ELEVATOR

摘要

An elevator for farm produce or other articles includes a pair of continuous entrainments each having a series of spaced members, such as rods or rollers, supported by continuous bands. One entrainment is mounted within the other and the inner entrainment is slack over an ascending section so that it normally sags towards a corresponding section of the outer entrainments. When the entrainments are driven, material is picked up by the outer entrainment as it passes around inside a hopper. This travels up the ascending section whereby the slack section of the inner entrainment moves away from the corresponding section of the outer entrainment so that the material is elevated as a rising column. The inner entrainment takes up a natural spacing from the outer entrainment over the elevating sections. The lower end of the inner entrainment may form a converging inlet to assist initial elevation and its upper end may form a diverging outlet to assist in releasing the material at an outlet. The lower end of the inner entrainment may include an idler which is mounted on a radius arm or which is supported at each side in a slot or groove. Conveyors are also described for moving material from a heap into the inlet or hopper of the elevator and for moving material away from the outlet of the elevator.