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US 11,597,589 B2Granted
Dry bulk hopper system
AssigneeRemcon Plastics, Inc.
InventorsTracy L. Connors, Benjamin R. Schwager, Brian L. Scheuring, Peter J. Connors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
There is disclosed a dry bulk hopper system that includes a generally frustoconical bottle and a base having a tapered wall that defines a cradle for holding the bottle. The bottle has locking tabs disposed at bottom end thereof that cooperate with engagement ledges to secure the bottle to the base when the bottle has been received into the base in a first orientation, but not in a second orientation. Extruded support columns are disposed inside an interior of the base to distribute loads created by material in the bottle when the system is raised by a forklift.
Claims20
A hopper system comprising:
- a thermoplastic bottle comprising:
- (i) a frustoconical wall tapered to form a circular discharge opening at a bottom end of the bottle, and (ii) outwardly protruding locking tabs formed integral with the frustoconical wall adjacent the discharge opening;
- and,
- a thermoplastic base adapted to receive the bottle comprising:
- (i) a frustoconical cradle formed in an interior of the base and having an interior wall tapered to form a circular bottle receiving opening at a bottom end of the cradle and adapted to receive the bottom end of the bottle, the cradle having dimensions adapted to allow the frustoconical wall of the bottle to rest against the interior wall of the cradle;
- (ii) integral legs adapted to support the base on a support surface such that the bottle receiving opening is spaced from the support surface by the legs when on the support surface;
- (iii) a plurality of spaced apart first and second notches formed circumferentially about the bottle receiving opening;
- and, (iv) integral engagement ledges formed adjacent the first notches but not the second notches;
- wherein, when the base has received the bottle:
- (i) in a first orientation of the bottle relative to the base, the locking tabs are received into the first notches and are adapted to engage the engagement ledges by rotation of the bottle relative to the base so as to secure the bottle to the base;
- and, (ii) in a second orientation of the bottle relative to the base, the locking tabs are received into the second notches and cannot engage the engagement ledges, such that the bottle is not secured to the base.
8 more elements
A hopper system comprising:
- a rotationally molded thermoplastic bottle comprising:
- (i) an upper wall having a generally rectangular cross section;
- (ii) a top section integral with the upper wall and having a fill opening formed therein;
- (iii) a lower frustoconical wall integral with the upper wall that tapers from the upper wall to form a discharge opening at a lowermost portion of the bottle, there being a plurality of arcuate transitions from the upper wall to the lower wall;
- and, (iv) at least two integral locking tabs formed by extrusions of the frustoconical wall adjacent the discharge opening;
- and,
- a rotationally molded base adapted to receive the bottle comprising:
- (i) an inner frustoconical wall, defining a cradle, that tapers to form a receiving opening at a bottom end of the base, the inner wall having a plurality of arcuate top edges adapted to cooperate with the arcuate transitions of the bottle;
- (ii) an integral outer wall, having a generally rectangular cross section, at least portions thereof spaced apart from the inner wall to define cavities between the inner and outer walls;
- (iii) notches formed about the periphery of the receiving opening adapted to receive the locking tabs;
- (iv) engagement ledges formed adjacent to at least some of the notches and adapted to engage with the locking tabs;
- (v) an integral support column disposed in each cavity, each support column extending from a bottom area of the base to at least the inner wall and being a hollow extrusion of thermoplastic having elongate walls having portions in continuous contact with portions of the of the inner and outer walls;
- and, (vi) a pair of forklift pockets defined by integral brackets straddling opposing bottom edges of the outer wall and bottom areas of the base adjacent the discharge opening, the forklift pockets each being configured to receive a time of a forklift for lifting the base.
10 more elements
A hopper system comprising:
- a rotationally molded thermoplastic bottle comprising:
- (i) an upper wall having a generally rectangular cross section;
- (ii) a lower frustoconical wall integral with the upper wall that tapers to form a discharge opening at a lowermost portion of the bottle, there being a plurality of arcuate transitions from the upper wall to the frustoconical wall;
- and, (iii) outwardly protruding locking tabs formed integral with the frustoconical wall adjacent the discharge opening and tapering from a top end to a bottom end thereof in the same direction as the taper of the frustoconical wall;
- (iv) a fill opening formed in a top end of the bottle;
- (v) a plurality of spaced apart support beams integrally formed in the top end of the bottle each extending from an area adjacent the fill opening to a corner of the outer wall, each support beam having a aperture formed therein at an end distal from the fill opening and adapted to receive a lift hook;
- and,
- a thermoplastic base adapted to receive the bottle comprising:
- (i) an outer wall having a generally rectangular cross section;
- (ii) an inner tapered wall that generally conforms to the dimensions of the frustoconical wall of the bottle, defining a cradle, adapted to allow the bottle to rest in the cradle, there being a bottle receiving opening at a bottom end of the cradle adapted to receive the lowermost portion of the bottle;
- (iii) upper arcuate edges that generally conform to the arcuate transitions of the bottle;
- (iv) integral legs adapted to allow the base to rest on a support surface such that the bottle receiving opening is spaced from the support surface by the legs when on the support surface;
- (v) a plurality of spaced apart first and second notches formed circumferentially about the periphery of the bottle receiving opening;
- (vi) integral engagement ledges formed adjacent the first notches but not the second notches, each engagement ledge having an integral detent that cooperates with top portions of the locking tabs, wherein, when the base has received the bottle in a first orientation of the bottle relative to the base, the locking tabs are received into the first notches and are adapted to engage the engagement ledges by rotation of the bottle relative to the base so as to secure the bottle to the base, and in a second orientation of the bottle relative to the base, the locking tabs are received into the second notches and cannot engage the engagement ledges, such that the bottle is not secured to the base;
- (vii) a pair of forklift pockets defined by integral brackets straddling opposing edges of the outer wall and bottom areas of the base adjacent the discharge openings, the forklift pockets each being configured to receive a time of a forklift for lifting the base;
- (viii) a plurality of cavities between the inner and outer wall;
- and, (ix) an integral support column disposed in each cavity for distributing a load from contents of the bottle to the times of the forklift.
14 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.