Portable screen with raising and levelling system
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to portable screen systems. 
     Previously, it has been known to provide portable screen systems for separating fine material from coarse material wherein the frame of the unit is lowered flush onto preferably flat level ground, and material to be processed which overflows beyond side ends of the screen builds up along end sides of the unit. A set of wheels are made movable relative to the frame from an operative position for transporting the apparatus to an inoperative position for resting the frame flush on the ground. Such a unit is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,197,194, Des. 263,836, 4,237,000, and 4,256,572. 
     There are significant disadvantages with such a system. If the ground onto which the frame is rested in flush fashion is not level and/or bumpy and undulating, the vibrating screen will not be level side-to-side, and the material placed on the vibrating screen will be inefficiently processed and tend to shift more to one side of the screen than the other and thus be unevenly distributed. Accordingly, with the aforementioned unit, the ground on which the frame is positioned in flush manner should be level and not bumpy or undulating. 
     A further disadvantage is that during operation of the aforementioned unit, overflow material to the sides of the unit builds up around the wheels and the side walls and can interfere with removal of the unit from the site due to such build-up of overflow material. Also, build-up of material where the frame sits flush on the ground may impede removal during freezing weather if such material were to freeze and trap the frame. 
     Another disadvantage of the above described unit is that if the frame resting on the ground settles unevenly during operation, the unit may become tilted, particularly if a rock was in contact with one small portion of the frame. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable screen system which can be used on ground which is not necessarily level, and which may contain rocks and have surface undulations. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a system which can be easily removed from its operating location after operation has been completed. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a portable screen system whose wheels are fixed relative to the frame and wherein the frame and wheels extending from and rigidly fixed to the frame are raised away from the ground such that the frame can be levelled with respect to the ground by selective operator control during operation as desired. 
     According to the invention, a first hydraulic raising and levelling assembly having a longitudinally extending horizontal base bar is attached to a frame of the system centrally of a first end wall of the frame. A wheel assembly rigidly fixed relative to the frame also extends from the frame at the first end wall. At an opposite second end wall of the frame, a second hydraulic raising and levelling assembly having a longitudinally extending horizontal base bar is provided which is attached to and extends from the frame at a central position of the second end wall. In the raised and levelling position, these assemblies raise and level the frame and a screen which it contains with respect to the ground as desired by an operator who can independently control hydraulics of the first and second assemblies. First and second slanted overflow material shedding roofs are provided substantially covering the entire wheel assembly and the region over the first and second raising and levelling assemblies. An oversized rectangular feed hopper, in combination with the first and second shedding roofs, prevents overflow material build-up around the first and second raising and levelling legs and the wheel assembly. The longitudinal base bars of the first and second assemblies run parallel to the first and second end walls and have a relatively narrow width compared to their length. 
     Additionally, a centrally peaked end-tensioned screen cloth arrangement is provided which, together with the levelling system of the invention, results in increased operational efficiency. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable screen with raising and levelling system of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an end view of a first end of the screen system at which a rigidly fixed wheel assembly extends from a frame of the system; 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of the system shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an end view of a second end opposite the first end of the system shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a back view of a back end of the screen system shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a front view of the system shown in FIG. 1 with the frame of the system raised and levelled with respect to the ground; 
     FIG. 7 is a front view of the system shown in FIG. 1 but in a transportation mode; and 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the screen assembly shown in FIG. 1 showing a centrally peaked end-tensioned screen arrangement. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The portable screen with raising and levelling system of the invention is generally shown at 10 in FIG. 1. The screen system has a frame 11 consisting of a ribbed short front end wall 12 being closed from the upper edge to the bottom edge thereof, a tall back end wall 13 having a lower open portion, a first end or side wall 14, and an opposite second end or side wall 15. The front end wall 12 has a plurality of triangular ribs 12a. Within this frame a double-deck screen assembly 24 is mounted, said screen assembly including a top screen 16 having an end-tensioned centrally peaked interchangeable screen cloth 16a and a bottom screen 17 having an end-tensioned centrally peaked interchangeable convex screen cloth 17a. A rectangular oversized feed hopper 18 is provided above the screen assembly 24 and formed of slanting side walls 19, 20, and 21, and vertical side walls 22 and 23 beneath the slanting side walls 19 and 21, respectively. Such a rectangular feed hopper is also simple to construct since angle cuts are reduced. 
