Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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MANURE TRANSFER APPARATUS WITH SPRING BIASED
GUILLOTINE DOOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved underground apparatus for
removing liquid and semi-liquid manure from barns or other animal housing
structures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a known manure transfer apparatus
10 for pumping manure from a building or barn 12 through an underground
conduit 14, to a remotely located storage reservoir 16 or collection site. The
apparatus 10 has a collection hopper 18 located below the building's floor,
into
which manure and waste from the building's floor is pushed or scraped. Manure
falls down through a vertical portion 20 of the hopper 18 and into a
collection
chamber 22. The collection chamber 22 communicates with a pumping chamber
24 from which it is separated by a first guillotine door 26. The first
guillotine door
26 is actuated by means of a hydraulic cylinder 28. The pumping chamber 24
communicates with a pumping tube 30 which includes a piston actuated by a
hydraulic cylinder 32. The pumping tube 30 is preferably located above the
pumping chamber 24. The piston mounted within the pumping tube 30 is used
for sucking manure into and pushing manure out of the same. The pumping
chamber 24 also communicates with the underground conduit 14 from which it
is separated by a second guillotine door 34. The second guillotine door 34 is
actuated by means of another hydraulic cylinder 36. The hydraulic cylinders
28,
36 and the pumping tube 30 are preferably located above the pumping chamber
24 in order to provide easy access for maintenance and repair purposes.
The operation of the manure transfer apparatus 10 is preferably carried out
automatically by means of a control circuit or control valves (not shown).
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In the aspiration cycle, the first guillotine door 26 is open and manure is
sucked
down through the vertical portion of the hopper 18 by lifting the piston
within the
pumping tube 30. In the evacuation cycle, the first guillotine door 26 is
closed
by lowering the corresponding hydraulic cylinder 28. Then, the second
guillotine
door 34 is opened by elevating the corresponding hydraulic cylinder 36. Then,
the hydraulic cylinder 32 is actuated to lower the piston within the pumping
tube
30 and thus to cause manure to be pushed out into the underground conduit 14
toward the remote reservoir 16.
1 o One problem with the above manure transfer apparatus 10 is that, if for
some
reason the second guillotine door 34 is left in an open or a partially open
position, then manure from the remote reservoir 16 flows back into the pumping
chamber 24. If, at the same time, the first guillotine door 26 is also left in
an
open position (if, for example, in the case of a power failure), the manure
stored
in reservoir 16 may flow back into the barn 12, by gravity. Such may occur if
the
operator or the control system because of a power failure, does not stop the
apparatus at the end of the evacuation cycle.
A solution to this problem has been to position a flapper valve 38 at the end
of
the underground conduit 14 just below the remote reservoir 16. The flapper
valve 38 is normally closed so as to impede a back flow of manure into the
pumping chamber 24. Unfortunately, this solution is not entirely satisfactory
as
the flapper valve 38 can also become stuck in an open position and it is hard
to
reach for verification or repair.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved
manure
transfer apparatus that does not have the drawbacks of the above-mentioned
3 0 prior art manure transfer apparatus, in particular a manure back flow
problem.
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According to the present invention, that object is achieved with a manure
transfer apparatus for transferring manure from a first location to a second
remote location, comprising:
a hopper at the first location for receiving the manure;
a collection chamber communicating with the hopper for receiving the
manure;
a pumping chamber communicating with the collection chamber, the
pumping chamber having an inlet and an outlet;
a first guillotine door positioned between the collection chamber and the
inlet of the pumping chamber, the first guillotine door being movable between
open and closed positions;
a first hydraulic cylinder connected to the first guillotine door for opening
and closing the first guillotine door by means of hydraulic conduits;
a second guillotine door positioned between the outlet of the pumping
chamber and a conduit communicating to the second remote location, the
second guillotine door being movable between open and closed positions;
a second hydraulic cylinder connected to the second guillotine door for
opening and closing the second guillotine door by means of hydraulic conduits;
a pumping tube communicating with the pumping chamber;
2 0 a piston activated by a hydraulic cylinder and positioned within the
pumping tube for sucking manure into, and pushing manure out of the pumping
tube; and
wherein:
at least one of first and second hydraulic cylinders is connected to a
2 5 biasing spring that forces it to an extended position with the
corresponding
guillotine door in the closed position; and
a small by-pass conduct is mounted between the hydraulic conduits of
said at least one of the first and second hydraulic cylinders
whereby if pressure in the hydraulic conduits of said at least one of the
3 0 first and second hydraulic cylinders drops below a predetermined threshold
in
a predetermined period of time, the pressure becomes equalized between the
hydraulic conduits of said at least one of the first and second hydraulic
cylinders,
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thereby allowing the biasing spring to force the corresponding guillotine door
to
close.
The invention as well as its numerous advantages will be better understood by
the following non-restrictive description of a preferred embodiment made in
reference to the appending drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
1 o Figure 1 is a perspective view of a known manure transfer apparatus;
Figure 2 is a side cross sectional view of the known manure transfer apparatus
shown in Figure 1 with an underground conduit leading to a remote reservoir;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the manure transfer apparatus according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figures 4 and 5 are side cross sectional views of a hydraulic piston actuating
a
second guillotine door of the manure transfer apparatus of the preferred
2 0 embodiment of the present invention in respectively open and closed
positions;
and
Figure 6 is an enlarged view of a small by-pass conduct shown in encircled
portion A of Figure 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figure 3, there is shown a manure transfer apparatus 100
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The manure
3 o transfer apparatus 100 is nearly identical to the one described in the
background
of the invention, except for a modification in the hydraulic cylinder 36 of
the
second guillotine door 34. As shown, a biasing spring 114 is connected above
of the rod of the hydraulic cylinder 36. Thereby, unless the hydraulic
cylinder 36
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is hydraulically forced to be contracted, the biasing spring 114 will push
down
the hydraulic cylinder 36 to its extended position and this forces the second
guillotine door 34 to be closed.
5 Referring to Figures 4 to 6, the hydraulic cylinder 36 of the second
guillotine
door 34 has a pair of hydraulic conduits 112 for extending and contracting the
hydraulic cylinder 36, as it is know to those skilled in the art. However, the
operation of the hydraulic cylinder 36 is modified by having a by-pass conduct
116 mounted between its two hydraulic conduits 112. The conduct 116 is very
l0 small and kept permanently open so that, in the case the pressure drops
below
a certain level in the hydraulic conduits 112, the pressure will be equalized
in
both hydraulic conduits 112 after a certain time. Thereby, the hydraulic
cylinder
36 is forcibly extended by the biasing spring 114, and this, in turn, forces
the
second guillotine door 34 to be initially closed before the operation of the
Z5 apparatus 100.
Accordingly, the present invention solves the problem of the back flow of
manure from the remote reservoir 16 into the manure transfer apparatus 10.
Furthermore, the modified hydraulic cylinder 36 is more accessible and thus
2 o easier to repair than the flapper valve of the prior art.
Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described
in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be
understood that the invention is not limited to this embodiment and that
various
2 5 changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from
the
scope or spirit of the present invention. Indeed, in the above preferred
embodiment, the biasing spring 114 and by-pass conduct 116 are exclusively
"associated" to the hydraulic cylinder 36 of the second guillotine. However,
it
should be noted that the invention is not exclusively restricted to this
3 o embodiment. As a matter of fact, the biasing spring and by-pass conduct
could
be associated to the hydraulic cylinder of the first guillotine with the very
result
and advantage.
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Biasing springs and by-pass conducts could even be associated to the hydraulic
cylinders of both guillotine doors.
