Bulk material receiving, conveying, storing, and dispensing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12304725-B2
Application number	US-202117492549-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2021
Priority date	Oct 1, 2020
Publication date	May 20, 2025
Grant date	May 20, 2025

Abstract

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a bulk material handling method includes receiving bulk material on a first level of a system at receiving stations equipped with dust control filtration equipment, pneumatically conveying the bulk material up to a third level into bulk material storage hoppers, storing the bulk material, dispensing the stored bulk material to a bulk material transporter on the first level, including dosing the stored bulk material to an interior of a bulk material dosing hopper to create a bulk material dose, docking the dosing hopper with the transporter via a docking apparatus, and releasing the dose into the interior of the transporter, through a reduced pressure region in an internal volume of the docking apparatus. Other disclosed aspects include a related system, subsystems, and apparatuses.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A bulk material handling system, comprising:
a bulk material storage module including:
a modular frame; and
a bulk material storage apparatus coupled to the modular frame and including
a plurality of storage hoppers; and
a dispensing filter common to the plurality of storage hoppers and including a dispensing filter housing, a dispensing filter rotor in fluid communication with the dispensing filter housing, and a dispensing filter motor coupled to the dispensing filter rotor,

wherein the modular frame is constructed as a rectangular box truss, having a longitudinal axis, a lateral axis, and a vertical axis, and including
lower beams extending longitudinally, and being laterally opposed from one another,
upper beams extending longitudinally, and being laterally opposed from one another,
posts extending vertically between the lower and upper beams,
upper cross-members extending laterally between the upper beams, and
lower cross-members extending laterally between the lower beams,

wherein the plurality of storage hoppers are coupled to at least one of the lower beams or cross-members, and the common dispensing filter is coupled to at least one of the lower beams or cross-members.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the modular frame also includes
one or more struts extending obliquely between the lower and upper beams, and
a platform carried on at least some of the lower cross-members to establish a floor.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein each modular frame has exterior dimensions less than or equal to exterior dimensions of an intermodal freight container.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a bulk material dispensing apparatus including
a dosing apparatus including
a doser feeding apparatus including
a plurality of feeder bins below the plurality of storage hoppers and including bin bodies with bin interiors and having bin body inlets to receive bulk material from the plurality of storage hoppers, and
a plurality of dosing feeders in communication with the bin interiors of the bin bodies of the plurality of feeder bins and having feeder outlets.

5. A bulk material handling system, comprising:
a bulk material storage apparatus including
a plurality of storage hoppers, and
a dispensing filter common to the plurality of storage hoppers and including a dispensing filter housing, a dispensing filter rotor in fluid communication with the dispensing filter housing, and a dispensing filter motor coupled to the dispensing filter rotor; and

a bulk material dispensing apparatus including
a dosing apparatus including
a doser feeding apparatus including
a plurality of feeder bins below the plurality of storage hoppers and including bin bodies with bin interiors and having bin body inlets to receive bulk material from the plurality of storage hoppers, and
a plurality of dosing feeders in communication with the bin interiors of the bin bodies of the plurality of feeder bins and having feeder outlets, and

a bulk material doser common to the plurality of storage hoppers and feeder bins and including
a dosing hopper having a dosing hopper interior,
a dosing container positioned in the dosing hopper interior of the dosing hopper, wherein the feeder outlets of the plurality of dosing feeders extend into the dosing hopper interior to feed the bulk material into the dosing container,
a dosing scale coupled to the dosing container, and
a spout having an inlet in communication with the dosing hopper interior and having an outlet.

6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising:
a bulk material storage module including:
a modular frame; and
wherein the bulk material storage apparatus is coupled to the modular frame.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the dosing apparatus additionally includes
a dispensing filtration duct in fluid communication with the dosing hopper interior of the dosing hopper and in fluid communication with the dispensing filter housing of the common dispensing filter.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the bulk material dispensing apparatus also includes
a docking apparatus including
a collapsible conduit having a conduit interior to receive the bulk material from the dosing container of the bulk material doser, and
a docking filtration duct in fluid communication with the conduit interior of the collapsible conduit and in fluid communication with the dispensing filter housing of the dispensing filter of the bulk material storage apparatus.

9. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:
a second bulk material storage apparatus including
a second plurality of storage hoppers; and
a second dispensing filter common to the second plurality of storage hoppers and including a second dispensing filter housing, a second dispensing filter rotor in fluid communication with the dispensing filter housing, and a second dispensing filter motor coupled to the dispensing filter rotor.

10. The system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a second bulk material dispensing apparatus including
a second dosing apparatus including
a second doser feeding apparatus including
a second plurality of feeder bins below the second plurality of storage hoppers and including second bin bodies with second bin interiors and having second bin body inlets to receive bulk material from the second plurality of storage hoppers, and
a second plurality of dosing feeders in communication with the second bin interiors of the second bin bodies of the second plurality of feeder bins and having second feeder outlets.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second dosing apparatus further includes
a second bulk material doser common to the second plurality of storage hoppers and feeder bins and including
a second dosing hopper having a second dosing hopper interior,
a second dosing container positioned in the second dosing hopper interior of the second dosing hopper, wherein the second feeder outlets of the second plurality of dosing feeders extend into the second dosing hopper interior to feed the bulk material into the second dosing container,
a second dosing scale coupled to the second dosing container, and
a second spout having a second inlet in communication with the second dosing hopper interior and having a second outlet.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second bulk material dispensing apparatus also includes
a second docking apparatus, including
a second collapsible conduit having a second interior, and
a second docking filtration duct in fluid communication with the second interior of the second collapsible conduit and in fluid communication with the second dosing filter of the second bulk material storage apparatus.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of storage hoppers of the bulk material storage apparatus is in a first storage hopper partial array and the second plurality of storage hoppers of the second bulk material storage apparatus is in a second storage hopper partial array, which together with the first storage hopper partial array, establishes a complete storage hopper array, and wherein the plurality of dosing hoppers of the dosing apparatus is in a first dosing hopper partial array and the second plurality of dosing hoppers of the second dosing apparatus is in a second dosing hopper partial array, which together with the first dosing hopper partial container array, establishes a complete dosing hopper array.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the first and second dosing hopper partial arrays are semi-circular and the complete dosing hopper arrays are circular.

15. The system of c

Assignees

• Owens Brockway Glass Container

Inventors

• Holmes Kirk
• Will Steven
• Romstöck Manfred Robert
• Mlynar Guenther Josef

Classifications

• B65D88/32

  in multiple arrangement · CPC title

• B01D35/1573

  Flow control valves · CPC title

• B01D29/661

  by using gas-bumps · CPC title

• B01D29/902

  containing fixed liquid displacement elements or cores · CPC title

• B65D88/548

  by pneumatic means (B65D88/72 takes precedence) · CPC title