US2568434A - Storage pile material handling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 18, 1951 J. E. DUNASKY STORAGE FILE MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed April 21, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Jase ak E. Dun/as] BY 7" E? v b t ATTORNEYS Sept. 18, 1951 J. E. DUNASKY STORAGE PILE MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1945 INVENTOR. Joseph E. Dunasky- BY ATTORNEYS l A a i ll mw R mm mm Sept. 18, 1951 u s 2,568,434

STORAGE FILE MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed April 21, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. U Joseph E. Dunasky Y F17. 1n Q1 6 7 ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 18, 1951 v STORAGE PILE MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Joseph E. Dunasky, Cleveland, Ohio Application April 21, 1945, Serial No. 589,621

This invention relates to improvements in material handling apparatus and, more particularly, to equipment for reclaiming i. e., recovering, granular bulk material, such as ore, coal, and the like from stock or storage piles or bins.

' Where bulk material is stored on the ground in piles exposed to the weather and recovered'from such piles by dragline or overhead bucket systems, the operations are slowed and reserve man-power must be maintained during the times that the storage piles are usually most heavily drawn upon, namely, during freezing weather, when the removal of frozen material takes on the aspects of a quarrying operation. When such open pile systems are used for bedding and blending operations, 2. further difliculty is presented in recovering vertically extending sections of the pile (which is built up from horizontally extending layers of different analyses) so that the average analysis of recovered stock is substantially constant. Such bedding and blending operations are becoming of increasing importance as a means for eifecting better production control. At the present time, the most successful equipment for reclaiming stock in such bedding operations em- Dloys at least one large scraper which is laid against a vertically sloping transverse face of the pile; the scraper is reciprocated to scrape mate rial oil the face of the pile, the scraped material falling to the base of the pile, whence it is conveyed by plow and belt conveyer systems to a central recovery point. A major objection to such equipment is that both the large initial cost and the operating and maintenance costs materially affect the cost of the bedding operation. Bin systems, in which material is reclaimed through manually operated or controlled gates in the bottom of the bins, are sometimes employed where it is necessary to prevent the deleterious effects of exposure to weather, but such storage bin systems are often objectionable because of the difficulty in operating the gates and because such bins often enhance segregation between large and fine particles in the stored material. Bin systems having anywhere near the usual capacity of open storage piles would also usually be prohibitively expensive for materials such as iron ore, coal, gravel, and the like.

t is the object of my invention to provide reclaiming apparatus which is relatively inexpensive and yet substantially fully automatic in operation, requiring a minimum of operating, supervising, and maintenance personnel. It is a further object of my invention to provide apparatus for continuously reclaiming material from travel of the car.

15 Claims. (Cl. 21410) a vertically sloping face of the body of stored material, thus making my equipment particularly advantageous for bedding and blending operations. My apparatus may be used either in connection with open storage piles or bins having a continuous bottom; when used in connection with storage piles, the operation is not seriously effected by freezing Weather, when used in. connection with a continuous bottom bin, the difficulty with gate operation is eliminated and the effect of segregation is reduced, if not eliminated. More specifically, it is the object of my invention to provide a continuous gate system automatically opened and closed by and in combination with a belt conveyer loader; this apparatus may be incorporated in an underground conveyer gallery beneath a storage pile or attached to the bottom of a storage bin. H Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following specification, claims, and drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an open storage pile and associated conveyer gallery employing my apparatus.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front elevation, partly in section, of my apparatus as shown in. Fig. 1. i

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken alongthe line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

n Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the hopper car shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a top plan detail of the continuous gate shown in section in Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged detail, partly broken away, of a gate locking lug and hinge shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical section taken along the line 8--8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 9-9 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 10 is a detail elevation of the hopper car showing the position of the elements thereof, in relation to the gate structure, during return In the illustrative embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, the long bedding and blending stock pile Ill (shown only in transverse section in Fig. 1) is built up of several successive horizontal layers of material Illa, lflb, et cetera,

and is held above the underground tunnel H by means of the graded embankments l2 and i3. The parallel embankments l2 and I3 are conveniently formed when excavating for the tunnel l I, though obviously any other convenient parallel side supports for the pile l0' may be employed.

