Removable material hopper assembly and method of using same to eliminate residual ingredient material
AssigneeProcess Control Corporation
InventorsJohn Beal, John Hotchkiss
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A removable material hopper assembly for gravimetric batch blenders including a hopper, a metering assembly and a releasable securing assembly. The hopper is removable from the blender, and includes a metering slide gate that can be used to tightly seal off the bottom of the hopper during the removable operation. The releasable securing assembly incorporates a tongue and groove subassembly and a pin and bracket subassembly to properly align and secure the hopper to the blender during operation, but also enables easy removal of the hopper when necessary.
Claims18
In a unit including (i) a material hopper having a neck, and (ii) equipment to which the material hopper dispenses material through the neck, an improvement to the unit comprising a removable assembly enabling removability of the hopper from the equipment to which the material hopper dispenses material, the removable assembly incorporating a sealing device to seal off the neck of the hopper during hopper removal from the equipment, the sealing device also to regulate material flow rate from the hopper.
A gravimetric blender comprising:
- (a) a material hopper having a neck, and
- (b) a removable assembly enabling removability of the hopper from the blender, the removable assembly including a slide gate;
- wherein the slide gate both regulates material flow rate from the hopper to the blender, and seals off the neck of the hopper during hopper removal from the blender.
A method of dispensing material from a material hopper having a neck to equipment to which the material hopper dispenses material through the neck, the method comprising the following steps:
- (a) regulating the material flow rate from the hopper to the equipment with a metering device until the hopper needs to be refilled with material;
- (b) sealing off the neck of the hopper with the metering device;
- (c) disengaging the hopper from the equipment without laterally sliding the hopper relative to the equipment;
- (d) filling the hopper with material;
- and
- (e) reengaging the hopper to the equipment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.