Title: A feeding device for a material spreader.
Technical Field
The invention relates to a feeding device for a unit for spreading spreading materials for icy road abatement, said feeding device comprising a supply container and a delivering means adapted to carry the spreading material from the bottom of said supply container to the spreading mechanism of the spreading unit, and where said feeding device is driven through a driving shaft by means of a hydraulic driving motor adapted to drive said driving shaft in accordance with the desired spreading amounts.
Background Art
Feeding devices are known for spreading units to be mounted on for instance a lorry for icy road abatement. Such spreading units can also be used in connection with other vehicles, such as tractors. The spreading material is stored in a container which is connected to a delivering means through a supply container. The delivering means is adapted to remove the spreading material from the container and advance said material to the spreading mechanism of the spreading unit. This delivering means can be shaped as a worm, a band or the like means and is driven by means of a hydraulic driving motor through a driving shaft. When the driving motor has been out of use for a long period of time with spreading material left in the container, said spreading material has often turned lumpy. As a result it can be difficult to restart the driving mechanism by means of the driving motor. A so-called synchronous spreading unit necessitates a possibility of dosing both very small and very large quantities in order to be synchronous, viz. to be able to spread the same quantity of spreading material per square metre irrespective of the speed and spreading width, and accordingly the driving motor is usually not sufficiently high-powered to start under all circumstances. As a result it can be necessary to manually start the delivering means or at
worst to manually empty the container of spreading material.
Brief Description of the Invention
The object of the invention is to provide a feeding device allowing a reliable starting of the delivering means even under difficult starting conditions.
This object is achieved by the driving shaft also being operationally connected to a hydraulic starting motor which is connected to the driving motor through a sequence valve in such a manner that it is activated when the pressure therein exceeds a predetermined value and that the total moment of the two motors is generating the starting moment. The starting motor can be a hydraulic cylinder connected to the driving shaft through an arm and a freewheel, or another hydraulic motor connected to the driving shaft. Both options result in a possibility of supplying the driving shaft with a moment which is several times larger than the moment which is possible to supply by means of the driving motor alone. The starting motor is activated through a se- quence valve which at a predetermined pressure allows the oil to flow to the starting mechanism. The pressure is suitably set such that the starting mechanism begins to work when the drop of pressure across the motor approaches a maximum for said motor. As a result the starting motor is started and the delivering means is subjected to such an amplified moment that it comes loose of the spreading material and starts. As a result the hydraulic pressure drops and the flow of oil to the starting motor through the sequence valve is interrupted by said sequence valve. Then the delivering means runs in the ordinary way without the use of the starting motor.
According to the invention the output shaft of the driving motor may particularly advantageously be connected to the driving shaft by means of a chain drive, and the output shaft of the starting motor may be connected to the output shaft of the driving motor by means of a chain drive. The resulting connection between the driving motor and the starting motor on one side and the driving shaft on the other side is particu-
larly simple.
Moreover, the driving motor and the starting motor may according to the invention be of the gerotor type with the result that a particularly advantageous embodiment of the feeding device is obtained.
Finally, the driving motor and the starting motor may according to the invention be arranged in sequence in a hydraulic circuit, where the sequence valve forms part of a bypass around the driving motor, the outlet of said driving motor may be connected to the inlet of the starting motor through a check valve which in the flow direction of the hydraulic fluid is coupled before the location where the bypass with the se- quence valve is connected to the conduit of the circuit between the driving motor and the starting motor, and the outlet of the starting motor may be connected to the conduit of the circuit between said driving motor and said starting motor before the check valve through a return conduit. As a result a particularly advantageous embodiment of the feeding device is obtained where the starting motor is kept running even during the usual working of the driving motor. The latter is due to the fact that the hydraulic fluid necessary for the starting motor enters through the return conduit and the check valve and reaches the inlet of the starting motor together with the fluid flow from the driving motor, said hydraulic fluid being necessary for keeping the delivering means running although the fluid flow from the driving motor is not sufficient. During the starting procedure, the hydraulic fluid is prevented from flowing around the starting motor by means of the check valve.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a feeding device for a spreading unit to be mounted
on a lorry,
Fig. 2 is a front view of the driving box of the feeding device of Fig. 1 , seen in a direction of the arrow II in the open state, and
Fig. 3 illustrates a chart showing the hydraulic circuit of the feeding device of Fig. 1.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
The feeding device for a spreading unit shown in Fig. 1 comprises a container 1 communicating through a mating hopper 2 with a worm 3. The worm 3 forms a delivering means advancing the spreading material in the container 1 in the direction shown by means of an arrow 4 to an outlet channel 5. Through the outlet channel 5, the spreading material is advanced in the direction indicated by an arrow 6 to a spreading mechanism 7 of a conventionally known type.
