Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
MODULAR HOPPER CONE
This disclosure relates to the field of storage bins for particulate material
such as grain,
fertilizer, and the like, and in particular an system for providing a modular
hopper cone for
.. storage bins that can be transported in sections and then bolted together.
BACKGROUND
Bins for storage of particulates commonly include a cone shaped hopper floor
so that the
particulates flow downward to an opening at the bottom of the cone to empty
the bin. These
hopper cones are commonly manufactured and welded as a single unit and then
transported
to a storage site where the bin is then installed on the hopper cone. Road
traffic regulations
vary between jurisdictions but in most cases there is a limit to the width of
the hopper cones
that can be transported on roads. Transporting loads in excess of the legal
width can require
warning vehicles behind or ahead of the transport vehicle, permits, and non-
direct routes
to avoid obstructions that significantly increasing transport costs.
To avoid this costly transport, hopper cones have been developed that are
shipped in
smaller parts and then assembled at the storage site by bolting the parts
together. These
bolted cones include legs attached to a support band and then small steel
pieces that are in
turn bolted to the band in rows Such bolt together cones are made for example
by Darmani
Grain Storage Systems of Fiske, Saskatchewan, Canada and by Bridgeview
Manufacturing
Inc. of Gerald, Saskatchewan, Canada. The legs and supporting band structure
are bolted
together and the hopper cone is then assembled from sheets of steel (60-80 or
more sheets
depending on the cone diameter) that are bolted together by one person inside
the hopper
inserting the bolts and another person outside attaching the nuts.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-03-21
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure provides a hopper cone system that overcomes problems
in the prior
art.
In a first embodiment the present disclosure provides a hopper cone system
comprising a
plurality of cone sections. Each cone section comprises a curved sheet
tapering from an
upper end with an upper width to a lower end with a lower width that is less
than the upper
width, the curved sheet having a concave inner face and a convex outer face.
Right and
left sheet flanges extend along corresponding right and left sides of the
curved sheet and
extend outward from the outer face of the curved sheet and the right and left
sheet flanges
define sheet holes. A band structure portion extends along the upper end of
the curved
sheet and is fixed to the upper end of the curved sheet. The band structure
portion
comprises right and left band flanges extending outward from the outer face of
the curved
sheet and the right and left band flanges define band holes. Each cone section
is fastened
to an adjacent ri.t.tht cone section and is fastened to an adjacent left cone
section such that
the plurality of cone sections form a conical bin floor. The conical bin floor
is supported
by a plurality of substantially upwardly oriented bin legs attached to a band
structure
formed by the band structure portions.
In a second embodiment the present disclosure provides a method of providing a
hopper
cone for a particulate bin, The method comprises transporting a plurality of
cone sections
and a plurality bin legs to a storage site; wherein each cone section
comprises a curved
sheet tapering from an upper end with an upper width to a lower end with a
lower width
that is less than the upper width, the curved sheet having a concave inner
face and a convex
outer face; providing right and left sheet flanges along corresponding right
and left sides
of each curved sheet extending outward from the outer face of the curved
sheet, and
providing sheet holes in the right and left sheet flanges; fixing a band
structure portion
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-03-21
along the upper end of each curved sheet, the band structure portion
comprising right and
left band flanges extending outward from the outer face of the curved sheet,
and providing
band holes in the right and left band flanges; fastening each cone section to
an adjacent
right cone section and to an adjacent left cone section such that the
plurality of cone
sections form a conical bin floor; extending the plurality of bin legs
substantially upwardly
and attaching the plurality of bin legs to a band structure formed by the band
structure
portions.
The present disclosure provides a hopper cone system for a bin for grain or
other
particulates that allows for economical transport of such hopper cones for
large diameter
bins. The cone sections can be made in longer lengths for wider floors. The
flanges allow
the system to be assembled from outside the hopper cone, with bolts inserted
and fastened
by a single person. A handling bracket can be used to grip the cone section
with a handing
arm to maneuver the cone section 3 as needed for assembly
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 top perspective view of an embodiment of the system of the present
disclosure;
Fig. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-03-21
Fig. 4 is a side view of a cone section of the embodiment of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a bottom view of a cone section of the embodiment of Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 is a top view of a cone section of the embodiment of Fig. 1;
Fig. 7 is a top view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 loaded on a vehicle for
transport;
Fig. 8 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1 loaded on a vehicle for
transport as in
Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 is a side view of a tractor, front end loader, and handing arm for use
in assembling
the embodiment of Fig..
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
Figs. 1 - 3 illustrate an embodiment of hopper cone system 1 of the present
disclosure.
The system 1 comprises a plurality of cone sections 3 as illustrated in Figs.
4 ¨ 6. Each
cone section 3 comprises a curved sheet 5 tapering from an upper end 5U with
an upper
width WU to a lower end 5L with a lower width WL. The lower width WL is less
than the
upper width WU such that each cone section 3 is shaped like slice of pie as
shown in Figs.
5 and 6, the curved sheet having a concave inner face 5A and a convex outer
face 5B.
