CA2017216C - Spreading of particulate material - Google Patents
Spreading of particulate materialInfo
- Publication number
- CA2017216C CA2017216C CA 2017216 CA2017216A CA2017216C CA 2017216 C CA2017216 C CA 2017216C CA 2017216 CA2017216 CA 2017216 CA 2017216 A CA2017216 A CA 2017216A CA 2017216 C CA2017216 C CA 2017216C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- tank
- belt
- particulate material
- booms
- layer
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01C—PLANTING; SOWING; FERTILISING
- A01C15/00—Fertiliser distributors
- A01C15/04—Fertiliser distributors using blowers
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Soil Sciences (AREA)
- Environmental Sciences (AREA)
- Fertilizing (AREA)
Abstract
SPREADING OF PARTICULATE MATERIAL
ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION
A pneumatic spreading system for particulate material such as granular fertilizer includes tank and a pair of booms extending outwardly from the tank for transportation across the ground. A pair of parallel belts lie in the same horizontal plane and carry a metered layers of the material out of one end of the tank adjacent the booms for discharge as a curtain of the material at a discharge end of the belt. The booms each include a plurality of pipes with all of the pipes lying side by side in the same horizontal plane and each pipe including two distribution nozzles forming a split pipe arrangement. A manifold for airflow is positioned between the two booms injecting air into each pipe of both booms. Each pipe includes a feed opening into which the material falls from the discharge end. A guide arrangement in the form of a plurality of funnels is provided between the discharge end and the pipes with the funnels formed from side walls and end walls which are shaped to guide the material to the staggered feed openings of the pipes. Additional materials in particulate or liquid form can be applied onto the belt for simultaneous spreading action.
ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION
A pneumatic spreading system for particulate material such as granular fertilizer includes tank and a pair of booms extending outwardly from the tank for transportation across the ground. A pair of parallel belts lie in the same horizontal plane and carry a metered layers of the material out of one end of the tank adjacent the booms for discharge as a curtain of the material at a discharge end of the belt. The booms each include a plurality of pipes with all of the pipes lying side by side in the same horizontal plane and each pipe including two distribution nozzles forming a split pipe arrangement. A manifold for airflow is positioned between the two booms injecting air into each pipe of both booms. Each pipe includes a feed opening into which the material falls from the discharge end. A guide arrangement in the form of a plurality of funnels is provided between the discharge end and the pipes with the funnels formed from side walls and end walls which are shaped to guide the material to the staggered feed openings of the pipes. Additional materials in particulate or liquid form can be applied onto the belt for simultaneous spreading action.
Description
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SPREADING OF PARTICULATE MATERIAL
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This inventlon relates to an apparatus for spreading particulate materials which ls particularly but not exclusively designed for use in spreading granular fertilizer across the ground for agricultural use.
The application of granular fertilizer to the ground in a broadcasting actlon is well known and is employed very widely in agricultural practices. In more recent years chemicals have been added to the granular fertilizer generally as a liquid which is mixed with the granular fertilizer. The products thus applied to the ground have significantly enhanced effectiveness and accordingly lt has become much more important to ensure accuracy of distribution. Thus a single pass of the machine should have accurately controlled metering so that a required amount of the material can be spread. In addition the material so metered should be accurately spread across the full width of the band covered by the machlne. Furthermore the machine should have minimum delay or dwell between the actuation of a change in rate of the metered material, lncluding stopplng or start up, and the actual implementa~ion of that rate change in the J ~
material as it is broadcast across the ground. With the machine running at 15 mph or higher, even a few seconds delay during which the material moves from the measuring point to the actual distribution point can result in a length of up to lS0 feet of inaccurate rate of distribution.
Many devices available in the marketplace at the present time comprise simply a tank within which is mounted a conveyor belt which transports the material out through one end of the tank. A metering gate is provided at the point of exit from the tank so that a certain thickness of the material is carried out on top of the belt. The material ls then simply deposited onto a spinner which rotates at high velocity throwing the material out vigorously in different directions. This technique is of course highly inaccurate in that dlfferent amounts of material will be spread at different positlons across the ground and this technique is there-fore basically unacceptable when used with the high technology products available at the present time. It does however retain a significant portion of the market based upon the low price.
The metering system of a device of this type is however well accepted ln the trade and the use of a belt .~ .
SPREADING OF PARTICULATE MATERIAL
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This inventlon relates to an apparatus for spreading particulate materials which ls particularly but not exclusively designed for use in spreading granular fertilizer across the ground for agricultural use.
The application of granular fertilizer to the ground in a broadcasting actlon is well known and is employed very widely in agricultural practices. In more recent years chemicals have been added to the granular fertilizer generally as a liquid which is mixed with the granular fertilizer. The products thus applied to the ground have significantly enhanced effectiveness and accordingly lt has become much more important to ensure accuracy of distribution. Thus a single pass of the machine should have accurately controlled metering so that a required amount of the material can be spread. In addition the material so metered should be accurately spread across the full width of the band covered by the machlne. Furthermore the machine should have minimum delay or dwell between the actuation of a change in rate of the metered material, lncluding stopplng or start up, and the actual implementa~ion of that rate change in the J ~
material as it is broadcast across the ground. With the machine running at 15 mph or higher, even a few seconds delay during which the material moves from the measuring point to the actual distribution point can result in a length of up to lS0 feet of inaccurate rate of distribution.
Many devices available in the marketplace at the present time comprise simply a tank within which is mounted a conveyor belt which transports the material out through one end of the tank. A metering gate is provided at the point of exit from the tank so that a certain thickness of the material is carried out on top of the belt. The material ls then simply deposited onto a spinner which rotates at high velocity throwing the material out vigorously in different directions. This technique is of course highly inaccurate in that dlfferent amounts of material will be spread at different positlons across the ground and this technique is there-fore basically unacceptable when used with the high technology products available at the present time. It does however retain a significant portion of the market based upon the low price.
The metering system of a device of this type is however well accepted ln the trade and the use of a belt .~ .
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which is formed of stainless steel in hinged sections defining pockets in the belt for transporting the material forwardly is well known and well accepted.
Belts of this type are of course entirely conventional and widely used.
The advantage of the spinner type device is of course that it is very inexpensive in comparison with more complex pneumatic distribution systems which are also available. One such pneumatic distribution system is shown in U.S. patent 4,475,819 (Balmer). This device which has led to a highly successful machine sold widely in U.S.A. and Canada includes a hopper within which the material is stored, a conveyor belt of a type described above whlch moves the material horizontally out of the hopper past a metering gate and discharges it into the lower end of a vertical auger. The auger transports material vertically and then spreads it readily into a number of ducts. An alrflow generating in each of the ducts for trans~orting the materlal from the spreader assembly to discharge plpes of staggered length whlch extend outwardly from the spreader along a pair of booms to spread the materlal ln a spread pattern across the ground. Thls devlce has been extremely successful but has two dlsadvantages. Flrstly, the distrlbutlon system 2~2~
ls relatively complex and hence expensive to manufac-turer. Secondly, the vertical auger provides a signi ficant dwell time of the material downstream of the metering point as explained above.
A further machine manufactured by New Leader of Cedar Rapids, Iowa is based upon a conventional machine using a spinner but in this case the spinner is replaced by a pair of booms each of which includes approximately nine pipes lying side by side in a horizontal plane and extending outwardly to the sldes of the vehicle. The material from the metering belt falls from a discharge end of the belt into a number of cups. From the cups the material falls by gravity through flexible tubes which connect from the cup to the inner end of the pipes of the boom. From studying the brochures it appears that there must be some splitting arrangement since there are only nine cups apparently supplying the total of 18 pipes of the two booms. Alr is supplied to the pipes from mani-folds which connect ~o the end of the pipe by similar flexible tubes with the tubes belng interleaved with the product supply tubes. This requires therefore tubes of reduced dlameter relatlve to that of the plpes whlch of course can lnterfere with the required amount of flow of materlal and alr and provides a horrlbly complex 2a~ .g arrangement of plumbing. Furthermore, the boom height which is necessitated by the construction provided is very low of the order of fifteen inches from the ground which is unacceptable in field use due to the high probability:of impact with the ground and due to the poor spread patterns obtained when the spreader nozzle at the outer end of the pipe is too close to the ground.
A further device manufactured by Tyler of Benson, Minnesota, includes a tank at the forward end of which is mounted a pair of booms with the pipes of each of the booms mounted in a single vertical plane. Above the booms is mounted a distribution box which is fed by an auger from the bottom of the tank so that material is lifted from the tank into the distribution box. Within the box is mounted a palr of belts of the type previously described whlch move in opposite directions outwardly from the centre to the sides of the tank. At the outer sides of each of the belts, the material is discharged from the discharge end of the belt into a plurality of separate cups each of which connects through a flexible hose to a respectlve one of the plpes of the booms. In addltion one of the cups from each side is connected through a long flexible pipe to a spreader at the rear of the vehlcle.
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This arrangement has achieved some success but retains a significant disadvantage of the complication necessitated by the provision of the auger lifting the material to the distribution box at the top of the tank so that it can fall by gravity into the pipes of the booms. Again, the flexible hoses provide a resistance to flow which significantly reduces the efficiency of the pneumatic transportation. However the metering of the material occurs on the belts just prior to the separation cups and hence the problem of the dwell has been significantly reduced.
A further alternative arrangement is manu-factured by Valmar Airflow Inc. of Elie, Manitoba, Canada based upon a design developed by the present inventor.
In this arrangement the metering is carried out by meter-ing rollers which are arranged at the front of the tank and whlch discharge the material from the front of the tank into a plurality of cups. Each cup is connected with a venturi supplied with air from a manifold so that the material fed into the cup is in~ected into a flexible hose which extends from the front of the tank to the rear of the tank for communlcation with a respective one of the ~eparate pipes of a pair of booms mounted at the rear of the tank. The booms are mounted with the pipes in ' ' ' ' .. "
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vertlcal planes with the lifting of the material from the bottom of the tank to the height of the pipes of the booms being effected by the pneumatic transport which is relatively inefficient. This device is thus relatively complex and has low pneumatic efficiency and accordingly the disadvantages have limited the number of sales.
A further prototype device which has been sold in U.S.A. in very limited numbers and manufactured by Valmar under a further design of the present inventor is based upon the above-mentioned machine. However in this case both the metering and the booms are mounted at the rear of the tank. In addition the booms are mounted in a horizontal plane at the height of the bottom of the tank.
A separate metering section is mounted at the rear of the tank and ls fed by an auger system at the bottom of the tank which transports the material from the tank into the separate metering section under the control of a level detectlon switch wlthln the metering sectlon. The meter-ing i8 carrled out by a pair of rollers with the axes of the rollers parallel to the directlon of movement of the vehicle, that ls at rlght angles to the booms. The meterlng rollers thus meter the material out of the separate metering section dlrectly into feed cups mounted on the pipes of the boom.
This device has been found to be impractical from a commercial point of view in view of the high complexity of the separate meterlng system and the low performance of the metering rollers which cannot provide the high variation in rate which is necessary for granu-lar distribution systems of this type. This design has therefore been abandoned.
Other metering roller systems of a similar design to that of the above prototype are currently available from European manufacturers in which the material is metered by rollers with each roller being associated with a respective one of the booms. The rollers thus meter directly downwardly into the pipes of the booms which lie in a horizontal plane. As stated above this arrangement is unsatisfactory in that the metering rollers cannot provide the high variation in rates necessary, in that the metering rollers system has difficulty in accommodating the injection or application of liquid chemicals onto the granular fertilizer material and in that the system is relatively complex and therefore expenslve.
Example of this prior European type system are shown ln U.S. Patent 3,568,937 (Grataloup) and British Patent 1435176 (Amazonen).
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2 ~ ~ i 2 .. ) A technique by which each duct or pipe of a boom is split to provide material to two separate spread-er nozzles is shown in prior U.S. Patent 4826088 of the present inventor.
Recapping, therefore, the currently available pneumatic devices for spreading of particulate material are generally unsatisfactory due to the high complexity and necessarily therefore a relatively high cost, due to the lnadequacies of the roller metering system and due to the use with the belt metering system of flexible tubing whlch interferes with the efficiency of the pneumatic transportation and can introduce inaccuracies into the spread patterns generated by the machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved pneumatic distribution system which is relatively simple and economic to manu-facture, which uses a belt metering system, which avoids the delay or dwell period subsequent to metering and prior to actual distribution to the ground and which pro-vide8 a hlgh efficiency of pneumatic transportation.
It ls a further oject of the present invention to provide an improved pneumatlc distribution system 2 ~
which allows the introduction of additional materials for spreading in con;unction with a main material.
According to a first aspect of the invention, therefore, there is provided an apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adiacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central positlon for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full wldth of the boom as the booms are moved across the ground, a flrst and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such ' '' ~
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that the particulate material i.s carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizon-tal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at right angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to met~r the amount of material carried thereby, each of said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, each boom being associated with a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate materlal deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causlng an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transporta-tlon of the particulate material therealong, each of the plpes of a respectlve one of the booms having a feed openlng for recelvlng partlculate materlal from the discharge end of the respectlve belt means, for each of the booms, the feed openlng8 of the pipes thereof belng staggered ln a dlrectlon parallel to the discharge end of : ' ' ' - . ~ , 2 ~L ~
the respective belt means so as to receive material from separate parts of the respective belt means, and flrst and second guide means each for transferring the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to the feed openings of respective one of the booms, each guide means comprising a plurality of rigid duct members arranged side by side across the width of the discharge end, each duct member communicating mater-ial dlrectly to the feed opening of a respective one of the pipes and being formed by two side dividing walls separating each duct member from the next adjacent duct member and two end walls, the side dividing walls and end walls defining at an upper end of the duct member an open mouth into which the material falls from a discharge end, the side walls being arranged in spaced relation trans-versely to the discharge end so that the discharged material is divided into separate portions for transmis-sion to the pipes, the end walls of each duct member including at least one end wall which is inclined to the vertical to gulde the separate portion of material from a posltion directly ~eneath the discharge end to a position allgned with the feed opening of the respective pipe.
According to a second aspect of the lnvention, there ls provided an a~paratus ap~aratus for spreading 2 ~ ~ r~
particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreadlng across the ground the particulate materlal transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction sub-stantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered posltlons along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate mater-lal ls carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank ln a layer on top of the on top of the upper run, gate means for controlllng the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material 2 Q ~
carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a dlscharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, fan means for generating air-flow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transpor-tation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the dis-charge end of the belt means, and means for spreading onto the belt across the width of the belt downstream of the gate means a supplementary material for spreading into said particulate material.
According to a third aspect of the invention there ls provided apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for contalning the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position ad~acent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective slde of the tank, each boom including a plurality of plpes lylng side by side ln a common plane whlch ls substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end ad~acent the central position to an outer end "
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spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, a first and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizontal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at rlght angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of materlal carried thereby, each of said belt mean~ having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around whlch the upper run thereof turns to di~charge the material to fall therefrom by gravlty, 2 ~ ~J~ 3 each boom being positioned directly beneath the discharge end of a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate material deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transportation of the particu-late material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the discharge end of the respective belt means, for each of the booms, means for dlviding the discharged material into a plurality of separate portions and first and second guide means each lncludlng a plurallty of ducts for transferring the separate portions of the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to respective ones of the feed openings of a respective one of the booms.
With the foregoing in view, and other advan-tages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the best mode known to the .. . . . . .
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application and of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF TXE DRAWINGS
Figurs 1 is an isometric view showing a distri-bution system according to the present invention with the fan omltted and part of the housing broken away for convenience of ilLustration.
Figure 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken through the pipes and manifold of the device of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing one of the belts and including a hopper for a supplementary material for distribution.
Figures 4 and 5 are similar cross-sectional views to that of Figure 3 showlng a part only of the device for showing particularly the shape of the duct members or funnels which guide the material from the discharge end of the belt into the pipes of the boom.
Flgure 6 is a rear elevational view showing a part of one boom and one belt of the device of Figure 1.
Flgure 7 is a further cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 3 showlng in more detail the construction of the belt.
, Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 7 showing two supplementary hoppers for further materials and a liquid addition nozzle arrangement.
Figure 9 is a view along the lines 9-9 of Figure 8.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The pneumatic distribution and spreading apparatus shown in the figures comprises a tank 10 of conventional construction for receiving the particulate material to be distributed and spread. The tank is mounted upon a frame 11 for attachment to a suitable vehicle whlch can be either a trailer or a self-propelled vehlcle such that the tank can be moved across the ground. The details of the vehicle, the ground wheels associated therewith and the drive mechanism therefor are not important to this invention as these can vary signi-ficantly and will be apparent to one skilled in the art.
However for com~leteness a complete pull-type machine is lllustrated in Figure 3 and includes ground wheels llA
mounted on a walking beam llB supporting the frame 11. A
forward end of the frame 11 is attached to a hitch llC
20~ 7216 for coupling to a tractor (not shown) including a PTO
coupling for PT0 shaft llD and gearbox llE.
The device further comprises a pair of booms 12 only one of whlch is vlsible in Figures 1 and 3 but the other of whlch can be seen in Figure 2 and 6. Each boom comprlses a plurality of pipes 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 each of which lies in a common horizontal plane of the boom with the pipes arranged side by sidR and connected together as a common element for pro~ecting out to a respective side of the tank and therefore to a respective side of the vehicle on which the tank is mounted.
Each pipe includes an end spreader nozzle 18 and a second spreader nozzle Ig mounted at a posltlon spaced from the end and arranged to separate from mater-lal transported in the pipe one-half of that material for spreadlng at the positlon of the second nozzle leaving the remalning material to continue to the end nozzle 18 for spreading from that point. The construction and detail operatlon of thls arrangement of spllt duct is shown in prior U.S. Patent No. 4826088 of the present lnventor, The remaining pipes extend outwardly beyond the end of the flrst pipe 17 to staggered positions defining 2 ~
a plurality of spaced nozzles along the length of the boom to an outermost nozzle (not shown) at the end of the pipe 13.
Each of the pipes is divlded into a boom por-tion and an inner portion indicated at 20. The inner portion 20 is fixed relative to the distribution system described hereinafter whereas the boom portions of the pipes are pivotal in a folding action about a support member 21. The support member 21 defines a first pivot axis which is inclined so that the boom as it pivots about the first pivot axis folds upwardly and at the same time twists so the pipes in a folded condition lie along-side of the tank. The details of this device are pre-viously known and are not of ma~or importance in the present invention in view of the fact that different folding arrangeménts can be provided for the boom struc-ture. The boom portion of each of the pipes connects to the lnner portlon in a manner which allows the material to pass readlly without escape of significant amounts of air and without escape of any of the material so that the materlal can be properly transported from the inner portlon to the boom portlon by air in~ected at the inner portlon.
~ 21 -Turning now to Figures 1 and 7, the tank 10 includes an end wall 23 and two side walls 24 and 25.
The end wall 23 includes an upper vertical portion 26 and an inclined lower portion 27 which extends downwardly and inwardly to form the conventional conical lower portion of the tank which confines the material to fall downward-ly to a substantially flat base. Across the base runs a pair of belts 28 and 29 which run the full length of the tank and act to carry the material from the tank through the end wall 27 for discharge to the booms. Each of the belts 28 and 29 runs on a plate 30 so that it acts to transport the material forwardly across the plate 30 toward the discharge end of the belt. The belt includes an upper run 31 and a lower run or return run 32 which passes underneath the plate 30 to a return end roller 25. As shown in Figure 3, the upper run 30 is inclined from the roller 25 adjacent the frame to a forward end which is raised relative to the frame. This acts to lift the forward end to a helght above the frame and thus above the boom 12 mounted at the frame. A drive roller 33 ls provided ad~acent the discharge end of the belt so as to engage the belt and carry it or pull it from the lnterlor of the tank to the dlscharge end where the material is deposlted from the belt and the empty or : :.
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return run of the belt travels back to collect more material. A guide roller 33A is positioned directly at the discharge end with the drive roller 33 positioned behlnd the guide roller to pull the belt around the guide roller. The gulde roller can thus have a smooth surface and the drive teeth are mounted on the drive roller. The return run can be relatively slack as shown.
The belt is of the type previously described which is conventional in form and includes a plurality of cells formed by upstanding strips of stainless steel which are connected together by pivot pins thus forming a wide band or chain type construction which is self-supporting and can be directly driven by the teeth on the roller 33. The belt thus carries material within the cells defined by the belt and also carrles material on top on the belt as controlled by a gate 34 mounted at the exit from the tank. The gate mechanism includes a trans~
verse support rod 35 carrying a pinion 36 rotable to vertically shift a rack 37 attached to the gate or flap 34. The posltlon of the gate or flap 36 relative to rod 35 ls controlled by a lever 37A mounted at one end of the rod 35. The lever 37A is manually operable and can be locked at a requlred posltlon on a gauge 38. The angle of the lever 37A as located by the gauge 38 thus det0r-mines the vertical position of the gate 34 and particu-larly the spaclng of the lowermost edge thereof relative to the upper surface of the belt 29. Thls forms a layer 39 of the material on the belt which is carried out of the tank for discharge at the discharge end 40 of the belt as a curtain of the material falling vertically downwardly from the discharge end. The sides of the belt are confined by vertical side walls 41 and 42 thus form-ing side edges of the layer 39 so that the exact quantity of material only is carried along the belt for dis-charge.
An end wall 41A spaced beyond the roller 33A
protects the discharging material from wind currents and other interference. The smooth surface of the guide end roller 33A ensures that all the material on and in the belt is carried beyond the periphery of the roller and deposited from that positlon by gravity in a curtain of the material. An air ~et nozzle 33B behind the roller 33A ensures that ll material ln the cells of the belt is discharged and the belt fully cleaned of material.
As shown best in Figure 6, the outer portion of a boom plpe ls lndlcated at 45, an inner portlon of a boom pipe is indicated at 46 and this connects at its lnner end to a manifold 47 which ls supplied with air by ~ ~ ~. 7 ~J ~ ~ ~
a duct 48 connected to a fan 49 shown in Figure 7 and in one arrangement of the fan it is mounted above the belts 28 and 29 in the area between the two belts. In a second arrangement shown in Figure 3, the fan is mounted below the boom and forwardly of the frame 11 to cooperate directly with the gearbox llE without the necessity for drive belts.
As best shown in Figure 2, each pipe has at its inner end a feed opening 50 into which feed material from a discharge end 40 of the belt can fall. Thus the boom is positioned at a height approximately 8 inches beneath the discharge end of the belt for gravity feed from the belt lnto the feed opening 50 of the pipes. An end wall of the pipe at the feed opening includes a venturi 51 having an opening 52 centrally of the venturi connected with the manifold so that pressurized air within the manifold is in;ected through the venturi as an axial jet of air which enters the pipe thus generating a low pres-sure point at the feed openlng 50 for carrying the material entering the feed opening 50 along the pipe for discharge as previously described.
As best shown in Figure 2 the feed openings of the plpes 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are staggered across the wldth of the belt 29 so that the feed opening 50A of the 2i~
pipe 13 is arranged at the left hand edge of the belt 29 and the feed opening 50B of the pipe 17 is arranged at the right hand edge of the belt 29. The discharge end 40 of the belt 29 overlies the central pipe 15 so that very approximately the pipe 13 lies the same distance rear-wardly of the di:scharge end 40 as the distance which the pipe 17 lies forwardly of the discharge end 40.
Between the discharge end 40 and the feed open-ings 50 is provided a guide arrangement 60 for transmit-ting the material directly from a discharge end into the feed openings. The guide arrangements 60 comprises a plurality of duct members or funnels 61, 62, 63, 64 and 65. The guide ducts or funnels are arranged side-by-side and each is defined by a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls which terminate in an upper edge forming a rectangular horizontal open mouth into which the material is discharged from the end 40. Two adjacent such guide members can use a common side wall to ensure minimum thlckness of the divlding slde wall so that the side walls thus act to recelve the falllng curtain of material dlvlded into a plurallty of separate portions. In this case there are six separate portions with each of the portlons belng substantially equal as dependent upon the wldth of the portion of curtaln selected from the falling 2~17'~
material. To assist in the division of the curtain into separate position equally divided along the length of the curtain, there is provided at the division points a plurality of fingers 60A mounted on the front wall 41A
and projecting rearwardly therefrom at a position above the open mouths of the funnels. The fingers can thus be accurately located and accommodate tolerances in the position of the funnels and maintain an accurate dlvi-sion. The divided material then falls into the open mouth of each funnel.
The side walls of each funnel thus lie in vertical planes as shown in Figure 6 and extend vertical-ly downwardly to meet front and rear edges respectively of the feed openlngs 50. As shown ln Figure 2 the feed openings are substantially rectangular with a front wall 66 and a rear wall 67 and these walls extend vertically upwardly lntegrally with or meeting the side walls of the funnels. The end walls of the funnels are inclined so as to guide the materlal to the respectlve one of the feed openings. Thus:in Figure 7 the end walls of the first funnel are lndicated at 68 and 69 and lt wlll be noted that the end walls converge to the feed openlng of the pipe 13 wlth the wall 69 belng lncllned downwardly and rearwardly so that the material 69A falling from the 2 ~ ;3 discharge end 40 impacts upon the upper surface of the wall 69 and then slides down the wall 69 into the pipe 13. The height between the discharge end 40 and the horizontal plane of the booms is selected to be suffi-cient such that the inclination of the wall 60 is greater than the angle of repo~e so that the material can readily slide without any collection on the surface of the wall 69. Also in Figure 7 is indicated the end walls 70 and 71 of the last of the funnels communicating with the pipe 17. In Figure 4 is indicated the end walls 72 and 73 of the funnel 64 which communicates with the pipe 14. It will be noted that the end wall 73 acts as the guide wall on which the material slides but this has an angle of inclination less than the end wall 69 due to the fact that it needs to reach only back to the pipe 14.
Similarly the end walls of the duct 63 are indicated at 74 and 75. The central duct or funnel 63 is shown in Figure 5 and has end walls 76 and 77 which are substantlally symmetrlcal ln vlew of the fact that the material can fall substantially vertically from the dlscharge end 40 into the plpe 15.
Thus the dlscharge end 40 lles parallel to the longltudlnal axls of the boom and ls turned or gulded lnto the separate horlzontal pipes of the boom by the . ..
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rigid guide structure defined by the separate funnels.
This avoids the necesslty for any flexible tubing which restricts flow and gives the possibility of collection of material. The provision of the two separate belts and the use of split ducts enables the geometry of the device to accommodate a reasonable height of the tank while at the same time providing a minimum height of the boom whlch avoids impact with the ground. This geometry also provides opportunity for the fan to be positioned above the boom with the air from the fan entering a single manifold connected directly to both of the booms. As shown in Figure 2 the shape of the manifold ensures that the maximum amount of air entering the pipes enters the pipes 13 at the best velocity which are the longest pipes with the least velocity entering the pipes 17 which are of course the shortest pipes and thus require less air velocity for transportation.
Figure 4 shows five ducts each for communi-cating with respective one of the five pipes of the boom 12. In additlon at the right hand end there is shown an addltional duct which connects with a pipe for discharge of material at a posltlon dlrectly allgned with the belt.
This provides further nozzles ad;acent the center of the vehlcle whlch provlde a spread pattern across the full 2 ~ .~ i 2 i ~J
width of the vehicle. This pipe is not visible in the other drawings and the shape and arrangement of the duct communicating from the discharge area 40 to the addi-tional pipe is not important ln the present invention.
Turning now to Figures 8 and 9, additional or supplementary material can be added for a spreading action through the pneumatic distribution system previ-ously described. Figure 8 thus shows basically the por-tion of the device shown in Figure 7 but in this case the additional supply systems for the supplementary materials are added which are omitted from Figure 7 for convenience of lllustration.
The supplementary material can be supplied from a liquid dlscharge tank 80, a first particulate material hopper 81 and a second particulate material hopper 82.
The hoppers 81 and 82 are mounted on the rear wall 23 of the hopper. The liquid tank 80 is mounted at suitable location for example on the side of the hopper. Each of the particulate material supply hoppers 81 and 82 includes a roller feed system 83 including a roller having a width substantially equal to the width of the belt upper run at 31. The roller has a plurality of ribs and ~rooves arranged longitudlnally of the periphery so that rotatlon of the roller in an antl clockwise . . ... .. ..
.
, , ;
, 2 ~ 3 direction transports material from the bottom of the hopper over llp to fall in a curtain across the width of the belt. The details of this device are well known to one skllled ln the art and have been used for many years on various types of pneumatic distribution systems.
In the case of the hopper 81, the roller is positioned above the belt so the material is allowed to fall directly from the roller onto the belt or rather onto the material layer 39 on top of the belt to form an additional layer as a supplement on top of the layer 39.
As this layer is spread equally across the full width of the belt, this material is also properly separated by the flngers 60A and the ducts previously described for transmlsslon along the booms for spreadlng actlon wlth the main partlculate material from the maln hopper.
The feed system from the hopper 82 discharges into a plurality of cups 84 which are spaced along the wldth of the roller 83 and thus actively divide the material lnto separate portions for discharge along separate pipes 85 each of which tapers to a nozzle 86 for dlscharge directly into one of the ducts of the main dlstrlbutlon system.
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Therefore the material from the hopper 82 can be added into the main distribution system and can be spread with the main material from the main hopper.
The liquid from the tank 80 passes through a pump 87 to a high pressure nozzle 88 arranged to spread the liquid material evenly across the width of the mater-ial layer 39. The liquid is thus added to the material for spreading wlth the main dlstrlbutlon system. It ls often requlred with a liquid distribution system that the liquid be arranged to contact a high proportion of each of the particles of the particulate material to be dis-tributed. For this purpose therefore downstream of the nozzle 88 is provided a rake system indicated at 89 including three transverse bars 90 and a plurality of vertical fingers 91 mounted on each of the bars and extending downwardly therefrom into contact with the layer 39 to a posltion at the top of the belt 31. As shown in Figure 9 the flngers are offset from one bar to the next so that the material as it flows along the belt on top of the belt ls moved and mixed by the action of the flngers within the layer of material. This causes the liquid to contact a maximum number of the particles of the layer 39. In thls way no free liquid remains so that substantially all liquid is carried by the particles :
.
- ` 2 ~ 3 thus preventing drift of free liquid in the air stream which escapes form the spreader nozzles of the boom.
In some cases of use of the device, all three of the supplementary material supply systems can be used.
In other cases only one or only two of the supplementary supply systems may be used. In a yet further situation, the whole machine can be used to distribute material simply supplied from the third hopper 82 with the main system shut down. In cases therefore where a very low level of spreading rate is required, the material for dlstributlon can be supplied ln the hopper 82 ln which case the belt is halted and all of the feed ls controlled by the roller 83 and the duct 85. Thls enables the device to be very flexible in the type and quantities of material which can be distributed.
Since various modifications can be made in my inventlon as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departlng from such spirlt and scope, it is intended that all matter contalned ln the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
which is formed of stainless steel in hinged sections defining pockets in the belt for transporting the material forwardly is well known and well accepted.
Belts of this type are of course entirely conventional and widely used.
The advantage of the spinner type device is of course that it is very inexpensive in comparison with more complex pneumatic distribution systems which are also available. One such pneumatic distribution system is shown in U.S. patent 4,475,819 (Balmer). This device which has led to a highly successful machine sold widely in U.S.A. and Canada includes a hopper within which the material is stored, a conveyor belt of a type described above whlch moves the material horizontally out of the hopper past a metering gate and discharges it into the lower end of a vertical auger. The auger transports material vertically and then spreads it readily into a number of ducts. An alrflow generating in each of the ducts for trans~orting the materlal from the spreader assembly to discharge plpes of staggered length whlch extend outwardly from the spreader along a pair of booms to spread the materlal ln a spread pattern across the ground. Thls devlce has been extremely successful but has two dlsadvantages. Flrstly, the distrlbutlon system 2~2~
ls relatively complex and hence expensive to manufac-turer. Secondly, the vertical auger provides a signi ficant dwell time of the material downstream of the metering point as explained above.
A further machine manufactured by New Leader of Cedar Rapids, Iowa is based upon a conventional machine using a spinner but in this case the spinner is replaced by a pair of booms each of which includes approximately nine pipes lying side by side in a horizontal plane and extending outwardly to the sldes of the vehicle. The material from the metering belt falls from a discharge end of the belt into a number of cups. From the cups the material falls by gravity through flexible tubes which connect from the cup to the inner end of the pipes of the boom. From studying the brochures it appears that there must be some splitting arrangement since there are only nine cups apparently supplying the total of 18 pipes of the two booms. Alr is supplied to the pipes from mani-folds which connect ~o the end of the pipe by similar flexible tubes with the tubes belng interleaved with the product supply tubes. This requires therefore tubes of reduced dlameter relatlve to that of the plpes whlch of course can lnterfere with the required amount of flow of materlal and alr and provides a horrlbly complex 2a~ .g arrangement of plumbing. Furthermore, the boom height which is necessitated by the construction provided is very low of the order of fifteen inches from the ground which is unacceptable in field use due to the high probability:of impact with the ground and due to the poor spread patterns obtained when the spreader nozzle at the outer end of the pipe is too close to the ground.
A further device manufactured by Tyler of Benson, Minnesota, includes a tank at the forward end of which is mounted a pair of booms with the pipes of each of the booms mounted in a single vertical plane. Above the booms is mounted a distribution box which is fed by an auger from the bottom of the tank so that material is lifted from the tank into the distribution box. Within the box is mounted a palr of belts of the type previously described whlch move in opposite directions outwardly from the centre to the sides of the tank. At the outer sides of each of the belts, the material is discharged from the discharge end of the belt into a plurality of separate cups each of which connects through a flexible hose to a respectlve one of the plpes of the booms. In addltion one of the cups from each side is connected through a long flexible pipe to a spreader at the rear of the vehlcle.
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This arrangement has achieved some success but retains a significant disadvantage of the complication necessitated by the provision of the auger lifting the material to the distribution box at the top of the tank so that it can fall by gravity into the pipes of the booms. Again, the flexible hoses provide a resistance to flow which significantly reduces the efficiency of the pneumatic transportation. However the metering of the material occurs on the belts just prior to the separation cups and hence the problem of the dwell has been significantly reduced.
A further alternative arrangement is manu-factured by Valmar Airflow Inc. of Elie, Manitoba, Canada based upon a design developed by the present inventor.
In this arrangement the metering is carried out by meter-ing rollers which are arranged at the front of the tank and whlch discharge the material from the front of the tank into a plurality of cups. Each cup is connected with a venturi supplied with air from a manifold so that the material fed into the cup is in~ected into a flexible hose which extends from the front of the tank to the rear of the tank for communlcation with a respective one of the ~eparate pipes of a pair of booms mounted at the rear of the tank. The booms are mounted with the pipes in ' ' ' ' .. "
2 ~ f~
vertlcal planes with the lifting of the material from the bottom of the tank to the height of the pipes of the booms being effected by the pneumatic transport which is relatively inefficient. This device is thus relatively complex and has low pneumatic efficiency and accordingly the disadvantages have limited the number of sales.
A further prototype device which has been sold in U.S.A. in very limited numbers and manufactured by Valmar under a further design of the present inventor is based upon the above-mentioned machine. However in this case both the metering and the booms are mounted at the rear of the tank. In addition the booms are mounted in a horizontal plane at the height of the bottom of the tank.
A separate metering section is mounted at the rear of the tank and ls fed by an auger system at the bottom of the tank which transports the material from the tank into the separate metering section under the control of a level detectlon switch wlthln the metering sectlon. The meter-ing i8 carrled out by a pair of rollers with the axes of the rollers parallel to the directlon of movement of the vehicle, that ls at rlght angles to the booms. The meterlng rollers thus meter the material out of the separate metering section dlrectly into feed cups mounted on the pipes of the boom.
This device has been found to be impractical from a commercial point of view in view of the high complexity of the separate meterlng system and the low performance of the metering rollers which cannot provide the high variation in rate which is necessary for granu-lar distribution systems of this type. This design has therefore been abandoned.
Other metering roller systems of a similar design to that of the above prototype are currently available from European manufacturers in which the material is metered by rollers with each roller being associated with a respective one of the booms. The rollers thus meter directly downwardly into the pipes of the booms which lie in a horizontal plane. As stated above this arrangement is unsatisfactory in that the metering rollers cannot provide the high variation in rates necessary, in that the metering rollers system has difficulty in accommodating the injection or application of liquid chemicals onto the granular fertilizer material and in that the system is relatively complex and therefore expenslve.
Example of this prior European type system are shown ln U.S. Patent 3,568,937 (Grataloup) and British Patent 1435176 (Amazonen).
. .
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, .: ~ ., .:. . :
2 ~ ~ i 2 .. ) A technique by which each duct or pipe of a boom is split to provide material to two separate spread-er nozzles is shown in prior U.S. Patent 4826088 of the present inventor.
Recapping, therefore, the currently available pneumatic devices for spreading of particulate material are generally unsatisfactory due to the high complexity and necessarily therefore a relatively high cost, due to the lnadequacies of the roller metering system and due to the use with the belt metering system of flexible tubing whlch interferes with the efficiency of the pneumatic transportation and can introduce inaccuracies into the spread patterns generated by the machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved pneumatic distribution system which is relatively simple and economic to manu-facture, which uses a belt metering system, which avoids the delay or dwell period subsequent to metering and prior to actual distribution to the ground and which pro-vide8 a hlgh efficiency of pneumatic transportation.
It ls a further oject of the present invention to provide an improved pneumatlc distribution system 2 ~
which allows the introduction of additional materials for spreading in con;unction with a main material.
According to a first aspect of the invention, therefore, there is provided an apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adiacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central positlon for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full wldth of the boom as the booms are moved across the ground, a flrst and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such ' '' ~
:
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that the particulate material i.s carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizon-tal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at right angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to met~r the amount of material carried thereby, each of said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, each boom being associated with a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate materlal deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causlng an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transporta-tlon of the particulate material therealong, each of the plpes of a respectlve one of the booms having a feed openlng for recelvlng partlculate materlal from the discharge end of the respectlve belt means, for each of the booms, the feed openlng8 of the pipes thereof belng staggered ln a dlrectlon parallel to the discharge end of : ' ' ' - . ~ , 2 ~L ~
the respective belt means so as to receive material from separate parts of the respective belt means, and flrst and second guide means each for transferring the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to the feed openings of respective one of the booms, each guide means comprising a plurality of rigid duct members arranged side by side across the width of the discharge end, each duct member communicating mater-ial dlrectly to the feed opening of a respective one of the pipes and being formed by two side dividing walls separating each duct member from the next adjacent duct member and two end walls, the side dividing walls and end walls defining at an upper end of the duct member an open mouth into which the material falls from a discharge end, the side walls being arranged in spaced relation trans-versely to the discharge end so that the discharged material is divided into separate portions for transmis-sion to the pipes, the end walls of each duct member including at least one end wall which is inclined to the vertical to gulde the separate portion of material from a posltion directly ~eneath the discharge end to a position allgned with the feed opening of the respective pipe.
According to a second aspect of the lnvention, there ls provided an a~paratus ap~aratus for spreading 2 ~ ~ r~
particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreadlng across the ground the particulate materlal transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction sub-stantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered posltlons along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate mater-lal ls carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank ln a layer on top of the on top of the upper run, gate means for controlllng the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material 2 Q ~
carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a dlscharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, fan means for generating air-flow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transpor-tation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the dis-charge end of the belt means, and means for spreading onto the belt across the width of the belt downstream of the gate means a supplementary material for spreading into said particulate material.
According to a third aspect of the invention there ls provided apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for contalning the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position ad~acent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective slde of the tank, each boom including a plurality of plpes lylng side by side ln a common plane whlch ls substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end ad~acent the central position to an outer end "
~ 2 ~
spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, a first and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizontal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at rlght angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of materlal carried thereby, each of said belt mean~ having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around whlch the upper run thereof turns to di~charge the material to fall therefrom by gravlty, 2 ~ ~J~ 3 each boom being positioned directly beneath the discharge end of a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate material deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transportation of the particu-late material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the discharge end of the respective belt means, for each of the booms, means for dlviding the discharged material into a plurality of separate portions and first and second guide means each lncludlng a plurallty of ducts for transferring the separate portions of the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to respective ones of the feed openings of a respective one of the booms.
With the foregoing in view, and other advan-tages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the best mode known to the .. . . . . .
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application and of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF TXE DRAWINGS
Figurs 1 is an isometric view showing a distri-bution system according to the present invention with the fan omltted and part of the housing broken away for convenience of ilLustration.
Figure 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken through the pipes and manifold of the device of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing one of the belts and including a hopper for a supplementary material for distribution.
Figures 4 and 5 are similar cross-sectional views to that of Figure 3 showlng a part only of the device for showing particularly the shape of the duct members or funnels which guide the material from the discharge end of the belt into the pipes of the boom.
Flgure 6 is a rear elevational view showing a part of one boom and one belt of the device of Figure 1.
Flgure 7 is a further cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 3 showlng in more detail the construction of the belt.
, Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 7 showing two supplementary hoppers for further materials and a liquid addition nozzle arrangement.
Figure 9 is a view along the lines 9-9 of Figure 8.
In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The pneumatic distribution and spreading apparatus shown in the figures comprises a tank 10 of conventional construction for receiving the particulate material to be distributed and spread. The tank is mounted upon a frame 11 for attachment to a suitable vehicle whlch can be either a trailer or a self-propelled vehlcle such that the tank can be moved across the ground. The details of the vehicle, the ground wheels associated therewith and the drive mechanism therefor are not important to this invention as these can vary signi-ficantly and will be apparent to one skilled in the art.
However for com~leteness a complete pull-type machine is lllustrated in Figure 3 and includes ground wheels llA
mounted on a walking beam llB supporting the frame 11. A
forward end of the frame 11 is attached to a hitch llC
20~ 7216 for coupling to a tractor (not shown) including a PTO
coupling for PT0 shaft llD and gearbox llE.
The device further comprises a pair of booms 12 only one of whlch is vlsible in Figures 1 and 3 but the other of whlch can be seen in Figure 2 and 6. Each boom comprlses a plurality of pipes 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 each of which lies in a common horizontal plane of the boom with the pipes arranged side by sidR and connected together as a common element for pro~ecting out to a respective side of the tank and therefore to a respective side of the vehicle on which the tank is mounted.
Each pipe includes an end spreader nozzle 18 and a second spreader nozzle Ig mounted at a posltlon spaced from the end and arranged to separate from mater-lal transported in the pipe one-half of that material for spreadlng at the positlon of the second nozzle leaving the remalning material to continue to the end nozzle 18 for spreading from that point. The construction and detail operatlon of thls arrangement of spllt duct is shown in prior U.S. Patent No. 4826088 of the present lnventor, The remaining pipes extend outwardly beyond the end of the flrst pipe 17 to staggered positions defining 2 ~
a plurality of spaced nozzles along the length of the boom to an outermost nozzle (not shown) at the end of the pipe 13.
Each of the pipes is divlded into a boom por-tion and an inner portion indicated at 20. The inner portion 20 is fixed relative to the distribution system described hereinafter whereas the boom portions of the pipes are pivotal in a folding action about a support member 21. The support member 21 defines a first pivot axis which is inclined so that the boom as it pivots about the first pivot axis folds upwardly and at the same time twists so the pipes in a folded condition lie along-side of the tank. The details of this device are pre-viously known and are not of ma~or importance in the present invention in view of the fact that different folding arrangeménts can be provided for the boom struc-ture. The boom portion of each of the pipes connects to the lnner portlon in a manner which allows the material to pass readlly without escape of significant amounts of air and without escape of any of the material so that the materlal can be properly transported from the inner portlon to the boom portlon by air in~ected at the inner portlon.
~ 21 -Turning now to Figures 1 and 7, the tank 10 includes an end wall 23 and two side walls 24 and 25.
The end wall 23 includes an upper vertical portion 26 and an inclined lower portion 27 which extends downwardly and inwardly to form the conventional conical lower portion of the tank which confines the material to fall downward-ly to a substantially flat base. Across the base runs a pair of belts 28 and 29 which run the full length of the tank and act to carry the material from the tank through the end wall 27 for discharge to the booms. Each of the belts 28 and 29 runs on a plate 30 so that it acts to transport the material forwardly across the plate 30 toward the discharge end of the belt. The belt includes an upper run 31 and a lower run or return run 32 which passes underneath the plate 30 to a return end roller 25. As shown in Figure 3, the upper run 30 is inclined from the roller 25 adjacent the frame to a forward end which is raised relative to the frame. This acts to lift the forward end to a helght above the frame and thus above the boom 12 mounted at the frame. A drive roller 33 ls provided ad~acent the discharge end of the belt so as to engage the belt and carry it or pull it from the lnterlor of the tank to the dlscharge end where the material is deposlted from the belt and the empty or : :.
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return run of the belt travels back to collect more material. A guide roller 33A is positioned directly at the discharge end with the drive roller 33 positioned behlnd the guide roller to pull the belt around the guide roller. The gulde roller can thus have a smooth surface and the drive teeth are mounted on the drive roller. The return run can be relatively slack as shown.
The belt is of the type previously described which is conventional in form and includes a plurality of cells formed by upstanding strips of stainless steel which are connected together by pivot pins thus forming a wide band or chain type construction which is self-supporting and can be directly driven by the teeth on the roller 33. The belt thus carries material within the cells defined by the belt and also carrles material on top on the belt as controlled by a gate 34 mounted at the exit from the tank. The gate mechanism includes a trans~
verse support rod 35 carrying a pinion 36 rotable to vertically shift a rack 37 attached to the gate or flap 34. The posltlon of the gate or flap 36 relative to rod 35 ls controlled by a lever 37A mounted at one end of the rod 35. The lever 37A is manually operable and can be locked at a requlred posltlon on a gauge 38. The angle of the lever 37A as located by the gauge 38 thus det0r-mines the vertical position of the gate 34 and particu-larly the spaclng of the lowermost edge thereof relative to the upper surface of the belt 29. Thls forms a layer 39 of the material on the belt which is carried out of the tank for discharge at the discharge end 40 of the belt as a curtain of the material falling vertically downwardly from the discharge end. The sides of the belt are confined by vertical side walls 41 and 42 thus form-ing side edges of the layer 39 so that the exact quantity of material only is carried along the belt for dis-charge.
An end wall 41A spaced beyond the roller 33A
protects the discharging material from wind currents and other interference. The smooth surface of the guide end roller 33A ensures that all the material on and in the belt is carried beyond the periphery of the roller and deposited from that positlon by gravity in a curtain of the material. An air ~et nozzle 33B behind the roller 33A ensures that ll material ln the cells of the belt is discharged and the belt fully cleaned of material.
As shown best in Figure 6, the outer portion of a boom plpe ls lndlcated at 45, an inner portlon of a boom pipe is indicated at 46 and this connects at its lnner end to a manifold 47 which ls supplied with air by ~ ~ ~. 7 ~J ~ ~ ~
a duct 48 connected to a fan 49 shown in Figure 7 and in one arrangement of the fan it is mounted above the belts 28 and 29 in the area between the two belts. In a second arrangement shown in Figure 3, the fan is mounted below the boom and forwardly of the frame 11 to cooperate directly with the gearbox llE without the necessity for drive belts.
As best shown in Figure 2, each pipe has at its inner end a feed opening 50 into which feed material from a discharge end 40 of the belt can fall. Thus the boom is positioned at a height approximately 8 inches beneath the discharge end of the belt for gravity feed from the belt lnto the feed opening 50 of the pipes. An end wall of the pipe at the feed opening includes a venturi 51 having an opening 52 centrally of the venturi connected with the manifold so that pressurized air within the manifold is in;ected through the venturi as an axial jet of air which enters the pipe thus generating a low pres-sure point at the feed openlng 50 for carrying the material entering the feed opening 50 along the pipe for discharge as previously described.
As best shown in Figure 2 the feed openings of the plpes 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are staggered across the wldth of the belt 29 so that the feed opening 50A of the 2i~
pipe 13 is arranged at the left hand edge of the belt 29 and the feed opening 50B of the pipe 17 is arranged at the right hand edge of the belt 29. The discharge end 40 of the belt 29 overlies the central pipe 15 so that very approximately the pipe 13 lies the same distance rear-wardly of the di:scharge end 40 as the distance which the pipe 17 lies forwardly of the discharge end 40.
Between the discharge end 40 and the feed open-ings 50 is provided a guide arrangement 60 for transmit-ting the material directly from a discharge end into the feed openings. The guide arrangements 60 comprises a plurality of duct members or funnels 61, 62, 63, 64 and 65. The guide ducts or funnels are arranged side-by-side and each is defined by a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls which terminate in an upper edge forming a rectangular horizontal open mouth into which the material is discharged from the end 40. Two adjacent such guide members can use a common side wall to ensure minimum thlckness of the divlding slde wall so that the side walls thus act to recelve the falllng curtain of material dlvlded into a plurallty of separate portions. In this case there are six separate portions with each of the portlons belng substantially equal as dependent upon the wldth of the portion of curtaln selected from the falling 2~17'~
material. To assist in the division of the curtain into separate position equally divided along the length of the curtain, there is provided at the division points a plurality of fingers 60A mounted on the front wall 41A
and projecting rearwardly therefrom at a position above the open mouths of the funnels. The fingers can thus be accurately located and accommodate tolerances in the position of the funnels and maintain an accurate dlvi-sion. The divided material then falls into the open mouth of each funnel.
The side walls of each funnel thus lie in vertical planes as shown in Figure 6 and extend vertical-ly downwardly to meet front and rear edges respectively of the feed openlngs 50. As shown ln Figure 2 the feed openings are substantially rectangular with a front wall 66 and a rear wall 67 and these walls extend vertically upwardly lntegrally with or meeting the side walls of the funnels. The end walls of the funnels are inclined so as to guide the materlal to the respectlve one of the feed openings. Thus:in Figure 7 the end walls of the first funnel are lndicated at 68 and 69 and lt wlll be noted that the end walls converge to the feed openlng of the pipe 13 wlth the wall 69 belng lncllned downwardly and rearwardly so that the material 69A falling from the 2 ~ ;3 discharge end 40 impacts upon the upper surface of the wall 69 and then slides down the wall 69 into the pipe 13. The height between the discharge end 40 and the horizontal plane of the booms is selected to be suffi-cient such that the inclination of the wall 60 is greater than the angle of repo~e so that the material can readily slide without any collection on the surface of the wall 69. Also in Figure 7 is indicated the end walls 70 and 71 of the last of the funnels communicating with the pipe 17. In Figure 4 is indicated the end walls 72 and 73 of the funnel 64 which communicates with the pipe 14. It will be noted that the end wall 73 acts as the guide wall on which the material slides but this has an angle of inclination less than the end wall 69 due to the fact that it needs to reach only back to the pipe 14.
Similarly the end walls of the duct 63 are indicated at 74 and 75. The central duct or funnel 63 is shown in Figure 5 and has end walls 76 and 77 which are substantlally symmetrlcal ln vlew of the fact that the material can fall substantially vertically from the dlscharge end 40 into the plpe 15.
Thus the dlscharge end 40 lles parallel to the longltudlnal axls of the boom and ls turned or gulded lnto the separate horlzontal pipes of the boom by the . ..
~ n ,~
rigid guide structure defined by the separate funnels.
This avoids the necesslty for any flexible tubing which restricts flow and gives the possibility of collection of material. The provision of the two separate belts and the use of split ducts enables the geometry of the device to accommodate a reasonable height of the tank while at the same time providing a minimum height of the boom whlch avoids impact with the ground. This geometry also provides opportunity for the fan to be positioned above the boom with the air from the fan entering a single manifold connected directly to both of the booms. As shown in Figure 2 the shape of the manifold ensures that the maximum amount of air entering the pipes enters the pipes 13 at the best velocity which are the longest pipes with the least velocity entering the pipes 17 which are of course the shortest pipes and thus require less air velocity for transportation.
Figure 4 shows five ducts each for communi-cating with respective one of the five pipes of the boom 12. In additlon at the right hand end there is shown an addltional duct which connects with a pipe for discharge of material at a posltlon dlrectly allgned with the belt.
This provides further nozzles ad;acent the center of the vehlcle whlch provlde a spread pattern across the full 2 ~ .~ i 2 i ~J
width of the vehicle. This pipe is not visible in the other drawings and the shape and arrangement of the duct communicating from the discharge area 40 to the addi-tional pipe is not important ln the present invention.
Turning now to Figures 8 and 9, additional or supplementary material can be added for a spreading action through the pneumatic distribution system previ-ously described. Figure 8 thus shows basically the por-tion of the device shown in Figure 7 but in this case the additional supply systems for the supplementary materials are added which are omitted from Figure 7 for convenience of lllustration.
The supplementary material can be supplied from a liquid dlscharge tank 80, a first particulate material hopper 81 and a second particulate material hopper 82.
The hoppers 81 and 82 are mounted on the rear wall 23 of the hopper. The liquid tank 80 is mounted at suitable location for example on the side of the hopper. Each of the particulate material supply hoppers 81 and 82 includes a roller feed system 83 including a roller having a width substantially equal to the width of the belt upper run at 31. The roller has a plurality of ribs and ~rooves arranged longitudlnally of the periphery so that rotatlon of the roller in an antl clockwise . . ... .. ..
.
, , ;
, 2 ~ 3 direction transports material from the bottom of the hopper over llp to fall in a curtain across the width of the belt. The details of this device are well known to one skllled ln the art and have been used for many years on various types of pneumatic distribution systems.
In the case of the hopper 81, the roller is positioned above the belt so the material is allowed to fall directly from the roller onto the belt or rather onto the material layer 39 on top of the belt to form an additional layer as a supplement on top of the layer 39.
As this layer is spread equally across the full width of the belt, this material is also properly separated by the flngers 60A and the ducts previously described for transmlsslon along the booms for spreadlng actlon wlth the main partlculate material from the maln hopper.
The feed system from the hopper 82 discharges into a plurality of cups 84 which are spaced along the wldth of the roller 83 and thus actively divide the material lnto separate portions for discharge along separate pipes 85 each of which tapers to a nozzle 86 for dlscharge directly into one of the ducts of the main dlstrlbutlon system.
2 ~ J i ~
Therefore the material from the hopper 82 can be added into the main distribution system and can be spread with the main material from the main hopper.
The liquid from the tank 80 passes through a pump 87 to a high pressure nozzle 88 arranged to spread the liquid material evenly across the width of the mater-ial layer 39. The liquid is thus added to the material for spreading wlth the main dlstrlbutlon system. It ls often requlred with a liquid distribution system that the liquid be arranged to contact a high proportion of each of the particles of the particulate material to be dis-tributed. For this purpose therefore downstream of the nozzle 88 is provided a rake system indicated at 89 including three transverse bars 90 and a plurality of vertical fingers 91 mounted on each of the bars and extending downwardly therefrom into contact with the layer 39 to a posltion at the top of the belt 31. As shown in Figure 9 the flngers are offset from one bar to the next so that the material as it flows along the belt on top of the belt ls moved and mixed by the action of the flngers within the layer of material. This causes the liquid to contact a maximum number of the particles of the layer 39. In thls way no free liquid remains so that substantially all liquid is carried by the particles :
.
- ` 2 ~ 3 thus preventing drift of free liquid in the air stream which escapes form the spreader nozzles of the boom.
In some cases of use of the device, all three of the supplementary material supply systems can be used.
In other cases only one or only two of the supplementary supply systems may be used. In a yet further situation, the whole machine can be used to distribute material simply supplied from the third hopper 82 with the main system shut down. In cases therefore where a very low level of spreading rate is required, the material for dlstributlon can be supplied ln the hopper 82 ln which case the belt is halted and all of the feed ls controlled by the roller 83 and the duct 85. Thls enables the device to be very flexible in the type and quantities of material which can be distributed.
Since various modifications can be made in my inventlon as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departlng from such spirlt and scope, it is intended that all matter contalned ln the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
CLAIMS:
(1) Apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spacedoutwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, a first and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizontal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at right angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, each of said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, each boom being associated with a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate material deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the discharge end of the respective belt means, for each of the booms, the feed openings of the pipes thereof being staggered in a direction parallel to the discharge end of the respective belt means so as to receive material from separate parts of the respective belt means, and first and second guide means each for transferring the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to the feed openings of respective one of the booms, each guide means comprising a plurality of rigid duct members arranged side by side across the width of the discharge end, each duct member communicating material directly to the feed opening of a respective one of the pipes and being formed by two side dividing walls separating each duct member from the next adjacent duct member and two end walls, the side dividing walls and end walls defining at an upper end of the duct member an open mouth into which the material falls from a discharge end, the side walls being arranged in spaced relation transversely to the discharge end so that the discharged material is divided into separate portions for transmission to the pipes, the end walls of each duct member including at least one end wall which is inclined to the vertical to guide the separate portion of material from a position directly beneath the discharge end to a position aligned with the feed opening of the respective pipe (2) The invention according to Claim I wherein the discharge end of the belt means is arranged to overlie substantially a longitudinal centre line of the respective boom, the duct members being shaped so that the inclined end wall of a first one of the duct members is inclined forwardly and downwardly so as to guide the portion of material to a forwardmost one of the pipes and wherein a second one of the duct members has an inclined end wall inclined downwardly and rearwardly so as to guide the portion of material rearwardly r-o a rearwardmost one of the pipes.
(3) The apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the first duct member is arranged at one end of the guide means and wherein the second duct member is arranged at the other end of the guide means.
(4) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the end walls of each of the duct members converge from the open mouth to the feed opening of therespective pipe to form a funnel shape.
(5) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said manifold means comprises a single manifold positioned between the booms and communicating with each of the pipes of both of the booms to generate said airflow therein.
(6) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein each pipe has the feed opening thereof arranged at the inner end thereof and includes a venturi positioned at said inner end and injecting air from said manifold means into said inner end axially of the pipe.
(7) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein there is provided a space between the belt means and wherein the fan means includes a duct passing between said belt means to said manifold means.
(8) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said spreader means of each pipe includes a first spreader nozzle arranged at the end of the pipe and a second spreader nozzle mounted on the pipe at a position spaced inwardly of the outer end and arranged to separate from the pipe a portion of the material transported therein.
(9) The apparatus according to Claim 1 including means for spreading onto the belt across r-he width of the belt downstream of the gate means a supplementary material for spreading with the particulate material.
(10) The apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein said spreading means includes a nozzle for discharge of a liquid onto the particulate material on the belt and mixing means for engaging the particulate material on the belt so as to mix the liquid with the particulate material.
(11) The apparatus according to Claim 10 wherein the mixing means includes a rake member having a plurality of tines for engaging into the particulate material.
(12) The apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein the spreading means comprises a hopper for receiving a second particulate material and including roller discharge means for discharging a curtain of the material from the hopper across the width of the belt such that the curtain of the second particulate material falls on top of the material on the belt.
(13) The invention according to Claim 9 including a further hopper means for receiving a particulate material, a plurality of duct means each for guiding material from the further hopper means into a respective one of said duct members and metering-means for feeding the particulate material from said further hopper means into said plurality of duct means.
(14) Apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spacedoutwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, a first and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizontal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at right angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, each of said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, each boom being positioned directly beneath the discharge end of a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate material deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the discharge end of the respective belt means, first and second dividing means each associated with a respective one of the belts for dividing the discharged material into a plurality of separate portions and first and second guide means each including a plurality of ducts for transferring the separate portions of the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to respective ones of the feed openings of a respective one of the booms.
(15) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein each of the booms has the pipes thereof arranged such that the feed openings arc staggered in a direction parallel to the discharge end of the respective belt means so that each feed opening receives material from a separate part of the belt means substantially aligned therewith.
(16) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein each guide means comprises said plurality of ducts, with each duct thereof being defined by substantially rigid walls extending downwardly from the discharge end of the respective belt means to a respective one of the feed opening such that the material is guided by the substantially rigid walls and falls by gravity therealong to the respective one of the feed openings.
(17) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein each duct is formed by two side dividing walls separating each duct member from the next adjacent duct member and two end walls, the side dividing walls and end walls defining at an upper end of the cut member an open mouth into which the material falls from a discharge end, the side walls being arranged in spaced relation transversely to the discharge end so that the discharged material is divided into separate portions for transmission to the pipes, the end walls of each duct member including at least one end wall which is inclined to the vertical to guide the separate portion of material from a position directly beneath the discharge end to a position aligned with the feed opening of the respective pipe.
(18) The apparatus according to Claim 17 wherein the discharge end of the belt means is arranged to overlie substantially a longitudinal centre line of the respective boom, the ducts being shaped so that an inclined end wall of a first one of the ducts is inclined forwardly and downwardly so as to guide the portion of material to a forwardmost one of the pipes and wherein a second one of the ducts has an inclined end wall inclined downwardly and rearwardly so as to guide the portion of material rearwardly to a rearwardmost one of the pipes.
(19) The apparatus according to Claim 18 wherein the first duct is arranged at one end of the guide means and wherein the second duct is arranged at the other end of the guide means.
(20) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein said manifold means comprises a single manifold positioned between the booms and directly communicating with each of the pipes of both of the booms to generate said airflow therein.
(21) The apparatus according to Claim 20 wherein each pipe has the feed opening thereof arranged at the inner end thereof and includes a venturi positioned at said inner end and injecting air from said manifold means into said inner end axially of the pipe.
(22) The apparatus according to Claim 22 wherein there is provided a space between the belt means and wherein the fan means includes a duct passing between said belt means to said manifold means.
(23) The apparatus according to Claim 19 wherein said spreader means of each pipe includes a first spreader nozzle arranged at the end of the pipe and a second spreader nozzle mounted on the pipe at a position spaced inwardly of the outer end and arranged to separate from the pipe a portion of the material transported therein.
(24) The apparatus according to Claims 14 including means for spreading onto each belt across the inside of the belt downstream of the gate means a supplementary material including means for metering the quantity of supplementary material prior to spreading.
(25) An apparatus for simultaneously spreading a particulate material and liquid across the ground, comprising a first tank for containing the particulate material, a second tank for containing the liquid, transport means mounting the first and second tanks for movement across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the first tank in a layer having a width across a width of the upper run, gate means for controlling a depth of the layer on the belt means as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper runthereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity in a curtain across the width of the upper run, spreading means for spreading the material discharged from the belt means in a spread pattern across the ground, said spreading means comprising a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the boom such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, each said pipe including a respective one of a plurality of receptacles arranged across the width of the upper run so as to receive portions of said curtain and mixing means for mixing the liquid with the particulate material prior to spreading of the particulate material, said mixing means comprising a pump for discharging the liquid form the second tank, and spray nozzle means forgenerating a spray pattern of the liquid the spray nozzle means being oriented and arranged so as to spray said liquid from the pump onto said layer substantially across the full width of the upper run.
(26) Apparatus according to Claim 25 wherein said mixing means includes engaging means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt means downstream of said spray nozzle means and upstream of said discharge end for disturbing thematerial in the layer for mixing the liquid with the particulate material.
(27) Apparatus according to Claim 26 wherein the engaging means comprises rakes means having a plurality of tines.
(28) An apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a first tank for containing a particulate material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent oneend of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the first tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from one end of the first tank in a layer having a width across a top of the upper run, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means thereof for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of at least one of the boom shaving a feed opening from receiving the particulate material from the discharge end of the belt means, first divider means for continuously separating the layer at the discharge end into substantially equal separate portions each for transmission to a respective open of the pipes, a second tank for a supplementary particulate material to be spread, roller metering means arranged across the width of the layer and arranged to form a curtain of the supplementary particulate material, the roller metering means being arranged such that the curtain has a width equal to the width of the layer on the belt means, such that the curtain is continuous across its width, and the curtain being discharged continuously from the metering means, the roller metering means beingarranged to discharge the curtain into the layer for separation with the layer into said separate portions for transmission to a respective one of the pipes and including second divider means for dividing the curtain into portions spaced across the width of the curtain upstream of the first divider means.
(29) Apparatus according to Claim 28 wherein said roller metering means is arranged such that the curtain of supplementary particulate material isdeposited onto said layer upstream of said discharge end.
(30) Apparatus according to Claim 28 including mixing means for mixing a liquid with the particulate material prior to spreading of the particulate material, said mixing means comprising a third tank for containing the liquid, a pump for discharging the liquid form the third tank, and spray nozzle means for generating a spray pattern of the liquid directed so as to spray said liquid onto said layer substantially across the full width of the layer.
(31) Apparatus according to Claim 30 wherein said mixing means includes engaging means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt mean downstream of said spray nozzle means and upstream of said discharge end for disturbing the material in the layer to mix the liquid with the particulate material.
(32) Apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a first tank for containing a particulate material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the first tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from one end of the first tank in a layer having a width across a top of the upper run, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means thereof for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of at least one of the boom shaving a feed opening for receiving the particulate material form the discharge end of the belt means, divider means for continuously separating the layer at the discharge end into substantially equal separate portions each for transmission to a respective one of the pipes, a second tank for a supplementary particulate material to be spread, roller metering means arranged across the width of the layer and arranged to form a curtain of the supplementary particulate material, the curtain having a width equal to the width of the layer on the belt means, the curtain being continuous across its width, and the curtain being discharged continuously from the metering means, the roller metering means being arranged to discharge the curtain into the layer for separation with the layer into said separate portions for transmission to a respective one of the pipes wherein the second tank is connected to the first tank at said one end thereof and includes a common partition therewith and wherein there is provided an opening between said one end of the first tank and an inclined end wall of the second tank through which the upper run of the belt means and the gate means can be accessed.
(33) Apparatus according to Claim 30 including mixing means for mixing a liquid with the particulate material prior to spreading of the particulate material, said mixing means comprising a third tank for containing the liquid, a pump for discharging the liquid from the third tank, and spray nozzle means for generating a spray pattern of the liquid directed to as to spray said liquid onto said layer substantially across the full width of the layer.
(34) Apparatus according to Claim 33 wherein the spray nozzle means is arranged to spray the liquid onto the layer at a position on the belt means upstream of said discharge end.
(35) Apparatus according to Claim 34 wherein said mixing means includes engaging means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt means downstream of said spray nozzle means and upstream of said discharge end for disturbing the material in the layer to mixing the liquid with the particulate material.
(36) Apparatus according to Claim 33 wherein the spray nozzle means is accessible through said opening.
(37) A method for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising containing a particulate material to be spread in a first tank, providing a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, moving the first tank and the booms in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, carrying the particulate material on an endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted with the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from one end of the first tank in a layer having a width across a top of the upper run, controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity, communicating an airflow to each pipe to flow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means thereof for transportation of the particulate material therealong, providing on each of the pipes o f at least one of the booms a feed opening for receiving the particulate material form the discharge end of the belt means, continuously separating the layer at the discharge end into substantially equal eparate portions each for transmission to a respective one of the pipes, providing in a second tank a supplementary particulate material to be spread, metering the supplementary material using a rotating roller to form a curtain of the supplementary particulate material extending along the roller and discharged radially therefrom, the curtain having a width equal to the width of the layer on the belt means, the curtain being continuous across its width, and the curtain being discharged continuously from the metering means and discharging the curtain into the material of the layer into said separate portions for transmission to a respective one of the pipes.
(1) Apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spacedoutwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the full width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, a first and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizontal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at right angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, each of said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, each boom being associated with a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate material deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the discharge end of the respective belt means, for each of the booms, the feed openings of the pipes thereof being staggered in a direction parallel to the discharge end of the respective belt means so as to receive material from separate parts of the respective belt means, and first and second guide means each for transferring the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to the feed openings of respective one of the booms, each guide means comprising a plurality of rigid duct members arranged side by side across the width of the discharge end, each duct member communicating material directly to the feed opening of a respective one of the pipes and being formed by two side dividing walls separating each duct member from the next adjacent duct member and two end walls, the side dividing walls and end walls defining at an upper end of the duct member an open mouth into which the material falls from a discharge end, the side walls being arranged in spaced relation transversely to the discharge end so that the discharged material is divided into separate portions for transmission to the pipes, the end walls of each duct member including at least one end wall which is inclined to the vertical to guide the separate portion of material from a position directly beneath the discharge end to a position aligned with the feed opening of the respective pipe (2) The invention according to Claim I wherein the discharge end of the belt means is arranged to overlie substantially a longitudinal centre line of the respective boom, the duct members being shaped so that the inclined end wall of a first one of the duct members is inclined forwardly and downwardly so as to guide the portion of material to a forwardmost one of the pipes and wherein a second one of the duct members has an inclined end wall inclined downwardly and rearwardly so as to guide the portion of material rearwardly r-o a rearwardmost one of the pipes.
(3) The apparatus according to Claim 2 wherein the first duct member is arranged at one end of the guide means and wherein the second duct member is arranged at the other end of the guide means.
(4) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein the end walls of each of the duct members converge from the open mouth to the feed opening of therespective pipe to form a funnel shape.
(5) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said manifold means comprises a single manifold positioned between the booms and communicating with each of the pipes of both of the booms to generate said airflow therein.
(6) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein each pipe has the feed opening thereof arranged at the inner end thereof and includes a venturi positioned at said inner end and injecting air from said manifold means into said inner end axially of the pipe.
(7) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein there is provided a space between the belt means and wherein the fan means includes a duct passing between said belt means to said manifold means.
(8) The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said spreader means of each pipe includes a first spreader nozzle arranged at the end of the pipe and a second spreader nozzle mounted on the pipe at a position spaced inwardly of the outer end and arranged to separate from the pipe a portion of the material transported therein.
(9) The apparatus according to Claim 1 including means for spreading onto the belt across r-he width of the belt downstream of the gate means a supplementary material for spreading with the particulate material.
(10) The apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein said spreading means includes a nozzle for discharge of a liquid onto the particulate material on the belt and mixing means for engaging the particulate material on the belt so as to mix the liquid with the particulate material.
(11) The apparatus according to Claim 10 wherein the mixing means includes a rake member having a plurality of tines for engaging into the particulate material.
(12) The apparatus according to Claim 9 wherein the spreading means comprises a hopper for receiving a second particulate material and including roller discharge means for discharging a curtain of the material from the hopper across the width of the belt such that the curtain of the second particulate material falls on top of the material on the belt.
(13) The invention according to Claim 9 including a further hopper means for receiving a particulate material, a plurality of duct means each for guiding material from the further hopper means into a respective one of said duct members and metering-means for feeding the particulate material from said further hopper means into said plurality of duct means.
(14) Apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a tank for containing the material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the tank outwardly to a respective side of the tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes lying side by side in a common plane which is substantially horizontal, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spacedoutwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, a first and a second endless feed belt means each having an upper run mounted within the tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the tank in a layer on top of the upper run, means mounting the belt means such that the upper runs thereof lie in substantially the same horizontal plane for movement in mutually parallel directions outwardly from the tank at said one end thereof and at right angles to said booms, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, each of said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the material to fall therefrom by gravity, each boom being positioned directly beneath the discharge end of a respective one of the belt means so as to receive the particulate material deposited therefrom, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of a respective one of the booms having a feed opening for receiving particulate material from the discharge end of the respective belt means, first and second dividing means each associated with a respective one of the belts for dividing the discharged material into a plurality of separate portions and first and second guide means each including a plurality of ducts for transferring the separate portions of the material from the discharge end of respective one of the belt means to respective ones of the feed openings of a respective one of the booms.
(15) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein each of the booms has the pipes thereof arranged such that the feed openings arc staggered in a direction parallel to the discharge end of the respective belt means so that each feed opening receives material from a separate part of the belt means substantially aligned therewith.
(16) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein each guide means comprises said plurality of ducts, with each duct thereof being defined by substantially rigid walls extending downwardly from the discharge end of the respective belt means to a respective one of the feed opening such that the material is guided by the substantially rigid walls and falls by gravity therealong to the respective one of the feed openings.
(17) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein each duct is formed by two side dividing walls separating each duct member from the next adjacent duct member and two end walls, the side dividing walls and end walls defining at an upper end of the cut member an open mouth into which the material falls from a discharge end, the side walls being arranged in spaced relation transversely to the discharge end so that the discharged material is divided into separate portions for transmission to the pipes, the end walls of each duct member including at least one end wall which is inclined to the vertical to guide the separate portion of material from a position directly beneath the discharge end to a position aligned with the feed opening of the respective pipe.
(18) The apparatus according to Claim 17 wherein the discharge end of the belt means is arranged to overlie substantially a longitudinal centre line of the respective boom, the ducts being shaped so that an inclined end wall of a first one of the ducts is inclined forwardly and downwardly so as to guide the portion of material to a forwardmost one of the pipes and wherein a second one of the ducts has an inclined end wall inclined downwardly and rearwardly so as to guide the portion of material rearwardly to a rearwardmost one of the pipes.
(19) The apparatus according to Claim 18 wherein the first duct is arranged at one end of the guide means and wherein the second duct is arranged at the other end of the guide means.
(20) The apparatus according to Claim 14 wherein said manifold means comprises a single manifold positioned between the booms and directly communicating with each of the pipes of both of the booms to generate said airflow therein.
(21) The apparatus according to Claim 20 wherein each pipe has the feed opening thereof arranged at the inner end thereof and includes a venturi positioned at said inner end and injecting air from said manifold means into said inner end axially of the pipe.
(22) The apparatus according to Claim 22 wherein there is provided a space between the belt means and wherein the fan means includes a duct passing between said belt means to said manifold means.
(23) The apparatus according to Claim 19 wherein said spreader means of each pipe includes a first spreader nozzle arranged at the end of the pipe and a second spreader nozzle mounted on the pipe at a position spaced inwardly of the outer end and arranged to separate from the pipe a portion of the material transported therein.
(24) The apparatus according to Claims 14 including means for spreading onto each belt across the inside of the belt downstream of the gate means a supplementary material including means for metering the quantity of supplementary material prior to spreading.
(25) An apparatus for simultaneously spreading a particulate material and liquid across the ground, comprising a first tank for containing the particulate material, a second tank for containing the liquid, transport means mounting the first and second tanks for movement across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from the first tank in a layer having a width across a width of the upper run, gate means for controlling a depth of the layer on the belt means as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper runthereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity in a curtain across the width of the upper run, spreading means for spreading the material discharged from the belt means in a spread pattern across the ground, said spreading means comprising a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the boom such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, each said pipe including a respective one of a plurality of receptacles arranged across the width of the upper run so as to receive portions of said curtain and mixing means for mixing the liquid with the particulate material prior to spreading of the particulate material, said mixing means comprising a pump for discharging the liquid form the second tank, and spray nozzle means forgenerating a spray pattern of the liquid the spray nozzle means being oriented and arranged so as to spray said liquid from the pump onto said layer substantially across the full width of the upper run.
(26) Apparatus according to Claim 25 wherein said mixing means includes engaging means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt means downstream of said spray nozzle means and upstream of said discharge end for disturbing thematerial in the layer for mixing the liquid with the particulate material.
(27) Apparatus according to Claim 26 wherein the engaging means comprises rakes means having a plurality of tines.
(28) An apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a first tank for containing a particulate material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent oneend of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the first tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from one end of the first tank in a layer having a width across a top of the upper run, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means thereof for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of at least one of the boom shaving a feed opening from receiving the particulate material from the discharge end of the belt means, first divider means for continuously separating the layer at the discharge end into substantially equal separate portions each for transmission to a respective open of the pipes, a second tank for a supplementary particulate material to be spread, roller metering means arranged across the width of the layer and arranged to form a curtain of the supplementary particulate material, the roller metering means being arranged such that the curtain has a width equal to the width of the layer on the belt means, such that the curtain is continuous across its width, and the curtain being discharged continuously from the metering means, the roller metering means beingarranged to discharge the curtain into the layer for separation with the layer into said separate portions for transmission to a respective one of the pipes and including second divider means for dividing the curtain into portions spaced across the width of the curtain upstream of the first divider means.
(29) Apparatus according to Claim 28 wherein said roller metering means is arranged such that the curtain of supplementary particulate material isdeposited onto said layer upstream of said discharge end.
(30) Apparatus according to Claim 28 including mixing means for mixing a liquid with the particulate material prior to spreading of the particulate material, said mixing means comprising a third tank for containing the liquid, a pump for discharging the liquid form the third tank, and spray nozzle means for generating a spray pattern of the liquid directed so as to spray said liquid onto said layer substantially across the full width of the layer.
(31) Apparatus according to Claim 30 wherein said mixing means includes engaging means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt mean downstream of said spray nozzle means and upstream of said discharge end for disturbing the material in the layer to mix the liquid with the particulate material.
(32) Apparatus for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising a first tank for containing a particulate material to be spread, a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, means for mounting the first tank and the booms for movement in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted within the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from one end of the first tank in a layer having a width across a top of the upper run, gate means for controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity, fan means for generating airflow, manifold means communicating airflow from the fan means to each pipe for causing an airflow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means thereof for transportation of the particulate material therealong, each of the pipes of at least one of the boom shaving a feed opening for receiving the particulate material form the discharge end of the belt means, divider means for continuously separating the layer at the discharge end into substantially equal separate portions each for transmission to a respective one of the pipes, a second tank for a supplementary particulate material to be spread, roller metering means arranged across the width of the layer and arranged to form a curtain of the supplementary particulate material, the curtain having a width equal to the width of the layer on the belt means, the curtain being continuous across its width, and the curtain being discharged continuously from the metering means, the roller metering means being arranged to discharge the curtain into the layer for separation with the layer into said separate portions for transmission to a respective one of the pipes wherein the second tank is connected to the first tank at said one end thereof and includes a common partition therewith and wherein there is provided an opening between said one end of the first tank and an inclined end wall of the second tank through which the upper run of the belt means and the gate means can be accessed.
(33) Apparatus according to Claim 30 including mixing means for mixing a liquid with the particulate material prior to spreading of the particulate material, said mixing means comprising a third tank for containing the liquid, a pump for discharging the liquid from the third tank, and spray nozzle means for generating a spray pattern of the liquid directed to as to spray said liquid onto said layer substantially across the full width of the layer.
(34) Apparatus according to Claim 33 wherein the spray nozzle means is arranged to spray the liquid onto the layer at a position on the belt means upstream of said discharge end.
(35) Apparatus according to Claim 34 wherein said mixing means includes engaging means for engaging the particulate material in the layer on the belt means downstream of said spray nozzle means and upstream of said discharge end for disturbing the material in the layer to mixing the liquid with the particulate material.
(36) Apparatus according to Claim 33 wherein the spray nozzle means is accessible through said opening.
(37) A method for spreading particulate material across the ground, comprising containing a particulate material to be spread in a first tank, providing a first boom and a second boom, each boom extending from a central position adjacent one end of the first tank outwardly to a respective side of the first tank, each boom including a plurality of pipes, each pipe extending from an inner end adjacent the central position to an outer end spaced outwardly of the central position and having spreader means spaced outwardly from the central position for spreading across the ground the particulate material transported along the pipe, moving the first tank and the booms in a direction substantially at right angles to the booms across the ground, the spreader means being located at staggered positions along the length of the booms such that the spreader means cooperate to spread the material across the width of the booms as the booms are moved across the ground, carrying the particulate material on an endless feed belt means having an upper run mounted with the first tank such that the particulate material is carried on the upper run of the belt means from one end of the first tank in a layer having a width across a top of the upper run, controlling the depth of the layer on the belt means so as to meter the amount of material carried thereby, said belt means having an end guide member at a discharge end of the belt means around which the upper run thereof turns to discharge the layer of material such that the layer falls therefrom by gravity, communicating an airflow to each pipe to flow therealong from the inner end thereof to the spreader means thereof for transportation of the particulate material therealong, providing on each of the pipes o f at least one of the booms a feed opening for receiving the particulate material form the discharge end of the belt means, continuously separating the layer at the discharge end into substantially equal eparate portions each for transmission to a respective one of the pipes, providing in a second tank a supplementary particulate material to be spread, metering the supplementary material using a rotating roller to form a curtain of the supplementary particulate material extending along the roller and discharged radially therefrom, the curtain having a width equal to the width of the layer on the belt means, the curtain being continuous across its width, and the curtain being discharged continuously from the metering means and discharging the curtain into the material of the layer into said separate portions for transmission to a respective one of the pipes.
Priority Applications (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2017216 CA2017216C (en) | 1990-05-18 | 1990-05-18 | Spreading of particulate material |
| PCT/CA1991/000166 WO1991017648A1 (en) | 1990-05-18 | 1991-05-21 | Spreading of particulate material |
| AU78545/91A AU7854591A (en) | 1990-05-18 | 1991-05-21 | Spreading of particulate material |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2017216 CA2017216C (en) | 1990-05-18 | 1990-05-18 | Spreading of particulate material |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2017216A1 CA2017216A1 (en) | 1991-11-18 |
| CA2017216C true CA2017216C (en) | 1994-02-01 |
Family
ID=4145025
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2017216 Expired - Lifetime CA2017216C (en) | 1990-05-18 | 1990-05-18 | Spreading of particulate material |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| AU (1) | AU7854591A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2017216C (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1991017648A1 (en) |
Family Cites Families (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3625431A (en) * | 1970-01-20 | 1971-12-07 | Ystads Gjuteri Mek Verk | Artificial manure spreader |
| FR2359452A1 (en) * | 1976-07-21 | 1978-02-17 | Medinger Jean Claude | Granular material distributing chamber - has augers delivering material to buffer reservoirs and driven by motors controlled by level sensors |
| CA1159313A (en) * | 1982-03-04 | 1983-12-27 | Leonard Nakonechny | Metering system for seed and granular material |
| US4790484A (en) * | 1986-10-22 | 1988-12-13 | Highway Equipment Company | Apparatus for distributing granular material |
| US4826088A (en) * | 1987-11-23 | 1989-05-02 | Charles Balmer | Pneumatic distribution system with split ducts |
-
1990
- 1990-05-18 CA CA 2017216 patent/CA2017216C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1991
- 1991-05-21 AU AU78545/91A patent/AU7854591A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1991-05-21 WO PCT/CA1991/000166 patent/WO1991017648A1/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| AU7854591A (en) | 1991-12-10 |
| CA2017216A1 (en) | 1991-11-18 |
| WO1991017648A1 (en) | 1991-11-28 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |