Concrete hopper

Abstract

To provide a concrete hopper capable of safely adjusting the discharge amount of concrete without requiring labor of a worker.SOLUTION: A hopper includes a hopper body having a side funnel shape, a plurality of struts mounted at predetermined intervals on the outer periphery of the hopper body, a mounting ring provided by connecting lower ends of the struts, a discharge pipe mounted on the narrowed lower end of the hopper body, and an opening and closing device capable of opening and closing the radial direction of the discharge pipe mounted on the discharge pipe while adjusting the amount of concrete for placing inside the hopper body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a concrete hopper suitable for use in concrete pouring work. [Background technology]

[0002] At construction sites where concrete is poured, in order to avoid the hassle and hardship of workers, a concrete hopper hoisted by a crane truck is used to receive concrete from a mixer truck, and then transport it to the concrete pouring site and release it. One such concrete hopper is known from Patent Document 1 below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-28103 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The concrete hopper described in Patent Document 1 has a discharge part made of a flexible material connected to the discharge port, and workers on site manually adjust the diameter of the discharge port to control the amount of concrete discharged. However, this type of work is time-consuming and difficult to adjust the discharge amount, so improvements were needed.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a concrete hopper that can easily adjust the amount of concrete discharged from the tank portion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the concrete hopper described in claim 1 of the present invention is characterized by having a funnel-shaped hopper body, a plurality of pillars attached at a predetermined interval to the outer periphery of the hopper body, a mounting ring connected to the lower ends of each of the pillars, a discharge pipe attached to the narrowed lower end of the hopper body, and an opening / closing device attached to the discharge pipe in the radial direction while regulating the amount of concrete to be poured inside the hopper body.

[0007] Furthermore, the concrete hopper described in claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that it further has hand-holding rings attached to each of the supports at a predetermined interval above the placing ring.

[0008] Furthermore, the concrete hopper described in claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the opening and closing device has a guide groove arranged radially across the discharge pipe, a shutter member rotatably attached to the discharge pipe and removably attached inside the discharge pipe via the guide groove, and an operating member arranged to protrude outward from the shutter member of the discharge pipe.

[0009] Furthermore, the concrete hopper described in claim 4 of the present invention is characterized in that the guide groove is formed by dividing the discharge pipe radially and then connecting each opposing part with a curved connecting member, and the shutter member is inserted and removed while placed on top of the guide groove when opening and closing.

[0010] Furthermore, the concrete hopper described in claim 5 of the present invention is characterized in that a mounting member is provided on the discharge pipe for rotatably mounting the shutter member, and this mounting member is provided with a regulating member for regulating the rotation range of the shutter member.

[0011] The concrete hopper described in claim 6 of the present invention is characterized in that it further has a discharge direction change pipe that changes the flow path of the concrete discharged from the hopper body, and by attaching the discharge direction change pipe to the discharge pipe, the flow path of the concrete can be changed from directly below the hopper body to a lateral direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, the labor required by workers can be significantly reduced, concrete to be poured can be safely received from a concrete mixer truck, and concrete pouring work can be carried out while adjusting the amount of concrete discharged. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a concrete hopper according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a switching device according to the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the discharge pipe of the switchgear according to the present invention. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the steps of attaching a shutter member to the discharge pipe of the opening and closing device according to the present invention, where (a) is an exploded oblique view of the shutter member before it is assembled into the discharge pipe, and (b) is an oblique view of the shutter member after it has been assembled into the discharge pipe. [Figure 5] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing the closed state of the switching device according to the present invention, where (a) is an external perspective view and (b) is a view seen from the arrow A in FIG. 5A. [Figure 6] 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an open state of a switching device according to the present invention, in which (a) is an external perspective view and (b) is a view seen from the direction of arrow C in (a). [Figure 7] 7A and 7B are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing device according to the present invention, where FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 5B, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 6B. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a concrete hopper equipped with a discharge direction changing pipe according to the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the appearance of an opening and closing device to which a discharge direction changing pipe according to the present invention is attached. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, in which some reference numerals may be omitted to make the drawings easier to understand. [Example]

[0015] According to Figure 1, the concrete hopper 10 of the present invention comprises a substantially triangular hanging member 20 provided with a hook holder 20b that is hung using a hook C attached to the end of a hanging wire or chain B suspended from a bucket A of a crane, excavator, or the like; a hopper body 30 having a funnel-shaped exterior to which the mounting portion 20c of the hanging member 20 is attached and which contains concrete; a discharge pipe 81 for discharging concrete that is provided at the narrowed lower end of the hopper body 30; an opening / closing device 80 that can open and close the discharge pipe 81 horizontally; and a discharge guide pipe 90 that is attached to the bottom of the opening / closing device 80 and guides the concrete discharged from the hopper body 30.

