Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ROAD G~IIT~R DE~ICE
~ his inventlon relates ~o ~ road ~ritter devioe wh~ch
f orms part ~f . or i s adapted to be m~unted ~n a ~ransport
vehicle, and which ls operable t~ distrlbute particulate
materi~l over the surface o~ ~ road ~he~ requlred during
icy conditi ons . ',
As is wel 1 known. the part~c~late material d~stributed
over icy patches on roads tlsually co~prises a suitable ~orm
of solub~e ~salt~ which helps to mel~ any ic~ patches ~n a .
ro~t~ ~nd sa~d or grit which improves ~ehi~le tgre grip
wîth Icy and me~lt~n~ ice patches on the road. The materiall
applied to ro~s in lc;y conditions i~ ver~ effectlve and i~;
a major contribution to road safety ~n the winter.
~owe~er, the salt con~ent of the cistr~buted material ~s
c~rrosive. and this is both a pro~lem to ~oad users in tha~
it causes unseen under~ody corrosion whic~ can only ~e
miti8ated ~y regular under~ody w2shing. a~d 1.s also an~ 1,
more seriously a pro~lem to the operators cf the ~ri~ter
tevioes.
E~isti~g gritter devi~es general}y comprlse a stora~e
hopper for t~ ~ritter mate~ial. a rotary ~rit distr~butor '
in tho f~rm of a spinner disc. and an endless conveyor for .
transfe~rin~ the mat~rial from the ~opper to the
distributor. Th~ entire de~rice may ~orm an integral part '
of a specally designed road gritter vehic~e. or.may form à
de-mountable assem}~ly ~hlch ca~ be mounted ~nto a lo~diP.~ '.
pla~orD~ of any suita~e truck for use during the wint~r
:~onths. but w~içh ca~ be dismoun~ed and kept i~ storaE~e
dur ing the remainder of ~he yeeLr~ therebg rel~asing the ~,
true~ iGr other du~ s.
~ h~ hopper ls ~a~r~c ted frosQ me~21 plate or sheet,
and th~ 8rit ~istril:~utor is also made of metal. taking the.
form ol~ a spinner ds~: wl~ich rotates i~ a horizo~tal plane
aDt which i~ drive~ by a vertic~l sha~ on ~h~h it is
carried. Gi~ren that the metal compone~ts of She e~is~ing
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gritter devices are e~posed to direct and continuous
cont~t. wi ~h th~ corno~ lt ~ uf Lhe ~ri~er
mzt~r;al. the~ ~omponcnts ~re su~ d ~o acceler2ted
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c~rrnn~ tt~c~. rhon ~o~a~a~ Li~ rrosl~e act~o~
applied to the ve~icles bodies of road users. and this i
there~ore involves substantial ref~r~lshment ~f th~
comp~n~nt p~rt~ beforo each wi nt~r ~ei~-on commences.
~ Igh~Ry auth~ri~ie~ empIoy &o~-~itera~ eets of
gritters, and the materiaL and labou~ cost of each ~nnual .
refur~is~ment amounts-to a s~bstantial-amount~
There is therefore a cl.ear nee~ to provide:a novel
construoton o~ road gritter device which is less - ~
s~s~eptible to corrosive at~ack from the consti4uents of , -
the gritter material whi~h it is inten~ed to distribute. ~
.Accordin~ to o~e aspect o~ the in~ention there is
pro~ided.a road -gri~ter deYic~ which forms part o~. or is
adapted to be mounted ~n a transpor~ vehicle, and which ls
operable to d~stribute gritter material over the surface o~
a road when req~ired. in whichLtAe devi~e e~mprises: ',
a hopper body for ~ritter material Which is assembled,
fro~ a plurality of separately formed plates. at least some
of which are made of rlgid plastics materlal ~nd which 2rej
releasa~ly co~pl~d together.for replacemënt when required:
a spinner disc whi~h is rotatable in a 5ubsta~tially
horizo~t21 plane i~ order ~o-distribute l?terally ~ritter
material supplied thereto from ~he hopper~ and.
an endless con~eyor arran~ed to co~vey gritter~ l
material ~rom the hopper t~ t~eispinner-~lsc. ~.
