Continuous bulk bag discharging facility

Abstract

An installation and method for rapidly and efficiently unloading material from bulk bags in an unloading station surrounded by an air lock enclosure while the bags move suspended from a closed look conveyer in continuous progress from a loading station to said unloading station then through a bag dumping station. The material is dumped on an air slide and directed into a trough from which it is conveyed to a temporary tank before being repackaged in smaller containers or otherwise distributed.

1 . An installation for unloading material from bulk bags, gathering said unloaded material and conveying it to a storage tank, said installation comprising:
 a bag loading station (BLS);   a bag unloading station (BUS);   an empty bag dumping station (BDS);   a closed loop conveyer (CLC) for transporting said bags along a closed circuit path from said BLS, through said BUS and to said BDS;   in said BUS, a bag ripping means (BRM) and a material gathering facility (MGF); and
 wherein said bags are loaded, emptied and dumped as they successively enter said stations. 
   
   
   
       2 . The installation of  claim 1 , wherein said BRM comprises at least one tool sized and positioned to come in ripping contact with a lower portion of each of said bags. 
   
   
       3 . The installation of  claim 2 , wherein said tool comprises a rotating blade. 
   
   
       4 . The installation of  claim 2 , wherein said tool comprises a vertically adjustable support. 
   
   
       5 . The installation of  claim 2 , wherein said BUS further comprises a bag shaking device (BSD). 
   
   
       6 . The installation of  claim 5 , wherein said BSD comprises at least one barrier sized and positioned to momentarily contact said bags as they move past said tool. 
   
   
       7 . The installation of  claim 6 , wherein said BSD further comprises a plurality of said barriers disposed at a different heights at spaced apart intervals along said path. 
   
   
       8 . The installation of  claim 2 , wherein said BUS further comprises an airlock enclosure. 
   
   
       9 . The installation of  claim 2 , wherein said MGF comprises a material collecting pit and means for moving material from said pit to said storage tank. 
   
   
       10 . The installation of  claim 9 , wherein said pit comprises:
 a slide under said tool and said BSD;   a trough at the end of said slide; and   means for conveying material out of said trough to said tank.   
   
   
       11 . An installation for unloading material from bulk bags, gathering said unloaded material and conveying it to a temporary storage tank, said installation comprising:
 a bag loading station (BLS);   a bag unloading station (BUS);   an empty bag dumping station (BDS);   a closed loop conveyer (CLC) for transporting said bags along a closed circuit path from said BLS, through said BUS and to said BDS;   in said BUS, a bag ripping means (BRM) and a material gathering facility (MGF); and
 wherein said bags are loaded, emptied and dumped as they continuously move through said stations. 
   
   
   
       12 . The installation of  claim 11 , wherein said BRM comprises at least one tool sized and positioned to come in ripping contact with a lower portion of each of said bags. 
   
   
       13 . The installation of  claim 12  wherein said BLS comprises means for lifting the bags according to their sizes for ease or attachment to said conveyer. 
   
   
       14 . The installation of  claim 12 , wherein said tool comprises at least two rotating sawing blades positioned astride said lower portion. 
   
   
       15 . The installation of  claim 12 , wherein said BUS further comprises a bag shaking device (BSD) including at least one barrier sized and positioned to momentarily contact said bags as they move past said tool. 
   
   
       16 . The installation of  claim 15 , wherein said BSD further comprises a plurality of said barriers disposed at a different heights at spaced apart intervals along said path. 
   
   
       17 . The installation of  claim 12  wherein said storage tank comprises a silo having a plurality of delivery chutes. 
   
   
       18 . The installation of  claim 12 , wherein said BUS further comprises an airlock enclosure and means for maintaining a negative air pressure within said enclosure. 
   
   
       19 . The installation of  claim 17 , wherein said MGF comprises a material collecting pit and means for moving material from said pit to said silo. 
   
   
       20 . The installation of  claim 19 , wherein said pit comprises:
 an air slide under said tool and said BSD;   a trough at the end of said slide; and   means for conveying material out of said trough to said silo.   
   
   
       21 . A method for emptying contents of bulk bags which comprises:
 at a bag loading station (BLS), loading said bags on closed loop conveyer passing through a bag unloading station (BUS) and a bag dumping station (BDS);   at said BUS, ripping open a lower portion of said bags to unload said contents into a material gathering facility (MGF);   at said BDS, removing said bags from said conveyer; and   performing said steps during continuous progress of said conveyer through said stations.   
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 21  which further comprises moving said material from said MGF to a storage tank. 
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 21  which further comprises performing said step of ripping in an enclosure, and maintaining a negative air pressure inside said enclosure. 
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein said step of ripping comprises cutting a slit through said lower portion with a rotating blade positioned in the path of said bags. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 23  which further comprises shaking said bags after ripping in said enclosure. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 22  which further comprises dispensing said material out of said tank to a pluralities of means.