Conveyor and spreader
OwnerWayne F. Smithinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A particulate material conveyor uses an endless loop that has a feed path arranged near a bottom of a load of material to be fed and a return path arranged above the feed path and within the load where the return path is protected by a cover. Material can flow under the cover onto the feed path without filling the return path under the cover. A spinner can be combined with a conveyor to form a spreader, and the conveyor and the spinner can be driven by a single motor through reduction drives. The spreader components are mounted on a sprocket drive shaft to pivot between deployed and stowed positions.
Claims22
A particulate material conveyor having a cover and using an endless loop of a chain or a mesh web moving material along a feed path near a bottom of a load of the material to be fed, the conveyor comprising:
- a return path arranged in a space within the load above the feed path and underneath the cover;
- the cover extending for the length of the conveyor and being arranged within the load above the return path;
- and
- the cover being arranged to allow the material from the load to flow onto the feed path below the cover without filling the space immediately under the cover through which the loop can move along the return path without hindrance from the material, wherein the conveyor includes a return path loop support that is positioned underneath the loop and contacts an underside surface of the loop at a plurality of positions along the loop's length as the loop moves along the return path under the cover.
An endless loop conveyor having a cover and arranged near a bottom of a load of particulate material, a chain or mesh web arranged for feeding the material along a feed path toward an output, the conveyor comprising:
- the cover arranged above the feed path in a space within the load, the cover extending for a length of the conveyor;
- a return path for the loop being arranged above the feed path and closely underneath the cover;
- and
- the cover being arranged to form a material-free space underneath the cover allowing the chain or mesh web to move along the return path within the space without resistance from material on the feed path, wherein the conveyor includes a return path loop support that is positioned underneath the loop and contacts an underside surface of the loop at a plurality of positions along the loop's length as the loop moves along the return path under the cover.
A particulate material conveyor having a cover and comprising:
- a base formed as a channel with upwardly oriented sides;
- a chain or mesh web loop running along a feed path within the base channel near a bottom of a load of the particulate material;
- the cover formed as a top channel having downwardly oriented sides arranged above the base channel to span a width of the base;
- the cover having side openings allowing the material from the load to flow onto the feed path;
- the cover extending for a length of the conveyor;
- and
- a return path of the loop being arranged above the feed path and closely underneath the cover where the return loop does not encounter resistance from the load material.
A spreader of particulate material using a conveyor feeding the material from a load and a spinner receiving and spreading material output from the conveyor, the spreader comprising:
- the conveyor using an endless loop of a chain or a mesh web having a feed path disposed within a channel with upwardly oriented sides and arranged at a bottom of the load of the material and having a sprocket driving the loop at an output region;
- a loop return path arranged in a space within the load above the feed path;
- a cover arranged within the load above the feed path and the return path where the cover reduces intrusion of the material into the loop return path;
- the cover having downturned sides formed to allow material from the load to flow onto the feed path without filling a space immediately under the cover through which the loop can move along the return path free of hindrance from material;
- a first reduction drive to rotate the spinner and a second reduction drive to rotate a sprocket of the conveyor;
- and
- the spinner being pivotable around a drive shaft of the sprocket to move between a deployed and a stowed position when the reduction drives are not turning.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.