Abstract:
An apparatus that promotes the flow of materials has a body having an inner shape for holding the materials, a wall having a shape that approximates a portion of the inner shape of the body, and a vibrator attached to the wall. The wall may be disposed vertically within the body close to the body&#39;s inner shape. The vibrator transfers vibrations to the wall to agitate the material and encourage material flow.

Description:
STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT RIGHTS 
       [0001]    The subject matter described herein was conceived in the performance of work under U.S. Department of Energy Contract No. DE-FC26-04NT42237. The U.S. Government may have certain rights related to this document. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The communication of powdered, granular, pulverized, or other such material may be complicated by the tendency of such material to stick to portions of a hopper. 
         [0003]    Apparatus that induce the flow of material from hoppers include external vibrating devices, internal pulsating air pads that line the hopper walls, mechanically driven rotating agitators, and the like. Rotating agitators generally are impractical on hoppers of relatively large size because moving large masses of powder or granular material may be difficult. Also, while the vibration of the hopper serves to promote the discharge of some materials, vibration may not be effective for materials of a sticky character. Further, hopper rigidity and structural mass may limit the vibration that can be transmitted through the hopper walls and into and through the material contained therein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a non-limiting embodiment of a vibratory hopper. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0005]    Referring to the drawing, the vibratory hopper  10  generally includes a hopper  20 , a wall  25  disposed within the hopper, a frame  30  surrounding the hopper, and vibrators  35  that attach to the frame  30 . 
         [0006]    The hopper  20  has a frusto-conical shape, with an inlet  37  to receive raw material (not shown) such as coal or other solid feedstock and an outlet  40  for directing the raw material typically to a conveyor (not shown) The hopper  20  may have other shapes, including but not limited to, rectangular, square, conical, etc. The hopper in one non-limiting embodiment has six holes  45  therein; three on each side of a diameter of the hopper  20 . Each hole  45  has a dampener  50 . The dampener may be a bushing which at least partially dampens vibration, shock and other forces. The dampener may provide for vibrational insulation. Each dampener  50  has an opening  55  for receiving a portion of the frame  30  as will be discussed hereinbelow. The dampener  50  minimizes vibrations that might reach the hopper  20 . 
         [0007]    The frame  30 , which distributes vibration to the wall  25  there through, is disposed outside the hopper  20  and has three rigid portions  60  disposed generally horizontally and generally in parallel to each other, each portion  60  in close proximity to and approximating the outer shape of the hopper  20  along its height. Each portion has a pair of struts  65  that depend inwardly through a dampener  50  and attach fixedly to the wall  25 . The frame may be disposed symmetrically about the hopper  20  in conformance to an outer shape thereof. 
         [0008]    The isolation bushing absorbs certain energy thereby reducing the magnitude of vibration that is transmitted to the hopper, which if unchecked creates compaction and considation of material in the hopper and restricts or prevents flow out of the hopper. The frame supports the wall  25 . The frame is shown herein as circumscribing the hopper and has parallel parts horizontally and vertically disposed, but other support structures are contemplated herein if those structures provide vibrations to the wall  25  while supporting and providing that vibrations are applied equally to the wall  25  without affecting the hopper  20 . 
         [0009]    In the non-limiting embodiment shown herein, the portions  60  appear as concentric rings of differing diameters though the portions may form other shapes and relationships depending on the shape of a desired hopper. 
         [0010]    The portions  60  are attached to each other by two pairs of vertically extending rods  70 . The rods are attached to each other by a pair of horizontally extending pieces  75  on which the vibrators  30  are mounted. The portions  60 , struts  65 , rods  70 , pieces  75  and the wall  25  are all made of a stiff material, such as steel, that will transmit vibrations and receive vibrations and have a long life given their environment. 
         [0011]    Rotary vibrators  35  have an eccentrically mounted weight (not shown), driven by a motor (not shown), to impart vibration to the pieces  75  that hold the rotary vibrators  35 , to the rods  70  joining the portions  60 , to the portions  60 , to the struts  65 , and to the wall  25 . The vibrators are shown and described herein as being mounted on the pieces  75  but may be placed on other parts of the frame  30  if the placement provides vibrations equally to the wall  25  without affecting the hopper  20 . 
         [0012]    The rotary vibrators  35  are controlled by a controller  80 , that imparts a vibratory pattern to each rotary vibrator  35  so that any granular or powdered material in the hopper  20  may be unbound, unbridged or unstuck so it flows uniformly from the inlet  37  to the outlet  40  of the hopper  20 . Each rotary vibrator  35  provides a similar vibratory output to the frame  30  to avoid creating waves that could damage the frame  30 , the hopper  20  or the wall  25 . Two vibrators  35  are provided at opposite sides of the hopper  20  to prevent asymmetries that would unbalance the frame and provide harmful stresses to the frame  30 , wall  25  and hopper  20 . 
         [0013]    The wall  25  has a truncated triangular shape that geometrically resembles the interior of the hopper  20 . The wall  25  bisects or forms a chord in the chamber to minimize a possibility that any particle bridges or the like will form across the hopper  20  and inhibit flow there through. If an end attaching to the wall  25  of any raw material bridge is destroyed by vibration of the wall  25 , the bridge fails and material flows through the outlet  40 . The wall  25  is formed of a flat plate as shown but may take other planar and non-planar shapes such as corrugations, meshes, attached lattices or perforations as may be chosen for a particular material to be moved through the hopper  20 . Similarly bisection of the hopper  20  by the wall  25  is not critical and may take other similar positions within the hopper. 
         [0014]    During operation, vibrators  35  are activated and impart vibration to the pieces  75  that hold the rotary vibrators  35 , to the rods  70  joining the portions  60 , to the portions  60 , to the struts  65 , and to the wall  25 . The wall  25  vibrates thereby imparting vibration to the material in a relatively large area of the hopper  20  so that any granular or powdered material in the hopper  20  may be unbound, unbridged or unstuck thereby allowing material to flow more uniformly from the inlet  37  to the outlet  40  of the hopper  20 . The isolating dampener  50  does not transmit significant vibration from the struts  65  passing through the isolating dampener  50  to the hopper  20  thereby extending the life of the hopper  20 . 
         [0015]    Although a preferred embodiment has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.