Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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GRAIN CART SEED TENDER
This invention is in the field of bulk transport equipment and in particular a
grain cart for
transporting seed and fertilizer to a seeding implement at seeding time, while
not
interfering with the typical use of the grain cart for receiving and
transporting grains and
like harvested crops from a combine at harvest time; and as well a drive wheel
apparatus
for supporting and maneuvering a conveyor on the grain cart, or a like object.
BACKGROUND
Large grain carts carrying 1500 bushels of grain and often more are becoming
popular for
receiving grain and like harvested crops from a combine at harvest time and
carrying
same to a storage location or more often for transferring the grain to a
highway transport
vehicle. These grain carts are towed behind a tractor and work well for
carrying large
loads in agricultural fields that may be too soft to support a highway
vehicle.
A typical larger size grain cart will have an elongated tank with sides
sloping downward
and inward to form a trough. A horizontal auger nms under the bottom of the
tank from
the front to the rear of the trough. Grain flows from the tank into the
horizontal auger
under the tank which conveys the grain to an upright auger at one end,
typically the front
end, of the grain cart and out the elevated discharge of the upright auger
into a highway
transport vehicle or into another desired location. Such a grain cart is
disclosed for
example in United States Patent Number 6,488,114 to McMahon.
Valved ports are commonly provided in the bottom of the tank above the
horizontal
auger, and these ports are opened to allow grain to flow from the tank into
the horizontal
auger under the tank. Commonly the valves are provided by knife type valves,
where a
flat plate moves laterally to close an open port. In a large grain cart there
may be several
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valved ports along the length of the bottom of the tank. The knife valves are
connected
so that the valves and opened and closed together by a hydraulic cylinder or
like actuator.
When the tank is empty the ports are closed before more grain is deposited in
the tank.
This prevents grain from filling the horizontal auger while same is
stationary. In this way
the horizontal auger can be started while same is empty, thus reducing stress
on the auger
and drive. Once the horizontal auger is rotating the knife valves on the ports
are opened
and grain flows into the rotating horizontal auger and is conveyed out of the
tank.
Such grain carts are costly and are commonly used only at harvest time and are
idle for
the rest of the year.
Air seeder carts are also being made larger in order to reduce the frequency
of stopping
seeding operations to fill the cart with agricultural products such as seed
and fertilizer.
Seed tenders are available for carrying agricultural products to air seeders.
These tenders
typically have a number of compartments for carrying different agricultural
products such
as seed, nitrogen fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer, potassium fertilizer, and
the like.
Commonly, air seeder carts include a cart conveyor for receiving agricultural
products
from a transport vehicle and carrying same into the desired separate
compartments on the
air seeder cart. Seed tenders typically include one or more conveyors or
chutes to direct
material from each tender compartment separately into the air seeder conveyor,
or can
include a conveyor that is operative to convey material from each compartment
directly
into the fill opening on top of each air seeder cart compartment.
These seed tenders however are also costly and used only during seeding and
are then,
like the grain carts, again idle for the rest of the year.
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As air seeder carts get larger, the cart conveyors are also getting larger and
so are more
difficult to maneuver manually. Hydraulic cylinders and wheels are added to
facilitate
maneuvering these conveyors, however can be awkward to manipulate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination grain cart
seed tender
apparatus that overcomes problems in the prior art.
The present invention provides, in a first embodiment, a grain cart apparatus
for use to
transport agricultural products to an air seeder cart. The apparatus comprises
an elongate
tank with side walls sloping at lower portions thereof to a trough extending
along a length
of a bottom of the tank, the tank mounted on wheels for movement along the
ground. A
horizontal auger conveyor extends under the trough and is operative to convey
agricultural products from the tank to an upright oriented discharge auger
conveyor. A
plurality of ports are defined along a length of the trough, and a valve is
operative to open
and close each port. A partition wall inside the tank divides the tank. into
front. and rear
tank portions, and the partition wall is positioned between ports such that a
front set of
ports is located under the front tank portion and a rear set of ports is
located under the
rear tank portion. A front valve actuator is operative to activate front
valves on the front
set of ports to open and close the front set of ports, and a rear valve
actuator is operative
to activate rear valves on the rear set of ports to open and close the rear
set of ports. At
least one front auger aperture is defined in a bottom wall of the horizontal
auger under the
front set of ports, and at least one rear auger aperture is defined in a
bottom wall of the
horizontal auger under the rear set of ports. A product conveyor is mounted
under the
horizontal auger such that agricultural products flowing through the ports and
through the
auger apertures enter the product conveyor and are carried to a product
discharge at a rear
end of the grain cart.
