Patent ID: 7568496

Claim:
A hopper fitting, comprising: a fitting including a lower hollow pipe section defining an interior cavity, the lower pipe section having at least one open end portion in connection with the interior cavity, the fitting including an upper hollow pipe section integral with and projecting upwardly from the lower hollow pipe section, the upper hollow pipe section defining an interior passage connecting with and extending upwardly from the interior cavity to an upwardly facing upper opening, the upper hollow pipe section including an upper portion having a pair of wings extending sidewardly in opposite directions therefrom, each of the wings including an upwardly facing wing surface located a predetermined distance higher than upper peripheral portion of the lower hollow pipe section; and a flange including oppositely facing flange surfaces extending around and defining an aperture therethrough configured for cooperatively receiving the upper portion of the upper hollow pipe section such that one of the flange surfaces is positionable so as to at least generally face the upwardly facing wing surfaces of the wings and is located about the predetermined distance above the upper peripheral portion of the lower hollow pipe section, and the other of the flange surfaces will face upwardly, the flange having an array of holes therethrough positioned such that when the upper portion of the upper hollow pipe section is cooperatively received in the aperture some of the holes will be positioned so as to be at least generally aligned with holes through the wings, respectively, for jointly receiving fasteners therethrough, respectively, for attaching the fitting and the flange to a bottom of a hopper beneath an opening thereof, and at least one other of the holes will be located over and spaced above the lower hollow pipe section for receiving at least one additional fastener therethrough for attaching the flange to a bottom of a hopper independently of the fitting, wherein the upper hollow pipe section includes an annular surface around the upwardly facing opening spaced a predetermined vertical distance above the wing surfaces, and the flange has a thickness between the flange surfaces thereof which is about equal to the vertical distance of the annular surface above the wing surfaces.