The invention to which this application relates is to apparatus for use in the spreading of materials, particularly, material in the form of particles or powder and particularly but not necessarily exclusively, in relation to the spreading of said materials from agricultural machinery.

The provision of apparatus to allow the mechanical dispensing of material which typically is in a form of particles, granules or powders from a storage container, such as a trailer, onto the ground is well-known. There is a need to be able to ensure that the material is spread evenly and is spread at a reliable rate which is recommended for the particular usage of the material, material type and/ or soil conditions.

Conventionally, the particular material and the rate of spread which is required, will be determined by an agronomist and/or will be as directed on the instructions for use of the material. The apparatus is typically provided with the option to allow the user of the apparatus to set appropriate operating conditions. However, it can be difficult to ensure that the spread of the material which actually occurs, matches that which is required.

In use, it is found that the setting does not necessarily match the actual spread of the material. This can be caused by a number of factors including, blockage of the supply of the material to the spreader, the moisture level of the material which, if relatively high, can cause the material to group together and/or be heavier so that the spread which is achieved from the apparatus is not as desired, malfunction of the apparatus and/ or the spreader apparatus is worn.

The spreader apparatus in one embodiment, may comprise one or a plurality of discs which are provided to be driven to rotate about their central axis and onto a surface of which the material which is to be spread is poured. The disc includes a number of spaced apart vanes which are upstanding from the disc such that as the disc is rotated the vanes contact the material which has landed onto the disc and the rotation and contact causes the material to be flung or cast out from the disc onto the ground and hence spread the material outwardly. It is also found that, conventionally the vane is typically formed by providing a body and then joining, typically by welding, further components to the body to form the overall vane structure. However welding components to the vane can cause the relatively hard wearing material of the vane body to soften and which, in turn causes the vanes to wear unevenly and prematurely and so can result in the incorrect application of material and excessive costs.

Thus, it is found that the wearing over time of the vanes and discs means that the effectiveness of the spreading of the material deteriorates over time reduces until eventually a new disc and/or new vanes is/are required to be installed. The provision of new discs and vanes is expensive and time consuming and, as a result, it is often the case that existing discs and vanes, even though they are worn continue to be used beyond their effective life which, in turn, means that the spreading of the materials which is achieved is inferior and hence does not provide the desired results on the condition of the soil and/or crops.

An aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a new form of apparatus which allows more effective and reliable spreading of materials. A further aim is to remove the need to replace the discs and/ or vanes as frequently and/ or allow the replacement of the spreading vanes to be achieved in a manner which allows the same to be quickly achieved and allow a return to effective spreading and improved spreading of materials from the disc and vanes. A further aim is to provide a vane in a form which provides a more effective and efficient spread of the material.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for the spreading of material, said apparatus including: at least one disc having a surface onto which the said material which is to be spread is dispensed; at least one vane and means for rotating the disc about an axis; wherein the said apparatus includes at least one slot and associated support means to receive and mount said at least one vane thereon, said slot passing from the said surface into the disc and said support means including a portion which is upstanding from at least one surface of said disc such that as the disc is rotated, the at least one vane contacts with the material and causes the same to be dispensed outwardly from said disc in use. Typically, the means for rotating the disc about an axis is the drive means for a vehicle on which the disc is mounted. Typically, the vehicle is an agricultural machine, the apparatus configured to be located at the rear of the agricultural machine which causes the apparatus to be moved across the ground onto which the material is to be dispersed.

In one embodiment, a plurality of support means, slots and vanes are provided. Typically, said support means being located at spaced intervals around the disc and in one embodiment they depend radially outwardly from the said axis of rotation towards the edge of the disc.

Preferably, the at least one support means is configured such that the vane mounted thereon is angled between zero and forty-five degrees with respect to the radius of the disc.

In one embodiment, the said support means are integral with the disc, and in one embodiment, are welded to the disc.

In one embodiment, the at least one slot passes from the surface on which the said material which is dispensed and through the disc to the opposing disc surface, said slot configured to receive therethrough part of the vane so as to provide support and location for the vane. Typically the slot is formed adjacent to and substantially parallel with, support means.

Typically, the support means includes releasable locking means so as to allow the vane to be secured and retained in position with the support means, and hence on the disc, until the vane is required to be removed, for example for the purposes of replacement or maintenance.

In one embodiment the said support means are provided to protrude from the dispensing and opposing surfaces of the disc.

In one embodiment, the apparatus includes two or more dispensing discs each provided to rotate about a respective axis and said axes are substantially parallel, with the discs placed side by side and typically, at the rear of the agricultural machine which causes the apparatus to be moved across the ground onto which the material is to be dispersed.

