GB2479732A

GB2479732A - Sieve and wheelbarrow combination

Info

Publication number: GB2479732A
Application number: GB1006486A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shakeel Ahmed Pervez
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-04-19
Filing date: 2010-04-19
Publication date: 2011-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2030-04-19
Also published as: GB2479732B; GB201006486D0

Abstract

An apparatus features a sieve 1 mounted in a pivotable manner on a frame 2e, the frame 2e mounted atop of a wheelbarrow (W). The sieve 1 may be manually rocked, or the rocking may be powered by a motor, in order to sieve material into the wheelbarrow. Such may provide a combination apparatus of obvious convenience to gardeners, builders, and the like.

Description

Rocking Sieve Apparatus

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns a sieve apparatus comprising a sieve and a support frame assembly to allow the sieve to move in a rocking manner.

The apparatus is primarily suited for cleaning up or grading soil, aggregates or other building or gardening materials but may be used for other sieving jobs too.

Background to the Invention

The sieve apparatus of the type in question generally comprise a circular or rectangular tray with a mesh floor, the tray being pivotally supported on a stand such as a trestle. The trestle has a cradle on which the tray is held by a pair of pivot pins or an axle on the tray substantially mid-way along its length so that the filled tray may be repeatedly tilted! rocked back and forth to shift its material contents back and forth to filter the finer material through the mesh. This apparatus may be portable in view of the collapsible trestle but it is not versatile, has a tendency to tilt excessively and not rock back and forth reliably or in a way that best ensures the sieving effectiveness. Furthermore, it does not having any associated facility for collecting the through-falling material which generally piles up on the ground beneath.

The present invention seeks to provide a sieve apparatus of the type in question that addresses the problems of the prior art and allows the apparatus to be used in a range of different locations and situations and can save the builder and gardener the inconvenience of having to shovel up the through-falling material. The present invention seeks to improve efficiency and effectiveness of a sieving operation and provide good portability! mobility for the user.

Sum mary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a sieve apparatus comprising a sieve tray 1 and a support frame 2 to allow the sieve tray to move in a rocking manner, the sieve tray being pivotally mounted in use to the frame, wherein the frame is adapted to demountably mount atop a wheelbarrow. Preferably the sieve tray is demountably mounted to the frame and may be configured simply to be lifted off the frame. The frame too may be configured to be demounted from a wheelbarrow simply by lifting it off.

Preferably the demountable frame comprises a set of spaced-apart inter- connected legs with feet to sit on, between or over the sidewalls or end-walls of a wheelbarrow and which allow through-falling material from the sieve to fall into the wheelbarrow.

Preferably the frame comprises at least one pair of legs that substantially span the length or width of the wheelbarrow and preferably the frame comprises two pairs of such legs, preferably inter-connected by at least one strut, suitably in the form of a rigid bar or pole or tubing, whereby through-falling material from the sieve may fall passed the strut into the wheel barrow.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the frame defines a rectangular framework having four legs at the corners of the framework and linked by struts, leaving a wide opening therebetween. The legs suitably comprise two pairs, each pair formed as an arch (flat arch) structure with a level bridging part linking them and preferably the level bridging part is telescopic so that the frame can be adjusted for differing lengths of wheelbarrow. Indeed, it is generally preferred that the frame be adjustable in span between the legs in at least one axis, whether telescopically, by articulation, scissor linkage or otherwise, to adjust for different dimensions of some wheelbarrows. This suitably is tightenable! lockable! latchable at selected adjusted positions.

The feet of the legs are preferably formed with a downwardly depending flange to restrain the foot against the side wall or end-wall of the wheelbarrow to which the frame is mounted. Preferably the frame is configured with the pivot axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the wheelbarrow in use and with legs spanning between the end-walls and restrained by the flanges against moving longitudinally of the wheelbarrow as the sieve rocks back-and-forth.

