Patent ID: 7674076

Claim:
A feeder apparatus for supplying a flow of a feedstock to a processing operation, said apparatus comprising: a casing having a top portion and a bottom portion and defining a sealed interior chamber therebetween; said casing defining a gas port for supplying a pressurized gas into said sealed interior chamber; a metering plate disposed within said sealed interior chamber for rotation about and in spaced radial relationship with a vertical axis; said metering plate including an inner sidewall, and outer sidewall, and a bottom wall defining an annular channel therebetween; a hopper disposed above said metering plate for storing the feedstock therein; a measuring mechanism for dispensing a measured volume of the feedstock from said hopper into said annular channel of said metering plate; and a pick-up device disposed above said metering plate for removing the feedstock from said annular channel and defining an inlet; said inlet including an elongated shape over said annular channel, said elongated shape having a length extending tangentially relative to said annular channel and a width extending perpendicularly relative to said length of said elongated shape with said width being greater than said length.