US2705149A

US2705149A - Rotary sand spreader

Info

Publication number: US2705149A
Application number: US322375A
Authority: US
Inventors: Anthony J Torrey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1952-11-25
Filing date: 1952-11-25
Publication date: 1955-03-29
Anticipated expiration: 1972-03-29

Description

March 29, 1955 A. J. ToRREY 2,705,149

ROTARY SAND SPREADER Filed NOV. 25, 1952 4 Shee'tS-Sheet l L17-l0??? f Vwww"'I'i'E? l {Wm/ngi March 29, 1955 A. J. ToRREY ROTARY SAND SPREADER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 25, 1952 ESSI..

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March 29, 1955 A, J, TORREY 2,705,149

ROTARY SAND SPREADER Filed Nov. 25. 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I" .9. wir y v nventor;

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"Wam/wu United States Patent O 2,705,149 ROTARY SAND SPREADER Anthony J. Torrey, Framingham, Mass. Application November 25, 1952, Serial No. 322,375 9 claims. (ci. 27s-s) This invention relates to vehicles for sanding roads and highways, and more particularly to a sand spreading device in which the volume and distribution of the sand deposited on the road may be varied to suit different surface and traffic conditions. v

The object of the invention is t9 provide a road sanding device which is suitable for mounting on standard trucks or other vehicles, which eliminates much of the hand labor hitherto required for sanding, especially in conjested areas, which insures' free flow of the sand at freezing temperature, which has provision for controlling the rate of ow to suit various traffic and surface conditions, which, by means of a simple adjustment may be' made to distribute the greater part of thesand forward or back.

ward, or to the right or left of the vehicle, and which is adapted to spread sand'under all four wheels of the vehicle so as to maintain adequate traction.

In the drawings illustrating the invention, A.'

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sand spreader constructed according to the invention, part of :the truck? body on which the spreader is mountedbeing shown in dotted line, Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly cut away, of the-sand spreader,

Fig. 3a is a cross-section throughthe rear end of lthe spreader taken along line 3 3 of Fig.' 2,

Fig. 3b is a cross-section through the front end of the spreader taken along line 3 3 ofFig. 2,

Fig. 4 is across-section taken along line 4 4 of Fig. 3a, l

Fig. 5 is a detail of the conveyor chain mounting, shown in cross-section taken along line 5 5 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a cross-section taken along line 6 6 of Fig. 3b,

Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken along line 7 7 of Fig. 3b,

Fig. 8 is a detail Aof one of the impellers which distribute the sand, i

Fig. 9 is a view 'of the mechanism which controls tle volume of sand flowtaken along line 9 9 of Fig. 3 and Fig. 10 is a cross-section taken along 10 10 of Fig. f

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the supply of sand is carried in a hopper body 1S of any suitable construction but preferably tapered'inward at the bottom, mounted on a standard truck chassis 16, or other suitable vehicle. -A pair of conveyor chains 17 and 18, connected together at intervals by cross-rods 19 run across the bottom of the hopper and are continuously driven, by a mechanism to be further described, in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2. The conveyor carries the sand through ,an opening 21 at the forward end of the hopper bodyI and dumps it into

chutes

22 and 23, whence it fallsonto rotating impellers 24 and 25 and is sprayed out over a generally circular area by each impeller, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. l. Stationary cross-rods at intervals across the hopper above the conveyor cooperate with rods 19 to break up. lumps in the sand, such as might occur in severe weather when the moisture in the sand tends to freeze.

The hopper body is supported on two

longitudinal channels

26 and 27 resting on inverted

lateral channels

28, 29, and 30. The conveyor chains run over front and rear sprockets of generally conventional design. The mounting of the rear sprockets is shown in Figs. 3a and 4. The

sprockets

31 and 32 are mounted on a common shaft 33 which projects through

slots

38 and 39 in giglgpounted.,

. of the holes 90, thus 2,105,149 Patented Mar. 29, 1955 45 in which is threaded a screw 47. The screwfy carries a collar 48 which forms a seat for one end 'ofspring 49. `The other end of spring 49 seats on a collar 50 carried by stud 51. On the outer end `of stud 51 isa shoe 52 which engages the grooved rim of roller 34. Screw 47, which may be locked by nuts 53 and 54, provides for adjustment of the spring force against the roller. A similar adjusting device for roller 35 is mounted on channel 27. I

The mounting of the front sprockets is shown kin Figs. 3b and 6. The

sprockets

55 and 56 are mounted on a shaft 57 which is journalled on channels 26 and27 and secured by collars 58 and 59. It will be noted `that the Hoor 60 of the hopper body extends forward between the sprockets and curves over to form an apron 61V which guides the sand into the

chutes

22 and 23.

The drive mechanism for the conveyor is best seen in Figs. 2 and 6. A small gasoline motor 65, is mounted in any suitable manner on the side of the hopper body 15 and sprocket drive 66 to a longitudinally disposed shaft 67.` Controls `for engaging and disengaging the clutch so as to start and stop the sanding mechanismmay be mounted in the cab of the truck. Mounted on' shaft 67 is a worm 68 which engages `a bull gear 69. Both the worm and the bull gear are enclosed in a gear box 70. The bull gear is attachedv to the drive shaft 57 of the conveyor.

Shaft 67 also transmits power to the drive mechanism for the impellers which is illustrated in Figs. 2.and` 7.

miter gear-71 mounted on the end of shaft67 and enclosed in a suitable gear box 72 engages a second miter gear 73 which is mounted on a transverse shaft 74. The outer end of shaft 74 is journalled on a pillon block 75. A pair of floating

gear boxes

76 and 77 are rotatably mounted on shaft 74, and'house a pair of miter gears 78 and 79, respectively, which are splined to the shaft.

`gears 80 and '8 1 which are n 83 respectively. The impeller shafts extend through the bottoms of

chutes

22 and 23 and have the impellers 24'and 25 mounted on their lower ends. As is apparent from the gear arrangement, rotation of shaft 74 results in driving the impellers simultaneously in opposite directions.

The construction of the impellers, for example, impeller 25, is illustrated in Fig. 8. A circular disk 8 4'is chutes. A bracket 89 is mounted on the outside of the face plate and has a series of holes 90, through which a locking bolt 91 maybe inserted.A Hole 92 inlink 87 may beplocked by the bolt in alignment with any one providing adjustment of shaft 83 to a positioneithen side of the vertical as indicated -by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 3b. A similar adjusting device is provided for shaft 82;v `By adjusting the angle of the impeller shafts the distribution and area of spread of the sand be varied to suit the road conditions. When the shafts are placed so that the centers of the impellers are in line with the centers of the chutes the sand is thrown out uniformly in all directions. When the shafts are tilted further back the major portion of the sand hits the front part of the mpellers where the tins are turning inward, and consequently the sand is spread thicker in the middle and overa narrower area. When the shafts are tilted forward, the major portion of the sand hits the rear of the impellers where the fins are turning outward and the spread is wider and thicker toward the outside.

Thevolume of sand delivered to the impellers is controlled by means of an adjustable gate which is illustrated in Figs. 7, 9, and l0. A pair of

angular guides

101 and 102 are mounted on the forward wall of the hopper body on either side of the opening 21. A gate 95 is slidably mounted in the guides. A lever 98 is pivoted on a stud 99 attached to the hopper body alongside of the guide 102. At the inner end of the lever is a slot 100 which engages a stud 97 protruding from a strap 96 attached to the gate. The outer end of the lever is offset to form a handle. Near the offset is a pin 103 which may be made to engage any one of a series of holes 104 in a plate 105 attached to the hopper body, and thus lock the gate 9S in one of several positions. It is apparent that the position of :the gate determines the volume of sand delivered to the impellers by the conveyor. The volume control is employed for two purposes, first, to vary the thickness of the deposit, and, second, to allow for different speeds of operation of the truck. For example, in a congested area,'itl may be necessary to drive the truck very slowly. The rate of delivery of sand to the impellers may be cut down ,accordingly to avoid the waste resulting from an unnecessarily thick deposit. In rural areas, where the truck may be driven more rapidly, the rate of iiow of sand must be more rapid to produce satisfactory coverage.

Centrally mounted between the two hoppers is a vane 106, which is hinged on a rod 107. As shown in Fig. 7, a link 108 is connected to the top of the vane and also to a lever 109 journalled on a pin 110 on frame member l30. -By means of the lever and link, vane 106 can be moved to the left or right, as indicated by the arrows 111 and 112, so as to shut off part or all of the sand ow to one or the other of the chutes. The control of sidewise distribution thus provided is useful, for example, for sanding in heavy traic where it is frequently necessary to stop spreading on one side or the other of the truck to avoid throwing sand on oncoming or parked cars. This feature makes the spreader usable in congested areas where, previously, much of the sanding had to be done by hand.

It. will be noted in Fig. l that the arrangement of the irnpellers under the central part of the vehicle results in distribution of the sand under all four wheels, so that adequate traction is maintained for safe operation. For certain types of operations, however, such as spreading sand or crushed stone on newly laid tar roads, it may be preferable to back the truck. In this case the entire hopper and sanding assembly may be mounted in reverse on the chassis so that the chutes and impellers are on the rear.

What is claimed is:

l. A sand spreader for a truck or simiiar vehicle comprising: a container for storing a supply of sand; a pair of chutes disposed near one end of said container and having top entrances and bottom outlets; a conveyor adapted to deliver sand from said container to the top entrances of said chutes; a pair of shafts, mounted one within each of said chutes, each shaft having an upper end... projecting above the top entrance and a lower end projecting below the bottom outlet of the chute in which it is mounted; a pair of rotary impellers, one mounted on the lower end of each of said shafts; drive means connected to thc upper ends of said shafts for rotating said shafts; and means forv transversely shifting the lower ends of said shafts with respect to said outlets, thereby exposing different portions of the impellers to the ow of sandfthrough said outlets.

