Apparatus and method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding contaminated with manure and urine

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of equipment and methods for recovering and cleaning animal bedding used in barns and stables which house animals that produce manure such as horses and cows. The bedding is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand. More specifically the present invention relates to a method, a cleaning apparatus, a recycling plant, and business method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling the bedding.

[0003] A preferred method used with crumb rubber bedding includes the steps of collecting the manure contaminated or dirty bedding from at least one customer's site which houses animals, loading onto a transport vehicle, transporting to a cleaning facility, and unloading from the transport vehicle and stockpiling the dirty bedding at the cleaning facility. The dirty bedding is loaded into an input hopper of an input conveyor which portions the dirty bedding into the feed hopper which portions a desired amount of the dirty bedding onto a first screen of a pulse washer. Water is added into the feed hopper as the dirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry which is vibration fed onto the first screen of the pulse washer. The dirty bedding is pulse washed to form initially cleaned bedding by circulating the dirty bedding on the first screen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen to produce primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer. The pulse washer simultaneously physically separates on the first screen the initially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw. The dirty bedding is also sprayed with water from a plurality of overhead spray nozzles during pulse washing to assist in washing. The primary dirty water is filtered to remove the manure and other contaminates, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure which is deposited into containers for later shipment to farms as a fertilizer. A portion of the cleaned filtered water is used to wash the dirty bedding. The initially cleaned bedding separated from the lighter contaminates is transferred onto a second screen of a vibratory washer by manually dumping or is automatically pushed by pulsing of the pulse washer. The vibratory washer final washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water. This removes any primary dirty water remaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water. The secondary dirty water is filtered to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned bedding and other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filtered water. The filtering of the secondary dirty water also produced a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles which is subsequently disposed of. A portion of the cleaned filtered water is recycled by combining with water from the water source to wash the dirty bedding and returning another portion of the cleaned filtered water directly to the water source after filtering. The finally cleaned bedding is unloaded from the vibratory washer passing through an outlet screen onto an output conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to a desired location and is stockpiled. The finally cleaned bedding is bagged and stockpiled at the desired location for subsequent shipment.

[0004] The cleaning apparatus includes in combination a pulse washer and a vibratory washer. The pulse washer includes a main frame, a feed hopper mounted on the main frame, a screen assembly, an open topped tank, a pulse generating device, and a water filtration system. The screen assembly has a first screen mounted on an upstanding peripheral frame for receiving dirty bedding from the feed hopper. The open topped tank has a bottom wall which is inwardly tapered toward a drain hole of the tank, and at least one upstanding peripheral wall. The screen assembly is supported over the tank by the main frame. The tank has a vertically disposed divider wall disposed above the drain hole which forms the tank into separate pool portions. The pulse generating device includes a movable diaphragm is disposed within a housing through the divider wall that is reciprocally driven by a drive device operatively connected thereto. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty bedding using a pulsing action imparted to water contained within the tank. This creates a differential height which alternates between the pool portions to alternately wash over the first screen and the dirty bedding to simultaneously wash the manure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding. This is washed into the tank to produce primary dirty water and initially cleaned bedding. This also physically separates the heavier initially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material on the first screen. The water filtration system includes piping leading from the drain hole of the tank, through a pump which moves the primary dirty water through the water filtration system, and a filter. The filter removes the manure, dirt, and sand from the primary dirty water as a sludge and produces cleaned filtered water. The piping leads to the feed hopper such that the cleaned filtered water is circulated back to the feed hopper to moisten the dirty bedding into a slurry prior to being received on the first screen of the screen assembly.

[0005] The vibratory washer includes a support frame, a funnel having a large inlet and a small outlet mounted to the support frame, a vibrator assembly, and an overhead spray system. The vibrator assembly has a second screen for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulse washer. The vibrator assembly is supported by a peripheral frame resiliently mounted on the support frame above the funnel on a plurality of resilient mounts. The vibrator assembly is vibrated by a vibrator device mounted thereto. The overhead spray system includes a first water pipe disposed generally above the vibrator assembly which is connectable to a water supply pipe for supplying pressurized water. A plurality of downwardly oriented high pressure spray nozzles are operatively associated with the first water pipe for providing a plurality of sprays of rinsing water onto the initially washed bedding on the second screen of the vibrator assembly. The vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water from the high pressure spray nozzles. The plurality of sprays remove any primary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water.

[0006] The recycling plant includes in combination, the cleaning apparatus, an input conveyor, a primary water filtration device, and an output conveyor. The cleaning apparatus includes the pulse washer connected to a water supply for supplying pressurized water. The pulse washer receives dirty bedding and water from a water source to form a slurry. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty bedding using a pulsing action to simultaneously wash the manure, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding to produce primary dirty water and initially cleaned bedding. The pulse washer also physically separates the heavier initially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material. The cleaning apparatus further includes a vibratory washer connected to the water supply for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulse washer. The vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water. The plurality of sprays remove any primary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water. The input conveyor is for transporting and portioning the dirty bedding onto the pulse washer.

[0007] The primary water filtration device receives and filters the primary dirty water from the pulse washer to remove the manure, dirt, and sand, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure which is periodically removed from the primary water filtration device for use as fertilizer. A portion of the cleaned filtered water is pumped back to the water source and a portion of the cleaned filtered water is pumped back to the pulse washer to form the slurry. The output conveyor is for transporting the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer to a stockpile area for the finally cleaned bedding.

[0008] A preferred business method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty bedding used at customer sites in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure includes the steps of negotiating a bedding cleaning and replacement service contract with customers such as stable owners and farmers to remove the manure contaminated dirty bedding and replace with clean bedding, picking up the dirty bedding at a customer's site, and transporting the dirty bedding to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning. The dirty bedding is cleaned to form clean bedding and transported back to the customer's site to replace the dirty bedding. Periodic customer payments are received for the bedding cleaning and replacement service. Operational expenses are paid from the periodic customer payments, as well as replacement filters and other regular plant maintenance. Contracts are negotiated with bedding suppliers to furnish new bedding as needed. The new bedding is ordered when needed and received, and the bedding suppliers are paid from the periodic customer payments. Profits are deposited at a bank for withdrawal as needed.

