1
i $ DESCRIPTION
Title of Invention
MATERIAL FEEDING APPARATUS
5
Technical Field
[0001]
The present invention relates to a material feeding apparatus that feeds a
plurality of materials to treatment apparatuses such as molten metal refining apparatuses.
10
Background Art
[0002]
When a molten metal such as molten steel is refined, alloy components are
added so that contained components correspond to target components. For example,
15 when molten steel is refined, after refining for removing impurities by a treatment
apparatus such as a converter or a molten steel refining apparatus is performed,
predetermined amounts of materials (hereinafter, materials for the addition of alloy
components may be generally referred to as alloy iron), such as Mn alloy iron, Si alloy
iron, and aluminum, are discharged and added to molten steel so that the contained
20 components, such as Mn, Si, and Al, correspond to target values. An RH
(Ruhrstahl-Heraeus) vacuum degassing apparatus, a LF (Ladle Furnace), a molten
steel-powder injection apparatus, and the like may be used as the molten steel refining
apparatus. A material feeding apparatus, which is attached to a treatment apparatus
such as a refining apparatus, is installed to feed alloy iron of the above-mentioned
25 materials (alloy components) to the treatment apparatus. For example, Non-patent
2
| p Document 1 discloses an alloy feeding apparatus that is attached to a DH
(Dortmund-Horde) vacuum degassing apparatus and an RH vacuum degassing apparatus.
[0003]
Patent Document 1 discloses an auxiliary material charging equipment that feeds
5 auxiliary materials or alloys to a converter 8. In the auxiliary material charging
equipment, auxiliary materials are stored in a plurality of furnace-top hoppers for each
brand, discharge feeders are disposed below the furnace-top hoppers, auxiliary materials
are discharged from the furnace-top hoppers, and the auxiliary material are fed to
weighing hoppers provided below the discharge feeders. The auxiliary materials or
10 alloys, which are discharged to the weighing hoppers, are weighed and controlled so that
the amount of auxiliary materials is constant. The auxiliary materials or alloys, which
are discharged to the weighing hoppers, are fed to the converter from discharge gates,
which are formed at the lower portions of the weighing hoppers, through relay hoppers,
charging gates, and charging feeders. In the example shown in FIG. 1 of Patent
15 Document 1, the auxiliary material charging equipment includes a total of nine
furnace-top hoppers and three weighing hoppers. The weighing hoppers can receive the
auxiliary materials or alloys from four furnace-top hoppers, two furnace-top hoppers, and
three furnace-top hoppers of a total of nine furnace-top hoppers, respectively.
[0004]
20 When a plurality of treatment apparatuses are installed, the material feeding
apparatus, which is provided at the treatment apparatus, such as a converter or a molten
steel refining apparatus, is generally provided at each of the treatment apparatuses to
ensure independence in individually operating and stopping the treatment apparatuses
and to avoid the increase in operating time that is caused by the transportation time
25 between the treatment apparatuses. For example, when three converters are installed, a
3
| ^P unique material feeding apparatus is provided at each of the three converters.
[0005]
Patent Document 2 discloses a dust collector for a larry car scale. Storage
bunkers, which store a variety of iron ore such as alloys, are horizontally provided. A
5 larry car scale (a carriage provided at a hopper of a weighing unit), which is used to
allocate the designated amount of iron ore to the respective bunkers for each brand,
travels on rails, and receives iron ore of each brand that is discharged to the lower side of
each bunker.
10 Citation List
Patent Documents
[0006]
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First
Publication No.H5-25529
15 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Utility Model Application, First Publication No.
H6-77875
Non-patent Documents
[0007]
[Non-patent Document 1] Iron and Steel Institute of Japan, "Third edition of
20 Iron and steel handbook II ironmaking and steelmaking," Maruzen Co., Ltd., 1979, pp.
671-672.
Summary of Invention
Technical Problem
25 [0008]
4
^ p Hereinafter, description will be made while a place where a treatment using a
treatment apparatus is performed is referred to as a treatment position. When treatments
using a treatment apparatus are performed at two positions close to each other and a
material feeding apparatus needs to be disposed, a material feeding apparatus is generally
5 disposed at each of the treatment apparatuses as described above in the conventional
techniches.
[0009]
For example, if two treatment positions of the RH vacuum chamber are disposed
and the refining of molten steel is performed alternately using the two treatment positions
10 in the refining of molten steel using an RH vacuum degassing apparatus, it is possible to
improve productivity by excluding loss time between the refining of molten steel and the
next refining of molten steel. In this case, if alloys can be fed to any of the two RH
vacuum chambers from one set of material feeding apparatus, which is common to a
plurality of treatment positions without disposing material feeding apparatuses at the two
15 treatment positions for a material feeding apparatus that feeds alloys added to molten
steel to the RH vacuum chamber, it is possible to reduce the costs of the material feeding
apparatus.
In addition, in the past, there was a method of switching destinations to which
materials are fed using a bifurcated charging chute or a rotating chute or a method of
20 switching two treatment positions using a belt conveyor when materials have been fed to
two treatment positions from a common material feeding apparatus. However, when a
charging chute or a rotating chute is used, the angle of the charging chute needs to be
larger than the angle of repose of materials. Accordingly, the height of the entire
material feeding apparatus needs to be high according to a switching distance, so that the
25 size of building increases when the apparatus is installed in a building. For this reason,
5
4 | construction costs of the building increase. Further, even when a belt conveyor is used,
a predetermined difference in level (height) is required to make materials fall onto a belt
or to make materials fall from the belt. For this reason, it is not possible to reduce the
height of the entire material feeding apparatus. Furthermore, since materials are
5 transported by a belt, the time required for feeding materials increases. For this reason,
productivity is lowered. In particular, for example, when a variety of materials are
handled such as when alloys are fed to a treatment apparatus for molten steel, the loss of
time is large.
