Method and device for dosing powdered materials

• US 6,253,968 B1
• Filed: 01/19/1999
• Issued: 07/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Diversey Incorporated (Sealed Air)
• Original Assignee: Diverseylever Incorporated (Unilever PLC)
• Inventors: Los, Leendert, Klarenbeek, Ruud, Müller, Ronald, Van Dijk, Jakob, Pobuda, Miro, Evers, Lucas Alphonsus
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaver, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cartagena, Melvin A.
• Application Number:
  US09/233,846
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• Field of Search: 222/181.2, 222/181.3, 222/197, 222/200, 222/201, 222/202, 222/1, 222/241, 222/207, 222/232, 222/233, 222/234, 417/53, 417/474
• US Class Current: 222/241
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 11/088 using a deformable conduit-like element

Abstract

A method is provided for dosing powdered material from a supply container having a vertically suspending discharge tube of an elastically deformable material, by squeezing said discharge tube at locations, which periodically move along a part of the discharge tube length. In this method, the squeezing of the discharge tube is effected in a similar way as the flexible tube of a peristaltic pump of the type, with which the tube engages a support wall on one side and with which a peristaltic mechanism is provided on the opposite side for squeezing the tube according to a travelling wave, the length of which does not exceed one single wave length.

Claims

1. A device for dosing powdered material from a supply container, comprising a lineary peristaltic pump, with which a tube-shaped outlet suspending from the supply container engages a support wall on one side and with which another side of said outlet a blade package to be driven by an eccentric mechanism, the individual blades of which are adapted to squeeze the tube-shaped outlet according to a travelling wave which covers on more than a single wave length, characterized in that a drive motor shaft is coupled with means for agitating a discharge potion of the container, said means being provided at a location upstream of the pump.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the agitating means are formed by a number of additional blades at a location, where a support wall is missing, said additional blades engaging a discharge tube portion between the pump and the container without squeezing said portion completely.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive motor shaft is extended in the upstream direction and provided with means for driving a redprocatingly guided agitating ring around a flexible, funnel-shaped discharge portion of said supply container.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the extended drive motor shaft engages, in a crank type fashion, a slot provided in said agitating ring in a direction transverse to the reciprocating movement of said agitating ring.

5. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the agitating ring is provided with a slit for inserting the discharge portion of the supply container from the front side.