American Can Company

Donald Henry Ruge

Walter J Sieverin

Raymond E Mietz

William Herman Hartman

John R Peschke

Flow control apparatus and method for controlling the flow of gravity fed substantially cylindrical objects through a gravity runway wherein a starwheel, a star-shaped ferrous pulse rotor and a ferrous rotor are each spaced from each other and axially fixed to a free wheeling shaft mounted in a frame connected to a gravity runway such that the starwheel lobes jut into and rotate through the gravity runway. Each starwheel lobe engages each of a successive line of gravity cans as the cans fall through the runway. A magnetic sensor is mounted on the frame near the star-shaped pulse rotor such that as cans free fall past the starwheels and rotate the free wheeling shaft star points on the pulse rotor rotate past the sensor and disturb the sensor's emitted magnetic field. For each disturbance, the sensor emits an electrical pulse signal. Each pulse signal is transmitted to stator coils which extend radially inward on a fixed stator housing concentrically surrounding the rotor such that each pulse signal is capable of magnetically attracting a rotor pole to a stator pole thereby retard rotation of the rotor for the duration of the pulse signal. If the voltage amplitude of the pulse signal exceeds a pre-set threshold voltage a signal of controlled duration is transmitted to energize all of the coils and stator poles to momentarily attract the rotor poles and retard the can flow through the runway.

Flow control apparatus and method

A method of extruding bark and of forming a solid article, solid synthetic fuel or fireplace log comprising from about 60 to 95 percent by weight bark, which comprises physically blending pieces of combustible thermoplastic of an extrudable size with pieces of bark also of an extrudable size and having less than 7 percent preferably less than 2 percent moisture, to form a bark thermoplastic mixture of from about 60 to 95 percent by weight bark and about 2.5 to 40 percent by weight thermoplastic, feeding the mixture to an extruder, heating the bark thermoplastic mixture in the extruder, controlling the heat of the extruder so that its temperature is insufficient to char the bark pieces yet sufficient to melt the thermoplastic and disperse it between the bark pieces so that it acts as a binder therefor and adheres sufficiently to the interior barrel wall surface of the extruder to allow the mixture to be moved therethrough by the extruder screw, extruding the mixture in the form of a composite extrudate, and cooling the composite extrudate to solidify it into the solid synthetic fuel. Preferably, the extruder screw tip is cooled and the heat of the extruder is controlled to range from about 200.degree. to 400.degree. F. with certain temperatures maintained in the respective extruder barrel zones.

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Crystal Lake, IL, United States of America

Donald Henry Ruge