GB2058534A - Spreader - Google Patents

Abstract

A multipurpose spreader for manure suitable for transportation without loss and for emptying or spreading of solid or cloddy substance as well as of semiliquid or pasty matters, is also useful for general transportation of for instance grain and root crops. The spreader has a hopper 12 with a tiltable closing wall 50 which is pivotally mounted on a tiltable frame 5, the wall 50 projecting into the carrying part of the hopper to the movable bottom in front of a horizontal take-off roller 2 while the tiltable frame is tilted and controlled by a hydraulic operating cylinder 6. On the sidewalls of the hopper may be situated lateral guides 71 through which locking struts 51 for the tiltable frame 5 are passed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Spreader for manure and similar matter The present invention relates to a spreader for manure and similar matter with a hopper provided with a movable bottom the emptying side of which bears distributing elements consisting of at least one horizontal take-off roller and beneath it a spreading table provided with spreading blades above which a deflecting shield is mounted consisting of a swing able closing wall and a tiltable frame.

Spreaders having an open discharge part are known and offer good advantages, particularly when spreading manure for agricultural purposes.

A drawback of these spreaders consists in that they do not allow semiliquid matter and slurry to be distributed, since, at the one hand, these flow out through the open discharge side of the spreaders, and, on the other hand, there is no control of the volume of such material fed to the spreading table.

Also the application of cloddy substances, for instance some sorts of mineral fertilizers, makes it very difficult to achieve good distribution precision.

Another disadvantage of these spreaders is that their possible usage in a wider sense such as for general transport purposes, appears to be rather limited except for perhaps transporting cut greenery, fodder, hay, straw and the like.

These spreaders are not suitable for delivering very loose material, such as grain, but also root crops, since they can not be closed, as stated above, and, consequently, they have no way of preventing loss of the loose material; for the transport of potatoes, moreover, the presence of the horizontal take-off roller causes risk of damage.

Other known spreaders are designed for spreading pulp. Such spreaders have the form of a tub and use discharging mechanisms with chains, hammers, vanes and the like. However, they are not suitable for distributing solid matter, and for transport purposes, either, since emptying them would cause considerable trouble. Another type of spreader is known hav ing a deflecting shield in the form of a tiltable frame and a tiltable closing wall which shuts the open discharge part of the hopper when in its low position, allowing thus various types of material to be trans ported, including pulp.

When in its upper position, the tiltable closing wall together with the tiltable frame form a deflecting shield which fulfils a known function during the spreading operation, orientating the path of distri buted matter in the desired direction.

The application possibilities of the mentioned spreader appear two be considerably broader than those of a conventional one, in particular due to serv ing as a transport means, yet it is not free from some minor disadvantages.

The operator, i.e. the tractor driver, ensures the adjustment of the flow section of the discharge part for the distribution of semifluid matter that has been broughttothe field by the same spreader adapted for transport purposes, and he performs it manually by appropriately swinging and locking the tiltable closing wall, and from this adjustment down to the moment when the tractor that pulls the spreader starts running a certain lapse oftime must be taken into account during which some of the semifluid material, e.g. liquid manure, flows out, thus causing certain irregularities of distribution on the field to take place.

Another minor disadvantage of such arrangements can be seen in the fact that in the transport position of the swingable closing wall, i.e. with the discharge part closed, the horizontal roller or a plurality of them is/are accommodated in the carrying space of the spreader, i.e. in front of the tiltable closing wall, as seen in the motion direction of the movable bottom.

It is obvious that some types of matter, such as root crops, do not allow the roller to be left in the loading space, since the sharp blade edges of the horizontal roller would damage the crops. Consequentiy, in such cases the horizontal rollers should be taken out, which of course causes increased problems for the operator who may have to use a hoist mechanism to remove the rollers.

A spreader for manure and similar matter according to the present invention is provided which comprises a hopper provided with a movable bottom at the emptying side of which are mounted distributing elements consisting of at least one horizontal takeoff roller and beneath it a spreading table provided with spreading blades above which a deflecting shield is mounted consisting of a tiltable closing wall and a tiltable frame wherein the tiltable closing wall is mounted so as to project into the loading space of the hopper, abutting against the side walls and the movable bottom in front of the horizontal take-off roller, and wherein the tiltable frame is tiltable by means of a hydraulic operating cylinder.

In order to prevent possible damage of the horizontal roller it is preferable to provide the side walls of the hopper with guides for the tiltable closing wall.

Another preferable feature allowing the hydraulic cylinder to be relieved consists in that the tiltable closing wall carries supports for contact with the tiltable locking struts.

An example of an embodiment according to the present invention is given diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a spreader according to the invention, with the discharge part of its hopper closed, Fig. 2 is a side view of the back part of the spreader of Fig. 1, also in closed position, Fig. 3 is a side view of the back part of the spreader of Fig. 1 with a partially open closing wall, Fig. 4 is a side view of the back part of the spreader of Fig. 1 in a position where its frame together with its tiltable closing wall acts as a deflecting shield.

The hopper 12 of the spreader at the rear discharge side of which known distributing elements The drawing(s) originally filed was/were informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

are arranged is mounted on an undercarriage 1 provided with wheels 11 and a not shown tow bar, including the connection to the source of driving power -the p.t.o. of the tractor, as well as to the hydraulic system. The aforementioned distributing elements are the horizontal take-off roller 2 with the chain driving wheel 21 and not shown known helically arranged fingers, as can be seen in Fig. 1, and also a spreading table with spreading blades 31.

The horizontal take-off roller is mounted at the rear end ofthe side walls ofthe hopper 12. With this arrangement very easy dismounting can be achieved. The chain driving wheel 21 meshes with the driving chain 22 driven by the not shown known driving arrangements acting to drive the horizontal take-off roller 2, the spreading blades 31 and the movable bottom 4 arranged at the lower part of the hopper 12 is formed suitably as an endless chain conveyor.

Also an embodiment is possible with a plurality of horizontal take-off rollers 2 arranged above each other.

Also the spreading table 3 can be easily removed, its swingable and adjustable means 32 allowing to follow up the discharge end of the movable bottom 4.

The lateral carrier members 15 of the hopper 12 carry on brackets 510 a tiltable frame 5, to which are pivotally mounted locking struts 51, 52 provided with holes and allowing the frame 5 to be fixed in position.

The upper part of frame 5 carries the tiltably hanging closing wall 50 having a flexible sealing bar 59 made for example of a rubber strip, and closely leaning against the inner wall of the hopper 12 and the movable bottom 4when the tiltable closing wall 50 is in its tilted down position. When the movable bottom 4 consists of longitudinally divided sections offering the possibility of individual drive, it is preferable to use a sealing strip 59 shaped according to the outline configuration of the movable bottom 4.

It is important that the tiltable closing wall 50 be in its lower position in front of the horizontal take-off roller 2that is upstream of the direction of movement of bottom 4, thus separating the loading space of hopper 12 from the spreading and discharging part. In this way the horizontal take-off roller 2 is separated from the loading space, so that the spreader is particularly useful for the transport of root crops and the like.

Between the tiltable frame 5 and the hopper 12 a hydraulic operating cylinder 6 is arranged which is connected to a known source of pressure oil from a towing tractor (not shown), thus allowing smooth lifting or lowering of the tiltable frame 5 together with the tiltable closing wall 50 from the tractor in an easy way. The thus adjusted position can be further secured by locking struts 51, 52. These locking struts 51, 52 are shiftabiy accommodated in guides 71 arranged on the lateral carriers 15 or on the hopper 12. The tiltable closing wall 50 bears the supports 53 helping the tiltable closing wall 50 to lean against the locking struts 51, 52 during the lifting orthe lowering of the tiltable frame 5, which prevents any shocks of the tiltable closing wall 50 on the take-off roller 2.

The supports 53 are also arranged on the hopper 12 for preventing any contact of the tiltable closing wall 50 with the take-off roller 2, and then the tiltable closing wall 50 can move along these supports.

The position illustrated in Fig. 4 will be achieved by the tiltable closing wall 50 after having been swung forwardly onto the tiltable frame 5 in the direction of the arrow and then fixed to it in an appropriate way.

When spreading farm manure the tiltable closing wall 50 assumes the position illustrated in Fig. 4, the wall 50 acting as a deflecting shield. The fingers of the horizontal take-off roller 2 cut away portions of the manure that has been delivered to it by the movable bottom 4, throwing them against the deflecting shield where they rebound and fall onto rapidly rotating spreading blades 31 performing the actual spreading action.

When pulp or semifluid matter is to be applied, the hopper 12 is closed during the transport by means of the tiltable closing wall 50 as can be seen in Figs. 1 and 2. On the field the tiltable adjustable closing wall 50 is lifted by means of the hydraulic cylinder 6 so as to form the necessary gap, and the semiliquid or paste matter can flow out, under the assistance of the movable bottom 4, onto the spreading table 3 wherefrom it is distributed by the spreading blades 31. In such cases the operation of the horizontal take-off roller2 is not indispensable.

The position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is suitable also for the transport of various other substances, e.g.

loose material, such as root crops and the like. In such cases when the take-off roller need not be removed, the tiltable closing wall 50 is lifted for discharging the material, thus forming a gap of an appropriate size, and the load of the hopper 12 is gradually discharged due to the shifting operation of the movable bottom 4. In such a mode the described machine can very suitably perform the function of a metering or dosing device.

It will be appreciated that the embodiment of the invention provides a spreader allowing pulp and semifluide material or cloddy material to be transported and distributed and which does not require the horizontal rollerto be removed from the loading space when delivering material prone to mechanical damage.

The spreader according to the invention may have variations in the choice of adjusting means, distributing elements, the form of the hopper, the structures for large volume matter, the movable bottom, or the number of hydraulic cylinders.

Claims (4)

1. A spreader for manure and similar matter comprising a hopper provided with a movable bottom at the emptying side of which are mounted distributing elements consisting of at least one horizontal take-off roller and beneath it a spreading table provided with spreading blades above which a deflecting shield is mounted consisting of a tiltable closing wall and a tiltable frame wherein the tiltable closing wall is mounted so as to project into the loading space of the hopper, abutting against the side walls and the movable bottom in front of the horizontal take-off roller, and wherein the tiltable frame is tiltable by means of a hydraulic operating cylinder.

2. A spreader according to Claim 1 wherein guides are provided on the spreader bearing inserted tiltable locking struts joined to the tiltable frame.

3. A spreader according to Claim 2 wherein the tiltable closing wall carries supports for contacting thetiltable locking struts.

4. A spreader for manure and similar matter substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.