Patent ID: 8881885

Claim:
A loading apparatus for loading raw material into a processing apparatus that processes the raw material in an airtight state, the loading apparatus comprising: an accommodation section that accommodates the raw material and has an accommodation port through which the raw material is supplied into the accommodation section and which can be opened and closed; a feeding path through which the raw material is fed, in an airtight state, into the processing apparatus, the feeding path having a first path and a second path, the first path being outside the processing apparatus, the second path having an upstream end positioned outside the processing apparatus and a downstream end positioned inside the processing apparatus; a feeding mechanism that feeds, in an airtight state, the raw material from the accommodation section to the first path; a joint section that is movable to separate and join the first path and the second path in a vertical direction; and a closing section, positioned in the second path, that maintains the processing apparatus and a portion of the second path located downstream of the closing section in an airtight state, when the joint section separates the first path and the second path.