Hopper tee and integral discharge valve

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to tees and discharge or dump valves for connection to the bottoms of hoppers for use in unloading the contents thereof, and more particularly, to a tee which provides improved material flow characteristics for faster and more clog-free unloading, and which can include a discharge or dump valve integral or incorporated therein so as to have a smaller overall height to provide improved ground clearance compared to prior known tee and discharge valve assemblies.

BACKGROUND ART

Commonly, mobile hopper trailers and vehicles are used for carrying bulk commodities such as industrial products such as pelletized plastics and the like, and food products such as milled flours and the like. Typically, the hoppers include multiple sections or compartments for receiving and holding the products, each section or compartment having a generally conical or tapered bottom portion terminating at a discharge outlet. A discharge or dump valve is typically connected to the outlet and to an inverted tee located beneath the valve, the tee being connected on both ends to generally horizontal pipes or hoses connected in turn to the tees of the other sections or compartments. In this manner, a generally horizontal path through the tees and connected pipes or hoses is formed for the flow of the materials discharged from the hopper sections or compartments. The discharge or dump valves can selectably be opened to allow the material to be discharged from the selected hopper therethrough, under force of gravity and/or a pressure differential between the hopper section and the flow path, vibration often being used to facilitate the material flow from the hopper and to prevent bridging wherein the material forms a self-supporting arch or dome above the discharge outlet. A pneumatic flow is typically generated through the flow path by a blower or the like disposed at one end of the flow path, to carry the discharged material through the flow path to a receiver or connection at another end of the path.

For productive unloading, it is desired that the material discharge from the hopper sections or compartments be as rapid and smooth as possible. For a long time, tees have been fabricated from pipe sections welded together. It is also known to cast tees. Reference in this latter regard, Sisk U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,396, issued Jul. 18, 1989, which discloses a cast hopper tee that utilizes smooth and uninterrupted internal surfaces in the area of juncture of vertical and horizontal pipe sections thereof to provide the recited advantages of complete and continuous flow of product from the vertical pipe section and subsequent flow without impedance into the horizontal pipe section. However, this approach, although possibly providing good material flow characteristics into the horizontal pipe section, discloses only usage of unobstructed, straight through flow in the horizontal pipe section, which has been found by the present inventors to not be of particular advantage to increasing material flow rate, and consequently, other means for increasing productivity are sought.

Another area where improvement is sought is ground clearance beneath the hopper, more particularly, beneath the tee, which is the lowest component of the assembly beneath each hopper section, and thus is subject to potential damage from contact with road hazards, particularly railroad tracks and curbs, which the hoppers cross from time to time.

Also, it is desirable at times to be able to examine the interior of the discharge valve and tee to verify cleanliness and the like. However, this can be difficult with known bolted constructions as the valve and tee are typically bolted together and to the bottom of the hopper, and the bolts can become damaged and/or corroded so as to be difficult and time consuming to remove. Clamping arrangements are also known, however, the known arrangements require a special modification of the bottom of the hopper and cannot be used with industry standard 9 ½ inch and 10 inch diameter hopper or tank flanges.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a hopper tee which provides improved material flow rates, which can be combined with a discharge or dump valve to provide increased ground clearance and accessibility to the interior thereof, which provides an easy removability feature which can be merely bolted on or otherwise simply used with standard hopper flanges so as to avoid costly and complicated modification of the hopper bottom, and which otherwise overcomes the shortcomings discussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a hopper tee which provides increased material flow rates and overcomes the shortcomings set forth above and achieves other advantages is disclosed. The hopper tee includes a first hollow pipe section having an upper end and an opposite lower end, the upper end including an inlet opening for connecting to a discharge opening of a hopper for receiving material contained in the hopper therethrough, and an interior cylindrical side wall forming an internal passage connecting the inlet opening to the lower end for flow of the material thereto. The hopper tee includes a second hollow pipe section having a first open end, an opposite second open end, an intermediate portion therebetween, and an interior cylindrical side wall forming an internal passage connecting the first and second open ends providing a flow path for a flow of air therethrough, the lower end of the first hollow pipe section being connected to the intermediate portion of the second hollow pipe section forming a material inlet port connecting the internal passage of the first hollow pipe section to the internal passage of the second hollow pipe section for flow of the material into the flow path. The hopper tee further includes an air flow director element disposed in the internal passage of the second hollow pipe section, having a surface protruding from the cylindrical side wall thereof into the flow path and oriented at an acute angle with respect to a cylinder axis of the side wall, for directing a portion of the flow of air adjacent to the material inlet port away from the port at an increased velocity, which has been found to have the effect of inducing or improving the flow of the material through the port into the flow path.

