Hose reeler assembly

Abstract

A hose reeler assembly 100 for a slurry distribution apparatus has a chassis 20 with a spool 10 mounted on a chassis 20. The chassis has a main portion 21 and side members 22, 23 from which telescopic

Description

The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to a hose reeler assembly for apparatus for applying effluent to land, in particular to a hose reeler assembly adapted for mounting on the front of, or rear of, or towing behind an agricultural vehicle, for example a tractor. Background to the Invention Slurry from livestock has long been applied to fields to improve the nitrogen content of the soil. Whilst slurry was traditionally crudely sprayed onto the land from pressurised slurry tankers via a splash plate, slurry hosing for manure spreading is becoming more and more popular in agriculture. This umbilical system for slurry handling involves pumping slurry from a tank using a high-pressure pump, via a flexible pipeline, to a tractor mounted applicator unit. A pipeline is laid across the field to be fertilised, the pump is started and the tractor mounted applicator unit is then driven over the area to apply slurry close to the ground. The pipeline is pulled across the field only once and can be driven over without any problems. Before and after use, the flexible slurry hose is stored on a tractor mounted hose reeler assembly, comprising a powered reel upon which the pipeline is wound. The flexible pipeline is typically made up of multiple lengths of lay-flat hose (usually 200m per length) connected end to end, to provide a total pipeline length of typically 600m. Pipelines with internal pipeline diameters of from about 100mm to about 200mm are most commonly used. Reels are available to carry various multiples of 100m or 200m, with total capacities ranging from 600m to 1000m per machine, and are either tractor 3-point link mounted or trailed. GB 2601181 A discloses a pipeline storage reel assembly fora slurry distribution apparatus comprising a reel upon which a flexible pipeline or hose may be wound, the reel being mounted on a support frame for rotation about an axis of rotation. The support frame is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle, such as a tractor, via a coupling frame pivotally coupled to the support frame about a substantially vertical pivot axis. However, a problem with this pipeline storage reel assembly is that the pipeline storage capacity is low for a given chassis width. It is a therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hose reeler assembly which overcomes the drawbacks of known solutions or at least provides a suitable alternative. Summary of the Invention The present invention addresses the problem of increasing the capacity of a hose reeler whilst adhering to road regulations for agricultural motor vehicles. This problem is solved by inverting the drive means such that they do not extend outwardly from the side of the chassis of the hose reeler assembly to increase the width thereof. The present invention relates to a hose reeler assembly comprising a chassis with a spool and drive means at either end, characterised in that the drive means are located on the interior rather than the exterior of the chassis. The invention is set out in the claims. The terms reel and spool are used herein interchangeably. Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention is a hose reeler assembly for a slurry distribution apparatus, the hose reeler assembly comprising a reel upon which a flexible pipeline may be wound, the reel of the hose reeler assembly being mounted on a chassis for rotation about an axis of rotation, wherein drive means are provided at each end of the reel for driving the reel about said axis of rotation in a first direction to wind the pipeline onto the reel and in a second direction, opposite said first direction, to unwind the pipeline from the reel, and wherein the chassis comprises a main portion extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the reel and side members extending from either end of the main portion perpendicular to the chassis, between which side members the reel is supported, characterised in that each drive means independently is located on the interior of the chassis. The advantage provided by having such inverted drive means, that is the drive means being located on the interior of the chassis rather than extending outwardly from the side of the chassis is that, for the same width of hose reel assembly, a bigger spool may be used and thus a higher hose storage capacity may be achieved. This is especially advantageous due 13 03 24 to road regulations dictating that the maximum width of agricultural motor vehicles should not exceed 2.55m without certain extra requirements such as advance police notification. The drives means extend towards each other and do not extend outwardly from the side of the chassis. 5 The drive means are mounted on the interior surface of the side members. That is, one drive means is mounted to the interior surface of one side member and the other drive means is mounted to the interior surface of the other side member. Providing drive means at each end of the reel ensures the necessary torque required to pull the pipeline into the machine. 10 Each drive means independently is located on the interior of the side members substantially adjacent to the main chassis portion in order to maximise the space between the reel and the drive means so as to enable maximum hose storage capacity. Each drive means independently comprises at least one motor, for example a hydraulic motor. Each drive means preferably drives a chain and sprocket arrangement or a gear-to-gear drive 15 system. In embodiments comprising a gear-to-gear drive system, the reel of the assembly may be dropped out of the chassis and interchanged for another reel, e.g., when the reel is empty or full. An idler or guide roller may be used to guide the hose onto the hose reel. The chassis may be supported by telescopically retractable support legs, preferably two 20 telescopically retractable support legs. The telescopically retractable support legs are preferably located the junction of the main chassis portion and side members. The hose reeler assembly may be mounted to the front or rear of a vehicle such as a tractor. The main portion of the chassis preferably has engagement means mounted thereon to engage with corresponding means on an agricultural motor vehicle, for example to allow the hose reel assembly to be coupled to a three-point linkage or to an A-frame. In another aspect, the invention provides a slurry distribution apparatus comprising an applicator means for applying slurry to the ground, a slurry reservoir, a flexible pipeline for delivering slurry from said slurry reservoir to said applicator means, a hose reeler assembly as described hereinabove and a vehicle upon which the hose reeler assembly is mounted whereby the flexible pipeline can be laid across a field and / or recovered, the chassis being mounted on the vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the flexible pipeline for delivering slurry comprises one or more lengths of lay-flat hose. In operation of a slurry distribution apparatus provided with a hose reel assembly with a gear-to-gear drive system, after the hose reel assembly has been lowered to the ground, there are preferably no hydraulic hoses or complicated fixings which require adjustment or removal when detaching the reel, for example, there may be just one pin for the operator to remove before unhitching the reel. The vehicle, e.g., tractor, may then be driven out of the reel and go on to collect the next reel. The skilled person will understand that where the same feature has been referenced in different aspects of the invention, this feature comprises the same parts and operates in the same way unless otherwise stated. Brief Description of the drawings Certain preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred hose reeler assembly according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front view of the assembly of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side view of the assembly of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of a preferred hose reeler assembly according to the invention with the spool removed. Detailed Description In overview, a hose reeler assembly for a slurry distribution apparatus is provided, the hose reeler assembly comprising inverted drive means. That is, the hose reeler assembly comprises a chassis with a spool and drive means near each end of the spool, characterised in that the drive means are mounted on the interior surface of the chassis so as to keep the width of the hose reeler assembly to a minimum. Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, where like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views. It will be appreciated that the invention should not be construed to be limited to the examples, which are now described; rather, the invention is construed to include any and all applications provided herein and all equivalent variations within the skill of the ordinary artisan. Referring to the drawings, there is shown a preferred hose reeler assembly according to the invention for a slurry distribution apparatus (not shown), the hose reeler assembly generally referred to herein by reference numeral 100 and comprising a hose reel or spool 10 on which a flexible hose (not shown) may be wound. Spool 10 is mounted on chassis 20 for rotation about an axis of rotation. Chassis 20 comprises a main portion 21 extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of spool 10 and side members 22, 23 extending from either end of main portion 21 perpendicular to chassis 20, between which side members 22, 23 spool 10 is supported. Main portion 21 is provided with engagement means 26 to engage with corresponding means on an agricultural motor vehicle (not shown), for example to allow assembly 100 to be coupled to a three-point linkage or an A-frame. In the preferred embodiment shown in the Figures, chassis 20 is supported by two telescopically retractable support legs 24, 25 located at the junctions of main chassis portion 20 and side members 22, 23, respectively. Spool 10 is driven about the axis of rotation (not shown) by hydraulic drive units 31, 32. By driving spool 10 in one of two opposite directions it is possible either to wind the hose onto the spool 10 or to unwind the hose from spool 10 respectively. As shown in the drawings, hydraulic drive unit 31 is mounted to the interior surface of side member 22 substantially adjacent to main chassis portion 21 and hydraulic drive unit 32 is mounted opposite to hydraulic unit 31 on the interior of side member 23 adjacent to main chassis portion 21 such that hydraulic drive units 31, 32 extend towards each other and do not extend outwardly from chassis 20. Hydraulic drive units 31,32 are inwardly facing so as to keep the width of hose reeler assembly 100 to a minimum. Preferably, each hydraulic drive unit 31, 32 independently is coupled to a source of hydraulic fluid provided on the vehicle (not shown) upon which assembly 100 is mounted, preferably via suitable hydraulic hoses and couplings. Hydraulic drive units 31, 32 drive a chain and sprocket arrangement for mechanically rotating hose spool 10, wherein sprocket 70 is welded to the axle of one end of hose spool 10, as shown in Figure 5, and another sprocket (not shown) is welded to other end of the axle of hose spool 10. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein which are given by way of example only and that various modifications and additions are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A hose reeler assembly for a slurry distribution apparatus, the hose reeler assembly comprising a reel upon which a flexible pipeline may be wound, the reel of the hose reeler assembly being mounted on a chassis for rotation about an axis of rotation,wherein drive means are provided at each end of the reel for driving the reel about said axis of rotation in a first direction to wind the pipeline onto the reel and in a second direction, opposite said first direction, to unwind the pipeline from the reel,and wherein the chassis comprises a main portion extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the reel and side members extending from either end of the main portion perpendicular to the chassis, between which side members the reel is supported,wherein one drive means is mounted to the interior surface of one side member and the other drive means is mounted to the interior surface of the other side member, wherein each drive means independently is located substantially adjacent to the main chassis portion and wherein each drive means extends towards the other and does not extend outwardly from the chassis and wherein each drive means independently comprises a motor; andcharacterised in that the main portion of the chassis comprises two horizontally spaced apart frame members extending generally parallel to the axis of rotation of the reel, the drive means being mounted between said horizontally spaced frame members and at least partially below the axis of rotation of the reel,and the two horizontally spaced apart frame members comprise an upper frame member and a lower frame member, the lower frame member being offset relative to the upper frame member such that the lower frame member is locatable closer to the reel than said upper frame member.

2. The hose reeler assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each drive means independently comprises a hydraulic motor.

3. The hose reeler assembly as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each drive means drives a chain and sprocket arrangement or a gear-to-gear drive system4. The hose reeler assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the chassis is supported by telescopically retractable support legs.

5. The hose reeler assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the chassis is supported by two telescopically retractable support legs, wherein each leg independently is located at a junction of the main chassis portion and a side member.

6. The hose reeler assembly as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the main portion of the chassis has engagement means mounted thereon to engage with corresponding means on an agricultural motor vehicle.

7. A slurry distribution apparatus comprising a hose reeler assembly as claimed in any preceding claim and further comprising an applicator means for applying slurry to the ground, a slurry reservoir, a flexible pipeline for delivering slurry from said slurry reservoir to said applicator means, and a vehicle upon which the hose reeler assembly is mounted, whereby the flexible pipeline can be laid across a field and / or recovered, the chassis being mounted on the vehicle.

8. The slurry distribution apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the flexible pipeline comprises one or more lengths of lay-flat hose.21 01 25

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