Patent Application
20200062470
Not Applicable
This invention pertains to a device for reducing dust emitted from containers, such as feed mixers. More particularly, this invention pertains to a lid positioned on top of a container, such as a feed mixer, that controls the release of livestock ration particles by reducing the amount of particles escaping the container during the ingredient pouring and/or mixing process.
Livestock feed ration is comprised of multiple ingredients that are mixed together. The ingredients include cut and uncut hay, grains, powdered vitamins and minerals, and/or liquids. The ingredients are typically poured into the top of an open mixer and stirred by single or multiple augers, screws, and/or reels. The mixed result is referred to as a Total Mixed Ration (TMR).
During the loading and mixing process, a great amount of dust escapes from the mixer. The escaping dust creates respiratory health hazards for workers. In addition, some of the concentrated vitamin and mineral powder are toxic when inhaled or absorbed through the skin in large amounts. Furthermore, the escaping dust is flammable and presents a fire and/or explosion hazard. Moreover, the escaping dust is an environmental hazard and nuisance to surrounding properties.
Smaller ingredient particles, such as the vitamin and mineral powders, are more likely to be lost through escaping dust. Thus, mixing that involves escaping dust will result in the Total Mixed Ration having an improper ratio of ingredients, resulting in less healthy and productive livestock. The smaller particles also tend to be the more expensive ingredients, resulting in shrink loss of thousands of dollars per year. Changing the order of loading ingredients will only partially eliminate the amount of escaping dust. Dust collection systems can be installed to capture dust, but they are often expensive and require high maintenance.
The operator of a dispenser may have difficulty viewing the augers, screws, or reels and properly targeting the ingredients into the center of the mixer between the augers, screws, or reels for optimal mixing. When feed is not loaded in the center of the mixer, or if the mixer is overloaded with ingredients, the ration will not be mixed properly and livestock will not perform as expected. Overfilling a mixer with ingredients is also a common problem. When the mixers are over-filled, they do not mix properly and livestock will not perform as expected.
Conventional feed mixers 102 are containers that have various configurations, including mixers incorporated in portable wagons and mixers with a permanent, fixed mount. Feed mixers vary in shape and size. Some have walls 114 that are planar plates, others have walls 114 with arcuate surfaces, such as cylindrical or curved surfaces. Generally, feed mixers receive ingredients 104 and include one or more mixing augers that mix those ingredients 104. The illustrated vertical feed mixer 102 has an oblong opening 122 at the mixer top or rim 120. The illustrated mixer 102 has distal ends 130. The mixer 102 includes walls 114 that extend upward from the base or floor 118 to the rim 120. Generally, the walls 114 are sheet metal or plate that is formed to the desired contour of the mixer 102. The top rim 120 is typically reinforced, such as with tube steel, pipe, or additional plates. The reinforcement adds rigidity to the walls 114.
The ingredients 104 poured into the mixer 102 often include cut or uncut hay, grains, minerals, vitamins, and liquids. Typically, the ingredients 104 are poured in individually. In some processes, the ingredients 102 are poured into the mixer 102 by way of a dispenser 126. Various dispensers 126 include a loader, such as a shovel tractor or a conduit or duct in which the ingredients 104 move, such as by gravity feed or by an auger.
The ingredients 104 often include particles 104-A that are light enough to be carried in the air-flow 116. Also, the ingredients 104 often are subject to handling, such as by pouring and mixing, in the mixer 102 that results in creating and/or releasing particles 104-A that are light enough to be carried in the air-flow 116. These particles 104-A have a tendency to move with the air flow 116 up the walls 114 of the mixer 100, out of the mixer opening 122, and create clouds of dust 124.
The particles 104-A that exit the mixer 102 in the dust clouds 124 represent lost ingredients 104, which results in improperly fed livestock 146 because of an inaccurate Total Mixed Ration. The various ingredients 104 in the feed are often lost in dust clouds 124 in quantities not proportional to the original ingredients 104. For example, the vitamins and minerals in the ingredients 104 tend to be lighter than the grains and more subject to loss through emitted dust clouds 124. As a result, the ratio of the ingredients 104 in the final Total Mixed Ration often differ from the predetermined, intended ratio of the ingredients 104 added into the mixer 102.
