WO1990009097A1

WO1990009097A1 - An apparatus for spreading fertiliser

Info

Publication number: WO1990009097A1
Application number: PCT/AU1990/000032
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giuseppe Mario Sartor
Original assignee: Giuseppe Mario Sartor
Priority date: 1989-02-07
Filing date: 1990-01-31
Publication date: 1990-08-23

Abstract

The hopper of a fertiliser spreader is divided into separate compartments (5a) and (5b) which are essentially flat except for cylindrical recesses (14a), (14b). Outlet holes (7a) and (7b) are located on the side of each recess which is closest to the partition plate (10). A funnel (27) is connected below both outlet holes (7a) and (7b) and has its central axis in the same plane as the partition (10). The bottom of the funnel is arranged to be connected with an outlet hose which is not shown. Regulator plates (26a), (26b) are shown extending diagonally from the rigid section of the partition plate down over recesses (14a), (14b) and extend between the side walls of each compartment. Fertiliser discs are arranged to be placed on axles (15a) and (15b) respectively above low-friction discs (not shown). The fertiliser discs have internal or external castilations in order to regulate the discharge of fertiliser from the hopper. The axles (15a) and (15b) are supported by bearings (16a), (16b) respectively and are driven by a main shaft through a bevel gear coupling (17a). Fertiliser in each compartment is moved by one of the augers provided therein over a respective fertiliser disc which by virtue of its rotation directs the fertiliser to a corresponding outlet hole (7a) or (7b). The fertiliser then passes into the funnel and out through the outlet hose.

Description

AN APPARATUS FOR SPREADING FERTILISER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the agricultural field and is particularly applicable to the spreading of fertiliser over cultivated land.

Existing machinery used for spreading fertiliser generally consist of a trailer supporting a hopper. The hopper is filled with fertiliser and an auger moves fertilise at the bottom of the hopper to an outlet where it drops to th ground below. A shutter plate may be arranged above the outlet to vary the size of the outlet and thus regulate the amount of fertiliser that is spread over the ground.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for spreading fertiliser, comprising: a hopper having an outlet located in a bottom surface thereof and an auger positioned above the outlet for feeding material in the hopper to the outlet, the outlet comprising a recess having a feed regulating means located therein which is arranged to rotate about its central axis to regulate material passing from the hopper to a hole in the cylindrical recess.

Preferably the feed regulating means comprises internal or external castilations. The castilations may be arranged to pass above the hole during rotation.

The castilations preferably are arranged to sweep the material into the hole.

Preferably the bottom surface is substantially horizonta to the ground when in use.

Preferably the recess is located close to one side wall of the hopper.

The auger may extend between side walls of the hopper a be arranged to move material from one sidewall to another sidewall at which the feed regulating means is located. It is preferred that the recess is substantially cylindrical in shape and arranged to have a central axis substantially coaxial with that of the feed regulating means.

The feed regulating means preferably is engageable with driving means which is arranged to rotate the feed regulating means. The feed regulating means may be arranged to be rotatabl above a low friction disc which has a cutaway section which i arranged to lie above the hole.

An outlet funnel is preferably provided below the hole for feeding the material through a tube to the ground. It is preferred that the auger be a ribbon auger.

A partition plate may be arranged within the hopper to divide the hopper into two separate compartments.

Preferably each compartment has at least one outlet.

Each compartment may also have an auger arranged above a least one outlet in each compartment.

A plurality of equally spaced outlets may be provided in each compartment in a straight line.

It is preferred that each compartment has a similar arrangement of recesses and feed regulating means. Preferably each recess in one compartment is located at equally spaced intervals underneath the auger of that compartment.

It is preferred that the hopper comprise two augers arranged coaxially between the side walls of the hopper. It is preferred that each coaxial auger be driven by a separate driving means.

Each auger may be arranged to be operable to move material in either direction along its longitudinal axis upon engagement with its respective driving means. According to one embodiment the partition plate comprise a pivotable section which is arranged to vary the size of the separate compartments defined thereby.

