EP1333711A1 - Transport device at a propeller mixer - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns an adaptation of a propeller agitator for agitating liquid fertiliser in a farming context in order to achieve improved possibilities for transport. Said agitator is normally rigidly connected to its towing tractor and extends longitudinally behind same in the form of a rigid element, whereupon it poses a traffic risk, particularly in connection with turns on narrow roads. The solution according to the invention involves incorporating a hinged joint essentially in the middle of the agitator and collapsing it to approximately half its length.

Description

Transport device at a propeller mixer

This invention concerns a device according to the preamble to claim 1. propeller agitators for homogenising heterogeneous liquids containing solid particles are known from the prior art. Liquid fertiliser from farm animals is one such liquid, C and normally consists of roughly 90% water and 10% dry matter. In the agitating process, it is necessary for the propeller to reach out to various places in the large fertiliser containers, which are often round, with a diameter of 15 - 30 meters and a depth of-3- - 4 meters. The known solution is to construct the propeller agitator as a long rigid element that extends rearward from a tractor, measures roughly 5 - 10 m in Q length and has a propeller at its rear end. In such designs the mounting to the tractor or to an elevated framework, for containers with high rims that can come to be positioned between tractor and agitator, or to an extension frame, for larger wells with certain rims that may also come to be positioned between tractor and agitator, is such that the agitator can, owing to the articulated design of the mounting, be swung in the vertical ^ plane, but not normally in the horizontal plane. Vertical motion is customarily achieved by means of hydraulic cylinders, and is used to enable the positioning of the propeller at various depths in the liquid, which is extremely important to the process results.

0 The described arrangement has, in heretofore known solutions, comprised both the working,position and the transport position of the agitator, and this has posed a risk and a major problem in connection with transport, mainly on public roads, since the slightest steering adjustment of the tractor results in the propeller end being rapidly thrown out into the oncoming traffic lane, due to the customary horizontally rigid ζ mounting of the agitator, and to its length. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a special transport position of the propeller agitator that enables fast, safe and comfortable transport in both heavy traffic and narrow passages. The solution according to the invention in this respect is presented in the characterising part of claim 1.

A number of prototypical exemplary embodiments of the invention have been Q produced and found to work exceptionally well. In practice, the aforementioned articulation should be controlled in some way, e.g. by means of a hydraulic cylinder; moreover, the end positions of the swiveling motion for the working and transport positions should be locked by means of, e.g. bolts and nuts, to ensure reliable agitator function. One common way to transfer the power from the tractor power take-off shaft Q spindle to the propeller of a propeller agitator is via a long rotating shaft that runs inside or out along the extending element. For such a solution, it is obviously that said shaft must also be articulated, and that it must be possible for the segments to transfer torque to one another via, e.g. a claw coupling that engages in the working position, or via multiple so-called universal joints. An alternative means, for shafts, of transferring 5 torque involves hydrostatic operation, wherein the propeller connects more or less directly to an hydraulic drive motor. However, it should be noted that the swivelling position describe in Figure 1 represents an intermediate position between the working position and transport position, and that the direction of swivel represents only one example of a direction of swivel within the scope of the claim. 0

Finally, it is confirmed that propeller agitators that are divided into parts that are somewhat swivelable in relation to one another are known in the prior art, but solely for the purpose of improving the possibilities for positioning the propeller; these solutions have resulted in no notable positive effect on the possibilities in terms of 5 transport.

Claims

Claims

1. A device for agitating and homogenising liquid fertiliser in an appropriate container in, e.g. farming context, wherein the device connects to a tractor (3) or to a framework carried by a tractor, so that in its working position it comprises an essentially rearward-extending longitudinal element in whose rear end is arranged a propeller for the active agitation, characterised in that the aforedescribed working position is changeable to a position that is suited to the safe and comfortable transport of the device, in that the extending element consists of two or more segments that are connected to one another in articulated fashion, wherein a first segment (1) connects to the tractor, or to said framework, and of at least one successive segment (2) can be swivelled so that its rear end will point essentially forward, whereupon the total length extending from the tractor is reduced.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that the power for the propeller is transferred from the tractor power take-off shaft spindle by means of a rotating shaft that is articulated at the same points as the extending element, and in that the torque is transferred from shaft segment to shaft segment by means of an engagement coupling ^mat engages in the working position, or by means of a flexible coupling in permanent engagement.