US3528538A

US3528538A - Device for providing a constant supply of material for processing

Info

Publication number: US3528538A
Application number: US708976A
Authority: US
Inventors: Karl Wilhelm Quester
Original assignee: Wilh Quester Maschinenfabrik GmbH
Current assignee: Wilh Quester Maschinenfabrik GmbH
Priority date: 1967-03-01
Filing date: 1968-02-28
Publication date: 1970-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 1987-09-15
Also published as: FR1557985A; GB1143557A

Description

Sept. 15, 1970 K. w. QuEs'rE'R DEVICE FOR PROVIDING A CONSTANT SUPPLY OF MATERIAL FOR. PRQGESSING Filed Feb. 28, 1968 INVENTOR K421. M Quzsrsq' ATTYJ.

United States Patent 3,528,538 DEVICE FOR PROVIDING A CONSTANT SUPPLY OF MATERIAL FOR PROCESSING Karl Wilhelm Quester, Cologne-Lindenthal, Germany, as-

signor to Wilh. Quester, Cologne-Sulz, Germany, a

firm

Filed Feb. 28, 1968, Ser. No. 708,976 Claims priority, applicatiogrggermany, Mar. 1, 1967,

Int. Cl. B65g 47/18 US. Cl. 19857 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Supply devices such as mixing boxes, ram boxes or trough-shaped supply containers having a movable floor belt which is longitudinally limited by side walls are well known. The material being conveyed through such a device is laid layer by layer on the floor belt from a source device while the belt is stationary. After the material in the device has reached a predetermined height as the floor belt moves toward the frontal side of the box, suitable removal devices carry the material out at that side of the box. In other words, the material is slowly moved forward to the removal point only when the box has been completely filled. Even if the tobacco is irregularly supplied to the box so as to form both thick and thin layers, a relatively regular surface results after the box has been filled. Once the box is filled removal from the pile of material takes place in uniform amounts. To prevent interruption in the supply of material to the subsequent processing apparatus or treatment, at least two boxes must be used together. In this way, the supply of material to the subsequent processing treatment takes place from one box while the other box is being filled, and vice versa.

-If only one box is used to supply material to a subsequent processing apparatus or treatment station, the box must be simultaneously filled and emptied. A constant removal of material from the box is therefore not possible because of the irregular supply from the initial source of the material. That is, the material being supplied to the box piles up on the floor belt with the greatest height being reached at the removal end of the box device. The irregular depth of the material as it passes through the box device as Well as any intermittent removal of material from the box device, gives rise to undesirable variations in the removal of the material from the box device and therefore undesirable variations in the supply of the material to the subsequent processing apparatus or treatment station.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a constant supply of material to a processing apparatus or subsequent treatment station through the use of a single box device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a supply box device wherein the material being treated is introduced into the box device over only part of the length of the box.

A further object of the invention is to provide equalizing devices in the box device so that the depth of the Patented Sept. 15 1970 "ice piled up material can be controlled over the length of the box which is not being subjected to the introduction of material from an initial source.

The supply device of this invention provides an absolutely uniform output amount of material at its removal or combing out point. The constant supply of material is then ready for further processing. The material to be treated is initially introduced into the box device over only part of its overall length. The floor belt of the box device conveys the material at the greatest filling depth along part of the overall length before it reaches the removal point of the box device. Elements provided in the box device work on the material at its greatest filling depth to insure uniform height of the material in the box before it reaches the removal point. The maintaining of a uniform height over a specific length of the floor belt as it moves toward the removal point insures a constant and uniform removal of the material as it is carried off the end of the belt. The height of the material on the floor belt is controlled through the use of members provided at the top of the box device for the purpose of equally distributing the material as it passes along the floor belt toward the removal point of the box device. These members may include stationary or movable combs or rotating wheel crosses distributed over the length of the box not being subjected to the introduction of material from the source device. These comb members or wheel cross members are adjustable in a vertical direction so that the height of the material may be controlled in the box device as it passes over the floor belt just before the removal point in the box device.

The delivery of a constant amount of material from the box device to a subsequent processing apparatus or treatment station is extremely important in the operation of such devices as baling presses, pressing drums, driers or similar machines. These particular applications require uniform pressing at the same pressure over the entire bales being produced. This uniform pressing can be achieved only where the layers being formed in the pressing machines are formed in an even manner over the entire surface being subjected to the pressure. Where a constant stream of material under these conditions can be supplied to such subsequent processing machine, many advantages are achieved. Uniform delivery of amounts to a bale pressing apparatus would necessarily eliminate the need for subsequent Weighing of a completed bale. That is, uniform pressure applied on equal and uniform amounts over a constant volume would necessarily give the process the advantage of having a uniform weight factor resulting. Therefore, the elimination of a weighing step would necessarily increase the efficiency by not requiring an additional, time wasting weighing stage for a completed bale. In addition the uniformity of the pressing operation made possible through the use of such a constant and uniform device supplying system would necessarily eliminate any adjustment in the adaptation of the treatment process to a varying amount of material. The particular box device supply system provides a constant supply to the treatment process through the use of only one box whereas any constant supply system heretofore has required the use of two boxes as discussed herein above.