The stock pile 10 may be built up by any suitable overhead tripper conveyer system (not shown) which will dump material between the embankments; the stock pile so formed usually extends for the length of the tunnel H. In actual stock yard practise, several parallel piles are usually employed, the overhead tripper conveyor running between the parallel piles and the conveyer belts in the several. tunnels loading onto a collector belt adjacent thedischarge ends of thetunnels. For the purposes of this invention, however, only one stock pile I need be shown.

The concrete tunnel l I providesa-conveyer belt.

Hopper car, drive, and operation The hopper car 7.11,, asshown in Figs... 2,, l, and 5,, is. comprised of a mainframe. 2| supported on the. rear wheels. 22 and. front. drive. wheels, 23.,

which run on. the rails. Hi. In the embodiment the rear portion of the, hopper car 2'!) carries. the hopper 2.5,, which. is. comprised of an upper four-sided. hopper box 26. open. at. the top and bottom. Below the hopper box,. converging side wear platesZl. and front plate 28 direetmaterial falling through. the hopper box onto the bottom pusher plate. 311 mountedv for longitudinal reciprocating movement onv the transverse rollers 29 carried below the hopper 25. The rear. of the hopper 25. below thehopper box isopen, the: sides of the hopper adjacent the. pusher. plate- 3!] extending rearwardly to. provide tail plates 34; for directing material discharged from the: end of the. pusher plate. and the rear of the. hopper onto the center of the conveyer belt l5..

The drive. for the particular hopper car shown comprises an upper power take-elf. sheave: 32 mounted close enough to. the. forward. end oi the hopper car 20 that the upper lay of the belt L when. lifted from. the, troughing. rolls. is to. pass over the sheave 32', will clear the.- front end of the hopper car. Located forwardly of the upper sheave 32 is the lower power take-oft sheave. 33, the conveyer belt. 15 passing first around the upper sheave 32 and then around thelower sheave 33, suflicient. wrap being obtained to drive both. From the lower sheave, 33 the belt 15 drops down onto the troughing rolls [:5 which support the belt as it receives material discharged from. the hopper 25,. as. shown in Fig. 4.

The upper sheave 32 is, provided with outboard cranks 35 which, through the pivoted yekes: 36 andconnecting rods 3.1, pivotally connected to the ends of' the. yokes. 36 and the forward end ot the pusher plate 30, reciprocate the pusher plate 30 to discharge material from the rear of the hopper 25. The lower sheave 33- is provided with an outboard sprocket 34 which,.through the chain 38, drives the. input shaft- 3-9. of the two-stage gear reducer 40. The first-stage, or high-speed rteversing, output shaft 41 of the reducer 4.8 drives the front car drive. wheels 23- through. the clutch 42 and sprocket. drive 43.. The second-sta s 01 low-speed. forward, output shaft 44 of the re ducer 40 drives the. front car drive wheels. 23- through the clutch 45 and. sprocketdrire 46- the tunnel I I.

From the foregoing it should be apparent that, with. the clutch, 45 engaged, the hopper car will; be driven forwardly through the tunnel II as the conveyer belt moves rearwardly carrying -material discharged from the hopper the forward movement of the car 20 being slow relative to the rearward speed of the conveyer belt due. tothe reduction efiected by the reducer 40. At the forward end of the travel, the yoke 41 is shifted. either. manually or by a suitable shifting, cam; (not. shown).- mounted on. the; side: of. the tunnel- 1.1.. With the clutch 42 engaged, a relatively quick returnrof th er an to theitear end of thetunnel is; obtained Where-theyokefl is again. shifted to obtain forward travel, thus completing the cycleof reciprocating. travel of h meroar thr u h theolength of the tunnel Ll... Qbviously,.the forwardor belt-loading. travel or he car. ontra o the movement-of the belt L5. a mere matter of choice the, only reqpiresment being that the. belt. convey discha ged at terial. away from the hopper, car. Thus, it ...e rotational directions.- of the,- output shafts 4,1 nd M1 were reversed, the rear-end of the hopper car would, become. the forward end and, in, so. far a the belt-loading would be; concerned. the hopper car would operate Just as. well. thou h the belt and car wouldbe moving, in they same d re tion.

