The present invention provides a rotary feeder system having a rotor housing with an intake opening and means for discharging material spaced apart side walls. A rotor is positioned with its radially extending blades disposed within the rotor housing and its two ends of its shaft each extending through an aperture in one of the side walls. The shaft bearing and interconnection to the rotating means are each disposed outwards of the rotor housing and the apertures are sealed about the rotor shaft by a sealing assembly comprising a washer, a seal having a first and second ring wherein the second ring extends inward beyond the inner circumference of the first, said ring merging into a flange pressing upon said washer, and a retaining plate which bears against the second ring, tightening it against the washer. The washer and second ring of the seal are preferably formed of tetrafluoro-ethylene resin, and all joints between components within the rotor housing are welded to fill any crevices. The present invention also provides a rotary feeder wherein the gear shaft of the drive is received in a bore within the rotor shaft and these two shafts are precisely aligned by an alignment pin that is lodged through a bore in these shafts when the bores of the separate shafts are properly aligned, which permits the feeder to be disassembled for cleaning and then reassembled without resetting tolerances.
In a rotary feeder of the type including a housing provided with a top inlet and a bottom outlet and accommodating a cellular rotor which includes a plurality of radial blades supported on a horizontal shaft and axially defined by respective lateral disks which are spaced from pertaining bearing covers, a seal arrangement is provided between each lateral disk and pertaining bearing cover of the housing and includes a plastic filler ring which is floatingly arranged between the bearing cover and the disk and is spring-loaded in axial and radial direction.
A volumetric metering device for the metered delivery of granular and powdery materials, particularly for machines for distributing such materials. The device comprises a housing formed in one piece of plastic material, a metering member which is supported rotatably in the housing, can be handled individually, and includes a plurality of metering wheels mounted on a shaft and clamped in a group between two flanges, a selective drive-transmission interposed between the wheels and the shaft, a scraper for cleaning the wheels in motion and anchoring the idle wheels, and a feeler device which is held at a distance from the metering member with resilient preloading.
A rotary valve generally consisting of a housing having a rotor chamber provided with inlet and outlet openings and an end access opening, a drive shaft journaled in the housing having an end section extending into the rotor chamber toward the end access opening, such shaft end section having a plane, torque transmitting surface, a rotor having an axial, cylindrical opening receiving the shaft end section, a plurality of circumferentially spaced pockets for receiving material from the inlet opening and discharging such material through the outlet opening and a plane, torque transmitting surface cooperable with the torque transmitting surface of the drive shaft end section, when the rotor is inserted through the end access opening into the rotor chamber, the rotor being freely slidable onto and off of the drive shaft end section, in the rotor chamber and through the end access opening, and a cover plate for the end access opening detachably secured to the housing.
In a rotary valve having a housing, a drive shaft journaled in the housing and having an end portion thereof projecting into a rotor chamber in the housing, a rotor mounted on a drive shaft and axially displaceable thereon and means for accessing the rotor to permit axial removal of the rotor from the rotor chamber, a rotor handling system comprising, a support means mounted on the housing, an assembly including a mandrel supported in the support means operable to axially register the mandrel with the drive shaft to permit the axial displacement of the rotor onto the mandrel, a carrier means mounted on the mandrel and axially displaceable thereon, a locking means mounted on the carrier member and selectively engageable with the rotor when the mandrel is disposed in axial alignment with the drive shaft for selectively locking the rotor to the carrier member and means operable for axially displacing the carrier means whereby upon the mandrel being axially registered with the drive shaft, the carrier member being disposed in locking relation with the rotor and axial displacing means being operated, the rotor will be caused to mvoe onto and off of the mandrel.
A rotary feeder includes a housing in which a rotary member is supported between two lateral bearing caps, with one journal fixedly supported in one bearing cap and the other journal loosely supported in the other bearing cap. For facilitating maintenance and cleaning of the rotary feeder, a carriage is securely mounted to the one bearing cap accommodating the fixed bearing. The carriage is movable and suitably guided in axial direction of the rotary member by at least the axial length of the rotary member so as to allow removal and return of the rotary member from and back into the housing in an accurate and safe manner.