[0016] The hanging member 20 has an inverted U-shaped hook holder 20b attached to the top of its roughly triangular mounting plate 20a, and the concrete hopper 10 is hung from a crane or the like by hooking a hook C, which is suspended using a hanging wire or chain B suspended from a bucket A of a crane or the like, onto the hook holder 20b. The hanging member 20 is also attached at its bottom to the hopper body 30 via mounting part 20c.

[0017] The hopper body 30 is a hollow cylinder with a funnel-like shape that tapers from top to bottom. Two bands 40 are fitted around the outer periphery of the hopper body 30 as a reinforcing outer frame. Five vertically extending support columns 50 are attached to the outer periphery of the bands 40 at equal axial intervals, allowing the hopper body 30 to stand on its own. A circular mounting ring 60 is attached to the lower end of each support column 50, and a circular hand ring 70 is attached above the mounting ring 60 for the operator to hold.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an opening and closing device 80 according to the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the opening and closing device 80 has a guide groove 85 provided across a part of the radial direction of a discharge pipe 81, a mounting member 83 attached facing outward from the part of the discharge pipe 81 where the guide groove 85 is provided, a shutter member 82 provided on the mounting member 83 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction and able to move in and out of the guide groove 85, and a restricting member 84 attached to the mounting member 83 and restricting the rotation of the shutter member 82 in the opening direction.

[0019] The discharge pipe 81 is configured by connecting a portion of a first discharge pipe 81a and a portion of a second discharge pipe 81b, which are opposed to each other with a predetermined gap provided, with a curved connecting member 81c, and the gap serves as a guide groove 85. Note that the guide groove 85 can also be formed by simply cutting the discharge pipe 81 in the radial direction, leaving a portion of it.

[0020] A horizontally extending mounting member 83 is provided in the portion of the first discharge pipe 81a where the guide groove 85 is provided, and this mounting member 83 is provided at its outer tip with an insertion hole 83a for inserting the connecting bolt T1 that constitutes the connecting means T, and a regulating member 84 that functions as a stopper to regulate the rotation of the shutter member 82 in the opening direction.

[0021] 4(a) and 4(b), the shutter member 82 is flat and has an opening / closing part 82a that enters and exits the guide groove 85, an attachment part 82b that is provided so as to overlap the attachment member 83 horizontally from one end of the opening / closing part 82a and is attached to the end of the attachment member 83 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction using connecting means T such as bolts and nuts, and an operating part 82c that extends horizontally from the other end of the opening / closing part 82a outward from the guide groove 85 and is to be grasped by an operator. Note that, as shown in FIG. 4, what is indicated by the symbol 82d is a connecting hole for passing the connecting means T through.

[0022] By rotatably connecting the shutter member 82 to the mounting member 83 via a connecting means T, an operator can rotate the shutter member 82 while holding the operating part 82c, and open and close the inside of the discharge pipe 81 with the opening and closing part 82a.

[0023] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an opening / closing device 80 according to the present invention in a closed state, with Fig. 5(a) being an external perspective view and Fig. 5(b) being a view as viewed from arrow A in Fig. 5(a). Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an opening / closing device 80 according to the present invention in an open state, with Fig. 6(a) being an external perspective view of the opening / closing device 80 and Fig. 6(b) being a view as viewed from arrow C in Fig. 6(a). As shown in Fig. 6, when the opening / closing device 80 is in an open state, the shutter member 82 and the regulating member 84 come into contact with each other, thereby regulating rotation in the opening direction.

[0024] Next, an operator (not shown) grasps the operating portion 82c of the shutter member 82 and rotates the shutter member 82 counterclockwise, and as shown in Figure 5, the opening / closing portion 82a is fully inserted into the guide groove 85, closing the discharge pipe 81, and as shown in Figure 6, the opening / closing portion 82a escapes from the guide groove 85, causing the discharge pipe 81 to be fully open.

[0025] The worker can adjust the opening or closing degree of the discharge pipe 81 in stages by adjusting the insertion width of the shutter member 82 into the guide groove 85. That is, the worker can adjust the opening or closing degree of the discharge pipe 81 by adjusting the force with which he grips the operating part 82c and rotates the shutter member 82, thereby adjusting the amount of concrete discharged. Since this prevents concrete from being discharged all at once from the hopper body 30, there is no need to reduce the amount of concrete stored in the hopper body 30 to adjust the amount of concrete discharged or tilt the tank to facilitate discharge. Furthermore, when the shutter member 82 is in the closed state shown in FIG. 5 , its opening / closing part 82a rests on the top of the guide groove 85, and the opening / closing part 82a and the connecting member 81c abut against each other, applying the weight of the concrete, thereby tightly sealing the discharge pipe 81. Therefore, concrete is prevented from leaking from the concrete hopper 10 in the closed state.

