AU601627B2 - Conveyor hoppers - Google Patents

Description

f This document contains the amendments made under Section 49 and is correct for printing.

627 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA The Patents Act 1952-1969 Name of Applicants: Address of Applicants: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: MAGNA ODDVAR LISET and JEAN ELIZABETH LISET Proposch Street, Oakey, Queensland.

MAGNA ODDVAR LISET G.R. CULLEN COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, Dalgety House, 79 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Qld. 4000, Australia.

0 0 f COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: CONVEYOR HOPPERS The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to us:

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2 THIS INVENTION relates to hoppers for mobile elevators, and particularly although not exclusively to hoppers for grain or other particulate material elevators of the type comprising a screw auger, a flat belt or a tubular belt.

Mobile elevators have traditionally comprised a hopper cons'-ructed of sheet steel in a frusto-conical shape Ii or in the form of a rectangular opening with inwardly tapering sides.

While generally suitable for their purpose, such prior art hopper constructions suffer a number of disadvantages.

Mobile conveyors such as grain augers traditionally have been cumbersome to handle manually and attempts to align the conveyor feed hopper with an outlet chute of a transport vehicle or a grain silo or the like have led to considerable damage both to the hopper mouth and the outlet chutes. In addition, considerable grain spillage occurs with an inaccurately aligned or damaged feed hopper.

With the advent of self-propelled mobile elevators, the physical size and mass of such elevators has increased considerably. A typical self-propelled elevator is described in our co-pending Patent Application No. 43845/85.

Although in the hands of a careful operator such self-propelled elevators are less cumbersome to handle and r, i

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easier to align with the outlet chute of a silo or transpbrt vehicle, not all operators exercise aue care. Accordingly with the increased momentum associated with the large mass of such a self-propelled elevator, careless operation can cause even greater damage to the feed hopper or an outlet chute of a silo, transport vehicle or the like.

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome or alleviate the disadvantages of such prior art elevator 00feed hoppers.

o02~ According to one aspect of the invention there is 00000 provided a feed hopper for a mobile conveyor, said feed 00 00 O 00 000 hopper comprising: 000 a receptacle cooperable with a feed end of said conveyor, said receptacle including a base portion and a rigid lower wall portion attached to said base portion; attachment means for attaching said receptacle to said feed end of said conveyor means; and a resiliently deformable upper wall portion attached to said lower wall portion said upper portion being adapted to deform when brought into engagement with a rigid V 04 surface.

Said base portion suitably comprises a rigid floor.

Said base portion may comprise a substantially circular concave floor. Alternatively it may comprise a rectangular floor and said lower wall portion extends around said base portion and upright thereto.

Suitably, said resiliently deformable upper wall portion is comprised of resiliently deformable plastics or rubber material.

Preferably said feed hopper is releasably securable SSala SA to4-a feed end of 4 a, conveyor means associated with said elevator.

5 The feed hopper may comprise a substantially SI circular mouth or it may comprise a rectangular mouth.

In order that the invention may be more fully I understood preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIG 1 illustrates a mobile elevator having a feed hopper according to the invention; FIG 2 illustrates an alternative view of the arrangement of FIG 1; FIG 3 illustrates a feed end of the screw auger 15 conveyor of FIGS 1 and 2 with the hopper removed; FIG 4 illustrates one embodiment of a feed hopper; FIGS 5 and 6 illustrate an alternative embodiment ti of a feed hopper.

FIG 1 illustrates a mobile self-propelled elevator of the type described in co-pending Patent Application No.

43845/85.

In FIGS 1 and 2 the apparatus includes a support frame 1 having a transversely extending axle 24 with a ground engaging wheel 2 at either end thereof. One end 3 of the support frame 1 is pivotably attached to the conveyor tube 4 which has a screw auger 5 rotatablr mounted within it. The tube 4 and the screw auger 5 form an auger assembly. The delivery end of the auger assembly include., d2!'ive means 6 such as a hydraulic motor to operate the auger screw. The outlet jort 7 of the conveyor tube 4 includes a hood 8 which I is pivotally mounted to the tube to airect the stream of 1grain issuing from cutlet port 7 at a selected angle. The conveyor tube is reinforced with a truss-like frame 9 having I a central upright frame member 10 located approximately at the centre of gravity of the auger assembly. An articulated I frame comprising an upper link frame 11 and a lower link j frame 12 is pivotally connected between frame member 10 ana the transversely extending axle 24. An hydraulic cylinder 13 is pivotally connectea between upper link frame 11 and lower link frame 12.

