Apparatus for feeding nuclear fuel pellets to a loading tray
US4304324A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 30, 1979 |
| Grant date | Dec 8, 1981 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 30, 1999 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB65G65/00
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Apparatus for feeding nuclear fuel pellets at a uniform, predetermined rate between pellet centering and grinding apparatus and a tray used for loading pellets into a nuclear fuel rod. Pellets discharged from the grinder are conveyed by a woven wire belt to a drive wheel which develops a force available to be applied to pellets preceding it on the belt. The pellets pass under the drive wheel which adds additional weight acting vertically on each pellet. This total weight of pellet and drive wheel coupled with wire belt linear movement acts to push a line of about 36 pellets onto a pellet dumping mechanism. As the dumping mechanism is actuated to dump the pellets on to a loading tray, the pellets moving toward the mechanism are clamped in a stationary position and the drive wheel simultaneously is lifted from its pellet contacting position until the pellet dumping process is completed. The clamping device is then lifted from its pellet and the drive wheel simultaneously is lowered into a pellet contacting position.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.