Spout line buster

Abstract

An apparatus for loading open top grain hopper rail cars and trucks which eliminates the buildup of a core of small material and grains directly beneath the load out spout. Also, the grain will not build up heat as easily with the core eliminated and a more representative sample, for grading purposes, can be obtained from the hopper car or truck. The spout line buster is a small, stove-shaped chamber which attaches to the end of a grain load out spout and is lowered about six inches into the hopper rail car or truck being loaded. The grain passes through the down spout and enters the spout line buster where the flow of the grain is directed and slowed by a series of baffles or flow guides. In the model designed for loading hopper rail cars, the grain strikes a screen assembly consisting of a cone screen and two diagonal screens. Small material, such as broken grain and weed seed, passes downwardly through the screens, striking a metal deflector at the bottom, where the material is deflected to the sides of the hopper rail car and away from the center. The whole grain is deflected by the diagonal screens of the spout line buster along its path of movement and directly beneath the access door of the hopper rail car. The model for loading trucks performs the same functions but has only two baffles, a single diagonal screen and a single discharge port.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.