Abstract:
A rear mounted spreader having a horizontal auger. The spreader is ideally suited to spread bulk salt and sand, but can effectively be used to spread any spreadable material. The spreader is mounted to a vehicle and the auger is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The spreader includes a flow plate to facilitate proper material flow. The spreader also includes a vehicle-mounted control that can independently control the auger and spinner and can control the vibrator.

Description:
This application claims priority to provisional application Nos. 60/123,663, 60/128,342 and 60/181,277 filed on Mar. 9, 1999, Apr. 8, 1999 and Feb. 9, 2000, respectively. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The general invention relates to spreaders, and more particularly to an improved auger design using a motor and transmission to drive a horizontal auger and a separate motor to drive a spinner. Even more particularly, the present invention is directed to an economical, compact spreader having a horizontal auger that is adapted to be mounted upon the rear of a vehicle, such as for example a pick-up truck and to spread salt, sand and other materials. 
     Conventional rear mounted spreaders have a material delivery system which uses a vertical auger for directing material through an outlet in a hopper. The outlet is typically a circular opening formed by the converging walls of the hopper. Generally, a tubular opening is defined by the walls adjacent to the circular opening and the auger is received within this tubular opening. The blades of the auger are closely adjacent to the walls of this tubular opening. The hopper receives and stores, for example, sand, salt or other materials to be spread. The vertical auger typically rises from the outlet and into the hopper. In conventional spreaders, a rod extends from the auger and attaches to a motor mounted in the hopper that drives the auger. 
     This type of vertical auger orientation has presented operating problems. Due to moisture or other environmental factors, the material within the hopper can become compacted, particularly adjacent the tubular opening. While the auger effectively directs material contacting the auger through the outlet, the compacted material can cause a cavity to form above the auger preventing material from reaching the auger. Compaction is particularly problematic with sand and bulk salt, which naturally compacts and cavitates in a spreader. Sand and bulk salt will form a cavity directly above the auger and starve the auger. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention overcomes the above problems found in known spreaders and provides many advantages. 
     The spreader unit of the present invention includes a hopper for holding material to be spread. The hopper includes an opening for receipt of material and an outlet for discharging material. A spinner is mounted to a vertical drive shaft, which is driven by a motor that is controlled from within the vehicle. The spinner receives material from the outlet and throws the material over a large distribution area. The spinner and spinner motor are mounted outside the hopper for easy maintenance and to protect the motor from the corrosive material inside the hopper. 
     The spreader unit further includes a horizontal auger along the bottom of the hopper to direct material toward the outlet for facilitating the discharge of material from the hopper through the outlet. Preferably, a right angle drive transmission is connected to a separate drive motor, which is connected to the auger for driving the auger. The motor and right angle drive transmission are mounted outside of the hopper to facilitate maintenance and reduce corrosion. In the preferred embodiment, a separate control controls the motor driving the auger. In this way, the auger speed and the spinner speed can be independently set and controlled. 
     In a further embodiment of the present invention, the drive mechanism includes a dual speed transmission. In this way, the transmission can be designed to drive the auger at one speed and the spinner at a second speed. 
     The horizontal auger significantly reduces the potential for a cavity forming around the auger due to the opening above the auger being much larger. Instead of a relatively small tubular opening surrounding the auger, there is a long shallow area containing the auger. With the greater area of the opening above the auger, cavitation is greatly reduced because the bottom of the sand or salt continually falls into the opening. The compacted material loses its own support. With the addition of a vibrator assembly, the problem of cavitation is eliminated. 
