Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SELF PROPELLED AUGER AND SEPARABLE VEHICLE THEREFOR
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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This invention relates to a self-propelled
auger and particularly to a separable vehicle which can
be attached to an auger to render the auger self-
propelled.
Many augers are in existence which are arranged
for a simple manual manipulation and are mounted upon an
axle and ground wheels with a pair of struts extending
upwardly therefrom and a pair of stabilizer bars extend-
ing from the axle to a point on the auger tube spaced
from the struts. The height of the auger relative to the
ground can be altered by adjustment to the struts in some
cases by moving the struts along a slide on the auger so
that as their position on the auger changes, the angle of
the auger to the ground also changes.
In one arrangement which has become common in
recent years, an auger can be attached at its lower end
to a rear hitch of a tractor and is driven from the PTO
shaft of the tractor. This enables the auger to be moved
from place to place simply and without the difficulty and
danger of manual manipulation. However, this causes the
lower end of the auger to be raised from the ground and
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unavailable for collection of the material and hence a
smaller auger part must be coupled to the lower end of
the auger and pivotal relative thereto so as to lift the
material from the ground to a transfer box at the lower
end of the auger.
In other arrangements for example shown in US
Patents 4526265 and 4512687 (both to Silvanus T. Enns) a
tractor is arranged along side a conventional auger with
struts extending outwardly to the side of the auger for
attachment to the tractor. This arrangement does not
interfere with the lower end of the auger being used for
directly collecting the material but it forms an
unwieldy and wide construction which is difficult to
manoeuver.
It is one object of the present invention,
therefore, to provide an auger arrangement which is effe-
ctively self-propelled in that it does not require a
separate conventional tractor for attachment to the
auger.
It is also an object of the present invention
to provide a vehicle which can be attached to a conven-
tional auger to render it self-propelled so -that the
vehicle can be used with already existing augers and can
be simply attached thereto.
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According to a first aspect of -the invention,
therefore, there is provided a vehicle for propelling an
auger of the type cornprising elongate auger tube, an axle
having ground wheels thereon and strut means for support-
ing the auger above the axle, the vehicle comprising
frame, a pair of ground wheels on the frame for support-
ing one end of the vehicle, means on the frame at an
opposed end of the vehicle for releasably coupling the
frame to the axle whereby the frame can be supported on
said pair of ground wheels and on the axle such that when
attached the frame is supported on the pair of ground
wheels and on the axle, an engine on the frame, drive
transmission means for transmitting drive from said
engine to said pair of ground wheels and steering means
for steering movement of said pair of ground wheels.
According to a second aspect of the invention
there is provided a self-propelled auger comprising an
auger tube, a frame having a first and second pair of
ground wheels, an engine on said frame, drive transmis-
sion means for driving one of said pairs of wheels from
said engine, steering means for steering one of said
pairs of wheels, a pair of strut means at one end of the
frame for supporting the auger directly thereabove longi-
tudinally therealong and parallel to the direction of
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motion of the wheels thereof and means mounted on the
other end of said frame and adjustable relative thereto
for supporting the auger thereabove and for adjusting the
angle of the auger -tube relative to said frame and to the
hori7ontal.
The invention therefore provides a simple,
inexpensive vehicle constituted simply by the frame,
engine and front wheel drive transmission to the pair of
wheels with the rear wheels of the vehicle being consti-
tuted by the axle and ground wheels of the auger.
This arrangement provides a vehicle which is
narrower than the auger itself and can therefore be sim-
ply maneuvered even into very limited areas.
The vehicle can therefore be fitted onto a
conventional auger in place of the two conventional
stabilizer bars which are removed. The auger can be
driven by a hydraulic motor powered by the vehicle if
required.
The attachment of the vehicle to the axle of
the auger can be simply achieved by stub shafts which are
mounted upon the axle as an additional feature, the stub
shafts being inserted into sleeves formed by the open
ends of the frame members. The vehicle can be simply
separated from the auger axle and attached to a different
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auger which carries a separate set of the stub shafts.
In the case where the secorld auger is of the larger size,
adjustment pieces can be attached -to the frame to adjust
the distance between the axle and the front wheels.
