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US 5,348,103 AGranted
Composting machine
AssigneeLH Resource Management Inc.
InventorsGordon A. J. Chiddicks, Christopher C. Lee
Life of this patent
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AssigneeLH Resource Management Inc.
InventorsGordon A. J. Chiddicks, Christopher C. Lee
Estimating the term…
A composting machine is used with an elongated reactor with flails mounted in a frame that moves longitudinally from a finishing end to a starting end during a processing pass. The flails move the organic material in the reactor along the reactor toward the finishing end. The flails are radially mounted on a shaft and the shaft rotates during the processing pass causing the flails to rotate as well. During a return pass, the flails can be made to occupy a horizontal plane so that the frame can return to the finishing end without raising the shaft vertically. Further, a skirt can be mounted adjacent to the flails to limit the distance that the material is moved by the flails. The distance of the skirt from a leading edge of the flails can be increased during the processing pass from the finishing end to the starting end. This allows the machine to be much more efficient as the level of the organic material can be maintained nearly constant from the starting end to the finishing end. With previous machines, the flail mechanism is moved vertically upward during the return pass so that the flails will clear the material.
A composting machine for use with an alongated reactor in agitating organic material to said aerobic decomposition in a composting process, said reactor having a base and two parallel side walls, said reactor having a starting end and a finishing end, said composting machine comprising a flail mechanism having a plurality of flails radially mounted on a shaft, said shaft being rotatably mounted in a suitable frame and being substantially perpendicular to said side walls, said frame being mounted on said reactor and being movable longitudinally relative thereto, said flails being mounted on said shaft by mounting means so that said flails have a first position and a second position, in said first position the flails being rotatable with said shaft and being spaced circumferentially about said shaft, said flails being mounted to contact part of any material in the reactor as said flails rotate to move the material contacted along said reactor toward said finishing end, and in said second position said flails being rotatably uninhibited for a limited degree of rotation relative to said shaft, with power means to rotate said shaft and to move said frame longitudinally.
A composting machine for use with an elongated reactor in agitating organic material to aid aerobic decomposition in a composting process, said reactor having a base and two parallel side walls, said reactor having a starting end and a finishing end, said composting machine comprising a flail mechanism having a plurality of flails radially mounted on a shaft, said shaft being rotatably mounted on a suitable frame, said frame being mounted on said reactor and being movable longitudinally thereto, said flails being mounted on said shaft so that they contact part of any organic material in said reactor during a processing pass and are out of contact with any organic material in said reactor in a return pass, a skirt extending at least substantially across said reactor adjacent to said flails so that a distance that material can be moved by said flails in a single pass will generally be limited by said material striking said skirt, said skirt being supported by said frame, said skirt being supported so that it can swing freely about its upper edge, with a power means to rotate said flails, move the frame longitudinally and to adjust the distance of said skirt from said flails.
A composting machine as claimed in claim wherein the frame for the flails moves longitudinally from said finishing end to said starting end during a processing pass with the flails rotating in a direction to move the material towards said finishing end.
A method of operating a composting machine for use with an elongated reactor in agitating organic material to aid aerobic decomposition where said reactor having a base and two parallel side walls, the reactor having a starting end and a finishing end said composting machine comprising a flail mechanism having a plurality of flails radially mounted on a shaft, said shaft being rotatably mounted in a suitable frame and being substantially perpendicular to said side walls, said frames being mounted on said reactor and being movable longitudinally relative thereto, with power means to rotate said shaft and to move said frame longitudinally, with means to limit the distance that the material is moved by the flails during a processing pass, said method comprising commencing a processing pass at a finishing end with the means for limiting at a minimum distance from a leading edge of said flails, causing the means for limiting to move steadily away from said leading edge as said flails move along the reactor until said flails reach the starting end where the means for limiting is at a maximum distance from said leading edge of said flails.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.