Door opening mechanism for feed conveyor

Claim 1

In a drop out device located intermediate the ends of a conveyor and including doors hinged to side walls of the conveyor for movement about horizontal axes to enable material carried by the conveyor to be discharged at a point intermediate the ends of the conveyor, the improvement comprising means to open and close said doors, said means including a crank arm, means pivotally connecting the crank arm to the conveyor top wall between the doors for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, brackets on said doors, said brackets extending outwardly and upwardly from the point of connection with the doors to a point above said conveyor side walls, and link means including couplings connecting said brackets to ends of said crank means to afford vertical movement of said link means in addition to horizontal displacement, and control means connected to said crank means to pivot said crank means and cause opening and closing of said doors, said control means comprising a control arm pivotally connected to a side wall of said conveyor at a point spaced from said doors for swinging movement about a horizontal axis, said control arm having means spaced from said control arm pivot on opposite sides of said pivot for connection to remotely operable means, and a rigid link connecting said control arm to said crank means whereby rotation of said control arm will cause pivotal movement of said crank arm.