The apparatus particularly preferably has resilient biasing means, suitably in the form of coil springs, primarily as a shock-absorber, at each end of io the sieve. Each resilient biasing means is arranged to provide a resilient return force to the sieve as it rocks to one end of its travel. Suitably the resilient biasing means are provided on the frame and preferably they project from struts of the frame and are angled! positioned to optimize the cushioning! return-biasing effectiveness. In the preferred embodiment they is are provided on lugs that project from the struts and the lugs are inclined downwardly from the struts.

The sieve preferably is rectangular in shape to conform better to the shape and form of most wheelbarrows and may have tall side and end walls for high capacity. At least one of the walls, eg an end-wall, may be hinged as a tail-gate to pivot out of the way to, for example, facilitate emptying from the sieve of the material that is too large to pass through the sieve at the end of the sieving process.

The sieve may be arranged with a handle at each end to grip for lifting the sieve onto and off of the frame. The handles may also be used for manually rocking the sieve.

In some embodiments the sieve may be powered to rock back-and-forth by use of a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism may be of any suitable form including a rotating shaft crank type arrangement or a pair of spaced apart alternately operating actuator arms. The power for the drive mechanism may be electric with the motor being an electric motor and the power source being from mains electricity or from a battery or from an energy harvesting means such as solar cells or other such means.

Alternatively, for some heavier duty uses or where electrical power is less readily available the motor might be fossil fuel driven, eg a two or four stroke petrol engine or the like.

In a further development to the apparatus it may be accessorized with a base-frame onto which it may be mounted when not being used on a wheelbarrow. This accessory base frame suitably is a collapsible frame and may have a correspondingly spaced apart set of four legs which may be linked by folding struts.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus free-standing; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus mounted atop a wheelbarrow with the flanges of the frame's feet close to or pressing hard against the outer edge of the rim of the wheel-barrow at each end; and Figure 3 is a simple schematic diagram of a collapsible base frame on which the frame may sit when not on the ground or mounted on a wheel-barrow.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Figure 1, the sieve apparatus comprises a high-sided rectangular sieve tray 1, of stainless steel or similar and pivotally mounted to a support frame 2 that allows the sieve tray 1 to move in a rocking manner. The sieve tray 1 is rectangular in shape to conform better to the shape and form of most wheelbarrows and has tall side and end walls for high capacity. The rear end-wall of the sieve tray 1 is hinged as a tail-gate to pivot out of the way to facilitate emptying the sieve at the end of the sieving process. The sieve tray 1 has a handle at each end to grip for lifting the sieve onto and off of the frame 2. The handles may also be used for manually rocking the sieve.

The sieve tray 1 is demountably mounted to the frame 2 since it has a pair of axle stubs! pivot pins 3 on each side that drop down into corresponding V-shaped or U-shaped support cradles 4a on upright support panels 4 of the frame 2. The sieve tray 1 may be de-mounted from the frame 1 just by lifting it up so that the axle stubs! pivot pins 3 disengage from the support cradles4a.

The frame 2 is adapted to demountably mount atop a wheelbarrow W as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and may also be demounted simply by lifting it off. The demountable frame 2 comprises a set of four spaced-apart inter-connected legs 2a with feet 2b to sit over the front and rear end-walls of is the wheelbarrow W. The legs 2a are held rigidly spaced apart by struts 2c which allow through-falling material from the sieve tray 1 to fall into the wheelbarrow W. The struts 2c each have the form of a rigid hollow bar.

The frame 2 defines a rectangular framework as viewed in plan, having the four legs 2a at the corners of the framework and linked by the struts 2c, leaving a wide rectangular opening therebetween. The legs 2a comprise two pairs, each formed as a flat arch structure with level bridging part 2d linking them and where the level bridging part 2d is telescopic so the frame 2 can be adjusted for differing wheelbarrow lengths. This telescopic arrangement is tightenable! lockable! latchable at selected 2S adjusted positions.