[0026] The discharge guide pipe 90 is attached to the second discharge pipe 81b via a latch T4 such as a snap lock. By attaching the discharge guide pipe 90 to the opening and closing device 80, the concrete can be discharged straight below the concrete hopper 10. [Example]

[0027] 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the concrete hopper 10 according to the present invention. The same reference symbols refer to the same components as in Example 1. As shown in the drawings, the concrete hopper 10 according to Example 2 has a discharge direction changing pipe 91 attached to the discharge pipe 81, and with this configuration, the concrete to be poured inside the hopper body is discharged in the lateral direction of the hopper body 30.

[0028] 8 and 9, a hanging fitting T4 is attached to the top of the discharge direction change pipe 91, and by hanging this hanging fitting T4 on a hook portion T5 attached to the lower discharge pipe 81b, the discharge direction change pipe 91 is detachably connected to the axial direction of the lower discharge pipe 81b. Furthermore, a flexible supply hose 93 is attached to the tip of the discharge direction change pipe 91 with an attachment band T6, and the worker can extend or bend the supply hose 93 to guide the ready-mixed concrete to the pouring location.

[0029] When the concrete hopper 10 is fitted with a straight discharge guide pipe 90 as shown in Figure 1, it discharges concrete directly below it. On the other hand, when discharging concrete in a direction other than directly below, a worker must manually push or pull the concrete hopper 10, or move the concrete hopper 10 using a crane or the like.

[0030] However, by attaching a discharge direction change pipe 91 to the second discharge pipe 81b, the concrete discharge path can be changed from directly below to sideways.As a result, there is no longer a need to manually move the heavy concrete hopper 10 containing concrete to change the concrete discharge direction, thereby reducing the effort and danger associated with moving the concrete hopper 10.

[0031] Furthermore, when the hand ring 70 is attached to the concrete hopper 10, the concrete hopper 10 can be moved and the shutter member 82 can be opened and closed while gripping the hand ring, preventing the concrete hopper 10 from shaking in reaction to the concrete being discharged. Furthermore, when placing the concrete hopper 10 on the ground surface or other locations at the site, the hand ring can be gripped and operated, preventing hands from getting caught in the operating ground or other materials at the site. [Industrial Applicability]

[0032] As the present invention is configured as described above, it improves the operability of concrete hoppers used at concrete pouring sites, allowing workers to operate the concrete hoppers more easily and perform concrete pouring work safely. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10 Concrete Hopper 20 Hanging member 20a Mounting plate 20b Hook Hanger 20c Mounting part 30 Hopper body 40 bands 50 pillars 60 Mounting Ring 70 Handheld Ring 80 Switchgear 81 Discharge pipe 81a 1st discharge pipe 81b 2nd discharge pipe 81c Connecting member 82 Shutter parts 82a Opening and closing section 82b Mounting part 82c Control unit 82d connecting hole 83 Mounting material 83a Insertion hole 84 Regulatory member 85 Guide groove 90 Discharge guide pipe 91 Discharge direction change pipe 93 Supply hose T Connection means T1 Bolt T2 washer T3 nut T4 hanging bracket T5 hook part T6 mounting band

Claims

1. A hopper body having a funnel shape; a plurality of support columns attached at predetermined intervals to the outer periphery of the hopper body; a mounting ring provided by connecting the lower ends of the columns; a discharge pipe attached to the narrowed lower end of the hopper body; an opening and closing device provided on the discharge pipe that can open and close the radial direction of the discharge pipe while adjusting the discharge amount of concrete to be poured inside the hopper body; A concrete hopper comprising:

2. 2. The concrete hopper according to claim 1, further comprising hand-holding rings attached to the respective support posts at predetermined intervals above the mounting ring.

3. The opening and closing device is a guide groove provided across the discharge pipe in a radial direction; a shutter member rotatably attached to the discharge pipe and removably attached to the inside of the discharge pipe via the guide groove; an operating member provided so as to protrude outward from the shutter member toward the outside of the discharge pipe; 3. A concrete hopper according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. 4. The concrete hopper according to claim 3, wherein the guide groove is formed by dividing the discharge pipe radially and then connecting each opposing part with a curved connecting member, and the shutter member is inserted and removed while placed on top of the guide groove when opening and closing.

5. The discharge pipe is provided with a mounting member for rotatably mounting the shutter member, 4. A concrete hopper according to claim 3, wherein the mounting member is provided with a restricting member for restricting the rotation range of the shutter member.

6. The hopper further includes a discharge direction changing pipe for changing the flow path of the concrete discharged from the hopper body, A concrete hopper as described in any one of claims 4 to 5, characterized in that the discharge direction change pipe is attached to the discharge pipe so that the flow path of the concrete can be changed from directly below the hopper body to a lateral direction.

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