Flail-type rotor for a material spreader

Claim 1

In a flail-type manure spreader having a material holding tank with opening means and a shaft extending longitudinally to said opening means and rotatably mounted in said tank, said shaft having a plurality of groups of flails positioned axially therealong and a group of flails having first and second assemblies of flails with the first assembly at 90* to the second assembly, said first assembly having first and second flails axially spaced a given distance apart on the same side of said shaft and third and fourth flails on the opposite side of said shaft and spaced apart less than the given distance to create substantially balancing movements on centrifugal extension of said flails, said second assembly having fifth and sixth flails axially spaced the given distance apart on the side 90* from the side of the first and second flails and seventh and eighth flails on the opposite sides of said shaft therefrom and spaced apart less than the given distance to create substantially balancing movements on centrifugal extension of said flails, said first and second assemblies axially offset less than the axially distance between said first and third flails to axially alternate the flails of said first and second assemblies so that on rotation of said shaft said flails of said first and second assemblies alternately subscribe paths through said tank for a substantially balanced rotation of said shaft.