US2911099A - Crushing machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 3, 1959 H. J. G. SCHADE CRUSHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2, 1956 Inventor:

By ,Afly- Nov. 3, 1959 H. J. G. SCHADE 2,911,099

CRUSHING MACHINE Filed July 2, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 iinu...

Nov. 3 1959 H. J. G. SCHADE 2,911,099

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United States Patent 2,911,099 CRUSHING MACHINE Harald Joachim Georg Schade, Stuttgart-Bernhausen, Germany, assignor to Passavant Werke, Michelbacher Huette, near Michelbach, Nassau, Germany Application July 2, 1956, Serial No. 595,556 Claims priority, application Germany July 1, 1955 11 Claims. c1. 210- 174 This invention relates to disposal machines, and more particularly to disposal machines for processing solid matter raked out of water in water purification systems.

It is one object of the invention to provide a fully automatic semi-selfregulating disposal machine of the aforementioned character.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved disposal machine of the aforementioned character free from the drawbacks and limitations of prior art disposal machines.

One of the main difficulties encountered with prior art disposal machines is due to the great variety of solid materials being fed to it. 'The masses of solid matter being raked out of flowing bodies of water include textile and other fibrous materials, parts of rubber and leather, etc., size reduction of which calls for systems of sharp relatively movable knives. On the other hand, the masses of solid matter being raked out of flowing bodies of water include also bulky and hard substances such as, pieces of i wood, tin cans, stones, pieces of metal, etc. All these materials rapidly wear out any system of relatively movable knives, adapted to cut or shred textile and other fibrous materials, etc.

It is, therefore, another object of the invention to provide a disposal machine of the aforementioned character adapted to handle any kind of solid matter, i.e. textile and other fibrous materials normally calling for systems of relatively movable knives as well as such bulky and hard substances as pieces of wood and tin cans.

A most serious drawback of prior art disposal machines of the aforementioned character is relatively frequent jamming of the movable parts thereof if called to process water including widely diversified foreign matter. Due to this tendency of jamming, machines of that nature require continuous supervision, greatly increasing the operating cost thereof.

It is, therefore, another object of this invention to provide a disposal machine of the aforementioned character having no jamming tendency whatever, and adapted to operate uninterruptedly for snfiiciently long periods of time to allow automation of the process of disposal.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as this specification proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the appended claims forming part of this specification.

The disposal machine according to this invention comprises fiXed and rotatable parts, as prior art disposal machines, yet the parts of the machine according to this invention, the arrangement thereof, and the mode of their coaction differ significantly from any prior art machine. The machine comprises a fixed cage which is open at the bottom end thereof to admit into it foreign solid matter carried by a stream of water. This cage is preferably cylindrical but may be in the shape of a truncated cone, if desired. A drive for the rotatable parts of the machine is arranged on the upper or top end of the cage.

The cage is made up of a system of spaced bars arranged preferably parallel to the geometrical axis of the cage. A rotary crushing tool in the form of a crank shaft is being rotated by the aforementioned drive, and thrown by centrifugal action toward the radially inner surface of the bars of the crushing cage. Solid matter caught between the cooperating surfaces of the rotary crushing tool and the cage is being smashed, broken, worn, ground, etc. to bits. 1

The crushing tool is preferably substantially in the shape of a triangular prism increasing in width radially outwardly, resulting in a radially outward concentration of the mass thereof. The radially outer surface of the crushing tool is slightly curved to conform to the curvature or shape of the crushing cage.

As will be shown below more in detail, the prismshaped crushing tool is not only adapted to grind small foreign matter into particles of very small size, but also to act as a percussion hammer capable of smashing nails, screws, wires, and pieces of sheet metal which may be caused to flow into the crushing chamber.

