GB2208379A - Apparatus for supporting a bag during filling - Google Patents

Abstract

A hopper apparatus for use in filling bags, e.g. with sand, comprises a wheeled trolley 10 having an inverted U-shaped frame arranged to straddle a bag 30 with handles 32 of the bag hooked over movable frame-mounted projections 19, the trolley being further arranged to support a hopper 22 (Fig 2) for filling the bag. The projections 19 are mounted on rotatable shafts 17, 18 to release the bag handles of a filled bag and enable the trolley and hopper to be wheeled away from over the released filled bag without moving the latter. <IMAGE>

Description

HOPPER APPARATUS This invention relates to a hopper apparatus for use in filling bags with sand or other materials in e.g. a builder's yard.

It is nowadays becoming the practice for builders' merchants to deliver quantities of sand or gravel etc. in large open bags, rather than as loose material which has to be tipped from the delivery lorry. The filled bags are unloaded from the delivery lorry using the crane which is commonly provided on the lorry nowadays. There are however problems in filling the bags in a convenient manner in the builder's yard. It has been proposed to fill each bag through a hopper, but as the bag has to be filled when resting on the ground and with its handles help up, it is heavy to move afterwards. In order to overcome this, it has been proposed to use a fork lift truck to support the hopper, the handles of the bag being hooked onto projections of the hopper and the lift being lowered slightly after filling to enable the handles to be unhooked.But it is inconvenient to require the use of a fork lift truck.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a hopper apparatus for use in filling bags with e.g.

sand, comprising a wheeled trolley arranged to bridge a bag with handles of the bag hooked over projections mounted on the trolley, the trolley being further arranged to support a hopper for filling the bag and the projections being movable once the bag has been filled in order to release the bag handles and enable the trolley and hopper to be wheeled away from the filled bag.

In use of this apparatus, the empty bag is easily placed in position and its handles hooked over the appropriate projections of the trolley. The bag is then filled easily with a.measured quantity of sand or gravel etc. through the hopper. Then the projections are moved, preferably by throwing a single lever manually, to release the bag handles. The trolley and supported hopper can then be wheeled away, leaving the filled bag resting on the ground ready to be craned onto a delivery lorry when required.

An embodiment of this invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a trolley part of a hopper apparatus in accordance with this invention, shown without the hopper but with a bag in position ready to be filled; FIGURE 2 is a front view of the apparatus shown with the hopper in position.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a hopper apparatus comprising a wheeled trolley 10 supporting a hopper 20, which may be lifted from the trolley. The trolley comprises two spaced-apart side frames 11,12 each running on a pair of wheels e.g. 14,15, the two side frames being joined by a top frame 16. The three frames are formed of square-section metal tubes welded together.

Between the front and back elements of the top frame are journalled a pair of shafts 17,18 each having a pair of pegs 19 projecting from them.

The trolley is arranged to bridge a bag 30 to be filled, with handles 32 at the four corners of the bag hooked over the pegs 19 of the trolley and the bag resting on the ground. The bag can now be filled through the hopper. The hopper has parallel front and rear walls 22,24, the rear wall 24 being higher than the front as shown. If in filling the hopper from the front the rear wall is struck, then the trolley is free to roll backwards slightly to absorb shock.

Once the bag is filled, then by throwing a single manual lever (not shown), the two shafts 17,18 are turned so that the pegs 19 are moved, from the generally vertical position shown, to an inwardly and downwardly pointing position, such that the handles 32 of the bag slip off.

Preferably a link interconnects the two shafts 17,18 and the manual lever rotates one shaft (and the link causes the other shaft to rotate) so that the pegs 19 move overcentre to their positions enabling the bag handles to slip off. The trolley can now be wheeled forwards or backwards away from the bag, ready for use in filling another bag, whilst the bag just filled is left on the ground until it is to be craned onto a delivery lorry.

Claims (5)

1. A hopper apparatus for use in filling bags with e.g. sand, comprising a wheeled trolley arranged to bridge a bag with handles of the bag hooked over projections mounted on the trolley, the trolley being further arranged to support a hopper for filling the bag and the projections being movable once the bag has been filled in order to release the bag handles and enable the trolley and hopper to be wheeled away from the filled bag.

2. A hopper apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which the wheeled trolley comprises two spaced-apart side frames each running on a pair of wheels, the two side frames being joined by a top frame.

3. A hopper apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the wheeled trolley is provided with a pair of shafts carrying said projections, which projections are movable as aforesaid upon rotation of the shafts.

A A hopper apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the wheeled torlley comprises a manually operable lever for rotating the two shafts simultaneously for releasing the bag handles.

5. A hopper apparatus for use in filling bags with e.g. sand, the hopper apparatus being substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.