US2813618A

US2813618A - Supporting devices for elevating conveyors

Info

Publication number: US2813618A
Application number: US575648A
Authority: US
Inventors: Earl C Liston
Original assignee: Howry Berg Steel & Iron Works
Current assignee: Howry Berg Steel & Iron Works; Howry-Berg Steel & Iron Works Inc
Priority date: 1956-04-02
Filing date: 1956-04-02
Publication date: 1957-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 1974-11-19

Description

Nov. 19, 1957 c, L s o 7 2,813,618

SUPPORTING DEVICES FOR ELEVATING CONVEYORS Filed April 2, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .52? 5? LEE.

' INVENTOR.

.6714; C Z/aro/v Nov. 19, 1957 E. c. LISTON 2,813,618

SUPPORTING DEVICES FOR ELEVATING CONVEYORS Filed April 2, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent.

Earl C. Liston, Englewood, Colo., assignor to Howry- Berg Steel & Iron Works, Inc., Englewood, Colo.

Application April 2, 1956, Serial No. 575,648

Claims. (Cl. 198-121) This invention relates to an adjustable supporting device for supporting elevating conveyors of the type known as grain elevators such as used for elevating grain into trucks or storage bins.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a portable elevator supporting device which can be quickly and easily adjusted to support the discharge extremity of the elevator at any desired delivery height, and to provide a wheeled support which can be used for lowering the elevator to a substantially horizontally traveling position and which will firmly and rigidly support the elevator while the latter is being transported from place to place.

Another object is to so construct the improved support that it may be operated by one man, regardless of the length or weight of the elevating conveyor, and to provide a device of this character which can be quickly and easily applied to any of the conventional types of elevating conveyors.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efiiciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved elevating conveyor supporting device applied to a conventional elevator and illustrating in full line, the fully elevated position of the device and in broken line a partially elevated position thereof;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, illustrating the improved supporting device in the fully folded or lowered position ready for storage or transportation;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the improved supporting device looking in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a top view of the device removed from the elevator and in the folded position of Fig. 2.

In the drawing 'a conventional conveyor belt type of grain elevator has been illustrated. It it to be understood that the elevator, per se, forms no part of the present invention and the elevator illustrated could be replaced by any of the conventional types of elevating conveyors. The elevator illustrated is of a standard type having two upper side boards enclosing the ascending side of a conveyor belt 29, and two lower side boards 11 enclosing the descending side of the belt. The side boards 10 and 11 at each side of the conveyor are maintained in rigid, parallel, spaced relation by means of attachment straps 12 riveted or otherwise secured to the side boards as shown at 13.

The improved elevator supporting device comprises a tubular axle member 14, the extremities of which are provided with the usual wheel spindles which rotatably 2,813,618 Patented Nov. 19, 1957 2 support a pair of pneumatically tired, ground-engaging wheels 15. The axle member 14 is secured to the elevator by means of a tubular, triangular, A-frame 17, the sides of which are held in rigid spaced relation by means of cross tubes 30. The rear extremities of the A- frame are provided with axle sleeves 18 fitted about the projecting extremities of the axle member 14.

The forward extremities of the A-frame terminate in chat attachment pads 19, each of which is pivotally secured by means of a suitable pivot bolt 20 to a side plate 21. The side plates 21 are secured to the sides of the two lower side boards 11 of the elevating conveyor by means of suitable attachment bolts 22.

An inverted, U-shaped, tubular archmember 16 is welded or otherwise secured at its extremities to the axle member 14 and ascends in an arch thereover. The arch member 16 is rigidly braced from the A-frame 17 by means of two tubular side brace members 23, the extremities of each of which are flattened to provide at tachment pads 24. The forward pads 24 are secured to ears 25, mounted on the A-frame 17, by means of suitable attachment bolts 26. The rear pads 24 are similarly secured to bracket cars 27 formed on and projecting from the arch member 16 by means of suitable attachment bolts 28. A saddle bar 43 is welded to and extends between its brace members '23. The A-frame structure combined with the braces 23 and the arch member 16 forms a complete unitary wheeled supporting frame or truck for the support of the remainder of the device.

A lower pair of channel-shaped toggle links 31 are pivotally mounted at their lower extremities: on the midportion of the arch member 16 in any desired manner, with their flanges facing outwardly. The upper extremi ties of the lower toggle links 31 are maintained in spaced relation by means of a hinge shaft 32 extending therebetween. An upper pair of triangular-shaped toggle links 33 are pivotally mounted at their lower extremities on the hinge shaft 32. The upper toggle links also have a channel-shaped cross-section, with their flanges facing inwardly toward each other, and are maintained in fixed, parallel, spaced-apart position by means of a gusset plate 34 welded or otherwise secured thereto between the upper extremities thereof.