That is, until now, there has not been provided a material feeding apparatus that
10 is common to a plurality of treatment positions and does not require a long time for
feeding materials without the need for an increase in the height of a building in which the
material feeding apparatus is to be installed.
[0010]
When materials are fed to a treatment apparatus, it is necessary to complete the
15 feeding of a large variety of materials to a treatment apparatus in as short a time as
possible.
An object of the invention is to provide a material feeding apparatus that can be
common to treatments at a plurality of positions and does not require a long time for
feeding materials without the need for an increase in the height of a building in which the
20 material feeding apparatus is to be installed when the treatments using a treatment
apparatus are performed at the plurality of positions.
Solution to Problem
[0011]
25 In order to achieve the object by solving the above-mentioned problems, the
6
4fe invention employs the following methods.
(1) That is, a material feeding apparatus according to an aspect of the invention
feeds a plurality of materials to a plurality of treatment apparatuses. The material
feeding apparatus includes a plurality of storage-and-discharge units that store and
5 discharge the materials; a track that is constructed below these storage-and-discharge
units; a weighing unit that receives and weighs the materials discharged from the
storage-and-discharge units; a conveyer on which the weighing unit is mounted and
which travels the track; and a plurality of material charging units that are disposed below
the track, receive the materials charged from the weighing unit, and charge the materials
10 into the treatment apparatuses. The track extends so as to pass through discharge stop
positions, which are positions where the materials are discharged by the
storage-and-discharge units, and charging stop positions, which are positions where the
materials are received by the material charging units, in plan view.
[0012]
15 (2) The material feeding apparatus according to (1) may further include a
plurality of the weighing units, and the number of the material charging units may be
greater than or equal to the number of the weighing units.
[0013]
(3) In the material feeding apparatus according to (2), each of the
20 storage-and-discharge units may discharge the materials to only the corresponding
weighing unit of the weighing units.
[0014]
(4) In the material feeding apparatus according to (2) or (3), each of the material
charging units may receive the materials from only the corresponding weighing unit of
25 the weighing units.
7
t [OO15]
(5) In the material feeding apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), at least
one of the charging stop positions may overlap at least one of the discharge stop positions
in plan view.
5 [0016]
(6) In the material feeding apparatus according to (5), the weighing unit may
receive the materials, which are discharged from two or more of the
storage-and-discharge units, at at least one of the discharge stop positions.
[0017]
10 (7) In the material feeding apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), the
weighing unit may receive the materials, which are discharged from two or more of the
storage-and-discharge units, at at least one of the discharge stop positions.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
15 [0018]
In the above-mentioned aspect of the invention, when the material feeding
apparatus has a plurality of treatment positions, the conveyer on which the weighing unit,
which receives and weighs the materials discharged from the storage-and-discharge units,
is mounted can travel along the track that is constructed below the storage-and-discharge
20 units. Further, since the conveyer on which the weighing unit is mounted travels along
the track, it is possible to feed materials to the material charging units, which are
disposed at the respective treatment positions, from the weighing unit. Accordingly,
since it is possible to reduce the height of the entire material feeding apparatus, it is
possible to reduce the construction costs of a building.
25 [0019]
8
^ ^ When a plurality of weighing units or a plurality of material charging units are
provided, it is possible to treat a plurality of materials at the same time. Accordingly, it
is possible to complete the charging of materials into a treatment apparatus in a shorter
time. Further, when each of the storage-and-discharge units is adapted to discharge the
5 materials to only the corresponding weighing unit or each of the material charging units
is adapted to receive the materials from only the corresponding weighing unit, it is
possible to complete the charging of materials in a shorter time.
Brief Description of Drawings
10 [0020]
FIG. 1A is a view showing a material feeding apparatus 100 according to a first
embodiment of the invention and is a front view showing a state where a weighing unit
104 stops at a discharge stop position 110a.
FIG. IB is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 100 according to the
15 embodiment and is a front view showing a state where the weighing unit 104 stops at a
charging stop position Ilia.
FIG. 1C is a plan view when FIG. 1A is seen from the top and is a schematic
view showing a relative positional relationship between storage-and-discharge units 102a
to 102e, the weighing unit 104, and material charging units 107a to 107b of the material
20 feeding apparatus 100 according to the embodiment.
FIG. 2 A is a view showing a material feeding apparatus 100 according to a
modification of the embodiment and is a front view showing a state where a weighing
unit 104 stops at a discharge stop position 110a.
FIG. 2B is view showing the material feeding apparatus 100 according to the
25 modification and is a front view showing a state where the weighing unit 104 stops at a
i
9
charging stop position Ilia. I
FIG. 3 A is a partially enlarged view showing an example of the disposition of
storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102f of a material feeding apparatus 100 according
to another modification of the embodiment.
5 FIG. 3B is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 100 according to this
modification when seen in the direction of arrow B-B.
