1. Field
The present invention relates to a powder sediment removal unit capable of easily removing powder sediment accumulated on the bottom where grooves or gaps exist, and a powder sediment removal robot having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The FINEX facility, which uses powdered iron ore and general coal as it is to produce molten metal, is equipped with a melting furnace, which corresponds to a blast furnace in the general blast furnace, and a fluidized bed reactor, which is a gas reduction facility.
The fluidized bed reactor is a facility that blows the combustion gas of coal generated from a melting furnace to flow fine iron ore to reduce the fine iron ore. In the inner bottom of the fluidized bed reactor, a plurality of gas nozzles for discharging gas for reduction are provided. When these gas nozzles are clogged, the fluidity of the inside can be reduced and the reduction ratio of the fine iron ore may be lowered. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the gas nozzles periodically or to remove the clogging of the gas nozzles.
When replacing or checking the gas nozzles, it is necessary to stop the operation and remove fine direct reduced irons deposited on the gas nozzles in the fluidized bed reactor. When removing the fine direct reduced irons deposited in the fluidized bed rector, sediment on the surface layer is removed using heavy equipment and sediment on the bottom layer where the gas nozzles is present is removed by the operator entering the fluidized bed rector.
However, since the inside of the fluidized bed rector is in a high temperature state and the fine direct reduced irons are also in a high temperature state, it is

difficult for the operator to directly enter the fluidized bed rector to perform the removal work of the sediment (the fine direct reduced iron). In addition, since a plurality of gas nozzles are present on the bottom of the fluidized bed rector, it is very difficult to remove the sediment accumulated between the gas nozzles.
SUMMARY
Therefore, it is an aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure to provide a powder sediment removal unit and a powder sediment removal robot having the same that can easily remove powder sediment accumulated on the bottom where grooves or gaps exist.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there can be provided a powder sediment removal unit comprising: a rotary bucket including a plurality of sediment inlets opened in rotation direction at the periphery thereof and a plurality of curved surface guides for guiding sediment entering each of the sediment inlets to a center portion thereof; a motor for rotating the rotary bucket; and a discharge pipe connected to a suction/discharge device for sucking and discharging sediment collected at the center portion of the rotary bucket.
The rotary bucket further may comprise: a lower plate closing a lower portion of the rotary bucket, wherein lower ends of the curved guides are connected to a periphery of the lower plate, and a rotation shaft of the motor is connected to a center of the lower plate; and an upper plate wherein upper ends of the curved surface guides are connected to a periphery of the upper plate, and a sediment outlet through which sediment is discharged to the discharge pipe is formed at a central portion of the upper plate.
The discharge pipe may have an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the rotary bucket.
The curved surface guides may be bent in such a manner that the inner surface of the curved surface guides approach the center of the rotary bucket in the

opposite direction of rotation.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there can be provided a powder sediment removal robot comprising: a main body having a travelling unit; a first removing device mounted on the main body for scraping sediment of a surface layer and discharging the sediment in a suction manner; and a second removing device adopting the powder sediment removal unit as described above, which is mounted on the main body and enters into grooves or gaps on a bottom side to scrape sediment in the grooves or gaps and discharge the sediment in a suction manner.
The first removing device may comprise: a pair of rotating members rotating in opposite directions to each other to collect sediment; a support portion for supporting the pair of rotating members; a motor installed on the support portion for rotating the pair of rotating members; a discharge duct provided at the support portion such that a suction portion is positioned between the pair of rotating members; a discharge pipe for connecting the discharge duct and the suction/ discharge device; and a lifting device for connecting the support portion and the main body and lifting and lowering the support portion.
The suction portion of the discharge duct may be formed in a mountain-like shape, and suction ports may be formed on both sides adjacent to the rotating members, respectively.
The lifting device may comprise a plurality of connecting links, both ends of which are rotatably connected to the support portion and the main body, respectively and a stretching device that connects the main body and the support portion and lifts and lowers the support portion by extending and retracting.
The rotating members may comprise a rotating plate and a plurality of blades radially provided at a lower surface of the rotating plate.
The rotating members may comprise a rotating plate and wire brushes provided at a lower surface of the rotating plate.

The travelling unit may be in the form of a caterpillar.
The second removing device may comprise a support portion supporting the powder sediment removal unit and being rotatably connected to the main body and a stretching device connecting the support portion and the main body and lifting and lowering the support portion by extending and retracting.
Since the powder sediment removal robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can rapidly discharge and remove sediment of a thick surface layer by using the first removing device and can easily remove sediment existing in grooves or gaps of a bottom side by using the second removing device, it is possible to easily remove sediment deposited in a environment having a complicated bottom surface, such as inside a fluidized bed reactor of a steel manufacturing facility.
Since the powder sediment removal robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure removes sediment while travelling by itself by the caterpillar-type travelling unit, it is possible to easily remove sediment without the operator coming into a harsh environment such as a fluidized bed reactor.
Since the powder sediment removal unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can scrape sediment existing in the grooves or gaps into the inside of the rotary bucket while rotating the rotary bucket and discharge the sediment in a suction manner, it is possible to easily remove sediment accumulated on the bottom where grooves or gaps exist.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a powder sediment removal robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a first removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the first removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 FIG. 4 shows a modification of a rotating member mounted on the first removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5 shows an example of removing sediment deposited thickly on a surface layer using the first removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view a second removing device of a powder sediment removal robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a rotating bucket mounted on the second removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the rotating bucket mounted on the second removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 9 shows an example in which the rotary bucket mounted on the second removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure removes sediment existing in a bottom groove or gap.
FIG. 10 shows a state in which the second removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is elevated.
FIG. 11 shows an example of removing sediment in a state where the

second removing device of the powder sediment removal robot according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is lowered so as to enter a groove or a gap in a bottom side.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are provided to fully convey the spirit of the present disclosure to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown herein but may be embodied in other forms. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way, and the size of components may be exaggerated for clarity of illustration.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a powder sediment removal robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The powder sediment removal robot 100 can enter the inside of a fluidized bed reactor of the FINEX facility which produces molten metal through autonomous driving and can be used to remove powder sediment such as fine direct reduced iron accumulated in the fluidized bed reactor while travelling in the fluidized bed reactor.
Referring to FIG. 1, the powder sediment removal robot 100 includes a main body 110, a travelling unit 120 provided on both sides of the main body 110 so as to enable autonomous driving, a first removing device 130 which is mounted on the front of the main body 110 and can scrape sediment of the surface layer and discharge the sediment in a suction manner, a second removing device 150 which is mounted on the rear of the main body 110 and can enter grooves or gaps of a bottom side and scrape sediment existing in the grooves or gaps, and discharge the sediment in a suction manner.
The travelling unit 120 is provided on both sides of the main body 110 in a

caterpillar shape so that it can stably travel on a place where there are grooves or gaps (irregular road surface) like the inside of a fluidized bed reactor provided with a plurality of gas nozzles 10 and can also travel on the deposited powder.
The first removing device 130, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, includes a pair of rotating members 131 and 132 for scraping powder sediment while rotating in opposite directions to each other, a support portion 133 provided with extension portions 133a and 133b on both sides for supporting the pair of rotating members 131 and 132, and two motors 134 and 135 installed on both extension portions 133a and 133b of the support portion 133 for rotating the respective rotating members 131 and 132. The first removing device 130 may also comprise a discharge duct 136 provided at the support portion 133 so that a suction portion 137 of the discharge duct 136 is positioned between the pair of rotating members 131 and 132, a discharge pipe 138 for connecting the discharge duct 136 and a suction/discharge device (not shown), and a lifting device 139 for connecting the support portion 133 and the main body 110 and lifting and lowering the support portion 133.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the suction portion 137 of the discharge duct
136 is formed in a mountain shape so as to enter between the two rotating members
131 and 132, and suction ports 137a and 137b are formed on both sides of the
suction portion 137 adjacent to the rotating members 131 and 132, respectively.
The respective rotating members 131 and 132 include rotating plates 131a and 132a and a plurality of blades 131b and 132b radially provided on the lower surface of the rotating plates 131a and 132a. Therefore, when the rotating members 131 and 132 are rotated by the operation of the motors 134 and 135, the lower blades 131b and 132b can scrape and collect sediment toward the suction portion
137 of the discharge duct 136. Since the rotating members 131 and 132 rotate in
opposite directions to each other and collect the powder sediment toward the suction
portion 137 located at the center of both of the rotating members 131 and 132, the
sediment can enter the suction portion 137 and be discharged to the outside by the
suction force acting on the discharge duct 136.

FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrate that the rotating members 131 and 132 have a configuration in which a plurality of blades 131b and 132b are radially provided on the lower surface, but the shape of the rotating members is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 4, a rotary member 141 may be configured to include a rotating plate 141a and wire brushes 141b provided on the lower surface of the rotating plate 141a.
The lifting device 139 comprises a plurality of connecting links 139a at both ends thereof rotatably connected to the support portion 133 and the main body 110, respectively, and disposed in parallel to each other, and an stretching device 139b for connecting the support portion 133 and the main body 110 and lifting and lowering the support portion 133 by extending and retracting. The stretching device 139b may be a hydraulic cylinder or a screw-type drive device of variable length.
The lifting device 139 can adjust the height of the rotating members 131 and 132 in the process of scraping and discharging sediment by lifting and lowering the support portion 133 and the discharge duct 136 by the extending and retracting operation of the stretching device 139b, and can raise the first removing device 130 when not in use.
The discharge pipe 138 connected to the discharge duct 136 is made of a bendable material and can extend to the outside of the fluidized bed reactor and then be connected to the suction/discharge device although not shown in the drawing. Accordingly, the sediment scraped and collected by the rotating members 131 and 132 can be sucked into the suction portion 137 of the discharge duct 136 and discharged to the outside by the suction force acting on the discharge duct 136 and the discharge pipe 138.
As shown in FIG. 5, the first removing device 130 can scrape and collect sediment (fine direct reduced iron), which is thickly accumulated on the surface layer of the fluidized bed reactor, and discharge the sediment in a suction manner, while the main body 110 of the removal robot 100 travels. Since the main body 110 has the caterpillar-type travelling unit 120, the main body 110 can stably travel on an upper

portion of the plurality of gas nozzles 10 in the course of work.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 11, the second removing device 150 provided at the rear of the main body 110 can enter grooves or gaps between the gas nozzles 10 to discharge sediment existing in the grooves or gaps. The second removing device 150 includes a powder sediment removal unit 160 that enters between the gas nozzles 10 to remove powder sediment, and a lifting device 170 that connects the powder sediment removal unit 160 to the main body 110. The lifting device 170 may include a support portion 171 connecting the powder sediment removal unit 160 and the main body 110, and a stretching device 172 lifting and lowering the support portion 171 by extending and retracting.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the powder sediment removal unit 160 of the second removing device 150 may comprise a rotary bucket 161 for scraping sediment and guiding the sediment to the inner center thereof, a motor 162 for rotating the rotary bucket 161, and a discharge pipe 163 for sucking and discharging sediment collected at the center of the rotary bucket 161. The rear end of the discharge pipe 163 is connected to the suction/discharge device which is not shown in the drawing but is disposed outside the fluidized bed reactor.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rotary bucket 161 includes a plurality of sediment inlets 161a that are arranged at equal intervals to each other at the periphery thereof and opened in the rotating direction, and a plurality of curved surface guides 161b for guiding sediment flowing into each sediment inlets 161a to the center portion thereof. The rotary bucket 161 further comprises: a lower plate 161c closing a lower portion of the rotary bucket 181, wherein lower ends of the curved guides 161b are connected to a periphery of the lower plate 161c, and a rotation shaft 162a of the motor 162 is connected to a center of the lower plate 161c; and an upper plate 161d wherein upper ends of the curved surface guides 161b are connected to a periphery of the upper plate 161d, and a sediment outlet 161e through which sediment is discharged to the discharge pipe 163 is formed at a central portion of the upper plate 161d. Therefore, the sediment flowing into the rotary bucket 161 through the sediment inlets 161a is discharged through the

discharge pipe 163 by the suction force acting on the discharge pipe 163.
As shown in Fig. 8, the plurality of curved surface guides 161b are bent in such a manner that the inner surface thereof approaches the center of the rotary bucket 161 in the direction opposite to the rotation. Therefore, when the rotary bucket 161 rotates, the powder sediment around the rotary bucket 161 flows into the sediment inlets 161a by excavation of the tips of the curved surface guides 161b. Further, since the sediment flowing into the sediment inlets 161a is guided to the central portion of the rotary bucket 161 by colliding with the inner surfaces of the curved guides 161b, the sediment can enter the sediment outlet 161e and be discharged to the discharge pipe 163.
As shown in FIG. 8, the discharge pipe 163 can enter the inside of the rotary bucket 161 through the sediment outlet 161e and the periphery of approximately half of the portion that enters the inside of the rotary bucket 161 is opened so that the sediment flowing into the rotary bucket 161 can be easily discharged to the discharge pipe 163.
As shown in FIG. 6, the discharge pipe 163 is formed so that its outer diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the rotary bucket 161. Accordingly, as in an example shown in FIG. 9, the outer periphery of the rotary bucket 161 can enter the lower portions of the flange-shaped gas nozzles 10, so that it is possible to easily scrape and remove sediment deposited in grooves or gaps of the lower portions of the gas nozzles 10 of the fluidized bed reactor. That is, sediment deposited in complex types of gaps or grooves can be easily removed.
As shown in FIGS. 6, 10, and 11, one end of the support portion 171 of the lifting device 170 in the second removing device 150 is rotatably connected to the upper portion of the main body 110 at one end thereof, and the other end of the support portion 171 is fixed to the powder sediment removal unit 160 at the other end thereof. One end of the stretching device 172 is connected to the main body 110 and the other end of the stretching device 172 is connected to the support portion 171 so that the support portion 171 can be rotated up and down by the extension

and contraction, thereby adjusting the height of the rotary bucket 161. The stretching device 172 may be a hydraulic cylinder or a screw-type drive device of variable length.
By the operation of the stretching device 172, the second removing device 150 can lift the powder sediment removal unit 160 as shown in Fig. 10, and can lower the powder sediment removal unit 160 to remove sediment present in gaps between the gas nozzles 10 as shown in Fig. 11. As in the example shown in FIG. 11, the rotary bucket 161 of the powder sediment removal unit 160 can be lowered to a position lower than the lower end of the travelling unit 120 in a descending state. Therefore, it is possible to easily remove the sediment existing in the gaps or the grooves (gaps between the gas nozzles) located below the caterpillar travelling unit 120 while travelling on the gas nozzles 10.
The method of removing the sediment (fine direct reduced iron) deposited in the fluidized bed reactor using the removal robot 100 will be described below.
When the sediment in the fluidized bed reactor is removed, the removal robot 100 enters the inside of the fluidized bed reactor, and then the sediment deposited on the surface layer is first removed by using the first removing device 130 as shown in FIG. 5. At this time, the second removing device 150 can maintain the lifted state as in the example of FIG. 10.
After removing the surface layer sediments with the first removing device 130 until the gas nozzles 10 on the bottom of the fluidized bed reactor are exposed, the removal robot 100, as shown in FIG. 11, travels on the gas nozzles 10 and removes sediment existing in gaps or grooves between the gas nozzles 10 by using the second removing device 150.
As described above, the powder sediment removal robot 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can rapidly discharge and remove sediment of a thick surface layer by using the first removing device 130 and can easily remove sediment existing in grooves or gaps of a bottom side by using the second removing device 150. Therefore, it is possible to easily remove sediment

deposited in an environment having a complicated bottom surface such as the fluidized bed reactor.
Further, the main body 110 of the powder sediment removal robot 100 removes sediment while moving by itself by the caterpillar-type travelling unit 120, and thus it is possible to easily remove sediment without the operator coming into a harsh environment such as a fluidized bed reactor.
Here, the case of removing sediment (fine direct reduced iron) in a fluidized bed reactor using the removal robot 100 of the present embodiment has been described, but the application of the powder sediment removal robot 100 according to the present embodiment is not limited thereto. It can be used wherever powder sediment deposited on a bottom where grooves or gaps exist is removed.
Although the present embodiment describes a case where the powder sediment removal unit 160 having the rotary bucket 161 is applied to the second removing device 150 of the removal robot 150 to remove sediment in grooves or gaps, the powder sediment removal unit 160 can be used independently without being attached to the removal robot 100. That is, the operator may perform the powder sediment removal operation using only the removal unit 160 having the rotary bucket 161.
DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
100: powder sediment removal robot 110: main body
120: travelling unit 130: first removing device
131, 132: rotating member 133: support portion
134, 135: motor 136: discharge duct
138: discharge pipe 139: lifting device

150: second removing device 161: rotary bucket 163: discharge pipe

160: powder sediment removal unit 162: motor 170: lifting device

We Claim:
1. A powder sediment removal unit comprising:
a rotary bucket including a plurality of sediment inlets opened in rotation direction at the periphery thereof and a plurality of curved surface guides for guiding sediment entering each of the sediment inlets to a center portion thereof;
a motor for rotating the rotary bucket; and
a discharge pipe connected to a suction/discharge device for sucking and discharging sediment collected at the center portion of the rotary bucket.
2. The powder sediment removal unit according to claim 1, wherein the
rotary bucket further comprises:
a lower plate closing a lower portion of the rotary bucket, wherein lower ends of the curved guides are connected to a periphery of the lower plate, and a rotation shaft of the motor is connected to a center of the lower plate; and
an upper plate wherein upper ends of the curved surface guides are connected to a periphery of the upper plate, and a sediment outlet through which sediment is discharged to the discharge pipe is formed at a central portion of the upper plate.
3. The powder sediment removal unit according to claim 2, wherein the discharge pipe have an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the rotary bucket.
4. The powder sediment removal unit according to claim 1, wherein the curved surface guides are bent in such a manner that the inner surface of the curved surface guides approach the center of the rotary bucket in the opposite direction of rotation.
5. A powder sediment removal robot comprising:
a main body having a travelling unit;

a first removing device mounted on the main body for scraping sediment of a surface layer and discharging the sediment in a suction manner; and
a second removing device adopting the powder sediment removal unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is mounted on the main body and enters into grooves or gaps on a bottom side to scrape sediment in the grooves or gaps and discharge the sediment in a suction manner.
6. The powder sediment removal robot according to claim 5, wherein the
first removing device comprises:
a pair of rotating members rotating in opposite directions to each other to collect sediment;
a support portion for supporting the pair of rotating members;
a motor installed on the support portion for rotating the pair of rotating members;
a discharge duct provided at the support portion such that a suction portion is positioned between the pair of rotating members;
a discharge pipe for connecting the discharge duct and the suction/ discharge device; and
a lifting device for connecting the support portion and the main body and lifting and lowering the support portion.
7. The powder sediment removal robot according to claim 6, wherein the suction portion of the discharge duct is formed in a mountain-like shape, and suction ports are formed on both sides adjacent to the rotating members, respectively.
8. The powder sediment removal robot according to claim 6, wherein the lifting device comprises a plurality of connecting links, both ends of which are rotatably connected to the support portion and the main body, respectively, and a stretching device that connects the main body and the support portion and lifts and lowers the support portion by extending and retracting.

9. The powder sediment removal robot according to claim 6, wherein the rotating members comprise a rotating plate and a plurality of blades radially provided at a lower surface of the rotating plate.
10. The powder sediment removal robot according to claim 6, wherein the rotating members comprise a rotating plate and wire brushes provided at a lower surface of the rotating plate.
11. The powder sediment removal robot according to claim 5, wherein the travelling unit is in the form of a caterpillar.
12. The powder sediment removal robot according to claim 5, wherein the second removing device comprises a support portion supporting the powder sediment removal unit and being rotatably connected to the main body, and a stretching device connecting the support portion and the main body and lifting and lowering the support portion by extending and retracting.