US3549093A

US3549093A - Comminuting machine for comminuting chippable material,especially wood,into chips of predetermined size

Info

Publication number: US3549093A
Application number: US724889A
Authority: US
Inventors: Wilhelm Pallmann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1967-04-27
Filing date: 1968-04-29
Publication date: 1970-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 1987-12-22

Description

United States Patent Inventor Wilhelm Pallmann 57 Wallstrasse 666, Zweibrucken, Germany Appl. No. 724,889

Filed Apr. 29, I968 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 Priority Apr. 27, 1967, May 20, 1967 Germany No. P-29241,P-42182 COMMINUTING MACHINE FOR COMMINUTING CHIPPABLE MATERIAL, ESPECIALLY WOOD, INTO CHIPS OF PREDETERMINED SIZE 17 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

Int. I B02c 18/14 Field of Search 241/49, 50,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 204,849 6/1878 Sherwin 241 /55 794,785 7/1905 Cox 241/154 1,704,757 3/1929 Mead, Jr 241/154 1,861,779 6/1932 Bornhauser 241/55 3,260,468 7/1966 Beard 241/55X Primary ExaminerFrank T. Yost Attorney-Michael S. Striker ABSTRACT: A comminuting machine for comminuting particulated wood or similar chippable material into chips of predetermined size wherein the material fed into the machine passes first through rotating rough comminuting means and then through coaxiaily arranged fine comminuting means to be in two successive stages comminuted in a single machine into chips of predetermined size.

COMMINUTING MACHINE FOR COMMINUTING 'CIIIPPABLE MATERIAL, ESPECIALLY WOOD, INTO CHIPS OF PREDETERMINED SIZE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a comminuting machine, especially to a comminuting machine for wood, in which particulated wood or similar chippable material is comminuted to chips of predetermined thickness, width and length.

Machines are known in which particulated wood or similar material is comminuted into chips by rotating knife drums into which the material is fed. However, the chips obtained by such machines do not satisfy the requirements of uniformity as to width and length as required for the manufacture of pressboard or similar plates formed from wood chips and a binder material. Therefore, such chips are usually further disintegrated in machines such as granulators and similar mills in which the chips are further divided by rotating cutter drums to obtain a uniform size.

In other words to obtain chips of uniform size as to thickness, width and length the material to be comminuted has, heretofore, been subjected to successive comminuting processes requiring at least two separate machines and means for transferring the material from one to the other machine, which made this process expensive in thatit required a considerable initial investment, considerable space and additional transporting means.

It is an object of the present invention to simplify this process of comminuting wood particles or similar chippable material into chips of predetermined size and to provide a single machine for producing chips of predetermined size from particulated wood or similar material.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for such a machine which is composed of relatively few and simple parts so that the machine may be manufactured at reasonable cost and will stand up properly during extended use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With these objects in view, the comminuting machine according to the presentinvention for comminuting particulated woodand similar chippable material into chips of predeter- -mined dimensions as to width, length and thickness mainly comprises a housing, rotatable rough comminuting means in the housing for rough comminuting material fed into the housing, feeding means comminuting with the housing for feeding chippable material into engagement with the rough comminuted so that the material will be rough comminuted by the latter, fine comminuting means in the housing preferably arranged coaxially with the rough comminuting means and surrounding the latter to further comminute the material into chips of predetermined dimensions, and outlet means arranged to receive said chips and ,to discharge the same from the housing.

The rough comminuting means preferably comprise a plurality of cutting means arranged spaced from each other in a ring rotatable about an axis and extending substantially parallel to the rotating axis of the ring, and the fine comminuting means preferably comprise a plurality of elongated cutters extending radially outwardly from segments carrying the cutting means of the rough comminuting means to rotate therewith and a stationary curved plate at least partly surrounding the fine comminuting means coaxially therewith and having an inner serrated surface radially spaced by a small clearance from outer edges of the cutters of the fine comminuting means. The housing of the machine is provided with an outlet opening, the inner end thereof is preferably covered by a sieve arranged substantially on a common cylindrical surface with the aforementioned stationary plate of the fine comminuting means so that only chips of predetermined size, depending on the mesh size of the sieve, may be discharged from the machine.

The material to be comminuted is preferably fed between the knives of the cutter ring by a fan wheel provided in the inten'or of the cutter ring and preferably rotating in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the latter. Transportation of the chips out of the machine may be enhanced by blades extending radially outwardly from the cutter ring.

Instead of providing a sieve which partially surrounds the fine comminuting means, it is also possible to surround the rotating cutter ring completely with a stationary plate provided at the inner surface thereof with serrations and to form only a relatively small opening in the plate, which extends over the whole width thereof in the region of the discharge opening of the machine, to thus form a discharge gap in this plate, the width of which is preferably adjustable to avoid thus discharge of not properly comminuted chips from the machine. The material after having passed through the rough comminuting means is thus further disintegrated or fiberized by the cutters of the fine comminuting means and the serrations of the surrounding curved plate cooperating therewith. In order to hold the percentage of undesired too finely disintegrated material as small as possible, it is necessary to properly correlate the size of the serrations on the stationary plate with the number of revolutions of the cutter ring.

Experiments have shown that the percentage of too fine material obtained with the machine according to the present invention is relatively small. This small percentage may, after the usual drying of the obtained chips be separated from the chips of desired size by means of a known sifting device.

The discharge opening of the comminuting machine according to the present invention may be downwardly directed, but preferably the machine has an upwardly directed discharge socket into which the chips are transported by the air stream produced by the vanes rotating with the cutter ring.

If the air stream thus produced is not sufficient to transport the chips through a long transporting passage connected to the discharge socket of the machine, then an additional stream of compressed air sufficient to transport the chips in fluidized manner through a long transporting passage may be injected into the latter.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic cross section of one embodiment of the machine according to the present invention in which the discharge opening of the machine is downwardly directed;

FIG. 2 is a cross section taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross section similar to FIG. I, but showing an other embodiment with an upwardly directed pneumatic discharge; and

FIG. 4 is a partial cross section showing a modification of the machine as illustrated in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawing, and more specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the same, it will be seen that the comminuting machine according to the present invention illustrated in these two FIGS. mainly comprises a housing 1 in which rough and fine comminuting means are arranged coaxially with each other. The rough comminuting means include a cutter ring 4 composed of a plurality of spaced carrier segments 6, defining between themselves air slots extending in axial direction of the ring, and a plurality of cutting knives 5 respectively carried by the segments 6, preferably adjustably in any known manner in substantially radial direction. The fine comminuting means comprise rotatable means composed of a plurality of elongated cutters 7 preferably adjustably fixed to substantially radially extending projections 6' which project outwardly from some of the carrier segments 6. The outer edges of the cutters 7 cooperate with a stationary curved plate 9 having an inner serrated surface arranged coaxially with the axis of the ring 4 andtspaced a small clearance from the outer edges of the cutters 7 of the fine comminuting means. As shown in FIG. 1, the serrated plate 9 extends only through a quarter of a circle about the cutter ring 4 and the remainder of the cutter ring is surrounded by a stationary sieve 8 of appropriate mesh size. It is however to be understood that the portions of the cutter ring which are surrounded by the serrated plate 9 and by the sieve 8, respectively, may be varied to a great extent and actually, as will be explained later on, the serrated plate may extend substantially over the whole circumference of the cutter ring to beinterrupted only by an adjustable gap for discharge of a properly comminuted chips therethrough.

The material to be comminuted is fed through an inlet funnel 21 (FIG. 2) and an inlet opening 10 in the housing into the region of the center of the cutter ring, and the feeding means for feeding the material into engagement with the cutters 5 of the rough comminuting means further include a fan wheel 2 having a plurality of fan blades 3 extending in radial direction substantially from the inner surface of the cutter ring 4 towards but short of the inlet opening 10.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the blades 3 of the fan wheel are supported on a plate extending normal to the axis of the cutter ring and this plate 15 is integrally connected to a hub 14 which is keyed to a shaft 12 coaxially arranged with the cutter ring and projecting into the housing 1 from the side thereof opposite to the inlet opening 10. A hollow shaft 18 coaxially arranged with the shaft 12 supports a plate 19 normal to the shaft axis and arranged between the plate 15 and the right sidewall of the housing, as viewed in FIG. 2, and the cutter ring 4 is supported along one end thereof on the aforementioned plate 19. On the opposite side the segments 6 are connected to each other by an annular plate 20. The shaft 12 to which the fan wheel is connected may be rotated in the direction as indicated by the arrow 13, whereas the hollow shaft 17 to which the cutter ring 4 is connected is preferably rotated in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow 18. The two shafts are driven by conventional drive means not shown in the drawing. A plurality of additional air inlet openings 11 are arranged about the material inlet opening 10 so that additional air may be sucked into the interior of the cutter ring 4 by the fan wheel 2, 3.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the housing is open at the bottom to provide an outlet opening 22 for the comminuted chips.

FIG. 3 illustrated in cross section normal to the axis of the machine an other embodiment which differs from the embodiment described above and illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 mainly in that the machine is provided with an upwardly directed outlet socket 23 which communicates at its outer end with a likewise upwardly directed transporting passage or duct 24. Furthermore, to discharge the comminuted chips pneumatically through the socket 23 and the passage 24, the cutter ring 4 is provided with additional fan blades 25 connected to and projecting outwardly from some of the carrier segments 6. If

the air stream produced by these fan blades 25 should not be sufficient to transport the chips through the passage 24, additional air injector means 26 may be provided, as schematically indicated in dash lines in FIG. 3, and constructed in a known manner to inject a stream of compressed air in upward direction into the passage 24. In the modification shown in FIG. 3, the serrated plate 9 surrounds three-quarters of the circumference of the cutter ring 4 and only one-quarter of the cutter ring is encompassed by a sieve 8 arranged at the inner end of the discharge socket 23 on a common cylindrical surface with the serrated plate 9.

, FIG. 4 illustrates a further modification in which the ser- 3 rated plate 9 surrounds nearly the whole cutter ring and is interrupted only at the inner end of the discharge socket 23 of reduced cross section. The size of the discharge opening 26 through which chips may be discharged from the machine may be adjusted by a sliding plate 27 slidable in appropriate grooves formed in the housing of the machine. In this case a sieve may be completely eliminated.

The operation of the machine above described will be obvious from the description. Particulated wood or similar chippable material is fed through the inlet funnel 21 into the region of the axis of the machine and during rotation of the fan wheel 2, 3 in direction as indicated by the arrow 13 and rotation of the cutter ring 4 in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow 18, the material is passed first through the rough cutting means to be roughly comminuting and then through the fine comminuting means whereby the material is further comminuted into chips of predetermined size by the cooperation of the cutters 7 and the serrated plate 9. The material thus comminuted passes, in the machine shown in FIG. 1, in downward direction through the sieve 8, and in the machine shown in FIG. 3, the comminuted chips are pneumatically transported in upward direction through the outlet socket 23 and the transporting passage 24.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of comminuting machines for comminuting particulated wood and similar chippable material into chips of predetermined dimensions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a comminuting machine for comminuting particulated wood and similar chippable material into chips of predetermined dimensions in which the material is successively passed through rough and fine comminuting means arranged coaxially with each other, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A comminuting machine for comminuting particulated wood and similar chippable material into chips of predetermined dimensions as to width, length and thickness comprising, in combination, a housing; rotatable rough comminuting means in said housing for rough comminuting material fed into said housing; feeding means communicating with said housing for feeding chippable material into engagement with said rough comminuting means so that the material will be rough comminuted by the latter; fine comminuting means in said housing arranged to continuously receive the rough comminuted material from said rough comminuting means to further comminute the material into chips of predetermined dimensions, said rough and said fine comminuting means comprising cutting means having cutting edges for cuttingly engaging said chippable material; and outlet means arranged to receive said chips and to discharge the same from said housing.

2. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said rough and said fine comminuting means are arranged coaxially with each other about a common axis.

3. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said rough comminuting means are arranged within said fine comminuting means and wherein said feeding means are arranged to feed the material to be comminuted into the interior of said rough comminuting means.

4. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said fine comminuting means comprise rotatable means fixedly connected to said rough comminuting means for rotation therewith and stationary means carried by said housing coaxial with said common axis and at least in part a surrounding said rotatable means of said fine comminuting means.

5. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said feeding means comprise a fan wheel coaxially arranged within said rough comminuting means.

6. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 3, wherein said rough comminuting means comprise a plurality of said cutting means which are arranged spaced from each other extending substantially parallel to said axis in a ring coaxially with said common axis. v

7. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 6, wherein said plurality of cutting means comprise a plurality of carrier segments arranged spaced from each other in said ring to define a plurality of axially extending air slots, and a cutting knife carried by each of said segments.

8. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 7, wherein said cutting means of said fine comminuting means comprise rotatable means composed of a plurality of elongated cutters fixed to and projecting substantially radially outwardly from said carrier segments and in longitudinal direction substantially parallel to said axis, and a curved stationary plate at least partly surrounding said fine comminuting means coaxially arranged therewith and having an inner serrated surface radially spaced by a small clearance from outer edges of said cutters.

9. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 8, wherein said feeding means comprise a fan wheel coaxially arranged within said rough comminuting means and means for rotating said fan wheel in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of said rough comminuting means.

10. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 9, wherein said fan wheel has a plurality of fan blades extending toward said common axis and having inner edges radially outwardly spaced from said axis, and wherein said feeding means further includes passage means extending through said housing into the space between said inner edges of said fan blades.

11. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 9, and including a plurality of blades connected to said carrier seg ments and extending in substantially radial outward direction.

12. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 8, wherein said stationary plate extends only partly around said axis and wherein said outlet means comprise a downwardly directed outlet opening in said housing and a sieve arranged in the region of said outlet opening.

13. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 12, wherein said sieve is arranged substantially on a common cylindrical surface with said plate and completely surrounding with the latter the rotating means.

14. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 8, wherein said outlet means comprise an outlet socket communicating with said housing.

15. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 14, wherein said socket projects in upward direction from said housing, a transporting passage comminuting with an outer end of said socket, and passage means communicating with said transporting passage for feeding air under pressure in upward direction into the latter.

16. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 8, wherein said housing is provided with an outlet opening, and wherein said plate extends substantially about the whole circumference of said rotatable means of said fine comminuting means except for a gap located in the region of said outlet opening.

17. A comminuting machine as defined in claim 16 and including means for adjusting the size of said gap.