FR3055188A1 - METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SPREADING LITTER MATERIALS ON A FARMING AREA - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for spreading bedding materials comprising: - a hopper (2) for receiving bedding materials comprising a bottom (3) equipped with two closable discharge openings (5), - a dispensing device (7) comprising two disks Spreading means (9) mounted on a support frame (9) and means (10) for rotating the spreading discs (8), each spreading disc (8) extending in a configuration of using the plant, below one of the unloading openings of the hopper (2), the frame (9) supporting the spreading disks (8) being coupled to the hopper (2) to form a set (11) integral in displacement, and - moving drive means of the assembly (11). Said drive means are displacement drive means of said assembly (11) along a predetermined guide path and the spreading discs (8) are mounted on the frame (9) adjustable support in position at least in the sense of a variation of the distance between the disk centers (8).

Description

055 188

54252 ® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY © Publication number:

(to be used only for reproduction orders)

©) National registration number

COURBEVOIE

©) Int Cl ⁸ : A 01 K 1/015 (2017.01)

PATENT INVENTION APPLICATION

A1

©) Date of filing: 15.05.17. © Applicant (s): SARL FIRSTPELLETS — RR. (30) Priority: 31.08.16 FR 1658073. ©) Inventor (s): VINEE FRANÇOIS. ©) Date of availability of the request: 02.03.18 Bulletin 18/09. ©) List of documents cited in the preliminary search report: See the end of this booklet (© References to other related national documents: ©) Holder (s): SARL FIRSTPELLETS. ©) Extension request (s): ©) Agent (s): IPSILON.

PA PROCESS AND INSTALLATION FOR SPREADING LITTER MATERIALS ON A BREEDING AREA.

FR 3 055 188 - A1

©) Plant for spreading litter materials including:

- a hopper (2) for receiving litter materials comprising a bottom (3) equipped with two closable discharge orifices (5),

- A distribution device (7) comprising two spreading discs (8) mounted on a support frame (9) and means (10) for driving the spreading discs (8) in rotation, each disc (8) spreading spreading, in configuration of use of the installation, below one of the hopper unloading orifices (2), the frame (9) supporting the spreading discs (8) being coupled to the hopper (2) to form an assembly (11) integral in movement, and,

- drive means for moving the assembly (11).

Said drive means are means for moving said assembly (11) along a predetermined guide path and the spreading discs (8) are mounted on the support frame (9) adjustable in position at least in the direction of a variation of the distance between the disc centers (8).

i

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method and an installation for spreading litter material on a breeding area.

It relates more particularly to an installation for spreading litter materials on a breeding area, said installation comprising:

- a hopper capable of receiving a supply of loose bedding materials, said hopper comprising a bottom equipped with two closable discharge orifices and side walls,

a distribution device comprising two spreading discs mounted on a support frame and means for driving the spreading discs in rotation, each spreading disc, equipped with at least one radial ejection blade, extending, in the configuration of use of the installation, below one of the unloading orifices of the hopper with its vertical axis of rotation to receive the bedding materials falling by gravity from the associated unloading orifice and the project to the ground, the support frame for the spreading discs being coupled to the hopper to form an integral unit in displacement, and,

- displacement training means of the assembly.

PRIOR ART

One of the permanent objectives of breeders is the automation of the various tasks to be accomplished in the farming activity in order to reduce the necessary labor or better use it, especially in the context of arduous tasks. It is in this context that autonomous spreading facilities have been developed. One of the difficulties of such installations lies in their ability to adapt to buildings whose design can vary considerably from one building to another. To resolve this difficulty, such installations are generally towed or pushed by a motor vehicle with the pollution, congestion and driving constraints that this generates.

GOALS AND SUMMARY

An object of the invention is to provide a spreading installation of the aforementioned type, the design of which makes it possible to adapt to a large number of livestock buildings.

Another object of the invention is to propose a spreading installation of the aforementioned type io whose design allows on the one hand, a variation of the working width, on the other hand, an easy crossing of obstacles on the ground

Another object of the invention is to provide a spreading installation of the aforementioned type, the design of which allows a homogeneous distribution of the litter materials over a given surface.

To this end, the invention relates to an installation for spreading litter materials on a breeding area, said installation comprising:

- a hopper capable of receiving a supply of loose bedding materials, said hopper comprising a bottom equipped with two closable discharge orifices and side walls,

a distribution device comprising two spreading discs mounted on a support frame and means for driving the spreading discs in rotation, each spreading disc, equipped with at least one radial ejection blade, extending, in the configuration of use of the installation, below one of the unloading orifices of the hopper with its vertical axis of rotation to receive the bedding materials falling by gravity from the associated unloading orifice and the project to the ground, the support frame for the spreading discs being coupled to the hopper to form an integral unit in displacement, and,

- drive means for moving the assembly, characterized in that the drive means for moving the assembly are means for driving the movement of said assembly along a predetermined guide path and in this that the spreading discs are mounted on the support frame adjustable in position at least in the direction of a variation of the distance between the disc centers

The mounting of the discs on the support frame so as to be adjustable in position, with a view to bringing the spreading discs together or apart, makes it possible to vary the working width. Guiding the assembly along a predetermined path eliminates the presence of a conductor.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the hopper comprises, in addition to the unloading orifices, two closable emptying outlets for the hopper, arranged on the hopper at a level higher than that occupied by the unloading orifices in the state posed of the hopper resting by its bottom on the ground.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the installation comprises at least one conduit connectable to at least one of the outlets, preferably to each of the drain outlets.

The presence of these two additional drain outlets thus makes it possible to connect a gravity flow conduit with the aid of which an operator can, without significant physical effort, perfect the spreading work carried out using the discs to obtain a quality of work similar to that obtained by manual spreading.

According to one embodiment of the invention, in the configuration of use, in the open state of at least one of the drain outlets, the spreading discs are stopped, that is to say say don't spin. Indeed, the drain outlets are not intended to allow spreading using the discs.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the guide path is positionable above and at a distance from the ground, and the means for driving the assembly along the guide path are means for driving the suspended state of said assembly along said guide path, these drive means comprising a motor member of the carriage type, and a control and command unit of the motor member.

Moving the suspended state of the assembly allows easy clearance of obstacles on the ground.

îo According to one embodiment of the invention, the installation comprises a reserve of litter materials installed at a fixed post at a distance from the hopper, means, such as an endless screw, for transferring litter materials between the reserve and the hopper, and a control and command unit of the transfer means at least partially common to the control and command unit of the drive member of the drive means of said assembly.

Thus, reloading the hopper with litter material can take place between two movements of the hopper along its guide path.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the support frame comprises a so-called horizontal cross member carrying the spreading discs and an amount for coupling the cross member to the hopper.

According to one embodiment of the invention, for mounting the spreading discs on the support frame so as to be adjustable in position at least in the direction of variation of the distance between the disc centers, each spreading disc is mounted to move axially along the longitudinal axis of the cross member or is coupled to the cross member by a pivoting arm about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the spreading disc and orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the crosses.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the spreading discs are, via the support frame, mounted at variable spacing from the bottom of the hopper, and are able to pass, through the support frame, from 'a position away from the bottom of the hopper to a position close to the bottom of the hopper or vice versa.

This setting allows a better distribution of the litter materials on the ground and helps, if necessary, to overcome obstacles placed on the ground.

îo According to one embodiment of the invention, for a variable spacing mounting of the spreading discs at the bottom of the hopper, the amount of the support frame is of adjustable length.

According to one embodiment of the invention, two of the side walls of the hopper extend opposite and are capable of forming one, the front or leading wall, the other, the rear or led wall, of the hopper in the driven state of said assembly along the guide path, and the spreading discs are mounted adjustable in position in the front / rear direction taken with respect to the direction of movement of the hopper in the direction of approach or d 'a spacing of one of the front or rear walls of said hopper.

According to one embodiment of the invention, for mounting the spreading discs on the support frame so as to be adjustable in position in the front / rear direction, taken with respect to the direction of movement of the hopper, in the direction of an approximation or a spacing of one of the front or rear walls of said hopper, the amount of the support frame assumes the shape of an L and the crosspiece of the support frame, which extends transversely to the horizontal branch of the L , is slidably mounted along said horizontal branch of the L in the direction of a bringing together or a spacing of the vertical branch of the L.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the means for driving the spreading discs in rotation comprise two motors each coupled to a spreading disc.

This results in easy adjustment of the relative position of the discs.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the bottom part of the hopper has the general shape of two funnels arranged side by side, the outlets of said funnels respectively forming the unloading orifices of the hopper.

Thanks to this arrangement, it is possible to dispense with a conveyor device internal to the hopper while avoiding the accumulation of material inside the hopper.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the installation comprises, for at least one of the spreading discs, a deflector comprising a circular wall surrounding the face equipped with at least one blade of the disc, disc and wall being coaxial, said wall being a discontinuous wall to form at least one opening forming an outlet through which the litter materials, capable of being driven in displacement by the blade of the disc, are capable of being evacuated from the enclosure delimited by the wall .

Thanks to this arrangement, it is possible to optimize the distribution of litter materials by depositing them only in the appropriate places. This results in a reduction in the amount of bedding material used.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the wall is stationary in the state driven in rotation of the associated spreading disc.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the wall is of adjustable length to adjust at will the dimension of the at least one opening formed in the wall.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the deflector further comprises a support on which the wall rests in a removable manner, this support affecting the shape of a plate extending parallel and facing the face of the spreading disc. devoid of blade, the drive means in rotation of the disc passing through said plate to come into engagement with the disc

According to one embodiment of the invention, the wall is coupled to the support plate by a male / female coupling.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the deflector is removably mounted on the installation.

Another subject of the invention is a method of spreading using a spreading installation of the aforementioned type, the hopper of which comprises, in addition to the discharge orifices, two closable outlets for emptying the hopper, arranged on the hopper at a level higher than that occupied by the unloading orifices in the installed state of the hopper resting by its bottom on the ground, characterized in that said method comprises:

a step for driving the displacement of the assembly in the state driven in rotation of the spreading discs and open the discharge orifices and

- a step of driving the movement of the assembly in the stopped state in rotation of the spreading discs and open at least one of the drain outlets.

This therefore results in the possibility of perfecting the spreading work carried out in a second step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents an overall view of a spreading installation according to the invention in the assembled state in a livestock building;

Figure 2 shows a view, taken from one end of the building, of the installation of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a partial schematic perspective view of an installation according to the invention;

Figure 4 shows a partial schematic perspective view of an installation according to the invention, the walls of the hopper being made transparent so as to be able to view the interior of the hopper;

Figure 5 shows a partial schematic perspective view of an installation according to the invention in which the discs are coupled to the support frame by pivoting arms;

Figure 6 shows a partial schematic perspective view of an installation according to the invention;

Figure 7 shows a partial schematic rear view of the installation of Figure 6 taken from another angle;

Figure 8 shows a partial schematic side view of an installation according to the invention.

Figure 9 shows a partial schematic perspective view of an installation according to the invention equipped with deflectors.

FIG. 10 represents a partial schematic view in section of the installation of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 represents a view of detail A in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As mentioned above, the spreading installation 1, object of the invention, is an at least partially autonomous installation, capable of allowing in particular the spreading of litter materials, such as straws, sawdust, wood shavings and others on a breeding area 30 formed here in a breeding building 31, the breeding area corresponding to the areas of the ground of the building arranged on either side of an alley inside which îo l installation is able to circulate.

