GB2119665A

GB2119665A - Mixing container

Info

Publication number: GB2119665A
Application number: GB08211354A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sefton Nevil Hawley
Original assignee: W Hawley and Son Ltd
Current assignee: W Hawley and Son Ltd
Priority date: 1982-04-20
Filing date: 1982-04-20
Publication date: 1983-11-23

Abstract

A container 6 suitable for the storage and blending of solid materials, for example powders, is substantially cylindrical and has a closable inlet 12 at its top. A discharge arrangement at its base comprises an inverted frustum 14 and a conical plug 17 moveable into the lower circular opening of the frustum to close the container by a mechanism 18, 19, 20 located between the frustum and a downwards continuation of the container which defines a skirt. Enclosed channels 21 for receiving the fork of a lift truck are supported by the skirt. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Storage and blending bin This invention relates to a container for dustless blending, storage and dustless feeding into subsequent process.

In the mixing and standardisation of fine powder admixtures to either colour or chemical or physical specifications or combinations of all three, the powders are mixed in large capacity blending bins which are mounted in rotary cages and subjected to end-over-end rotation to effect coarse admixture of the powdered materials.

Thereafter the bins are removed and their contents discharged through a subsequent process which effects the fine mixing to produce a homogeneous product.

Various problems arise in the use of apparatus of this kind hitherto available. These problems include leakage of powdered material at the inlet and discharge openings of the bin during rotation, splitting of the bins due to metal fatigue at welded joints arising from pressure changes during rotation with the end to end movement of the contents, inconvenience with quality control of the blended powders due to existing equipment being so constructed that the entire contents of the bin must be discharged together in that the discharge door cannot be closed once opened.

Such bins are designed to be moved by fork-lift trucks from the rotary blending cage to the bin discharging apparatus feeding the subsequent process, hitherto this frequently results in damage to seals by contact with the forks which in turn results in unacceptable leakage of powdered product.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a storage and blending bin in which some or all of these disadvantages are obviated or mitigated.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a bulk blending container comprising a cylindrical blending bin having an inlet opening at its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end, the discharge opening being controlled by a closure mechanism incorporating a closure valve movable between open and closed positions by a control mechanism disposed externally of the bin.

Preferably said discharge opening is of circular cross-section and said closure valve comprises a conical plug formed from or having a coating of rubber or other resilient material to form a seal with the discharge opening. Preferably also said control mechanism comprises a mechanical linkage pivotally connected to said conical plug and incorporating a threaded control member operable from a position externally of the bin to enable controlled movement of the closure valve to any desired position between closed and fully open positions.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a storage and blending bin comprising a main body portion of cylindrical cross-section, a frusto-conical discharge portion at the lower end of the bin terminating at an outlet aperture and an annular skirt extending around the discharge portion to protect same from mechanical damage and prevent spread of dust during unloading.

Preferably said skirt forms a continuation of the cylindrical body portion of the bin and extends beneath said discharge aperture in order to protect a closure mechanism incorporating valve means associated with the aperture for controlling the discharge of material from the bin.

Preferably also said skirt is of rigid material, the lower end of which engages with a sealing resilient'material on the complementary portion of a bin discharge mechanism to which the bin is transferred for unloading purposes during use.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a blending bin having an inlet opening at its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end and a pair of guides in the form of passages or channels located at the lower region of the bin and adapted to receive the forks of a fork-lift truck or similar mechanical handling apparatus. Such channels are totaliy sealed to prevent any escape or leakage of dust from within the skirt of the bin during unloading.

Preferably the bin is of cylindrical cross-section having a frusto-conical discharge portion at its lower end and a closure mechanism operable to control discharge of the contents of the bin, an annular skirt extending around said discharge portion and said leakproof guides being located between the discharge portion and said skirt and being supported at their opposite ends on said skirt.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a rotary cage adapted to accommodate and rotate a blending bin, the cage incorporating a combined clamping and closure member movable into contact with an inlet opening of the bin and serving to close said opening and to clamp the bin in position in the cage during rotation thereof.