According to a preferred aspect of the invention, the surface of the air flow director element disposed in the internal passage of the second hollow pipe section is generally flat and extends at the acute angle from an upper portion of the side wall thereof downwardly toward the cylinder axis and terminates at a trailing edge located adjacent to an upstream end of the port with respect to a direction of the flow of air, for directing the flow of air away from the port, creating a pressure condition therein which induces and improves the flow of the material through the port.

According to another aspect of the invention, the hopper tee includes a valve housing integral with the upper end of the hollow pipe section, including a receptacle for receiving a valve for controlling the flow of the material into the upper end.

According to still another aspect of the invention, the hopper tee includes a clamp for removably mounting the upper end of the first hollow pipe section or the valve housing to a hopper in covering relation to the discharge opening thereof, which clamp is securable to a standard bottom flange of a hopper with minimal, if any, modification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Several non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1

is a fragmentary side elevational view of a representative hopper including a representative discharge valve and hopper tee mounted thereto in covering relation to a discharge opening thereof;

FIG. 2

is another fragmentary side elevational view of the hopper of

FIG. 1

, including a hopper tee according to the present invention mounted thereto in covering relation to the discharge opening thereof;

FIG. 3

is an enlarged fragmentary end view of the hopper and hopper tee of

FIG. 2

, showing an internal passage of a horizontal hollow pipe section thereof and a butterfly valve member thereof in an open position;

FIG. 4

is an enlarged end view of the hopper tee of

FIGS. 2 and 3

alone;

FIG. 5

is a sectional view taken along line

5

—

5

of

FIG. 4

, showing internal features of the hopper tee;

FIG. 6

is an enlarged side view of the hopper tee of

FIGS. 2-5

;

FIG. 7

is an enlarged end view of an alternative embodiment of a hopper tee according to the present invention;

FIG. 8

is sectional view of the hopper tee of

FIGS. 2-5

, including optional vanes thereon;

FIG. 9

is an enlarged side view of another alternative embodiment of a hopper tee according to the present invention; and

FIG. 10

is

9

is an end view of the hopper tee of FIG.

9

.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, in

FIG. 1

a representative prior art mobile hopper

10

for receiving and containing a quantity of bulk material, such as, but not limited to, powdered or granular chemical products, food products such as grain, flour, and the like, is shown. Hopper

10

has a conical bottom

12

, including a conventional industry standard 9½ or 10 inch diameter bottom flange

16

extending around a bottom most discharge opening (not shown), through which the contents of hopper

10

can be discharged or dumped in the well known, conventional manner. A conventional prior art discharge or dump valve

16

is mounted to bottom flange

14

in covering relation to the discharge opening, by a plurality of studs or bolts

18

arranged in an array around valve

16

and having top ends extending through holes in bottom flange

14

, and bottom ends which extend through holes in a flange

20

of a conventional prior art hopper tee

22

located beneath valve

16

, studs or bolts

18

being secured in position by nuts

24

threadedly engaged therewith.

Dump valve

16

is separate from hopper tee

22

and is representative of a commonly used butterfly type valve having an internal butterfly element or member rotatable relative to a valve seat around an aperture therethrough (not shown) for controlling and preventing flow of the material therethrough, by correspondingly rotating an external valve handle

24

connected to the butterfly valve member by a shaft which extends through a housing of valve

16

. Valve handle

24

is shown in a closed position, and is rotatable to move the valve member through a range of progressively more open positions in the well known conventional manner.

