Reciprocating slat conveyors

Abstract

In a walking floor reciprocating slat conveyor having a plurality of floor beams to support a load, and being longitudinally reciprocal to move the load longitudinally to an unloaded condition, and being supported by a transverse subfloor, having guides to control movement of the floor beams, and bearing/seal devices mounted to the subfloor and in bearing and sealing contact with the floor beams to prevent material that is part of the load supported by the floor beams from migrating below the floor beams.

Having thus discussed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, what is claimed is:  
     
       1. A walking  reciprocating floor system for use in moving a load, which includes bulk particulate materials or the like,  disposed in a designated area; , comprising:  
       a plurality of floor beams, said floor beams being adapted for supporting particulate materials thereon, and moving said load to an unloaded position, each said floor beam terminating in opposed vertically disposed side walls, said floor beams being disposed in side by side relation, and each being reciprocal along a longitudinal axis;  
       a subfloor, said subfloor comprising a series of support members for supporting said floor beams for reciprocal movement relative thereto;  
       guide means for guiding the movement of each said floor beams  beam along a predetermined path, each said guide means being secured to one said support members  member, each said floor beam further having a pair of depending opposed L shaped  L- shaped  members, said L shaped  L- shaped  members being disposed about one of said guide means for controlled directional movement there along when the floor beams reciprocate; and  
       means defining a bearing/seal, said bearing/seal being mounted to said subfloor, and contacting the vertically disposed sidewalls  side walls of said floor beams to provide bearing support therefor, and to thereby serve as a seal against the  inadvertent passage of the particulate material disposed on the walking  floor beams from its  a position on the floor beams to a place there beneath  therebeneath.  
     
     
       2. The novel  apparatus of claim  1 , wherein said bearing/seal is secured to said support members in a position between adjacent said guide means. 
     
     
       3. The novel  apparatus of claim  2 , wherein each said bearing/seal includes a base member, said base member having a flat seal plate thereon, each said seal plate  side wall of said floor beams terminating in a downwardly extending ear being so positioned relative to said floor beams that said ears contact  contacts said seal plate in a bearing and sealing relation. 
     
     
       4. The novel  apparatus of claim  1 , wherein each of said floor beams further has a flat, upwardly facing support surface thereon, each of  said flat supporting  support surfaces of said floor beams together defining a floor for supporting particulate material thereon. 
     
     
       5. The novel apparatus of claim  1 , wherein said support members are aligned transversely to said floor beams. 
     
     
       6. The novel  apparatus of claim  5 , wherein said support members are spaced apart from one another. 
     
     
       7. The novel  apparatus of claim  1 , wherein said bearing/seal comprises a base member, said base member being secured to said subfloor, and a seal plate, said seal plate being fitted to the  an upper end of said base member so as to be in sealing and bearing contact with said side walls of an aligned  a said floor beam. 
     
     
       8. The novel  apparatus of claim  1 , wherein each said side wall of said floor beams is formed with a depending ear, said ear being in bearing contact with said bearing/seal. 
     
     
       9. The novel  apparatus of claim  3 , wherein each said ear forms a groove in said seal plate as said floor beams reciprocate, said groove  ear having surfaces and said ear surfaces creating groove surfaces that match the surfaces of said ear, increasing the surface contact therebetween to thereby enhance the sealing and bearing relationship  relation therebetween. 
     
