U.S. patent number 3,743,191 [Application Number 05/169,276] was granted by the patent office on 1973-07-03 for anti slug device for hammermills.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Farmhand, Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert R. Anderson.
United States Patent |
3,743,191 |
Anderson |
July 3, 1973 |
ANTI SLUG DEVICE FOR HAMMERMILLS
Abstract
A portable feed grinder including an open topped feed receiving
tub mounted on a mobile frame and having a generally horizontal
stationary bottom wall and a peripheral side wall mounted for
rotation on the generally vertical axis of the tub. A hammermill
rotor is disposed in an opening in the tub bottom wall for feed
grinding rotation on a generally horizontal axis and is partially
encompassed by an underlying perforate screen member. Stationary
hammer elements mounted on the bottom wall cooperate with hammers
on the rotor to chop or grind material in the tub.
Inventors: |
Anderson; Robert R. (Greeley,
CO) |
Assignee: |
Farmhand, Inc. (South Hopkins,
MN)
|
Family
ID: |
22614963 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/169,276 |
Filed: |
August 5, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
241/73; 241/190;
241/101.761 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B02C
13/13 (20130101); B02C 21/02 (20130101); B02C
13/04 (20130101); B02C 18/067 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B02C
13/04 (20060101); B02C 18/06 (20060101); B02C
13/00 (20060101); B02C 13/13 (20060101); B02C
21/00 (20060101); B02C 21/02 (20060101); B02c
013/04 (); B02c 013/13 (); B02c 021/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;241/11M,46.08,73,86,88,190,189R,101.7 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kelly; Donald G.
Claims
I claim:
1. In a portable feed grinder including; a mobile frame, an open
topped tub structure having a stationary bottom wall and circular
peripheral wall mounted for rotation on the generally vertical axis
of the tub structure, said bottom wall having an opening
therethrough, said opening extending generally radially from
adjacent the axis of the tub structure toward said peripheral wall,
a grinder rotor disposed in said opening and journaled for rotation
on a generally horizontal axis extending longitudinally of the
opening, said rotor including a rotor shaft and a plurality of
axially and circumferentially spaced relatively movable hammers
operatively carried by said shaft for common rotation therewith, a
grinder screen underlying and partially encompassing said rotor,
and means for imparting rotation to said tub and grinding rotation
to said rotor; the combination of mounting plate means disposed
adjacent one side of said opening in the bottom wall, a plurality
of rigid plate-like relatively stationary hammer elements
projecting in generally vertical planes from said mounting plate
means and disposed in spaced-apart parallel relationship
transversely of the axis of said rotor, each of said relatively
stationary hammer elements extending generally toward the opposite
side of said opening laterally from said mounting plate means and
between paths of travel of different spaced ones of said relatively
movable hammer, said relatively stationary hammer elements being
disposed above the axis of rotation of said rotor and below the top
of a circle defined by the radially outer ends of said relatively
movable hammers during rotation of the rotor.
2. The portable grinder defined in claim 1 in which said mounting
plate means has a top surface sloping downwardly toward said
opening, said relatively stationary hammer elements projecting
upwardly from said top surface.
3. The portable grinder defined in claim 2 in which said bottom
wall includes a ramp portion sloping downwardly toward said opening
and terminating in a downturned flange defining one side of said
opening, said mounting plate means having a downturned lip in
laterally inwardly spaced parallel relation to said flange for
reception therebetween of a portion of said grinder screen, and
means anchoring said mounting plate means on said ramp portion.
4. The portable grinder defined in claim 1 in which said relatively
movable hammers are disposed in axially spaced groups, each group
including a plurality of said axially and circumferentially spaced
hammers, each of said relatively stationary hammer elements being
disposed between a different pair of adjacent groups of said
relatively movable hammers.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Portable feed grinders generally of the type commonly known as
hammermills are known, these utilizing rotary hammers only and
being devoid of stationary hammer elements between which the rotary
hammers travel. These prior devices are adapted to receive material
to be ground, such as hay, corn and other bulk feed material, from
handling devices, such as conveyors, power forks and similar means.
Often the feed material to be ground is dumped into the tub in
rather large clumps, imposing a severe shock load on the hammermill
rotor and tending to jam or overcrowd the grinding apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention provides a plurality of stationary hammer elements
mounted on a mounting plate that is secured to the stationary
bottom wall of the tub adjacent the hammermill opening
therethrough. The stationary hammer elements are disposed in
parallel relationship transversely of the axis of the hammermill
rotor and spaced apart axially of the rotor. The stationary hammer
elements project upwardly from the mounting plate and are each
disposed between the path of rotary travel of a different pair of
axially adjacent ones of the hammers on the hammermill rotor. The
stationary hammer elements are disposed above the axis of the rotor
and below the top of a circle defined by the radially outer ends of
the hammers during free rotation of the rotor. The stationary
hammer elements cooperate with the rotary hammers to break up the
clumps in a primary zone at substantially the level of the tub
bottom wall, the broken-up clumps being ground to the desired size
between the hammermill rotor and the underlying portion of the
perforate screen member.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a tub type grinder containing
the device of this invention, some parts being broken away;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in top plan and
partly in horizontal section, taken substantially on the line 2--2
of FIG. 1, some parts being broken away;
FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary section taken
substantially on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in top plan of a portion of FIG. 2;
and
FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentray section taken on the line 5--5 of
FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A generally rectangular frame 1 is shown as being supported by
pneumatic tire equipped wheels 2, and is adapted to be connected to
a traction vehicle, such as a tractor or the like, not shown, but
by means of a hitch bar 3. An open topped tub structure, indicated
generally at 4, comprises a horizontally disposed stationary bottom
wall 5 comprising an upper bottom wall section 6 and a lower bottom
wall section 7, the bottom wall sections 6 and 7 being suitably
supported on the frame 1. The tub structure 4 further includes a
cross-sectionally circular peripheral wall 8 that is mounted on an
annular channel member 9 supported from the frame 1 by a plurality
of circumferentially spaced supporting rolls 10 journaled on
brackets 11 rigidly secured to opposite sides of the frame 1. The
annular channel 9 is held against lateral movement by a plurality
of circumferentially spaced guide rollers 12 that are suitably
journaled in a subframe member 13 shown fragmentarily in FIG. 5,
the subframe member 13 supporting the stationary bottom wall 5 from
the frame 1 in a suitable manner.
Rotary movement is imparted to the peripheral wall 8 of the tub
structure 4 by a pneumatic tire equipped drive wheel 14 that is
suitably journaled in the frame 1 for rotation on a vertical axis
parallel to the axis of the tub structure 4, the drive wheel 14
tangentially engaging the outer circumferential surface of the
annular channel 9 to impart rotation thereto. The drive wheel 14 is
driven from a conventional fluid pressure operated motor 15 by
means of a pulley 16 mounted fast on an output or drive shaft 17 on
the motor 15, a second pulley 18 mounted fast on the shaft 19 of
the wheel 14, and an endless drive belt 20 entrained over the
pulleys 16 and 18. The motor 15 is driven from a pump 21 that is
operatively coupled to gearing, not shown, within a gear box 22
having an input shaft 23 and an output shaft 24. A pulley 25 is
mounted on the output shaft 24 and is coupled to a second pulley 26
mounted on a shaft 27 which drives the pump 21, an endless belt 28
being entrained over the pulleys 25 and 26. The input shaft 23 is
connected to an elongated drive shaft 29 by means of a universal
coupling 30, the shaft 29 being adapted to be connected to the
power take-off mechanism of the tractor, not shown. The drive
arrangement is such that the peripheral wall 8 of the tub structure
4 rotates in a clockwise direction with respect to FIG. 2, for a
purpose which will hereinafter become apparent.
The lower floor section 7 defines a generally rectangular opening
31 therethrough, the opening being generally rectangular and
extending radially from substantially the axis of the tub structure
4 to the peripheral wall 8 thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, one side of
the opening 31 is defined by a downturned flange portion 32 of the
lower bottom wall section 7, the opposite side of the opening 31
being defined by a channel member 33 having a ramp portion 34 that
slopes downwardly from the bottom wall 7 toward the opening 31. At
its inner edge portion, the member 33 is formed to provide a
downturned flange 35. A hammermill rotor, indicated generally at
36, includes an axial shaft 37, a plurality of circular plate
members 38 mounted on the shaft 37 and held in predetermined
spaced-apart relationship by spacer plates or the like 39, a
plurality of circumferentially spaced mounting rods 40 extending
through aligned openings in the plate members 38 in radially
outwardly spaced parallel relationship to the axis of the shaft 37,
and a plurality of hammers 41 having transverse openings 42
adjacent their opposite ends for mounting the hammers 41 at either
of their opposite ends on the mounting rods 40, for swinging
movements of the hammers 41 about the axes of their respective
mounting rods 40. The rotor shaft 37 is disposed generally
centrally between the opposite sides of the opening 31 in the lower
bottom wall section 7 and below the level of the bottom wall
section 7 so that, when the rotor 36 is rotated and the hammers 41
are disposed to project radially outwardly with respect to the
shaft 37, the radially outer ends of the hammers 41 will project
above the level of the lower bottom wall section 7, as shown in
FIG. 3. The opposite ends of the rotor shaft 37 are suitably
journaled in bearings, not shown, in the well-known manner. As
shown by full and dotted lines in FIG. 2, the rotor shaft 37 is
operatively connected to the output shaft 24 of gear box 22 by
means of a connecting shaft 43 and a pair of universal couplings
44. The hammermill further includes a cross-sectionally generally
U-shaped screen 45 having opposite side edges disposed adjacent the
flange portion 32 and flange 35, the screen 45 underlying and
partially encompassing the rotor 36, and being secured in place by
the usual well-known means, not shown. In the embodiment of the
grinding rotor shown, the hammers 41 are disposed in axially spaced
groups of axially and circumferentially spaced hammers. The groups
are diagrammatically shown in FIG. 2 and shown in greater detail in
FIG. 4.
When material to be ground, such as hay, corn or other feed
material, is delivered to the tub structure 4, the feed material
falls on both bottom wall sections 6 and 7. The material which
falls upon the bottom wall section 6 is carried around by rotation
of the peripheral wall 8 to the opening 31 where it is ground by
the hammers 41, the ground feed being discharged through the
apertures of the screen 45 to a hopper like portion 46 underlying
the screen 45. The ground material falls on a belt conveyor 47
underlying the hopper 46, the conveyor 47 delivering the material
to a delivery belt conveyor shown more or less diagrammatically in
FIG. 1 and indicated at 48. The conveyor 48 is supported by a pair
of legs 49, extending upwardly from frame 1, one of the legs being
shown in FIG. 1, and a pair of ties or links 50, one of which is
shown in FIG. 1.
When hay or other feed material is dumped into the tub structure 4
to be ground, it is often in the form of large clumps of material
which, when such clumps move into engagement with the rotating
hammers 41, often impose a severe shock load on the rotor 36, and
tend to become jammed or at least overcrowded into the space
between the plate members 38 and the underlying screen 45,
interfering with efficient operation of the grinder. For the
purpose of preventing such shock loads and jamming of material into
the hammermill, I provide a plurality of rigid plate-like
stationary hammer elements 51 having outer ends welded or otherwise
rigidly secured to an elongated mounting plate 52. The mounting
plate 52 extends longitudinally of the opening 31 in the lower
bottom wall section 7, and rests upon the ramp portion 34 of the
channel member 33. The ramp portion 34 and mounting plate 52 are
provided with a plurality of cooperating longitudinally spaced
slots for reception of nut-equipped clamping screws or the like 54.
Further, the mounting plate 52 is formed to provide a downturned
longitudinally extending flange 55 between which and the flange 35
the adjacent longitudinally edge of the screen 45 is disposed. The
stationary hammer elements 51 project vertically upwardly from the
mounting plate 52 and extend longitudinally in a direction
transversely of the axis of the hammermill rotor 36, each
stationary hammer element 51 being disposed between the paths of
travel of adjacent pairs of the groups of said hammers 41, see
FIGS. 2 and 4. With reference to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the
stationary hammer elements 51 are disposed above the level of the
axis of the hammermill rotor 36 and below the top of a circle
described by the radially outer ends of hammers 41 when the hammers
41 extend radially outwardly with respect to the rotor shaft 37.
With this arrangement of stationary hammer elements 51 relative to
the groups of hammers 41, large clumps of hay, corn or other feed
material dumped into the tub structure 4 are initially broken up
into smaller clumps in the zone or region of the stationary hammer
elements 51, and are more efficiently and fully ground to smaller
particle size by the hammers 41 against the bottom portion of the
screen 45. Further, with the above-described arrangement shock
loads against the hammermill rotor 36 are reduced to a minimum with
a resultant smoother end more efficient grinding operation.
The above-described invention has been fully tested and found to be
completely satisfactory for the accomplishment of the objective set
forth; and, while I have shown and described a preferred embodiment
of my improvement in portable feed grinder construction, it will be
appreciated that the same is capable of modification without
departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in
the claims.
* * * * *