Agricultural hopper structure
First Claim
1. For an agricultural implement having upwardly facing load-bearing structure, hopper structure for containing two materials, said hopper structure adapted for support by the load-bearing structure and comprising:
- a first molded flexible container having an outer end wall, an opposite inner end including a concave wall substantially closing the opposite end, and sidewalls connecting the end wall and inner end and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly to a first lower material outlet;
a second molded flexible container having an outer end wall and an opposite inner end including a convex wall of shape complementary to the concave wall of the first container to permit nesting of said containers, and sidewalls connecting the end wall and inner end of the second container and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly to a second lower material outlet; and
wherein said containers each include an upper portion and a transition area connected between the upper portion and the funnel-shaped lower portion, said transition area including downwardly directed structure adapted for receipt upon the load-bearing surface, when said containers are nested, to provide primary support for said nested containers, wherein said downwardly directed structure is adapted to freely rest on the load-bearing surface to thereby permit the nested containers to flex at the same time said primary support is provided.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Agricultural hopper structure for containing two different granular materials such as seed and fertilizer. Two molded plastic containers are nested together and supported on a frame. The nested ends of the containers are concave and convex, respectively, to provide a symmetrical appearance while establishing unequal container capacity. The nested containers include a downwardly directed ledge structure freely resting on a corresponding upwardly facing load-bearing surface of the frame to reduce the number of fixed attaching points. The upper portions of the containers extend above the frame and have outwardly convex sidewalls. The hopper structure is fabricated by first nesting the containers and then lowering the nested containers onto the frame.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. For an agricultural implement having upwardly facing load-bearing structure, hopper structure for containing two materials, said hopper structure adapted for support by the load-bearing structure and comprising:
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a first molded flexible container having an outer end wall, an opposite inner end including a concave wall substantially closing the opposite end, and sidewalls connecting the end wall and inner end and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly to a first lower material outlet; a second molded flexible container having an outer end wall and an opposite inner end including a convex wall of shape complementary to the concave wall of the first container to permit nesting of said containers, and sidewalls connecting the end wall and inner end of the second container and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly to a second lower material outlet; and wherein said containers each include an upper portion and a transition area connected between the upper portion and the funnel-shaped lower portion, said transition area including downwardly directed structure adapted for receipt upon the load-bearing surface, when said containers are nested, to provide primary support for said nested containers, wherein said downwardly directed structure is adapted to freely rest on the load-bearing surface to thereby permit the nested containers to flex at the same time said primary support is provided. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. In an agricultural implement having a main frame, container structure for containing granular material, said container structure comprising:
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a support frame connected to the main frame and extending upwardly therefrom to a horizontal portion lying substantially in a horizontal plane, the support frame opening inwardly and downwardly from the horizontal portion; and a flexible hopper including a lower funnel-shaped portion and an upper container portion having a material-containing capacity substantially greater than the funnel-shaped portion, said flexible hopper including a downwardly directed ledge portion located between the upper and lower container portions and supported on the horizontal frame portion with the lower portion extending downwardly through the support frame opening, and wherein the upper container portion has upright sidewalls, the sidewalls being concave outwardly to approximate the shape of said upper container portion when filled with material. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. In an agriculture seeding and fertilizing implement having a frame and metering and distributing structure for applying seed and fertilizer to the soil, container structure for individually containing the seed and fertilizer, and for delivering the same to the metering and distributing structure, said container structure comprising:
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a support frame connected to the implement frame and extending upwardly therefrom to a horizontal ledge portion substantially rectangular in shape and opening downwardly and inwardly, said ledge portion located above and generally centered with respect to the metering structure; a first flexible container having an outer end and an opposite inner end including a concave wall substantially closing the opposite end, and sidewalls connecting the ends and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly and converging toward the inner end portion to a first material outlet; a second flexible container having an outer end and an opposite inner end including a convex wall of shape complementary to the concave wall of the first container to permit nesting of said containers, and sidewalls connecting the ends of the second container and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly and converging toward the inner end of the second container to a second material outlet; and wherein said first and second containers include downwardly directed ledge structure adjacent upper ends of the funnel-shaped lower portions, said ledge structure supporting the containers in nested relationship on the horizontal ledge portion of the support frame with the funnel-shaped portions extending downwardly to the metering structure and the first and second material outlets opening into the metering structure, and wherein the container structure is fabricated by connecting the complementary-shaped inner ends of the containers together and thereafter lowering the connected containers as a unit onto the horizontal ledge portion of the support frame. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. In an agricultural implement, hopper structure for containing two materials, said hopper structure comprising:
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an implement mounted support frame; a first molded plastic container having an outer end wall, an opposite inner end including a concave wall substantially closing the opposite inner end, and sidewalls connecting the end wall and inner end and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly to a first lower material outlet; a second molded plastic container having an outer end wall and an opposite inner end including a convex wall of shape complementary to the concave wall of the first container to permit nesting of said containers, and sidewalls connecting the end wall and inner end of the second container and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly to a second lower material outlet, wherein the molded containers include a downwardly facing ledge portion located adjacent the top of the funnel-shaped portions, and wherein the support frame comprises a corresponding upwardly facing load-bearing surface for receiving the ledge portion thereof and supporting the two containers in nested relationship; and wherein the containers include outwardly convex upright walls extending upwardly from the load-bearing surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34)
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35. In an agricultural implement having a main frame, container structure for containing granular material, said container structure comprising:
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a support frame connected to the main frame and extending upwardly therefrom to a generally horizontal support portion, the support frame opening inwardly and downwardly from the horizontal support portion; and flexible hopper structure including a pair of elongated flexible containers, each container including a lower funnel-shaped portion and an upper container portion having a material-containing capacity substantially greater than the funnel-shaped portion, each said flexible container including a downwardly directed portion located between the upper and lower container portions and supported on the horizontal support portion with the lower portion extending downwardly through the support frame opening, said support frame maintaining the pair of containers in adjacent end-to-end relationship, and wherein each upper container portion has upright sidewalls, the sidewalls being concave outwardly to approximate with shape of said upper container portion when filled with material. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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37. In an agriculture seeding and fertilizing implement having a frame and metering and distributing structure for applying seed and fertilizer to the soil, container structure for individually containing the seed and fertilizer, and for delivering the same to the metering and distributing structure, said container structure comprising:
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a support frame connected to the implement frame and extending upwardly therefrom to a generally continuous horizontal ledge portion substantially rectangular in shape and opening downwardly and inwardly, said ledge portion located above and generally centered with respect to the metering structure; a first flexible container having an outer end portion and an opposite inner end portion including a concave wall substantially closing the opposite end, and side portions connecting the end portions and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly and converging toward the inner end portion to a first material outlet; a second flexible container having an outer end portion and an opposite inner end portion including a convex wall of shape complementary to the concave wall of the first container to permit nesting of said containers, and side portions connecting the end portions of the second container and defining a funnel-shaped lower portion extending downwardly and converging toward the inner end portion of the second container to a second material outlet; wherein said first and second containers include downwardly directed ledge structure adjacent upper ends of the funnel-shaped lower portions, said ledge structure freely resting on the horizontal ledge portion and supporting the containers in nested relationship on said ledge portion with the funnel-shaped portions extending downwardly to the metering structure and the first and second material outlets opening into the metering structure, said freely resting ledge structure preventing substantial vertical movement of the nested containers while permitting the containers to flex; and wherein the containers include upper, dome-shaped portions with outwardly convex walls extending outwardly beyond vertical planes extending through the horizontal ledge portion. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. The invention as set forth in claim 47 wherein the container structure is fabricated by connecting the complementary-shaped inner ends of the containers together and thereafter lowering the connected containers as a unit onto the horizontal ledge portion of the support frame.
Specification