This installation includes a hopper 2 capable of receiving a supply of loose bedding materials. This hopper 2 includes a bottom 3 equipped with two closable discharge orifices 5 and side walls 4. The top of the hopper 2 is open to allow reloading from above of said hopper 2. In the example shown, the bottom portion 3 of the hopper 2 has the general shape of two funnels arranged side by side, the outlets of said funnels respectively forming the orifices 5 for discharging the hopper 2. This form of trunk-pyramidal funnel allows gravity flow towards the outlet of the funnel without requiring the presence of an additional conveying device. Each orifice 5 for unloading the hopper can be closed off using a sliding hatch 6 in the manner of a guillotine hatch. This hatch 6 is with adjustable positioning to allow adjustment of the opening of the associated unloading orifice 5 and consequently an adjustment of the flow of litter materials flowing out of the hopper through said unloading orifice 5. In the example shown, this hatch 6 is manually actuated. It could have been equivalent, to be automatically actuated.

The hopper 2 comprises, in addition to the unloading orifices 5, two closable outlets 14 for emptying the hopper 2. These two closable outlets 14 are arranged on the hopper at a level higher than that occupied by the unloading orifices 5 ίο 'posed state of the hopper resting by its bottom on the ground. In the example shown, each outlet 14 is arranged on one of the inclined walls participating in the production of a trunk-pyramidal funnel of the hopper 2. Each funnel therefore comprises an orifice 5 for discharging said axial and an outlet 14 for so-called lateral emptying. Similarly to the unloading orifice 5, the drain outlet 14 can be closed off using a sliding hatch 15 in the manner of a guillotine hatch. This hatch 15 is with adjustable positioning to allow adjustment of the opening of the associated discharge outlet 14 and consequently adjustment of the flow of bedding material flowing out of the hopper through said discharge outlet 14 In the example shows, this hatch 15 is manually operated. It could have been equivalent, to be automatically actuated.

The installation 1 also comprises a conduit or two conduits 17. In the example shown, there is provided a single conduit 17 which can be interconnected either to one or the other of the drain outlets 14. To facilitate the connection of this conduit 17 shown diagrammatically in FIG. 8, each drain outlet 14 is equipped with a conduit outlet 16 on which the conduit 17 can be fitted. Each line departure 16 therefore extends outside the hopper 2, projecting from the latter. The role of the conduit 17 connectable to each outlet 14 for draining will be described below.

The spreading installation 1 also comprises a device 7 for distributing the litter materials coming from the hopper 2. This distribution device 7 comprises two spreading discs 8 mounted on a support frame 9 and means 10 for driving in rotation of the spreading discs 8 in a counter-rotating manner. The means 10 for driving the spreading discs 8 in rotation comprise two motors each coupled to a spreading disc 8. Each disc 8 is therefore driven in rotation by its own motor and thus forms a more easily movable autonomous assembly.

Generally, the spreading discs 8 rotate at the same speed even if such an arrangement allows the discs to rotate independently of one another.

Each spreading disc 8 is equipped with at least one radial ejection blade 81 which can be adjustable in position on the disc in a manner known per se. Each spreading disc 8 extends, in the configuration of use of the installation 1, below one of the orifices 5 for unloading the hopper 2 with its axis of rotation extending vertically, this is that is to say generally to within 15 °. The spreading discs 8 therefore extend in a substantially horizontal plane. Each spreading disc 8 is capable of receiving îo from the unloading orifice 5 with which it is associated and plumb with which there are bedding materials at a rate depending on the degree of opening of said unloading orifice 5. The rotation of the spreading discs 8 causes littering materials to be thrown onto the ground. The spreading discs 8 are, for their maintenance in position relative to the hopper, mounted on a support frame 9 which is coupled to the hopper 2 and forms with the latter an assembly 11 integral in movement.

In the example shown, the support frame 9 comprises a cross member 91, called horizontal, carrying the spreading discs 8, and an amount 92 for coupling the cross member 91 to the hopper 2, the amount 92 and the cross member 91 being orthogonal between them. In the example shown, the upright 92 of the support frame 9 takes the form of an L and the cross member 91 of the support frame 9, which extends transversely to the horizontal branch of the L, is mounted to slide along said branch. 921 horizontal of the L in the direction of a bringing together or a spacing of the vertical branch 922 of the L. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the cross member 91 is of adjustable length and is formed by two end sections and an intermediate section disposed between the end sections. Each end section carries a spreading disc 8. The end sections are slidably mounted on the intermediate section in the direction of approximation or spacing from one another. This results in the possibility of adjusting the position of the spreading discs 8 in the direction of varying the distance between the disc centers, with a view to bringing the spreading discs 8 closer together or apart. between them to vary the working width. This same adjustment of the spreading discs 8, in the direction of a bringing together or a spacing from one another, can be obtained not by axial displacement of the discs along the longitudinal axis of the cross-member. 91 but by means of arms 20 pivoting about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the spreading disc 8 and orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the cross member 91 as illustrated in FIG. 5.

To allow a greater variation in the position of the discs, the upright 92 of the support frame is a telescopic upright of adjustable or adjustable length, thus allowing mounting at variable spacing of the discs 8 for spreading the bottom 3 of the hopper 2.

To perfect the distribution and ensure a distribution of the litter materials in precise locations, the installation comprises, for at least one of the spreading discs 8, in the example shown, for each spreading disc 8, a deflector 50. This deflector 50 comprises a circular wall 502,503,504 surrounding the face equipped with at least one blade 81 of the disc 8 associated with said deflector 50. so that the wall and the disc are coaxial.

This wall is discontinuous. The discontinuity or discontinuities of the wall form one or more openings in the wall. In the examples shown, the wall has a single opening. This opening formed in the wall 502,503.504 by an interruption of the wall forms an outlet through which the litter materials, capable of being driven in displacement by the blade 81 of the disc 8, are capable of being evacuated from the enclosure delimited by the wall 502,503,504. Obviously, this wall is stationary in the state driven in rotation of the associated spreading disc 8. This wall therefore delimits a cylindrical sector capable of being swept by the at least one blade 81 of the disk 8 in the state driven in rotation of the disk 8. In the example shown, the blade projects from the external peripheral edge of the disk 8.

The free end of the blade 81 of the disc 8 follows a circular trajectory along a line parallel to the wall inside the cylindrical sector delimited by the wall. In this cylindrical sector delimited by the wall, the free end of the blade 81 is spaced from the facing part of the wall by a distance at most equal to 1 cm, generally between 1 and 5 mm. This distance corresponds to the clearance necessary for the proper functioning of the assembly.

In the examples shown, the deflector 50 further comprises a support 501 on which the wall rests. This support 501 takes the form of a plate îo extending parallel and facing the face of the spreading disc 8 devoid of ejection blade 81. In the configuration of use of the installation, the plate produced here circular therefore extends below the spreading disc 8. The means 10 for driving the spreading disc 8 in rotation pass through said plate in order to come into engagement with the spreading disc 8. The spreading discs 8 and the associated deflectors 50 are mounted on the support frame 9 adjustable in position at least in the direction of a variation of the distance between the disc centers 8. Thus, the plate of a deflector 50 is mounted on the support frame 9 so that the deflector 50 and the associated spreading disc 8 form an integral unit moving in the direction of bringing the disc center closer or further apart from the center of the other disc. The deflector 50 is therefore carried by the same connecting piece as that which connects the disc 8 associated with the support frame 9.

In the examples shown, the wall is coupled to the support plate 501 by a male / female coupling. For this purpose, the base of the wall is provided with hooks capable of fitting into slots provided on the support plate 501. The hooks delimit a so-called conical V-shaped housing. An edge of the slot which cooperates with a hook is able to be sandwiched between the branches of the V in the inserted state of the hook in the slot to allow locking by wedging. The slots of the support plate 501 are distributed circumferentially on said plate so that the wall can be positioned at any location on the circumference, this positioning taking place easily by simply engaging the hooks with the slots. Likewise, the wall can be dismantled easily.

In the examples shown, this wall is formed by strips of metal sheets, if necessary curved.

