Apparatus for stacking and reclaiming bulk materials

Claim 1

A bulk material handling apparatus including an elongated combined stacking and reclaiming boom having proximal and distal extremities, boom hoist means for selectively raising and lowering the distal extremity of the boom, a plurality of spaced material-reclaiming flights and endless means for supporting said flights longitudinally movable along the upper aNd lower sides of said boom, including head and tail sprocket means for said endless flight-supporting means located at the distal and proximal extremities of said boom, means for removing reclaimed bulk material, an endless conveyor belt operative between the distal and proximal extremities of said boom and having its upper reach disposed in underlying relation to said flights along the upper side of said boom, and movable therewith, a head pulley and a tail pulley for said conveyor belt, said head pulley being located intermediate the distal and proximal extremities of said boom and said tail pulley being located at the proximal extremity of said boom, means for feeding bulk material to the upper reach of said conveyor belt whereby bulk material deposited on the upper reach of said conveyor belt in the space between successive reclaiming flights may be supported against retrograde movement by said flights and transported to the discharge extremity of said belt for stacking said bulk material and whereby bulk material contacted with said reclaiming flights along the lower side of said boom may be transported toward the proximal extremity of said boom and the means for removing reclaimed material for reclaiming said bulk material.