Abstract:
The entire right, title and interest in and to this application and all subject matter disclosed and/or claimed therein, including any and all divisions, continuations, reissues, etc., thereof are, effective as of the date of execution of this application, assigned, transferred, sold and set over by the applicant(s) named herein to Deere &amp; Company, a Delaware corporation having offices at Moline, Ill. 61265, U.S.A., together with all rights to file, and to claim priorities in connection with, corresponding patent applications in any and all foreign countries in the name of Deere &amp; Company or otherwise.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to commodity carts such as grain carts for receiving and unloading grain and other granular material and, more specifically, to such carts equipped for bulk filling of containers which are generally closed on the top.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Grain carts having a granular material tank or hopper are used extensively in farming operations to receive harvested grain. After filling along the left side of a harvester, the grain cart is moved alongside a truck or other open-top receiving device. Typically, the grain cart includes an attached auger system for moving grain from the lower portion of the grain tank. The auger extends outwardly from the left side of the grain cart and includes an outermost auger section that is hinged for swinging between a storage or transport position adjacent the tank and an extended unloading position. In the unloading position, the auger system moves grain from the tank and out an upper end of the auger section where the grain moves downwardly into the upwardly opening receiving device.  
         [0003]     Although numerous types of grain carts with different unloading systems are available, most or all fail to provide for convenient unloading into an intermodal container having a generally closed configuration with an opening in the side of the container. Devices such as shown in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,875 entitled CART FOR BULK FILLING INTERMODAL CONTAINERS, issued Jul. 15, 2003, provide an intermediate loading arrangement for bulk filling such containers. A high speed variable height conveyor is fed from a hopper which can receive grain from the grain cart auger. The conveyor projects the grain through the side opening to fill a container from the back towards the front. Such a system works well but requires the intermediate cart and a tractor and operator in addition to the conventional grain cart and tractor combination.  
         [0004]     In another container filling arrangement shown in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/969,203 entitled APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING AND FILLING FREIGHT CONTAINERS, a container is supported on a wheeled chassis which is moved through a field to the harvesting device. An onboard high speed conveyor propels grain received from the harvester into the container. Such a system is relatively heavy when the container approaches a filled condition and can cause excess soil compaction in the field. Heavy equipment is required to move the filled container from the chassis onto the transporting vehicle for shipment.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     The present invention provides a grain cart or the like for bulk filling an elongated container with a particulate material. The cart has a frame supported on wheels at generally a constant height relative to the surface of the ground and a grain tank or hopper fixed to the frame. A lift assembly connected to the cart frame adjacent the tank supports a high speed filling conveyor above the cart hitch. The filling conveyor is operable at a speed sufficient to throw the material along an arcuate path through a side opening in the container towards the opposite end of the container. The intermodal container can be filled while the end of the filling conveyor remains outside of the container.  
         [0006]     The structure facilitates loading of generally closed containers directly from the cart which receives grain from the harvester without requiring a substantial amount of additional equipment such as an intermediate loading cart and associated towing vehicle. The need to pull a loaded container through the field is eliminated so that soil compaction is reduced. If desired, the intermodal container can be loaded directly from the grain cart while the container rests on the truck or trailer that will transport the filled container to the next destination to thereby reduce handling of heavy loaded containers.  
         [0007]     In the embodiments shown, the lift assembly maintains the filling conveyor on the cart at a constant angle which is best suited for propelling the grain towards the rear of the container while allowing the path of the grain to be adjusted vertically to accommodate different container opening heights. In one or more of the illustrated embodiments, the cart includes an unloading auger arrangement in addition to the high speed filling conveyor and may be used for normal open top loading as well as for side opening intermodal container loading. In another embodiment, a bucket or flighted conveyor moves material directly from the hopper to the filling conveyor, and flighted augers are eliminated to reduce grain damage.  