The material being introduced into the box device is obtained from a source supply which extends only over about two-thirds to three-quarters of the box length or the floor belt. A layer by layer filling of the introduced material can be advantageously effected through the use of a mixing belt. The belt which is well known in the art has the ability to reverse its motion and belt direction as it reaches the end position of its cycle. The cycle of the mixing belt is adjusted so that it will move over the desired portion of the box device length as indicated above.

3 Another method of introducing material onto the floor belt could be through the use of a pivoting funnel provided over the desired portion of the box device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Reference to an exemplary embodiment of the above described invention is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawing as follows:

The single illustration shows the formation of a box device according to the invention, in schematic longitudinal section.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT The box device, generally designated as 1, has a floor belt 2 which runs over the rollers 3 and 4 in the direction of arrow 5. A motor 6 drives the forward roller 3. The source of material which is introduced into the box device is located at a stationary delivery point 18. The material is loaded onto a

rotary belt

7, 8, 9 which moves back and forth in the direction of motion 10. The material is thrown once over

roller

8 or 9 depending upon the direction of travel of the belt and its location at the time the material is loaded onto it. The operation of such a

mixing belt

7, 8, 9 is well known in the prior art and its adaptation to the invention as disclosed in this process is within the ordinary skill of the art. The normal movement of the

mixing belt

7, 8, 9 is over the entire length of the floor belt 2. However, the

mixing belt

7, 8, 9 moves only over part of the floor belt 2 in the box device of the instant invention. One or more devices for controlling the height of the material being piled on the floor belt 2 can be mounted on the box device 1 in the direction of the removal end 14. A wheel-cross constitutes the control device which is rotatable in the direction of arrow 12. The operation of such a control device such as the Wheel-cross 11 effects a combing ofi of the pile 13 which is being controlled at a predetermined height. The operation of the wheel-cross in this manner controls the height of the'material at a constant value on the removal side 14 of the pile 13. This control of the height at a constant value is effective in spite of the simultaneous addition of material from the source of the

rotary belt

7, 8, 9.

One or more rotary removal devices 15 which are movable in a vertical direction, are located at the removal end 14 of the pile 13. As the material is removed from the pile 13, it falls downwardly toward a funnel 17 to supply a further processing machine not shown. A beater cross 16 located at the lower end of the removal space 14 operates to loosen up any material removed from the pile 13 as it falls toward the funnel 17.

Since the material of the pile 13 assumes a constant height from the floor belt 2 before the removal end 14, the regular operation of the removal device 15 provides a constant amount of material removed from the box device 1. Since the removal of the amount of material is constant, the supply of the material to the next operational machine is subsequently constant. A modification wherein the floor belt 2 is stationary during filling from the source from the stationary delivery point 18,

equalizing devices such as the wheel-cross 11 is necessary for the purpose of maintaining a constant height where the material undergoes great variations while on the floor belt 2.

While the box device has been shown and described in detail, it is obvious that this invention is not to be considered as being limited to the exact form disclosed, and the changes in detail and construction may be made therein within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A box device for providing a constant uniform supply of material for subsequent treatment comprising:

(a) a movable belt means having a material introduction portion, a material height adjustment portion, and a removal end;

(b) means for supplying material to said introduction portion;

(c) said supplying means includes a reciprocating, re-

versible mixing belt operating over said introduction portion of said movable belt means;

(d) means for controlling the height of the material on the movable belt means at a substantially uniform level being located on said adjustment portion of said movable belt means,

(e) said control means includes at least one equalizing device operating over the adjustment portion of the belt,

(f) means for removing material from said removal end;

(g) means to loosen the material removed from the movable belt means and (h) means for directing the flow of loosened material to a subsequent processing point,

(i) said removal means includes a rotatable, vertically movable device operating at the removal end before said loosening means.

2. A box device as defined in claim 1 wherein said loosening means includes a beater cross disposed at the end of said belt means.

3. A box device as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means includes height adjustable swinging combs operating to equalize the height of the material in said adjustable portion.

4. A box device as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means includes at least one wheel-cross.

5. A box device as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means includes at least one comb-roller.

6. A box device as defined in claim 1 wherein said movable belt means includes a continuous belt running over end rollers,

said supplying means includes a stationary delivery point located at the introduction portion of said belt, and

said mixing belt is located between said delivery point and said continuous belt.

7. A device as defined in claim 6 wherein said loosening means includes a beater cross disposed at the end of said belt means.

8. A device as defined in claim 6 wherein said control means includes height adjustable swinging combs operating to equalize the height of the material in said adjustment portion.

9. A box device as defined in claim 6 wherein said control means includes at least one wheel-cross.

10. A box device as defined in claim 6 wherein said control means includes at least one comb-roller.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,920,355 1/1960 Clark 19857 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,174,593 3/1959 France.

RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 19875 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,528,538 e. ;r l l210 Inventor) Karl Wilhelm Quester It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby correctedas shown below:

Column 1, line 9 delete "Q 395" and insert therefor smuap w smm m5 197! \ISEAL) Atteat:

Edward M. Flemlm, Ir,

mm 2. mm, in. M 0:5 Gomissionar of Patents FORM PO-IOSO (10-69] USCOMM-DC 603764 69 ll US, GOVERNMENY FIINYING OFHCE: Ill! 0!l6-3l4