GB730696A - Improvements in or relating to apparatus for storing and distributing powdered and granular materials - Google Patents

Abstract

730,696. Pneumatic conveyers. MOREAU, A. A. May 27, 1953 [May 29, 1952], No. 14779/53. Class 78 (1). Apparatus for stor ing and distributing powdered and granular materials comprises in combination a tank 49, Fig. 6, for the in. termittent supply of the material, an ele. vator 48 supplied by the tank and discharging into a hopper 32 situated in the upper part..of a reservoir 46, a shoot 33 for delivering the material from the hopper 32 to a metering hopper 35, and conveyers 12, 14 at the bottom of the reservoir for conveying the overflow from the. hopper 32 to a chamber 17 from which it is conveyed to the sump of the elevator. The shoots and conveyers used for transferring the material from chamber to chamber are of the kind provided with permeable bottoms through which air is passed to fluidize the material. The porous bottom supporting the material 8, FigÀ 2, is composed of plates 5, 6, 7, of which the plates 5, 6 are of large porosity and the plate 7 of lower porosity. The plate 5 is preferably of porous metal and the plate 6 may be of the same material or consist of agglomerated cellulose, e.g. soft Isorel. The plate 7 preferably consists of a number of sheets of unsized material of the kind known commercially under the Registered Trade Mark "Kraft," but may consist of one or more sheets of a plastic material, such as porous rubber or baked ebonite, or material such as fibres or sand. The plates are supported by the horizontal arms of metal angle irons 3, which form the sides of the plenum chamber, and are held together by bolts 4 passed through these angle irons and upper angle irons 2. The sides may, however, be made of compact concrete and the support of porous concrete. The bottom of the tank 49 is formed with parallel gutters 11 at the bottom of which are conveyers 12. The gutters lead into a transverse gutter 13, Fig. 4, provided with a conveyer 14 which delivers to one or more conveyers 19 leading to the sump of the elevator and forming the bottom of the chamber 17. This chamber has an air discharge cap 18, flow regulating device 20 and a grid 21. The elevator discharges by a shoot 28 on to a conveyer 29 which delivers to a vertical shoot 31 arranged centrally of the hopper 32. The material falls on to the shoot 33 which leads it to the metering hopper 35. When the bottom of this hopper is open, the material passes on to two distributing conveyers 37, only one of which is shown. Material builds up in a heap on the shoot 33 and when it reaches the level of the pair of conveyers 40, 41, Fig. 8, is distributed by them to the unfilled parts of the hopper. If the material reaches the conveyers 42, 43 it is discharged by them into the reservoir 46 from whence it is carried by conveyers 14, 47 into the bottom of the chamber 17. In a modification two additional conveyers are provided for conveying the overflow from the hopper 32 to storage chambers from whence it is conveyed to the chamber 17.