Patent Application
20230321681
The present disclosure relates to spreader beds with a liquid treatment system for use in spreading fertilizer, agricultural lime, and other dry products.
Spreading fertilizer with a material spreader incorporating liquid treatment has the benefit of applying fertilizer with a variety of liquid coating materials during spreading operations. The liquid coating material applied may be a chemical treatment, such as herbicide, stabilizer, or a combination of both, that increases the performance of the fertilizer treated. However, there are situations where the liquid coating material selected may vary, depending on the fertilizer used, or is not required as application of the treatment may be detrimental to the specific field where the fertilizer is applied. Dry fertilizer application practices have been developed to apply liquid coating materials to dry fertilizer in a way that the dry fertilizer does not become problematic to work with after treatment. Some practices impregnate dry fertilizer with weed and brush chemicals like GRAZON® (Dow AgroSciences Limited) to apply the chemical prior to the dry fertilizer being spread to the immediate area of distribution. However, this chemical can remain as a residue on surfaces contacted by the impregnated fertilizer such as a blender, tender truck, and the material spreader components. In some cases, the residue on the equipment components must be thoroughly cleaned and is often impossible to entirely remove. Other practices apply a liquid treatment to a particulate material, on demand, if the liquid treatment is not required in all situations. For example, urea may be applied to a farm field immediately before rain and benefit the soil untreated. If untreated, urea spread without precipitation will volatilize and add no benefit to the soil. A way to spread the urea when precipitation is not forecasted is to treat the urea with an expensive stabilizer. On demand treating allows the particulate material to be treated as needed. However, particulate material treated by current on demand liquid material spreaders do not address untreated particulate material coming into contact with components contaminated with residual treatment.
The material spreader is capable to treat dry products such as fertilizer, sand, seed, and other particulate material with liquid treatment by an on-demand liquid treatment system. Alternatively, the material spreader is capable to by-pass the liquid treatment system with little to no risk of treatment residue encountering the particulate material spread. The material spreader is operable to scatter particulate material, with or without a liquid treatment applied to the particulate material. Operating the material spreader in a liquid treatment application mode may occur at selected distribution sites or toggled on/off for specific areas within a single distribution site. A first conveyor system, being an endless, reversible conveyor, comprises chain belts that are operable to move the particulate material received from a hopper of the material spreader. The hopper comprises two doors with the first conveyor system serving as the floor of the hopper. The first conveyor system may move particulate material received from the hopper in a first, forward direction to transport particulate material to a first treatment zone prior to spreading. A treatment chamber in the first treatment zone is configured in such a manner to separate the first conveyor system from a second conveyor system. Alternatively, the first conveyor system may move particulate material received from the hopper in a second, aft direction to bypass the first treatment zone and move particulate material directly to a spreading assembly. Bypass of the first treatment zone permits non-treated particulate material to be spread without being treated by the liquid treatment system. The second conveyor system may comprise auger flights that convey the treated particulate material received from the first treatment zone to an outlet delivery system which may comprise the same spreading assembly. The second conveyor system moves the treated particulate material in a parallel counter flow relative to the movement of the pre-treated particulate material on the reversible conveyor. Use of the spreader bed provides a method for preventing residual liquid treatment waste from contaminating the first conveyor of the spreader system.
For applications of dry product not treated with the liquid, the dry product is placed into the hopper of the spreader bed where it is held. As the spreader moves through the field, two separate chain belts on the bottom of the hopper moves the dry product towards the back of the spreader bed and out of a gate. The chain belts may both run or one may be stationary for distribution control. The dry product falls on two spinners that are spinning in two different directions, thus throwing the dry product out of the spreader. The spinners have multiple blades to aid in spreading the dry product in the distribution pattern selected. The spinners may rotate in opposite directions from each other and rotate away from the center of the spreader bed. The right spinner is spreading dry product towards the right side of the spreader bed and the left spinner is spreading dry product towards the left side of the spreader bed.
For applications of dry product treated with the liquid, the dry product is placed into the hopper of the spreader bed. As the spreader moves through the field, two separate chain belts on the bottom of the hopper moves the dry product towards the front of the spreader bed and out a gate. The chain belts may both run or one may be stationary for distribution control. The dry product is pushed through the chain belt by a pressure mat to break up any oversized chunks of dry product. The dry product falls upon a diverter plate to direct the dry product towards a respective mixing passage. When the dry product is falling off the diverter plate, it is sprayed with the liquid via spray nozzles, atomizing devices, or other liquid distribution assemblies. The liquid may be atomized into a fog or mist by the liquid distribution assemblies. The liquid distribution assemblies may be a component of an on-demand liquid treatment system. Treating with an on-demand liquid treatment system allows liquid treatment to be applied constantly or at intervals of time to the particulate material so that the selected, uniform blend is occurring. This may be advantageous over batch treatment, as batch treating may not be able to ensure consistency throughout the full batch treatment process. Once in a passage of the mixing and drying system, the treated product is mixed and dried while moved to the back of the spreader bed towards the outlet deliver system.
To increase the mixing and drying of treated product, helical flighted bodies may be used. These helical flighted bodies may be shaftless in the sense they do not have a continuous large center shaft that can hinder effective mixing. The helical flighted bodies may contain three stiffener rods disposed along an outside perimeter of a center shaft in phantom. The three stiffeners provide structural support to the helical flighting. The stiffener rods provide two mixing aspects: 1) encouragement for a portion of the treated product to fall back onto itself; 2) allowance for treated product to fall forward into an inner zone of the helical flighted body. Kickers or other mixing enhancements may be disposed on the helical flighting and/or the stiffener rods. These aspects and features engage and increase turnover of the treated product. Once the treated product has been conveyed to the aft portion of the spreader bed it falls to the spinners for distribution. Advantageously, the only equipment which may be contaminated by the chemical or treatment is the spinners, mixing passages, and the treatment chamber. A cover may be utilized to enclose the spinners while spreading treated product.
The above advantages and features are of representative embodiments only, and are presented only to assist in understanding the invention. It should be understood that they are not to be considered limitations on the invention as defined by the claims. Additional features and advantages of embodiments of the invention will become apparent in the following description, from the drawings, and from the claims.
Aspects are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring initially to
As shown in
The plurality of chain belts may comprise a first chain belt 14 and a second chain belt 16 that are jointly or independently controlled to operate either towards the dispensing end 11 or the second end 13 of the spreader bed 10 (see
During the process of spreading untreated or unimpregnated fertilizer, the chain belt 14, 16 may move backwards, feeding the fertilizer to the aft or dispensing end 11 of the material spreader, and drop the fertilizer onto the spinners 68, 70 of the spreader assembly 69. This path of the particulate material is indicated with movement circle-headed lines 200. With the material spreader disclosed, an operator may also treat or impregnate the fertilizer. In one example, an operator may operate hydraulic valves to reverse the direction of hydraulic oil flow driving the chain belt 14, 16, thus causing the chain belt 14, 16 to move forward (movement arrow F) rather than backwards. The forward gate 20 on the front of the spreader bed 10 may be substantially like the aft gate 22 on the back of the spreader bed 10. Thus, when the fertilizer is being treated chemically, fertilizer moves forward and falls into the treatment chamber where it is treated and agitated in the mixing and drying assembly as it goes backwards to the spinners 68, 70. Advantageously, the only equipment which may be contaminated by the chemical or liquid treatment 31 is the spinners 68, 70, the treatment chamber, and the mixing and drying assembly. If the operator resumes spreading untreated fertilizer, the operator may simply cleanse the spinners 68, 70. Therefore, the fertilizer is not touched by the residue left in the treatment chamber or the mixing and drying assembly.
As shown in
The liquid treatment system 30 may include an air-assisted mist blower positioned adjacently below where the fertilizer travels through the chain belts and falls away onto the augers. The mist blower atomizes the chemical or liquid treatment from a liquid flow into a fog or mist. A return portion 37 of the first conveyor system 15, which is disposed below the material contact portion 33 of the first conveyor system 15, is protected from liquid treatment 31 by a diverter plate 36, 38. The diverter plate 36, 38 overlaps the return portion 37. As shown, the diverter plate 36, 38 is an inverted V-shape, but may also be U-shaped. Particulate material falling onto the diverter plate 36, 38 is directed towards a plurality of passages of the mixing and drying assembly. As the particulate material travels through and falls away from the chain belt 14, 16 towards the diverter plate 36, 38, the four liquid distribution assemblies 40, 42, 44, 46 shown apply the liquid treatment 31 sourced from the liquid tank 32. The four liquid distribution assemblies 40, 42, 44, 46 are a plurality of atomizing sprayers configured to spray a liquid coating material onto the falling particulate material. The liquid coating material may be sprayed perpendicular to the flow of the particulate material dispensed. Alternatively, the liquid coating material may be sprayed downwardly onto the particulate material agitated within the mixing and drying assembly. The dry fertilizer is contacted with the liquid treatment as a mist and then transferred the length of the spreader bed via the second conveyor system 50.
As depicted in
The second conveyor system 50 is operably connected to the drive train 66 located on the forward end of the spreader bed 10 as shown in
An example of a flighted body 54 is shown in
As seen in
Controllers can be used to carry out the processes of spreader bed 10 operations. A drive controller may direct the movement of the chain belts in forward or reverse, along with augers to turn on and operate proportionally (i.e., variable speed proportionate to the belt speed or output of particulate material from the bed) and volumetrically. The application rate of the dry product is determined by belt speed and the size of the gate openings, which may also be operated by the drive controller. For instance, if the spreader operator drives faster, the controller may increase the belt speed and the gate openings to spread more particulate material per minute. A liquid controller 35 may be comprise an application mode that engages the liquid treatment system 30 to operate. The liquid treatment system 30 may be controlled by the liquid controller 35 to selectively apply liquid treatment 31 to the particulate material. Liquid flow rates may be measured by revolutions of a positive displacement peristaltic pump since flow rates may be low.
Some spreader beds may have a bed diameter that decreases and creates a funneling effect, which causes bridging of products like lime and litter. In a preferred example, the spreader bed's diameter does not decrease but remains substantially constant from front to back. In another example, the diameter of the bed is greater near the back of the bed as compared to the diameter near the front of the bed. In a preferred example, the spreader bed is configured to treat granular fertilizer. In another example, the spreader bed may be used to treat particulate matter that includes synthetic resin, sand, salt, wood, other types of particulate material, or a combination thereof.
It is understood that the invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein described. That although the drawings and specification set forth a preferred embodiment, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a description sense only and embody all such forms as come within the scope of the following claims.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, are possible from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.
For the convenience of the reader, the above description has focused on a representative sample of all possible embodiments, a sample that teaches the principles of the invention and conveys the best mode contemplated for carrying it out. Throughout this application and its associated file history, when the term “invention” is used, it refers to the entire collection of ideas and principles described; in contrast, the formal definition of the exclusive protected property right is set forth in the claims, which exclusively control. The description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. Other undescribed variations or modifications may be possible. Where multiple alternative embodiments are described, in many cases it will be possible to combine elements of different embodiments, or to combine elements of the embodiments described here with other modifications or variations that are not expressly described. A list of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, nor that any or all of the items are comprehensive of any category, unless expressly specified otherwise. In many cases, one feature or group of features may be used separately from the entire apparatus or methods described. Many of those undescribed variations, modifications and variations are within the literal scope of the following claims, and others are equivalent.
