Thermoplastic resin pellet ratio loader

Claim 1

A ratio unit loader having means to connect said loader to the hopper of a thermoplastic resin processing machine, a set of connected side walls forming an enclosed container, a bottom orifice in said container, a movable flap having opened and closed positions and covering said orifice in its closed position and opening to uncover said orifice in its open position, uniform mixture means to form separate piles from two different reservoirs of thermoplastic resin to the same predetermined level within said container and to flow the said two resins after the said flap is opened in a uniform simultaneous flow from said two piles within said container to provide a uniform mixture to said processing machine, said uniform mixture means including, a single substantially verticially oriented separation wall within said container which separates the two said piles of thermoplastic resin and forms two volumes within said container, a first and a second conduit each having a fixed opening into only one of said volumes and each being connectable to different reservoirs of said two reservoirs of thermoplastic resin, movement means to move said separation wall sidewise to select the ratio of the said two resins in said mixture and to determine the size of the outlets through which the said resins will discharge, said movement means including a handle outside of said container to move said separation wall sidewise to form a proportionally smaller outlet to discharge the lesser amount of the two said resins and at the same time to form a larger outlet to simultaneously discharge the greater amount of the two said resins, means to apply vacuum to within the two said container volumes and bring the said two resins on opposite sides of said separation wall to substantially said same predetermined level before said flap is opened, a timer means to control the timing of said vacuum means to continue said vacuum until said predetermined substantially equal level is obtained and thereafter to stop said vacuum means, whereby after the flap is opened the two resins commence and finish flowing substantially at the same time to provide a uniform mixture to said processing machine, and control means to start said vacuum means in timed relationship to the closing of said flap so that upon said flap closing the vacuum means is thereafter started.