When the mixer 102 is in an enclosed structure such as a barn, the escaping dust 124 presents a fire and/or explosion hazard 148. Feed mix dust in an enclosed structure satisfies the five elements of dust explosion: dust, confinement (the enclosed structure), dispersion (the escaping cloud), oxidant (the air proximate the dust), and ignition (e.g., hot or sparking machinery or a lit cigarette).
If the mixer 102 is not in an enclosed structure, the escaping dust 124 presents environmental hazards 142, 144 and nuisances. In large livestock operations, the escaping dust 124 affects the air quality of surrounding properties and neighborhoods. The environmental hazards 142 include health hazards for workers, including inflammation of the airways, rhinitis, coughing and breathing difficulties, asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, allergic alveolitis, respiratory cancers, organic dust toxic syndrome, eye irritation, and absorption of toxins through the lungs and airways. The dust 124 that is airborne includes inhalable dust and respirable dust. Respirable dust is capable of penetrating as far as the pulmonary alveoli, causing both local phenomena and resulting in the absorption of any toxic agents contained in the dust. In the animal feed industry, approximately 40% of the total inhalable dust comprises respirable dust. The dust 124 that is airborne includes feed additives. Feed additives include trace element metals, nutritional additives, and zootechnical additives. As an example, in the case of the additive of manganese, which can have toxic effects when absorbed, almost 60% of the manganese dust 124 is classified as respirable. Another environmental hazard 144 is the contamination of open water that can affect fish and/or aquatic animals and plants. Many of the ingredients 104 in the escaping dust 124 are toxic when concentrated and those ingredients 104 can contaminate nearby water biomes and reserves.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a lid for dust control of a container, such as a feed mixer, is provided. The lid includes a wall whose bottom edge rests flush on the entire top rim of a container. The lid has an opening in the middle that is of sufficient size to allow ingredients to be poured into the container or mixer. The lid is comprised of a pair of end sections. The top plate of each of the sections slopes downward toward the center opening in the middle of the lid. Air currents that would ordinarily carry ingredient dust upward over the sides of the container are redirected by the downward-sloping sections back into the center of the mixer, allowing the dust particles to settle back to the bottom of the mixer once the currents have dissipated.
The end sections include vertical baffles that redirect the air currents flowing along the lid undersides. The baffles force the air currents and accompanying dust downward into the mixer before the currents and particles reach the opening in the center of the lid. Thus, the air currents are redirected and/or dissipated before the currents are able to carry the dust particles out of the mixer.
In one embodiment, the lid includes a first end section and a second end section. The end sections act as caps on opposing ends of the mixer. The first and second end sections are symmetrical. In other embodiments, for example where the ends of the mixer are not symmetrical, the sections also are not symmetrical. The first and second end sections are each shaped like a wedge with a blunted knife edge and an open bottom.
The first and second end sections each include a wall contiguous with a ceiling or top plate. The wall is vertical and has a bottom edge that rests flush on the mixer. Each wall is highest at its respective far end of the mixer. The sections each include a top plate that is flat and slopes downward toward the opening in the center of the lid. The top plate is lowest at the opening in the center of the device.
The first and second end sections each include a first, or outer, baffle and a second, or inner, baffle that extend from their respective top plate undersides. The first and second baffles are planar and parallel. The first and second baffles are rectangular. The first baffle extends vertically down from the respective section's top plate to the respective bottom edge of the section. The second baffle extends vertically down from the respective section's top plate to the respective bottom edge of the section. In one embodiment, both ends of the first and second baffles are essentially flush with their respective curved section wall, such that the respective underside is divided into three volumes. The second baffle is between the first baffle and the lid opening.
Side members extend between the opposing end sections. The side members each include an outer sheet or wall whose bottom edge rests flush on the mixer. In one embodiment, the side members are joined at their ends to the two end sections. The side members are of equal length. The side pieces each include a top sheet that is contiguous with its respective wall. Each top sheet is flat and planar. Each top sheet is highest where it joins the wall and slopes downward to the opening in the center of the lid.