Ac~ordLn~ to a ~urther aspec~ o~ the ~nve~tion there
is provded a ro~d ~ritter ~ ce which forms part of. or
is adapted ~o be mounted on a transport vehi¢le. an~ which',
c opera~le to dis~ri~ute ~ritter m~eriaI- o~er ~he surface
of a road when r~quired. in wnIch the d~Yice comprises~
a hopper ~ody ~or gri~.~er material;
a sp~nn~r dIsc ~hich is rot~t~le ln a s~stantially
horizontal plane in order .to dis-tri~u~e laterall~ ~ritter
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mater~l supplied thereto fr~m the hopper. ~he disc b~in~
made of a rIgid.pl~stios materi21 znd.
an endless c~n~eyor 2rran~e~ to convey gritter
material from the hopper to the s~inner disc.
A~cording to another ~spect of the inve~-ion there is
pro~ited a r~ad gritter devic~ which forms part of. or is
adapted to be mountet on a transport vehicle. and wh~ch is'
opera~le t~ distri~ute gritter m~terial over the surface of
a road when re~uired. in which the device comprises:
a hopper body f~r gritter material whlch is assemblet
from a pl~rality o~ se~ar tely forme~ plates. at least som
of ~hi~h aro reieasabl~ coupled together for replacement
~hen required;
a spinner disc wnich ~s ~ot~table in a su~stantially
horizo~tal plane ~n order to ~is~r~ute laterally gri~ter
~aterial supplied t~ereto from the hopper: a~d,
an endle~s conveyor arran~ed to co~vey ~ritter
materi~l f~om the hopper to t~e.spinner disc. an endless '.
conYeyor ba~d of the conve~or being made o~ plastics or
el~stomeric material.
A road gritter device accordi~g to. a~g of the above
aspec~s of the inventic~ is therefore better able to
wi~hs~a~d the corrosi~e action of the usual ~s~lt~ which is
present in ro~ ~ritter material ~sod i~ this country,
since at least some o~ the component parts o~ the device
are made of p~astics ma~erial.
T~ere is now availa~le on the m r~et a ~ew type of
plastics material ~ALch is r~id and robust. ~nd whi~h i~
cap~ble sf wifhsta~din~ the arduous conditions to which ~t
~ill be expo~e~ in service ~s compone~t pa~ts of a road
~ritt~r device.se~ording to the inve~tion.
A parti~ul~r pre~erred material is a newly aYaila~le I
plastics material obt~inable from Macpherson Polymers under
t~e tra~e n~me PO~YE~E~ 2B74~06. However. St is
e~is~ed t~t there will be ot~er types of pl2stics
material which haYe su~ficient resilience to wit~stand the
W~ g~ O!? r~ f~i~
ar~uous conditions to ~hich they will ~ e~posed. and yet
which h~s sufficient rigidity to be ~a~ricated ~nto
suita~ly robust form Ior long ~erv.ice. The use o~ plas~ics
material i~ the ~abrication ~ some or ~11 of t4e ma jor
oomponents of the r~ad gr~tter device enables the device to
function sa~isfactorily and without any corrosi~e acti~n :
from the contents of the ~ritter material.
Preferab}y. the hopper body.is entÇrely fabricated
from separately for~ed sheets or plates of ri~id pl~sticsl~
material which are releasa~ly coupled together. ~nd in the
ev~nt of any exce~sive we~r occuring.in service. or more 1,
usually in the event of impa~t damage by careless use.
replacement sheets can readily ~e instal~ed with onl~
minimal ~own time~ o~ the gri~ter device.
~ he sp~ne~ ~sc i5 prefera~ly carried at the lower I
end of a rotatab~e ~erticaL snaft. ant ~he entire ~isi- willl
usuall,v be made o~ suitab.le rigid p.lasrics materi~1. znd so
a~so.may be t~e carryin~ shaf t..
