US3822042A

US3822042A - Demolition apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3822042A
Application number: US00331839A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Roy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-01-13
Filing date: 1973-02-12
Publication date: 1974-07-02
Anticipated expiration: 1991-07-02

Abstract

The present invention relates to demolition apparatus for fragmenting to any desired fragment or chip size a wide variety of solid waste materials, as for example whole trees, stumps and logs, torn down houses, street collection trash, garbage and the like. Demolition apparatus according to the present invention has particular utility in clearing large tracts of land for buildings, shopping centers, housing developments, industrial plants, etc. The disclosed apparatus comprises a semitrailer that is adapted to be towed by a tractor, and to perform its demolishing action either while stationary, or while being towed. The disclosed demolition apparatus comprises a rubble chamber into which rubble such as entire trees is dumped, the apparatus having a masticating bed comprising multitoothed demolition rollers that cut the trees or other rubble into small fragments. The demolition apparatus then discharges the fragments to be collected and packaged or otherwise distributed as desired.

Description

United States Patent n91 Roy i [11 3, 22,042 451 July 2,1974

[ DEMOLITION APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Roger E. Roy, 5837 Clear Valley Rd., Hidden Hills, Calif. 91302 22 Filed: Feb. 12, 1973 21 Appl. No; 331,839

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuationin-part of Ser, No. 217,519, Jan. 13,

1972, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 241/235, 241/73, 241/101.7, 241/260.1 [51] Int. Cl. B02c 13/20 [58] Field of Search 241/101 M, 101.7, 73, 83, 241/84,86, 88.1, 88.2, 227, 235, 278 R, 241, 246-248, 260, 260.1, 261; 280/438 R, 438 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 310,236 ,l/l885 Wakeford 308/60 463,049 11/1891 Harding 241/144 7 2,213,445 j 9/1940 Marsh et al 241/144 3,021,155 2/1962 Sherman 280/438 R 3,261,741 7/1966 Bidwell 162/261 3,530,912 9/1970 Freeman 24 l/101.7 3,545,692 12/1970 Burkett 241/101 M X 3,559,898 2/1971 'Rinke 24l/l01.7 3,584,801 6/1971 Fourcade. 241/138 3,661,333 5/1972 Smith 241/281 3,752,409 8/1973 Lewis 241/101.7X

Primary Examiner-Roy Lake Assistant Examiner-E. F. Desmond Attorney, Agent, 0r Firm-Albert L. Gabriel [5 7] ABSTRACT The present invention relates to demolition apparatus for fragmenting to any desired fragment or chip size a wide variety of solid waste materials, as for example whole trees, stumps and logs, torn down houses, street collection trash, garbage and the like. Demolition apparatus according to the present invention has particular utility in clearing large tracts of land for buildings, shopping centers, housing developments, industrial plants, etc. The disclosed apparatus comprises a semitrailer that is adapted to be towed by a tractor, and to perform its demolishing action either while stationary,

'or while being towed.

The disclosed demolition apparatus comprises a rubble chamber into which rubble such as entire trees is dumped, the apparatus having a masticating bed comprising multitoothed demolition rollers that cut the trees or other rubble into small fragments. The demolition apparatus then discharges the fragments to be collected and packaged or otherwise distributed as desired.

54 Claims, 27 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 2 I914 SHEEI 5 OF 6 PATENTEDJUL 21974 33221042 sumsnre 36 a //4&

FIG.25

A 520 A80 a up l DEMOLITION APPARATUS RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 217,519, filed Jan. 13, 1971, now abandoned for DEMOLITION APPARA- TUS.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the clearing of large land tracts for housing developments, shopping centers, industrial plants, freeways and the like, it often becomes necessary to remove orchards, concrete structures, asphalt pavements, whole houses including plaster, lumber, roofing materials, etc., and the removal of this rubble has always introduced problems, not only the problem of actual removal, but also the problem of how to dispose of the resultant debris.

The problem of actually removing the rubble from the ground has recently worsened, primarily because the low volume, prior art techniqueshave become too expensive and too inefficient. For example, some of these prior art removal techniques have involved defrocking and detrunking of trees, and then separately handling the limbs, trunks and stumps. Some prior art techniques have required that the resultant tree portions be preoriented and fed stump end first into chopping or crushing apparatus, whereas other prior art techniques have required that the various trunk portions be carefully placed on a rotor of chipping knives in order not to overload any of the knives.

As indicated above, these prior art removal techniques are no longer satisfactory. I

In the past, it has been possible to dispose of the debris by burning some of it, burying some of it, trucking some of it to other sites, etc. But of late, these disposal techniques have not been satisfactory because of the lack of disposal facilities, because of increasing cost of disposal, and because of the emphasis upon ecology.

On the other hand, the problem of disposing of properly fragmented wooden debris has decreased, primarily because the debris may take the form of wooden chips for which there seems to be an ever-increasing need. For example, wood chips are now used for the following purposes: barbecue chips, lemon, chips, orange chips, briquettes, pressboard, paper, ground mulch, flower beds, weed deterrents, bedding for rose gardens, slip preventatives on ice, animal and restaurant flooring, sweeping compounds, etc- Another and increasingly serious problem in the solid waste disposal field is in connection with the disposal of street collection trash, which includes such things as food garbage, paper products including cardboard boxes, plastics, metal cans, glass bottles, demolition lumber, plaster, roofing paper, automobile tires, and the like. Such trash is conventionally disposed of in whole form at city or county dumps by a cut and fill process, which requires the use of large areas of otherwise valuable land near cities- Because such trash is'dumped in whole" form, much of it is not readily assimilated by the land, and such land may be ruined for many years, both ecologically and for developmental purposes. The high percentage of organic materials in such street collection trash, including food garbage, lawn trimmings and the like, generally creates a very bad smell, and attracts large populations of flies, rats, and other disease- 3,s22,042 I g carrying pests in the vicinities of the dumps, and this problem is compounded in or near large metropolitan areas where pest control is critical.

It has also been the practice in some major metropolitan areas adjacent to the ocean to take street collection trash a few miles offshore in garbage scows or barges and dump it into the ocean in whole form. This method of dumping is presently in disfavor because of the severe pollution damage it causes to coastal waters and coastlines, butprior to the present invention there has been no satisfactory solution to the problem.

OBJECTIVES AND DRAWINGS It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide animproved demolition apparatus.

' Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved demolition apparatus'that is mobile, and may be taken to the location where it is needed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved demolition apparatus that is adapted to demolish rubble while the apparatus is either stationary or moving.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved demolition apparatus that has a differential power arrangement for providing power where needed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved demolition apparatus that has novel multitooth demolition rollers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved demolition roller tht has novel replaceable teeth.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved demolition apparatus having a roughly flat masticating bed.

A further object of the invention is to provide fragment reprocessing means which improves masticating I efficiency and enables the size of the fragments or chips from the demolition apparatus to be controlled, and to be reduced to as small a size as desired.

A urther object is to provide demolition apparatus of the character described which embodies a novel cutter roller assembly comprising a series of apertured cutter discs removably stacked on an out-of-round driving shaft, which greatly reduces fabrication cost while nevertheless enabling cutter teeth to be readily replaced.

A further object of the invention is to provide demolition apparatus of the character described which has novel deflection wing means thereon which minimizes the projection of chips out of the open top of the rubble substantial quantities. The end product from such trash is so well refined, mixed, andaerated by the present invention that it is readily assimilated in the soil almost anywhere, and can even be packaged and utilized as a soil enrichment product. Thus, large dump areas and associated cut. andfill operations may be eliminated, together with associated hauling and dumping fees.

Disposal of this refined product on land or in the ocean will generally not impair the ecology.

