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US 12,358,677 B2Granted
Bulk container discharge station and related methods
AssigneeHaF Equipment LLC
InventorPeter Hoefler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The disclosure provides a bulk container discharge apparatus and related methods. An illustrative, non-limiting example of such an apparatus includes a base portion, a platform disposed on the base portion, the platform being configured to support a bulk container, and at least one articulating arm. The at least one articulating arm can have a first portion that is pivotally coupled to the base portion at a first pivot. The at least one articulating arm can be configured to lift a bulk container along a loading path (such as but not limited to an arcuate path) that is at least partially vertical from a lower position to an upper position to place the bulk container over the platform when in the articulating arm is in the upper position to facilitate discharging the contents of the bulk container.
Claims24
A bulk container discharge apparatus, comprising:
- a base portion;
- a platform disposed on the base portion, the platform being configured to support a bulk container;
- a yoke configured to be removably coupled to a bulk container;
- a pair of articulating arms including a first articulating arm coupled to a first end of the yoke and a second articulating arm coupled to a second end of the yoke, the pair of articulating arms being configured to lift the yoke supporting the bulk container along an articulation path that is at least partially vertical and at least partially horizontal from a lower position to an upper position to locate the bulk container over the platform when in the upper position to facilitate discharging the contents of the bulk container, each said articulating arm defining an elongate volume therein surrounded by a housing, each said articulating arm further including:
- a first joint that is pivotally coupled to the base portion along a first pivot axis;
- a linear actuator disposed within the elongate volume of each articulating arm and at least partially surrounded by the housing, each linear actuator being pivotally coupled to the yoke;
- and
- an articulation drive coupled to the base portion and to at least one of the articulating arms, the articulation drive being configured to expand in linear length to push upwardly on at least one of the articulating arms to push the at least one articulating arm upwardly from a horizontal orientation into a vertical orientation about the first joint.
5 more elements
A bulk container discharge apparatus, comprising:
- a base portion;
- a platform disposed on the base portion, the platform being configured to support a bulk container;
- a yoke configured to be removably coupled to a bulk container;
- a pair of articulating arms, each said articulating arm having a first portion that is pivotally coupled to the base portion at a first pivot axis, and a second portion pivotally coupled to the yoke, the pair of articulating arms being configured to lift the yoke bearing the bulk container along an articulation path that is at least partially vertical from a lower position in front of the platform to an upper position to locate the bulk container over the platform when in the upper position to facilitate discharging the contents of the bulk container, wherein the pair of articulating arms are configured to adjust a length between the yoke and first pivot axis while the yoke is lifted by the pair of articulating arms along the articulation path;
- and
- an articulation drive coupled to the base portion and to at least one of the articulating arms, the articulation drive being configured to articulate said at least one of the articulating arms about the first pivot, wherein an upper end of the articulation drive is pivotally connected to a front-facing side of said at least one of the articulating arms and a lower end of the articulation drive is pivotally connected to the platform at a location that is in front of said at least one of the articulating arms such that expansion of the articulation drive in length causes the pair of articulating arms to move upwardly and in a direction toward the platform while the yoke is being lifted from the lower position to the upper position.
3 more elements
A bulk container discharge apparatus, comprising:
- a base portion;
- a platform disposed on the base portion, the platform being configured to support a bulk container;
- a yoke configured to be removably coupled to a bulk container;
- a pair of articulating arms, each said articulating arm having a first portion that is pivotally coupled to the base portion at a first pivot axis, and a second portion pivotally coupled to the yoke, the pair of articulating arms being configured to lift the yoke bearing the bulk container along an articulation path that is at least partially vertical from a lower position to an upper position to locate the bulk container over the platform when in the upper position to facilitate discharging the contents of the bulk container, wherein the yoke rotates about a yoke rotation axis while it is being lifted by the pair of articulating arms, the yoke rotation axis passes through each articulating arm as the yoke is lifted from the lower position to the upper position, and the yoke rotation axis travels along the length of the pair of articulating arms as the bulk container moves from the lower position to the upper position;
- and
- an articulation drive coupled to the base portion and to at least one arm of the pair of articulating arms, the articulation drive being configured to articulate said at least one articulating arm about the first pivot.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.