Patent ID: 8672194

Claim:
A hopper structure for heat-treating synthetic granular material, comprising: an upper tubular section; a lower tapered section equipped with a discharge mouth for discharging said synthetic granular material after treatment, the lower tapered section being removably connectable to said upper tubular section thereby delimiting, together with said upper tubular section, a containment chamber where the synthetic granular material is loaded for treatment; a blade carrier shaft extending inside said lower tapered section of said hopper to said discharge mouth; a support device for at least said upper tubular section; and a guide device supported by said support device at the lower end of said upper tubular section, and configured to guide said lower tapered section while moving between a closed position against said upper tubular section and an open position away from said upper tubular section along a first predominantly lowering path and then an angular movement, in which position the blades of said blade carrier shaft and a zone beneath the upper tubular section is easily accessible by an operator for carrying out maintenance or repair operations.