easier.
A still further object of the present invention is directed to a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes wherein cleaning is carried out all along the travel path of the crane along the bay during the running condition of crane.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The basic aspect of the present invention is thus directed to a system for online continuous cleaning of accumulated dusts from down shop lead(DSL) rails of EOT cranes comprising: crane running bay with DSL rail side;
a movable platform with blower fan supported with respect to said crane at said DSL rail side such that blowing operation of the fan during motion of the crane along the bay provides for continuous cleaning of the DSL rail during plant operation.

A further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system comprising plurality of cranes preferably two cranes in each bay each provided with said movable platform with blower fan for covering the entire length of the bay.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system comprising extended current collector assembly cage for inspection and servicing/maintenance only.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is directed to said system comprising
an extended platform with cage adjacent to the-DSL rails, attached at the side of the crane platform adapted for carrying maintenance person,
a wall mounted air blower with motor attached at the top of the extended platform with cage directed to the DSL rails adapted to blow off dusts deposited on DSL rails,
means for blower on/off provided through long travel reverse/forward command of crane to make it run only with long travel ON condition so that DSL rail cleaning is a continuous process carried out all along the travel path of the crane along the bay . when the crane is in running condition.
A further aspect of the present invention is directed to a system wherein said extended platform with cage comprise structure integrated to crane platform having dimensions to ensure clear visibility of rails including all joints for inspection and easy approach to all the three phases of DSL rails by the maintenance personnel to attend to any detected fault.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said system wherein said blower comprising
Man Cooler
Type, Design : Wall mounted
Capacity : 1.5 kw
Voltage, Rated : 400/440 V, 3 Ph, 50 Hz
Speed : 1440 rpm
No. of Poles : 3
Type, Mounting : Wall Mounted
Noise Level : 80 db

Additional Requirement : Impeller Speed 1400 rpm.
A still further aspect of the present invention is directed to said wherein said blower fan on/off is based on travel reverse/forward and runs only during travel ON condition.
The objects and advantages of the present invention are described hereunder in greater details with reference to the following accompanying non limiting illustrative drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Figure 1: is the schematic view of the arrangement of DSL rails for EOT cranes showing the details of location of various components and joints.
Figure 2: is the schematic view of the conventional practice by maintenance person to clean the DSL rails not having approach to the bottom rails.
Figure 3(a)-(c): is the schematic arrangement and front and side views of the system for online continuous dust cleaning of DSL rails according to the present invention involving extended platform with a blower mounted on it attached to the crane platform.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The present invention is directed to providing a system for online continuous dust cleaning of Down Shop Lead (DSL) rail of Cranes carried out all along the travel path of the crane along the bay during running condition of crane at dusty shop environment such as in steel melt shop and also facilitating safe and convenient operators access for ease of inspection and maintenance reducing downtime and loss of production.
Accompanying Figure 1 shows the schematic view of the arrangement of DSL rails for EOT cranes showing the details of location of various components and joints. It can be seen that 3 phase power supply alongwith neutral line is provided through DSL rails for feeding power to Cranes in each bay. For each of the 3 phases there are 2 lines (rail) each, namely Rl - R2 ,Y1 - Y2 & Bl - B2 phase . By sequence top DSL rail is considered as Neutral line and rest 6 rails refers to the Rl - R2 ,Y1 - Y2 & Bl - B2 phase, arranged from top to bottom and

spanning over a total length of 239 meters along the bay length with bracket support connected to the bay structural members and having expansion, rigid, feeder clamp & isolation joints. These DSL rails are subjected to failures/damages relating to a. Expansion joint; b. Rigid Joints; c. Feeder clamp; d. DSL rail bending; e. Mounting Insulators; f. Feeder cables.
Conventionally, due to dust accumulation on DSL rail, all joints are not properly visible. If left unattended, joint slowly gets loosen. Due to high current passing through DSL rail, sparking occurs at joints and damages the hole of DSL. For DSL cleaning as per the existing procedure, two persons are required. Cleaning is carried out from one end to other in a staggered manner. Duration for cleaning all 7 rails takes about 16 hrs. This seriously affects production and productivity. Moreover, to attend to the breakdown of DSL rails, conventionally Power Shutdown has to be done. Specialized manpower is required for climbing on rails and carry out maintenance of DSL which is highly unsafe and inconvenient.
Gap between the phases is 150mm and Y2, Bl & B2 phases are at the bottom level. In conventional practice maintenance person approaches the rails from the top that is the neutral rail. As there is no proper platform, maintenance personnel are unable to approach Y2 , Bl & B2 rail. Accompanying Figure 2 illustrates the conventional practice by maintenance person to clean the DSL rails not having approach to the bottom rails e.g. Y2 , Bl & B2 phases.
Thus by way of the present invention, a system for online cleaning of dust from DSL rails of EOT cranes has been provided which automatically cleans dust from DSL rails while the crane is in running condition without needing power shutdown.
Accompanying Figure 3(a)-(c) show the schematic arrangement and front and side views of the system for online continuous dust cleaning of DSL rails according to the present invention involving extended platform with a blower mounted on it attached to the crane platform. Figure 3(a) shows the general arrangement of the extended platform attached to the EOT crane platform, Figure 3(b) shows the cross sectional side view of the platform/cage and Figure 3(c) shows the disposition of the Fan/Blower mounted on platform in relation to the DSL rails with maintenance person inside the cage. The system according to the present invention as shown in Figure 3, provides for an extended platform for the maintenance persons with a blower/fan mounted at an elevated position directed to the DSL

