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:
Jun. 01, 1982
Filed:
Mar. 05, 1980
John Haynes, Columbia, SC (US);
Thomas B Huggins, Sr, Columbia, SC (US);
Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
This invention provides a loading mechanism for directing nuclear fuel pellets from one elevation to a lower container via gravity. The mechanism includes a loading chute into which the pellets are deposited and a vertically movable platform therebelow supporting a replaceable container to receive the pellets from the chute. The chute includes a plurality of generally oppositely downwardly angled resiliently covered plates defining a zig-zag path through the chute to limit the accumulation of momentum to the pellets, and the platform is spring-biased against the accumulated weight of the pellets and container so as to be continuously lowered as the weight thereof increases as the pellets are deposited in the container.