In the examples shown, the wall is of adjustable length to adjust at will the dimension of the at least one opening formed in the wall. This wall therefore consists of several wall elements, at least one of which is slidably mounted relative to the rest of the wall. This wall element, said mobile, of the wall, shown at 503 in the figures, may be provided with at least one preferably with at least two longitudinal slots as shown inside of which at least one connecting bolt to the at least one so-called fixed wall element of the wall is able to be inserted. This results in a simplicity of adjustment by simple sliding movement of the movable element or elements of the wall along the fixed element of the wall. In the example shown, the wall is formed of a first so-called fixed wall element shown at 504 in the figures and forming a semicircle. This wall element is said to be fixed because it is couplable to the support 501 by means of hooks as described above. The wall comprises two movable wall elements represented at 503 each forming a quarter of a circle. Each movable wall element 503 is adjustable to be coupled to the fixed wall element 501 via bolts as described above. Each wall element 503 is said to be mobile because it does not have a direct connection to the support 501. The wall also includes two fixed wall elements, called finishing elements, shown at 502 in the figures. Each fixed finishing wall element is equipped with at least one hook for connection to the support 501 and can be coupled via at least one bolt to the movable wall element 503.

Thus, each movable wall element 503 extends between two fixed wall elements 502 and 501 to which it is coupled by means of bolts. The wall is therefore formed from one end in the direction of the other end, of a fixed finishing wall element 502, a movable wall element 503, of the semi-circular fixed wall element 504, of a movable wall element 503 and a fixed finishing wall element 502. This results in an easy adjustment in length of the wall.

Generally, the deflector 50 is removably mounted on the installation.

Finally, the installation 1 comprises means 12 for driving the displacement of the support / hopper frame assembly along a predetermined guide path 13 and the spreading discs 8 are mounted on the support frame 9 adjustable in position in the front / rear direction taken with respect to the direction of movement of the hopper in the direction of approximation or spacing of one of the front 41 or rear 42 walls of said hopper, this variation in position being obtained thanks to the possibility of displacement of the cross member 91 along the horizontal branch of the L-shaped section constituting the upright 92. All these adjustments make it possible to project the litter materials as well as possible.

The means 12 for driving the hopper / support frame assembly along the guide path 13 are means for driving the suspended state of said assembly along said guide path 13. This guide path 13 is in fact a rail which can be positioned above and at a distance from the ground. In the example shown, this rail is fixed to the ceiling of the livestock building and plumb with the path that separates the two zones for receiving litter materials. The means 12 for driving the assembly along said rail comprise a motorized carriage 121 whose wheels roll on said rail, and a unit 122 for monitoring and controlling the motorized carriage 121. This control and command unit 122 is, in itself known, a programmable controller or a microcomputer, the input data of which can be supplied using a man machine interface and / or sensors and / or stored data. The assembly is therefore movable back and forth by traversing each movement back and forth the building in the direction of its length;

To allow reloading, generally from above, of the hopper 2 in litter materials, the installation 1 comprises a reserve 18 of litter materials, namely here a silo, installed at a fixed post at a distance from the hopper, in l occurrence here outside the livestock building and an endless screw 19 for transferring litter materials between the reserve 18 and the hopper 2. This endless screw is controlled using a control unit and control shown here common to the unit 122 for controlling and commanding the motorized trolley to allow synchronized operation of the endless transfer screw 19 and the wheels of the motorized trolley.

In fact, the operation of the installation is as follows: it is assumed that the hopper / support frame assembly is arranged at one end of the guide rail directly above the transfer screw 19. The operator entered the number of round trips of the assembly at the man / machine interface and opened the unloading orifices 5 to the desired level by manually acting on the shutter hatches of these orifices 5 of unloading. Likewise, it adjusted the positioning of the discs relative to the discharge orifices 5 by acting on the length of the upright, the position of the cross member and the relative position of the discs between them. In the embodiment where the deflectors are present, the operator has also adjusted the position and the dimension of the opening or openings in the wall. It then controls the distribution of litter materials by pressing a control button. The start of the distribution firstly fills the hopper with the worm screw if it was not already full, then moves the hopper back and forth in parallel with the rotation spreading discs 8, this rotation of the spreading discs 8 being controlled from a control and command unit at least partially common to the control and command unit of said assembly. Depending on the capacity of the hopper and the operator's wishes, the content of the hopper can be distributed on one way, or on a round trip, or on several round trips. Once empty, the hopper is refilled using the transfer screw as mentioned above.

