FORM 2THE PATENT ACT 1970(39 OF 1970)&The Patent Rules, 2003COMPLETE SPECIFICATION(See Section 10 and Rule 13)1 TITLE OF THE INVENTION :A WAGON TIPPLER SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED AVAILABILITY AND TROUBLE FREE OPERATION2 APPLICANT (S)Name : JSW Steel Limited.Nationality : An Indian Company. Address : Jindal Mansion, 5-A, Dr. G. Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai- 400 026, State of Maharastra, India. 3 PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTIONCOMPLETEThe following specification particularly descibes the invention and the manner in which it is tobe performed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wagon tippler system and, in particular, to an encoder based wagon tippler system for enhanced availability and trouble-free operation. The wagon tippler system of the invention is directed to favour smooth trouble-free operation of the wagon tippler and facilitate timely supply and handling of raw materials by wagon tippler with reduced breakdown. Advantageously, that wagon tippler system of the invention would facilitate improved availability from 96% to 99.9% thereby favouring saving in down time and unwanted costs.
BACKGROUND ART
It is known that in an integrated steel plant, the input raw materials are required to be transported through rail and road from mines and port if they are imported. The material coming through rail is received at the site and is unloaded. The unloading is done by turning upside down each wagon by i.e., lifting each wagon and rotating it 360° so as to completely empty the content of the wagon. Usually, such lifting and rotation of the wagon is attended using a rotary type wagon tippler.
In such conventional wagon tippler, for regulating the tippling angles from 0° to 360° preferably 0, 3, 10, 80, 145, 155° of the tippler table, a rotating limit switch known as Long Range Hunting Tooth Limit Switch is used. Such Hunting Tooth Limit Switch usually has multiple contacts for the tippling action.
Due to such multiple contacts in such Long Range Hunting Tooth Limit Switch it is often experienced that there are frequent failures in one or the other contacts leading to a frequent breakdown of the wagon tippler thereby affecting the productivity of material handling. Moreover, due to such complexity in multiple contact based operation in the existing Hunting Tooth Limit Switch, frequent slippages/errors in components are observed rendering the system more prone to failures.
Apart from above possible regular breakdown and problems including frequent slippages/errors, it is also experienced that such Long Range Hunting Tooth Limit Switch call for periodic maintenance thereby further reducing the availability of the wagon tippler.


Moreover, the presently in use wagon tipplers involving the above Hunting Tooth Limit Switch require very high time for setting various angles as high as upto 6 hours which again affected the material handling desired of such wagon tipplers.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is thus the basic object of the present invention to provide for a wagon tippler system with enhanced availability which would on one hand favour regulating tippling angles between 0° to 360° and on the other hand avoid the afore discussed limitations of the conventional Hunting Tooth Limit Switch based wagon tipplers.
Another object of the present invention is directed to a wagon tippler system which would enable enhanced availability and provide a trouble-free operation of the wagon tippler.
Yet another object of the present invention is directed to a wagon tippler system suitable for integrated steel plant which would enable continuous supply and handling of raw materials such as those transported to rail and road from mines and ports if they are imported.
A further object of the present invention is directed to a wagon tippler system with enhanced availability for continuous supply and handling of raw materials and for clearing the railways from the site at the earliest which would not have problems of frequent slippage/errors involving multiple components and would be simple without even requiring periodic maintenance thereby enhancing the availability of the wagon tippler.
Another object of the present invention is directed to make wagon tippling more simple and cost effective with less time required for changing of angles thereby making the wagon tippler system simple and user friendly.
Yet further object of the present invention is directed to a wagon tippler system which would be simpler, maintenance friendly, safe and reliable thereby facilitating overall enhanced availability of wagon tippler for desired continuous supply and handling of raw material and for clearing the railways from site at the earliest.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, according to the basic aspect of the invention there is provided a wagon tippler system for enhanced availability and trouble free operation comprising: wagon tippler table operatively connected to a multi-turn absolute angular encoder wherein the readings of different angles of the encoder means are identified through operatively connected automation platform and a device net scanner Module.
In the above disclosed wagon tippler system of the invention the said encoder comprises a Multi Turn Absolute Angular Encoder with pillow pack arrangement which is adapted for better functionality of the wagon tippler and communicates with said Device Net scanner module of open type protocol.
The said automation platform in the wagon tippler system of the invention preferably is selected from PLC, DCS and/or any other like automation platform
Importantly, the simple and reliable wagon tippler system of the invention involving the encoder means is adapted for tippling angles between 0 to 360°. The wagon tippler system of the invention provides for improved availability from 96.0% to 99.9%.
Thus as disclosed above the wagon tippler system of the invention would favour enhanced availability and trouble-free operation of the wagon tippler.
Advantageously, the wagon tippler system of the invention involving the simple encoder means and, in particular, multi-turn absolute angular encoder avoids the limitations and disadvantages of the conventionally used rotating limit switches such as the long range Hunting Tooth Limit Switch. In particular, the encoder based wagon tippler avoids the problems of frequent failure resulting from multiple contacts of Hunting Tooth Limit Switches and thereby favours improving productivity of material handling.
Also, the encoder-based system does not have problems such as those resulting from frequent slippages/errors in components which make the system reliable and user friendly. There is no need for periodic maintenance and therefore there is also no reduction in availability of the wagon tippler.


