GB2313762A

GB2313762A - Apparatus for spreading material

Info

Publication number: GB2313762A
Application number: GB9710558A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Charles Richard Marshall
Original assignee: CHARLES J MARSHALL
Current assignee: CHARLES J MARSHALL
Priority date: 1996-06-07
Filing date: 1997-05-23
Publication date: 1997-12-10
Also published as: GB9710558D0

Abstract

Apparatus (1) for spreading material includes a container (2) and a rotatable shaft (3) located within the container. The rotatable shaft (3) has a number of longitudinal members (11, 12) mounted thereon and the longitudinal members (11, 12) are adapted to extend radially from the rotatable shaft (3) during rotation of the shaft (3). A lower section (7) of the container (2) is in the form of a portion of a cylinder having a radius of curvature which is substantially similar to the length of the longitudinal members (11, 12). An upper section (8) of the container (3) is noncylindrical and extends beyond the radius of curvature of the lower section (7). The container has a dividing wall (10, figure 2) located transversely to the rotary shaft 3 to divide the container into two compartments.

Description

Apparatus for Spreading Material The invention relates to apparatus for spreading material, and especially for spreading agricultural material such as muck.

Various forms of muck spreaders are available and one of the most common is in the form of a trailer with a central rotary shaft which extends along the longitudinal axis of the trailer and is driven by a conventional power takeoff from a tractor. The configuration of the trailer is such that the inside surface of the trailer is cylindrical with the central longitudinal axis of the cylinder coinciding with the axis of rotation of the rotary shaft. The upper section of the cylinder has an aperture along the length of the trailer through which muck may be expelled from the trailer.

The rotary shaft has a number of flails attached to it which are formed from metal chain and at each end of the rotary shaft, adjacent each end of the trailer is a diametrically extending metal bar which is attached to the shaft and is rotated by the shaft. The ends of the bar and the ends of the flails both terminate adjacent the cylindrical inside surface of the trailer.

In use, the trailer is filled with muck and as the rotary shaft rotates, the metal bars at each end rotate to throw muck out of the trailer through the opening.

As the bars throw muck out of the container, this gradually frees the flails closest to the metal bars from the muck permitting the flails to extend and aid the muck spreading process. As more muck is expelled from the container, more and more flails are freed and permitted to extend. Hence, the spreading of the muck from the trailer progresses from each end of the trailer towards the centre of the container until all the flails have been freed from being entrapped in the muck, and all the flails are permitted to extend to throw the muck out of the container.

One of the problems with this conventional type of muck spreader is that the volume of muck which may be contained in the trailer is limited, and generally the most time consuming factor in muck spreading is the journey time between the location where the muck is to be spread and the location from where the muck is collected.

In order to solve this problem it has been proposed that the length of the trailer can be increased or that the diameter of the cylindrical section may be increased to increase the capacity of the muck spreader. However, the disadvantages of these systems are that more power is required in order to drive the rotary shaft because the shaft is either longer and/or the bars and flails are longer.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, apparatus for spreading material comprises a container, a rotatable shaft located in the container, the rotatable shaft having a number of longitudinal members mounted thereon, the longitudinal members being adapted to extend radially from the rotatable shaft during rotation of the shaft, a lower section of the container being in the form of a portion of a cylinder having a radius of curvature substantially similar to the length of the longitudinal members, and an upper section which is non-cylindrical and which extends beyond the radius of curvature of the lower section.

Preferably, the upper section also extends laterally beyond the radius of curvature of the upper section.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, apparatus for spreading material comprises a container, a rotatable shaft mounted in the ccntainer, the container having a lower section which is generally in the form of a portion of a cylinder and the axis of the cylinder is substantially coincident with the axis of rotation of the rotatable shaft, a number of longitudinal members mounted on the rotatable shaft, the longitudinal members being adapted to extend in a generally radial direction from the rotatable shaft during rotation of the rotatable shaft and the lengths of the longitudinal members being substantially similar to the radius of curvature of the lower section, and the container having a dividing wall to divide the container into two compartments, the dividing wall being located within the container transversely to the rotary shaft.

Preferably, the longitudinal members include a substantially rigid member at each end of the rotatable shaft and adjacent the dividing wall, if present.

