Rotary auger screw cartridge

For use with a rotary auger having a grinding chamber, an equipment enclosure, a rear bulkhead separating said grinding chamber from said equipment enclosure and having an auger opening therethrough, a bearing, an auger screw mounted on said bearing and extending into said grinding chamber, motor means mounted on said bearing in said equipment enclosure for rotating said bearing and said auger screw, a cartridge assembly comprising:

• an outer, stationary bearing housing attached to said bearing means and shaped to be attached to and extend about a periphery of said opening, said outer bearing housing defining an outer bearing periphery and being shaped to partially enclose said bearing;
• an inner, rotatable bearing housing attached to said bearing and extending about said outer bearing periphery, said inner bearing housing supporting said auger screw and said motor and, together with said stationary bearing housing, substantially enclosing said bearing means;
• means for removably mounting said cartridge assembly from said bulkhead, whereby said stationary bearing housing, said rotatable bearing housing and said bearing is removable from said auger as a unit through said equipment enclosure by detachment of said outer bearing housing from said bulkhead, and said bearing means is enclosed and protected by said housings when said cartridge is detached from said bulkhead;
• and
• seal means, extending between said outer and inner bearing housings, for preventing contaminants from flowing from said grinding chamber to said bearing.

In a rotary auger having a grinding chamber, an equipment enclosure, and a rear bulkhead separating said grinding chamber from said equipment enclosure and including an opening therethrough, an auger screw cartridge comprising:

• an auger screw projecting into said grinding chamber;
• motor means for rotating said auger;
• and
• bearing means, mounted on said bulkhead, for supporting said auger screw and said motor, said bearing means including an outer bearing housing having a flange portion attached to an equipment enclosure facing side of said bulkhead and an annular boss abutting and extending about a periphery of said opening, and an inner bearing housing, rotatable relative to said outer bearing housing and including a bearing disk adjacent to said boss, said boss and said bearing disk cooperating to close said opening;
• and
• means for removably mounting said flange portion of said outer bearing housing to said equipment enclosure facing side of said bulkhead, whereby said auger screw cartridge is removable through said equipment enclosure by detaching said portion from said bulkhead.

For use with a rotary auger having a grinding chamber, an equipment enclosure, a rear bulkhead separating said grinding chamber from said equipment enclosure and having an auger opening therethrough, a bearing mounted on said bulkhead and sealing said opening, an auger screw mounted on said bearing and extending into said grinding chamber, motor means, mounted on said bearing in said equipment enclosure, for rotating said bearing and said auger screw, a cartridge assembly comprising:

• an outer, stationary bearing housing attached to and extending about a periphery of said opening and including means for attachment for said outer bearing housing to said equipment enclosure side of said bulkhead, said outer bearing housing defining an outer bearing periphery;
• an inner rotatable bearing housing attached to said outer bearing housing and extending about said outer bearing periphery, said inner bearing housing supporting said auger screw and said motor;
• and
• means for removably mounting said outer bearing housing entirely on an equipment enclosure facing surface of said bulkhead, said mounting means not requiring any attachment to the grinding chamber side of the bulkhead, whereby said bearing is removable from said auger through said equipment enclosure by detachment of said outer bearing housing from said bulkhead.