WO1997029981A1

WO1997029981A1 - Delivery system for flexible bulk containers of particulates and valve mechanism for use therein

Info

Publication number: WO1997029981A1
Application number: PCT/AU1997/000093
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jeremy Robin Locatelli
Original assignee: Comalco Aluminium Limited
Priority date: 1996-02-19
Filing date: 1997-02-19
Publication date: 1997-08-21
Also published as: AUPN815096A0

Abstract

A delivery system for flexible bulk containers of particulates, such as aluminium powder, comprising a supporting superstructure (1) for supporting a flexible bulk container (B) over a storage hopper (H), including a coupling mechanism (3) for connecting the outlet spout (S) of the bulk container (B) to a transfer/valve mechanism assembly (4) secured to the supporting structure (1). The transfer/valve assembly (4) includes a transfer passage (7) located within a shroud member (8) having an air passage opening (9) to allow air venting from the hopper (H) during transfer of powder from the bulk storage container (B) to the hopper H. A pivoted gate valve (13) is mounted for swinging movement on bearings (14, 15), the gate valve (13) comprising an arcuate plate to which supporting end plates (20, 21), carrying pivot pins (16) engaging the bearings (14, 15), are secured. An operating handle (24) is fitted to the pivot pins (16) to enable the valve gate (13) to be manually operated from its closed position to its open position, the valve gate (13) being accommodated in the open position within the space between the shroud member (8) and the transfer passage (7).

Description

DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR FLEXIBLE BULK CONTAINERS OF PARTICULATES AND VALVE MECHANISM FOR USE THEREIN

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to delivery systems for coupling flexible bulk containers of particulates and storage hoppers, and more particularly to valve mechanisms for closing the flow of particulate material through the delivery system.

Background of the Invention

Certain particulate or powdered materials for use in industry, such as powdered aluminium, are potentially dangerous when exposed to the atmosphere in the form of a dust cloud and great care must be taken when transferring such materials from flexible bulk containers to storage hoppers to ensure that accidents do not occur. Mechanisms for directly connecting the outlet spout of a flexible bulk container to a fitting attached to the inlet of a storage hopper are known, and while such mechanisms satisfactorily control the development of dust clouds, they do not enable the flow of powdered material from the outlet spout of the flexible bulk container to be controlled in the event that d e storage hopper becomes full before the flexible bulk container is empty.

A valve for controlling the flow of such powdered materials should be compact and should not generate significant frictional heat during its use otherwise safety conditions may be compromised. For these reasons, most sliding gate valves would not be satisfactory since they require an external operating mechanism and are likely to generate significant frictional heat during the opening and closing operations.

Summary of Invention and Object It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved valve mechanism for a particulate material delivery system in which the above requirements are satisfied.

In one aspect, the invention provides a valve mechanism for controlling the flow of particulates from a flexible bulk container to a storage hopper including means defining a particulates transfer passage adapted for connection to me flexible bulk container, said valve mechanism including a closure member or gate mounted for pivotal movement between an open position in which the transfer passage is open and a closed position in which the closure member blocks the transfer passage. By pivotally mounting the closure member or gate with respect to the transfer passage, the closure member is able to be positioned adjacent the transfer passage in its open position whereby the structure housing the valve mechanism is relatively compact and can be manually opened and closed without generating any significant frictional heat.

The closure member is preferably in the form of a curved plate which enables swinging movement from the open position to a closed position in which the plate is adjacent the lowermost end of the transfer passage. The closure member is formed with end plates supporting pivot pins engaging bearing journals supported by a shroud member surrounding the transfer passage. The shroud member is dimensioned to receive the valve closure member in its open position whereby the valve mechanism is contained within the shroud member. Although a gap exists between the closure member and the adjacent parts of the end of the transfer passage, when the closure member is in the closed position, the angle of repose of the granular material in the transfer passage prevents continuing flow of the material ti rough the transfer passage.

The transfer passage preferably has a first section which terminates at the closed position of the valve and a second section positioned below the first section and having a dimension greater than the first section to provide a space between the first section and the second section to facilitate swinging movement of the closure member from the opened to the closed position and to provide room for displacement of particulates by the closure member as it is moved to the closed position to interrupt flow of the particulates.

In another aspect, the invention provides a delivery system for a flexible bulk container for particulates including means for securing the outlet spout of the bulk container to a transfer device having a transfer passage and a valve mechanism including a closure member pivotally mounted with respect to the transfer passage to control the flow of particulates through said transfer passage, and a supporting structure supporting said valve mechanism in a manner which enables alignment of the transfer passage with the inlet of a storage hopper.

The supporting structure is capable of supporting a flexible bulk container in overlying relationship with the transfer passage and the valve includes a manual operating lever for opening and closing the valve.

The means for attaching the spout of the bulk container to the delivery system preferably includes means for clamping the spout in alignment with the transfer passage. For example, clamping levers may be mounted on the valve assembly to facilitate this function. Brief Description of Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a delivery system embodying the invention and incorporating the new valve mechanism; Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional perspective view of the valve mechanism embodying the invention; and

Figures 3 to 6 illustrate the manner in which the delivery system is used to transfer particulate materials from a flexible bulk container to a storage hopper. Description of Preferred Embodiment Referring firstly to Figure 1 of the drawings, the delivery system embodying the invention comprises a supporting superstructure 1 capable of supporting a flexible bulk container B of particulate material, such as aluminium powder, by means of anchor points 2 on the structure 1 which facilitate attachment of the bulk container B to enable the bulk container B and the supporting structure 1 to be positioned on a storage hopper H in the manner shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings.

