AU734705B3 - A mobile sand bagging plant - Google Patents

Description

P00012 Regulation 3.2 Revised 2/98

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act, 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION PETTY PATENT TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT NAME OF APPLICANT: C-Mac Industries (Aust) (ACN 002 149 804) Pty Limited ACTUAL INVENTOR: ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: INVENTION TITLE: DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO(S): Robert James McMaster Peter Maxwell Associates Level 6 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 A MOBILE SAND BAGGING PLANT PQ 4074 12 November 1999 Australia The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:- IP Australia Documents received on: 1 3 NO V 2000 Batch No: 2 The present invention relates to a mobile particle bagging plant and, in particular, to hopper operating machinery that is able to be moved from site to site for the purpose of quickly and easily filling bags with sand or other inert particulate matter, say, during flooding.

There is a pressing and, at times, urgent need, especially among the emergency services, for automated sand bagging machinery that can be transported easily and quickly to an emergency site. Traditionally, the filling of sand bags in emergency situations has been an arduous task requiring manual labour. Unfortunately, in many cases, the rising of flood waters occurs at a faster rate than the rate at which sand bags can be filled and stacked, with the result that flooding occurs despite the best efforts of emergency and other personnel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide road trailer mounted hopper apparatus that is adapted for filling bags semi-automatically with particulate matter and requiring minimal involvement of personnel at the site of flooding.

In one form of the invention, there is provided a mobile particle bagging plant comprising: a road trailer, at least one hopper mounted on the trailer, frame means for supporting the or each hopper, a chute assembly adapted to receive particulate matter discharged from the or each hopper and direct the particulate matter to the side or rear of the trailer, a bag holder located at the side or rear of the trailer, and vibrator means for causing vibration of the chute assembly for the or each hopper, the arrangement being such that a person positions an open bag on the holder and directs particulate matter via the chute assembly into the bag for filling.

Preferably, the plant includes vibrator means for causing vibration of the or each hopper.

In a preferred-form, the frame means includes means for receiving the lifting arms of a fork lift or the like vehicle.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a plan view of a road trailer upon which a particle bagging plant is adapted to be mounted in accordance with the present invention, Fig 2 is a:side elevational view of the road tra14er of Fig 1, Fig 3 is a plan view of a mobile particle bagging plarit according to a first embodiment of the presenti :nvention, in which a single hopper particle bagging plant is mounted upon the road trailer of Figs 1 and 2, Fig 4 is a side elevational view of the mobile particle bagging plant of Fig 3, Fig 5 is an end elevational view of the mobile particle bagging plant of Figs 3 and 4, Fig 6 is a side elevational view of a mobile particle bagging plant according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a twin hopper particle bagging plant is mounted upon the road trailer of Figs 1 and 2, and 4 Fig 7 is an end elevational view of the mobile particle bagging plant of Fig 6.

The twin axle road trailer 12 shown in Figs 1 and 2 has a two tonne towing capacity and has mounted thereon a generator 14, a tool box 16, a spare tyre 18, and extendable support legs 20, 22. The trailer 12 has a mesh floor 24 and support plates 26 upon which can be mounted a particle bagging plant as shown in Figs 3 to 7. The trailer 12 can support a single hopper particle bagging plant 30 as shown in Figs 3 to 5 or a twin hopper particle bagging plant 32 as shown in Figs 6 and 7, in an orientation where the plant 32 is facing either to the left side or to the righlt side of the trailer 12 as required for use.

As used herein, the terms "particulate matter" and "irticle" include within their scope, sand, gravel, dirt, bark, stone and any other matter having' form that will allow it to be fed through a hopper and chute assembly and to fill a bag. For convenience and ease of understanding, the particle bagging plants 30, 32 will hereafter be described,by reference to sand bagging plants utilizing sand as the particulate matter.

The sand bagging plant 30 has a single hopper 34 supported by frame means 36 directly mounted on the trailer 12 and there is a chute.asserfibly comprising a feeder chute 38 and a removable "flipper" type chute'40 adapted to receive sand discharged from the hopper 34 and direct the sand to one side of the trailer 12. The hopper34 has a removable, flared hungry board 13. At the same side of the trailer1 2 as the chute 40, there is located a height adjustable, bag holder 42 for positioning and supporting thereon a bag, such as a standard hessian sandbag, the mouth of the bag being opened so as to receive therethrough sand directed via the chute assembly 38, 40 for filing the bag. The bag holder 42 can be folded away in two stages when not in use.

