GB2111865A

GB2111865A - Centrifugal spreader

Info

Publication number: GB2111865A
Application number: GB08236566A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Heinz Dreyer
Original assignee: Amazonen Werke H Dreyer SE and Co KG
Current assignee: Amazonen Werke H Dreyer SE and Co KG
Priority date: 1980-03-05
Filing date: 1982-12-23
Publication date: 1983-07-13
Also published as: GB2111865B; GB2071526A; DE3008402A1; FR2477366A1; DE3008402C2; FR2477366B1; GB2071526B

Abstract

A centrifugal spreader, particularly for distributing fertilizer, has a drivable spreading device comprising two centrifuging discs (2, 3), which are provided with ejection elements (7). Each of the two discs is disposed on a respective drive shaft so as to be exchangeable for different centrifuging discs. To ensure that the two discs cannot be interchanged even by lay personnel, provision is made that at least one of the centrifuging discs can be mounted only on its associated drive shaft. A boundary spreading disc (32, Figure 6), which can be mounted on either shaft, has throwing elements (31), two of which are radially mounted Figures 2 & 6 and two of which are angularly arranged. <IMAGE>

Description

1 GB 2 111 865 A 1

SPECIFICATION

Centrifugal spreader The invention relates to a centrifugal spreader, and more particularly but not exclusively to such a spreader for distributing fertilisers.

A centrifugal spreader having a drivable spreading device comprising two centrifuging discs which are provided with ejection elements and which are 75 arranged so as to be exchangeable for different centrifuging discs is known, for example from Fed.

Rep. of Germany published Patent Specification No.

28 05879. It is an advantage of this machine that the centrifugal discs are disposed on the drive shafts so as to be easily detachable and hence exchangeable for other discs. It is, therefore, possible to adapt the spreading operation of the centrifugal spreader by means of differently constructed centrifuging discs to the varied conditions of use of the centrifugal spreader, both in agriculture and in road service.

Furthermore, the centrifuging discs can be option ally mounted on one or the other drive shaft. This intrinsically important advantage as regards simplifi cation of manufacture and the supply of spare parts of components of which as many as possible are identical, has an adverse effect in centrifugal spread ers with centrifuging discs which rotate in opposite senses and are provided with differently arranged ejection elements, because a completely changed, faulty and incorrect spreading pattern is produced in the event that the discs are fitted on the incorrect drive shafts.

The invention provides a centrifugal spreader having a drivable spreading device comprising two centrifuging discs which are provided with ejection elements, each of the two discs being mounted on a respective drive shaft and being arranged so as to be exchangeable for different centrifuging discs, where in at least one of the two centrifuging discs can only be mounted on one of the two drive shafts.

By virtue of this step it is therefore impossible for the two centrifuging discs to be interchanged.

Preferably, in order to prevent the fertilizer parti cles projected by the centrifuging discs obstructing each other on their intersecting trajectories, the centrifuging discs can be mounted on the drive shafts only in a specific position relative to each other.

According to the invention, means are also pro vided for the non-interchangeable mounting of the two centrifuging discs. Conveniently, said means comprises interengaging projections and recesses on the drive shafts and on the hubs of the centrifug ing discs.

Alternatively, said means may comprise keyways and shaftkeys. One drive shaft may be provided with only one keway and shaft key, the hub of the associated centrifuging disc also having only one keyway, and the other drive shaft may be provided with two keyways each having a shaftkey, the hub of the associated centrifuging disc also having two keyways. The hubs and shaftkeys may be differently arranged or constructed on the drive shafts and in the hubs so that each centrifuging disc can necessar- ily be mounted only on the drive shaft associated therewith. To enable identical drive shafts to be employed in an advantageous manner, both drive shafts may be provided with two keyways, one drive shaft having two shaftkeys and the other drive shaft having only one shaftkey and one hub may be provided with only one keyway, the other hub being provided with two keyways.

In another embodiment, interchangeable mounting of the centrifuging discs can be avoided by means of a fastener.

Caps may be disposed over the hubs of the centrifuging discs and the drive shafts so that the connection regions between the centrifuging discs and respective drive shafts do not come into contact with corrosive fertilizers. This permits easy exchange of the centrifuging discs, even after prolonged use of the machine.

Moreover, a centrifuging disc, constructed as a boundary spreading disc, can be optionally mounted on one or other drive shaft. It is thus possible to operate with only one boundary spreading disc, which can be mounted on the two outer drive shafts, even in the case of centrifugal spreaders which are provided with means ensuring the noninterchangeable mounting of the centrifuging discs.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a rear view of a centrifugal spreader according to the invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the two centrifuging discs of the spreader of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the disc hubs and the drive shafts of the same centrifugal spreader showing one embodiment of non-rotational connections therebetween; Figure 4 shows in plan view another embodiment of non-rotational connections between the hubs and drive shafts; Figure 5 shows in longitudinal section yet another embodiment of non- rotational connection between the disc hubs and drive shafts, with protection caps; and Figure 6 is a plan view of a boundary spreading disc.

Referring to Figure 1, the centrifugal spreader shown therein is provided with a storage container 1 and two centrifuging discs 2 and 3 which are rotatably mounted below discharge apparatus 5 in the bottom of the storage container 1. The apertures 5 can be closed by closure member 4. Drive shafts 6 and hence the centrifuging discs 2 and 3 are driven in opposite senses with respect to each other by means of a known drive (not shown).