The feet 2b of the legs 2a are each formed with a downwardly depending flange 2e to restrain the foot 2b against the respective end-wall of the wheelbarrow W to which the frame 2 is mounted. The frame 2 is configured with the pivot axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the wheelbarrow W in use and with legs 2a spanning between the end-walls and restrained by the flanges 2e against moving longitudinally of the wheelbarrow W as the sieve tray 1 rocks back-and-forth.

The apparatus further has coil springs 5 as a shock-absorber, at each end of the sieve tray 1. Each spring 5 is arranged to provide a resilient return force to the sieve tray 1 as it rocks to one end of its travel. Each coil spring is provided on a respective one of the struts 2c on lugs that project from the struts 2c and the lugs are inclined downwardly from the struts 2c, being thereby angled to optimize the cushioning! return-biasing.

The illustrated embodiment in Figures 1 to 3 is manually tilted to rock but io the sieve tray 1 may be powered to rock back-and-forth by use of a drive mechanism that may be linked to or mounted on the frame close to the base of the pivotal support cradle arm 4 on the frame 1. A counter-balancing mass may be provided on the other side of the frame 1 if required. The drive mechanism may have a rotating shaft crank type is arrangement or a pair of spaced apart alternately operating actuator arms.

The power for the drive mechanism may be electric with the motor being an electric motor and the power source being from mains electricity or from a battery or from an energy harvesting means such as solar cells or other such means. Alternatively, for some heavier duty uses or where electrical power is less readily available the motor might be fossil fuel driven, eg a two or four stroke petrol engine or the like. The operation of the drive may be controlled by a remote control unit if desired.

Referring to Figure 3, the frame 2 may be accessorized with a base-frame 7 onto which the frame 2 may be mounted when not being used on a wheelbarrow. This accessory base frame 7 has a collapsible structure with a correspondingly spaced apart set of four legs linked by folding struts.

