SYSTEMS”

[001 ] This description report refers to an invention patent application concerning a modular mesh, in two different configurations, for vibrating screening equipment, which can be used to sort any bulk material, particularly in the mining, recycling, fertilizing, and other industries where processing of the product to be sorted is critical, that is, when the same is too sticky due to its mineralogical composition, moisture, and granulometric curve.

[002] Its cloth, made up of "loose" rods, allows for an independent movement of such rods, according to screen vibration, thus providing an increase in the release acceleration of the screened material and, as a consequence, better sorting.

State of the art

[003 ] As is widely known among professionals in this field, screening is the process of separating some non-cohesive granulated material into two or more different size classes and particles, by means one or more perforated surfaces with openings of defined sizes . This size sorting is therefore performed by a mechanical barrier, which is made up by the wires of the cloth of a plate or mesh.

[004] For industrial purposes, screening is defined as the process of sorting a granulated material according to particle size into two or more fractions, by means of one or more perforated surfaces - or meshes.

[005] Sorting, which is the mineral preparation, means a separation by size, that is, separating the fragments or particles into classes (discrete values), each class encompassing those sizes between two defined limits. Thus, its sizes can be classified as: “oversize”, which is the material retained, that is, the class of particles of sizes larger than the cloth aperture; "undersize" , which is the passing material, that is, the material fraction made up of particles of sizes smaller than the mesh or screening aperture; and "nearsize" , which is the material fraction made up of particles of equal or very close size to the cloth or the screening aperture.

[006] Furthermore, vibrating screens are equipment known to be responsible for recovering the products and be capable of separating them into up to five fractions, thus increasing the screening precision and efficiency, especially intended for intermediate and final separation in dry or wet screening processes . The shapes of a vibrating screen vary a lot and their size varies according to the capacity, sorting cut, and dimensions of the materials that will be worked on, receiving different types of mesh for the various types of materials.

[007] Currently available on the market are several types of meshes, including steel, polyurethane, rubber, or hybrid, to be used in processing through vibrating screens in the mining industry. In spite of the fact that they exhibit outstanding performing in wet and dry applications, for certain materials, such as hydrated ones, which are used with their natural humidity, this performance is jeopardized, reducing the yield of the screening process, since the material to be screened gets sticky and glues to the screen mesh, obstructing and jeopardizing the passing of the material through its holes. Thus, the screening process needs to be stopped and the equipment operator needs to clean the mesh, making it a less effective, slower process.

[008] In figure 1 of the attached drawings, for example purposes, an image was taken from document MU7701590-8, titled “Layout introduced for fasteners of modular components forming screening equipment for the mining industry”, which shows modular screen plates installed to the support of vibrating screens . As can be observed, different modules are sought, in the form of plates, some of which perforated by means of a myriad of "conical" holes, as well as "U" profiles, a bottom structure, and other structural components to assemble the screen structure.

[009] As can be observed in the invention described above, the meshes available on the market these days, especially due to the current trend of removing water injection from the vibrating screens used in iron ore processing, have most of the ore processing conducted in them with no water injection, that its, with natural humidity. As an example, the mines located in the Amazon region, where, during the rainy season, the natural humidity of the iron ore is as high as over 10%, a high proportion of fines can be seen (below 150 microns), making the material extremely sticky (cohesive) and preventing its sorting through vibrating screens. Due to its large specific surface, fines aggregate and get glued to larger grains (oversize), making the meshes exhibit low performance.

Purpose of the Patent

[010] For the purpose of solving the problems described above and due to a current lack of alternatives, the inventor has developed a modular mesh for a cubic or lamellar sorting, which increases the release acceleration of the ore particles (or others) toward the screen by at least 500%, thus preventing the sticky material from getting caught in the meshes and enabling any "nearsize" material to be sorted without getting trapped in the mesh wires, in addition to disaggregating very fine materials (smaller than 150 microns) from a more granulated material (thick), therefore avoiding an operator needing to stop the screening process to clean the screens, thus effectively increasing production performance.

[O i l ] In order to be installed to vibrating screens, based on a bottom fitting, the meshes exhibit their own dynamic condition larger than the dynamic condition of the vibrating screen thanks to their configuration, which is divided into independent, partially loose rods, which allows for independent movement, improving product stratification and, as a consequence, better sorting .

[012] Once superficially explained, the mesh is better detailed through the attached drawings.

[013 ] Figure 1 , as said above, was taken from document MU7701590-8, therefore representing the current state of the art.

