Metering hoppers and related methods
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsMark Donahue, Eric Morgan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to improved metering hoppers for dispensing solid materials, particularly in the context of metered dispensation of solid pellets to feed reactors, in addition to associated methods, systems, and apparatuses. The disclosure relates, in various embodiments, to shielded metering hoppers configured to control the flow of solid material to a feed slot. In some cases, the disclosure relates to pressurized metering hoppers suitable for dispensing solid fuel into gas-generating reactors. Accordingly, the disclosure also relates to pressurized metering hoppers for solid materials, according to some embodiments.
Claims21
A metering hopper comprising:
- a hopper configured to store solid pellets;
- an outlet disposed in a bottom portion of the metering hopper with respect to local gravity during operation;
- a feed slot configured to gravity-feed the solid pellets to the outlet;
- a feed slot cover including a receiver slot configured to move between a closed configuration where the receiver slot is out of alignment with the feed slot and an open configuration where the receiver slot is aligned with the feed slot;
- a shield configured to block the solid pellets from falling directly into the feed slot;
- and
- a drive shaft extending through a sealed pass through of the hopper and configured to actuate the feed slot cover between the open configuration and the closed configuration.
A metering hopper comprising:
- a hopper configured to store solid pellets;
- an outlet disposed in a bottom portion of the metering hopper with respect to local gravity during operation;
- a feed slot configured to gravity-feed the solid pellets to the outlet;
- a feed slot cover including a receiver slot configured to move between a closed configuration where the receiver slot is out of alignment with the feed slot and an open configuration where the receiver slot is aligned with the feed slot;
- and
- a shield configured to block the solid pellets from falling directly into the feed slot;
- and
- a plurality of supports configured to maintain a pose of the shield with respect to the outlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.