The drive. of. the hopper car by means of a Power takewfi from th onveyor bel is. pro.- Ierred. because. of its safety; sin-lplicity, and pre determined ratio. between, belt. speed; and car travel. Obviously, within the scope vof this i vention. variable. speed devices may be in ur porated, if desired, or the, car and hopper (11%- eharge may be. driven by other ui a m an as, tor example, by electric motors. receiving their power from trolleys orthird rails. Where means other. than. a flexible conveyer belt, such; as low conveyors, chutes, etc. are employ d. to. con-veg material. away from the hopper car or its equive: lent, 8 motor drive may be preferred or even required.

fi'ont'inuous gate structure and operation thereof Serving as. a. ceiling for the. tunnel H; and a floor. for the. stock pile l0 throughout. its length is the continuous. gate structure. 50. supported; by he longitudinally extending cantilever beams Id of the tunnel I l. The, continuous ate struc: ture 50 is. comprised. of a pair of parallel Tesecs tion side members 5|- anchored. to the beams 14, said side members 5! carrying, atadiaoent edge or their horizontal webs, channels 52 in which ample, the gate plates close the, gate space be-i tween, the side members 51;, when un$upported, the gate plates 54 fall rearwardly (since they are. supported at their rear edge by the pins 53) 'toopen the. gate space between the side meme has it sh s n. iherer ion of th s s structure above the hopper 25 in Fig. 4. Thus, material normally supported above the gate plates 54 will fall through the gate spaceand into the hopper 25 (since the gate plate opening and closing is controlled by the movement of the hopper car 26, as explained below).

As best shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the gate plates 54 are held in their normally closed position by the pivotally mounted locking lugs 55. The locking lugs 55 are carried in pairs, each lug being oppositely mounted in a side member 5| on a shouldered pivot bo1t56 and hanger strap 51. The hanger strap is supported by the pivot bolt 56 and hanger bolt 56; the shoulder on the pivot bolt 56 and the washer 59, carried by the bolt 58, prevent the bolts 56 and 53 from being tightened until the log 55 is jammed between the hanger strap 51 and the horizontal web of the side memher 5!. In addition to supporting the lug 55, the hanger strap 51 extends betweenthe forwardly divergent depending releasing cam face 60 and locking cam face 6| of the lug 55 to limit the pivotal movement of the lug 55. Thus, 'as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, when the lugs 55 are swung toward each other to project beyond the inner edges of the side'members 5i and engage the under-surface of a corresponding gate plate 54, the gateplates are held in their normally closed position; when the lugs 55 are swung apart, the gate plates 54 drop and the continuous gate is opened above the hopper 25, the gate plates falling into the upper opening in the hopper box 26. To minimize friction as the gate is opened and closed, the upper and lower surfaces of the lugs 55, the lower surfaces of the plates 54, and the upper surface of the strap 5'! are preferably finished and lubricated, although, as explained below, the load on the lugs 55 is at least partially,

ifnot completely, relieved as the gate is opened and closed.

The means for opening and closing the gate plates 54 (so that the continuous gate structure 50 is automatically opened only over the hopper box 26) is a gate operating assembly 15, carried in the upper portion of the hopper box 26. The assembly is comprised of a frame 62 journalecl for vertical movement in the antifriction rollers 63 carried by the upper, portion of the hopper box 26. (See Fig. 3.) Parallel sides of the frame 62 rest on rollers 64 mounted on pins 65, each pin 65 extending through a suitable arcuate slot 65 in the hopper box 26. Each pin 65 is supported in the arms of a pivotally mounted fork 61. Journaled in the frame 62 and extending slightly above it are a pair of transverse gate platerolls, a forward roller 68 and a rear roller 69, the bearing surfaces of the rollers 68 and 69.,being located so that they will engage the plates 54 inwardly of the locking lugs 55. Mounted on the frame .62 slightly forwardly and outwardly of the bearing surfaces of the roller 68 are a pair of lug-releasing cams having inwardly converging forward surfaces. Mounted slightly rearwardly of the roller 69 are a pair of lug-locking cams H having slightly outwardly diverging forward surfaces. I