Hopper tee

22

includes a first hollow pipe section

26

having an open upper end including flange

20

for connecting to valve

16

for receiving the material flow therefrom, and a second hollow pipe section

28

connected to section

26

and having opposite open ends connected using conventional pipe couplers to pneumatic pipe sections

30

and

32

of a pneumatic material conveyor system

34

including a blower or fan or other source of air or gas under pressure (not shown) operable for producing a flow of air under pressure in one longitudinal direction at a time through pipe sections

28

,

30

, and

32

, also in the well known manner, for conveying material discharged from hopper

10

to another location. Here, it should be known that hopper

10

shown can comprise but one of several hopper compartments or sections of a mobile hopper vehicle or trailer (not shown), the other hopper compartments being similarly connected to and served by system

34

, by selectably opening and closing the dump valves associated respectively therewith. In this regard, the volume of the hoppers individually and collectively can be quite large, and dumping or discharging the material therefrom can be time consuming. Thus, it is desirable for productivity reasons to provide the most rapid rate of discharge of the material from the hoppers as is practical.

Hopper

10

is representative of hoppers of a wide variety of conventional mobile transport hopper vehicles and trailers which are conveyed over public roads and highways. During such conveyances, hopper

10

and the connected valve

16

, hopper tee

22

, and material conveying system

34

will pass from time to time over railroad tracks, bumps, rises, curbs, and other potential obstacles, which can, from time to time, come into contact with the lowermost components, namely, pipe sections

28

,

30

, and

32

, such that resulting damage thereto can occur. Thus, it is desirable to elevate pipe sections

28

,

30

, and

32

as much as possible, to provide sufficient ground clearance to avoid damage, but without elevating hopper

10

, which can raise the center of gravity thereof and negatively affect the stability and tipping avoidance capability of the trailer or vehicle. Thus, as one manner of increasing ground clearance, it is particularly desirable to reduce or minimize the distance between bottom flange

14

of hopper

10

and the bottoms or a horizontal centerline or axis

38

of pipes sections

28

,

30

, and

32

, as denoted by the distance A. For the present prior art example shown, wherein first hollow pipe section

26

has an internal diameter of about 5 inches and second hollow pipe section

28

has an internal diameter of about 4 inches, which is conventional for a wide variety of hopper applications, distance A is about 6.2 inches. Even a 1 inch or somewhat less reduction in this distance would be useful and beneficial for improving ground clearance. In this regard, it is known to shorten the height of the first hollow pipe section of hopper tees. However, this can create new problems as the butterfly valve member of the dump or discharge valve when fully or almost fully open can then project into the air flow through the second pipe section, resulting in poorer and/or lower material flow rates. This can be particularly counterproductive as it is typically important to increase material flow rates for the productivity reasons discussed above. In this regard, it would be desirable to increase the diameter of pipe sections

28

,

30

, and

32

, to achieve higher material flow rates, however, this is not practical if larger air flow generating equipment is required and if this lowers the bottom most extent of the lower pipe sections to decrease ground clearance.

Turning to

FIGS. 2 and 3

, to overcome the above discussed problems, a hopper tee

40

constructed and operable according to the teachings of the present invention for providing improved and increased material flow and increased ground clearance is shown. Hopper tee

40

is shown mounted to bottom flange

14

on bottom

12

of hopper

10

in covering relation to the discharge opening thereof.

Referring also to

FIGS. 4

,

5

and

6

, hopper tee

40

includes a generally vertical or upstanding first hollow pipe section

42

having an upper end

44

and an opposite lower end

46

, upper end

44

including an inlet opening

48

for connecting to a discharge opening of a hopper, such as hopper

10

shown, for receiving material contained in the hopper therethrough. Pipe section

42

includes an interior cylindrical side wall

50

forming an internal passage

52

connecting inlet opening

48

to lower end

46

for flow of the material thereto. Hopper tee

40

includes a generally horizontal second hollow pipe section

54

having a first open end

56

, an opposite second open end

58

, an intermediate portion

60

therebetween, and an interior cylindrical side wall

62

forming an internal passage

64

connecting first and second open ends

56

,

58

, defining or providing a flow path for a flow of air and the material therethrough, as denoted by arrows B. Lower end

46

of first hollow pipe section

42

is connected to intermediate portion

60

of second hollow pipe section

54

forming a material inlet port

66

connecting internal passage

52

of first hollow pipe section

42

to internal passage

64

of second hollow pipe section

54

for flow of the material into the flow path.

