Patent ID: 7497985

Claim:
A charging device for charging of charging stock into a melting vessel, comprising: a shaft having shaft walls held in a frame structure, a shaft floor, an upper inlet opening arranged to receive the charging stock, and a discharge opening arranged to discharge the charging stock through a side wall located in a lower portion of the shaft, a pusher having a top surface, a bottom surface, an end surface transverse to a pushing direction, and two lateral surfaces parallel to the pushing direction, the lateral surfaces converging from the top surface to the bottom surface of the pusher, wherein the pusher is arranged and constructed to rest with its bottom surface disposed on an upper surface of the shaft floor, and a first actuating device supported in or on the frame structure so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis, the first actuating device being arranged and constructed to move the pusher between a first, retracted position, which exposes the shaft floor, and a second position, which is advanced toward the discharge opening, for batch transporting of charging stock present in the shaft toward and through the discharge opening.