The attainment of these objectives, and others, will be realized from a study of the following description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, of which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I shows a side view of the overall demolition ap paratus:

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the overall demolition apparatus;

FIG. 3 shows a partial elevational view of one form of demolition roller assembly, taken on the line 33 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 shows a partial longitudinal, vertical sectional view of the demolition apparatus;

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are fragmentary transverse, vertical sectional views taken on the line --5 in FIG. 4, of different configurations of the masticating bed and demolition roller arrangement;

FIG. 8 is taken on the line 88 in FIG. 3, and shows a partial pictorial view of a tooth attachment for the form of demolition roller assembly illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a transverse, vertical section taken on the line 9-9 in FIG. 1, showing a gear arrangement for driving hydraulic pumps forming a portion of the power train from the engine to the demolition rollers;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary top plan view showing a different masticating bed and demolition roller arrangement;

FIG. ll is a fragmentary side elevational view, with portions broken away, showing an alternate prime mover engine arrangement;

FIG. 12 shows a schematic drawing of the hydraulic system;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing reprocessing grate and cutter bar means associated with a plurality of demolition rollers;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the reprocessing grate and cutter bar arrangement illustrated in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view of a second form of reprocessing grate, made of expanded metal plate;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary perspective view of a third form of reprocessing grate, made of a perforated longitudinally cut pipe segment;

FIG. 17 is a partial elevational view similar to FIG. 3, showing a modified demolition roller assembly of the type depicted in FIG. 3, but with many more cutting teeth, and with helix rod segments aligned with some of the teeth for reducing their effective lengths;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged, fragmentary, elevational view of another form of demolition roller assembly comprising a series of tooth-supporting rings assembled on a square shaft;

FIG. 19 is an end elevational view of the roller assembly shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view, partly in elevation, showing details of the assembly of FIGS. 18 and 19;

FIG. 21 is a further enlarged, fragmentary section taken on the line 2l-2l in FIG. 19, showing details of the tooth mounting;

FIG. 22 is fragmentary axial section taken on the line 22-22 in FIG. 19, showing how the assembled rings and teeth are held together on the shaft;

FIG. 23 is a transverse sectional view of a further fonn of demolition roller assembly wherein apertured cutter discs are stacked on a square shaft;

FIG. 24 is a fragmentary perspective view further illustrating the form of demolition roller assembly of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a fragmentary elevational view of the form of roller assembly of FIGS. 23 and 24; FIG. 26 is a transverse, vertical section taken through the body of the demolition apparatus, illustrating chip deflection wings hinged to the upper side edges of the rubble chamber, and also showing a primary conveyor extending longitudinally under the masticating bed; and

FIG. 27 is a schematic perspective view showing a complete conveyor arrangement.

SYNOPSIS Broadly speaking, the present application discloses a demolition apparatus that is adapted to handle entire trees that may be dropped unoriented into a rubble chamber that has a masticating bed. The disclosed masticating bed is such that regardless of the tree s orientation, the cutting teeth of the masticating bed are provided with sufficient power to satisfy their instantaneous loads, whether the overall load happens to be a stump, hardwood tree, a plurality of trees, or the like. The disclosed demolition apparatus is also suitable for reducing almost any other type of solid waste to a more easily manageable and sanitary form, including but not limited to such things as torn down houses, street collection trash, garbage, and the like. Various power transmission systems are discussed, as well as the use of differently shaped masticating beds and several forms of toothed cutting rollers employed in the masticating bed. Reprocessing grate and cutter bar means are also disclosed for improving masticating efficiency and for controlling and reducing output particle size.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The Overall Demolition Apparatus As was pointed out above, there is a pressing need for demolition apparatus that can handle extremely large volumes of various types of rubble while the demolition apparatus is either standing still or is moving. The disclosed invention accomplishes this result, as will be understood from FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows the overall demolition apparatus to have two parts, a tractor 10 that tows a semitrailer 12, the semitrailer 12 having a plurality of wheels 13 and a trailer base 14 onto which is built a hopper-shaped rubble chamber 15.

As will be explained later, the rubble chamber 15 contains at its lower portion a masticating bed 16 having a plurality of multitoothed demolition rollers, these rollers being powered by any one of a number of suitable power sources. The present explanation will be presented in terms of a hydraulic power system for powering the demolition rollers; although, as will be indicated later, other power systems may be used.

The prime mover engine for masticating bed 16 is shown to be an internal combustion engine 18, such as a 1200 hp Diesel engine of the Caterpillar D348 type, or its equivalent. Engine 18 may be conveniently mounted on the front end of the semitrailer 12, with its radiator 19 mounted under a guiding projection 20 that protects the radiator 19 from being injured by the rubble that is dropped into the rubble chamber Engine 18 of FIG. l is illustrated as having a bell housing 22 that encloses a transmission element such as a clutch or a torque converter that protects the engine 18 from overloads, and may, if this is deemeddesirable, be adjustable for the loads that are expected. The output power shaft 23 from the bell housing 22 is applied to a gear train to be discussed later that drives a plurality in the illustrated case, six of hydraulic pumps 24a, 24b, 24c, 24d, etc., the hydraulic pumps 24 being, for example, of the 300 hp 500 hp heavy duty pumps produced by Sundstrand Corporation. As will be discussed later, each of the hydraulic pumps 24 is adapted to power its own individual hydraulic motor.

For reasons that will become apparent later, the output power shaft 23 from the bell housing 22 is designed to also rotatea set of pulleys 25, gears, or the like that pump some of the hydraulic fluid-through one or more heat exchangers 26. A reservoir 27 for hydraulic fluid and a tank 28 for Diesel fuel are mounted on the back portion of the semitrailer 12.

A like polarity, six in this case, of

hydraulic motors

30a, 30b, etc., are mounted on the base 14 of the semitrailer 12 just above the rear wheels, and suitable conduits, shown diagrammatically in FIG. 12, interconnect each motor 30 with a respective one of the hydraulic pumps 24. The advantage of this specific system will be discussed later.

A second guide projection 31 protects the hydraulic motors 30 from falling rubble.

The Demolition Rollers In operation, the demolition apparatus of FIG. 1 is either parked, or is driven along. Suitable auxiliary apparatus (such as bulldozers, cranes, and the like) uproot and drop the rubble, including such rubble as one or more entire unoriented trees, into the rubble chamber 15. The trees, due to their weight, drop to the bottom of the rubble chamber 15, the lowermost portions of the trees, regardless of whether they are limbs, roots, stumps, etc., coming to rest on the masticating bed 16 at the bottom portion of the rubble chamber 15.

Although the invention is not in any way limited as to dimensions, it has been found advisable to make the rubble chamber 15 about 10 feet high, about 25 feet long, and about 8 feet wide, as this size is capable of handling the largest tree that will be met in the ordinary usage of the disclosed demolition apparatus, while still being legally transportable on highways.

The masticating bed 16 uses a plurality of toothed demolition rollers that are best seen in FIG. 2 which is a plan view of the demolition apparatus discussed previously in connection with FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows the six

hydraulic motors

30a, 30b, 30c, etc., to be positioned in a staggered relationship, so that their respective output shafts 33 are substantially equally spaced apart as indicated. Each motor shaft 33 is supported by an individual bearing 34, and is then attached to an individual set 35a, 35b, 350, etc., of demolition rollers.

Thus, each of the hydraulic pumps 24 drives a single hydraulic motor 30 which in turn rotates a single generally axially aligned set 35 of demolition rollers.

Due to the extreme length of the semitrailer 12, it has been found desirable that with the rollers longitudinally oriented as in FIG. 2, each. set 35 of demolition rollers should be made up of a plurality of individual axially v 6 interconnected demolition rollers 36 that have their adjacent ends interconnected by means such as pillow blocks 37 to form the above mentioned set 35 of rollers. In this way, each individual roller 36 may be slightly out of alignment with the other rollers of its set, and may have its alignment vary from moment to mo ment as the semitrailer moves over relatively rough ground and under varying load and stress concentrations over the masticating bed 16, but will still operate properly.

FIG. 3 shows a partial view of a set 35 of demolition rollers, three demolition rollers being indicated at 36, and two pillow blocks being indicated at 37. Due to the use of heavy duty ball bearing type pillow blocks 37, alignment and the load encountered by the demolition rollers do not cause any difficulty.

Tooth Arrangement It will be recalled from the above discussion that an entire tree may be dropped into the rubble chamber 15' and that the downwardly projecting portions of the tree come to rest on the masticating bed 16 that is formed. by the toothed demolition rollers 36, the sets 35 of de molition rollers being independently driven by their respective motors 30. As indicated, each roller has a plurality of teeth that bite into the portion of the tree resting on, or adjacent to, that particular roller, and the teeth quickly masticate the tree to produce a stream of wood fragments or chips that may be spread on the ground as the demolition apparatus moves along. Alternatively, the wood fragments may drop onto one or morebelts arranged underneath the demolition rollers for collectionand bagging in suitable containers. For example, if desired, a pair of longitudinally moving conveyor belts respectively underlying the front and rear halves of the demolition bed may be employed to move the fragments onto a central, transverse conveyor beltwhich then moves the fragments out to one side of the apparatus for placing in bags or other suitable receptacles, or trucks or other transport means. Another conveyor arrangement is illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 27 and described hereinafter in connection therewith.

It is preferable from the point of view of power efficiencythat too many teeth do not bite into the tree similtaneously as this would require excessive power. In order to prevent the power from becoming excessive, the teeth are preferably placed in a helix around the periphery of each roller. Moreover, the teeth of one roller are also preferably longitudinally offset from the teeth of theadjacent rollers as seen in FIG. 2, so that there is no possibility of the teeth ever abutting each other. Also, the teeth of adjacent rollers may be circumferentially offset as seen in FIG. 5. Due to the offset teeth relationship, the rollers may be closely spaced, even to the extent that the teeth of adjacent rollers overlap as seen in'FIG. 5, and the individual teeth may be made long enough so that each tooth takes a fairly deep bite out of the tree. When this tooth configuration is used, the teeth never abut each other; the teeth tend to bite into the tree at individually different times, and the teeth tend to produce smaller fragments.

Alternatively, the teeth may be positioned in periph eral circles around the rollers, being longitudinally either offset or aligned. If the teeth are thus longitudinally aligned, then if adjacent rollers are closely spaced, the teeth can be circumferentially offset or staggered as seen in FIG. 5.

In an early experimental apparatus it was found that satisfactory operation, fragment size, and power demands were achieved in the demolition of whole trees, stumps, logs, and the like, by a roller diameter of about 8 inches, 21 tooth length of about 1 inch, and 40 teeth per roller. Thus, the masticating bed 16 as illustrated in FIG. 2, based upon such early experimental apparatus, having the equivalent of 24 rollers, had a total of close to 1,000 teeth.

The Masticating Bed It is desirable that the masticating bed 16 formed by the various sets of rollers be firm and rigid in order to provide the optimal cutting action. To achieve this desired sturdiness, the base 14 of the semitrailer is shown in FIG. 4 to be formed of longitudinal l beams 38 that carry suitable transverse I beams 39 which in turn support the bearings 34 and the pillow blocks 37 discussed above. In this way, the masticating bed of demolition rollers 36 is provided with the desired rigidity.

It will be realized that with the longitudinal sets 35 of rollers, if the individual demolition rollers 36 and their pillow blocks 37 were transversely aligned, this would tend to diminish demolition efficiency. In order to avoid this situation, the demolition rollers 36 are intentionally misaligned, as may be seen by referring to FIG. 2. In this plan view, it will be noted that the pillow blocks 37 and thus the areas that are devoid of cutting teeth, are longitudinally and transversely staggered. This result is obtained by having selected sets of demolition rollers to start with, not complete demolition rollers, but with partial or half-rollers at each end of alternate roller sets.

However, rather than have a random location of the pillow blocks 37, they are positioned in such a manner that they may be supported by selected transverse I beams 39 of FIG. 4.

It has been found that a substantially flat masticating bed 16 is satisfactory for most purposes. Such a Hat masticating bed 16 having closely spaced teeth is indicated by the transverse vertical section of FIG. 5. At other times, an arcuate masticating bed 16 may be desired, and a concave arcuate arrangement of the demolition rollers is shown in FIG. 6. Similarly, a vertically sinuous masticating bed 16 may be desirable for other situations, and such a bed is indicated in cross section in FIG. 7.

For convenience, these various types of masticating bed configurations will be designated as roughly flat.

The disclosed masticating beds comprise a plurality of sets of demolition rollers whose adjacent longitudinal edges and cutting teeth produce a multiple line cutting effect. The resultant plurality of cutting lines provide simultaneous cutting and positive fragmenting or chipping.

Since the disclosed demolition apparatus handles large amounts of rubble, this means that the weight of the rubble in the rubble chamber helps hold the material relatively fixedly positioned for optimal cutting effect.

Tooth Attachment It will be apparent that the teeth must be extremely strong and must be strongly affixed to the demolition rollers 36. FIG. '8 indicates a tooth 41 and its attachment means. In this illustration, the tooth 41 has a body portion 42 and a hardened cutting portion 43. In order to provide an easily replaceable tooth attachment, the demolition roller 36 has a recess that accepts a locking block 44 that is fastened in place onto the roller 36 by means such as a threaded bolt 45. Thus, as the bolt 45 is tightened down, it pulls the locking block 44 into the recess, and a tapered portion 46 of the locking block 44 tightens itself against a complementary tapered portion 47 of the tooth body 42. In this way, the tooth 44 is securely held, and yet is easily removable if such action is necessary.

It was previously indicated that the disclosed demolition apparatus may be used on various types of rubble, and this result is obtained by providing teeth whose cutting element is of a suitable material to demolish the particular type of rubble to be encountered. The density of the teeth in the masticating bed will also vary for optimum results on difference kinds of rubble, as well as to provide variations in the resulting chip size, as will be discussed in detail hereinafter.

Pump Drive It was pointed out previously (in connection with FIG. 1) that the prime mover engine 18 drives a set of six hydraulic pumps 24, and one form of pump-driving mechanism is illustrated in FIG. 9. Here, the power output shaft 23 from the bell housing 22 is adapted to also rotate three idler gears 49a, 49b, and 490, the idler gears 49 in turn rotating respective pump shaft gears 50a, 50b, and 50c of pairs of tandem-mounted hydraulic pumps 24 of FIGS. 1 and 2. In this way, each of the hydraulic pumps 24 is driven by prime mover engine 18, and each hydraulic pump has an individual output that is applied by means of individual tubing, illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 12, to respective hydraulic motors 30.

It should be noted that since each hydraulic pump and its associated hydraulic motor is independent of the others, each set of demolition rollers tends to rotate at its own speed, depending upon the load that the teeth of that particular roller are subjected to at a given instant.

The Differential Power Action It was pointed out above that each set 35 of demolition rollers tends to have an individual speed of rotation that depends primarily upon-its hydraulic pumps, on its hydraulic motor, and on the instantaneous load that its teeth encounter. It may so happen that one particular tree or other object in the rubble chamber 15 is of harder wood than other trees, or that a particular portion of the tree (say the stump) is harder than the other portions of the tree (say the leafy limbs). Also, such objects to be demolished are inherently irregular is configuration with projecting parts that tend to concentrate the load in a restricted zone. In cases such as these, the particular teeth that encounter the hardwood portions or projecting parts have a higher cutting load than the other teeth. A similar situation may arise when some teeth happen to be less sharp than other teeth.

In such a situation, the harder-working teeth require more power, and the added load on their rollers tend to slow down their rotation until the situation clears up. The disclosed differential power arrangement has a distinct advantage in situations such as these.

It will be recalled that each pump/motor/roller set is independent of the others, leading to the following differential power mode of operation. Assume, for instance, that two roller sets happen to have a projecting part of an object between them. The individual power transmission system causes each hydraulic pump to see the same load as its associated hydraulic motor,

9 so that the hydraulic pump reacts by assuming more of the power available to the pumps from the prime mover engine. Thus the harder working teeth and roller set receives additional power for the instantaneous situation, and as soon as this situation is cleared up the poweris redistributed as required. Some of this additional power may be inertial energy feedback from freely rotating roller sets.

Under some conditions, it may be desirable to use sensing devices that actually sense the instantaneous rotational speed and/or loads of the individual roller set, and to have these sensing devices activate valves that control the flow of the hydraulic fluid to the various hydraulic motors in accordance with their instantaneous loads and power demands. For example, most hydraulic pumps have a swash plate" that is controllable in this manner to increase pumping pressure with reduced flow rate or vice versa.

Excessive Load Conditions As indicated above, at various times the teeth of specific cutting lines may encounter hardwood or other hard rubble, and ordinarily the power transmission system will provide the necessary power for this situation. However, there may be times when the particular teeth may be exposed to an overload and at such times it may not be desirable to stress the apparatus or the teeth to too great an extent.

In situations such as these, the demolition rollers may be caused to momentarily rotate in their opposite directions in order to clear the excessive load situation. This result is easily achieved by use of the aforementioned clutch and suitable transmission means positioned in the bell housing 22. If desired, the reversal may be controlled by a hand lever, or alternatively, may be controlled. by automatic sensing devices that sense the extreme load condition.

Automatic accommodation for overall load changes in the rubble chamber may be provided by employing a conventional automatic transmission such as a combination torque converter and change-speed unit, at the output of prime mover l8 (i.e., in or in connection with bell housing 22).

Alternative Masticating Bed FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative type of masticating bed wherein individual sets of demolition rollers 5 2-are mounted in a transverse manner rather than being mounted in the longitudinal manner previously dis cussed. The transverse orientation roller mounting has the advantage that shorter demolition rollers may be used, thus obviating the need for the multiple pillow blocks, roller interconnections, and associated supporting structures.

Alternative Prime Mover Arrangement FIG. 11 shows an alternative prime mover arrangement wherein the prime mover engine 18 has been reversed, this engine position providing additional exposure of the engines radiator 19 to cooling air.

F IG. 1! also indicates the use of a mechanical rather than a hydraulic power transmission system, the illustration indicating the use of an automatic transmission 53 for transmitting power from the engine 18 to a gear box 54, and thence to the masticating bed. The gear box 54 may be the mechanical equivalentof the gear system illustrated in FIG. 9, wherein a single driving shaft from the transmission 53 drives a plurality of gears that are connected to the respective separate sets of demolition rollers, and in this way the power is ap l0 portioned to the roller sets according to their loadings.

The foregoing discussion has indicated that the power transmission system may be either hydraulic or mechanical, but electrical power transmissions may alternatively be used. In this case, the prime mover engine may be replaced by amotor/generator set such as Model D348 produced by Caterpillar Tractor Company. This unit produces electric power that may be applied over suitable wiring to a group of electric motors that drive the demolition rollers. Such an electrical system has the advantage that there is no danger of fluid leakage, no need for a heat exchanger, no requirement for a reservoir, etc., and moreover, has an automatic differential power action since the electric motors inherently take more or less power depending upon their instantaneous loads.

Fifth Wheel As'discussed above, it has been found extremely desirable for the masticating bed 16 to be quite rigid, and this leads to the need for having the base 14 of the semitrailer quite rigid despite the fact that there is a tendency for it to be racked and twisted as it is towed across rough terrain where the invention is likely to be used. It has therefore been found desirable to modify the fifth wheel arrangement that is ordinarily used for towing a semitrailer, since the usual fifth wheel arrangement is designed for relatively smooth roads. The subject fifth wheel is designed to function in the manner of a gimbal, as by the use of pivot rods 56 and 57 of FIG. 11 that are respectively parallel and transverse relativeto the longitudinal axis of the tractor-trailer combination.

' The Heat Exchanger It is well known that in a hydraulic system transmitting appreciable amounts of power, the hydraulic fluid becomes hot, and must be continuously cooled in order to perform the desired power transmission function. Most hydraulic power transmission systems are designed to include cooling facilities for such purpose.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates such a fluid cooling system. This illustration shows the pumps 24a, 24b, etc., supplying hydraulic fluid to

hydraulic motors

30a, 30b, etc., using respective closed circuit fluid paths for powertransmission. A hydraulic fluid reservoir 27 contains additional hydraulic fluid to compensate for leaks, expansion and contraction, momentary volumetric changes due to varying loads, etc.

As indicated in FIG. 12, each pump/motor/hydraulic system permits a small volume of the hydraulic fluid to be pumped therefrom to the heat exchanger 26 wherein the hydraulic fluid may be cooled by any suitable means such as circulating air, or the like. In this way, a suitable amount of fluid cooling is provided, the

controlling fragment size is the reprocessing grate means illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 16, which performs both re-chipping and sizing functions. This reprocessinggrate means is preferably coupled with a series of upstanding cutter blades as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 so as to provide reprocessing chambers for the respective rollers as best shown in FIG. 13. This reprocessing means will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 13 to 16.

Fragment size control is also provided according to the present invention by the provision of cutter teeth of different effective sizes; i.e., teeth with different extents of radial exposure relative to the axes of their respective demolition rollers. In general, the finer the teeth (shorter in the radial direction), the finer the fragments or chips resulting therefrom. It is preferred to provide a combination of teeth of different sizes generally regularly interspersed over the entire masticating bed 16. With such arrangement, the larger teeth take the first bite, but at the same time the smaller teeth tend to form a stop which limits the extent of the bite of the larger teeth; then after the first bite by the larger teeth, the smaller teeth are enabled to bite into the rubble, and in this manner all of the teeth will tend to take smaller and more equal bites of the rubble. In contrast, if all small teeth were employed, then too many teeth are all trying to cut at once at the same diameter, which tends to bounce the rubble off of the teeth, or cause the rubble to ride on the teeth. However, should the rubble be such that the small teeth could all tend to catch on it at once, the apparatus could be overloaded. On the other hand, if all large teeth were employed, the rubble might ride on top of those also, but more likely the teeth would tend to take too large a cut for some purposes, and the apparatus could easily become overloaded.

Accordingly, with the preferred combination of some small and some large teeth, the result is that the teeth tend to take successive bites from the largest teeth successively on down to the smallest teeth, such bites generally being of the same size if the teeth have similar successive size differences (e.g., tooth exposure from roller from largest to smallest teeth 1 inch, inch, /2 inch, A inch). Since the teeth then operate in succession, not so many will dig in at the same time, so that overloading is avoided, the rubble does not tend to ride over the teeth, and there is less tendency for the rubble to bounce off of the teeth.

The presently preferred size range for radial tooth extension from the rollers is from about A inch to about l/2 inches. For chips from logs, teeth up to 1 /2 inches are satisfactory. At the other extreme, for demolishing trash, garbage, and the like, teeth as small as A inch provide satisfactory results. A combination of teeth from about A inch to about 1 inch provides a good all purpose masticating bed which will provide good re- Sults with both trees, logs, stumps and the like on the one hand and street collection trash, garbage, and the like on the other hand.

Teeth can be made of different sizes in several different ways. For example, in demolition roller assemblies having teeth that are removable and replaceable such as those detailed in FIG. 8 and in FIGS. 18 to 22, individual teeth of varying lengths can be employed. In the demolition roller assembly form illustrated in FIGS. 23 to 25, a series of tooth-bearing discs are removably engaged in a stacked array on a shaft, and in this form each disc can have a plurality of teeth of different sizes regularly spaced about its periphery. FIG. 17 illustrates another means for effecting variable tooth lengths, wherein helix rod segments are aligned with some of the helically arranged teeth so that only portions of the lengths of these teeth are exposed, while other teeth that are unobstructed remain effectively longer.

Fragment size control may also be accomplishedby variations in the number or density of the teeth that are present in the masticating bed. In general, the larger the number or density of. the teeth, the smaller the chips or fragments. Thus, for trash, garbage and the like, a very large number of teeth will be desirable. The early experimental apparatus referred to hereinabove had a masticating bed roughly 25 feet long and 6 feet wide, with approximately 1,000 teeth, and that apparatus provided excellent results for demolishing whole trees, logs, stumps, and the like. However, for all pur-, pose demolishing apparatus according to the invention which is not only suitable for trees, logs, stumps and the like, but is also suitable for such things as street collection trash, garbage and the like, it is presently preferred to have a higher tooth density, as for example on the order of about 2,500 or more teeth for the same size masticating bed.

Demolition Roller Arrangement and Direction of R0- tation The demolition rollers may be arranged relative to the longitudinal axis of the semitrailer 12 either in a generally longitudinal array as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, or in a generally transverse or lateral array as shown in FIG. 10.

With regard to the direction of rotation of the demolition rollers, they may be driven so as to all rotate in the same direction of rotation as indicated in FIGS. 5 and 6; or the demolition rollers in one-half of the masticating bed 16 may all rotate in one direction of rotation, while the rollers in the other half of the masticating bed all rotate in the opposite direction of rotation, as illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 26. As a further alternative, successive adjacent pairs of the demolition rollers may be driven in opposition to each other; i.e., each roller then would be driven in a direction of rotation opposite to its adjacent parallel roller, as are the center two rollers of FIGS. 13 and 26.

For elongated rubble, such as logs and the like, it is preferable to have the demolition rollers generally longitudinally oriented as in FIGS. 1 to 7. For this type of rubble it is also preferable to have the demolition rollers on one side of the masticating bed moving in one direction of rotation and the rollers on the other side of the masticating bed moving in the opposite direction of rotation, and it is also desirable to have these directions of rotation such that theupwardly exposed roller teeth in the masticating bed all move generally toward the center of the bed, which is the case for the illustrated directions of rotation in FIGS. 13 and 26, as this tends to continually bias the constantly shifting elongated rubble toward the center of the masticating bed so as to keep the log or other elongated rubble in a generally central operating zone and prevent it from becoming lodged against a side wall of the rubble chamber.

However, for street collection trash, garbage, and other smaller type rubble, it is presently preferred to provide a masticating bed comprising transversely oriented rollers as shown in FIG. 10. For this type of rubl3 ble, and with such transversely oriented rollers, it is also presently preferred to have all of the demolition rollers rotating in the same direction of rotation, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, which provides each cutting line with one set of downwardly moving teeth andone set of upwardly moving teeth, thereby providing a scissors-like cutting action between the teeth of adjacent rollers. This cutting action is highly effectivefor chopping paper and other fibrous material which may otherwise tend to be pulled around the rollers.

Fragment Reprocessing The primary means for effecting fragment or chip reprocessing comprises reprocessing grate means generally designated 60 in FIG. 13, and preferably extending completely under the entire masticating bed 16 so as to require all fragments or chips to pass downwardly therethrough in order to leave the rubble chamber 15. While the toothed demolition rollers produce fragments or chips that tend to vary in size, these multisized fragments or chips are reduced to a more uniform size by the action of the demolition rollers in combination with the reprocessing grate means 60, the grate means 60 serving to both further chop and size the fragments. Thus, the chips as originally fragmented in the masticating bed will remain above thegrate means 60 and be continuously reprocessed by the chopping action of the moving demolition roller teeth relative to the fixed grate means 60. it will be appreciated that the finer the grate means 60, the smaller the ultimate chips or fragments that are produced by the machine, whereby positive control of the particle output size is effected.

The grate means 60 is preferably in the form of a grill, having a series of parallel, generally regularly spaced reprocessing blades 62 which are oriented sub stantially parallel to the axes of the demolition rollers 36; and having a series of generally regularly spaced blade supporting bars 64 set at right angles to the blades, and hence generally at right angles to the axes of the demolition rollers 36. This grill-like arrangement of the reprocessing blades 62 and blade supporting bars 64 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 14.

The reprocessing blades 62 of the grate means 60 are preferably inclined from the vertical in a direction so that the upper, leading, cutting edges of the reprocessing blades 62 face toward the oncoming moving teeth of the respective demolition roller. With this arrangement, the demolition roller teeth push the fragments directly into the cutting edges of the reprocessing blades 62 for maximum cutting effectiveness. Also, this tilt or incline of the reprocessing blades 62 causes the principal forces applied to the blades 62'to be in an edgewise direction for best utilization of the structural strength of the reprocessing blades 62. The angle of inclination of the blades 62 from the vertical is preferably from about 30 to about 60, with a preferred incline of about 45 from the vertical. Nevertheless, it is to be understood that even with the reprocessing blades 62 set generally vertically, they will still be effective in reprocessing the chips or fragments.

It will be noted that the reprocessing blades 62 as illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14 have upper cutting edges 66 that are generally coplanar along a horizontal plane, whereby the actual leading cutting edges have an acute angle in cross section for maximum cutting effectiveness.

Since tee three demolition rollers 36 at the lefthand side of FIG.- 13 are all rotatingclockwise, the teeth thereof proximate the grate means 60 move to the left, so that the reprocessing blades 62 under these left-hand three rollers are arranged to incline upwardly and to the right. On the other hand, the right-hand three de molition rollers 36 are shown to rotate anticlockwise in FIG. 13, whereby the teeth thereof proximate the grate means 60 move to the right, so that the reprocessing blades 62 under these right-hand three demolition rollers are arranged to angle upwardly and to the left to face the oncoming teeth.

There does not appear to be any tendency for the grate means 60 tobecome cloggedl because of the large amount of driving force behind the roller teeth when the teeth force the chips down into the grate means 60.

Reprocessing ismade even more effective by utilizing a series of parallel, regularly spaced, upstanding cutter blades68 in conjunction with the grate means 60, the cutter blades 68 being generally parallel to thereprocessing blades 62 and the axes of the demolition rollers 36, and extending upwardly from the grate means 60 proximate the cutting lines intermediate adjacent rollers, and also to the outside of the outermost rollers. These upstanding cutter blades 68 in combination with the grate means 60 provide a series of reprocessing chambers 70 located directly underneath. respective demolition rollers 36. With this arrangement, chips or fragments which do not pass through the grate means 60 will be driven laterally and upwardly by the teeth and chopped against the upper comers of the upstanding cutter blades 68 as part of the reprocessing, the chips then tending to fall back down into the reprocessing chambers 70 and to be then worked downwardly through the grate means 60. Generally, each demolition roller 36, or each coaxial set 35 of demolition rollers 36, will extend down into a respective reprocessing chamber 70.

The reprocessing blades 62 and upstanding cutter blades 68 are strong, rigid members suitable for enduring the chopping forces imposed against them by the demolition roller teeth. By way of illustration only, and not of limitation, suitable blades 62 may be made of as inch to inch steel plate, while upstanding cutter blades 68 may be made from inch to 1 inch steel plate.

FIG. 15 illustrates alternative grate means 60a formed of so-called expanded metal made by partially severing or slitting portions of a metal plate, and then forming or expanding? the plate. The resulting grate means 60a includes rows of inclined reprocessing blades 620 each of which has an aperture 72 thereunder. The reprocessing blades 62a are arranged generally parallel to the axes of the demolition rollers 36, with the blades 62a inclined generally similarly as the blades 62 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. The expanded metal grate means 60a is preferably but not necessarily employed in connection with a series of upstanding cutterblades 68 in an arrangement similar to that best illustrated in FIG. 13.

