AUGER HOPPER WITH ENHANCED OVERFLOW TRAPPING ABILITY

TREMIE DE VIS SANS FIN AVEC CAPACITE DE RETENUE DE TROP-PLEIN AMELIOREE

English Abstract

An auger hopper attachment that can be positioned immediately adjacent a grain hopper outlet to reduce grain loss during transfer. The hopper comprises an adjustable stand that can be used to adjust the vertical position of the hopper to raise it toward the grain hopper outlet.

French Abstract

Une fixation de trémie de vis sans fin peut être positionnée immédiatement adjacente à une sortie de trémie à grains pour réduire la perte de grains lors d'un transfert. La trémie comprend un support réglable qui peut être utilisé pour régler la position verticale de la trémie et la soulever vers la sortie de la trémie à grains.

Claims

Claims
1. A hopper for transferring grain frorn a storage vessel to an auger, the
storage vessel
comprising a downwardly disposed outlet and the auger comprising an intake
end, the
bopper comprising:
auger-engaging means for receiving the intake end of the auger;
grain-receiving means for receiving grain from the outlet; and
a ground-engaging adjustable support member configured to allow vertical
adjustrnent of
the gain-receiving means to enable positioning of the grain-receiving means
adjacent the
outlet.
2. The hopper of Claim 1 wherein the storage vessel is a grain bin.
3. The hopper of Claim 1 wherein the storage vessel is a grain truck.
4. The hopper of Claim 1 wherein the auger is a screw-type auger.
5. The hopper of Clainl 1 wherein the auger-engaging means conlprise a
channel for
receiving the intake end of the auger.
6. The hopper of Claim 5 wherein the auger-engaging means further comprise
a sealing
gasket material provided in the channel and a strap for securing the intake
end of the
auger in the channel.
7. The hopper of Claim 1 wherein the grain-receiving means comprise a
receiving void
defined by a bottom surface and a peripheral wall extending upwardly from the
bottom
surface.
8. The hopper of Claim 7 wherein the peripheral wall is configured and
adapted to receive
the outlet.
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9. The hopper of Claim 1 wherein the support member comprises a ground-
engaging
portion, a vertically-movable portion and securing means for securing the
vertically-
movable portion in a desired position in relation to the ground-engaging
portion.
10. The hopper of Claim 9 wherein the vertically-movable portion comprises
an inner
passage extending therethrough, the passage is adapted to receive the ground-
engaging
portion therein, and the securing means comprise a pin for removably securing
the
vertically-movable portion in the desired position in relation to the ground-
engaging
portion.
1. The hopper of Claim 9 wherein the vertically-movable portion is
removably mounted on
the grain-receiving means by mounting means.
12. The hopper of Claim 1 wherein the grain-receiving means comprise
remainder discharge
means for emptying grain remaining in the grain-receiving means after
operation of the
auger.
13. The hopper of Claim 12 wherein the remainder discharge means comprise
an openable
portal in a bottom surface of the grain-receiving means.
14. The hopper of Claim 1 further comprising a mesh guard for receiving the
intake end of
the auger.
15. The hopper of Claim 11 wherein the mounting means are adaptable for
connection to a
standard truck hitch for auger transport when the vertically-movable portion
has been
disengaged from the mounting means.
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Description

