Granular spreader assembly

Abstract

An auger may have a spiral blade that extends radially outwardly from a shaft and that has resiliently-deformable material at the radial outer edge that physically contacts the inner surface of the tube in which the auger is positioned. When the auger is not rotated, the physical contact of the resiliently-deformable material on the inner surface of the tube may prevent granular material from flowing through the opening in the tube.

I/we claim: 
     
         1 . A granular spreader assembly comprising:
 a storage container that: (1) is supportable to an associated vehicle positioned on an associated ground surface; (2) is suitable to contain associated granular material; and, (3) comprises an opening through which the associated granular material flows when exiting the storage container;   a tube having an inner surface defining an opening that communicates with the opening in the storage container;   an auger that: (1) comprises a shaft having an axial centerline; (2) comprises a spiral blade that: (a) extends radially outwardly from the shaft; (b) has a radial outer edge; (c) wraps around the shaft at least 360 degrees in a spiral manner; and, (d) comprises resiliently-deformable material that extends at least 360 degrees along the radial outer edge; and, (3) is positioned within the opening in the tube such that the resiliently-deformable material physically contacts the inner surface of the tube defining the opening in the tube; and,   wherein the auger can be adjusted between: (1) a first condition where the shaft is rotated about its axial centerline to flow the associated granular material from the storage container, along the spiral blade, through the opening in the tube, and onto the associated ground surface; and, (2) a second condition where the shaft is not rotated about its axial centerline and the spiral blade prevents the associated granular material from flowing between the radial outer edge of the spiral blade and the inner surface of the tube.   
     
     
         2 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 1  wherein:
 the auger is non-segmented; 
 the spiral blade comprises a first section and a second section that is non-continuous with the first section; 
 the first section wraps around the shaft at least 360 degrees in a spiral manner; 
 the second section wraps around the shaft at least 360 degrees in a spiral manner; 
 the resiliently-deformable material extends at least 360 degrees along the radial outer edge of the first section; and, the resiliently-deformable material extends at least 360 degrees along the radial outer edge of the second section. 
 
     
     
         3 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 2  wherein:
 the first section wraps around the shaft more than 360 degrees; 
 the second section wraps around the shaft more than 360 degrees; 
 the resiliently-deformable material that extends along the radial outer edge of the first section extends more than 360 degrees; and, 
 the resiliently-deformable material that extends along the radial outer edge of the second section extends more than 360 degrees. 
 
     
     
         4 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 1  wherein the auger is positioned with the axial centerline at an angle that is one of: (a) perpendicular with respect to the associated ground surface; and, (b) an acute angle of at least 45 degrees with respect to the associated ground surface 
     
     
         5 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 1  wherein the resiliently-deformable material physically contacts the inner surface of the tube defining the opening in the tube with an interference of at least 1/16 of an inch along at least 180 degrees of the spiral blade wrap. 
     
     
         6 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 5  wherein the interference of at least 1/16 of an inch is along at least 360 degrees of the spiral blade wrap. 
     
     
         7 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 5  wherein the interference is at least ⅛ of an inch along the least 180 degrees of the spiral blade wrap. 
     
     
         8 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 1  wherein the resiliently-deformable material is one of brush bristles, rubber, and polymer. 
     
     
         9 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 1  wherein the spiral blade has a radial width and the resiliently-deformable material comprises at least 50% of the radial width. 
     
     
         10 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 9  wherein the resiliently-deformable material comprises at least 70% of the radial width. 
     
     
         11 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 10  wherein the resiliently-deformable material comprises at least 90% of the radial width. 
     
     
         12 . The granular spreader assembly of  claim 1  wherein the resiliently-deformable material comprises an axial thickness of at least 1/16 of an inch. 
     
     
         13 . A method of using a granular spreader assembly comprising the steps of:
 (A) providing a granular spreader assembly comprising:
 a storage container that: (1) is supportable to an associated vehicle positioned on an associated ground surface; (2) is suitable to contain associated granular material; and, (3) comprises an opening through which the associated granular material flows when exiting the storage container; 
 a tube having an inner surface defining an opening that communicates with the opening in the storage container; and, 
 an auger that: (1) comprises a shaft having an axial centerline; and, (2) comprises a spiral blade that: (a) extends radially outwardly from the shaft; (b) has a radial outer edge; and, (c) wraps around the shaft at least 360 degrees along the radial outer edge; 
   (B) providing a resiliently-deformable material that extends at least  360  degrees along the radial outer edge;   (C) positioning the auger within the opening in the tube such that the resiliently-deformable material physically contacts the inner surface of the tube defining the opening in the tube; and,   (D) adjusting the auger between: (1) a first condition where the shaft is rotated about its axial centerline to flow the associated granular material from the storage container, along the spiral blade, through the opening in the tube, and onto the associated ground surface; and, (2) a second condition where the shaft is not rotated about its axial centerline and the spiral blade prevents the associated granular material from flowing between the radial outer edge of the spiral blade and the inner surface of the tube.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein:
 step (A) comprises the steps of: providing the auger to be non-segmented; providing the spiral blade to comprise a first section and a second section that is non-continuous with the first section; wrapping the first section around the shaft at least 360 degrees in a spiral manner; and, wrapping the second section around the shaft at least 360 degrees in a spiral manner; and, 
 step (B) comprises the steps of: extending the resiliently-deformable material at least 360 degrees along the radial outer edge of the first section; and, extending the resiliently-deformable material at least 360 degrees along the radial outer edge of the second section. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein:
 step (A) comprises the steps of: wrapping the first section around the shaft more than 360 degrees in a spiral manner; and, wrapping the second section around the shaft more than 360 degrees in a spiral manner; and, 
 step (B) comprises the steps of: extending the resiliently-deformable material more than 360 degrees along the radial outer edge of the first section; and, extending the resiliently-deformable material more than 360 degrees along the radial outer edge of the second section. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  wherein step (C) comprises the step of:
 positioning the auger with the axial centerline at an angle that is one of: (a) perpendicular with respect to the associated ground surface; and, (b) an acute angle of at least 45 degrees with respect to the associated ground surface. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13  wherein step (C) comprises the step of:
 contacting the inner surface of the tube with the resiliently-deformable material with an interference of at least 1/16 of an inch along at least 180 degrees of the spiral blade wrap. 
 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13  wherein step (B) comprises the step of:
 providing the resiliently-deformable material to be one of brush bristles, rubber, and polymer. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising the steps of:
 providing the spiral blade with a radial width; and, 
 providing the resiliently-deformable material to comprise at least 50% of the radial width. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13  wherein step (B) comprises the step of:
 providing the resiliently-deformable material to comprise an axial thickness of at least 1/16 of an inch.