US 11,806,757 B2
Slack separation apparatus and method
Michael Bron, Helmond (NL); and Ruud Schepens, Schijndel (NL)
Assigned to ISHIDA EUROPE LIMITED, Birmingham (GB)
Appl. No. 17/280,832
Filed by ISHIDA EUROPE LIMITED, Birmingham (GB)
PCT Filed Oct. 31, 2019, PCT No. PCT/GB2019/053085
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 26, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/089632, PCT Pub. Date May 7, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1817805 (GB), filed on Oct. 31, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0001422 A1, Jan. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. B07B 13/05 (2006.01)
CPC B07B 13/05 (2013.01) 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hopper for diverting excess slack away from a mixture of product and slack, the hopper comprising a first gate moveable between open and closed positions and a retaining wall, wherein the first gate is configured such that:
when the first gate is in the open position a first path is provided for contents of the hopper, comprising a mixture of product and slack, to exit the hopper; and
when the first gate is in the closed position the first path is closed by the first gate so that product is retained in the hopper and a second path, different from the first path, is provided for slack to exit the hopper; and
wherein there is a lateral offset between where contents of the hopper exit the hopper via the first path and where slack exits the hopper via the second path;
the hopper being further configured such that, when the first gate is in the closed position, the first gate and the retaining wall slope towards one another, with the retaining wall stopping short of the first gate to form a gap and the first gate extending beyond where the first gate and the retaining wall would otherwise intersect such that a distal end of the first gate is laterally offset from the lower end of the retaining wall.