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US 5,188,262 AGranted
Apparatus for dispensing moist powder materials
AssigneeChristy Machine Company
InventorRandy L. Fielding
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeChristy Machine Company
InventorRandy L. Fielding
Estimating the term…
Material dispensing apparatus includes an elongate hopper having a flexible apertured bottom, and an agitator bar mounted for rotation within the hopper having a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending rods supported on a rotating stabilizer shaft for material dispensing contact with the apertured bottom. The contact between the longitudinally extending rods and the flexible apertured bottom moves the bottom of the hopper in both an up-and-down and side-to-side direction such that the holes in the bottom change shape and material contained within the hopper is both vibrated and pushed through the apertures in the bottom of the hopper onto a product underlying the hopper. The apparatus is designed to dispense moist pre-sized powder-like materials that tend to agglomerate and adhere together.
A material dispensing apparatus comprising a hopper having a flexible apertured bottom, and agitator bar means mounted for rotation within said hopper into and out of contact with said apertured bottom to cause said apertured bottom to flex such that material contained in said hopper is dispensed through openings in said apertured bottom, said hopper having downwardly converging side walls, and plural studs extending outwardly from said side walls along bottoms of said side walls, said flexible apertured bottom comprising an elongate arcuate member containing said openings, said arcuate member having holes along edges of said arcuate member insertable over said studs, and clamp means on said side walls for releasably clamping said edges of said arcuate member to said side walls for ease of removal and replacement of said arcuate member.
A material dispensing apparatus comprising a hopper having a flexible apertured bottom, and agitator bar means mounted for rotation within said hopper into and out of contact with said apertured bottom to cause said apertured bottom to flex such that material contained in said hopper is dispensed through openings in said apertured bottom, said hopper including downwardly converging side walls, and said agitator bar means comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending rods supported on a rotating stabilizer shaft, whereby as said stabilizer shaft rotates, said rods periodically contact said apertured bottom to cause said apertured bottom to flex, said stabilizer shaft being drivingly connected with said agitator bar means, said agitator bar means and said stabilizer shaft being slidable longitudinally with respect to each other and adapted for uniform rotation about a mutual axis of rotation, said hopper further including end plates having bearing means for rotatably supporting said stabilizer shaft, and a motor for imparting rotation to said stabilizer shaft, said motor and said stabilizer shaft being detachably slidably connected by coupling means, said stabilizer shaft extending through said bearing means and said hopper and having a graspable end and an opposite end for detachable connection to said coupling means, said stabilizer shaft being removably captured in said coupling means, the removal of said stabilizer shaft from said agitator bar means and said hopper permitting removal of said agitator bar means from said hopper.
An apparatus for dispensing material comprising:
A material dispensing apparatus comprising a hopper having a flexible apertured bottom, and agitator bar means mounted for rotation within said hopper into and out of contact with said apertured bottom to cause said apertured bottom to flex such that material contained in said hopper is dispensed through apertures in said apertured bottom, said agitator bar means comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending straight round rods disposed circumferentially about the axis of rotation of said agitator bar means, said rods being supported by end bearings mounted on a stabilizer shaft for rotation of all of said rods and said stabilizer shaft as a unit, said hopper including end plates having bearing means for rotatably supporting said stabilizer shaft, and said rods having sides which successively contact said apertured bottom upon rotation of said agitator bar means and said stabilizer shaft as a unit to cause said apertured bottom to flex.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.