GB2089772A

GB2089772A - Material handling apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2089772A
Application number: GB8040673A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: SAP Ltd
Current assignee: SAP Ltd
Priority date: 1980-12-18
Filing date: 1980-12-18
Publication date: 1982-06-30
Also published as: GB2089772B

Abstract

Material from a container 20 is transferred to a hopper 16 and is then supplied by a screw conveyor 12 to mixing devices 10. The container 20 is received above the hopper 16 so that an outlet 27 at its lower end is disposed over an inlet 32 at the upper end of the hopper 16, the outlet 27 normally being closed by outwardly openable doors 28 where the inlet 32 is normally closed by inwardly openable flaps 33. When latch pins 29 holding the doors 28 in their closed position are released, the doors drop into contact with and rest upon rollers 34 mounted on the flaps 33. The doors 28 are then fully opened by opening the flaps 33 at a controlled rate. A sealing member 40 surrounds both the outlet 27 and the inlet 32 and prevents the material being transferred from reaching the exterior of the apparatus. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Material handling apparatus This invention relates to apparatus for handling material, wherein the material is transferred from a container to a receiver.

According to the present invention, there is provided apparatus for handling material, comprising a container in which said material is initially held, the container including at its lower end an outlet which can be opened and closed by means of at least one door, the or each door being openable outwardly of the container and being latchable in a closed position, and a receiver for receiving said material from the container, the receiver including at its upper end an inlet which can be opened and closed by means of at least one flap, the or each flap being openably inwardly of the receiver and being opened and closed by operating means, and support means enabling the container to be supported over the receiver with its outlet directly above said inlet such that, when unlatched, said at least one door is supported by said at least one flap respectively and can be opened and closed with said at least one flap by operation of said operating means.

Preferably, the support means includes a pair of surfaces on the container and the receiver respectively which, when the container is supported over the receiver, are mutually engaged with a sealing member therebetween which extends completely around said inlet and said outlet. This enables hazardous materials such as asbestos fibre to be transferred from the container to the receiver without danger of contaminating the surrounding air, thereby minimising the health hazard associated with such materials. The support means can also include mutually engaging registration members on the container and on the receiver which ensures that the container is engaged with the receiver in a predetermined position relative thereto.

Desirably, the or each flap has roller means on a surface thereof which faces outwardly of the receiver, the doors of the container being supported by the roller means when the container is supported over the receiver.

The present invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of material handling apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of a container and a receiver which form part of the apparatus; and Figure 4 is a sectional side view of the engaging parts of the container and receiver.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the illustrated apparatus comprises a pair of mixing devices 10 of known type mounted on a factory floor 11. A screw conveyor 12 at its ends respectively supplies the devices 10 with material to be mixed, the conveyor 12 in turn being supplied with the material from a belt conveyor (not shown) housed in a casing 13.

The belt conveyor is driven by a motor 14 at a slow speed, and receives said material through a discharge opening 15 (see Figure 3) at the bottom of a hopper 16. The hopper 16, the casing 13 in which the belt conveyor is disposed and the screw conveyor 12 are all enclosed so that material dust and the like cannot escape to the surroundings. Reference numeral 17 denotes a gantry which supports the screw conveyor, the belt conveyor and the hopper, and reference numeral 18 designates a walkway on the gantry for an operator, access being gained to the walkway by means of steps 19.

Material is deposited in the hopper 16 in a manner to be described from containers 20, only one of which is shown. The containers are transported to the hopper by means of a chain hoist 21 running along rails 22 secured to framework 23 of the factory building, each container having lifting lugs 24 (see Figure 3) by means of which it is supported by the chain hoist. Prior to such transportation, each containter is filled with a weighed amount of material to be mixed in the mixing devices 10.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 3 and 4, each bin has an inlet 25 at its upper end which can be closed by means of a pair of pivotable flaps (not shown). These flaps open outwardly of the container and can lie against external side walls 26 of the container when fully open. At the bottom thereof, the container has an outlet 27 which can be closed by means of a pair of pivotable doors 28. The doors 28 open outwardly of the container (i.e. downwardly as viewed in the drawings) and can be latched in their closed position by a manually operable latch device. The latch device includes, at each end of the doors 28, a pair of pins 29 each of which is engageable under respective one of the doors.Upon manual operation of a handle (not shown) the pins 29 are withdrawn axially allowing the doors 28 to pivot downwardly under their own weight as well as under the weight of the material held in the container. Across the outlet 27 there is mounted an angle member 30 of inverted V-section which covers the join line between the two doors 28 when the latter are closed, the pins 28 of the latch device being disposed beneath the angle member 30. In addition, adjacent the outlet the internal walls of the container slope inwardly as indicated at 31. When in their closed position, the doors 28 engage and seal against the bottom edges of these sloping walls and also the bottom edges of the angle member 30 to prevent leakage of material from the container.

The hopper 16 also has an inlet 32 at its upper end which can be closed by a pair of pivotable flaps 33, but in this case the flaps 33 open inwardly of the hopper. Each flap 33 has on its outwardly facing (i.e.

upper) surface a pair of rollers 34, only one roller in each pair being shown in Figure 4. The flaps 33 are opened and closed by means of respective air cylinders 35 mounted on side walls of the hopper.

In order to transfer its contents to the hopper 16, each container 20 is deposited on the upper end of the latter by the chain hoist 21. For accurate registration of the container outlet 27 with the hopper inlet 32, the container has projecting legs 36 which engage in sockets 37 on the hopper. The legs 36 are arranged in pairs on opposite side walls of the container, so that the container can be engaged with the hopper only in an orientation wherein the doors 28 each overlie a respective one of the flaps 33, as indicated in Figure 4. To facilitate insertion of the legs 36, the sockets 37 have tapered lead-in portions.

It will be manifest that the legs 36 also serve to supportthe containerwhen the latter is freestanding. The container also has a skirt 38 depending from the outlet 27, which is received in the inlet 32 of the hopper.

Surrounding the hopper inlet 32 there is provided an inwardly directed flange 39 to which a sealing member 40 is secured, the sealing member being made of sponge neoprene for example. When the container is rested on the hopper, an outwardly directed flange 41 thereon which surrounds the outlet 27 engages the flange 39 with the sealing member 40 interposed therebetween, as can be seen to advantage in Figure 4. The sealing member thus surrounds both the container outlet and the hopper inlet, and prevents the material being transferred from the container to the hopper from reaching the exterior of the apparatus.

When it is desired to transfer the material, an operator operates the latch device to release the doors 28, allowing the doors to be supported by the rollers 34 on the flaps 33. The air cylinders 35 are then actuated to open the flaps 33, and because they are supported by the flaps the doors 28 are opened also. In this way, the doors 28 can be opened at any desired rate so that the rate of discharge of the material into the hopper can be controlled: this would not be possible by operating the latch device of the container alone. Upon completion of the transfer, the air cylinders 35 are operated to close the flaps 33, thereby closing the doors 28 also. The latch device is then operated to retain the doors in their closed position.

The apparatus described above is particularly suited to handling materials which are normally difficult to discharge from a container, such as flaky, flocculent our fibrous materials, light density materials and materials having awkward particle shapes.

Specific examples include chopped wire wool, rubber crumbs, chopped film and chopped fibreglass.

The apparatus is also eminently suitable for handling materials such as asbestos fibre which constitute a severe health hazard, since once the container is mounted on the hopper the material follows a path which is completely enclosed and sealed from the surroundings.