FIG. 4 is a front view of a material feeding apparatus 100 according to another
modification of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of a case where treatment apparatuses
10 108a and 108b of the material feeding apparatus 100 according to another modification
of the embodiment are vacuum degassing apparatuses.
FIG. 6A is a view showing a material feeding apparatus 200 according to a
second embodiment of the material feeding apparatus of the invention and is a view
showing a state where a material is being discharged to weighing units 204a and 204b
15 from storage-and-discharge units 202d to 202f and 202j to 2021.
FIG. 6B is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the
embodiment and is a front view showing a state where a material is being charged into
material charging units 207a and 207b.
FIG. 6C is a plan view when FIG. 6A is seen from the top and is a schematic
20 view showing a relative positional relationship between storage-and-discharge units 202
to 2021, weighing units 204a to 204b, and material charging units 207a to 207d of the
material feeding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7A is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the
embodiment and is a front view showing a state where a material is being discharged to
25 the weighing units 204a and 204b from the storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202c and
•
10
$ t 202gto202i.
FIG. 7B is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the
embodiment and is a front view showing a state where a material is being charged into
the material charging units 207c and 207d.
5 FIG. 8 A is a partially enlarged view showing an example of the disposition of
storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202f of a material feeding apparatus 200 according
to a modification of the second embodiment.
FIG. 8B is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the
modification when seen in the direction of arrow B-B.
10 FIG. 9A is a view showing a material feeding apparatus 200 according to another
modification of the second embodiment and is a front view showing a state where a
material is being discharged to weighing units 204a and 204b from storage-and-discharge
units 202c and 202d.
FIG. 9B is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the
15 modification and is a front view showing a state where a material is being charged into
material charging units 207a and 207b.
FIG. 10A is a view showing a material feeding apparatus 200 according to
another modification of the second embodiment and is a front view showing a state
where a material is being discharged to weighing units 204a and 204b from
20 storage-and-discharge units 202j to 2021 and 202m to 202o.
FIG. 10B is a view showing the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the
modification and is a front view showing a state where a material is being charged into
material charging units 207a and 207b.
FIG. 11 is a front view showing an example of a case where treatment
25 apparatuses 208a and 208b of the material feeding apparatus 200 according to another
11
W modification of the second embodiment are vacuum degassing apparatuses.
Description of Embodiments
[0021]
5 A material feeding apparatus according to each embodiment, which will be
described below, is targeted at a case where a material feeding apparatus has a plurality
of treatment positions. The material feeding apparatus according to each embodiment
includes a plurality of storage-and-discharge units that store and discharge materials, a
track that is constructed below these storage-and-discharge units, a weighing unit that
10 receives and weighs the materials discharged from the storage-and-discharge units, a
conveyer on which the weighing unit is mounted and which travels along the track, and
material charging units that receive the materials from the weighing unit and charges the
materials into treatment apparatuses.
The plurality of storage-and-discharge units store different materials according
15 to the brands of the materials, and the materials can be discharged from discharge units
that are provided at the bottoms of the storage-and-discharge units. The weighing unit
can weigh the received materials. If the weighing unit weighs a material while the
material is discharged from the storage-and-discharge unit and the discharge of the
material is stopped when a weighed value becomes a target value, the weighing unit can
20 receive a predetermined amount of a material.
[0022]
(First embodiment)
A material feeding apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment will be
described with reference to FIGS. 1 A, IB, and 1C.
25 The material feeding apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 1A, IB, and 1C has two
12
p i treatment positions, that is, a treatment position 109a and a treatment position 109b.
Further, material charging units 107a and 107b are disposed at the treatment positions
109a and 109b.
Only one material charging unit may be disposed so as to be movable between
5 the treatment positions and material charging units may be separately provided at the
treatment positions as described above.
[0023]
In the material feeding apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, a weighing
unit 104 is movable along a track 106. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and IB, a
10 conveyer 105 on which the weighing unit 104 is mounted is provided so as to be movable
on the track 106 and the weighing unit 104 is moved on the track by the conveyer 105.
In this embodiment, the track is formed of rails and the conveyer 105 is moved along the
rails by an electric motor (not shown). However, the track and a conveying mechanism
are not limited to these. Since the weighing unit 104 moves along the track 106, the
15 weighing unit 104 can receive the discharge of the materials from two or more of the
storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102e. When these storage-and-discharge units 102a
to 102e do not need to be distinguished from one another, the storage-and-discharge units
are denoted by 102. The storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102e are disposed above a
line corresponding to the track 106 of the weighing unit 104 as shown in FIG. 1C or are
20 disposed near the track 106 of the weighing unit 104. Even when the
storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102e are disposed near the track, discharge units 103
are disposed above the track 106. In the material feeding apparatus 100 shown in FIGS.
1 A, IB, and 1C, five storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102e are disposed linearly and
the track 106 of the weighing unit is disposed along the linear disposition of the
25 storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102e. Discharge stop positions 110a to 11 Oe are
13
provided so as to correspond to the positions of the storage-and-discharge units 102a to E
; 102e. The weighing unit 104 stops at the discharge stop positions 110a to 11 Oe and
receives the discharge of the materials from the corresponding storage-and-discharge
units 102a to 102e. In FIG. 1 A, the weighing unit 104 stops at the discharge stop
5 position 110a. Since the weighing unit 104 sequentially moves directly below the
storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102e, fixed amounts of the materials can be
sequentially discharged to the weighing unit 104.