Preferably the frame includes a pair of
additional ground wheels which can be lowered into
contact with the ground to allow the vehicle -to be moved
only to be separated from the axle. The additional
wheels can then of course be jacked out of contact with
the ground when the vehicle is attached to the axle. In
addition a light utility truck arrangement can be
provided which can be attached to the frame in place of
the axle so that the truck and frame constitute a single
vehicle.
The invention will become more apparent from
the accompanying drawings
With the foregoing in view, and other advan-
tages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art
to which this invention relates as this specification
proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference
to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which
includes a description of the best mode known to the
applicant and of the preferred typical embodiment of the
principles of the present invention, in which:
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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a side elevational view partly in
cross-section of a self-propelled auger including a
separable vehicle.
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the self-
propelled auger of Figure 1 with the auger tube removed.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the
attachment of the frame to the axle of the auger of
Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a side elevational view o~ a light
utility truck including the vehicle of Figure 1 with the
auger removed.
In the drawings like characters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A self-propelled unit ~or attachment to the
grain auger to render the grain auger self-propelled is
shown basically in Figures 1 and 2. The unit comprises a
generally rec~angular main-frame 10 having a pair of
elongate parallel side rails 11 and 12 and a number of
transverse ~truts 13 thus forming a rigid chassis or
frame. On the frame is mounted an engine 14 on suitable
support struts (not shown) which includes a conventional
drive transmission for driving front wheels 15 through
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drive shafts indicated schematically at 16.
A steering mechanism 17 again of conventional
construction includes a steering wheel and steering link-
age (not shown) communicating steering movement to the
wheels 15. The steering wheel can be moved by a driver
seated in a seat 18 mounted on the frame and facing for-
wardly relative to the front wheels 15. Suitable con-
trols including gear shift mechanism, engine velocity
controls and the like are of course also provided but are
not shown for convenience of illustration.
A forward end of the frame carries a pair of
upwardly and inwardly inclined struts 19 which converge
to an apex centrally of the frame. At the apex is mount-
ed a sleeve or tube 20 inclined to the horizontal at the
angle of the struts 19 and extending upwardly therefrom.
Inside the sleeve 20 is mounted a sliding tube 201 which
can move longtitudinally of the sleeve under control of a
hydraulic cylinder 20~. An upper end of the tube 201
carries a slide support for the auger tube indicated at
203 and constituted by an inwardly facing pair of channel
irons 204 which act as runners for rollers 205 carried on
the auger tube. The struts 19 are pivotally mounted on a
forward end 191 of the frame and braced at a re~uired
inclined angle by braces 192 which are adjustable rela-
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tive to the struts 19. This adjustment allows thevehicle to accommodate augers of difEerent lengths. The
auger includes an auger tube 21 and 1ight 211 o conven-
tional form.
A rear end of the frame carries on one of the trans-
verse struts 13 a pair of small ground wheels 22 which
are fixed in direction relative to the frame parallel to
the side rails so as to act, when lowered to the ground,
for supporting a rear end of the frame and acting as rear
wheels of the vehicle when separated from the auger. A
lifting mechanism is schematically indicated at 23 for
raising the ground wheels 22 relative to the frame so
they can be llted from the ground when the rear end of
the frame is otherwise supported. The lifting mechanism
may be of a manual nature including hand operated cranks
(not shown) or can be hydraulic for simple automatic
actuation by a switch positioned adjacent the driver's
seat.
A rearmost end of the frame comprises a pair of
projecting portions of the side rails 11 and 12. Th~
side rails are formed from tubular metal so as to define
sleeves having a rear opening each of which can receive a
stub shaft in sliding fit to latch the rear end of the
frame to the stub shaft.
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An axle of the auger 21 is indicated at 24 and
is of conventional construction. The axle comprises a
rigid elongate member upon which is rotatably mounted a-t
respective ends one of a pair of ground wheels. A for-
ward or upper end of the auger is supported relative to
the axle on a pair of upright struts 28 which are mounted
on the axle and extend upwardly therefrom to an engage-
ment with the auger tube.
As is well known the height of the upper end of
the auger can generally be adjusted by movement of the
struts 28 along the auger tube on a slide mechanism.
This slide actuation can be achieved by a winch and cable
arrangement or by hydraulic cylinder as is conventionally
known. The vehicle therefore may include hydraulic actu-
ation mechanism for causing actuation of the slide of the
struts 28 relative to the auger tube. For convenience of
illustration the particular type of actuation mechanism
is not shown as this is of a conventional nature.
The auger is driven ~y a hydraulic motor 212
and drive shaft 213 powered by a pump 214 attached to the
engine on the frame. ~uick release couplings allow
immediate disconnection of the hydraulic lines from the
motor 212.
The width of the frame defined by the rails 11
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and 12 is less than the width of the axle 24. In prac-
tice the width of the axle can be of the order of 6 to 10
feet and thus the width of the frame will be of the order
of 4 to 5 feet so it can accommodate various different
auger axle widths.
The frame is attached to the axle by way of a
pair of stub shafts 25 which constitute separate items
which can be clamped to the axle 24 as best shown in the
detail of Figure 3. Thus the stub shafts carry hoop
shaped clamps 27 which can be wrapped around the axle 24
to rigidly clamp the stub shaft to the axle. The stub
shafts can therefore be slid into the exposed open end of
the rails ll and 12 and located therein by a transverse
pin 26 which passes through th~ rail 11 or 12 and through
the respective stub shaft 25.
As pivot movement between the frame and the
legs 28 is required to accommodate different angles
therebetween, this can be provided by the pivot coupling
between the legs ~8 and the axle 24 if this is present on
the auger concerned or it can be provided by mounting the
stub shafts on the axle such that they can rotate rela-
tive to the axle about the axis of the axle.
With the rear end of the frame attached to the
axle 24, the ground wheels 22 can be lifted by actuation
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o~ the mech~nism 23 so that the ground wheels of the
auger act as the rear wheels o~ the vehicle and render
the auger and vehicle system as a selE-propelled unit.
The whole unit can therefore be driven from place to
place and maneuvered into its required angular orienta~
tion simpiy by actuation of the various mechanisms on the
vehicle itself by the driver on the seat 18.
The frame 10 can be separated from the axle 24
by initially lQwering the wheels 22 to the ground and
then by removing the stub shafts 25 from the rails 11 and
12. In order to support the auger separately from the
vehicle, a pair o~ braces 35 are provided which are piv-
otally coupled to the axle 24 at a lower end and which
can extend there~rom to a latch member 36 on the auger
tube at a position lower than the coupling to struts 28.
The braces 35 are telescopic so that they can be collap-
sed and stored in latched position as indicated at 37
against the struts 28 when the vehicle is attached to the
axle. When the vehicle is removed, the braces can immed-
iately be lowered and extended to be attached to the
latch member 36 to brace the auger in its upright posi-
tion.
The height o~ the auger when attached can be
adjusted by activating the mechanism (not shown) associ-
... . .
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ated with -the legs 28. With the lower end resting on the
ground, the rollers 205 slide along the slide support 204
to take up a position dependent upon the angle of the
auger tube. The cylinder 202 can then be activated to
taXe up the movement o the rollers and if required to
raise the lower end.
Turning now to Figure 4, the separated unit can
be driven away from the auger as a separate vehicle and
can be attached to a truck unit as shown. The truck unit
comprises a frame 30 which provides a pair of side rails
extending forwardly for engaging the sleeves defined by
the rails 11 and 12 as indicated at 33, in place of the
stub shaft 25, and latched in place by the pins 34. The
frame 30 carries a hopper 31 of conventional construction
which may or may not be pivotal and is mounted on ground
wheels 32. Thus when the stub shaft 33 has been inserted
into the sleeves defined by the rails 11 and 12, the
small ground wheels 22 can be lifted so the vehicle is
supported on four ground wheels defined by the wheels 32
and the steering drive wheels lS.
In an alternative arrangement (not shown)
vehicle 10 can be attached to a larger auger by the prov-
ision of an extension portion having a stub shaft which
can extend into the sleeve defined by the rails 11 and 12
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and a receptor portion for engaging the stub shafts 25.
Thus the front wheels 15 are spaced further from the axle
24 of the larger auger so that the hydraulic cylinder 20
has a better mechanical advantage and so that the wheel
base is increased to improve stability. In this way the
vehicle can be used for both larger si~e augers and for
smaller augers simply by the removal or attachment o~ the
extension pieces.
Since various modifications can be made in my
invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently
widely different embodiments of same made within the
spirit and scope of the claims without departing from
such spirit and scope, it is i.ntended that all matter
contained in the accompanying specification shall be
interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting
sense.