Typically, the longitudinal members may also include flexible members, such as flails.

Preferably, the apparatus is mobile and may be adapted to be coupled to a powered vehicle to tow the apparatus. Typically, the apparatus is provided with wheels to permit the apparatus to be towed.

Preferably, the apparatus is in the form of a muck spreader and may be towed by a tractor.

An example of apparatus for spreading material in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an end view of a muck spreader; and, Fig. 2 is a side view of the muck spreader shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 shows a muck spreader 1 in the form of a trailer which comprises a container 2 in which is located a rotatable shaft 3. The container 2 is mounted on a chassis 4 which is connected to an axle 5 having wheels 6.

The container 2 has a lower part-cylindrical section 7 and an upper non-cylindrical section 8 . If the container 2 was totally cylindrical, the upper section would follow the phantom line 9 shown in Fig. 1. It can be seen from Fig. 1 that by making the upper section 8 non-cylindrical and extending the upper section 8 beyond the line 9 both laterally and vertically, it is possible to considerably increase the volume of muck that may be stored in the container 2.

For example, a typical conventional muck spreader would have a container conforming generally to the form of the lower section 7 and the phantom section 9 and have a diameter of approximately 5ft with a length of 14ft.

This gives a volume of approximately 10 cubic yards.

However, by extending the upper section to the form of the section 8 of the muck spreader 1 it is possible to increase the volume to approximately 16 cubic yards with little or no deterioration in performance.

A side view of the muck spreader 1 is shown in Fig. 2 where it can be seen that the container 2 is divided by a dividing wall 10 into two sections. The rotatable shaft 3 has a number of chain flails 11 mounted on it and has a steel bar 12 on either side of the dividing wall 10 and adjacent a front end 13 and rear end 14.

As shown in Fig. 2, the container 2 has an opening 14 through which muck is expelled from the container 2.

The opening 14 may be closed by lid 15 which is operated by a hydraulic piston 16. In addition, the muck spreader 1 also has a mechanical tow device 17 which permits the muck spreader 1 to be coupled to and towed by, for example, a tractor.

The muck spreader 1 also has hydraulic connectors (not shown) to permit a hydraulic motor 18 which drives the rotary shaft and the piston 16 to be coupled to a conventional power takeoff on a tractor.

In use, the muck spreader 1 is used in the conventional manner to a normal muck spreader. However, because of the increased size of the upper section 8 more muck can be stored in the container 2. In addition, the presence of the dividing wall 10 and the additional metal bars 12 adjacent to the dividing wall 10 the spreading of the muck is commenced not only from each of the ends 13, 14 but also from the centre of the container 2 which considerably reduces the time taken to spread the muck in the container 2.

Modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. Apparatus for spreading material comprising a container, a rotatable shaft located in the container, the rotatable shaft having a number of longitudinal members mounted thereon, the longitudinal members being adapted to extend radially from the rotatable shaft during rotation of the shaft, a lower section of the container being in the form of a portion of a cylinder having a radius of curvature substantially similar to the length of the longitudinal members, and an upper section which is non-cylindrical and which extends beyond the radius of curvature of the lower section.

2. Apparatus for spreading material according to claim 1, wherein the upper section extends laterally beyond the radius of curvature of the upper section.

3. Apparatus for spreading material comprising a container, a rotatable shaft mounted in the container, the container having a lower section which is generally in the form of a portion of a cylinder and the axis of the cylinder being substantially coincident with the axis of rotation of the rotatable shaft, a number of longitudinal members mounted on the rotatable shaft, the longitudinal members being adapted to extend in a generally radial direction from the rotatable shaft during rotation of the rotatable shaft and the lengths of the longitudinal members being substantially similar to the radius of curvature of the lower section, and the container having a dividing wall to divide the container into two compartments, the dividing wall being located within the container transversely to the rotary shaft.

4. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the longitudinal members include a substantially rigid member at each end of the rotatable shaft.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 when dependent on claim 3, wherein the longitudinal members further include a substantially rigid member adjacent the dividing wall.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the longitudinal members comprise a number of flexible members.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the flexible members comprise flails which extend substantially radially from the longitudinal member during rotation of the longitudinal member.

8. Apparatus for spreading material substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.