SPREADER WITH ADJUSTABLE DIRECTIONAL OUTLET

DISPOSITIF D'ETALEMENT AVEC SORTIE DIRECTIONNELLE REGLABLE

English Abstract

A spreader for spreading
materi-als comprising a case for holding a product to be
spread. The case comprising an aperture for
ejecting the product to be spread from the case.
The spreader further comprising a conveying
de-vice for displacing a portion of the product to be
spread in a direction towards the aperture. The
spreader equally comprising aperture adjustment
device for controlling the displacement of an
aperture obstruction device relative to an
aper-ture surface of said aperture. The spreader
fur-ther comprises a speed controller for setting the
speed of the conveying device. The spreader
comprises as well a blower for projecting the
product to be spread, the blower having an inlet
and an outlet. The direction of the outlet is
ad-justable along different angles. The spreader also
comprises a angle adjustment system for the
out-let of the blower. The inlet of the blower is
placed at an angle relative to the aperture of the
case.

French Abstract

L'invention porte sur un dispositif d'étalement pour étaler des matériaux, lequel dispositif comprend un boîtier pour contenir un produit devant être étalé. Le boîtier comprend une ouverture pour éjecter le produit devant être étalé à partir du boîtier. Le dispositif d'étalement comprend en outre un dispositif de transport pour déplacer une partie du produit devant être étalé dans une direction dirigée vers l'ouverture. Le dispositif d'étalement comprend également un dispositif de réglage d'ouverture pour contrôler le déplacement d'un dispositif d'obstruction d'ouverture par rapport à une surface d'ouverture de ladite ouverture. Le dispositif d'étalement comprend en outre un dispositif de commande de vitesse pour établir la vitesse du dispositif de transport. Le dispositif d'étalement comprend également une soufflante pour projeter le produit devant être étalé, la soufflante ayant une entrée et une sortie. La direction de la sortie est réglable selon différents angles. Le dispositif d'étalement comprend également un système de réglage d'angle pour la sortie de la soufflante. L'entrée de la soufflante est disposée selon un certain angle par rapport à l'ouverture du boîtier.

Claims

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What is being claimed
1) A spreader for spreading a product comprising:
- a case for containing the product to be spread, said case comprising an
aperture for the ejection of the product to be spread from said case;
- a conveying device disposed in said case, for displacing at least a
portion of said product to be spread in a direction towards the aperture;
- a speed controller for controlling a speed of the conveying device;
- an aperture obstruction device for obstructing, at least partially, said
aperture;
- an aperture adjustment device for controlling a displacement of said
obstruction device to adjust a size of an opening area of said aperture;
- a blower for projecting the product to be spread exiting the case, the
blower further comprising an outlet and an inlet, the direction of the outlet
being adjustable along different angles;
- an angle adjustment system for adjusting an outlet angle of the outlet of
the blower;
wherein the inlet of the blower is placed at an angle relative to the aperture
of
the case.
2) The spreader of claims 1 wherein the aperture obstruction device further
comprises a door supported and maintained in position by an actuator linked
to the case.

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3) The spreader of claims 1 or 2, where in the outlet of the blower further
comprises a beak removably attached thereto for adjusting the spreading of
the products to be spread.
4) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 3, wherein the angle adjustment
system can be locked at different positions by an angle lock mechanism.
5) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 4, wherein the blower further
comprises a motor having a displacement between 59 and 125 cubic inches.
6) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 5, further comprising an extension
tube
attachable to an extremity end of the outlet of the blower for facilitating
the
spreading of the products to be spread.
7) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 6, comprising a control unit for
controlling the mass volume of the product to be spread.
8) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 7, wherein the spreader is supported
by a chassis on wheels.
9) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a pivotable
attachment system for attaching the spreader to a motorized vehicle.
10) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 9, wherein the product to be spread
is
in the form of a powder.
11) The spreader of claim 10, wherein the product to be spread is lime.
12) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 9, wherein the product to be spread
is
selected from the group comprising lime, granular lime, seed, compost,
manure and fire retardant product.
13) The spreader of anyone of claims 1 to 12, wherein the blower further
comprises a four blade turbine.

Description

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SPREADER WITH ADJUSTABLE DIRECTIONAL OUTLET
FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention relates to spreaders. More particularly, the present
invention
relates to a spreader with a blower having a directionally adjustable outlet.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:
The spreading of materials such as lime or ash, for foresting or agricultural
applications is usually made through the use of spreaders.
In order to facilitate their tuning and to allow a more precise control of the
quantity of
1o products to be spread, certain spreaders have been equipped with electronic
control
means like what has been described in European patent application 1797751.
These
types of control means can control a hydraulic moving carpet device placed at
the
end of the spreader, in a manner to control the volume and the force of the
products
to be spread onto a terrain. However, the scattering mechanisms of such
spreaders
project the products in a manner that is often random and over short
distances.
As such, the spreaders of the prior art cannot spread product over long
distances in
precise directions nor can they equally be adjusted and controlled with ease.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
The present invention proposes a spreader that addresses at least one of the
fore-
20 mentioned needs and allows an efficient control of the distance and the
direction of
the spreading of the material.
Therefore, the present invention provides a spreader for spreading a product
comprising:

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- a case for containing the product to be spread, said case comprising an
aperture for the ejection of the product to be spread from said case;
a conveying device disposed in said case, for displacing at least a
portion of said product to be spread in a direction towards the aperture;
- a speed controller for setting the speed of the conveying device;
an aperture obstruction device for obstructing, at least partially, said
aperture;
an aperture adjustment device for controlling a displacement of said
obstruction device to adjust an aperture surface of said aperture;
- a blower for projecting the product to be spread exiting the case, the
blower further comprising an outlet and an inlet, the direction of the output
being
adjustable along different angles;
an angle adjustment system for adjusting an outlet angle of the outlet of
the blower,
wherein the inlet of the blower is placed at an angle relative to the aperture
of the
case.
The invention concerns a spreader which functions similarly to a snow blower
allowing, for example, lime to be sent from one side to the other of the
spreader in
an adjustable fashion. The spreader can be towed by a all-terrain vehicle or
by any
small four-wheel vehicle. The invention can be used on maple tree farms to
spread
on material on the maples in order to protect their development. The device
also
allows for the spreading of manure, granular lime, as well as lime in the form
of
powder.

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The invention is useful for the protection of different types of trees. For
example,
maple is a tree which grows in acidity. The spreading of lime reduces the
acidity
around the maples. Thus increasing the yield from 15 to 20% of the maple farm.
The
spreader can also be used for blueberry farms, strawberry farms, as well as
orchards and vineyards. The invention is particularly useful in vineyards
where there
is typically not a lot of space to circulate machinery between the vines. The
compact
design of the apparatus allows circulation with ease between rows of vines
having
small space between them.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
The other goals, details, characteristics and advantages of the invention will
be
better understood and will appear more clearly throughout the Figures and the
description found below with regards to the various embodiments of the
invention.
The Examples given throughout are not to be understood as limiting the as
scope of
the invention in any way, shape or form.
Concerning these Figures:
Figure 1 is a side view of the spreader as per a preferred embodiment of the
present
invention;
Figure 2 is a front view of a front part of the spreader shown at Figure 1;
Figures 3A and 3B are top and side views respectively of attachment means of
the
spreader illustrated at Figure 1, to a motorized vehicle;
Figures 4A and 4B are side front views respectively of the blower for the
spreader
illustrated at Figure 1;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the attachment system, of the spreader
illustrated
at Figure 1, for attachment to a motorized vehicle;

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Figure 6 is a perspective view of the chassis of the spreader illustrated at
Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the side of the spreader illustrated at
Figure 1,
showing more particularly the blower;
Figure 8 is a top view of the case of the spreader illustrated at Figure 1;
Figure 9 is a detailed perspective view of the front of the spreader
illustrated at
Figure 1;
Figure 10 is a top view of the blower of the spreader illustrated at Figure 1;
Figure 11 is a perspective view of the blower illustrated at Figure 10;
Figures 12A to 12C are perspective side views illustrating the reorientation
of the
output of the blower of the spreader illustrated at Figure 1;
Figure 13 is a perspective view of the spreader illustrated at Figure 1 with a
beak
installed at the output of the blower;
Figure 14 is a detailed perspective side view of the spreader illustrated at
Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The spreader according to a preferred mode of realisation of the present
invention is
illustrated in Figures 1 to 4B.
With respect to Figure 1, the spreader 100 comprises a case 102 for holding
the
product to be spread. The case 102 comprises an aperture apt to allow the
ejection
of the product to be spread from the case 102. The spreader 100 comprises as
well
2o a conveying device 106, as better seen in Figure 2, disposed in the case
102 and
able to displace at least a portion of the product to be spread in a direction
towards
the aperture 104. The spreader 100 also comprises an aperture obstruction
device
for obstructing at least partially an aperture zone defined by the aperture.
As well, an

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aperture adjustment device controls the displacement of the aperture
obstruction
device and regulates the aperture surface of the aperture zone.
The spreader 100 further comprises a speed controller 106 able to control the
speed
of the conveying device 106. The spreader 100 comprises as well a blower 108
to
project the product that is exiting the case 102.
The blower 108 further comprises an inlet 110 and an outlet 112, the direction
of the
outlet 112 being adjustable along different angles. The spreader 100 has an
angle
adjustment system 114 for adjusting the outlet angle of the blower 108 while
the inlet
of the blower 108 is placed at an angle with respect to the aperture 104 of
the case
l0 102.
Preferably, the aperture obstruction device comprises a door supported and
maintained in position by an actuator linked to the case.
Preferably, as shown in Figure 13, a beak 120 can be installed at the output
of the
blower 108 in order to control and to adjust the spreading of lime in the form
of
powder or other types of powders. The beak can be removed and reinstalled for
different operations. The outlet of the spreader can thereby be further
adjusted along
different angles for different spreading applications and the beak allows for
spreading in multiple directions with a larger angle at the output of the
spreader.
Preferably, the angle adjustment system for the outlet of the blower can be
locked at
2o different positions chosen by the operator with a mechanism 122 as
illustrated for
example at Figure 14. A reorientation of the output of the blower is
illustrated in
Figures 12A to 12C.
The apparatus shown in the Figures disclose piping that can be hidden in other
versions or embodiments of the present invention. For example, the piping can
be
hidden in the metal fitting of the case of the spreader.

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In the prior art, large spreaders are disclosed which are not always
appropriate for
certain low skill spreading applications. A first generation spreader has been
developed in order to facilitate the spreading of products among small trees
for
example pine trees. This spreader of the prior art used a scattering means
which
ejected, in a circular fashion and horizontally, the product to be spread.
The spreader according to the present invention allows spreading material at
distances close to 100 feet. A four blade turbine is used with this spreader
to offer
satisfactory performances in order to meet the demands of the operator.
Preferably,
the motor used for the turbine is a hydraulic motor having a displacement
varying
lo between 59 and 125 cubic inches. An example of such a motor is a hydraulic
motor
of the type MLHP80C4/80 p.c.
In addition to the uses described above, the spreader of the present
application can
also be used to spread compost when such directional spreading is desired.
Another
example of such directional spreading is the spreading of seeds onto
roadsides. The
spreader of the present application can also be used to spread fire retardant
product
for the prevention and mitigation of forest fires.
Preferably, as shown in Figures 3A, 3B and 5, the spreader comprises an
attachment system 130 for attachment of the spreader to a motorized vehicle to
confer mobility to the spreader. Preferably, these attachment means 130 also
allow
20 the spreader to be pivotally attached to a motorized vehicle in order to
avoid the
spilling over of the spreader caused by the spilling over of the corresponding
motorized vehicle it is attached to.
Furthermore, for certain applications, an extension tube can be installed to
an
extremity end of the output of the blower 108 of the spreader in order to
facilitate the
spreading of material in areas that are hard to reach, for example, when trees
are in
elevated areas or next to precipices.

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Preferably, the spreader comprises a control unit for controlling the mass
volume of
the product to be spread as a function of both the mass of the product to be
spread
and the volume of the product to be spread.
Figure 6 illustrates an example of the chassis supporting the spreader on
wheels
132.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in
detailed herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be
understood
that the invention is not limited to these precise embodiments and that
various
changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the
scope
or spirit of the present invention.

Representative Drawing