Patent ID: 7866459

Claim:
A moveable gate for controllably uncovering a cutout in the floor of an elongated conveyor trough of a conveyor system, comprising (a) a gate slide plate sized and configured to underlie a bottom surface of an elongated conveyor trough comprising a conveyor floor, a cutout in the conveyor floor, and two sidewalls, the sidewalls defining magnetic mounting rails extending on the conveyor trough along the cutout; wherein the gate slide plate has a length and width sufficient to sealably cover the cutout when underlying the bottom surface of the conveyor trough in a first closed position such that material traveling on the conveyor trough is impeded from passing through the cutout by the gate slide plate; wherein the gate slide plate is slidably movable to a second open position in which the cutout is at least partially not covered by the gate slide plate side such that material traveling on the conveyor trough is not impeded from passing through the cutout by the gate slide plate; wherein the gate slide plate comprises magnets sized and configured to hold the gate slide plate against the adjacent surface of the conveyor trough through the attraction of the magnets to the magnetic mounting rails; and (b) an actuating system for moving the gate slide plate from the first closed position to the second open position.