Patent ID: 6588183
Filing Date: 2003-07-08
Classification: B65B

Abstract:
A device for compacting, on a first, mobile conveyor belt which is permeable to air, a solid substance consisting of loose particles, said device comprising:a first mobile conveyor belt which is permeable to air and moves in a downstream direction; dosing means synchronized with the first conveyor belt for depositing a solid substance consisting of loose particles in doses at regular intervals on said first conveyor belt; a second closed-loop continuous conveyor belt which moves at the same speed as the first conveyor belt in the downstream direction and is located below the first conveyor belt, there being a plurality of through-holes defined through the second conveyor belt at intervals corresponding to the regular intervals at which the doses of the substance are deposited on the first conveyor belt, said through-holes arranged in multiple spaced-apart rows that extend across the second conveyor belt in a direction transverse to said downstream direction; and, vacuum means which communicate with the holes in the second conveyor belt so that said vacuum means exert suction on the solid substance through the first conveyor belt to compact the doses and keep the loose particles of the substance together and in contact with the first conveyor belt, said vacuum means fixed in position relative to said first and second conveyor belts and comprising a chamber with a lid over which said first and second conveyor belts move, the lid defining grooves extending in the downstream direction that communicate with the chamber by means of through-holes defined in the lid, the grooves being set side-by-side at distances corresponding to distances between the holes in said plurality of rows of holes defined in the second conveyor belt that moves over said lid.