US4563858A — Method of material distribution and apparatus for…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 206 words

A mobile bagging plant for bagging free-flowing material in bags, comprising: at least one transportable module of standard shipping container dimensions and being readily movable from a first site to a second site, said module being compatible with other like standardized containers so that said module is stackable on and among said other like containers; and a bagging apparatus housed in said module, said bagging apparatus including an inlet means for receiving the material and closable by a first valve means, weighing means including a receptacle having an inlet and an outlet, and means for measuring the weight of the material within the receptacle, said inlet of said receptacle being positioned to receive material from said inlet means, second valve means for closing said outlet, bag retention means for positioning bags under said outlet of said receptacle when said second valve means is opened and for removing the bags after the bags have been filled, control means for closing said first valve means and then opening said second valve means when the weight of the material in said receptacle reaches a predetermined weight such that predetermined weights of material are fed into the bags from said receptacle, and closure means for closing the bags after filling.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 206 words

A mobile bagging plant for bagging free-flowing material in bags, comprising: at least one transportable module of standard shipping container dimensions and being readily movable from a first site to a second site, said module being compatible with other like standardized containers so that said module is stackable on and among said other like containers; and a bagging apparatus housed in said module, said bagging apparatus including an inlet means for receiving the material and closable by a first valve means, weighing means including a receptacle having an inlet and an outlet, and means for measuring the weight of the material within the receptacle, said inlet of said receptacle being positioned to receive material from said inlet means, second valve means for closing said outlet, bag retention means for positioning bags under said outlet of said receptacle when said second valve means is opened and for removing the bags after the bags have been filled, control means for closing said first valve means and then opening said second valve means when the weight of the material in said receptacle reaches a predetermined weight such that predetermined weights of material are fed into the bags from said receptacle, and closure means for closing the bags after filling.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 26 words

A bagging plant according to claim 1 wherein the plant comprises a plurality of interlocking modules, each said module being of standard transportable shipping container dimensions.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 15 words

A bagging plant according to claim 1 wherein said closure means comprises a stitching machine.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 27 words

A bagging plant according to claim 2 wherein the plant comprises two lower and two upper interlocked modules, said two upper modules defining a material receiving hopper.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 40 words

A bagging plant according to claim 1 wherein said module comprises a plurality of flaps hingedly connected to a top end thereof, said flaps being extendable to define a receiving hopper for material for subsequent delivery to said inlet means.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 31 words

A bagging plant according to claim 4 wherein two parallel bagging runs with respective conveyors extending between a weighing and bagging station and a stitching station are housed in said modules.

Claim 8

Independent Claim 109 words

A method of distributing free-flowing material, comprising the steps of: transporting free-flowing material in bulk and a bagging apparatus with weighing means and housed in at least one transportable module of standard shipping container dimensions from a second location to a first location, said module being compatible with other like standardized containers so that said module is stackable on and among said other like containers; siting said bagging apparatus at said first location; supplying the material to the bagging apparatus; weighing the material into batches of predetermined weight in said receptacle; positioning bags to receive the batches from said receptacle; and delivering the batches of material into the bags.

Claim 9

Independent Claim 109 words

A method of distributing free-flowing material, comprising the steps of: transporting free-flowing material in bulk and a bagging apparatus with weighing means and housed in at least one transportable module of standard shipping container dimensions from a second location to a first location, said module being compatible with other like standardized containers so that said module is stackable on and among said other like containers; siting said bagging apparatus at said first location; supplying the material to the bagging apparatus; weighing the material into batches of predetermined weight in said receptacle; positioning bags to receive the batches from said receptacle; and delivering the batches of material into the bags.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 29 words

A method according to claim 7 wherein the bags are closed by stitching at a stitching station spaced from a bagging station at which material is metered into bags.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1989-01-13	1989-07-15	1990-01-14	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1993-01-13	1993-07-15	1994-01-14	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1997-01-13	1997-07-15	1998-01-14	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Method of material distribution and apparatus for use in the method

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag