AU671770B2 - Improved hopper assembly for a material conveying auger - Google Patents

Description

i

A.

I

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

wrel i~ t Ic I C I I C Name of Applicant: Cole Engineering Pty Ltd Actual Inventor: Gregory Octavius Cole Address for Service: R K MADDERN ASSOCIATES, 345 King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention title: IMPROVED HOPPER ASSEMBLY FOR A MATERIAL CONVEYING AUGER Details of Associated Provisional Application No(s): Based on Provisional Application No PM 1824 dated 15th October 1993 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

This invention relates to improvements in and to a material conveying auger, and in particular to an improved hopper assembly for attachment to an auger at its intake end.

Conventional grain augers comprise a tubular or cylindrical outer casing in which is housed a rotary feed screw which extends from an intake end at one end of the casing to a discharge end at the opposite end of the casing. When emptying a grain storage silo, it is conventional practice for the operator to fit the intake end of the auger into a fixed nonadjustable hopper which is supplied with and forms part of the grain silo. Such fitment normally proves to be quite awkward due to the different makes and models of augers and their different diameters.

It is the main object of the present invention to provide an improved hopper attachment for a grain auger which obviates the need for a silo hopper, and in turn avoids the need for an operator to have to perform the task of fitting the intake end of the auger to a discharge hopper attached to the underside of a storage silo.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved hopper assembly which can be easily and conveniently attached to a grain auger, and when so attached, allows the auger to be used in conjunction with different grain storage silos for emptying same.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved hopper assembly designed so that when attached to the intake end of a grain auger the auger can be conveniently used with a tip-truck where grain is fed from the tipping tray of the tip-truck, with the tray underside normally contacting the hopper at one end thereof.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved hopper assembly for attachment to a grain auger which significantly facilitates the cleaning of the -2hopper and the intake region of the auger, and which in turn reduces the likelihood of insect infestation of the auger (and silo).

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an improved hopper assembly for attachment to a grain auger which can be quickly and readily releasably secured to the intake end of an auger without the need to modify the construction of the auger or use additional mountings or fasteners for the securement of the hopper assembly.

Broadly according to this invention therefore, an improved hopper assembly is adapted for releasable securement to the intake end of a conventional auger and comprises: a base frame adapted to overlie a portion of the feed screw of the auger adjacent its intake end, said base frame having downwardly converging walls which terminate in a central opening through which grain can pass into the path of the feed screw, a displaceable upper frame spaced above said base frame and having inner and outer ends, I 25 flexible material extending between the base frame and the upper frame so as to form enclosed side walls which extend continuously around the perimeters of said frames, and "mounting means supporting said upper frame above said base frame and arranged to permit the upper frame to tilt downwards towards the base frame when downward pressure is applied to the outer end of the upper frame, said downward tilt movement causing the side walls to at least partly collapse to thereby in turn reduce the overall height of the hopper assembly.

Preferably, said mounting means comprises pivotal mounting means at said inner end of the upper frame, said upper frame being rotatable about a transverse pivot axis between a -3downwardly displaced position wherein its outer end is tilted downwards and a normal position wherein the upper frame lies approximately horizontal.

Preferably, the hopper further comprises a part circular swinging closure panel pivotally mounted by pivot means carried by the base frame along one longitudinal side thereof, whereby the closure panel can swing between a fully closed position wherein it underlies and partly envelops the intake portion of the feed screw and a fully open position where it swings clear of the intake portion of the feed screw so as to permit the hopper assembly to be detached from the auger.

0 e v e Preferably, releasable locking means is provided for releasably locking the swinging closure panel to the base frame when in its fully closed position.

S Preferably the releasable locking means comprises an overcentre catch mechanism having co-operable catch and catch engaging means on the base frame and the closure panel.

t I C i 2 5 Preferably the upper frame is of cantilever construction and is designed so that its outer or distal end can pivot downwardly in response to a downward force or pressure applied against the frame, such movement in turn causing the flexible side walls to collapse which, in turn, reduces the overall height of the hopper assembly at its distal end.

Preferably the upper frame of the hopper assembly is spring loaded by means of a pair of compression springs located on opposite sides of the hopper assembly and which extend between the base frame and the upper frame at locations remote from the distal end of the upper frame. With this arrangement, the upper frame, if and when deflected, will return to its original undeflected horizontal position.

-4- Preferably the bottom of the base frame is provided with longitudinally extending support flanges extending along opposite sides thereof and which are arranged to rest on respective bearing support rods which project from the end of the auger casing on either side thereof and which serve to support one of the bearings in which the shaft of the feed screw is journalled.

Preferably, the central opening in the base frame has a transverse width slightly greater than the spacing between said rods.

