Compost handling machine
AssigneeInternational Process Systems
InventorsThomas J. Pacentino, Thomas J. Piacentino, Jr., Howard Rosenbloom
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A compost handling machine comprising a carriage to support the machine for movement along a composting bay, and a compost agitating and conveying assembly to agitate compost in, and to move the compost along the bay. The agitating and conveying assembly includes a conveyor subassembly and a drum subassembly. The conveyor subassembly includes a plurality of lifting cleats that, in use, are moved around a closed path to lift compost in the bay and move the compost rearwardly therein. The drum subassembly includes an agitating drum extending between and supported by a pair of support arms, and the drum is rotated to agitate and comminute the compost in the bay.
Claims7
A composting facility comprising:
- first and second elongated composting bays to receive organic waste material and to hold said material whit it composts, each bay having a front end and a back end;
- a transfer dolly supported for movement across the front ends of the composting bays between a first dolly position wherein the transfer dolly is directly forward of the first composting bay, and a second dolly position wherein the transfer dolly is directly forward of the second composting bay, the transfer dolly including a dolly motor to move the dolly between the first and second dolly positions;
- a compost handling machine including
- (i) a carriage to support the compost handling machine on the transfer dolly, and on each of the first and second composting bays,
- (ii) a carriage drive motor connected to the carriage to move the carriage along the first and second composting bays, and
- (iii) a compost agitating assembly connected to the carriage, and to agitate the compost in the composting bays,
- dolly position sensing means connected to the dolly to generate a first control signal when the dolly is in the first dolly position and when the dolly is in the second dolly position;
- machine position sensing means connected to the compost handling machine to generate a second control signal when the compost handling machine is adjacent the back end of any one of the first and second bays;
- and
- system control means connected to the dolly position sensing means to receive the first control signal therefrom, and connected to the machine position sensing means to receive the second control signal therefrom, the system control means being further connected to the dolly motor and the carriage drive motor, to actuate and deactuate each of said motors;
- the system control means being adapted to actuate and deactuate the dolly motor and the carriage drive motor selectively to move the dolly to the first dolly position, to move the compost handling machine from the dolly to a position adjacent the back end of the first bay, to move the compost handling machine forward on the first composting bay and back onto the dolly, to move the dolly to the second dolly position, to move the compost handling machine from the dolly to a position adjacent the back end of the second bay, and to move the compost handling machine forward on the second composting bay and back onto the dolly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.