Cast hopper tee

An integral one-piece hopper tee is disclosed as providing a generally vertically directed hollow pipe section having a laterally outwardly direct flange at an upper end thereof for attachment to the bottom of a hopper truck. At the other end of the vertical pipe section, a generally transversely extending hollow pipe section is provided, with the opposite free ends thereof capable of being attached to pipeline tubing, through which pneumatic unloading of product obtained in the hopper truck may be routed first through the vertically and horizontally directed pipe sections and then into the pipeline tubing. In the area of juncture between the generally vertically and horizontally directed pipe sections, smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional surfaces are provided to permit complete and continuous flow of product discharged from the hopper into the vertically directed pipe section, and subsequent flowing without impedance into the generally horizontally extending pipe section, for entry into pipeline tubing connected thereto. An inner molded lining having a low coefficient of friction conforming to the smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional surfaces may also be used.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to cast hopper tees, and more particularly, to 
integral one-piece cast hopper tees having smooth and uninterrupted 
internal transitional surfaces permitting complete and continuous flow of 
product therethrough, without contamination. 
Large elongated hoppers or tank trailers are commonly used to transport 
bulk commodities such as industrial and food products from the supplier to 
the manufacturer, who then converts the bulk commodity into products for 
consumers. When the hopper or tank trailers reach the manufacturers plant, 
the bulk commodity is unloaded. Typically, this is done by pneumatically 
unloading the bulk commodity from the hopper into clean and sanitary pipe 
lines at the manufacturer's location. For this purpose, hopper tees are 
mounted to the discharge outlet of the hopper truck and transfer the bulk 
commodity by gravity flow or air pressure conveyor or vibration into a 
vertical pipe section of the hopper tee. The hopper tee vertical pipe 
section is connected to a transverse or horizontal pipe section allowing 
the outer ends thereof to be connected in the pneumatic pipeline tubing 
system of the manufacturer. Pneumatic conveying of the bulk commodity 
through the horizontal pipe section and the pipeline tubing is achieved by 
establishing a pressure differential in the pipeline system, as will be 
apparent. 
Prior art hopper tees have been constructed by welding the vertical and 
horizontal pipe sections together, as shown for example, in the prior art 
drawing illustrations of this disclosure. With prior art hopper tees 
constructed in this manner, the welded areas of juncture leave rough and 
irregular internal wall surfaces, which impede the flow of the product or 
commodity through the hopper tee. More specifically, the welds in the area 
of juncture between the vertical and horizontal pipe sections of the 
hopper tee produce rough and irregular internal wall surfaces, which can 
substantially impede product flow. Also, hopper tees constructed in this 
manner unfortunately result in a much higher incidence of product hang up 
in the rough and irregular internal wall surface areas, causing product 
contamination. As can be appreciated, a potential problem exists with the 
manufacturer/user of the bulk commodity, if product hang-up, from a 
previous bulk commodity shipment, is released into the pipeline system of 
the manufacturer/user. Sometimes, abrasive dry bulk commodities such as 
sand result in premature wear-through of the hopper tee, in the welded 
areas of juncture between the vertical and horizontal pipe sections. 
Furthermore, an abrasive bulk commodity, as said sand, may wear-through 
the entire hopper tee. That is why the hopper tee, as well as the piping 
used for unloading, are typically made from schedule 80 heavy steel, in 
order to hold-up to the abrasiveness of sand, or related materials. The 
aforementioned problems associated with rough and costly prior art hopper 
tees and in conveying abrasive materials, have been overcome by the 
present invention, as will be made apparent in the description that is to 
follow. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Among the several objects and features of this invention may be noted: 
The provision of an integral one-piece hopper tee which provides even and 
constant product flow throughout the vertical and horizontal pipe sections 
of the said hopper tee; 
The provision of such a hopper tee which eliminates problems associated 
with rough and irregular internal wall surfaces that cause potential 
product contamination with subsequent commodities unloaded through the 
hopper tee; 
The provision of such a hopper tee which provides smooth uninterrupted 
internal transitional surfaces to permit complete and continuous flow of 
product discharged from a hopper truck or the like into the hopper 
vertical and horizontal pipe sections without impedance of the product; 
The provision of such a hopper tee that also utilizes an abrasive-resistant 
coating, resultingly enabling the hopper tee to be made from lighter 
material; 
The provision of such a hopper tee which is also available in straight 
through/gravity unloading at a desired location; and 
The provision of such a hopper tee which is substantially more economical 
than prior art designs, can be fabricated to precise tolerances, is 
lighter, requires little or no maintenance, and is more suitable in the 
environment intended for use than prior art hopper tees. 
Briefly stated, an integral one-piece cast hopper tee of the present 
invention includes a first hollow pipe section having a laterally 
outwardly directed flange at an upper end thereof for attachment to the 
bottom of a hopper truck its operating discharge valve, or the like. The 
first hollow pipe section includes an internal cylindrical wall of 
predetermined diameter. A second hollow pipe section which extends 
generally transversely relative to the first hollow pipe section is 
integrally attached thereto at a lower end thereof. The second hollow pipe 
section extends on opposite sides of the first hollow pipe section and 
terminates at opposite free ends for attachment to pipeline tubing. The 
second hollow pipe section has an internal cylindrical wall of smaller 
predetermined internal diameter than the first hollow pipe section. An 
area of juncture is provided between the first and second hollow pipe 
sections having smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional surfaces 
which include first opposed internal curvilinear surfaces that merge into 
second opposed curvilinear wall surfaces. Each of the first opposed 
internal curvilinear wall surfaces extend from an uppermost inner midpoint 
of the second hollow pipe section and curve a predetermined distance 
downwardly and inwardly on opposite sides of the midpoint along the 
internal cylindrical wall of the second hollow pipe section and extend 
transversely across the second hollow pipe section. The second opposed 
internal curvilinear wall surfaces extend generally longitudinally along 
the second hollow pipe section for a predetermined distance and merge with 
outermost portions of the first opposed internal curvilinear wall 
surfaces. Thus, the area of juncture between the first and second hollow 
pipe sections provide smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional 
surfaces permitting complete and continuous flow of product discharged 
from the hopper into the first hollow pipe section in order to flow 
without impedance into the second hollow pipe section and then through the 
pipeline tubing. An inner molded lining having a low coefficient of 
friction may be used along the internal cylindrical walls including the 
smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional surfaces of the first and 
second hollow pipe sections. In another embodiment of the present 
invention, a separate swing-away door is mounted to a lower end of the 
first hollow pipe section which extends through the second hollow pipe 
section in order to enable product from the hopper to be deposited through 
the first hollow tube section by gravity flow to a desired location. 
Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent from the 
description that is to follow.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout 
the several views on the drawings. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
One of the principal areas of use of the cast hopper tee of the present 
invention is shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings. There, it will be seen that 
the integral one-piece cast hopper tee 10 is positioned adjacent and 
connected to the discharge outlet (not shown) of a hopper 12. The hopper 
12 may form part of a hopper truck or the like and include vibrators 14 
adjacent the discharge outlet (not shown) in order to loosen the bulk 
commodity contained within the hopper for discharge into the cast hopper 
tee 10. A valve 14 is preferably mounted to the lower end of the hopper 12 
and includes a manually operable handle 16 for opening and closing a 
butterfly valve (not shown) or the like to open and close the discharge 
opening (not shown) of the hopper 12. The valve 14 is connected to the 
cast hopper tee 10, the construction of which will be described in detail, 
and pipeline tubing 18 is also connected to the cast hopper tee 10, in 
order to permit commodities within the hopper 12 to be discharged through 
the cast hopper tee 10 and then through the pipeline tubing, by way of 
pneumatic unloading, as will be readily understood. 
