This invention provides dispensing apparatus and method, more particularly of the portable type for dispensing particulate material into cavities such as used automobile tires for the purpose of building tire walls, levees, dikes, breakwaters, reefs or other structures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tires that have been filled with particulate material and compacted have long been used as building blocks in the construction of retaining walls and housing. In the past, the tires were filled and compacted manually in a labour intensive and time consuming process. First, an area was excavated and a row of tires were laid down on their sides. Then a piece of cardboard was placed inside each tire to stop the particulate material (dirt) from exiting the bottom aperture of the tire. The particulate material was then shoveled into the upper aperture of the tire and pushed towards the inner side wall of the tire. Moving the particulate material into the tube area was done with a shovel, sledgehammer or even by hand so more particulate material could be shoveled into the upper aperture of the tire. Once a sufficient amount of particulate material was in the tube area, a sledgehammer was used to compact the material and then more particulate material was added. A hand tamping plate was used to complete the compaction of the particulate material in the tire and level the tire. The process was repeated for each tire in the row until the tires were filled, leveled and compacted to the desired density. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention of a Particulate Material Spreader is an apparatus for efficiently filling a confined area is for example, a used automobile tire, and increasing the density of a compactable particulate material such as soil, gravel, or sand mixtures. The invention is a dispersing apparatus for dispersing a particulate material into a confined area, the confined area having an aperture of reduced or of a closed size, the apparatus comprising, a body portion, a transportation portion, a distribution portion and a separation portion, the transportation portion supplies a flow particulate material from a reservoir to the body portion, the body portion confines the particulate material into the distribution portion, the separation portion detachably engages the aperture and increases its width, wherein when the particulate material exits the distribution portion the particulate material will distribute in an outwardly direction toward a side wall of the confined area.

The invention of an apparatus includes a body portion consisting of a frame constructed of vertical resilient members welded to an upper ring and a lower ring and has a vertically configured frame conduit that is welded at its upper end to the upper ring and extends downwardly within the frame. The frame conduit has apertures at its upper and lower ends so as to receive particulate material dropped under force of gravity from an overhead supply. The frame has a lower protrusion in the form of a rubber base which is bolted to the bottom of lower ring. Welded to the upper ring are vertically oriented motor mount support members which at their upper ends have a motor mounting bracket bolted between the two members. The motor mounting bracket carries a hydraulic motor that is mounted for rotation and is located on the vertical axis of frame and is in line with the stream of particulate material dropped under force of gravity from an overhead supply.

A hydraulic control valve is bolted to one of the motor mount support members and is connected to the hydraulic motor by hydraulic hoses and fittings. The hydraulic motor and hydraulic hoses are covered by the motor cover which is cone-shaped above the hydraulic motor and peaked shaped above the hydraulic hoses so as to allow particulate material to be directed around the hydraulic motor and hydraulic hoses and continue in a downwardly direction with minimal resistance. The hydraulic control valve use quick release couplings for connecting to the hydraulic pump power source by means of hydraulic hoses.

A handle is connected to frame for maneuvering the apparatus by the operator.

Attached to handle is a throttle lever which is uses a throttle cable to connect to the hydraulic valve lever. A lever spring returns the hydraulic valve lever to a neutral position when the throttle lever is released by the operator.

The distribution portion includes an impeller that is mounted vertically for rotation within the frame wherein the impeller is located in-line with the stream of particulate material. An impeller base plate is mounted to the lower ring of frame. The impeller is attached to bearings and uses a coupling to join the impeller to the hydraulic motor. The lower end of the impeller has a plurality of vertical impeller blades and angled plates for transversely engaging the particulate material and propelling it outwardly from the supply outlet of the apparatus and into the tire being filled. The separation portion of the apparatus includes an interchangeable rim that may be cut from a wheel rim of the same size of tire being worked. Only the portion of the wheel rim that comes into contact with the bead structure of the tire is used to produce the rim. The horizontally aligned rim surrounds the frame. The purpose of rim is to support clamps which are attached to the rim by means of hinges. A clamp spring is attached to the rim and the clamp spring is of a size and tension to return the clamp to its

disengaged position when not in use. A cable is attached to the upper end of each clamp and runs through pulleys to a come-along. The come-along is mounted to the frame by means of the come-along support arm.

