GB1603952A - Particulate material spreader - Google Patents

Description

(54) PARTICULATE MATERIAL SPREADER (71) I, CHARLES JOHN PHILIP SMITH. an Australian Citizen, of 274 Forest Road, Bexley, New South Wales, Australia, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to spreading or contouring devices for friable material, and more particualrly to means for spreading soft soil or the like upon lawns or other ground surfaces, and/or for the levelling of such surfaces.

Attempts have been made to carry out spreading and/or levelling processes using a so-called grader, which comprises an angled blade constrained in its forward path with respect to the ground by mounting said blade nearly vertically upon a wheeled vehicle so as to depend therefrom. However, graders are not only expensive and slow in operation but necessarily require the services of a skilled driver able to judge the blade position and also employ a correct steering technique to compensate for the displacement of spoil to one side.

Attempts have also been made to spread soil by drawing or towing a platform supporting a plurality of bars, said platform being pivotally mounted on one end of a handle, the bars being positioned transversely to the longitudinal axis of the handle, and the shape of the bars being such that the undersurface portion of each bar was substantially flat and the face of each bar adjacent said portion was substantially vertical, whereby said platform tended to conform with a lawn or other ground surface traversed by said platform.

However, although the last-mentioned device was capable of spreading a mass of sufficiently soft soil, it suffered from the disadvantage that it was not adapted to level undulating surfaces of ground containing harder soil.

The present invention seeks to overcome the above and other disadvantages and to provide a device which is not only capable of dealing with soft soil but is adapted to convert compacted soil temporarily to a friable condition to permit its fluid motion in particulate form.

According to the invention, there is provided a spreading and/or contouring device comprising a frame, a towing bracket on the frame for enabling towing the frame across the ground at a predetermined angle relative to the horizontal and a plurality of ground engagement members arranged on the frame at right angles to the intended towing direction the ground engagement members having at least one surface vertical or inclined to the vertical irrespective of the attitude of the frame and the said surfaces having different angles in respect to the frame.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar references indicate corresponding parts, and in which: Figure 1 shows, in perspective view, a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein said members are more nearly vertical near the rear of said platform but inclined progressively from the vertical towards the front thereof.

Figure 2 shows, in plan view, the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows, in side elevation, the apparatus of Figure 1; and Figure 4 shows, in end elevation, from the towing position, the apparatus of Figure 1.

Upon referring to the drawings it will be seen that said members may comprise typically a plurality of angle sections, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, spaced apart and fitted within a substantially rectangular frame 10, said angle sections and the components of said frame being fabricated from any rigid solid material in known manner, but preferably being composed of mild steel or the like. The ends of the angle sections may be fixed to the end members of the frame 10 by welding or otherwise. If desired the angle sections may be formed by bending from simple plates before assembly to have the progressively changing inclination shown, or they may be selected from an available range of prefabricated units. This progressively angular arrangement has been found to produce a good "cleaning-off" effect.

Said connection may comprise the threepoint tractor linkage 13 which is supported rigidly with respect to the frame 10 via the rails 11 and 12. Because of this rigid attachment, the angle with which the platform is held with respect to the ground is constantly under the control of the operator of a towing tractor. In practice, said platform would be held in a nearly horizontal position as the tractor progressed. Preferably means such as the quick-acting fastening lug 14 is provided at each side of the three-point linkage 13 to permit rapid detachment of the linkage from the platform, whereby the tractor may be driven around to the other side of said platform and backed into position wherein it may be again quickly locked rigidly with respect to the rails 11 and 12 via lugs such as 15 which engage the dogs such as 16. This arrangement also permits the replacement of the frame 10 after the members have undergone normal wear, without the necessity also to replace the more expensive upper structure comprising the three-point linkage 13. The frame 10 is nevertheless made very rugged since it is fitted throughout with gussets such as 17 and 18 which are attached to the separate members by welding or otherwise.

In use, the material to be spread, such as soil upon a lawn or gravel or metal upon a foot-path, is dumped at random by shovel or barrow over an area to be treated and then the device, according to the invention, is pulled across said area by the tractor operator who holds said platform approximately horizontally with respect to the ground surface. As the tractor progresses, the members are held laterally substantially parallel to the ground surface and are moved down so as to engage the ground to the desired degree as the surface is traversed. The material gathered by the members piles up in the spaces therebetween and drops into any hollows in the surface where required and is thus spread evenly over a large area. Because the substantially horizontal platform is not required to accept the total volume of soil or the like on impact, it undermines the dump and progressively picks up the total volume at speed proceeding along the prescribed course and dropping the appropriate quantity of soil by bridging level deficiencies.

In effect, the device is used to "iron" the material evenly over the lawn or other surface.

Likewise, it may be used for finally levelling the surface of an area of soft soil or sand or the like preparatory to the planting of a lawn or for the top-dressing of an existing lawn or for preparing the surface of a seed bed or for any other operation which requires a level surface. However, because of the positive guidance of the platform in accordance with the invention, the latter no longer simply conforms with the local ground surface but actually cuts or gouges the high spots to fill the valleys, and if any surplus friable material is left at the end of a run it may simply be deposited at a point where it can be subsequently easily picked up. Furthermore this action is one requiring the minimum of skill since there is no lateral displacement of the spoil as the tractor progresses, and furthermore it may be carried out at a relatively high speed of the order of 25 kilometres per hour in contrast with such devices as graders which rarely proceed at more than a walking pace. In fact, it has been found in tests leading to the invention, that the action is more efficient if carried out relatively fast, thereby preventing the members from digging in. In one such test, the task of top-dressing a playing field was carried out in one tenth of the time previously required when using prior art systems.

In a modification of the invention, harrow tines (not shown) may be fastened detachably to the underside of said platform, for example to one or more of the members 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, or to frame 10 itself, for the purpose of breaking up especially compacted soil beforehand, prior to traversing it in the manner above described, or for the purpose of aerating already treated surfaces. Said tines may of course be readily detached before returning the device to its normal format. The use of this modified form of the invention dispenses, of course, with the need for a separate harrow of known kind, and thus significantly reduces costs.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A spreading and/or contouring device comprising a frame, a towing bracket on the frame for enabling towing the frame across the ground at a predetermined angle relative to the horizontal and a plurality of ground engagement members arranged on the frame at right angles to the intended towing direction, the ground engagement members having at least one surface vertical or inclined to the vertical irrespective of the attitude of the frame and the said surfaces having different angles in respect to the frame.

2. A spreading and/or contouring device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said vertical or inclined surfaces of the ground engagement members are more nearly vertical near the rear of the frame but are inclined progressively from the vertical towards the front of the frame.

3. A spreading and/or contouring device as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the towing bracket comprises a three-point tractor linkage.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. arrangement has been found to produce a good "cleaning-off" effect. Said connection may comprise the threepoint tractor linkage 13 which is supported rigidly with respect to the frame 10 via the rails 11 and 12. Because of this rigid attachment, the angle with which the platform is held with respect to the ground is constantly under the control of the operator of a towing tractor. In practice, said platform would be held in a nearly horizontal position as the tractor progressed. Preferably means such as the quick-acting fastening lug 14 is provided at each side of the three-point linkage 13 to permit rapid detachment of the linkage from the platform, whereby the tractor may be driven around to the other side of said platform and backed into position wherein it may be again quickly locked rigidly with respect to the rails 11 and 12 via lugs such as 15 which engage the dogs such as 16. This arrangement also permits the replacement of the frame 10 after the members have undergone normal wear, without the necessity also to replace the more expensive upper structure comprising the three-point linkage 13. The frame 10 is nevertheless made very rugged since it is fitted throughout with gussets such as 17 and 18 which are attached to the separate members by welding or otherwise. In use, the material to be spread, such as soil upon a lawn or gravel or metal upon a foot-path, is dumped at random by shovel or barrow over an area to be treated and then the device, according to the invention, is pulled across said area by the tractor operator who holds said platform approximately horizontally with respect to the ground surface. As the tractor progresses, the members are held laterally substantially parallel to the ground surface and are moved down so as to engage the ground to the desired degree as the surface is traversed. The material gathered by the members piles up in the spaces therebetween and drops into any hollows in the surface where required and is thus spread evenly over a large area. Because the substantially horizontal platform is not required to accept the total volume of soil or the like on impact, it undermines the dump and progressively picks up the total volume at speed proceeding along the prescribed course and dropping the appropriate quantity of soil by bridging level deficiencies. In effect, the device is used to "iron" the material evenly over the lawn or other surface. Likewise, it may be used for finally levelling the surface of an area of soft soil or sand or the like preparatory to the planting of a lawn or for the top-dressing of an existing lawn or for preparing the surface of a seed bed or for any other operation which requires a level surface. However, because of the positive guidance of the platform in accordance with the invention, the latter no longer simply conforms with the local ground surface but actually cuts or gouges the high spots to fill the valleys, and if any surplus friable material is left at the end of a run it may simply be deposited at a point where it can be subsequently easily picked up. Furthermore this action is one requiring the minimum of skill since there is no lateral displacement of the spoil as the tractor progresses, and furthermore it may be carried out at a relatively high speed of the order of 25 kilometres per hour in contrast with such devices as graders which rarely proceed at more than a walking pace. In fact, it has been found in tests leading to the invention, that the action is more efficient if carried out relatively fast, thereby preventing the members from digging in. In one such test, the task of top-dressing a playing field was carried out in one tenth of the time previously required when using prior art systems. In a modification of the invention, harrow tines (not shown) may be fastened detachably to the underside of said platform, for example to one or more of the members 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, or to frame 10 itself, for the purpose of breaking up especially compacted soil beforehand, prior to traversing it in the manner above described, or for the purpose of aerating already treated surfaces. Said tines may of course be readily detached before returning the device to its normal format. The use of this modified form of the invention dispenses, of course, with the need for a separate harrow of known kind, and thus significantly reduces costs. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A spreading and/or contouring device comprising a frame, a towing bracket on the frame for enabling towing the frame across the ground at a predetermined angle relative to the horizontal and a plurality of ground engagement members arranged on the frame at right angles to the intended towing direction, the ground engagement members having at least one surface vertical or inclined to the vertical irrespective of the attitude of the frame and the said surfaces having different angles in respect to the frame.

2. A spreading and/or contouring device as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said vertical or inclined surfaces of the ground engagement members are more nearly vertical near the rear of the frame but are inclined progressively from the vertical towards the front of the frame.

3. A spreading and/or contouring device as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the towing bracket comprises a three-point tractor linkage.

4. A spreading and/or contouring device

as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the threepoint tractor linkage is detachably lockable with respect to the frame in respective front and rear locations thereon, whereby said frame is towable by the tractor via either end of the platform.

5. A spreading and/or contouring device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein narrow tines are detachably fastened to the frame and/or ground engagement members.

6. A spreading and/or contouring device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.