Preferably the clamping and closure member comprises a plate-like member having a resilient surface adapted to seal against an annular metal ring around the inlet opening. The closure member is carried by an actuating mechanism mounted on the cage and operable to move the closure member towards and away from the bin top opening to clamp and seal same prior to rotation or to release same for subsequent removal.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section through a rotary storage and blending bin housed in a rotary cage.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the lower section of the bin showing a closure mechanism and other details.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line Ill-Ill in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the closure mechanism in its open position.

Referring to Fig. 1 the apparatus consists of a blending cage 5 which is of square or rectangular cross-section in plan and is adapted to accommodate a blending bin 6 which seats on the floor 7 of the cage 5 and is held in position by means of a combined clamping and closure device 8 mounted at the upper portion of the cage. The cage is rotatably mounted on a suitable support (not shown) arranged to be rotated by a drive motor in order to turn the bin end over end to effect coarse admixture of the powdered materials contained therein. The mechanism for rotating the blending cage is not shown and may be of generally conventional form. The bin is placed in the blending cage by fork-lift truck or other suitable apparatus and is filled with materials to be mixed either before or after location in the cage.

The combined clamping and closure member comprises a member or plate 9 having its lower face coated with a rubber or resilient material or provided with a resilient sealing member the plate 9 being carried by a shaft 10 mounted in bearings 11 in the roof of the cage 5 and connected to a jacking device which may be mechanically or air operated and serves to move the shaft 10 and plate 9 downwards into sealing contact with an annular ring around the inlet opening 12 of the bin 6. When locked in this position the device 8 serves to close the inlet opening 12 and maintain the contents in the bin during rotation and also clamps the bin firmly in position in the cage 5 while it is being rotated to mix the materials within it.

The bin comprises a main body 13 which is of cylindrical cross-section and a lower discharge portion 14 of frusto-conical form terminating in a circular outlet opening 1 5 (Fig. 4). An annular skirt 1 6 which comprises an extension of the body portion 13 extends downwards around the discharge portion 14 and terminates at a point below the outlet opening 1 5. The skirt 1 6 serves to protect the bin closure mechanism to be described hereafter and also facilitates mounting of the bin on to a bin discharge mechanism to which it is transported for discharge of the contents after mixing.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 4 the outlet opening 1 5 of the bin is closed by a closure mechanism comprising of a valve member 1 7 of hollow conical form supported on a linkage 1 8 coupled to the valve member internally thereof and extending downwardly and radially outwardly where it terminates in a threaded control member 1 9 which may be rotated manually or by other means to pivot the linkage 1 8 about fixed pivot points 20 and open the valve member 1 7 to the desired degree. The linkage 1 8 may be retained in any position between the closed position of the valve member shown in Fig. 3 the fully open position shown in Fig. 4 and in this way control of the discharge of the bin may be affected.This is useful to enable specimens to be taken for assessment of the degree of blending before the entire contents of the bin are discharged. The linkage 1 8 is housed in the space between the discharge portion 14 of the bin and the annual skirt 1 6 and is thereby protected and at the same time does not interfere with movement of materials within the bin as no part of the linkage extends through the bin itself.

In order to facilitate loading of the bin into the cage 5 and its subsequent unloading and transfer to the bin discharging unit, a pair of tubular guides 21 are housed within the skirt 1 6 at a position adjacent to the lower end of the discharge portion 14 and are supported at their opposite ends by the skirt 1 6. The guides are of metal construction and dimensioned to receive the fork of a fork-lift truck thereby enabling ready transportation of the bin from one location to another. The guides 21 ensure that the fork of the fork-lift truck is maintained clear of the closure mechanism thereby avoiding damage to the mechanism during lifting, transporting or depositing of the bin.

The pivots 20 about which the valve linkage 18 moves are mounted on the respective guides 21 and the skirt 1 6 extends beneath the guides and the linkage. The lower end is adapted to engage with a resilient sealing material on the complementary portions of the bin discharge unit on to which the bin is located after removal from the blending cage.

In order to facilitate stacking of bins one above the other the upper edge of the bin is provided with an upstanding rim 22 (Fig. 1) within which the base of skirt 1 6 or another bin may be located to retain the bins against displacement when positioned one upon the other.

