Abstract
A portable sandbag and aggregate bag filling machine that may be readily loaded in a shipping container or truck and shipped along the less-than-truckload (LTL) road and transport system network. The sandbag filling machine is designed to fit entirely within a shipping container without disassembly into component parts. The machine is sufficiently compact with minimized height to allow a complete and operable gravity-fed hopper and operable ascending horizontal sand feeder belt machinery suitable for optimized sand handling to be included in a working and deliverable unit sufficiently small to be placed and transported in a shipping container or truck trailer.
Claims
1. A portable sandbag filling machine apparatus comprising: a frame structure that supports a hopper to receive sand, a retractable conveyor belt apparatus that may be configured so as to be stored and to be operable beneath the sand output from the hopper during the sandbag filling machine, a funnel to receive sand output from the conveyor belt apparatus, a sewing table with conveyor belt, wherein the sewing table may be placed below the funnel to receive sand into sandbags, further wherein the sandbag filling machine may be placed to provide room and operated such that sandbags may be sewn closed on the sewing table conveyor belt.
2. The portable sandbag filling machine apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ventral opening of the hopper is at least 10 inches by 18 inches in size.
3. The portable sandbag filling machine apparatus of claim 2, wherein the machine is sized and configured such that the machine may be placed in a shipping container or truck trailer for transport.
4. The portable sandbag filling machine apparatus of claim 3, wherein the retractable conveyor belt is 7 feet long.
5. A method for filling sandbags, comprising: placing sand in a conical hopper secured within a structural frame, wherein the conical hopper that a ventral exit opening of a size of at least 1018, wherein sand exits the ventral opening of the hopper to land on a conveyor that moves sand toward a sandbag, wherein the conveyor moves the sand to one end of the conveyor so that the sand falls from the conveyor, wherein there is a conical funnel or spout below the end of the conveyor such that the sand falling from the conveyor passes through the conical spout to a open sandbag below the spout, further wherein the open sandbag is placed upon a horizontal conveyor belt table, such that a filled open sandbag may be moved to allow the sandbag to be sealed.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the horizontal conveyor belt table is suitably collapsible so as to be able to be stored within the bounds of the structural frame for storage or transport.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the filled open sandbag is sealed via an in-line sewing machine.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a front view of the portable sandbag filling machinery, according to an exemplary embodiment, in a deployed for operation configuration.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a front view of the portable sandbag filling machinery apparatus, according to an exemplary embodiment, in a packed or retracted configuration to minimize volume and minimize risk for structural damage in storage or transport uses.
[0021] These components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, identical reference numerals may designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a front view of the portable sandbag filling machinery apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 1 depicts the sandbag filling machine apparatus in a deployed and operable configuration. In FIG. 1, the portable sandbag filling machine 1 features a frame structure that supports an input hopper 2 for receiving sand, a retractable conveyor belt 3 that receives and transports the sand provided through the input hopper 2, a conical funnel or spout 4 that collects sand input from the retractable conveyor belt 3 to output or deposit the collected sand into a sandbag 5, the machine further featuring a collapsible sewing table conveyor belt 6 that may be stored within the spatial dimensions of the frame structure of the filling machine 1 or may be stood or placed apart from the frame structure and operated so to receive sand in sandbags placed on the sewing table conveyor belt 6.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a front view of the portable sandbag filling machinery apparatus according to an exemplary, depicting the sandbag filling machine in a retracted, packed configuration to minimize volume and minimize risk for structural damage in storage or transport. In FIG. 2, the portable sandbag filling machine 1 features a frame structure that supports an input hopper 2 for receiving sand, a retracted conveyor belt 3 that would receive and transport the sand provided through input hopper when operating, a conical siphon or spout 4 that collects sand input from the retractable conveyor belt 3 to output or deposit the collected sand when in operation, the machine further featuring a collapsible sewing table conveyor belt 6 stored within the spatial dimensions of the frame structure of the filling machine 1 to facilitate storage and transport.
[0024] As depicted in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the input hopper 2 has a ventral (bottom) opening or aperture of at least 10 inches by 18 inches in size. These dimensions are large enough to reduce the likelihood of sand in the hopper creating bridges of sand across the opening that may block the opening.
[0025] As depicted in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sewing table conveyor belt 5 features an in-line sewing machine that allows the machine operator to sew individual bags closed as they progress along the conveyor belt 6, preferably at a rate that match the machine's rate of filling the sandbags. In a preferred embodiment, this rate of filling sandbags is one bag for every two seconds. In another preferred embodiment, the rate at which the in-line sewing machine can sew is to sew closed a sandbag every two seconds.
[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sandbag filling machine apparatus is small enough to entirely fit within a standard shipping container for transport or storage. In a preferred embodiment, the sandbag filling machine apparatus has a suitable height, width, and length compact enough to be handled in the LTL network. Specifically, a preferred embodiment of the machine apparatus will not be larger than 78, so as to fit inside all LTL network shipping trucks (box trucks) and fit under the rollup doors commonly featured on such trucks. A preferred embodiment of the machine apparatus will not have a width greater than 8, so as to be able to fit inside an LTL network shipping truck. A preferred embodiment of the machine apparatus will have a length no longer than 4, so as to be available for handling by pallet jack and standard forklift and so thereby to avoid special freight handling charges. In sum, a preferred embodiment of the portable sandbag filling machine apparatus, when collapsed and configured for storage and transport, will feature dimensions of 7 height, 7 width, and 4 length.
