Vehicle mounted sand spreader

Details Vehicle mounted sand spreader Vehicle mounted sand spreader

1997-05-30

2001-01-30

Weldon, Kevin (Department: 1734)

Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing

Container for non-fluid material, and scattering means

Including driven conveyor or follower feeding material...

C414S528000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06179230

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of vehicles used to spread sand and salt on highways. More particularly, it relates to an improved vehicle-mounted box for containing the sand, or salt and sand, to be spread.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Typical sand spreading vehicles have a box mounted over the rear portion of the vehicle for containing sand. Centrally located in the bottom of the box is a conveyor for withdrawing sand in controlled portions for distribution on a road surface. This conveyor typically runs the length of the bin from its rear to its front end centrally located and may consist of a chain “ladder” that circulates in a closed loop, dragging sand with the sliding “rungs” forwardly for delivery to an opening for deposit on the roadway.
A further feature of such vehicles is that the sand containing bin may be tipped, in certain configurations, in two directions. The bin may be tipped upwardly at its forward end to dump sand ‘en mass’ out a rearward, hinged, end panel when excess sand has been loaded and it is desired to empty the vehicle. On occasion such bins may also be tipped sideways about a longitudinal axis aligned with the vehicle's direction of travel. This sideways tipping does not occur to an extensive degree and is not intended for emptying the bin. Rather it is directed to passing sand from the outside bottom corners of the bin to the central conveyor. This tipping action is needed when the bin has a small amount of sand remaining on its bottom, and the sand is no longer sliding spontaneously towards the central conveyor.
To avoid the cost of this sideways tipping mechanism, some spreader vehicles are built with bins having flat, inwardly tapering, “V”-shaped bottom surfaces. In such cases, the sand slides spontaneously to the central conveyor because of the downward slope of the two bottom panels on either side of the conveyor.
A disadvantage of the tapered-bottom bin design is that for a given load of sand, the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle is higher off of the ground than for a flat-bottomed bin. The higher the center of gravity of a vehicle, the greater is the risk that it may tip sideways on uneven terrain. Allowing that such vehicles are built to standards of stability, typically government-enforced, the presence of a tapered bottom reduces the load capacity of such a vehicle.
This invention addresses the objective of maximizing the load capacity of a spreader vehicle without incurring the complications and expense of a side-tipping mechanism.
The invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention in its broadest and more specific forms will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one feature of the invention, a spreader vehicle with a bin for containing material to be spread and having a floor-mounted conveyor positioned within the bin to extract such material, has bin walls of a specially shaped configuration. Each of the sidewalls is provided with a curved configuration that bends inwardly towards the conveyor, commencing from a height that is above the height of the conveyor. The curvature of this surface terminates at a second, lower height that is, as well, above the height of the conveyor. The bin surface then continues with a relatively flat, terminal region to the edge of the conveyor. This preferably flat terminal region is upwardly angled, proceeding outwardly from the conveyor, at an inclination that is sufficient to cause the material to be spread contained thereon to slide spontaneously to the conveyor, under the agitation arising from vehicular motion.
The advantage of this configuration is that a greater amount of sand may be carried than with flat-tapered bottom bins, while both maintaining the center of gravity of the vehicle below a predefined limit, and ensuring that all of the load in the bin will slide spontaneously towards the central conveyor.
A typical bin width for a vehicle is 88 to 96 inches, with a bin depth of approximately 51 inches to the top of the conveyor. It has been found that in such a vehicle, an incline angle of between 15 to 18 degrees, preferably 16 degrees, is suitable for the inclined terminal regions leading up to a 25 inch conveyor width. The width of this region, measured in the transverse plane of the bin may be in the range 4-6 inches, preferable 4¾ inches. The curved portion of the bin may then have a circular radius of 35 to 40 inches preferably 37 inches, positioned to terminate virtually tangentially with an optional, vertical, upper bin wall portion (typically 14⅜ inches in height), and virtually tangentially with the inclined, terminal flat region.
By combining a curved portion to the bin bottom with an inclined terminal region that ends at the conveyor boundary, the capacity of the bin is maximized while ensuring substantially complete discharge of the load into the conveyor.
The foregoing summarizes the principal features of the invention and some of its optional aspects. The invention may be further understood by the description of the preferred embodiments, in conjunction with the drawings, which now follow.


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