US2842242A - Distributor for grain and the like - Google Patents

Description

y 1958 R. l. PATTERSO 2,842,242

DISTRIBUTOR FOR GRAIN AND THE LIKE Filed Jul 2. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 50 i %g/ I u u INVENTORY.

' fif/orxregj' y 58 R. I. PATTERSON 2,842,242

DISTRIBUTOR FOR GRAIN AND THE LIKE I Filed July. 2, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

2,842,242 Patented July 8, 1958 United States Patent fifice 2,842,242 DISTRIBUTOR FOR GRAIN AND THE LIKE Roy 1. Patterson, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application July 2, 1956, Serial No. 595,274

4 Claims. (Cl. 193-23) This invention relates to improvements in a distributor used in a grain elevator for distributing grain or similar aggregates to suitable conduits extending to individual storage bins. In general, the invention is concerned with a compact self-contained distributor of a generally arcuate or sector shape containing a single inlet in the upper or apex portion thereof and a multiplicity of outlets in the lower curved portion thereof. Within the interior of the casing, so as to conserve valuable head space, is a funnelshaped hopper and a swinging spout cooperating with the lower extremity of the hopper and adapted to register with each of the outlets for distributing the aggregate to any one of the outlets and thence to suitable conduits to an individual 'bin.

In the practice of handling grain, following the harvest thereof, it is transported from the farm to nearby country elevators for temporary storage. The elevator consists of a multiplicity of storage bins within a single building over which is mounted a cupola containing grain distributing mechanism. Grain is elevated to the cupola by a conveying system which connects with a distributor located in the cupola. The problem presented in the handling of grain is to minimize the amount of head space in the upper extremity of the elevator for the distribution of the grain and thereby reduce the cost of elevator construction. It is obvious that if a compact distributor can be constructed which will occupy a minimum of head space above the grain bins, that the cost of elevator construction can be reduced and the available space used to the greatest efiiciency.

In the past, the matter ofconservation of head space within an elevator has been wholly ignored and the distributors used in the past were large and bulky and were not self-contained, thereby giving rise to added costs in building construction and in the nuisance resulting from the leakage of dust emanating from the moving grain being dispersed throughout the elevator and creating an explosion hazard.

In the present invention, I have provided a space-conserving distributor in the form of a compact sectorshaped casing having a single inlet at the apex located at the top of the casing and a multiplicity of outlet openings in the arcuate base of the casing. Within the interior of the casing is an internal funnel-shaped hopper for receiving the incoming grain. A spout is contained within the casing with its upper end beneath the lower end of the hopper to receive the grain therefrom. The spout is pivotally supported for swinging movement between each of the several outlet openings so as to convey grain from the hopper to any selected opening. A sealing boot formed of laterally telescoping plates is pivotally disposed within the spout and supported by the casing adjacent the lower extremity of the hopper to form a leakproof connection between the hopper and the upper end of the spout. Means are provided for swinging'the spout between the several outlet openings, and locking means are provided which engage the spout with a portion of the casing so as to lock the spout with respect to each of the outlet openings.

An object of the invention is to provide a compact distributor for grain and the like embodying a sectorshaped casing having an inlet at the apex and a multiplicity of outlets at the arcuate periphery, said casing containing an internal hopper and a swinging spout adapted to connect the hopper witheach of the outlets within the interior of the casing, thereby enclosing the connections within the casing and minimizing the length of the swinging spout.

Another object is to provide a distributior embodying an enclosed casing containing a hopper and a swinging spout within the casing and beneath the hopper and with portions of the upper part of the spout removed to permit swinging movement of the spout relative to the hopper,

together with a sealing boot formed of laterally telescoping parts within the spout and pivoted adjacent the lower extremity of the hopper to prevent leakage between the hopper and the spout. 1

A further object is to provide a distributor embodying an enclosed casing of a generally arcuate or sector shape with a multiplicity of outlet openings disposed along the arcuate periphery, said casing containing a hopper and 'a pivotally swinging spout adapted to register between the hopper and each of the outlet openings, together with a control mechanism for moving the spout into registry with each of the outlet openings, and indexing means carried by the casing and engageable with a portion of the control means for locking the spout relative to each of the outlet openings.