Once the distribution of litter materials, using the unloading orifices 5 and the spreading discs 8, can be completed with a local addition of litter materials. To do this, the operator closes the unloading orifices 5, stops the spreading discs 8 in rotation, opens one of the drain outlets 14 and connects a conduit 17 at said drain outlet 14 if the operator is alone. If two operators are present, the two drainage outlets 14 can be used simultaneously and therefore two conduits. All these operations can be done in masked time during a filling step of the hopper. As soon as the hopper is filled, a new back-and-forth movement can be launched during which the operator locally adds, using the conduit 17, litter materials to the already formed bed. The operator therefore advances at the rate of the hopper. When one half of the building is completed, it proceeds in a similar manner with the other half of the building after having closed the drain outlet 14, disconnected the duct 17, reconnected the duct 17 to the other drain outlet 14 and opened l 'other drain outlet 14. In this configuration of use, in the open state of at least one of the drain outlets, the spreading discs are stopped, that is to say do not rotate.

The spreading process as described above therefore includes:

a step of driving the movement of the assembly in the driven state in rotation of the spreading discs and open the discharge orifices and

- a step of driving the movement of the assembly in the stopped state in rotation of the spreading discs and open at least one of the drain outlets.

This spreading process makes it possible to manage working widths ranging from a few meters to several tens of meters, a working length which can exceed one hundred meters with a perfect distribution of the litter materials.

Claims (2)

1. Installation (1) for spreading litter materials on a breeding area (30), said installation comprising: 5 - a hopper (2) capable of receiving a supply of loose bedding materials, said hopper (2) comprising a bottom (3) equipped with two closable discharge orifices (5) and side walls (4), - A distribution device (7) comprising two spreading discs (8) mounted on a support frame (9) and means (10) for driving the spreading discs (8) in rotation, each disc (8) ) spreading, equipped with at least one blade (81) for radial ejection, extending, in configuration of use of the installation, below one of the orifices (5) for discharging the hopper (2) with its vertical axis of rotation to receive the litter materials falling by gravity from the associated unloading orifice (5) and to project them to the 15 ground, the frame (9) supporting the spreading discs (8) being coupled to the hopper (2) to form an assembly (11) integral in movement, and, - Means (12) for driving movement of the assembly (11), characterized in that the means (12) for driving movement of the assembly (11) are means for driving the displacement of said assembly 20 together along a predetermined guide path and in that the spreading discs (8) are mounted on the support frame (9) adjustable in position at least in the direction of a variation of the distance between the centers discs (8). 25 2. Installation (1) of spreading according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the hopper (2) comprises, in addition to the unloading orifices (5), two closable outlets (14) for emptying the hopper (2) , arranged on the hopper (2), at a level higher than that occupied by the unloading orifices (5), in the posed state of the hopper (2) resting by its bottom (3) on the ground. 3. Installation (1) of spreading according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the installation (1) comprises at least one conduit (17) connectable to at least one of the outlets (14), preferably, to each drain outlets (14). 4. Installation (i) of spreading according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that, in the configuration of use, in the open state of at least one of the outlets (14) for draining, the spreading discs (8) are stopped. 5. Installation (1) for spreading according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the guide path (13) is positionable above and at a distance from the ground, and in that the means (12) of drive of the assembly (11) along the guide path (13) are means for driving in the suspended state of said assembly (11) along said guide path (13), these means (12) of drive comprising a carriage-type motor member (121), and a unit (122) for controlling and commanding the motor member (121). 6. Installation (1) of spreading according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the installation (1) comprises a reserve (18) of litter materials installed at a fixed position remote from the hopper (2), means ( 19), such as an endless screw, for transferring litter materials between the reserve (18) and the hopper (2), and a control and command unit for transfer means (19) at least partially common to the unit (122) for monitoring and controlling the motor member (121) of the means (12) for driving said assembly (11). 7. Installation (1) of spreading according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the frame (9) support comprises a crosspiece (91) said to be horizontal carrying the spreading discs (8) and an upright (92) coupling the crosspiece (91) to the hopper (2). 8. Installation (1) of spreading according to the preceding claim, characterized in that, for mounting the discs (8) spreading on the frame (9) support so as to be adjustable in position at least in the direction of variation of the distance between the disc centers (8), each spreading disc (8) is mounted axially displaceable along the longitudinal axis of the cross member (91) or is coupled to the cross member (91) by an arm (20) pivoting about a parallel axis 5 to the axis of rotation of the spreading disc (8) and orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the crosspiece (91). 9. Installation (1) for spreading according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spreading discs (8) are, by means of the support frame (9), mounted with variable spacing from the bottom ( 3) of the hopper (2), and are capable of passing, via the support frame (9), from a position spaced from the bottom (3) of the hopper (2) to a position close to the bottom (3 ) from the hopper (2), or vice versa. 15 10. Installation (1) of spreading according to the preceding claim, taken in combination with one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that, for a variable spacing mounting of the discs (8) for spreading the bottom ( 3) of the hopper (2), the upright (92) of the support frame (9) is of adjustable length. 11. Installation (1) for spreading according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that two of the side walls (4) of the hopper extend opposite one another and are capable of forming one, the wall (41 ) front or driving, the other, the rear or driven wall (42) of the hopper (2) in the driven state of said assembly (11) along the guide path (13), and in that the discs (8) 25 of spreading are mounted adjustable in position in the front / rear direction taken relative to the direction of movement of the hopper (2) in the direction of approaching or spacing one of the front walls (41) or rear (42) of said hopper (2). 30 12. Installation (1) for spreading according to the preceding claim, taken in combination with one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that, for mounting the spreading discs (8) on the support frame (9 ) in an adjustable position in the front / rear direction, taken with respect to the direction of movement of the hopper (2), in the direction of approaching or spacing one of the front walls (41) or rear (42) of said hopper (2), the upright (92) of the support frame (9) has the shape of an L and the crosspiece (91) of the support frame (9), which extends transversely to the branch (921) horizontal of the L, the iong of said horizontal branch (921) of the horizontal L is slidably mounted in the direction of a bringing together or a separation of the vertical branch (922) of the L. 13. Installation (1) of spreading according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means (10) for rotating the spreading discs (8) comprise two motors each coupled to a disc (8) spreading. 14. Installation (1) of spreading according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottom part (3) of the hopper (2) affects the general shape of two funnels arranged side by side, the outlets of said funnels respectively forming the orifices (5) for unloading the hopper (2). 15. Installation (1) for spreading according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it comprises, for at least one of the spreading discs (8), a deflector (50) comprising a wall (502,503,504) circular surrounding the face equipped with at least one blade (81) of the disc (8), disc (8) and wall (502,503,504) being coaxial, said wall (502,503,504) being a discontinuous wall to provide at least one opening forming an outlet through which the litter materials, capable of being driven in displacement by the blade (81) of the disc (8), are capable of being evacuated from the enclosure delimited by the wall (502,503,504). 16. Installation (1) for spreading according to claim 15, characterized in that the wall (502,503,504) is stationary in the state driven in rotation of the disc (8) associated spreading. 17. A method of spreading using a spreading installation according to one of claims 1 to 16, taken in combination with claim 2, 5 characterized in that said method comprises: a step for driving the displacement of the assembly (11) in the state driven in rotation of the spreading discs (8) and open the discharge orifices (5), and - A step of driving movement of the assembly (11) in the stopped state îo in rotation of the spreading discs (8) and open of at least one of the drain outlets (14). 30s 2/5