Particulate material transfer system
AssigneeKerr-McGee Coal Corporation
InventorWeldon K. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved particulate material loading system for transferring particulate material from a storage assembly to a vehicle having a storage bin wherein the material is protected from the outside environment during the transfer. The storage assembly includes a temporary cover which is operatively engagable with the vehicle to protect the storage bin of the vehicle when a hatch door of the vehicle is moved from a closed position to an open position to enable transfer of the material thereto. The vehicle is constructed to slidably receive the temporary cover of the storage assembly.
Claims12
An improved vehicle adapted for use with an overhead storage assembly comprising a loading chute and a temporary cover connected to the loading chute, the improved vehicle comprising:
- a body forming a portion of the vehicle having a first end, a second end, a first side, a second side, an upper side and a lower side, the body having a storage bin formed therein and the upper side of the body having a material receiving opening therein communicating with the storage bin;
- a first cover assembly comprising:
- at least one latch door having a first side, an opposed second side, a first end and an opposed second end, each hatch door being connected to the body of the vehicle and positioned so that each hatch door covers the material receiving opening of the body of the vehicle in a closed first position, each hatch door being movable from the material receiving opening in the body of the vehicle to an opened second position, a cover receiving opening being formed between each hatch door and the storage bin in the closed position of each hatch door for receiving the temporary cover;
- and
- means for moving each hatch door from the closed first position to the opened second position and for moving each hatch door from the opened second position to the closed first position, each hatch door being adapted to be positioned above the storage bin, the temporary cover and the means for moving each hatch door from the closed first position to the opened second position cooperating to position at least a portion of the temporary cover in the cover receiving opening between the storage bin of the vehicle and each hatch door prior to each hatch door being moved from the closed first position to the opened second position, the temporary cover being positioned over and covering a portion of the storage bin of the vehicle covered by each hatch door in the closed first position of each hatch door thereby covering the storage bin of the vehicle prior to each hatch door being moved to the opened second position, the particulate material being transferrable from the overhead storage assembly to the storage bin of the vehicle via the loading chute while the temporary cover covers the storage bin of the vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.