[0027] While developing a sandbag filling system suitably compact enough to meet the strict size limits for handling and transport in the LTL network, these size restraints run in opposition to the need for conveyors and gravity-fed hoppers in a sandbag filling system to allow for vertical and/or horizontal movement (and space) for each step of the sandbag filling process. Specifically, as depicted in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, sand is dumped into the hopper 2 at the very top of the machine 1. The sand then works its way down through the hopper to an opening at the bottom. The larger the hopper, and the larger the capacity of the hopper, the greater vertical height and space is required for this aspect of the process.
[0028] As depicted in FIG. 1, from the bottom (ventral) opening of the hopper 2, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sand drops to a primarily horizontal conveyor sand feeder belt 3 that will feed the sand through a spout 4 and into an open sandbag 5 as it drops off of the distal end of the belt. The longer that this conveyor sand feeder belt 3 is, the greater the capacity of sand that it may process, and thus the greater the vertical height and larger the size and capacity that the hopper 2 can be.
[0029] As depicted in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment, the sand feeder conveyor belt 3 will feature a slight incline to allow for additional vertical height; in a particular preferred embodiment, the incline of the sand feeder conveyor belt 3 will be 15 degrees. However, the incline should not exceed 15 degrees, as a greater degree of inclination requires use of a non-smooth conveyor belt to avoid sand or other aggregate materials from sliding backwards on the belt when the incline exceeds 15 degrees. Use of a non-smooth conveyor belt can produce inconsistent sandbag weight upon being filled and thus is sought to be avoided in more preferred embodiments.
[0030] As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a preferred embodiment, the sand feeder conveyor belt 3 is retractable and extendable to allow for greater length and greater vertical height when deployed (while remaining compact enough for LTL storage and transport when retracted). In a preferred embodiment, the sand feeder belt 3 uses a track and roller system to alternatively deploy and retract the sand feeder conveyor belt 3. In another preferred embodiment, the sand feeder conveyor belt 3 uses a pendulum system to deploy and retract the sand feeder conveyor belt 3. In a most preferred embodiment, the sand feeder conveyor belt 3 is a full 7 in length (the maximum allowable within the within the width of a LTL network box truck) so to allow the greatest vertical height in the sandbag filling system when deployed. When deployed, the sand feeder belt 3 can pop out approximately 24 and raise the working vertical height of the system by about 10 as an aspect of this most preferred embodiment. As a consequence of this lengthened sand feeder belt 3 extending 24, the size and capacity of the feeding hopper 2 can be maximized (yet still meet the size restrictions for use in the LTL network) as a most preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0031] As depicted in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment, sand transported across the sand feeder belt 3 will fall from the distal end and will be funneled into an open sandbag 5 through a funnel or spout 4. In a preferred embodiment, the open sandbag 5 itself must fit under the spout 4 and above a horizontal sewing table 6 so that the sandbag 5 does not touch the table, and instead dangles from the spout 4, through the use of bag clamps, so that the bag might be properly and fully filled, and not pulled by the conveyor of the horizontal sewing table 6 until the bag is properly filled and then released.
[0032] Further as depicted in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment, the open sandbags 5 to be filled may be placed above a lower horizontal sewing table conveyor belt 6 above the ground, in such manner that the sandbags, once filled and released, may be moved along on the conveyor belt 6 to be sewn, glued, tied or sealed closed to be readied for use or transport. As depicted in FIG. 2, in a particular preferred embodiment of the invention, this lower horizontal sewing table 6 may be collapsed and stowed under the feeder conveyor belt inside the machine frame for stowage and transport to save room, and, as depicted in FIG. 1, this same sewing table 6 may also be expanded and set up below the machine spout 4 under working operations to receive sand in open sandbags 5 placed thereon.
[0033] In a most preferred embodiment of the invention, an in-line sewing machine will be located at or proximal to the horizontal sewing table conveyor 6, so that an operator can sew shut filled sandbags that are processed by the sandbag filling machine.
[0034] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sandbag filling machine can be set up for production without the necessity for use of tools.
[0035] As depicted in FIG. 1, in a preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, sand for filling sandbags will be introduced to a portable sandbag filling machine 1 featuring a frame structure that supports an input hopper 2 for receiving sand. Further, in the preferred method, sand will be placed into the input hopper 2, further wherein gravity will direct sand to flow through and down the hopper to exit at a bottom ventral opening in the hopper 2, whereupon the sand will land upon a retractable conveyor belt 3 that receives and transports the sand across its length, whereupon sands falls off of the far end of the conveyor belt, through a conical funnel or spout 4 that collects sand input from the retractable conveyor belt 3 to output or deposit the collected sand into an open sandbag 5 on a receiving horizontal conveyor belt sewing table 6, whereupon which the open bag may be sewn, glued, sealed or otherwise closed to prepare the filled sandbag for use, transport, or storage. In a particular preferred embodiment of the method of the invention, the filled sandbag is run through an operating in-line sewing machine and sewn shut upon the horizontal sewing table 6.
[0036] While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. In addition, the various features, elements, and embodiments described herein may be claimed or combined in any combination or arrangement.