[0009] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0010] Various materials are spread over the floor and used to line the floor of animal stalls such as used in barns to house horses and cows. Some such bedding include the long used mainstay of straw, and more recently developed bedding such as wood shavings, sand, and most recently, particles of recycled rubber, or crumb rubber. Regardless of what bedding is used, the bedding becomes soiled by the manure and urine deposited on the bedding by the animals. The contaminated bedding is typically manually removed by use of a shovel or a pitchfork and a wheelbarrow. Manual separation of the manure from the bedding using a shovel or pitchfork is difficult and a time-intensive. Such separation is impractical if a significant number of stalls are to be cleaned each day. Consequently, the contaminated bedding may simply be collected and thrown away and replaced by new bedding. This is wasteful and increases the costs for housing and maintaining animals. If the bedding could be efficiently cleaned and re-used and the manure cleaned therefrom could be deposited on growing crops as a natural fertilizer, this would be desirable.

[0011] Crumb rubber bedding has come from concern about the usual disposal method for used tires of dumping the used tires in large unsightly mounds. Crumb rubber is produced by grinding up used tires forming rubber particles called crumb rubber which may be recycled such as in making new rubber products, running tracks, and the like. One such use found for the crumb rubber is as the bedding for animals. The particles of crumb rubber are each between about one-quarter to three-eights inch in size and roughly rectangular in shape due to the manufacturing process. The rubber particle bedding is typically applied in a layer four to five inches thick on the floor of the stable.

[0012] There have been various devices designed for recycling animal bedding contaminated with manure, dirt, sand, and straw, some of which recycle wood shavings bedding, some recycle sand bedding, and some recycle crumb rubber bedding. A mobile apparatus for recovering wood shavings from the manure contained in the shavings used in animal stalls is disclosed in Hart, U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,513, issued on Jul. 27, 1999. The apparatus comprises a portable shaker frame which is inclined and suspended on springs from a wheeled carriage. The springs permit the shaker frame to vibrate relative to the carriage frame. The shaker frame includes a plurality of longitudinally extending, parallel steel rods which are spaced a distance sufficient to pass the wood shavings while the manure slides downwardly along the rods into a collection container for disposal. A vibrator motor is connected to the shaker frame for imparting vibratory motion to the rods carried by the shaker frame. The wood shavings are recovered for reuse and the manure is separated therefrom for subsequent disposal.

[0013] A method and apparatus for the separation of sand bedding contaminated with manure and other contaminates is disclosed in Wedel, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,393, issued on Feb. 24, 1998. One version of the apparatus includes a tank having an internal chamber with an upper portion and a conical lower portion with a grate between the two portions. The internal chamber of the tank is filled with water and the sand bedding with contaminating manure is dumped into the internal chamber to form the aqueous suspension with the water. A flow of air and water agitates the mixture in the aqueous suspension which causes the sand to separate from the manure. The sand settles to the floor of the tank while the manure remains suspended in the aqueous suspension.

[0014] Yacus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,624, issued on Jun. 3, 1980 reveals a method and apparatus for sanitizing rubber particles used as bedding for animals such as horses. The method includes vacuuming the rubber particles contaminated with manure into a container until filled. The filled container is wheeled to and secured onto a skip-hoist of the sanitizing apparatus. The skip-hoist raises the filled container and deposits the contaminated rubber particles contained therein into a holding hopper. The contaminated rubber particles are fed from the holding hopper through a meter at a uniform rate onto an orbiting screener. An orbiting movement and the orientation of the orbiting screener segregates contaminating manure and hay from the rubber particles. The rubber particles are then steam cleaned, and fed onto a leaf-type vibrating screener for drying, sanitizing, and spraying with an insecticide. The sanitized rubber particles are vibratorily moved off the screener into a container. Waste extracted from both screens is conveyed onto an inclined platform for transport to a waste collector.

[0015] There is a need for an apparatus and method of separating bedding from manure and urine produced by the animals, along with other contaminates such as dirt, sand, and straw in an efficient manner for recycling the bedding, and utilizing the manure as a natural fertilizer on crops.

[0016] It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for efficiently and cost-effectively cleaning dirty bedding.

[0017] It is another object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus and method wherein the manure may be collected and re-used as a natural fertilizer on crops.

[0018] It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such an apparatus which may be transportable to the location of the farm for cleaning the bedding.

[0019] It is still another object of the present invention to provide a business method for recycling bedding.

[0020] It is finally an object of the present invention to provide a recycling plant to which the dirty bedding is transported for cleaning which utilizes filtered water from a body of water to wash the bedding, and which returns a portion of the water to the body of water in an ecologically sound manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The present invention accomplishes the above-stated objectives, as well as others, as may be determined by a fair reading and interpretation of the entire specification.

[0022] A method, a cleaning apparatus, a recycling plant, and business method are provided for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty bedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure. The dirty bedding includes bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand.

[0023] The method includes the steps of: 1) portioning a desired amount of dirty bedding onto a first screen of a pulse washer; 2) pulse washing the dirty bedding to form initially cleaned bedding by circulating the dirty bedding on the first screen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen to produce primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer, and physically separating on the first screen the initially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw; 3) transferring the initially cleaned bedding separated from the lighter contaminates onto a second screen of a vibratory washer; 4) final washing the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water to remove any primary dirty water remaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water; and 5) unloading the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer.

