# US 2013/0240652 A1 · Grinder with adjustable screens

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- Number: US 2013/0240652 A1
- Document ID: US20130240652A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/991,057
- Filed: 2011-11-30
- Published: 2013-09-19
- Earliest claimed: 2010-12-01
- Assignees: Vermeer Manufacturing Company
- Inventors: John Gary Gardner; Darin Lyn Dux
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130240652A1

## CPC

- B02C 23/16: with separator defining termination of crushing or disintegrating zone, e.g. screen denying egress of oversize material
- B02C 13/284: Built-in screens
- B07B 1/185: {provided with exchangeable sieve panels}
- B02C 2023/165: {Screen denying egress of oversize material}
- Y10T 29/49721: with disassembling
- B02C: CRUSHING, PULVERISING, OR DISINTEGRATING IN GENERAL; MILLING GRAIN ({household tools and machines for pulverising foodstuffs, e.g. coffee and spice mills A47J42/00; pharmaceutical mortars A61J3/02; mechanical processing of refuse and garbage B03B9/06; dressing mould materials by grinding B22C5/04}; obtaining metallic powder by crushing, grinding or milling B22F9/04; {recovery of plastics by disintegrating B29B17/00; crushing raw materials in starch making C08B30/02; beaters for papermaking D21D1/02; crushing devices specially for transport in mines E21F13/002; slag crushing devices F23J1/00; fuel milling devices in combustion apparatus F23K1/00; household devices for crushing coal F24B15/02; ice disintegrating devices F25C5/02})
- B07B: SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS BY SIEVING, SCREENING, SIFTING OR BY USING GAS CURRENTS; SEPARATING BY OTHER DRY METHODS APPLICABLE TO BULK MATERIAL, e.g. LOOSE ARTICLES FIT TO BE HANDLED LIKE BULK MATERIAL (wet separating processes, sorting by processes using fluent material in the same way as liquid B03; combinations of dry separating apparatus with wet separating apparatus B03B; using liquids B03B, B03D; sorting by magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges or vortex apparatus for carrying out physical processes B04; hand sorting, postal sorting, sorting by switching or other devices actuated in response to detection or measurement of some feature of articles or samples of material B07C)
- Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION

## Abstract

A grinder having an adjustable screen arrangement. The adjustable screen arrangement including two screens independently positionable in a number of positions relative to a grinding drum. Each screen further having a leading end independently positionable relative a trailing end of the screen. The adjustable screen arrangement allowing for selectively varied clearances between the screens and the grinding drum.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A horizontal grinder, comprising:
a) a grinding drum;
b) at least two arcuate screens located adjacent to the grinding drum, the at least two arcuate screens having a leading edge and a trailing edge; and
c) a plurality of adjusting members that position each screen in a selected one of a plurality of positions relative to the grinding drum;
d) wherein the screens are positionable relative to the grinding drum independent of one another;
e) wherein the adjusting members selectively vary the clearance between the leading edge of each screen and the grinding drum, and selectively vary the clearance between the trailing edge of each screen and the grinding drum, the leading edge clearance and the trailing edge clearance being adjustable independent of one another.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The grinder of claim 1, further including screen supports, the adjusting members positioning the screen supports so as to support the arcuate screens in the selected positions relative to the grinding drum.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The grinder of claim 1, wherein the adjusting members include cams that pivot to adjust the position of the screens in the selected one of the plurality of positions.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The grinder of claim 3, wherein each cam defines a plurality of arc sections opposite a pivot point.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The grinder of claim 4, wherein load and operational forces from the screen supports transfer from one of the arc sections of each cam to the center of the pivot point of each cam.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The grinder of claim 1, wherein each of a first screen and a second screen of the plurality of arcuate screens is positioned relative to the grinding drum by two pairs of adjusting members.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The grinder of claim 6, wherein the two pairs of adjusting members that position the first screen relative to the grinding drum are mounted to sides of a mill box, and wherein one of the pairs of adjusting members that positions the second screen relative to the grinding drum is carried by a mill box cover.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The grinder of claim 7, wherein the one pair of adjusting members carried by the mill box cover varies the trailing edge clearance of the second screen.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The grinding of claim 8, wherein another one pair of the adjusting members that positions the second screen relative to the grinding drum is mounted to the side of the mill box, the another one pair of the adjusting members varying the leading edge clearance of the second screen.

### Claim 10

A screen arrangement for a horizontal grinder having a mill box, a mill box cover, and a grinding drum, the screen arrangement comprising:
a) at least two arcuate screens, the at least two arcuate screens having a leading edge and a trailing edge; and
b) a plurality of adjusting members that independently position each screen in a selected one of a plurality of positions, at least one of the adjusting members defining a pivot point and a series of arc sections opposite the pivot point;
c) wherein the adjusting members selectively adjust the position of the leading edge of each screen, and selectively adjust the position of the trailing edge of each screen, the leading edge and the trailing edge being positionable independent of one another.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The arrangement of claim 10, further including screen supports, the adjusting members positioning the screen supports so as to support the arcuate screens in the selected positions.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The arrangement of claim 10, wherein the adjusting members are arranged in pairs, each of the screens being positioned in the selected one of the plurality of positions by two pairs of the adjusting members.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The arrangement of claim 12, wherein the two pairs of adjusting members that position a first one of the screens are adjusting cam members that define the pivot point and the series of arc sections opposite the pivot point, and wherein one of the pairs of adjusting members that positions a second one of the screens is an adjusting set-screw member.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The arrangement of claim 13, wherein the adjusting set-screw member adjusts that position of the trailing edge of the second one of the screens.

### Claim 15

A method of maintaining a horizontal grinder, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a horizontal grinder having a mill box, a mill box cover, a grinding drum, and a screen arrangement, the screen arrangement including a first screen and a second screen respectively located in first and second screen positions about the circumference of the grinding drum; and
b) switching the positions of the first and second screens such that the heavier worn screen previously located in one of the first and second screen positions is positioned in the other of the first and second screen positions;
c) wherein the position of the leading edge and the position of the trailing edge of each screen is positionable in the respective screen position independent of one another.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, wherein the step of switching the positions of the first and second screens includes removing the second screen from the second screen position, removing the first screen from the first screen position, installing the second screen in the first screen position, and installing the first screen in the second screen position.