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US 4,724,980 AGranted
Method and apparatus for metering material into an air forming system
AssigneeAllied Corporation
InventorRadcliffe W. Farley
Life of this patent
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AssigneeAllied Corporation
InventorRadcliffe W. Farley
Estimating the term…
Fibers or other bulk material to be conveyed into an air forming system are fed in a continuous stream at a uniform rate to the air forming system by conveying the material into an elongated weight pan, weighing the pan, dropping the material onto a conveyor, and adjusting the speed of the conveyor to compensate for variations in weight. After a target weight in the pan is achieved, material is no longer fed into the pan, but the pan is not dumped until the conveyor has moved at least a distance equal to the length of the pan. The conveyor is at least twice as long as the pan, so that two dumps of the pan can be accommodated on the belt at the same time, thereby permitting the speed of the belt to be adjusted to feed the material into the air forming system at a substantially constant rate.
Method of metering material into an air forming system comprising the steps of conveying the material into a pan, weighing the material in the pan, transferring the matrial from the pan to a moving conveyor along a predetermined length of said conveyor for conveying the material to the inlet of the air forming system, discontinuing transfer of said material to the conveyor while advancing the conveyor said predetermined length, conveying additional material into said pan after transferring material from said pan to said conveyor, and again transferring material from said pan to said conveyor when the conveyor has been advanced said predetermined length, and adjusting the speed of the conveyor as a function of the weight of the material transferred to the conveyor and being conveyed into the air forming system.
Apparatus for metering material into an air forming system comprising a housing, a pan supprted on said housing means for transferring material to the pan, means for measuring the weight of the material in the pan, an endless moving conveyor belt for receiving the material from the pan and conveying it to said air forming system, said pan having a predetermined length aligned with the direction that the conveyor belt conveys material and including means for transferring the material from the pan to the belt, and control means for transferring the contents of the pan to the conveyor belt each time the conveyor belt moves a distance equal to the predetermined length and for controlling the speed of the belt so that the material is transferred from the belt to the air forming system at a substantially constant rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.