The chute 40 allows easy removal of a filled sandbag without needing to lower the opening thereof, and can be detached and stored in the tool box 16 when not in use.

The frame means 36, which is detachable from the trailer 12, includes means for receiving the lifting arms of a fork lift or the like vehicle for lifting and transporting the plant 30 only when the frame means 36 is detached from the trailer 12. Such receiving means may comprise a pair of clevises or closed channel bracket members of sufficient load bearing capacity that are welded to appropriate rearly accessible locations of the frame means 36. The pair of clevises or closed channel bracket members may also be built to allow for lifting and transporting the entire plant 30 to an emergency site, say, by helicopter.

The sand bagging plant 32 has twin hoppers 44 supported by frame means 46 directly mounted on the trailer 12 and there are a pair of chute assemblies, each of which comprise a feeder chute 48 and a removable "flipper" type chute 49 adapted to receive sand discharged from the twin hoppers 44 and direct the sand to one side of the trailer 12. The plant 32 also has a pair of height adjustable, bag holders 42, each of which is identical to that used in the plant 30. The bag holders 42 can also serve as a workbench.

The delivery outlets of each of the two chute assemblies are located away from the frame means 46 and on the same side of the trailer 12, allowing for quick and easy removal of filled sand bags. The twin hoppers 44 are connected so that sand delivery occurs from either chute assembly independently or from both simultaneously.

In both of the sand bagging plants 30, 32, each feeder chute 38, 48 is hung from sprung wire hangers and is electromagnetically vibrated by vibrator means 50. The vibrator means 50, located in a protective enclosure, can have its vibrating intensity adjusted as required and operates through oscillating springs that can travel 1.5 mm, thereby minimising electrical power usage.

Each feeder chute 38, 48 and each vibrator means 50 may be secured, and thereby protected from suffering damage whilst the trailer 12 is in transit, by means of a locking device 51 which supports the vibrator means enclosure.

The locking device 51 can be quickly applied and released by manipulation of a lever arm.

In both of the sand bagging plants 30, 32, there are also electromagnetically operated vibrator means 52 acting on the hoppers 34, 44 to ensure that the sand does not block the exit ports of the hoppers and there is a constant flow of sand onto the feeder chutes 38, 48. These vibrator means 52 are also located in a protective enclosure and can have their vibrating intensity adjusted as required, thereby minimising electrical power usage.

Each of the sand bagging plants 30, 32 can be operated by a single person utilizing either a manual footswitch to control the start/stop functions of both of the vibrator means 50, 52 or a combination of footswitch and an automated timer cut-off device for such control. Use of either of these control means will allow the operator to determine the volume of sand being delivered into the bags. If a manual footswitch is used, the footswitch is continuously depressed until the required volume is delivered, and if a combination of footswitch and timer cut-off device is used, the footswitch is pressed once to start the delivery and the delivery cuts off when the timer reaches a predetermined time. There is continuous vibration of the feeder chute 38, 48 and of the hoppers 34, 44 discharging sand onto the chute assembly after the operator depresses the footswitch, thereby freeing the operator's hands to perform other tasks, such as locating and opening the bags for filling. The timer cut-off device can be set to run for a predetermined vibration time only after the footswitch is depressed, thereby allowing the operator to standardize the sand filling time (and hopefully the sand filling volume) of each bag.

The controls for such operations are easily accessible to the operator.

For instance, the timer cut-off device and the controls for each of the vibrator means 50, 52 are located on a control board 54. The controls for the vibrator means 50, 52 allow independent variation of the vibration intensity of any one of the feeder chutes 48 and hoppers 44 in the twin hopper sand bagging plant 32.

The volume capacity of the single hopper 34 is approximately 1.5 cubic metres and that of the twin hopper 44 is approximately 3 cubic metres. They have a maximum height above the ground of between about 3.1 and 3.2 metres (when mounted on the trailer 12), have a width of about 2.4 m, a depth of about 1.2 m, and are fabricated of a galvanized metal or alloy. There is an access ladder 55 to the hoppers 34, 44, and there is a chain plumb-in-ring arrangement 57 to ensure the plant is level.

