TRICKLING DEVICE

Abstract

In a trickling apparatus (1) for producing thin vertical surfaces of a pressure-sensitive trickling material that floats downwards, the trickling material is received in a supply container (2) having an electrically driven roller (5) located underneath or in the supply container. The roller (5) has a smooth surface (8) and cams (9) on said surface that pick up and release the trickling material. When the roller or the tube (5) rotates, the material trickles into the open through the opening (4) in the base of the supply container (2).

Claims

1. Trickling apparatus for pressure-sensitive trickling material, which is intended for producing, as a visual effect, thin vertical, curtain-like surfaces of material that floats downwards, and which has a supply container (2) for the trickling material, an elongate slit-shaped opening (4) formed on the lower end of the supply container (2) for releasing the trickling material, a roller (5) that is located underneath or above the slit-shaped opening (4), is driven by a motor, is rotatable about a rotational axis and has substantially a smooth and sealed roller surface (8) on which a plurality of small cams (9) or rods (14) are arranged that protrude from the roller surface (8).

2. Trickling apparatus according to claim 1, comprising flexible sealing elements (10) that are arranged on the longitudinal edges of the slit-shaped opening (4), which extend in the direction of the rotational axis, slide on the roller surface (8) and are designed to avoid the cams (9) or rods (14) or have recesses in the region of the movement paths of the cams (9) or rods (14).

3. Trickling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of elongate slit-shaped openings is formed on the lower end of the supply container (2), which are of such a size that the trickling material in the supply container does not trickle through the openings by itself when the apparatus is not in operation, the rotatable roller (5) being arranged inside the supply container (2) and above the slit-shaped openings in such a way that trickling material is transported through the openings into the open by the rods (14) sliding past.

4. Trickling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein elongate slit-shaped openings (304) are formed on the lower end of the supply container and each extend in the direction of the movement path of a rod (14) associated with the slit-shaped opening (304), and wherein the rods (14) are moved through the openings (304) when the roller (5) is rotated.

Description

[0021] The invention is described in greater detail in the following with reference to embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings, in which:

[0022] FIG. 1 is a cross section of a trickling apparatus according to concept A,

[0023] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according to FIG. 1,

[0024] FIG. 3 is a cross section of the arrangement according to concept B,

[0025] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according to FIG. 3,

[0026] FIG. 5 is a cross section of a trickling apparatus according to concept C,

[0027] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according to FIG. 5,

[0028] FIG. 7 is a cross section of a further embodiment of a trickling apparatus according to the invention,

[0029] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the trickling apparatus according to FIG. 7.

[0030] In the following description of the figures, the same reference numerals are used for parts that correspond to one another.

[0031] The trickling apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 comprises a supply container 2 that is open at the top, has a cuboid basic shape and is intended for receiving trickling material. The supply container 2 is tapered in the shape of a funnel at its lower end by sloped base walls 3 and comprises, at its lowest point, a rectangular, slit-shaped opening 4 that extends in the longitudinal direction.

[0032] Underneath the opening 4, there is a roller 5 that is rotatably mounted on the end walls 6 of the supply container 2, which are extended downwards beyond the opening 4, and that can be driven by an electric motor 7 attached to the supply container 2. The roller 5 is sealed at its surface, has a cylindrical roller surface 8 and is provided with a smooth roller surface on its exterior. A plurality of pin-like protrusions or cams 9 are attached to the roller 5 and are arranged at a regular distance from one another.

[0033] The rotational axis of the roller 5 extends in parallel with the longitudinal edges of the opening 4, and there are gaps between the longitudinal edges and the roller surface that are closed off by flexible sealing elements 10. The sealing elements 10 are secured to the edges of the opening 4 and have portions that abut the roller surface 8 and are formed by brushes 11. The purpose of the sealing elements 10 is to retain trickling material carried along by the roller 5 when said roller rotates. The cams 9 pick up individual flakes during the rotational movement and transport them through the sealing elements 10 into the open.

[0034] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show a trickling apparatus 101 which is appropriate in particular for large-flaked trickling material and in which the roller 5 consists of a comparatively thin, cylindrical tube from which rods 14 oriented at right angles to the rotational axis and arranged at a distance from one another protrude. The exposed length of the rods 14 corresponds approximately to the external diameter of the roller 5. The rods can thus be freely moved through the brushes 11 of the sealing elements 10 provided that the brushes 11 are provided with bristles of an appropriate length. As in the trickling apparatus 1, the rotational axis of the roller is, here too, located underneath the opening 4, approximately in the line of intersection of two planes that extend the base walls 3.

[0035] In the trickling apparatus 201 shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the roller 5 designed similarly to the trickling apparatus 101 is located above the opening 4 inside the supply container 2. The opening 4 is closed off by a grate 15, the openings of which are of such a size that the trickling material in the supply container 2 does not fall through the grate openings by itself when the apparatus is not in operation. However, when the roller 5 is rotated, the agitation of the trickling material thus provoked causes the material to pass through the grate 15 in doses, as is favourable for the effect of snow.

[0036] In the trickling apparatus 301 shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the supply container 2 is provided with a flat base wall 3 that comprises slit-shaped openings 304 that extend perpendicularly to the rotational axis of the roller 5 at a regular distance from one another. The openings 304 are each located underneath a point on the roller 5 which is provided with two diametrical rods 14. Here, the length of the rods 14 is greater than the distance of the roller 5 from the base wall 3 such that, when the roller 5 rotates, the ends of the rods 14 penetrate the openings 304 and the rods are pushed therethrough. In this way, the rods 14 cause the trickling material to be actively fed through the openings 304.