Apart from the above simplicity of operation, the encoder based system is further advantageous in that the time required for setting various angles which in case of Hunting Tooth Limit Switches is very high upto 6 hours can be advantageously brought down to only about 10 minutes involving the absolute encoder based wagon tippler of the invention.
Thus, the wagon tippler system involving the absolute encoder of the invention is simple, maintenance friendly and reliable to operate and use and is thus directed to serve better the wagon tippling action by way of a simple and cost effective tippler mechanism.
The details of the invention, its objects and advantages are explained hereunder in greater details in relation to non-limiting exemplary illustration of the encoder based wagon tippler of the invention in relation to the following accompanying figures:-
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURE:-
Figure 1: is a schematic illustration of an arrangement of angular absolute encoder based wagon tippling system in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCTIPTION OF THE FIGURES:-
As shown in the accompanying Figure 1, in the enhanced availability wagon tippler system of the invention, the encoder (1) is a multiple turn absolute angular encoder with pillow block arrangement which is adapted to facilitate better functionality of the wagon tippler and communicates with the Device Net Scanner Module (2) of open type protocol.
Importantly, the readings of the different angles of the encoder (1) of the wagon tippler system of the invention can be known through involvement of automation platform such as DCS, PLC (3). Such an arrangement in the wagon tippler system of the invention would enable functioning for any tippling angles between 0 and 360°.
Advantageously, the above disclosed simple wagon tippler system involving the multi turn absolute angular encoder of the invention favours substantial reduction in the time required for changing angles to only about 10 minutes as compared to the very high time required for setting angles of upto 6 hours using the conventional Hunting Tooth Limit Switch.


Moreover, the provision of the absolute encoder based wagon tippler system would further eliminate problems in breakdown in wagon tippler due to Hunting Tooth Limit Switch. Also, the encoder based system is cost effective vis-a-vis the cost extensive Hunting Tooth Limit Switch based wagon tipplers.
The invention would thus by way of the advantageous combination of angular absolute encoder, Device Net Scanner and automation platform such as PLC, DCS favour smooth and trouble free operation of a wagon tipplers. Advantageously, the wagon tippler system of the invention would favour timely supply and handling of raw materials by wagon tipplers with reduced breakdown and improved availability from 96% to 99.9% and also saving in down time and cost incurred in providing such wagon tipplers. The enhanced availability and trouble free operation of the encoder based wagon tippler system of the invention is simpler, maintenance friendly, reliable and user friendly and is adapted to serve in continuous supply and more judicious handling of raw materials and clearing of railways from the sites fast thereby favouring the activities and productivity in wagon tippling operations such as those required in integrated steel plants.


WE CLAIM:
1. A wagon tippler system for enhanced availability and trouble free operation
comprising:
wagon tippler table operatively connected to a multi-turn absolute angular encoder wherein the readings of different angles of the encoder means are identified through operatively connected automation platform and a device net scanner Module.
2. A wagon tippler system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said encoder comprises a Multi Turn Absolute Angular Encoder with pillow pack arrangement. Adapted for better functionality of the wagon tippler and communicates with said Device Net scanner module of open type protocol.
3. A wagon tippler system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said automation platform preferably selected from PLC ,DCS and /or any other like automation platform
4. A wagon tippler system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 or 2 wherein the same is adapted for tippling angles between 0 to 360°.
5. A wagon tippler system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 3 providing fro improved availability from 96.0% to 99.9%.
6. A wagon tippler system for enhanced availability and trouble free operation substantially as herein described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying figure 1.




ABSTRACT
TITLE : A WAGON TIPPLER SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED AVAILABILITY AND TROUBLE FREE OPERATION
A wagon tippler system and, in particular, an encoder based wagon tippler system for enhanced availability and trouble-free operation. The wagon tippler system of the invention is directed to favour smooth trouble-free operation of the wagon tippler and facilitate timely supply and handling of raw materials by wagon tippler with reduced breakdown. Advantageously, that wagon tippler system of the invention would facilitate improved availability from 96% to 99.9% thereby favouring saving in down time and unwanted costs.
FIGURE 1