The arrangement described possesses a number of advantages compared with bins hitherto available. The cylindrical shape of the bin increases its strength and prevents fracture of welds through "panting" as commonly arises with bins of square or rectangular cross-section. The tapereddischarge portion enables complete discharge of blended materials and the closure mechanism permits controlled discharge or sampling and does not interfere with the materials in the bin due to the external arrangement of the control mechanism.

Location and closure of the bin is facilitated by the combined clamping and sealing device incorporated in the bin cage and damage to the closure mechanism or sealing arrangements of the lower region of the bin is prevented by incorporation of the fork-lift truck guides. The depending skirt also serves to protect the closure mechanism and eliminate the spread of dust during discharge while at the same time forming anchorages for the fork lift guides.

Various modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example many of the features described could be utilised in blending apparatus without incorporating other features. Thus the closure mechanism may be applied to bins of other construction, bins of the construction described may be provided with alternative closure mechanism, fork-lift guides could be incorporated in bins of other construction and the combined clamping and sealing device may be used in association with other forms of bin. Moreover a variety of bins of different capacity may be provided with skirts of common diameter to enable the bins to be mounted on a common discharge mechanism although being of different overall size and capacity.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A bulk blending container comprising a cylindrical blending bin having an inlet opening at its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end, the discharge opening being controlled by a closure mechanism incorporating a closure valve movable between open and closed positions by a control mechanism disposed externally of the bin.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1, in which said discharge opening is of circular cross section and said closure valve comprises a conical plug.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2, in which said plug is formed from or has a coating of rubber or other resilient material to form a seal with the discharge opening.

4. A container as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, in which said control mechanism comprises a mechanical linkage pivotally connected to said conical plug and incorporating a threaded control member operable from a position externally of the bin to enable controlled movement of the closure valve to any desired position between closed and fully open position.

5. A storage and blending bin comprising a main body portion of cylindrical cross section, a frusto-conical discharge portion at the lower end of the bin terminating at an outlet aperture and an annular skirt extending around the discharge portion to protect same from mechanical damage and prevent spread of dust during unloading.

6. A bin as claimed in claim 5, in which said skirt forms a continuation of the cylindrical body portion of the bin and extends beneath said discharge aperture in order to protect a closure mechanism incorporating valve means associated with the aperture for controlling the discharge of material from the bin.

7. A bin as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, in which said skirt is of rigid material, the lower edge of which engages with a sealing resilient material on the complementary portion of a bin discharge mechanism to which the bin is transferred for unloading purposes during use.

8. A blending bin having an inlet opening at its upper end and a discharge opening at its lower end and a pair of guides in the form of passages or channels located at the lower region of the bin and adapted to receive the forks of a fork-lift truck or similar mechanical handling apparatus.

9. A blending bin as claimed in claim 8, in which the channels are totally sealed to prevent any escape or leakage of dust from within the skirt of the bin during unloading.

10. A blending bin as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, in which the bin is of cylindrical crosssection having a frusto-conical discharge portion at its lower end and a closure mechanism operable to control discharge of the contents of the bin, an annular skirt extending around said discharge portion and said leakproof guides being located between the discharge portion and said skirt and being support at their opposite ends on said skirt.

1 A rotary cage adapted to accommodate and rotate a blending bin, the cage incorporating a combined clamping and closure member movable into contact with an inlet opening of the bin and serving to close said opening and to clamp the bin in position in the cage during rotation thereof.

12. A rotary cage as claimed in claim 1 in which the clamping and closure member comprises a plate-like member having a resilient surface adapted to seal against an annular metal ring around the inlet opening.

13. A rotary cage as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, in which the closure member is carried by an actuating mechanism mounted on the cage and operable to move the closure member towards and away from the bin top opening to clamp and seal same prior to rotation or to release same for subsequent removal.

14. A bulk blending container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 5. A storage and blending bin substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 6. A blending bin substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

17. A rotary cage adapted to accommodate and rotate and blending bin, substantially as hereinbefore described.

1 8. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter herein disclosed, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.