Material processing apparatus

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6616077
  • Patent Number
    6,616,077
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, January 31, 2002
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 9, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Hung; William
    Agents
    • Standley & Gilcrest LLP
Abstract
A method for adjusting the separation between a pair of roller assemblies. A frame is provided. One roller assembly is rotatably supported by a first pair of supports fixed with respect to the frame. On the other hand, another roller assembly is rotatably supported by a second pair of supports that are movable with respect to the frame. A pair of shims is provided. One shim is positioned between a first one of the second pair of supports and a first member that is fixed with respect to the frame. The other shim is positioned between a second one of the second pair of supports and a second member that is fixed with respect to the frame.
Description




BACKGROUND




The present invention relates to systems for shredding materials and, more particularly, to shear shredders in which cutting elements reduce material size.




Shear shredders are well known and are commonly used to reduce material size so that the overall volume of material is reduced for storage or transportation, or so that particle size of the material is reduced to promote burning or combustion of the material in an incinerator or kiln. The most common application for shear shredders is in the field of waste disposal; shear shredders are particularly effective in reducing such items as rubber vehicle tires to chip sizes which promote the burning of the tire material.




A typical shear shredding system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,363 and includes a support frame which has an open top and bottom and houses a pair of shredder blade assemblies. Each shredder blade assembly includes a central shaft and a plurality of individual, disk-shaped cutter elements. The cutter elements are spaced apart from each other on the shaft so that a pair of cutter assemblies may be positioned so that the cutter elements mesh with each other. The shredder blade assemblies are counter-rotated relative to each other by a single drive motor and gearbox.




Such shredder systems include a feed hopper which is mounted on top of the housing and communicates with the open top of the support frame. The feed hopper includes a feed ram which is protected within the hopper by its own housing and includes a ram face which is reciprocated toward and away from the open top of the support frame and cutting elements by a double-acting cylinder.




It is typical with all such shredder systems that the cutter assemblies are difficult to insert and remove for maintenance, which results in relatively long periods of down time. Such down time subtracts from the productivity of the shear shredder in processing waste material. Another advantage with presently-known shear shredder systems is that the systems must be custom-designed for a particular application. That is, the major components, such as the cutter assemblies, support bearings, drive motors and housing walls cannot be interchanged and reassembled to form shear shredders of different configurations.




Accordingly, there is a need for a shear shredder design in which components, such as the shear cutter assemblies, can be removed and inserted in the field with a minimum of down time. Further, there is a need for a shear shredder having a feed ram which collapses when not in use to provide a maximum opening to the cutter elements. There is also a need for a shear shredder which is of modular construction such that an inventory of components can be maintained to be assembled into a number of different shredder configurations.




SUMMARY




The present invention is a modular shear shredder in which the cutter elements are mounted on shear cartridges which can be inserted and removed from the shredder housing sidewardly by moving a side wall section, thereby eliminating the need for removal or disassembly of bearings, gear drives or the feed hopper. The shear cartridge includes a shaft which supports a plurality of cutter elements that are held in position by end caps which are mounted on the ends of the shaft. The end caps have flat end surfaces which are adapted to be connected to either support bearings or drive motors. Consequently, there is no need to provide an inventory of specialized end caps which are needed for particular types of connections.




The shear cartridges are mounted within a support frame having opposing, removable side walls and removable end walls. The side walls are shaped such that the shear cartridges are insertable and removable through the openings formed by the removal of the side walls. The shear cartridges are connected either to drive motor shafts or support bearings mounted on the support frame end walls and are suspended between the motors and/or bearings. Accordingly, removal of the shear cartridges is accomplished by removal of the side wall and subsequent disengagement of the shear cartridge from the bearings and/or drive motors to which it is attached.




The end walls are modular and are shaped to support either support bearings or hydraulic drive motors. Consequently, a shear shredder having a pair of meshing shear cartridges can be designed such that a pair of drive motors drives each shear cartridge (making four drive motors for the system), or such that each shear cartridge is driven by a single drive motor at one end and is supported by a support bearing at the opposite end.