CLAIMS (filed 17.12.81) 1. Apparatusforhandling material, comprising a container in which said material is initially held, the container including at its lower end an outlet which can be opened and closed by means of at least one door, the or each door being openable outwardly of the container and being latchable in a closed position, and a receiver for receiving said material from the container, the receiver including at its upper end an inlet which can be opened and closed by means of at least one flap, the or each flap being openably inwardly of the receiver and being opened and closed by operating means, and support means enabling the container to be supported over the receiver with its outlet directly above said inlet such that, when unlatched, said at least one door is supported by said at least one flap respectively and can be opened and closed with said at least one flap by operation of said operating means.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the support means includes a pair of surfaces on the container and the receiver respectively which, when the container is supported over the receiver, are mutually engaged with a sealing member therebetween which extends completely around said inlet and said outlet.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the sealing member is secured to the surface on the receiver.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein the surface on the container is formed by an outwardly directed flange.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the outlet of the container has a depending skirt which is received in the inlet of the receiver.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the or each flap has roller means on a surface thereof which faces outwardly of the receiver, the doors of the container being supported by the roller means when the container is supported over the receiver.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the container is provided with a pair of such doors which are pivotally mounted thereon, and the receiver is provided with a pair of such flaps which are pivotally mounted thereon.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the support means includes registration members on the container and on the receiver which are mutually engageable only when the container and the receiver are in a predetermined relative orientation.

9. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the or each door overlies the flap or a respective one of the flaps when the container and the receiver are in said predetermined relative orientation.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding Claim, wherein the container is provided with a pluraltiy of such doors which when closed meet at one or more join lines, and an upwardly convex member fixed to a body of the container overlies said join line or lines.

11. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 10, wherein each door of the container is latchable in its closed position by means of a latch element disposed beneath the upwardly convex member.

12. Apparatus for handling material, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. container, so that the container can be engaged with the hopper only in an orientation wherein the doors 28 each overlie a respective one of the flaps 33, as indicated in Figure 4. To facilitate insertion of the legs 36, the sockets 37 have tapered lead-in portions. It will be manifest that the legs 36 also serve to supportthe containerwhen the latter is freestanding. The container also has a skirt 38 depending from the outlet 27, which is received in the inlet 32 of the hopper. Surrounding the hopper inlet 32 there is provided an inwardly directed flange 39 to which a sealing member 40 is secured, the sealing member being made of sponge neoprene for example. When the container is rested on the hopper, an outwardly directed flange 41 thereon which surrounds the outlet 27 engages the flange 39 with the sealing member 40 interposed therebetween, as can be seen to advantage in Figure 4. The sealing member thus surrounds both the container outlet and the hopper inlet, and prevents the material being transferred from the container to the hopper from reaching the exterior of the apparatus. When it is desired to transfer the material, an operator operates the latch device to release the doors 28, allowing the doors to be supported by the rollers 34 on the flaps 33. The air cylinders 35 are then actuated to open the flaps 33, and because they are supported by the flaps the doors 28 are opened also. In this way, the doors 28 can be opened at any desired rate so that the rate of discharge of the material into the hopper can be controlled: this would not be possible by operating the latch device of the container alone. Upon completion of the transfer, the air cylinders 35 are operated to close the flaps 33, thereby closing the doors 28 also. The latch device is then operated to retain the doors in their closed position. The apparatus described above is particularly suited to handling materials which are normally difficult to discharge from a container, such as flaky, flocculent our fibrous materials, light density materials and materials having awkward particle shapes. Specific examples include chopped wire wool, rubber crumbs, chopped film and chopped fibreglass. The apparatus is also eminently suitable for handling materials such as asbestos fibre which constitute a severe health hazard, since once the container is mounted on the hopper the material follows a path which is completely enclosed and sealed from the surroundings. CLAIMS (filed 17.12.81)

1. Apparatusforhandling material, comprising a container in which said material is initially held, the container including at its lower end an outlet which can be opened and closed by means of at least one door, the or each door being openable outwardly of the container and being latchable in a closed position, and a receiver for receiving said material from the container, the receiver including at its upper end an inlet which can be opened and closed by means of at least one flap, the or each flap being openably inwardly of the receiver and being opened and closed by operating means, and support means enabling the container to be supported over the receiver with its outlet directly above said inlet such that, when unlatched, said at least one door is supported by said at least one flap respectively and can be opened and closed with said at least one flap by operation of said operating means.