Elevator buckets
AssigneeBramme Group PLC
InventorNicholas Braime
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Some elevator buckets 1, 11, 21, 31, 41 have aperture orifices 2, 3, 4, 12, 22; 42, 43, 44, 52. Traditionally, these aperture orifices are formed by drilling a solid bucket wall but by provided aperture features 12′, 13′, 52′ in a moulded bucket with some already moulded aperture orifices then some markers or pre-cursors for aperture orifices are provided and provision of elevator buckets is more efficient with aperture orifices.
Claims13
An elevator bucket comprising a scoop with a plurality of aperture features, at least one aperture feature defining an elongate orifice through a wall thickness of the scoop when initially formed to act as a vent for the bucket when filled with a bulk material having a dimension greater than a width of the elongate orifice;
- the bulk material filling the bucket having said dimension greater than the width of the elongate orifice and the elongate orifice having a length greater than said width;
- the elongate orifice venting air inside the bucket and out of the bucket when the bucket is being filled;
- the elongate orifice being free of bulk material after the bucket is emptied;
- and
- the bucket is made of a polymer material.
A method of forming an elevator bucket, the method comprising:
- providing a mould for a plastics material, the mould having relief aperture features to define elongate aperture orifices in an aperture pattern in the bucket, wherein the relief aperture features comprise a depression or rib or ridge to form an aperture feature in relief within the elevator bucket;
- rendering at least one aperture pattern active within the mould;
- moulding an elevator bucket with a plastics material in the mould with that at least one aperture pattern;
- and
- forming at least one aperture orifice in the elevator bucket.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.