The minimum lateral space between the face of a releasing cam 10 and the face of its corre sponding locking cam H is slightly greater than the minimum distance between the cam faces 60 and 6| of a lug 55, the cam l0 and H being spaced on the frame 52 so that, as the rollers bear against the plates 54 and as the hopper car- 20 moves forwardly in the tunnel l l, the'cams Hi will first engage the releasing cam faces 60 of a pair of locking lugs 55 to move the lugs outwardly to their releasing position; the corresponding plate 54 thus drops to its open vertical position. Then, as the car 20 continues to move forward, the opened, vertically hanging plate 54 will be engaged by the rear plate roller 69, lifted to its horizontal position and, while so lifted, the locking cams II will engage the locking cam faces 61 of the corresponding lugs 55 to swing the lugs 55 inwardly, thus locking the plate 54 in its normal closed position.

Thus it will be seen from the foregoing that, as the hopper car is driven forwardly in the tunnel l l, the gate operating assembly I5, comprised essentially of the frame 62 carrying the rollers 68 and 69 and the cams 1|] and H, does, in effect, automatically zipper the continuous gate 50 open and closed as the hopper 25 passes under the gate.

To insure that the rollers 68 and 69 will engage the plates 54 and, also, to allow for unevenness in the plates and the joints between them, the pairs of the forks 61 on each side of the hopper box 26 are tied togetherthrough the fork shaft 11. Thus, all forks 51 move in unison. During forward movement the forks are pivoted so that the pins 65 are in the forward portions of the arcuate slots 66 below the crowns thereof, the maximum vertical distance between the crowns of the slots 66 and the under-surface of the plates 54 and the vertical height of the gate operating assembly 15 being such that the rollers 68 and 69 will engage the under-surface of the plates 54 before the forks 61 can be pivoted rearwardly past their vertical position. The forward forks 61 are provided with bell-crank extensions 18 which engage the pin 19 of the compression spring assemblies 80, which assemblies tend to urge the forks 61 rearwardly of their vertical position. Thus, during forward travel of the hopper car, the rollers 68 and 69 are held against the plates 54 by the resilient influence of the compression spring assemblies 8!]. Further, to the extent that the load of the material on the plates '54 is carried by the resilient vertical pressure of the rollers 68, the frictional load on the lugs 55 is relieved as the plates 54 are released for opening the continuous gate 50.

To permit the return movement of the hopper car, the car travels forward under the apron 3| beyond the forward end of the gate 50. The under surface of the apron is relieved to permit rollers 68 and 69 to be raised above the level of the gate 50 and, thus, to permit the forks 6! to be moved rearwardly of their vertical position. As the roller 69 clears the edge of the apron Bl, the shifting bar 16 strikes the block 82, which action, plus the influence of spring assemblies 86, first raises and then drops the assembly 15 as the pins 65 move rearwardly in the slots 66. The rearward ends of the slots 66 are well below their crowns, so that, as shown in Fig. 10, the rollers 68 and 69 and cams Ill and H are safely clear of the plates 54 and lugs 55 when the hopper car is returned to its starting position. To raise the assembly 15 to its gate operating position, a shifting lever actuating block 83, similar to the block 82, is provided at the other end of the tunnel.

Summary It should be apparent from the foregoing that this invention provides a substantiallyfully automatic means for reclaiming stored materials, requiring, in general, only supervisory personnel to start and stop the reclaiming operations.

Maintenance r quirementsare, gehera ,.nii i nailed; the sate plates; employed the disclosed nreierred embodiment are. self-clearing, as will be. apparent from Fi e; hus, there. is lit l possi ilityfor jamming the gate plates: 54- durin openin and closin substantially all other onei'ating parts. areprotected from weather and the material.

