GB2422822A

GB2422822A - Crop delivery chute

Info

Publication number: GB2422822A
Application number: GB0600353A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Larrington
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-01-11
Filing date: 2006-01-10
Publication date: 2006-08-09
Also published as: GB0600353D0

Abstract

Crops or other materials which are easily damaged are delivered from a conveyor, such as an elevator, by way of a crop delivery assembly comprising a frame 33A forming a temporary crop storage region, having walls covered with cushioning material, and a chute 40 of plastics material. The chute 40 is opened and closed by a pair of elongate gripper rolls 41 urged to a closed position by springs and pivoted by a sufficient weight of crop above to open to provide a restricted passage for the crop to flow down the chute. The assembly may be releasably attached to an associated elevator.

Description

MATERIAL HANDLING

This invention relates to the handling of materials in divided and/or particulate form.

It is known to provide chutes for guiding material from a first level to a second level which may be lower or higher than the first level.

In practice such mode of handling materials in divided form is used for the purposes of guiding building maintenance debris from a first level to a second level which may be lower or higher than the first level.

It is also known to make use of chutes for the purposes of handing of materials such as root crops and/or tree grown fruit crops which are prone to being damaged during the course of handling.

In particular the present invention is concerned with the control of the flow/discharge of such materials from the delivery end of a material conveying or delivery means such as an elevator from a source thereof to the inlet side of a 1 5 chute arrangement which is of such construction that the material flow through the chute is controlled in such manner as to facilitate the rate/volume of material released from the chute.

It is an object of the invention to provide a means and arrangements for controlling the relative operational relationships between a material guide chute arrangement and the material delivery end of material conveying means such as an elevator that is serving to guide material to be fed to the chute arrangement from a source thereof Broadly, according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a material/crop flow control and cushioning unit adapted for operational mounting to a materialcrop discharge region of a material/crop conveyor/elevator apparatus in such position as to flow control and cushion vertical displacement of material/crop discharged from the conveyor/elevator apparatus for onward travel to a material/crop receiving location at a level lower than said conveyor/elevator discharge region..

Preferably the unit incorporates including means adapted to restrict/feed feed of the material/crop leaving said discharge region to said material/crop receiving region until the amount of crop discharged attains a satisfies predetermined conditions In a preferred construction the unit includes means for restricting the flow of material/crop delivered from the conveyor/elevator apparatus in such manner as to prevent the delivered material/crop moving to said material/crop receiving region until the amount of material/crop stored attains a predetermined condition/quantity.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention the unit includes a chute through which material/crop is arranged to flow during its passage to the material/crop receiving location.

Preferably the flow of the material/crop introduced into the chute is effected by providing means for controlling at a predetermined location length ways of the chute the chute cross section available for the passage of material/crop through the chute, the arrangement being such that in advance of said location a storage space is effectively defined for housing materiaL/crop.

In a preferred construction of the unit the condition/quantity is defined by the weight of material/crop located within said storage space.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention thre is provided a unit adapted for operational mounting to a material/crop discharge region of a conveyor/elevator apparatus wherein the unit is adapted to provide material/crop cushioning unit incorporating a crop delivery chute adapted for interpositioning between a material/crop feed location from said discharge region to the inlet to the chute the latter being at a first level, and including means for controlling the available chute cross section at a predetermined location beneath said first level and a material/ crop receiving position located at a lower level than said predetermined location.

Preferably the region of the chute above said location effectively defines a space/volume for a quantity of said material/crop.

In practice the quantity is defined by the weight of the material/crop located within said space/volume.

Thus, the unit of the present invention derves to prevent free fall of a 1 5 material/crop though a chute from a material discharge point to a delivery point for the crop.

Preferably, the means for controlling material flow through the chute includes means for varying the cross sectional area of the chute thereby to vary the freedom of material/crop flow through the chute.

In a preferred construction the means for varying the cross sectional area of the chute includes means for externally pressing opposing walls of the chute relative to each other in such manner as correspondingly to vary the internal cross section of the chute available for the passage of material/crop.

Preferably the means for pressing includes at least one roll adapted to press against the external surface of the chute in such manner as to vary the cross sectional throughput area of the chute Preferably the means for dressing includes at least pair of rolls roll adapted to press against the opposite external surfaces of the chute in such manner as to vary the separation of the associated chute walls and in consequence the cross sectional throughput area of the chute Preferably means are included for automatically interrupting operational connection between the unit and the conveyor/elevator apparatus whenever the unit and/or the conveyor/elevator apparatus depart(s) from a required operational position relative to each other.

