This invention relates generally to a dispensing apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus that can control the quantity of the material to be dispensed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are various types of dispensing apparatus available in the market for dispensing granular material, such as fertilizer, seeds, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides or the like. These apparatus are usually loaded with the material to be dispensed and can be attached to a vehicle. Generally, the conventional apparatus comprises a blower units, hoppers and conveying system.

One of the example for the dispensing apparatus can be found in US 5299888 A. This prior art discloses an apparatus and method for conveying and discharging bulk material including a material feed hopper, a screw conveyor, a transition area and a rotary air valve. The feed hopper is divided by a diverter which distributes feed material into the two ends of a trough having a converging screw conveyor. The converging screw conveyor distributes feed material into a transitional holding area for feeding into a rotary air valve. The rotary air valve has a helical vane design and is equipped with at least one cutting knife to control the amount of bulk material distributed in the pockets between the vanes. A blower provides pressurized air flow into and through the rotary air valve. The pressurized air carries the bulk material from the rotary valve through a conduit to discharge the bulk material at a remote distance.

Another prior art US7775679 discloses an applicator for dropping particulate material, such as fertilizer, to ground level, is formed from one or more hoppers capable of receiving particulate material, mounted on a wheeled main frame. Particles received from dispensing outlets depending from the lowermost section of each hopper are discharged into a horizontal delivery tube, within which is installed an auger shaft which carries helical screw. Rotation of the auger shaft, driven by a drive system, causes the screw to move the received particles to a particle outlet at a predetermined particle delivery rate. A control system, operatively engaged with the drive system, permits the user to determine the rate of auger shaft rotation, as dictated by the user's particle delivery rate requirements. Once particles reach the particle outlet, they are discharged into a conduit, through which they fall to ground level. Conduits serving adjacent dispensing outlets may be paired in order to permit distribution of particles on opposite sides of a row of crops.

However, these dispensing apparatus are not capable of controlling the quantity of the material to be dispensed. The operator has to measure the quantity of the material before the material is loaded into the apparatus, and this causes the operator to make several undesirable trips back to the metering system for refilling when the dispenser run out of material half way during the dispensing operation. Consequently, it causes potential errors and consumes time.

Therefore, the present invention provides such a dispensing apparatus which can control the quantity of the material to be dispensed.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention aims to provide an apparatus for dispensing granular material which overcomes the above described disadvantages associated with comparable conventional apparatus. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for dispensing granular material to adjust quantity of the material to be distributed.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable and calibrated apparatus for dispensing granular material that effectively set and maintain accuracy of the predetermined volume without the use of additional tools.

The present invention provides an apparatus for dispensing granular material comprises: two hoppers disposed one above another; a chamber disposed between the hoppers and having a slidable piston to change the volume of the chamber; and a rotatable receptacle within the chamber to receive material from the upper hopper, wherein the receptacle is rotatable to discharge the material to the lower hopper.

Preferably, the chamber can be calibrated with quantity of the material to be received in it. The receptacle may have a shoehorn alike scoop extended coaxially within the chamber. The scoop can be configured to receive the material from the upper hopper when it is rotated to an upright position, and the surface contour of the scoop blocks the material from entering the chamber and releases the received material to the lower hopper simultaneously when it is rotated to an inverted position. The receptacle can be rotatable by a motor.

Preferably, the apparatus may further comprise a blower disposed below the lower hopper for providing pressurized air to discharge the material from the apparatus. The apparatus may further comprise a sensor module interfacing with the blower for indicating presence of a crop, to facilitate determining an appropriate timing for activating and deactivating the blower.

Preferably, the apparatus may further comprise a tracking module for providing position information of the apparatus. The apparatus can be mounted or can be carried by on a tractor.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify various aspects of some embodiments of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by references to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for dispensing granular material which embodies therein the principle features of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a rotatable receptacle of the apparatus in a position for receiving material; and

Figure 3 shows the receptacle rotated to a position for discharging material. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawing.

Referring to Figure 1, an apparatus (15) for dispensing granular material as illustrated therein comprises two hoppers (1, 2) namely upper hopper (1) and lower hopper (2) disposed one above another. Each hopper (1, 2) has a top opening and a bottom opening. A chamber (3) is disposed in between the upper hopper (1) and lower hopper (2). The chamber (3) is generally cylindrical in shape and positioned horizontally in between the hoppers (1, 2). The chamber (3) has an inlet (14) which is linked with the bottom opening of the upper hopper

(1) and an outlet (13) which is linked with the top opening of the lower hopper

(2) . Material to be dispensed includes fertilizers, seeds or any other granular material. The material is fed through the top opening of the upper hopper (1).

The upper hopper (1) is preferably in the form of a frustoconical funnel that receives the material and feeds them to the chamber (3) through the gravitational force. The chamber (3) is provided with means to control quantity of the received material to be fed to the lower hopper (2) for discharge.

Preferably, the quantity control means comprises a slidable member is disposed within the chamber (3) to adjust or control the quantity of the material to be dispensed from the chamber (3). The slidable member includes a handle (12), threaded shaft (11) and a head member (10). The handle (12) is arranged on one end of the threaded shaft (11) and head member (10) arranged on another end of the threaded shaft (11). The quantity of the material to be dispensed can be controlled by rotating the handle (12) manually or mechanically driven to change the position of the head member (10) along the chamber (3) such that volume of the chamber (3) is controlled to limit the quantity of the received material.

In order for the slidable member to control the volume of the material accurately, it is desirable to calibrate the chamber (3) with a known volume of material. For example, 10 kg of fertilizer can be fed into the upper hopper (1). The fertilizer will be received in the chamber (3). By rotating the threaded shaft (11), the slidable member slides to a position where the material occupied in the chamber (3). Thus, the chamber (3) is calibrated to 10 kg of fertilizer, the same quantity of fertilizer will be received in the chamber for each time.

Referring to Figure 2, the quantity control means further comprises a rotatable receptacle (16) having a shoehorn a-like scoop extended coaxially within the chamber (3) and a shaft (4) extending from one end of the scoop to a position that protrudes out from the chamber (3). The exposed end of the shaft (4) is operatively coupled to a drive system to rotate the scoop. The drive system comprises a drive gear installed on one end of the shaft (4). The drive gear is in turn engaged with a belt (5) which is to transmit rotation movement from a motor (6). When the receptacle (16) is rotated to an upright position as shown in Figure 2, the material from the upper hopper (1) will drop and receives by the scoop. And when the receptacle (16) is rotated to an inverted position as shown in Figure 3, the contour surface of the scoop will block the outlet of the upper hopper (1) and releases the carried material down to the lower hopper (2). As such, the feeding rate of the material to the chamber (3) can be controlled by the rotation speed of the receptacle (16). The material is collected at a collector (9) which is located at the bottom opening of the lower hopper (2).

Preferably, the collector (9) is coupled with a blower (7), configured to generate pressurized air to blow the material into a discharge conduit (8) for the material to be dispensed. The discharge conduit (8) is fitted with a flexible hose for remote distribution of the material.

The activation and deactivation of the blower (7) can be controlled by a sensor module so that the material can be discharged from the discharge conduit (8) at a preset time. The sensor module can comprise of a timer, speed sensor, and any other suitable sensor. The sensor module is programmed to control the apparatus (15) to dispense the material in a desired pattern with an accurate quantity.

The apparatus (15) can be mounted on or carried by a tracker for transportation. Preferably, a location tracking module is arranged in the apparatus (15) to provide location of the apparatus (15). The tracking module can be a Global Positioning System device (GPS) that can provide geographical location of the apparatus (15). The information is transmitted through any communication module to a user device such that the apparatus (15) can be remotely controlled by an operator.

In operation, the operator manually rotates the handle (12) to adjust the volume of the chamber for receiving a desired quantity of material to be dispensed. The material is fed into the receptacle (16) of the chamber (3) via the top opening of the upper hopper (1) until the chamber (3) is fully filled with the material. Then, the volume of the chamber (3) is controlled by adjusting the position of the slidable member. The materials from the chamber (3), passes through the lower hopper (2) into the collector (9). The blower (7) blows the material into the discharge conduit (8) and then dispenses to the ground thereform.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes, which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims, are to be embraced within their scope.