Loosening device for bulk products as a discharge aid for containers

摘要

The invention relates to a loosening device for bulk products, in particular for non-free-flowing or cohesive bulk products, as a discharge aid for containers, in particular silos and hoppers. According to the invention, the loosening device consists of a dual-walled, flexible, conical or cylindrical hollow body which is embedded in a bearing construction and surrounds the column of bulk products situated in a container. According to the invention, the flexible hollow body is provided with two or more feed connections for a pressure medium, which serve for applying superpressure, atmospheric pressure and negative pressure alternately to the hollow body. According to the invention, this results in the flexible hollow body having three different basic shapes depending on the type of pressure selected, specifically an inflated shape when superpressure is applied, the relaxed basic shape when atmospheric pressure is applied and a shrunken shape when negative pressure is applied. A control device, covered by Patent Application No. P 3231759.5, allows negative pressure, atmospheric pressure and superpressure to be applied alternately to the flexible hollow body, which results, due to the alternate inflating and shrinking of the flexible hollow body, in a pulsating, sinusoidally moving function sequence which can be equated to a breathing effect. By means of this pulsating breathing effect of the flexible hollow body surrounding the column of bulk products, negative types of flow characteristics of bulk products, in particular the formation of bridges of bulk products, dead zones and caking on container walls are avoided.