Importance

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Abstract

A mobile bucket mechanism for collection and conveyance of a bulk material which includes buckets carried by chains over generally vertically arranged sheaves, a support structure for the sheaves which drives the chains to move the buckets in a path to collect bulk material located at a lower end of the path. A feeding device is driven by the support structure to cut into the bulk material and feed the bulk material to the buckets. The feeding device includes a stationary, jacket-like cylindrical body surrounding the path of the buckets and the lower portion of the supporting structure. The cylindrical body has an opening adjacent a portion of the path along which the buckets are carried upward by the chains. A cutting head surrounds the cylindrical body and has essentially radially oriented blades rotatable with respect to the cylindrical body so as to supply the bulk material to the opening. In the preferred embodiment, a ball bearing equipped rotary connection to the supporting structure has an upper ring connected with the supporting structure and a lower ring supporting the cutting head. The supporting structure has a supporting ring which is fastened to the cylindrical body. Since all cuts provided by the mechanism are generated by the rotating cutting head and are transmitted directly into the supporting structure by way of the ball bearing equipped rotary connection, the forces on the buckets and their guides are relieved. The buckets then perform only a scooping and not a cutting movement.

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First Claim