Dispenser for silage additive

Claim 2

A dispenser for discharging a silage additive onto silage while being conveyed under the dispenser at a substantially uniform rate for discharging a predetermined quantity of additive uniformly to the silage, said dispenser comprising a substantially vertical hopper adapted to receive a quantity of pulverulent additive material, said hopper including a bottom plate having an opening therein, a slide gate having an aperture therein underlying the bottom plate with the slide gate being movable between a closed position and an open position with the aperture therein aligned with the opening in the bottom plate, an agitator shaft mounted in said hopper, means rotating the agitator shaft, and anticlogging means on the lower end of the agitator shaft for retaining the bottom plate and opening therein free of clogged material to retain the discharge rate from the dispenser substantially uniform.

Claim 3

A dispenser for discharging a silage additive onto silage while being conveyed under the dispenser at a substantially uniform rate for discharging a predetermined quantity of additive uniformly to the silage, said dispenser comprising substantially vertical hopper adapted to receive a quantity of pulverulent additive material, said hopper including a bottom plate having an opening therein, a slide gate having an aperture therein underlying the bottom plate with the slide gate being movable between a closed position and an open position with the aperture therein aligned with the opening in the bottom plate, an agitator shaft mounted in said hopper, means rotating the agitator shaft, and means on the lower end of the agitator shaft for retaining the bottom plate and opening therein free of clogged material to retain the discharge rate from the dispenser substantially uniform, said means on the lower end of said agitator shaft including a transversely extending and axially facing brush in engagement with the bottom plate.

Claim 4

A dispenser for discharging a silage additive onto silage while being conveyed under the dispenser at a substantially uniform rate for discharging a predetermined quantity of additive uniformly to the silage, said dispenser comprising substantially vertical hopper adapted to receive a quantity of pulverulent additive material, said hopper including a bottom plate having an opening therein, a slide gate having an aperture therein underlying the bottom plate with the slide gate being movable between a closed position and an open position with the aperture therein aligned with the opening in the bottom plate, an agitator shaft mounted in said hopper, means rotating the agitator shaft, and means on the lower end of the agitator shaft for retaining the bottom plate and opening therein free of clogged material to retain the discharge rate from the dispenser substantially uniform, said means on the lower end of said agitator shaft including a transversely extending and axially facing brush in engagement with the bottom plate.

Claim 5

The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said brush includes a plurality of relatively stiff steel bristles.

Claim 6

The structure as defIned in claim 3 wherein said agitator shaft includes a plurality of radially extending agitator rods, said rods being staggered vertically and circumferentially of the shaft for preventing the material from bridging across the hopper.

Claim 7

The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said hopper is substantially conical in configuration with the terminal ends of the agitating rods disposed adjacent the inner surface thereof.

Claim 8

The structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said means for driving the shaft includes an electric motor and reduction gear unit drivingly connected with the agitator shaft to drive the agitator shaft at a relatively slow rotational speed.

Claim 9

The structure as defined in claim 6 wherein said slide gate includes at least one aperture therein for detachably receiving a limit pin to limit the movement of the slide gate to determine the portion of the aperture in the slide gate aligned with the opening in the bottom plate of the hopper for controlling the rate of discharge from the dispenser.

Claim 10

The structure as defined in claim 7 together with flexible control means connected with the slide gate and adapted to extend to a remote position for sliding the slide gate between its open and closed position from a remote point.

Claim 11

The structure as defined in claim 1 together with agitator means connected to said agitator shaft for agitating the pulverulent material within the hopper.

Claim 12

The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said anticlogging means is slidably engaged with said bottom plate.

Claim 13

The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said anticlogging means includes resilient means intermittently extending over and partially into said opening in the bottom plate for wiping the opening free when rotated by said rotating means.