The support frame 1 includes a main frame 14a, an arm 14 pivotally connected at its upper end to frame 14a and a castor wheel assembly 15. The assembly 15 is secured to iithe lower end of arm 14. A further hydraulic cylinder 16 is 1 20 pivotally connected between frame 14a and arm 14. The castor wheel assembly 15 includes means to vary the castor angle by L tilting of pivot pin 16. The housing 17 for pivot pin 16 is pivotally connected adjacent its base to arm 14 and includes an apertured bracket (not shown) which may be pinned in registry with one of a series of apertures on a bracket

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-6 associated with arm 14 thereby varying the castor angle of pi vot pin 16. Alternatively, the castor angle may be varied by any other suitable mechanical or hydraulic means.

The feed end of the auger assembly includes a 5 removable feed hopper 18 and a retractable tow-bar 19, both of which are described in more detail later.

The support frame 1 has mounted to it a source of hydraulic power comprising an engine and pump 20, a fluid reservoir 21 and hydraulic control valves 22. Control valves 10 22 are arranged adjacent an operator's seat 23 to enable the operator to selectively control the auger screw drive 6, the hydraulic cylinders 13 and 16 as well as the hydraulic motors associated with ground wheels 2. The apparatus of FIG 1 thus comprises a self-propelled screw auger elevator.

FIG 3 shows the method of attachment of the retractable tow-bar 19. One end 29 of tow-bar 19 is pivotally attached to the conveyor tube 4 by a bolt or the like 30. A bracket 31 is releasably attached to boss 27 by a pin or the like 32. To retract the tow-bar or to fit the hopper 18, pin 32 is removed and the tow-bar 19 is lowered slightly such that bracket 31 clears boss 27. The tow-bar is then pivoted rearwardly and bracket 31 is connected to the pin 32 by a further boss (not shown) on the underside of conveyor tube 4.

FIG 4 shows hopper 18 attached to the f eed end of 7conveyor tube 4 with the tow-bar 19 in its extended position.

The hopper is supported at its lower wall 28 by boss 27 extending therethrough and also by releasable screw clamp 26 extending around the conveyor tube 4.

The feed hopper 18 is formed with a substantially I circular mouth and an upper rim 25 of a resiliently deformable material such as rubber or plastics. The circular I mouth permits the hopper to be fed from either side or the Ifront. This is consiaered to be an advantage over prior art square or rectangular hoppers designed generally to be f ed only from the front.

iThe resilient rim 25 is able to withstand accidental minor collisions with silos, transport trucks and the like without damaging the hopper mouth as in prior art screw augers. The resilient rim also enables the hopper to I firmly engage against a vertical surface such as the rear wall of a transport vehicle adjacent an outlet port therein j to reduce spillage.

FIGS* 5 and 6 show an alternative feed hopper 40 to 1 20 that shown in 'FIG 4. Like parts bear the same numerals as usdin FIG 4. The hopper has side walls 41, 42 and an end wall 43. Boss 27 extends through wall 43 and A releasable screw clamp 26 extending around tube 4 secures the hopper to the tube. The hopper 40 is substantially trapezoidal in cross section and has a raised end 44. The hopper is _I--LL~ilL 11111I1:^I~~-- i" 8 provided with a rim 45 of resiliently deformable material such as rubber or plastics. The rim 45 has a raised portion 46 adjacent end 44. Rivets 47 secure the rim 45 to walls 41, 42, 43.

It will be readily apparent to a skilled addressee that many modifications and variations will be possible with the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

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Claims (9)

1. A feed hopper for a mobile conveyor, said feed hopper comprising: a receptacle cooperable with a feed end of said conveyor, said receptacle including a base portion and a rigid lower wall portion attached to said base portion; attachment means for attaching said receptacle to said feed end of said conveyor means; and a resiliently deformable upper wall portion attached to said lower wall portion said upper portion being adapted to deform when brought into engagement with a rigid surface. S

2. A feed hopper as claimed in claim 1 wherein said base portion comprises a rigid floor.

3. A feed hopper as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said base portion comprises a substantially circular concave floor.

4. A feed hopper as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said base portion comprises a rectangular floor, and j. said lower w&ll portion extends around said base portion ,nd upright thereto. i

5. A feed hopper as claimed in any preceding claim i wherein said upper wall portion comprises a resiliently deformable plastics or rubber material.

6. A feed hopper as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said attachment means comprises means to releasably secure said feed hopper to said feed end of said conveyor.

7. A feed hopper as clai.med in any preceding claim wherein said feed hopper comprises a substantially circular mouth.

8. A feed hopper substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS 1, 2 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

9. A feed hopper substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawing3. A mobile conveyor comprising a feed hopper o according to any one of claims 1 to 9. DATED this twelfth day of October 1989 o ,MAGNA ODDVAR LISET and JEAN ELIZABETH LISET By their patent attorneys G. R. CULLEN CO. AIf 4t t 44 I t *4 41