Other and further objects may become apparent from the folowing specification and claims, and in the appended drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a grain distributor forming the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded viewof the distributor shown in Fig. 1 showing the relationship of internal construction; and,

Figs. 3 and 4 are detailed views of the distributing spout and parts forming the sealing boot within the interior of the distributor.

Having reference to the several figures of the drawings, the invention will now be described in detail.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, general reference numeral 10 indicates the improved grain distributor forming the present invention. Reference character 12 indicates a sheet metal casing having the form of a sector composed of vertically sloping side plates 14, 16 joined to an arcuate-shaped base plate 18. Sector- shaped side plates 20, 22 join the end plates 14, 16 and the arcuateshaped base plate 18. The base plate 18 is provided with a multiplicity of spaced openings 24, and secured to the outer side of the base plate 18 in registry with the openings 24 are a multiplicity of conduits 26, each of which is adapted to extend to an individual grain bin of an elevator construction not shown. I

Secured to the upper edges of the side and end plates 14, 16, 20 and 22 is a flange 28 preferably formed of angle iron to form a rim about an upper opening in casing 12 indicated by reference numeral 30. A funnel-shaped hopper indicated generally in Fig. 2 by reference character 32 is composed of side plates 34, 36 and laterally sloping end plates 38 and '40 all secured to a peripheral flange 42 of angle iron construction. The hopper 32 is disposed within the opening 30 secured to flange 28 by bolts 44. The hopper 32 is provided with an opening 46 in its lower extremity for disposing of material entering the hopper. i i I As disclosed in Fig. 1, granular material such as grain would be conveyed to the"distributor bya conventional 3 conveyor here illustrated as a driven helix 48 disposed within a conduit 50.

Having reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, within the interior of casing 12 is a spout 52 which is disposed beneath the opening 46 of the hopper 32. Spout 52 is disclosed as being rectangular in cross section and of a generally tapered configuration. The opposite portions of the side walls of spout 52 have their upper portions cut away as indicated by reference characters 54, 56 and with the center portions 58, 60 having apertures in their upper limits whereby the spout may be pivotally supported adjacent the upper extremity of casing 12 on pivotal means disclosed in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 by reference character 62. The reason for removing the lateral portions of the spout 52 adjacent the upper limits will be clearly evident in that the spout is adapted to laterally rotate on its pivotal support 62 with respect the lower extremity of the hopper thereby necessitating removal of portions of the upper lateral limits of the spout to permit swinging movement.

To prevent leakage of granular material through the removed portions of the upper lateral parts of the spout a sealing boot is provided consisting of a pair of laterally bent end plates 64, 66 shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The end plates 64, 66 laterally telescope with respect to each other and extend within the interior of spout 52. These end plates are pivotally supported on pivots 68, 70 adjacent the lower lateral limits of the sloping side plates 38, 40 of the funnel-shaped hopper 32, and these pivotal connections extend through the outer walls of casing 12 as clearly seen in Fig. 1.

Mounted on the outer side of the casing 12 and adjacent the side plate 20 is a linear member 72 which is fixed on pivotal member 62 to move in unison with the spout 52. The outer extremity of member 72 moves relative to an arcuate shape indexing plate 74 that has a plurality of notches 76 formed therein each in alignment with a center of the several openings 24 and the connecting spouts 26. Member 72 may be moved in opposite directions by cords or cables 78, 80 that extend over pulleys 82, 84. A pin 86 carried by member 72 is biased to an outwardly extending position by an enveloping coil spring 90 working between a pair of collars 92, 94 in such a manner that pin 86 will normally latch with one of the recesses 76 in, the arcuate shaped member 74. A releasing cable 96 is secured to the inner end of pin 86, and said cable is trained over a pulley 98.

The operation of the invention should be evident from the drawings and foregoing disclosure, but for sake of clarity it will now. be described in detail. Aggregate is conveyed by any conventional means such as the helix 48 working within the conduit 50 to the upper open side of the distributor 10 and will fall by gravity into hopper 32 which is located within the interior of the casing 12. The spout 52 will be adjusted with respect to one of the openings 24 in the arcuate shaped plate 18 and the respective conduit 26, by manually pulling on the cord 96 to release pin 86, and thence also by pulling on cords 78 or 80 until spout 52 is in the proper selected position, whence cable 96 is released and spring 90 forces pin 86 into the appropriate slot 76. By reason of the cutout portions of the upper extremity of spout 52 a wide area of leakage might exist, except for the boot composed of the cooperating laterally telescoping parts or end plates 64, 66 which enclose the upper lateral portions of spout 52 and thence extend inwardly within the spout. As will be clearly evident from examination of Figs. 3 and 4, the telescoping parts 64, 66 being slightly offset with relation to each other in their pivot mounting permits these parts to enclose the upper part of spout 52, but to rotate with the spout into any of the arcuate positions that the latter may assume with respect the several outlet openings. It will be noted from an examination of Fig. 4 that the telescoping part 64 extends almost to the outer extremity of spout 52 when the same is in an \xtreme position at the left side of the casing, and therefore, these parts and the swinging spout have been made as short as possible so as to make the distributor as compact as possible, and with the hopper 32 located within the interior of casing 12. Thus, it will be evident that the sealing parts 64, 66 must extend into the spout 52 for a distance sufiicient to seal the spout in any of its selected positions, and yet the spout need not be substantially longer than the outer limits of the sealing parts to thereby add to the compactness of the distributor.

The advantages of the invention reside in the compactness of the structure embodying a hopper and a swinging spout contained within a casing which encloses the structure and also supports indexing and locking means for locking the spout in a selected position.

A further advantage resides in the disposition of the hopper within the casing, and the sealing boot composing the end parts which are supported on the hopper adjacent the lower extremity thereof and within the interior of the casing which encloses the several connections and prevents the dispersal of dust.

The invention is defined in the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a grain distributor embodying a hollow sectorshaped casing formed with an inlet opening in the upper side thereof and a multiplicity of outlet openings in the lower arcuate periphery, a tubular spout pivotally supported within said casing for swinging movement of the outer end thereof with respect said outlet openings, the improvement consisting of a funnel-shaped hopper disposed within the interior of said casing with its upper end coincident with said inlet opening and its lower end in registry with the upper end of said tubular spout to enclose the junction between the hopper and the spout within the interior of the casing and also to minimize the distance between the upper limits of the hopper and the outlet openings in said casing.

2. A grain distributor, comprising a hollow sector shaped casing formed with an inlet opening in the upper side thereof and a multiplicity of outlet openings in the arcuate periphery, a funnel-shaped hopper disposed within the interior of the upper side of said casing with its upper end coincident with said inlet opening and its lower end sealed within the interior of said casing, and a tubular spout pivotally supported within said casing adjacent the upper limits of the casing, the lower end of said spout adapted to register with each of the outlet openings in the periphery of said casing, the upper pivoted portions of said spout embracing portions of the hopper to enclose the junction between the hopper and said spout within the interior of the casing.

3. A grain distributor, comprising a hollow sectorshaped casing formed with an inlet opening in the upper side thereof and a multiplicity of outlet openings in the arcuate periphery, a funnel-shaped hopper disposed within the interior of the upper side of said casing with its upper open end coincident with said inlet opening and its lower end sealed within the interior of said casing, a tubular spout pivotally supported within said casing adjacent the upper limits of the casing, the lower end of said spout adapted to register with each of the outlet openings in the periphery of said casing, the upper pivoted portions of said spout embracing portions of the hopper, and a sealing boot composed of a pair of laterally telescoping parts pivotally supported adjacent the lower limits of said hopper and extending Within the interior of the spout for movement with the spout for enclosing the outlet of said hopper within the inner end of said spout.

4. A grain distributor, comprising a hollow sectorshaped casing formed with an inlet opening in the upper side thereof and a multiplicity of outlet openings in the arcuate periphery, a funnel-shaped hopper disposed within the interior of the upper side of said casing with its upper open end coincident with said inlet opening and its lower indexing member for locking said spout in indexing relationship With each of said outlet openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS McArthur Mar. 12, 1918 Cooley June 4, 1918

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