[0024] The method preferably is conducted with crumb rubber bedding, and includes the additional steps and modifications to existing steps of: 1) collecting the dirty bedding from at least one customer's site which houses animals that deposit manure onto the bedding to produce the dirty bedding; 2) loading the dirty bedding into a transport vehicle; 3) transporting the dirty bedding to the cleaning facility; 4) unloading the dirty bedding from the transport vehicle and stockpiling at the cleaning facility; 5) loading the dirty bedding into an input hopper of an input conveyor which portions the dirty bedding into the feed hopper; 6) feeding water into the cleaning facility from an outside water source for washing the dirty bedding; 7) portioning a desired amount of dirty bedding into a feed hopper which feeds the dirty bedding onto a first screen of a pulse washer, water being added into the feed hopper as the dirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry fed onto the first screen of the pulse washer; 8) the slurry is vibration fed from the feed hopper onto the first screen of the pulse washer; 9) the dirty bedding is sprayed with water during pulse washing to assist in washing; 10) filtering the primary dirty water to remove the manure and other contaminates, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure, the primary sludge which is deposited into containers for later shipment to farms as a fertilizer, at least a portion of the cleaned filtered water which is used to wash the dirty bedding; 11) the initially cleaned bedding is moved from the pulse washer to the vibration washer by a method chosen from the set consisting of manually dumping by hand and automatically pushed by pulsing of the pulse washer; 12) filtering the secondary dirty water to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned bedding and other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filtered water and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles; 13) disposing of the secondary sludge; 14) recycling a portion of the cleaned filtered water by combining with the water from the water source to wash the dirty bedding and returning another portion of the cleaned filtered water directly to the water source after filtering; 15) unloading the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer includes passing the finally cleaned bedding through an outlet screen onto an output conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to a desired location; 16) the finally cleaned bedding is transported to the desired location is stockpiled; and 17) bagging the finally cleaned bedding stockpiled at the desired location for subsequent shipment.

[0025] The cleaning apparatus includes in combination a pulse washer and a vibratory washer. The pulse washer includes a main frame, a feed hopper mounted on the main frame, a screen assembly, an open topped tank, a pulse generating device, and a water filtration system. The screen assembly has a first screen mounted on an upstanding peripheral frame for receiving dirty bedding from the feed hopper. The open topped tank has a bottom wall which is inwardly tapered toward a drain hole of the tank, and at least one upstanding peripheral wall. The screen assembly is supported over the tank by the main frame. The tank has a vertically disposed divider wall disposed above the drain hole which forms the tank into separate pool portions. The pulse generating device includes a movable diaphragm is disposed within a housing through the divider wall that is reciprocally driven by a drive device operatively connected thereto. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty bedding using a pulsing action imparted to water contained within the tank. This creates a differential height which alternates between the pool portions to alternately wash over the first screen and the dirty bedding to simultaneously wash the manure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding. This is washed into the tank to produce primary dirty water and initially cleaned bedding. This also physically separates the heavier initially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material on the first screen. The water filtration system includes piping leading from the drain hole of the tank, through a pump which moves the primary dirty water through the water filtration system, and a filter. The filter removes the manure, dirt, and sand from the primary dirty water as a sludge and produces cleaned filtered water. The piping leads to the feed hopper such that the cleaned filtered water is circulated back to the feed hopper to moisten the dirty bedding into a slurry prior to being received on the first screen of the screen assembly.

[0026] The vibratory washer includes a support frame, a funnel having a large inlet and a small outlet mounted to the support frame, a vibrator assembly, and an overhead spray system. The vibrator assembly has a second screen for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulse washer. The vibrator assembly is supported by a peripheral frame resiliently mounted on the support frame above the funnel on a plurality of resilient mounts. The vibrator assembly is vibrated by a vibrator device mounted thereto. The overhead spray system includes a first water pipe disposed generally above the vibrator assembly which is connectable to a water supply pipe for supplying pressurized water. A plurality of downwardly oriented high pressure spray nozzles are operatively associated with the first water pipe for providing a plurality of sprays of rinsing water onto the initially washed bedding on the second screen of the vibrator assembly. The vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water from the high pressure spray nozzles. The plurality of sprays remove any primary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water.

[0027] The recycling plant includes in combination, the cleaning apparatus, an input conveyor, a primary water filtration device, and an output conveyor. The cleaning apparatus includes the pulse washer connected to a water supply for supplying pressurized water. The pulse washer receives dirty bedding and water from a water source to form a slurry. The pulse washer initially washes the dirty bedding using a pulsing action to simultaneously wash the manure, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding to produce primary dirty water and initially cleaned bedding. The pulse washer also physically separates the heavier initially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material. The cleaning apparatus further includes a vibratory washer connected to the water supply for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from the pulse washer. The vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water. The plurality of sprays remove any primary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water. The input conveyor is for transporting and portioning the dirty bedding onto the pulse washer.

[0028] The primary water filtration device receives and filters the primary dirty water from the pulse washer to remove the manure, dirt, and sand, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure which is periodically removed from the primary water filtration device for use as fertilizer. A portion of the cleaned filtered water is pumped back to the water source and a portion of the cleaned filtered water is pumped back to the pulse washer to form the slurry. The output conveyor is for transporting the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer to a stockpile area for the finally cleaned bedding.

[0029] The business method includes the steps of 1) negotiating a bedding cleaning and replacement service contract with customers such as stable owners and farmers to remove the manure contaminated dirty bedding and replace with clean bedding; 2) picking up the dirty bedding at a customer's site; 3) transporting the dirty bedding to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning; 4) cleaning the dirty bedding to form clean bedding; and 5) transporting cleaned bedding to a customer's site to replace the dirty bedding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Various other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0031]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the preferred method for recovery, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding, showing the steps involved in converting dirty bedding into cleaned bedding, manure sludge for fertilizing crops, and fine solid particulate waste which is disposed of.

[0032]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred cleaning apparatus with a pair of conveyors respectively feeding dirty bedding to the cleaning apparatus and transporting cleaned bedding from the cleaning apparatus.

[0033]
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the cleaning apparatus with conveyors with the bedding.

[0034]
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the cleaning apparatus with conveyors, showing the pulse washer and the vibratory washer.

[0035]
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pulse washer and the vibratory washer of the cleaning apparatus separate from the conveyors.

[0036]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view in partial longitudinal cross-section of the pulse washer separate from the vibratory washer.

[0037]
FIG. 7 is a side elevational view in partial longitudinal cross-section of the pulse washer separate from the vibratory washer.

[0038]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the vibratory washer separate from the pulse washer.