Referring more particularly to

FIG. 5

, a flow director element

68

is disposed in internal passage

64

of second hollow pipe section

54

at a location upstream from port

66

relative to the direction of the flow of air, as denoted by arrows B. Flow director

68

protrudes into internal passage

64

so as to reduce the overall cross sectional area or size thereof just upstream of port

66

, which has the effect of increasing the velocity of the flow of air over or past flow director

68

, denoted by arrow C. Flow director

68

includes a surface

70

protruding from cylindrical side wall

62

into the flow path, which surface

70

is oriented at an acute angle with respect to a cylinder axis

72

of side wall

62

and thus to the adjacent portion of side wall

62

itself, for directing the portion of the flow of air C away from material inlet port

66

. The increased velocity, and the redirection of the flow of air C are believed to create a low pressure region or other beneficial pressure condition adjacent to or in the vicinity of port

66

, and has been found to improvedly induce, siphon, or draw the material through port

66

into the flow path, as denoted by arrows D. In this regard, it has also been found that the direction of the material flowing through port

66

into internal passage

64

will generally conform about to the angle of surface

70

, which is preferably from about

10

to about 18 degrees relative to the adjacent portion of side wall

62

or cylinder axis

72

for the hopper tee application shown, this having been found to best maintain the particles of the material in suspension in the air flow, it being contemplated that other acute angles, either greater or less, and other longitudinal locations and lengths for surface

70

, possibly being more appropriate or better for other applications. Flow director

68

shown decreases the cross sectional area of internal passage

64

in the region shown by an amount of about 6 percent relative to the sectional area at ends

56

and

58

, which amount can be increased or decreased for a particular hopper tee application, as desired. Additionally, for the present application, surface

70

shown has a generally flat shape and terminates at a straight trailing edge

74

located closely adjacent to port

66

, which have been found to be the best shapes for those elements of flow director

68

, it being contemplated that other shape surfaces, such as a convex or a concave surface in one or two dimensions, and/or a convex or a concave edge, may be more suitable or usable for other applications. It has been observed that the air flow over or beyond trailing edge

74

closer to port

66

is turbulent or swirling so as to appear to “tumble off” of the edge. This is believed to also possibly contribute to the improved induction of the material through port

66

into the air flow.

First hollow pipe section

42

of hopper tee

40

shown has an internal diameter of about 5 inches, and second hollow pipe section

54

has an internal diameter of about 4 inches. To provide a transition between these diameters, interior cylindrical side wall

50

of first hollow pipe section

42

has opposed lower portions

76

which are tapered inwardly at about a 15 degree angle to vertical and extend convergingly toward interior side wall

62

of second pipe section

54

, terminating at about the horizontal midpoint of pipe section

54

, as shown in

FIGS. 3 and 4

. Lower portions

76

can be flat in section as shown, or curved, and have an elliptic, parabolic, catenary, or other similar curved or angular shape upper peripheral edge

78

, as shown in FIG.

5

. The shape of portions

76

which is as narrow as practical at the top and the termination thereof at a relatively high location in relation to passage

64

at about the midpoint of pipe section

54

, has been found to facilitate the induction of the material from port

66

, as it provides a smaller overall volume transitional region at port

66

so as to maintain higher air flow velocity therethrough than other known configurations and shapes, such as that shown in the above discussed Sisk U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,396.

Hopper tee

40

additionally preferably includes an optional second flow director element

68

disposed in internal passage

64

of second hollow pipe section

54

at a location downstream from port

66

relative to the direction of the flow of air, as denoted by arrows B. Second flow director

68

similarly protrudes into internal passage

64

so as to reduce the overall cross sectional area or size thereof just downstream of port

66

, which has the effect of maintaining the high velocity of the flow of air over or past second flow director

68

, also denoted by arrow C, and the velocity of the material flow D, so as to desirably maintain the material mixed or suspended in the air flow C and subsequently in the downstream air flow B. Second flow director

68

also includes a surface

70

protruding from cylindrical side wall

62

into the flow path, which surface

70

is oriented at an acute angle with respect to cylinder axis

72

of side wall

62

, which can be the same as the angle of surface

70

of the first flow director

68

, to allow the direction of the air flow through passage

64

to be reversed, to allow hopper tee

40

to be mounted on a hopper, such as hopper

10

, facing either direction such that an actuator handle

94

can be located on a desired or required side of the trailer or vehicle.

Upper end

44

of first hollow pipe section

42

of hopper tee

40

is shown including an optional integral or unitary valve housing

80

including a receptacle

82

for receiving a valve

84

for controlling the flow of the material into inlet opening

48

. Referring more particularly to

FIG. 3

, valve

84

is preferably a conventional butterfly type valve including a disk shape butterfly member

86

supported for rotation on a shaft

88

relative to an annular valve seat

90

which mounts in receptacle

82

. Shaft

88

extends radially outwardly through a hole

91

in one side of valve seat

90

and through a side opening

92

in housing

80

(FIGS.

5

and

6

), and connects to a valve actuator handle

94

located externally of housing

80

. Handle

94

is rotatable from a closed position (

FIG. 2

) to an open position (

FIG. 3

) for correspondingly rotating butterfly member

86

between a closed position sealingly engaged with seat

90

, and a range of open positions angularly related thereto, for controlling passage or flow of material from hopper

10

to inlet opening

48

. A flange

96

which is a standard 10 inch diameter pipe flange encircles the top portion of valve housing

80

and has at least one hole

98

therein at a predetermined location therearound, preferably a standard flange bolt array location, for receiving one or more locator pins

99

extending downwardly from bottom flange

14

of hopper

10

, which is a standard 9 ½ or 10 inch diameter flange, for aligning flange

96

with bottom flange

14

such that hopper tee

40

is located in covering relation to the discharge outlet of hopper

10

with valve

84

positioned for controlling material flow from hopper

10

to tee

40

.

Importantly, referring more particularly again to

FIG. 2

, by providing an integral valve housing, the representative hopper tee

40

including a first hollow pipe section

42

with an internal diameter of about 5 inches and second hollow pipe section

54

having an internal diameter of about 4 inches, which are the same as for the prior art example, will have a distance A of about 5.2 inches, or about 1 inch less than the comparably sized prior art tee and valve assembly, thus providing the desired additional ground clearance. Referring again to

FIG. 3

, in hopper tee

40

, butterfly member

86

may extend downwardly sufficiently so as to be located partially in port

66

or even extend into internal passage

64

. Flow directors

68

minimize adverse effects from this. Also, by eliminating a flange, cost and weight are saved.

Hopper tee

40

can be mounted to bottom flange using an array of bolts

18

or studs as explained above, or, referring more particularly to

FIG. 3

, an optional clamp

100

can be provided for removably mounting hopper tee

40

to standard 9½ or 10 inch diameter bottom flange

14

of hopper

10

, to allow quick and easy removal and disconnection of hopper tee

40

for inspection, cleaning, and service. Clamp

100

is a conventional, commercially available over center clamp having a center pivot

102

mounted to a boss or block on hopper tee

40

beside valve housing

80

, a clamp arm

104

which engages a cleat

105

mounted on the top surface of bottom flange

14

or at another suitable location on bottom flange

14

or elsewhere on the bottom

12

of hopper

10

, and a handle

106

which pulls clamp arm

104

down in the position shown and is pivotable in the direction shown by the adjacent arrow to release arm

104

from flange

14

. For safety, a boss extends outwardly from hopper tee

40

and includes a bifurcated end for receiving handle

106

, which can be secured in position therein by a safety pin or clip (not shown) which can be inserted through and retained in aligned holes

110

in the bifurcated end of boss

108

. One or more optional retaining clips

112

are preferably provided for holding tee

40

generally in position when clamp

100

is loosened and for helping secure and hold the opposite side of hopper tee

40

on bottom flange

14

when clamp

100

is tightened, and can include an optional jam nut assembly

113

or another suitable element which can be adjustably brought to bear against the top of flange

