Apparatus for handling slurry and manure pump
AssigneeJ. Houle & Fils Inc.
InventorMichel Houle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved apparatus for agitating and pumping slurry such as manure in a reservoir. A vertical support assembly carries at its lower end the combination of an agitating propeller and of a centrifugal pump used for circulating the slurry. A propeller assembly which has a fixed scraper blade immediately adjacent the leading edge of the propeller blades. The propeller is rotated by a drive shaft via a gear box pivotally mounted to the support assembly.
Claims25
Apparatus for handling slurry comprising in combination a support assembly having a lower end adapted to extend into a body of slurry, a suitable centrifugal pump of conventional design secured to the lower end of said support assembly and having an impeller rotatable around an impeller axis, a mixing propeller mounted at the lower end of said support assembly in the vicinity of the pump, the axis of rotation of said mixing propeller extending generally horizontally, said mixing propeller being controllable pivotably in a generally horizontal plane around a generally vertical axis, said apparatus also comprising driving means for rotating said impeller and said propeller at sufficiently high speeds for mixing and pumping said slurry and mixing control means for changing the orientation of said axis of rotation of said mixing propeller in said horizontal plane, the mixing propeller constructed to direct the slurry away from the inlet of the pump, and the mixing propeller being positioned, relative to the pump, to draw in slurry from the vicinity of the pump inlet, and then direct the slurry away from the pump.
Apparatus for handling farm manure contained within a large container having a central region and a bottom surface, comprising a support assembly having a lower end adapted to extend into said container near said bottom surface, a suitable centrifugal pump mounted to the lower end of said support assembly and having an impeller, the axis of which extends essentially vertically when said support assembly is in an operating position in said container, a first branch circuit leading from the manure output of said centrifugal pump to nozzle means adapted for recirculating said manure within said container, a second branch circuit leading from said manure output of said centrifugal pump to a discharge conduit means adapted to pump manure out of said container into another receptable, gate means for selecting said branch circuits, a mixing propeller mounted to said lower end of said support assembly essentially near said centrifugal pump, the axis of rotation of said mixing propeller extending essentially horizontally when said support assembly is in an operating position in said container, a mixing propeller shaft supporting said mixing propeller, said mixing propeller shaft being pivotable within limits around a pivot axis which is parallel to the axis of the pump's impeller and the pitch of said propeller being such as to expel said manure forwardly outwardly from said support assembly toward said central region of said container when said mixing propeller is positioned about midway between said limits, said apparatus also comprising suitable driving means for driving said impeller and said mixing propeller into rotation at suitable speeds, the mixing propeller constructed to direct the slurry away from the input of the pump, and the mixing propeller being positioned, relative to the pump, to draw in slurry from the vicinity of the pump inlet, and then direct the slurry away from the pump.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.