US2497406A - Soybean storage bin equipment - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 14, 1950 c. H. GRAHAM 2,497,406

soYA BEAN sToRAGE BIN EQUIPMENT Cfyyq/efffaam @E e2" v' v Feb c. H. GRAHAM K son BEAN STORAGE BIN EQUIPMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 8, 1947 Feb. 14, 1950 c. H. GRAHAM son BEAN STORAGE BIN EQUIPMENT 4 sheets-sheet s Filed May 8, 1947 C. H. GRAHAM SOYA BEAN STORAGE BIN EQUIPMENT Feb. 14, 195o 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 8, 1947 Patented Feb. 14,? i950 .soYEAN s'ronsl; EQUIPMENT". Y

Clarencef-H'lile` Graham, Champaign@ ,Ill;,= assigner;-

to-Swift &:Cicmpany, Chicago,-,1ll.=, a-.corporav tion of?- Illinoisf Application May'S, 1947*,Serial No. 746,685

v3;(-3laima 11 A".[-he'-'present invention relates' to al devicefor loading a; bin orother large-container with particulate material" suchv asv grain'v or f beans; for example; -soya` beans,l and Imore particularly; to such a device in which the particulate materiali is throwny forcibly Attrailf par-ts` of the-bin.`

Itr isd a primary 'objectv offthe present4 invention to provide e: loadern forl bins in which it willi be unnecessary to resort: `ton'ianual labor' to level off-*the ysurfaceJ ofthe' particulate material With `which the. bin `is being :filledy so as to insuref-the filling of :the same to. its maximum capacity.'

Still* another obj ect"` oft thefpresent 'invention is to provide a loading apparatus off simple andeconomi'c construetiomwhich willlbe `@irelaltively light weight-and readily portable-from one bin to another:

Still another and importar-1t-obiect` of i the present inventioI-il is to provide a- 'birr loadingdev-ice in which-'the particulate material with whichfthe b-rr isr4 being lled may'l beiorcibly-fei ected in any desired direction into ftliebin `or^-e antainer;

Other andf further#objectsy of the instant-'invention-'will be readily apparent from'ithed'etailed description :off 'the 4same'ltal'nenfinv coni unction'with the drawings, in which: y

Figure l: is a perspectiveview--showing the-:ap- `paratusrrimintedfover thefmfanholefof :a bin;

Ei'gureA 2r is a: sectional :plan:- viewtakenwonz'the line '2;2fof'1iiguref3; l

Figure' 13 :a vertical sectional.' yiewi'taken, on the Aline ofiligure lookingL in the direction ofI the arrows;`

'Figure `1i.- isan enlarged :sectional view, taken onfzthe line {Q -4 of Figure -2, illustrating-,particularlyf the means employedi for adusting-thefzdie -rectioniofidiseharge ofthematerialbeingloaded;

Figure I5 .isr asectfi'onalf planfviewtaken .on the line 55 :of4 Figure 3 'looking .in v`the vdirection of the` arrows-and showing'in y.detail thel infipeller l portion of" 'the :apparatus:

readily be placed:thereover andxpositionthelloadingdevice for filling .the bin. Theiu-Dller edgefof the frame portionid. preferably slopes upward'lyxat the rear. thereof.- toi-,form av level-1 surziace upon which is mounted, preferably by Welding, a-Jplat.- form. 6-. of trapezoidalconfiguration, which overhangs the. frame portion. Il;v The onerhangng .portionvyof the platiorm is :strengthened by,` rib members 1', securediitorthei platform. L61: and' iframe .portion 4 preferably by welding TheY platform 6L is further strengthened. by ai -ledge member-8 secured; preferably by welding, izo-the frontrsuriace'- or the platformx `6 andi opposed portions: of the frame-portion 4'.' n

Rising vertically-from the platforma is. a. metall'ieplate.y 9.: The `plate 91is preferably Welded ar-long vits lower edge to the platform. 6: .andk is strengthenedby a rib member 1:0 of generally-triangular outline which may also be Welded'ito the platform' 6Y and-:plate `menrber il.

