Continuous rate feed hopper

An apparatus for the continuous feeding, at a uniform rate, of rubber like polymer in the form of standard bales or in multiple strip form of know weight per unit length and chemical additives, into a continuous mixing machine having a hopper, a multi-purpose hopper rotor and a hopper barrel, said hopper having a feed throat communicating with said hopper rotor which is rotatably mounted in the hopper barrel;

• first means operable to advance the said polymer at an exact uniform preset rate, in relation to the mixing machine rotor speed, capable of firmly clamping the polymer with adequate pressure to force the polymer into said hopper rotor without change of feed rate;
• second means including said multi-purpose hopper rotor consisting of helical grooves or groove formed by helical ridges provided with, at their outer portion, multiple longitudinal and radial knives, arranged to cut strips of polymer from said incoming bales;
• third means including an opening in said barrel before or at the said bale cutting operation, to provide an entrance for the chemical additives, in a manner which tends to coat the freshly cut surfaces of the polymer with the additives, to initiate the mixing action;
• and fourth means integral with said rotor and said helical grooves, to cause excess extrusion capacity to create turbulence flow to initiate mixing, develop pressure and to transport the process material at a continuous and uniform rate downstream and into the entrance of a rotor and barrel type mixing machine.