Friese, Wayne G.;

Grain carrying vehicle

An improved grain carrying vehicle (10) is the subject of this application. The vehicle (10) includes a catwalk (54) formed between an oblique panel portion (42) of the vehicle carriage (34) and a generally horizontal fender panel (52). Additionally, the carriage (34) includes an open discharge portion (38) which extends down between a base frame or chassis (12) mounted for movement over the ground.

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What is claimed is:

1. An improved vehicle suitable for carrying grain and other particulate materials, comprising:

a base frame including two laterally spaced, generally horizontal elongated support elements and an interconnecting member intersecting said laterally spaced support elements;

means mounting said frame for movement over the ground;

a carriage mounted to said frame and including a main body portion having a front wall, a rear wall, and two opposite side walls, each of said side walls including a planar portion extending obliquely with respect to the ground and upwardly and outwardly with respect to said body, and said carriage further including an open discharge portion extending downwardly from said main body portion between said support elements and spaced laterally from said interconnecting member and a lip forming a lower extremity of said discharge portion and defining a first plane, said discharge portion having formed therethrough a discharge aperture circumscribed by said lip providing communication between the interior of said main body portion and the exterior beneath said vehicle;

a pair of parallel and generally horizontal fender panels, one of said pair fixedly positioned beneath each of said obliquely disposed planar portions of said side walls;

a plate sized with respect to said discharge aperture such that it may completely obstruct said aperture, said plate having a closure surface engaging said lip of said discharge portion and a free surface;

a track having a bearing surface engaging said free surface of said plate to maintain said plate in a second plane parallel to said first plane and engaging said lip;

means for withdrawing said plate in said second plane along said track to open said discharge aperture; and

an acutely angled bracket, mounted to said vehicle, into which said plate wedges when moved to a positioned occluding said discharge aperture, said bracket having an oblique surface to urge said plate against said lip as said plate is moved in a direction toward said bracket.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein said frame mounting means comprises pairs of wheels in tandem.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein each of said pairs of wheels straddles said base frame.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 futher comprising a motion transmission element rigidly mounted to said base frame and extending in a desired orientation therefrom.

5. The vehicle of claim 4 wherein said motion transmission element is spaced above the ground.

6. The vehicle of claim 5 wherein said base frame is mounted elevated with respect to the ground and said motion transmission means is disposed lower than said base frame.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein said withdrawing means comprises:

an elongated retraction element extending from said plate toward said interconnecting member, said retraction element having a first side facing toward said discharge aperture and a second side;

chain means mounted to said second side of said retraction element, said chain means including a series of links;

a sprocket wheel having individual sprocket projections, said sprocket wheel rotatably mounted to said vehicle with said sprocket projections engaging said links of said chain means; and

means for imparting rotational motion to said sprocket wheel.

8. The vehicle of claim 7 wherein said retraction element has a remote end disposed to abuttably engage said interconnecting member when said plate is withdrawn a predetermined distance from a position occluding said discharge aperture.