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US 12,668,919 B1Granted
System and method for fiber cleaning, alignment, and sizing
OwnerRobert A. Miller, III, Bibb Coleman Beale, III +2inventors
InventorsRobert A. Miller, III, Bibb Coleman Beale, III, John G. Brown, Larry T. Sneed
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mechanical system and a method of using the system for separating and refining plant fibers are provided. The plant fibers are separated into a bast fiber stream and a hurd stream, each of which may be processed separately to produce a finished bast fiber product and a finished hurd product. The bast fiber stream is processed through a series of unit operations including a chopper assembly, a shredder assembly, a coarse cleaner assembly, a fine cleaner assembly, and a carding machine. The hurd stream may be further processed through a hammer mill and a vibrating sieve.
Claims17
A method of processing plant fibers, said method comprising the steps of:
- decorticating plant stalks to separate bast fibers from hurd;
- then separating the bast fibers and the hurd into separate process streams comprising a bast fiber stream and a hurd stream;
- then routing the bast fiber stream to a chopper assembly, wherein the chopper assembly is configured to cut the bast fibers using a blade to reduce an average length of the bast fibers;
- then routing the bast fiber stream to a shredder assembly, wherein the shredder assembly comprises a feed roller, a shredding roller, and a first bed disposed below the shredding roller, wherein the feed roller is configured to feed the bast fibers to the shredding roller, wherein the shredding roller is configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, wherein the shredding roller comprises a plurality of pins extending radially outward from an outer surface of the shredding roller, wherein each pin of the plurality of pins has a cylindrical body that tapers to a point at a distal end of the pin, wherein the cylindrical body of each pin is generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shredding roller, wherein the pins of the shredding roller are configured to pull the bast fibers off of the feed roller as the shredding roller rotates, wherein the shredding roller is configured such that the plurality of pins contacts the bast fibers on the first bed when the shredding roller rotates, thereby combing the bast fibers and conveying the bast fibers along the first bed;
- then routing the bast fiber stream to a coarse cleaner assembly, wherein the coarse cleaner assembly comprises a rotating drum and a second bed disposed below the rotating drum, wherein the second bed has a plurality of bed openings extending through the second bed, wherein the rotating drum is configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, wherein the rotating drum comprises a plurality of beater bars extending radially outward from the rotating drum, wherein the rotating drum is configured such that the plurality of beater bars contacts the bast fibers on the second bed when the rotating drum rotates, thereby causing larger impurities to separate from the bast fibers and fall through the plurality of bed openings in the second bed;
- then routing the bast fiber stream to a fine cleaner assembly, wherein the fine cleaner assembly comprises a cleaning roller configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, wherein the cleaning roller comprises a plurality of teeth extending radially outward from the cleaning roller, wherein the cleaning roller is configured such that the plurality of teeth contacts the bast fibers when the cleaning roller rotates, thereby causing smaller impurities to separate from the bast fibers;
- and
- then routing the bast fiber stream through a carding machine comprising a carding drum and at least one working roller.
5 more elements
A system for processing plant fibers, wherein the system comprises:
- a chopper assembly configured to cut bast fibers using a blade to reduce an average length of the bast fibers;
- a shredder assembly disposed downstream of the chopper assembly, wherein the shredder assembly comprises a feed roller, a shredding roller, and a first bed disposed below the shredding roller, wherein the feed roller is configured to feed the bast fibers to the shredding roller, wherein the shredding roller is configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, wherein the shredding roller comprises a plurality of pins extending radially outward from an outer surface of the shredding roller, wherein each pin of the plurality of pins has a cylindrical body that tapers to a point at a distal end of the pin, wherein the cylindrical body of each pin is generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shredding roller, wherein the pins of the shredding roller are configured to pull the bast fibers off of the feed roller as the shredding roller rotates, wherein the shredding roller is configured such that the plurality of pins contacts the bast fibers on the first bed when the shredding roller rotates, thereby combing the bast fibers and conveying the bast fibers along the first bed;
- a coarse cleaner assembly disposed downstream of the shredder assembly, wherein the coarse cleaner assembly comprises a rotating drum and a second bed disposed below the rotating drum, wherein the second bed has a plurality of bed openings extending through the second bed, wherein the rotating drum is configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, wherein the rotating drum comprises a plurality of beater bars extending radially outward from the rotating drum, wherein the rotating drum is configured such that the plurality of beater bars contacts the bast fibers on the second bed when the rotating drum rotates, thereby causing larger impurities to separate from the bast fibers and fall through the plurality of bed openings in the second bed;
- a fine cleaner assembly disposed downstream of the coarse cleaner assembly, wherein the fine cleaner assembly comprises a cleaning roller configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, wherein the cleaning roller comprises a plurality of teeth extending radially outward from the cleaning roller, wherein the cleaning roller is configured such that the plurality of teeth contacts the bast fibers when the cleaning roller rotates, thereby causing smaller impurities to separate from the bast fibers;
- and
- a carding machine disposed downstream of the fine cleaner assembly, wherein the carding machine comprises a carding drum and at least one working roller.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.