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US 11,490,561 B2Granted
Dual rotor spreader system
AssigneeOMS Investments, Inc.
InventorsPaul E. Hsu, Ryan R. Berger, Daniel Wisniewski, Johannes Hertrich, John Knittle, Eric Glassner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A spreader for broadcasting granular or particulate material over a surface includes a dual rotor configuration, a material deflection system, and a portable electronic device holder. The material deflection system includes components for deflecting material broadcasted by each of the rotors. The spreader includes a walking speed indicator to inform the user whether the current speed is too fast, too slow, or within an acceptable reference range.
Claims21
A spreader, comprising:
- a frame;
- a hopper connected to the frame and configured to contain granular material to be spread over terrain or other surfaces;
- two wheels rotatably connected to the frame;
- a first rotor and a second rotor rotatably connected to the frame below the hopper and configured to spread the granular material, wherein the first and second rotors rotate in opposite directions and independently of each other;
- a gear system constructed to drive the first and second rotors, the gear system receiving input from at least one wheel of the two wheels;
- two square openings disposed in the lower portion of the hopper such that each of the two openings is located over a different one of the first and second rotors, each opening being configured to allow the flow of granular material, by gravity, from the hopper onto the different one of the first and second rotors;
- a first agitator connected to the first rotor and configured to facilitate the flow of the granular material from the hopper onto the first rotor;
- a second agitator connected to the second rotor and configured to facilitate the flow of the granular material from the hopper onto the second rotor;
- a gear assembly connected to one of the first agitator or the second agitator;
- a stepper motor connected to the gear assembly and configured to generate an amount of current as a function of rotational movement received from the gear assembly;
- and
- an integrated logic circuit communicatively coupled to the stepper motor, the integrated logic circuit configured to:
- (i) measure the amount of current generated by the stepper motor, (ii) compare the measured amount of current to a reference amount of current, and (iii) determine, based on the results of the comparison, feedback to provide to a user regarding a linear velocity of spreader.
10 more elements
A spreader, comprising:
- a frame;
- a hopper connected to the frame and configured to contain granular material to be spread over terrain or other surfaces;
- two wheels rotatably connected to the frame;
- a first rotor and a second rotor, wherein the first and second rotors are rotatably connected to the frame below the hopper and configured to spread the granular material, and wherein the first and second rotors rotate in opposite directions and independently of each other;
- a gear system constructed to drive the first and second rotors, the gear system receiving input from at least one wheel of the two wheels;
- a first opening disposed in the lower portion of the hopper, wherein the first opening is located over the first rotor and is configured to allow the flow of granular material, by gravity, from the hopper onto the first rotor;
- a second opening disposed in the lower portion of the hopper, wherein the second opening is located over the second rotor and is configured to allow the flow of granular material, by gravity, from the hopper onto the second rotor;
- a first moveable deflector configured to rotate in a first direction and block at least a portion of the granular material ejected by the first rotor when activated, the first moveable deflector comprises a first gear portion;
- and
- a second moveable deflector configured to rotate in a second direction and block at least a portion of the granular material ejected by the second rotor when activated, the second moveable deflector comprises a second gear portion configured to engage with the first gear portion of the first moveable deflector such that rotation of first moveable deflector in the first direction causes the second moveable deflector to rotate in the second direction.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.