rails such that when the crane runs along the bay the blower blows air on .to the rails with required flow rate to blow off the deposited dusts thus maintaining the rails clean and clearly visible to the maintenance persons for inspection of any possible occurrence of fault at any location/joints needing maintenance. The blower is having the following specification to achieve the desired dust cleaning effect:
Man Cooler
Type, Design : Wall mounted
Capacity : 1.5 kw
Voltage, Rated : 400/440 V, 3 Ph, 50 Hz
Speed : 1440 rpm
No. of Poles : 3
Type, Mounting : Wall Mounted
Noise Level : 80 db
Additional Requirement : Impeller Speed 1400 rpm
Importantly, the platform/cage has now been extended for inspection and servicing/maintenance purpose only. Advantageously, with the present system there is no need for power shutdown during inspection. For DSL rail maintenance including joints during power shutdown, there is no need to open the Current Collector Assembly door. The maintenance person can have easy access to all the phases of the DSL rails including the Y2 , Bl & B2 phases/rail at the bottom level. Due to ease of approach and convenience to work from the extended platform, the time required to repair/replacement/maintenance work is substantially reduced. Thus down time of crane or plant is minimized improving the overall productivity.
According to the present system, fan/blower on/off command is provided through long travel reverse/forward command and it is running only when long travel ON condition so that rail cleaning is a continuous process. There are two cranes in each bay which covers almost the entire length of the bay, thus ensuring complete cleaning of the DSL rail. When the plant is running that time only dust accumulates on rail and during this period crane is continuously running and cleaning the DSL rail simultaneously. When the process of hot metal making stops, that time dust accumulation also stops. During this period there is no need to run the crane to clean the DSL rail.

It is thus possible by way of the present invention to providing a system for online continuous of dust accumulation on DSL rail of EOT cranes without requiring power shutdown favouring clear visibility and inspection of the rails and also facilitate repair/maintenance of the DSL rail joints/components in a safe, reliable and faster manner with easy approach to each of the rails/components so as to reduce downtime and enhance productivity.

We Claim:
1. A system for online continuous cleaning of accumulated dusts from down shop
lead(DSL) rails of EOT cranes comprising:
crane running bay with DSL rail side;
a movable platform with blower fan supported with respect to said crane at said DSL rait side such that blowing operation of the fan during motion of the'crane along the bay provides for continuous cleaning of the DSL rail during plant operation.
2. A system as claimed in claim 1 comprising plurality of cranes preferably two cranes in each bay each provided with said movable platform with blower fan for covering the entire length of the bay.
3. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 or 2 comprising extended current collector assembly cage for inspection and servicing/maintenance only.
4. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 3 comprising
an extended platform with cage adjacent to the DSL rails, attached at the side of the crane platform adapted for carrying maintenance person,
a wall mounted air blower with motor attached at the top of the extended platform with cage directed to the DSL rails adapted to blow off dusts deposited on DSL rails,
means for blower on/off provided through long travel reverse/forward command of crane to make it run only with long travel ON condition so that DSL rail cleaning is a continuous process carried out all along the travel path of the crane along the bay when the crane is in running condition.
5. A system as claimed in claim anyone of claims 1 to 4 wherein said extended
platform with cage comprise structure integrated to crane platform having
dimensions to ensure clear visibility of rails including all joints for inspection and
easy approach to all the three phases of DSL rails by the maintenance personnel to
attend to any detected fault.

6. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 5 wherein said blower comprising Man Cooler
Type, Design : Wall mounted
Capacity : 1.5 kw
Voltage, Rated : 400/440 V, 3 Ph, 50 Hz
Speed : 1440 rpm
No. of Poles : 3
Type, Mounting : Wall Mounted
Noise Level : 80 db
Additional Requirement : Impeller Speed 1400 rpm.
7. A system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 6 wherein said blower fan on/off is based on travel reverse/forward and runs only during travel ON condition.