The worm 3 comprises a driving shaft 8 extending through a suitable opening into a driving box 9 at the rear end when seen in the driving direction of a lorry carrying the spreading means. Inside the driving box 9, the driving shaft 8 carries a sprocket 10 communicating through a chain 11 with a first sprocket 12 on the output shaft 14 of a driving motor 13. The latter output shaft is provided with a second sprocket 15 communicating through a chain 16 with a sprocket 17 on the output shaft 19 of a starting motor 18. All the sprockets 12, 15, 17 are permanently connected to the respective shafts 8, 14 and 19.
As shown in Fig. 3, the driving motor 13 and the starting motor 18 are arranged in a hydraulic circuit, where a pump 20 circulates oil to and from a supply 21. The pump 20 sends an oil flow to a branching A, from which said oil is distributed through a conduit B and D to the driving motor 13 and a sequence valve 22,
respectively. The oil flows from the driving motor 13 through a conduit C and a check valve 23 to a conduit G extending to the starting motor 18. From the starting motor 18 the oil returns through a conduit H to the oil supply 21. A conduit E extends between the output of the sequence valve 22 and the conduit G between the check valve 23 and the starting motor 18, and a conduit F extends between said conduit H back to the conduit C, said conduit F extending around the starting motor 18 and the check valve 23.
When the pressure at the branching A is below the maximum pressure of the driving motor 13, the sequence valve 22 remains closed, said maximum pressure of the driving motor 13 being 150 bar in connection with a 160 cm3 driving motor 13. When the driving motor is simultaneously running, the oil flow continues through said driving motor 13 to the conduit C. As the driving motor 13 and the starting motor 18 are directly mechanically interconnected through the chain 16, and as the starting motor presents a high displacement, such as 200 cm3, a oil flow is produced which exceeds an oil flow through the driving motor 13 because the necessary extra amount of oil is sucked up through the conduit F from the outlet conduit H of the starting motor 18. The resulting excess of oil flow passes through the check valve 23 and the conduit G into the pump 18. The fluid quantity not returning through the bypass F after the upstream motor flows through the conduit H back to the oil sup- ply.
When the pressure at the branching A exceeds 150 bar due to starting problems in the driving motor, the oil is advanced through the conduit D, the sequence valve 22 and the conduit E to the conduit G extending to the starting motor 18. The check valve 23 ensures that the oil flow cannot flow backwards to the driving motor 13. Instead the oil flows to the starting motor 18, and together the two motors subject the driving shaft 8 to a stronger moment corresponding to a theoretical total displacement which corresponds to the total displacement of the two motors, viz. 360 cm3 and a moment proportional thereto which is sufficient for starting the worm 3. As soon as
the worm 3 and consequently the starting motor 13 have started, the pressure at the branching A drops below 150 bar with the result that the sequence valve 22 cuts off the passage and the motors change from being connected in parallel to being connected in series which corresponds to a displacement of 160 cm3. As a result the starting motor 18 continues to run in such a manner that the risk of said motor suffering from starting problems due to a too long idle period is reduced.
The driving motor 13 and the starting motor 18 are advantageously of the gerotor type. They can, however, also be hydraulic cylinders connected to the driving shaft through an arm and a free-wheeling. Under all circumstances the result is that it is possible during the starting procedure to supply the driving shaft with a moment which is significantly larger than the moment which is possible to supply to the driving shaft 8 by means of the driving motor 13 alone.
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. Many modifications can be carried out without thereby deviating from the scope of the invention. The displacements can for instance differ from the ones described. The invention has also been described in connection with a spreading unit with a worm 3 for advancing the spreading material. However, it is also possible to use a suitable belt conveyor instead of the worm. The feeding device dealt with can in theory also be used for other purposes beyond the one described in connection with spreading of spreading material for icy road abatement because it can advantageously be used everywhere requiring a starting moment which exceeds the operational moment, such as in connection with handling of seeds and the like.