[0039]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the preferred method of doing business, showing the showing the steps involved in running a business utilizing the method of recovering, cleaning, and recycling bedding.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.

[0041] Reference is now made to the drawings, wherein like characteristics and features of the present invention shown in the various FIGURES are designated by the same reference numerals.

First Preferred Embodiment

[0042] The method is for recovering, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure. The dirty bedding includes bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 1, the method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding 20 begins by collecting the dirty bedding from at least one customer's site which houses animals that deposit manure onto the bedding to produce the dirty bedding. The dirty bedding is scooped up from barns and stables housing the animals, preferably crumb rubber bedding though wood chips and other solid bedding may be used, using shovels and wheelbarrows, block 22. The dirty bedding is loaded onto a transport vehicle such as a truck, block 24. An example of a suitable truck would be one which is capable of holding wet materials with a maximum load capacity of about ten tons. The truck transports the dirty bedding to a cleaning facility or plant, block 25. The transported dirty bedding is unloaded from the truck and is stockpiled on the ground close to the cleaning plant. The dirty bedding is loaded into an input hopper which feeds an input conveyor which portions a desired amount of the dirty bedding into a feed hopper of a cleaning apparatus within the cleaning plant, blocks 26, 28. A small front end loader is advantageously employed to load the dirty bedding into the input at the cleaning plant. The plant is designed to clean and separate the bedding from contaminates and other waste products contained therewith to produce cleaned bedding. Water is added into the feed hopper as the dirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry, block 31. The water for washing the dirty bedding is fed into the cleaning facility from an outside water source, block 33 is pumped into the plant, block 35. The slurry is vibration fed from the feed hopper onto a first screen of the pulse washer, block 37. The dirty bedding in the form of a slurry is pulse washed to form initially cleaned bedding and primary dirty water containing the manure, urine, dirt, and sand, and to physically separate the initially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw. The slurry is also sprayed with water during pulse washing to assist in washing, block 39. The primary dirty water is pumped through a filter to remove the manure and other contaminates, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure, block 41. The primary sludge comprised primarily of manure is removed from the filter and deposited into drums for containment and later resale and shipment to farms as a fertilizer, block 43. Some of the cleaned filtered water is returned to the water source for later pumping into the cleaning plant, block 45. Some of the cleaned filtered water is immediately recycled by combining with water from the water source entering the feed hopper to wash the dirty bedding, block 47. The initially cleaned bedding separated from the lighter contaminates is moved manually by hand or is automatically pushed by the pulse washer onto a vibratory washer. The vibratory washer final washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water to remove any primary dirty water remaining from the pulse washing. Any loose pieces of solid material such as fine rubber particles along with other solid waste clinging to the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws clinging to the initially cleaned bedding are washed away to produce secondary dirty water containing primarily fine rubber particles from the crumb rubber bedding, block 49. The finally cleaned bedding is unloaded from the vibratory washer and transported to a stockpile of cleaned bedding, block 51. The unloading preferably includes passing the finally cleaned bedding through an outlet screen to remove any stray straws, onto an output conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to a desired location where it is stockpiled. The finally cleaned bedding that is stockpiled is bagged using a bagging device for subsequent shipment to end users, block 53. The secondary dirty water is filtered to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned bedding, producing cleaned filtered water and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of rubber particles, block 55. Some of the cleaned filtered water is returned to the water source for later pumping into the cleaning plant, block 45. Some of the cleaned filtered water is immediately recycled by combining with water from the water source entering the feed hopper to wash the dirty bedding, block 47. The secondary sludge comprised primarily of rubber particles is removed from the filter and is disposed of, block 59.

Second Preferred Embodiment

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the cleaning portion of the method of recovering, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding is carried out using a cleaning apparatus 62 comprising in combination a pulse washer 65 and a vibratory washer 68. A front end loader (not shown) loads dirty bedding 71 preferably in the form of crumb rubber, though wood chips, or other bedding 74 may be used (hereinafter all referred to as bedding) contaminated with waste material 77 such as straw, manure, sand, and silt is loaded into a feed hopper (not shown) which feeds an input conveyor 80. Individual particles of the crumb rubber bedding are of a size ranging from about one-quarter to three-eights inch in roughly rectangular cross-section, and from about one-quarter inch to four inches in length. Rubber particles should have reasonably good integrity so as not to disintegrate upon application of moderate mechanical handling. The dirty bedding 71 is portioned from the feed hopper by the input conveyor 80 and dumped into a feed hopper 83 mounted on a main frame 86 of the pulse washer 65. Water enters the feed hopper 83 through a pipe 89 to moisten the dirty bedding 71 to a slurry 92. The slurry 92 flows from the feed hopper 83 onto a removable screen assembly 95 having a first screen 98 mounted on an upstanding rigid peripheral frame 101 for receiving dirty bedding 71 in the form of slurry 92 from the feed hopper 83, with a plurality of gripping handles 104 for lifting. The first screen 98 has openings (not shown) of a smaller size than the size of the bedding 74 in the slurry 92 so as to be retained thereon while permitting smaller particles such as the manure, dirt, and sand to fall through. The feed hopper 83 is preferably of a vibratory type which vibrates to feed the slurry 92 onto the first screen 98.

[0045] The screen assembly 95 is supported by the main frame 86 over an open topped tank 107. An overhead spray system 108 includes a plurality of capped end transverse water pipes 110 are disposed over the screen assembly 95 and tank 107 and over the vibratory washer 68, which extend laterally from a longitudinally extending main water pipe 113 disposed laterally above and along the screen assembly 95 of the pulse washer 65 and the vibratory washer 68, the transverse water pipes which extend over the first screen 98 of screen assembly 95 and over the vibratory washer 68. A plurality of sprays 116 of wash water are emitted from respective downwardly oriented spray nozzles 119 affixed to transverse water pipes 110 onto the slurry 92 on the first screen 98 of the pulse washer 65. The wash water comes through a pipe 122 that is connectable to a water supply pipe (not shown) for supplying pressurized water, pumped by a wash water pump 125, into the main water pipe 113. A hand valve 128 controls the flow of wash water through pipe 113.

