Central system elevator

An elongated conveyor apparatus for advancing solid materials, such as a mixture of large and small material pieces, for example fine and large metal chips and turnings, in a lengthwise direction along the conveyor apparatus, comprising:

• elongated trough means having an inlet at one end thereof for receiving said materials and an outlet at the other end thereof for discharge of said materials, said trough means having wall means defining a generally channel-shaped trough having a bottom wall and first and second side walls projecting upwardly from adjacent opposite edges of said bottom wall, said bottom wall having means defining first and second substantially semi-cylindrical recesses which open upwardly and extend lengthwise along said trough, said first and second recesses extending substantially parallel with one another and being sidewardly spaced apart so as to be disposed adjacent the opposite longitudinal edges of said bottom wall;
• first conveyor means movably disposed within and extending lengthwise along said trough for moving small materials unidirectionally lengthwise thereof from said inlet toward said outlet, said first conveyor means including first and second elongated helical flights respectively disposed in said first and second recesses and being rotatable about their respective lengthwise axes;
• first drive means operatively connected to said helical flights for effecting rotation thereof in such direction as to cause the materials engaged by said flights to be moved unidirectionally along said trough toward said outlet;
• second conveyor means movably disposed within and extending lengthwise along said trough for unidirectionally moving larger materials lengthwise along said trough from said inlet toward said outlet, said second conveyor means including first and second reciprocating conveyors extending lengthwise of said trough and extending in parallel relationship with one another and supported for reciprocating lengthwise movement therein, said first and second reciprocating conveyors being respectively reciprocably supported on said first and second side walls;
• each of said first and second reciprocating conveyors including an elongated reciprocal support which extends lengthwise of the trough and is supported for reciprocating movement relative thereto, each of said first and second reciprocating conveyors also including a plurality of material engaging barbs fixed to the respective support at longitudinally spaced intervals therealong, said material engaging barbs projecting transversely from the respective support into the interior of said trough, the barbs associated with said first conveyor projecting into the region located substantially above said first helical flight, and the barbs associated with said second reciprocating conveyor projecting into the region located substantially above said second helical flight, the barbs on said first reciprocating conveyor being spaced sidewardly a substantial distance from the barbs on said second reciprocating conveyor so as to define a central region therebetween which provides access to said first and second helical flights, said material engaging barbs having a configuration for engaging and moving the materials forwardly along the trough during the forward stroke of the respective conveyor while permitting the material engaging barbs to slidably move past the materials during the rearward stroke;
• and
• second drive means drivingly connected to said first and second reciprocating conveyors for effecting linear reciprocation thereof in generally parallel relationship to the lengthwise direction of said trough.