In usingthe embodiment disclosed for blend.- hg materi ls. i is the usual. practise to recla m an entire stock pile buildup. of horizontal layers orbeds or. the materials to be ble ded and then to buil up new nile only after a r elaim dpi e as been entirely removed. This ype of pr cti means. hat. the op r ion f the eonvey r b lt, and; cons qu ntly, th ate-op nin h pper a is topp d b fore th hepp r car starts to repe a rec aiming t ip 1 @11 peri d f im r qui d to rebuild another pile. In this connection, it she id be noted that. this apparatus blends, the ds in. horizon al beds: in he p le. bec use, a. t pens, it, in effect, r move an p when.

w rd y slan ing slice of the horizo al ay rs: in

he pile; ii each layer we, Nib, et cetera, is eq al. i hickn s thro h u h en th of th pile, then, ofcourse, the average composition of he su ce sive ice re oved y th penin of suc essive: g tes. w ll b sub t ially ons a t. Of. course f. he apparatus s sed m y fo re c a min w thout reg dv to blending, r if bed din s accomplished y u ldin up a pea d pattern. of layers sl p n a a an le c n re. to the an leoi the slices; removed by the successive ra ion i th at plat s. su h. bl n g preetise isbetter adapted to blendin bins drawing from a variety or stools piles of known compo-,- -i on. ath r than f Storage pi es then, of course, it ispossible to operate the apparatus without interruption (oth r than for quick; re-- rn of the ho per car) bybu l in p a new pile on a cl ared portion. f the ate 50 Whil the hopper isv reclaimipgmaterialfrom an old pil n; fact, if such. c nt nuo ope t on. f he hopper car'is. contemplated, it is possible to adopt the gate to a circular orcircuit form, rather than h s r h -line form d s l edt also to b n ted thatas each gate plate 54 is opened, material supported thereon will tend to surge into the hopper car. To accommodate ch u n t length of the hopper box and the longitudinal distance between the rollers and am of the e p a ing sembl 'gfj are purposely designed so that an imme-. diately precedinggate plate will be open for a period f ime afterits s ce ding e p ate. s open, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus, material which mi ht shi l ov rh op ing f a e n y pened a e pl e will. usu y f l t ro h th op ning of the immediately preceding and still unclosed at The apa i y of h h pper Z is. of course, d i e o ac mo u h r es of: a ial so th tmater a wi l f d o to he conveve belt at a substantially constant rate. Because material is reclaimed from the bottom of; the pile the d m ul s he t fore e c untere W h open plie d ng freez n weath r ar l r e y overcome. When material is Withdrawn, any u pported fr zen crust of ma r al will us a y break up of its own Weight as it drops onto the foot of the pile; if the crust becomes so thick that it tends to form a complete arch over the gat suc n un upp d ar h ay b bro n with. r la ve eas It should be apparent that the. above disclosed generally p eferred em odimeht ay be alte ed or m fied; e ther i who e or i part. t medate. my: invention to pec fic u e tuati. Thus, for example, itis. readily apparent that py continuous: gate s ru ture a d peratin ass mbly 15 mayb attach d to the. om; f a storag bin. Further, while my tr ver e y pivoted gate plates 541 are generally preferred because. oftheir simplicity, their inherent strength which requires no. bracing which would interfere with the. flow of material, their self clearing operation, and. other desirable characteristics, other types of gates may, within the broad; scope ofthis invention, be, employ d: for exam le, longitudinally-pivoted gate plates or sliding ate plates. (with the necessary modification of the camrning action. of the operating assembly 15). may-be mploy d. It is: app en r for tha the scope. of this invention is; not limited to the ll s r tive Preferred embo iment discl ed: bu bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In material handling apparatus of the class described, a longitudinally extending trough-.- shaped means, a. continuous gate structure at; the bottom of said trough means, said gate structure comprising spaced support. members extending along the bottom of said trough means, a plurality of adjacent gate members normally closing the space between said supporting members to serve as a floor for said trough means, said gate members being movable to an open position, whereby material in said trough will flowbetween said spaced support. members, and means associated with each of said gate mom-.-

' bers for locking each of said gate members its closed position independently of adjacent gate members, means movable beneath said gate structure to act. onsaid locking means to release said gate members, means to drive said gate lock actuating means beneath said gate. structure to successively unlock; said gate members and open integers ofthe gategopening; means to convey away material falling through the 'sucs.

