Abstract: Material discharge apparatus including in one embodiment, a material receiving hopper which can be attached to the outlet of a silo and carrying a conical closure member which is mounted on an actuating cylinder to be raised and lowered with respect to the wall of the receiving hopper thus to determine and control the flow of material from the silo into and through the receiving hopper. A vibrating motor is also provided, being adapted to impose a vertical oscillatory motion on the closure member thus to promote the free flow of material through the annular opening created when the closure member is in its raised position, the height of the member in this position being determined, for example, by a control device whereby the rate of flow of material can be varied.

Abstract: A bin-activator of the kind which is supported beneath the outlet opening of a bin or hopper and which is vibrated to facilitate discharge of material from the bin or hopper, the bin-activator being suspended by a plurality of hangers (17) each of which extends between a fixed part on the bin or hopper, and the bin-activator itself, and each hanger comprising a vertically disposed rod (19) mounted in resilient bushes (22, 23) adjacent its upper and lower ends, the bushes surrounding a portion of the length of the rod, and themselves surrounded by a pair of rigid sleeves (24, 25) and the whole assembly being held together by means of nuts (26, 27) screwed onto the ends of the rod, such that pivoting movement of the rod with respect to the bin or hopper and the bin-activator, to effect horizontal movement of the bin-activator, is restricted by the resilient bushes.