US3807359A — Adjustable dispensing sleeve for feed conveyor an…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 141 words

For use with a conveyor for feed and like materials, said conveyor including a hollow tube along which the feed can move for dispensation through at least one hole formed in the tube wall, a rotatably and longitudinally slidable sleeve member mounted on said tube and comprising more than half of a right circular cylinder, the unstrained inner diameter of said cylindrical sleeve member being smaller than the outer diameter of said conveyor tube, the cylindrical sleeve member, when strained, being curved and extended to fit over the conveyor tube, the cylindrical sleeve member, when strained, being curved and extended to fit over the conveyor tube adjacent the tube dispensing hole with a press fit, and a temporarily attachable alignment gage means mounted on said sleeve member for locating the sleeve member in a desired position relative to the conveyor tube.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 141 words

For use with a conveyor for feed and like materials, said conveyor including a hollow tube along which the feed can move for dispensation through at least one hole formed in the tube wall, a rotatably and longitudinally slidable sleeve member mounted on said tube and comprising more than half of a right circular cylinder, the unstrained inner diameter of said cylindrical sleeve member being smaller than the outer diameter of said conveyor tube, the cylindrical sleeve member, when strained, being curved and extended to fit over the conveyor tube, the cylindrical sleeve member, when strained, being curved and extended to fit over the conveyor tube adjacent the tube dispensing hole with a press fit, and a temporarily attachable alignment gage means mounted on said sleeve member for locating the sleeve member in a desired position relative to the conveyor tube.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 88 words

For use with the structure of claim 1 said alignment gage means including attachment means for attaching the gage means to said sleeve member to thereby position the gage means in a pre-determined angular position relative to the sleeve member and the dispensing hole formed in said sleeve member, plumb indicator means for indicating the actual angular position of the sleeve member and attached gage means relative to a vertical orientation, and means for indicating the desired angular position of said sleeve member relative to said vertical orientation.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 68 words

A sleeve member according to claim 1 wherein said conveyor includes an auger member having a plurality of flights, and wherein said dispensing hole formed in said sleeve member is shaped substantially in the form of a diamond, a trailing edge of said diamond hole being oriented generally parallel to an adjacent auger flight to encourage the delivery of properly proportioned feed mix components through said dispensing hole.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 180 words

Gage means for use in adjusting a feeder system of the type having a dispensing storage bin, a plurality of feed-receiving hoppers and at lease one conveyor tube connecting the dispensing bin and the receiving hoppers, the conveyor tube including a number of dispensing holes formed in the tube wall in angular alignment and having rotatably and longitudinally mounted thereon a corresponding number of slidable dispensing sleeves having dispensing holes formed therein to permit the flow of feed from the tube to the receiving hopper, said gage means including attachment means for attaching the gage means to said sleeve member to position the gage means in a pre-determined angular position relative to the sleeve mEmber and the dispensing hole formed in said sleeve member, means on said gage means for indicating the actual angular position of the sleeve member relative to a vertical orientation, and means on said gage means for indicating the desired angular position of each said sleeve member, whereby said dispensing holes formed in said sleeve members may be oriented in a helical array of extended pitch.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 180 words

Gage means for use in adjusting a feeder system of the type having a dispensing storage bin, a plurality of feed-receiving hoppers and at lease one conveyor tube connecting the dispensing bin and the receiving hoppers, the conveyor tube including a number of dispensing holes formed in the tube wall in angular alignment and having rotatably and longitudinally mounted thereon a corresponding number of slidable dispensing sleeves having dispensing holes formed therein to permit the flow of feed from the tube to the receiving hopper, said gage means including attachment means for attaching the gage means to said sleeve member to position the gage means in a pre-determined angular position relative to the sleeve mEmber and the dispensing hole formed in said sleeve member, means on said gage means for indicating the actual angular position of the sleeve member relative to a vertical orientation, and means on said gage means for indicating the desired angular position of each said sleeve member, whereby said dispensing holes formed in said sleeve members may be oriented in a helical array of extended pitch.

