Patent ID: 7776288

Claim:
A charging device for filling a tube of a tubular reactor, comprising metering chambers, which can be filled with filling material, such as, for example, catalytically coated carrier material, wherein at least one of the metering chambers comprises a sloping surface and an opposing surface for supporting the filling material, which surfaces run at an angle to one another, wherein the opposing surface extends with an inclination in an opposite direction to an inclination of the sloping surface; wherein the metering chambers further comprise a gap for the passage of the filling material, which gap extends between the sloping surface and the opposing surface and is located approximately at half height of the sloping surface, wherein a storage region is formed above both the sloping surface and the opposing surface, the storage region ending at a bottom in the gap; wherein the metering chamber comprises a metering outlet which is formed between a discharge lip and the base of the metering chamber, the discharge lip being fastened to the metering chamber and hanging down flexibly to a point above the bottom end of the sloping surface, and wherein the sloping surface is connected to a vibrator via which it can be set at least partly in vibratory movements such that the gap may be rhythmically constricted and enlarged.