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The present invention provides, in a second embodiment, a method of converting
a grain
cart for use to transport agricultural products to an air seeder cart, where
the grain cart
comprises an elongate tank with side walls sloping at lower portions thereof
to a trough
extending along a length of a bottom of the tank, a horizontal auger conveyor
extending
under the trough and operative to convey agricultural products from the tank
forward to
an upright oriented discharge auger conveyor, and a plurality of ports along a
length of
the trough, and a valve operative to open and close each port. The method
comprises
attaching a partition wall inside the tank to divide the tank into front and
rear tank
portions, wherein the partition wall is positioned between ports such that a
front set of
ports is located under the front tank portion and a rear set of ports is
located under the
rear tank portion; providing a front valve actuator operative to activate
front valves on
the front set of ports to open and close the front set of ports, and a rear
valve actuator
operative to activate rear valves on the rear set of ports to open and close
the rear set of
ports; providing at least one front auger aperture in a bottom wall of the
horizontal auger
under the front set of ports, and at least one rear auger aperture in a bottom
wall of the
horizontal auger under the rear set of ports;
mounting a belt conveyor under the
horizontal auger such that agricultural products flowing through the ports and
through the
auger apertures enters the belt conveyor and is carried to a product discharge
at a rear end
of the grain cart.
The grain cart seed tender of the invention can be used as a seed tender
during the
seeding season, and still used conventionally for receiving and transporting
grain from a
combine at harvest as originally intended.
The present invention provides, in a third embodiment, a drive wheel apparatus
for
maneuvering a supported body. The apparatus comprises a substantially vertical
pivot
shaft extending down from the supported body, and a pivot member rotatably
mounted to
the pivot shaft about a substantially vertical pivot axis. Right and left
wheels are
rotatably mounted to corresponding right and left sides of the pivot member
about a
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substantially horizontal rotational axis. A right wheel control is operative
to selectively
activate a right wheel drive to rotate the right wheel forward and rearward,
and a left
wheel control is operative to selectively activate a left wheel drive to
rotate the left wheel =
forward and rearward independent of the right wheel.
With the drive wheel apparatus of the present invention, the operator can then
control
movement of virtually any object that needs to be maneuvered. For example, in
order to
transfer agricultural products quickly, a transfer conveyor mounted to grain
cart seed
tender, or a cart conveyor mounted on an air seeder cart must have significant
capacity,
and therefore significant size and weight, making them cumbersome to maneuver.
The
drive wheel apparatus supports the weight and allows the operator to readily
move the
conveyor forward, rearward, or in a tight turn.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred
embodiments
are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best
understood in
conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the
several
diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of an embodiment of a grain cart apparatus of
the
present invention;
Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional end view of the embodiment of Fig. I;
Fig. 4 is a schematic top view of the grain cart of Fig 1 with a transfer
conveyor
attached to a side thereof;
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Fig. 5 is a schematic cutaway front view of an embodiment of a drive wheel
apparatus
of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a schematic front view of the embodiment of Fig. 5 with a joystick
wheel
control.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
Figs. 1-3 schematically illustrate a grain cart of the prior art that has been
converted for
use to effectively transport agricultural products to an air seeder cart by an
embodiment
of a method of the present invention.
The grain cart of the prior art comprises an elongate tank 3 with side walls 5
sloping at
lower portions thereof to a trough 7 extending along a length of a bottom of
the tank 3.
The tank 3 is mounted on wheels 4 for movement along the ground as seen in
Fig. 3. The
wheels are not shown in Fig. 2 in order to facilitate clear viewing of the
underside of the
tank 3.
