Hopper bottom for supporting a cylindrical side wall of a grain bin with ducting and openings to introduce air into the grain bin

A hopper bottom for supporting a cylindrical side wall of a grain bin thereon comprising:

• an inclined outer wall arranged to be supported on a support surface, the inclined outer wall having an inverted cone shape so as to taper downwardly and inwardly from a top end to a bottom end of the inclined outer wall;
• an inclined inner wall supported in spaced relation vertically above the inclined outer wall, the inclined inner wall having an inverted cone shape so as to taper downwardly and inwardly from a top end to a bottom end of the inclined inner wall;
• the top end of the inclined inner wall or the inclined outer wall being arranged to receive the cylindrical side wall of the grain bin;
• the inclined outer and inner walls being coaxial so as to enclose a common upstanding axis;
• the top ends of the outer and inner inclined walls being located at a substantially common radial distance from the common upstanding axis such that the inclined inner wall at least covers an upper portion of the inclined outer wall from the top end of the inclined outer wall towards the bottom end thereof;
• a manifold formed between the inclined outer and inner walls that is arranged for fluidic communication with a blower so as to receive ventilation air from the blower for release into an interior of the grain bin;
• the manifold being arranged to distribute the ventilation air in a circumferential direction relative to the common upstanding axis;
• the manifold spanning a full radius of the inclined inner wall so as to distribute the ventilation air in a radial direction relative to the common upstanding axis;
• and
• a plurality of ventilation openings defined in the inclined inner wall so as to communicate the manifold with the interior of the grain bin to release the ventilation air upwardly into the interior of the grain bin;
• the ventilation openings being provided substantially across the full radius of the inclined inner wall from the top end to the bottom end thereof such that particulate material stored in the grain bin vertically above the inclined inner wall is ventilated by the ventilation air;
• wherein the bottom end of the inclined outer wall defines a central discharge opening for gravity discharge of the particulate material stored in the grain bin, the bottom end of the inclined inner wall being recessed radially outwardly from the common upstanding axis relative to the central discharge opening at the bottom end of the inclined outer wall so as to form between the bottom end of the inclined inner wall and the central discharge opening a discharge chute which has an inverted cone shape between an upper end of the discharge chute defined by the bottom end of the inclined inner wall and a lower end of the discharge chute defined by the central discharge opening at the bottom end of the inclined outer wall.

A hopper bottom for supporting a cylindrical side wall of a grain bin thereon comprising:

• an inclined outer wall arranged to be supported on a support surface, the inclined outer wall having an inverted cone shape so as to taper downwardly and inwardly from a top end to a bottom end of the inclined outer wall;
• an inclined inner wall supported in spaced relation vertically above the inclined outer wall, the inclined inner wall having an inverted cone shape so as to taper downwardly and inwardly from a top end to a bottom end of the inclined inner wall;
• the top end of the inclined inner wall or the inclined outer wall being arranged to receive the cylindrical side wall of the grain bin;
• the inclined outer and inner walls being coaxial so as to enclose a common upstanding axis;
• the top ends of the outer and inner inclined walls being located at a substantially common radial distance from the common upstanding axis such that the inclined inner wall at least covers an upper portion of the inclined outer wall from the top end of the inclined outer wall towards the bottom end thereof;
• a manifold formed between the inclined outer and inner walls that is arranged for fluidic communication with a blower so as to receive ventilation air from the blower for release into an interior of the grain bin;
• the manifold being arranged to distribute the ventilation air in a circumferential direction relative to the common upstanding axis;
• the manifold spanning a full radius of the inclined inner wall so as to distribute the ventilation air in a radial direction relative to the common upstanding axis and the manifold extending in a circumferential direction of the inclined inner wall in order to distribute the ventilation air in said circumferential direction;
• a plurality of ventilation openings defined in the inclined inner wall so as to communicate the manifold with the interior of the grain bin to release the ventilation air upwardly into the interior of the grain bin;
• the ventilation openings being provided substantially across the full radius of the inclined inner wall from the top end to the bottom end thereof such that particulate material stored in the grain bin vertically above the inclined inner wall is ventilated by the ventilation air;
• a plurality of substantially-radially extending support members disposed in the manifold and arranged to support the inclined inner wall in spaced relation to the inclined outer wall, the support members bridging between the inclined inner and outer walls and extending from the bottom end of the inclined inner wall towards the top end thereof so as to form ducts within the manifold for distributing the ventilation air in the radial direction;
• wherein the manifold spans a full circumference of the inclined inner wall and the support members extend from lower ends which are coincident with the bottom end of the inclined inner wall relative to a radial direction thereof to upper ends of the support members which are spaced from the top end of the inclined inner wall such that the manifold comprises an annular upper portion adjacent the top end of the inclined inner wall and a plurality of the ducts in communication with the annular upper portion.