The collapsibility of the hopper assembly of this invention renders the hopper extremely versatile in operation. For example, a conventional grain auger, having a hopper assembly of this invention attached thereto, can be readily manoeuvred S so that its intake end is positioned underneath the silo door of a grain storage silo which is required to be emptied.

This greatly simplifies the emptying procedure. Furthermore, 20 the hopper assembly of the present invention greatly facilitates the unloading of grain from the tray of a tip truck, particularly in instances where the tray, during its tipping movement, makes pressure contact with the upper side of the hopper. Such contact will cause the upper frame of the hopper to collapse, being resisted by spring pressure, thereby minimising the likelihood of serious structural damage being caused to the hopper assembly.

t It The feature of the bottom swinging door or closure panel and its locking engagement with the base frame of the hopper assembly, not only permits the hopper assembly to be quickly and readily secured to or detached from a conventional grain auger, but also allows the intake or feed end of the auger to be easily and conveniently cleaned simply by unlocking the door panel and swinging same to its open position.

In order to more fully explain the present invention, an embodiment is described hereunder in some further detail with i reference to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a hopper assembly fitted to a conventional grain auger according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the hopper assembly shown in Fig. 1, with the swinging door or bottom closure panel being shown in its closed position; Fig. 3 is a top perspective view of the hopper assembly fitted to a conventional grain auger as shown in Fig. 1; and 15 Fig. 4 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 1, with

I

I

the upper frame of the hopper assembly being shown in a deflected position.

According to this embodiment, a detachable hopper assembly I'O is releasably secured to a conventional grain auger 11 which comprises a tubular outer casing 12, a rotary feed screw 13 coaxially and rotatably mounted within the casing 12, the feed screw 13 being mounted on a longitudinal shaft 14 which is journalled in bearings supported at opposite ends of the casing 12.

The hopper assembly 10 is positioned at the intake end of the auger 11 and is arranged to supply granular material, e.g.

grain, into the path of the feed screw 13 which, in accordance with known art, has an intake portion at the upstream end of the auger 11. A plurality of circumferentially spaced bearing support rods 15 are secured to and extend longitudinally of the casing 12 at the intake end of the auger 11, the rods 15 supporting an end closure plate 16 which in turn supports the upstream end bearing (not shown) for the shaft 14, the closure plate 16 being clamped in position by means of clamping nuts 17 threadably engaged on the rods

I

.1 The hopper assembly 10 comprises a rectangular upper frame 19, a base frame 20 vertically spaced from the upper frame 19 flexible walls 21 e.g. of canvass or plastics sheet material, having their upper and lower edges respectively connected to the frames 19, 20 and extending continuously therearound, and a joiner frame 22 which interconnects the frames 19, The upper frame 19 has a pair of converging arms 24 which project from opposite sides of the frame 19 and are pivotally attached to the joiner frame 22 by pivot bolts 25, such an arrangement allowing the upper frame 19 to rotate in a vertical plane about the axes of the bolts 25 relative to the base frame 20 which rests on the rods 15 and, in use, is held stationary with respect to the casing 12.

S A pair of coil compression springs 27 extend vertically S between the frames 19, 20 on opposite sides thereof, remote 0 from the outer or distal end 28 of the upper frame 19. Each spring 27 encircles a vertical guide rod 29 which has its upper end pivotally connected to the underside of the frame 19, and its lower end projecting through a slotted opening in a lug 30 welded to the base frame 20, whereby the guide rod 29 is able to undergo limited swinging movement in an approximately to and fro direction. This is desirable when the upper frame 19 is undergoing a collapsing movement (refer Fig. 4).

As shown in Fig. 2, the hopper assembly 10 is also provided S with a part-circular swinging bottom door panel 31 which is pivotally attached to the base frame 20 by means of bracket arms which connect to pivot bolts 32 located along one side of the base frame 20, the pivot mountings 32 allowing the bottom door 31 to swing between a fully closed position wherein it surrounds the bottom half portion of the feed screw 13 and an open position wherein it is separated from the base frame 20 with sufficient space therebetween to allow the entire hopper assembly to be bodily removed from the auger, or where cleaning is required, to allow residual grain in the hopper region to discharge downwardly from the intake end of the auger (refer Fig. 2).

As shown in Fig. 1, a releasable overcentre catch mechanism 34 releasably locks the part circular door panel 31 to the base frame 20. Preferably, when the catch mechanism is in its locked mode, the marginal out-turned flange 35 which extends longitudinally along the non-hinged side of the bottom door 31 makes pressure contact against an outer surface portion of one of the rods 15. In a like manner, the flange formations 36 which extend along the underside of the base frame 20 on opposite sides thereof, make pressure contact with respective upper surface portions of two of the rods ~As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the opposite end walls of the base frame 20 terminate at their bottom edges in concavely curved bridge portions 38 which interconnect the flange formations 36 and which, together with the partcircular bottom door 31 form a cylindrical cavity for housing the intake portion of the feed screw 13.

