Pellitizer methods and apparatus
AssigneeGerald M. Fisher
InventorsRobert D. Coakley, Gerald M. Fisher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A new type of fuel pellet and method and apparatus for manufacturing. Pellets are cut directly from logs without requiring grinding and extruding. A veneer type lathe and rolls hold a log and the rolls incise the log surface to a depth larger than the veneer cut prior to cut off with the veneer knife so that all three dimensions of the pellet are precisely controlled as well as being clean cuts.
Claims25
A new method of using a veneer lathe to directly make fuel pellets from a log without intermediate milling comprising
- (a) defining a first dimension of said fuel pellet by cutting a veneer from said log of a thickness equal to said first dimension;
- and
- (b) defining the dimensions of the cross section of said fuel pellet, which cross section is perpendicular to said thickness dimension of said pellet by cutting said cross section dimensions to a depth at least equal to or greater than said first dimension.
A machine for making wooden fuel pellets directly from a log comprising:
- a veneer lathe including a veneer knife, a nose bar roll, an first and second backup roll;
- means to support said knife and said rolls and means to compress and support a log held between said rolls;
- said first backup roll having a surface for contacting said log;
- a helical groove cut into said surface of said first backup roll, the high points of said groove being sharp enough to cut into a log compressed between said rolls, said groove in said first backup roll being deep enough to ensure that the cuts into said logs are as deep as the thickness of the veneer cut.
A machine for making wooden fuel pellets directly from logs without milling and without forcing a milled product through dies comprising
- a veneer lathe including a veneer knife, a nose bar roll, first and second backup roll;
- means to support said knife and said rolls to compress and support a log, in operation, held between said rolls;
- said first backup roll having a surface for contacting said logs, said backup roll surface having axially aligned grooves cut therein,
- the high points between said grooves being sharp enough to cut into contacting surfaces of logs compressed between said rolls, said grooves being at least as deep as the thickness of veneer to be cut.
A new method of using a veneer lathe to cut pellets from a log including the steps of:
- (a) grasping and rotating a log to be pelletized in said veneer lathe;
- (b) incising the outline of said pellet to be cut into said log periphery to a depth at least equal to the veneer knife cut;
- and
- (c) driving said incised log into said veneer knife;
- (d) cutting of said outlined pellets from said log.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.