While the action of the crushing tool is predicated upon centrifugal action, spring means may be provided tending to swing the crushing tool radially outwardly into engagement with the radially inner surface of the crushing cage. i

It is possible to accommodate several crushing tools inside of one. crushing cage, yet it is preferable to arrange but one single crushing tool therein, thus providing a maximum amount of space for foreign solid matter to be received by the crushing cage and crushed therein.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference may be-had to the following detailed description of one embodiment and several modifications thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a crushing machine embodying the invention taken along I-I of Fig. 2, some parts of Fig. 1 being shown in front elevation rather than in section;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the structure shown in Fig. 2 taken along III-J11 thereof and showing the crushing mechanism proper in greater detail;

Fig. 4 is a section along IV-IV of Fig. 5 showing a modification of the crushing chamber of Figs. 1 to 3, inelusive;

Fig. 5 is a section along V-V of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a modification of the rotatable crushing tool shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive;

Fig. 7 is a bottom view of the structure shown in Fi 6;

Fig. 8 is aside elevation of the crushing machine and of a motor drive therefor built into the water purification system; I

Fig. 9 is aside elevation of a modification of the structure shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is an isometric view of the crushing cage forming part of thestructure of Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive;

Fig. 1-1 is a bottom plan view of the rotatable crushing tool and of the means used in the structure of Fig. 3 to maintain certain parts in position showing also a transverse section of the crushing bars defining the crushing member; and

Fig. 12 is a section along XIIXII of Fig. 11.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly Figs. 1 to 3 thereof, reference numeral 1 has been applied to indicate a housing or inlet structure defining an inlet passage a. b, closes in part the inlet passage a. Case or sump structure 3arranged below plate 2 defines an admission chamher 1.: for water and for the material to be crushed, or dis- Bottom plate 2, having a circular aperture posed of. The general direction of the flow of water through passage a and admission chamber has been indicated by two arrows R. -It is apparent that the general pattern of water flow is substantially in the shape of a U. The inlet passage defining structure 1 is spirally shaped, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, to produce a cyclone action, i.e. a downward directed eddy indicated in Fig. 1 by an appropriate line. The general direction of admission to passage a of water to be purified, i.e. to be freed from solid matter, has been indicated in Fig. 2 by arrow r Another stream of water indicated by arrow r in Fig. 2 is admitted to the main stream indicated by arrow r Directions r and r enclose an acute angle which tends to increase the cyclone action resulting from the geometry of the inlet structure 1. The aforementioned cyclone action tends to preclude clogging of the passages of the crushing machine by solid matter suspended in the flow of water such as, for instance, mud. Reference numeral 4 has been applied to generally indicate the crushing mechanism proper. The crushing mechanism proper consists, in essence, of a fixed cylindrical cage made up of vertical crushing bars 2, and of a rotating crushing tool I which, when rotating, is being thrown by centrifugal action radially outwardly against crushing bars e. As a result, foreign matter of any kind situated in the gap formed between crushing bars e and the cooperating rotating crushing tool I is crushed, smashed, rubbed, ground, broken, etc. into particles of much smaller size. The

rotating crushing tool I has a secondary action, in addi tion to its crushing action, i.e. it operates as pump impeller or shovel, tending to establish an upward flow of water indicated by the right arrow R in Fig. 1. Crushing mechanism 4 operates in the fashion of a radial pump, tending to lift water and solid matter from admission chamber 0 vertically upwardly, and discharge it radially outwardly through the gaps formed between crushing bars e. The crushing cage formed of crushing bars e is housed in a casing d spirally shaped in cross-section, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Reference letter 3 has been applied to indicate the crushing chamber, i.e. the cylindrical space outwardly bounded by crushing bars 2. Water streaming out of crushing chamber f through the gap formed between bars e flows into the passage 5 defined by casing d and flows out of the crushing system as indicated by arrow r;,. The upper ends of crushing bars e are attached to a top ring 6 and the lower ends of crushing bars e are attached to a bottom ring 7. Four spacers 8 forming additional cnlshing bars maintain the proper distance between top ring 6 and bottom ring 7. The gap g formed between front spacer 8 and crushing bar e situated to the left of it, as seen in Fig. 2, is considerably larger than all the other gaps formed in the crushing cage structure. Housing d is provided with a duct 9 defining nozzle s for that portion of the water which is being discharged through gap g. The stream of water in the general di rection of arrow r resulting from the water discharged through gap g tends to increase the aforementioned cyclone action of the inlet or intake structure 1.

Rotor housing h arranged above top ring 6 accommodates the driving mechanism for the rotatable crushing tool I. in Fig. 3. Referring now to Fig. 3, crushing bars 2 are arranged to define a cylindrical crushing cage of which the rear portion is shown in Fig. 3. Vertical screwthreaded studs 10 clamp rotor housing It against the spacers 8 of the crushing cage. Horizontal screw-threaded studs 11 maintain crushing bars e in the proper position thereof. It is advisable to mount crushing bars e by the intermediary of spring washers (notshown), or equivalent resilient means, to enable ready adjustment .of the respective position of crushing bars 2. Driving shaft 1' is arranged inside of cylindrical rotor housingh in coaxial relation thereto. The upper portion of driving shaft 2' is supported by bearing block .11, while the lower conical portion of driving shaft i is keyed or coupled to This mechanism has been shown in detail.

driving or rotor block j by means of a key 12. Bearing block 11 includes a roller bearing comprising rollers 12', inner bearing ring 13 and outer bearing ring 14. Roller bearing 12, 13, 14 is held in position by member 15 screwed against bearing block 11 by studs 16. Screw 17 and screw-block 18 tend to pull the lower conical end of driving shaft i into a conical bore 19 of the rotor block or driving block Driving block 1' has twobores 20 and 21, each provided with an upper bearing 22 and a lower bearing 23. Bore 20 accommodates a crank-shaft k the lower portion of which projects into the crushing chamber 1 and forms the aforementioned crushing tool -l'. Bore 21 accommodates the crank shaft in supporting counterweight n intended to balance crushing tool I. The axes of bores 20 and 21 are parallel to the geometrical axis of driving shaft i but are arranged off center.

in view of the fact that section IIII is taken at a lower level than rotor housing It, the parts inside of rotor housing h cannot be seen in Fig. 2. To enable better spatial correlation of the parts inside rotor housing h and crushing chamber 1 the respective position of bores 29 and 21 and crank shafts l and in has been indicated in Fig. 2 by dash-and-dot lines. The crushing tool I and its counter weight n have been shown both in the radially outer positions thereof, i.e. when subjected to the action of centrifugal forces, and in the radially inner position thereof when not subjected to such action. Reference numeral p has been applied to indicate the place defined by the geometrical axis of driving shaft i and the geometrical axes of crank shafts lc and m. The center of gravity of rotatable crushing tool I isindicated by reference numeral 0. Center of gravity 0 is always situated outside of plane 12 and hence rotatable crushing tool I, when rotated, will always be subject to the tendency of being thrown against crushing bars e ,by the action of centrifugal forces.

If desired, the crushing cage may be provided with abutment means tending to preclude rotatable crushing tool I and counterweight n from sliding continuously over the inner surfaces of crushing bars e, and thus tending to reduce the wear of both these parts. Provision of such abutment means is optional, and they have been omitted in the drawings.

Upon admittance to the crushing chamber 1 of a relatively large or bulky solid such as, for instance, a fairly large piece of wood, or a can, which cannot be instantly crushed between the crushing bars e and the rotatable crushing tool I, such object is caught in the relatively large gap g formed between one of the spacers 8 and one of the crushing bars e. There the object is exposed to a sequence of violent blows performed by the crushing end I of crushing crank k. If the object to be crushed is hard, the crushing end I of crushing crank k may be caused to bounce back to a radially inward position, out of the way of the object to be crushed. Upon having by-passed the impediment, the crushing end Z of crushing crank k is again moved radially outwardly and, upon completion of a full revolution, hits again with considerable impact upon the crush-resistant object. There are few objects which do not rapidly disintegrate when subjected to a rapid sequence of violent hammerlike blows such as performed by the crushing end I of the crushing crank k.

Most of the solid matter contained in the water is reduced to sufficiently small size to enable it to pass through the relatively small gaps between crushing bars e, or between crushing bars e and spacers 8. The average size of solid matter permitted to be moved out of crushing chamber 1 into outlet duct or ditfusor 5 is mainly determined by the size of the crushing bars e, and the size of the inter-bar gaps, and to some extent by the geometry of the rotatable crushing tool 1'. parameters makes it possible to control the average size, and the maximum size, of solid matter allowed to flow out of crushingchamber f. The stream of water indicated by arrow r which includes crushed solid matter Controlling these may either be added, when leaving the disposal machine, to the intake stream r thereof for reprocessing, ormay be collected in a reservoir, and there subjected to fermentation.

Very heavy stones, be lifted from admission chamber 0 by the pump action of the rotating crank shaft k, l. Such matter collects at the bottom of admission chamber 0, and may then be manually removed therefrom from time to time. This can readily be achieved by means pfan'appropriate tool such as a hoe. To this end a slanting passage q, indicated at the right of Fig. 1, is provided in the admission chamber c. Relatively large objects admitted to chamber 1, eg tin cans, caught in gap g and subsequently hammered to small size are ejected by the stream of water r into admission chamber 0 and drop to the bottom thereof. Tin cans are hammered to compact chunks of metal and can be removed from time to time from the bottom of admission chamber c jointly with other bulky refuse. Small stones are generally crushed in chamber 1, and their parts are either being swept away with the flow of water, or their parts collect at the bottom of admission chamber c. The number of revolutions of driving shaft i and of rotor block or driving blockj ought to be adjusted in accordance with the nature and the size of solid matter contained in the water supplied to the disposal machine. The rotary action of crushing tool 1 establishes a cyclone action tending to whirl solid matter upwardly into crushing chamber f. The afore described crushing action is not significantly affected by changes of the head of water. The performance of the disposal device remains satisfactory even if the water level sinks so low that half of the rotary crushing tool I is situated above the water level. There is no tendency of breakage or jamming of any parts of the device since the movable crushing tool I can move out of the way of any solid matter which cannot instantly be crushed by it. For the same reason there is no tendency of stopping driving block j on account of excessive crushing loads, resulting in locked rotor conditions of the electric motor which may be used to operate the disposal machine. Quite the contrary is true inasmuch as the machine has a self-adjusting or self-controlling tendency, i.e. the amount of foreign solid matter whirled at any given time into the crushing chamber is proportional to the ability of the machine at any given time to dispose of such matter or, in other words, the intake decreases with increasing load and increases with decreasing load. Objects way beyond the crushing capacity of the machine are never admitted to the crushing chamber f, but are stopped at a point upstream of aperture b in bottom plate 2 if their bulk is very large, or are deposited at the bottom of admission chamber c and cannot be sucked into crushing chamber if their weight is very high. If a piece of wood with parts of hardware thereon is admitted into crushing chamber 1, the wood will in effect, be gradually whittled or ground away until the parts of hardware remain, which will then be ejected to admission chamber 0, and stored at the bottom thereof.

Figs. 1 to 3, and 10, refer to. a fabricated cage mainly made up of rings 6, 7 and spacers 8 constituted by a casting and separate crushing bars e. As an alternative, the crushing cage including bars e may be made up of one single casting. A casting adapted to form a crushing cage in a machine of the type shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, has been illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, which are self-explanatory. Fig. 10 shows the basic crushing cage casting 6. 7, 8 to be provided with radialgr'ooves 8' adapted to receive the fixed crushing tools or knives e. Projections 8" on casting 6, 7, 8 are intended to receive studs 10 as clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be apparent that the crushing cage is openand substantially unobstructed at the bottom thereof and that each of its constituent bars has a sharp cutting edge situated in a cylindrical plane The cutting edges of the bars forming the crushing cage are formed by a pair of surfaces enclosing pieces of metal and the like cannot an'acute angle. One of these surfaces of each bar is arranged in said cylindrical plane.

Where it is desired, or desirable, to achieve a particularly strong axially upward pump action into the crushing cage formed by crushing bars e, the rotatable crushing tool 1 may be shaped according to the teachings of hydrodynamics to form an effective pump shovel. A crushing tool I which has been so modifiedis illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. This tool comprises the shaft portion 24 intended to be received by bearing 23 (see Fig. 3) and a striker portion 25 having a substantially cylinder surface 26 matching the curvature of the crushing cage and intended to be thrown by centrifugal action against crushing bars e (see Fig. 3).

If desired a portion of'the counter weight n for balancing the action of crushing tool 1' upon rotor block 1' may be recessed in rotor block to increase the space available within the crushing cage for matter to be crushed, i.e. to minimize encumbrance of that space by counter weight n. The centrifugal action of crushing tool 1 upon rotor block 1' may, in part, be compensated for by providing appropriate recesses in rotor block j (not shown in the drawing).

If desired an overfall-weir (not shown in the drawing) may be arranged inside of chamber a, and the height of the weir ought preferably to be adjustable. Foreign solid matter is then swept by the water stream r over the crest of the overfall-weir into admission chamber 0.

The preferred mode of installing crushing or disposal devices of the type shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, hasbeen disclosed in detail in copending patent applications and referencemay be had to these applications for a.

complete disclosure of this point. Figs. 8 and 9 indicate in a general way how the disposal machine may be installed. on, or adjacent, the bottom of a body of impure flowing water. Reference numeral 27 has been applied to indicate a tubular column arranged in a body 28 of impure flowing water. In Fig. 8 column 27 has been shown to be vertical, and .in Fig. 9 to be slanting, or oblique. motor 30 and a disposal or crushing machine 31 of the type shown in Figs. l;to 3, inclusive, is arranged at the bottom of column 27. Column 27 is pivotally supported at .32, enabling to pivot the lower end thereof above the level of the body of water 28, thus giving access to machine 31 for the purpose of inspection and repairp Referring now to Figs. 6, 7, v11 and 12, reference numeral 33 has been 'applied to indicate a shoulder formed between the shaft portion 24 of the crushing tool i and the cranked or hammer portion 25 thereof, which s also adapted to operate as a fluid impeller. As shown in Figs. 11 and 12, a substantially I-shaped retaining member 34 is screwed at two points 35 against the bottom face of rotor block 1'. retaining member 34 engage the shoulder 33 of rotatable crushing tool I, and a like shoulder provided on counterweight n. The position of crank-shafts k, m (see Fig. 3) has been indicated in Fig. 11 by circles to which the reference characters A and A have been applied. The circle B in Fig. 11 indicates the relative position of driving shaft i.

,In Fig. 11 the combined hammer head and impeller 25 has been shown in two positions. The radially outer position thereof has been shown. in-full lines and the radially inner position in dotted lines. In the first mentioned position the combined hammer head and impeller 25 is in engagement with, and in the last mentioned position part 25 is out of engagement with, the crushing bars of the crushing cage.

It will be noticed from Fig. 3 that the bulk of counter The top of column 27 supports the electric.

The radially outer-ends 36 of' It will be understood that although but one embodiment of the invention and a few modifications thereof have been described in detail, the invention is not limited thereto. It will also be understood that the structures illustrated may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

It is claimed:

1. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water in water purification systems comprising, in combination, a cage structure substantially circular in cross-section open at the bottom end thereof, said cage structure being formed by a system of spaced crushing-bars, passage means for admitting a flow of water into said cage structure from said open bottom end thereof, passage means for draining water leaving said cage structure through the gaps formed between said crushing-bars, a crank shaft comprising an upper shaft portion spaced from and parallel to the geometric axis of said cage structure and a lower cranked portion arranged inside said cage structure and adapted to form a fluid impeller and grinding and smashing tool, means for rotating said crank shaft about the geometric axis of said cage structure including a drive shaft arranged on top of said cage structure and a rotor block suspended from the lower end of said drive shaft supporting bearing means for said upper crank shaft portion.

2. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water in water purification systems comprising, in combination, a substantially cylindrical bottomless cage structure formed by a system of bars, said bars being Spaced to define a plurality of relatively narrow gaps and an additional relatively wide gap, passage means for admitting a flow of Water and solid matter into said cage structure through the bottomless end thereof, said passage means including a casing arranged below said cage structure having downwardly slanting lateral walls, passage means for draining water and solid matter leaving said cage structure through said narrow gaps and said wide gap, said passage means including a separate duct for returning to said casing water and solid matter leaving said cage structure through said wide gap, a crank shaft comprising an upper portion parallel to the geometric axis of said .cage structure projecting above said cage structure and a lower cranked portion projecting into said cage structure and adapted to form a fluid impeller and a grinding and smashing tool, bearing means for said upper portionof said crank shaft, and a drive shaft arranged coaxially with regard to said cage structure, said bearing means being coupled to and suspended from the lower end of said drive shaft.

3. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water in water purification systemscornprising, in combination, a vertical drive shaft, a rotor block coupled to said shaft suspended from the lower end thereof, a pair of bores in said rotor block parallel to and spaced from said drive shaft, a pair of crank shafts each comprising an upper shaft portion arranged in one of said pair of bores and a lower cranked portion, a bottomless cage structure substantially circular in cross-section formed by a system of spaced bars arranged below said rotor block in coaxial relation thereto, the lower cranked portion of one of said pair of crank shafts projecting downwardly into said cage structure, said lower portion forming a crushing tool having a curved surface matching the curvature of said cage structure, passage means I for admitting a fiow of water and solid matter into said cage structure through the bottomless end thereof, and passage means for draining water and solid matter leaving said cage structure through the gaps formed between said bars, said draining passage means including a spiral type housing for said cage structure.

4. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water in water purification systems .compris ing, in combination, a drive shaft, a rotor block coupled to said shaft at one end thereof, a bearing in said rotor block parallel to and spaced from the axis of said drive shaft, a crank shaft comprising a shaft portion supported by said bearing and a cranked portion projected beyond said rotor block, a bottomless cage structure substantially circular in cross-section formed by a system of spaced bars, said cage structure being arranged in cowial relation with respect to said drive shaft and surrounding said cranked portion, means controlling the distribution of mass relative to the axis of said rotor block to balance the centrifugal action of said cranked portion upon said rotor block, passage meansfor establishing a substantially U-shaped flow of water and solid matter into said cage structure through the bottomless end thereof, said passage means including cyclone action producing means arranged at a point upstream from said cage structure, and passage means for draining waterand solid matter leaving said cage structure through the gaps formed by said system of bars, said draining passage means including a spiral type housing for said cage structure.

5. A disposal machine as specified in claim 4 wherein said cage structure is formed by a casting.

6. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water in water purification systems comprising, in combination, an enclosure open and substantially unobstructed at the bottom end thereof formed by a stationary system of vertical spaced bars each having a sharp cutting edge situated in a cylindrical plane, said cutting edge of each of said system of bars being formed by a pair of surfaces enclosing an acute angle, one of said pair of surfaces being arranged in said cylindrical plane, a first rotatable shaft arranged in coaxial relation with respect to said enclosure, a rotor suspended from and adapted to be rotated by said first shaft, a bearing adapted to receive a second shaft parallel to and spaced from said first shaft supported by said rotor, and a crank shaft mounted in said bearing, the cranked portion of said crank shaft being adapted to be thrown by centrifugal action radially outwardly toward said system of bars to form a rotating crushing tool cooperating with said system of bars.

7. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water in water purification systems comprising, in combination, a substantially cylindrical enclosure formed by a stationary system of vertical spaced bars, a rotatable shaft arranged coaxially with respect to said cylindrical enclosurefa pair of bearings adapted to receive a pair of shafts parallel to said shaft and spaced therefrom, a rotor adapted to be rotated by said shaft supporting said pair of bearings, a pair of crank shafts each mounted in one of said pair of bearings, the cranked portion of one of said pair of crank shafts being adapted to be thrown by centrifugal action radially outwardly toward said system of bars to form a rotating size reducing tool cooperating with said system of bars, and the other of said pair of crank shafts being adapted to form a counter-weight substantially balancing the forces transmitted upon said rotor by said one of saidpair of crank shafts.

8. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of Water in water purification systems comprising, in combination, a substantially cylindrical bottomless enclosure for said matter formed by a stationary system of vertical spaced bars each having a radially inner cutting edge, said system of bars being spaced to define a plurality of relatively narrow gaps therebetween and one single relatively wide gapfor ejecting from said enclosure matter exceeding a predetermined crushing capacity, a first rotatable shaft arranged coaxially with respect to said enclosure, ,a rotor adapted to be rotated by said first shaft, a bearing adapted to receive a second shaft parallel to said first shaft and spaced therefrom, and a crank shaft supported by said bearing, the cranked portion of said crank shaft being adaptedto be thrown by centrifugal action radially outwardly toward said system of bars to form a rotating size reducing tool cooperating with said system of bars.

9. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water purification systems comprising in combination an enclosure open and substantially unobstructed at the bottom end thereof and including a stationary system of spaced vertical bars each having a sharp cutting edge situated in a cylindrical plane, said cutting edge of each of said system of bars being formed by a pair of surfaces enclosing an acute angle, one of said pair of surfaces being arranged in said cylindrical plane, a vertical rotatable shaft, rotor means projecting radially outwardly from said shaft suspended from and adapted to be driven by said shaft, a crushing tool arranged inside said enclosure, and

vertical pivot means securing said crushing tool to said rotor means at a point radially spaced from said shaft to permit said crushing tool when rotating about said shaft to move radially outwardly into engagement with and radially inwardly away from said system of bars. I

10. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water purification systems comprising in combination an enclosure open at the bottom end thereof and including a stationary system of spaced vertical bars arranged substantially in a cylindrical plane, a vertical rotatable shaft arranged in coaxial relation with said plane substantially on a level above said enclosure, rotor mean's projecting radially outwardly from said shaft mounted on and adapted to be driven by said shaft, said rotor means being substantially arranged on alevel above said enclosure, a crushing tool arranged below said rotor means inside said enclosure, a counter weight for said crushing tool arranged below said rotor means inside said enclosure, and a pair of vertical pivot means angularly dis- 10 placed degrees radially spaced from said shaft, one of said pair of pivot means securing said crushing tool to said rotor means and the other of said pair of pivot means securing said counter weight to said rotor means.

11. A disposal machine for processing solid matter raked out of water purification systems comprising in combination an enclosure open at the bottom end thereof and including a stationary system of spaced bars arranged substantially in a cylindrical plane, conduit means adapted to admit mixtures of water and of solid matter to said open bottom end of said enclosure, a vertical rotatable shaft arranged in coaxial relation with said cylindrical plane substantially on a level above said enclosure, rotor means projecting radialiy outwardly from said shaft mounted on and adapted to be driven by said shaft, said rotor means being substantially arranged on a level above said enclosure, a vertical pivot supported by said rotor means at a point radially spaced from said shaft, and a crushing tool supported by said pivot adapted when rotating about said shaft to move radially outwardly into engagement with and radially inwardly away from said system of bars, said crushing tool including a convex crushing surface adapted to cooperatively engage said system of bars, and said crushing tool further including an impeller surface adapted to move water and solid matter upwardly through said open bottom end of said enclosure into said enclosure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,305,109 Santucci Dec. 15, 1942 2,594,785 Meeker Feb. 21, 1947 2,753,121 Elfenbein July 3, 1956

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