Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02559529 2006-09-12
TITLE: MATERIAL SPREADER AND METHOD FOR USING SAME
CROSS REF'F~RENCE 'I'O EARLIER AI'PI,ICA1'IONS
_5 This is a continuation-in-part of pending application serial no.
10/673,625, filed
September 29, 2003, herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF'~HE INVENTION
This invention relates to a material spreader and method for using same. It
may be
used for spreading manure, compost, sludge, paunch or other materials.
Conventional
material spreaders utilize a series of horizontal bars extending laterally
across the floor of
the spreader box. These bars move by chains in a rearward direction so as to
carry the
material rearwardly where it is spread by various types of rotating members.
One disadvantage of the present method for conveying the material to the rear
of the
spreader is that if a chain breaks or is damaged in any way, the entire
contents must be
removed from the wagon in order to make any repair.
Another disadvantage of prior methods relates to the feed mechanism for
feeding
the material to upstanding augers which spread the material to the rear of the
spreader. If
the teed mechanism moves too fast it can overload the spread augers and damage
them.
Another disadvantage of prior methods of operating the upstanding spreading
augers is that the two augers are driven by a single power source, whether
that single power
source be mechanical, electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic. This single source
is used in
order to coordinate the two augers. Without this coordination there is often
high vibration
resulting from rotation of the two augers.
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is the provision of an
improved
material spreader and method for using same.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved
material
spreader which utilizes a belt that spans the width of the material spreader
box.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a material
spreader and
method for using same which maintains a chain drive for moving a belt, wherein
the chain
drive is never exposed to the material carried by the belt.
CA 02559529 2006-09-12
A further object of the present invention is the provision of an improved
material
spreader and method for using same which utilizes a sliding barner at the rear
of the belt
for moving the material in a rearward direction for discharge from the
material spreader.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a sensor for sensing
overload
_5 of the spreading augers and reduction of the feeding mechanism in response
thereto.
A further object of the present invention is to provide separate and
independent
drive systems for each of the spreading augers.
A further object of the present invention is to reduce the vibration which
normally
results from rotation of the two spreading augers at the same time by driving
the two augers
independently of one another.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a material
spreader and
method for using same which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and
efficient in
operation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing objects may be achieved by a material spreader comprising a
material spreader box having a bottom wall, opposite sidewalk, a front wall,
and a rear
wall forming a material storage chamber for storing a quantity of material.
The bottom
wall includes opposite side edges from which the opposite sidewalk extend
upwardly. The
bottom wall also includes a front end from which the front wall extends
upwardly. A
discharge opening is adjacent the rear end of the bottom wall. A conveyor belt
is
superimposed over the bottom wall and is positioned for supporting a quantity
of material
contained within the material storage chamber. The conveyor belt has a width
that causes
the conveyor belt to substantially completely cover the width of the bottom
wall. A drive
mechanism is connected to the conveyor belt for moving the conveyor belt
relative to the
bottom wall in a rearward direction toward the rear wall of the material
spreader box
whereby the conveyor belt will carry the quantity of material within the
material storage
chamber in a rearward direction and will discharge the material through the
discharge
opening at the rear end of the bottom wall. A beater assembly is mounted to
the rear of the
box for engaging and spreading the material exiting from the discharge
opening.
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According to another feature of the invention the drive mechanism comprises a
chain and sprocket assembly connected to the conveyor belt.
According to another feature of the invention the chain and sprocket assembly
is
located outside the material storage chamber and is free from contact with the
quantity of
material stored within the material storage chamber.
According to another feature of the present invention the beater assembly
comprises
a plurality of beater bars mounted to the material spreader box for rotation
about a plurality
of upstanding axes.
According to another feature of the present invention the beater bars rotate.
about a
plurality of horizontal axes.
According to another Feature of the present invention a first roller and a
second
roller are spaced apart from one another and are mounted for rotation about
first and second
roller axes respectively. The conveyor belt is trained around at least one of
the first and
second rollers.
According to another feature of the present invention the chain and sprocket
assembly comprises a sprocket on at least one of the first and second rollers
and a chain
engaging the sprocket for causing rotation of one of the first and second
rollers.
The method of the present invention involves mounting a conveyor belt within
the
material chamber in close covering relation over the bottom wall and
substantially covering
the width of the bottom wall. A quantity of material is inserted within the
material
chamber so that the quantity of material rests upon the conveyor belt. The
conveyor belt is
moved towards the discharge opening in the rear wall whereby the quantity of
material will
be moved toward and discharged from the material chamber through the discharge
opening.
The material being discharged from the discharge opening is engaged and spread
with
rotating beater bars mounted to the rear of the rear wall of the material
spreader box.
According to another feature of the present invention a method for spreading a
quantity of material comprises rotating a first auger with a first auger drive
and
simultaneously rotating a second auger with the second drive independently of
the first
auger drive.
According to another feature of the present invention the first and second
auger
drives are hydraulic motors and the method comprises sensing the hydraulic
pressure
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within the first and second hydraulic motors. Then the method comprises
slowing the rate
of the feed mechanism between the first and second positions in response to
sensing an
increase in the hydraulic pressure from the normal hydraulic pressure sensed
in either the
first and second hydraulic motors.
According to another feature of the present invention the material spreader
includes
a material spreader box having a bottom wall and opposite side walls forming a
storage
chamber for storing the quantity of material. At least a first upstanding
auger and second
upstanding auger are mounted to the spreader box for rotation of about first
and second
upstanding axis respectively. A first auger drive is provided for causing the
first
1 U upstanding auger to rotate, and a second auger drive is used for causing
the second
upstanding auger to rotate. The first and second auger drives are independent
from one
another. A feed mechanism within the spreader box is movable between first and
second
positions to cause the quantity of material within the chamber to be fed to
the first and
second upstanding augers for spreading the material on the ground during the
rotation of
1 S the first and second augers.
According to another feature of the present invention the sensor is responsive
to
pressure build up in either of the first and second hydraulic motors to cause
the feed
mechanism to slow down its movement between the first and second positions.
20 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the material spreader of the present
invention.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the material spreader shown in
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Figure 2, but showing the
belt
moved in a rearward direction from the position shown in Figure 2.
2_5 Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the vertically oriented beater bar assembly.
Figure 6 is a pictorial view of an alternative form of beater bar assembly
utilizing
horizontally rotatable beater bars.
Figure 7 is a rear elevational view of an alternative form of beater bar
assembly
30 utilizing lightings that extend along substantially the entire length of
the shafts.
Figure 8 is a schematic view of the hydraulics of the present invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Refernng to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates a material
spreader
made according to the present invention. Material spreader 10 includes a
spreader box 12
comprising opposite sidewalk 14, an open front 16, and an open rear end 18
(Figure 2).
Bottom wall 20 provides a floor for the spreader box 12.
A moveable gate 24 is mounted over the open rear end 18 and is capable of
vertical
pivoting movement from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in
Figure 2.
A beltJchain assembly 28 comprises a belt 30 and a chain 32. Belt 30 is
connected to the
chain at its forward end by means of a connecting bar 34. Connecting bar 34
includes a
chain loop 36 which receives one end of the chain 32. The rear end of the
chain 32 is
connected to a sliding barrier 38 having a flat rear face 40 and having a
double concave
front face 42 with a ridge 44 there between. The double concave front face 42
of the
sliding barrier 38 includes a belt connection 46 which is connected to the
rear end of the
belt 30. A chain connector 48 extends from the rear face 40 of the sliding
barner 38 and is
connected to the rear end of the chain 32.
Chain 32 is trained around a chain drive sprocket 50 at the front of the
material
spreader 10. Sprocket 50 is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis. A
belt roller 52
is mounted at the rear of the material spreader 10 and is adapted for rotation
about a
horizontal axis parallel to the horizontal axis of sprocket 50. The belt/chain
assembly is
trained around sprocket 50 and roller 52, with the chain being engaged with
the sprocket 50
and with the belt 30 being trained around the roller 52. A material load 54 is
deposited
within the spreader box 12.
A pair of gate lifting cylinders 56 are attached at their lower ends to the
spreader
box 12 at 60 and are attached at their upper end to an upper connection 62 on
arms 58.
Each arm 58 is pivoted at its lower end about axis 65 and is rigidly connected
at its upper
end to gate 24. Extension of this cylinder 56 causes the gate 24 to be lifted
upwardly,
thereby exposing the open rear end 18 which comprises a discharge end for
discharging the
material 54 within the spreader box 12.
Mounted rearwardly of the gate 24 is a beater assembly 64 which includes a
frame
66 and two or more rotatable shafts 68 on which are mounted beater bars 70 and
flighting
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72. Adjacent the bottom of each shaft 68 is a rotatable bottom plate 74. Each
shaft 68 is
attached to, and driven by, a hydraulic motor 76, and each bottom plate 74
includes a
plurality of spreader flanges 78. The hydraulic motors 76 rotate the shafts
68, and cause
the flightings 72, the beater bars 70, and the spreader flange 78 to rotate
and to engage the
material exiting from the discharge opening 18. The material as a result of
this rotation is
spread rearwardly from the material spreader. Motor 76 drives the left shaft
68 (as viewed
in Figure 5) in a clockwise direction as indicated by arrow 94. The other
motor 76 drives
the right shaft 68 in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by arrow 96.
Assembly 64
also includes opposite lateral wings 98, 100 (Figure 5) which are pivotally
mounted so as to
(0 adjust the spread pattern of material 54 exiting from assembly 64.
A hydraulic motor 80 is mounted adjacent the front of the spreader box 12 and
drives the chain/sprocket assembly 28 by rotating the sprocket 50. The result
of this
driving action is that the belt 30 and the sliding barrier 38 are moved
rearwardly from their
initial position shown in Figure 2 toward the intermediary position shown in
Figure 3.
I S Ultimately the barner 38 moves completely to the rear of the spreader box
12, thereby
discharging all of the material within the spreader box 12. The belt 30 and
the chain
assembly 28 can then be retracted to their position in Figure 2 at the end of
the cycle. The
belt 30 covers the complete bottom wall 20 to the rear of barrier 38. That is,
belt 20 spans
the width of bottom wall 20, and also spans the length of wall 20 rearward of
barrier 38.
20 The edges of belt 30 fit within grooves 82. Thus the belt 30 underlies and
supports the
material 54 and carnes it toward the open rear end 18 of box 12. Prior designs
must either
push or drag the material 54. Using belt 30 reduces the amount of power
required to move
the material 54.
During this motion it should be noted that the chain 32 never encounters the
25 material within the material spreader. Only the belt encounters the
material. Thus if
repairs are necessary to the chain, it is not necessary to remove the material
from the
spreader box 12.
Furthermore, the belt 30 has its lateral edges guided in slots 82 (Figure 4).
This
ensures that all of the material is removed during the movement of the belt 30
and the
30 sliding 38 to their rearward position.
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Refernng to Figure 6, a modified form of beater assembly is designated by the
numeral 84. This beater assembly includes a plurality of horizontal shafts 86
which include
beater bars 88 mounted thereon. A drive box 90 is driven by a hydraulic motor
(not
shown) to rotate the horizontal shafts 86. A platform 92 is positioned below
the horizontal
shafts 86 for causing the material to be distributed rearwardly after being
encountered by
the rotating beater bars 88 on the shafts 86.
Referring to Figure 7 a modified form of the beater assembly is designated by
the
numeral 100. Beater assembly 100 includes a first auger 102 and second auger
104 which
are upstanding for rotation in opposite directions. Auger 102 rotates in a
clockwise
direction where as auger 104 operates in a counter-clockwise direction. A
first hydraulic
motor 106 drives the auger 102 and second hydraulic motor 108 drives the auger
104.
Hydraulic motors 106, 108 are independently operated with respect to one
another and
include different hydraulic systems for driving them.
Each of the two shafts 102, 104 is rotated in upstanding position between a
top
frame 110 and a bottom frame 114 which are joined by two side frames 112 to
create a
rectangular opening 116.
First auger 102 includes a first auger shaft 118 having a first flighting 120
helically
extending thereon and second flighting 122 also helically extending thereon.
The flightings
120, 122 are referred as to double flighting. It should note that the double
flighting 120,
122 extends most of the length of shaft 118, and there are no other breaker
bars or beater
bars mounted to the shaft 118. Only the flighting 120, 122 is included.
Mounted on the
outer periphery of the flighting 120, 122 are a plurality of beater plates 124
which facilitate
in the distribution of the material to be spread. At the bottom of shaft 118
are a plurality of
radially extending fling plates which fling the material outwardly from the
rear of the frame
assembly 110, 112, 114.
A second auger shaft 128 forms the central shaft for auger 104. It includes a
first
tlighting 130 and a second flighting 132 which are mounted the same as the
tlightings 120,
122 of first auger shaft L 18. However, they extend helically in the opposite
direction. The
reason for this is that the shafts 118, 128 are rotated in opposite directions
and must fling
the material rearwardly (toward the viewer as viewed in Figure 7). A plurality
of beater
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members 134 are bolted on the outer edges of the helical flightings 130, 132.
At the
bottom of shaft 128 are a plurality of radial extending fling plates 136.
Referring to Figure 8 a schematic of the hydraulic and mechanical arrangement
is
shown. First and second motors 106, 108 are shown connected to first shaft 118
and
second shaft 128 respectively. Motor 106 is connected to a hydraulic pump 138
and a tank
140 which are in a hydraulic system separate from that for driving motor 108.
Motor 108
is enclosed in a separate and independent hydraulic system comprising a pump
142 and a
tank 144.
A sensor 148 is connected to both motors 106 and 108 and is adapted to sense a
L0 build up in pressure in the motors 106, 108. This pressure build up can
occur when the
feeding plate 160 feeds the material too quickly to augers 102, 104. Sensor
148 is
connected to motors 106, 108 by sensor connects 150. A valve 152 is driven by
sensor
148. Valve 152 includes a valve spring 154 which biases the valve to a desired
position.
Valve 152 can be a continuous valve which continuously changes the hydraulic
pressure
provided to feed mechanism motor 156. Motor 156 is mechanically connected to a
sprocket 158 for rotating it in two opposite directions. The feed plate 160 is
movable to
increase or decrease the rate at which the material is fed to the
hydraulically driven augers
102, 104. A connecting gear 162 is connected to a chain 164 which extends
around the
sprocket 158. Motor 156 is connected to a tank 166 which in turn is connected
to a
hydraulic feed mechanism pump 168.
In operation, the hydraulic motors 106, 108 drive the auger shafts 118, 128 in
opposite directions. As explained before, the hydraulic system and motors for
operating
shafts 118, 128 are independent and separate from one another. The sensor 148
senses a
normal hydraulic pressure within motors 106, 108, and also is responsive to
sensing a build
up of hydraulic pressure beyond the normal rate in either motor 106 or 108.
When such a
pressure build up occurs, the sensor 148 causes the valve 152 to move either
to its closed
position or to move to an alternative position partially restricting the flow
of fluid to motor
156. This results in either slowing down the feed plate 160 or stopping it
altogether.
Several things contribute to the low vibration that is created by the rotation
of first
and second augers 102, 104. One of these features is the identical nature of
the augers.
Another feature is the use of double flighting. Yet another feature is the
fact that the
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tlightings extend the same distances on shafts 118, 128 and extend
substantially the entire
Length. Maintaining the structure of the augers 102, 104 is possible to reduce
the vibration
caused by other auger configurations.
Also, other types of spreader attachments can be used in addition to the
vertical and
horizontal beaters. For example a side discharge expeller spreader attachment
may be used
without detracting from the invention.
Furthermore a cable and drum can replace the chain and sprocket assembly to
accomplish the same result. A continuous belt may also be used.
While the drawings show a trailer mounted unit, the unit may also be truck
mounted. The rate of discharge can be controlled by varying the hydraulic flow
to motor
80.
In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred
embodiment of
the invention, and although specific terms are employed, these are used in a
generic and
descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Changes in the form
and the
proportion of parts as well as in the substitution of equivalents are
contemplated as
circumstance may suggest or render expedient without departing from the spirit
or scope of
the invention as further defined in the following claims.
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