Injector for a material transport system
AssigneeFoster-Miller Associates, Inc.
InventorAndrew Harvey
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An injector for a material transport system includes a helical inducer having a housing with a fluid input port, a material input port and a discharge port, each port is open to an internal chamber of the housing. A rotor with a helical blade is mounted to the housing and constrained for rotation within the chamber. A fluid entering the fluid input port is formed into a fluid vortex having a ventilated core by the rotating rotor blade. A feeder assembly feeds the material to be transported into the material input port where it is carried by the fluid vortex to the discharge port for transmission to a hydraulic transport line.
Claims10
A material transport device comprising:
- (a) a housing having a frusto-conical nose with an internal chamber, said housing including first and second inlet means and outlet means that communicate with said chamber, said nose tapering inwardly from said outlet means to said second inlet means, said first inlet means configured to direct a liquid external of said housing into said chamber, said second inlet means configured to receive the material to be transported, said material discharged through said outlet means;
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- (b) rotor means having a conical shape mounted within said housing for rotation in said chamber at said nose, said rotor means including blade means configured to create a vortex having a central ventilated core from said liquid directed into said chamber through said first inlet means;
- (c) said vortex transporting said material at said second inlet means to said outlet means, said material injected into said vortex through said second inlet means, said vortex carrying said material from said second inlet means to said outlet means.
A material transport system comprising:
- (a) a housing having a frusto-conical nose with an internal chamber, said housing including first and second inlet means and outlet means that communicate with said chamber, said nose tapering inwardly from said outlet means to said second inlet means, said first inlet means configured to direct a liquid external of said housing into said chamber, said second inlet means configured to receive the material to be transported;
- (b) rotor means having a conical shape mounted in said housing and constrained for rotation within said chamber at said nose, said rotor means including blade means configured to create a vortex having a ventilated core from said liquid directed into said chamber at the tip of said blade means through said first inlet means when said rotor is rotated, a mouth of said vortex adjacent said second inlet means;
- (c) drive means operatively connected to said rotor means for rotating said rotor means at a sufficiently high rate to create said vortex;
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- (d) feed means at said second inlet means for injecting a material to be transported into said vortex, said material transported by said vortex from said second inlet means and discharged through said outlet means, the level of said liquid in said chamber increasing and decreasing to equalize pressure within said housing and back pressure at said outlet means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.