The plate 93 servesias a standard uponwhich may-be mounted'dan electric motor generallydesignated by ythenumeral lil -by means` of? metal Astra-ps.y l2.

From the electric motor: H depends a drive shaft I 3f whichfis-connected; bya= lcomienticna'l neXible-couplng l4fto-a shaft t6 which extends through an aperture KIT) `A`in the platform '-6 toa point v'a substantial-distancebelowfthe framep ortion 4i. Surrounding the shaft lll'and' al'soiextend'- ingjthroughfthe aperture I fr in-'contact'mg androytatable relationshipWittr thef-platforrn 'is ahol'- low shaft ortube If8.l Conventional lbail-bearings mare preferably mounted-1in'y the upperand il'ower endsof the-hollow sha-tt 1| 8'. to position the shait -Iilcentrally of `the hollow-o shaft If8': and.'y provide for relative rotation between the twoaboutwa Agiven axis.

Positioning of the hollow shaft I84 isfacoom.- plis'hedby me aneof-an ladj ustablefclamp member 21'! *t0-Which is` rigidly. securedbyfweldingzor other suitable meansV .a pair ofastrengthening ribs .22 .extending:outwardly:andupwardly@in-:oppositeidiF rections from thev adustablemclamp .2st to? the :fra-ine portion Lito whichftheyxareirigidly. secured, alsospreferably bywelding. ,Additionalfstrengthening of the shaft I8 is accomplished by means of strap members 23'.' r.cineqof the ends; which are securedto, the il-cvrer ends. of; strengthening ribs 22, andl the yother vends-oi?which,aziensccnred to `.the ledge :portion 8,;preferably bra welding operation.v The; clamp .2I isnm-ade adjustable by means .of bolts.: 24,1;passing- `.th xif Jziih\- range, -por- `tions 25- andzshould be tightenedfto aa' deereefthai 55 While sufficient rigidity is imparted tethe'hlr low shaft I8 yet the hollow shaft is capable of being rotated within the clamp for a reason which will be apparent hereinafter.

Surrounding the upper end of the hollow shaft I8 is a flat plate 21 of circular configuration having an upstanding circular ange portion 28 contacting the hollow shaft I8, the plate 21 resting upon the platform 6. The ange portion 28 is rigidly secured to the hollow shaft I8 to prevent relative rotation between the two by means of symmetrically arranged set screws 29.

Cover members for the bearings I9 are provided by apertured plates 3I and 32, the former being secured by bolts 33 to the upper edge of the flange portion .28 of the plate 21 and the latter being secured by bolts 34 to the lower edge of hollow shaft I8.

Surrounding the upstanding flange portion 28 is a rotatable sleeve 36 having outwardly extending lugs or flange portions 31. Sleeve member 36 is conveniently positioned for rotation with respect to flange portion 28 by the reception in `an annular recess 38 in the flange 28 of an annular bead portion 39 projecting from the sleeve 36.

Between the outwardly extending lugs or flange portions 31 of the sleeve 36 is mounted by means of a nut and bolt 4I a vertically swinging handle 42. The handle 42 has depending from the lower surface thereof a lug member 43. In the outer edge of the circular plate 21 are provided a plurality of symmetrically arranged recesses 44, which are positioned to receive the depending lug 43 of handle 42 as is clearly shown in Figure 4. The number of these recesses is immaterial except that there should be a sucient number that the space between any two adjacent recesses will be within the range of movement of the lug 43.

Plate 21 may be secured in any desired position upon the platform 6 by means of a pair of oppositely disposed clamp members generally designated by the numeral 46. The clamp members 46 comprise a body portion 41 of L-shaped configuration having a recess 48 provided in the shorter leg of the L. Adapted to be received by recess 48 is a lug member 49 rigidly secured to the platform 6 preferably by welding.

The longer leg of the L of clamp 46 is provided with an aperture I 'intermediate its ends through which extends a -threaded bolt 52 to the top of which may be rigidly secured a handle portion 53.4 A threaded nut 54 is rigidly secured as by welding immediately below an aperture 56 in the platform Sso that by screwing home of the bolt 52 therein the undersurface of the body portion of the clamp is caused to engage the upper surface of the plate 21 and rigidly clamp the same against platform 6'.

