Manually operated applicator having a plurality of rotors for dispensing particulate material

Claim 1

A manually operated applicator adapted to distribute precisely controlled quantities of particulate material comprising in combination a hopper for said particulate material having an opening at a lower extremity thereof, an elongated discharge conduit extending below the hopper from said opening and control means located in the upper portion of said discharge conduit for controlling the amount of particulate material discharged from said applicator, said control means comprising a plurality of rotors horizontally mounted for rotation within a cylindrical housing, said housing surrounding said rotors and having openings therein in communication with said hopper and said discharge conduit to permit particulate material to flow from the hopper through the rotor to the discharge conduit, said rotors containing cavities therein for metering the amount of particulate material flowing therethrough, said rotors being spaced from the closed portion of said housing by a small annular clearance to permit a small but controlled amount of particulate material to enter said clearance, said rotors being fixedly mounted on a shaft journaled at both ends thereof on bearings mounted within said cylindrical housing, at least one of said bearings being axially adjustable to accommodate said rotors of varying axial width and an arm fixedly mounted on said shaft for manually rotating said rotors wherein one of said rotors is fixedly mounted on said shaft and another rotor is fixedly attached to said one rotor by a snap-fit.