Apparatus for use in mixing and blending fibers

Claim 1

BLENDING APPARATUS FOR USE IN ASSEMBLING PREDETERMINED QUANTITIES OF FIBROUS MATERIALS HAVING DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS FOR DELIVERY TO MIXING MACHINERY, SAID BLENDING APPARATUS COMPRISING A CONVEYOR HAVING A MATERIALSUPPORTING RUN, MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID CONVEYOR, MEANS OPERATIVE SIMULTANEOUSLY TO DEPOSIT UPON SAID RUN, IN SIDEBY-SIDE RELATION, A DISCRETE MASS OF PREDETERMINED SIZE OF EACH, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE SEVERAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE DESIRED MIX, MEANS OPERATIVE SIMULTANEOUSLY TO REMOVE MATERIAL FROM THE ADVANCING ENDS OF THE SEVERAL INDIVIDUAL MASSES OF MATERIAL CARRIED BY THE CONVEYOR, MEANS DEFINING COMPARTMENTS ARRANGED ABOVE AND WITH THEIR LOWER ENDS SPACED FROM SAID MATERIAL-SUPPORTING RUN OF THE CONVEYOR, EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS BEING OPEN AT ITS TOP AND HAVING A HINGED DOOR WHICH NORMALLY CLOSES ITS LOWER END, EACH COMPARTMENT BEING OF A SIZE AND SHAPE SUCH AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE ACCUMULATION THEREIN OF A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF ONE OF THE RESPECTIVE CONSTITUENT MATERIALS TO FORM THE MIX, MEANS NORMALLY HOLDING THE DOORS CLOSED THEREBY TO PERMIT THE ACCUMULATION WITHIN EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS OF THE DESIRED PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF MATERIAL, AND MEANS OPERATIVE AUTOMATICALLY TO OPEN ALL OF SAID DOORS SIMULTANEOUSLY THEREBY TO PERMIT THE MATERIAL ACCUMULATED IN THE COMPARTMENTS TO DROP AS A DISCRETE MASS UPON THE MATERIAL-SUPPORTING RUN OF THE CONVEYOR.