GB2265293A

GB2265293A - Dung scraper systems

Info

Publication number: GB2265293A
Application number: GB9302280A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John O'donovan
Original assignee: DONOVAN JOHN O
Current assignee: DONOVAN JOHN O
Priority date: 1992-03-25
Filing date: 1993-02-05
Publication date: 1993-09-29
Anticipated expiration: 2013-02-05
Also published as: GB2265293B; GB9302280D0

Abstract

A yard scraper system has a scraper with a carriage (12) moving on a reciprocating rail (6) with teeth (7). Movement of the carriage (12) is caused by a tooth (7) pushing against a catch member (13) having pivot pin mounted in the carriage (12), and a free end engaging the tooth (7). When the carriage (12) reaches the end of the rail (6) the catch member (13) is suspended freely above the ground and on the next forward stroke of the rail (6) the last tooth (7) pushes the catch member (13) outwardly. It thus engages behind the catch member (13) so that on the reverse stroke it pushes it back and each successive tooth pushes the carriage (12) in the reverse direction. Because the teeth (7) effectively push the carriage (12) via the catch member (13), if an obstruction such as an animal is encountered the carriage (12) is simply pushed upwardly until the catch member (13) is disengaged and injury is not caused to the animal. <IMAGE>

Description

Tmprovements in and relating to yard scraper systems" The invention relates to a yard scraper system.

Irish Patent Specification No 2474/84 (McGovern) describes a yard scraper system which has a reciprocating rail on which there are teeth. Scraper blades are mounted on a carriage with runs on the rail. A symmetrical pawl which is used for engagement of the carriage and the rail has notches at both ends. For one direction of travel, one notch engages a pin on the carriage and the pawl is inclined downwardly and outwardly in the direction of travel with the outer notch engaging a tooth on the rail so that the carriage is pulled via the pawl. The shape of the pawl is such that on the return stroke of the rail.the next tooth slips underneath the pawl and engages the notch at the outer end. At the end of travel on the rail, the outer end of the pawl engages in a stop piece mounted at the upper end of a ramp at the end of the rail.The shape of the ramp is such that the outer end of the pawl is held in such a position so that it engages the pin on the carriage and the other end takes over the function of engaging the teeth on the rail. Put simply, the roles of the two notches on the pawl are reversed.

It appears that the actions which are required for changing direction of the carriage are relatively complex and rely to a large extent on the carriage and the rail being clean, especially at the stop piece. It appears that if the stop piece were not clean, then the direction - changing action would not take place satisfactorily. It also appears that because the teeth on the rail effectively pull the carriage, then if the carriage encounters an obstruction such as an animal it would not easily become disengaged and the animal may be injured.

The invention is directed towards providing an improved yard scraper system to overcome the above - mentioned problems.

According to the invention, there is provided a scraper for a yard scraper system comprising a reciprocating rail having formations, the scraper comprising scraper blades mounted on a carriage, wherein the carriage has a catch member having a pivot end pivotally connected to the carriage and a free end for engagement with the rail formations when inclined in either of the longitudinal directions of the rail.

In one embodiment, the catch member is pivotally connected to the carriage so that it freely pivots above the ground when the scraper moves beyond the rail.

Preferably, the catch member includes means for engaging an auxiliary projection on the rail to cause flipping over for reversal of direction.

According to another aspect, the invention provides a yard scraper system comprising a scraper as claimed in any preceding claim.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dairy parlour having a pair of yard scraper systems of the invention controlled from a single controller; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a scraper of one of the systems; Fig. 3 is a perspective view from above of a catch member forming part of the carriage of the scraper; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional side view showing the manner in which the carriage is moved; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional side view showing movement of the carriage when an obstruction is encountered; Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional side view showing the manner in which direction of travel of the carriage is changed automatically;; Fig. 7 is a perspective view from above showing an alternative construction of catch member; and Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional side view showing the manner in which direction of travel of the carriage is reversed using the catch member of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, and initially to Fig. 1 there is shown a dairy parlour 1 which has a pair of yard scraper systems 2 running in parallel on either side of paddocks. Each yard scraper system 2 has an hydraulic drive mechanism 3 which is controlled from a central control panel 4 connected to a power unit 5. Each system 2 also has a reciprocating rail 6 mounted on the ground in the parlour 1. Each rail 6 has a series of formations, namely, teeth 7 spaced-apart just less than the stroke of the hydraulic pistons. in the drive mechanisms 3. Each system 2 also has a carriage 10 which moves on the rail 7 and carries scraper blades for scraping manure from the ground. Construction of the control panel 4, the power unit 5 and the hydraulic drive mechanism 3 are well known in the art and require no further description.

Referring now to Fig. 2, a scraper 10 is shown in more detail. The scraper 10 comprises a pair of forwardly and sidewardly directed blades ll(a) and a transversely directed blade ll(b) which holds the blades 11(a). The blades are supported on a longitudinally directed carriage 12 mounted over the rail 6.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, the manner in which the carriage 12 moves on the rail 6 is shown. The carriage 12 comprises a housing having pin-retaining holes which support the catch member 13. The catch member 13 comprises a pivot end having a pivot pin 14 and a free end comprising a flat bar 15. The pivot pin 14 is pivotally mounted in the carriage 12. As shown in Fig. 4, the flat bar 15 is suspended from the pin 14 downwardly and inwardly, with respect to the direction of travel (direction Q as shown in Fig.4). In the forward stroke of the rail 6 (direction Q) a tooth 7 pushes the flat bar 15 which in turn pushes the carriage 12 via the pin 14. On the return stroke of the rail 6, the next successive tooth 7 is drawn beneath the flat bar 15. This is of course a smooth action because the flat bar 15 is inclined in this reverse direction.Then, the next successive tooth 7 engages the flat bar 15 at the forward stroke, also as shown in Fig. 4. This stepwise movement is repeated for each successive tooth 7 of the rail 6 until the carriage 12 reaches the end of the rail.

If an obstruction is encountered, such as the blades hitting against an animal, injury is not caused to the animal because the catch member 13 simply rotates in the clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 5 until the flat bar 15 is disengaged from the tooth 7. Thus, the carriage is not driven and it does not continue to push against the animal. Accordingly, it is highly unlikely that any injury would be caused to an animal by operation of a yard scraper system 2.

When the carriage 12 reaches the end of the rail 6 the last tooth 7 pushes the carriage 12 to its extreme position. On the reverse stroke of the rail 7, the catch member 13 is left in a freely suspended position above the ground as shown by the position A in Fig. 6. On the next forward stroke of the rail 6, the last tooth 7 and the rail 6 push the catch member 13 outwardly in the forward direction and the last tooth 7 runs underneath the flat bar 15 until it engages behind it at the position B as shown in Fig. 6. On the reverse stroke of the rail Fig. 6, the last tooth 7 pushes the carriage 12 back and movement continues in the reverse direction as described above.

It will be appreciated that reversal of direction occurs in an extremely simple and effective manner and construction of the carriage to achieve this is extremely simple.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, an alternative construction of catch member 20 is shown for use with the carriage 12. The catch member 20 comprises a pivot pin 21 and a flat bar 22, both of which are quite similar to those of the catch member 13. In addition, however, there are sidewardly directed projections 23 and upwardly directed projections 24. At its end, the rail 6 comprises a pair of upwardly - directed projections 25 which are higher than the teeth 7 and are mounted on transverse sides of the rail 6.

As shown in Fig. 8, when the carriage 12 reaches the end of the rail 6 and the catch member 20 is in the position C, the innermost projection 25 engages the sidewardly directed projection 23 on the catch member 20. This causes it to flip over in the direction indicated in the arrow to the position D. At the position D, the outermost projection 25 engages the upwardly - directed projection 24 to cause the catch member 20 to flip over completely to the position E as shown in Fig. 8. Thus, the catch member 20 flips over from a downwardly and inwardly inclined position C to a downwardly and outwardly inclined position E where it engages the last tooth 7 to be moved in the reverse position 7. It will be appreciated that this embodiment is also quite simple and effective.

An important aspect of the invention is that the catch member has a pivot end pivotally mounted in the carriage and a free end for engagement in either direction of travel with teeth or any other types of formations (which could be indentations) on the rail 6. This leads to a simple and effective construction. Accordingly, the engagement between the carriage and the rail is not easily broken by dirt, but is by the blades encountering an obstruction such as an animal.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described, but may be varied in construction and detail.

Claims

1. A scraper for a yard scraper system comprising a reciprocating rail having formations, the scraper comprising scraper blades mounted on a carriage, wherein the carriage has a catch member having a pivot end pivotally connected to the carriage and a free end for engagement with the rail formations when inclined in either of the longitudinal directions of the rail.

2. A scraper as claimed in claim 1 wherein the catch member is pivotally connected to the carriage so that it freely pivots above the ground when the scraper moves beyond the rail.

3. A scraper as claimed in claim 1 wherein the catch member includes means for engaging an auxiliary projection on the rail to cause flipping over for reversal of direction.

4. A yard scraper system comprising a scraper as claimed in any preceding claim.

5. A yard scraper system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.