The above-mentioned features will become more clearly understood from the following detailed description read together with the drawings in which:
An apparatus for dust control for a containment device is disclosed. The dust control device is generally indicated as a lid 100, with particular embodiments and variations shown in the figures and described below having an alphabetic suffix, for example, 100-A and 100-B. Various components are illustrated both generically and specifically in the figures and in the following description. For example, the side members 202 are discussed individually and separately to ensure clarity when describing the configuration of each member 202-1, 202-2, 202′. The side members 202, when referred to collectively, are referenced without a suffix or prime.
The lid 100 is described herein in conjunction with a feed mixer 102 for illustrative purposes. A person skilled in the art will recognize that the lid 100 can be used on various types of containers, bins, and/or receptacles that receive dust laden or dust producing contents through an opening without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
The bottom 222 of the lid 100 mates with the lip or rim 120 of the feed mixer 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the opening 122 of the feed mixer 102 has an oblong shape and the configuration of the lid 100-A has a corresponding shape such that the lid 100-A mates to the mixer opening 122 with a sealing connection. That is, the lid 100 is sealed to the mixer lip or rim 120 in such a way as to prevent or minimize escape of the dust cloud 124 between the lid 100 and the mixer rim 120. The end sections 204 each have a distal end 408 that are positioned proximate the distal ends 130 of the mixer 102. In one embodiment, the lid 100 is releasably attached to the mixer 102. In another embodiment, the lid 100 is integral with, or permanently a part of, the mixer 102. For example, in one such embodiment, the section wall 302 is a continuation of the mixer sidewall 114.
In the illustrated embodiment, the end sections 204 are reflectively symmetrical. The end sections 204 are configured to conform to the portion of the mixer 102 on which the sections 204 fit. Each section 204 of the lid 100-A defines a cavity 214 that is bounded by a top plate 304 and a section wall 302. The top plate 304 has a higher elevation at the distal end of the lid 100-A with the top plate 304 sloping downward toward the lid opening 412. The section wall 302 encircles the outer periphery of the top plate 304 and fills the distance between the edge of the top plate 304 and the rim 120 of the mixer 102. The cavity 214 is open on the bottom 222 where the lid 100-A mates with the mixer 102. In various embodiments, the outer surface of the section wall 302 includes various lifting and securing tabs or points 312. Such lifting tabs and/or points 312 are useful for handling the lid 100 to position it on a mixer 102. Such securing tabs and/or points 312 are also useful for securing the lid 100 to the mixer 102.
In the illustrated embodiment, each section 204 includes an outer, or first, baffle 210 and an inner, or second, baffle 212. In another embodiment, each section 204 includes only an outer, or first, baffle 210. Both baffles 210, 212 extend downward toward the inside of the mixer 102. In one embodiment, both baffles 210, 212 have a distal end 510, 512 that is coplanar with the bottom 222 of the lid 100-A. The baffles 210, 212 extend across the top plate 304 between the section wall 302 on each side of the top plate 304. In one embodiment, the baffles 210, 212 extend to the section walls 302. In other embodiments, there is a gap between the ends of the baffles 210, 212 and the section walls 302. In some embodiments, such was when the mixer 102 has only one or two mixing augers and the mixer opening 122 is less oblong than the illustrated embodiment, only the outer baffle 210 is present. For cases where the mixer 102 has more than two augers or the mixer opening 122 is elongated, both the outer baffle 210 and the inner baffle 212 are present.
The baffles 210, 212 are made of a material sufficiently rigid to withstand air currents 116′, 216 created by the loading of ingredients 102. That is, the baffles 210, 212 are sufficiently rigid to avoid or have minimal deformation during normal operation of the feed mixer 102, such as when receiving and mixing ingredients 104. In one embodiment, the baffles 210, 212 are made of steel or other metal. In another embodiment, the baffles 210, 212 are made of a rubber or polymer material. In yet another embodiment, the baffles 210, 212 have a metal portion and a polymer portion where the metal portion is rigid and the polymer portion is resilient.