[0046] As best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the pulse washer 65 washes the slurry 92 using a pulsing action imparted to water contained within the tank 107 to remove loose, fine particulates such as manure, sand, and silt forming primary dirty water 131 contained in separate pool portions 134 and 137 formed in tank 107 by a vertically disposed divider wall 140 of the tank 107. The pulsing action is imparted by a pulse generating device 141, creating a differential height “H” which alternates between pool portions 134 and 137 to alternately wash over the first screen 98 and the dirty bedding in the form of slurry 92 to wash the waste materials 77 of manure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding, which is washed into the tank 107 to produce primary dirty water 131 and initially cleaned bedding 138. Additionally, the pulse washer 65 washes the slurry 92 using sprays 139 of wash water into the primary dirty water 131. The lighter waste material 77 such straw is separated from the bedding 74, both remaining on the first screen 98 but separated thereon due to the higher mobility of the straw and other lighter waste material 77 following waves created by the pulsing water. The result is pulse washer 65 washing and physically separating the heavier bedding 74 from the lighter waste material 77 on the first screen 98.

[0047] The pulse generating device 141 includes a movable diaphragm 143 which is disposed within a flattened cylindrical housing 146 through the divider wall 140, which diaphragm 143 is reciprocally driven by a drive device 147 operatively connected thereto. Drive device 147 includes an electric motor 149 connected to main frame 86 which drives a wheel 152 with a shaft 155 having a drive end 158 eccentrically pivotally connected thereto, shaft 155 extending into the tank 101 at a seal assembly 161 having an annular bellows 164. A driven end 167 of shaft 155 is centrally connected to the diaphragm 143.

[0048] The primary dirty water 131 is pumped into a water filtration system 168 through a rectangular drain hole 170 disposed below the divider wall 140 through a bottom wall 173 that is inwardly tapered toward the drain hole 170 of the tank between an upstanding peripheral wall 171, through a funnel adapter 176, into a pipe 179 leading to a water recirculating pump 182 which moves the primary dirty water 131 through the water filtration system 168. The primary dirty water 131 exits from pump 182 through a pipe 185 that goes through a primary filter 188 that removes the waste material 77 such as the manure, dirt, and sand from the primary dirty water 131 as a primary sludge 191 comprising mostly manure, producing cleaned filtered water 183. The cleaned filtered water 183 that has passed through the primary filter 188 is recycled to wash dirty bedding 71 by circulating through the pipe 89 back to the feed hopper 83 to moisten the dirty bedding 71 into the slurry 92 for washing prior to being received on the first screen 98 of the screen assembly 95. The primary sludge 191, comprising mostly manure and minimal primary dirty water 131 filtered out by primary filter 188, is removed daily from the primary filter 188 for use as fertilizer for crops. The flow of cleaned filtered water 183 is controlled using a pair of hand valves 194 and 195. Replacement water 197 is added to the piping of the water filtration system 168 from a water supply pipe (not shown) for supplying pressurized water through a pipe 200 leading into pipe 179 through a water valve 203 for adding replacement wash water.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 8, with the majority of the waste material 77 removed, the separated initially cleaned bedding 138 on the first screen 98 is gradually moved off the screen assembly 95 by the pulsating of the primary dirty water 131 within tank 107 over the first screen 98 onto a second screen 206 of a vibrator assembly 209 of the vibratory washer 68. The second screen 206 has openings (not shown) of a smaller size than the size of the bedding 74 so as to be retained thereon while permitting smaller particles such as the manure, dirt, and sand to fall through. The vibrator assembly 209 includes an upstanding rigid peripheral frame 212 which supports the second screen 206, with a rectangular arch portion 215 extending thereabove. The vibrator assembly 209 is resiliently mounted on a support frame 218 of the vibratory washer 68 over a flat walled funnel 221 mounted to the peripheral frame 212 on a plurality of resilient mounts in the form of upright springs 224. The vibrator assembly 209 is vibrated by a vibrator device in the form of an electric vibrator 227 mounted atop the arch portion 215. The vibratory motion imparted ma be vertical, orbital, or a combination thereof including random. A plurality of very high pressure, high velocity sprays 228 of rinsing water are emitted from respective downwardly oriented high pressure spray nozzles 230 affixed to transverse water pipes 110 of overhead spray system 108 onto the initially cleaned bedding 138 for a final wash on the second screen 206, and removal of any lighter waste materials such as straws that may cling to the bedding 74. The vibratory washer 68 finally washes the initially cleaned bedding 138 to produce finally cleaned bedding 231 by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding 138 with the plurality of high velocity sprays 228 of wash water from the spray nozzles 230 over the vibratory washer 68 onto the initially cleaned bedding 138. The plurality of high velocity sprays 228 remove any primary dirty water 131 remaining from pulse washing, any loose solid pieces of solid material, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates of waste material 77 to produce secondary dirty water 232. The wash water comes from the water source through the pipe 122, pumped by the wash water pump 125, into the pipe 113. The hand valve 128 controls the flow of wash water through pipe 113. The wash water from nozzles 230 flows into a large inlet 233 of the flat walled funnel 221 and through a small outlet 236 thereof as secondary dirty water containing fine rubber particles and other solid particulates shaken from the initially cleaned bedding 138 into an outlet pipe (not shown) for subsequent filtering and recycling of the cleaned filtered water 183 and disposal of a secondary sludge (not shown) filtered therefrom.

[0050] With the remainder of the waste material 77 and primary dirty water 131 removed, the finally cleaned bedding 231 gradually move off an outlet edge 242 of the second screen 206 of the vibrator assembly 209 due to a slight longitudinal downward incline of second screen 206 from an inlet edge 245 thereof to outlet edge 242 such that the finally cleaned bedding 231 is automatically offloaded from the vibratory washer 68 by vibration of the second screen 206. The finally cleaned bedding 231 passes through an outlet screen 248 affixed to the vibrator assembly 209 adjacent the outlet edge 242 of the second screen 206 through which the finally cleaned bedding 231 passes during offloading to retain any remaining waste material 77, primarily straw. The finally cleaned bedding 231 is offloaded onto a output conveyor 251 that transports the finally cleaned bedding 231 to a stock pile 254 or to a manually operated combination bin collector and bagging device (not shown).