         [0008]     These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description in view of the drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a grain cart having a high speed unloading conveyor.  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the grain cart of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 2  but showing an alternate embodiment with an intermediate conveyor assembly feeding the unloading conveyor.  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a top view of another alternate embodiment of the grain cart showing a generally flightless unloading system.  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a top view of an embodiment of the grain cart having a conventional unloading system on one side and a high speed unloading conveyor for delivery of the material to a container positioned on the opposite side of the cart. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0014]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , therein is shown a grain cart  10  having a main frame  12  supported for movement over a field by wheel structure  16 . The wheel structure  16  is shown as a tracked device but it is to be understood that other types of ground support could also be utilized with the present invention. A grain tank or hopper  18  or similar receptacle is supported from the frame  12 , and a forward towing hitch  20  is connected to the frame  12  for towing of the cart  10  to and from a filling location such as alongside a combine harvesting grain in a field.  
         [0015]     The hopper  18  includes left and right side walls  22  and  24  connected by front and rear end walls  26  and  28 . Side wall extensions  34  project vertically from upper edges of the side walls to provide added cart hopper capacity. The walls  22 - 28  converge downwardly and inwardly to a lowermost hopper portion  30  having one or more exit areas  36  which open into intermediate conveyor structure  38  and  40  for conveying material upwardly and outwardly from the lowermost hopper portion.  
         [0016]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the grain cart  10  includes a conventional auger type conveyor  44  located on the left hand side of the cart and pivotable from a transport or storage position (shown) alongside the side wall  22  to an outwardly extending operating position extending outwardly to the left of the cart. When extended, the conveyor  44  receives grain from the intermediate conveying structure  38 , which typically is an auger section, and conveys the material outwardly to an end spout  48  where the material drops into an open-top receptacle such as the trailer on a large capacity transport vehicle.  
         [0017]     To facilitate efficient transfer of the material in the hopper  18  to a container which is filled other than through an open top, such as an intermodal container  50  ( FIG. 1 ) with an upper side opening  52 , a special filling conveyor assembly  60  is supported on the cart  10 . The assembly  60  includes a vertically adjustable lift assembly  62  supported from the frame  12  above the hitch  20 . A high speed belt conveyor  64  is supported by the lift assembly  62  and angles upwardly at generally a constant angle of approximately  15  degrees relative to the horizontal from an inward or proximal end  66  to a discharge or distal end  68 . The lift assembly  62  is adjusted so the discharge end  68  opens directly towards the side opening  52 .  
         [0018]     The intermediate conveyor structure  40  directs material from the lowermost hopper portion  30  upwardly and forwardly onto the inward end  66  of the belt conveyor  64 . The belt conveyor  64  includes a troughed and cleated belt  69  generally of the type shown and described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,875. The belt  69 , operable at a speed sufficient to propel material along an arcuate path  70  through the side opening  52  towards the opposite end of the container, may be driven mechanically by a PTO on the towing vehicle or hydraulically or electrically by a motor  74 . The motor  74  may be a hydraulic motor powered from the hydraulic system on the towing vehicle or from a PTO driven pump.  
         [0019]     A combination of belt speed and conveyor angle has been developed to optimize unloading. A belt speed of approximately 1700-2300 feet per second with the conveyor angle of approximately 15 degrees effectively propels the material along the path  70  towards the end of the container  50  so the container fills from the rear without excessive contact with the top of the container and without need to project the end  68  into the container. Other types of filling conveyors could be used, such as a pneumatic conveyor, but the belt conveyor tends to be more efficient. For more details of the conveyor construction, reference may be had to the U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,875.  
         [0020]     The lift assembly  62  is shown as a scissors lift having a hydraulic cylinder  80  connected to one link  82  of a pair of scissors links. A second link  84  is pivotally connected to the first link  82  and to one end of a horizontal conveyor support frame rail  86 . The lower end of the link  84  is slidably received in a horizontal lower rail  88 . The upper end of the link  82  is slidably received in the support frame rail  86 . Extension of the cylinder  80  raises the rail  86  while retraction lowers the rail. Vertical supports  90  secure the filling conveyor assembly  60  to the lift assembly  62  with the desired angle of inclination.  
