Feeding system for a brick press

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION WITH A BRICK PRESS AND A SOURCE OF BRICKMAKING MATERIAL FOR DELIVERY TO THE BRICKMAKING CAVITY OF THE PRESS, A FEEDING SYSTEM CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A BATCH WEIGHER, A PNEUMATIC FEEDER AND A DISCHARGE HEAD, SAID BATCH WEIGHER INCLUDING: (A) A FIRST HOPPER HAVING DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED WALLS WHICH TERMINATE IN A BOTTOM DISCHARGE POSITIONED ABOVE AN ENDLESS CONVEYOR AT ONE SEGMENT THEREOF FOR TRANSPORTING A BRICKMAKING MATERIAL, (B) A SECOND HOPPER HAVING DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED WALLS WHICH TERMINATE IN A BOTTOM DISCHARGE HAVING A NORMALLY CLOSED FLAP THEREAT DISPOSED BELOW ANOTHER SEGMENT OF THE CONVEYOR FOR RECEIVING THE MATERIAL, (C) A SCALE BEAM DISPOSED ADJACENT THE SECOND HOPPER AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE NORMALLY CLOSED FLAP AT THE DISCHARGE END THEREOF FOR MEASURING THE QUANTITY OF BRICKMAKING MATERIAL SUPPORTED BY THE FLAP, WHEREUPON WHEN A DESIRED QUANTITY OF MATERIAL IS OBTAINED SAID SCALE BEAM BEING CAPABLE OF TRIGGERING A MECHANISM TO OPEN THE FLAP AND RELEASE THE MATERIAL, (D) MEANS COOPERATING WITH THE SCALE BEAM FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY HALTING THE FLOW OF MATERIAL INTO THE SECOND HOPPER WHEN SAID DESIRED QUANTITY IS OBTAINED, SAID PNEUMATIC FEEDER INCLUDING: (A) A RECEIVING HOPPER HAVING DOWNWARDLY CONVERGING WALLS TERMINATING IN A BOTTOM DISCHARGE INTO NORMALLY CLOSED PRESSURE VESSEL, DISPOSED BELOW THE DISCHARGE END OF THE SECOND HOPPER FOR RECEIVING THE MEASURED AND EXACT WEIGHT OF MATERIAL DISCHARGED; (B) A TUBULAR PRESSURE VESSEL CONSISTING OF AN INNER AND OUTER SHELL WHICH DEFINE TWO CHAMBERS, ONE BEING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF THE OTHER AND A PLURALITY OF PASSAGES THROUGH THE INNER SHELL INTERCONNECTING THE TWO CHAMBERS; (C) MEANS FOR CHARGING THE WEIGHED MATERIAL FROM THE RECEIVING HOPPER TO THE INNER CHAMBER OF THE PRESSURE VESSEL; (D) A SOURCE OF FLUID PRESSURE INTERCONNECTED WITH THE OUTER CHAMBER, WHEREBY, WHEN THE MATERIAL IS CHARGED TO THE INNER CHAMBER SAID FLUID PRESSURE IS EXERTED ALONG THE OUTER WALLS OF THE INNER CHAMBER AND PASSES THROUGH THE PASSAGES THEREOF TO AGITATE AND PNEUMATICALLY EJECT THE MATERIAL INTO A DELIVERY MECHANISM DISPOSED THEREBETWEEN WITHOUT IMPEDENCE DUE TO FRICTIONAL CONTACT WITH THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE SHELL; (E) A DELIVERY MECHANISM INTERCONNECTED WITH THE PRESSURE VESSEL ARRANGED TO PNEUMATICALLY TRANSPORT WEIGHED QUANTITIES OF MATERIAL, ONE AT A TIME, FROM THE PRESSURE VESSEL TO A DISCHARGE HEAD, SAID DISCHARGE HEAD INCLUDING: (A) AN APERTURED PLATE HAVING A FLAT LOWER SURFACE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BRICK PRESS CAVITY, SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGH WHICH OPENS A DOWNWARDLY CONVERGING SLOT; (B) A DOWNWARDLY OPENING CHANNEL ATTACHED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF THE PLATE IN WHICH IS POSITIONED A RESILIENT SEAL; (C) A TUBULAR MEMBER, INTERCONNECTED TO THE PLATE IN ALIGNED POSITION ABOVE SAID SLOT, THE INTERNAL DIMENSIONS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS THOSE OF THE UPPER MOUTH OF THE SLOT; (D) A REARWARDLY CONVERGING DUCT ATTACHED TO THE TUBULAR MEMBER, SAID DUCT HAVING A TUBULAR REAR FITTING ADAPTED FOR INTERCONNECTION WITH A FLEXIBLE CONDUIT; AND (E) A FLEXIBLE CONDUIT CONNECTION AT ONE END TO SAID DUCT AND AT THE OTHER END TO SAID DELIVERY MECHANISM TO COOPERATE THEREWITH IN TRANSPORTING THE BRICKMAKING MATERIAL TO THE DUCT AND TUBULAR MEMBER AND INTO THE BRICK PRESS CAVITY.