Right and left sheet flanges 7R, 7L extend along corresponding right and left
sides of the
curved sheet 5 and extend outward from the outer face B of the curved sheet,
and the sheet
flanges 7 define sheet holes 9. A band structure portion 11 extends along the
upper end
5U of the curved sheet 5 and is fixed to the upper end 5U of the curved sheet
5. The band
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-03-21
structure portion 11 comprises right and left band flanges 13R, 13L extending
outward
from the outer face 5B of the curved sheet 5 and the band flanges 13 define
band holes 15.
Each cone section 3 is fastened to an adjacent right cone section 3R and is
fastened to an
adjacent left cone section 3L such that the plurality of cone sections 3 form
a conical bin
floor 17. The conical bin floor 17 is supported by a plurality of
substantially upwardly
oriented bin legs 19 attached to a band structure 21 formed by the band
structure portions
11 of each cone section 3.
Each cone section 3 is fastened to a right adjacent cone section 3R by flange
fasteners,
typically bolts 23, passing through the sheet holes 9 in the right curved
sheet 3R and
attached with corresponding nuts 25 and also by band fasteners, typically
bolts 23 again,
passing through the band holes 15 in the right curved sheet 3R, and is also
fastened to a
left adjacent cone section 3L by the flange fasteners, bolts 23 attached with
nuts 25, passing
through the sheet holes 9 in the left curved sheet 3L and by the band
fasteners, bolts 23
attached with nuts 25, passing through the band holes 15 in the left curved
sheet 3L.
The method of assembling the cone sections 3 and bin legs 19 may vary however
two cone
sections 3 can be supported in a way that allows the sheet flanges 7 and band
flanges 13
of each cone section to coincide so the bolts 23 and nuts 25 can be installed
in the sheet
holes 9 and the band holes 15. Depending on the diameter of the bin floor 17,
the length
of each cone section 3 will vary as will the weight. A handling bracket 27 can
be fixed to
the outer face 5B of each cone section 3 and be configured to attach to a
handling arm 29.
The handling are 29 can be attachable to a front end loader 31 of a tractor 33
as seen in Fig.
9. The arm 29 can then be clamped to the bracket 27 and the cone section 3 can
be
maneuvered as needed. Two such front end loaders 31 could be used initially to
support
the two cone sections 3 with their sheet and band flanges 7, 13 ready for
insertion of the
bolts 25.
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-03-21
An advantage of the disclosed system is that the sheet flanges 7 and band
flanges 13 on the
cone sections 3 can be fastened by a single person inserting the bolts 23 into
the sheet holes
9 and the band holes 15 and then fastening them with the nuts 25.
The conical bin floor 17 defines a bottom opening 35 and a closure device 37
operative to
open and close the bottom opening 35.
The bin legs 19 support the band structure 21 at a middle portion of each cone
section 3,
reducing stresses on the bolts 23 which are inserted into the band sheet holes
15 in each
cone section to form the band structure 21. The bin legs could be straight up
and down but
the illustrated bin legs 19 comprise a first leg member 19A attached at a top
end to a first
band portion 11A of a first cone section 3A and a second leg member 19B
attached at a top
end to a second band portion 11B of an adjacent second cone section 3B, and
wherein the
first and second leg members 19A, 19B taper toward each other and bottom ends
of the
first and second leg members 19A, 19B are fixed to a bottom plate 39.
Figs. 8 and 9 show how the disclosed hopper cone system 1 can be loaded on a
vehicle 41
and transported on roads through a political jurisdiction 43 and wherein the
upper width of
the cone sections 3 complies with a legal transport width in the political
jurisdiction. The
conical sections 3 and legs 19 are vertically stacked on the vehicle for
transport through
the political jurisdiction 43. Alternatively where the cone sections have an
upper width
WU that is above a legal width, the cone sections 3 could be stacked
horizontally.
The present disclosure further provides a method of providing a hopper cone
for a
particulate bin. The method comprises transporting a plurality of cone
sections 3 and a
plurality bin legs 19 to a storage site; wherein each cone section 3 comprises
a curved sheet
5 tapering from an upper end with an upper width WU to a lower end with a
lower width
WL that is less than the upper width WIJ, the curved sheet 5 having a concave
inner face
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-03-21
5A and a convex outer face 5B; providing right and left sheet flanges 7R, 7L
along
corresponding right and left sides of each curved sheet 5 extending outward
from the outer
face 5B of the curved sheet, and providing sheet holes 9 in the right and left
sheet flanges;
fixing a band structure portion 11 along the upper end of each curved sheet 5,
the band
structure portion 11 comprising right and left band flanges 1312.., 13L
extending outward
from the outer face 5B of the curved sheet, and providing band holes 15 in the
right and
left band flanges; fastening each cone section to an adjacent right cone
section and to an
adjacent left cone section such that the plurality of cone sections form a
conical bin floor
17; extending the plurality of bin legs 19 substantially upwardly and
attaching the plurality
.. of bin legs to a band structure 21 formed by the band structure portions
11.
The present disclosure provides a hopper cone system 1 for a bin for grain or
other
particulates that allows for economical transport of such hopper cones for
large diameter
bins. The cone sections 3 can be made in longer lengths for wider floors. The
flanges 9,
.. 13 allow the system to be assembled from outside the hopper cone, with
bolts inserted and
fastened by a single person. The handling bracket 27 can be used to grip the
cone section
3 with a handing arm 29 to maneuver the cone section 3 as needed for assembly.
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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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-03-21