In one embodiment, the material which is dispersed using the apparatus can be any form of granular or powder material such as for example fertiliser, lime or the like.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a vane for the dispersal of material, said vane including location means for location of the vane with a support means of a rotatable disc, said location means typically provided on a rear face of the vane and the front face of the vane is shaped such that the material which contacts with said front face is thrown outwardly as the vane moves.

In one embodiment, the vane includes a lower portion which passes through a slot in the disc to allow the location of the vane therewith in conjunction with locking means.

Typically the vane is a one piece unitary item and preferably no additional components are welded or otherwise joined to the same to form vane. This therefore avoids the conventional problem caused by the action of welding components to the vane which can soften the material, typically a metal or metal alloy, from which the vane is formed.

In one embodiment, the face of the vane which is to contact the material is provided with a shaped portion or portions so as to define the passage of the material and typically, encourage the material as it dispersed which is being dispersed on the disc surface, to be drawn upwardly onto the vane surface and then moved along the vane towards the outer edge of the disc and be thrown therefrom outwardly onto the surrounding surface. The particular shape of the portion or portions can be determined for particular uses of the vane and dispensing apparatus so that sets of vanes of different shapes can be selected to be fitted to the disc with reference to the type of material which is to be spread.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a vane assembly for the spreading of material, said assembly comprising at least one disc having a surface onto which the said material which is to be spread is dispensed, means for rotating the disc about an axis and at least one vane; wherein the said vane is selectively received and mounted with respect to a slot and a support means of the disc, said support means including a portion which is upstanding from at least one surface of said disc, and the vane is shaped such that the material which contacts with a face of the vane is thrown outwardly from the disc as the vane moves in use.

In certain embodiments, the particular shape and/or size of the vanes are selected to suit particular materials which are to be dispersed and different forms of vanes can be selectively fitted to the disc support means to suit particular dispersal requirements.

Typically the shape and/ or size of a lower portion of the vanes which pass through a support means slot in the disc to allow the location of the vane therewith is similar between different vanes of varying shapes and/ or sizes.

In one embodiment, the configuration and/ or number of support means of the disc may be varied for each disc, such that a particular disc may be selected to suit particular materials which are to be dispersed.

Preferably the configuration of support means are such that the angle of the vane mounted thereon with respect to the radius of the disc and/ or the distance of the vane from the axis of the disc is variable between discs.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for the spreading of material, said apparatus including at least one disc having a surface onto which the said material which is to be spread is dispensed, means for rotating the disc about an axis and wherein the said disc includes at least one support means to receive and mount a vane thereon, said support means including a portion which is upstanding from at least one surface of the disc and, as the disc is rotated the vane mounted on each of said one or more support means contact with the material and cause the same to be dispensed outwardly from said disc.

In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a spreading apparatus, said method comprising the steps of: forming at least one disc having a surface onto which the said material which is to be spread is dispensed; and an opposing surface, forming at spaced intervals a series of slots passing between said surfaces, joining to the disc, adjacent said slots, support means which protrude from at least one of said surfaces, forming a set of vanes having a shaped portion or portions to contact the said material and a locating portion; passing a vane through each of said slots and to abut against said support means adjacent thereto and wherein locking means are provided to allow said vanes to be locked in position with said respective support means and hence with said disc.

Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate agricultural apparatus in accordance with one embodiment, with spreader apparatus in accordance with the invention located therewith;

Figures 3a-c illustrate a spreader two disc in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Figures 4a-b illustrate in more detail, the vane located with the disc in accordance with the invention; and

Figures 5a-h and Figures 6a-h illustrate embodiments of the right and left discs 16,18 of the apparatus;

Figure 7 illustrates the right and left discs formed in accordance with the drawings of Figures 5a-h and 6a-h respectively;

Figures 8a and 8b illustrate a front view of two vanes of varying profiles;

Figures 9a-c illustrate a cross section view of three vanes of varying profiles; and

Figures lOa-d illustrate different disc profiles in accordance with the invention.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, there is illustrated agricultural apparatus 2 comprising, in this embodiment, a tractor 4 with a trailer 6 and mounted at the rear thereof, spreader apparatus 8. The spreader apparatus in this embodiment, includes a quantity of material 10 in the trailer and tank 13 which is to be spread, and dispensing passages 12 which dispense the said material onto the top surface 14 of discs 16,18. The discs are mounted side by side as shown in Figure 2 with the vanes formed so as to cause the material which is dispensed onto the top surface 14 to be thrown to the rear and respective side of the disc so as to provide a wide spread of the material.

One of the discs is shown in more detail in Figures 3a-c and Figures 5a-h and Figures 6a-h. Each of the discs includes a plurality of vanes 20, in this case four vanes, spaced 90 degrees apart around the axis 24 and depending radially outwardly as shown in Figure 2. The said material is spun by the rotating movement of the disc and vanes around axis 24 which is driven to rotate, typically using the drive means from the tractor. As the disc rotates, so the said material contacts the upper surface 14 of the disc and then the vane which is shaped so as to cause the material to pass as indicated by arrows 26 along the first portion 34, to reach a curved upper portion 38 which causes the material to then move towards the edge of the disc and vane as indicated by arrows 36 and be dispersed outwardly by the continued rotation of the discs.

As indicated in Figures 4a-b and Figures 5a-h and 6a-h the vane also includes a lower portion 40 which is located through a slot 42 in the disc and which acts to maintain the vane in position in combination with a locking means bolt 44, which passes through apertures 54,56 formed in the vane and support means 48 respectively which are locked in position and which force the vane against support means 48 which typically are welded to the disc so as to be provided as integral parts of the disc upper, spreading, surface and on the underside 50. The support means, as they attached to the disc by welding avoid the need for the vanes to be welded to be joined to the disc and hence avoid potentially weakening the material from which the vanes are formed.

Thus, it will be appreciated that with the disc including the support means 48 formed and attached by welding thereon, only the vanes 20, which will wear over time, need to be replaced when they are worn or a different type of vane is required to be fitted and used. In accordance with the invention the replacement of the vane can be achieved relatively easily by the removal of the locking means 44 which retain the vane in position with the support means, removal of the vane from the slot in the disc and then be replaced by a new vane or all of the vanes on the disc can be replaced at the same time if required. It has been found that the provision of the vanes 20 as one piece items and the location and support of the same via the support means and slot, significandy increases the lifetime of usage of the vane, possibly by a factor of six times more.

In accordance with the invention, vanes of varying profiles may be implemented with the disc, as can be seen in Figures 8a-b. Vanes 20’ and 20” are of different sizes and have a different material contact face profile. The larger size of vane 20’ may be more suitable for heavier or larger granular size material to be spread, and conversely, the smaller blade size of vane 20” may be more suitable for lighter material to be spread due to its smaller size and, furthermore, the smaller size of vane 20” can results in a faster possible rotation speed of the disc 16 to which the smaller vanes are located with by a support means.

As can be seen in greater detail of the vanes of Figures 8a-b, the vanes each include a recess 52. The recess allows for the vane to engage with the thickness of a disc 16 when the same is located within a slot 42 of the disc 16. This engagement acts as a further means to locate the vane with the disc, and to ensure the alignment of the apertures 54,56. It will be seen that, despite the varying blade size of the vanes 20’, 20”, the slot profile is consistent between the two.

As can be seen in Figures 9a-c, varying vane profiles may be located with the disc to achieve varying distribution paths of the material to be spread. As can be seen in the Figures, the lower portions of the vanes 40 that extend through to the underside of the disc 50 are typically the same shape so as to allow them to be aligned with the support means 48 of the disc but the portions of the vane which depend upwardly from the upper, spreading, surface of the may be provided of different shapes and configurations. As such, a particular set of vanes may be selectively located with the same support means 48 of the disc. This therefore enable adaptation of the disc assembly to allow distribution of varying materials and/ or distribute the material at varying rates and/ or distances without the need to replace the disc itself.

Figures lOa-d illustrate different embodiments of discs 16 tn accordance with the invention. The disc may be configured such that the angle of the vanes 20 with respect to a radius 58 of the disc may vary. The disc 16’ has vanes provided at an angle of 45 degrees, whilst the vanes of the disc 16” are provided at an angle of zero degrees. The discs may also vary such that the distance of the vanes 20 from the centre of the disc may vary between the different discs, as indicated by 60 in the Figures. The discs may also be provided in different configurations such that in one embodiment there is an increased number of location spots such that a greater number of vanes may be held, as shown for example with disc 16””. Alternatively, the disc may be configured so as to include location means for different vane profiles, as shown with disc 16’”.

As such, the discs may be selected to provide distribution of materials in varying rates and/or spread profiles for different needs of a user.

It will therefore be appreciated that the shaping of the vanes, in conjunction with the ease of use of the same, and the lack of requirement for the same to be welded to the disc represents a significant step forward in the use of spreading apparatus.

The invention therefore provided apparatus and a method of forming the apparatus for the spreading of material, typically a granular or powder material for agricultural purposes, said apparatus including at least one disc having a surface onto which the said material which is to be spread is dispensed, means for rotating the disc about an axis and wherein the said disc includes at least one support means and typically a slot to receive and mount a vane thereon, said support means including a portion which is upstanding from at least one surface of the disc and, as the disc is rotated the vane mounted on each of said one or more support means contact with the material and cause the same to be dispensed outwardly from said disc. Typically the vanes are provided as single piece items and can be selectively removed and replaced on the disc without affecting the integrity of the vane or disc.