14

for more snugly holding it. Valve seat

90

includes a resilient seal ring or gasket (not shown) around the top surface thereof which projects upwardly from flange

96

and is compressed when flanges

14

and

96

are brought together to create a sealed condition therebetween. Jam nut assembly

113

is adjustable to compensate for manufacturing and assembly tolerances and wear, and for allowing adjusting the compression of the seal ring on that side to help provide more uniform compression therearound when clamp

100

is tightened. An important advantage of clamp

100

compared to prior known hopper tee clamps, is that it requires no modification of the bottom flange of a hopper, or only a minor “bolt on” feature, namely cleat

105

, if used.

Referring to

FIGS. 7

,

8

,

9

, and

10

, it should be understood that the hopper tees according to the invention can be provided without various of the components and features discussed above, or with the components in various other combinations, and in combination with other features. For instance, in

FIG. 7

, another hopper tee

114

constructed and operable according to the present invention is shown, like parts of hopper tee

114

and hopper tee

40

being identified by like numbers. Hopper tee

114

is constructed similarly to hopper tee

40

, including hollow pipe sections

42

,

54

, valve housing

80

for receiving valve

84

, and flange

96

, but not flow directors

68

or clamp

100

. In

FIG. 8

, another hopper tee

116

constructed and operable according to the present invention is shown, like parts of hopper tee

116

and hopper tees

40

and

114

being identified by like numbers. Hopper tee

116

is constructed similarly to hopper tee

40

, including hollow pipe sections

42

,

54

, flow directors

68

, valve housing

80

and hole

92

for receiving valve

84

, and flange

96

, and additionally vanes

118

for swirling or twisting air flow B as it passes through passage

64

, providing a beneficial rifling effect. In

FIGS. 9 and 10

, another hopper tee

120

constructed and operable according to the present invention is shown, like parts of hopper tee

120

and hopper tees

40

,

114

, and

116

being identified by like numbers. Hopper tee

120

is constructed similarly to hopper tee

40

, including hollow pipe sections

42

,

54

, flow directors

68

, and flange

96

, but not valve housing

80

for receiving valve

84

. Any of embodiments

114

,

116

, and

120

can include optional clamp

100

, as desired. Additionally, it should be noted that any of the above discussed embodiments

40

,

114

,

116

, and/or

120

, can include other optional features, including, but not limited to, a conventional bottom drop or flow through opening (not shown) at the bottom of the second pipe section, having a removable cover which can be removed as desired or required to allow material flow through and access for cleaning, drainage, and other purposes.

In tests, representative hopper tee

40

was found to reduce unloading time for a test hopper by about 10 to about 20 percent, which is a substantial amount.

It will be understood that changes in the details, materials, steps, and arrangements of parts which have been described and illustrated to explain the nature of the invention will occur to and may be made by those skilled in the art upon a reading of this disclosure within the principles and scope of the invention. The foregoing description illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention; however, concepts, as based upon the description, may be employed in other embodiments, for instance having different diameter pipe sections, without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are intended to protect the invention broadly as well as in the specific form shown.

Number	Name	Date	Kind
1860346	Anderson	May 1932	A
2228857	Stephenson	Jan 1941	A
3251122	Boteler	May 1966	A
3402731	Martin	Sep 1968	A
3654008	Rogers et al.	Apr 1972	A
3813023	Auray et al.	May 1974	A
4652020	Gilroy	Mar 1987	A
D297678	Sisk	Sep 1988	S
4848396	Sisk	Jul 1989	A
5387015	Sisk	Feb 1995	A
5617907	Sisk	Apr 1997	A
5842681	Sisk	Dec 1998	A

Hopper tee and integral discharge valve

Information

Patent Number

Date Filed

Date Issued

Inventors

Examiners

Agents

CPC

US Classifications

Field of Search

US

International Classifications

Term Extension

Abstract

Description

Claims

US Referenced Citations (12)

Foreign Referenced Citations (1)