[0024]
The greatest feature of the material feeding apparatus 100 according to this
10 embodiment is that the weighing unit 104 moves along the track 106 and stops at
charging stop positions I l i a and 111b corresponding to the treatment positions 109a and
109b, so that materials can be fed from the weighing unit 104 to material charging units
107a and 107b disposed at the treatment positions 109a and 109b. The track 106 along
which the weighing unit 104 moves extends in the horizontal direction in the plane of
15 FIG. 1C (the direction in which the storage-and-discharge units are arranged) to pass
through the discharge stop positions 110a to 11 Oe and the charging stop positions I l ia
and 111b in plan view so that material can be charged into any of the material charging
units 107a and 107b disposed at the treatment positions 109a and 109b. In the material
feeding apparatus 100 shown in FIG. IB, the material charging units 107a and 107b are
20 provided so as to correspond to the left treatment position 109a and the right treatment
position 109b, respectively. When the weighing unit 104 stops at the left charging stop
position Ilia, materials can be charged into the left material charging unit 107a. When
the weighing unit stops at the right charging stop position 111b, materials can be charged
into the right material charging unit 107b. The weighing unit 104 stops at the left
25 charging stop position 11 la in FIG. IB.
14
In the past, destinations to which materials were fed were switched using a
bifurcated charging chute or a rotating chute when materials were to be fed to two
treatment positions from a common material feeding apparatus. However, since the
5 angle of the charging chute needs to be larger than an angle of repose, the height of the
entire material feeding apparatus needs to be high according to a switching distance.
For this reason, there was a problem in that the construction costs of a building increased
when the material feeding apparatus was installed in the building. In contrast, it is
possible to feed materials to any of the plurality of treatment positions 102a to 102e by
10 moving the weighing unit 104 along the track in the material feeding apparatus 100
according to the embodiment. As a result, since it is possible to reduce the height of the
entire material feeding apparatus, it is possible to reduce the construction costs of a
building.
[0026]
15 In the material feeding apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, it is
preferable that the discharge of the materials from two or more of the plurality of
storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102i can be received at at least one of the discharge
stop positions 110a to 110c of the weighing unit 104 as shown in FIGS. 2 A and 2B.
Nine storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102i are disposed linearly in the material
20 feeding apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The number of discharge stop
positions 110a to 110c of the weighing unit 104 where the discharge of materials is
received is three. While the weighing unit 104 stops at the discharge stop positions
110a to 110c, the weighing unit 104 can receive the discharge of materials from three
storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102c, 102d to 102f, and 102g to 102i. In FIG. 2A,
25 the weighing unit 104 stops at the left discharge stop position 110a. When materials are
15
I ]B discharged, first, the weighing unit 104 weighs a material while the material is
discharged from the first storage-and-discharge unit 102a. Accordingly, a fixed amount
of the material is discharged to the weighing unit 104. After that, while a material is
discharged from the second storage-and-discharge unit 102b, the weighing unit 104
5 weighs the material. Accordingly, a second material is discharged to the weighing unit
104. Likewise, a material is discharged to the weighing unit 104 from the third
storage-and-discharge unit 102c. When the discharge of the materials from the first to
third storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102c is completed, the weighing unit is moved
to the middle discharge stop position 110b. Then, materials are similarly discharged
10 from the fourth to sixth storage-and-discharge units 102d to 102f. Since fixed amounts
of a plurality of materials can be discharged while the weighing unit 104 stops at one
position in this way, it is possible to reduce the time that is required for the movement
and stop of the weighing unit 104. Accordingly, it is possible to quickly discharge a
variety of materials. As shown in FIGS. 3 A and 3B, a plurality of
15 storage-and-discharge units 102a to 102f may be disposed in the direction orthogonal to
the direction of movement of a weighing unit 104. In this case, the number of
storage-and-discharge units that can discharge materials at one discharge stop position
may be further increased. In a material feeding apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 3 A and
3B, vibrating feeders are used as discharge units 103 of the storage-and-discharge units
20 102 and the directions of movement of the materials in the vibrating feeders are directed
to the weighing unit 104.
[0027]
In the material feeding apparatus 100 according to the embodiment, it is more
preferable that at least one of charging stop positions 110a to 110c of a weighing unit
25 where materials are charged into material charging units 107a and 107b from the
1 6
W weighing unit 104 correspond to at least one of discharge stop positions I l i a and 111b
where materials are discharged to the weighing unit 104 from storage-and-discharge units
102a to 102i as shown in FIG. 4, that is, at least one of charging stop positions overlap at
least one of the discharge stop positions in plan view. A material feeding apparatus 100
5 shown in FIG. 4 has two treatment positions 109a and 109b and includes two material
charging units 107a and 107b corresponding to the treatment positions. The number of
discharge stop positions 110a to 110c of the weighing unit where the discharge of
materials is received is three. The left discharge stop position 110a of the weighing unit
where the discharge of materials is received corresponds to the charging stop position
10 11 la of the weighing unit where a material is charged into the left material charging unit
107a. The right discharge stop position 110c of the weighing unit where the discharge
of materials is received corresponds to the charging stop position 111b of the weighing
unit where a material is charged into the right material charging unit 107b. In this case,
it is assumed that, for example, a treatment apparatus 108a currently operates at the left
15 treatment position 109a. The weighing unit to which materials are to be discharged
stops at the middle discharge stop position 110b and materials are discharged to the
weighing unit. ' Then, after materials are discharged to the weighing unit at the right
discharge stop position 111c, the weighing unit moves to the left discharge stop position
110a and materials are discharged to the weighing unit. The discharge stop position
20 110a and the charging stop position I l i a correspond to each other at this position. For
this reason, it is possible to immediately charge materials into the material charging unit
107a and the treatment apparatus 108a without moving the weighing unit 104 afterward.
