Method and apparatus for moving agricultural commodities
AssigneeMobil Grain Ltd.
InventorsSheldon Affleck, Lavern Affleck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable processing plant apparatus is transported to a location convenient to a freight supplier or like destination and then set up to receive gross agricultural commodities and discharge clean agricultural commodities into a clean commodity receptacle, such as a rail car. A batch of commodity from a farm location is received into a storage bin. The batch is conveyed in a stream through a gross scale, cleaning module, and net scale and into a receptacle, such as a rail car. A gap is created between the stream of one batch and the stream of the next, and a computer is operative to control flow of the commodity streams. The computer can store batch identity information, and record the source farm location of the commodity in each receptacle.
Claims14
A portable processing plant apparatus for receiving gross agricultural commodities and discharging clean agricultural commodities into a clean commodity receptacle, the apparatus, when set up in an operating position, comprising:
- a receiving station operative to receive a gross commodity from a truck;
- a first conveyor operative to convey gross commodity from the receiving station to a selected one of first and second storage bins;
- a second conveyor operative to convey gross commodity in a gross commodity stream from a selected storage bin to a receiver of a gross commodity scale operative to weigh the gross commodity stream as same moves from the receiver to a gross scale discharge;
- a third conveyor operative to convey the gross commodity stream from the gross scale discharge to a receiver of a cleaning module operative to remove dockage from the gross commodity stream and discharge a clean commodity stream at a cleaner discharge thereof and discharge a dockage stream at a dockage discharge thereof;
- a fourth conveyor operative to convey the clean commodity stream from the cleaner discharge to a receiver of a net commodity scale operative to weigh the clean commodity stream as same moves from the receiver to a net scale discharge;
- a fifth conveyor operative to convey the clean commodity stream from the net scale discharge to the clean commodity receptacle;
- a dockage bin connected to receive dockage from the dockage discharge;
- and
- a computer operative to control flow of a first gross commodity stream from the first storage bin and flow of a second gross commodity stream from the second storage bin to create a gap between a rear end of the first gross commodity stream and a front end of the second gross commodity stream;
- wherein the apparatus is movable from the operating position to a transport position supported on wheels for movement along the ground.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.