Horizontal mixer with stacked augers

#The invention relates to agricultural machinery and more specifically to horizontal mixers for mixing bulk material including agricultural material such as feed, compost, animal bedding, etc.

#Horizontal mixers are typically used to mix bulk material such as agricultural material including feed and bedding. Conventional mixers typically include one or more augers positioned horizontally and operate at about 5-12 rpm to mix the bulk material.

#Generally, a significant amount of horsepower is required to rotate the augers as the load to be mixed can be very large and can range for example from 2,000 to 40,000 pounds. Further, the amount of time required to sufficiently mix the material can be significant and can be frustrating for the user as it can take up to 8-10 minutes to sufficiently mix a load.

#FIG. 1 is a schematic showing an isometric view of one embodiment of a four auger horizontal mixer with stacked top augers above two bottom augers;

#FIG. 2 is a schematic showing a top view of the horizontal mixer shown in FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 is a schematic showing a side view of the horizontal mixer shown in FIG. 1;

#Described herein are examples and embodiments of horizontal mixers including apparatuses, systems therefor and methods and processes of using same, for mixing bulk material such as agricultural material for example feed, compost or bedding. It will be appreciated that embodiments and examples are provided herein for illustrative purposes intended for those skilled in the art, and are not meant to be limiting in any way. All references to embodiments or examples throughout this disclosure should be considered as references to illustrative and non-limiting embodiments and illustrative and non-limiting examples. It will be appreciated that none of the features disclosed herein are intended to be essential unless specifically stipulated as such. Reference to any dimensions or measurements is not intended to be limiting and is not intended to be an exact and limiting measurement and the term “about” is intended to be applied to all such dimensions and measurements and at least accounts for inaccuracies and error associated with taking such measurements and the devices for taking such measurements.

#A horizontal mixer for mixing bulk material, such as agricultural material, that may be more quickly mixed and/or may be mixed using less power consumption than conventional horizontal mixers is disclosed herein. Further, even though the bulk agricultural material may be mixed more quickly and/or using less power, the quality of the mix is maintained and may be improved as compared to conventional mixers.

#To mix the bulk agricultural material more quickly and/or with a lower power consumption horizontal mixers of the present invention implement a stacked auger setup that utilizes one or more bottom augers, at least one of which is a ribbon auger, and one or more top augers positioned above the one or more bottom augers.