Presses – Methods – With heating or cooling
Patent
1997-08-11
1998-09-01
Gerrity, Stephen F.
Presses
Methods
With heating or cooling
100 35, 100 73, 100 74, 100303, 100304, 100315, B30B 1534, A23N 1700
Patent
active
057995729
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the compaction of crops and certain other materials of a fibrous nature.
The apparatus of the invention can be utilised as either a mobile or stationary apparatus.
BACKGROUND ART
In the area of crop transport and storage, a particular problem of the prior art is concerned with compaction of the crop to the optimum density. A specific example occurs in the matter of filling containers which are of fixed volume and shape and designated for a fixed maximum payload. In this situation, there will be a given crop density for a crop which will exactly fill the volume of the container at the maximum allowable weight. A crop which is more dense than this predetermined density will reach the maximum allowable payload weight before entirely filling the volume of the container. Equally, a crop of less density will entirely fill the volume of the container but will not reach the maximum allowable payload. In the overdense case, unnecessary energy has been expended on compacting the crop for no gain. In the underdense situation, the container is being under utilised and therefore transport of the crop is inefficient leading to additional expense.
Currently, compaction of crop or fiber is performed by a system known as "double dumping" or "triple dumping" wherein the crop is either teased apart and then recompacted or simply compacted to a high degree using mechanical force upon crop that has previously been cured to an appropriate moisture content.
A subsidiary problem is control or management of moisture content of the crop or fiber immediately before, during and immediately after compaction.
In particular, moisture content or storage under compressed conditions may not be the desired moisture content for harvesting. Treatment of crops in order to alter or control their moisture content at the time of harvesting and so as to provide better or optimum harvest moisture content conditions for a crop is addressed in Australian Patent No. 561,014 (see also U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,605 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,857).
These prior art patents do not address compaction efficiency problems and/or humidity control problems consequent or in relation to compaction processes.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In the description to follow, the terms "fiber", "fibrous" and "crop" are to be taken in a broad sense and are to include that which is harvested whether from plants or animals, and which will be referred to hereinafter collectively as "crop or fiber".
Also, in the description which follows, the term "fibrous" or "fiber" refers to organic materials which are made up of elongate strands such as harvested hay, bagasse, straw, shorn wool, cotton, jute or kenaff.
In the description which follows the term "ambient" or "base reference" applied to the temperature and/or moisutre content or humidity of a crop or fiber is to be taken as that temperature and/or moisture content at which the crop or fiber presents itself for processing by the method or apparatus of the invention described and claimed in this specification.
In references to elevation of temperature and/or moisture content above ambient in relation to crops or fibers it should be understood that such references do not extend to an elevation of temperature or moisture content to a level where the crop or fiber will be permanently adversely affected either immediately or in terms of its medium to long term storage characteristics.
It is an object of the present invention to provide enhanced or improved means and a method of compact crop or fiber so as to overcome or ameliorate one or more of the above mentioned disadvantages and/or to provide cost advantages in relation to storage, handling and transport of harvested crops.
Accordingly, in one broad form of the invention, there is provided a method of compacting harvested crop or fiber; said method comprising applying a mechanical compacting force to said crop or fiber at the same time as or immediately after subjecting said crop or fiber to an eleva
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patent: 3352229 (1967-11-01), Morse
patent: 3871291 (1975-03-01), Lassiter
patent: 4862559 (1989-09-01), Roder et al.
patent: 4916888 (1990-04-01), Sheehan et al.
patent: 5022317 (1991-06-01), Williams
Campbell Kim Antony
McCardell Paul Thomas
Gerrity Stephen F.
Riyate Pty Limited
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