Agitating – Stirrer within stationary mixing chamber – Rotatable stirrer
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-14
2001-12-11
Soohoo, Tony G. (Department: 1723)
Agitating
Stirrer within stationary mixing chamber
Rotatable stirrer
C366S319000, C241S260100, C241S261100, C241S605000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328465
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vertical feed mixer for use in mixing animal feed and, in particular, hay in any form including round bales with other animal feed. In particular, this invention relates to a vertical feed mixer having an auger with a center post and a helical flight extending around said post where the post has an upper surface that is inclined relative to said center axis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Feed mixers of various forms are known and, in particular, feed mixers for mixing round bales of hay or haylage of any size, including large and small bales with other animal feedstuffs including corn silage, commodities, byproducts and concentrates are known. Previous vertical feed mixers have a vertically mounted auger having a helically-shaped expanding periphery that is narrowest at a top and increases in size towards the base. It is known to have blades mounted periodically along the periphery of the auger. The periphery is smoothly curved in the form of a spiral and expands from top to bottom. These blades are sometimes serrated knives. Alternatively, the auger can have a flight that has a series of straight sections as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,122, issued Jan. 26, 1999. Sometimes, with previous mixers, when a large bale is inserted into the mixer, the bale becomes wedged between a wall of a mixing chamber and the auger with one part of the bale resting on the top of the auger. When a bale is inserted in this position, the bale can remain in that position for a relatively long time before ultimately being broken up by the auger. The time involved obviously varies with the positioning of the bale, but the wrong bale positioning can lead to serious problems. For example, the operator of the mixer might physically attempt to dislodge the blockage and that can be dangerous or unsafe. Also, the efficiency of the mixer is greatly reduced when this type of blockage occurs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vertical feed mixer with an auger having a center post that is inclined relative to the center axis at the top with part of a flight extending above the sloped surface.
A vertical feed mixer has a mixing chamber containing a substantially vertical rotatable auger having a center post with a generally helical flight that is tapered to converge from bottom to top. The flight extends around the center post and has a periphery. There are power means to rotate the auger about a longitudinal center axis. The chamber has at least one opening to receive and discharge feed. The center post has an upper surface that is inclined relative to the center axis.
A vertical feed mixer has a mixing chamber containing a substantially vertical rotatable auger having a center post with a generally helical flight that is tapered to converge from bottom to top. The flight extends around the center post and has a periphery. There are power means to rotate the auger about a longitudinal center axis. The chamber has at least one opening to receive and discharge feed. The center post has an upper surface that is inclined relative to the center axis and the top of the flight extends above the upper surface.
Preferably, the upper surface lies substantially in one plane.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4413789 (1983-11-01), Rienecker et al.
patent: 4607802 (1986-08-01), Lamort
patent: 4725007 (1988-02-01), Chupka
patent: 4949916 (1990-08-01), Wroblewski
patent: 4984900 (1991-01-01), Faccia
patent: 5020918 (1991-06-01), Faccia
patent: 5082188 (1992-01-01), Urich
patent: 5240321 (1993-08-01), Miller
patent: 5294064 (1994-03-01), Faccia
patent: 5429436 (1995-07-01), Stone
patent: 5456416 (1995-10-01), Hartwig
patent: 5462354 (1995-10-01), Neier
patent: 5553937 (1996-09-01), Faccia
patent: 5615839 (1997-04-01), Hartwig
patent: 5647665 (1997-07-01), Schuler
patent: 5823449 (1998-10-01), Kooima et al.
patent: 5863122 (1999-01-01), Tamminga
Jay-Lor Fabricating Inc.
Schnurr Daryl W.
Soohoo Tony G.
LandOfFree
Vertical feed mixer with auger having center post with... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vertical feed mixer with auger having center post with..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vertical feed mixer with auger having center post with... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2562100