     In this way, bulk salt and sand can be spread from a rear mounted spreader. Prior to the present invention, rear mounted spreaders were limited to spreading bagged salt, which doesn&#39;t have the same compaction problems as bulk salt and sand. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a pick-up truck having the spreader assembly of the present invention mounted to the rear; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the spreader of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 cross section view of the spreader assembly of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a cutaway view taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the control unit of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of a pick-up truck having the spreader assembly of the present invention mounted to the rear; 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of the inside of the hopper showing the horizontal auger; 
     FIG. 8 is a side cross section of the spreader assembly of the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a rear cross section view of the spreader assembly of the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is perspective view of the auger of the present invention being inserted through the keyhole shaped aperture in the side of the hopper; 
     FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of the spreader assembly of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 12 is a rear cross-section view of the embodiment of FIG.  11 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The spreader assembly of the present invention is shown generally at  10  in FIG.  1 . The assembly  10  is ideally suited for spreading salt or sand and can also be used for spreading other spreadable materials such as seed, fertilizer, etc. As illustrated, the assembly  10  is mounted to a vehicle  12 , such as, for example, the rear of a pick-up. The assembly  10  includes a hopper  14  for holding material to be spread having an opening  16  for receipt of material and an outlet  18  for discharging material. See FIG.  2 . The hopper  14  includes an upper portion  20  and a lower portion  22 . The upper portion  20  is substantially rectangular for holding material. The lower portion  22  includes a forward wall  24 , a rear wall  26  and first and second side walls  28 , 30 , all angled toward outlet  18 . The assembly includes a hopper top  38  for closing the opening  16  of the hopper  14 . The top  38  includes two latches on opposed sides for affixing the top  38  to the hopper  14 . 
     The hopper  14  is mounted to a main spreader frame generally shown at  40  having an upper beam  42  and a lower beam  44 . The upper beam  42  includes a first and a second upper side member  46 , 48  and a rear upper member  50 . The lower beam  44  includes a rear lower member  52  and motor support beams  54  and  56 . The hopper  14  includes a support surface  58  for supporting the hopper  14  upon the side members  46 , 48  and rear upper member  50 . The main spreader frame  40  is mounted to a vehicle mounting frame  60 , see FIG. 1, which pivots with respect to the rear of a pick-up truck so that the hopper  14  can be pivoted to allow the tail gate of the pick-up truck to be opened and closed without having to remove the assembly  10 . 
     The assembly includes a spinner  62  mounted to a vertical drive shaft  64  for receiving material from the outlet  18  and for throwing material over a large distribution area. In the preferred embodiment, the spinner  62  is driven by a motor and transmission assembly  63 , which are mounted outside the hopper  14 . A cover  65  is used to protect the motor and transmission  63  from the elements. The motor and transmission  63  and cover  65  are mounted to the support  54 , preferably by bolts for easy removal and maintenance. 
     A horizontal auger  66  extends toward the outlet  18  for facilitating the discharge of material from the hopper  14  through the outlet  18 . The auger  66  is oriented such that a first end  68  extends through an aperture  69  in the first apex side wall  34  and attaches to a bearing  70  connected to the support  54  of the lower beam  44 . See FIGS. 1 and 3. A second end  72  of auger  66  protrudes through an aperture  74  in the second apex side wall  36  and into right angle drive mechanism  76 . The drive mechanism  76  is connected to the auger  66  for driving the auger  66 . The drive mechanism  76  is controlled by controller  101  illustrated in FIG.  5 . The drive mechanism  76  includes a motor  77  and right angle drive  79  both mounted outside the hopper to the side member  48  by bolts. A cover  67  is mounted over the drive mechanism  76  to protect the drive  76  from the elements. 
     The lower portion  22  of the hopper  14  directs material toward the auger  66  and the auger  66  pushes material toward the outlet  18 . A baffle  78  covers the outlet  18  and the second end  72  of the auger  66  for preventing material from freely flowing through the outlet  18 . The baffle  78  is affixed to the side wall  28  of the lower portion  22  of the hopper  14 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated at FIGS. 2 through 4, a flow facilitator assembly shown generally at  120  is mounted adjacent to the horizontal auger  66  to facilitate the flow of material to auger  66 . The facilitator  120  facilitates the flow of material in several ways. In the first way, facilitator  120  restricts the flow of material from within the hopper to the area immediately adjacent to the auger  66 . The restrictor  120  functions like a shield to control the amount of material that reaches the auger  66 . The material is supported on the top of the flow facilitator  120  and flows around the edges  122  of the facilitator  120  through the gap  104  between the walls  24  and  26  of the lower portion  22  of the hopper  14 . A further way is that the facilitator  120  relieves weight upon the auger  66 . This allows the auger  66  to begin to rotate without having to rotate under the weight of the material in the hopper  14 . A still further advantage is that the facilitator  120  allows the material on the auger to “burp” or heave upward when the auger  66  starts to rotate. This relieves some of the weight on the auger  66  allowing it to begin operation with less power and reducing the potential for auger  66  to lock up. Another way is that facilitator  120  vibrates to agitate the material within the hopper so that it continues to flow around the edges  122  of the facilitator  120  to the auger  66 . The facilitator  120  functions as a chisel with the vibrator to cut through the material. 
     As illustrated, facilitator  120  has a generally V-shaped plate  108 , which is formed from side members  110  and  112 . In the preferred embodiment, the plates are at about a 45° angle with respect to one another and the gap  104  is about 5¾ inches between edge  122  and sidewalls  24  or  26 . The side members  110  and  112  in the preferred embodiment are about 5¼ inches wide and 26 inches long. The plate  108  generally defines a knife edge  114  and edges  122 . A mounting bracket  116  interconnects the plate  108  to the wall  24  of the hopper  14 . A vibrator  80  is operatively connected to the bracket  116  to create vibrations within the V-shaped plate  108  to facilitate material flow. In the preferred embodiment, connecting rods  111  and mounting brackets  117  connect the plate  108  to the side walls  28  and  30 . The rods  111  allow material to be distributed to easily flow down to the bottom of the hopper without clogging the auger  66  or the opening  18 . The distance from auger  66  to edge  114  is preferably about 11 inches and the distance between the ends  150  of side members  110  and  112  are about 11 inches from the farthest most point of sides  28  and  30  generally located at  149 . A screen  119  is also used to screen out larger materials to prevent clogging or the spreader  10 . A discharge chute  121  is provided to efficiently deliver material to the spinner  62 . A shield  151  prevents material from being discharged against the vehicle  12 . Guard  152  is used to protect spinner  62 . 
     With reference to FIG. 5, the control  101  of the present invention is illustrated. The control  101  has a power switch  130  and a vibrate switch  132 . The power switch  130  provides power to the motors  63  and  76 . Speed controls  134  and  136  control the speed of the auger  66  and the spinner  62  respectively. The vibrate switch  132  controls the vibrator  80 . In the preferred embodiment, the controller  101  is mounted in the cab of the vehicle  12 . As will be appreciated, the controller  101  allows the auger  66  and the spinner  62  to be controlled separately. In the preferred embodiment, the controller  101  includes a surge feature that automatically surges the auger  66  to its full power for a predetermined period of time to break up the material in the hopper in the event that the material is compacted. This surging continues a preset number of times or until the compacted material is released, whichever occurs first. 
     With reference to FIGS. 6 through 12, a further embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The spreader assembly of this embodiment is shown generally at  210  in FIG.  6 . The assembly  210  is ideally suited for spreading salt and sand and can also be used for spreading other spreadable materials such as seed, fertilizer, etc. As illustrated, the assembly  210  is mounted to a vehicle  12 , such as, for example, the rear of a pick-up. The assembly  210  includes a hopper  214  for holding material to be spread having an opening  216  for receipt of material and an outlet  218  for discharging material. The hopper  214  includes an upper portion  220  and a lower portion  222 . The upper portion  220  is substantially cubical for holding material. The lower portion  222  includes a forward wall  224 , a rear wall  226  and first and second sidewalls  228 ,  230 , all angled toward a downward pointing apex for forcing the material toward the apex. The apex forms an oblong section  232  having a first apex sidewall  234  and a second apex sidewall  236 . The outlet  218  is located substantially near the second apex sidewall  236 . The assembly includes a hopper top  238  for enclosing the hopper. The top  238  includes two latches on opposed sides for affixing the top  238  to the hopper  214 . 
     As with the previous embodiment, the assembly  210  of the present invention is mounted to the rear of a vehicle by a spreader frame. The hopper  214  is mounted to a main spreader frame generally shown at  40  having an upper beam  42  and a lower beam  44 . The upper beam  42  includes a first and a second upper side member  46 , 48  and a rear upper member  50 . Likewise, the lower beam  44  includes a first and a second side lower member  52 , 54  and a rear lower member  56 . The hopper  214  includes a support surface  258  for supporting the hopper  214  upon the upper beam  42 . The main spreader frame  40  is mounted to a vehicle mounting frame  60  which pivots with respect to the rear of a pick-up truck so that the hopper  214  can be pivoted to allow the tail gate of the pick-up truck to be opened and closed without having to remove the assembly  210 . 
