Patent Publication Number: US-2011067780-A1

Title: Apparatus for filling receptacles with granular material

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1.) Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to an apparatus for depositing a granular substance into a storage receptacle. More particularly, this invention relates to a belt-driven apparatus which quickly and efficiently loads sand into sandbags. 
     2.) Description of Related Art 
     Sandbags have a wide variety of uses which include providing reinforcement in flood situations, and protection or fortification in various military applications. In flooding situations, emphasis is often placed upon filling sandbags rapidly and deploying them where needed. Typically, in the past, the filling of sandbags has been accomplished by one individual holding a sandbag open, while another individual shovels amounts of sand into the sandbag. Anyone who has undertaken to fill sandbags in this manner will appreciate that a number of problems exist with this method. First, the person doing the shoveling must be very careful to ensure that all or most of the sand in each shovelful makes it into the sandbag. This normally requires the shoveler to slow down briefly, immediately prior to providing the sand into the sandbag. Oftentimes, the shoveler will place the tip of the shovel blade into the sandbag to ensure that all or most of the sand makes it into the bag. This too slows down the sandbag filling process. A second problem which can occur is that an individual holding the sandbag can have their fingers hit or nicked with the blade of the shovel, if the shoveler is not careful. Needless to say, this can give rise to serious injury. 
     A sandbag is typically used in emergency situations, such as during flooding conditions. Because of the lack of everyday use of sandbags, it is not normal to store already filled sandbags. Instead, if an emergency situation arises, then a load of sand is typically dumped proximate the area where the sandbags are needed. Empty bags are then filled on site. 
     During an emergency situation filling the bags quickly and easily is of utmost importance. 
     Various apparatus have been proposed for automatically filling sandbags. However, these are typically in the form of large machinery or devices for mounting on a truck. Due to the complexity of the machinery, they can be quite expensive. For an item that would normally be used very infrequently, it is difficult for individuals, municipalities or other governmental bodies to justify the expense. Also, such devices would necessarily need continued maintenance even when not in use. This further burdens purchasers for a device that would hopefully never be used. 
     The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above in a novel and simple manner. 
     SUMMARY 
     The apparatus described here includes an improved device for filling sandbags, or any other granular material. The method may be a less expensive, portable, more flexible and rapid way of moving the material from a stationary pile to height at which the sand will flow by gravity into bags, containers, or other storage receptacles. 
     In the apparatus, a flexible belt material or conveyor belt may be stretched between two roller bearings, one of the roller bearings at a lower height and the other roller bearing at an upper height, the upper height clearing the entrance of the a storage receptacle. The lower bearing is rotated by contact with a rotating drive wheel. The drive wheel is supported at another point on its periphery by a second, supporting bearing. The position of this supporting bearing may be adjustable to accommodate wheels of different diameter. 
     When the drive wheel rotates, its frictional contact with the lower bearing and conveyor belt causes the lower bearing to rotate with the same linear speed. This in turn causes the flexible belt material or conveyor belt to advance between the two roller bearings. When the granular material is placed on the flexible belt material at the lower bearing, the granular material is transported by the flexible belt material to the height of the upper bearing, above the storage receptacle. When the granular material reaches the furthest extent of the flexible belt material on the upper roller bearing, the granular material falls into the storage receptacle positioned below the upper roller bearing. In one embodiment, the granular material may be sand, and the storage receptacle may be a sand bag. 
     In one embodiment, the power wheel may be a bicycle whose system of pedals, chain drive and gears provides a mechanical advantage in lifting sand to fill bags over the traditional method of using a shovel. This embodiment allows the use of the leg muscles, the most powerful in the body, to be used to transport the sand rather than the arm muscles as would be the case in the traditional method. The result is that more bags can be filled before the operator becomes too fatigued to continue. 
     Another embodiment involves the wheel of a locomotion device such as a motor vehicle to power the lower bearing and conveyer belt. The motor vehicle may be a scooter, a motorcycle, a car or a truck. This embodiment may provide more lifting power than the bicycle, but may be more expensive, heavier and less portable. 
     The invention allows adjustment of the spacing of the two roller bearings which support the drive wheel to accommodate wide range of locomotion device. These two bearings are the aforementioned lower roller bearing and second support bearing. The apparatus may also include an adjustable height for the upper bearing, to accommodate different sizes of storage receptacles, or sand bags. As the upper roller bearing of the conveyer is raised to change the discharge height, the spacing of the lower support bearings can be changed so that the drive wheel remains securely centered between the roller bearings. 
     The granular material may be sand, gravel, road salt, animal feed, fertilizer, or any other granular material that is frequently loaded into bags for transport. The granular material may be loaded onto the flexible belt material at the height of the lower roller bearing by shovel, or by means of an auger mounted to the axle of the lower roller bearing. The auger may penetrate into a stationary stockpile of the granular material, thus loading the conveyor belt automatically as the apparatus operates. 
     By allowing use of a wide range of power sources, the conveyer can be more easily deployed to fill sand bags in various emergency situations where it is necessary to fill sandbags to prevent flood damage. This also allows easier transport of the conveyer system than if the power source was an integral part of the apparatus. By the use of a bicycle and a lightweight conveyer, the process of filling sandbags can accomplished at the point of deployment of the sandbag dikes even if local conditions prohibit access by motor vehicles. 
     These and other features and advantages are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various exemplary details are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiments shown but are for explanation and understanding only. 
         FIG. 1  shows a simplified schematic of the portable apparatus for filling at least one storage receptacle with a granular material; 
         FIG. 2  shows additional detail of the adjusting means for adjusting the position of an axle lock with respect to the lower roller bearing of the portable apparatus; 
         FIG. 3  shows an axle lock with interior and exterior axle positions; 
         FIG. 4  shows additional detail for an interior axle lock which may be used in the axle lock of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  shows additional detail for an exterior axle lock which may be used in the axle lock of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  shows another embodiment of the portable apparatus for filling receptacles with a granular material; 
         FIG. 7  shows configuration of the portable apparatus for filling receptacles with a granular material, wherein the configuration may be used to move the portable apparatus to a new location; and 
         FIG. 8  shows an end view of the portable apparatus for filling at least one storage receptacle with a granular material. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a simplified illustration of an apparatus  100  for filling a storage receptacle with a granular material. The apparatus  100  may include a flexible belt material  110  stretched between two roller bearings, an upper roller bearing  120  and a lower roller bearing  130 . The upper roller bearing  120  may be at a higher elevation than the lower roller bearing  130 , that elevation being substantially higher than the top edge of a storage receptacle  180 . The granular material will be transported on the flexible belt material  110  from the lower bearing  130  to the upper bearing  120 , from which is it discharged by gravity into the storage receptacle  180 , as discussed further below. 
     The axle of the lower roller bearing  130  may be coupled to a first axle lock  140  which locks the position of the lower roller bearing  130  relative to a second support bearing  190 . The position of the second support bearing  190  can be adjusted relative to the position of the lower roller bearing  130  in order to accommodate drive wheels  150  of different diameter. 
     Drive wheel  150  may be the rear wheel of virtually any means of locomotion, such as a bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, motorbike, car or truck. The drive wheel may therefore be powered by an internal combustion engine or by an operator pedaling, for example, a bicycle. The axle of the drive wheel  150  may be locked in place by an additional axle lock, or alternatively, the front wheel of the means of locomotion may be placed in a stand, holder or axle lock that keeps the front wheel fixed. By fixing the front axle, and placing the rear wheel between the lower roller bearing  130  and the second support bearing  190 , the position of the means of locomotion is fixed. For simplicity, the front wheel and these additional optional axle locks are not shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     As mentioned previously, the motive power for the apparatus  100  is a drive wheel  150 , which contacts the surface of the flexible belt material  110  where it wraps around the lower roller bearing  130 . The drive wheel  150  is caused to rotate by operating the locomotion device, either pedaling a bicycle or operating the motor vehicle, for example. The rotational motion of the drive wheel  150  is translated to linear motion of the flexible belt material  110  or conveyer belt by friction between the drive wheel  150  and belt  110 . This friction causes the flexible belt material  110  to move with about the same linear velocity as the drive wheel  150 , such that a length of the flexible belt material  110  travels from the lower roller bearing  130  to the upper roller bearing  120  and back. The transit of the flexible belt material  110  forms an angle with the ground, so that a granular material  105  deposited on the flexible belt material  110  at the lower roller bearing  130  is transported to the height of the upper roller bearing  120 , which as previously mentioned, is above the upper lip of a storage receptacle  180 . When the granular material reaches the maximum height of the upper roller bearing  120 , it falls from the flexible belt material or conveyor belt into the open receptacle below by the force of gravity. 
     The apparatus  100  may have several adjustment features which allow it to accommodate a choice of different components. The height or elevation of the upper roller bearing  120  may be selected to accommodate storage receptacles of different sizes. This height may be adjusted by moving the position of the upper roller bearing  120  in the axle lock  170 . The axle lock  170  may be provided with a series of cross-wise slots or détente positions which accommodate the axle of the upper roller bearing  120  at various heights or elevations, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The détente positions may be circular contours  174  or  176  formed into a slot  172  running the length of the axle lock  170 , which retains the axle because of the restoring force of the flexible belt material. That is, as the flexible material is stretched between the roller bearings, the force exerted by the elasticity of the belt exerts a frictional force on the contours  174  of the détente position, so that the axle tends to stay in the détente position rather than fall to the bottom of the slot. By judicious selection of the axle lock position  170 , varying heights of receptacles  180  may be accommodated. Axle lock  140  may be of similar design as axle lock  170 , and may also use slots or détente positions to maintain the position of the lower roller bearing  130  and second support bearing  190 . 
     In another embodiment of axle lock  140  or  170 , axle locks  140  and  170  are provided with a set of dowel pins which function as a set of fixed axles, and the bearing of the axle which remains with the roller portion is simply installed over the dowel and rotates around the dowel. While this embodiment may be simple to implement, the adjustment increments it allows may be relatively course, because the adjacent dowels must be spaced by at least the radius of the wheel and bearing, in order for the rotating wheel to clear the adjacent dowel. 
     Yet another embodiment of the axle lock  140  and  170  is shown in  FIG. 3 . For simplicity of description, the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  is directed only to axle lock  170 , but it should be understood that the details discussed herein may just as well be applied to axle lock  140 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the circular contours  174  and  176  may completely penetrate the axle lock  170 . Two such features are shown in  FIG. 3 . Position  174  accommodates an axle which extends to the interior of the apparatus, that is, generally toward the location of the flexible belt  110 , whereas position  176  may accommodate an axle extending to the exterior of the apparatus, that is, generally away from the location of the flexible belt  110 . Exterior position  176  may be used to couple an external, travel wheel  310  to the apparatus  100 . The function of this external wheel is to allow transport of the apparatus, as will be explained further below with reference to  FIG. 7 . There are many possible positions  174  and  176  along each axle lock  170 , for example, ten or twelve positions per side. These positions may be occupied by the two roller bearings  120  and  122 , which may occupy two internal positions  174  on each side. Positions  176  may also be occupied by external wheels mounted at each corner of the belt apparatus (occupying 4 more positions), and all other positions may be used for roller or wheel adjustment/positioning. This design of axle lock  170  thus allows for insertion of axles from two directions, either from the interior as for roller bearing  120  or  122 , or from the exterior for external wheel  310 . Having a plurality of positions available for positioning the axles makes for a large number configurations and adjustments. 
       FIG. 4  shows additional detail of an embodiment of the interior lock  174 . Interior lock  174  may include a plurality of shaped obstructions, such as a plurality of wedges  173  which rest with their short sides against an inner surface of interior lock  174 . The wedges  173  may be right triangles, which may be attached to the inner surface by a plurality of hinges  177 , which allow the wedges  173  to pivot as the axle shaft is pressed against them. The pivot is resisted by a plurality of restraining springs  179 , as well as the shape of the wedge. When an interior axle shaft is placed in the interior lock  174 , the force of the shaft leans against the long side of the wedge, which holds the axle firmly in this position. 
       FIG. 5  shows additional detail of exterior lock  176 . Exterior lock  176  may also have a plurality of wedges, for example, right triangles whose short side rests against an inner surface of exterior lock  176 . These wedges may also be held in place by a plurality of hinges which allow them to pivot about the hinge point. The pivot is also resisted by a plurality of restraining springs  179 . However, in the case of exterior lock  176 , the force of the exterior axle against the triangle causes the triangle to rotate against the restraining hinge, which allows the triangle to pivot about the hinge. This allows passage of the axle further into exterior axle lock  176 , until the restraining spring causes the triangle to rotate into a détente position against a relieved portion of the exterior axle. When the axle is inserted this far into the exterior axle lock  176 , the position of the axle is held by the triangles. 
     Inspection of  FIG. 5  compared to  FIG. 4  shows that the design of interior axle lock  174  may be identical to that of exterior axle lock  176 . Both may have a plurality of wedges, hinges and springs assembled in a similar or identical fashion. Thus, whether a particular axle lock is used as an interior or exterior lock may be purely a matter of choice of whether to insert an axle from the interior of the apparatus or the exterior. Thus, any axle may be inserted into any axle lock, leading to a wide variety of possible configurations. 