The power requirement for operation of the plants 30, 32 does not exceed 8 amps on a 240 V supply, and the plant includes a 10 amp outdoor weatherproof type inlet plug.

The trailer 12 has a "hoppers empty" capacity of two tonne for the purposes of transporting the plant and any other necessary equipment mounted thereon to the site of an emergency. The extendable support legs 22 allow the operator to level the trailer when on-site and/or in operation, and can support the weight of a full complement of plant and any other necessary equipment mounted thereon and a "hoppers full" load, such as would be required during operation when the plant 30, 32 is stationary. Cross-member braces are also provided to support or evenly distribute the weight of the plant 32 when it is lifted. The trailer 12 has an electric braking system with a breakaway facility, and a suspension system to minimize shocks during, say, off road or rough terrain driving that might adversely affect the sand bagging plant and its operation.

The generator 14 is housed in a protective, but removable, enclosure, and is positioned for ease of access by the operator so as to facilitate connection and disconnection of equipment and start-up of the vibrator means 52. The generator 14 is located on a plate 60 fixed to the drawbar 62 against the trailer front panel, and is thus on the towbar side. The generator 14 is securely fixed by bolts and welding to the plate 60 fixed to the drawbar 62.

This location remote from the chute assembly provides protection against sand ingress.

If necessary, a compressor and a high pressure water unit may also be clamped to the floor of the trailer 12 by removable brackets so as to be easily accessed by the operator and to be within close proximity of the generator 14 for supply of power thereto.

If necessary, a power extension lead and a compressor extension hose may be fitted on swivel brackets to allow them to be locked low in place on the trailer 12 when the mobile plant is being moved, and to be elevated by a swivel action of the brackets when the mobile plant is to be operated.

The plant 32 is able to semi-automatically fill standard hessian sandbags with sand at a rate of between 1,000 and 1,200 bags per hour.

The advantages of the mobile particle bagging plant of the present invention are many and varied. Being trailer mounted, the plant can be towed behind a motor vehicle to the site of an emergency, particularly over rough terrain if a suitable suspension system is utilized. The plant is sufficiently light in weight, but rigid in construction, that it can be lifted by a fork lift, by utilizing receiving means welded or otherwise fixed to the frame which supports the hoppers, and transported to a desired location. The minimum mechanical actions (limited preferably to the vibration of the chute assemblies and hoppers) and simplicity of operation ensures infrequent maintenance and minimal operator training. The side location of the bag holders provides a "worker-friendly" platform that does not require the operator to bend their back during the filling operation. The use of, preferably, twin hoppers optimizes the rate of bag filling, and it will be readily appreciated by skilled persons in the art that a larger number of hoppers may be mounted on an appropriately sized and load bearing trailer to suit certain circumstances. Preferably, the rate of flow and the quantity of particulate matter discharged from the hoppers and delivered through the chute assemblies to fill the bags is easily controlled by, among other things, the vibrator means and the footswitch/timer control systems. The preferred detachment of the hopper supporting frame means from the trailer can be carried out easily and quickly, so that the hoppers (with frame means) can operate as an immobile, stand alone, unit. The hoppers themselves can also be detached from their frame means to enable replacement, repair or maintenance.

Various other modifications may be made in details of design and construction without departing from the scope or ambit of the invention.

Claims (3)

1. A mobile particle bagging plant comprising: a road trailer, at least one hopper mounted on the trailer, frame means for supporting the or each hopper, a chute assembly adapted to receive particulate matter discharged from the or each hopper and direct the particulate matter to the side or rear of the trailer, a bag holder located at the side or rear of the trailer, and vibrator means for causing vibration of the chute assembly for the or each hopper, the arrangement being such that a person positions an open bag on the holder and directs particulate matter via the chute assembly into the bag for filling.

2. The mobile particle bagging plant of claim 1 and further including vibrator means for causingvibration of the or each hopper.

3. The mobile particle bagging plant of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the frame means includes means for receiving the lifting arms of a fork lift or the like vehicle. Dated this 13th day of November, 2000 C-Mac Industries (Aust) Pty Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant PETER MAXWELL ASSOCIATES