2. A sand spreader for a truck or similar vehicle comprising: a container for storing a supply of sand; a pair of chutes disposed near one end of said container and having top entrances and bottom outlets: a conveyor adapted to deliver sand from said container to the top entrances of said chutes; a pair of shafts, mounted one within each of said chutes, each shaft having an upper end projecting above the top entrance and a lower end projecting below the bottom outlet of the chute in which it is mounted; a pair of rotary impellers, one mounted on the lower end of each of said shafts; a common drive mechanism connected to said top ends and adapted to rotate saidshafts in opposite directions; and means for transversely shifting the lower ends of said shafts with respect to said outlets in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, thereby exposing different portions of the impellers to the ilow of sand through said outlets.

3. A sand spreader for a truck or similar vehicle cornprising: a container for storing a supply of sand; a pair of chutes disposed near one end of said container and having top entrances and bottom outlets; a conveyor adapted to deliver sand from said container to top entrances of said chutes; means for varying the rate of delivery of sand to said chutes; a pair of shafts, mounted one within each of said chutes, each shaft having an upper end projecting above the top entrance and a lower end projecting below the bottom outlet of the chute in which it is mounted; a pair of rotary impellers one mounted on the lower end of each of said shafts; drive means connected to said upper ends for rotating said shafts; and means for transversely shifting the lower ends of said shafts with respect to said outlets in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, thereby exposing different portions of the impellers to the flow of sand through said outlets.

4. A sand spreader for trucks and similar vehicles comprising: a sand storage container having a forward wall; an opening in the lower part of said wall; a gate slidably mounted on said wall to overlie said opening, means for locking said gate in any of several positions, thereby varying the size of said opening; a pair of chutes mounted forward of said wall, said chutes having top entrances and bottom outlets; a conveyor traversing the floor to said container and extending through said opening to a point adjacent said entrances; means for driving said conveyor to carry sand to said chutes; a pair of impeller shafts mounted one in each of said chutes, each shaft having an upper end projecting above the top entrance and a lower end projecting below the bottom outlet of the chute in which it is mounted; drive means connected to the upper ends of said shafts for rotating said shafts; impellers mounted on the lower ends of said shafts; and means for shifting said lower ends in longitudinal direction of the vehicle, thereby exposing different portions of said impellers to the flow of sand from said chutes.

5. A sand spreader for a truck or similar vehicle comprising: a container for storing a. supply of sand; a pair of chutes disposed near one end of said container and having top entrances and bottom outlets; a conveyor adapted to deliver sand from said container to said entrances; means disposed between said conveyor and said entrances for varying the apportionment of the sand delivered to said entrances; a pair of shafts, one mounted in each of said chutes, each shaft having an upper end extending above the entrance and a lower end extending below the outlet of the chute in which it is mounted; a pair of rotary impellers, one mounted on the lower end of each of said shafts; drive means connected to the upper ends of said shafts for rotating said shafts; and means for transversely shifting the lower ends of said shafts with respect to said outlets, thereby exposing different portions of the impellers to the ow of said through said outlets.

6. A sand spreader for a truck or similar vehicle comprising: a container for storing a supply of sand; a pair of chutes disposed near one end of said container and having top entrances and bottom outlets; a conveyor adapted to deliver sand from said container to said entrances; a movable dellector plate disposed between the entrances of said chutes; means for shifting the position of said deliector so as to vary the apportionmentof the sand delivered to said entrances; a pair f shafts, one mounted in each of said chutes, each shaft having an upper end projecting above the entrance and a lower end projecting below the outlet of the chute in which it is mounted; a pair of rotary impellers, one mounted on the lower end of each of said shafts; drive means connected to the upper ends of said shafts for rotating said shafts; and means for transversely shifting the lower ends of said shafts with respect to said outlets, thereby exposing different portions of the mpellers to the ow of sand through said outlets.

7. A sand spreader for trucks and similar vehicles comprising: a container for storing a supply of sand; a pair of chutes disposed near one end of said container and having bottom outlets; a conveyor for delivering sand from said container to said chutes; a cross-shaft mounted 35 laterally across said vehicle above said chutes; means for continuously driving said shaft; a pair of impeller shafts, each having a miter gear on its upper end, disposed one of said chutes and eitending through said openings; a pair of shaft supporting members journalled on said drive shaft and supporting said miter gears; a pair of miter gears mounted on said cross-shaft and meshing with the gears on said impeller shafts; a pair of rotary impellers one mounted on the lower end of each of said impeller shafts; and means for locking said members in any of several rotational positions about said cross-shaft, thereby adjusting the angle of said impeller shafts so as to expose a desired portion of the impellers to the ow of sand through said openings.

A sand spreader yas described in claim 7, said conveyor comprising a pair of chains traversing the oor of said container and connected together by a plurality of cross-rods, and said container having a plurality of stationary rods mounted therein adjacent and parallel to said cross-rods.

9. A sand spreader as described in claim 7 having a drive shaft for said conveyor disposed laterally across said vehicle, a bull gear mounted on said conveyor drive shaft, a main drive shaft disposed longitudinally on said vehicle, a worm mounted on said main drive shaft and meshing with said bull gear, a. third miter gear mounted on said cross-shaft, and a miter gear mounted on said main drive shaft and meshing Within said third miter gear.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS