Receival hopper

#The present invention relates to an improved receival hopper and in particular, to a hopper associated with an auger for the conveyance of delicate and fragmentary material such as fruit, berries, bark pieces or metamorphic rock.

#Static receival hoppers are known and essentially consist of a funnel shaped hopper having an open top for the receipt of material and a basal channel connected to an auger. The construction and arrangement is such that the material is gravity fed from the internal cavity of the hopper onto the auger.

#The filling procedure of the static receival hopper machines requires specialised loading equipment or the construction of an access ramp in view of the height at which the hopper must be secured to effect gravity feeding. Similarly, it is difficult to monitor the level of material within the internal cavity of the hopper from ground level.

#By way of example only, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of the invention depicting the bin in the lowered position;

#FIG. 2 is a plan view from above of the hopper of FIG. 1, the dotted line indicating the position of the auger;

#Referring to the drawings, a receival hopper 2, 12 is thereshown. The hopper 2, 12 comprises a support frame 5, 15 a tilting bin 3, 13 incorporating a horizontal auger 4, 14 and a pair of adjacent but spaced hydraulic rams 6, 16.

#The bin 3, 13 with auger 4, 14 moves between an initial lowered position (shown for the first embodiment only, in FIG. 1) and a raised position (FIG. 3, FIG. 4) by the extension of the hydraulic rams 6, 16.

#It will be appreciated that the bin 3, 13 may be any desired polygonal shape and capacity, having an open top for the receipt of material and inwardly inclined side walls adjacent auger 4, 14. Preferably, the angle of incline of the side walls adjacent the auger is at least 130.degree..