Bulk handling apparatus

• US 6,425,725 B1
• Filed: 10/28/1999
• Issued: 07/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert A. Ehlers
• Original Assignee: Robert A. Ehlers
• Inventors: Ehlers, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Keenan, James W.
• Application Number:
  US09/429,336
• Time in Patent Office: 1,006 Days
• Field of Search: 414/489, 414/501, 414/502, 414/505, 414/519, 414/520, 414/523, 414/526
• US Class Current: 414/505
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 1/42 mounted on the load-transporting element

Abstract

The invention is a bulk handing apparatus attachable to the flat bed of a truck having a flat bed tiltable on the frame of the truck rearward at an angle. The apparatus has a rectangular elongated frame having side frame members spaced from one another to receive seed containers with projecting ledges the bottom of the containers. The side frame members have inward flanges for engagement over the projecting ledges of seed containers to lock the containers between the side frames and is adapted to receive a plurality of seed containers between the side frame members.. The apparatus has front flanges to engage the front container and hold it between the side flanges and a rear flange to hold the rear container in place and an slidable opening in the rear flange and a guideway beneath the containers and between the side frame member to enable an augering apparatus to be mounted to the rear flange and the containers opened at their bottoms to enable to seed to gravitate down into the guideway and the flat bed and apparatus tilted at an angle to rear to enable the seed to gravitate rearward along the guideway and out the opening in the rear flange to the auger for the auger to auger the seed into seed drills.

Claims

1. A seed handling apparatus for mounting to a vehicle having a tiltable bed tiltable from horizontal to an angle comprising a frame adapted to be attached horizontally onto said bed of said vehicle for holding seed containers on the bed of said vehicle, said seed containers being adapted to carry seed and having bottoms with openings therein for emptying seed from said containers with means to open and close said container openings;

said frame having opposing outer side members and a rear member with said members forming a center opening, one of said members having an openable closure that may be opened to receive said containers within the confines of the frame with said containing projecting upward through the center opening, means on said frame members to secure said frame members to the bed of the vehicle, means on some of said frame members to hold said containers to the bed and frame when said containers are mounted on said bed within said frame, guideway means in said frame below the bottoms of said containers when mounted within th frame to the bed to receive seed from the openings in the bottoms of the containers, said rear member of said frame having an opening means adjacent guideway means, means on said frame to receive an auger having remote ends with one of said ends adjacent the opening means in the rear member of the frame;

whereby the containers, upon being mounted to the bed of the vehicle within the frame may be moved by the vehicle to a seed drill, and the bed of the vehicle tilted rearward at an angle to horizontal to tilt the frame, the container, and the guideway means rearward at an angle from horizontal toward the opening means in the rear member, so that the openings in the bottoms of the containers, being opened, will cause seed from the containers to flow by gravity out the bottoms of the containers into and along the guideway means and through the opening means in the rear member of the frame to the one end of the auger, and the auger may be operated to auger seed received at the one end of the auger to the other end of the auger with the other end of the auger positioned at the seed drill to deliver the seed to the seed drill.

2. A seed handling apparatus for mounting to a flat bed of a truck having the bed tiltable from horizontal to an angle relative to the truck comprising a rectangular frame adapted to be mounted horizontally on said bed of said truck to support a plurality of seed containers on said flat bed of said truck with said containers adapted to contain seed;

said containers having bottoms with openings in the bottoms and means to open and close the container openings for emptying the seed from the containers with said containers having lower projecting portions;

said frame having a center opening with peripheral rear and peripheral opposing side portions peripheral to the opening, said containers having said lower projecting opposing side portions adapted to project beneath the peripheral opposing side portions of said frame when said containers are mounted to the frame to engage and hold the containers to the frame with the containers having upper portions projecting upward through the center opening of the frame;

said peripheral rear portion of the frame having a movable end plate movable across the rear end of the frame to close the frame and hold the containers on the frame and movable away from said frame to open said frame to allow said containers to be slide into and off of a center area of the frame through said opening in said rear peripheral portion of said frame;

said frame having an elongated guideway means below the container openings and the frame opening and above the flat bed of the truck and having one end extending toward the rear frame portion; and

said rear frame portion also having a closable opening in line with said one end of said guideway;

whereby,

the container'"'"'s upon being mounted on the frame and the frame mounted on the flat bed of the truck, may be transported by the truck to a seed drill in the field for the seed drill with seed from the containers; and

the opening in the rear frame portion may be opened, so that the bed, upon being tilted upward will tilt the frame and containers and guideway upward at an angle toward the opening in the rear frame portion so that the openings in the bottoms of the containers, being opened, will cause seed from the containers to flow by gravity out the bottoms of the containers into and along the guideway and through the opening in the rear frame portion whereupon,

an auger may be placed adjacent the opening in the rear frame portion auger the seed flowing through the opening along the auger drill to the seed to replenish seed in the seed drill.

3. Granular material handling apparatus for mounting to a tiltable bed of a vehicle in which is bed is tiltable from horizontal to an angle relative to said vehicle, and in which said apparatus acts to support and empty granular material containers on said bed of said vehicle with the containers having tops and bottoms with the bottoms having means to open and close the bottoms,

said apparatus comprising a elongated rectangular frame, said frame having a pair of opposing side portions each having portions adapted to be mounted to the bed of vehicle and a rear end frame portion with a center opening in the frame, said rear end frame portion having an opening with means to close said opening to horizontally receive the containers along their bottoms, rear to front one at a time, horizontally through said rear opening through the rear end frame portion between the opposing side portions of the frame and onto the bed to mount said containers to the frame and bed of the vehicle with said tops of said containers projecting upward through said center opening in the frame, means along the opposing side of the frame to hold the containers to the frame, guideway means on the frame beneath the bottoms of the containers when the containers are mounted on the frame, said guideway means acting to receive granular material emptied through the bottom openings in the containers, said rear end frame portion of said frame having a material opening means to allow granular material from the containers onto the guideway means to travel along the guideway means through the material opening means, said rear end frame portion also having means for mounting an auger onto the rear end frame portion in the path of the growth material traveling out the rear opening

whereby material traveling out said material opening means may be augered away from the apparats

4. A granular material handling apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said opposing side portions of said frame each have a generally L shaped cross section with one leg of the L shaped cross section extending downward and directly secured to the bed of the vehicle and the other leg of the L shaped cross section extending horizontally inward toward one another and adapted to extend over the tops of the projecting portions of the container to hold the containers to the bed of the vehicle while enabling the containers to be slid from rear to front onto the bed beneath the horizontal leg of the opposing side portions.