In an exemplary embodiment, each shear cartridge of a dual cartridge system is driven by a pair of hydraulic drive motors. The hydraulic drive motors are each driven by a single, dedicated hydraulic pump. A pair of electric motors drives the pumps and the pumps are arranged such that each motor drives two pumps, and each of the pumps driven by a given motor is connected to a hydraulic drive motor on a different cartridge. With such an arrangement, should one shear cartridge become immobilized due to a jam, the entire motive force of the electric drive motors which power the pumps is dedicated to the single jammed shear cartridge so that the extra power operates to free the jam.




Also in an exemplary embodiment, the removable side walls each support a plurality of comb elements which are spaced to mesh with the cutter elements of a shear cartridge. Accordingly, removal of the side wall disengages the comb elements from the cutter elements on a shear cartridge, thereby facilitating the replacement of the shear cartridge as well as the replacement of the comb elements. The comb elements are easily removable from the side wall on which they are mounted.




An exemplary embodiment of the modular shear shredder includes a feed hopper having a feed ram mounted within the hopper. The feed ram includes a double acting cylinder which advances and retracts the ram relative to the open top of the support frame, a ram face which is pivotally attached to the cylinder, and a second cylinder which pivots the ram face to an operative position, where it is positioned to urge material in the hopper toward the shear cartridges, or to a collapsed position in which the ram face is pivoted against the adjacent side wall of the hopper. The ram face includes a ram face shield which is pivotally attached to the ram face and extends upwardly to be pivotally attached to a housing which encloses the second cylinder which pivots the ram face. This face shield prevents material within the hopper from falling behind the ram face. The ram face, ram face cylinder, and ram face cylinder housing are all mounted on a slide plate which is positioned adjacent to the side wall of the hopper. The primary cylinder, which advances the ram face, is mounted outside the hopper and therefore is easily accessible for maintenance and replacement.




Although described as a shear shredding apparatus, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the novel aspects of the present invention apply to other material processing apparatuses having a pair of co-acting, substantially parallel, counterrotating rotor assemblies, such as briquetting apparatuses, grinding apparatuses and the like. In particular, it will be a conventional exercise for those of ordinary skill in the art to replace the shear cartridges with counter-rotating, co-acting briquette rolls, grinding rolls and the like.




The present invention also provides a modular material processing apparatus which comprises a housing including a frame, the frame defining a pair of oppositely facing lateral ends and a pair of oppositely facing longitudinal sides; a pair of co-acting, substantially parallel, counter-rotating roller assemblies, each of the roller assemblies including a substantially cylindrical, material processing roller member mounted to a rotating shaft extending substantially parallel with the longitudinal sides; a first support assembly mounted to one of the lateral ends of the frame, the first support assembly including a fixed support and an adjustable support, each of the fixed and adjustable supports supporting a corresponding one of the roller assemblies; and a second support assembly mounted to the other one of the lateral ends of the frame, the second support assembly including a fixed support and an adjustable support, each of the fixed and adjustable supports supporting a corresponding one of the roller assemblies. Each of the first and second support assemblies include a fixed support block retaining the fixed support; an adjustable support block retaining the adjustable support and being laterally slidable with respect to the fixed support block; a shim positioned on a lateral side of the adjustable support block, between the adjustable support block and a fixed member of the support assembly; and a lock for securing the adjustable support block and shim to the fixed member during normal operation of the material processing apparatus. Accordingly, the lateral distance between the fixed support and the lateral support on each of the first and second support assemblies may be adjusted by changing the thickness of the shim.




Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a modular material processing apparatus having a roller member which can be attached and removed with a minimum of down time; a modular material processing apparatus having removable side walls to facilitate replacement of roller members; a modular material processing apparatus having modular end walls are adapt to support either support bearings or hydraulic drive motors; a modular material processing apparatus having a hydraulic drive system in which the power of the hydraulic motors is fully devoted to a jammed roller member; a modular material processing apparatus having a feed hopper with a feed ram which collapses to maximize the feed hopper opening when the ram is not in use; a modular material processing apparatus providing simple and secure adjustment of the distance between the counter-rotating, material processing roller members; a modular material processing apparatus which is rugged in construction; and a modular material processing apparatus which is made of modular components that can be assembled in a variety of configurations.




In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a modular shear shredder of the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the support frame and shear cartridge assembly of the shear shredder of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is an exploded, perspective view of the shear shredder of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 4

is an exploded, perspective view of a shear cartridge of the shear shredder of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 5

is an exploded, perspective view of an end wall of the shear shredder of

FIG. 1

in which the drive motors have been removed.





FIG. 6

is a schematic diagram of the hydraulic circuitry of the shear shredder of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 7

is a side elevation in section of the feed hopper of the shear shredder of

FIG. 1

, in which the ram feed is shown in the operative position.





FIG. 8

is the hopper of

FIG. 7

in which the ram feed is in a collapsed position.





FIG. 9

is an exploded, perspective view showing the feed ram of the shear shredder of

FIG. 1

in which an access plate covering the primary cylinder of the ram feed has been removed.





FIG. 10

is a perspective view of the hopper of the shredder of

FIG. 1

, broken away to show feed ram components.





FIG. 11

is an exploded, perspective view of a briquetting apparatus incorporating an alternate embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 12

is a perspective view of the briquetting apparatus of FIG.


11


.





FIG. 13

is an elevational, cross-section view of the apparatus of

FIG. 11

, taken along lines


13





13


of FIG.


12


.





FIG. 14

is an exploded, perspective view of an adjustable bearing housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.





FIG. 15

is an elevational, front view of the adjustable bearing housing of FIG.


14


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




As shown in

FIGS. 1 and 3

, the shear shredder of the present invention, generally designated


10


, includes a support frame


12


, which is mounted above grade on four support legs


14


. The support legs


14


are part of a base frame


16


which supports the frame


12


. The support frame


12


receives removable side walls


18


,


20


and removable end housings


22


,


24


. The side walls


18


,


20


preferably are bolted to the frame


12


, as are the end housings


22


,


24


.




The support frame


12


, side walls


18


,


20


and end wall housings


22


,


24


form an enclosure, generally designated


26


, having an open top


28


which allows material to enter the interior grinding chamber


30


of the shear shredder. A hopper


32


having downwardly converging side walls


34


,


36


,


38


,


40


is mounted on the shredder housing


26


and communicates with the open top


28


.




The grinding chamber


30


is defined by the side walls


18


,


20


and grinding chamber end walls


42


,


44


. The frame end walls


46


,


48


are removably attachable to the ends of the support frame


12


by bolts or machine screws (not shown), and support drive motors


50


,


52


,


54


,


56


, respectively. The end walls


46


,


48


are attached to U-shaped brackets


57


which are machined for precision and welded to the frame


12


in precise alignment with respect to each other. In an exemplary embodiment, the walls


46


,


48


are dowelled for location.




The side walls


18


,


20


are also removably attachable to the support frame


12


by bolts or machine screws, (not shown). Each of the side walls


18


,


20


supports a plurality of spaced comb elements


59


. Comb elements


59


are separated by spacers


60


and are retained on side walls


18


,


20


by rails


61


, bolted to the walls, which capture tabs protruding from the base of the elements.




A pair of shear cartridges


62


,


64


are mounted within the support frame


12


. As shown in

FIGS. 2 and 4

, each shear cartridge includes a hexagonal shaft


66


on which is mounted a plurality of cutter elements


68


, each of the cutter elements being separated from its neighbor by a spacer ring


70


. The cutter elements


68


and spacer rings


70


each include hexagonal central openings to prevent rotation relative to the shaft


66


. Outside of the array of cutter element


68


and spacers


70


are small


72


and large


74


stack tighteners. The small and large stack tighteners


72


,


74


each have a central, hexagonal opening to receive the shaft


66


, and large stack tighteners


74


include a peripheral flange


76


. The array of cutter elements


68


, spacer


70


and stack tighteners


72


,


74


are held on the shaft


66


by end caps


78


,


80


. End caps


78


,


80


are retained on the ends of the shaft


66


by screws


82


,


84


, respectively. Jam nut and wedge bolt combinations


86


extend between the end cap


80


and stack tightener


72


,


74


. The jam nut and wedge bolt combinations are adjusted to urge the stack tighteners


72


,


74


inwardly toward the shaft


66


to tighten the cutter elements


68


and spacers against each other.




As shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

, the shear cartridges


62


,


64


are positioned within the support frame


12


so that the stack tighteners


72


,


74


are adjacent to the grinding chamber end walls


42


,


44


. The flange on stack tightener


74


is adjacent to a spacer


70


and serves as a shield to prevent contaminants from passing through the wall


42


. The walls


42


,


44


each include inserts


88


,


90


,


92


,


94


which complete the continuity of the end walls


42


,


44


to define the grinding chamber


30


.




Each of the hydraulic drive motors


50


-


56


includes a flat attachment plate


96


mounted on its output shaft. The flat plates


96


bolt to the faces


98


of the end caps


78


,


80


of the shear cartridges


62


,


64


.




As shown in

FIG. 5

for end wall


46


, the end walls


46


,


48


include openings


100


,


102


which receive the housings


104


of the motors


54


,


56


. The housing flanges


106


of the motors


54


,


56


are ground to permit close spacing of the motors and are attached to the walls by bolts or machine screws (not shown).




As shown in

FIG. 10

, the hopper


32


includes a feed ram, generally designated


108


, which is mounted on hopper side wall


34


. Side wall


34


includes longitudinal reinforcing bars


110


,


112


and lateral struts


114


,


116


, which extends between the reinforcing bars, and frame and opening


118


formed in the side wall


34


. A primary double-acting cylinder


120


is mounted so that a first cylinder rod


122


is attached to lateral strut


116


and second and third rods


124


are attached to a slider plate


126


(see also FIGS.


7


and


10


). The cylinder


120


is covered by access plate


127


. Such a cylinder


120


is shown in greater detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/993,123, filed Dec. 21, 1992, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.




The slider plate


126


is shaped to cover the opening


118


completely when cylinder rod


122


is extended and retracted.




Secondary cylinders


128


(See

FIG. 10

) are pivotally mounted on slider plate


126


and include rods


130


which are Pivotally attached to a ram assembly, generally designated


132


. Ram assembly includes a ram face


134


which is pivotally attached to a support frame


136


having legs


138


which telescope into sections


140


of the slider plate


126


.




A ram shield


142


is pivotally connected to the ram face


134


at a lower end and is pivotally connected to the slider plate


126


at an upper end. The slider plate and ram assembly


132


are covered by a plate


144


. The plate


144


and shield


142


act together to prevent waste material from falling behind the ram face


134


.




As shown in

FIG. 8

, when the secondary cylinder


128


is retracted, the ram assembly is drawn upwardly relative to the slider plate


126


. This causes the ram face


134


to pivot toward the side wall


34


of the hopper


32


. At the same time, the shield


142


pivots relative to the slider plate


126


as well, and forms a substantially planar surface with plate


144


. In this collapsed configuration, the feed ram


108


presents a low profile and a minimal obstruction within the hopper


32


.




As shown in

FIG. 7

, when it is desired to activate the feed ram


108


, the secondary cylinders


128


are actuated to extend their rods


130


, thereby displacing the ram assembly downwardly relative to the slider plate


126


. This relative movement causes the ram face


134


to pivot outwardly to an operative position. The ram face may then be reciprocated relative to the hopper


32


and side wall


34


by primary cylinder


120


to urge material downwardly through the open top


28


and into the grinding chamber


30


(See

FIG. 1

) of the shear shredder


10


.




The system for powering the various components of the shear shredder


10


is shown schematically in

FIG. 6. A

pair of drive motors


146


,


148


each power a pair of pumps


150


,


152


,


154


,


156


, respectively. In addition, electric drive motor


148


powers pump


158


which supplies hydraulic pressure through valves


160


,


162


to the cylinders


120


,


128


in the feed ram


108


(See also FIG.


10


).




Pumps


150


,


152


are connected to and supply pressurized hydraulic fluid to hydraulic cartridge drive motors


50


,


52


, respectively. Similarly, hydraulic pumps


154


,


156


are connected to and supply pressurized hydraulic fluid to hydraulic cartridge drive motors


54


,


56


respectively. Consequently, each of the shear cartridges


62


,


64


receives power from both electric drive motors


146


,


148


. Specifically, shear cartridge


62


is rotated by drive motors


54


,


50


and shear cartridge


64


receives rotational power from drive motors


56


,


52


.




As a result of this arrangement, should either of the shear cartridges


62


,


64


become jammed, the power from both of the motors


146


,


148


is directed to the hydraulic drive motors powering that shear cartridge. Thus, smaller electric drive motors


146


,


148


may be used since their power is combined in operational conditions which require greater power.




As a result of the structure of the shear shredder, the insertion and replacement of the shredder cartridges


62


,


64


is facilitated. For example, should it be necessary to replace shear cartridge


62


in the field, the following sequence of steps is performed. First, side wall


18


is removed from the support frame


12


, which disengages the associated comb elements


59


from the cutter elements


68


of cartridge


62


. Inserts


88


,


92


are unbolted from engagement with end walls


42


,


44


. If necessary, the stack tighteners


72


,


74


are loosened by appropriate adjustment of the screws


86


, which allows the cutter elements


68


to separate from the spacer elements


70


slightly. This step may be performed prior to the removal of side wall


18


in order to facilitate disengagement with the comb elements


60


.




The cartridge


62


is then supported by a jack (not shown) to cradle it and the end caps


78


,


80


are unbolted from their connection to the face plates


96


of the hydraulic drive motors


50


,


54


. The cartridge


62


can then be removed from the support frame


12


by a fork lift or the like.




The end walls


46


,


48


are also easily removable. In order to assure proper alignment, in an exemplary embodiment, the end walls


46


,


48


are located in position with high precision by dowel pins (not shown). In order to remove the end walls


46


,


48


, they are unbolted, the dowel pins removed and the end walls, along with the drive motors


50


-


56


can be lifted upwardly by a crane. Of course, the upward removal of the end walls


46


,


48


requires removal of the end wall housings


22


,


24


from the support frame


12


.




It is apparent, therefore, that the cartridges


62


,


64


are modular in design and can be reversed end-for-end and inserted in the support frame


12


, if required. Further, the shear cartridges


62


,


64


can be of identical construction and selected from among an inventory of identical shear cartridges. Similarly, the end walls


46


and


48


and motors


50


-


56


are modular in construction and can be selected from among an inventory of substantially identical components. For proper alignment of the end walls


46


,


48


which is desired to effect a proper alignment of the shear cartridges


62


,


64


, the portions of the support frame


12


which receive the end walls


46


,


48


only need to be machined to a high precision, and not other components of the frame.




Also in an exemplary embodiment, the hydraulic drive motors


50


,


52


,


54


,


56


are controlled by the use of swash plates, rather than valves, which promotes efficiency of operation.




Although described above as a shear shredding apparatus, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the novel aspects of the present invention apply to other material processing apparatuses having a pair of co-acting, substantially parallel, counter-rotating rotor assemblies, such as briquetting apparatuses, grinding apparatuses and the like. In particular, it will be a conventional exercise for those of ordinary skill in the art to replace the shear cartridges


62


,


64


with counter-rotating, co-acting briquette rolls, grinding rolls and the like.





FIGS. 11-13

illustrate an alternate embodiment of the present invention


164


, which provides a first roller assembly that is laterally adjustable with respect to a second fixed roller assembly. The roller assemblies illustrated in this alternate embodiment are briquetting rolls, however, as described above is within the scope of the invention to use shear shredding cartridges, grinding rolls, and any other similar material processing roll as will be known to those of ordinary skill in the art.




As shown in

FIGS. 11-13

, the material processing apparatus


164


includes a support frame


166


which receives removable side walls


168


,


170


and removable end bearing housings


172


,


174


. The side walls


168


,


170


preferably are bolted to the frame


166


, as are the end bearing housings


172


,


174


. The support frame


166


, side walls


168


,


170


and end bearing houses


172


,


174


form an enclosure, generally designated


176


, having an open top


178


which allows material to enter the material processing chamber


180


of the area processing apparatus


164


. Material processing chamber


180


is defined by side walls


168


,


170


and processing chamber end walls


182


,


184


. The end bearing housing


174


supports a pair of drive motors assemblies


186


,


188


, where each drive motor assembly


186


,


188


respectively includes bearing and shaft assembly


190


,


191


a reversible hydraulic drive motor


192


,


193


and a motor housing


194


,


195


. The other end bearing housing


172


supports a pair of bearing assemblies


196


,


198


. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the bearing assemblies


196


,


198


may be replaced by a second pair of drive motor assemblies as described above. The bearing assemblies


190


,


191


,


196


,


198


include unique stave bearings


199


, which are described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,852, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.




A pair of substantially cylindrical, material processing roller assemblies


200


,


202


are mounted within the support frame


166


. End caps


208


,


209


are retained on the ends of each roller assembly


200


,


202


. The hexagonal shaft


210


of each bearing/shaft assembly


190


,


191


,


196


,


198


extends through a cylindrical hole


211


in the respective end bearing housing


172


,


174


, and is coupled to a corresponding attachment plate


212


. The attachment plates


212


are, in turn, bolted to the faces of the end caps


208


,


209


of the material processing roller assemblies


200


,


202


.




The walls


182


,


184


each include inserts


214


,


216


, (


218


not shown),


220


to complete the continuity of the end walls


182


,


184


and to define the material processing chamber


180


. As is discussed in greater detail below, each end bearing housing


172


,


174


includes a fixed bearing support member


222


and an adjustable bearing support member


224


, which is laterally adjustable with respect to the fixed bearing support member


222


. Finally, the apparatus


164


includes removable top and bottom panels


226


,


228


, respectively for isolating the material processing chamber


180


from the remainder of the material processing apparatus


164


.




As shown in

FIGS. 14 and 15

, each end bearing housing


172


,


174


includes a fixed bearing support


222


and an adjustable bearing support


224


. Fixed bearing support


222


is integral with or fixedly attached to a frame


230


. The frame


230


includes a lateral surface


232


extending laterally from the fixed support member


222


slidably receiving the adjustable support member


224


, and the frame further includes a fixed member


234


distal from the bearing support


222


and perpendicular to the lateral surface


232


. The frame further includes a top opening


236


for receiving the adjustable bearing support.




When the adjustable bearing support


224


is seated on the lateral surface


232


, a shim


238


is positioned on a lateral side


240


of the adjustable bearing support, between the adjustable bearing support


224


and the fixed bearing support


222


. On the opposite lateral side


242


of the adjustable bearing support a hardened plate


244


and a torque plate


246


are positioned between the adjustable bearing support


224


and the fixed member


234


of the frame


230


. The torque plate


246


includes a plurality of threaded bores


248


extending laterally therethrough for receiving a corresponding plurality of threaded bolts


250


. The bolts


250


are received through a lateral opening


252


extending through the side of the frame


230


.




As shown in

FIG. 15

, as the bolts


250


are threaded through the torque plate


246


and abut against the hardened plate


244


the continuous turning of the bolts causes the torque plate


246


to abut against the fixed member


234


of the frame


230


. Accordingly, further tightening of the bolts


250


causes the hardened plate


244


and torque plate


246


to be forcefully separated from one another, and in turn causes the hardened plate


244


to apply lateral pressure against the adjustable bearing support


224


in the direction of the shim


238


and fixed bearing support


222


. And upon sufficient tightening of the bolts


250


, the adjustable bearing support


224


will be fixed with respect to the fixed bearing support


222


, having the shim


238


being fixed therebetween. Accordingly, by adjusting the thickness of the shim


238


, the operator will be able to adjust the lateral separation between the fixed bearing support


222


and the adjustable bearing support


224


.




For example, when the present apparatus


164


is used as a briquetting machine, the new briquetting rolls


200


,


202


, are installed into the apparatus


164


a new shim having a predefined thickness will be likewise mounted between the fixed bearing support


222


and the adjustable bearing support


224


. Thereafter, as the briquetting rolls wear down, the operator will be able to move the briquetting rolls closer together by loosening the bolts


250


, removing the shim


238


from between the fixed bearing support


222


and the adjustable bearing support


224


, machining the shim


238


to the desired thickness, re-inserting the shim


238


between the fixed bearing support


222


and the adjustable bearing support


224


, and then re-tightening the bolts


250


.




The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention. Having shown and described exemplary embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention. Many of those variations and modifications will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.



