Vertical feed mixers are known for cutting and mixing hay, forage and other feed ingredients, and for discharging the mixed composition into cattle feed bunks. These prior art vertical feed mixers include a floor and a sidewall defining a mixing chamber with a vertically disposed auger therein. Knife blades are typically mounted on the outer edge of the auger flighting so as to cut hay and forage that is deposited into the chamber from the open upper end. A discharge opening at the lower end of the mixing chamber allows the mixed feed composition to be pushed outwardly by the leading edge of the rotating auger.
In the vertical mixer industry, it is known that mixing is improved within the mixing chamber by directing the feed material inwardly toward the center of the auger. By directing the feed flow toward the center of the auger, the full width of the flighting is utilized so as to increase the amount of feed lifted by the auger. Therefore, a greater volume of feed is pulled and lifted from the bottom of the feeding chamber by the auger and moved upwardly to the top of the auger where the feed material spreads outwardly and falls downwardly along the opposite ends of the mixing chamber. This percolation process is repeated many times during a mixing cycle and is important to produce thorough mixing of the feed material. The directing of the feed material inwardly towards the center of the auger as it is lifted by the auger flighting decreases the mixing time, reduces fuel or energy consumption, and minimizes wear on the mixer components.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,416 discloses a plate mounted angularly across the lower flighting adjacent the leading edge to direct feed material towards the auger mandrel or shaft. Such a deflector plate mounted across the flighting requires increased horsepower for auger rotation. Also, the angularly disposed deflector of U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,416 is also subjected to increased wear from the flow of feed material over the deflector.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved vertical feed mixer and method for mixing feed material.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a vertical feed mixer having one or more deflectors to direct feed material inwardly toward the auger mandrel.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a vertical feed mixer having a plurality of feed deflectors extending substantially parallel to the peripheral edge of the auger flighting to scrape feed material from the sidewall of the mixing chamber and to direct the material inwardly along the flighting.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved vertical feed mixer having scrapers for pulling or scraping feed material from adjacent the sidewall of the mixer.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved vertical feed mixer which is economical to manufacture and durable and efficient in use.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.