CA 02779441 2012-06-05
AUGER HOPPER WITH ENHANCED OVERFLOW TRAPPING ABILITY
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to grain handling equipment, and more
particularly to hoppers or
boots that are used in conjunction with augers to direct grain toward the
auger intake.
Background of the Invention
It is well known in the art of grain handling to employ powered augers to
transport grain from
one holding vessel to another for various purposes. For example, augers are
regularly used to
transfer grain in a truck to a holding bin for storage, or vice versa to
enable transport of grain off-
site.
ITowever, it also well known that the use of augers can result in an
undesirable degree of grain
loss or scatter. Screw-type augers have a relatively narrow, cylindrical
intake end which requires
immersion in a certain depth of grain to enable uptake of the grain into the
auger, but commonly
used grain bins are of the hopper style with a downwardly disposed outlet,
with the result that
grain is often scattered or lost when attempting to direct grain downwardly at
the auger intake.
Also, wind can cause increased loss due to the distance the grain travels
until it is taken up by the
auger.
t,
Several solutions have been proposed to address this problem, primarily in the
development of
hoppers or "boots" that are attached to an auger intake end or receive the
auger intake end. For
example, United States Patent No. 4.220,434 to Letzig discloses a hopper
attachment for an
auger that comprises a relatively wide area for receiving grain draining from
a bin outlet, which
is then funneled toward the auger intake, the concept being that the wide area
will help prevent
scatter/loss while the funneling effect will provide the grain directly to the
auger intake.
Numerous prior art solutions are directed to modifying the means by which a
hopper engages the
ground surface, such as Canadian Patent No. 2,167,665 to Stark, Canadian
Patent No. 2,550,414
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CA 02779441 2012-06-05
to Spenceley et al. and United States Patent No. 4,036,411 to Westhoff.
However, the vertical
distance between the bin outlet and the auger hopper can be significant and
the proposed
solutions may therefore have little or no substantial impact on the problem of
grain loss.
What is needed, therefore, is a means to address the problem of grain loss
during transport that
reduces the impact of the vertical distance between the bin outlet and the
auger hopper.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention accordingly seeks to provide a walled hopper that
comprises a ground-
engaging adjustable support member that can close the gap between the bin
outlet and the hopper
and reduce grain loss during transfer.
According to a broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a
hopper for transferring
grain from a storage vessel to an auger, the storage vessel comprising a
downwardly disposed
outlet and the auger comprising an intake end, the hopper comprising:
auger-engaging means for receiving the intake end of the auger:
grain-receiving means for receiving grain from the outlet; and
a ground-engaging adjustable support member configured to allow vertical
adjustment of
the grain-receiving area to enable positioning of the grain-receiving area
adjacent the
outlet.
The storage vessel may be a grain bin, a grain truck or some other means of
grain retention, and
the auger is a screw-type auger. In exemplary embodiments of the present
invention, the auger-
engaging means comprise a channel for receiving the intake end of the auger,
and the auger-
engaging means preferably further comprise a sealing gasket material, such as
foam, provided in
the channel and a strap for securing the intake end of the auger in the
channel. The grain-
receiving means preferably comprise a receiving void defined by a bottom
surface and a
peripheral wall extending upwardly from the bottom surface, and the peripheral
wall is most
preferably configured and adapted to receive the outlet.
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CA 02779441 2012-06-05
In further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the support member
comprises a
ground-engaging portion, a vertically-movable portion and securing means for
securing the
vertically-movable portion in a desired position in relation to the ground-
engaging portion. The
vertically-movable portion preferably comprises an inner passage extending
therethrough, the
passage is adapted to receive the ground-engaging portion therein, and the
securing means
comprise a pin for removably securing the vertically-movable portion in the
desired position in
relation to the ground-engaging portion. The vertically-movable portion is
preferably removably
mounted on the grain-receiving means by mounting means, and the mounting means
are most
preferably adaptable for connection to a standard truck hitch for auger
transport when the
3.0 vertically-movable portion has been disengaged from the mounting means.
In yet further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the grain-
receiving means
comprise remainder discharge means for emptying grain remaining in the grain-
receiving means
after operation of the auger, and such remainder discharge means preferably
comprise an
openable portal in a bottom surface of the grain-receiving means. Exemplary
embodiments of
the present invention further comprise a mesh guard for receiving the intake
end of the auger,
which provides a safety feature that is mandated by law in certain
jurisdictions.
A detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is
given in the
following. It is to be understood. however, that the invention is not to be
construed as being
limited to this embodiment.
Brief Description of the Drawin2s
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the
present
invention:
Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a hopper in accordance with the present
invention;
Figure 2 is a top plan view of the hopper of Figure 1;
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CA 02779441 2012-06-05
Figure 3 is a front elevation view of the hopper of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a detail elevation view of an adjustable stand;
Figure 5 is a side elevation view of the hopper of Figure 1 mounted on an
auger;
Figure 6 is a top plan view of the hopper of Figure I mounted on an auger: and
Figure 7 is a side elevation view showing the hopper supported adjacent the
bin outlet.
3.0
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with
reference to the
accompanying drawings.
Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of a hopper
according to the
present invention is illustrated.
Referring now in detail to Figures 1 to 3, a hopper according to the present
invention is indicated
by the numeral 10. The hopper 10 comprises a channel 24 for receiving the
auger in operation,
and the channel is provided with both a foam sealing gasket material 26 and an
adjustable strap
28 for holding the auger securely in place when positioned in the channel 24.
As can be seen in
Figure 2, a portion of the channel 24 is covered by a steel mesh guard 52,
which is welded in
place and will house the intake end of the auger during operation.
The hopper 10 also comprises a grain-receiving area 30 which is defined by a
bottom surface 32
and a peripheral wall 34 extending upwardly from the bottom surface 32. As can
best be seen in
Figure 3, the peripheral wall can be manufactured as a separate piece and
attached to the hopper
base 54 by means of fastening means 56 such as bolts. While the hopper base 54
is preferably
constructed using 16 gauge steel, the peripheral wall 34 can be composed of 2-
ply belting.
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The grain-receiving area 30 also comprises a portal 50 in the bottom surface
32 (under the mesh
guard 52 in Figure 2). a hinged door that can be opened to allow discharge of
any residual
amount of grain that cannot be taken up by the auger.
The hopper 10 also comprises a ground-engaging, adjustable support member 36,
which is
illustrated in detail in Figure 4. Although other variations will be obvious
to one skilled in the
art, the exemplary embodiment is preferred for both simplicity and strength.
In the illustrated
embodiment, the support member 36 comprises a ground-engaging portion 38
having a base 40.
The ground-engaging portion 38 is provided with holes 58 for receiving a pin
44. The support
member 36 further comprises a vertically-movable portion 42, which is a hollow
square steel
tube that is configured to receive the ground-engaging portion 38 therein. The
vertically-
movable portion 42 is moved into any desired position along the length of the
ground-engaging
portion 38 and secured in place by means of the pin 44 which passes through
holes in both
portions 38, 42.
=
The vertically-movable portion 42 is also provided with mounting means 46 for
mounting the
portion 42 on the hopper base 54. This is preferably a selective mounting, as
is illustrated, where
the mounting means 46 can be disengaged by removing the pin 48. When the
vertically-movable
portion 42 has thus been disengaged from the hopper base 54, the mounting
means 46 can be
used to connect to a truck hitch. allowing transport of the auger without
removing the hopper 10.
Figures 5 to 7 illustrate the hopper 10 connected to an auger 18. As can he
seen in Figure 6, the
intake end 20 of the auger 18 is received in the hopper 10, such that the
screw 22 is covered by
the mesh guard 52 and the auger 18 is secured in place by means of the
adjustable strap 28.
Figure 7 illustrates how the present invention can be used to hold the grain-
receiving area 30 in
position immediately beneath the outlet 14 of the bin 12. Although the hopper
10 is illustrated as
being slightly below the outlet 14 to show the grain 16 falling into the grain-
receiving area 30, in
practice the hopper 10 may be positioned tightly against the outlet 14 to
better avoid grain loss.
As can be readily seen, then, the hopper of the present invention presents
significant advantages
over the prior art. The hopper can be elevated into contact with the bin
outlet to better avoid
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CA 02779441 2013-08-27
gain loss or scatter. Also, the support member can be removed to allow towing
of the auger
with the hopper still attached. Other advantages would be obvious to those
skilled in the art.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the
invention. Thus, while
certain aspects and embodiments of the invention have been described, these
have been
presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of
the invention.
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Representative Drawing