         [0021]     The intermediate conveyor structure  40  is enclosed with a telescoping or flexible housing  100  ( FIG. 1 ) which opens downwardly into a conveyor housing  102  at the inward end  66  of the assembly  60 . The housing  100  facilitates substantial vertical movement of the filling conveyor assembly  60  to accommodate openings  52  of varying heights.  
         [0022]     To fill the intermodal container  50 , the conventional auger  44  is maintained in the storage position shown in  FIG. 2 , and the cart  10  is driven alongside the container  50  with the end  68  generally aligned with the opening  52 . The hydraulic cylinder  80  is actuated as necessary to assure proper vertical alignment of the path  70  with the opening  52 . The drive or motor  74  is actuated to drive the high speed belt conveyor  64  at the desired speed, and the intermediate conveyor structure  40  is driven to deposit material from the hopper  18  on the inward end  66  of the belt  69 . The material, accelerated and maintained on the belt by the cleats, is propelled out the open end  68  of the conveyor housing  102 . For conventional unloading into an open top receiver, the auger  44  is pivoted outwardly to the working position and driven with the intermediate conveyor structure  38 , which can be a lowermost auger section, while the structure  40  and conveyor assembly  60  remain unpowered.  
         [0023]     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , one of the intermediate conveyor structures is eliminated, and a pivoting top loading auger  44   a  is utilized to selectively direct material from the conveyor structure  38  either to the inward end  66  of the high speed belt conveyor  64  (solid lines) through an adjustable housing  100   a  or to an open top receptacle  110 . The auger  44   a  is movable from a storage location adjacent the hopper  18  outwardly to the open top dump position (broken lines) or to the side fill position (solid lines) over the high speed belt conveyor  64 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  shows another embodiment of a grain cart  10  which is primarily dedicated to container or side loading. The grain cart  10  is equipped with a high capacity conveyor  64  for container loading but does not include a conventional top loading conveyor device such as a side unloading auger. A conveyor  40   b  extends from the lowermost hopper portion  30  upwardly and forwardly over the inward end  66  of the conveyor  64 . The conveyor  40   b  is shown as a bucket conveyor with individual buckets or receptacles  114  for scooping grain from the hopper  18  as the receptacles are driven in a loop around the front portion of the hopper and over the conveyor  64 . The receptacles  114  are inverted over the end  66  so that the grain is deposited on the belt  69  for delivery to the container. Other types of intermediate conveyors such as augers and flighted conveyors could also be used to deliver grain from the hopper to the filling conveyor  64 , but the bucket conveyor  40   b  provides a gentler grain handling system that substantially reduces grain damage, particularly in combination with the belt  69 . A cushioned deflector device may be supported at location  118  offset from the distal end of the belt conveyor for directing grain downwardly from the end  68  if necessary to fill a more conventional receptacle with an upwardly directed opening.  
         [0025]     A system for converting a conventional grain cart with a movable unloading auger to a side loading cart system is shown in  FIG. 5 . The conventional auger unloading system includes the lower auger system  38  feeding and driving a pivoting left side auger conveyor  44  when the auger conveyor is in the normal unloading position (broken lines). In addition, a right side filling conveyor assembly  60   r  is supported from a lift assembly  62   r  located above the hitch  20 . The assembly  60   r  is similar in construction to the assembly  60  described above but angles upwardly towards the right side of the cart rather than to the left side. A connecting conveyor  120  includes a receiving end  122  which connects with the upper end of the lower auger system  38  when the auger conveyor  44  is pivoted to the storage position shown. The connecting conveyor extends to a flexible or extensible housing  100   r  which opens into the conveyor housing  102  above the inward end  66   a  of the filling conveyor assembly  60   r.  Therefore, the grain cart  10  can be used in a conventional manner to load material into an upwardly opening receiver at the left of the cart using the auger conveyor  44 , or the filling conveyor assembly  60   r  can be fed from the connecting conveyor to fill a container to the right of the cart.  
         [0026]     Having described the preferred embodiment, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims.