Industrial hopper with support
View Patent ↗An industrial hopper and support system includes a hopper having a plurality of receivers complementally configured to receive the top ends of legs of a support. The hopper is particularly designed to receive and discharge both solid and liquid material by the mounting of a selected valve, and the receivers include recesses therein which inhibit the spread of the legs and provide a structural connection between the legs of the support when the hopper is mounted thereon. The hopper may be mounted to the legs without the use of tools, but a separate fastener may be used when it is desired to lift both the hopper and its support from above. The support is provided with openings through primary tubular members which align with crossmembers so that forks inserted into the openings pass longitudinally through the crossmembers.
1. In combination:
a hopper having a sidewall including a sloping portion and a lower opening for discharging material contained within the sidewall, said sidewall including at least one receiver therein; and
a support positioned beneath said hopper for supporting the hopper above a supporting surface, said support including a plurality of upright legs and a connector extending transversely between said upright legs to connect adjacent legs, each of said legs including a bottom end and a top end, the top ends of at least one of the legs having a portion configured for receipt in a corresponding receiver of said hopper whereby said hopper is supported on the top ends of the upright legs in spaced relationship to said connector, wherein said top ends of the upright support legs include an upwardly projecting lug with a relatively narrow shank portion and a relatively wider sole portion located inboard relative to said shank portion and the receiver includes a recess complementally configured to the lug.
2. The combination of claim 1 , wherein the top ends of the upright legs include a sloping portion for supporting a portion of said sloping sidewall thereon.
3. The combination of claim 1 , wherein the lug includes a relatively wide heel portion and recess includes a relatively narrow waist portion located inboard of said heel portion when said lug is inserted into said recess, said waist portion fitting complementally around said shank portion and said heel portion having a width greater than the width of the waist portion of said recess.
4. The combination of claim 3 , wherein the lug includes an upwardly projecting ear having a channel therethrough, and the sidewall has a threaded receptacle aligned with the hole, and including a threaded fastener inserted through said channel and into said receptacle for attaching the support to the hopper.
5. The combination of claim 4 , wherein the sidewall includes a notch complementally configured for receiving said ear, said leg having a radially outer surface which is in substantial vertical alignment with the sidewall positioned over the outer surface.
6. The combination of claim 1 , wherein said connector includes tubular members comprising a first pair of generally parallel primary members and a second pair of generally parallel crossmembers in spaced relationship to one another and interconnecting said primary members.
7. The combination of claim 6 , wherein said tubular members are positioned more proximate the bottom ends than the top ends, and wherein each of the primary members includes at least a pair of openings therein sized for receiving a fork of a forklift, wherein said pair of openings of each of said primary members are aligned with and connected by a passage extending through one of said crossmembers.
8. The combination of claim 1 , wherein said hopper and said support are molded of synthetic resin material.
9. A hopper adapted for receiving and discharging material comprising:
a sidewall defining a holding zone having an upright sidewall and a dispensing zone having a sloping sidewall extending generally downwardly and inwardly from the upright sidewall; and
a lowermost opening for dispensing material therefrom,
wherein said sidewall includes a plurality of receivers in spaced relationship around the surface of the sidewall and located along said sloping sidewall proximate said upright sidewall, said receivers including a heel portion and a waist portion inboard of the heel portion having a width between opposing waist-defining surfaces in said receiver which is relatively narrower than a widest transverse dimension of the heel portion.
10. In combination:
a hopper having a sidewall including a sloping portion and a lower opening for discharging material contained within the sidewall, said sidewall including at least one receiver therein; and
a support positioned beneath said hopper for supporting the hopper above a supporting surface, said support including a plurality of upright legs and a connector extending transversely between said upright legs to connect adjacent legs, each of said legs including a bottom end and a top end, the top ends of at least one of the legs having a portion configured for receipt in a corresponding receiver of said hopper whereby said hopper is supported on the top ends of the upright legs in spaced relationship to said connector, wherein
said top ends of the upright support legs include an upwardly projecting lug and a cradle configured for receiving a portion of said sloped portion thereon, and the receiver includes a recess complementally configured to the lug, and
said sloped portion presents a generally inverted tetrahedron shape when received on said support, and said cradle includes first and second generally convergent shoulder surfaces, both of said first and second shoulder surfaces being generally inclined radially downwardly in an outboard to inboard direction and each of said first and second shoulder surfaces being generally oppositely inclined downwardly toward a radially extending line extending therebetween, and
said cradle further including a generally arcuate radially oriented seat positioned between said shoulder surfaces.