Dispensing – With discharge assistant – With scraper or wiper for or carried by discharge assistant
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-29
2001-09-25
Derakshani, Philippe (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
With discharge assistant
With scraper or wiper for or carried by discharge assistant
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293438
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for dispensing material, particularly granular chemical material. The invention is particularly adapted for dispensing agricultural material, such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides from an apparatus driven over terrain onto which the treatment material is applied.
Agricultural dispensing apparatus, more commonly known as granular or broadcast spreaders, generally include a wheeled vehicle, either self powered (e.g., motorized) or manually driven, including a housing having a hopper for receiving a container holding product to be dispensed, and metering means for controlling the quantity of material flowing from the product container, by gravity feed, on to dispensing means, such as a spinning plate positioned beneath the metering means for receiving material deposited thereon and dispensing material therefrom by rotational forces. The apparatus is driven along the terrain to be treated, and the material to be applied to the terrain is dispensed from the moving apparatus. Known apparatus are exemplifed by the following United States patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 460,120; 835,040; 873,497; 1,956,560; 2,366,644; 2,489,171; 2,572,060; 2,974,963; 3,082,007; 3,586,246; 3,602,394; 4,032,074; 4,283,014; 4,548,362; 4,597,531; 4,609,153; 4,785,976; 4,867,381; 5,009,344; 5,029,624; 5,060,701; 5,145,116; 5,288,017; 5,294,060; 5,638,988; and 5,641,011.
The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,624, issued on Jul. 9, 1991 and entitled “Closed Granular Chemical Handling System” which discloses a known dispensing system for granular material, is expressly incorporated by reference herein. The disclosure of Australian Patent Application No. 16519/97, published September-October 1997, which discloses a valve system particularly for use with agricultural equipment, is also expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Granular agricultural dispensers generally include metering systems having a rotatable apertured metering disk disposed between a product container and means for discharging product from the dispensing apparatus. Removal of the metering disk from the apparatus is required for several different purposes including inspection, maintenance, repair, and replacement. Moreover, different metering disks can be interchangeably mounted in the dispensing apparatus to adjust the pattern of flow of product through the rotatable metering disk, the quantity of product flowing through the metering disk, or the rate at which product flows through the metering disk. In the known dispensing devices, it is necessary to substantially disassemble the entire apparatus to remove the metering disk from the meter assembly.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide means for readily removing the metering disk of a dispensing apparatus without disassembling the apparatus. It is a further object of the present invention to provide guide means by which the metering disk can be readily returned to its proper operating position within the dispensing apparatus.
Other objects, improvements and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following discussion herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for dispensing material, and in particular granular agricultural treatment material, from a movable dispensing apparatus. The apparatus includes container means for holding a supply of material to be dispensed from the apparatus, and a metering system for controlling the quantity, rate and pattern at which material is dispensed from the apparatus. The metering system includes a rotatable apertured disk positioned relative to the container means such that material from the container means flows through the metering disk before the material is discharged from the dispensing apparatus. Means are provided for removing the metering disk from the meter assembly of the dispensing apparatus, for example, to inspect, maintain, repair or replace the metering disk, without disassembling the apparatus. Preferably, the means for removing the disk includes a slideable element such as a tray for carrying the metering disk and means for removably mounting the disk to the tray so that the metering disk is selectively removable from the dispensing apparatus by sliding the tray out from the apparatus to displace the tray for providing access to the metering disk without disassembling the apparatus. The metering disk can then be removed from the slideable tray and the same or another metering disk can be placed back on the slideable tray. Guide and alignment means are provided to assure that the slideable tray carrying the metering disk is returned to its proper operating position within the dispensing apparatus. Preferably the guide and alignment means includes cooperating collars, stop means and channel brackets operatively associated with the slideable tray to assure that the metering disk is in its proper operating position when the tray is slid into its maximum retracted position within the dispensing apparatus.
The slideable tray carrying the removable metering disk is arranged and oriented relative to the overall dispensing apparatus so that a portion of the tray covers the discharge outlet of the product container of the dispensing apparatus when the tray is slid out from the apparatus. In this manner, when the metering disk is displaced from its operating position by sliding the tray, material cannot flow from the product container because the discharge outlet remains blocked by a portion of the slideable tray.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the openings defined in the rotatable metering disk are oriented such that each opening partially overlaps each adjacent opening. In this manner, flow of product through the rotating metering disk is continuous, and not intermittent, as a result of the arrangement of the successive overlapping adjacent openings.
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American Cyanamid Company
Bui Thach H
Costello Charles F.
Derakshani Philippe
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