     Returning to the design of the overall apparatus  100 , apparatus  100  may also include a second support bearing  190  whose position may be adjusted by means of another axle lock  140 . Similarly to axle lock  170 , axle lock  140  may have a series of slots or détente positions into which the axle of second support bearing  190  may be positioned. Thus, the position of the second support bearing  190  with respect to the lower roller bearing  130  may be adjusted. This adjustment may be convenient for accommodating various sizes and diameters of drive wheels, and to hold the drive wheel  150  in a pre-defined position. In any case, the supports  130  and  190  are preferably separated by a distance less than the diameter of the drive wheel  150 . 
     Although only a single axle lock  140  or  170  is shown in  FIG. 1  holding only one end of the axle of the upper roller bearing  120  or the second support bearing  190  in a cantilevered fashion, it should be understood that two axle locks may also be used in each case rather than one. To use two axle locks, one lock may be located on each end of the axle, with the axle extending between the two axle locks. Each axle lock may be provided with the cross-wise slots or détente positions for positioning the respective axle in a pre-defined position with respect to the lower roller bearing  130 , examples of which were shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The lower roller bearing  130  may have a screw-like auger  122  coupled to its axle shaft or otherwise disposed on its axle, which functions to automatically load the granular material  105  onto the flexible belt material  110  at the location of the lower roller bearing  130 . When the apparatus  100  is positioned such that the auger penetrates into the reservoir of the granular material  105 , the granular material  105  is transported via the helical flighting of the auger along the axis of rotation and onto the flexible belt. Alternatively, the granular material  105  may be loaded by hand or shovel onto the lower roller bearing  130 . 
     To operate the portable apparatus  100 , portable apparatus  100  may be assembled at the location of a reservoir of the granular material  105 . Positioning lower roller bearing  130  such that the auger  122  penetrates the reservoir of granular material, the flexible belt material may be stretched between the lower roller bearing  130  and the upper roller bearing  120 , and the upper roller bearing  120  positioned in the axle lock  170  at the desired height, taking care that this height sufficiently clears the top edge of the storage receptacle  180 . The lower roller bearing  130  may also be positioned in axle lock  140 . The second support bearing  190  is positioned a distance away from lower roller bearing  130  which is less than the diameter of the intended drive wheel  150 . Drive wheel  150  may then be placed against the flexible belt material  110  and power applied to the drive wheel  150 . Rotation of the auger  122  on the lower roller bearing  130  then automatically loads the granular material  105  onto the flexible belt material  110 , which in turns carries it up the incline to the upper roller bearing  120  where it is released into the receptacle  180  by the force of gravity. 
       FIG. 6  shows a second exemplary embodiment  200  of the portable apparatus for filling a receptacle with a granular material. As with apparatus  100 , apparatus  200  may also include a flexible belt material  210  or conveyor belt  210 , an upper roller bearing  220 , lower roller bearing  230 , second support bearing  290 , along with a first axle lock  240  and second axle lock  270 . Each of these elements may serve a similar purpose or perform a similar function to similarly numbered elements of the first exemplary embodiment  100 . For example, lower roller bearing  230  of apparatus  200  corresponds to lower roller bearing  130  of apparatus  100 . Second support bearing  290  in apparatus  200  corresponds to second support bearing  190  in apparatus  100 , and so on. 
     In the second exemplary embodiment  200 , the motive power is the rear wheel  250  of a bicycle. Because the rear wheel  250  is held in position by the second support bearing  290  and the lower support bearing  230 , and of course by gravity, the bicycle tends to maintain its position without additional supporting structures. However, to make the system more stable and easier to operate, additional axle supports may be provided for the front axle  252  and the rear axle  254 , which maintain their positions with respect to the rest of the apparatus  200 . 
     It should be understood that axle lock  240  and  270  may be provided with a set of cross-wise slots, détente positions or dowels which maintain the locations of the second support bearing  290  and the upper roller bearing  220  with respect to the lower roller bearing  230 . The function and design of these slots, détente positions or dowels may be similar to those of the slots, détente positions and dowels of axle lock  140  and  170 . A suitable design of such slots, dowels or détente positions was shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The second exemplary embodiment  200  may be particularly convenient for the filling of sandbags on location in a disaster area such as a flood zone, because the apparatus is easily disassembled and transported to the location of the next reservoir of sand and bags. For example, large loads of sand may be delivered by dump truck, which may only be able to approach to a minimum distance the disaster site. Thereafter, the sand must be handled in quantities which normal individuals or light automobiles can carry. This means that sandbags may be filled in locations which are still some distance from where the filled bags are ultimately needed, and there may be a plurality of such locations. An apparatus which is easily disassembled and reassembled therefore has distinct advantages over more permanent devices. Furthermore, the apparatus clearly makes it easier to fill large numbers of such sandbags without the operators becoming exhausted by the effort. 
