Conveyor discharge system

Claim 1

A BIN-FILLING SYSTEM COMPRISING A FLUID-ACTIVATED, GRAVITY-FLOW CONVEYOR FOR PULVERULENT MATERIAL INCLUDING A CASING FORMING A CONVEYOR TROUGH, AT LEAST TWO SPACED GAS-PERMEABLE DECK SECTIONS FORMING A PORTION OF THE BOTTOM OF SAID TROUGH AND ALONG WHICH PULVERULENT MATERIAL IS ADAPTED TO FLOW, SAID DECK SECTIONS LYING IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE, A PLENUM CHAMBER BENEATH EACH DECK SECTION, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A GAS INTO EACH OF SAID PLENUM CHAMBERS TO FLOW UPWARDLY THROUGH THE GASPERMEABLE DECK SECTIONS TO FLUIDIZE OVERLYING PULVERULENT MATERIAL, AN OFFTAKE PIPE LOCATED BENEATH THE SPACE BETWEEN ADJACENT ENDS OF SAID DECK SECTIONS, AN INTERMEDIATE CONVEYING SECTION IN TEH SPACE BETWEEN THE ADJACENT ENDS OF THE DECK SECTIONS AND OVER THE UPPER END OF SAID OFFTAKE PIPE, SAID INTERMEDIATE CONVEYING SECTION INCLUDING A DECK SECTION SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE OF SAID FIRSTNAMED DECK SECTIONS, A PLENUM CHAMBER UNDER THE GASPERMEABLE DECK OF SAID INTERMEDIATE SECTION, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A GAS INTO SAID LAST-NAMED PLENUM CHAMBER TO PASS UPWARDLY THROUGH THE OVERLYING GAS-PERMEABLE DECK TO FLUIDIZE PULVERULENT MATERIAL THEREON, AND MEANS FOR PROVIDING A GAP BETWEEN A LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF THE INTERMEDIATE CONVEYOR SECTION, IN THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF MATERIAL ALONG THE CONVEYOR, AND AT LEAST ONE SIDE WALL OF THE CASING THROUGH WHICH MATERIAL FLOWING ALONG THE CONVEYOR MAY FLOW OR SPILL INTO SAID OFFTAKE PIPE.