A bucket and a corresponding bucket elevator, the bucket has a bucket wall surrounding a filling and discharge opening and having a rear wall and a front bucket wall, the front bucket wall having a front edge delimiting the filling and discharge opening, and the bucket being connectable to a conveyor device via the rear wall, wherein the ratio between the bucket depth, which corresponds to the horizontal distance between the rear wall and the front edge, and the bucket height, which corresponds to the vertical distance between a bucket low point and the front edge, is greater than 1, preferably greater than 1.3, more preferably greater than 1.5.

A deployable bulk material distribution apparatus for discharging from a designated height an amount of a flowable bulk material into a discharge location is provided. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises an auger section; a bucket elevator section configured so as to be movable between: an upright position; and a reclined position wherein the bucket elevator section is substantially reclined for transport; and a joint assembly coupling the exit aperture of the auger section to the boot inlet of the bucket elevator section so as to allow the flowable bulk material to move from the exit aperture to the boot inlet when the bucket elevator section is in the upright position, the joint assembly being rotatably coupled to the boot inlet. The auger section and container operable to freely move along the bucket elevator section when it is moved between the upright and reclined positions.

A bucket elevator adjustable guide system for efficiently transferring and dispensing particulate material from a bucket elevator includes a head housing connected to the bucket elevator, an adjustable guide member disposed therein, an extendable and retractable adjustment member connected to the guide member, a remotely controllable drive unit coupled to the adjustment member, and a remote control. The head housing receives buckets of particulate material to be dispensed from the bucket elevator. The guide member extends in a curved arc over the buckets to engage and guide discharged particulate material into a discharge chute. Remote controls enable the drive unit to be manually or automatically controlled to cause the adjustment member to extend or retract to adjust the position and configuration of the guide member and affect the transfer and dispensing of the particulate material without physically accessing the adjustment member.

The invention relates to a device and a method for controlling a steep conveyor, comprising a control unit (15), a conveyor drive system (5) for driving a conveyor belt (2), and a sensor unit for determining a weight G.sub.1-n of the material to be conveyed (4) assigned to a predetermined section T.sub.1-n of the conveyor belt (2), wherein the sensor unit is adapted to transmit information about the weight to the control unit (15), wherein the control unit (15) is adapted to determine from the information about the weight G.sub.1-n a length L.sub.1-n assigned to the predetermined section T.sub.1-n in a steep conveyor region S of the conveyor belt (2) and to adjust a strain of a drive belt (2) of the conveyor drive system (5) based on the determined lengths L.sub.1-n assigned to the predetermined sections T.sub.1-n.

A cart-type transporting device has a first endless chain and a second endless chain that move in conjunction with and parallel to one another in a lifting/lowering pathway section, and the first and second endless chains have engaging parts. A transporting cart has engaged parts that engage with the engaging parts of the first endless chain in a horizontal pathway section In the first endless chain, the engaging parts are provided at regular intervals, and the engaging parts of the first endless chain and the engaged parts of the transporting cart are detachably fitted together such that the transporting cart can be attached/detached in the vertical direction in the horizontal pathway section.

An apparatus is provided for feeding slurry to a recycling or slurry treatment process at an elevated location. The apparatus includes a reception hopper for receiving the slurry from a transport vehicle, and a bucket elevator for conveying the slurry from a loading zone, in communication with the reception hopper, to a discharge zone at an elevated location. The reception hopper includes a trough having parallel side walls and a bottom wall. The loading zone of the bucket elevator communicates with a first end of the trough, the trough including a movable wall extending perpendicular to the side walls of the reception hopper and being movable towards the first end of the trough to urge slurry towards the loading zone of the bucket elevator.

A bucket elevator adjustable guide system for efficiently transferring and dispensing particulate material from a bucket elevator includes a head housing connected to the bucket elevator, an adjustable guide member disposed therein, an extendable and retractable adjustment member connected to the guide member, a remotely controllable drive unit coupled to the adjustment member, and a remote control. The head housing receives buckets of particulate material to be dispensed from the bucket elevator. The guide member extends in a curved arc over the buckets to engage and guide discharged particulate material into a discharge chute. Remote controls enable the drive unit to be manually or automatically controlled to cause the adjustment member to extend or retract to adjust the position and configuration of the guide member and affect the transfer and dispensing of the particulate material without physically accessing the adjustment member.

A belt tension-reducing device is provided, which includes a support member; a pliable central wheel assembly configured to engage a both downwardly and upwardly moving portions of the conveyor belt; first and second outboard roller assemblies positioned to engage the downwardly and upwardly moving portions, respectively. A second effective rolling radius of the pliable central wheel assembly at a contact point with the upwardly moving portion of the conveyor belt can be greater than a first effective rolling radius of the pliable central wheel assembly at a contact point with the downwardly moving portion of the conveyor belt to reduce stresses on the belt in a vertical shaft. The belt tension-reducing devices can be arranged in a stacked configuration within the vertical shaft.

A vertical packaging machine that includes a forming tube having an inner passage section and retaining means associated with the forming tube. The retaining means includes a retaining device configured to be displaced between a blocking position (P1) in which it at least partially blocks the inner passage section of the forming tube, and a release position (P2) in which it does not block said inner passage section of the forming tube. While in the blocking position (P1), the retaining device is arranged at a fixed specific height and is configured to prevent a product from passing through the inner passage section of the forming tube. Upon transitioning to the release position (P2), the retaining device is withdrawn from the path to be followed by the product.

A system and method for material conveyor bucket wear monitoring. A material conveyor system elevator bucket comprising a back wall, opposed sidewalls, a bottom wall curving upward into a front wall spaced from the back wall, a lip, a volume of space, and at least one wear monitor affixed to the elevator bucket, wherein the wear monitor transmits information using electromagnetic fields.