A rim chain is attached to the rim and the upper ring. The rim chain carries the weight of the rim and everything attached to the rim. The rim chain is of a length so as not to allow the weight of the rim to be supported by the cables. If the weight of the rim was supported by the cables, the clamps would rotate on the axis of the hinges and swing under the sidewall of the tire, thereby making it harder to remove the apparatus from the tire.

The transportation portion includes a spout that is located above the upper ring and has upper and lower apertures that are arranged to allow particulate material to flow, by force of gravity from a reservoir or overhead supply, through the space between the motor cover and inner wall of the spout and then exit the lower aperture. A collapsible spout is located above and is in line with the spout.

A frame debris guard is bolted to the frame and a rim debris guard mounting bracket is mounted to the rim and supports a rim debris guard. The debris guards make contact when the rim is in its elevated position and encloses the confined area to prevent the particulate material from exiting the tire when the apparatus is in operation.

In operation, the present invention is directed towards a method of filling and

compacting particulate material in a confined area such as a used automobile tire for the purpose of using the filled tire as a building block in the construction of a tire wall or other structure. First, an area is excavated and then a row of tires are laid down on their sides to form the foundation of the tire wall. A blank, such as a piece of cardboard, is inserted in the bottom of each tire in order to stop particulate material from flowing out the hole in the bottom of the tire. The apparatus is placed on the first tire with the rim seated firmly on the bead structure of the tire and the rubber base is on the blank in the tire. The changeable rim and rubber base are sized to fit the tire the apparatus is working on.

The operator uses the handle to maneuver the apparatus into the correct position and engages the clamps by pulling the lever of the come-along. The come-along ratchets in cable, which pulls upwardly on the clamps. The clamps are lifted by the cable at their upper ends causing the clamps to pivot on the axis of the hinge thereby causing the lower ends of the clamps to rotate under the upper sidewall of the tire. The clamps are angled at their lower ends so as to improve contact with the sidewall of tire. The operator continues to use the come-along to increase the tension in the cable to fully engage the clamps and lift upwardly on the clamps which in turn apply upwardly force to the underside of the upper sidewall while the rubber base holds the tire down thus causing the distance between the upper and lower sidewalls of the tire to increase. Once the sidewalls of tire have been spread apart the desired distance, the operator uses the lock on the come-along to lock the cable in place.

Then, the operator uses the throttle lever to actuate the hydraulic motor which turns the impeller. Particulate material is sent down the collapsible spout from an the outlet of an overhead supply, bypasses the motor cover, goes through the spout, frame conduit and then the stream of particulate material is transversely engaged by the plurality of spinning blades and angled plates of the impeller. As a consequence, the particulate material is propelled outwardly from the supply outlet of the apparatus and into the tire being filled. The particulate material is propelled outwardly at a velocity so as to cause the particulate material to be compacted against the side wall of the confined area or tire.

Once the tire has been filled with the desired amount of particulate material, the stream of particulate material from the overhead supply is stopped and the operator releases the throttle lever which causes the hydraulic motor to stop. Then, the clamps are disengaged by releasing the lock on the come-along. Once the clamps are no longer under the sidewall of the tire, the apparatus is lifted out of the tire and moved to the next tire in the row to be filled almost full. The apparatus is designed to fill the confined almost full because the apparatus may occupy a portion of the confined area, a tire in this example, while it is in operation. Once the apparatus has filled all of the tires in the row almost full, then the apparatus is disconnected from the collapsible spout and a machine called the Vibratory Plate Compactor with Aggregate Feed System is connect to the lower end of the collapsible spout and used to fill the remainder of each tire and compact the particulate material.

