Apparatus and method for charging material into a receptacle

Apparatus for charging particulate charge material of varying sizes into a receptacle having an upper portion including a top and upright side walls defining a chamber into which charge material is to be deposited to form a stockline, said apparatus comprising:

• a source of charge material;
• receiving hopper means outside of and above said receptacle adapted to receive charge material from said source, temporarily store charge material, and discharge charge material downwardly;
• first port means at the lower portion of said receiving hopper means through which charge material is discharged from said receiving hopper means;
• choked feed means in said first port means adapted to discharge material downwardly in a stream of compact cross section;
• first gas sealing means at said first port means adapted to be opened and closed;
• nonrotatable and laterally immovable distribution hopper means above said receptable and below said receiving hopper means adapted to receive charge material from said receiving hopper means through said first port means;
• nonrotatable and laterally immovable generally conical dividing means within said distribution hopper means directly below said choked feed means adapted to have charge material discharged downwardly from said choked feed means directly impinge downwardly on said dividing means to uniformly divide said stream of compact cross section falling upon it from said choked feed means into a plurality of separate streams of charge material;
• a plurality of laterally spaced lower second port means between said distributor hopper means and said receptacle through which charge material is discharged from said distribution hopper means, each of said plurality of separate streams passing through one of said plurality of lower second port means;
• material holding means in each of said lower second port means adapted to be opened to discharge charge material downwardly from said distribution hopper means and to be closed to retain charge material in said distribution hopper means;
• second gas sealing means in each of said lower second port means adapted to be opened to permit charge material to pass from said distribution hopper means and to be closed to retain gas pressure within said receptacle, said first and second gas sealing means forming a gas lock means permitting the entrance of charge material into said receptacle without harmful loss of gas from said receptacle;
• spreader means below said upper port means, acting to laterally spread charge material in said separate streams, said spreader means comprising a bell having an upwardly convergent top surface, a bell hopper means adapted to receive charge material from said distribution hopper means through said lower port means, said bell hopper means having a bottom opening adapted to be closed by said bell, and means for causing relative movement between said bell and said bell hopper means to discharge charge material from said bell hopper means and to close said bottom opening to retain charge material in said bell hopper means;
• distributor means within the upper portion of said receptacle below said spreader means, said distributor means comprising an outer distributor member having a downwardly converging inner wall terminating in a lower opening into which charge material is deposited from said spreader means, an inner distributor member having a downwardly diverging outer surface terminating in a maximum perimeter portion of a cross section smaller than but approaching the cross section of said opening in said outer distributor member, and means for causing relative movement between said distributor members in an upright path between an initial position in which said maximum perimeter portion of said inner distributor member is located below said opening in said outer distributor member and a final position in which said maximum perimeter portion is located above the opening in said outer distributor member while charge material is being discharged from said spreader means into said outer distributor member, to cause charge material to be deflected toward the side wall means of said receptacle when said maximum perimeter portion of said inner distributor member is below said opening and toward the central portion of said chamber when said maximum perimeter portion of said inner member is above said opening;
• said spreader means and said distributing means providing a plurality of surfaces of different inclinations to cause charge material to change angular directions from the vertical at least twice as it moves downwardly before it is deposited in said receptacle to uniformly mix the particles of charge material;
• stockline sensing means for sensing the height of the stockline at a plurality of locations outwardly from the center of the stockline and at a location generally centrally of the stockline in said receptacle;
• first control means operatively associated with said stockline sensing means for opening said second gas sealing means and said material holding means and for opening said bell to discharge charge material into said receptacle when said stockline sensing means senses that said stockline has moved below a predetermined height, said first control means operating to open said second gas sealing means only when said first gas sealing means is closed;
• second control means for opening said first gas sealing means to permit charge material to be introduced into said distribution hopper means when said distribution hopper means is empty to a predetermined degree and when said second gas sealing means is closed.

A method for charging particulate charge material having particles of varying sizes into a receptacle and for distributing said charge material evenly and uniformly in said receptacle, said receptacle being adapted to contain gas under pressure of which reduction of pressure is to be minimized, and said receptacle having a stockline of charge material therein, which method comprises introducing charge material in a vertical stream of compact cross section along a single path into a first hopper means above said receptacle substantially without reduction of gas pressure in said receptacle;

• dividing the charge material in said vertical stream without rotation in said first hopper means into a plurality of streams of substantially equal proportions without rotating the charge material;
• discharging each of said plurality of streams of charge material downwardly from said hopper means into said receptacle through a passage substantially without reduction of gas pressure in said receptacle;
• spreading charge material discharged from said first hopper means and distributing charge material as it is discharged from said hopper spreading step into said receptacle by passing said plurality of streams of charge material downwardly through means having a plurality of surfaces of different inclinations which change the directions of the charge material of said streams as it moves downwardly, to produce a substantially uniform distribution of the varying sizes of the particles of charge materials;
• and said spreading step and said distributing step being accomplished substantially independently of said dividing and said discharging steps.