A horizontal auger conveyor 9 extends under the trough 7 and is operative to
convey
agricultural products from the tank 3 forward in direction F to an upright
oriented
discharge auger conveyor 11. A plurality of ports 13 are defined along a
length of the
trough 7, and a valve plate 15 is operative to open and close each port 13.
The illustrated
trough 7 is essentially a double trough as best seen in Fig. 3. The double
trough 7 allows
the horizontal auger conveyor 9 to be accessed from two sides. The ports 13
are defined
on each side of the trough 7 thereof such that grain can flow into the
horizontal auger 9
from two sides, facilitating and enhancing the flow of the grain into the
horizontal auger
conveyor 9.
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The valve plates 15 move forward or rearward to open or close the ports 13. In
a typical
grain cart these valve plates are connected together by links 17 such that a
single actuator
moves all the plates 15 at the same time. The valve plates 15 are shown in the
open
position in phantom lines. In the original grain cart all the ports 13 from
the front to the
rear of the trough 7 open and close together, so that grain can flow out of
the entire tank 3
and into the horizontal auger 9 at the same time.
The method of converting the grain cart of the prior art comprises attaching a
partition
wall 19 inside the tank 3 to divide the tank into front and rear tank portions
3F, 3R. The
partition wall 19 is positioned between ports 13 such that a front set of
ports 13F is
located under the front tank portion 3F and a rear set of ports 13R is located
under the
rear tank portion 3R.
In the conversion process the link 17A that connects the valve plates 15 under
the front
valves 13F to the valve plates 15 under the rear valves 13R is cut and a
second actuator
23 is provided. In the illustrated grain cart, the original actuator 23 is
attached to the rear
wall and in the conversion process becomes actuator 23R operative to activate
rear valve
plates 15 on the rear set of ports 13R to open and close the rear set of ports
13R. The
second actuator 23 is attached to the partition wall and becomes actuator 23F
operative to
activate front valve plates 15 on the front set of ports 13F to open and close
the front set
of ports 13F.
The. actuators 23F, 23R are provided by hydraulic cylinders with separate
controls such
that the valve plates 15 under the front and rear sets of ports 13F, 13R can
be
independently opened and closed. When used as a grain cart, the hydraulic
supply to the
front and rear actuators can be connected so that again, all ports are opened
and closed
together.
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Auger apertures 27 are cut in the bottom wall of the tube 29 of the horizontal
auger 9 to
allow agricultural products 31 to flow from the tank 3 through the ports 13
into the auger
tube 27 of the horizontal auger conveyor 9, and then out of the tube 27 and
into a separate
product conveyor 33 mounted under the horizontal auger 9. A front auger
aperture 29F is
located under the front set of ports 13F, and a rear auger aperture 29R is
located in the
bottom wall of the horizontal auger under the rear set of ports 1.3R. In the
illustrated
grain cart, the front auger aperture 29F is shown as a single aperture
extending along the
horizontal auger tube 27 under ports of the set of front ports I3F, while the
rear auger
aperture 29R is shown as separate auger apertures 29R, each located under a
corresponding one of the set of rear ports 13R.. It is contemplated that
either arrangement
will perform the required function, so long as each auger aperture has a
length sufficient
to allow agricultural products to flow through the auger tube 27 when the
ports 13 are
open.
It is contemplated that for ease of cleaning and installation the product
conveyor 33 will
most often be a belt conveyor, but an auger or pneumatic conveyor may also be
used in
some situations. The product conveyor 33 is operative to receive agricultural
products 31
flowing through the ports 13 and through the auger apertures 13 and to convey
the
received agricultural products to a discharge 35 at a rear end of the grain
cart.
Thus in operation, two different agricultural products, such as seed and
fertilizer are
placed into each of the front and rear tank portions 3F, 3R. When it is
desired to transfer
product from the front tank portion 3F to an air seeder cart, the product
conveyor 33 is
started and the front actuator 23F is activated to open the front set of ports
13F. The
product in the front tank portion 3F then flows through the ports 13F. through
the
horizontal auger 9 and out through the front auger aperture 29 in the tube 27
of the
horizontal auger 9 onto the belt of the product conveyor and is discharged at
the
discharge 35 into an air seeder cart conveyor or the like for carriage up into
the air seeder
cart compartments. When the desired amount of product has been transferred
from the
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front tank portion, the front actuator 23F is activated to close the front set
of ports 13F,
the product conveyor 33 is operated until empty. The air seeder cart conveyor
can be
repositioned to discharge into different air seeder compartment, and the rear
actuator is
activated to open the rear set of ports 13R, and similarly transfer product
from the rear
tank portion 3R to the different compartment on the air seeder cart.