^ To the lower end of the hollow shaft I8 is rigidly secured an open topped casing generally designatedv by the numeral 51 and comprising a bottom portion 56 having an upstanding side wall 59 secured thereto as by welding. A spout portion 6I is formed in casing .51 by extending side wall 59 outwardly in a straight line as shown at 62.

An adjustable lip 'element 6I may be hinged at th'e outer end of the spout 6I for a purpose to be described below. The lip may be set in any position throughout a wide range of angles by means of the adjusting strut 62. This strut is pivotally connected to the lip and is conveniently anchored to the wall 62 by means of the threaded wing nut means 63'.

The rigid securing of the casing 51 to the hollow shaft I8 is preferably accomplished by means of symmetrically disposed web members 63 which are secured at one end thereof by welding or other suitable means to the hollow Shaft I8 and at the other end thereof in a similar manner to brackets 64 which are in turn rigidly secured as by welding to the side wall 59 of the casing 51.

Rotatably mounted within the casing 51 is an impeller generally designated by the numeral 66, which comprises a hub portion 61 rigidly secured by any suitable means to the lower end of the shaft I6. Rigidly secured to the lower end of the hub portion 61 as by welding is a disc 68 and rising vertically from the disc 68 and symmetrically disposed are a plurality of blades or vanes 69 which may also be secured by welding to the disc 68 and hub portion 61 with ends of the blades or vanes extending nearly to the side wall 59 of the casing 51 but allowing a small clearance therebetween. It has been found that an impeller having four blades operates very efficiently in the instant device, but it is to be understood that any other convenient number of vanes may be employed as desired. Also, it is preferred that the vanes be mounted tangentially with respect to the hub portion 61 but again it is to be understood that applicants invention is not limited to such a construction.

In order to kdirect the particulate material being transferred to a bin or container into the casing 51 and onto the impeller disc 68, a chute or funnel 1I is mounted by means of web members 12 with its mouth portion within the frame portion 4 and its spout portion directed into the top of the casing 51, the web portions 12 being rigidly secured as by welding to both the frame portion 4 and funnel 1I.

From the above detailed description, the operation of the device will be readily apparent. The particulate material to be loaded is directed by means of a spout, not shown in the drawings, into the funnel 1I and thence upon the impeller 66 within casing 51 from which the material is rapidly and forcibly ejected in the direction of the spout 6I.

After the portion of the bin or container toward which the spout 6I is directed has been filled to a desired degree, the spout-may be rotated to any new position desired by rotation of the handle 42 while lug 43 is in registry with oneof the recesses 44 in the plate 21 as the upstanding flange 28 of plate 21 is rigidly secured to hollow shaft I8 to which the casing 51 is in turn rigidly and non-rotatably secured. It is to be understood, of course, that before this rotation may be accomplished, clamps 46 will have to be loosened, the same again being retightened when the de- 'sired positioning of spout 6I has been attained.

To transfer lug member 43 to the next succeeding recess 44, it is merely necessary to swing the handle 42 upwardly until the lug is out of registration with the recess and then swingthe handle horizontally by means of rotatable sleeve 36 until lug'43 has reached a position directly above this next succeeding recess at which time the handle may be lowered so that the'lug 43 is received thereby. It 1 is only necessary, as pointed out above, that the recesses 44 be closeenough together thatv they are within the range of movement of handle 42, which in the form of the invention illustrated Iby thedrawings is limited on the one hand by the standard plate 9 and on the other hand by one of the clamp members 46.

When this dlstrlbutingmeans is being'used in 'ai circular bin no problem'. arises; asrttoi evenf. dise tribution c of 4the:particulate material.: over-fthe `Een- 'tire s'urfaceofl therbin. In=.somecases; however, it yis desirable atoisfpread-v the materialithroughout a'. differently,I shaped. storage Ameans as. a'. railway can' on theV like. To i effect' proper controlI of, the

streamfiowing fromthe distributing `device when thisfisznecessary,l the -adjustable lip 6I' is brought intplay. During normal use;` the lip hangs downwardly from the-floorof'spout 8.1i and; does notzcomein` contact. with the material, but`V when itfisadesired to'project the materialfarther away from. the; distributing. means, aswhen loading;v a box car,y the;4 lipis lifted up yand.fixedlinsuchfpoe sitioncby means of; the 4strut B23 so that aftergleav.` .ing thezloor. of. spoutrlthestream of material isgturnedupwardly.- By archinggthe streaimup moreson less, the.- materialiI canbe throwngto the morefdistant parts of. variousV other types .ofistorage binsfrom a single llingfhatch.

f Thus; itis seen Vthat byther use ofthe apparatus ofI the present invention a bin ,or; container may be loaded so that theV materialA withv which Yit` is filled;` is; provided 1 with a substantially level g surface, andinomanual laborV whatever is necessary to trim-off-,the upstandingconeof materialwhich .vtouldjA be present if; the material were merely added;l dirrectlythrough the manhole or opening Uffthefbn. v

An. alternate formof device for shifting the spout isshown in Figuresand "1 wherein use-is madeofa ratchet mechanism. With this means, the upper endof the tube or; hollow Shaft I8 is splinedior preferably, aseparatecollarfi maybe integrally4 assembled Iaround the .upper end,` of the tube, I8, the collar 8 0- being provided with vertically extending slots 8l, which correspond to the spline slots,mentioned..abov.e., The collar 80 rides upon the upper surface` of plateG and aids in the support of tube or shaft I 8; If'a1 splined shaft I8 is to be used, a separate support collar must be locked to the shaft I8 inposition to cooperate with the upper surface. of plate 8.

Witheither the splined shaft or collar 8.0,.the rotatable sleeve 36' is used to support thehv handle .42; so thatits inner end canbemoved against theputersurface of the slotted collar 8jorouter surface of the splined'portion of the shaft I8. This inner end of the handle 42 carries a spring pressed pawl 82 which is adapted to fit into the slotted arrangement at the end of shaft I8 and the handle may be turned to drive the shaft in a given direction of rotation to turn spout 6I in the desired direction as described above.

The pawl82 of the ratchet mechanism is beveled on the trailing side so that the handle can be quickly turned back to engage in a following notch when turning the shaft I8. The pawl 82 is also mounted in handle 42 so that it can be reversed 180 to drive the shaft I8 in the opposite direction if desired. For this purpose, the pawl 82 is provided with a knob 83 that rides in a pair of slots 84 extending in a direction generally longitudinally of the handle on each side, the slots 84 being connected at theirV outer ends through a cross slot 85.

When using the ratchet turning device, the pawl 82 engages in the slots at the upper end of the shaft I8 to drive the shaft in one direction and as the handle is returned to get another hold on the shaft, the knob 83 reciprocates on one or the other of the slots 84 as the pawl rides over the tops of the teeth. In order to reverse the direction of drive against shaft I8 with handle 42, the knob 83 is retracted to the outer end of thefratchet device. YEach-latch-,includes .aspring' pressed plunger or bolt element 92;V thatf1tS...in to any slot `in front of the-.latchandeach latchelement is integrallvxed.-to-plate 6. to holdshaft Iimmobilewhen one. of the boltsis engaged .in alslot.`

The latches .and 9 .I are loffset ,with .repectto the spacing ofl they slots; circumferentially around shaft4 I8,such, for. example, that when the bjolt of. latch 90 isengaged, ina slot, the latchls positioned n iidway` between .two other. slots.,

TheA p1unger s.92.v of the latches are each pro;- vided with knobs 93 .operating-in slots .94"an'dof course the plungersmust be heldl retracted. Wh'ile shaft .ljisbeingturned to positionspoutil'. To assist in holding the bolts retracted inthe latches against the pressure of their springs., ai. slide member 95. is provided; 'Ilfiesliden is' mountedjto have limited oscillatory movement; around, the periphery of the slotted portion. of. shaftA I8 and suitable cam surfaces 98 are formed'onthe slide which cooperate with knobs 93to li'ol'dth'e' bolts retracted. The cam surfaces` are relieved" at' 91 topermit knobs 931to reciprocate inwardlyl when it is,desired to lock shaft I8. A handle 9 8`fmjay be provided' on slide951 to shift it into position topengage or release knobs 93 as desired;-

Thev latching means isA of courseV situatedlon plate 6 in a position to be readily accessible and yet not to interfere with thfeV free movement?. of the ratchet device. lt is also apparentr thatgthe ring or strap 3 6 must be undercut'for an appregciable distance adjacent thev latch meanssothat itgcanbe rotated freely over the latching'd'evices'.

