Material or article handling – Self-loading or unloading vehicles – Conveyor
Patent
1996-06-12
1999-01-05
Keenan, James W.
Material or article handling
Self-loading or unloading vehicles
Conveyor
414505, 296 50, 298 23R, 198666, 222413, B60P 140
Patent
active
058554661
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an apparatus designed to be mounted on a vehicle such as a lorry which is provided with a hoist assembly to enable material carried within a bed pivotally connected to the lorry chassis to be tipped.
BACKGROUND ART
Typically, in the building or maintenance of roads, a vehicle containing materials such as sand, gravel, tarmac or road stone is driven to a site and the vehicle bed is tipped either to one side or to the rear to dump the material. The material must then be manually spread evenly over the site as required. Often, when the bed is tipped to the side, the vehicle will become trapped by the tipped material and can only be freed once the work force has cleared the material away from the vehicle's wheels. Whilst it is possible to drive the vehicle forwards while tipping to the rear this operation can be dangerous as the vehicle bed may unload unevenly. This may occur when some of the material freezes overnight and becomes stuck to the bottom of the bed, which in extreme circumstances can cause the vehicle to overturn whilst tipping.
Other systems exist in which one or more conveyors are mounted in the floor of a vehicle bed which allows the material to be discharged whilst the vehicle is driven forward. However, the costs of fitting such a system to a vehicle are prohibitive. Such systems are especially susceptible to mechanical breakdown when larger pieces of material jam the conveyor which can result in the bed unloading unevenly and so adversely affecting the stability of the whole vehicle.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a vehicle discharge system for a vehicle provided with a rearwardly tippable bed which includes a tailgate comprises a housing mounted at the rear of the bed adjacent to the tailgate, a discharge auger rotatably supported within the housing and arranged to receive material which passes the tailgate when the bed is tipped, auger drive means to drive the auger and discharge material carried within the vehicle bed to the side of the vehicle as the bed is tipped and flow control means capable of differentially exposing material held within the vehicle bed to the discharge auger.
Preferably, the housing and the auger extend across substantially the entire length of the vehicle tailgate.
Preferably, the flow control means comprises a flow control gate which is capable of being moved in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the base of the vehicle bed and tilted to form a tapered and adjustable opening which exposes material within the vehicle bed to the auger as the bed is tipped. The nature of an auger is to preferentially pick up material from one end remote from that at which material is discharged and so the flow control gate is tilted to expose less of the auger to the material at that end. The combination of varying the opening height and degree of tilt of the flow control gate ensures material is discharged evenly and controllably across the width of the vehicle bed.
Preferably, the auger drive means comprises a hydraulic motor which is arranged to rotate the discharge auger upwardly into the material.
Preferably, an end bearing assembly is connected to the discharge auger at each end to rotatably support the auger within the housing.
Preferably, the discharge system further comprises an extension auger which, in use, is co-axially keyed to the discharge auger so that the two augers can rotate in unison and is arranged to extend the distance to which material is discharged to the side of the vehicle.
The discharge system is preferably provided with means to break up compacted material before it enters the discharge auger. Preferably, this means comprises an agitator which is fixed adjacent to the adjustable opening within the vehicle bed to break up compacted material and additionally form a safety grid to prevent any person working inside the vehicle bed from contacting the auger. Alternatively, or additionally, the means comprises a vehicle bed vibrator.
In a first preferred ex
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Brown Andrew Michael
Faulkner Robert Grant
Henderson Stephen Carl
Harsh Limited
Keenan James W.
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