Claims
  • 1. A method for adjusting lateral separation between a pair of co-acting, substantially parallel, counter-rotating roller assemblies in a material processing apparatus, comprising:providing a housing including a frame; rotatably supporting a stationary one of the roller assemblies with a pair of stationary supports fixed to the frame; rotatably supporting an adjustable one of the roller assemblies with a pair of adjustable supports, laterally movable with respect to the frame; selecting a pair of shims, each having a thickness corresponding to a desired lateral adjustment; positioning a first one of the shims laterally between a first one of the adjustable supports and a first fixed member of the frame; locking the first one of the shims and the first one of the adjustable supports against the first fixed member of the frame by threading at least one bolt through a first torque plate, thereby forcing the first torque plate away from the first one of the adjustable supports and securing the first torque plate against the frame; positioning a second one of the shims laterally between a second one of the adjustable supports and a second fixed member of the frame; and locking the second one of the shims and the second one of the adjustable supports against the second fixed member of the frame by threading at least one bolt a second torque plate, thereby forcing the second torque plate away from the second one of the adjustable supports and securing the second torque plate against the frame.
  • 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said roller assemblies are briquetting rollers.
  • 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said roller assemblies are shredding cartridges.
  • 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said roller assemblies are grinding rollers.
  • 5. A method for adjusting the separation between a pair of roller assemblies, said method comprising:providing a frame; rotatably supporting a first one of said roller assemblies with a first pair of supports fixed with respect to said frame; rotatably supporting a second one of said roller assemblies with a second pair of supports that are movable with respect to said frame; providing a pair of shims; positioning a first one of said shims between a first one of said second pair of supports and a first member that is fixed with respect to said frame; positioning a second one of said shims between a second one of said second pair of supports and a second member that is fixed with respect to said frame; forcing a first torque plate away from said first one of said second pair of supports, thereby securing said first torque plate against said frame and locking said first one of said shims and said first one of said second pair of supports against said first member; and forcing a second torque plate away from said second one of said second pair of supports, thereby securing said second torque plate against said frame and locking said second one of said shims and said second one of said second pair of supports against said second member.
  • 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said roller assemblies are briquetting rollers.
  • 7. The method of claim 5 wherein said roller assemblies are shredding cartridges.
  • 8. The method of claim 5 wherein said roller assemblies are grinding rollers.
  • 9. The method of claim 5 wherein said first member is a portion of one of said first pair of supports.
  • 10. The method of claim 5 wherein said second member is a portion of one of said first pair of supports.
Parent Case Info

This is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/505,568, filed Feb. 17, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,376, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/032,388, filed Feb. 27, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,753, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/476,096, filed Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,284, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/069,874, filed Jun. 1, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,112. Each of the aforementioned priority documents is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

US Referenced Citations (25)
Number Name Date Kind
781781 Milne Feb 1905 A
1769383 Navone Jul 1930 A
1964969 Werner Jul 1934 A
1994137 Leguillon Mar 1935 A
2354071 Smith Jul 1944 A
2554071 Strawn May 1951 A
2600532 Hale et al. Jun 1952 A
2662246 Klugh et al. Dec 1953 A
2675304 Komarek Apr 1954 A
3220658 Shelton Nov 1965 A
3593378 Metrailer Jul 1971 A
4017241 Papinchak et al. Apr 1977 A
4306846 Komarek Dec 1981 A
4496366 Peters Jan 1985 A
4609155 Garnier Sep 1986 A
4614632 Kezuka et al. Sep 1986 A
4798529 Klinner Jan 1989 A
4844363 Garnier et al. Jul 1989 A
4902366 Bader Feb 1990 A
RE33490 Steinbock Dec 1990 E
5049333 Wolfe et al. Sep 1991 A
5205495 Garnier Apr 1993 A
5328107 Tsai Jul 1994 A
5484112 Koenig Jan 1996 A
5662284 Koenig Sep 1997 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number Date Country
1608279 Jun 1954 FR
56888 Oct 1919 NL
WO 9112890 Sep 1991 WO
Continuations (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/032388 Feb 1998 US
Child 09/505568 US
Continuation in Parts (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 08/476096 Jun 1995 US
Child 09/032388 US