Claims
- 1. A material handling apparatus for selectively bulk filling and blend bulk filling an open topped elongated silo, comprising:
- an elongated silo having a length and a width, said length being much greater than said width, said silo having an open top and a bottom;
- a floor discharge conveyor for moving material, said floor discharge conveyor being mounted along said bottom;
- a first shuttle car;
- means for mounting the first shuttle car over the top of the silo for movement along the length of the silo;
- means for indexing a length of travel of said first shuttle car;
- means for selectively moving the first shuttle car along the length of the silo on the first shuttle car mounting means;
- a first belt conveyor mounted on the first shuttle car for conveying in directions in alignment with movement of the first shuttle car on the first shuttle car mounting means;
- a second shuttle car;
- means for mounting the second shuttle car over the top of the silo and above the first shuttle car for movement along the length of the silo;
- means for positioning said second shuttle car;
- means for selectively moving the second shuttle car in either direction along the length of the silo on the second shuttle car mounting means;
- a second belt conveyor mounted on the second shuttle car for conveying in directions in alignment with movement of the second shuttle car on the second shuttle car mounting means; and
- means to move said second belt conveyor in response to a movement of said floor discharge conveyor.
- 2. The material handling apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
- the first belt conveyor is no longer than about one-quarter of the length of the silo; and
- the second belt conveyor is no longer than about one-quarter of the length of the silo.
- 3. The material handling apparatus of claim 1 wherein said floor conveyor includes a continuous belt and means for counting a distance the belt has traveled at any given time.
- 4. The material handling apparatus of claim 1 including a tobacco height determining means located at spaced intervals along the length of said silo.
- 5. The material handling apparatus of claim 1 including a programmable logic controller including means therein to control said conveyors and said shuttle cars in filling said silo.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first shuttle car moves a preselected distance in relation to said second shuttle car.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second shuttle car moves a preselected distance in response to the movement of said floor conveyor.
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 07/708,031 filed Jun. 3, 1991, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1281946 |
Oct 1968 |
DEX |
1369564 |
Jul 1964 |
FRX |
97521 |
Apr 1988 |
JPX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
708031 |
Jun 1991 |
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