A Vibratory Plate Compactor with Aggregate Feed System includes a frame, a soil compacting plate and a drive mechanism, such as a hydraulic motor, is mounted on the frame and has a rotatable drive shaft which uses a V-belt to drive a vibratory actuator on the tamping plate. The frame also carries a hopper for storing a small supply of particulate material. The hopper is located below, and is open to, the bottom aperture of the collapsible spout. The bottom of the hopper has a hydraulically powered screw conveyor that, when actuated, forces particulate material into a vertical conduit where a motorized tamping piston forces the particulate material downwardly and outwardly through the lower aperture of the vertical conduit, through apertures in the compacting plate and into the tire. The particulate material is then compacted by the bowl-shaped tamping plate with a multitude of blows.

Once the tire has been filled and the particulate material compacted to the desired density, the machine may then be lifted by using a winch connected to the machine's lifting eye and moved to the next tire in the row. The remaining cavity in the tire, which is the shape of the tamping plate, is then filled by shoveling particulate material into the space and then compacted with a hand tamping plate. The rows of tires are offset in a manner similar to brick wall construction and off-setting each row back towards the embankment can give greater support to the structure. The process is repeated until the tire wall is complete. It is also possible to fill and compact particulate material in a confined area by removing the collapsible spout, spout and frame conduit and shovel, or utilize the overhead supply to drop, particulate material, directly above and into the impeller. Also, particulate material may also be deposited directly into the hopper of the Vibratory Plate

Compactor with Aggregate Feed System without the use of the collapsible spout.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is that the distribution portion of the apparatus may replace the motor and impeller configuration with a rigidly constructed pyramid or cone that is pointed at its upper end and gets wider towards its base. The pyramid or cone may be located within the lower portion of frame and in line with the stream of particulate material so as to distribute the particulate material that flows downwardly under the force of gravity and is direct outwardly under the force of inertia after being redirected towards the side wall of the confined area or tire. A vibratory mechanism may be added the pyramid or cone-shaped device so as to propel the particulate material outwardly from the supply outlet of the apparatus with greater force.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description and figures, which form a part of this specification;

Fig. 1 is a side view of an apparatus embodying the subject invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a downwardly angled side view of the impeller of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a top view of the rim, clamps, clamp spring, rim debris guard mounting bracket and rim debris guard of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a close-up view of the rim, clamp, hinge, clamp spring, cable, rim debris guard mounting bracket and rim debris guard of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section view of the lower frame, rubber base, rim and clamp of the present invention, with the clamp in the disengaged, inserted into a tire and on top of a blank; and

Fig. 7 is a cross-section view of the lower frame, rubber base, rim and clamp of the present invention, with the clamp in the engaged position, inserted into a tire and on top of a blank.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention illustrated in figure 1 , an apparatus 10 for efficiently filling a confined area is for example, a used automobile tire 1 1 , and increasing the density of a compactable particulate material 12 such as soil, gravel, or sand mixtures.

The invention of an apparatus 10 of Figure 1 includes a body portion consisting of a frame 13 constructed of vertical resilient members 14 welded to an upper ring 15 and a lower ring 16 and has a vertically configured frame conduit 17 that is welded at its upper end to the upper ring 15 and extends downwardly within the frame 13. The frame conduit 17 has apertures at its upper and lower ends so as to receive particulate material 12 dropped under force of gravity from an overhead supply. Frame 13 has a lower protrusion which may be in the form of a rubber base 18 which is bolted to the bottom of lower ring 16. Welded to the upper ring 15 are vertically oriented motor mount support members 19 which at their upper ends have a motor mounting bracket 20 bolted between the two members 19. The motor mounting bracket 20 carries a hydraulic motor 21 that is mounted for rotation and is located on the vertical axis of frame 13 and is in line with the stream of particulate material 12 dropped under force of gravity from an overhead supply.

Figures 1 and 2 show a hydraulic control valve 22 is bolted to one of the motor mount support members 19 and is connected to the hydraulic motor 21 by hydraulic hoses 23 and fittings. The hydraulic motor 21 and hydraulic hoses 23 are covered by the motor cover 24 which is bolted to the motor mounting bracket 20. The motor cover 24 is cone- shaped above the hydraulic motor 21 and peaked shaped above the hydraulic hoses 23 so as to allow particulate material 12 to be directed around the hydraulic motor 21 and hydraulic hoses 23 and continue in a downwardly direction with minimal resistance. The hydraulic control valve 22 has a line-out quick release coupling 25 and a line-in coupling 26 attached for connecting to the hydraulic pump power source by means of hydraulic hoses.