The pivotable section may be hinged to a rigid section o the partition plate which is substantially perpendicular to the bottom of the hopper.

In one embodiment a divider is provided between coaxial augers to form four compartments in the hopper. Preferably the partition plate forms two compartments.

The bottom of the two compartments may be approximately of the same size.

It is preferred that the outlets in each compartment be symmetric about the partition plate separating each compartment.

The hopper may incorporate a regulator plate^* which regulates the amount of material which is available to the at least one feed regulating means. The regulator plate preferably is arranged to cover a part of the feed regulating means so as to prevent material lying above the covered part of the feed regulating means.

It is preferred that the regulator plate be arranged to be ajustable to vary the amount by which it covers the feed regulating means.

Preferably the regulator plate is arranged to be attachable to the side walls of the hopper. ^'"■

The regulator plate may be arranged diagonally from the rigid section to the feed regulator means. It is preferred that symmetrically opposed outlets in separate compartments have a common funnel locfated underneath respective holes in their recesses.

It is preferred that an auger be arranged above each line of outlets in each compartment. The hopper is preferably arranged to be pulled along behind a motorised vehicle such as a tractor.

It is preferred that the apparatus further comprises ripper shanks which are arranged to dig furrows in the ground when the apparatus is used in a spreading operation. The apparatus may also be provided with fertiliser shanks which are arranged to feed fertiliser from the hopper to the depth that the ripper shank penetrates soil.

It is preferred that the fertiliser shanks be slidable along horizontal bars. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a side view of the apparatus for spreading fertiliser;

Figure 2 shows a top view of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a top view of a fertiliser disc according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 shows a side view of the fertiliser disc together with assembly components;

Figure 5 shows a top view of a fertiliser disc according to a second embodiment; Figure 6 shows a top view of a nylon disc;

Figure 7 shows an end view of the apparatus of Figure 1 and

Figure 8 shows an enlarged view of the bottom of the hopper of Figure 1. BEST METHOD OF PERFORMING THE INVENTION

As shown in Figure 1 and 2, the apparatus for spreading fertiliser is in the form of a trailer which is arranged to be connected to a tractor for use in a fertiliser spreading operation. The apparatus comprises a hopper 1 which is mounted to a chassis 2 having wheels 3 at one end and a lug 4 at the other end for connection to the back of a tractor.

The hopper has a vertical partition plate 25 which is connected between side walls la and lb and effectively divides the hopper in half. The partition plate has an upper pivotable section 10a, 11a and a lower rigid section 10b, lib.

A divider 12 bisects the partition plate 10, 11, thus dividing the hopper into four separate compartments 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d. Each compartment is effectively of the same size and is provided with a ribbon auger 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d. Each auger extends along the length of its respective compartment and is arranged above three equally spaced outlets having outlet holes 7a, 8a and 9a, 7b, 8b, 9b, 7c, 8c, 9c and 7d, 8d, 9d. Each outlet hole of each compartment is arranged approximately along a center line extending along the length of each compartment and parallel to the auger in that compartment. The arrangement of augers and outlet holes in compartments 5a and 5b, and 5c and 5d are symmetric about partition 10 and 11 respectively. Likewise the arrangement of augers and outlets in compartments 5a and 5d, and 5b and 5c are symmetric about dividing wall 12.

In Figure 2, the hopper is shown without fertiliser discs. Item 13 however outlines where a disc would be positioned in compartment 5a for the outlet 7a.

The arrangement of the fertiliser discs at the bottom of compartments 5a and 5b will now be described in more detail with reference to Figure 8.

The bottom of compartments 5a and 5b are essentially flat except for the cylindrical recesses 14a, 14b. The outlet holes 7a and 7b are located on the side of each recess which is closest to the partition plate 10. As shown in Figure 2, each outlet hole is in the shape of an arcuate sector of an annulus formed by circles defined by the respective recesses and the bodies of the respective discs 15 as shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4. A funnel 27 is connected below both outlet^' holes 7a and 7b and has its central axis in the same plane as the partition 10. The bottom of the funnel is arranged to be connected with an outlet hose which is not shown. Regulator plates 26a, 26b are shown extending diagonally from the rigid section of the partition plate down over recesses 14a, 14b and although not shown in Figure 2 extend between the side walls of each compartment.

Fertiliser discs of the type shown in either Figure 3 or Figure 5 are arranged to be placed on axles 15a and 15b respectively. The axles are supported by bearings 16a, 16b respectively and are driven by a main shaft 17b through a bevel gear coupling 17a.

The fertiliser discs which are mounted on the axle 15a and 15b respectively are effectively cylindrical discs with teeth equally spaced around the periphery.

Figure 4 shows the way in which each fertiliser disc is mounted on its shaft 15 by way of a base nylon disc 19, a washer 20 and a nut 21. In Figure 6, the nylon disc 19 is shown having an opening 20 which is the same shape as the outlet hole 7 of each recess in each compartment. When each fertiliser disc and its base nylon disc are mounted on their respective shafts in each compartment, the base nylon discs are arranged so that they have their openings above the outlet holes 7.

In Figure 7, the outlet funnel for one of the funnels is shown with a connecting outlet hose 28 at its bottom end. Below the outlet funnels, a number of ripper shanks are slidably supported on framework 24 which is connected to the bottom of the chassis 2* In Figure 7, two slidable ripper shanks are shown for convenience and are slidable horizontally along the framework 24 as indicated by the arrows.

The operation of the fertiliser spreader apparatus will now be described in detail as follows.

The hopper 1 is arranged to be filled with two types of fertiliser. Before the two types of fertiliser are added to the hopper, the partition plate 25 is moved to a desired location depending on the mix of fertiliser which is required. In addition, the regulator plates 26a and 26b are fixed in a position depending on the required rate at which the two types of fertiliser are required to be made available to respective fertiliser discs at the bottom of the hopper.

The fertiliser shanks 23 are adjusted to positions determined by the amount of fertiliser which is to be spread over the ground being fertilised. Once the partition plate 25, the regulator plate 26a and 26b and the fertiliser shanks 23 have been fixed in position, compartments 5a and 5d are filled with one type of fertiliser and compartments 5b and 5c are filled with a second type of fertiliser. With the fertiliser spreader apparatus being pulled along behind the back of the tractor, the augers 6a to 6d and the fertiliser disc 18 are activated by being engaged with the main driving shaft through their respective gear coupling arrangements.

Fertiliser in the respective compartments 5a to 5d are moved by their respective augers 6a to 6d over the fertiliser discs 18 which by virtue of their rotation direct the fertiliser to their respective outlet holes 7. The fertiliser then passes into the funnel and out through the outlet hose into the furrows dug by the ripper shanks 23. It can be seen that the amount of fertiliser which is spread over the ground can be varied by varying the speed of the fertiliser discs, varying the number of teeth on the fertiliser discs, moving the regulator plate and changing the size and position of the outlet holes. In^' addition, the position of the augers can be varied and their speed of operation can be varied.

It should also be noted that the augers direction of rotation can be changed to avoid any build up of fertiliser in one particular area of the respective compartments. This also applies to the fertiliser discs. Because the fertiliser discs are mounted in recesses, fertiliser build up at the edges of each fertiliser disc is generally avoided. In addition, because the tops of the fertiliser discs are normally flush with the bottom of their respective compartments, the augers can be arranged very close to the top surface of each fertiliser disc. This also helps avoid clogging and also improves the ability of the fertiliser spreading apparatus to accurately control the feed rate of fertiliser through the outlet holes 7.

Although the preferred embodiment shows a hopper having four compartments each with three fertiliser discs and a single auger, the number of compartments, fertiliser discs, and augers can be varied as required. In addition, because of the arrangement of the bevel gears above the main drive shaft, the number of bands of fertiliser that are required can be varied by varying the number of fertiliser discs which are in operation. 97

Because of the location of the regulator plate, fertiliser can be prevented from falling directly through the outlet hole without first having been conveyed there by the fertiliser disc. In addition, when the fertiliser disc is not in operation, fertiliser is prevented from escaping. The use of ribbon augers in conjunction with fertiliser discs has the advantage that fertiliser as well as being moved continuously to prevent clogging is also broken up by the action of the ribbon augers. The preferred embodiment describes a fertiliser apparatus which can be towed behind a tractor. However, the fertiliser apparatus can also be a motor driven apparatus which does not require to be attached to another vehicle.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. An apparatus for spreading fertiliser, comprising: a hopper having an outlet located in a bottom surface thereof and an auger positioned above the outlet for feeding material in the hopper to the outlet, the outlet comprising a recess having a feed regulating means located therein which is arranged to rotate about its central axis to regulate material passing from the hopper to a hole in the cylindrical recess.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the feed regulating means is disklike in shape.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the feed regulating means comprises internal or external castilations.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the castilations are arranged to pass above the hole during rotation of the feed regulating means.

5. An apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the feed regulating means rotates perpendicular to the direction in which material is fed through the outlet.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the bottom surface when in use is substantially horizontal to the ground.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the auger extends between side walls of the hopper and is arranged to move material from one side wall to another side wall at which the feed regulating means is located.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the recess is substantially cylindrical in shape and is arranged to have a central axis substantially coaxial with that of the feed regulating means.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the feed regulating means is engagable with a driving means which is arranged to rotate the feed regulating means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the feed regulating means is arranged to be rotatable above a low friction disc which has a cutaway section which is arranged to lie above the hole. 097

11. An apparatus for spreading fertiliser, comprising: a hopper having an outlet located in a bottom surface thereof and an auger positioned above the outlet for feeding material in the hopper to the outlet, the outlet comprising a recess having a feed regulating means located therein which is arranged to rotate about its central axis to regulate material passing from the hopper to a hole in the cylindrical recess and a partition plate arranged within the hopper to divide the hopper into two separate compartments.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein each compartment has at least one outlet and a corresponding feed regulating means and auger.

13. An apparatus according to claim 11 or 12 wherein there is provided a plurality of equally spaced outlets in each compartment wherein each outlet is arranged in a straight line below its auger.

14. An apparatus according to claim 13 wherein each recess in one compartment is located at equally spaced intervals underneath the auger of that compartment.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the hopper comprises two adjacent augers arranged coaxially between the side walls of the hopper.

16. An apparatus according to claim 15 wherein each coaxial auger is driven by a separate driving means.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16 wherein each auger is arranged to be operable to move material in either direction along its longitudinal axis upon engagement with its respective driving means'.

18. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 11 wherein the auger is a ribbon auger.

19. An apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the partition plate comprises a pivotable section which is arranged to vary the size of the separate compartments defined thereby.

20. An apparatus according to claim 15 wherein a divider is provided between adajacent compartments to form four compartments in the hopper.

21. An apparatus according to claim 20 wherein the outlets in each compartment is symmetric about the partition plate separating adjacent compartments.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21 wherein the hopper incorporates a regulator plate which regulates the amount of material which is available to at least one feed regulating means.

23. An apparatus according to claim 22 wherein the regulator plate is arranged to cover part of the feed regulating means so as to prevent material lying above the covered part of the feed regulating means.

24. An apparatus according to claim 23 wherein the regulator plate is arranged to be adjustable to vary the amount by which it covers the feed regulating means.

25. An apparatus according to claim 24 or claim 11 wherein the apparatus further comprises ripper shanks which are arranged to dig furrows in the ground when the apparatus is used in a spreading opearation.

26. An apparatus according to claim 25 wherein the apparatus is provided fertiliser shanks which are arranged to feed fertiliser from the hopper to the depth that the ripper shank penetrates soil.

27. An apparatus according to claim 26 wherein the fertiliser shanks are slidable along horizontal bars.