Patent ID: 7757903

Claim:
A feeder assembly comprising: a) a rotary feeder comprising (i) a housing; (ii) a material inlet for receiving bulk material into the housing and adaptable to be connected to a comparatively low pressure side, said material inlet having an inner wall; (iii) a material outlet separated in the housing from the inlet and adaptable to be connected to a comparatively high pressure side; (iv) a rotor assembly which is located in the housing and is supported for rotation in a predetermined direction about an axis; and (v) a plurality of material receiving pockets that extend radially from the rotor assembly and are rotatable around the axis of rotation, said pockets being adapted to receive bulk material from the material inlet and to discharge said material into the material outlet, each pocket partially defined by a pair of opposed end walls; and b) a feed spout extended into the material inlet for feeding bulk material into the inlet, said feed spout having a pair of opposed end walls that are adaptable to be closely aligned with the end walls of a rotatable pocket in the feeder when said pocket is positioned to receive bulk material, wherein there is a space between each end wall of the feed spout and the adjacent inner wall of the material inlet, which space is adaptable to vent leakage gas from the rotary feeder without such leakage gas contacting the bulk material entering the feeder.