Claims
- 1. A hammermill having a housing with an inlet end for receiving oversized particulates, a discharge end for exiting desired sized particulates, and a rotor assembly disposed within the housing, for reducing the oversized particulates to the desired sized particulates, comprising:
a first plurality of hammers coupled to the rotor assembly, the plurality of hammers disposed intermediate the inlet end and the discharge end of the housing; and a first attrition plate assembly having a generally circular configuration and secured within the housing intermediate the inlet end and the discharge end of the housing, wherein a least a portion of each hammer of the first plurality of hammers closely overlies a portion of the first attrition plate assembly; whereby the hammers of the first plurality of hammers cooperate with the first attrition plate assembly to form the desired sized particulates.
- 2. The hammermill of claim 1, further comprising a second plurality of hammers coupled to the rotor assembly, the second plurality of hammers disposed proximate the inlet end of the housing and adjacent the first plurality of hammers.
- 3. The hammermill of claim 2, further comprising a second attrition plate assembly having a generally semi-circular configuration and secured within the housing adjacent the inlet end of the housing and the first attrition plate assembly, wherein at least a portion of each hammer of the second plurality of hammers closely overlies a portion of the second attrition plate assembly;
- 4. The hammermill of claim 3, further comprising at least one breaker plate mounted proximate the inlet end of the housing for initial reduction of the oversized particulates.
- 5. The hammermill of claim 4, wherein the breaker plate has an impact edge, and wherein the impact edge is co-axial with the rotor assembly.
- 6. The hammermill of claim 1, wherein each hammer of the first plurality of hammers comprises a fixed hammer.
- 7. The hammermill of claim 1, wherein each hammer of the first plurality of hammers is selected from a group consisting of fixed hammers, swing hammers, or a combination thereof.
- 8. The hammermill of claim 2, wherein each hammer of the second plurality of hammers comprises a swing hammer.
- 9. The hammermill of claim 2, wherein each hammer of the second plurality of hammers is selected from a group consisting of fixed hammers, swing hammers, or a combination thereof
- 10. The hammermill of claim 2, wherein each hammer of the first and second plurality of hammers has an impact end, the impact end having a proximal end, a spaced distal end, and a pair of opposing side edges extending between the proximal and distal ends, at least one of the side edges defining an impact edge extending for at least a portion of the side edge.
- 11. The hammermill of claim 10, wherein each hammer is positioned so that at least a portion of the proximal end of the hammer faces toward the inlet end of the housing.
- 12. The hammermill of claim 11, wherein the proximal end of the hammer has a first width extending between the respective side edges and the distal end of the hammer has a second width extending between the respective side edges.
- 13. The hammermill of claim 12, wherein the first width is substantially the same as the second width.
- 14. The hammermill of claim 12, wherein the first width is greater than the second width so that at least one of the side edges is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end.
- 15. The hammermill of claims 10 and 14, wherein each of the side edges is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end.
- 16. The hammermill of claim 10, wherein the impact end of each hammer has an bottom surface extending between the side edges, at least a portion of the bottom surface defining a concave shape.
- 17. The hammermill of claim 3, wherein each of the respective first and second attrition plate assemblies comprises a plurality of attrition impact plates.
- 18. The hammermill of claim 17, wherein the attrition impact plates have a curvilinear inner surface.
- 19. The hammermill of claim 18, wherein at least two attrition impact plates are positioned so that the curvilinear inner surface of the attrition impact plates form a substantially continuous work surface within a portion of the housing.
- 20. The hammermill of claim 19, wherein the continuous work surface has a generally cylindrical shape and encloses the first plurality of hammers.
- 21. The hammermill of claim 18, wherein the inner surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one male protrusion extending from the inner surface, each male protrusion defining a geometric shape.
- 22. The hammermill of claim 18, wherein the inner surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one female depression in the inner surface, each female depression protrusion having a geometric shape.
- 23. The hammermill of claims 21 and 22, wherein the geometric shape comprises a circle, an oval, a triangle, a trapezoid, a rectangle, a square, an arrow, and combinations thereof.
- 24. The hammermill of claim 21, wherein the geometric shape is a triangle having an apex and a base, the apex of the triangle facing toward a portion of the discharge end of the housing and at least a portion of the base of the triangle opposed to a portion of the inlet end of the housing.
- 25. The hammermill of claim 21, wherein each attrition impact plate has an arcuate length, and wherein the attrition impact plate has a plurality of parallel bars that are spaced apart in the length dimension.
- 26. A hammermill comprising:
a housing having an inlet end, a discharge end, a sidewall extending between the inlet end and the discharge end, and a longitudinal axis, the sidewall of the housing defining an enclosed work space; a rotor assembly disposed within the housing for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the housing; a first plurality of hammers coupled to the rotor assembly and disposed in the enclosed work space; and a first attrition plate assembly having a generally circular configuration secured to the sidewall within the enclosed work space of the housing, the first attrition plate assembly arranged such that at least a portion of each hammer of the first plurality of hammers is spaced from and overlies a portion of the first attrition plate assembly.
- 27. The hammermill of claim 26, wherein each hammer has an outer tip which defines a hammer rotation radius about the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 28. The hammermill of claim 27, wherein the first attrition plate assembly defines a substantially continuous first work surface in the enclosed work space, the first work surface having a radius of curvature about the longitudinal axis of the housing that is greater than the hammer rotation radius, and wherein the first attrition plate assembly is arranged such that at least a portion of the outer tip of each hammer is spaced from at least a portion of the first work surface in the range of from 0.01 to 3.0 inch.
- 29. The hammermill of claim 26, wherein the sidewall has a substantially uniform curvature.
- 30. The hammermill of claim 29, wherein the sidewall is cylindrical.
- 31. The hammermill of claim 26, wherein an inlet opening is defined in the sidewall of the housing proximate inlet end of the housing, and wherein a discharge opening is defined in the sidewall of the housing proximate the discharge end of the housing.
- 32. The hammermill of claim 31, wherein the inlet opening is disposed above the longitudinal axis of the housing, and wherein the discharge opening is disposed below the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 33. The hammermill of claim 32, further comprising a second plurality of hammers coupled to the rotor assembly, the second plurality of hammers disposed proximate the inlet end of the housing and adjacent the first plurality of hammers.
- 34. The hammermill of claim 33, wherein at least a portion of the second plurality of hammers underlies the inlet opening.
- 35. The hammermill of claim 33, further comprising a second attrition plate assembly having a generally semi-circular configuration and secured within the housing adjacent the first attrition plate assembly and the inlet opening of the housing, wherein at least a portion of each hammer of the second plurality of hammers is spaced from and overlies a portion of the second attrition plate assembly.
- 36. The hammermill of claim 34, further comprising at least one breaker plate mounted proximate the inlet opening of the housing.
- 37. The hammermill of claim 36, wherein each breaker plate has an impact edge, and wherein the impact edge is substantially co-axial to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 38. The hammermill of claim 36, comprising a pair of opposed breaker plates.
- 39. The hammermill of claim 26, wherein each hammer of the first plurality of hammers comprises a fixed hammer.
- 40. The hammermill of claim 26, wherein each hammer of the first plurality of hammers is selected from a group consisting of fixed hammers, swing hammers, or a combination thereof.
- 41. The hammermill of claim 33, wherein each hammer of the second plurality of hammers comprises a swing hammer.
- 42. The hammermill of claim 33, wherein each hammer of the second plurality of hammers is selected from a group consisting of fixed hammers, swing hammers, or a combination thereof.
- 43. The hammermill of claim 33, wherein each hammer of the first and second plurality of hammers has an impact end, the impact end having a proximal end, a spaced distal end, and a pair of opposing side edges extending between the proximal and distal ends, at least one of the side edges defining an impact edge extending for at least a portion of the side edge.
- 44. The hammermill of claim 43, wherein each hammer is positioned so that at least a portion of the proximal end of the hammer faces toward the inlet end of the housing.
- 45. The hammermill of claim 44, wherein the proximal end of the hammer has a first width extending between the respective side edges and the distal end of the hammer has a second width extending between the respective side edges.
- 46. The hammermill of claim 45, wherein the first width is substantially the same as the second width.
- 47. The hammermill of claim 45, wherein the first width is greater than the second width so that at least one of the side edges is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end.
- 48. The hammermill of claims 43 and 45, wherein each of the side edges is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end.
- 49. The hammermill of claim 43, wherein the impact end of the hammer has an bottom surface extending between the side edges, at least a portion of the bottom surface defining a concave shape.
- 50. The hammermill of claim 35, wherein each of the respective first and second attrition plate assemblies comprises a plurality of attrition impact plates.
- 51. The hammermill of claim 50, wherein each attrition impact plate has a curvilinear inner surface.
- 52. The hammermill of claim 51, wherein at least two attrition impact plates are positioned so that the curvilinear inner surface of the attrition impact plates form the substantially continuous first work surface.
- 53. The hammermill of claim 52, wherein the continuous first work surface has a generally cylindrical shape and encloses the first plurality of hammers.
- 54. The hammermill of claim 51, wherein the inner surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one male protrusion extending from the inner surface, each male protrusion defining a geometric shape.
- 55. The hammermill of claim 51, wherein the inner surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one female depression in the inner surface, each female depression protrusion defining a geometric shape.
- 56. The hammermill of claims 54 and 55, wherein the geometric shape comprises a circle, an oval, a triangle, a trapezoid, a rectangle, a square, an arrow, and combinations thereof.
- 57. The hammermill of claim 54, wherein the geometric shape is a triangle having an apex, the apex of the triangle extending toward the discharge end of the housing parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 58. The hammermill of claim 54, wherein each attrition impact plate has an arcuate length, and wherein the attrition impact plate has a plurality of parallel bars that are spaced apart in the length dimension of the attrition impact plate and extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 59. The hammermill of claim 33, wherein the rotor assembly has a rotatable shaft on the axis and support means extending radially from the shaft, and wherein the hammers are operatively coupled to the support means.
- 60. The hammermill of claim 26, wherein the housing rests on a ground surface, and wherein the longitudinal axis of the housing is positioned at an angle in the range of from −30° to 40° with respect to the ground surface.
- 61. A hammermill comprising:
a housing having an inlet end, a discharge end, a sidewall extending between the inlet end and the discharge end, a longitudinal axis, a primary reduction chamber and an adjoining secondary reduction chamber, the sidewall proximate the inlet end of the housing defining an inlet opening, wherein, in the secondary reduction chamber, the sidewall of the housing defining an enclosed work space, and wherein, in the primary reduction chamber, the sidewall and the inlet opening define a partially enclosed work space; a rotor assembly disposed within the housing for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the housing; a plurality of hammers coupled to the rotor assembly and disposed in both the primary and secondary reduction chambers, respectively; and an attrition plate assembly secured to the sidewall within the primary and secondary reduction chambers, respectively, the attrition plate assembly arranged such that the hammers are spaced from and overlie a portion of the attrition plate assembly.
- 62. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein a portion of the attrition plate assembly secured to the sidewall within the secondary reduction chamber has a generally circular configuration and defines a substantially continuous work surface.
- 63. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein a portion of the attrition plate assembly secured to the sidewall within the primary reduction chamber of the housing has a generally semi-circular configuration and defines a discontinuous work surface.
- 64. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein each hammer has an outer tip which defines a hammer rotation radius about the axis.
- 65. The hammermill of claim 64, wherein the attrition plate assembly defines a work surface in the enclosed and the partially enclosed work space, respectively, having a radius of curvature about the axis that is greater than the hammer rotation radius, and wherein the attrition plate assembly is arranged such that at least a portion of the outer tip of each hammer is spaced from at least a portion of the work surface in the range of from 0.01 to 3.0 inch.
- 66. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein the sidewall has a substantially uniform curvature.
- 67. The hammermill of claim 66, wherein the sidewall is cylindrical.
- 68. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein the inlet opening is positioned above the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 69. The hammermill of claim 68, wherein a discharge opening is defined in the sidewall of the housing proximate the discharge end of the housing below the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 70. The hammermill of claim 68, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of hammers underlies the inlet opening.
- 71. The hammermill of claim 70, further comprising at least one breaker plate mounted proximate the inlet opening of the housing.
- 72. The hammermill of claim 71, wherein each breaker plate has an impact edge, and wherein the impact edge is substantially co-axial to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 73. The hammermill of claim 72, comprising a pair of opposed breaker plates.
- 74. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein each hammer of the plurality of hammers comprises a fixed hammer.
- 75. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein each hammer of the plurality of hammers comprises a swing hammer.
- 76. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein each hammer of the plurality of hammers is selected from a group consisting of fixed hammers, swing hammers, or a combination thereof.
- 77. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein each hammer of the plurality of hammers that is disposed in the primary reduction chamber comprises a swing hammer, and wherein each hammer of the plurality of hammers that is disposed in the secondary reduction chamber is selected from a group consisting of fixed hammers, swing hammers, or a combination thereof.
- 78. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein each hammer has an impact end, the impact end having a proximal end, a spaced distal end, and a pair of opposing side edges extending between the proximal and distal ends, at least one of the side edges defining an impact edge extending for at least a portion of the side edge.
- 79. The hammermill of claim 78, wherein each hammer is positioned so that at least a portion of the proximal end of the hammer faces toward the inlet end of the housing.
- 80. The hammermill of claim 79, where in the proximal end of the hammer has a first width extending between the respective side edges and the distal end of the hammer has a second width extending between the respective side edges.
- 81. The hammermill of claim 80, wherein the first width is substantially the same as the second width.
- 82. The hammermill of claim 80, wherein the first width is greater than the second width so that at least one of the side edges is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end.
- 83. The hammermill of claims 78 and 82, wherein each of the side edges is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end.
- 84. The hammermill of claim 78, wherein the impact end of the hammer has an bottom surface extending between the side edges, at least a portion of the bottom surface defining a concave shape.
- 85. The hammermill of claim 62, wherein the attrition plate assembly comprises a plurality of adjoining attrition impact plates.
- 86. The hammermill of claim 85, wherein each attrition impact plate has a curvilinear inner surface.
- 87. The hammermill of claim 86, wherein at least two adjoining attrition impact plates are positioned so that the curvilinear inner surface of the attrition impact plates form the substantially continuous work surface within the secondary reduction chamber.
- 88. The hammermill of claim 62, wherein the continuous work surface has a generally cylindrical shape and encloses the hammers disposed in the secondary reduction chamber.
- 89. The hammermill of claim 86, wherein the inner surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one male protrusion extending outwardly therefrom, each male protrusion defining a geometric shape.
- 90. The hammermill of claim 86, wherein the inner surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one female depression in the inner surface, each female depression protrusion defining a geometric shape.
- 91. The hammermill of claims 89 and 90, wherein the geometric shape comprises a circle, an oval, a triangle, a trapezoid, a rectangle, a square, an arrow, and combinations thereof.
- 92. The hammermill of claim 89, wherein the geometric shape is a triangle having an apex, the apex of the triangle extending toward the discharge end of the housing parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 93. The hammermill of claim 89, wherein each attrition impact plate has an arcuate length, and wherein the attrition impact plate has a plurality of parallel bars that are spaced apart in the length dimension and extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 94. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein the rotor assembly has a rotatable shaft on the longitudinal axis of the housing and support means extending radially from the shaft, and wherein the hammers are operatively coupled to the support means.
- 95. The hammermill of claim 61, wherein the housing rests on a ground surface, and wherein the longitudinal axis of the housing is inclined at an angle in the range of −30° to 40° with respect to the ground surface.
- 96. A hammermill comprising:
a housing having an inlet end, a discharge end, a sidewall extending between the inlet end and the discharge end, a longitudinal axis, a primary reduction chamber and an adjoining secondary reduction chamber, the sidewall proximate the inlet end of the housing defining an inlet opening, wherein, in the secondary reduction chamber, the sidewall of the housing defines an enclosed work space, and wherein, in the primary reduction chamber, the sidewall and the inlet opening define a partially enclosed work space; a rotor assembly disposed within the housing for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the housing; a plurality of hammers coupled to the rotor assembly and disposed in both the primary and secondary reduction chambers, respectively; and a plurality of adjoining attrition impact plates secured to the sidewall within the primary and secondary reduction chambers, respectively, each attrition impact plate having a grinding surface, the attrition impact plates arranged such that the hammers are spaced from and overlie a portion of the grinding surface of the attrition impact plates, wherein at least two adjoining attrition impact plates defines a substantially continuous work surface within the secondary reduction chamber, the continuous work surface having a generally cylindrical shape that encloses the hammers disposed in the secondary reduction chamber, whereby the hammers and the attrition impact plates cooperate to urge particulate material toward the discharge end of the housing.
- 97. The hammermill of claim 96, wherein each hammer has an impact end, the impact end having a proximal end, a spaced distal end, and a pair of opposing side edges extending between the proximal and distal ends, at least one of the side edges defining an impact edge extending for at least a portion of the side edge.
- 98. The hammermill of claim 97, wherein the proximal end of the hammer has a first width extending between the respective side edges and the distal end of the hammer has a second width extending between the respective side edges.
- 99. The hammermill of claim 98, wherein the first width is greater than the second width so that at least one of the side edges is tapered from the proximal end to the distal end.
- 100. The hammermill of claim 99, wherein the grinding surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one male protrusion extending outwardly therefrom, each male protrusion defining a geometric shape.
- 101. The hammermill of claim 99, wherein the inner surface of each attrition impact plate defines at least one female depression in the inner surface, each female depression protrusion defining a geometric shape.
- 102. The hammermill of claims 100 and 101, wherein the geometric shape is a triangle having an apex, the apex of the triangle extending toward the discharge end of the housing parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 103. The hammermill of claim 100, wherein each attrition impact plate has an arcuate length, and wherein the attrition impact plate has a plurality of parallel bars that are spaced apart in the length dimension of the attrition impact plate and extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.
- 104. The hammermill of claim 96, wherein the housing rests on a ground surface, and wherein the longitudinal axis of the housing is inclined at an angle of between −10° to 20° with respect to the ground surface.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims priority to the U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/292,213, filed May 17, 2001, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60292213 |
May 2001 |
US |