     Extending from the first end wall 14 of the frame 11 is an inclined or slanting first shedding roof 25 having upturned guide edges 25a and 25b, and a vertical wall 25c at the end of the roof 25. 
     A second slanting shedding roof 26 having upturned side edges 26a, 26b is provided extending from the second end wall 15 of the frame 11 at a towing end of the screen system. This shedding roof 26 forms the ceiling of a single unified power pack enclosure 32 having a floor portion 32a serving as a mounting surface for towing of the system, such as shown in FIG. 7. The enclosure 32 is formed of side walls 32b and 32c having screened portions 32d, 32e. 
     A set of wheels 28a, b, c, d is rigidly fixed relative to and are extended from the frame 11 by spaced horizontal extending strut bars 30a, 30b extending from the frame 11. The four wheels 28a, b, c, d, on a common axle 40 are part of the overall wheel assembly 28. 
     The bottom end of the frame 11 terminates in triangular frame edges 31a, 31c and a front edge 31b. 
     A first hydraulic raising and levelling assembly 33 extends and is centrally connected to the frame 11 and has a horizontal longitudinal base bar 33a which is extendable and retractable so as to raise and level the frame 11 relative to ground 27. The base bar 33a is preferably rectangular in cross section and has a longitudinal extent running parallel to the first end wall 14. The base bar 33a has a longitudinal extent of at least approximately two-thirds of a width of the frame 11 at end wall 14 and can be as long as the width of the frame but is preferably sufficiently short of the entire width so as not to interfere with a payloader operating near the system. The base bar preferably has a width of approximately 4 inches with 3 inches and 6 inches as approximate upper limits on the width. 
     A second hydraulic raising and levelling assembly 34 is centrally attached to the frame 11 at the second end wall 15. Assembly 34 includes a base bar 34a substantially the same as base bar 33a and lies in contact with the ground 27. When the assembly is extended, it raises and levels the frame 11 relative to the ground 27 as shown most clearly in FIGS. 5 and 6. 
     Both the first and second raising and levelling assemblies are centrally aligned with respect to the first and second end walls 14 and 15. 
     In the end view at the first end wall 14 shown in FIG. 2, the structure of the first hydraulic raising and levelling assembly 33 is more clearly shown. The base bar 33a has first and second telescoping cylindrical support tubes 35a and 35b joined at right angles to the base bar 33a which are separated from one another and spaced inwardly of the ends of the bar 33a. These tubes 35a and 35b are respectively received in cylindrical guide tubes 36a and 36b in telescopic fashion. The bars 35a and 35b are joined to the base bar 33a by triangular reinforcement plates 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d. 
     A hydraulic cylinder 37 having a drive arm 37a is provided such that a leading end of the drive arm 37a is secured to a top of the base bar 33 by L-shaped plates 42a, 42b, and pin 43. The opposite end of the hydraulic cylinder 37 connects to the first end wall 14 of the frame by mounting plates 45a, 45b and pin 46. These mounting plates are mounted on a horizontal support and spacing bar 38 attached to the first end wall 14. 
     The first and second guide tubes 36a, 36b are securely fastened directly to the end wall 14 by respective U-shaped channel members 7a and 7b (See FIG. 3) such as by welding. End wall 14 is also strengthened at this point by bars 6a and 6b (See FIG. 3). 
     The horizontal strut bars 30a, 30b are also attached such as by welding directly to and exteriorly of the first and second guide tubes 36a, 36b. Also, slanting support bars 39a, 39b (see FIG. 6) are provided so as to form a triangle together with the horizontal bars 30a, 30b as more clearly shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. The first shedding roof 25 rests and is fastened to these slanted bars 39a, 39b. 
     The axle 40 of the wheel assembly 28 attaches the spacing members 41a, 41b (as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6) in rigid fashion to the horizontal struts 30a, 30b so that the wheel assembly 28 extending from the frame 11 is rigidly fixed and non-movable relative to the frame 11. 
     Attached to the hydraulic cylinder is a pressure holding or check valve 6 for maintaining hydraulic pressure in the cylinder until release. 
     As also shown in both FIGS. 1 and FIG. 2, a trap door 28 is provided for access to the vibration mechanism 9 of the screen assembly 24. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, details of the second hydraulic raising and levelling assembly 34 is illustrated. The design of assembly 34 and its base bar 34a is substantially identical to the design of the first hydraulic raising and levelling assembly 33 and thus will not be repeated here. Also, in a fashion similar to assembly 33, U-shaped channels 47a, 47b secure the assembly guide tubes 52a, 52b to the end wall 15 and brace bars 48a, 48b are provided thereat. Furthermore, the upper end of the hydraulic cylinder is attached by side plates 49a, 49b, and bar 50 as shown. A check valve 51 is also provided. 
