The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 07, 2020
Filed:
Jun. 02, 2016
Binder + CO Ag, Gleisdorf, AT;
Ernst Erwin Brunnmair, Graz, AT;
Gerhard Salchinger, Sinabelkirchen, AT;
BINDER + CO AG, Gleisdorf, AT;
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for producing an expanded granulate () made of a sand grain-shaped mineral material () using a propellant; wherein the material () is fed to a substantially upright furnace (); wherein the material () is conveyed along a conveying path () through a plurality of vertically separated healing zones () in a furnace shaft () of the furnace (), wherein each heating zone () can be heated by at least one independently controllable heating element (); wherein the material () is heated to a critical temperature at which the surfaces () of the sand grains () become plastic and the sand grains () are expanded through the propellant. It is provided according to the invention that the material () is fed together with an amount of air from below, wherein the material () is conveyed from bottom to top along the conveying path () by means of the amount of air which flows from bottom to top within the furnace shaft () and forms an air flow (), and wherein the expanding of the sand grains () occurs in the upper half, preferably in the uppermost third, of the conveying path ().