Vertical mass flow conveyor

A vertical conveyor for elevating bulk material comprising a vertically arranged tube having an inlet at the lower portion of the tube and an outlet at the upper portion of the tube, means for resiliently supporting the tube, means forming a spiral ramp within the tube, said spiral ramp having an outer surface in operative association with the inner surface of the tube, said ramp extending radially inward from the tube only a portion of the radius of the tube to leave the center section of the tube free thereof and forming a continuous cylindrical vertical open space, said outer ramp surface being exposed to the vertical space, a hopper carried by the tube for feeding material to the lower portion of the tube, means for guiding material from the hopper through the tube inlet, into the vertical open space, and against the exposed surface of the ramp, and means for transmitting a helical reciprocating movement to said tube for mass flow conveying the bulk material in columnar form up the inside of the tube through the open vertical space to said outlet for discharge.

A vertical conveyor for mass flow of bulk material comprising a vertically arranged tube, means resiliently supporting the tube for limited helical movement, means forming a spiral ramp within the tube, said ramp having an outer surface in contact with and supported by the inner surface of the tube, said ramp extending radially inward from the inner surface of the tube only a portion of the distance to the center of the tube to leave the center section of the tube free thereof and forming a continuous cylindrical vertical open space, said ramp having an outer surface exposed to the vertical open space, trough means at the lower end of the tube, means for guiding bulk material from the trough into the vertical open space and against the exposed outer surface of the spiral ramp, and means for transmitting a helical reciprocating movement to said tube for conveying bulk material in columnar form from the trough means to an outlet at the upper portion of the tube through the open vertical space.

A vertical mass flow conveyor for elevating bulk material, said vertical mass flow conveyor comprising a vertically arranged tube having an inlet and an outlet above the inlet, there being a continuous cylindrical vertical open space between the tube inlet and tube outlet, means for continuously feeding bulk material into the tube inlet, and vibratory means for continuously conveying incoming bulk material at the tube inlet vertically through said open tube space in columnar form and toward the outlet.

A vertical conveyor as claimed in 20 wherein said vibratory means includes means for transmitting a helical reciprocating movement to said tube and spiral ramp.