A handle 27 is connected to frame 13 for maneuvering the apparatus 10 by the operator. Attached to handle 27 is a throttle lever 28 which is uses a throttle cable 29 and cable clamp 30 to connect to the hydraulic valve lever 31. The throttle cable 29 runs through a throttle cable arm 32. The throttle cable arm 32 holds the sheath of the throttle cable 29 in place thereby allowing the throttle cable 29 to pull on the hydraulic valve lever 31. The throttle cable arm 32 loops over the hydraulic valve lever 31 and has a lever spring 33 which is attached between the hydraulic valve lever 31 and the throttle cable arm 32 and is located on the opposite side of the throttle cable 29. The lever spring 33 is of a size and tension that will sufficiently return the hydraulic valve lever 31 to a neutral position when the throttle lever 28 is released by the operator.

Figures 1 , 2 and 3 show an impeller 34 that is mounted vertically for rotation within the frame 13 wherein the impeller 34 is located in-line with the stream of particulate material 12. An impeller base plate 35 is mounted to the lower ring 16 of frame 13. The impeller base plate 35 is attached to bearings 36 which carry a driveshaft 37 of impeller 34. A coupling 38 at the upper end of the driveshaft 37 is utilized to join the impeller 34 to the hydraulic motor 21. The lower end of the driveshaft 37 has a plurality of vertical impeller blades 39 and angled plates 40 for transversely engaging the particulate material 12 and propelling it outwardly from the supply outlet of the apparatus 10 and into the tire 1 1 being filled.

Figures 1 , 2 and 4 shows the separation portion of the apparatus 10 which includes an interchangeable rim 41 that may be cut from a wheel rim of the same size of tire 1 1 being worked on by apparatus 10. Only the portion of the wheel rim that comes into contact with the bead structure of the tire 1 1 is used to produce the rim 41. The horizontally aligned rim 41 surrounds the vertical resilient members 14 of frame 13. The purpose of rim 41 is to support clamps 42 which are attached to the rim 41 by means of hinges 43.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 show that a clamp spring 44 is attached to and located between the rim 41 and clamp 42. The clamp spring 44 is of a size and tension to return the clamp 42 to its disengaged position when not in use. A cable 45 is attached to the upper end of each clamp 42 and runs through pulleys 46 to a commercially available come-along 47. The come-along 47, as shown in figure 1 , is mounted to the frame 13 by means of the come-along support arm 48.

In figures 1 and 2, a rim chain 49 is attached to and between the rim 41 and the upper ring 15. The rim chain 49 carries the weight of the rim 41 and everything attached to it. The rim chain 49 is of a length so as not to allow the weight of the rim 41 to be supported by the cables 45. If the weight of the rim 41 was supported by the cables 45, the clamps 42 would rotate on the axis of the hinges 43 and swing under the sidewall of the tire 11 that the apparatus 10 is working on, thereby making it harder to remove the apparatus 10 from the tire 1 1 as shown in figures 6 and 7.

A spout 50, located above the upper ring 15, surrounds the hydraulic motor 21 and motor cover 24. The spout 50 has upper and lower apertures that are arranged to allow particulate material 12 to flow, by force of gravity from a reservoir or overhead supply, through the space between the motor cover 24 and inner wall of the spout 50 and then exit the lower aperture. A collapsible spout 51 is attached to, located above and is in line with spout 50.

A frame debris guard 53 is bolted to the frame 13. A rim debris guard mounting bracket 54, which is welded to the rim 41 , supports a rim debris guard 55 that is mounted to the rim 41 such that when the rim 41 is in its elevated position the rim debris guard 55 comes into contact with the frame debris guard 53 to enclose the space and prevents the particulate material 12 from exiting the confined area or tire 1 1 when the apparatus 10 is in operation.

The body portion of the apparatus 10 provides a rigid structure for supporting the transportation portion, the distribution portion and the separation portion. The body portion also confines the particulate material into the distribution portion. The body portion consists of the frame 13 which is comprised of the vertical resilient members 14, the upper ring 15, lower ring 16, rubber base 18, motor support members 19 motor mount 20 and handle 27. The frame debris guard 53, rim debris guard mounting bracket 54, and rim debris guard 55 may be considered part of the body portion of apparatus 10 because they act to enclose and confine the particulate material into the distribution portion. The transportation portion supplies a flow of particulate material from a reservoir or overhead supply to the body portion. The transportation portion consists of the frame conduit 17, spout 50, collapsible spout 51 and the collapsible spout chain 52. The distribution portion of apparatus 10 forces the particulate material 12 in an outwardly direction towards a side wall of a confined area. The distribution portion consists of hydraulic motor 21 , hydraulic control valve 22, hydraulic hose 23, motor cover 23, line-in quick release coupling 25, line-out quick release coupling 26, throttle lever 28, throttle cable 29, cable clamp 30, hydraulic valve lever 31 , throttle cable arm 32 and the lever spring 33. The separation portion of the apparatus 10 is for increasing the aperture of the confined area to increase its width in preparation for receiving the particulate material. The separation portion of apparatus 10 consists of rim 41 , clamp 42, hinge 43, clamp spring 44, cable 45, pulley 46, come-along 47, come-along support arm 48 and rim chain 49.

A blank 56 of figure 6 and 7 is usually a piece of cardboard or material with similar properties and is not part of the apparatus 10 but is a crucial part of filling a tire 11 . The blank 56 should be rigid, without folds and is capable of supporting the weight of the apparatus 10 without bending.

In operation, the present invention is directed towards a method of filling and

compacting particulate material 12 in a confined area such as a used automobile tire 1 1 from and overhead supply outlet of a feeding channel in order to achieve efficient and compact accumulation in the confined area. The tire 1 1 is filled for the purpose of using the filled tire 1 1 as a building block in the construction of a tire wall, retaining wall, levee, reef, breakwater or other structure.

To build a tire wall, an area is excavated and then a row of tires 11 are laid down on their sides to form the foundation of the tire wall. A blank 56 is inserted in the bottom of each tire 1 1 in order to stop particulate material 12 from flowing out the aperture in the lower sidewall of the tire 1 1. The changeable rim 41 and rubber base 18 are sized to fit the tire 11 the apparatus 10 is working on. The apparatus 10 is placed in the first tire 11 with the rubber base 18 on top of the blank 56 and the rim 41 is placed directly on the bead structure of upper sidewall of the tire 1 1. The operator uses the handle 27 to maneuver the apparatus 10 into the correct position and engages the clamps 42 by pulling the lever of the come-along 47. The come-along 47 ratchets in cable 45, which pulls upwardly on the clamps 42. The clamps 42 are lifted by the cable 45 at their upper ends causing the clamps 42 to pivot on the axis of the hinge 43 thereby causing the lower ends of the clamps 42 to rotate under the upper sidewall of tire 1 1. The clamps 42 are angled at their lower ends so as to improve contact with the sidewall of tire 1 1. The operator continues to use the come-along 47 to increase the tension in the cable 45 to fully engage the clamps 42 and lift upwardly on the clamps 42 which in turn apply upwardly force to the underside of the upper sidewall while the rubber base 18 holds the tire 1 1 down thus causing the distance between the upper and lower sidewalls of tire 1 1 to increase. Once the sidewalls of tire 11 have been spread apart the desired distance, the operator uses the lock on the come-along 47 to lock the cable 45 in place. Then, the operator actuates the hydraulic motor 21 by using the throttle lever 28 that is attached to the upper end of handle 27. The throttle lever 28 pulls on the throttle cable 29 that is attached to the hydraulic valve lever 31 by means of the cable clamp 30. The movement of the hydraulic valve lever 31 causes the hydraulic motor 21 to actuate and turn the impeller 34. Particulate material 12 is sent down the collapsible spout 51 from an the outlet of an overhead supply, bypasses the motor cover 24, goes through the spout 50, frame conduit 17 and then the stream of particulate material 12 is transversely engaged by the plurality of spinning blades 39 and angled plate 40 of the impeller 34. As a consequence, the particulate material 12 is propelled outwardly from the supply outlet of the apparatus 10 and into the tire 1 1 being filled. The particulate material 12 is propelled outwardly at a velocity so as to cause the particulate material 12 to be compacted against the side wall of the confined area or tire 1 1.

Once the tire 11 has been filled with the desired amount of particulate material 12, the stream of particulate material from the overhead supply is stopped, the operator releases the throttle lever 28 which causes the lever spring 33 to return the hydraulic valve lever 28 to its neutral position thereby causing the hydraulic motor 21 to stop. Then, the clamps 42 are disengaged by releasing the lock on the come-along 47. Once the clamps 42 are no longer under the sidewall of the tire 1 1 , the apparatus 10 is lifted out of the tire 1 1 and moved to the next tire 11 in the row to be filled almost full. The apparatus 10 is designed to fill the confined almost full because the apparatus 10 may occupy a portion of the confined area, a tire 1 1 in this example, while it is in operation. Once the apparatus 10 has filled all of the tires 1 1 in the row almost full, then the apparatus 10 is disconnected from the collapsible spout 51 and a machine called the Vibratory Plate Compactor with Aggregate Feed System is connect to the lower end of the collapsible spout 51 and used to fill the remainder of each tire 1 1 and compact the particulate material 12.

A Vibratory Plate Compactor with Aggregate Feed System includes a frame, a soil compacting plate and a drive mechanism, such as a hydraulic motor, is mounted on the frame and has a rotatable drive shaft which uses a V-belt to drive a vibratory actuator on the tamping plate. The frame also carries a hopper for storing a small supply of particulate material 12. The hopper is located below, and is open to, the bottom aperture of the collapsible spout 50. The bottom of the hopper has a hydraulically powered screw conveyor that, when actuated, forces particulate material 12 into a vertical conduit where a motorized tamping piston forces the particulate material 12 downwardly and outwardly through the lower aperture of the vertical conduit, through apertures in the compacting plate and into the tire 1 1. The particulate material 12 is then compacted by the bowl-shaped tamping plate with a multitude of blows.

The compaction of particulate material 12 creates a space and more particulate material 12 is added by repeating the process. Once the tire 1 1 has been filled and the particulate material 12 compacted to the desired density, the Vibratory Plate Compactor with Aggregate Feed System may then be lifted by using a winch and moved to the next tire 1 1 in the row. The remaining cavity in the tire 1 1 , which is the shape of the tamping plate, is then filled by shoveling particulate material 12 into the space and the particulate material 12 is compacted with a hand tamping plate. Once the row is complete, another row of tires is laid down, a blank 56 is inserted in each tire 11 and the apparatus 10 is attached to the collapsible spout 51 and the process of using the apparatus 10 is repeated. The rows of tires are offset in a manner similar to brick wall construction and off-setting each row back towards the embankment can give greater support to the structure. The process of using the apparatus 10, Vibratory Plate Compactor with Aggregate Feed System and hand tamping plate is repeated until the tire wall is complete.

It is also possible to fill and compact particulate material 12 in a confined area by removing the collapsible spout 51 , spout 50 and frame conduit 17 and shovel, or utilize the overhead supply to drop, particulate material 12, directly above and into the impeller 34 of apparatus 10. Also, particulate material 12 may also be deposited directly into the hopper of the Vibratory Plate Compactor with Aggregate Feed System without the use of the collapsible spout 51 .

An alternative embodiment of the invention is that the distribution portion of the apparatus 10 may replace the motor 21 and impeller 34 configuration with a rigidly constructed pyramid or cone that is pointed at its upper end and gets wider towards its base. And, the pyramid or cone is located within the lower portion of frame 13 and in line with the stream of particulate material 12 so as to distribute the particulate material 12 that flows downwardly under the force of gravity and is direct outwardly under the force of inertia after being redirected towards the side wall of the confined area or tire 1 1. A vibratory mechanism may be added the pyramid or cone-shaped device so as to propel the particulate material 12 outwardly from the supply outlet of the apparatus 10 with greater force. While the present invention has been described and illustrated with respect to the preferred and alternative embodiments it will be appreciated that numerous variations of these embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the claims.