Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02761494 2011-11-29
280 DESCRIPTION - Worminator
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
285 1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to compost making products. More
particularly, it
concerns the making of compost on small scale on a residential lot.
290 The field of the invention would include all compact and transportable
compost making
apparatus, including but not restricted to the purpose compost tea making.
2. The Background Art
295 In known compost containers stirring elements are disposed in the lower
half of the container,
or towards the side of the container (CA 2119256, CA 2441658 and CA 2583470).
These are
designed to stir the material in one or more turnings of the said apparatus.
The goal of the
stirring is inter alia to provide aeration to the composting materials;
aeration is a requirement
to provide sufficient oxygen for an effective composting process.
300 The current embodiment does not provide a stirring apparatus for
aeration, rather provides for
a bell shaped container, in which that material would create air channels as
the material is
moving downwards and the diameter of the container increases. By removing
composted
material from the bottom of the compost container, the material will move
downwards and
305 create aeration channels.
In the referenced compost makers the composting material is stirred and mixed
and the
composting material uniformity is defeated. The result is that material has to
stay in the
composting device until all material is completely composted.
The current embodiment provides for an ejecting apparatus at the bottom of the
container to
310 remove material that has been composted completely, and allows material
to compost
uniformly from the top to the bottom of the compost container. Removing
composted material
from the bottom of the container, causes the composting material to move down
the compost
container, and allow aeration in the compost container.
In known worm compost making processes mostly material to be composted is
placed on top of
315 the previous placed compost material, until the accumulation of
material would reach the
required compost material height requirement. In the composting process the
worms die off
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once all food from the composting material is consumed. The compost is left
for months until
all the material is composted.
In the current embodiment the compost material slowly moves vertically down
the compost
320 container, processed by the worms and natural processes, and the
composted material and the
worm castings are removed from the bottom of the compost container. As the
material at the
bottom is removed the material in the compost container moves down to fill the
voids.
In the current embodiment the worms are removed from time to time through a
worm
extractor door on the side of the compost container to ensure the desired worm
population
325 density.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
330 It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact
residential compost making
methodology; and
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compact
residential compost making
methodology that would allow the product to be used on residential lots, and
even in special
335 environments, inside residences; and
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compact
residential compost making
methodology that would allow for the composting of household food waste; and
340 It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compact
residential compost making
methodology that would provide the transforming of household food waste into a
compost
product that could be used to provide nutrition to indoor and outdoor plants;
and
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compact
residential compost making
345 methodology that would provide the basic composition and ingredients to
make Compost Tea;
and
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compact
residential compost making
methodology that would provide for the increase of earth worm numbers to
enable the
350 commissioning of multiple said compost maker products.
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Drawings:
355
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will
become apparent from
a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection
with the
accompanying drawing in which:
360
Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the Worminator
Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the Worminator
365 Figure 3 is a view of the horizontal slicer bar
Figure 4 is a Vertical sectional view of the Worminator Slicer Bar Assembly
Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the complete Foldable Slicer Turning
Handle and Slicer Bar
370 Assembly of the Worminator
Brief Description of the Drawings
375
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will
become apparent from
a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection
with the
accompanying drawing in which:
380
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CA 02761494 2011-11-29
565
Detailed Descriptions of Presently Preferred Embodiments
570 For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in
accordance with the invention,
reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and
specific language
will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no
limitation of the scope
of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further
modifications of the illustrated
apparatus, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention
as illustrated herein,
575 which would normally occur to a person skilled in the relevant art and
possessed of this disclosure,
are to be considered within the scope of the invention claimed.