A hinge plate 35 is secured to and extends upwardly from the upper extremity of each of the upper pair of toggle links 33. A hinge bolt 36 extends through the two hinge plates 35 and hingedly secures the upper pair of toggle links 33 to a second pair of side plates 37 which are attached to the lower sideboards 11 of the elevator by means of suitable attachment devices 38.

A plunger shaft 39 is mounted in and extends be tween the two upper toggle links 33 adjacent to and in eccentric relation with the axis of the hinge shaft 32. The plunger shaft 39 is offset from alignment between the hinge shaft 32 and the hinge bolt 36. A hydraulic plunger 40 terminates in a bearing sleeve surrounding the plunger shaft 39. The plunger 40 extends from a conventional hydraulic cylinder 41 which is tiltably mounted on a cylinder shaft 42 extending between the lower toggle links 31 adjacent the arch member 16.

Hydraulic fluid under pressure can be fed to the cylinder 41 from any convenient fluid pressure source in any desired manner. For convenience, a hand-operated hydraulic pump 44 is mounted on a supporting plate 45 welded or otherwise secured to the rear axle member 14 and the arch member 16. The pump is of the usual hand-operated hydraulic jack type provided with conventional check and relief valves as is usual with hydraulic jacks. The tubular axle member 14 and the tubular arch member 16 are employed as a reservoir for the hydraulic fluid. The fluid is supplied to and relieved 3 from the through a reservoir conduit 47 connected to the axle member 14 and is supplied to and returned from the pump 44 means of a suitable flexible hose 46.

Let -us assume that the improved elevating conveyor supporting structure is in the full line position of Fig. 1. If the;'relief valve of the pump is opened, the weight of the structure will force fluid from the cylinder 41 so as to allow the two sets of

toggle links

31 and 33 to fold toward each other, so as to decrease the angle of the elevator, as shown in broken line in Pig. 1. The release of the hydraulic fluid can be continued until the two sets of

toggle links

31 and 33 are completely folded and rested upon the saddle bar 43 as shown in Fig. 2. The forward extremity of the elevator can now be attached to any suitable towing vehicle for transportation. The elevator can be quickly and easily raised to any desired angle by operation of the pump 44. I

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Means for supporting an inclined elevating conveyor comprising: an axle; wheels mounted on the extremities of said axle; an A-frame mounted on said axle and extending forwardly and upwardly to a pivotal con- 'nection with said conveyor; an arch member mounted on said axle and extending upwardly and longitudinally over said axle; brace members extending from said arch member to said A frame to form a rigid supporting frame structure supported by said wheels at its rear extremity, and by said conveyor at its forward extremity; toggle links mounted between the rear extremity of said frame and said conveyor; and means for varying the included angle of said toggle links so as to vary the incline of said conveyor.

2. Means for supporting an inclined elevating conveyor as described in claim 1 in which the means for varying comprises a hydraulically expansible mechanism mounted between said toggle links.

3. A portable, elevating conveyor support, comprising an axle provided with ground wheels at the extremities thereof; a frame comprising forwardly converging tubular members extending from said axle, the extremities of said converging members adapted to pivotally support an elevating conveyor, an upwardly bowed tubular arch mounted on said axle, a pair of spaced brace members extending from the top of said arch member connected respectively to the forward portions of said convering members, a toggle member pivoted at one extremity to said arch member between said brace members and adapted to be pivotally connected at the other extremity thereof to the elevating conveyor; and hydraulic extensible mechanism pivoted at one end to said arch between said brace members and at the other end to said toggle member beyond the elbow thereof.

4. A portable elevating conveyor support as defined in claim 3, in which a manually operated pump is mounted on said axle, and connections between said pump and said hydraulic mechanism for conducting pressure fluid thereto.

5. A portable elevating conveyor as defined in claim 4, wherein said axle is hollow, and conduit means con meeting said axle and said pump for supplying said pump with hydraulic fluid, said hollow axle serving as a reservoir for said fluid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,373,848 Owens Apr. 17, 1945 2,561,997 Smith July 24, 1951 2,601,916 Bobrowski July 1, 1952 2,634,870 Barnum Apr. 14, 1953