Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1 212199~
MANURE DISTRIBUTOR WITH ATOP DISCHARGE PIPES
AND MANURE SPREADER INCORPORATING THE SAME
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved
manure distributor especially devised to supply a constant
volume of manure to each of a set of gravity discharge hoses
via a corresponding set of discharge pipes mounted atop of
it.
The invention also relates to a liquid manure
spreader incorporating this improved distributor.
b) Brief description of the prior art
Most of the liquid manure spreaders presently
available on the market comprise a distributor for use to
distribute manure fed by a pump into a plurality of
discharge hoses having their ends fixed in spaced apart
position onto a tool bar supporting or not some agricul-
tural tools such as shank cultivating rigs, concave disc
incorporators or ground injectors.
The distributors of these known spreaders usually
comprise a manure feed pipe operatively connected to a
manure feed pump having its inlet located within the manure
tank of the spreader. It also comprises a manifold to which
the discharge pipes are directly connected, and a return
pipe for returning any excess of manure fed into the
manifold back to the tank.
A major problem with this known distributor is
that the inlets of the discharges pipes are usually
connected to the manifold at given intervals and thus at
different distances from the feed pipe. Moreover, the
inlets of the discharge pipes are oriented at an angle of
2 21 21 99g
90 relative to the main axis of the manifold through which
manure circulates. As a result, there is always some
difference between the volumes of manure supplied to the
different discharge hoses, because of the loss of pressure
of the manure that is fed, along the manifold.
To solve this problem, Canadian patent no.
1,115,600 issued in 1982 to Jim SHANER proposes a manure
distributor comprising a hollow casing having a cylindrical
upper portion and a frusto-conical lower portion. Manure is
fed centrally on top of the upper portion by means of a
hollow cone spray nozzle, and is divided equally into the
lower portion which is partitioned to define a plurality of
radially extending compartments to which the discharge hoses
of the manure spreader are connected. Since the openings of
discharge hoses are oriented in the same direction as the
outlet of the feed pipe and are equally spaced apart with
respect to the same, substantially equal quantities of
manure enter the compartments and thus are fed to the
discharge hoses.
The basic idea of using a cylindrical casing or
chamber wherein a liquid is fed at one end through a central
inlet and is removed at the other end via a plurality of
outlets positioned at a same radial distance from the inlet,
is also well known in related arts, such as gardening, for
equally distributing a non-viscous liquid such as an
insecticide, to a plurality of spray hoses. In this
connection, reference can be made to Canadian patent no.
724,540 issued on 1965 to THE HYGRAND CORPORATION.
Reference can also be made to Canadian patent nos. 1,079,329
and 1,114,428 and to U.S. patent no. 3,080,885.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to
provide an improved distributor especially devised for
equally distributing a liquid or a viscous material, like a
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liquid manure containing or not some bedding, to a plurality
of discharge hoses.
Another object of the invention is to provide a
manure spreader incorporating this improved distributor.
More particularly, in accordance with the
invention as mentioned hereinabove, a distributor is
provided for use in a liquid manure spreader to distribute
manure to a plurality of discharge hoses via a manifold fed
by a manure feed pipe connected to a manure pump, this
distributor comprising:
(a) a cylindrical chamber connectable to the
manifold above the same, this chamber having a substantially
vertical axis, a bottom wall with a central inlet opening in
open communication with the manifold when the chamber is
connected thereto, and a top wall provided with a set of
spaced apart outlet openings extending at a same radial
distance away from the vertical axis, each outlet opening
corresponding to one of the discharge hoses;
(b) an annular baffle coaxially mounted within
the cylindrical chamber, this baffle having a radius shorter
in size than the radial distance at which extend the outlet
openings, and an upper edge adjacent to the top wall of the
chamber, the baffle being shorter in height than the chamber
but wider in diameter than the central inlet opening; and
(c) a set of atop discharge pipes for connecting
each of said outlet openings of the cylindrical chamber to
the corresponding discharge hose, each atop discharge pipe
comprising:
- a first, vertically extending portion projecting
upwardly from the top wall of the cylindrical
chamber, this first portion having a lower end in
open communication with the corresponding outlet
opening, and an upper end;
- a middle, substantially horizontally extending
portion having a pair of opposite ends, one of
these opposite ends being in open communication
2121994
with the upper end of the first portion;
- a last, vertically extending portion having an
upper end in open communication with the other
opposite end of the middle portion and a lower end
S connectable to the corresponding discharge hose so
as to be in open communication therewith; and
- a vertically extending, upwardly projecting air
vent connected to the middle portion of the
discharge pipe at substantially mid-length of the
middle portion in order to prevent unequal
vacuuming of the corresponding discharge hose as
compared to the others.
The fact that manure is fed vertically upwardly
within the chamber of the distributor is of the uppermost
importance, since such an upward feeding results in a
uniform gravity elevation and distribution of the manure
within the chamber and thus within each of the discharge
pipes without need of any restrictors, partitions and/or
other distribution means, like those called for in Canadian
patent no. 1,115,600. As a matter of fact, the only "means"
that is actually needed to achieve excellent distribution of
the manure is essentially static and consists of the annular
baffle mounted on top of the chamber within the same to
cause the incoming manure flowing up to be diverted down and
then be equally distributed all around the periphery of the
chamber before gravity elevating up again towards the
discharge pipes.
The fact that the air vent is located substan-
tially in the middle of the horizontally extending portion
of each discharge pipe, is also of the uppermost importance.
Indeed, it has been found that if the discharge pipe does
not have a horizontal portion on top of it and/or if the air
vent is not located in the middle of this horizontal
portion, then the air vent becomes rapidly clogged and its
efficiency to prevent one discharge pipe from "drafting"
manure from the others, is substantially reduced.
2121994
If desired, the distributor according to the
invention may also comprise a shredder kit to allow
spreading of manure containing some bedding. Preferably,
this kit may comprises:
- a disk-shaped rotor coaxially mounted within the
chamber, this rotor extending adjacent to the top wall of
the chamber and having the upper edge of the annular baffle
rigidly fixed thereto;
- a motor which is preferably hydraulic and is
externally mounted onto the top wall of the chamber and
operatively connected to the rotor for rotating the same;
and
- a set of knives symmetrically mounted onto the
rotor, these knives projecting radially outwardly from the
rotor so as extend flat against the top wall of the chamber
and pass over the outlet openings when the rotor is rotated
by the motor.
Preferably, the knives have front edges radially
extending at an angle and a surface area smaller than the
one of the outlet openings within the top wall of the
chamber so as to never completely close said outlet openings
when passing over the same, and thus to prevent pulsation of
the discharge hoses.
Preferably also, the motor is devised to rotate
back at least one turn when a tool bar to which the
discharge hoses are connected is lifted up, so as to allow
removal of any material that could be stuck in the outlet
openings and/or knives.
In accordance with the invention, a liquid manure
spreader is also provided, which comprises:
- a manure tank preferably mounted on a wheeled
chassis hitchable to a farm tractor;
- a manure pump having an inlet within the tank
and outlet connected to a manure feed pipe;
- a manifold extending substantially horizontally,
the manifold being fed at one end by the feed pipe;
6 2121gg~
- a distributor as defined hereinabove, which is
operatively mounted on top of the manifold downstream of the
feed pipe;
- a set of discharging hoses connected to the atop
discharge pipes of the distributor;
- a manure return pipe connected to the manifold
downstream of the distributor to return excess of manure fed
to the manifold back to the tank; and
- a manure flow regulator in the return pipe to
control the amount of manure supplied to the distributor.
The invention and its advantages will be better
understood upon reading of the following non-restrictive
description of a preferred embodiment thereof made with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of part of the rear
of a liquid manure spreader equipped with a distributor
according to the invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional, elevational view of
the distribution chamber of the distributor shown in Figure
l;
Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a
variant of the invention wherein the distributor also
comprises a shredder kit to handle manure containing some
bedding.
Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the rotor,
knives and baffle assembly of the distributor shown in
Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the top wall of
the chamber of the distributor shown in Figure 3, showing
the position and size of the knives of the shredder kit
relative to the outlet openings made in this top wall; and
Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the rear of
the liquid manure spreader shown in Figure 1, with a tool
2l2l39 l
bar supporting a plurality of ground injectors.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
As aforesaid, the distributor 1 according to the
invention is intended to be used in a liquid manure spreader
3 in order to distribute manure to a plurality of discharge
hoses 5 via a manifold 7 fed by a manure feed pipe 9
connected to a manure pump (not shown) usually mounted at
the front of the spreader.
More particularly, the distributor is intended to
be used in a liquid manure spreader 3 of the type comprising
a manure tank 11 mounted onto a wheeled chassis operatively
hitchable to a farm tractor, and a manure pump (not shown)
having an inlet located within the tank and an outlet
connected to the manure feed pipe 9 which is itself
connected to one end of the manifold 7. As is shown, the
manifold 7 extends substantially horizontally and has the
distributor 1 operatively mounted on its top, usually
downstream of the feed pipe 9. The spreader 3 also
comprises a manure return pipe 13 connected to the manifold
7 downstream of the distributor 1 in order to return any
excess of manure fed to the manifold back to the tank 11.
As better shown in Figure 2, the distributor 1 has
a cylindrical chamber 15 connected by a short pipe 17 to the
manifold 7 above the same. The chamber 15 has a
substantially vertical axis "A", a bottom wall 19 with a
central inlet opening 21 in open communication with the
manifold 7 via the pipe 17 and a top wall 23 provided with
a set of spaced apart outlet openings 25 extending at a same
radial distance away from the vertical axis A, each of the
outlet openings corresponding to one of the discharge hoses
5.
As is clearly shown in Figure 2, the top wall 23
of the chamber is removably fixed to the same by means of
bolts and nuts 27. This feature substantially facilitates
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the maintenance of the distributor. If desired, the chamber
15 may also be provided with one or more easy-to-reach
inspection doors (one behind, shown as 29 in Fig. 1, and one
underneath, not shown), to see inside the distributor.
These inspection doors could be used to remove foreign
objects that could get in the distributor.
The distributor 1 also comprises an annular baffle
31 coaxially mounted within the cylindrical chamber 15 so as
to cause the incoming manure flowing in to be diverted down
and then be equally distributed all around the periphery of
the chamber before elevating up again evenly towards the
discharge openings 25. As clearly shown in Figure 3, the
baffle 31 has a radius shorter in size than the radial
distance at which extend the outlet openings 25, and an
upper edge 33 adjacent to the top wall 23 of the chamber.
As is also shown, the baffle 31 is and must of course be
shorter in height than the chamber but wider in diameter
than the central inlet opening 21 so as to provide the
requested manure distribution within the chamber.
A set of three and preferably four to six atop
discharge pipes 37 are provided for connecting each of the
outlet openings 25 of the cylindrical chamber 15 to a
corresponding discharge hose 5. As shown, each discharge
pipe 37 has an inverted U-shape and comprises:
- a first, vertically extending portion 39
projecting upwardly from the top wall 23 of the cylindrical
chamber, the first portion having a lower end in open
communication with the corresponding outlet opening 25 and
an upper end 41;
- a middle, horizontally extending portion 43
having a pair of opposite ends 45,47, one 45 of the opposite
ends being in open communication with the upper end 41 of
the first portion via an angular connection 49; and
- a last, vertically extending portion 51 having
an upper end 53 in open communication with the other
opposite end 47 of the middle portion 43 via another angular
21~19~4
connection 54, and a lower end 55 connectable to the
corresponding discharge hose 5 so as to be in open
communication therewith.
A vertically extending, upwardly projecting air
vent 57 is connected to the middle portion 43 of the
discharge pipe at substantially mid-length thereof in order
to prevent unequal vacuuming of the corresponding discharge
hose 5 as compared to the others.
It is worth mentioning that, instead of being made
of a plurality of straight portions connected to each other,
each discharge pipe 37 could be made of a single tube
continuously bent along a curve to form an inverted U. In
such a case, it remains compulsory that the upwardly
projecting air vent be at substantially mid-length of the
curved portion of the tube, i.e. at its highest point, to
prevent unequal vacuuming.
As aforesaid, the fact that the air vent is
located substantially in the middle of the horizontally
extending portion of the discharge pipe is of the uppermost
importance. Indeed, it has been found that if the discharge
pipe does not have a horizontal portion on top of it and/or
if the air vent is not located in the middle of this
horizontal portion, then the air vent becomes rapidly
clogged and its efficiency to prevent one discharge pipe
from "drafting" manure from the others, is substantially
reduced.
Advantageously, the atop discharge pipes 37 are
made dismountable to facilitate maintenance of the
distributor.
In use, the pump of the spreader supplies a
constant volume of manure to the feed pipe 9. The manure,
once through the manifold 7, is allowed to enter the
distributor 1 and also to return in the spreader through the
manure return pipe 13. The amount of manure which enters
the distributor 1 is then divided evenly into the atop
discharges.
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In order to control the amount of manure supplied
to the distributor, an adjustable manure flow regulator is
provided in the return pipe 13 to reduce its diameter and
thus to adjust the supply of manure to the distributor 1.
As shown in Figure 1 and 6, the manure flow
regulator preferably consists of a manually adjustable,
spring-loaded flapper valve 59 mounted within the return
pipe.
To increase the volume of manure entering the
distributor 1 and at the same time to decrease the volume of
manure going back in the spreader 3, one can increase the
tension of the spring 61 biasing the valve 59 by sliding the
spring attachment 63 away from the pivot of the valve.
To decrease the volume of manure fed to the
distributor and at the same time increase the volume of
manure going back in the spreader, one can slide the spring
attachment 63 closer to the pivot of the valve 59 and thus
decrease the tension of the regulator spring 61.
As also shown in Figures 1 and 6, a distributor
drain gate valve 65 can be mounted within a drain pipe 67
connected at one end of the manifold 7, so as to drain the
same and the distributor 1 whenever desired.
A manure spraying nozzle 69 connected to the
manure feed pipe 9 usually upstream of the manifold 7, and
a directional valve 71 can also be provided to direct the
manure circulating through the feed pipe toward the nozzle
69 whenever desired.
Referring back to Fig. 1, the discharge hoses 5
may have their outlet ends 73 fixed in spaced apart position
onto a tool bar 75 connected to the spreader 3 so as to
spread the manure equally over the length of the tool bar.
The tool bar can support a plurality of floating cultivating
rigs (not shown), a plurality of concave disc incorporators
(not shown) or a plurality of ground-penetrating injectors
77 (as shown in Fig. 6) to which the outlet ends of the
discharge hoses 5 may be suitably connected to allow
A
/ 9q~
injection of manure directly into the ground, thereby
reducing odors and nutrient loss. The tool bar 75 may have
folding ends to allow a wider spreading patterns and may be
ether "floating" or "pressurized" to transfer a given amount
of weight on the injectors, cultivators rigs or
incorporators and thus to give them enough penetration
strength, as is known per se.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
invention shown in Figures 3 to 5, the distributor 1 may
further comprises a shredder kit to allow spreading of
manure containing some bedding. This kit comprises a disk-
shaped rotor 79 coaxially mounted within the chamber lS so
as to extend adjacent to the top wall 23 of this chamber.
As is shown, the upper edge 33 of the annular baffle 31
rigidly fixed to the bottom of the rotor 79 so as to rotate
therewith.
This kit also comprises a motor 81 externally
mounted onto the top wall 23 of the chamber and operatively
connected to the rotor 79 for rotating the same. The kit
further comprises a set of two or more knives 83
symmetrically mounted onto the rotor. As shown, the knives
83 project radially outwardly from the rotor and extend flat
against the top wall 23 so as to pass over the outlet
openings 25 when the rotor 79 is rotated by the motor 81.
Advantageously, each of the knives has a front edge 85
radially extending at an angle and a surface area smaller
than the one of the outlet openings 25 of the top wall 23 so
as to never completely close these outlet openings when
passing over the same and thus to prevent pulsation of the
discharge hoses 5. More particularly, each knife 83
preferably has a blade that is triangular in shape.
Advantageously, the rotor 79 may also comprise two or more
scrappers 87 mounted on top of it, so as to remove any
manure from between the top surface of the rotor and the top
wall 23.
The motor is preferably hydraulic and devised to
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2121gg4
rotate back at least one turn when the tool bar 75 is lifted
so as to allow removal of any material stuck in or between
the outlet openings 25 and knives 83.
Advantageously, the hydraulic shredder kit can be
tied in with the hydraulic circuit of the tool bar so that
only one hydraulic lever from the tractor is required to
power the assembly.
Of course, numerous modifications could be made to
the above described embodiment of the invention without
departing from the scope of the same as defined in the
appended claims.