The supporting structure 1 includes a known coupling mechanism 3 for connecting the outlet spout S of the bulk container B to a transfer/valve mechanism assembly 4, which is secured to the supporting structure 1 by spiders 5 bolted to the assembly 4. The mechanism 3 includes known toggling levers L which allow the outlet spout S to be clamped to the assembly 4. The assembly 4 terminates in an outlet spout 6 which is adapted for connection to the inlet opening of the hopper H in the manner shown in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings.

Referring in addition to Figure 2 of the drawings, the transfer/valve assembly 4 will be seen to include a transfer passage 7 located within a shroud member 8 having air passage openings 9 to allow air venting from the hopper H during the transfer of powder from the bulk storage container B to the hopper H. A filter medium (not shown) covers the openings 9 to prevent the escape of dust from the transfer assembly.

The transfer passage 7 includes a truncated conical section 10 and a downwardly extending cylindrical section 11 positioned above a secondary transfer passage 12 having a configuration similar to the transfer passage 7, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings.

A pivoted valve gate 13 is mounted for swinging movement on bearings 14, 15 including pivot pins 16 engaging bearing journals 17, 18 fixed to the shroud member 8 of the assembly 4.

The valve gate 13 comprises an arcuate plate 19 to which supporting end plates 20, 21 are secured and which support sleeves 22, 23 for receiving the pivot pins 16, as shown in Figure 2. The plate 19 preferably has sharpened edges, as illustrated in Figure 2A, to assist in the initial penetration of the particulate column by the plate 19 as it is moving towards the closed position. An operating handle 24 is fitted to one of the pivot pins 16, as shown in Figure 2, to enable the valve gate 13 to be manually operated from its closed position as shown in Figure 2 to the open position shown in broken outline in Figure 2. The valve gate 13 is accommodated in the open position within the space between the shroud member 8 and the transfer passage 7 and the space between the cylindrical section 11 of the transfer passage 7 and the adjacent portion of the secondary transfer passage 12 allows displacement of particulate material laterally during me closure of the valve gate 19.

The transfer/valve assembly 4 also includes a lower flared shroud member 24 for connection to the inlet of the hopper H and an air escape passage is provided between the shroud member 24 and the transfer passage 12 to facilitate venting of air to the shroud 8 as the hopper is filled.

As illustrated in Figures 3 to 6, the bulk container B is connected to the coupling mechanism 3 in the manner shown in Figure 1 of the drawings while the valve gate 13 is in the closed position. The bulk container B and the attached supporting structure 1 are then lifted over the hopper H as shown in Figure 4 and lowered until the shroud member 24 seats on the inlet opening of the hopper H. The gate valve 13 is then opened by moving the handle 24 in the manner shown in Figure 2 of the drawings and the particulate material in the bulk container B is transferred through the transfer passages 7 and 12 into me hopper H. When the hopper H is full, the valve gate 13 is closed with the valve gate 13 easily cutting through the column of particulate material between the transfer passages 7 and 12, displacing the particulate material into the space between the transfer passages 7 and 12. Any material remaining in the bulk container B can then be loaded into a further hopper H. When the bulk container B is completely emptied into me hopper H, complete transfer is achieved in the manner shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. The spout S is then released from the fitting 3 and the empty bulk container B removed.

The swinging gate valve arrangement described above satisfies the above requirements of compactoess and low friction operation whilst enabling flow of the particulate material through the transfer passages to be safely interrupted without creating dangerous dust clouds. While the arrangement described above and shown in the accompanying drawings is currently preferred, design changes can be made without affecting the operability of the mechanism or its effectiveness and the invention is not therefore limited to the design detail as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A valve mechanism for controlling the flow of particulates from a flexible bulk container to a storage hopper including means defining a particulates transfer passage adapted for connection to the flexible bulk container, said valve mechanism including a closure member or gate mounted for pivotal movement between an open position in which the transfer passage is open and a closed position in which the closure member blocks the transfer passage.

2. The valve mechanism of claim 1, wherein the closure member includes a curved plate configured to enable swinging movement from the open position to a closed position in which the plate is adjacent the lowermost end of the transfer passage.

3. The valve mechanism of claim 1 or 2, wherein the closure member is formed with end plates supporting pivot pins engaging bearing journals supported by a shroud member surrounding the transfer passage.

4. The valve mechanism of claim 3, further including an operating lever attached to one of said pivot pins.

5. The valve mechanism of claim 3 or 4, wherein said shroud member is dimensioned to receive the valve closure member in its open position whereby the valve mechanism is contained within the shroud member.

6. The valve mechanism of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said transfer passage has a first section which terminates at the closed position of the valve closure member, and a second section positioned below the first section and having a dimension greater than the first section to provide a space between the first section and the second section to facilitate swinging movement of the clos'-e member from the open position to the closed position and to provide room tor displacement of particulates by the closure member as it is moved from the open position to the closed position to interrupt flow of the particulates.

7. A delivery system for a flexible bulk container for particulates including means for securing the outlet spout of the bulk container to a transfer device having a transfer passage and a valve mechanism including a closure member pivotally mounted with respect to the transfer passage to control the flow of particulates through said transfer passage, and a supporting structure supporting said valve mechanism in a manner which enables alignment of the transfer passage with the inlet of a storage hopper.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the supporting structure is constructed to be capable of supporting a flexible bulk container in overlying relationship with the transfer passage.

9. The system of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the means for securing the outlet spout of the bulk container includes means for clamping the spout in alignment wim the transfer passage.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for clamping the spout in alignment with the transfer passage comprises clamping levers.

11. The system of any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein said valve mechanism is as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.