GB2192775A - Machine - Google Patents

Abstract

An improved agricultural machine for distributing material comprises a hopper for storing the material, feeding means for transferring the material from the hopper to a distribution system and a component forming a removable connection between the feeding means and the distribution system which may be removed and replaced with a receptacle which collects the material to be distributed, so that the distribution rate may be quickly and simply determined. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Agricultural machine THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to an agricultural machine and more particularly to an agricultural machine for distributing granular or powdery material, for example a machine for spreading granular or powdery fertilizer or a seed drill. The invention relates more particularly to such a machine when equipped with a pneumatic distribution system.

Pneumatic fertilizer spreaders and seed drills are known and used in the agricultural industry. Such machines usually comprise a hopper for storing the material to be distributed, and a feeding mechanism to transport the material from the hopper to a distribution system, through which the material is distributed. The feed mechanism is usually an adjustable mechanism which may be adjusted to give various feed rates. However, in the past problems have been encountered when trying to distribute the material at a particular predetermined rate, and this has become more of a problem in recent years due to the increased cost of seed and fertilizer, which are usually the materials being distributed.Adjustment of the feed mechanism is only approximate and the problem is further intensified by the fact that the amount of material distributed can vary on different occasions, even when using the same material and having the speed mechanism set to the same rating. This is thought to be due to the fact that the properties of some materials vary with air humidity and thus on two different days it is possibie to have different distribution rates when distributing the same material with the feed mechanism at the same setting.

As a partial solution to this problem it has been proposed to conduct a test to monitor the amount of material which is being distributed by the machine, prior to commencing actual distribution in the field. Machines have been designed so that a collecting tray may be attached to the distribution system, the tray serving to collect the material passing through the machine whilst the machine is driven over a certain distance or for a certain time, or whilst the feed mechanism is operated over a given number of cycles. The amount of material collected may then be weighed and the amount of material distributed per unit area may be determined.Whilst such machines have undoubtedly helped the situation, they usually involve the operator having to bolt the collecting tray in position on the machine or having to somehow divert the flow of material from its usual passage so that it is collected in the collecting tray. This operation is inconvenient and time consuming for the operator of the machine and the present invention therefore seeks to provide a simplified apparatus, whereby the machine may be quickly and simply adapted to conduct a test to determine the distribution rate of the material.

According to the present invention there is provided a machine for distributing granular or powdery material, said machine comprising a hopper, feeding means, and a distribution system, said feeding means serving to transfer said material from said hopper to said distribution system via a removable component, said component being replaceable with means for collecting a sample of the material to be distributed.

Preferably, the collecting means are in the form of a continuous elongate collecting tray formed integrally with said removable component.

Conveniently, said removable component defines a plurality of funnels, said funnels tapering in a direction towards said distribution system.

Advantageously, said removable component is slidably insertable into said machine and is provided with one or more handles. The removab e component may be a substantially rectangular component formed from a plastics material.

The machine for distributing granular or powdery material may further comprise a separating frame defining a plurality of channels, said separating frame being located between said feeding means and said removable component, such that a flow of material from said feeding means is directed into the funnels defined by said component.

Preferably, said feeding means is in the form of a toothed roller connected to a variable speed drive and said distribution system is a pneumatic distribution system. Such a machine may be an agricultural machine for distributing seeds and/or fertilizer.

The present invention also provides a method of distributing granular or powdery material said method comprising the steps of introducing said material into a hopper, extracting material from the hopper with an adjustable feeding means and passing the thus extracted material through guide means formed in a removable component to a distribution system, and then distributing the material, the method including the preliminary steps of removing said component, and replacing it with collecting means, operating said feeding means in a predetermined manner and weighing the quantity of material collected in the collecting means, and adjusting the adjustable feeding means to provide a desired feeding rate.

The present invention further provides a component defining a plurality of guide funnels and a collecting tray, said component being a substantially rectangular form, said plurality of guide funnels being arranged in a single row adjacent one longitudinal edge of the component, the funnels being substantially evenly spaced and tapering towards one face of the component, said collecting tray being defined as a recess in said one face of the component.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view through an agricultural machine according to the invention, with the machine shown in the operating mode; FIGURE 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1, showing the machine ready to monitor the distribution rate; FIGURE 3 is a plan view taken on the line Ill-Ill in Figure 1; and FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a component of the machine shown in Figures 1 to 3.

Referring initially to Figure 1 of the drawings, a machine for distributing granular or powdery material comprises a hopper 1, mounted an the frame of the machine, an adjustable feed mechanism 2, and a separating unit 3 for channeling the flaw of material into a distribution system 4.

The hopper 1 is funnel-shaped, being open at its upper end for filling and tapering down to an opening 5 at its lower end.

The feed mechanism 2 comprises a cylindrical, elongate, toothed roller 6 and a formed tray 7. The roller 6 and the tray 7 extend across the width of the machine. The toothed roller 6 is mounted in position on the machine adjacent the opening 5 at the lower end of the hopper 1, such that part of the outer periphery of the toothed roller 6 extends into the bottom of the hopper 1 through the opening 5. The formed tray 7 is substantially the same length as the toothed roller 6 and is located underneath the toothed roller 6, at the edge of the opening 5 at the bottam of the hopper 1. The formed tray 7 is provided along its edge remote from the hopper 1 with an adjustable lip 8, this lip being adjustable to adapt the feed mechanism to varying grain sizes when the machine is distributing granular material.The toothed roller 6 is connected to a variable speed drive (not shown in the drawings), so that the speed of the feed mechanism and thus the rate of distribution of material may be adjusted. This adjustment is, however, only approximate, and as previously mentioned the distribution rate will depend upon the properties of the material being distributed, which may themselves vary with air humidity.

The separating unit 3 comprises a separating frame 9 and a guide element 10. The separating frame 9 extends across the width of the machine, i.e. the frame 9 is substantially equal in length with the toothed roller 6.

The separating frame 9 serves ta separate the material arriving from the feed mechanism 2 into a plurality of separate streams. The element 10 defines a plurality of funnels 11, each funnel 11 being aligned with one of the separate streams formed in the separating frame 9. The element 10 is positioned below the separating frame 9 so that material arriving from the feed mechanism 2 may fall under the action of gravity through the separating frame 9, through the funnels 11 and then into the distribution system 4.

In addition to defining a plurality of funnels 11 the element 10 also defines a continuous elongate receptacle or collecting tray 12. Figure 4 shows, diagrammatically, the arrangement of the element 10. The element 10 is an elongate, substantially rectangular member, having the funnels 11 formed in one elongate half and the collecting tray 12 formed in the other elongate half. The collecting tray 12 has its opening 13 formed in the side of the element 10 adjacent the smaller opening, i.e. the outlet of the funnels 11. The element 10 is provided at each end with a handle 14. The handles 14 are vertically offset relative to each other so that two or more elements 10 may be arranged in juxtaposition with the handles 14 overlapping each other, as shown in Figure 3.The element 10 is slidingly mounted into an appropriately dimensioned aperture formed in the machine between the feed mechanism 2 and the distribution system 4. The element 10 may be inserted in position either as shown in Figure 1 with the funnels 11 serving to form a connection between the separating frame 9 and the distribution system 4 or as shown in Figure 2 with the collecting tray 12 mounted between the separating frame 9 and the distribution system 4. When the element 10 is mounted as shown in Figure 2, the collecting tray 12 will collect the material fed from the feed mechanism 2.

The distribution system 4 comprises a plurality af ejectors or venturis 15, as will be more readily appreciated from Figure 3 which is a plan view looking down on the distribution system 4. Referring back to Figures 1 and 2, each venturi 15 comprises an inlet section 16 contracting towards a narrow section or throat 17, and a diffusor section 18 expanding away fram the throat 17. At the throat 17 each venturi 15 is provided with a funnel-shaped inlet 19. The venturis 15 are mounted on the machine so that the inlets 19 are aligned below the outlets of the funnels 11 in the element 10, when the tray is mounted as shown in Figure 1. The distribution system 4 is a pneumatic distribution system, with a flaw af air through the venturi 15 being generated by a fan or the like (not shown) which is connected to the inlet section 16 of the venturi 15 by a manifold arrangement comprising a comman air pipe 20 and individual lengths of flexible tubing 21. The outlet of the diffusor section 18 of the venturi 15 is connected by means of flexible tubing 22 to spreading or sowing means, for example coulters or the like (not shown).

If particularly small seeds are to be distributed then a web 23 may be introduced into the diffusor section 18 of the venturi 15 to separate the diffusor section 18 into two halves along which the seeds can be transported. With a Y-piece 24 fitted onto the outlet of the diffusor section 18, each venturi 15 may be fitted with two flexible lengths of tubing 22, thus leading to twice as many spreading outlets or coulters. The separating frame 9 and the element 10 may be similarly adapted to define extra funnels, to ensure that the accuracy of the flow of material is maintained.

Figure 3 shows one venturi 15 fitted with a web 23 and Y-piece 24.

In operation of the machine the hopper 1 is filled with the material to be distributed, and prior to each spreading or sowing operation the element 10 is slidingly inserted into the machine between the feed mechanism 2 and the distribution system 4 so that the collecting tray 12 is located below the separating frame 9, as shown in Figure 2. The drive for the feed mechanism 2 is then engaged for a particuiar length of time or number of revolutions of a ground related drive wheel (not shown) or alternatively the machine is driven a certain distance as would take place during a normal spreading or sowing operation. The material is collected in the collecting tray 12 which, once the feed mechanism 2 is switched off, is removed from the machine and the material collected is weighed so that the distribution rate per unit area can be determined.If the distribution rate is not equal to the desired rate then the speed of the variable speed drive for the feed mechanism 2 can be adjusted and the test repeated. When the distribution rate is equal to the desired rate the element 10 is removed from the machine, inverted and reinserted into the machine with the funnels 11 located below the separating frame 9, as shown in Figure 1. The machine is then ready for use. The material to be distributed will now pass from the hopper 1 via the feed mechanism 2 into the separating frame 9, where it will fall under the action of gravity through the funnels 11 and into the venturis 15. The air flowing through the venturis 15 will then transport the material via the flexible tubing 22 to spreading outlets or to sowing outlets, such as coulters.

It will be appreciated that many minor modifications and alterations may be made to the above described embodiment of the invention, without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the funnels 11 and the collecting tray 12 may be two separate components, and it may be possible for several elements 10 to be inserted into the machine to fill the complete width of the machine.

Claims (24)

1. A machine for distributing granular or powdery material, said machine comprising a hopper, feeding means, and a distribution system, said feeding means serving to transfer said material from said hopper to said distribution system via a removable component, said component being replaceable with means for collecting a sample of the material to be distributed.

2. A machine according to Claim 1, wherein said collecting means are in the form of a continuous, elongate collecting tray.

3. A machine according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said collecting means are formed integrally with said removable component.

4. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said removable component defines a plurality of funnels, said funnels tapering in a direction towards said distribution system.

5. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said removable component is slidingly insertable into said machine.

6. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said removable component is provided with one or more handles.

7. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said 5 removable component is a substantially rectangular component formed from a plastics material.

8. A machine according to Claim 4 or any claim dependant thereon, wherein said machine further comprises a separating frame defining a plurality of channels, said separating frame being located between said feeding means and said removable component, such that a flow of material from said feeding means is directed into the funnels defined by said component.

9. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said feeding means is in the form of a toothed roller, said toothed roller being connected to a variable speed drive.

10. A machine according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said distribution system is a pneumatic distribution system.

11. A machine according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, comprising an agricultrual machine for distributing seeds and/or fertilizer.

12. A method of distributing granular or powdery material, said method comprising the steps of introducing said material into a hopper, extracting material from the hopper with an adjustable feeding means and passing the thus extracted material through guide means formed in a removable component to a distribution system, and then distributing the material, the method including the preliminary steps of removing said component, and replacing it with collecting means, operating said feeding means in a predetermined manner and weighing the quantity of material collected in the collecting means, and adjusting the adjustable feeding. means to provide a desired feed ing rate.

13. A component for use in a machine for distributing granular or powdery material, said machine comprising a hopper, feeding means and a distribution system, said feeding means serving to transfer said material from said hopper to said distribution system via said component, said component being removable from said machine and being replaceable with means for collecting the material to be distributed.

14. A component according to Claim 13, wherein said collecting means are in the form of a continuous, elongate collecting tray.

15. A component according to Claim 13 or 14, wherein said collecting means are formed integrally with said component.

16. A component according to any one of Claims 13 to 15, wherein said component defines a plurality of funnels, said funnels tapering in a direction towards said distribution system.

17. A component according to any one of Claims 13 to 16, wherein said component is slidingly insertable into said machine.

18. A component according to any one of Claims 13 to 17, wherein said component is provided with one or more handles.

19. A component according to any one of Claims 13 to 18, wherein said component is a substantially rectangular component formed from a plastics material.

20. A component defining a plurality of guide funnels and a collecting tray, said component being a substantially rectangular form, said plurality of guide funnels being arranged in a single row adjacent one longitudinal edge of the component, the funnels being substantially evenly spaced and tapering towards one face of the component, said collecting tray being defined as a recess in said one face of the component.

21. A machine substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

22. A method of distributing granular or powdery material substantially as herein described.

23. A component substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

24. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.