In particular the operational; connection between the unit and the conveyor/elevator apparatus includes a quick release coupling arrangement for facilitate release one from the other 1 Preferably the means for controlling material flow through the chute includes means for varying the cross sectional area of the chute thereby to vary the freedom of material/crop flow through the chute.

In a particular arrangement the means for varying the cross sectional area of the chute includes means for externally pressing opposing walls of the chute relative to each other in such manner as correspondingly to vary the internal cross section of the chute available for the passage of material/crop.

Preferably the means for pressing includes at least one roll adapted to press against the external surface of the chute in such manner as to vary the cross sectional throughput area of the chute -5-.- Conveniently the means for pressing includes at least a pair of rolls adapted to press against the opposite external surfaces of the chute in such manner as to vary the separation of the associated chute walls and in consequence the cross sectional throughput area of the chute Before discussing an embodiment of coupling apparatus associated with the feed of materials such as root crops by as feed system involving vertical drop of the material it is convenient to note that whilst such crops are to all intents and purposes finn and solid physically to handle as compared with crops such as plums, etc., this can readily obscure the fact that the handling of firm and solid crops, in practice, invariably also carries the risk of bruising and other damage arising from items of a crop knocking one against the other or hitting a hard surface such as the bottom or side walls of a container into which the crops are being introduced for what ever reason such as packing, transferring from one container to another such as a carrying bag and vice versa.

1 5 With present day methods of commercial harvesting of a crop such as potatoes the commercial requirement is for large quantities of the crop to be rapidly harvested, and at the time of harvesting with the capability of feeding the harvested crop into a bulk container for onward transmission from the location of harvesting.

Historically, a conventional method of feeding large quantities of a crop such as potatoes into transport containers accepting a filling weight of, for example, one ton weight frequently involves the use of an elevator/conveyer system which transfers the harvested crop i.e., potatoes from the delivery end of a potato harvesting machine which is caused to travel simultaneously length ways of several rows of potato plants to lift and to remove the lifted potatoes from the unwanted material namely any accompanying soil, leaves and stems, and then to feed the thus harvested potatoes separated from the unwanted material onto an elevator which lifts the potatoes above the side walls of a container, i. e., lony/trailer which is moving along the field in synchronism with the advance of the potato harvester.

This discharge mouth of the elevator conventionally is positioned so as to clear the side walls of the container and as a result has to allow the potatoes to free fall a considerable distance from the delivery end of the elevator into the lorry trailer load receiving container. By reason of the extent of such free fall required to allow access to the interior of the container, the potatoes delivered at the start of a filling operation and frequently at later stages during the filling operation undergo considerable free fall and are thus are thus likely forcibly to impact against the container floor and walls, against each other during the falling thereof and and also against previously deposited potatoes with considerable force thereby creating the real hazard of bruising the potatoes and/or otherwise damaging the potatoes.

As is well understood, such damage can lead to ingress of fungi spores etc., with 1 the consequential enhanced risk of initiating conditions for subsequent rotting of the potatoes.

For example it has been estimated that the costs to the producers of root crops of damage result from the initial harvesting and subsequent crop handling costs the relevant industry many millions of pounds sterling per year.

It will be apparent from the forgoing that a container carrying vehicle and a crop feeding conveyor are being separately moved across a field whilst being physically inter-coupled that in that in the event that inadequate synchronisation between the movement of the container carrying vehicle and the elevator could result in damage to either or both.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how to carry the same into effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a material fall cushioning unit intended to co-operate with a container for receiving the material and adapted for mounting in a first manner to the delivery end of a crop conveying elevator for preventing uncontrolled free fall of the material from the elevator delivery region to a crop receiving container at a lower level; Figure 2 is an oblique view of the crop cushioning unit when in its closed setting in which flow through of a crop is prevented; Figure 3 is a side view of the unit of Figure 2 when in said closed setting; Figure 4 is an end view of the unit of Figure 2 when in said closed setting; Figure 5 is an oblique view similar t o that of Figure 1 illustrating the unit is in an opened setting to allow flow through of a crop Figure 6 is a side view of a support structure for enabling releasable coupling 1 5 between the handling unit and the elevator delivery end; and Figure 7 is a schematic end view of the support structure of Figure 6 in conjunction with the delivery end of an elevator; Referring now to the Figures 1 to 5 as has been mentioned these Figures relate to a material handling unit operationally associated with the delivery end of an elevator. For the purposes of description in the embodiment shown in these Figures the unit is illustrated as being pivotally coupled to the elevator. Thus in the Figures 1 to 5 a crop cushioning unit I is schematically illustrated as being mounted/attached to the discharge region 32 of a load lifting elevator not actually shown in any detail in Figure 1.