Claims

Claims 1. A sieve apparatus comprising a sieve and a support frame to allow the sieve to move in a rocking manner, the sieve being pivotally mounted in use to the frame, wherein the frame is adapted to demountably mount atop a wheelbarrow.
2. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sieve is demountably mounted to the frame.
3. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the frame is configured to be demounted from a wheelbarrow simply by lifting it off, separating the pivot on one of the sieve and frame from a pivot cradle on the other.
4. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the demountable frame comprises a set of spaced-apart inter-connected legs with feet to sit on, between or over the sidewalls or end-walls of a wheelbarrow and which allow through-falling material from the sieve to fall into the wheelbarrow.
5. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the frame comprises at least one pair of legs that substantially span the length or width of the wheelbarrow.
6. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the frame comprises two pairs of legs, inter-connected by at least one strut, whereby through-falling material from the sieve may fall passed the strut into the wheel barrow.
7. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the frame defines a rectangular framework having four legs at the corners of the framework and linked by struts, leaving a wide opening therebetween.
8. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the legs comprise two pairs, each pair formed as an arch (flat arch) structure with a level bridging part linking them and wherein the level bridging part is telescopic so that the frame can be adjusted for differing dimensions of wheelbarrow.
9. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the frame is adjustable in span between the legs in at least one axis to adjust for different dimensions between wheelbarrows.
10. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 9, wherein the feet of the legs are formed with a downwardly depending flange to restrain the foot against the side wall or end-wall of the wheelbarrow to which the frame is mounted.
11. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the frame is configured with the pivot axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the wheelbarrow in use and with legs spanning between the end-walls and restrained by the flanges against moving longitudinally of the wheelbarrow is as the sieve rocks back-and-forth.
12. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus has resilient biasing means at each end of the sieve to provide a resilient return force to the sieve as it rocks to one end of its travel.
13. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the resilient biasing means are provided on the frame and project from struts of the frame angled! positioned to optimize the cushioning! return-biasing effectiveness.
14. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sieve has a wall that is hinged as a tail-gate to pivot out of the way for emptying the sieve.
15. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sieve has a handle at each end.
16. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the apparatus further comprises a drive mechanism mounted to the frame whereby the sieve is powered to rock back-and-forth.
17. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein the drive mechanism comprises a rotating shaft crank type arrangement or a pair of spaced apart alternately operating actuator arms.
18. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 16 or 17 wherein the drive mechanism further comprises an electric motor or a two or four stroke petrol engine or the like.
19. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further has a base-frame onto which it may be mounted when not being used on a wheelbarrow.
20. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 19 and wherein the base frame is a collapsible frame having a correspondingly spaced apart set of four legs linked by pivoting or folding struts.
21. A sieve apparatus as hereinbefore described with reference to any suitable combination of the accompanying drawings.AMENDMENTS TO THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN FILED AS FOLLOWS1. A sieve apparatus comprising a sieve tray and a support frame to allow the sieve tray to move in a rocking manner, the sieve being pivotally mounted in use to the frame, the apparatus having a pivot cradle whereby the tray is pivotally held substantially mid-way along its length so that the filled sieve tray may be repeatedly tilted! rocked back and forth to shift its material contents back and forth to filter the finer material through the mesh, wherein the frame is adapted to demountably mount atop a wheel barrow.io 2. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sieve tray is demountably mounted to the frame.3. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the frame is configured to be demounted from a wheelbarrow simply by lifting it off, separating the pivot on one of the sieve tray and frame from a said pivot is cradle on the other.4. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the demountable frame comprises a set of spaced-apart inter-connected legs with feet to sit on, between or over the sidewalls or end-walls of a wheelbarrow and which allow through-falling material from the sieve tray to fall into the wheelbarrow.5. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the frame comprises at least one pair of legs that substantially span the length or width of the wheelbarrow.6. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the frame comprises two pairs of legs, inter-connected by at least one strut, whereby through-falling material from the sieve tray may fall passed the strut into the wheelbarrow.7. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the frame defines a rectangular framework having four legs at the corners of the framework and linked by struts, leaving a wide opening therebetween.8. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein the legs comprise two pairs, each pair formed as an arch (flat arch) structure with a level bridging part linking them and wherein the level bridging part is telescopic so that the frame can be adjusted for differing dimensions of wheel barrow.9. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 7, wherein the frame is adjustable in span between the legs in at least one axis to adjust for different dimensions between wheelbarrows.io 10. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any of claims 4 to 9, wherein the feet of the legs are formed with a downwardly depending flange to restrain the foot against the side wall or end-wall of the wheelbarrow to which the frame is mounted.11. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the frame is CD 15 configured with the pivot axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the wheelbarrow in use and with legs spanning between the end-walls and restrained by the flanges against moving longitudinally of the wheelbarrow as the sieve tray rocks back-and-forth.12. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus has resilient biasing means at each end of the sieve tray to provide a resilient return force to the sieve tray as it rocks to one end of its travel.13. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the resilient biasing means are provided on the frame and project from struts of the frame angled! positioned to optimize the cushioning! return-biasing effectiveness.14. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sieve tray has a wall that is hinged as a tail-gate to pivot out of the way for emptying the sieve.15. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the sieve tray has a handle at each end.16. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the apparatus further comprises a drive mechanism mounted to the frame whereby the sieve tray is powered to rock back-and-forth.17. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein the drive mechanism comprises a rotating shaft crank type arrangement or a pair of spaced apart alternately operating actuator arms.18. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 16 or 17 wherein the drive io mechanism further comprises an electric motor or a two or four stroke petrol engine or the like.19. A sieve apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the apparatus further has a base-frame onto which it may be mounted when not being used on a wheelbarrow. CoQ 15 20. A sieve apparatus as claimed in claim 19 and wherein the base frame is a collapsible frame having a correspondingly spaced apart set of Q four legs linked by pivoting or folding struts.21. A sieve apparatus as hereinbefore described with reference to any suitable combination of the accompanying drawings.