Grain and fertilizer collector

Claim 1

A particulate material collecting and distributing device, comprising: (a) a generally cylindrical, horizontally oriented, elongate closed housing (74) including a downwardly extending, elongate, bottom collecting trough (140), particulate material and air inlet means (90), and air outlet means (84), said inlet means and air outlet means being above said collecting trough and said outlet means being adapted to be connected with air suction generating means (40); (b) particulate material outlet means (220) separate from said inlet means and spaced from said collecting trough; (c) a rotatable cylindrical screen drum (160) fixedly mounted on a generally horizontally disposed shaft (110) within said housing for screening air flow between said inlet means and said air outlet means to separate the air from the particulate material such that the particulate material collects in said bottom trough, said screen drum being closed at one end and open at its other end, the open end of said screen drum being in substantially rotatably sealed communication with said air outlet means; (d) means associated with said screen drum for restricting air flow therethrough adjacent said collecting trough, said air flow restricting means including a downwardly depending cut-off plate (200) suspended within said screen drum from said shaft by journals (204); (e) auger means disposed within the collecting trough for conveying material from said trough to said material outlet means; (f) means for rotatably driving said auger means and said screen drum shaft at selected relative rotational speeds; (g) said material outlet means including means (224) which prevents air from entering said housing therethrough during start-up operation of said device and which, in conjunction with material being conveyed to said particulate material outlet means for discharge outside said device, creates an air lock to substantially prevent air entering said housing through said material outlet means while material is being discharged therefrom; and (h) a perforated deflector plate (148) extending from an interior surface of said housing means adjacent said inlet means toward said screen drum for deflecting particulate material toward said collecting trough.