US2160695A - Convertible hammer mill and silage cutter - Google Patents

Description

May.' 3.0, 1.939- F. w. BRANNQN v 2,160,695 l CONVERTIBLE HAMMER MILL SILAGE GUTTER May 30,A 1939. F. w. 'BRANNON 2,160,695

CONVERTIBLE HAMMER MILL AND s-ILAGE CUTTER Filed April 7, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M MMM am Patented Mey 30, 1939 UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE CONVERTIBLE HAMMER mu. -ANn smliGE CUTTER Frank W. Brannon, deceased. late of Luthersville,

Ga., Moreland, Ga.

by' James C. Brannon, administrator,

Application April 7, I191W, Serial No. 135,572

claims. loi. 83-11) One of-the principal -objects of this invention 5 is the provision of an improved rotor structure designed to permit the materials to be ground to be more readily delivered to all parts of the rotor and including series of swinging hammers which latter operate more efficiently than the solid or notched type heretofore inv use since a single hammer can be replaced more easily and at less cost than the entire section.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a shredder head of rigid hammer construction designed to break up the materials to be ground'as they enter the rotor and direct them upwardly in the path of the nishing or swinging hammers, thereby greatly increasing the capacity of the machine without increasing the power requirements.

Another object of this invention vis the provision of a larger screen area comprising remov'- able screens designed .to give increasedcapacity and decreased clogging of the machine and at the same time permitting instant removal of the screens to convert the machine from a hammer or feed mill into an ensilage machine.

Another object of this invention is the provision ofblower or fan blades adjustable with re-` spect to the motor to vary the air supply in accordance with the particular operating requirements.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a machine of this character having a sectional casing hinged so that the upper portion may be moved to render the rotor accessible and permit ready removal of the screens, said casing having'a horizontal discharge for the milled material which allows a larger screen area 40 than the vertical discharge type heretofore in use. 'e

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent as the description pro-V ceeds, the invention resides in the construction,

combination and-arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illus- `trated in the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate'like parts Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view,taken on the line 4 4' of Fig. 3. The machines of this general type have proven decient by being Vso constructed as to obstruct andprevent the material readily penetrating all 5 parts of the rotor as it is ted thereto, having reduced screen area, inaccessibility oi the interior construction, not readily convertible from one type of mill to another, and having limited capacity, and it was to overcome such deficiencies by 10 providing a greater screen area thereby increasing the capacity of the machine without increascomprising a rigid hammer structure, a unique l5 shredder head comprising rigid hammers of varying lengths, and a large diameter rotor structure designed to operate at alcomparatively low speed thereby tending to reduce belt friction and en# abling the use of anordinary farm tractoror en- 20 gine without'the employment oi' a speed jack, the low speed being made possible by the large diameter rotor which gives high peripheral speed at a low R. P. M. of the drive shaft, and including adjustable fan blades, that the device was de- 25 signed forming the subject matter of this invention.

In the illustrated embodiment characterizing this invention thereis shown a housing or casing A, a ground material receiving hopper B, and 30 rotor structure C'.

The casing A comprises a pair of, in the presentinstanca rectangular side members I formed with end anges 2 and bottom anges 3. Suitably mounted intermediate sides l and constitut- 35 ing the end and bottom walls of the lower half of the casing is a semi-circulary member-4 secured and supported by bolts 5 connecting the respective sides ,l adjacent the outer surface of said member l and uniting said members and sides 40 into a unitary structure. The flanges 3j of sides I areadapt'ed to seat on respective runnersupports 6 to which they are secured by bolts 1 or other fastening means. Said supports 6 extend substantially beyond one end of the casing for a 4g ber l, said member 8 is formed at its' rear edge 50 with rearwardly extending spaced earmembers 9 suitably secured to the respective sides ofu'said member 8 and also suitably secured intermediate said ears is a reinforcing angle member I0. Therfree ends of said ears l are apertured. to receive A engage the bifurcated end I1 of angle member.

I8 bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the lower front edge of casing section 8, the free end of said.l bolt I6 threadedly carries nut I9 adapted to lock the lower section and section 8 ofthe casing in closed position as will be apparent. Said bolt is readily removable to permit opening of said` member 8 by handle 20 bolted or otherwise suitably secured to said member as will be apparent.

A substantially triangular opening 2i is formed in one side of top portion 8 .of the casing through which the material to be milled is fed. as will hereafter more fully appear.

suitably connected to said casing A at the bottom,thereof is 'discharge blower pipe or conduit (a) formed with a horizontal discharge section 22, a vertical section 23, and a substantially horizontal section 24 with its upper end extending through opening 25 in the side wall of hopper section 26. A funnel like portion 21 is formed at its lower end with discharge opening 2B and at its upper end with ilange 28 adapted to embrace the lower edge or hopper section 26 to which it is suitably secured, said'member 21 constituting the bottom section of hopper B as will be apparent. Hopper Bis supported on opposite sides by angle iron supports 30 having their upper ends bolted or otherwise suitably secured thereto as at 3| and their lower ends bent to form feet 32 adapted to seat on and secured to the ends of runners G'by bolts 23. Said hopper is further supported by brace members 34 with their lower ends mounted on bolt II connected to the respective supports 2li by bolts 35 and extending upward at an angle therefrom with their upper ends secured to ilange 2l by bolts'I 26.

At the bottom of casing A. member 4 is formed with an opening '31 adapted to receive the end of section 22' of blower pipe (a) and suitably mounted in said casing is a screen (b) extending from the upper edge of the end of pipe 22 as at 22 spaced from the inner surface of member 4 gradually extending toward the inner surface of top section 8 and intercepting said surface as at l! thereby forming the gradually enlarged passagel 4t from 28 to 38 from which point horizontal discharge section 22-of pipe (al forms a continuation vof said passage. vSaid screen (b) is divided into a' lower section 4I and upper sectionv42, the latter being suitably mounted in upper casing section 8 as will be clear without further discussion. 'J'.he screen section (11n) really iorms a continuation of wall member 4 with respect to rotor C which is mounted therein as will hereinafter more fully appear. i Y A Secured to the respective sides I vadjacent their upper edges by bolts'42 is an angle iron support u, on the laterally extending fiance Il or which is mounted ball bearing 4l secured thereto by.,

a mart' u is ioumaued inv bearings Au and'v ""pfrside I at 4the lower edge of opening!! is suitably formed to constitute a cutting edge Il! adapted to cooperate with cutter blades 52 bolted; orotherwbcsecuredtoringmcmber Il andnnge reinforce disk 4I to which it may be bolted or otherwise secured. Mounted on said shaft intermediate knife 52 and hub 54 are the rigid hammers 55, 56, and 51 separated by washers 5l and keyed or otherwise iixedly secured to said shaft, A

said hammers being of varying lengths and extending at angles with respect to each other to form theshredder head (c). Mounted intermediate disk 49 and ring member v5I), their outer `ends normally adjacent the 'outer edges of said disk and ring, are a plurality of equi-spaced fan or blower blades 59 formed with parallel right angle flanges BG, one of said flanges being secured to disk by two bolts 6I and the other similarly secured to ring IIL In the present instance each of said flanges is formed with four apertures 62 which permits said blades to be adjusted inwardly or outwardly with respect to the circumferential edge of the rotorjas shown in dotted line at 63 in order to control the air flow through screen (b), passing 4l, horizontal discharge section 22, and blower pipe (a) according to the particular operating requirements. It will be observed that these blades, in the present instance four in number, additionally act as reinforcing means for the rotor sections 4'9 land 50. At diametrically opposite points spaced from the outer edge of the rotor is a bolt 6 4 extending through disk 49 and ring i0. A plurality of swinging hammers 6i apertured at one end to receive bolt 64 so that when in extended position the ends of said hammers will project beyond the circumferential edge of the rotor as-at i4 when the rotor is in operation.l Mounted on 'said bolt intermediate each of-said hammers is a spacer washer 61. In the present instance thereiare two series of these hammers including nine in each series.

On one end of said shaft 4I adjacent opening v2| is suitably mounted a worm 84 adapted to mesh with worm gear il mounted on conveyor drum 10 over which is adapted to travel conveyor belt 1I extending at right angles to opening 2I and adapted to deliver theretomaterial to be cut by rotor C. overlying the end of conveyor belt 1I is a feed-guide trough 12; one end suitably supported adjacent to and conforming to the width of said opening 2 I, and the other end conforming to the width of conveyor belt 1I and supported by brace 13 withits upper end secured to member 12 adjacent its outer end and its lower end lsecured to-side I by bolt l. The other end of shaft 4I has suitably mounted thereon pulley 14 keyed or otherwise suitably secured thereto which is adapted to be driven by belt 15 from an engine or a suitablesource of power not shown.

While the operation of the device would seem to be clear from the above description.' it might bewell to further state that thematerial to' be acted on by the device when being operated as a hammer mill is fed to opening 2l by conveyor'll and as it enters said opening is cut by the ,cutterv kniv andcoming into contact with the shredder head is broken up or further reduced and thrown against the screen where the swing hammers reduce it'to the degree of fineness to be blown throllll the screen bythe air produced by the fan blades, then dischargedfrom said casing .through the horizontal' discharge section 22, and

caredbysaidairblastthroughblowerpipem) let formed inthe lower section and vforming a continuation of said discharge passage, an inletopening formed in the side of said upper section, ,A

into hopper 26 for delivery to a proper container as desired.

-To convert the device from a hammer mill to a silage cutter readily without the necessity of removal of bolts and the like, it is only necessary to open the top sectiony 8, remove therefrom formed with axially positioned rigid hammers' .and

cooperating circumferentially mounted swinging hammers, adjustable channel blower blades, a horizontal discharge by virtue of which a greater screen area is effected thereby increasing the capacity of the machine, andl a casing and screen structure permitting ready accessibility to the interior of the rotor and effecting practically instant conversion from a dry material mill to a silage cutter, said extra screen area, shredder .head structure and ball bearing mountings effecting a reduction in horsepower requirements per ton of materials ground or cut, said device comprising few parts. compact in form, manufacturable at a minimum of cost, and emcient for the purposes intended.

Although in practice it has beenfound that the form of the invention illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment is the most elcient and practical, yet realizing that conditions concurrent with the adoption of the -40- invention will necessarily vary, it is well to emphasize that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts, may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims withoutdeparting from or sacricing any of the principles of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what -is desired protected by Letters Patent -is as set forth in the following claims:

1. A feed material convertible hammer mill and silage cutter-including a sectional hinged casing having inlet and outlet openings, eachsection having mounted therein a detachable screen section so arranged with respect to said casingas to form a discharge passage communicating with said outlet whenthe casing is closed, a rotatable member journaled within the casing and constituting a combination cutter and hammer,

said member including a drive shaft, a disk secured to the shaft, a cutter supporting ring adjacent the inlet opening, spacer rods interconnecting the disk and ring adjacent their peripheries, knife means mounted on and connected to opposite points of the ring for cutting the matelrial as it is fed through said inlet opening, reducing means carried by said spacer rods, adjustable fanzblades interconnecting said disk and ring adjacent their peripheries at diametrically opposite points adapted to propel the material through said screen and passage. and hammer means mounted on said drive shaft intermediatesaid ring and disk rigidly secured to said shaft.

2. A feed material convertible hammer mill and "silagcutter including a hinged casing section having a sectional screen spaced from said casling to form a discharge passage, a horizontal outa rotatable member journaled within the casing and constituing a combination cutter and ham.

mer, said member including a shaft, a disk rigidly .connected to the shaft, a cutter supporting ring,

spacer rods interconnecting the disk and ring ad` jacent their peripheries, material reducing hammer units mounted `on said spacer rods, each unit comprising a plurality of` swinging hammers, 1

a cutter connected to the ring at opposite points and operative adjacent said inlet opening for cutting the material fed therethrough, a series of rigid hammers fixedly mounted on said shaft adapted to coact on said'cut material midway of said ring and disk and tending to direct the same into the path of said hammer units, and a plurality of radially adjustable fan blades interconnecting said ring and disk adjacent their peripheries, whereby the air blasts adapted to propel the reduced material through the screen and passage may be varied in accordance with operating requirements.

3. A convertible hammermill and silage cutter including a casing, a rotatable member journaled within the casing constituting a combination cutte'r and hammer, said member including a shafta disk rigidly mounted on the shaft, a

cutter supporting ring, spacer rods'interconnecting the disk and ring at spaced points adjacent their peripheries, swinging hammer units mounted on said spacer rods, a plurality of fan blades interconnecting said ring and disk adjacent their peripheries and radially adjustable with respect thereto, a cutter connected to the ring at opposite points, a shredder head material reducing means rigidly mounted on said shaft intermediate said disk and ring, said casing including a lower section formed with an outlet opening and a hinged upper section formed with an inlet opening at right angles to said ring, coacting screen means carried by said casing sections adapted to form a discharge passagel partially surrounding said rotatable member and communicating with said outlet opening.

4. A feed material convertible hammer mill and silage cutter comprising a sectional hinged casing having inlet and outlet openings, arotatable member journaled within the casing and constituting a combination cutter and hammer, said member including a shaft, a disk keyed to the shaft, a cutter supporting ring, spacer rods interconnecting the disk and ring adjacent their peripheries, a plurality of hammers pivotly mounted on said spacer rods, a cutter supported by said shaft and ring, and operative adjacent to said inlet opening, said cutter being formed in two sections, their outer ends being connected to the ring at opposite points and their inner ends fixed to said shaft, a sectional foraminous partition curved about the center of rotation of the rotatable memberadjacent its peripheral edge to form an exhaust passage connecting with said outlet, a plurality' of fan blades interconnecting said ring and disk adjacent their peripheries and radially adjustable with respect thereto, a series of hammers keyed in spaced relation to said shaft midway of said disk and ring so as to permit the cut material to pass from the inlet opening over and toward said disk and adapted to direct said 'material .into the path of said first mentioned hammers, conveyor means operatively connected tosaid rotatable member' for feeding the mate- 'rial thereto, and means` for driving said member. 75

5. A convertible hammer mill and silage cutter comprising a rotor including spaced disk and ring members, series of spaced swinging hammer units mounted intermediate and attached to said disk and ring adjacent their peripheries and in circumferential spaced relation, a plurality oi ian blades interconnecting said disk and ring and radially adjustable with respect to their periph--4 eries, a drive shaft on which is rigidly mounted 10 said disk, 'a shredder head material reducing' means comprising rigid hammer elements angulax-ly and iixedly mounted with respect to each other on said drive shaft centrally of said disk and ring, a casing adapted to embrace said rotor formed with an inlet and an outlet opening,

cutter means carried by said ring member, and

detachable coacting screen means carried by said casing adapted to form a discharge passage partially surrounding said rotor and communicatingl with said outlet; openins.

JAMES C. BRANNON, Administrator of the Estate of Frank W. Brannon,

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