     The assembly includes a spinner  262  mounted to a vertical drive shaft  264  for receiving material from the outlet  218  and for throwing material over a large distribution area. 
     A horizontal auger  266  extends toward the outlet  218  for facilitating the discharge of material from the hopper  214  through the outlet  218 . The auger  266  is oriented such that a first end  268  extends through an aperture  269  in the first apex side wall  234  and attaches to a bearing  270  located in the first side member  252  of the lower beam  44 . A second end  272  protrudes both through a key hole shaped aperture  274  in the second apex side wall  236  and through the second side member  54  of the lower beam  44  and into a dual speed right angle drive mechanism  276 . 
     The keyhole shaped aperture  274  allows the auger  266  to be installed through the second apex sidewall  236  both enhancing assembly operations and easing repair and maintenance efforts. The drive mechanism  276  is connected to the drive shaft  264  for driving the spinner  262  and to the auger  266  for driving the auger  266 . The drive mechanism  276  includes a transmission operating at a dual speed. For example, the ratio between the spinner  262  speed and the auger  266  speed can be set at 7:1. 
     The lower portion  222  of the hopper  214  directs material toward the auger  266  and the auger  266  pushes material toward the outlet  218 . A sheet of material  278  covers the outlet  218  and the second end  272  of the auger  266  for preventing material from freely flowing through the outlet  218 . The sheet  278  is affixed to the forward and rear walls  224 , 226  of the lower portion  222  of the hopper  214 . A vibrator  280  is attached to the forward wall  224  of the hopper  214  for loosening compacted material and for facilitating flow of material toward the auger  266 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated at FIGS. 11 and 12, a flow facilitator assembly shown generally at  300  is mounted adjacent to the horizontal auger  266  to facilitate the flow of material to auger  266 . The facilitator  300  facilitates the flow of material in two ways. In the first way, facilitator  300  restricts the flow of material from within the hopper to the area immediately adjacent to the auger  266 . The restrictor  300  functions like a shield to control the amount of material that reaches the auger  266 . The material is supported on the top of the flow facilitator  300  and flows around the edges  302  of the facilitator  300  through the gap  304  between the walls  224  and  226  of the lower portion  222  of the hopper  214 . The other way is that the facilitator  300  vibrates to agitate the material within the hopper so that it continues to flow around the edges  302  of the facilitator  300  to the auger  266 . 
     As illustrated, facilitator  300  has a generally V-shaped plate  308 , which is formed from side members  310  and  312 . The plate  308  generally defines a knife-edge  314  and edges  302 . A mounting bracket  316  interconnects the plate  308  to the wall  224  of the hopper  214 . A vibrator  318  is operatively connected to the bracket  316  to create vibrations within the V-shaped plate  308  to facilitate material flow. 
     Due to the fact that the present hopper is intended to distribute bulk sand and bulk salt, a flow restrictor  320  is also provided. It has been found by applicant that bulk salt must be restricted at the outlet  218  or it will freely flow out of the hopper. In order to overcome this problem in the present embodiment, applicant has provided a flow restrictor  320 . Restrictor  320  includes a small plate  322  which, in the preferred embodiment, is V-shaped having sides  324  and  326 . A rod  328  extends from the top of plate  322  and has a stop  330  to allow the restrictor  322  to be raised with respect to the auger and held in the raised position or lowered to the restricting position as shown in FIG.  12 . The stop  330  can be any known method of holding the rod  328  with respect to the facilitator  300 . For example, it could be a notch in the rod, a spring-loaded mechanism which when pressed, releases the restrictor, etc. The top of the facilitator  300  has an opening  332 , which receives rod  328  to allow the restrictor  322  to be raised and lowered with respect to the outlet  218 . When the restrictor  322  is dropped down over the auger, it is directly above the auger outlet  218  and restricts the flow of material preventing the material from flowing directly out of the outlet  218 . With restrictor  322  in the down position, material within the hopper  214  must be augured to the outlet for discharge as opposed to falling freely from the outlet. This restrictor  322  is important when bulk salt is being spread because of the consistency of bulk salt, the salt flows freely and without restrictor  322 , the salt will pour out of the outlet. 
     The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, wherein reference numerals are merely for convenience and are not to be in any way limiting, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.