Third Preferred Embodiment

[0051] A recycling plant (not shown) for cleaning bedding, preferably crumb rubber bedding, includes one or more of the cleaning apparatuses described above. The dirty bedding is stockpiled outside the recycling plant and is loaded into an input hopper which feeds an input conveyor. The input conveyor portions the dirty bedding into the feed hopper of the pulse washer, a primary water filtration device, and an output conveyor. The recycling plant receives water for washing the dirty bedding which is pumped from an outside body of water such as a lake, river, or well. A water pumping system pumps and filters the water prior to use for washing bedding. A primary water filtration device receives and filters the primary dirty water produced by the pulse washer and removes the manure, dirt, and sand, producing cleaned filtered water and the primary sludge comprised of manure. The primary sludge is periodically removed and packaged in containers for shipment to farms and other end users as fertilizer. A secondary water filtration device receives and filters the secondary dirty water from the vibratory washer to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned bedding and other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filtered water and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles which is periodically removed from said secondary water filtration device and disposed of. The water pumping system recycles a portion of the cleaned filtered water by combining the portion with the water from the outside body of water to wash the dirty bedding and to return a portion of the cleaned filtered water to the outside body of water. The output conveyor transports the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer to a stockpile area for the finally cleaned bedding. A bagging machine bags the stockpiled finally cleaned bedding for subsequent shipment back to farms and stables for re-use as bedding.

[0052] A typical cleaning plant would be designed to handle ten tons of dirty bedding per day. The cleaning plant would pump about fifty tons of water per day from the water source, preferably a lake or river, and return about ten tons of water per day returned to the lake as cleaned filtered water. The removal and return of water requires compliance with laws and regulations governing clean water removal and return to lakes including those of the Environmental Protection for water quality and management. The water from the water source must be reasonably clean and available in quantities of at least fifty gallons per minute. The cleaning plant filters removes all contaminates and waste materials from the bedding during cleaning to an acceptable level for reuse as new bedding. The cleaning plant stockpiles the cleaned bedding for bagging or other packaging. The plant may be mobile such as the cleaning apparatus being mounted on the trailer of a tractor trailer rig for transport to and from customer sites.

Fourth Preferred Embodiment

[0053] Referring to FIG. 9, the business method 257 for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty bedding used at customer sites in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure begins by a corporate entity 260 negotiating transactions with bedding suppliers to supply new bedding as needed, block 263. The bedding preferably comprises crumb rubber. The corporate entity 260 negotiates bedding cleaning and replacement service contracts with customers such as stable owners and farmers, the customers, to remove the manure contaminated dirty bedding and replace with clean bedding, block 266. The dirty bedding is picked up from the customer's site, transported to the cleaning plant, and cleaned, block 269. The cleaned bedding is transported back to the customer's site and replaces dirty bedding in the stalls and barns, block 272. The corporate entity 260 bills customers and receives periodic customer payments for the bedding cleaning and replacement service, block 275. The corporate entity 260 pays operational costs including utilities, overheads, and rent for picking up, cleaning, and replacing the dirty bedding from the customer payments, block 278. The corporate entity 260 replaces all filters as needed and pays for regular maintenance for the cleaning plant from the customer payments, block 281. The corporate entity 260 orders replacement new bedding from bedding suppliers as needed, receives the new bedding, and pays for the new bedding received, block 284. Profits are retained at a bank and drawn by the corporate entity 260 as needed, block 287.

[0054] Many variations of the present invention are possible while staying within the same inventive concept. For example, an insecticide may be sprayed from a spray fogger after cleaning onto the bedding to repel or kill flies and other insects which are attracted to manure on the bedding. The bedding may be vibration dried by turning off the flow of water prior to unloading onto the output conveyor, heat dried, or even sterilized using heat or chemicals prior to unloading. Various types of conveyors may be used, such as centerless conveyor with spiral flights, a conveyor with screw-driven and centered V-rams, and a conveyor with both center axis and spiral flights, and the like. The entire cleaning apparatus may be truck mounted, skid mounted, or free standing, and can be manually or automatically operated. The cleaning device may be adapted for use with other types of animal bedding such as crushed walnut shells or corn cobs, though this likely necessitates sanitizing, drying, and possibly application of an insecticide due to the possibility of decay and mold forming.

[0055] While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in various terms or certain embodiments or modifications which it has assumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teaching herein are particularly reversed especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended.

Claims

1. A method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty bedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand, comprising the steps of: portioning a desired amount of dirty bedding onto a first screen of a pulse washer; pulse washing the dirty bedding to form initially cleaned bedding by circulating the dirty bedding on the first screen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen to produce primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer, and physically separating on the first screen the initially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw; transferring the initially cleaned bedding separated from the lighter contaminates onto a second screen of a vibratory washer; final washing the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water to remove any primary dirty water remaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water; and unloading the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired amount of dirty bedding is portioned into a feed hopper which feeds the dirty bedding onto the first screen of the pulse washer.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein water is added into the feed hopper as the dirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry fed onto the first screen of the pulse washer.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the slurry is vibration fed from the feed hopper onto the first screen of the pulse washer.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the dirty bedding is portioned into the feed hopper by an input conveyor which includes an input hopper into which the dirty bedding is dumped.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the unloading of the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer includes placing the cleaned bedding onto an output conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to a desired location.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the finally cleaned bedding transported to the desired location is stockpiled.
8. The method of claim 7, additionally comprising the step of bagging the finally cleaned bedding stockpiled at the desired location for subsequent shipment.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein the unloading of the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer includes passing the finally cleaned bedding through a outlet screen prior to placing onto the output conveyor.
10. The method of claim 5, additionally comprising the steps of: collecting the dirty bedding from at least one customer's site which houses animals that deposit manure onto the bedding to produce the dirty bedding; loading the dirty bedding into a transport vehicle; transporting the dirty bedding to a cleaning facility; and unloading the dirty bedding from the transport vehicle at the cleaning facility and loading the dirty bedding into the input hopper of the input conveyor.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the dirty bedding is stockpiled prior to loading into the input hopper of the input conveyor.
12. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising the step of filtering the primary dirty water to remove the manure and other contaminates, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the primary sludge is deposited into containers for later shipment to farms as a fertilizer.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the primary filtered water is used to wash the dirty bedding.
15. The method of claim 12, additionally comprising the step of filtering the secondary dirty water to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned bedding and other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filtered water and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles.
16. The method of claim 15, additionally comprising the step of disposing of the secondary sludge.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the dirty bedding is sprayed with water during pulse washing to assist in washing manure, dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen to produce the primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein the initially cleaned bedding is manually dumped by hand onto the vibratory washer.
19. The method of claim 1, wherein the initially cleaned bedding is automatically pushed by pulsing of the pulse washer onto the vibratory washer.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the bedding comprises crumb rubber.
21. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising the step of feeding water into a cleaning facility from an outside water source for washing the dirty bedding.
22. The method of claim 21, additionally comprising the step of recycling a portion of the cleaned filtered water by combining with the water from the water source to wash the dirty bedding and returning another portion of the cleaned filtered water directly to the water source after filtering.
23. The method of claim 1, wherein water is added to the dirty bedding being portioned onto the first screen of the pulse washer to form a slurry.
24. A method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty crumb rubber bedding used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including the crumb rubber bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand, comprising the steps of: feeding water into a cleaning facility from an outside water source for washing the dirty bedding; portioning a desired amount of dirty bedding into a feed hopper which feeds the dirty bedding onto a first screen of a pulse washer, water being added into the feed hopper as the dirty bedding is portioned to form a slurry fed onto the first screen of the pulse washer; pulse washing the dirty bedding to form initially cleaned bedding by circulating the dirty bedding on the first screen to wash manure, urine, dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen to produce primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer, and physically separating on the first screen the initially cleaned bedding from lighter contaminates such as straw, the dirty bedding being sprayed with water during pulse washing to assist in washing the manure, dirt, and sand therefrom through the first screen to produce the primary dirty water in a tank of the pulse washer; filtering the primary dirty water to remove the manure and other contaminates, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure, the primary sludge which is deposited into containers for later shipment to farms as a fertilizer, at least a portion of the cleaned filtered water which is used to wash the dirty bedding; transferring the initially cleaned bedding separated from the lighter contaminates onto a second screen of a vibratory washer; final washing the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water to remove any primary dirty water remaining from the pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water; filtering the secondary dirty water to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned bedding and other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filtered water and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles; disposing of the secondary sludge; and unloading the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer.
25. The method of claim 24, additionally comprising the steps of: collecting the dirty bedding from at least one customer's site which houses animals that deposit manure onto the bedding to produce the dirty bedding; loading the dirty bedding into a transport vehicle; transporting the dirty bedding to the cleaning facility; unloading the dirty bedding from the transport vehicle and stockpiling at the cleaning facility; loading the dirty bedding into an input hopper of an input conveyor which portions the dirty bedding into the feed hopper; recycling a portion of the water from the water source after filtering by combining the portion with the water from the water source to wash the dirty bedding and a portion is returned directly to the water source after filtering; and wherein the slurry is vibration fed from the feed hopper onto the first screen of the pulse washer, the initially cleaned bedding is moved from the pulse washer to the vibration washer by a method chosen from the set consisting of manually dumping by hand and automatically pushed by pulsing of the pulse washer, the unloading of the finally cleaned bedding from the vibratory washer includes passing the finally cleaned bedding through an outlet screen onto an output conveyor that transports the cleaned bedding to a desired location, and the finally cleaned bedding transported to the desired location is stockpiled.
26. The method of claim 25, additionally comprising the step of bagging the finally cleaned bedding stockpiled at the desired location for subsequent shipment.
27. An apparatus for cleaning recovered dirty bedding for recycling as used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand, comprising in combination: a pulse washer, including; a main frame; a feed hopper mounted on said main frame; a screen assembly having a first screen mounted on an upstanding peripheral frame and adapted for receiving dirty bedding from said feed hopper; an open topped tank having a bottom wall which is inwardly tapered toward a drain hole of said tank, and at least one upstanding peripheral wall, said screen assembly being supported over said tank by said main frame, said tank having a vertically disposed divider wall disposed above said drain hole which forms said tank into separate pool portions; pulse generating device which includes a movable diaphragm is disposed within a housing through said divider wall that is reciprocally driven by a drive device operatively connected thereto, said pulse washer which initially washes the dirty bedding using a pulsing action imparted to water contained within said tank creating a differential height which alternates between said pool portions to alternately wash over said first screen and the dirty bedding to simultaneously wash the manure, urine, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding which is washed into said tank to produce primary dirty water and initially cleaned bedding, and to physically separate the heavier initially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material on said first screen; a water filtration system including piping leading from said drain hole of said tank, through a pump which moves the primary dirty water through the water filtration system, and a primary filter which removes the manure, dirt, and sand from the primary dirty water as a primary sludge and produces cleaned filtered water, to said feed hopper such that the cleaned filtered water is circulated back to said feed hopper to moisten the dirty bedding into a slurry prior to being received on said first screen of said screen assembly; a vibratory washer, including; a support frame; a funnel having a large inlet and a small outlet mounted to said support frame; a vibrator assembly having a second screen adapted for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from said pulse washer, being supported by a peripheral frame resiliently mounted on said support frame above said funnel on a plurality of resilient mounts, said vibrator assembly being vibrated by a vibrator device mounted thereto; an overhead spray system including a first water pipe disposed generally above said vibrator assembly and connectable to a water supply pipe for supplying pressurized water, and a plurality of downwardly oriented high pressure spray nozzles operatively associated with said first water pipe for providing a plurality of sprays of rinsing water onto the initially washed bedding on said second screen of said vibrator assembly; and wherein said vibratory washer finally washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water from said high pressure spray nozzles to remove any primary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the second screen is slight longitudinal downwardly inclined from an inlet edge to outlet edge thereof such that the finally cleaned bedding is automatically offloaded from the vibratory washer by vibration of said second screen.
29. The apparatus of claim 28, additionally comprising an outlet screen affixed to the vibrator assembly adjacent the outlet edge of the second screen through which the finally cleaned bedding passes during offloading adapted to retain any remaining straw.
30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the overhead spray system further includes a second water pipe disposed generally above the screen assembly of the pulse washer and connectable to the water supply pipe for supplying pressurized water, and a plurality of downwardly oriented spray nozzles operatively associated with said second water pipe for providing a plurality of sprays of washing water onto the dirty bedding on the first screen of said pulse washer.
31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the first and second water pipes comprise a single longitudinally extending main water pipe disposed laterally above and along the screen assembly and the vibrator assembly, said main water pipe being connectable to the water supply pipe, and further including a plurality of capped end transverse water pipes which extend laterally from said main water pipe over the first and second screens, the pluralities of downwardly oriented spray nozzles and high pressure spray nozzles being affixed to said transverse pipes for providing the pluralities of sprays and high pressure sprays.
32. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the piping of the water filtration system is connectable to a water supply pipe for supplying pressurized water through a water valve for adding replacement wash water.
33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the feed hopper is of a vibratory type which vibrates to feed the slurry onto the first screen of the pulse washer.
34. A recycling plant for cleaning recovered dirty bedding for recycling as used in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand, comprising in combination: a cleaning apparatus which includes a pulse washer connected to a water supply for supplying pressurized water and adapted for receiving dirty bedding and water from a water source to form a slurry, said pulse washer which initially washes the dirty bedding using a pulsing action to simultaneously wash the manure, dirt, and sand from the dirty bedding to produce primary dirty water and initially cleaned bedding, and to physically separate the heavier initially cleaned bedding from the lighter waste material, said cleaning apparatus further including a vibratory washer connected to said water supply and adapted for receiving the initially cleaned bedding from said pulse washer, said vibratory washer which finally washes the initially cleaned bedding to produce finally cleaned bedding by vibrating and simultaneously spraying the initially cleaned bedding with a plurality of sprays of high pressure water to remove any primary dirty water remaining from pulse washing, any loose pieces of solid material of the initially cleaned bedding, and any light straws and other remaining contaminates clinging to the initially cleaned bedding to produce secondary dirty water; an input conveyor for transporting and portioning the dirty bedding onto the pulse washer; a primary water water filtration device adapted for receiving and filtering the primary dirty water from said pulse washer to remove the manure, dirt, and sand, producing cleaned filtered water and a primary sludge comprised primarily of manure which is periodically removed from said primary water filtration device for use as fertilizer, and a portion of the cleaned filtered water which is pumped back to the water source and a portion of the cleaned filtered water which is pumped back to said pulse washer to form the slurry; and an output conveyor for transporting the finally cleaned bedding from said vibratory washer to a stockpile area for the finally cleaned bedding.
35. The recycling plant of claim 34, additionally comprising a secondary water filtration device adapted for receiving and filtering the secondary dirty water from the vibratory washer to remove solid particles shaken free from the initially cleaned bedding and other solid contaminates such as straw, producing cleaned filtered water and a secondary sludge comprised primarily of the solid particles which is periodically removed from said secondary water filtration device and disposed of.
36. The recycling plant of claim 34, wherein the pulse washer includes a feed hopper into which dirty bedding is portioned by the input conveyor.
37. The recycling plant of claim 34, wherein the input conveyor includes an input hopper into which the dirty bedding may be dumped for transport on said input conveyor.
38. The recycling plant of claim 37, wherein the input hopper is accessible for loading with dirty bedding from outside the recycling plant such that the dirty bedding is stockpiled outside of the recycling plant prior to loading into said input hopper.
39. The recycling plant of claim 34, additionally comprising a bagging machine for bagging the finally cleaned bedding for subsequent shipment.
40. The recycling plant of claim 34, additionally comprising a water pumping system for pumping water for washing the dirty bedding into the recycling plant from an outside body of water.
41. The recycling plant of claim 40, wherein the water pumping system is adapted to recycling a portion of the cleaned filtered water by combining the portion with the water from the outside body of water to wash the dirty bedding and to return a portion of the cleaned filtered water to the outside body of water.
42. A business method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling dirty bedding used at customer sites in barns and stables which house animals such as horses and cows that produce manure, the dirty bedding including bedding which is contaminated with animal manure and urine produced by the animals, and other waste materials such as straw, dirt, and sand, comprising the steps of: negotiating a bedding cleaning and replacement service contract with customers such as stable owners and farmers to remove the manure contaminated dirty bedding and replace with clean bedding; picking up the dirty bedding at a customer's site; transporting the dirty bedding to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning; cleaning the dirty bedding to form clean bedding; and transporting cleaned bedding to a customer's site to replace the dirty bedding.
43. The method of claim 42, wherein the bedding comprises crumb rubber.
44. The method of claim 42, additionally comprising the step of negotiating a contract with a bedding supplier to furnish new bedding as needed.
45. The method of claim 42, additionally comprising the step of ordering and receiving new bedding from a bedding supplier when needed.
46. The method of claim 45, additionally comprising the step of paying for the new bedding received from the supplier.
47. The method of claim 42, additionally comprising the steps of: receiving periodic customer payments for the bedding cleaning and replacement service; and paying operational expenses from the periodic customer payments.
48. The method of claim 42, additionally comprising the steps of: negotiating a contract with a bedding supplier to furnish new bedding as needed; ordering and receiving new bedding from a bedding supplier when needed; paying for the new bedding received from the supplier; receiving periodic customer payments for the bedding cleaning and replacement service; paying operational expenses from the periodic customer payments; and wherein the bedding comprises crumb rubber.

Apparatus and method for recovering, cleaning, and recycling animal bedding contaminated with manure and urine

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Description

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