Another form of grate means 60b is illustrated in FIG. 16, and comprises an arcuate segment of a pipe, such as a sewer pipe, which is slightly larger in diameter than the tooth diameter of the demolition roller 36. The pipe segment grate means 60b is provided with a multiplicity of grate holes 74 of suitable size to provide chips of the desired size, and these grate holes 74 are preferably inclined from the radial direction toward the oncoming cutter teeth so as to provide chip cutting edges 76 having acute included angles. The pipe segment grate means 60b is preferably arranged generally coaxially of the respective demolition roller 36. The longitudinal edges 78 of the pipe segment will function similarly as the upstanding cutter blades 68 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. 7

Alternative Demolition Roller Form FIG. 17 shows a modification 36a of the demolition roller form 36 previously described and shown in some detail in FIGS. 3, 4, 8, and 16. The modification in the demolition roller 36a of FIG. 17 consists of the addition of helix rod segments 80 which are welded to the roller in alignment with helically arranged sets of the cutting teeth 41 so as to reduce the exposed, and hence effective, radial length of the aligned cutter teeth 41. For example, with one-inch teeth 41, Va inch diameter helix rod segments 80 will reduce the cutting depth of the aligned teeth 41 to approximately /2 inch. By this means, with teeth 41 all of the same length, the demolition roller 36a may quickly and easily be set up with teeth of different lengths. In the illustration of FIG. 17, in each longitudinal row of teeth 41, alternate teeth have the helix rod segments 80 aligned therewith, and in this manner one-half the teeth on the demolition roller 360 will be long, fully exposed teeth, and the other one-half will be short, only partially exposed teeth.

FIGS. 18 to 22 illustrate another form of demolition roller assembly generally designated 36b which comprises a generally square shaft 82 along which a series of cutter tooth support discs 84, in the form of rings, are stacked. Adjacent pairs of the tooth support discs 84 have radial bores 86 centered at their interface 88. Each radial bore 86 is adapted to receive therethrough a respective tooth 41a in the general configuration of a metal dowel rod. Each tooth 41a has an enlarged head 90 welded or otherwise formed onto the inner end of the tooth, the head 90 being engaged between one of the flat sides 92 of square shaft 82 and the inner circumference of the adjacent pair of support discs 84 which may be recessed to receive the head 90 as at 94 by a back counterbore to the bore 86. The corners 96 of the square shaft 82 are preferably ground down to receive the ring-shaped tooth support discs 84.

The ends 98 of the shaft 82 are machined round for journaling, and at least one end of each shaft is provided with a keyway 100 for driving the shaft.' An end disc 102 is provided on each end of the square shaft 82 for securing the stack of tooth support discs 84 on the shaft, each end disc 102 being held axially in position by a series of bolts 104 which extend therethrough and threadedly engage in the square shaft 82 as best seen in FIGS. 19 and 22.

Assembly of the demolition roller 36b is easily ac complished by simply sliding the tooth support discs 84 onto the square shaft 82 from either or both ends of the shaft, and before the discs 84 are closed against each other inserting the cutter teeth 41a between their respective adjacent pairs of the discs 84; and finally after all of the discs 84 are stacked with the teeth 41a in place, securing the end discs 102 in place by means of the bolts 104.

It will be apparent, particularly from FIG. 18, that a large number of the cutter teeth 41a may be embodied conveniently in the demolition roller form 36b. It will be noted from FIG. 18 that the cutter teeth 41a are arranged in a generally helical pattern. Each tooth 41a has a flat outer end which provides a sharp annular cutting edge 106; and with the heads of the teeth being annular, the teeth may rotate about their own axes in their operative position so as to utilize the entire annular cutting edge 106 of each tooth to get the maximum utility out of the cutting edges. Abutment of the tooth heads 90 against the flat sides 92 of the square shaft will cause the rotational driving force to be imparted from the square shaft to the tooth support discs 84 and the teeth 41a.

FIGS. 23 to 25 illustrate a further form of demolition roller 360 which also employs a square shaft upon which a series of tooth support discs is stacked. In this embodiment the tooth support discs have square apertures 110 therethrough enabling the discs 108 to be slidably engaged over the square shaft 112 in rotatable driving engagement. The teeth are welded or hardfaced directly on the perimeters of the discs 108. Preferably each disc 108 has a series of the teeth regularly spaced about its perimeter, and preferably these teeth are of successively different sizes. Thus, for example, the disc 108 illustrated in FIG. 23 has four teeth 114a, b, c, and d regularly spaced at 90 intervals about its perimeter and ranging in succession from the largest tooth 114a down to the smallest tooth 114d. For a typical disc diameter of about 8 inches, a satisfactory spread of tooth size in the radial direction is about 1 inch for the tooth 114a, inch for the tooth 114b, /2 inch for the tooth 114C, and A inch for the tooth 114d. Thus, as this series of teeth 114a, b, c, and d, successively engage the rubble, they will tend to bite off chunks of the rubble in A; inch increments.

These teeth 1140, b, c, and a, are preferably of generally triangular shape, with a generally radially oriented front cutting face 116 and generally straight back surface 118 as designated in connection with the large tooth 114a in FIG. 23. The back faces 118 of all of the teeth come into the discl08 generally tangentially so as to provide a tooth depth in the peripheral direction that is substantially greater than the tooth height in the radial direction, such peripheral depth preferably being at least about twice the tooth height in the radial direction, and for the smaller teeth even more. For example, a A inch tooth (in the radial direction) will be approximately 1 inch deep in the peripheral direction, and a V2 inch tooth (radially) will be about I /2 inches deep in the peripheral direction. In this manner the teeth per se and their joinder with the disc are made extremely durable.

Adjacent tooth support discs 108 may be spaced apart any desired distance along the shaft 112 by any number of washers 120 which preferably have the same diameter as the tooth support disc 108. In the illustrations of FIGS. 24 and 25, one such washer 120 is disposed intermediate each adjacent pair of the tooth support discs 108.

The ends of the shaft 112 are round and arranged for driving in generally the same manner as on the shaft of FIGS. 18 to 22, and if desired the discs 108 and washers 120 may be secured on the shaft in the same manner as in FIGS. 18 to 22. However, as shown in FIG. 24 the discs 108 and washers 120 may alternatively be secured upon the shaft by a nut 122 threadedly engaged on each end of the shaft.

. 90 so that each of the four lines 124 of teeth will have repeated successions of teeth of different heights. In this manner the different sized teeth will be generally uniformly spread out over the entire masticating bed.

Chip Deflection Wings Because of the great amount of power supplied to the demolition rollers, chips from some types of rubble tend to bounce off of the walls and fly out through the top of the rubble chamber with considerable force. This may be satisfactorily controlled as shown in FIG. 26 by providing a pair of chip delfection wings 126 which are hinged at 128 to the respective upper edges of the side walls 130 of the rubble chamber 15. These wings 126 extend along substantially the entire length of the rubble chamber 15, and in their operative positions they are propped out to an angle preferably at least about 45 from the vertical by means of respective support posts 132, which may be lengths of pipe. Both the side walls 130 and the deflection wings 126 are preferably of double-walled construction, and with such construction the support post ends can be lodged will handle entire trees without requiring such prepreparation as defrocking, destumping, or the like, and if the trees are not too large it can handle a plurality thereof simultaneously; and it can accommodate a variety of other types of rubble. Second, it is particularly suitable for use in connection with the disposal of street collection trash, garbage, and the like, demolishing such rubble to a refined, aerated condition which does not tend to attract pests, and which can be disposed of .figurations. Seventh, the disclosed apparatus may utilize masticating beds having different orientation of its demolition rollers. Eighth, the disclosed apparatus may utilize different demolition roller assemblies and cutter tooth constructions and sizes. Ninth, the disclosed apthrough holes 134 through the inner wall portions of the side walls 130 and holes 136 through the lower wall portions of the deflection wings 126.

The downward incline of the deflection wings 126'in their operative positions as shown in FIG. 26 allows rubble. to be dropped down therebetween into the rubble chamber 15, and the inclined wings 126 will guide the rubble into the chamber. Nevertheless, most chips which are bounced upwardly against the side walls 130 will be captured by the deflection wings 'l26and de flected thereby back down onto the masticating bed 16.

The Conveyor A satisfactory conveyor arrangement for transporting the demolished rubble from underneath the masticating bed 16 out to a pile to one side of the apparatus is illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 27 A longitudinal conveyor unit 138 is mounted between the longitudinal l beams 38 and extends substantially the length of the rubble chamber, with the upper surface thereof moving rearwardly. To the rear and below the longitudinal conveyor unit 138 is a transverse conveyor unit 140 which receives the demolished rubble from the longitudinal unit 138 and transports it laterally to the right in FIG. 27 to a third, inclined conveyor unit 142. The inclined conveyor unit 142 receives the demolished rubble from the transverse unit 140 and transports it upwardly and laterally outwardly from the semitrailer, droppingthe demolished rubble off of the free end 144 of the inclined conveyor 142. In this manner, the demolished rubble can be dropped into piles, can be fed into trucks, railroad cars or the like, or can be fed directly to packaging apparatus. r

The inclined conveyor unit 142 is preferably pivotally connected at its base end 146 to the side of the semitrailer 12 and supported for adjustmentof its angle of incline by winch and cable means generally designated 148 in FIG. 27.

SUMMARY The present invention has numerous advantages over prior art devices, some of which are asfollows: First, it

paratus may includereprocessing grate means associated with the demolition rollers for improved demolishing efficiencyand fragment size control. Tenth, the disclosed apparatus produces wood fragments or chips that are useful for a wide variety of purposes. Eleventh, the disclosed invention is adapted to produce chips of practically any desired size. Finally, the disclosedapparatus can handle volumes of rubble at many times the rate of consumption of prior art apparatus used for such purpose. While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in-what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized thatdepartures may be madetherefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not be limited to the details disclosed herein. I claim: r 1. Demolishing apparatus comprising:

a roughly flat, upwardly facing masticating bed adapted for gravity feeding of material to be processed; said masticating bed-having a plurality of spaced parallel toothed demolition roller units; each of said roller units comprising a plurality of discrete cutting teeth projecting outward from spaced points along the surface of said roller unit and disposed collectively to cooperate in closely spaced relation with the corresponding plurality of teeth on adjacent roller unitsin the masticating of said material, and wherein the material is floatingly supported by .the action of the rollers as portions thereof are chipped from the material and pass downwardly between the rollers; wall means extending upwardly from positions adjacent the opposed side edges of said bed for confining material thereon; and power means operatively connected to said demolition roller unit so as to rotatively drive said demolition roller units, whereby material exposed to said bed by gravity force is subject to the action of said demolition rollers. I 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said demolition roller units rotate substantially independently of each other.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said power means comprises prime mover means, and an independent drive connection from said prime mover means to each of said demolition roller units for providing each of said demolition roller units with sufficient power for its instantaneous load.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said power means comprises differential power means for providing each of said demolition roller units with sufficient power for its instantaneous load.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said differential power means comprises individual motor means for each of said demolition roller units.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said masticating bed comprises a plurality of said demolition roller units having a substantially flat relationship to each other.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said masticating bed comprises a plurality of said demolition roller units having a substantially arcuate relationship to each other.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said masticating bed comprises a plurality of said demolition roller units having a substantially sinuous relationship to each other.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said masticating bed is elongated and comprises a plurality of longitudinally oriented said demolition roller units.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said masticating bed is elongated and comprises a plurality of transversely oriented said demolition roller units.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said demolition roller units have replaceable teeth mounted thereon.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said power means comprises a hydraulic power transmission system.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, including heat exchanger means for cooling the hydraulic fluid of said hydraulic power transmission system.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said power means comprises prime mover means, a plurality of hydraulic pumps driven by said prime mover means, and a like plurality of hydraulic motors driven by respective ones of said hydraulic pumps.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said power means comprises a mechanical power transmission system.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said power means comprises an electric power transmission system.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said demolition roller units comprises a single demolition roller.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said demolition roller units comprises a plurality of axially interconnected demolition rollers.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, including reprocessing grate means disposed under said masticating bed adjacent to the periphery of at least one of said demolition roller units.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said reprocessing grate means comprises a plurality of generally parallel reprocessing blades.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said reprocessing blades are arranged generally parallel to the rotational axis of said one demolition roller unit.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein said reprocessing blades are angled opposite to the direction of movement of the adjacent demolition roller teeth.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein said grate means comprises a grill-like structure including said reprocessing blades and a plurality of generally parallel blade supporting bars interconnecting said blades and arranged generally at right angles to said blades.

24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said grate means extends under at least a portion of said masticating bed including a plurality of substantially parallel said demolition roller units.

25. The apparatus of claim 19, which further includes elongated barrier means projecting upwardly from said grate means and arranged generally parallel to and laterally offset from the rotational axis of said one demolition roller unit to the side that is generally downstream as to adjacent tooth movement, said barrier means tending to retain rubble fragments in the region of said grate means for reprocessing thereof.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said barrier means comprises an upstanding cutter blade having an upper edge arranged adjacent to the periphery of said one demolition roller unit for further reprocessing action in cooperation with the roller teeth.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, which includes a second said barrier means similar to said first-mentioned barrier means but laterally offset to the other side of said one demolition roller unit;

said grate means and said first and second barrier means defining reprocessing chamber means associated with said one demolition roller unit.

28. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said grate means extends under at least a portion of said masticating bed including a plurality of substantially parallel said demolition roller units; and

elongated barrier means projecting upwardly from said grate means and arranged generally parallel to the rotational axes of said demolition roller units;

said barrier means comprising a plurality of elongated barriers arranged with a pair of said barriers located on opposite sides of each said demolition roller unit so as to define reprocessing chamber means associated with each of said demolition roller units.

29. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said grate means comprises expanded metal structure.

30.,The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said grate means comprises perforated pipe segment means.

31. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said demolition roller units has a first set of cutting teeth thereon having a first cutting length; and

a second set of cutting teeth on said one demolition roller unit having a second cutting length that is substantially shorter than said first cutting length;

said first and second sets of cutting teeth being substantially uniformly distributed about said one demolition roller unit.

32. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 31,

wherein each of said first and second sets of cutting teeth are generally helically arranged about the body of said demolition roller unit;

jecting substantially the same radial extent from v the body of the demolition roller unit;

said second set of cutting teeth being made effectively shorter than said first set of cutting teeth by helix rod means affixed to the body of the demolition roller unit generally in line with said second set of cutting teeth.

33. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 31, which also includes a third setof cutting teeth on said one demolition roller unit; k

said third set of cutting teeth having a third cutting length that is substantially shorter than said second cutting length;

said first, second, and third sets of cutting teeth being substantially uniformly distributed about said one demolition roller unit. 34. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 33, which also includes a fourth set of cutting teeth on said one demolition roller .unit;

said fourth set of cutting teeth having a fourth cutting length that is substantially shorter than said third cutting length;

said first, second, third, and fourth sets of cutting teeth being substantially uniformly distributed about said one demolition roller unit.

35. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said demolition roller units comprises a roller assembly including a shaft of irregular cross section;

a series of apertured tooth support discs stacked along said shaft so as to define generally cylindrical roller surface means; and j a multiplicity of cutter teeth supported by said tooth support discs and having cutting end portionsprojecting radially outwardly from said generally cylindrical roller surface means. i

36. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein said irregular shaft cross section is generally square.

37. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein said tooth support discs are generally ringshaped; 9- j adjacent ,pairs of said discs having tooth-receiving bores directedgenerally radially at their interfaces;

said teeth each having head means engaged between the shaft and discs and shank means extending generally radially outwardly through respective said bores and terminating radially outwardly beyond said surface 'means.

38. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 37,

wherein said shaft cross section is generally square;

said head means of said teeth being engaged against flat sides of said square shaft to provide rotational 22 41. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 40, wherein said irregular shaft cross section is generally square. I

42. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 39, which includes washer disc means disposed between adjacent said tooth support discs for spacing said tooth support discs apart from each other along said shaft.

43. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 39, wherein at least some of said tooth support discs have a plurality of teeth supported thereon and generally regularly space about the perimeter thereof.

44. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 43, wherein said plurality of teeth have different cutting lengths.

45. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 44, wherein said plurality of teeth are four in number rang ing in succession about the disc periphery from a longest tooth to a shortest tooth.

46. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 44, wherein adjacent stacked discs with teeth of different cutting lengths are rotationally displaced on said shaft to provide adjacent teeth of different cutting lengths in the longitudinal direction of said roller assembly.

47. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said wall means defines a rubble chamber including a pair of elongated side walls; and

a pair of elongated chip deflection wings connected to and extending longitudinally along said side walls adjacent the upper edges of saidside walls;

said-chip deflection wings projecting generally laterally inwardly toward eachother from their respective said side walls so as to overlie respective side portions of the rubblechambers 48. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 47, wherein said chip deflection wings: are inclined downwardly and inwardly generally .toward the center of the rubble chamber.

driving engagement between the shaft on the one hand and the teeth and discs on the other hand.

39. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein said teeth are directly secured to the respective support discs so as to project radially outwardly from the-perimeters thereof.

40. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 39, wherein the apertures in said discs are generally complementary to the cross-sectional configuration of said shaft for rotational driving-engagement between the shaft and said'discs.

.49. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 47, wherein said chip deflection wings-are hingedly connected to said. side wallsof the rubble chamber;

said chip deflection wings being movable from an inoperative collapsed position wherein they hang downwardly against theirrespective said side walls and an operative extended position overlying respective side portions of the rubble chamber; and

support means releasably engageable between said chipdeflection wings and their respective said side walls for supporting said chip deflection wings in said operative extended position.

50. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, which includes conveyor means disposedbeneath said masticating bed and extending outwardly therefrom so as to collect and transportdemolished rubble which has passed downwardly through the masticating bed.

51. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 50, wherein said conveyor means includes a laterally moving conveyor portion.

52. The apparatus of claim 1, including secondary cutting and restraining means disposed adjacent to the periphery of at least one of said demolition roller units so as to cooperate with said teeth of said one demolition roller unit in the demolition action.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein said secon dary cutting and restraining means comprises reprocessing grate means disposed under said masticating bed adjacent to the periphery of said one demolition standing cutter blade having an upper edge arranged roller unit. v adjacent to the periphery of said one demolition roller 54. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein said seconunit.

dary cutting and restraining means comprises an up-

Claims

1. Demolishing apparauts comprising: a roughly flat, upwardly facing masticating bed adapted for gravity feeding of material to be processed; said masticating bed having a plurality of spaced parallel toothed demolition roller units; each of said roller units comprising a plurality of discrete cutting teeth projecting outward from spaced points along the surface of said roller unit and disposed collectively to cooperate in closely spaced relation with the corresponding plurality of teeth on adjacent roller units in the masticating of said material, and wherein the material is floatingly supported by the action of the rollers as portions thereof are chipped from the material and pass downwardly between the rollers; wall means extending upwardly from positions adjacent the opposed side edges of said bed for confining material thereon; and power means operatively connected to said demolition roller unit so as to rotatively drive said demolition roller units, whereby material exposed to said bed by gravity force is subject to the action of said demolition rollers.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said demolition roller units rotate substantially independently of each other.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, which includes a second said barrier means similar to said first-mentioned barrier means but laterally offset to the other side of said one demolition roller unit; said grate means and said first and second barrier means defining reprocessing chamber means associated with said one demolition roller unit.

28. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said grate means extends under at least a portion of said mastIcating bed including a plurality of substantially parallel said demolition roller units; and elongated barrier means projecting upwardly from said grate means and arranged generally parallel to the rotational axes of said demolition roller units; said barrier means comprising a plurality of elongated barriers arranged with a pair of said barriers located on opposite sides of each said demolition roller unit so as to define reprocessing chamber means associated with each of said demolition roller units.

30. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said grate means comprises perforated pipe segment means.

31. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said demolition roller units has a first set of cutting teeth thereon having a first cutting length; and a second set of cutting teeth on said one demolition roller unit having a second cutting length that is substantially shorter than said first cutting length; said first and second sets of cutting teeth being substantially uniformly distributed about said one demolition roller unit.

32. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 31, wherein each of said first and second sets of cutting teeth are generally helically arranged about the body of said demolition roller unit; each of said first and second sets of cutting teeth projecting substantially the same radial extent from the body of the demolition roller unit; said second set of cutting teeth being made effectively shorter than said first set of cutting teeth by helix rod means affixed to the body of the demolition roller unit generally in line with said second set of cutting teeth.

33. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 31, which also includes a third set of cutting teeth on said one demolition roller unit; said third set of cutting teeth having a third cutting length that is substantially shorter than said second cutting length; said first, second, and third sets of cutting teeth being substantially uniformly distributed about said one demolition roller unit.

34. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 33, which also includes a fourth set of cutting teeth on said one demolition roller unit; said fourth set of cutting teeth having a fourth cutting length that is substantially shorter than said third cutting length; said first, second, third, and fourth sets of cutting teeth being substantially uniformly distributed about said one demolition roller unit.

35. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said demolition roller units comprises a roller assembly including a shaft of irregular cross section; a series of apertured tooth support discs stacked along said shaft so as to define generally cylindrical roller surface means; and a multiplicity of cutter teeth supported by said tooth support discs and having cutting end portions projecting radially outwardly from said generally cylindrical roller surface means.

37. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein said tooth support discs are generally ring-shaped; adjacent pairs of said discs having tooth-receiving bores directed generally radially at their interfaces; said teeth each having head means engaged between the shaft and discs and shank means extending generally radially outwardly through respective said bores and terminating radially outwardly beyond said surface means. 38. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 37, wherein said shaft cross section is generally square; said head means of said teeth being engaged against flat sides of said square shaft to provide rotational driving engagement between the shaft on the one hand and the teeth and discs on the other hand.

39. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein said teeth are directly secured to the respective support discs so as to project radially outwardly from the perimeters thereof.

40. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 39, wherein the apertures in said discs are generally complementary to the cross-sectional configuration of said shaft for rotational driving engagement between the shaft and said discs.

41. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 40, wherein said irregular shaft cross section is generally square.

45. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 44, wherein said plurality of teeth are four in number ranging in succession about the disc periphery from a longest tooth to a shortest tooth.

47. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said wall means defines a rubble chamber including a pair of elongated side walls; and a pair of elongated chip deflection wings connected to and extending longitudinally along said side walls adjacent the upper edges of said side walls; said chip deflection wings projecting generally laterally inwardly toward each other from their respective said side walls so as to overlie respective side portions of the rubble chamber.

48. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 47, wherein said chip deflection wings are inclined downwardly and inwardly generally toward the center of the rubble chamber.

49. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 47, wherein said chip deflection wings are hingedly connected to said side walls of the rubble chamber; said chip deflection wings being movable from an inoperative collapsed position wherein they hang downwardly against their respective said side walls and an operative extended position overlying respective side portions of the rubble chamber; and support means releasably engageable between said chip deflection wings and their respective said side walls for supporting said chip deflection wings in said operative extended position.

50. Demolishing apparatus as defined in claim 1, which includes conveyor means disposed beneath said masticating bed and extending outwardly therefrom so as to collect and transport demolished rubble which has passed downwardly through the masticating bed.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein said secondary cutting and restraining means comprises reprocessing grate means disposed under said masticating bed adjacent to the periphery of said one demolition roller unit.

54. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein said secondary cutting and restraining means comprises an upstanding cutter blade having an upper edge arranged adjacent to the periphery of said one demolition roller unit.