[014] Figures 2 to 8 listed below represent the mesh in its both configurations, which are the motifs of this patent application:

[015] Figure 2 - top view of the mesh in its configuration for cubic sorting, with rods equipped with perpendicular segments that form the mesh and its openings, as shown in the top view in its zoomed detail A, also showing that its edges are free, detached from the screen body;

[016] Figure 3 - bottom view of the mesh in its configuration for cubic sorting, showing its lower pass-through cuts, constituting female fittings for vibrating screens;

[017] Figure 4 - top view of the mesh in its configuration for lamellar sorting, with rods laid out with uniform spacing that form the mesh and its openings and with free edges that cross the upper corner of its internal wall;

[018] Figure 5 - bottom view of the mesh in its configuration for lamellar sorting, showing its bottom cross-sections, constituting female fittings for vibrating screens;

[019] Figure 6 - perspective view of a vibrating screen to which the meshes were installed (in this case, in a cubic sorting configuration) through its bottom female fittings;

[020] Figure 7 - top view of the mesh in a configuration for lamellar sorting, with detail B where the internal rear face is highlighted from which the rods extend, and the sequence of details C and D highlight the opposite edge of the rods, loose, moving independently from the mesh, in its own vibration caused by the screen vibration;

[021 ] Figure 8 - top view of the mesh in a configuration for cubic classification, with detail E where the inner rear face is highlighted from which the rods extend. The sequence of details F and G highlight the opposite edge of the rods, loose, moving independently from the mesh, in its own vibration caused by the screen vibration.

[022] According to the attached figures, the "MODULAR MESH FOR CUBIC AND LAMELLAR SORTING IN VIBRATING SCREENS AND INDEPENDENT VIBRATING SYSTEM" , which is the subject of this invention patent application, is made up, as shown in figures 2 and 3 , of a mesh for cubic sorting ( 1 ) formed by a square body (2), which is equipped with a pair of lower pass through cuts, forming female fittings (3) and in a frame configuration, that is, centrally perforated, the inner rear face of which (4) serves as basis for a grid formed by a pattern of rods (5) longitudinally extended, parallel and equidistant to each other, toward the opposite front-side edge (6), without touching it, with the body of said rods (5) interrupted by a number of perpendicular segments (7) with uniform spacing to such a length that each perpendicular segment (7) will not touch the perpendicular segment (7) of the next rod or the side internal faces (8) of the square body (2) . The spaces between the pattern of rods (5) and the perpendicular segments (7) form the openings (9) of the sorting grid. Also part of the invention, as shown in figures 4 and 5, is a second mesh for lamellar sorting ( 10), also formed by a square body ( 1 1 ) equipped with a pair of lower pass-through cuts, forming female fittings (3 ) and in a frame configuration, that is, centrally perforated, the inner rear face ( 12) of which serves as basis for an extending grid formed by a pattern of rods ( 13) with a rectilinear upper face ( 14), parallel and equidistant to each other, extended longitudinally and at an angle, passing over the opposite front-side face ( 15), until they touch its border, above the top face of the square body ( 1 1 ) . The spaces in the pattern of rods ( 13 ) form the openings (9) of the grid.

[023 ] Both meshes ( 1 and 10) are made of polyurethane (PU) supported by an internal metallic armature.

[024] Built as shown above, the cubic ( 1 ) and lamellar ( 10) meshes will be fitted into various units in the supporting profiles of the vibrating screen (P) to be used, as shown in figure 6, through its lower female fittings (3), fastened together to form some sort of belt, as is usual in traditional vibrating screen systems (P) . The type of mesh (for either cubic ( 1 ) or lamellar ( 10) sorting) to be installed in each deck of the screen (P) is decided by the installation professional, depending on the application. In general, the lamellar mesh ( 10) will be in the upper deck of the screen (P), as a relief mesh for a first contact and primary separation of the material, and the cubic mesh ( 1 ) will be in the lower (or intermediate) deck of the screen (P) for final sorting of the material.

[025] Thus, when the equipment is turned on and the material is thrown over the lamellar mesh ( 10), for instance, with the movement of the vibrating screen (P), its rods ( 13), because they are extended from the inner rear face ( 12) and have their opposite edges free, loose, start an independent vibrating movement, in proportion to the vibration amplitude of the screen (P) in their own dynamic condition and at least five times higher than that of the screen, as shown in figure 7. The same takes place with the cubic mesh ( 1 ), as shown in figure 8 , the rods of which (5), extending from their inner rear face (4) and therefore with the opposite edges loose and free, take on an independent vibrating movement in a higher dynamic condition than that of the screen (P) .

[026] Therefore, as the material is released into the vibrating screen (P), the rods (5 and 13 ) of its meshes ( 1 and 10) amplify the general dynamic condition of the screening process, increasing the release acceleration of the material and enabling good performance, particularly when critical material is processed, that is, material with higher humidity and proportion of fines (smaller than 150 microns), also providing better bed stratification, so that the larger particles will be positioned above and, as a consequence, the smaller ones will be at the bottom. The independent vibration of the rods (5 and 13) of the meshes ( 1 and 10) also prevents "nearsize"- type particles, that is, those of similar or very close size than the openings (9) , from getting trapped in the latter, as well as causes the release or disaggregation of fines from thicker particles, therefore avoiding clogging, providing a much more precise material sorting, reducing the frequency of machine shutdown for mesh cleaning and unclogging, and increasing, as a consequence, screening performance.