Auger airlock assembly and end dump housing

A material-conveying end dump housing for use with an auger assembly for a bulk loader which utilizes a negative pressure system to generate a suction air stream for vacuuming and propelling granular material to the auger assembly, the housing comprising:

• a front wall;
• a rear wall adapted to cover an outer end of an auger assembly and defining an inlet port therein, the inlet port being in communication with the outer end of the auger assembly for discharging the granular material delivered from the auger assembly through the inlet port into the housing;
• a covering wall attached to the front and side walls, wherein a length of side portions of the covering wall substantially exceeds a length of the front wall and the rear wall and excludes substantial entry of outside air through the outer end of the auger assembly during the discharge of the granular material to inhibit diminution of a strength of the suction air stream created by the negative pressure system;
• a bottom wall having a spring loaded connection to the front wall, the bottom wall being operably able to biasingly open or close the housing;
• and
• wherein the discharging granular material entering the housing through the inlet port accumulates within the housing on an upper surface of the bottom wall, the bottom wall being forcibly openable by a presence of the accumulated discharging granular material on the upper surface of the bottom wall to an extent necessary to force open the bottom wall and permit gravitational discharge of the accumulated discharging granular material from the housing, whereby, once the discharging granular material is removed and is not present to the extent necessary to maintain the bottom wall to remain open, the spring loaded connection biases the bottom wall back into a position sealably closing the housing.

An auger airlock assembly for use with a bulk loader which utilizes a negative pressure system to generate a suction air stream for vacuuming and propelling granular material to the auger assembly for transferral to a remote location, the assembly comprising:

• an elongated material-conveying tube for receiving the granular material, the tube having an inlet and an outlet spaced from the inlet;
• an internal auger within the tube and extending outwardly therefrom beyond the outlet of the tube, the auger being rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the tube in a direction so as to transfer the granular material from the tube out through the outlet of the tube;
• and
• an end dump housing adapted to cover the outlet of the tube and substantially retaining therein within the housing an end of the auger extending outwardly therefrom beyond the outlet of the tube, the housing comprising a front wall, a rear wall placed so as to cover the outlet of the tube and defining an inlet port therein, the inlet port being in communication with the outlet of the tube for discharging material delivered from the internal auger, a covering wall attached to the front and side walls, wherein a length of side portions of the covering wall substantially exceeds a length of the front wall and the rear wall and excludes substantial entry of outside air through the outlet of the tube during the discharge of the granular material to inhibit diminution of a strength of the suction air stream created by the negative pressure system, a bottom wall having a spring loaded connection to the front wall, the bottom wall being operably able to biasingly open or close the housing, and wherein the discharging granular material entering the housing through the inlet port accumulates within the housing on an upper surface of the bottom wall, the bottom wall being forcibly openable by a presence of the accumulated discharging granular material on the upper surface of the bottom wall to an extent necessary to force open the bottom wall and permit gravitational discharge of the accumulated discharging granular material from the housing, whereby, once the discharging granular material is removed and is not present to the extent necessary to maintain the bottom wall to remain open, the spring loaded connection biases the bottom wall back into a position sealably closing the housing.