[0028]
The material charging units 107a and 107b receive the materials from the
25 weighing unit 104 and charge the materials into the treatment apparatuses 108a and 108b.
17
^f Since the material charging units 107a and 107b are provided, the weighing unit 104 does
not need to charge the materials into the treatment apparatuses 108a and 108b according
to the treatments of the treatment apparatuses 108a and 108b. That is, since the
weighing unit 104 can weigh the next materials when the material charging units 107a
5 and 107b receive the materials from the weighing unit 104, an efficient operation can be
performed. If the efficiency of an operation is not considered, the material charging
units may be omitted.
[0029]
For example, when the treatment apparatuses 108a and 108b are decompression
10 apparatuses such as RH vacuum degassing apparatuses as shown in FIG. 5, it is
preferable that decompression charging units using double valves be used as the material
charging units 107a and 107b. A material feeding apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 5
includes upper valves 122 at the upper ends of decompression tanks 121 and lower
valves 123 at the lower ends of the decompression tanks. When materials are charged,
15 the lower valve 123 a is closed first as shown in the material charging unit 107a of FIG. 5
and the upper valve 122a is then opened so that materials are charged into the
decompression tank 122a. After that, the upper valve 122b is closed as shown in the
material charging unit 107b and pressure in the decompression tank 121b is reduced to be
equal to the pressure in the treatment apparatus. Then, the lower valve 123b is opened
20 so that materials are charged into the treatment apparatus 108 from the decompression
tank 121b.
[0030]
(Second embodiment)
A material feeding apparatus 200 according to a second embodiment will be
25 described with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, arid 7B. The second embodiment is
18
^ mainly different from the first embodiment in that the material feeding apparatus 200
includes a plurality of weighing units 204a to 204b on the same track.
The material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 6 A, 6B, 6C, 7 A, and 7B has
two treatment positions, that is, a treatment position 209a and a treatment position 209b.
5 Further, material charging units 207a and 207b and 207c and 207d are disposed so as to
correspond to the treatment positions 208a and 208b. Furthermore, the material
charging units 207a and 207b are provided so as to correspond to the treatment position
209a and the material charging units 207c and 207d are provided so as to correspond to
the treatment position 209b.
10 A material charging unit may be disposed at only one treatment position so as to
be movable between the treatment positions. However, material charging units may be
separately provided at the treatment positions as described above.
[0031]
The material feeding apparatus 200 according to this embodiment is provided
15 with weighing units 204a and 204b that are mounted on conveyers 205 and are movable
along a track 206. That is, a plurality of weighing units 204a and 204b are present on
the same track. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, and 7B, two weighing
units 204a and 204b mounted on the conveyers 205 are provided so as to be movable on
the track 206 and are moved on the track by the conveyers 205. In the embodiment, the
20 track is formed of rails and the conveyers 205 are moved along the rails by an electric
motor (not shown). However, the track and a conveying mechanism are not limited to
these. When the two weighing units do not need to be distinguished from one another,
the weighing units are denoted by 204. The weighing units 204a and 204b move along
the track 206, so that the weighing units 204a and 204b can receive the discharge of
25 materials from two or more of storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021. For example,
19
™ the plurality of storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 are disposed above a line
corresponding to the track 206 of the weighing units 204a and 204b as shown in FIG. 6C
or are disposed near the track of the weighing units. Even when the
storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 are disposed near the track, discharge units 203
5 are disposed above the track 206. In the material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS.
6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, and 7B, twelve storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 are disposed
linearly and the track 206 of the weighing units is disposed along the linear disposition of
the storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021. Further, a plurality of adjacent
storage-and-discharge units forms one set, and the storage-and-discharge units 202a to
10 2021 form four storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a to 212d. When these
storage-and-discharge units do not need to be distinguished from one another, the
storage-and-discharge units are denoted by 202 and the storage-and-discharge unit groups
are denoted by 212. Discharge stop positions 210a to 21 Od of the weighing units 204a
and 204b are defined so as to correspond to the storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a
15 to 212d. When the weighing units 204a and 204d stop at these discharge stop positions
210a to 210d, materials can be discharged to the weighing units 204a and 204b from the
storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2101 belonging to corresponding
storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a tb"212d. In the material feeding apparatus 200
shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, and 7B, three adjacent storage-and-discharge units 202
20 form one storage-and-discharge unit group 212 and a total of four storage-and-discharge
unit groups 212a to 212d are formed. Four discharge stop positions 210a to 21 Od where
materials are discharged to the weighing units 204 from each of these
storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a to 212d are provided. The weighing units 204a
and 204b stop at the discharge stop positions 210a to 212d and receive the discharge of
25 materials from the storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 belonging to corresponding
20
I P storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a to 212d. In FIG. 6A, the weighing unit 204a
stops at the discharge stop position 210b and the weighing unit 204b stops at the
discharge stop position 210d. Since the weighing units 204a and 204b sequentially
move directly below the storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 in this way, fixed
5 amounts of the materials can be sequentially discharged to the weighing units 204a and
204b.
[0032]
The feature of the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment
is that the weighing units 204a and 204b move along the track 206 and stop at charging
10 stop positions 211ato211d corresponding to the treatment positions 209a and 209b, so
that materials can be fed from the weighing units 204a and 204b to the material charging
units 207a to 207d disposed at the treatment positions 209a and 209b. For this reason,
the track 206 along which the weighing units 204a and 204b move extends in a
horizontal direction in the plane of FIG. 6C (a direction in which the
15 storage-and-discharge units are arranged) to pass through the discharge stop positions
and the charging stop positions in plan view so that material can be charged into any of
the material charging units 207a to 207d disposed at the plurality of treatment positions
209a and 209b. It is preferable that the number of material charging units disposed at
each treatment position be greater than or equal to the number of the weighing units as in
20 the embodiment or be equal to at least the number of weighing units. In the material
feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, and 7B, two material charging
unit 207a to 207b and 207c to 207d are disposed at the treatment positions 209a and 209b,
respectively. The material charging units 207a and 207b are provided so as to
correspond to the left treatment position 209a and the material charging units 207c and
25 207d are provided so as to correspond to the right treatment position 209b. The
21
| ™ charging stop positions 211 a to 211 d of the weighing units are provided so as to
correspond to the positions of each of the material charging units 207a to 207d. In the
material feeding apparatus shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, the weighing units 204a and
204b can charge materials into the material charging units 207a to 207d when stopping at
5 the charging stop positions 211ato211d. Further, in the material feeding apparatus 200
shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, four discharge stop positions 210a to 210d and four
charging stop positions 211ato211d correspond to each other, that is, overlap each other
in plan view.
[0033]
10 In the past, destinations to which materials were fed were switched using a
bifurcated charging chute or a rotating chute when materials were to be fed to two
treatment positions from a common material feeding apparatus. However, since the
angle of the charging chute needs to be larger than an angle of repose, the height of the
entire material feeding apparatus needs to be high according to a switching distance.
15 For this reason, there was a problem in that the construction costs of a building increased
when the material feeding apparatus was installed in the building. In contrast, it is
possible to feed materials to any of the plurality of treatment positions 202 by moving the
weighing units 204a and 204b along the track in the material feeding apparatus 200
according to the embodiment. As a result, since it is possible to reduce the height of the
20 entire material feeding apparatus, it is possible to reduce the construction costs of a
building.
[0034]
In the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment, it is
preferable that each of the storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 be adapted to
25 discharge materials to only the corresponding weighing unit of the plurality of weighing
22
units 204a and 204b when the plurality of weighing units receive the discharge at the I
same time. The material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, and
7B includes two weighing units 204a and 204b. Further, the twelve
storage-and-discharge units 202 to 2021 are divided into the four storage-and-discharge
5 unit groups 212a to 212d. The storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202f belonging to
the storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a and 212b are adapted to discharge materials
to the weighing unit 204a. The storage-and-discharge units 202g to 2021 belonging to
the storage-and-discharge unit groups 212c and 212d are adapted to discharge materials
to the weighing unit 204b. When the storage-and-discharge units are adapted as
10 described above, it is preferable that different kinds of weighing units be used as the
weighing units, for example, in such a manner that the upper limit weight capable of
being measured by the weighing unit 204a is set to 4 tons and the upper limit weight
capable of being measured by the weighing unit 204b is set to 1 ton. In general, as the
upper limit weight capable of being measured becomes smaller, it is possible to achieve
15 high accuracy in weighing. For this reason, it is possible to simultaneously improve
charging efficiency and the accuracy in the charged amount, by, for example, assigning
materials of which the charged amount per charge is relatively large to the
storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202f combined with the weighing unit 204a and
assigning materials of which the charged amount per charge is small and requires high
20 accuracy to the storage-and-discharge units 202g to 2021 combined with the weighing
unit 204b. Further, it is preferable that the storage-and-discharge unit groups be
arranged to the corresponding sides of the weighing units 204a and 204b so that, for
example, the storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a and 212b are assigned to the
weighing unit 204a. Weighing is generally instructed to the weighing units 204a and
25 204b at the same time. It is possible to avoid the interference between the weighing
23
units 204a and 204b during the weighing by performing assignment as described above I
and dividing an area into an area of the storage-and-discharge units for the weighing unit
204a and an area of the storage-and-discharge units for the weighing unit 204b.
[0035]
5 In the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment, it is
preferable that the number of material charging units disposed at every treatment position
as described above be greater than or equal to the number of weighing units. In addition,
it is preferable that the material charging units 207a to 207d of the treatment positions
209a and 209b be adapted to receive materials of only corresponding one of the weighing
10 units 204a and 204b. In the material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 6 A, 6B, and
6C, the material charging units 207a and 207b are disposed so as to correspond to the
treatment position 209a and the material charging units 207c and 207d are disposed so as
to correspond to the treatment position 209b. The weighing unit 204a is adapted to
charge materials into the material charging unit 207a at the treatment position 209a and
15 to charge materials into the material charging unit 207c at the treatment position 209b.
In addition, the weighing unit 204b is adapted to charge materials into the material
charging unit 207b at the treatment position 209a and to charge materials into the
material charging unit 207d at the treatment position 209b. Since the weighing units are
adapted as described above, materials can be simultaneously charged into the treatment
20 apparatus 208a from the weighing units 204a and 204b, for example, at the treatment
position 209a. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time that is required for charging
materials.
