The invention relates to a lance for fluidizing slow-moving material , e.g. pulverulent material . The Swedish patent specification 7309287-6 (publica¬ tion number 374 079) describes an activator of pulsator type for fluidizing pulverulent or other slow-moving ma¬ terial . This type of activator can be mounted to the sides or the bottom of containers or discharge chutes in order to breake up slow-moving material in the container or the chute so that the material will be fluidized so as to be emptied from the container or to flow along the chute, vault formation and jamming of the material thus being prevented. The activator has been found to be very efficient in practice and can be used in containers and chutes of different types because it can be easily adap¬ ted to the shape of the surfaces where it is to be mounted However, it has been found that there are nevertheless occasions where even this prior art activator fails, viz. where the slow-moving material has to be flown through narrow passages wherein there is no sufficient space for . mounting the activator so close to the passage that the activator can effectively actuate and fluidize the mate¬ rial in the passage. The object of the invention is to provide a device which is complementary to the prior art activator so that also such locations in a container or a discharge chute that are difficult to. aster can be reached for an efficient fluidization of the slow-moving material, and in order to achieve this object there is provided a lance havinπ the characteristics appearing from claim 1. This lance will be termed pulsator lance below.

The pulsator lance according to the invention can be realized in many different embodiments for specific use thereof, and in order to explain the invention in

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more detail several embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG 1 is a perspective view of the end portion of the lance in a first embodiment thereof, FIG 2 is a cross-sectional view along line II - II in FIG 1 ,

FIG 3 is a perspective view of a dismountable por¬ tion at one end of the lance and shows a second embodiment of the invention, FIG 4 is a cross-sectional view along line IV - IV in FIG 3,

FIG 5 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG 3 of a third embodiment,

FIG 6 is a cross-sectional view along line VI - VI in FIG 5,

FIG 7 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG 3 of a fourth embodiment,

FIG 8 is a cross-sectional view along line VIII -

- VIII in FIG 7, FIG 9 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG 3 of a fifth embodiment of the invention, and

FIG 10 is a cross-sectional view along line X - X in FIG 9.

Referring to FIGs 1 and 2 the pulsator lance accord- ing to the invention disclosed therein comprises a shaft 10 formed by a conduit tube of proper length; only a small part of the tube has been shown in FIG 1. An end portion generally designated 11 is removably secured to the conduit tube 10. This end portion comprises a tube piece 12 forming one half of a quick-coupling the other half 13 of which is arranged on the tube 10 such that the end portion can be easily secured to the tube and dis¬ mounted therefrom. An elongated loop or yoke 14 of rod or tube material is secured to the tube piece 12, and a bag or hose 16 is passed onto the loop or yoke said bag

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or hose comprising a suitable air permeable fabric, e.g. a fabric of a synthetic material. The fabric is secured by means of a hose clamp 17 which clamps the fabric around the tube piece 12. The fabric 16 thus is maintained in a stretched condition by means of the loop or yoke 14, and the space, designated 18 in FIG 2, defined inside the fabric communicates through the tube piece 12 with the interior of the conduit tube 10.

A pulsator not shown herein is connected to the conduit tube at the other end thereof, and the lance should be connected to a proper source of pressurized air via this pulsator for the supply of pulses of pressur¬ ized air through the conduit tube 10 to the space 18. These pulses of pressurized air preferably having a frequency ranging from 10 to 40 Hz, escape through the fabric 16 mechanical movement at the same time being imparted to the fabric by the pulsating air.

The end portion 11 of the lance can be introduced into slow-moving material, e.g. pulverulent material, and due to the emitted pulses of pressurized air pene¬ trating into the material and the simultaneous movement of the fabric there is obtained an efficient fluidization of the material around the end portion 11. The pulsator can be connected as a separate unit to the conduit tube 10 but it can also be r ^* ounted in the conduit tube such that the pulsator lance can be connected directly to a ter¬ minal for the supply of pressurized air. The hose clamp 17 which may comprise a common clamp of the v n type, makes possible to dismount easily the fabric 16 fo replace- ent if the fabric has been worn or damaged but also for cleaning or sterilization which may be desirable in some cases, particularly in the food industry, the pharma¬ ceutical industry and some chemical industries. The quick- coupling between the conduit tube 10 and the end portion 11 moreover makes possible to dismount the entire end

portion for sterilization.

As mentioned above the fabric can comprise a synthe¬ tic material, e.g. PERLON, but it can also comprise a wire netting and it is also possible to replace said fab- ric by a thin sheet material or thin metal sheet having a small-bored and closely spaced perforation. All these different types of material are included by the generic term "air permeable diaphragm" which has been used in the claims. The purpose of the air permeable diaphragm is to spread the air and to prevent the slow-moving mate¬ rial from penetrating into the tube 10 and the space communicating therewith and to perform at the same time a mechanical movement under the influence of the air pul¬ ses, and every material besides those mentioned herein, which can operate in this manner can be used in the pul¬ sator lance according to the invention.

The end portion is flat as shown in FIGs 1 and 2 but it can also be curved or angled depending on the place of use of the pulsator lance. It should always have the form which is best suited for the space where it shall operate for fluidization of slow-moving material.

In FIGs 3 and 4 which are now referred to, there is shown a development of the embodiment according to FIGs 1 and 2 the fabric 16 formed as a hose, being passed over two loops or yokes 14A and 14B which are secured to the tube piece 12 at right angles to each other. The space 18 as a consequence thereof will be considerably larger, and the pulsator lance will have four operating surfaces in¬ stead of two only as in FIGs 1 and 2. The intention is, of course, that the end portion according to FIGs 3 and 4 shall be mounted to the conduit tube 10 by means of the quick-coupling 12, 13 in the same manner as described above. This end portion provides a more efficient fluidi¬ zation than the embodiment according to FIGs 1 and 2 but on the other hand said end portion nay be difficult to

apply in narrow spaces.

The number of loops or yokes can be more than two, as shown in FIGs 3 and 4. In this embodiment the end por¬ tion 11 can be tapered at the free end, e.g. conical or pyramidical, but it can also be spherically curved at this end.

In FIGs 5 and 6 there is shown another modification of the embodiment in FIGs 1 and 2 wherein the loop or yoke 14 is replaced by a plate or "paddle" 19 in which there is provided a longitudinal central passage 20 com¬ municating with the conduit tube 10 through the tube piece 12 when the end portion is connected to the conduit tube. From the passage 20 transverse passages 21 extend to the two flat sides of the plate. The fabric 16 also in this case formed as a hose, is passed over the plate and is fixed by means of the hose clamp 17, and the opera¬ tion of this embodiment of the pulsator lance is the same as that previously described.

The embodiment according to FIGs 7 and 8 may be said to be a modification of the embodiment of FIGs 3 and 4, the space 18 being defined by a tube 22 having square cross-sectional form. The tube 22 has end walls one of which is shown at 23 and is connected to the tube piece 12 forming a socket for connection to the space 18. A corresponding end wall is arranged at the other end to completely close that end of the tube 22. At said other end the end wall may have pyramidical form so as to faci¬ litate the insertion of the pulsator ₅ laπce into the slow-moving material. However, it is within the scope of the invention to arrange an opening in said end wall, which is covered by a fabric of the same type as that mentioned above, so that the pulsator lance provides a fluidizing action also at said end. The main fluidizing action in the embodiment according to FIGs 7 and 8 is obtained, however, by the tube 22 having a number of

openings 24 in the four sides thereof, these openings be¬ ing covered by means of .a fabric 16 of the type mentioned, above, which is secured to the tube by means of frames, flat irons or angle irons 25 fixed by screws to the tube 22 in order to clamp the fabric. In this case the fabric does not comprise a hose but rectangular pieces of fabric. The frames, flat irons or angle irons 25 not only secure the fabric but also form a protecting edge lining on the end portion where the edges are particularly exposed when the pulsator lance is being used. The tube 22 is shown to have square cross-sectional form but it can also have circular or other cross-sectional form.

Finally, there is shown in FIGs 9 and 10 an embodiment of the end portion which may be particularly well suited for fluidization of slow-moving material in conveyor chutes or the like. In this case three bars 26 - or tubes - are arrenged in a triangle said bars being connected to the tube piece 12 at one end thereof and being joined to form a taper 27 at the other end thereof, said taper being curved in a greater or less degree. In this case the fabric 16 is again formed by a hose which is passed over the bars 16 and is secured to the tube piece 12 by means of the hose clamp 17. However, a screen 28 is secured by means of slotted clamp sockets 29 or the like to the frame formed by the bars 26 on the outside of the fabric 16, and this screen has a shape which follows the shape of the V for¬ med by the triangularly arranged bars 26 so as to keep the fabric 16 down such that it follows the V-shape. In this manner the fabric 16 defines a V-shaped space 18 and the end portion forms a V-shaped chute tapering to¬ wards the free end.

As will be gathered from the embodiments described the invention provides a pulsator lance which can be used in many ways due to the possibility of using end portions shaped in different ways and each particularly

suitable for the purpose thereof. The pulsator lance according to the invention therefore is much more efficien than such prior art lances which consist of a tube only, open at one end thereof, for the supply of pressurized air. Such lances provide no fluidization in the surround¬ ings of the lance; they only produce a hole through the slow-moving material.

In the first place the pulsator lance is intended to be a separate implement which can be applied where it is needed but it is also conceivable to more permanently install the pulsator larce. For example the ance can be pivotally mounted in the lid of a container so as to have the end portion in the outlet passage located at the bottom of the container so that a swinging c: oscillating movement can be imparted to the pulsator lance when it is being used.

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