JP7568219B2 - Fertilizer mixing structure of fertilizer spreader - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applied. Performance test conducted at Toki Toshio's farm on April 9, 2020.

The present invention relates to a fertilizer spreader that spreads fertilizer on farm fields, and more specifically, to a fertilizer mixing structure of a fertilizer spreader that uniformly mixes fertilizer poured into a hopper.

In general, a large fertilizer spreader is configured to spread fertilizer on a farm field while being towed by a towing vehicle such as a tractor. A general structure of such a fertilizer spreader will be described with reference to FIG .

In Fig. 6 , reference numeral 2 denotes a horizontally long hopper towed by a towing vehicle such as a tractor (not shown), into which fertilizer can be poured. Reference numeral 4a denotes a mixing section for mixing the multiple types of fertilizer poured into the hopper 2, and is configured to mix the fertilizers uniformly with agitating blades 42a. Reference numeral 5 denotes a spreading section provided at the bottom of the hopper 2, and is configured to drop the fertilizer from intermittent holes 26 provided in the bottom plate. When spreading fertilizer using such a fertilizer spreader, the fertilizer is poured into the hopper 2, uniformly mixed in the mixing section 4a, and then dropped from the holes 26 provided in the bottom of the hopper 2 (see, for example, the following patent documents).

JP 2019-201563 A

However, when storing fertilizer in the hopper of such a fertilizer spreader, the following problems arise:

In other words, generally, multiple fertilizers are charged into the hopper 2, and these charged fertilizers are mixed uniformly in the mixer section 4, but since the conventional agitator blades 42a are rectangular as shown in Fig. 7 , a large load is applied to the linear tip edge of the agitator blades 42a. This poses the problem that a large torque is required to rotate many agitator blades 42a.

In addition, because the conventional agitator blade 42a is rectangular, the left and right edges of the agitator blade 42a can only mix fertilizer at the rear end, which creates the problem that it takes time to mix a large amount of fertilizer evenly.

The present invention was made with the above problem in mind, and aims to provide a fertilizer spreader that can reduce the torque of the rotating shaft and quickly mix the fertilizer when mixing the fertilizer put into the hopper of the fertilizer spreader.

That is, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a fertilizer spreader comprising a hopper for storing fertilizer, a mixing section for mixing the fertilizer stored in the hopper by rotating a rotating shaft to which a plate-shaped agitating blade is attached, and a spreading section for spreading the fertilizer mixed in the mixing section, wherein the agitating blade is configured with a front plate section having a convex edge section in which the central tip portion facing the direction of rotation is curved in a convex shape, and a rear plate section bent from the front plate section toward the rear of the direction of rotation of the front plate section, and a thin plate-shaped arm is provided on the rear plate section which is connected to the rotating shaft and aligned in the direction of rotation .

In the invention, the arm is curved along the direction of rotation.

According to the present invention , the tip of the blade is smoothly curved, so that the load on the blade can be dispersed without damaging the granular fertilizer at the tip. Also, when the granular chemical fertilizer strikes the curved part in a crosswise manner, a vortex is generated, so that the granular chemical fertilizer can be mixed uniformly.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a fertilizer spreader showing an embodiment of the present invention. Schematic diagram showing the mixing section and the spreading section of the fertilizer spreader in the same configuration. FIG. 1 shows the stirring blades of the mixing section in the same embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the vortex generated by the stirring blade in the same configuration. FIG. 2 shows the spray unit in the same embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a mixing section of a conventional example. FIG. 1 shows a conventional stirring impeller.

The cover opening and closing structure used in a fertilizer spreading device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The fertilizer spreading device in this embodiment is used while being towed by a towing vehicle such as a tractor, and as shown in FIG. 1, is configured with a hopper 2 that stores fertilizer, a mixing section 4 that uniformly mixes the fertilizer stored in the hopper 2, and a spreading section 5 provided below the hopper 2. Characteristically, as shown in FIG. 3, a convex edge 42e is provided at the tip side of the stirring blade 42 provided in the mixing section 4, with the central portion being convex, so that the load applied to the tip portion is distributed along the edge. This embodiment will be described in detail below.

The hopper 2 of this fertilizer spreading device is long and long, and is configured so that fertilizer can be stored inside when the cover 3 is opened. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the hopper 2 is configured with an upper front plate 21f and an upper rear plate 21b that are arranged facing each other from the front to the rear, an intermediate inclined plate 22 below which the gap width in the front to rear direction gradually decreases downward, a lower inclined plate 23 below the intermediate inclined plate 22 and further reducing the gap width on the inside, and a bottom wall 24 and a bottom plate 25 below the lower inclined plate 23 that surround the agitator 53 of the spreading section 5.

The mixer 4 provided inside the hopper 2 mixes the fertilizer contained in the hopper 2 and allows the fertilizer to fall through the hole 26 (see Figure 6) in the bottom plate 25. The driving force from the tractor's PTO is transmitted to the transmission 6 (see Figure 2), which rotates the mixing blades 42 together with the rotating shaft 41 of the hopper 2.

The spreading unit 5 provided at the bottom of the hopper 2 is adapted to drop the fertilizer gathered to the center by the agitating blades 42 toward the field, and is configured to include holes 26 ( see FIG. 5 ) provided intermittently in the bottom plate 25, a shutter 51 for closing the holes 26, and a sliding mechanism for sliding the shutter 51. The sliding mechanism is configured to slide the shutter 51 provided below the bottom plate 25 in the left-right direction, and the amount of spreading can be adjusted by overlapping the rectangular opening 51a with the hole 26 of the bottom plate 25. The spreading unit 5 is also provided with an agitator 53, which rotates a blade 54 provided on a rotating shaft 52 to cause the fertilizer to fall from the hole 26.

In this configuration, the mixing section 4 for uniformly mixing the fertilizer is configured as follows:

First, the rotating shafts 41 are provided in pairs in the front-rear direction of the hopper 2, and are configured to be driven by the transmission 6 (see Figure 2) so that they rotate with their central portions facing upward.

On the other hand, the agitating blades 42 are attached to the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 41 so as not to interfere with the agitating blades 42 of the rotating shafts 41 provided in front and behind, and are configured to agitate and mix the fertilizer uniformly by the rotation of the agitating blades 42. The agitating blades 42 are attached to the tip portions of two thin plate-shaped arms 43 having flat surfaces along the direction of rotation. If the front edge portions of the arms 43 are linear along the radial direction, the fertilizer will hit the linear front edge portions of the arms simultaneously when the rotating shaft 41 is rotated, and a large load will be applied to the rotating shaft 41. Therefore, in this embodiment, the shape is made to have a front edge portion curved so that the tip side is delayed in the direction of rotation, and the load applied to the front edge portion of the arms 43 is distributed along the front edge.

The mixing blade 42 attached to the tip of this arm 43 is designed to uniformly mix the fertilizer contained in the hopper 2, and is composed of a front plate portion 42a and a rear plate portion 42b, which are made of a single thin plate-like member.

Of these, the front plate portion 42a is provided at the tip side in the rotation direction of the agitating blade 42, and is configured to have a convex edge portion 42e that is curved in a convex shape at the center of the tip, as shown in Figure 3. As a result, even if fertilizer hits the convex edge portion 42e, the load of the fertilizer is dispersed along the curved edge, so that a large load is not applied. Furthermore, when the convex edge portion 42e is provided in this manner, as shown in Figure 4, when the agitating blade 42 is rotated, the fertilizer that hits the edge of the convex edge portion 42e convects in a vortex, so that the fertilizer can be mixed quickly .

On the other hand, the rear plate 42b provided behind the front plate 42a is formed so as to bend or curve from the front plate 42a toward the inside of the rotation center, and is configured in a substantially rectangular shape with both left and right sides parallel to each other. This shape increases the amount of fertilizer that can be scooped up by the inner surface of the mixing blade 42, making it easier to mix, and also ensures space to attach the arm 43 to the inner surface. When the rear plate 42b is bent or curved from the front plate 42a in this way, the front plate 42a of the mixing blade 42 is positioned close to the inner wall of the hopper 2, and the rear plate 42b is bent so as to be slightly away from the inner wall of the hopper 2. This configuration allows the fertilizer near the inner wall of the hopper 2 to be moved toward the center and mixed.

Next, we will explain the operation of mixing fertilizer using the fertilizer spreader 1 configured in this manner.

First, when adding fertilizer to the hopper 2, the cover 3 is opened and the bagged chemical fertilizer is added through the upper opening 20. At this time, the fertilizer is added evenly along the horizontal direction of the hopper 2, and other types of chemical fertilizer are added in the same way, one after the other from above. At this time, the added fertilizer is stored in the hopper 2 in layers.

After the fertilizer is added in this manner, the rotating shaft 41 of the mixing section 4 is rotated to mix the fertilizer evenly in the hopper 2.

When mixing fertilizer in this way, the pair of rotating shafts 41, one at the front and one at the back, are rotated so that their central portions face upward. Then, as the agitator blades 42 rotate, the fertilizer is scooped up and mixed by the agitator blades 42. At this time, because the convex edge 42e of the agitator blades 42 protrudes in a curved shape, the fertilizer that hits the convex edge 42e escapes along the edge, dispersing the force. This makes it possible to reduce the torque applied to the rotating shaft 41. Similarly, the force of the fertilizer that hits the front edge of the arm 43 can also be dispersed along the curved edge.

When the agitator 42 is rotated while dispersing the force acting on the agitator 42 and the arm 43 in this manner, the fertilizer that crosses the convex edge 42e of the agitator 42 convects in a vortex as shown in Figure 4, allowing the fertilizer in that area to be mixed.

After mixing the fertilizer for a certain period of time, the rotating shaft 52 of the agitator 53 of the spraying unit 5 is rotated, and the blades 54 attached to the rotating shaft 52 move the fertilizer toward the hole 26. The shutter 51 covering the hole 26 is then slid, and the amount of fertilizer sprayed is adjusted while adjusting the amount of overlap with the opening 51a of the shutter 51, causing the fertilizer to fall.

According to the above embodiment, in the fertilizer spreader 1 including the hopper 2 for storing fertilizer, the mixing section 4 for mixing the fertilizer stored in the hopper 2 by rotating the rotating shaft 41 to which the plate-shaped agitating blades 42 are attached, and the spreading section 5 for spreading the fertilizer mixed in the mixing section 4, the agitating blades 42 are configured to include a front plate section 42a having a convex edge section 42e in which the central portion of the tip facing the direction of rotation is curved in a convex shape, and a rear plate section 42b bent from the front plate section 42a toward the rear in the direction of rotation of the front plate section 42a, and the rear plate section 42b is provided with a thin plate-shaped arm 43 connected to the rotating shaft 41 and aligned in the direction of rotation, so that a vortex can be generated in the granular chemical fertilizer , and the granular chemical fertilizer and the like can be mixed uniformly.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be implemented in various ways.

For example, in the above embodiment, the mixing unit 4 is described as rotating the horizontal rotating shaft 41 to rotate the mixing blades 42, but the present invention can also be applied to a fertilizer spreader in which a rotating shaft is provided on the central axis of an inverted cone-shaped hopper to mix fertilizer. In this case, the rotating shaft is attached along the vertical axis, and mixing blades 42 similar to those in the above embodiment are attached to the outer periphery of the rotating shaft.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the front plate portion 42a is configured as a flat plate, but it may be configured as a curved plate. In this case, it is preferable to make the curved surface shaped to follow the direction of rotation.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the arm 43 is curved so that the outside lags behind, but it may be curved so that the outside advances along the direction of rotation.

1... Fertilizer spreader 2... Hopper 25... Bottom plate 26... Hole portion 4... Mixing portion 41... Rotating shaft 42... Mixing blade 5... Spraying portion 6... Transmission

Claims (2)

A hopper for containing fertilizer;
A mixing unit that rotates a rotating shaft to which a plate-shaped mixing blade is attached and mixes the fertilizer contained in the hopper;
A spraying unit that sprays the fertilizer mixed in the mixing unit;
A fertilizer spreader comprising:
The stirring blade is
A front plate portion having a convex edge portion in which a tip central portion facing the rotation direction is curved convexly;
A rear plate portion is provided so as to be bent from the front plate portion toward the rear in the rotation direction of the front plate portion,
A fertilizer spreader characterized in that a thin plate-shaped arm is provided on the rear plate portion, the arm being connected to the rotating shaft and aligned in the direction of rotation . 2. The fertilizer spreader according to claim 1, wherein the arm is curved along the direction of rotation.

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