Silo transport safe retrieval system

A method of transporting a silo for temporary storage of a material therein, the method comprising:

• mounting a vehicle on wheels for movement along a ground surface;
• pivotally attaching a cradle to the vehicle, and supporting the silo in a horizontal orientation on the vehicle with the cradle in a lowered position and releasably attaching the cradle to the silo;
• moving the vehicle and silo to a first desired location and operating a cradle controller in a raising mode to pivot the cradle to a raised position where the silo is in a vertical orientation resting on the ground surface;
• releasing the cradle from the silo and moving the vehicle away from the silo;
• when it is desired to move the silo to a second desired location, maneuvering the vehicle to a position adjacent to the silo and, with the cradle in the raised position, attaching the cradle to the silo;
• configuring the cradle controller such that the cradle controller in a lowering mode is operative to pivot the cradle away from the raised position to the lowered position when the silo attached to the cradle is empty, and such that the cradle controller in the lowering mode is inoperative to pivot the cradle away from the raised position toward the lowered position when the silo contains greater than a threshold amount of the material;
• operating the cradle controller in the lowering mode;
• if the cradle pivots away from the raised position to the lowered position supporting the silo in the horizontal orientation on the vehicle, moving the vehicle to the second desired location;
• if the cradle does not pivot away from the raised position, stopping operation of the cradle controller and removing at least a portion of the material from the silo such that the silo contains less than the threshold amount of the material, and then operating the cradle controller in the lowering mode and pivoting the cradle away from the raised position to the lowered position supporting the silo in the horizontal orientation on the vehicle, and moving the vehicle to the second desired location.

A silo transport system comprising:

• a vehicle mounted on wheels for movement along a ground surface,
• wherein the vehicle includes a pivoting cradle operative to support a silo in a horizontal orientation and a lock operative to releasably attach the cradle to the silo;
• a cradle controller operative in a raising mode to pivot the cradle from a lowered position where the silo attached to the cradle is in the horizontal orientation, to a raised position where the silo attached to the cradle is in a vertical orientation resting on the ground surface;
• wherein when the cradle is attached to the silo, the cradle controller is operative in a lowering mode to pivot the cradle away from the raised position to the lowered position when the silo attached to the cradle is empty, and cradle controller is inoperative to pivot the cradle away from the raised position toward the lowered position when the silo attached to the cradle contains greater than a threshold amount of the material;
• wherein the cradle controller comprises a hydraulic cylinder, and the cradle controller is operative to direct pressurized hydraulic fluid into a lowering port of the hydraulic cylinder at a lowering cylinder pressure to exert a corresponding lowering pivot force directed to move the cradle toward the lowered position, and wherein the lowering pivot force increases as the lowering cylinder pressure increases;
• first and second silos, wherein each of the first and second siloes is configured to store material when in the vertical orientation supported on the ground surface, and to be transported when in the horizontal orientation on the vehicle;
• wherein a first lowering cylinder pressure is selected to provide a first lowering pivot force that is sufficient to pivot the cradle from the raised position to the lowered position when the first silo is attached to the cradle and is empty, and wherein the first lowering pivot force is not sufficient to pivot the cradle away from the raised position toward the lowered position when the first silo is attached to the cradle and contains at least the threshold amount of the material,
• wherein a second lowering cylinder pressure is selected to provide a second lowering pivot force that is sufficient to pivot the cradle from the raised position to the lowered position when the second silo is attached to the cradle and is empty, and wherein the second lowering pivot force is not sufficient to pivot the cradle away from the raised position toward the lowered position when the second silo is attached to the cradle and contains at least the threshold amount of the material, and
• wherein the cradle controller comprises:
• a first switch that is activated only when the lock attaches the cradle to the first silo and a second switch that is activated only when the lock attaches the cradle to the second silo;
• wherein the cradle controller in the lowering mode is operative to direct pressurized hydraulic fluid into the hydraulic cylinder at the first lowering cylinder pressure when the first switch is activated;
• and
• wherein the cradle controller in the lowering mode is operative to direct pressurized hydraulic fluid into the hydraulic cylinder at the second lowering cylinder pressure when the second switch is activated.