The pair of side members 202-1, 202-2 extend between the opposing end sections 204. In one embodiment, the ends of the side members 202 are attached to the end sections 204. In another embodiment, the side members 202 are secured to the walls 114 of the mixer 102. The inside edges 402-1, 402-2 of the side members 202-1, 202-2 and the inside edges 404 of the end sections 204 define the lid opening 412. In the illustrated embodiment, one side member 202-2 is wider than the other side member 200-1. In such an embodiment, the wider side member 202-2 serves to ensure that the ingredients 104 being poured into the mixer 102 are spaced away from the corresponding side wall 114 of the mixer 102. In another embodiment, the end sections 204 are attached to the mixer 102 without a pair of side members 202-1, 202-2. In such an embodiment, the opening 412 is defined by the ends or edges 404 of the end sections 204 and the rim 120 of the mixer 102 between the edges 404.
In one embodiment, the lid opening 412 is sized to have an area relative to the cross-sectional area of the stream of ingredients 104 as they pass through the lid opening 412 where the velocity of the air flow exhausting the feed mixer 102 is such that the size of the dust cloud 124′ exhausted through the lid opening 412 is minimized. In one such embodiment, the lid opening 412 is sized to have an area that is approximately two to three-and-one-half times the cross-sectional area of the stream of ingredients 104 as they pass through the lid opening 412.
In the illustrated embodiment, the outer baffle 210 is positioned medially between the distal 408 end and the inside edge 404 of the end section 204. The inner baffle 212 is positioned proximate the inside edge 404 of the end section 204.
In the illustrated embodiment, the baffles 210, 212 are attached to the top plate 304 with a support member 502, such as angle iron. In this way the baffles 210, 212 present an unimpeded surface exposed to the air-flows 216, 216′, 216″. In the illustrated embodiment, each end section 204 has two baffles 210, 212. In one embodiment, both baffles 210, 212 have a distal end 510, 512 that is coplanar with the bottom 222 of the lid 100-A. In another embodiment, the distal end 510 of the outer baffle 210 does not extend downward as far as the distal end 512 of the inner baffle 212. In another embodiment, the end section 204 has only an outer baffle 210. Such an embodiment is suitable for when the mixer 102 has two or fewer mixing augers.
In the illustrated embodiment, the end section 204 has an edge 404 adjacent the lid opening 412. The edge 404 defines a boundary between the top plate 304 and an inside section wall 506. The inside section wall 506 separates the cavity 214 from the lid opening 412. The inside section wall 506 is a continuation of the end section vertical wall 302 that surrounds the outer periphery of the top plate 304. In the illustrated embodiment, both the bottom of section wall 302 and the bottom of the inside section wall 506 are coplanar with the lid bottom 222.
The end section cavity 214 is divided into an outer cavity 214-o defined by the distal end 408 of the end section 204 and the outer baffle 210. The end section cavity 214 is divided into an inner cavity 214-i defined by the space between the outer baffle 210 and the inner baffle 212. The end section cavity 214 is divided into a third cavity 214-3 defined by the space between the inner baffle 212 and the inside section wall 506.
The bottom 222 of the lid 100 includes an attachment flange 522 that mates with the top rim 120 of the mixer 102. Each attachment flange 522 is configured to mate to a particular type or style of mixer 102. The top rim 120 of mixers 102 varies based on the manufacturer. The attachment flange 522 of the lid 100 is attached to the top rim 120 of the mixer 102. In this way, the lid 100 provides additional structural rigidity to the walls 114 of the mixer 102. The additional rigidity provided by the lid 120 aids in ensuring proper mixing of the ingredients 104 in the mixer 102 because, when the walls 114 flex, even slightly, the consistency of the mixed ingredients 104 varies enough to effect the efficacy of the mixed ingredients 104. With the attachment flange 522 securely attached to the top rim 120 of the mixer 102, the walls 114 of the mixer 102 do not flex when the ingredients 104 are mixed, thereby ensuring better consistency and more uniformity in the distribution of the mixed ingredients 104.
In the embodiment illustrated in
Each side member 202-1, 202-2 has a top sheet 604-1, 604-2, an outer sheet 608-1, 608-2, and an inside lip 606-1, 606-2. The top sheet 604 extends from the outside of the lid 100-A to the inside lip 606. The outer sheet 608 is a vertical, planar sheet. The outer sheet 608 has a lower edge that is coplanar with the lid bottom 222 of the lid 100-A and is configured to mate with the top edge or rim 120 if the mixer 102. The inside lip 606 is a vertical, planar sheet. Each one of the inside lips 606 defines one side of the lid opening 412. In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom of the inside lip 606 is coplanar with the lid bottom 222. The top sheet 604 has a sloping surface that allows any ingredients 104 that land on the sheet 604 to slide into the lid opening 412. In one embodiment, the side members 202 are formed with an open bottom. In another embodiment, the side members 202 have a box or tube configuration such that the side members 202 are enclosed along their length.
