US 3,999,667 AGranted

Drag bucket chain conveyor

AssigneeAtlas Spokane, Inc.

InventorWinford B. Hickman

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Abstract

A chain of pivotably interconnected drag buckets for removing material from the sides of a loose pile and for delivering the material to a secondary discharge conveyor. The drag bucket assembly is particularly designed to be pulled about a circular path and includes a forward end adapted to be connected to a towing device and a free rearward end loosely received on a flat supporting surface. As the forward drag bucket is pulled along, the remaining buckets move in the circular path but also migrate radially inwardly toward the storage pile. The buckets scrape along the sides of the pile to remove material and move it along the support surface to openings where the material drops onto a discharge conveyor. The buckets are particularly designed so that flexure along the length of the chain will not cause openings to be formed between adjacent buckets.

Claims17

Dependent claims

In an apparatus of the type for transferring particles from a storage pile including a horizontal suppot for the pile and with recessed conveyors extending below the surface of the support with ring means encircling the pile and rotatably supported on said support for movement about a vertical axis and a flexible drag conveyor secured at one end to the inner cylindrical surface of said ring means freely mounted to swing radially with respect to said ring, and drive means operatively connected to said ring means adapted to rotate the ring means to pull the flexible drag conveyor about said vertical axis, an improved flexible drag bucket conveyor assembly, comprising:

a chain of pivotably interconnected drag buckets, the chain having a forward end pivotably connected to the ring means and a free rearward end for sliding movement over the surface of the support inside the ring in response to rotation of the ring;
wherein the buckets between the ends of the chain each include a forward and rearward end with an outward longitudinal side wall and a rearward end wall covered by a hood joined to the side wall;
wherein said end wall is spaced forwardly of the rear bucket end;
and
wherein the rearward end of each bucket overlaps the forward end of an adjacent bucket so the chain may bend without gaps opening between adjacent buckets.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.