Patent ID: 7971702

Claim:
A support device for supporting a hopper on an auger for the transfer of granular materials comprising an auger tube, an auger flight rotatably supported within the auger tube, and a guard about the auger flight at an inlet end of the auger tube, the hopper comprising a bottom arranged to receive the guard at the inlet end of the auger tube therein and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom to an open top end for receiving the granular materials, the support device comprising: a mounting member comprising two first mounts arranged to be mounted on the auger tube so as to be diametrically opposite one another and so as to extend in a longitudinal direction of the auger tube; and a frame arranged to support the hopper thereon and extend in the longitudinal direction of the auger tube between an inner end and an opposing outer end, the frame comprising two second mounts at the inner end arranged to be connected to respective ones of the first mounts for relative sliding movement in the longitudinal direction between a mounted position in which the mounting member fixedly supports the frame and the hopper on the auger and a released position in which the hopper is readily releasable from the mounting member.