US3080960A - Grain auger attachment - Google Patents

Description

March 12, 1963 E. F. RENSCH GRAIN AUGER ATTACI-MENT Filed April 13, 1959 mx 3 mm X, M

3,080,960 GRAIN AUGER ATTACHMENT Eugene F. Rensch, Makoti, N. Dak. Filed Apr. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 805,859 1 Claim. (Cl. 198-64) This invention relates generally to apparatus for loading and unloading a fluent material such as grain and the like and is directed particularly to an attachment for use with an inclined lift elevator such as a grain auger.

An object of this invention is a novel portable compact attachment for transferring fluent material such as grain from a storage bin or dump truck to an elevating mecha- -nism having an endless conveyor system such as a screw tachably and telescopically encloses the loading end of a lift elevator and feeds all of the granular material direct- .ly to the conveying means of the lift elevator without the use or need of clamping or fixed attachment means.

A further object is an attachment of the class described which is readily adaptable to lift elevators presently in use without necessitating any modification whatsoever theren.

Still another object is a portable, readily attachable and removable grain auger attachment of integral unitary construction which permits the granular material to be fed directly from a feeding or storage device such as the box of a dump truck to the elevator without contamination or spillage thereof, and without interfering with the raising and lowering of said box;

A still further object is an attachment of the class described which serves as a safety device by enclosing the exposed portions of the elevator in such a manner as to prevent hands, feet or mechanical equipment from being caught therein while permitting ready access of the fluent granular material to the conveying system.

Still another object is an attachment of the class described which feeds or directs all of the fluent granular material directly to the conveying mechanism of the lift elevator, thereby eliminating the necessity for the tedious and time consuming job of cleaning up around the elevator after use.

Still another object is an attachment of the class described which prevents spillage of the granular material on the surrounding area when the action of the lift elevator is momentarily interrupted.

Still another object is an attachment of the class described which is light in weight and easily handled.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elev-ational view of the attachment of my invention in assembled relationship with an anger type lift elevator and shown in use assisting to convey fluent granular material from a dump truck through the lift elevator to a storage bin;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the attachment; and

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

The attachment of my invention, as shown in a preferred form in the drawings, consists of a cylindrical conveyor enclosing sleeve portion 5 having a cross sectional opening 5a in the forward or leading end thereof for receiving the lower end of the lift elevator E and having a material receiving opening 6 in the rear upper portion and flaring upwardly therefrom is a hopper portion 7 of United States Patent 0 3,080,960 Patented Mar- 1 generally triangular configuration in the form shown, which is integrally united with the sleeve portion, the tapered sides 8 and back wall 13 thereof inclining inwardly or converging from top to bottom so as to surround the material receiving opening 6 in the sleeve and engage the upper marginal edges 6a of said opennig 6, as best seen in FIG. 3, so as to direct all fluent granular material received by the hopper portion directly into. and through said material receiving opening. The hopper portion] is preferably somewhat wide and shallow or dishshaped, rather than high and narrow, to prevent the hopper portion interfering with the box B of the dump truck T when the box in tilted at a large'angle causing the lower end of said box to descend somewhat and the material conveying apparatus such as the hopper H with it. The upper marginal edge 17 of the hopper. portion is upturnedto a vertical position. I i The material receiving opening 6 is provided with a plurality of parallel spaced apart arcuate guard members or bars 9 which span the width of the opening 6 and prevent passage of any sizable object such as ahand or foot or the snout of a delivery chute while readily permitting the passage of the fluent granular material therethrough. These guard members 9 prevent injury or accident due to an object such as a hand, foot or chute coming -incontact with the conveying mechanism, particularly in those instances when a worm type gear or auger such asthat shown in FIG. 1 by the reference numeral 15 is employed. For convenience in carrying and transporting, the-. a ttachment is provided with a handle 10 disposed preferably close to the center of gravity of the attachment for properbalancing and ease in carrying. The underpojrtion of the attachment maybe option-ally provided with supporting members such as the forwardly disposed legs Y11 and a single stand 12 disposed at the rear to maintain the attachment in proper position and balance on the ground. The forwardly disposed legs 11.are preferably 'of greater length than therearwardly;disposedlegor stand 12 in order that the attachment may be maintained at a proper angle substantially parallel to the normal inclination of the elevator so as to properly mate therewith. Or, as a satisfactory alternative, the supporting unit may consist solely of the laterally extending bar member 12 only disposed at the point where the underside of the attachment would normally rest on the ground when the attachment is in an inclined position.

To use, the elevator is properly positioned to receive the fluent granular material from an enclosure such as the box B of a dump truck T and the lower exposed end 14 thereof is simply raised a few inches and the attach ment of my invention is thereupon slid over the lower end thereof with the exposed material receiving end 14 of the lift elevator extending down into the sleeve so as to be contiguous with the closed end or back wall 13 of the sleeve and be properly positioned beneath the material receiving opening of the attachment so as to be properly disposed for receiving and conveying the fluent granular material as it is delivered to the attachment through the hopper portion. The sleeve portion 5 is of suflicient length to engage the protective tube 16 which surrounds and encloses substantially the entire length of the auger 15 so that the exposed material receiving portion of the auger 14 is completely enclosed by the attachment, except that portion which is in register with the guarded material receiving opening 6 of the attachment.

Any suitable means may be employed for delivering the fluent granular material to the hopper portion of the attachment. An example is the truck mounted hopper H best seen in FIG. 1 which may have a fixed spout 17 attachedthereto or may have an elongate flexible chute 18 attached thereto and shown in FIG. 1 in dotted outlihe. The fluent granular material flows from the box B of the truck T through the hopper H and spout 17 into the hopper portion 7 of the attachment where the sides of said hopper portion 7 direct the material directly to the material receiving portion 14 of the auger through the guarded "opening 6, the auger then conveying the material upwardly through the tube 16 of elevator E toa suitable receptacle, usuallysome sort of storage bin.

Lift elevators, particularly of the auger type, frequently have only the lower portion of the worm or screw conveyor mechanism exposed to view, the rest being enclosed for safetys sake. This attachment of my invention subetan'tiallyencloses and surrounds this normally exposed portion of theauger and the sleeve portion in combina- "fi bl ljllvith the guard or bar members combine to, as a practical matter, eliminate any hazard or chance of a person's hand or foot being caught in the screw conveyor. Also, the guard members prevent the delivery chute from accidentally coming in contact with the auger and 'sustaining damage to either the auger 'or the chute.

From the foregoing description, the advantages of my invention are readily apparent. The device is of simple tiesign and construction and relatively inexpensive to make, is light in weight, and is adapted to be easily carried-from place to place. By providing a suitable hopper portion in direct communication with the conveyor part or the auger, the granular material is prevented from hpilling over onto the surrounding area, usually the greund in the case of agricultural grains such as wheat "and the like, "and thus, not only prevents contamination operate, includin'gthe attachment and detachment thereof.

The shallow, dish-like shape of the hopper portion preventsinterference with the box B or truck-mounted hopper H, while at the same time providing a container of sufiicient capacity to prevent overflowing of granular material therefrom during use, and even during momentary interruptions.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

In a grain auger assembly, a unitary device for directing fluent granular material to the exposed materialreceiving lower end portion thereof, said device comprising an elongate cylindrical sleeve member adapted to removably and telescopically receive the exposed lower end portion of said auger, said sleeve member having substantially the upper half of the rear end portion thereof removed to form a material receiving opening in direct communication 'with the exposed materialreceiving portion of the auger, guard means comprising a part of said device spanning said opening permitting the free passage of said material therethrough and preventing the passage of objects substantially larger than said material, the remaining semi-circular rear lower portion of said sleeve receiving and cradling therein a substantial portion of the lower half of the auger periphery, inclined side walls carried by said sleeve and connected to the marginal edges of said sleeve defining the opening therein and forming a shallow hop'per portion for directing said fluent material onto the upper portion of the exposed portion of said auger, and leg means for supporting and maintaining said device with its sleeve member in an upwardly inclined position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,467,682 Megargee Apr. 19, "1949 2,619,219 Carrol et al. Nov. 25, 1952 2,630,905 Howe Mar. 10, 1953 2,706,046 'Andrews Apr. 12, 1955 2,883,076 Palmer Apr. 21, 1959 2,891,655 Saiberlich June 23, 1959

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