Particulate material storing and dispensing hopper structure

Abstract

An elongate, horizontally upwardly opening particulate material storing receptacle with vertical front and end walls, upwardly projecting side walls, a longitudinally extending bottom wall, a material discharge opening at the front end of the receptacle, an elongate auger extending longitudinally within the receptacle from the rear wall to the discharge opening, a driven shaft on the auger and projecting rearwardly from the receptacle; and, a drive motor unit drivingly coupled with the driven shaft, the improvements comprise: mounting structure pivotally supporting the upper rear end of the receptacle about a horizontal transverse turning axis spaced vertically from the axis of the shaft, a cam plate with circumferentially spaced, rearwardly disposed lobes and recesses positioned rearward of the receptacle and carried by the shaft; and, a forwardly disposed reaction pose mounted rearward of the plate and in reacting driving engagement therewith to sequentially pivot the receptacle about the turning axis when the shaft rotates. The improvements further include an elongate material engaging bar with front and rear ends positioned within the receptacle above the auger, mounting structure pivotally mounting the rear end of the bar within the receptacle about a horizontal transverse pivot axis; and, a drive finger at the front end of the bar engaging the auger to pivot the bar vertically upwardly and downwardly about the pivot axis when the auger rotates.