EP0465499A1

EP0465499A1 - Road gritter device

Info

Publication number: EP0465499A1
Application number: EP19900904888
Authority: EP
Inventors: William Frank Cotton; Terence Mcgee
Original assignee: CONVEYERS YORKSHIRE Ltd; WEST YORKSHIRE HIGHWAYS ENGENEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES JOINT COMMITTEE
Current assignee: CONVEYERS YORKSHIRE Ltd; WEST YORKSHIRE HIGHWAYS ENGENEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES JOINT COMMITTEE
Priority date: 1989-03-28
Filing date: 1990-03-08
Publication date: 1992-01-15
Also published as: CA2055603A1; WO1990011409A1; GB8906957D0; GB2248759A; GB9120482D0; JPH05500245A; GB2248759B; FI914570A0

Abstract

On décrit un dispositif pour gravillonneuses (10), formant une unité que l'on peut monter sur une plate-forme de chargement (11) d'un camion pendant les mois d'hiver, et qui comprend un wagon à déchargement par le fond (12) comportant un ensemble de plusieurs plaques fabriquées séparément en un matériau plastique rigide que l'on peut monter ensemble de manière amovible pour les remplacer lorsque cela est nécessaire. Un transporteur circulaire (15) achemine le matériau granulaire depuis ledit wagon (12) vers un ensemble de disque centrifuge (13) comprenant un disque centrifuge (14) qui tourne sur un plan sensiblement horizontal pour distribuer latéralement ledit matériau granulaire. Le transporteur circulaire (15) comprend une bande de transporteur circulaire (16) faite en un matériau plastique ou élastomère. Le disque centrifuge (14) est de préférence également fabriqué en un matériau plastique. Les éléments principaux du dispositif pour gravillonneuses étant ainsi faits en un matériqu plastique, sur lequel le matériau granulaire utilisé habituellement contenant du "sel" n'a pas d'effet, ledit dispositif ne court pas le risque d'être détérioré par la corrosion comme le sont les dispositifs pour gravillonneuses connus à ce jour qui sont fabriqués de feuilles métalliques et comprennent des disques centrifuges de métal. Grâce à la construction du wagon à déchargement par le fond en plusieurs feuilles en plaques séparées de plastique rigide, on peut aisément remplacer les feuilles usées ou abîmées.A device for gravel spreaders (10) is described, forming a unit which can be mounted on a loading platform (11) of a truck during the winter months, and which comprises a wagon with bottom discharge (12) comprising a set of several plates produced separately from a rigid plastic material which can be mounted together in a removable manner to replace them when necessary. A circular conveyor (15) conveys the granular material from said wagon (12) to a centrifugal disc assembly (13) comprising a centrifugal disc (14) which rotates on a substantially horizontal plane to laterally distribute said granular material. The circular conveyor (15) includes a circular conveyor belt (16) made of a plastic or elastomeric material. The centrifugal disc (14) is preferably also made of a plastic material. The main elements of the device for gravel spreaders being thus made of a plastic material, on which the granular material usually used containing "salt" has no effect, said device does not run the risk of being damaged by corrosion as are the devices for gravel spreaders known to date which are made of metal sheets and include centrifugal metal discs. Thanks to the construction of the bottom unloading wagon in several sheets of separate rigid plastic sheets, it is easy to replace worn or damaged sheets.

Description

ROAD GRITTER DEVICE

This invention relates to a road gritter device which forms part of. or is adapted to be mounted on a transport vehicle, and which is operable to distribute particulate material over the surface of a road when required during icy conditions.

As is well known, the particulate material distributed over icy patches on roads usually comprises a suitable form of soluble "salt" which helps to melt any icy patches on a road, and sand or grit which improves vehicle tyre grip with icy and melting ice patches on the road. The material applied to roads in icy conditions is very effective and is a major contribution to road safety in the winter. However, the salt content of the distributed material is corrosive, and this is both a problem to road users in that it causes unseen underbody corrosion which can only be mitigated by regular underbody washing, and is also and more seriously a problem to the operators of the gritter devices.

Existing gritter devices generally comprise a storage hopper for the gritter material, a rotary grit distributor in the form of a spinner disc, and an endless conveyor for transferring the material from the hopper to the distributor. The entire device may form an integral part of a specially designed road gritter vehicle, or may form a de- ountable assembly which can be mounted onto a loading platform of any suitable truck for use during the winter months, but which can be dismounted and kept in storage during the remainder of the year, thereby releasing the truck for other duties.

The hopper is fabricated from metal plate or sheet, and the grit distributor is also made of metal, taking the form of a spinner disc which rotates in a horizontal plane and which is driven by a vertical shaft on which it is carried. .Given that the metal components of the existing gritter devices are exposed to direct and continuous contact with the corrosive salt content of the gritter material, these components are subjected to accelerated corrosive attack, when compared with the corrosive action applied to the vehicles bodies of road users, and this therefore involves substantial refurbishment of the component parts before each winter season commences.

Highway authorities employ considerable fleets of gritters, and the material and labour cost of each annual refurbishment amounts to a substantial amount.

There is therefore a clear need to provide a novel construction of road gritter device which is less susceptible to corrosive attack from the constituents of the gritter material which it is intended to distribute.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a road gritter device which forms part of, or is adapted to be mounted on a transport vehicle, and which is operable to distribute gritter material over the surface of a road when required, in which the device comprises: a hopper body for gritter material which is assembled from a plurality of separately formed plates, at least some of which are made of rigid plastics material and which are releasably coupled together for replacement when required; a spinner disc which is rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane in order to distribute laterally gritter material supplied thereto from the hopper; and, an endless conveyor arranged to convey gritter material from the hopper to the spinner disc.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a road gritter device which forms part of, or is adapted to be mounted on a transport vehicle, and which is operable to distribute gritter material over the surface of a road when required, in which the device comprises: a hopper body for gritter material; a spinner disc which is rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane in order to distribute laterally gritter material supplied thereto from the hopper, the disc being made of a rigid. plastics material: and. an endless conveyor arranged to convey gritter material from the hopper to the spinner disc.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a road gritter device which forms part of. or is adapted to be mounted on a transport vehicle, and which is operable to distribute gritter material over the surface of a road when required, in which the device comprises: a hopper body for gritter material which is assembled from a plurality of separately formed plates, at least some of v/hich are releasably coupled together for replacement when required; a spinner disc which is rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane in order to distribute laterally gritter material supplied thereto from the hopper; and, an endless conveyor arranged to convey gritter material from the hopper to the spinner disc, an endless conveyor band of the conveyor being made of plastics or elastomeric material.

A road gritter device according to any of the above aspects of the invention is therefore better able to withstand the corrosive action of the usual "salt" which is present in road gritter material used in this country, since at least some of the component parts of the device are made of plastics material.

There is now available on the market a new type of plastics material which is rigid and robust, and which is capable of withstanding the arduous conditions to which it will be exposed in service as component parts of a road gritter device according to the invention.

A particular preferred material is a newly available plastics material obtainable from Macpherson Polymers under the trade name POLYETHER 2874/206. However, it is envisaged that there will be other types of plastics material which have sufficient resilience to withstand the arduous conditions to which they will be exposed, and yet which has sufficient rigidity to be fabricated into suitably robust form for long service. The use of plastics material in the fabrication of some or all of the major components of the road gritter device enables the device to function sa isfactorily and without any corrosive action from the contents of the gritter material.

Preferably, the hopper body is entirely fabricated from separately formed sheets or plates of rigid plastics material which are releasably coupled together, and in the event of any excessive wear occuring in service, or more usually in the event of impact damage by careless use, replacement sheets can readily be installed with only minimal "down time" of the gritter device.

The spinner disc is preferably carried at the lower end of a rotatable vertical shaft, and the entire disc will usually be made of suitable rigid plastics material, and so also may be the carrying shaft.

The endless conveyor may have most of its major components made of plastics material, such as the endless conveyor band, drive rollers and idle rollers, so as to minimise the opportunity for corrosive attack to take place.

A road gritter device according to the invention may form an integral component of a specially designed and constructed road gritter vehicle, but preferably will be formed as a demountable assembly which can be installed on a loading platform of any suitable truck which will be used for other duties during the seasons other than winter.

To prevent, or at least minimise the risks of corrosive attack upon the metal components of the loading platform, an underlying sheet of plastics material may be arranged below the gritter device and between it and the loading platform. Then, if any of the "salt" falls downwardly, either in powder form, or in solution following rain falling on the contents of the hopper, the underlying sheet will tend to shield the loading platform from contact with this corrosive medium.

When the hopper body is assembled entirely from plastics sheets coupled together, it will be preferable for the hopper body to be given additional rigidity by the provision of a rigid supporting frame which engages the upper edge margins of the side walls of the hopper body. This supporting frame may be fabricated from suitable metal sections which are rigidly assembled to form the required frame shape, and a usual mesh screen may be supported by this frame through which the gritter material will be loaded by bucket-mounted loaders.

The interior of the hopper body may also be provided with a spreader frame arranged near the lower part of the hopper body. This spreader frame will tend to bear part of the load of the gritter material, and also will facilitate smooth discharge of the material from the lower part of the hopper body onto the underlying endless conveyor.

A road gritter device according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side illustration of a road gritter device assembly mounted as a unit on a loading platform of a truck;

Figure 2 is a side view, to an enlarged scale, of a detailed embodiment of hopper body of the gritter device;

Figure 3 is a composite end elevational view of the hopper body;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view through the hopper body;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a support frame for the hopper body;

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the support frame;

Figure 7 is a side elevation view of the support frame;

Figure 8 is a section taken on A-A in Figure 5: and. Figure 9 is a section taken of B-B in Figure 5.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is shown schematically a road gritter device according to the invention which is designated generally by reference 10, and which forms a unit which can be mounted onto a loading platform 11 of any suitable truck for use during the winter months, but which can be dismounted and kept in storage during the remainder of the year, thereby releasing the truck for other duties. However, as an alternative, the device 10 may be constructed as an integral part of a specially designed vehicle. In either situation, the device 10 will be operated in order to distribute gritter material over the surface of a road when required. This gritter material will usually comprise a mixture of a "salt" which serves to melt icy patches on the road, and grit or sand material which will improve tyre adhesion with the road surface.

The device 10 comprises a hopper body 12 which is assembled from a number of separately formed plates, at least some of which are made of rigid plastics material and which are releasably coupled together for replacement when required. Conveniently, the entire wall structure of the hopper body 12 is assembled from separately formed plates of rigid plastics material which are releasably coupled together. One practical embodiment of hopper body is shown in more detail in Figures 2 to 4.

A spinner disc assembly 13 is provided which comprises a spinner disc 14 which is rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane in order to distribute laterally gritter material supplied thereto from the hopper body 12.

An endless conveyor 15 having an endless conveyor band 16 which runs through a longitudinal discharge slot formed in the bottom of the hopper body 12, and conveys gritter material from the hopper body 12 to the spinner disc 14. A sheet of plastics material 17 is arranged below the conveyor 15 and is intended to shield the loading platform 11 of the truck from contact with any corrosive material present in the . ritter material.

The spinner disc 14 is carried at the lower end of a vertical shaft 18 which is driven so that gritter material falling onto the spinner disc 14 is discharged laterally by centrifugal action. The upper surface of the spinner disc 14 may be provided with suitable radiating guide arms to promote the discharging action applied to the gritter material .

The separately formed plates from which the hopper body 12 is assembled are made of any suitable rigid plastics material which can withstand the arduous conditions to which the hopper body will be exposed, and one preferred material is a rigid plastics material supplied by Macpherson Polymers under the trade mark POLYETHER 2874/206. The endless band 16 of the conveyor 15 may be formed of elastomeric material, or of plastics material, such as POLYETHER 2874/206, and serves to convey the gritter material to the spinner disc assembly 13. Any components of the conveyor 15 which are liable to become exposed in service to the action of the corrosive salt present in the gritter material may also be constructed of elastomeric or plastics material, such components including drive rollers and any idler rollers which may be provided.

The spinner disc 14 is also made of rigid plastics material, and so also may be the carrying shaft 18, so that these components will not be adversely affected by the gritter material.

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a road gritter device 10 which forms a unit or assembly which is readily mountable on, or can be dismounted from a loading platform of any suitable truck. Alternatively, the device 10 can be fabricated as an integral part of a specially designed road gritter vehicle.

Detailed structural features of one practicle construction of hopper body 12 is shown in Figures 2 to 4, in which reference A denotes upper side panels, reference B lower side panels, reference C side support panels, reference D end bottom corner panels, reference E end top corner panels and reference F front end centre panels.

Figures 5 to 9 illustrate detailed component parts of a rigid support frame for carrying the hopper body.

Claims

1. A road gritter device which forms part of, or is adapted to be mounted on a transport vehicle, and which is operable to distribute gritter material over the surface of a road when required, in which the device comprises: a hopper body for gritter material which is assembled from a plurality of separately formed plates, at least some of which are made of rigid plastics material and which are releasably coupled together for replacement when required; a spinner disc which is rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane in order to distribute laterally gritter material supplied thereto from the hopper: and, an endless conveyor arranged to convey gritter material from the hopper to the spinner disc.

2. A road gritter device which forms part of, or is adapted to be mounted on a transport vehicle, and which is operable to distribute gritter material over the surface of a road when required, in which the device comprises: a hopper body for gritter material; a spinner disc which is rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane in order to distribute laterally gritter material supplied thereto from the hopper, the disc being made of a rigid plastics material: and, an endless conveyor arranged to convey gritter material from the hopper to the spinner disc.

3. A road gritter device which forms part of, or is adapted to be mounted on a transport vehicle, and which is operable to distribute gritter material over the surface of a road when required, in which the device comprises: a hopper body for gritter material which is assembled from a plurality of separately formed plates, at least some of which are releasably coupled together for replacement when required; a spinner disc which is rotatable in a substantially horizontal plane in order to distribute laterally gritter material supplied thereto from the hopper; and. an endless conveyor arranged to convey gritter material from the hopper to the spinner disc, an endless conveyor band of the conveyor being made of plastics or elastomeric material.

4. A road gritter device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, in which the hopper body is entirely fabricated from separately formed sheets or plates of rigid plastics material which are releasably coupled together.

5. A road gritter device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the spinner disc is carried at the lower end of a rotatable vertical shaft.

6. A road gritter device according to Claim 5, in which the entire disc is made of rigid plastics material.

7. A road gritter device according to Claim 5 ot 6, in which the carrying shaft is made of rigid plastics material .

8. A road gritter device according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, in which the endless conveyor band, drive rollers and idle rollers of the endless conveyor are made of plastics material.

9. A road gritter device according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, in which the device is formed as a demountable assembly which can be installed on a loading platform of a truck.

10. A road gritter device according to Claim 9 and mounted on the loading platform of a truck, in which an underlying sheet of plastics material is arranged below the gritter device and between the device and the loading platform.

11. A road gritter device according to Claim 4, in which additional rigidity is given to the hopper body by provision of a rigid supporting frame which engages the upper edge margins of the side walls of the hopper body.

12. A road gritter device according to Claim 11. in which the supporting frame is fabricated from metal sections, and a mesh screen is supported by this frame through which the gritter material can be loaded.

13. A road gritter device according to any one of Claims 1 to 12, in which the interior of the hopper body is provided with a spreader frame arranged near the lower part of the hopper body so as to bear part of the load of the gritter material, and to facilitate discharge of the material from the lower part of the hopper body onto the underlying endless conveyor.