Dispensing – Plural sources – compartment – containers and/or spaced jacket
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-23
2001-09-18
Shaver, Kevin (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
Plural sources, compartment, containers and/or spaced jacket
C220S528000, C220S510000, C239S302000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290099
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accessory for a material spreader. More specifically, the present invention relates to an accessory which is designed to divide a hopper of the material spreader into two or more compartments and which is removable and portable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Material spreaders for applying everything from seeds and fertilizer to rock salt are well known in the art. Many different types of material spreaders are commercially available. Material spreaders may be designed to be towed or pushed, or may be self-propelled. In any case, known material spreaders comprise a hopper for receiving a material to be distributed and a mechanism for dispensing the material from the hopper.
Typical material spreaders have a hopper which defines only a single compartment. However, in many situations, it is desirable to spread multiple materials over the same area. For instance, seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals may be applied over an area such as a lawn. With a single-compartment hopper, this would disadvantageously require multiple passes over the same area, expending time and fuel, compacting the soil, and causing wear and tear on equipment. This is particularly true for hunters who wish to sow various seeds along with fertilizer to create food plots that attract deer.
For hunters, one solution is to purchase pre-mixed bags of seeds. Such pre-mixed bags, however, are rather expensive. Also, they typically do not include fertilizer which requires either self-mixing of fertilizer and seeds or at least one additional pass over the area. In the case of lawn care, not all areas may require the same fertilizers and chemicals or the same proportions thereof. Thus, pre-mixed bags of chemicals and/or fertilizers are typically not as effective or as cost efficient as separate applications.
These problems have been recognized in general by at least one person other than the inventor of the present invention. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,151 issued to Crowley, a material spreader having a hopper with multiple compartments is disclosed. While this material spreader provides a solution, the solution incurs several drawbacks.
In particular, the solution requires one to replace his spreader having a single-compartment hopper with a new spreader having the four-compartment hopper of Crowley. Especially in the agricultural industry, this may be cost-prohibitive even if one desires the benefits of the spreader disclosed by Crowley.
Further, use of a spreader with four compartments is disadvantageous when only a single material is to be dispensed. A user has to fill each individual compartment, requiring more time and greater accuracy. If only one or two of the compartments are filled on the same side, for example, the spreader may tend to tip over on that side during use or may be difficult to steer properly. Also, if all of the compartments are not filled to the same level, then the dispensing of material may be reduced as each of the compartments is emptied at different times, resulting in uneven application of the material. More refilling trips thus may be required to ensure that all four compartments contain material for dispensing.
A solution would be to have both a material spreader with a single-compartment hopper and a material spreader with a multi-compartment hopper at one's disposal. Again, this may be cost-prohibitive in some instances. Further, the storage space required for two spreaders may not be available or reasonable, depending on the circumstances.
Still further, the cost and difficulty of maintenance may be increased by a four-compartment hopper. Access to the dispensing mechanism to remove a clog, for example, may require complete removal of the hopper or disassembly of the mechanism itself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide the advantages of a multi-compartment hopper without incurring the inherent disadvantages thereof.
Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide a portable, removable accessory for a material spreader which constitutes a divider when placed in a hopper of the material spreader. According to the invention, the accessory comprises a removable insert which divides the hopper into at least two compartments. The removable insert is preferably formed as a panel.
According to a preferred embodiment, the accessory comprises a first removable panel and a second removable panel. The second removable panel is arranged to engage the first removable panel in a mutually perpendicular manner such that the first and second removable panels constitute a divider which divides a hopper of a material spreader into four compartments when placed in the hopper.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the accessory includes a first central vertical slot extending from a top edge of the first removable panel and a second central vertical slot extending from a bottom edge of the second removable panel. The first central vertical slot is preferably dimensioned to receive a portion of the second removable panel and the second central vertical slot is preferably dimensioned to receive a portion of the first removable panel.
The portion of the first removable panel may comprise at least one recessed groove aligned with the first central vertical slot. Similarly, the portion of the second removable panel may comprise at least one recessed groove aligned with the second central vertical slot.
Preferably, however, the portion of the first removable panel comprises a recessed groove formed on each side of the first removable panel with the recessed grooves being aligned with the first central vertical slot. Similarly, the portion of the second removable panel preferably comprises a recessed groove formed on each side of the second removable panel with the recessed grooves being aligned with the second central vertical slot.
The accessory according to the present invention is preferably molded of plastic material.
Further, the accessory preferably has at least one handle portion. According to a preferred embodiment, the handle portion comprises an opening formed through a thickness of the panel.
Still further, the accessory preferably has a plurality of raised ribs on at least a portion of at least one surface thereof. The raised ribs are preferably arranged in parallel and oriented to run substantially vertical when the accessory is placed in the hopper. Even more preferably, the raised ribs are arranged to form channels which open at a bottom edge of the panel.
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Nicolas Frederick C
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Shaver Kevin
LandOfFree
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