For the purposes of the description in relation to Figures 1 to 5 the unit I is illustrated as being pivoted to the discharge region 32. so as to be able to swing relative to the elevator mount so that the unit essentially constrained to move with the elevator.

The cushioning unit I includes a rectangular main frame 3 provided with mounting brackets 34 by means of which the unit can be attached to the mouth region 32 of the elevator, the mounting brackets being mounted to the main frame by means of connecting elements 35 upstanding from the main frame.

The main frame 30 is conveniently formed from circular cross section tubing.

A rectangular box structure depends from the underside of the main frame this box structure includes walls 37 and side walls 38.

The end walls 37 are parallel to each other and are directed vertically downwards from the main frame and thus perpendicular to the plane of the main frame whilst the side walls 38 are inwardly inclined thereby the provide with the end walls a chute like formation.

A centrally located bridging member 39 bridges the side walls 38 whereby the latter are stiffened/braced by the bridging member.

As may be noted from Figure 1 the bridging member is located immediately beneath to point of the connection of the member to the elevator mouth region.

In other words, the bridging member is positioned immediately beneath the location at which load being transported by the elevator will start to discharge from the elevator.

The main frame 33, the end walls 37, the side walls 38 and the bridging member 39 are covered by a crop cushioning layer if a soft material that offsets the risk of damage to any crop striking the layer. The material is arranged such that any any part of the unit that is likely to be contacted by crop deposited thereupon is covered by a layer of such cushioning material. Thus, the thickness of the cushioning layer is arranged to be of the appropriate thickness for its purpose and may thus vary in thickness.

The cushioning material on the main frame, the end walls, and the side walls are covered by a layer of plastics material such as PVC which is of such formation as to provide a cute that extends below the lower edges of the side and end walls to form a crop delivery chute 40.

The plastics chute 40 can either be shaped as also to cover in the bridging member 39. Alternatively the bridging member can be mounted to the side walls 38 after the provision of the plastic covering chute, this latter method enabling a simpler construction to the chute 10.

A pair of elongate gripper rolls 41 extend lengthways of the side walls 38. The rolls are thus so positioned as to be able to press against the external longer walls of the chute 40 for the total side wall length thereof The grippers are carried by support arms 42 for pivotal movement with respect to the the ends of curved mounting bars 43 mounted to the end walls 47 of the unit 1, the curving of these bars being such as to reduce the separation between the pivot ends 44 of the support bars 43.

The pivotally mounted support arms 12 are resiliently loaded in such manner that the gripper rolls 11 are resiliently urged towards each other in such manner as to push from the outside the side walls of the chute 10 towards each other sufficiently to close off the lower end of the chute 10.

This resilient loading is conveniently by way of torsion springs 15 held in place by retaining nuts or the like 16 In other words the lower end of the chute is normally closed to prevent flow of crop there through..

For reasons of clarity the chute 40 is in relation to Figures 2,3,4 and 5 not shown other than being represented by a portion thereof extending below the rolls 41 as in Figure 1.

It will be noted that the provision of the rolls 41 at the predetermined location length ways of the chute adjusts/sets the chute cross section available for the passage of material/crop through the chute, the arrangement being such 1 that in advance of said location where the rolls press against the chute a storage space is effectively defined for housing material/crop until it is able fully to flow through the chute..

It will be appreciated that during the initial stages of delivery of a crop from an elevator discharge mouth 42 the crop free falls only a relatively short distance before contacting the cushioning of the intermediate unit 1. Furthermore, since the gripper rollers at the commencement of elevator operation is closed the initial falling crop drops though a relatively short distance onto the soft cushions. As crop material continues to discharge from the elevator the drop distance reduces overall whereby forces arising between falling material progressively reduces.

By reason of the resilient loading the unit 1 interior fills with crop until the weight of the crop starts to push the rolls 41 apart thereby to allow the crop to discharge from the unit by way of the chute 40. It will be appreciated that the chute region downstream of the rolls still provides a restricted passage for the discharging crop so that the latter is Continuously prevented from undergoing any significant free fall on its passage to a container, trailer etc. If at any time the elevator ceases to discharge crop material the resilient loading of the rolls automatically acts so as to close-off the chute as soon as the crop weight above the rolls falls below the rolls operating weight and remains closed 1 0 until further crop is received from the elevator.

In practice, since the elevator is a separate unit from the crop receiving container any up and down movements of the elevator discharge mouth relative to a receiving container will not result in a undesired variations in the free fall of crop into the unit I of the invention.

1 5 Whilst the embodiment to which the above description relates discloses the use of a bridging member 9. This member can be dispensed with resulting in an embodiment not utilising the bridging member.

It will be understood that whilst the specific description has been directed to am embodiment of apparatus incorporating the concepts of the invention the apparatus can take various forms in terms of the construction of the chute, its supporting arrangements and the mode of externally pressing the chute walls towards each other so as to reduce and/or shut off flow of material through the chute.

It has been found that the effectively permanent coupling between the unit I and the elevator discharge region inherently involves practical problems in that in the event of relative displacement between the elevator and the material receiving arrangements during their use there is a substantial risk of damage to the elevator by reason of the relatively heavy load suspended at the elevator discharge end.

A further most important factor in relation to the causes of possible damage arises from the common mode of usage of an elevator. Conventionally during the harvesting of a ground based crop the harvesting machine is either driven or towed across a field during the harvesting operation and the elevator is mounted to the harvesting machine to effect the transfer of the harvested crop into a crop collecting container arrangement. This arrangement can be, for example, a towed or driven container trailer or separate containers carried by a vehicle. In either case travel of the container arrangement across a field is under completely separate control from that of the harvesting machine. In practice such independent travel requires, in order to avoid contact between the elevator and any equipment associated with the container arrangement very accurate synchronisation of the of the travel of the elevator and the container arrangement

across a field.

It will be appreciated that during the harvesting of crops if for what ever reason it is necessary quickly to stop the transit of the container arrangement or the harvesting machine it may well be impossible for the driver of the other apparatus to stop his vehicle sufficiently quickly to avoid a damaging collision between the elevator and the with the container arrangement.

With a view to at least reducing such a possibility it is proposed in accordance with a further aspect of the present invention to enable the elevator to be used without a physical connection with the cushioning unit I associated with the container arrangement whilst at the same retaining the facility of using the elevator for supporting the unit I for example when it is required to remove the unit from the container arrangement when the latter has been filled with a harvested crop for transfer to a further container arrangement..

Thus in accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a automatically releasable coupling between the the elevator end 32 and the unit 1 which enables the unit and elevator to be used without the elevator being coupled to the unit 1 whilst retaining the facility of being able to utilise the elevator support or otherwise handle the unit I with respect to a container vehicle by supporting the unit by other means (not shown).

Conveniently the coupling is such that when the unit I has been operationally positioned for receiving harvested crop using the elevator to handle such positioning the elevator can be automatically separated from the unit.

Figures 6 and 7 schematically illustrate a first embodiment of a support unit for enabling the operational inter-coupling of the unit and the elevator that is such that the the elevator can be used bodily to carry the feed unit or can be separated 1 5 one from the other during use.

In relation to Figures 6 and 7 those elements that have been specifically mentioned in relation to the previous Figures will receive the same reference numerals.

As may be seen in the Figure 6 and 7 the unit I is provided with a support structure 50 in the form of a metal frame as opposed to the side brackets 41,42, 43 as disclosed in the previous Figures 1 to 5.

The frame 50 incorporates two main members 51 that upstand from the main frame 3 of the material cushioning unit with its chute 40 and grippers arrangements 41,42,43. as shown in Figures ito 5.

Each frame member 51 includes a lower part 52 and an upper part 53. The two main parts are slightly inclined to wards each other at a first angle and additionally such that the upper ends 54 thereof overhang the interior of the frame 3 of the unit 1.

Similarly the upper parts 53 incline at a greater angle the the first angle towards each other. In addition, the upper parts 53 also incline such that the uppermost ends 55 thereof are effectively located above the central region of the frame 3.

The upper ends 55 are connected to and bridged by an inverted channel member 56. A horizontal plate 57 is secured to the base 58 of the channel member 56.

The plate is such that a part 59 thereof projects from the channel member 56.

To the underside of the projecting part there is provided a coupling unit 60 of which one part 61 is securely mounted of the plate 57 and a second part 62 thereof is be connected to the material discharge end 32 of an elevator by way of mounting brackets 63 (Figure 7) upstanding from the side walls 64 thereof. With this arrangement the support structure and the unit to which it is connected can when coupled to the elevator can be carried thereby.