The endloss con~eyor may hav.e most of it~ major
eomponents made o~ plastics ~terial. such a the endless i
con~e~or band. ~r~ve..rollers ~nd. id~e ro}lers. so as to
mini~ise ~he opp~r.tunity for corrosive attac~ to ta~e
place. - . . j
A road..gritter de~ic~ according to the invention may
form an integral component of &: speci~lly designed and: '
constr~ct~ road gr~tt~r vehiole..but pre~erz~l~ will ~e ', ~
~orme~ as a demountable assembly wh~ch can. be lns~alled oni,
a loa~ng platform of ~ny.sui~able truck.w~ich will be ~se~
for other duties d~in8 the seasons othsr t4an wnter. I
To prevent. or at least minimise the risks o~ I
eorro5ive attack ~pon the metal eo~p~nen~s of t~e loaaing I
platform. an underlyin~ sheet of pla5tScs.m~terial m2y be ¦
arra~8ed below the gritter devioe.ana ~e~we~n it and the ~,
loading platform. Ihen. if ~ny of the~~salt~ falls
townwartly. either in powder for~m.. or ln solution ~ollowin~
rain fallln~ on the contents of the hopp~r.. the under~ying' :-
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sheet will tend to shield the }oadin~ pl2tform from contac~
w~th this corro ive medium.
~ heD the hopper body is assembled entirely from
plastics sheets coupied together. it will be preferable fo~
the hopper body o be given additional rigidity by the
pro~ision of a ri~id supporting frame whih en~a~es the
upper edge mar~ins of the side walls of the hopper body.
This supportin~ frame may be fabricate~ ~rom suitable ~et
sections whioh are ri~3dly assem~led ~o form the re~uired
frame shape. and ~ usuai mesh screen may be supporte~ by
this fr~me throu~h which the ~ri~ter material will be
}oa~ed by bucket-mounted loaders.
The interior of the hoppèr body ~y also be provi~ed
with a spre~der frame srran~ed near the lower part of the
hopper body. This spreader frame will tend to bear part o~
She load of the gritter material, and also will facili~ate.
smooth discharge of ~he material from the louer part of ~he
hopper body onto the underlyi~ entless con~eyor~
A road ~ritter device according to the in~ntion ~ill
no~ be descri~ed in detail. ~y way of ~ample only, with
reference to the ~ccompanying drawin~s, i~ which:
Fi~ure 1 is a diagrammatic side illus~ration of a road
~ritter de~ic~ assembly mounte~ as a unit on a lo~dlng
platform of a truck:
. Figur~ a s~de v~ew. to an enlar~ed s~aIe, o~
detaîled e~bodl~ent of hopper body of t~e grîtter device:
Fi~ure 3 is a composlte en~ ele~ationa~ ~iew of ~he
hopper body;
Fi~ure 4 is a cross sectional ~iew t~rough the hcpper
bod~
Figure 5 is ~ plan Yiew of a support fr~me ~or the
hopper ~o~
F~ ~re 6 îs an en~ ele~tion of the suppor~ ~rame^
Fisure 7 i5 a side ele~tion ~iew of the s~pport
f rarrle:
~i~u~e 8 is a sectio~ taken on A-A i~ Fi~ure 5; and~
w~ ..o ~T~ ,v~3S~
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F~ure 9 i a section. taken of B-B in Figure 5.
Re~errtng first ~o Fsg~Lre 1 of the drawings. there is
~how~ schemaiically a road.gritter device according io the
inve~tion whlch is de~ignated generail~ bg reference 10,
and ~hich ~orms a unit whi.ch can be mounted onto a lo~ding
platform 11 of any~.suitable truck for use durin~ the ~inter
mont~s. b~t which can be dismounte.d 2~d.kept in siora~e
during the remainder of the ye~r, there~ rele~si~g the
~r~ck for ot~er dut.ies. Ho~ever. as an alte~na~i~e. ~he
de~ice lO may be oonstructed ~s an..integr~1 part of a
specially desi~ned venicie~ In either situat-lon. the
device lQ will be operated in order to distri~ute gritter
material over the surface of.a road when required. This
gritter material wIll usually comprise a~ ture: o~ a
~salt' which ser~es to mel~ icy patches o~ the roa~. and
grit or sand ~terial which will improve tyre adhesion with
the road surface4 1 -
~ The de~ice lO compr1ses a hopper body I~ which ~s
assembled from a number o~ separately formed plates. ~t
least some of wh~ch are made of~rigid plastics materi21 and
w~ich are relessably coupied ~ogether for r~placement whcn
re~uired. . Con~en.iently. the entire wal-l structure of the
hopper body 12 is assemble~ from separately.~ormed pl~tes ,l
of rigid plas~ics material whioh are releasably coupled ' ~
to~ether. O~e pr~ctical em~odiment of hopper body is-shown,
in ~ore detall in F~ures 2 to 4. -~
A ~iinn~r d~sc assembl~ 13 is pr~vi~ed ~hi~h oomprises
a ~pinner di~c 14 ~~h is rotat ble in a subst~ntially
horizont 1 p}ane i order to distribute lateraliy gritter
ma~eridl suppli~d thereto from the hoppe~ body 12.
~n endless c~n~eyor 15 ha~in~ an-endless con~eyor b~nd 7
16 which runs through a longitudinal d~ cn~r~e slot formed '
in ~he bottom of .the hopp~r body 12, and.con~eys grI~ter O
material fro~ the hopper ~ody.12 to the spi~ner disc 14. A
~h~e~ of plsstics ~terial 17 is arran~ed ~elow the
con-~yor 15 nd is intendet tc =i~iel~ the loadin~ tform
1~ ~f the truck from contact with any ~rro.~ive ma~eri~
present in t~e .gr~tter material
The spinner d1sc 14 ls carried at the lower ~nd of a
vertical shaft 18 which is ~riven so t~at gritter ma~eriall
fa}ling onto ~he spinner disc 14 is d~schsr~ed laterally by
centrif~gal action The upper surface of the spi~ner dlsc.
~4 may hP ~ro~idod ~i~h ~ dLle radla~ln~ ~uide arms to
promote the dischar~in~ action applied ~o the gritter
ma~erial.
The separately formed plztes ~rom which th~ hopp~r
hn~y 1~ 4~0m~ lu~e Or any suItable rigid
plasti~S ~at.~r;AI T.rhi~h o~n ui~h~t~ Ll~ arduous
~d~t.ians to whloh the hop~r ~ody will be e~posed. and
one preferred material is a ri~id pL~stics m~terial
s~ppt Ied by Macpherson Polymers under the tra~e mark
POLYE~EIE~ ;~B74/206. The er~dless bal~d 16 of the co~sveyor 15
~ay be forme~ of e~astomeric material, or of plastic-~ ,
m~t~ri21. such as POLYE~{ER 28741206, and serYes to conYey,
the ~ritter material to the Spinner disc assembly I3~ Any,
oomponents of ~he con~eyor I5 ~ich are li~ble to become
e~posed i~ serviee to the ac~io~ of ~he eorrosi~e salt
present in ~he grit~er materlal may also be oonstructed of
ela~to~eric or pl~stics material. such components including
drive rollers ~nd any idler rollers which may be provided.
The spinner disc 14 is also made of rigid plastics
m~terial~ and æo a~so ~ay ~e the carrying s~aft 18. so tha~
tkese components will not be adversel~ ~ffec~ed by the
Aritter mat~ri~
~ ~ure 1 ie a s~hematic ill~stratlon of a road gritter
de~ice 10 whlch form a uni~ or asæem~l~ wh~ch is readily ',
mountable on. or can ~e dismounted from ~ loadin~ platform i
~f any suit2~1e tru~k. Alternati~eiy. ~he device 10 can bel
fabricated as an irte~r21 part of a specially deslgned roadi
gri tter vehlcle. I
De~ailed s~r~ t~ral fea~-ures of one praeticle
construction o~ hopper ~ody 12 ls shown in ~igures ~ to 4. i
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~-_ L ~ ~ I~Y'~i C'L~
,_~,(~3 1
in ~hicn reference A aenotes upp~r.side panel5. re~erencelB
low~r sl~e p~nels. re~erence C:side-support.panels.
reference D end bo~to~ corner panels. ref~rence E end top~
corner panels and reference F fro~ end centre panels~
Figures S to 9 illustrate det~iled co~ponent parts of
a rigld support frame for c2rrying ~he ~opper ~ody
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