     Hydraulic control buttons or levers 53 and 54 (shown in FIG. 6) for respective independent hydraulic selective control of each of the raising and levelling assemblies 33 and 34 by an operator are provided in the power pack enclosure 32 containing a motor to provide hydraulic power to vibrate the shaker screen and operate the hydraulic raising and levelling assemblies 33 and 34. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, system 10 of the invention is shown positioned on sloping ground 27 (most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6) which, in addition to being sloping, may also have surface undulations or bumps 59a and 59b, for example. In FIG. 6, line 61 shows an averaged slope of the ground 27 relative to a horizontal level line 60. As can be seen, the hydraulic raising and levelling assemblies 33 and 34 have been adjusted individually by selective hydraulic operator control with control levers 53 and 54 such that a bottom edge 11a of the frame and a horizontal level line 24a of the screen assembly 24 is parallel to the desired horizontal level line 60. Thus, for example, the distance D1 near the second end wall 15 will be less than the distance D2 near the first end wall 14. 
     As shown in FIG. 7, in a transportation mode a towing vehicle 56 having a flat bed 57 with a hitch arrangement 57a preferably underlies the floor portion 32a of the unified enclosure 32. In this mode, the base bars 33a and 34a of the first and second raising and levelling hydraulic assemblies 33 and 34 are in a retracted position. Thus, the four wheels 29a, b, c, d are in contact with the roadway 55 during transportation of the system. 
     A detail of the screen assembly 24 is shown in FIG. 8. Here the upper screen cloth 16a is supported in upwardly peaked fashion by rectangular cross-pieces 62a, b, c, center support 71 and bracket 72. Extensions 64 and 66 and a longer extension shown at 65 centrally for center support 71 located on the screen 16a provide a peak at 67. Thus, an approximate symmetry line along the peak such as shown by the dot at peak 67 runs parallel to the front end of the unit. Furthermore, the screen 16a is end-tensioned as shown at hooked portions 68 at the front end of the unit and 69 at the back end of the unit. A bracket 70 is provided at the back end of the unit which engages at the hooked portion 69. A similar arrangement is provided for the bottom screen 17a which is peaked at line 73 (shown as a dot) in similar fashion and rests on rectangular cross-section cross supports 63a, 63b, 63c, and 63d of lesser cross-sectional height than the aforementioned crosspieces 62a, 62b, 62c. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, during operation of the unit, the frame 11 is raised away from the ground through extension of the raising and levelling assemblies 33 and 34. Thus, if the ground is not level and/or if the ground has protruding rocks and/or other undulations, the unit can still be positioned at such a location since the frame can be levelled through independent operation of the hydraulics to each of the lifting and levelling assemblies. Furthermore, if either of the base bars settles in the ground at some point in time during operation or between operations, the unit can be relevelled. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, material to be screened is fed into the over-sized hopper 18. Unscreened or partially screened material from the upper screen 16 falls in a pile 18 on ground 27 at a front of the system. Screened material forms in a pile 7 beneath the screen 24 as shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the first and second shedding roofs 25 and 26 shield the base bars 33a and 34b and entire wheel assembly 28 from overflowing unscreened material falling beyond the end walls 13 and 15 and over-sized hopper portions 19 and 21 during loading of the screen system by a payloader, a conveyor, or the like. Also, the oversized rectangular feed hopper 18 having vertical side walls 22 and 23 reduces the amount of overflow of unscreened material shown at 57 and 58. Accordingly, when operation is finished, when it is desired to move the screen system, it is only necessary to retract the base bars 33a and 34b and the unit can then be towed away without significant obstructions. Furthermore, during operation the base bars 33a and 34a compact the soil lying therebeneath to provide a firm foundation for the unit, regardless of rocks or undulations such as 59a and 59b in the ground 27, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. 
     Also, with the screen structure as shown in FIG. 8, screen life is improved and the individual screens can be tightly tensioned in a direction of the unscreened material flow through the end-tensioning and peaking structure provided. 
     Although various minor changes and modifications might be proposed by those skilled in the art, it will be understood that we wish to include within the claims of the patent warranted hereon all such changes and modifications as reasonably come within our contribution to the art.