     
       10. The novel  apparatus of claim  7 , wherein said seal plate is formed of a high molecular weight resinous material. 
     
     
       11. A walking  reciprocating floor system for use in a moving bulk particulate materials or the like,  disposed in a designated area; , comprising: 
       a plurality of floor beams, each of said floor beams having a flat, essentially horizontally disposed upper surface, said floor beams being adapted for supporting and moving particulate material placed thereon, each said floor beam terminating in opposed vertically disposed side walls, said floor beams being disposed in side by side relation, and each being reciprocal along a longitudinal axis;  
       a subfloor, said subfloor comprising a series of support members, said support members being disposed transverse to the longitudinal axes of said floor beams, and positioned for supporting said floor beams for reciprocal movement relative thereto;  
       guide means for guiding the movement of each said floor beams  beam along a predetermined path, each said guide means being secured to one said support members  member, each said floor beam further having a pair of depending opposed L shaped  L- shaped  members, said L shaped  L- shaped  members being disposed about an associated one of said guide means for controlled directional movement there along when the floor beams reciprocate; and  
       means defining a bearing/seal, said bearing/seal being mounted to said subfloor on opposite sides of an associated guide means, and contacting the vertically disposed side walls of said floor beams to provide bearing support therefor, and to thereby serve as a seal against the  inadvertent passage of particulate material disposed on the walking  reciprocating floor conveyor from its position on the floor  conveyor to a place there beneath  therebeneath.  
     
     
       12. The novel  apparatus of claim  11 , wherein said bearing/seal comprises a base member, said base member being secured to said subfloor, and a seal plate, said seal plate being fitted to the  an upper end of said base member so as to be in sealing and bearing contact with said side walls of an aligned floor beam  floor beams above the seal plate. 
     
     
       13. The novel  apparatus of claim  11 , wherein each said side wall of each said floor beams  beam is formed with a depending ear, said ear being in bearing contact with a said bearing/seal. 
     
     
       14. The novel  apparatus of claim  13 , wherein each said ear forms a groove in its said seal plate as said floor beams reciprocate, said groove  ear creating groove surfaces that match the surfaces of said ear, increasing the  surface contact therebetween to thereby enhance the  a sealing and bearing relationship therebetween. 
     
     
       15. The novel  apparatus of claim  12 , wherein each said side wall of each said floor beams  beam is formed with a depending ear, said ear being in bearing contact with a said bearing/seal. 
     
     
       16. The novel  apparatus of claim  15 , wherein each said ear forms a groove in its said seal plate as said floor beams reciprocate, said groove  ear creating groove surfaces that match the  surfaces of said ear, increasing the  surface contact therebetween to thereby enhance the  a sealing and bearing relationship therebetween. 
     
     
       17. The novel  apparatus of claim  12 , wherein said seal plate is formed of a high molecular weight resinous material. 
     
     
       18. A reciprocating slat conveyor for conveying a load that includes particulate material, said conveyor comprising: 
         a plurality of side - by - side conveyor slats that are movable longitudinally in a first direction, for conveying the load, and are retracted longitudinally in the opposite direction;    
         each said conveyor slat having a load engaging upper region including a pair of substantially horizontal, upper side portions, each with a lower surface and a longitudinal edge - forming portion, depending below said lower surface and including a lower edge;    
       
         a base structure including a plurality of longitudinal guide members, one for each said conveyor slat, and a plurality of longitudinal slat support members, one for each pair of adjacent upper side portions of said conveyor slats;  
       
       
         each said slat support member being positioned below an adjacent pair of said slat upper side portions and including an upwardly directed, hard plastic bearing/seal surface; and  
       
       
         each said lower edge contacting and sliding along a said upwardly directed bearing/seal surface that is below said lower edge,  
       
       
         wherein by this contacting, each lower edge and the bearing/seal surface below it seals against passage of said particulate material from a region above the conveyor slats to a region below the conveyor slats, and weight of the conveyor slats and the load on the conveyor slats is transmitted downwardly from the conveyor slats onto the slat support members. 
       
     
     
       19. The conveyor of claim  18 , wherein each said lower edge forms a groove in the bearing/seal surface on which the lower edge slides, as its conveyor slat reciprocates, said lower edge creating surfaces that match the surfaces of said lower edge, increasing surface contact therebetween to thereby enhance a sealing and bearing relationship therebetween. 
     
     
       20. The conveyor of claim  18 , further including an open material avenue extending laterally from each said lower edge, across the bearing/seal surface on which the one lower edge is supported, to an open space that is laterally between the slat support member on which the one bearing/seal surface is situated and the conveyor slat that includes one said lower edge.