The dimensioning and angling of the frame members 61 is such that the coupling unit part 61 is effectively is located above the centre of the frame 33 of the unit and thus when so suspended the unit I frame hangs horizontally The support frame is braced to the frame 33 by shaped side plates 65. In addition the lower members of the frame are bridged by a plate 66. It will be appreciated that the plates 65 and 66 augment the stiffness of the support structure frame 20.

A base plate arrangement 67 is provided between the structure frame Si and the frame 33 to facilitate the mounting of the structure frame 51 to the unit frame 33.

In use the support frame can be coupled to the elevator and the latter used to carry and position the unit I with respect to a container. Once the unit has been position in the required position the elevator delivery end is lowered. This action -Is--- automatically disconnects the coupling leaving the unit resting upon the container (or other support if provided). Once the coupling has been disengaged the elevator is free to move relative to the contained as and when required.

When the elevator is free to move relative to the conveyor the risk of damage when both the container and the elevator a travelling across a field is substantially avoided.

It will be appreciated in user conditions when relative displacements between the elevator and the material cushioning unit are not involved the elevator can remain coupled to the cushioning unit until relative displacements are required.

Claims

I. A material/crop flow control and cushioning unit adapted for operational mounting to a materia/crop discharge region of a material/crop conveyor/elevator apparatus in such position as to flow control and cushion vertical displacement of material/crop discharged from the conveyor/elevator apparatus for onward travel to a material/crop receiving location at a level lower than said conveyor/elevator discharge region..

2. A unit as claimed in claim 1, and including means adapted to restrict/feed feed of the materiallcrop leaving said discharge region to said material/crop receiving region until the amount of crop discharged attains a satisfies predetermined conditions 3 A unit as claimed in claim 1 or 2, and including means for restricting the flow of material/crop delivered from the conveyor/elevator apparatus in such manner as to prevent the delivered material/crop moving to said material/crop receiving is region until the amount of material/crop stored attains a predetermined condition/quantity.

4 A unit adapted for operational mounting to a material/crop discharge region of a conveyor/elevator apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the unit includes a chute through which material/crop is arranged to flow during its passage to the material/crop receiving location.

A unit as claimed in claim 4, and including means for controlling at a predetermined location length ways of the chute the chute cross section available for the passage of material/crop through the chute, the arrangement being such that in advance of said location a storage space is effectively defined for housing material/crop.

4. A unit as claimed in claim 3, and wherein the condition/quantity is defined by the weight of material/crop located within said storage space.

7 A unit adapted for operational mounting to a material/crop discharge region of a conveyor/elevator apparatus wherein the unit is adapted to provide materiallcrop cushioning unit incorporating a crop delivery chute adapted for interpositioning between a material/crop feed location from said discharge region to the inlet to the chute the latter being at a first level, and including means for controlling the available chute cross section at a predetermined location beneath said first level and a material! crop receiving position located at a lower level than said predetermined location.

8 A unit as claimed in claim 7, and wherein the region of the chute above said location effectively defines a space/volume for a quantity of said material/crop.

9. A unit as claimed in claim 8,wherein the quantity is defined by the volume of the material/crop located within said space/volume.

1 5 10. A unit as claimed in claim 8, wherein the quantity is defined by the weight of material within said space/volume.

II. A unit as claimed in any one of claims I to 10, and including means for automatically interrupting operational connection between the unit and the conveyor/elevator apparatus whenever the unit and/or the conveyor/elevator apparatus depart(s) from a required operational position relative to each other.

13 A unit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the operational; connection between the unit and the conveyor/elevator apparatus includes a quick release coupling arrangement for facilitate release one from the other 14 A unit as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 13, wherein the means for controlling material flow through the chute includes means for varying the cross sectional area of the chute thereby to vary the freedom of material/crop flow through the chute.

15. A unit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the means for varying the cross sectional area of the chute includes means for externally pressing opposing walls of the chute relative to each other in such manner as correspondingly to vary the internal cross section of the chute available for the passage of material/crop.

16. A unit as claimed in claim 15, wherein the means for pressing includes at 1 0 least one roll adapted to press against the external surface of the chute in such manner as to vary the cross sectional throughput area of the chute 17. A unit as claimed in claim IS, wherein the means for pressing includes at least a pair of rolls adapted to press against the opposite external surfaces of the chute in such manner as to vary the separation of the associated chute walls and in 1 consequence the cross sectional throughput area of the chute 18. A unit adapted for operational mounting to a material/crop discharge region of a conveyor/elevator apparatus and adapted to provide material/crop cushioning unit, constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein before described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 and Figures 6 and 7 of the accompanying drawings.