' The above described .ratchet andv` latching means may besubstitutedin whole or in-part'for the means best shown in Figures 2 andV 3, for rotating; shaft I8 to. position spout' 6I". The ratchet` device is much more rapid in operation as compared with the clamping arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 4; however, the latter is a most serviceable heavy duty device.

It has been found in practicey that if the particulate material being loaded is of an abrasive character, the inner surfaces of the walls of casing 51 should be hardened by special treatment at least at the points of greatest contact. As an alternative method, inserts of Very hard material may be provided at these points.

The above shows one embodiment of this invention, but many modifications thereof may occur to those skilled in the art which will fall Within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A compact and self-contained unit for loading bins with grains, beans, and the like, comprising: a rigid frame adapted to be supported in an opening at the top of the bin to be filled; a funnel member having a large generally circular inlet opening and a smaller generally circular outlet opening, said openings being disposed in spaced and approximately parallel planes and being also eccentrically arranged with respect to each other, said outlet opening being positioned under the inlet opening with the center of the outlet opening lying in a vertical plane approximately tangent to the periphery of the' inlet opening; said firin'el member extending" downwardly from the frame and into the tp of the bin; a rotatably monted distributing spout supported from said frame immediately below the outlet opening of said funnel member; said spout having a generally horizontal floor and being vshaped to' direct the grain and the like outwardly 'from the funnel member in a horizontal direction;

a motor mounted on the frame and being positioned above the plane of the inlet opening to the funnel; and said motor being generally concenytrically arranged above the outlet opening of the "held fixed with the latch while the grain is being driven out horizontally from the spout after the motor becomes energized.

2. A compact and self-contained unit for evenly loading a bin with grain or the like through a manhole in an upper portion of the bin, said unit including a frame adapted to be supported on the bin outside the periphery of the manhole, an offset chute supported from the frame and adapted to extend down into the bin through the manhole, and distributing means including an impeller rotatable about an axis, said impeller being adapted to extend within the bin through the manhole with said axis extending adjacent one side of said chute Where the latter passes through the manhole, and power means outside the bin and operatively connected to said impeller along said axis, said chute being so shaped and positioned that the lower end thereof is above said impeller and substantially evenly spaced about said axis with the portion of the chute through the manhole being only slightly smaller than said periphery whereby the -without materiallyv obstructing the flow of grain -which may be fed through the manhole.

3. A compact and self-contained unit for evenly loading a bin with grain or the like through a manhole in an upper portion of the bin, said unit including a frame adapted to be supported on the bin outside the periphery of the manhole, an oifset chute supported from the frame and adapted to extend down into the bin through the manhole, a shaft, a tube about said shaft, said shaft being rotatable with respect to said tube, said tube being rotatable with respect to said frame, said shaft and tube being mounted from said frame in such a position that they will extend substantially vertically within the bin through the manhole and will be adjacent one side of the chute where the latter passes through the manhole, an impeller on the lower end of the shaft and rotatable therewith, power means operatively connected to the upper end of the shaft to rotate the shaft and impeller, a casing about a portion of said impeller and dening a grain outlet, said casing being attached to and rotatable with said tube, said chute being so shaped and positioned that the lower end thereof is above said impeller and substantially evenly spaced about the axis of said shaft with the portion of the chute through the manhole being only slightly smaller than said periphery whereby the impeller may be rotated to distribute the grain from the outlet without materially obstructing the ow of grain which may be fed through the manhole, and means above the manhole for rotating said tube to position said outlet to distribute grain in a desired direction.

C. HALE GRAHAM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 614,891 Reynolds Nov. 29, 1898 834,331 Skillin Oct. 30, 1906 853,870 Ellerton May 14, 1907 1,763,396 Howland June 10, 1930

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