IE48136B1 - Apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of feed or like material from a silo or like container - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for cutting out end removing blocks of feed material from a silo comprises a vertical frame 1 to which mutually parallel tines 11 lying in a horizontal plane are attached, a downwardly extending cutter or knife, not shown, attached to travelling gearing, not shown, mounted above the tines on a substantially U-shaped bridge 12, a disintegrating conveyor 13 arranged to engage the cut rectangular block of material to disintegrate the block, and a horizontal reversible conveyor 8 for carrying the disintegrated material to one or other side of the apparatus so that it can be fed into individual feed troughs.

Description

This invention relates to apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of feed or like material from a silo or like container and is particularly concerned with a silage cutter for cutting blocks of silage out of a silo and disintegrating them.

German Patent Specification No. 2,307,689 describee apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of feed material from a silo comprising a vertical frame to which mutually parallel tines lying in a horizontal plane are attached. A downwardly extending cutter or knife is attached to a travelling gearing mounted above the tines a distance substantially equal to the length of the cutter on a substantially Π-shaped bridge attached to the frame, the gearing being moved mechanically.

With this previously proposed apparatus, a feed block of e.g. silage, is cut out of a silo and placed in a passage way in front of cattle feed troughs. The operator must then divide the feed into the individual feed troughs, whereby, according to the number of individual feed troughs, he must make a number of journeys between the feed block and the individual feed troughs. Apart from the weight of the load to be carried, the return journeys are wasteful of time, especially for distant feed troughs, and of effort.

-- „ For large cow houses, a considerable amount of work is involved in dividing the feed into the individual feed troughs. Furthermore, free movement' in the passage in front of the feed troughs is impeded by depositing the cut out feed blocks in the passage.

Xt is, therefore, an object of the present invention to improve the previously proposed apparatus. According to the present invention there 1b provided apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of feed or like material from a silo or like storage container, comprising a vertical frame, horizontally extending parallel tines attached to said frame, a substantially U-shaped bridge attached to said frame and located at a level above said tines, travelling gearing movable along said bridge, a cutter carried by said travelling gearing, a reversible, horizontally extending conveyor arranged adjacent said tines where they are attached to said frame, and disintegrating conveyor means mounted below said bridge and for up and down movement, the arrangement being such that, when the.tines are driven into said material in said container and the travelling gearing is operated, a rectangular block of material is cut out and can then be disintegrated by engagement of the disintegrating conveyor means on the block, whereafter the disintegrated material is carried by said reversible conveyor to one or other side of the apparatus.

With the present apparatus the division of the feed (silage) into the Individual feed trouts can be effected without manual labour, and an effective and rapid working cycle with a high throughput can be carried out In a short time. As the present apparatus also serves to disintegrate the feed block and transport the resulting,disintegrated feed into the feed trough, it is no longer necessary to deposit the feed block in a passage between the troughs and access along the passage is permitted.

With regard to the width of the passage, thie can almost equal that of the feed block, so that the space available will favourably satisfy local conditions.

Feed blocks, which are made of silage, no longer have to the stand for long periods but, as soon as they are cut out oi/silo, they are disintegrated and fed to the individual troughs, so that the possibility that the feed blocks would decay and ferment upon long standing, making them unsuitable for fodder, is eliminated.

In order to enable the invention to be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example an embodiment thereof, and in whioh:10 Fig. 1 Is a sectional side view of apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of silage from a silo, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus along the line II - II in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus with parts removed 15 for clarity.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of silage or other feed from a silo, the apparatus comprising a vertical frame 1 formed from an upper beam 2, a lower carrier 3 and stays 4» 5 and 6. A lug 7 formed with a hole is mounted in the frame 1 whereby the apparatus can be attached to the rear of a tractor or to the three-point linkage thereof.

A conveyor belt 8 extending for the width of the apparatus is mounted in the lower carrier 3 and can be driven in either direction by a reversing motor 9· Tines 11 are secured to the carrier 3 of the frame 1 by means of a bracket 10 which also carries the belt 8.

A narrow, substantially XT-shaped bridge 12 (only part of which is shown in Fig. 3) is mounted at a distance above the tines 11 on the 4S136 frame 1 and at right angles thereto, preferably at the ends of the upper beam 2. Travelling gearing (not shown) is arranged on the bridge 12 to move a cutter or knife (also not shown) from one end of the bridge to the other.

A eoraper conveyor 13 ie mounted horizontally below the level of the bridge 12 and, on its working Bide, is provided with scraper bars 14 which are arranged to operate on the upper side of a feed block F. The scraper conveyor ie drivable by a motor 15 and is 'fixed to a vertical tube 16 which is mounted for vertical movement up and down in a guide tube 17. Instead of a scraper conveyor 13, it is to be appreciated that other disintegrating conveying means could he used, such as a chain conveyor or worm conveyor. The guide tube 17 is rotatably mounted in a retaining arm 18 whioh is secured to the upper beam 2 of the frame 1. The guide tube 17 and thus the scraper conveyor 13 can he turned through 180° in the direction of the arrows A in Fig. 3 by means of a piston and cylinder arrangement 19 operable by a mechanism 20.

In the operation of the apparatus just described to out a feed block T, the tines 11 are driven into the silage, while the travelling gearing is located at one end. of the bridge 12. As soon as the tines have entered the silage, the travelling gearing is set in operation from the tractor and the cutter Is driven through the silage and cuts a rectangular block F therefrom. When the travelling gearing reaches the other end of the bridge, it operates limit switches (not shown) which causes the gearing to come to rest. The feed block F can then he transported to feed troughe and divided into individual feed troughs.

The division of the silage into individual feed troughs is effected by the scraper conveyor 13 whioh operates on the upper side of the feed block and sorapes the silage from the block 6nto the conveyor belt 8 which conveys the silage, if necessary over a retractable guide plate 21 or 22, into the troughs. As the oonveyor belt 8 is reversible, that 1b to say it can convey in either direction, it is possible to convey silage to feed troughs on each side of the apparatus on one journey of the apparatus.

As the scraper oonveyor is swingable about a vertical axis 10 and movable up and down, it is possible for the scraper conveyor fully to disintegrate the feed block F.

Claims (7)

1. CTAIffit

1. Apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of feed or like material from a silo or like storage container, comprising a vertical frame, horizontally extending parallel tines attached to 5 said frame, a substantially U-shaped bridge attached to said frame and located at a level above said tines, travelling gearing movable along said bridge, a outter carried by said travelling gearing, a reversible, horizontally extending conveyor arranged adjacent said tines where they are attached to said frame, and disintegrating 10 conveyor means mounted below said bridge and for up and down movement, the arrangement being such that, when the tines are driven into said material in said container and the travelling gearing is operated, a rectangular block of material is cut out and can then be disintegrated by engagement of the disintegrating conveyor means on the 15 block, whereafter the disintegrated material is carried by said reversible conveyor to one or other side of the apparatus.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the disintegrating conveyor means is swingable through 180°. J. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the disinte2o grating conveyor means is a narrow scraper conveyor, the working side of which is provided with scraper bars.

3. 4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3« wherein the disintegrating conveyor means is mounted on a vertical tube, which is mounted for vertical up and down movement in a guide tube secured 25 to the frame by a retaining arm.

4. 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the vertical tube is rotatably mounted in the retaining arm.

5.

6. Apparatus as chimed in claim 4, wherein the guide tube is swingable through 180° by means of a piston and cylinder arrangement 5

7. Apparatus for cutting out and removing blocks of feed or like material from a silo or like storage container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.