' cess-ively opened integers of the gate opening,

and gate closing means operatively connected with said gate unlocking means and following said gate unlocking means to move said gate members to their normally closed position and relock said gates in their closed position.

2. In material handling apparatusof' the class described, troughing means, a conveyor gallery below said troughing meansga continuous gate structure serving as a 11001; for said troughjng.

means and as a ceiling for said gallery, said gate stru re e ng c mprised of a plur l y o diacen g members m vable f m. orm lly clos d. posi on. o an open po ition a eonv er mo able hrough aid all y. and ga op rating means to. open said sate mem ers. n succession, and means o. drive aid; conveyor and operate said. sate. perating means. in timed relat ons ip to the movement oi said eenvey r,

n material hand ing; apparatus of the class d scribed! a. conv rter. gallery, a cont nuous sa structure for supporting granular material there-. on a d s ving as a ceiling for ai eohvey r e l r aid gate structur omprising pa a el spac d supporting m mbe s a plu i y Qi adia= cent ga e m mb rs, pivo lly moun ed to c ose the s ace; be we n sa d. s ppo emb rs. and mova le. under the. nfluen e o ma er l sue: po ted. ther on to,- a posit on. openin the s ace between aid up ort members, and me ns. tQ-lee s sa d. sates timed pos tion. a eoii erer movable through said gallery beneath said gate structure, and means operating in'timed relationship to the movement of said conveyor to open said gate members in succession and allow material to flow through the opened space between saidsupport members, means to direct material flowing through said gate structure to saidconveyer, and means to close and relock said gate members after said gate members have been opened. a r

4. In material handling apparatus of the class described, a conveyer gallery, a continuous gate structure for supporting granular material thereon and serving as a ceiling for said conveyer gallery, said continuous gate structure comprising parallel support members, a plurality of adjacent gate members pivotally mounted to open and close the space between said support members, said gate members being movable from a closed to open position by the weight of material supported thereon, and means associated with each of said gate members for locking said gate members in their closed position, a conveyer movable in said gallery, a hopper car movable in said gallery beneath said gate structure and above said conveyer to direct material flowing through said gate to said conveyer, means for driving said hopper car in timed relationship to the movement of said conveyer to permit said conveyer to convey material away from said hopper, means carried by said hopper car to act successively on said locking means and unlock said gate members in succession as said hopper car moves through said gallery, means to close said gate members, and means carried by said hopper car to act on said locking means to lock said gate members in a closed position after said gate members have been opened.

5. Material handling apparatus as defined in claim 4 including means carried by said hopper car to relieve the load on said gate members while said gate members are being unlocked.

6. In apparatus for handling material of the class described, a conveyer gallery, a belt conveyer driven through said gallery, a car movable through said gallery, a hopper carried by said car and located above said belt, means actuated by said belt to drive said car in a direction and at a speed to remove material deposited on said belt by said hopper away from said car, a continuou gate structure serving as a ceiling for said gallery and as a floor on which material to be reclaimed may be deposited, said continuous gate structure comprising spaced supporting members defining a gate space therebetween, said gate space extending above and parallel to said belt, adjacent gate plates, each pivotally mounted in said supporting members for movement from a horizontal position to a vertical position in which the center of gravity is below the point of pivotal support in said supporting members, adjacent edges of said gate plates substantially touching when said gate plates are in their horizontal position closing the gate space, and pivotally mounted lugs for locking the gate plates in their horizontal closed position, a first cam means carried by said hopper car for acting on said lugs to allow said gate plates to fall to a vertical position above said hopper, means carried by said hopper car for raising said gate plates to a closed position, and a second cam means carried by said car for acting on aid lugs to lock said gate plates in a closed position, said first and second cam means and said gate closing means being located on said car with respect to the direction of travel of said car to first open and then close said gate plates in succession and above said hopper as said car is driven through said gallery.

7. In apparatus as defined in claim 6, in which said gate closing means, said first and second cam means, and means for exerting upward pressure on the undersurface of gate plates comprising a gate operating assembly carried by said hopper car, and including means to disengage said gate operating assembly from said gate structure.

8. In apparatus of the class described, gate operating means for a continuous gate comprising a plurality of successive gate members each locked by pivotally mounted locking lugs, said gate operating means comprising a car driven beneath the continuous gate, a first cam means engaging the locking lugs of a gate member to unlock said member, means to move a gate member to a closed position, and a second cam means to engage the locking lugs to lock the gate member in a closed position, said cam means being carried by said car, and means to drive said car, whereby successive gate members will be unlocked and then looked as said car is driven beneath the gate structure.

9. In apparatus of the class described, gate operating means for a continuous gate structure comprised of successive pivotally mounted gate plates each normally locked in a closed position, said gate operating means comprising a car driven under said continuous gate structure, a hopper on said car, a gate operating assembly mounted on said hopper and comprising a first cam means for releasing the gate locking means, means for swinging a gate plate to its closed position, and a second cam means adjacent said gate closing means to actuate the gate-locking means and lock said gates in a closed position, whereby said gate structure will be opened at integers above said hopper.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, including a plate supporting roller located adjacent said first cam means, and means to urge said roller into engagement with gate plates thereabove, whereby the load on the first cam means will be relieved by the efiect oi the pressure exerted by the plate supporting roller upon the gate plates to be unlocked by the first cam means.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, including means to withdraw the gate operating assembly from engagement with the gate structure.

12. In an apparatus for handling material of the class described, a continuous gate structure comprising means defining a longitudinally extending gate opening, a plurality of removable gate plates continuously biased toward an open position but normally held in a position to close said gate opening, means associated with each of said gate plates for releasably holding its associated plate in a closed position, the closing means for each gate plate being independent of the closing means for the other gate plates and means to actuate said gate plate holding means successively to release said gate plates, whereby successive actuation of said gate plate holding means to release their associated plates will open successive integers of said gate opening.

13. In apparatus for handling material of the class described, a continuous gate structure comprising supporting means defining a longitudinally extending gate opening, spaced pivots carried by said supporting means, said pivots having axes extending transversely of said gate opening, a gate plate mounted adjacent a transverse edge --i-ng means successively to release said gate.

-14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, in which said locking means cempr is'e a pair or lugs each pivotally moiiniied in' said siipportm'g member and pivotable into said 'gaite opening toengage "the undersurface of an associate-gate plate when said gate plate is in a -hox i'zo'ntal pesition.

15'. In apparatus afior handling material of the class described, the continuous gene structure comprising longitudinally extending supports, a plurality of adjacent atei lates -=ea;ch pivota l'ly mounted about anaX-is transverse said longitudinal supports for movement mm a horizontal 12. the betweeii said "t6 a veetieany position opening the space petweensaiu supports, the pivotal axis em 'pra tes b'eingabove th'eir o'f gra' J-ity w ens'afd plates are a wertieal positien, and associated with each "of said plates for "locking :asseeiated plate in its horizontal .p'o=- sit-ion, the-leaking means for 'eaeh gate plate being independent of the iocking means for the other gateplates, and means to actuate said plate holdings-means successively to release said plates -and permit movement of said plates from a locke'd horizontal .position to a vertical position. I

Jos EPz i-ELDiJNAsmz REFERENCES cITEn ":Ph'e renewing references are at record in the meet this patent:

' D @TAT'ES PATENTS" -Num ber Name Date 79L,352 Marcus May 3Q, 1905 1,054,272 Brackett Feb. 25, 19-13 Witkowski Oct. 26, 1926

Images