1. A small scalable and practically portable apparatus to enable and sustain a
continuous
vermicompost process. The main components are:
580
a) The compost house is the main component that forms the structure for the
vermicompost
process, with bell shaped vertical walls, an open top and an open bottom that
is to contain
the bedding at the initiation of the vermicompost process. It will also
contain the
composted material, the composting material, the composting worms, the worm
castings,
585 the food waste and the beads, and with the worm extractor door on the
side to allow the
harvest of worms from the compost house; and
b) The compost house base that supports the compost house in the vertical and
horizontal
directions, with a grid mesh between the compost house base and the compost
house, and
590 creates a space for the collection tray to be positioned under the
grid, with a door to cover
the opening to the collection tray to keep out insects and small animals; and
c) The floor mesh supports the bedding and composted material and also
provides structure
for the vertical and horizontal constraint for the vertical slicer shaft
whilst allowing rotation
595 for the vertical slicer shaft, and provides the openings for the
composted material to fall
down from the compost house when the slicer beam is rotated and causing the
composted
material to fall from the compost house to the collection tray below; and
d) The collection tray that fits into the bottom chamber of the compost house
base, the tray
600 being able to slide in and out of the compost house base when the
compost house base
door is opened, the collection tray fits directly underneath the grid mesh and
of greater
dimension than the grid mesh diameter to ensure all composted material from
the compost
house will fall directly into the collection tray; and
605 e) The top cover that covers the top of the compost house to prevent
animals from entering
with openings top to allow for air circulation, with the openings covered with
a fly screen
type mesh to keep flying insects from entering the compost house, and to
prevent direct
sunlight, or any other light source, to shine directly into the compost house;
and
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610 f) The slicer assembly that would allow composted material and worm
castings to be removed
from the compost house to allow for more food waste to be placed into the top
opening of
the compost house when the horizontal slicer bar is rotated, and to allow for
the sustained
vermicompost process. The slicer assembly consisting of:
615 i. the vertical slicer shaft held in position in the centre of
the compost house with an
upper constraint and a lower constraint,
ii. a horizontal slicer bar attached to the bottom end of the vertical slicer
shaft with vertical
slicer posts attached to the top of the horizontal slicer bar,
620
iii. a foldable slicer turning handle assembly attached to the top of the
vertical slicer shaft
with a vertical turning handle shaft attached to the top of the other end of
the handle
shaft and a rotating handle grip fitted over this vertical slicer shaft.
625 iv. All of these shafts, beam and posts are securely attached
that would result in the whole
assembly rotating when the foldable horizontal handle shaft is unfolded and
the
rotating handle grip is moved in a circular pattern in the horizontal plane;
and
g) The worm harvester door on the side of the compost house that could open
and close
630 securely to prevent any air/light to enter the compost house,
this door allows for a worm
harvester apparatus to be positioned in a horizontal and vertical direction
into the compost
house, this worm harvester apparatus should have a shape to allow for worm
bait to be
placed into the worm extractor; and
635 h) Brightly coloured glass beads, that functions as composting
process dating, is are placed on
the top of the food garbage, for example on the first day of every month or
whenever
deemed appropriate, only beads with the same colours being placed together,
and when
the beads are present in the composted material that leaves the compost house
through
the grid mesh into the collection tray, the date is entered into the log ¨ the
difference
640 between the placement date and the collection date represents
the time that the beads had
been in the compost house.
2. A small scalable and practically portable apparatus to enable and sustain a
continuous
645 vermicompost process. Some of the main methodologies are:
a) The user would place the compost house base on a solid level structure, on
the ground,
on a floor, a table or any suitable platform. The placement preferred should
also be out
of directly sunlight, easy to access, well ventilated, well drained and out of
traffic areas;
650 and
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b) The user would then place the grid mesh in the recess provided in the top
of the
compost house base, and install the grid mesh securely and snugly into that
slot; and
655 c) The user would then place the compost house upright, with the
smaller opening at the
top, onto the grid mesh recess for the compost house walls, and at the same
time
ensure that the vertical slicer shaft fits into the bottom constraint that is
positioned in
the centre of the grid mesh. Once the compost house is place in position, the
user
should ensure that the vertical slicer shaft rotates freely, the horizontal
slicer bar rotates
660 with the vertical slicer shaft and the foldable slicer handle
freely folds into the top of the
compost house; and
d) The user would then place suitable bedding material on top of the grid mesh
and the
slicer beam in the lower chamber of the compost house. Bedding material could
include
665 shredded corrugated cardboard, shredded newspapers, animal
manures, leaf mould,
peat moss, composted material and dirt; and
e) The user would wet the bedding material to ensure a damp bedding; and
670 f) The user would now place composting worms, for example red
wriggler worms (Eisenia
foetida) with the worm quantity conforming to a weight ratio of 1 unit of
worms for
every 2 units of bedding provided and
g) The user would now place some food waste on top of the worms, and log the
date and
675 weight of the waste placed into the compost house. Suitable
material would inter alia
include apples, apple peels, baked beans, banana peels, biscuits, cabbage,
cake, celery,
cheese, corn bread, cream cheese, cream of wheat, cucumber, devilled eggs, egg
shells,
farina, grapefruit peels, grits, lemon, lettuce, molasses, oatmeal, onion
peel, orange
peel, pancakes, pears, pineapple, pizza crust, potatoes, potato sa lad,
Ralston, tea leaves,
680 tomatoes, turnip; and
h) On top of the food and on the opposite side of the worm harvesting door
beads of same
colour could be placed on the first day of each month to date the composting
process. It
is important the composting process should be allowed to run its course for at
least 2
685 months before the composted materials are released into the
collection tray; and
i) The slicer shaft handle will now be folded into the top of the compost
house and the top
cover placed securely on the top of the compost house to cover the top of the
compost
house; and
690
j) The user should ensure that the ambient temperature of the compost house
does not
fall, below 50 F or above 84 F ¨ the preferred temperature range is between
55 F and
77 F
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695 k) The user will ensure that the air circulation around and
through the compost house is
not obstructed in any way as the vermicompost process would need a continuous
supply of oxygen.
I) The user will ensure that the contents of the compost house would not dry
out, and add
700 water to the compost house when appropriate to ensure
sufficient moisture for the
composting worms.
m) The user will continuously, on a recommended daily basis open the top cover
to inspect
the compost process, and add food waste and bedding if required, to feed the
705 composting worms by placing the preferred food waste into the
top of compost house
and on top of the existing food waste; and
n) After sufficient time, 2 months being the rule of thumb, the user will
ensure that the
collection tray is in position centered directly below the grid mesh, then
open the top
710 cover, unfold the slicer turning shaft and handle and gently
give the turning handle a
quarter turn in one direction and then return it to its original position, and
then inspect
the material that has fallen into the collection tray. In the event that the
material has
not completely composted, do not remove more material, or else more un-
composted
material will be removed by rotating the slicer turning ; and
715
o) The user will inspect the material in the tray carefully to locate any
beads, and by
identifying the bead colour the user will log the bead colour on the Compost
House Log.
Comparing the dates of placing the specific colour beads, and the date the
beads are
ejected, the user will determine the length of time the food waste had been in
the
720 compost house and therefore in the composting process.
p) As for the exponential growth in worm numbers in a healthy and sufficiently
fed
vermicompost process, some excess worms should be extracted on a monthly
basis. This
is accomplished by placing bait in a worm extractor tool which is then
attached to the
725 outside of the compost house; suitable worm bait would be
watermelon rind. The user
will refrain from placing food waste in the top of compost house for a few
days to
remove the worm's food source, and follow the instructions for the worm
harvesting
apparatus.
730 q) Depending on the size of the household, more than one compost
house could be
commissioned to ensure an average loading capacity of the food waste. The user
has to
find the balance between overloading the compost house (it will fill up to the
top) and
starving the worms.
735
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only
illustrative of the
application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications
and alternative
arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from
the spirit and
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scope of the present invention. The appended claims are intended to cover such
modifications
740 and arrangements, which may be achieved by those having ordinary skill
in the art.
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