Solid material comminution or disintegration – Apparatus – Including means applying fluid to material
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-05
2003-06-03
Rosenbaum, Mark (Department: 3725)
Solid material comminution or disintegration
Apparatus
Including means applying fluid to material
C241S101760, C241S186300, C241S605000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06572039
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to straw or mulch separating machinery. More specifically, this invention relates to machines capable of receiving bales of hay or straw and picking, tearing, separating, or otherwise breaking up the bales into pieces of straw or hay that can be blown via a blower.
Many industries require and utilize apparatus to reduce bales of hay into small pieces and apply the small pieces of hay in a uniform manner over a large area of ground. For instance, many construction projects entail the extensive movement or removal of soil. As a result, large areas of soil are left without vegetation and exposed to the environment and elements of nature, such as the wind and rain. This absence of vegetation can lead to significant soil erosion. Other industries that must deal with the problems associated with large amounts of exposed soil are the real estate development industry, the road-construction industry, and the farming industry. In all these industries, vast areas of land are exposed to the environment. Likewise, in all these industries, it is desirable to protect the exposed soil from the negative effects of erosion, both from the wind and the rain. In these and many other industries, the area of land to be covered with hay or straw is often quite large. Such a large area requires an apparatus and method that can quickly, safely, and efficiently distribute proper amounts and sizes of hay, straw, etc. particles over the ground. Several prior art apparatus have attempted to fill this need.
To prevent this detrimental erosion, various apparatus and methods have been developed to cover the exposed soil with seed and a mulching material (for instance, hay, straw, mulch, bark, grass, or the like). These mulching materials aid in preventing erosion by impeding the flow of water run-off; providing a protective barrier from the hot sun and the wind; and aiding in seed-germination by retaining moisture in the soil.
Apparatus for breaking up bales of hay are relatively common. However, these devices have been limited not only to the size bales which they can accept, but also to the end uses to which their output can be applied.
As to their size, typical devices have been designed to handle either small cylindrical bales (usually no larger than about 2 feet in diameter and 3 feet in length), or small rectangular “standard square” bales (usually no larger than about 18 inches wide by 24 inches tall by 3 feet long). More recently, larger bale sizes have increased in popularity. Large round bales now exist in sizes on the order of 6 feet in diameter by 6 feet in length, thus weighing over 2000 lb. Likewise, larger square bales exist in sizes on the order of 4 feet in width by 4 feet in height by 8 feet in length.
The use of both shapes of these larger bales has gained greater acceptance in the farming industry for a few reasons. First, the large round bales are popular because they provide a rounded top surface which facilitates rain water run-off, and thus reduces hay spoilage. Second, the larger sizes reduce the number of bales scattered in the fields. Additionally, the large square bales are popular in the western and arid states where the bales must frequently be transported great distances. The larger square bales provide for more efficient loading on the transport vehicles.
As stated, these larger bales have gained acceptance primarily for agricultural applications. As a result, the apparatus and methods that have been designed for handling these bales have generally also been directed to agricultural applications. In particular, the apparatus have been designed generally to loosen (“break up”) the bale or divide the bale into several smaller chunks in order to facilitate feeding the livestock. In addition, the apparatus typically provided a means for slowly delivering the loosened bale in clumps at particular locations, either in a substantially continuous “windrow,” or in segregated piles spaced around the field.
In addition, several straw blowing machines exist that, in varying capacities, can reduce a bale of hay into fragments that can pass through a blower.
For instance, many devices, usable for standard small-sized “square” bales, use some form of a cylindrical feed drum hydraulically driven from the main drive diesel engine. The drum, which is usually disposed such that its longitudinal axis is substantially horizontal, contains longitudinal flanges, some of which are notched, protruding therefrom. As the drum rotates, these flanges break off “cakes,” or clumps, or portions of the bale. These cakes are then fed into a thrashing section of the machine which utilizes thrasher chains and/or cutting teeth attached to the shaft of the blower fan to cut the straw pieces into even smaller pieces.
In addition, giant hay grinders exist which break up large round bales of hay. These devices are huge, cylindrical tubs into which a large round bale of hay is placed for separation. These devices, because of their size and shape, generally have a high center of gravity, and frequently are stationary pieces not suitable for mobile uses.
In addition, some apparatus and methods utilize separate machines, one machine for reducing the large round bales to smaller fragments, and one machine to further separate and blow the fragments. Such machines typically utilize some form of conveyor to carry the fragments from the bale receiving component to the blowing component.
However, these and other prior art machines are not satisfactory to current needs in several respects. First, none of these machines are capable of receiving bales of hay of multiple sizes and shapes. Often, on job sites, bales of certain sizes or shapes are available in a geographical region, and the straw blowing apparatus must be capable of receiving that particular bale in order to function. If such a machine cannot do so, serious delay, frustration, and increased cost can result.
Second, the prior art concept that uses a cylindrical feed drum would lose efficiency when used for the large round bales of hay due to enormous size that would be required. In addition, a large stationary feed drum is not helpful for applications requiring mobility, such as the seeding or covering of large areas of ground.
Third, the prior art machines that typically handle only the rectangular bales of hay, require, generally, at least three persons to fully operate the straw blowing machinery: one person to drive the truck or tractor pulling the machine, one person to feed the bales into the conveyor portion of the machine, and a third person to operate the rotating turret atop the blower. In fact, for maximum efficiency, a fourth person is generally utilized to assist in loading the bales of hay. The requirement of four persons poses significant labor concerns.
Fourth, prior art machines have not contained efficient means of loading the bales. Some machines are self-contained, and are therefore designed to independently pick up a bale that is located in the field, that is, actually sitting on the ground. These machines are not desirable in the industries considered here, where often a large number of bales have been purchased and pre-loaded onto a truck or a trailer for use in mobile applications for covering large areas of soil. Many machines have no convenient and efficient means of transferring the bale from the flat-bed truck or trailer to the bale-reducing apparatus.
Relatedly, many machines that are designed to accept bales from a flat-bed cannot accept large bales or bales of varying shape. Rather, most of these devices are designed only for the small square bales.
Fifth, the majority of the machines in existence have a tendency to clog, jam, or otherwise malfunction when wet material, dense material, or foreign materials are present in the bale.
Sixth, those machines that are used for covering large areas of ground typically employ cutting knives or cutting chains that actually cut the individual pieces of straw into smaller pieces. It has been found that whole individual intact pieces of straw is the
Kruer David G.
Kruer Stephen L.
Eichenberger Robert H.
Frost Brown Todd LLC
Rosenbaum Mark
LandOfFree
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