GB2251177A - Cleaning and chopping an animal feedstuff such as beet - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine for cleaning and chopping an animal feedstuff, particularly root-crops such as sugar boot, comprises a hopper adapted to receive the beet, a rotor (21) mounted therein supporting a tumbler bar (31) or bars defining a scroll or helix about the rotor and adapted to sweep close to the hopper when revolved by the rotor, so as to agitate and turn over the beet in the hopper to remove adhering dirt, and to convey the cleaned beet to a chopper arrangement located to one side of the hopper. An intermediate chamber may be provided between the hopper and the chopper arrangement comprising an auger screw conveyor to feed the chopper with beet when a flap is opened to allow communication with the hopper. The machine may be rear - or front - mounted on a tractor, and may include means for spraying water over the hopper contents when washing is required. <IMAGE>

Description

A MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND CHOPPING AN ANIMAL FEEDSTUFF The invention relates to a machine for cleaning and chopping an animal feedstuff. More particularly, the invention relates to a root-crop cleaning and chopping machine.

Root-crop cleaning and chopping machines are known and usually comprise a hopper adapted for mounting on the three-point linkage of a tractor.

The hopper contains a feed auger which is driven from the power take-off shaft of the tractor. The auger is adapted to convey root-crop, such as beet, collected in the hopper to chopping blades located on the side of the hopper. From the chopping blades the chopped root-crop may be feed directly into animal feed troughs. Irish Patent Specification No. 45704, for example, describes apparatus suitable for feeding root-crops, the apparatus comprising a hopper, mincing means and a feed mechanism suitable for conveying fodder from the hopper to the mincing means, the feed mechanism comprising a first screw conveyor means co-axial with a second screw conveyor means adjacent the mincing means, the second screw conveyor means having a greater carrying capacity than the first screw conveyor means.The first screw conveyor means and the second screw conveyer means may be respective portions of a single screw conveyor.

Known root-crop feeding and chopping machines suffer from a number of disadvantages. In the first place the known screw conveyor means do not adequately tumble the root-crop to clean the crop by removal of adhering soil. Secondly, the feeding of the root-crop through chopper means is not adequately controlled. Thirdly, there is a tendency for the root-crop to be crushed between the screw conveyor and the walls of the hopper.

The invention provides a machine for cleaning and chopping an animal feedstuff, particularly root-crops, comprising a hopper adapted to receive the feedstuff to be cleaned, a rotor rotatably mounted within the hopper and adapted to agitate the feedstuff within the hopper to remove adhering material, and to convey the feedstuff to chopper means in an axial direction characterised in that the rotor supports a tumbler bar adapted to sweep close to the hopper when revolved by the rotor, and to define a scroll or helix about the rotor.

The tumbler bar has the advantage that the feedstuff lying against the hopper walls is gently turned and displaced on each sweep of the bar and at the same time is slowly conveyed in an axial direction by virtue of the curvature of the bar, whereas the flights of a screw conveyor such as an auger tend to crush the feedstuff against the hopper before it enters the chopper means.

Preferably, two tumbler bars are supported by the rotor at opposite sides thereof, defining a double scroll or double helix arrangement about the rotor.

A double tumbler bar arrangement has the advantage of providing faster throughput and more thorough agitation of the feedstuff placed in the hopper.

Preferably, the hopper defines an open mesh or lattice work along at least the base and one side thereof. Suitably, a removable sheet insert member is provided to fit over the mesh or lattice work.

When the hopper includes an open mesh or lattice work portion, extraneous material such as dirt adhering to the feedstuff may fall through, but if desired, for example when dispensing particulate material of smaller size than beet, or other fodder, a sheet insert may be placed inside the hopper to cover up the mesh or lattice portion, thereby providing a more versatile and efficient fodder cleaning and dispensing machine than has hitherto been available.

Preferably, the hopper comprises a first chamber in which the tumbler rotor is rotatably mounted and a second chamber in communication therewith containing conveyor means for conveying feedstuff to the chopping means, characterised in that closure means is provided between the first and second chambers such that feedstuff may be retained in the first chamber until the closure means is opened to allow feedstuff to be conveyed to the second chamber. The closure means most preferably comprises a hydraulically-controlled flap. The conveyor means is preferably a screw auger.

The second chamber provides a buffer for controlled feed of cleaned material to the chopping means, and thus prevents a build-up of material or clogging at the entrance to the chopper. A hydraulically-controlled flap is easy to operate and has the advantage that the operator may decide when to open the flap depending on how clear the second chamber is, during use. A screw auger provides greater forward thrust to the material than the tumbler bar, which is needed to feed the chopper.

Preferably, means are provided to spray water over the hopper contents, such as a perforated tube mounted above the hopper for connection to a water source. Means may also be provided to enable metered quantities of an additive substance to be added to the cleaned and chopped feedstuff, before being dispensed from the chopper.

If the feedstuff material is not adequately cleaned by the tumbling process, it may be washed prior to being conveyed to the chopper, by means of spraying water over the hopper contents during revolution of the tumbler bar(s), and the provision of a perforated tube mounted above the hopper for connection to an external water source confers this advantage. Furthermore, ingestion of substantial quantities of dirt or extraneous material adhering to the feedstuff can mitigate against the general health of an animal and affect factors such as milk output or weight gain. Supplementary feed additives, such as mineral additives, may advantageously be added to the cleaned and chopped feedstuff in controlled quantities matching the volume of output from the chopper, by use of a metered additive dispenser.

Embodiments of the invention are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is an end elevation, partly in section of a cleaning and chopping machine according to the invention, when viewed on the section line B-B of Figure 2; Figure 2 is a part-sectional front elevation when viewed on the section line A-A of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an end elevation of the tumbler rotor of the invention; Figure 4 is a front elevation of the tumbler rotor of Figure 3; and Figure 5 is a perspective view, to an enlarged scale, of the tumbler rotor of Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 6 is a front perspective view of the machine of Figures 1 to 5, also showing a wash bar mounted over the hopper and a three-point linkage, Figure 7 is a similar view to Figure 2, showing a flap arrangement operated by a hydraulic ram, Figure 8 is a rear perspective view of the machine, illustrating a front end loader mounting arrangement, Figure 9 is similar to Figure 6 but also shows a sheet insert member adapted to fit inside the hopper, and Figure 10 is an exploded rear perspective view illustrating the components inside the chopper box.

Referring to the drawings the machine for cleaning and chopping root-crops according to the invention firstly comprises a hopper 1.

The hopper 1 is substantially U-shaped in section. The hopper has solid end walls 2, 3 which may be made from sheet steel, or the like.

The rear wall 4 of the hopper is also a solid wall made from sheet steel, or the like. The front wall 5 and the bottom wall 6 of the hopper are formed as a root fork, that is they are formed of a plurality of tines or prongs which are adapted to scoop up and retain the root-crop within the hopper but to permit soil or other extraneous matter to pass between the tines during the cleaning of the root-crop. The tines preferably comprise a plurality of steel tubes 7 which are spaced apart in a parallel lattice arrangement. The tubes 7 are inclined to the horizontal (in the upright position of the hopper) where they form the front wall 5 and are curved to form the lower wall 6. The tubes 7 are disposed approximately 50 mm apart and are connected together at their outer ends by a transverse plate 8 to which the ends of the tubes are each welded.The plate 8 is connected between the solid end walls 2, 3. At their lower ends the tubes 7 are welded to a flange 9 formed in the rear wall plate 4.

The outer ends of each pair of adjacent tubes 7 are formed with a rounded loop 10. The loops 10 may be made from tubular steel of smaller diameter than the tubes 7 so that they may be welded into the ends of the tubes 7. The purpose of the loops 10 is to prevent root-crop from being impaled on the ends of the tubes 7. As shown in Figure 1, the outermost ends of the loops 10 are cranked to provide a wearing strip 11.

The rear wall 4 of the hopper has attached thereto brackets 12, 13 by means of which the hopper 1 may be attached to the three-point linkage of a tractor, as seen in Figures 1 and 6. The hopper is pivotably mounted on the three-point linkage such that it may be tipped rearwardly through approximately 900 until the front wall 5 lies substantially parallel to the ground with the loops 10 touching, or almost touching, the ground. With the hopper in this position the tractor is reversed to drive the tines 7 into a heap of root-crop, such as beet or the like. Then, using a hydraulically-operated top link on the tractor the hopper 1 is raised back into the vertical position thereby scooping-up a load of root-crop.

A mounting bar arrangement 52 may be provided for attachment to brackets 13, to enable the hopper to be attached to the front-end loader arms of a tractor, as shown in Figure 8.

As shown in Figure 2, the interior of the hopper 1 is divided into two compartments, namely a first larger compartment 15 in which the root-crop is tumbled and cleaned1 and a second, smaller, compartment 16 which contains conveying means for conveying the cleaned root-crop to chopping means. The compartment 15 is separated from the compartment 16 by a lower, substantially vertical wall 17. The wall 17 is spaced from an upper inclined wall 18. The opening between the walls 17 and 18 is adapted to be closed by closure means, in the form of a hinged flap 19. The flap 19 is operated by means of a cable (not shown) so that the flap may be opened or closed remotely, from the tractor cab, as desired.

Alternatively, the flap 19 may be operated by a hydraulic ram 50, as shown in Figure 7. Again, this may be operated remotely, using the tractor hydraulic system.

The chamber 15 contains a tumbler rotor 20. The tumbler rotor comprises an axial shaft 21 which is adapted for rotation in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 2. The shaft 21 is mounted for rotation in bearings 23, 24 mounted on the end walls 2, 3 respectively. The shaft 21 is powered from the power take-off shaft of the tractor, in well known manner. A plurality of radial arms 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 project radially from the shaft 21. Each arm has two co-axial parts, a and b, extending from each opposite side of the shaft 21. The axis of each co-axial pair of arms a and b extends diametrically through the shaft 21. Each pair of co-axial arms a, b is disposed at an angle to the adjacent pair, as shown in Figure 3.

Preferably the angle x by which each pair of arms is displaced from the next adjacent pair of co-axial arms is the same and in this case is 22.5 . Thus the outermost pair of co-axial arms 22a, 22b are 0 disposed at an angle of 90 to the innermost pair of co-axial arms 26a, 26b. The lengths of each of the arms 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 are approximately equal. A pair of agitator bars 30, 31 are attached to the radially extending arms 22a-26a and 22b-26b, respectively. Thus bar 30 is disposed opposite to bar 31 and extends substantially linearly of the shaft 21. Because of the angular disposition of the radial arms 22 to 26 each of the two agitator bars 30, 31 is curved or scrolled to form a helix pitch with respect to each other. The helix pitch may be from 5 metres to 7 metres but preferably is 6.2 metres.

The helix angle is from 120 to 170 but preferably as 150. Thus, it will be appreciated that the agitator bar 30 is 1800 out of phase with bar 31.

Preferably, the radial arms 22 to 26, and the agitator bars 30, 31 are made from tubular steel.

A second shaft 41 is disposed below the bottom of the hopper 1 and extends parallel to the shaft 21. Both the shafts 21 and 41 are chain driven by either a hydraulic motor or by the tractor power take-off point (PTO), via a gearbox mounted on the unit. The shaft 41 is adapted to be rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 2. Like the shaft 21, the shaft 41 is adapted to be driven from the power take-off shaft of the tractor in well known manner. The shaft 41 extends into the compartment 16 where it drives a screw auger 42.

The screw auger 42 and a chopper wheel 44, which are positioned in the bottom of the compartment 16 are adapted to convey root-crop from that compartment through a chopping unit 43. The chopping unit 43 is fixed to the outer side of the end wall and comprises a plurality of chopping knives, preferably six, which are arranged in a well-known manner. The chopper wheel 44 comprises a plurality of knives, preferably eight, positioned at an angle to clearly cut the roots which are extruded through the chopping unit 43 by the screw auger 42. The assembly, as shown in Figure 10, is continued within box housing 45.

In use, the hopper is tilted into a substantially horizontal position and filled with a root-crop such as beet, as described above. The hopper is then returned to the vertical position as shown in Figure 1. The PTO shaft of the tractor or hydraulic drive of the tractor is then engaged to rotate the shaft 21 to drive the tumbler rotor. As the tumbler rotor rotates, the agitator bars 30, 31 agitate and tumble the beet to remove adhering dirt and other extraneous matter. The dirt falls out of the hopper between the tubes 7. An angular baffle plate 35 attached to the inner surface of the rear wall 4 of the hopper and prevents beet from jamming between the agitator bars and the floor of the hopper. As the beet is gently tumbled and agitated by the bars 30, 31 it is simultaneously moved to the left, as shown in Figure 2, towards the chamber 16.This movement is caused by the curved configuration of the bars 30, 31. However, when the flap 19 is in the closed position the beet is prevented from leaving the chamber 15. When the operator is satisfied that the beet has been adequately cleaned the flap 19 is opened and the beet is conveyed by the bars 30, 31 into chamber 16. From the chamber 16 the beet is conveyed to the chopper unit 43 by the screw auger 42. The speed of rotation of the tumbler rotor and the speed of delivery of the screw auger 42 may be altered by the operator as desired by increasing or decreasing the tractor engine revolutions.

The machine of the invention offers a number of advantages over conventional root-crop cleaning and chopping machines. Because of the tumbler rotor of the invention the beet is sufficiently tumbled to remove adhering soil, and the movement is sufficiently gentle to prevent damage to the beet, whilst the use of tube 51 to spray water over the beet enables remaining residues of soil or dirt to be washed away. The tube 51 (see Figure 6) may be perforated to direct water in a spray over the hopper contents, when connected by a hose to an external water supply. Because of the provision of the flap between the chambers 15 and 16, the operator can ensure that the beet is adequately cleaned before it is permitted to be conveyed by the screw auger 42 to the chopping unit.

As shown in Figure 9, an insert sheet 53 may be fitted inside the hopper to cover the tubes 7, which may be desirable to convert the hopper for handling feedstuffs other than roots, or for handling root crops which might otherwise pass through the lattice work formed by tubes 7.

The invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described above which may be modified as desired without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. A machine for cleaning and chopping an animal feedstuff, particularly root-crops, comprising a hopper adapted to receive the feedstuff to be cleaned, a rotor rotatably mounted within the hopper and adapted to agitate the feedstuff within the hopper to remove adhering material, and to convey the feedstuff to chopper means in an axial direction characterised in that the rotor supports a tumbler bar adapted to sweep close to the hopper when revolved by the rotor, and to define a scroll or helix about the rotor.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein two tumbler bars are supported by the rotor at opposite sides thereof, defining a double scroll or double helix arrangement about the rotor.

3. A machine according to claim 2, wherein the hopper defines an open mesh or lattice work along at least the base and one side thereof.

4. A machine according to claim 3 further comprising a removable sheet insert member to fit over the mesh or lattice work.

5. A machine according to claim 1, in which the hopper comprises a first chamber in which the tumbler rotor is rotatably mounted and a second chamber in communication therewith containing conveyor means for conveying feedstuff to the chopping means, characterised in that closure means is provided between the first and second chambers such that feedstuff may be retained in the first chamber until the closure means is opened to allow feedstuff to be conveyed to the second chamber.

6. A machine according to claim 5, wherein the closure means comprises a hydraulically-controlled flap.

7. A machine according to claim 6, wherein the conveyor means is a screw auger.

8. A machine according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising means to spray water over the hopper contents mounted above the hopper for connection to a water source.

9. A machine according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising means to enable metered quantities of an additive substance to be added to the cleaned and chopped feedstuff, before being dispensed from the chopper.

10. A machine according to any of the preceding claims, substantially as described herein with reference to or as shown in any or more of the accompanying drawings.