This invention relates to an apparatus for shredding fowl carcasses into comminuted carcass material which may be composted in windrows or otherwise disposed of or used.
Farm animals who die and cannot be butchered must be disposed of in an acceptable way. Cremation introduces carbon dioxide and other undesirable gases into the atmosphere; burying can infect ground water; and whole-animal composting is a slow process.
Prior inventors have proposed various machines for comminuting or shredding carcasses. This invention, intended primarily for chicken carcasses, is an improvement over such prior devices.
An object of the invention is to provide a machine, preferably a portable machine, which can shred carcasses of whole birds so that they can be efficiently composted above ground in an environmentally acceptable way.
These and other objects are attained by a carcass composter as described below.
In the accompanying drawings,
A chicken carcass composter embodying the invention comprises a structural frame 10 (see
The drive unit includes a motor 16, which may be a gas/diesel engine or an electric motor. The motor could be replaced by the power take off shaft of a tractor. The motor may include a gear reduction unit. The motor's output shaft 18 is supported by a pair of pillow blocks 20 on brackets 22 attached to a base plate 24 which also supports the motor. At least one drive sprocket 26, preferably two, is/are fixed on the shaft between the pillow blocks.
The comminuting unit (see
The drum 30 (
A sheet metal housing 44 (
Inside the housing 44 (see
Poultry carcasses are introduced to the rotating drum area by feeding them (e.g., pneumatically) through the top chute opening. The fall onto the top of the rotating drum, whose points engage the material, which is held on top of the drum by the comb until it has been reduced to pieces small enough to pass through the slots between the comb teeth. The comminuted material is discharged through the bottom of the rotating drum enclosure where it may be collected into a barrow or conveyor belt system for removal and disposal.
Since the invention is subject to modifications and variations, it is intended that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as only illustrative of the invention.
This application claims benefit of provisional application 61/155703, filed Feb. 26, 2009.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4773605 | Jensen | Sep 1988 | A |
5076504 | Young | Dec 1991 | A |
5547420 | Stikeleather et al. | Aug 1996 | A |
5899803 | Welch | May 1999 | A |
6055917 | Shortnacy | May 2000 | A |
6394375 | Balvanz et al. | May 2002 | B1 |
6638757 | Teran et al. | Oct 2003 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20110049281 A1 | Mar 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61155703 | Feb 2009 | US |