The auger apertures 29 are simply left open at all times when the converted
grain cart is
being used for seeding purposes. Removable cover plates 25 are operative to
cover the
front and rear auger apertures and close the auger apertures 29 when it is
desired to use
the horizontal auger 9 conventionally during harvest for hauling crop from a
combine. It
is contemplated alternatively that the auger apertures could be left open,
such that the
product belt conveyor 33 would be filled with harvested product. Once the
product belt
conveyor 33 is filled, the auger 9 would be able to operate normally, however
considerable excess weight would be carried, and added stress put on the
product belt
conveyor 33.
It is readily seen that further partition walls and port valve actuators could
be installed to
provide three, four, or more separate compartments in the tank 3 to carry a
further variety
of separate agricultural products as might be desired.
Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a transfer conveyor 37 pivotally attached to
the grain tank
3 by inner and outer support arms 39. The attachment can be directly to the
tank 3 or to
the grain cart frame to which the grain tank 3 is also attached. The support
arms 39 arc
pivotally connected to each other about a substantially vertical middle. pivot
axis V2. The
inner end of the inner support arm is pivotally connected to the grain tank
about a
substantially vertical inner pivot axis VI, and an outer end of the outer
support arm is
pivotally connected to the transfer conveyor 37 about an outer vertical pivot
axis V3 and
about an outer horizontal pivot axis H.
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The illustrated arrangement allows the transfer conveyor 37 to be oriented in
first
position 37A where the intake end 41 of the transfer conveyor 37 is located
under a
transport vehicle 43 to receive agricultural products from the transport
vehicle 43 and the
discharge end 45 thereof is located to discharge received agricultural
products from the
transport vehicle 43 into one of the front and rear tank portions 3F, 3R. The
transfer
conveyor 37 can also be oriented in second position 37B where the intake end
41 of the
transfer conveyor 37 is located under the product conveyor discharge 35 and
the
discharge end 45 thereof is located to discharge received agricultural
products from the
tank 3 into an air seeder cart compartment 47.
For even greater versatility and convenience of operation, the transfer
conveyor could be
a telescoping conveyor such as is described in United States Patent Number
6,805,229 to
Dekoning. Wheels and hydraulic cylinder actuators can be provided to
facilitate
maneuvering the transfer conveyor 37 as required. In the illustrated
apparatus, the inner
and outer arms 39 are supported on a drive wheel apparatus 50 as illustrated
in Figs. 5
and 6.
The drive wheel apparatus 50 comprises a substantially vertical pivot shaft 51
extending
down from one of the inner and outer arms 39, and a pivot member, illustrated
as a sleeve
53, rotatably mounted to the pivot shaft 51 about a substantially vertical
pivot axis PA.
Right and left wheels 55R, 55L are rotatably mounted to corresponding right
and left
sides of the sleeve 53 about a substantially horizontal rotational axis RA. A
right wheel
control 57R is operative to selectively activate a right wheel drive,
illustrated as right
hydraulic motor 59R, to rotate the right wheel 55R forward and rearward;. A
left wheel
control 57L is operative to selectively activate a left wheel drive,
illustrated as left
hydraulic motor 59L to rotate the left wheel 55L forward and rearward
independent of the
right wheel 55R.
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In the illustrated apparatus 50 the right and left wheel drives are provided
by
Corresponding right and left hydraulic motors 59R, 59L, and the right and left
wheel
controls 57R, 57L are mounted on one of the inner and outer arms 39 and are
operative to
direct pressurized hydraulic fluid to the corresponding right and left
hydraulic motors
59R, 59L.
The bottom end of the pivot shaft 51 is rotatably engaged in the sleeve 53 and
secured by
a bolt 61or other conventional means, such that the shaft 51 rotates in the
sleeve 53 about
the vertical pivot axis PA. The pivot shaft 51 defines conduits 63 connecting
corresponding right and left wheel controls 57R, 571. to the right and left
hydraulic
motors 59R, 59L through the sleeve 53.
In the illustrated apparatus 50 a first and second conduits 63A, 638 connect
the right
hydraulic motor 59R to the right wheel control 57R.
The first conduit 63A comprises a first vertical bore 65A extending downward
through
the pivot shaft 51 from a top end thereof and a first lateral bore 67A
extending laterally
from an outer surface of the pivot shaft 51 at a first vertical location A to
intersect the
first vertical bore 65A. A first groove 69A is defined along an inner surface
of the sleeve
53 at the first vertical location A such that the first lateral bore 67A
connects to the first
groove 69A. A first upper seal 71, typically for example an o-ring, is
positioned above
the first groove 69A and a first lower seal 73 is positioned below the first
groove 69A and
are operative to seal the outer surface of the pivot shaft 51 to the inner
surface of the
sleeve 53. A first channel 75A extends through a wall of the sleeve 53 from an
outer
surface of the sleeve 53 to the first groove 69A and a first hose 77A connects
the first
channel 75A to a first port on the right hydraulic motor 59R.
Thus pressurized hydraulic fluid can pass from the right wheel control 57R
through
vertical bore 65A to the lateral bore 67A and out into the groove 69A and from
there
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through the channel 75A into the hose 77A to the port 79A on the hydraulic
motor 59R.
No matter where the sleeve 53 is positioned with respect to the shaft 51 about
the vertical
pivot axis PA, the hydraulic fluid will pass from the lateral bore 67A between
the seals
71 and 73 along the groove 69B to the channel 75A.
in the same manner the second conduit 63B comprises a second vertical bore 658
extending downward through the pivot shaft 51 from a top end thereof and a
second
lateral bore 67B extending laterally from an outer surface of the pivot shaft
51 at a second
vertical location B to intersect the second vertical bore 65A. A second groove
69B is
defined along an inner surface of the sleeve 53 at the second vertical
location B such that
the second lateral bore 678 connects to the second groove 69A. The first lower
seal 73
above the second groove 69B and second lower seal 79 below the second groove
69B are
operative to seal the outer surface of the pivot shaft 51 to the inner surface
of the sleeve
53. A second channel 75B extends through a wall of the sleeve 53 from an outer
surface
of the sleeve 53 to the second groove 69B and a second hose 77B connects the
second
channel 75B to a second port on the right hydraulic motor 59R.
Similarly conduits 63C and 63D connect the left wheel control 571, to the left
hydraulic
motor 591- The operator can then control movement of the transfer conveyor 37,
or any
other body supported by the apparatus 50 by manipulating the right and left
wheel
controls 57R, 571õ. Both wheels can be rotated in the same direction, either
forward or
reverse, and also one can be rotated faster or slower, or in the opposite
direction, to make
a turn. The apparatus 50 would, for example, be suited to manipulate the
conveyors that
are typically mounted on air seeder carts to load agricultural products into
the cart. As air
seeder carts get larger, these conveyors are also getting larger and so are
more difficult to
maneuver manually.
The controls 57R, 571_, shown in Fig. 5 require that the operator keep a hand
on each
control lever 81. For improved convenience Fig. 6 shows an apparatus where the
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controls 57R, 571.: are combined and controlled by a joystick lever 83, such
as is known
in the hydraulic art, which requires only one hand to operate.
Thus a gain cart of the prior art can be converted to use as a seed tender,
while not
interfering with the use of the same conventionally to receive grain from a
combine at
harvest ¨ the partitions walls reduce capacity very marginally, and the front
and rear
valve actuators can be hydraulically connected to operate as one, or can be
operated
individually. The period of use of the grain cart is greatly extended and the
high capacity
of the conventional grain cart is well used for transporting agricultural
products to
similarly large air seeder carts.
It is also contemplated that a grain cart could be converted at the factory or
manufactured
to provide a combination grain cart seed tender as described herein.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the
invention.
Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those
skilled in
the art., it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction
and operation
shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or
modifications in
structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within
the scope of
the claimed invention.
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