[0036]
In the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment, a control
25 unit (not shown) controls that the storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 discharge
24
J p materials to which weighing unit of the weighing units 204a and 204b and the material
charging units 207a to 207d receive materials charged from which weighing unit of the
weighing units 204a and 204b. However, a control method is not limited thereto.
[0037]
5 In the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment, it is more
preferable that the discharge of the materials can be received from two or more of the
plurality of storage-and-discharge units 202a to 2021 at at least one of the discharge stop
positions 210a to 21 Od of the weighing units 204a and 204b. In the material feeding
apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, and 7B, for example, the weighing unit
10 204a, which receives the discharge of materials, can receive the discharge of materials
from three storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202c at the discharge stop position 210a.
When materials are discharged, first, the weighing unit 204a weighs a material while the
material is discharged from the first storage-and-discharge unit 202a. Accordingly, a
fixed amount of the material is discharged to the weighing unit 204a. After that, while a
15 material is discharged from the second storage-and-discharge unit 202b, the weighing
unit 204a weighs the material. Accordingly, a second material is discharged to the
weighing unit 204a. Likewise, while a material is discharged from the third
storage-and-discharge unit 202c, the weighing unit 204a weighs the material.
Accordingly, a third material is discharged to the weighing unit 204a. When the
20 discharge of the materials from the first to third storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202c
is completed, the weighing unit 204a is already moved to one discharge stop position
210b. Then, materials are similarly discharged from the fourth to sixth
storage-and-discharge units 202d to 202f. According to the above-mentioned structure,
fixed amounts of a plurality of materials can be discharged while the weighing units 204a
25 and 204b stop at one position. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the time that is
i
25
^ r required for the movement and stop of the weighing units 204a and 204b. Therefore, it
is possible to quickly discharge a variety of materials. Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 A
and 8B, a plurality of storage-and-discharge units 202 may be disposed in the direction
orthogonal to the direction of movement of a weighing unit 204. In this case, the
5 number of storage-and-discharge units 202 that can discharge materials at one discharge
stop position may be further increased. In a material feeding apparatus 200 shown in
FIGS. 8A and 8B, vibrating feeders are used as discharge units 203 of the
storage-and-discharge units 202 and the directions of movement of the materials in the
vibrating feeders are directed to the weighing unit 204. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B,
10 discharge stop positions 210a to 21 Oe are provided for the storage-and-discharge units
202a to 202e and the discharge of materials may be sequentially received from the
storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202e.
[0038]
In the material feeding apparatus 200 according to the embodiment, it is
15 preferable that at least one of the charging stop positions 211 a to 211 d of the weighing
units 204a and 204b where materials are charged into the material charging units 207a to
207d from the weighing units 204a and 204b correspond to at least one of the discharge
stop positions 210a to 21 Od of the weighing units 204a and 204b where materials are
discharged to the weighing units 204a to 204b from the storage-and-discharge units 202a
20 to 2021. The material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, and 7B
has two treatment positions 209a and 209b, includes a total of four material charging
units 207a to 207d corresponding to the treatment positions, and includes four charging
stop positions 211ato211d corresponding to the material charging units 207a to 207d.
The number of discharge stop positions 210a to 21 Od is four. The four discharge stop
25 positions 210a to 21 Od correspond to the four charging stop positions 211a to 211 d,
26
^ respectively.
[0039]
In the material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the treatment
apparatus 208a currently operates at the left treatment position 209a. As shown in FIG.
5 6A, the weighing unit 204a stops at the stop position 210b and materials are discharged
from the storage-and-discharge units 202d to 202f belonging to the storage-and-discharge
unit group 212b. Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, materials are discharged from the
storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202c belonging to the storage-and-discharge unit
group 212a at the discharge stop position 210a. The discharge stop position 210a and
10 the charging stop position 211a correspond to each other at this position. For this
reason, it is possible to immediately charge materials into the material charging unit 207a
and the treatment apparatus 208a without moving the weighing unit 204a afterward.
[0040]
In the material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the treatment
15 apparatus 208b currently operates at the right treatment position 209b. As shown in FIG.
7A, the weighing unit 204b stops at the discharge stop position 210c and materials are
discharged from the storage-and-discharge units 202g to 202i belonging to the
storage-and-discharge unit group 212c. Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, materials are
discharged from the storage-and-discharge units 202j to 2021 belonging to the
20 storage-and-discharge unit group 212d at the discharge stop position 21 Od. The
discharge stop position 21 Od and the charging stop position 211 d correspond to each
other at this position. For this reason, it is possible to immediately charge materials into
the material charging unit 207b and the treatment apparatus 208b without moving the
weighing unit 204b afterward.
25 [0041]
27
™ As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, charging stop positions 210a to 210e may not
correspond to discharge stop positions 21 la to 21 Id. It is difficult to make the charging
stop positions 210a to 21 Oe correspond to the discharge stop positions 211a to 21 Id in the
disposition where the number of storage-and-discharge units 202 is large and a distance
5 between both ends of the discharge stop positions 210a to 21 Oe need be longer than a
distance between both ends of the charging stop positions 211a to 21 Od as shown in FIGS.
10A and 10B. In a material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a total
of fifteen storage-and-discharge units 202a to 202o are disposed as five
storage-and-discharge unit groups 212a to 212e and five discharge stop positions 210a to
10 21 Oe are defined. Four charging stop positions 211ato211dare defined so as to
correspond to two treatment positions 209a and 209b, but do not correspond to discharge
stop positions 210a to 211 e. After the weighing units 204a and 204b stop at the
discharge stop positions 210d and 210e and receive the discharge of materials as shown
in FIG. 10A, the weighing units 204a and 204b stop at the charging stop positions 211a
15 and 211b, respectively, and charge materials into the treatment apparatus 208a through
the material charging units 207a and 207b as shown in FIG. 10B.
[0042]
The material charging units 207a to 207d receive materials from the weighing
units 204a and 204b and charge the materials into the treatment apparatuses 208a and
20 208b. Since the material charging units 207a to 207d are provided, the weighing units
204a and 204b do not need to charge the materials into the treatment apparatuses 208a
and 208b according to the treatments of the treatment apparatuses 208a and 208b. That
is, since the weighing units 204a and 204b can weigh the next materials when the
material charging units 207a and 207b receive the materials from the weighing units 204a
25 and 204b, an efficient operation can be performed. If the efficiency of an operation is
28
™ not considered, the material charging units may be omitted.
[0043]
For example, when the treatment apparatuses 208a and 208b are decompression
apparatuses such as RH vacuum degassing apparatuses as shown in FIG. 11, it is
5 preferable that decompression charging units using double valves be used as the material
charging units 207a to 207d. A material feeding apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 11
includes upper valves 222 at the upper ends of decompression tanks 221 and lower
valves 223 at the lower ends of the decompression tanks. When materials are charged,
the lower valve 223 a is closed first as shown in the material charging unit 207a and the
10 upper valve 222a is then opened so that materials are charged into the decompression
tank 222a. After that, the upper valve 222b is closed as shown in the material charging
unit 207b and pressure in the decompression tank 221b is reduced to be equal to the
pressure in the treatment apparatus. Then, the lower valve 223b is opened so that
materials are charged into the treatment apparatuses 208a and 208b from the
•
15 decompression tank 221b.
[0044]
The structure of each of the above-mentioned embodiments is an example of the
invention, and the invention may have various modifications without departing from the
scope of the invention in such a manner that, for example, a plurality of tracks along
20 which the weighing units 104,204a, and 204b move are provided in parallel and a
plurality of storage-and-discharge units are provided in lines so as to correspond to the
plurality of tracks.
Industrial Applicability
25 [0045]
29
f | | According to the invention, it is possible to provide a material feeding apparatus
that does not require a long time for feeding materials without the need for an increase in
the height of a building in which the material feeding apparatus is to be installed even
though a common material feeding apparatus is used at the plurality of treatment
5 positions when treatment is performed at a plurality of treatment positions by treatment
apparatuses.
Reference Signs List
[0046]
10 100: material feeding apparatus
102atol02i: storage-and-discharge unit
103: discharge unit
104: weighing unit
104a 1: material charging portion of weighing unit
15 105: conveyer
106: track
107a to 107b: material charging unit
108a to 108b: treatment apparatus
109a to 109b: treatment position
20 110a to 11 Oe: discharge stop position
I l ia to 111b: charging stop position
121a to 121b: decompression tank
122a to 122b: upper valve
123a to 123b: lower valve
25 200: material feeding apparatus
30
^ y 202a to 2021: storage-and-discharge unit
203: discharge unit
204a to 204b: weighing unit
204al, 204bl: material charging portion of weighing unit
5 205: conveyer
206: track
207a to 207d: material charging unit
208a to 208b: treatment apparatus
209a to 209b: treatment position
10 210ato210e: discharge stop position
211ato211d: charging stop position
212a to 212d: storage-and-discharge unit group
221 a to 221 d: decompression tank
222a to 222d: upper valve
15 223a to 223d: lower valve

31
^ CLAIMS
1. A material feeding apparatus that feeds a plurality of materials to a plurality
of treatment apparatuses, the material feeding apparatus comprising:
5 a plurality of storage-and-discharge units that store and discharge the materials;
a track that is constructed below the storage-and-discharge units;
a weighing unit that receives and weighs the materials discharged from the
storage-and-discharge units;
a conveyer on which the weighing unit is mounted and which travels the track;
10 and
a plurality of material charging units that are disposed below the track, receive
the materials charged from the weighing unit, and charge the materials into the treatment
apparatuses,
wherein the track extends so as to pass through discharge stop positions, which
15 are positions where the materials are discharged by the storage-and-discharge units, and
charging stop positions, which are positions where the materials are received by the
material charging units, in plan view.
2. The material feeding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a
20 plurality of the weighing units,
wherein a number of the material charging units is greater than or equal to a
number of the weighing units.
3. The material feeding apparatus according to claim 2,
25 wherein each of the storage-and-discharge units discharges the materials to only
32
j«l a corresponding weighing unit of the weighing units.
4. The material feeding apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein each of the material charging units receives the materials from only the
5 corresponding weighing unit of the weighing units.
5. The material feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein at least one of the charging stop positions overlaps at least one of the
discharge stop positions in plan view.
6. The material feeding apparatus according to claim 5,
wherein the weighing unit receives the materials, which are discharged from two
I
or more of the storage-and-discharge units, at at least one of the discharge stop positions.
15 7. The material feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein the weighing unit receives the materials, which are discharged from two
or more of the storage-and-discharge units, at at least one of the discharge stop positions.