Auger hopper

Claim 1

An auger hopper for delivering cementious material from a supply source to a conveyor, comprising, in combination: an elongated hopper having an input portion and a discharge portion, the discharge portion being narrower than the input portion and including first and second end walls, said end walls having first and second channels defined therein; a discharge opening defined in the delivery portion of the hopper and being substantially shorter than the elongate hopper; an auger having a shaft with first and second end sections and a screw blade thereon locatable in the narrow discharge portion of the hopper with the first section of the auger shaft having a sprocketed wheel connected thereto and located outside of the hopper adjacent the first end wall; a sprocketed drive shaft rotatably mounted on the hopper having an axis of rotation fixed with respect to translational movement in relation to the hopper side wall; first and second arms disposed adjacent the outer portions of the first and second end walls respectively and pivotably connected to the hopper for rotation about the axis of rotation of the sprocketed drive shaft; first and second bearing members on the first and second arms adapted to receive the first and second end sections of the auger shaft extending through the first and second longitudinal channels; drive chain means drivably connecting the sprocketed wheel on the auger shaft with the sprocketed drive shaft; whereby the auger may be rotated to drive cementious material toward the discharge opening and the auger may translate away from the narrow discharge portion of the hopper toward the wider input portion of the hopper when a hard lump tends to be lodged between the auger screw blade and the hopper to permit rotation of the hopper with a minimum of jamming and whereby the drive chain may be kept at a fixed tension and not pulled or loosened when the auger is translated during operation.