As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the base frame 20 is provided with downwardly convergent side walls 40, the bottom edges of which extend along opposite sides of a central opening 42 formed in the base frame 20 and which has a transverse width slightly less than the diameter of the flight of the feed screw 13 and a length which approximates to the intake end portion of the feed screw 13 which projects beyond the casing 12.

The open upstream end of the auger 11 is closed off by means of the end closure plate 16.

A brief consideration of the abovedescribed embodiment will indicate that the present invention provides for an improved collapsible hopper assembly which can be readily and easily fitted to a conventional grain auger without any major modifications being made to or additional componentry being Li added to the auger, and which renders the auger far more versatile in operation, particularly its ability to be used with different types of grain storage silos. With the present invention, the requirement for a grain storage silo to be fitted with a discharge hopper is obviated. An additional advantage is that the hopper, by virtue of its swing away bottom door, is able to be readily and easily cleaned which in turn reduces the likelihood of insect infestation occurring within the auger (or silo).

till ee I 0er ill c

I

-9-

Claims (9)

1. A hopper assembly adapted for releasable securement to the intake -nd of an auger of the type comprising a tubular outer casing, and a rotating feed screw coaxially and rotatably mounted within the casing, with a portion of the feed screw projecting from the casing at the upstream end of the auger, said hopper assembly comprising: a base frcme adapted to overlie said projecting portion of the feed screw of the auger, said base frame having downwardly converging walls which terminate in a central opening through which grain can pass into the path of the feed screw, an upper frame displaceably supported above said base frame and having inner and outer ends, flexible material extending between the base frame and the upper frame so as to form enclosed side walls which extend continuously around the perimeters of said frames, mounting means supporting said upper frame above said base frame and arranged to per mit said upper frame to tilt downwards relative to the base frame when downward pressure is applied to the outer end of the upper frame, said downward tilt movement causing the side walls to at least partly collapse, and means for releasably securing the hopper assembly to the auger with its base frame overlying said projecting portion of the feed screw.

2. A hopper assembly according to claim 1 wherein said mounting means comprises a joiner frame attached to and extending between inner ends of said base and upper frames, and pivot means pivotally connecting said joiner frame to said upper frame arranged to permit said upper frame to .7. I rotate about a transverse axis between a downwardly displaced position wherein its outer end is tilted downwards and a normal position wherein the upper frame lies approximately horizontal.

3. A hopper assembly according to either claim I or claim 2 further comprising a pair of compression springs located on opposite sides of the hopper assembly and each of which extends between the base frame and the upper frame at locations remote from the outer end of said upper frame, said springs biassing said upper frame in an upwards direction.

4. A hopper assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said releasable securing means comprises a swinging closure panel pivotally mounted by pivot means carried by the base frame along one longitudinal side thereof, said closure panel being constructed and arranged to swing between a fully closed position wherein it uiderlies and partly envelops the projecting intake portion of the feed screw and a fully opened position where it swings clear of the intake portion of the feed screw so as to permit the hopper assembly to be demounted from the auger.

A hopper assembly according to claim 4 further i 2.5 comprising releasable locking means for releasably locking Ir11 S: said swinging closure panel to the base frame when in its 01 fully closed position.

6. A hopper assembly according to claim 5 wherein ,.id releasable locking means comprises an overcentre catch mechanism having co-operable catch and catch engaging means on the base frame and the closure panel respectively.

7. A hopper assembly according to any one of claims 4, 5 or 6 wherein said closure panel is part circular. -11- r I :i s

8. A hopper assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said base frame is provided with a pair of longitudinally extending support flanges extending along opposite sides thereof and which are arranged to seatingly locate on respective bearing support rods which project from the ur-tream end of the auger casing on either side thereof.

9. A hopper assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said central opening in the base frame has a transverse width slightly less than the diameter of the flight of said feed screw. A hopper assembly for a grain auger substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 15th day of July, 1996. COLE ENGINEERING PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys MADDERNS t (ais I I -12- ABSTRACT A grain hopper assembly is provided so that it can be conveniently releasably attached to the intake end of a grain 5" auger (11) of the type which comprises a tubular outer casing (12) and a rotary feed screw (13) rotatably mounted within the casing The hopper assembly (10) comprises a base frame (20) arranged to overlie the intake end portion of the auger an opening formed in the bottom of the base frame (20) for allowing grain to pass therethrough into the path of the feed screw an upper frame (19) supported by mounting means above the base frame and frames so as to form enclosed side walls, the upper frame T 5 (19) being tiltable downwards upon downward pressure being applied to the outer end of the upper frame such downward tilting movement causing the side walls to partly collapse. I^i ii