     Furthermore, use of a bicycle as the motive force may be advantageous, as the whole apparatus may be transported to the location where it is needed, without using a heavy cargo truck for transport. Roadways to and from disaster areas are often closed to such large heavy vehicles, because of deep water or damaged roadways and bridges. The bicycle also requires no fuel source such as gasoline, which may also be in short supply during a natural disaster. Instead, the bicycle makes use of human leg muscles for power, which are among the strongest muscles in the human body, and typically those which are best conditioned for use over an extended period of time. Thus, the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6  may be particularly suited for deployment in disaster areas, such as floods and hurricanes. 
       FIG. 7  shows an alternative configuration of the portable apparatus for filling a granular material. This configuration may be used to transport the apparatus to a new location. By using the exterior axle locks, a set of travel wheels can be mounted on the apparatus so that the entire machine can be flattened and rolled. These travel wheels  310  and  312  are shown in  FIG. 7 . The rollers  220  and  230  act as pivot points allowing the axle locks  240  and  270  to be aligned with the belt  210 . The travel wheels  310  and  312  may be attached to the external axle locks  176  from the outside of the apparatus as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . A coupling such as a rope or chain  314  may be run through the two foremost axle positions in axle lock  240 . The rope  314  can then be fixed to the seat of a bicycle and the whole machine, and power source can be quickly and efficiently transported to the exact location of the natural disaster or deposit of granular material. As the external wheels  310  and  312  can be easily removed, the machine may pivot back into operating position from its transport configuration in a matter of minutes. The drive wheel  250  is set between the second support bearing  290  and the lower roller bearing  230 , the operator pedals the bicycle and the belt  210  begins to move the granular material into the storage receptacles. While these travel wheels  310  and  312  are shown in  FIG. 7  as located on the exterior of the apparatus, that is, on the other side of the axle lock  176  from the flexible belt  210 , it should be understood that this is exemplary only. The travel wheels may also be located in the “interior” region of the apparatus, that is, on the same side of the axle lock as the flexible belt  210 . An additional travel wheel (not shown) may be disposed on axle lock  270 , between travel wheels  310  and  312  to keep the pivot point (the upper roller bearing  220 ) from touching the ground. 
       FIG. 8  shows an end view of the portable apparatus for filling a receptacle with a granular material. For simplicity, this view omits many of the features of the preceding side view, and only shows the flexible belt material or conveyor belt  350  and the storage receptacles  380 . Also shown in  FIG. 8  is a flow dividing means  390 , which may divide the flow of the granular material  305  into a plurality of flows which feed their respective storage receptacles  380 . The flow dividing means  390  may be a triangle or have a triangular shape as shown in  FIG. 8 , or may have some other more complex shape. In any case, the function of the flow divider is to separate the flow of the granular material  305  into separate streams, each being delivered into its respective storage receptacle  380 . Although two such storage receptacles  380  are shown in  FIG. 8 , it should be understood that this is exemplary only, and that any of a number of storage receptacles  380  and flow dividers  390  may be used with the portable apparatus  300  for filling storage receptacles with granular material. Use of the flow dividers may increase the speed with which the storage receptacles are filled and reduce the amount of the granular material which falls outside of the storage receptacle and is thus wasted, or needing to be returned to the reservoir. 
     While various details have been described in conjunction with the exemplary implementations outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or that are or may be presently unforeseen, may become apparent upon reviewing the foregoing disclosure. For example, while embodiments have been described which refer to the filling of sand bags with sand, it should be understood that the apparatus may be used to fill any of a number of receptacles with any of a number of granular materials. In addition, although powering means have been disclosed to include bicycles and motor vehicles, it should be understood that these embodiments are exemplary only, and that any of a number of wheel-based transport devices may be used. Furthermore, while the embodiments described above relate to a portable apparatus, it should be understood that the device may also be permanently located in a particular position. Accordingly, the exemplary implementations set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting.