Solid distribution systems for an agricultural spreader

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12557728-B2
Application number	US-202418765618-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2024
Priority date	Aug 17, 2023
Publication date	Feb 24, 2026
Grant date	Feb 24, 2026

Abstract

A solid distribution system of an agricultural spreader includes a product hopper configured to contain solid particulate material, a blower, a manifold coupled to the blower and having a plurality of outlets, at least one boom arm comprising a plurality of parallel rigid tubes configured to carry the solid particulate material and air from the blower, and a plurality of hoses. The manifold is configured to split air flow from the blower into flows through each of the plurality of outlets. Each valve is in fluid communication with one of the outlets and one of the rigid tubes, and each valve individually controls flow through a respective one of the rigid tubes. Vehicles having such solid distribution systems are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A solid distribution system of an agricultural spreader, comprising:
a product hopper configured to contain solid particulate material; at least one blower; at least one manifold coupled to the at least one blower and having a plurality of outlets, wherein the manifold is configured to split air flow from the at least one blower into flows through each of the plurality of outlets; a first boom arm and a second boom arm extending in opposing directions from the manifold, each boom arm comprising a plurality of parallel rigid tubes configured to carry the solid particulate material and air from the at least one blower; a plurality of valves, each valve in fluid communication with one of the outlets and one of the rigid tubes, wherein each valve individually controls flow through a respective one of the rigid tubes; and a distributor configured to pass the solid particulate material from the product hopper to the parallel rigid tubes without passing through the valves.

2 . The solid distribution system of claim 1 , wherein the distributor comprises a conveyor belt.

3 . The solid distribution system of claim 1 , wherein the distributor comprises a housing configured to direct an approximately equal amount of material to each of the rigid tubes.

4 . The solid distribution system of claim 1 , wherein the distributor defines a plurality of exits, wherein each exit is open to a respective parallel rigid tube.

5 . The solid distribution system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of hoses, each hose connecting one of the valves to one of the parallel rigid tubes.

6 . The solid distribution system of claim 5 , wherein an outlet of each of the hoses is axially aligned with a respective parallel rigid tube.

7 . The solid distribution system of claim 1 , wherein each of the parallel rigid tubes of the first boom arm are of a different length, and wherein each of the parallel rigid tubes of the second boom arm are of a different length.

8 . The solid distribution system of claim 1 , further comprising an outlet at an outboard end of each rigid tube.

9 . The solid distribution system of claim 1 , wherein:
the at least one blower comprises a first blower and a second blower; the at least one manifold comprises a first manifold and a second manifold, wherein the first manifold is coupled to the first blower and the second manifold is coupled to the second blower; the first boom arm is configured to carry the solid particulate material and air from the first blower; and the second boom arm is configured to carry the solid particulate material and air from the second blower.

10 . A vehicle comprising the solid distribution system of claim 1 .

Assignees

• Agco Corp

Inventors

• Smith Evan Thomas
• Pell David

Classifications

• A01C15/04

  using blowers · CPC title

• A01C15/02 Primary

  for hand use · CPC title