THROWING ROTOR FOR MANURE SPREADING TRUCKS IN GENERAL

Abstract: A throwing rotor for manure spreading trucks comprises a central crank-shaped crumbling member (4) which has its pointed free end inclined rearward relative to the rotor motion; it also comprises a set of crumbling points (6) or projections (7) disposed on the blades (5) on concentric cir­ cumferences.

Description: ThROWING ROTOR FOR MANURE SPREADING TRUCKS IN GENERAL This invention relates to an improved rotor which is suitable for manure spreading trucks in general, and is constituted in such a manner as to easily break down or crumble the face of the pile of manure which is fed by the normal conveyor disposed on the base of the likewise normal manure spreading trucks. It is well known that these latter are constituted essentially by a truck, on the base of which there is provided a conveyor of the slat type, designed to feed the manure pile in the direction of the front zone of the truck, towards a rotor which lies vertically and is disposed transversely to the longitudinal extension of said truck, and has its active or rear surface provided with a plurality of distribution blades. This rotor, which is suitably driven by a convenient mechanism deriving its motion from the power take-off of an agricultural tractor, is housed inside a cylindrical casing which is provided lowerly with a lateral throwing mouth. At the present time, a large number of manure spreading trucks is known, and all of them suffer from the great problem of the ability to crumble the face zone of the pile of manure which comes into contact with the central part of the rotor, i.e. that part of this latter which has the smallest peripheral speed. One known solution is to provide, immediately upstream of the active face of the rotor, a rotating reel which is also driven at the same time with vertical reciprocating straight line motion. A second known solution is to provide, again upstream of the active face of the rotor but to the side of its central zone, an independently rotating plate fitted with orthogonal blades. Said known and other analogous solutions have proved very delicate, in that they are subject to breakage due to foreign bodies present in the manure mass. They are of poor efficiency and are very costly because of the need to provide an independent mechanical transmission for their drive. The main object of the present invention is to provide an improved rotor suitable for any type of manure spreading truck, which by means of a simple and rational constructional design remedies the aforesaid defects. This is attained according to the invention by providing, at that zone of the rotor which has a low rotational speed, i.e. at its central zone, a profiled member arranged to crumble that part of the face of the manure pile which is destined to come into contact with said central zone of the rotor. Furthermore, in order to involve the entire said face of the manure pile to be distributed, the invention very advantageous ly comprises, concentrically to said central profiled member, sets of variously disposed or orientated elements rigid with the rotor distribution blades, and which are distributed along circumferences having different radii. More precisely, said profiled member is composed of three straight portions which, disposed in succession, assume an overall crank-configuration with its end pointed. In addition, said pointed end is inclined rearward relative to the direction of rotation of the rotor. In this manner, said profiled member penetrates into the approaching pile, and always manages to loosen any strings or filiform bodies present in the manure pile to be distributed. Finally, the elements disposed externally relative to said central profiled member are essentially constituted by flat fins or appendices which are variously orientated relative to the rotor distribution blades. The objects and advantages of the invention, together with its operational characteristics and constructional merits, will be more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter, with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved rotor concerned; Figure 2 is a front view of said improved rotor; Figure 3 is a section on the line III-III of the preceding figure; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the central profiled member with which the rotor is provided; Figure 5 is a plan view of the preceding Figure 3. Said figures, and in particular Figures 1 and 2 taken together, show a cylindrical casing 1 with a central rotatable disc 8 provided at its rear mouth, i.e. at that mouth which normally faces the front of the corresponding manure spreading truck, and which is closed by a suitable base wall. The rear or active face of this disc is provided with a set of radially equidistant distribution blades 5, which as clearly shown are tangentially disposed relative to a circumference concentric to the longitudinal axis of the disc 8. A pile of manure is fed to said distribution blades 5 by a normal slat conveyor disposed on the base of the relative manure spreading truck, and thus becomes exposed to said blades 5. Each of these latter is provided, at different points on its longitudinal extension, with projecting members which differ from each other and which are differently orientated both relative to the longitudinal dimension of their own blade 5 and relative to the transverse dimensions of this latter, and also relative to the direction of rotation of said distribution blade. Those projecting members which are disposed in practice in the intermediate zones of each individual distribution blade 5 are each essentially constituted by a right or profiled plate 7, the configuration, length and surface area of which vary relative to those of other similar members. In contrast, those projections provided at the outer ends of each distribution blade 5 are each constituted by a cylindrical tooth 6 disposed orthogonally to its own blade 5, its free end being suitably tapered. Said teeth 6 (Figure 2) also occupy different positions relative to the ends of the blades 5. During rotation of the disc 8, all the projections 6 and 7 are designed to crumble or break down the face of the pile of manure which is fed towards the disc 8 and into the cylindrical casing 1. The distribution blades 5 throw the manure forcibly out of the cylindrical casing 1 through a lateral opening 3, which communicates lowerly with a throwing mouth 2 which is disposed tangentially relative to the lower horizontal generating lines of the cylindrical casing 1. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, to the central point of the said active face of the disc 8 there is fixed a profiled member 4 which will be described specifically with reference to the accompanying Figure 4. This latter member consists of a connection flange 4a, from the central zone of which, and orthogonal thereto, there branches a first straight cylindrical portion 4b. From this latter there branches a second straight cylindrical portion 4c, the length of which is at least equal to three times the length of the first straight cylindrical portion 4b. The free end of the second straight cylindrical portion 4c is provided with a conical point 4d, the longitudinal axis of which is orientated other than in the common plane in which the straight cylindrical portions 4b and 4c lie. Furthermore, the inclination of the longitudinal axis of the conical point 4d to the longitudinal axis of the second straight cylindrical portion 4c is equal to the inclination of the longitudinal axis of the second straight cylindrical portion 4c to the longitudinal axis of the first straight cylindrical portion 4b. Said inclination lies between 500 and 600. In addition, the conical point 4d is inclined rearward relative to the direction of rotation of the disc 8. With reference to Figure 3, the overall length of the central profiled member 4 is slightly greater than the longitudinal extension of the cylindrical casing 1. Moreover, the overall length of said central profiled member 4 is also greater than that of any of the crumbling elements 6 and 7. The operation of the invention is apparent from the detailed description given heretofore. It must also be stated that the improved rotor according to the invention, i.e. as heretofore described, is suitable for any type of manure spreading truck, because of which it is provided in the form shown in the accompanying Figures 3 and 5. Before referring in particular to these latter figures, it must be stated that providing a rotor unit of this type is extremely advantageous in that it enables any existing manure spreading truck to be fitted with the present rotor without it being necessary to purchase a further truck or without complicated, long and costly work of adapting the existing manure spreading truck to the present invention being necessary. The cylindrical casing 1 shown in Figures 3 and 5 is disposed on a base frame 11, from the front zone of which there branches a normal towing bar 14, this latter being designed for connection to the towing unit of a normal agricultural tractor. To the side of the base frame 11 there is a normal mechanism 10, the purpose of which is to drive, halt or withdraw the slat conveyor designed to feed the pile of manure to the distribution roller. Said mechanism 10 is driven by a control unit 13 from which the motion for the disc 8 of the rotor according to the invention is derived. This control unit 13, of usual type, derives its motion from a splined shaft 12 which is connected by a suitable telescopic cardan shaft to the power take-off of the agricultural tractor which tows the corresponding manure spreading truck. Finally, as clearly shown in the accompanying Figure 5, the rear zone of the base frame 11 is also provided with a horizontal shaft 9 driven by the mechanism 10, and designed to drive the slat conveyor of the manure spreading truck. It must also be emphasised that during the operation of the invention, the central zone of the rotor is continuously covered by the central profiled member 4, which continuously breaks up that part of the face of the pile of manure which becomes exposed to the rotor central zone rotating at low speed. In contrast, the outer zone of said face is crumbled by the elements 6 and 7. Finally, it will be certainly apparent that the advantageous rearward inclination of the conical point 4d relative to the direction of rotation of the disc 8 enables the central profiled member 4 of the invention to even loosen those strings or filiform bodies present in the pile of manure, and which would otherwise tend to become entangled on said profiled member, so limiting its function.

Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1. An improved rotor for manure spreading trucks in general, of the type comprising a cylindrical casing disposed at one of the transverse vertical walls of the truck and provided internally with a bladed rotor, and a unit for driving this latter and for controlling a mechanism arranged to operate a normal slat conveyor, CHARACTERISED BY providing, on its active face, a central profiled member of interrupted configuration arranged to crumble that part of the face of the pile of manure which becomes exposed to the central zone of the rotor, i.e. that of lowest peripheral speed, externally to which crumbling elements are provided variously distributed on the rotor blades, but projecting from said blades. 2. An improved rotor as claimed in claim 1, CHARACTERISED IN TEAT said central profiled member is composed of a plate for connection to the central point of the rotor, a first straight cylindrical piece branching orthogonally from said plate, a second straight cylindrical piece suitably inclined to said first piece, and a conically shaped point which is mounted at a convenient angle on the free end of said second piece. 3.. An improved rotor as claimed in claim'1 and 2, CHERtCTERIsED IN THAT the angle between the longitudinal axes of said first and second straight cylindrical piece is practically equal to the angle between the longitudinal axes of said second straight cylindrical piece and said conical point. 4. An improved rotor as claimed in claims 1 and 2, CHARACTERISED IN THAT said angle is 50 to 600. 5. An improved rotor as claimed in the preceding claims, CHARACTERISED IN THAT said conical point is obliquely disposed to the common plane in which said first and second straight cylindrical pieces lie. 6. An improved rotor as claimed in the preceding claims, CHARACTERISED IN THAT said conical point is inclined rearward relative to the direction of rotation of the rotor. 7. An improved rotor as claimed in the preceding claims, CHARACTERISED IN THAT said conical point of the central profiled member extends beyond the rear mouth of the cylindrical casing and beyond the free ends of said crumbling elements. 8. An improved rotor as claimed in claim 1, CHARACTERISED IN TEAT in the intermediate zones of the rotor blades, said crumbling elements are in the form of a set of mechanical plates of different configuration and differing longitudinal extension, these being variously orientated relative to the transverse extension, the longitudinal extension and the direction of rotation of the blades; said metal plates being disposed at different points along the longitudinal extensions of the corresponding blades in such a manner as to practically completely sweep the entire relative cross-section of the cylindrical casing during the motion of the rotor. 9. An improved rotor 'as claimed in claim 1, CHARACTERISED IN THAT those of said crumbling elements located at the end of each individual blade of the rotor comprise a tooth disposed orthogonally to the relative blade and to the rotor, its free end being tapered, and its position on the relative blade being different from the position occupied on the corresponding blades by the immediately preceding tooth and the immediately subsequent tooth.

Inventors: CARLINI, FRANCO, FONTANA, RENATO
Applicants: D.B.D. S.P.A.
Application year: 1980
Main classification: A01C3
IPC codes: A01C3