Claim 7

Independent Claim 238 words

A method of adjusting a feeder system conveyor tube for encouraging simultaneous and equal dispensation of feed from a storage bin through a plurality of spaced dispensing holes arrayed along the tube to feed-receiving hoppers, by the use of an alignment gage, the conveyor tube having a plurality of individually adjustable sleeve members axially spaced along the conveyor tube, each sleeve member having at least one feed-dispensing hole therein, the alignment gage having means for indicating the actual angular position of a sleeve member to which the gage is attached, and means for indicating the desired angular position of said sleeve member, said method comprising the steps of temporarily installing said sleeve members on the conveyor tube, temporarily attaching an alignment gage to a first sleeve member in a pre-determined position relative to the sleeve member and the dispensing holes formed therein, angularly rotating said first sleeve member on the conveyor tube to position the sleeve member and its dispensing outlet in a desired first determined angular position, axially moving said sleeve member to align said sleeve member dispensing hole with a hole formed in the conveyor tube wall, removing said alignment gage from the oriented sleeve member, attaching said alignment gage to a succeeding sleeve member, angularly positioning and axially adjusting the succeeding sleeve member into another desired pre-determined angular position, and successively angularly positioning and axially adjusting all the remaining sleeve members on said conveyor tube.

Claim 8

Independent Claim 238 words

A method of adjusting a feeder system conveyor tube for encouraging simultaneous and equal dispensation of feed from a storage bin through a plurality of spaced dispensing holes arrayed along the tube to feed-receiving hoppers, by the use of an alignment gage, the conveyor tube having a plurality of individually adjustable sleeve members axially spaced along the conveyor tube, each sleeve member having at least one feed-dispensing hole therein, the alignment gage having means for indicating the actual angular position of a sleeve member to which the gage is attached, and means for indicating the desired angular position of said sleeve member, said method comprising the steps of temporarily installing said sleeve members on the conveyor tube, temporarily attaching an alignment gage to a first sleeve member in a pre-determined position relative to the sleeve member and the dispensing holes formed therein, angularly rotating said first sleeve member on the conveyor tube to position the sleeve member and its dispensing outlet in a desired first determined angular position, axially moving said sleeve member to align said sleeve member dispensing hole with a hole formed in the conveyor tube wall, removing said alignment gage from the oriented sleeve member, attaching said alignment gage to a succeeding sleeve member, angularly positioning and axially adjusting the succeeding sleeve member into another desired pre-determined angular position, and successively angularly positioning and axially adjusting all the remaining sleeve members on said conveyor tube.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 150 words

For use with a conveyor for feed and like materials, said conveyor including a hollow tube along which the feed can move for dispensation through a plurality of axially spaced, angularly aligned holes formed in the tube wall, a corresponding plurality of individual, rotatably and longitudinally slidable sleeve members, each sleeve member comprising more than half of a right circular cylinder, the unstrained inner diameter of said cylindrical sleeve member being smaller than the outer diameter of said conveyor tube, the cylindrical sleeve members, when strained, being curved and extended to fit over the conveyor tube adjacent each tube dispensing hole with a press fit, each cylindrical sleeve member having formed therein a dispensing hole smaller than the tube dispensing hole and adapted for registry therewith, said sleeve dispensing holes being oriented on the conveyor tube in a helical array of extended pitch with respect to said tube dispensing holes.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 150 words

For use with a conveyor for feed and like materials, said conveyor including a hollow tube along which the feed can move for dispensation through a plurality of axially spaced, angularly aligned holes formed in the tube wall, a corresponding plurality of individual, rotatably and longitudinally slidable sleeve members, each sleeve member comprising more than half of a right circular cylinder, the unstrained inner diameter of said cylindrical sleeve member being smaller than the outer diameter of said conveyor tube, the cylindrical sleeve members, when strained, being curved and extended to fit over the conveyor tube adjacent each tube dispensing hole with a press fit, each cylindrical sleeve member having formed therein a dispensing hole smaller than the tube dispensing hole and adapted for registry therewith, said sleeve dispensing holes being oriented on the conveyor tube in a helical array of extended pitch with respect to said tube dispensing holes.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 26 words

A plurality of sleeve members according to claim 6 wherein each sleeve dispensing hole is in complete and unrestricted registry with the adjacent tube dispensing hole.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1977-04-29	1977-10-29	1978-04-30	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1981-04-29	1981-10-29	1982-04-30	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1985-04-29	1985-10-29	1986-04-30	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Adjustable dispensing sleeve for feed conveyor and method for positioning same

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