Before discussing the specific construction and advantageous features of 
the cast hopper tee 10 of the present invention, reference is made to the 
prior art hopper tees shown in FIGS. 10-12 of the drawings, in order to 
understand the problems of prior art constructions which the present 
invention has overcome. These prior art hopper tees generally identified 
at 20 in FIGS. 10-12 as Prior Art illustrations include a generally 
vertically directed hollow pipe section 22 having a laterally outwardly 
directed flange 24 at the upper end thereof which is welded to the 
vertically directed hollow pipe section 22 as at 26. A through passageway 
or internal cylindrical wall 28 extends through the vertically directed 
hollow pipe section 26 and the flange 24 for communication with the valve 
14, as described above. Attached to the lower end of the generally 
vertically directed hollow pipe section 22 is a generally transverse or 
horizontal pipe section 30. Welds 32 attach the generally vertically and 
horizontally directed hollow pipe sections 22, 30 respectively to one 
another as illustrated. The generally horizontally extending hollow pipe 
section 30 includes an internal passageway or cylindrical wall 34 which 
communicates with the cylindrical wall or passageway 28 of the vertically 
directed pipe section 22, in order to allow product to be unloaded through 
the vertically directed pipe section 22 and into the horizontally 
extending pipe section 30, for pneumatic unloading into the pipeline 
tubing 18, as discussed above. Thus, the opposite free ends 36, 36 of the 
horizontally extending hollow pipe section 30 may be attached to the 
pipeline tubing 18, by way of the pipeline clamps as shown in FIG. 1, for 
example. 
In the prior art construction, attention is particularly invited to FIGS. 
11-12 which show the rough and irregular internal wall surfaces as a 
result of the welds 32 connecting the vertical and horizontally extending 
pipe sections 22, 30 to one another. For all of the reasons previously set 
forth in the background description of this invention, the prior art 
constructions of hopper tees 20 have proved to be undesirable and not 
advantageous, particularly in light of the construction and features of 
the cast hopper tee 10 of the present invention. 
Reference is now made to FIGS. 2-7 of the drawings for a description of the 
construction of the integral one-piece cast hopper tee 10 of the present 
invention. The cast hopper tee 10 includes a first hollow pipe section 40 
having a laterally outwardly directed flange 42 at an upper end thereof 
for attachment to the bottom of the valve 14, or directly to the hopper 
12, as may be desired. The first hollow pipe section is generally 
vertically directed and includes an internal cylindrical wall 44 of 
predetermined internal diameter. The sides of the internal cylindrical 
wall 44 of the first hollow pipe section 40 may be varied to suit the 
hopper size, in the particular environment in which it is to be used. 
A second hollow pipe section 50 extends generally transverse relative to 
the first hollow pipe section 40 and is integrally attached thereto at a 
lower end thereof. The second hollow pipe section 50 is generally 
horizontally directed and extends on opposite sides of the first hollow 
pipe section 40 terminating at opposite free ends 52, 52 for attachment to 
the pipeline tubing 18, as shown in FIG. 1, by any suitable means as 
desired. 
Other than being cast as an integral one-piece cast hopper tee 10, 
preferably of aluminum, the construction and configuration of the 
aforementioned components of the cast hopper 10 are similar to the prior 
art hopper tee 20, previously described. However, the manner in which the 
first and second hollow pipe sections 40, 50 are integrally joined 
together in the one-piece construction of the present invention is 
specifically different from the aforementioned prior art construction, as 
will now be described. 
