Other

Paul P Wolstenholme

John W Donahue

A method of forming a grain pile by pushing grain into a buried insertion point. A screw conveyor grain at ground level from a receiving point to the buried insertion point. The screw conveyor creates a pile core at the insertion point and forcibly enlarges the pile core into a large pile against forces of natural resistance. Piles as large as 2,000,000 bushels can be formed by a conveyor having a drive motor of less than 50 horsepower. Grains of different properties may be formed into a pile and become blended as a consequence thereof.

Method of forming a grain pile

A storage system for large quantities of flowable, granular materials, such as grain. The material is covered by flexible cover sections which are spread out on an impervious support surface and thereafter laced together to define a cover having a centrally located opening. The cover is grasped in the region of the central opening and lifted to a predetermined fill height; the perimeter of the cover being free to pull inwardly as necessary accommodating the lifting. Thereafter, the granular product is introduced into the opening until it reaches the predetermined fill height and defines a pile extending downwardly toward the support surface along a natural angle of repose. As the pile grows, it raises the cover while sweeping it upward away from the center of the pile. By this means the entire finished pile is conformably covered by the cover. After the pile has been established in its final configuration, the perimeter of the cover is fastened down, preferably to a retaining wall surrounding the base of the pile.

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West Mansfield, OH, United States of America

Paul P Wolstenholme