Multiple-choke apparatus for transporting and metering particulate material
AssigneeStamet, Inc.
InventorDonald Firth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multiple-choke unit for transporting and metering particulate material wherein the material is compacted to bridging, disturbed and then recompacted as it is friction driven through a duct. The duct has two opposed walls moving between the inlet and outlet which have a surface area that is larger than the surface area of a stationary wall or walls which from the other part of the duct. The duct includes a plurality of chokes which bridge by compaction, disturb and recompact the material as it is friction-driven through the unit. The unit provides simultaneous transport and metering of particulate material. The unit may be used to transport particulate material under atmospheric conditions or into a pressurized system.
Claims15
An apparatus for transporting particulate material comprising:
- a housing having an inlet, an outlet and a duct between said inlet and outlet, said duct being formed between two opposed friction drive walls movable relative to said pump housing from said inlet towards said outlet and one or more stationary walls fixed relative to said pump housing with respect to movement between said inlet and said outlet, said friction drive walls having a greater surface area for contacting said solid material than said stationary walls;
- first choke means for compacting to bridge said particulate material after introduction into said inlet, said first choke means including a convergence of said friction drive walls and said stationary walls to provide a first of said duct having a cross-sectional area which is less than the cross-sectional area of said inlet;
- second choke means for disturbing the relationship of said particulate material after said particulate material passes through said first choke means and then recompacting said particulate material, said second choke means including a divergence of said friction drive walls and said stationary walls to provide a second portion of said duct having a cross-sectional area which is greater than the cross-sectional area of said first portion of said duct, but less than the cross-sectional area of said inlet, said second choke means also including a convergence of said friction drive walls and said stationary walls located between said second portion of said duct and said outlet to provide a third portion of said having a cross-sectional area which is less than the cross-sectional area of said second portion of said duct.
A process for transporting particulate material comprising the steps of:
- feeding particulate material into an inlet end of a duct formed between two opposed friction drive walls and a stationary wall or walls, said friction drive walls having a greater surface area of contacting said particulate material than said stationary walls;
- moving said friction drive walls toward an outlet end of said duct;
- compacting said particulate material in a first portion of said duct by converging said stationary walls with respect to said friction drive walls to form bridged particulate material in said duct;
- disturbing the relationship of the particulate material by diverging said stationary walls with respect to said friction drive walls in a second portion of said duct to form disturbed particulate material;
- and
- recompacting said disturbed particulate material by converging said stationary wall with respect to said friction drive walls in a third portion of said duct.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.