Claims
- 1. A hopper that actively promotes the flow of particulate material through itself, comprising:
- a stationary member;
- a movable exterior hopper wall having an inwardly-facing surface along which the particulate material flows downwardly;
- means for coupling said movable exterior hopper wall to said stationary member for limited oscillatory motion in a direction perpendicular to the direction of flow, said limited oscillatory motion having no component perpendicular to said movable exterior hopper wall; and,
- means connected to said stationary member and to said movable exterior hopper wall for moving said movable exterior hopper wall in limited oscillatory motion in said direction.
- 2. The hopper of claim 1 wherein said movable exterior hopper wall is conical and has an axis of symmetry, and wherein said means for moving drives said movable exterior hopper wall in rotational oscillatory motion about said axis of symmetry.
- 3. The hopper of claim 1 further comprising a circular upper edge and a discharge opening that is bounded by two parallel straight edge sections alternating with semicircular edge sections, whereby said hopper includes two planar triangular portions having the straight edge sections as bases, and wherein said movable exterior hopper wall is one of said two planar triangular portions.
- 4. The hopper of claim 1 further comprising inclined planar wall portions that converge downwardly to a discharge opening, and wherein said movable exterior hopper wall is one of said inclined planar wall portions.
- 5. The hopper of claim 1 further comprising inclined planar wall portions that converge downwardly to opposite sides of a discharge slot, and wherein said movable exterior hopper wall is one of said inclined planar wall portions.
- 6. The hopper of claim 1 wherein said means for coupling is a pivot having an axis perpendicular to said movable exterior hopper wall, and wherein the limited oscillatory motion consists of rotational oscillatory motion about said axis.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/030,320 filed Nov. 4, 1996 for HOPPERS WITH DIRECTIONALLY APPLIED RELATIVE MOTION TO PROMOTE SOLIDS FLOW.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1288014 |
Jan 1969 |
DEX |
2752406 |
May 1979 |
DEX |
1752671 |
Aug 1992 |
SUX |