A collapsible spreader having all parts pre-assembled that requires no tools for its transformation into an operative device and that includes a wheel assembly, a two-part frame member, whose lower part is affixed to the wheel assembly and supports a high-volume hopper as well as a collapsible support stand. The leg members of the lower frame are pivotally connected to the legs of the upper frame, such that the lower and upper frames when pivoted into an extended position from a trapezoidal loop and, when returned to their collapsed state, form a generally rectangular prism that includes the entire spreader device within its volume, namely the legs of the lower and upper frames, the hopper, the support stand, the seed-dispensing mechanism and the wheel assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to portable spreaders of both the 
broadcast and drop kind which are supportable on a pair of wheels and 
which can be manually pushed by an operator and whose dispensing rate, 
including on-off control, can be manually regulated. 
Spreaders of this kind can be of two types, a unit which is permanently 
constructed at the factory, and an articulated unit designed for assembly 
by the consumer after purchase. In the latter case, the consumer is 
normally required to fit various parts of the structure or product 
together, usually with the aid of some basic tools in order to assemble 
the product into its final or finished form for use. After the product is 
assembled it is not intended for disassembly into its various parts, 
because some of those parts are "irreversibly" put together, that is, they 
are secured by nuts and bolts or one-way friction-fit devices that are not 
designed to be undone. In still other cases where some part of the product 
is designed for disassembly or collapsibility (such as a handle), there 
still remain other parts of the product--wheels, support stands, hoppers, 
gearing mechanisms and housings etc.--which after assembly by the consumer 
are intended to remain in place. Naturally, such products pose a problem 
if they are intended to be stored or transported after use, particularly 
if it is desired to place or store the product within the confines of a 
small space with other equipment, such as a closet, or in the back of a 
truck, or in the trunk of a car. 
There is needed, therefore, to provide a product, such as a portable 
spreader, which can be purchased in a completely pre-assembled but 
collapsed state and which can be converted for use in a matter of seconds 
without the aid of any tools, and which can be put back into its collapsed 
state in the same amount of time. 
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is a primary purpose and principle feature of the present invention to 
address the aforementioned need and provide a full-featured portable 
wheeled spreader, including on-off and dispensing rate control, which can 
be converted from a collapsed state of its pre-assembled parts into an 
operative device in a matter of seconds without the aid of or the need for 
any tools whatsoever. 
It is another feature of the present invention to provide a portable 
spreader constructed entirely from pre-assembled parts which can be 
converted from a collapsed state into a full-featured wheeled spreader in 
a matter of seconds without the aid of tools of any kind. 
It is still another feature of the present invention to provide a 
full-featured portable spreader which can be collapsible into the shape of 
a generally rectangular prism and which, after use, can be stored in the 
box in which it was purchased or any box having a similar rectangular 
shape. 
It is still yet another feature of the invention to provide a spreader that 
uses wheels which can be removed and replaced at any time. 
Still another feature of the invention is the use of a simplified clamshell 
gear-box housing structure which snaps together, is free of hardware ad 
uses no separate parts for retention of the two clamshell halves. 
It is yet another feature of the invention to provide a flexible shut-off 
plate at the bottom of the hopper of the spreader which uses a simple 
plastic bow-spring mechanism for efficient on-off control and 
dispensing-rate control. 
It is yet another feature of the invention to provide a collapsible wheeled 
spreader that uses a collapsible two-part support frame that snaps both 
into and out of place when either collapsed or expanded. 
It is still another feature of the invention to provide a collapsible 
wheeled spreader that can be collapsed without the aid of tools into a 
generally rectangular prism shape that fits into a box in which the 
spreader was purchased and which can include, as well, a high-volume 
hopper (over four gallons), a rotor plate at the bottom of the hopper, a 
gear housing, and a handle operated spring-biased dispensing member at the 
bottom of the hopper adjacent the rotor plate. 
According to one embodiment of the invention there is provided a 
collapsible wheeled spreader including a wheel-assembly, a two-part frame 
member, whose lower part is affixed to the wheel assembly and supports a 
high-volume hopper as well as a collapsible support stand for the 
assembly. The leg members of the lower part of the frame diverge slightly 
away from one another in an upward direction and are pivotally connected 
to an upper frame member whose leg members extend along the respective 
axes of the legs of the lower frame member, such that the lower and upper 
frame members when pivoted into an extended position form a trapezoidal 
loop and, when returned to their collapsed state, form a generally 
rectangular prism shape that includes the entire spreader device within 
the prism's volume, namely, the legs of the lower and upper frames, the 
handle portion of the upper frame, the axle and wheel assembly of the 
lower frame, the hopper, the support stand, the seed or 
material-dispensing mechanism, and a rotor assembly, if such is used in 
the broadcast type of spreader. 
The invention will be better understood as well as further features and 
advantages thereof become more apparent from the ensuing detailed 
description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Referring now to FIG. 1, the broadcast spreader 10, according to the 
invention, is shown in its extended for-use position and includes a hopper 
12 which is generally a rectangular pyramidal structure having a 
high-volume capacity (over four gallons) that is secured to the tubular 
leg members 14, 16 of the lower frame 18 (see FIG. 2) by means of 
thumbnut-bolts combinations 20, which are more particularly described in 
the U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,325 to McRoskey having the same assignee as the 
present invention and which patent disclosure is incorporated herein by 
reference. As disclosed in the McRoskey patent, the thumbnuts have a 
serrated face for cooperating with a rounded or tubular surface, such as 
the tubular leg members in the present invention, that provides a number 
of locking positions, depending upon the degree of torque applied. Also 
connected to the legs of the lower frame 18 is a collapsible support stand 
22 consisting of a pair of U-shaped frames 24 which are pivotally 
connected by loose clamps 26. Each of the U-shaped leg members have prongs 
28 which can be spring-biased into holes 30 provided in the respective leg 
members 14, 16, as shown in FIG. 2. The spring tension in U-shaped leg 
members retains the prongs 28 in their respective holes. When all the 
prongs are inserted into their separate holes 30, the support stand is in 
its extended position, as shown in FIG. 1. The lower frame also comprises 
an axle member 32 which supports a pair of wheels 34 at its respective 
ends in a manner which will be described below. A gearbox housing 36 is 
also situated on the axle, which housing contains a conventional 
arrangement of beveled gears (not shown) driven by the axle when it is 
rotated as a result of moving the spreader over the ground. The gears in 
turn rotate a spindle 38 (see FIG. 4) which is connected to a rotor plate 
40 for rotating same, the details of which will be discussed below. Also 
connected to the lower frame 18 is an upper frame 42 consisting of leg 
members 44, 46 and a handle member 48. Connected to the handle is a 
flexible control member in the form of a conventional cable 52 manually 
shiftable by a handle member 54 in a well know manner. The cable 52 
connects with and operates the dispensing mechanism to be discussed below. 
Thumbnut-bolt connectors 50 (such as previously described) cooperate with a 
bolt 56 to pivotally connect the leg members from the lower frame with the 
leg members of the upper frame, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 8. The bolt 56 
is press-fitted into an aperture in the end portion of the leg members 14, 
16 and pass through aligned apertures in end portions of the leg members 
44, 46 of the upper frame. When so extended the upper frame and lower 
frame form a trapezoidal loop, such that the opposing leg members diverge 
from one another to the degree that the handle portion 48 is of a length 
that includes the length of the parallel axle member of the lower frame as 
well as the additional dimension of the wheel assemblies, as best shown in 
FIG. 12. 
As shown in detail in FIG. 8, the respective end portions of the leg 
members in the upper and lower frames are shaped to allow for a contiguous 
fit therebetween; that is, the end portion 58 of the leg members in the 
upper frame is curvilinear, that is, stamped to form a curved plane, in 
order to conform with the circular shape of the tubular end portions of 
the leg members of the lower frame. In the extended state, too, the leg 
members 44, 46 of the upper frame are in a state of tension, owing to 
their divergent geometry and their connection with the leg members of the 
lower frame. If the thumbnuts are loosened, this spring tension causes the 
leg members 44, 46 to spread apart, that is, spring away from the tubular 
end portions of the lower leg members 14, 16; the upper frame, then, is 
free to rotate into or assume without resistance the collapsed state, that 
is, to move in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 8, with respect to 
the lower frame. 
When the spreader, according to the invention, is in its collapsed state, 
as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 12, the leg members 44, 46 of the upper frame 
42 overlap the leg members 14, 16, but will lie in a different plane from 
the plane of the leg members of the lower frame. Because of the angular 
relationship of these two planes, as best seen in FIG. 3, it should be 
noted that that the curvilinear surface 58 of the end portions of the leg 
members in the upper frame will not conform with the circular shape of the 
tubular end portions of the leg members in the lower frame, such as shown 
in FIG. 9. In this way the leg members of the upper frame remain in their 
flexed disposition, that is flexed outwardly and will again offer minimal 
resistance in being swung to their end-of-swing position, as shown in FIG. 
8. The upper frame 42 in effect defines a generally rectangular plane at 
right angles to the plane of the paper in FIG. 3 and in the plane of the 
paper in FIG. 12. The projection of this rectangular plane defined by the 
upper frame 46 in a given direction defines a generally rectangular prism 
that embraces all the working parts of the spreader, that is the wheels, 
the gearbox housing, the rotor plate, if such is used in a broadcast type 
of spreader, the dispensing mechanism (to be described below), the hopper 
and the flexible control member, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 12. It should be 
noted, too, that this rectangular prism shape is suitable for the spreader 
to be stored in a similarly shaped rectangular box, which could be the box 
in which the spreader was purchased. In this way the spreader, according 
to the invention, can be easily stored or transported and in a confined 
space if necessary. 
The dispensing mechanism for the hopper 12 is shown in FIGS. 4-6. On the 
bottom of the hopper is an opening 60 through which the contents in the 
hopper passes in route to the rotor plate that disperses or broadcasts the 
contents, seed, for example, in a known manner. Of course, in a drop 
spreader, which is a type of spreader that is also embraced by the 
principles of this invention, the rotor assembly is dispensed with, since 
seed or fertilizer and the like is dropped directly from the hopper to the 
ground. Bordering the opening 60 is a guideway structure 62 comprising two 
parallel tracks 64, 66 extending along the bottom of the hopper and part 
way up one side thereof and thereby extending in two directions which are 
approximately 120 degrees apart, as best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 Disposed 
between the tracks 64, 66 is a flexible shut-off plate member 68 which is 
retained therein by flanges 70, 72. The plate 68 is made flexible by 
virtue of the plastic hinged sections 70 which are significantly reduced 
in their thickness dimension with respect to the normal thickness of the 
plate members. The control cable 52 is connected to one end of the 
flexible plate, as shown, and the other end of the flexible plate 68 is 
connected to a pair of rail member extensions 74, 76 which is bridged by a 
plate extension member 78 having a pair of snap tab members 80 which 
together with the recess 82 secure a spring bow-like member 84 formed from 
a spring plastic material, such as ACETAL. The extremities of the spring 
bow member 84 abut in sliding engagement a pair of runner members 86 
extending at right angles to and in opposing directions from the guideway 
62. In operation, then, when the control cable 52 is pulled the flexible 
plate is caused to ride in the guideway 62 against the bias of the spring 
bow 78. As the bow is pulled by the flexible plate 62, the extremities 
thereof slide along the runner members 86, as shown by the arrows, and the 
edge of the flexible plate 62 is pulled past the opening 60 from a 
completely covered position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, to a completely 
opened position as shown in FIG. 6. The flexible plate 68, of course, 
changes direction as the the contour of the guideway 62 changes. 
Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 7, the rotor plate 40 for use in the broadcast 
type of spreader will be seen as a disc rigidly connected to a hexagonal 
portion of the tubular shaft 88 that at one end is journaled for rotation 
in a bearing support 90 provided on the bottom of the hopper 12 and 
disposed adjacent the opening 60 therein. The other end of the shaft 88 is 
connected to suitable gearing, not shown, and contained in the gearbox 
housing 36. As understood by the skilled artisan, the gearing is 
operatively connected to the axle 32 and rotates therewith to rotate the 
rotor plate and thereby impart a centrifugal force to the seed passing 
from the opening 60. The rotor plate itself is designed to have a central 
cone portion 92 that serves to accelerate the seed falling onto it, the 
opening 60 being disposed directly above the accelerator cone, as best 
shown in FIG. 5. When the seed hits the cone 92 it is thrown outwardly, 
that is, broadcast. The blade members 94, dividing the cone and the disc 
into sectors, assist in flinging the seed in that outward, centrifugal 
direction. 
FIG. 10 shows a removable press-fit screw-threaded retainer pin 98 for 
securing the wheels 34 to the axle 32 which is shown to be tubular and 
therefore having a hollow threadless bore 100 for receiving the threaded 
portion 102 of the screw. The threaded portion is composed of a flexible 
plastic material, so that the same can be press-fitted into the bore and 
can be removed--in order to replace or repair a wheel--by merely turning 
the screw in the conventional manner, as by a screwdriver. 
FIG. 11 shows the gearbox housing 36 to be composed of two halves 104 and 
106 which form a conventional clamshell housing. A top face 108 of section 
104 is seen to have a series of apertures 110 spaced along the interface 
112 between the top face and the sidewall 114. The apertures are seen to 
be rectangular in shape and have one side defined by the interface 112. 
The bottom half-section 106 is composed of a bottom face 116 and a 
sidewall 118. Spaced along the peripheral edge of the sidewall are a 
number of tab members 120, corresponding in number to the apertures in the 
top half-section, and extending inwardly. The bottom half-section is 
slightly larger than the top half-section, so that the one section fits 
over the other section until the tabs 120 snap into the recesses or 
apertures 110 in the top half section and thereby secure two half 
sections. A half-section channel member 122 in each half section come 
together to form the channel for the shaft 88 connected to the rotor 
plate. Suitable apertures 124 are provided respectively in the each 
half-section to accommodate the axle member 32 of the broadcast spreader. 
Finally, in FIG. 12, the collapsed state of the spreader is shown, as 
previously described. Of significance, and what is important to the 
invention, is that the collapsed state of the spreader generally defines a 
rectangular prism shape which can fit into a box having a similar shape, 
and indeed the box in which the spreader may have been purchased. It will 
be seen in both FIGS. 3 and 12 that the rectangular prism defined by the 
leg members of the upper frame 42 and the handle portion 48 surround and 
include each wheel assembly 34, the gearbox housing 36, the rotor disc 
assembly 40, the lower leg members of the lower frame 18, the hopper 12, 
the dispensing mechanism 62, 68, and the flexible control members 52, 54, 
as best shown in FIG. 12. 
It should be understood that except for the upper and lower frames and the 
axle, the working parts of the spreader above described are molded from 
plastic materials. 
The foregoing relates to preferred exemplary embodiments of the present 
invention, it being understood that other embodiments and variants thereof 
are possible within the scope of the invention, the latter being defined 
by the appended claims.