The end section 204 has an edge 404 where the top plate 304 joins the inside section wall 506. Each one of the inside section walls 506 defines one side of the lid opening 412.
A side member brush 802 extends from the face of the inside lip 606′ of each one of the two side members 202′ toward the center of the lid opening 412. An end section brush 804 extends from the inside edge or side 404 of the end sections 204 toward the center of the lid opening 412. In the illustrated embodiment, the end section brushes 804 are attached to the section wall 506 of each end section 204. The brushes 802, 804 have bristles that are flexible and resilient enough and have a spacing between the bristles that allow passage of any ingredients 104 that engage the brushes 802, 804, while being stiff enough to impede the flow of particles 124′ from escaping the mixer 102. In one embodiment, the side member brushes 802 extend further into the opening 412 than the end section brushes 804. For example, the brushes 802 extending from the side members 202′ extend twelve inches into the opening 412 and the brushes 804 extending from the end members 204 extend eight inches into the opening 412.
The dust control lid 100 includes various functions. The function of redirecting the air flow 116 containing particles 104 is implemented, in one embodiment, by the end sections 204 as illustrated in
The function of deflecting the air flow 116 containing particles 104 downwards is implemented, in one embodiment, by the baffle 210 in each end section 204, such as illustrated in
The function of minimizing the size of the opening 412 without restricting the inflow of the feed 104 that is poured into the feed mixer 102 is implemented, in one embodiment, by the brushes 802, 804 extending inward into the opening 412 as illustrated in
The function of impeding the impede the flow of particles 124′ from escaping the mixer 102 is implemented, in one embodiment, by brushes 802, 804 protruding into the opening 412 such as illustrated in
The function of directing feed 104 into the feed mixer 102 is implemented, in one embodiment, by the wedge-shaped end sections 204 that have a top surface 304 that slopes downward toward the opening 412, such as illustrated in
From the foregoing description, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that a dust control lid 100 has been provided. In various embodiments, the dust control lid 100 is configured to mate with the open top of a feed mixer 102. The lid 100 includes an opening 412 defined by the end sections 204 and the side members 202. The opening 412 is sized to accommodate the feed 104 that is poured into the feed mixer 102. In one embodiment, the lid 100-B has an opening 412 with inward facing brushes 802, 804.
The dust control lid 100 includes features that individually and together aid in minimizing and/or preventing dust clouds 124′ from escaping the mixer 102 when ingredients 104 are dumped into or added to the mixer 102. One feature of the dust control lid 100 is the wedge-shaped end 204 that has a top panel or plate 304 that slopes downward toward the opening 412. In this way any ingredients 104 that land on the end piece 204 will tend to fall into the opening 412.
Another feature of the dust control lid 100 is that the opening 412 defined by the inboard end or edges 404 reduces the size of the opening 122 of a conventional mixer 102 without the lid 100. In this way there is less open space for the ingredients 104 to escape in a dust cloud 124′. In one embodiment of this feature, brushes 802, 804 extend into the opening 412, allowing free passage of the ingredients 104 into the mixer 102 while inhibiting the dust cloud 124′ from escaping through the opening 412 and out of the mixer 102.
Another feature of the dust control lid 100 is that the wedge-shaped end 204 defines a cavity 214 that, along with at least one baffle 210, 212, aids in directing the air flow 216 inside the mixer 102. In this way the ingredients 104 inside the mixer 102 will tend to remain inside the mixer 102 and not escape through the opening 412.
Yet another feature of the dust control lid 100 is that the attachment flange 522 that mates with the top rim 120 of the mixer 102 adds additional rigidity to the walls 114 of the mixer 102 such that the ingredients 104 are uniformly mixed throughout.
While the present invention has been illustrated by description of several embodiments and while the illustrative embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/720,512, filed Aug. 21, 2018.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62720512 | Aug 2018 | US |