As specifically and distinctly different from the aforementioned prior art 
constructions, an area of juncture 60 being the first and second hollow 
pipe sections 40, 50 respectively has smooth and uninterrupted internal 
transitional surfaces which permit complete and continuous flow of product 
discharged from the hopper 12 into the first hollow pipe section 40, in 
order to allow product to flow without impedance into the second hollow 
pipe section 50 and then through the pipeline tubing 18. This area of 
juncture 60 between the first and second hollow pipe sections 40, 50 
respectively includes first opposed internal curvilinear surfaces 62, 62 
as best seen in FIG. 6 of the drawings. Each of the first opposed internal 
curvilinear wall surfaces 62, 62 extend from an uppermost inner midpoint 
63, as seen in FIG. 7, of the second hollow pipe section 50 and curve a 
predetermined distance downwardly and inwardly on opposite sides of the 
uppermost inner midpoint 63 along the internal cylindrical wall 54 of the 
second hollow pipe section 50. These downwardly and inwardly curving 
opposed internal curvilinear wall surfaces 62, 62 extend transversely 
across the second hollow pipe section 50 as seen in FIGS. 2 and 6. The 
area of juncture 60 further includes second opposed internal curvilinear 
wall surfaces 64, 64 on opposite sides thereof which extend generally 
along the second hollow pipe section 50 for a predetermined distance and 
merge with outermost portions of the first opposed internal curvilinear 
wall surfaces 62, 62, in order to provide the smooth and uninterrupted 
internal transitional surfaces. 
Thus, as can be seen from the top plan view of the cast hopper 10 in FIG. 4 
of the drawings and from the sectional views thereof as shown in FIGS. 6 
and 7 as viewed along line 6--6 and line 7--7 of FIG. 4, the smooth and 
uninterrupted internal transitional surfaces in the area of juncture 60 
between the first and second hollow pipe sections 40, 50 respectively 
permits complete and continuous flow of product through the cast hopper 
tee 10. 
In FIG. 6--7 of the drawings, the predetermined internal diameter A of the 
internal cylindrical wall 44 of the first hollow pipe section 40 is larger 
than the predetermined internal diameter B of the internal cylindrical 
wall 54 of the second hollow pipe section 50. Furthermore, the 
predetermined internal diameter in the area of juncture 60 between the 
first and second hollow pipe sections 40, 50 respectively is substantially 
the same as the predetermined internal diameter A of the first hollow body 
section 40. This can be best understood by comparing the predetermined 
internal diameter A in FIG. 6 of the drawings, as taken along line 6--6 of 
FIG. 4, which is along the longitudinal extension of the second pipe 
section 50, and comparing the predetermined internal diameter A in FIG. 7 
of the drawings where the opposed internal curvilinear wall surfaces 64, 
64 in the area of juncture 60 provide the same predetermined internal 
diameter A as the first hollow body section 40. Therefore, unlike the 
prior art constructions of FIGS. 10-12, the area of juncture 60 between 
the first and second hollow pipe section 40, 50 respectively provides the 
smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional surfaces which are 
necessary for smooth product flow without contamination, as compared with 
the prior art constructions. 
It will be further noted that each of the second opposed internal 
curvilinear wall surfaces 64, 64 extend both circumferentially and 
longitudinally along said second hollow pipe section and define opposed 
semi-cylindrical curvilinear wall surfaces or sections 63, 64 in the area 
of juncture 60. These semi-cylindrical curvilinear wall surfaces or 
sections 64, 64 are provided approximately 90.degree. offset from the 
upper innermost midpoint 64 of the second hollow pipe section, as best 
shown in FIG. 7. As further shown in FIG. 6, the approximately 
longitudinal length of the semi-cylindrical sections is shown by the same 
dimension B as the predetermined internal diameter B of the internal 
cylindrical wall 54 of the second hollow pipe section. It will also be 
seen that the height C of the semi-cylindrical sections or wall surfaces 
64, 64 along the circumferential extent of the second hollow pipe section 
50 is approximately one-half of the longitudinal length B of the 
semi-cylindrical sections 64, 64. 
Thus, since the largest internal diameter A of the internal cylindrical 
wall of the first hollow section 40 is also the same internal diameter in 
the area of the juncture 60, along the first internally opposed and second 
internally opposed curvilinear wall surfaces 62, 62 and 64, 64 
respectively, which is within the confines of the internal cylindrical 
wall 54 of the second hollow pipe section 50, smooth and uninterrupted 
internal transitional surfaces in the area of juncture 60 will, therefore, 
be provided. That is why in viewing the internal transitional surfaces 
from the top plan view of FIG. 4, and also from the sectional views of 
FIG. 6 and 7 as viewed along line 6--6 and line 7--7 of FIG. 4, there is 
nothing to restrict the flow of the product or to provide irregular 
surfaces for contamination of product flowing through the cast hopper tee 
10. 
