Fruehauf Corporation

Charles B Gill

The disclosed unloading machine, which is foldable in height to facilitate its insertion into a ship or the like, comprises an endless train of circular buckets, with axial tension elements therebetween, a foldable vertical leg including two parallel guide tubes, the buckets being movable down the first tube and up the second tube, a boom which is swingable vertically about a pivot at the lower end of the leg, a first conveyor wheel for directing the buckets out of the lower end of the first tube and outwardly along the boom, a second wheel on the outer end of the boom for directing the buckets downwardly into a suspended catenary flight where bulk material is dug, a third wheel for directing the buckets from such flight into the lower end of the second tube, a fourth wheel for directing the buckets from the upper end of the second tube and then downwardly to dump the material, a fifth wheel for directing the buckets upwardly, a sixth wheel for directing the buckets into the upper end of the first tube, the leg having upper and lower sections with a hinged joint therebetween at the front of the leg to provide for forward and upward folding movement of the lower section whereby the vertical height of the machine is reduced, and a power cylinder for causing such folding movement.

Foldable unloading machine

The disclosed unloading machine is especially well adapted for unloading bulk materials from ships. The machine swivels around a full circle, to afford maximum coverage to take the bulk material. The illustrated machine comprises an endless bucket train, a vertical supporting leg including first and second parallel guide tubes means whereby the bucket train digs the bulk material and carries it upwardly within the second guide tube, means for receiving the bucket train from the upper end of the second guide tube and for dumping the bulk material, whereupon the bucket train is directed downwardly into the upper end of the first guide tube, swivel supporting means for supporting the leg for swivelling rotation about a first vertical axis through a full circle, the bulk material dumped by the bucket train being received by a first chute which delivers the material to a second chute having a first swivel joint between the second chute and the leg, and a second swivel joint between the lower portion of the second chute and a conveyor which carries away the bulk material. The second swivel joint has a second vertical swivel axis which is spaced laterally from the first swivel axis, whereby the conveyor can be slewed as the leg is swivelled through a full circle, to avoid interference between the conveyor and the leg. First and second power means are provided to produce swivelling movement at the first and second swivel joints. The second chute preferably has a C-shaped arcuate mouth for receiving the bulk material over a wide range of swivelling movement.

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San Mateo, CA, United States of America

Charles B Gill