As shown in Figure 2, the centrifuging discs 2 and 3, provided with ejection elements 7, are angularly displaced with respect to each other. Hubs 8 and 9 or discs 2 and 3 respectively have a different shape. The hubs 8 and 9, shown in Figure 3 withoutthe discs 2 and 3, are nonrotationally connected to respective drive shafts 11 and 12 by means of shaftkeys 10. Each of the drive shaft 11 and 12 is provided with two keyways 13 and they are therefore identical.

Two shaftkeys 10 are disposed in the keyways 13 2 GB 2 111865 A 2 respectively of the drive shaft 11 and are secured by means of a screwfastener to prevent them dropping out when the hub is removed. The hub 8 is also provided with two keyways 14. However, a shaftkey 10 is disposed in only one of the keyways 13 of the drive shaft 12. By contrast to the hub 8, the hub 9 has only one keyway 14 and can therefore be mounted only on the drive shaft 12.

Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the hub/, shaft connection. In this case a drive shaft 15 is provided with two projections 16 which engage with two recesses 17 respectively of a hub 18. On the other hand, a drive shaft 19 has only one projection 16 which engages with a recess 17 of a hub 20. The hub 20 of the centrifuging disc 3 (not shown) can be mounted only on the drive shaft 19, since the second projection 16 of the drive shaft 15 prevents such mounting.

The centrifuging discs 2 and 3 in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5 are prevented from being interchanged by means of a shaft shoulder 21 of drive shaft 22 and by means of a neck 23 in the bore of hub 24. Drive shaft 25 and hub 26 have no shoulders or necks respectively. Furthermore, inter changed mounting is prevented by a different arrangement of bores 27 and 28 for a fastener 29 which is constructed as a safety element. A cap 30 fitted on each of the hubs 24 and 26 protects the connection regions between the hubs and the drive shafts againstthe ingress of dirt and corrosive 95 fertilizers.

Referring to Figure 6 a boundary spreading disc 32, provided with ejection elements 31, is provided with the hub 8 and can thus be mounted on the driveshaft 11 as well as on the drive shaft 12. Owing to symmetrical arrangement of the ejection ele ments 31 on the boundary spreading disc 32, the direction of rotation of the said disc is reversible so that a desired spreading pattern in mirror image configuration can be achieved.

Claims

CLAIMS (filed on 6.1.83)

1. A centrifugal spreader having a drivable spreading device comprising two centrifuging discs which are provided with ejection elements, each of the two discs being mounted on a respective drive shaft and being arranged so as to be exchangeable for different centrifuging discs, wherein at least one of the two centrifuging discs can only be mounted on one of the two drive shafts.

2. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein the centrifuging discs can be mounted on the drive shafts only in a specific position relative to each other.

3. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is provided means for the non interchangeable mounting of the two centrifuging discs.

4. A centrifugal spreader having a spreading device comprising two centrifugal discs provided with throwing elements, each centrifugal disc being releasably mounted on a drive shaft so as to be interchangeable with other centrifugal discs, and a boundary spreading disc selectively mountable on one or other of the two drive shafts, the boundary 65 wherein said means comprises a shoulder on at least 130 disc having two radial ly extending throwing ele- c 1; 4 3 GB 2 111 865 A 3 ments and two throwing elements which are angularly symmetrically arranged at an acute angle to respective tangents, to the circular path circumscribed by the outer edges of the throwing elements and where the respective throwing elements touch said path, the outer edges of the throwing elements of the boundary disc being radially outwardly spaced from the Centre of the disc by a smaller distance than the outer edges of the throwing 10 elements of first-mentioned discs.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, by Croydon Printing Company Limited, Croydon, Surrey, 1983. Published by The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A lAY, from which copies may be obtained.

4. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means comprises inter-engaging pro jections and recesses on the drive shafts and on the hubs of the centrifuging discs.

5. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 3, one of the shaft and a neck in the bore of at least one of the hubs.

6. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 3, wherein said means comprises keyways and shaft keys.

7. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 6, wherein one drive shaft is provided with only one keyway with shaftkey and the hub of the associated centrifuging disc also has only one keyway and wherein the other drive shaft is provided with two keyways, each having a shaftkey, and the hub of the associated centrifuging disc also has two keyways.

8. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 6, wherein the keyways and shaftkeys on the drive shafts and in the hubs are differently arranged or constructed.

9. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in claim 6, wherein both drive shafts are provided with two keyways, and one drive shaft is provided with two shaftkeys and wherein one hub is provided with only one keyway and the other hub is provided with two keyways.

10. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the interchangeable mounting of two centrifuging discs is avoidable by means of a fastener.

11. A centrifugal spreader as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein caps are disposed over the hubs of the centrifuging discs and the drive shafts.

12. A centrifuging spreader as claimed in claim 1, wherein a centrifuging disc, constructed as a boundary spreading disc, can be optionally mounted on one or the other drive shaft.

13. A centrifugal spreader substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

New claims or amendments to claims filed on 19 Jan 1983 Superseded claims 1 - 13 New or amended claims:- CLAIMS 1. A centrifugal spreader substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the embodiment shown in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.

2. A centrifugal spreader having a boundary spreading disc substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.

3. A boundary spreading disc substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.