Referring now to another embodiment of the present invention, reference is 
made to FIGS. 8-9 of the drawings. There, it will be seen that the cast 
hopper tee 70 is modified to provide an extension of the first hollow pipe 
section, which extends below the second hollow pipe section 50 and has a 
flow through opening 72 therethrough that communicates with the internal 
cylindrical wall 44 of the first hollow pipe section 40. Attached to the 
first hollow pipe section 40 and extending radially outwardly therefrom 
are a pair of opposed arms 74, 74 which support through the threaded 
fasteners 76, the separate swing-away door 78 which is mounted to the 
lower end of the first hollow pipe section 40, for closing off the flow 
through opening 72. According to the FIGS. 8-9 embodiment, when it is 
simply desired to provide a gravity flow of the product in the hopper 12 
through the first hollow pipe section 40, the swing-away door 78 is 
disposed as shown in FIG. 8, thereby allowing the product to flow 
therethrough for deposit at a desired location. 
Also, as in the FIGS. 1-7 embodiment, the area of juncture 60 between the 
first and second hollow pipe sections 40, 50 respectively have smooth and 
uninterrupted internal transitional surfaces which provide complete and 
continuous flow of product discharged from the hopper 12 and into the 
first pipe section 40, in order to allow product to flow without impedance 
into the second hollow pipe section and then through the pipe line tubing. 
Because the first hollow pipe section 40 is larger than the second hollow 
pipe sections 50 in the FIGS. 8-9 embodiment, the specific shape and 
configuration of the area of juncture 60 in this embodiment will be 
different than in the FIGS. 1-7 embodiment; however, because the first and 
second hollow pipe sections 40, 50 are integrally cast as a one-piece 
unit, it will be understood that the smaller second hollow pipe sections 
50 along the internal area of juncture 60 with the first hollow pipe 
section 40 will provide smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional 
surfaces therethrough. 
Reference is now made to FIGS. 13-16 of the drawings which show the cast 
hopper tee 10, as constructed in accordance with FIGS. 1 through 7 of the 
drawings, and further including an inner molded lining 80. Specifically, 
the inner molded lining 80 is preferably made from a urethane elastomer 
that is molded in-situ within the cast hopper tee 10, which is preferably 
cast aluminum. A supplemental mold, of both vertical and horizontal 
segments, is located within the hollow pipe sections 40 and 50, 
respectively, and then the urethane is injection molded in place. This 
provides a very smooth transitional liner between these pipe sections, and 
prevents the hang up of any ingredient during flowage from any associated 
hopper, through the tee, and to discharge. The lining 80 includes a 
vertically directed wall portion 82 which is integrally molded and 
connected to the horizontally directed wall portion 84 and including 
corresponding inner wall portions 86 which conform to the internal 
cylindrical wall of the first and second hollow pipe sections 40, 50 
respectively, including the smooth and uninterrupted internal transitional 
surfaces 60. 
The urethane elastomeric lining 80 provides not only a low coefficient of 
friction, but it has good abrasion resistance with good load bearing 
characteristics. When used with a cast aluminum hopper tee 10, the 
resulting product is a lighter cast hopper tee having an inner molded 
lining 80 that offers high abrasion resistance. Such a product provides 
abrasion resistance equal to or better than Schedule 80 heavy steel, which 
is typically used for sand hauling applications, and yet the resulting 
product is a much lighter cast hopper tee, with greater payload, and thus 
extremely beneficial to users. 
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the 
invention are achieved and other advantageous results are obtained. 
As various changes could be made in the above constructions without 
departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter 
contained in the above description are shown in the accompanying drawings 
shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.