Fiber dispensing apparatus

Abstract

A fiber dispensing apparatus includes a hopper containing a plurality of fibers. A conveyor device having a plurality of flights thereon is provided at a bottom portion of the hopper. The conveyor device operates to move the fibers from the hopper into a fan-powered injector, which separates the fibers into an air stream and blows the separated fibers through a pipe system to a transit mixer.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A fiber dispensing apparatus comprising: 
 a hopper to hold a plurality of fibers;    conveyor means positioned to move the plurality of fibers from the hopper; and    an injector that receives fibers from the conveyor means and separates the fibers into an air stream.    
     
     
         2 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the hopper is mounted on one or more load cells.  
     
     
         3 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein both the hopper and the conveyor means are mounted on one or more load cells.  
     
     
         4 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conveyor means includes a plurality of flights projecting from a top portion of the conveyor means.  
     
     
         5 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of flights are configured in a zigzag pattern on the conveyor means.  
     
     
         6 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of flights are rectangular shaped projections.  
     
     
         7 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conveyor means is a flat top slat conveyor.  
     
     
         8 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the hopper includes an opening at a top portion for manually loading a plurality of fibers.  
     
     
         9 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the hopper is of a size suitable to hold up to about five cubic feet of fibers.  
     
     
         10 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the hopper is of a size suitable to hold up to about twenty-five cubic feet of fibers.  
     
     
         11 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the hopper is of a size suitable to hold up to about forty-five cubic feet of fibers.  
     
     
         12 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing to substantially enclose the conveyor means, the housing having an opening at a bottom portion of the housing located at one end of the conveyor means.  
     
     
         13 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a chute located below one end of the conveyor means to transfer fibers from the conveyor means to the injector.  
     
     
         14 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the injector is powered by a high-pressure fan.  
     
     
         15 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a pipe coupled to the injector to move the fibers into a transit mixer.  
     
     
         16 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a control panel to control an amount of fibers dispensed from the hopper.  
     
     
         17 . A fiber dispensing apparatus comprising: 
 a hopper to hold a plurality of fibers;    conveyor means positioned to move the plurality of fibers from the hopper;    at least one load cell to measure a weight of the hopper, the conveyor means, and the plurality of fibers; and    an injector to separate the plurality of fibers into an air stream.    
     
     
         18 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the conveyor means stops when the at least one load cell detects a predetermined loss in weight.  
     
     
         19 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising a control panel to control an amount of the plurality of fibers that are dispensed from the conveyor means.  
     
     
         20 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising a vertical pipe, wherein the injector blows the fibers through the vertical pipe directly into a transit mixer.  
     
     
         21 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising a chute provided between one end of the conveyor means and the injector to transfer the plurality of fibers from the conveyor means to the injector.  
     
     
         22 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising a plurality of flights projecting from a top portion of the conveyor means.  
     
     
         23 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the flights are configured in a zigzag pattern on the conveyor means.  
     
     
         24 . A fiber dispensing apparatus comprising: 
 a first hopper to hold a plurality of fibers;    conveyor means positioned to move the plurality of fibers from the first hopper;    a second hopper mounted on load cells to measure an amount of fibers received from the first hopper; and    an injector to receive the measured amount of fibers from the second hopper and separate the fibers into an air stream.    
     
     
         25 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 24 , further comprising a slide gate coupled to a bottom portion of the second hopper.  
     
     
         26 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 25 , further comprising a third hopper positioned below the slide gate.  
     
     
         27 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 24 , further comprising a rotating feed screw to feed the measured amount of fibers to the injector.  
     
     
         28 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising a separating wheel to separate the measured amount of fibers received from the rotating feed screw.  
     
     
         29 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 24 , wherein the conveyor means includes a plurality of flights projecting from the conveyor means.  
     
     
         30 . The fiber dispensing apparatus of  claim 29 , wherein the plurality of flights are configured in a zigzag pattern.  
     
     
         31 . A fiber dispensing apparatus comprising: 
 hopper means for containing a plurality of fibers;    conveyor means for moving the plurality of fibers from the hopper means; and    means for separating the plurality of fibers.