Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02246390 1998-09-29
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mixer and
particularly, to a novel screw or auger flighting
structure including an angled cutting knife mounted on
the top end portion of the flighting structure, a
deflector plate mounted on the lower end portion of the
flighting structure, and a novel container tub all which
facilitate the cutting, the feeding, and the mixing of
the hay bales or other fibrous material in the mixer.
Mixers utilizing a single conical processing
screw or auger flighting rotating within a container tub
are known in the art. Such auger flightings generally
may include cutting knive~ mounted radially outwardly
from the flighting with the upper last turn of the auger
flighting portion containing a plurality of knives
extending perpendicularly upwardly from the plane of the
flighting. The purpose of the perpendicularly extending
knives is to cut the raw material bales into smaller
pieces or chunks to facilitate mixing of the material by
the lower auger flighting portion. However, the
perpendicular upward extending knives or blades often
times engage the bales of material and bounces the bales
off the container tub thereby intercepting the mixing
operation.
Furthermore, when such prior art mixers are
used to process fibrous materials having a high moisture
content, such as wet silage or wet hay, the wet material
tends to compact against the wall of the container tub
away from the rotating auger flighting thereby ultimately
clogging and stalling the mixer.
Summary of the Invention
One object of the present invention is to
provide a mixer h~ving a cutting blade mounted to the
upper end portion of the screw or auger flighting.
It is another object of the present invention
to provide a novel kicker plate mounted on the lower end
CA 02246390 1998-09-29
portion of the lower ~crew or auger flighting portion to
facilitate mixing within the mixer.
It is a further object of the present invention
to provide a mixer having a novel auger flighting
~tructure having a lower flighting portion which
substantially extends to the periphery of the floor of
the mixer container tub.
It is another further object of the present
invention to provide a novel means associated with the
sidewalls of the container tub of the mixer to feed the
wet cut material into the auger flighting to facilitate
the mixing action within the mixer.
It is still another object of the present
invention to provide wedge deflector means associated
with the sidewalls of the container tub of the mixer to
feed the wet cut material into the auger flighting to
facilitate mixing.
It is yet another object of the present
invention to mount a cutting blade or knife at an angle
to the plane
of the end portion of the upper flighting portion to
facilitate cutting and shredding of the material
deposited into the container tub of the mixer.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide adjustable wedge deflector means associated with
the sidewalls of the mixer container tub to feed cut
materials into the auger flighting to facilitate mixing.
A further object of the present invention is to
provide a spring biased wedge deflector means associated
with the sidewalls of the container tub of the mixer to
feed cut material into the auger flighting to facilitate
mixing .
Still another object of the present invention
is to provide a mixer having a novel auger flighting
structure wherein the radial width of the lower auger
flighting portion extends to the periphery of the floor
CA 02246390 1998-09-29
of the container tub and i5 constant until the lower
flighting portion intersects a line parallel to the
radial width of central and upper flighting portions to
facilitate the mixing within the mixer and reduce the
power consumption neces6~ry for driving the mixer.
It is yet a further ob;ect of the present
invention to provide a novel screw or auger flighting
structure comprised of a lower auger flighting portion
and central and upper flighting portions wherein the
radial width of the central and upper fllghting portions
are constant to form a parallel cylindrical
configuration.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide at least three wedge members spaced apart and
mounted to the sidewalls of the container tub which
facilitate feeding the cut material into the auger
flighting for mixing within the mixer.
In accordance with the present invention there
is provided a mixer which is comprised of a substantially
circular container tub having a first end, a second end
and sidewalls which extend between the first and second
ends. The auger mixer contains at least one screw or
auger flighting portion rotating within the container tub
and extending upwardly from the floor of the tub. The
top of the container tub is open to permit bales of
material to be positioned onto the rotating auger
flighting to permit the auger flighting to cut the bales
into smaller cut pieces to facilitate mixing. Each of
the auger flighting portions includes a lower large
radial width flighting portion, an intermediate or
central flighting portion and an upper flighting portion.
Preferably, the radial width or radius of the central and
upper flighting portions are constant to provide a
parallel cylindrical configuration. The lower large
radial width flighting portion substantially extends to
the periphery of the floor of the mixer and is constant
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until it intersects a line substantially parallel to this
radial extended from the tangent of the central and upper
flighting radius. This structure permits a larger area
of the floor of the mixer to be exposed to receive the
contents of the mixer after each revolution of the auger
flighting portion to provide better chopping and mixing,
to provide less overspill when fully loaded, and to
provide reduced power re~uirements of the mixer. An
outlet is positioned adjacent one lower end of the
container tub to permit removal of the processed and
mixed material from the mixer.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a
plurality of knife members are replaceably secured to at
least the intermediate or central flighting portion and
to the upper flighting portion and extend radially
outwardly therefrom. The upper flighting portion
includes a knife or blade member mounted to the upper
trailing end portion. This blade member extends radially
outwardly therefrom with the upper trailing end portion
of the auger flighting being bent upwardly from the plane
of the flighting between 15 to 25 degrees. Such a
structure permits the rapid opening and tearing apart of
the bales of material deposited into the tub to break the
bales into small cut pieces or clumps. When the angle of
the cutting blade, mounted on the trailing end portion of
the upper flighting portion, is greater than
approximately 25 degrees, the knife blade does not
radially cut the bales into chucks but instead the knife
blade engages the bales and oftentimes throws the bales
out of the container tub of the mixer assembly.
In the preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the auger flighting structure is structurally
arranged within the mixer container tub such that the
lower large radial width flighti~g portion substantially
extends to the periphery of the floor of the mixer
container tub. Additionally, the lower large radial
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CA 02246390 1998-09-29
width flighting portion pos6esses a constant radius until
the lower flighting portion substantially intersects a
line parallel to the radial width of the intermediate and
upper flighting portions. Such a structure permits a
larger area of the floor of the container tub to be
exposed thereby more readily receiving the cut and mixed
contents of the mixer to provide a mixer that possesses
better chopping and mixing with less overspill when fully
loaded.
Additionally, it is preferred that the leading
edge of the lower large radial width flighting portion
includes a kicker plate mounted at an angle adjacent to
the leading edge to feed and direct the material into the
auger flighting to facilitate mixing.
In further embodiments of the present
invention, a plurality of wedge deflector members are
positioned radially about the interior surface of the
container tub to facilitate directing the cut pieces of
the hay bales or other materials into the rotating auger
flighting to
facilitate mixing within the mixer. The wedge deflector
members may be adjustable or spring biased into the
container tub to facilitate the mixing action of the
mixer.
Other and further significant objects of the
present invention will be apparent from the following
description and claims and are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show
a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the
principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best
mode in which I have contemplated applying these
principles. Other embodiments of the present invention
providinq the same or identical or equivalent principle~
may be used and 6tructural changes which may be made as
desired by those skilled in the art without parting from
the scope of the present invention.
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Description of the Drawinqs
For facilitating and underst~n~i~g the present
invention, there is illu~trated in the accompanying
drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an
inspection of which, when considered in connection with
the following description, the invention, its
constructions and operation and many of its advantages
will be readily understood and appreciated.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mixer in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the auger
flighting portion mounted within the container tub of the
mixer in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the auger flighting
portion illustrating the spiral winding of the auger
flighting, the mounting of a kicker plate adjacent to the
leading edge of the lower large radial width flighting
portion and the mounting of the top most knife member to
the upper end portion of the upper flighting portion in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3a is a sectional view taken along lines
3a-3a in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-
4 in FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a wedge deflector
member mounted to the inside surface of the container tub
of the mixer in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a frontal view of the wedge deflector
member in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an
adjustable wedge deflector mounted to the inside surface
of the container tub of the mixer in accordance with a
further embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 8-
8 in FIG. 7;
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FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing
the hinge portion of the adjustable wedge deflector for
mounting the adjustable wedge deflector in accordance
with the present invention; and
FIG. 10 is a frontal view of the kicker plate
in accordance with the present invention.
De~Ailed Descri~tion of the Preferr~ ~mbodiments
Referrlng now to the drawings wherein like
numerals have been used throughout the several views to
designate the same or similar parts, in FIG. 1, a mixer
10 is illustrated which i$ comprised of a substantially
circular container tub 12 having a first end 13, a second
end 14 and sidewalls 15 and 16 which extend between the
first and second ends. Preferably, the mixer 10 contains
at least one screw or auger flighting portion 18
centrally positioned within the tub 12 and extending
upwardly from the bottom or floor 17 within the interior
of the tub. As shown in FIG. 2, the auger flighting
portion 18 includes a lower flighting portion 20, an
intermediate or central flighting portion 22 and an upper
flighting portion 24. The central and upper flighting
portions each have a radial width which i~ constant or
substantially the same to substantially provide a
parallel cylindrical configuration. The term "radial
width" is used to describe the radius of the auger
flighting extending outwardly from the auger cylinder 27.
The lower flighting portion 20 includes a wing extension
member 21 which substantially extends outwardly to the
periphery of the floor of the mixer 10 and is constant
until it intersects a line substantially parallel to a
radial extended from the tangent of the central and upper
flighting portions radii. This structure of the wing
extension member 21 of the lower flighting portion 20
permits a larger area of the floor of the mixer to be
ex~o~e~ to receive the contents of the mixer after each
revolution of the auger flighting portion to provide
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CA 02246390 1998-09-29
better chopping and mixing, to provide less overspill
when fully loaded and to provide reduced power
requirements of the mixer.
A plurality of knife or blade members 25 are
replaceably secured to the outer peripheral edge portions
of the central and upper flighting portions, with the
knife or blade members extending radially outwardly
therefrom, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. The lower flightinq
portion 20, the central flighting portion 22 and the
upper flighting portion 24 are spirally wound about an
auger cylinder 27. The auger flighting portion 18 is
driven by conventional power means, as is well known in
the art. An outlet 28 is provided adjacent one lower end
of the container tub 12 to permit removal of the
processed and mixed materials from the mixer 10, as is
known in the art.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the knife
blades 25 are replaceably secured by bolts 25a to the
outer edge surfac~6 of the central and upper flighting
portions and extend radially outwardly therefrom. The
knife blades 25 engage the baled material that is
deposited into the upper open end of the container tub of
the mixer to shred and cut the fibrous material.
As shown in FIG. 4, the upper trailing end
portion 24a of the spirally wound upper flighting portion
24 includes a knife or blade member 25 attached to the
upper end portion and extending radially outwardly
therefrom. The upper trailing end portion 24a of the
auger flighting portion is illustrated as being bent
upwardly from the plane of the flighting between an angle
"a" of 15 to 25 degrees. In such a position, the knife
blade 25 i~ structurally arranged to extend upwardly from
the edge of the bent flighting at a predetermined angle
to engaqe the baled material to cut and shred the bale to
facilitate mixing. It has been found that by positioning
the upper blade at an angle on the bent flighting permits
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CA 02246390 1998-09-29
the rapid opening and tearing apart of the deposited
baled material to break the same into small cut pieces
and to facilitate mixing within the mixer. When the
angle of the knife blade extending from the bent
flighting is greater than approximately 25 degrees, the
knife blade frequently does not cut the bale into chuc~s
but instead engages the bale and bounces the bale out of
the container tub of the mixer assembly. When the angle
of the cutting blade is less than approximately 15
degrees, the knife blade does not properly engage the
bale to cut the bale into suitable cut pieces. It has
been determined that a preferred angle of the knife blade
25 of approximately 22 degrees provides the optimum
engagement of the knife blade 25 into the bale of
material to cut and shred the bale to facilitate mixing
within the mixer.
As further illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5-9, a
further embodiment of the present invention includes the
mounting of a plurality of wedge deflection members 30
about the interior surface 32 of the container tub 12 to
direct the cut pieces or other materials into the
rotating auger flighting 18 to facilitate mixing within
the mixer 10. The wedge deflection member 30 in the
shape of a tapered angled iron that is approximately 12
to 16 inches in length between the junction 30b of the
angled iron and the tapered end 30c. When the wedge
deflector member 30 is mounted to the interior surface 32
of the container tub, the base end 31 extends inwardly
from the interior wall surface of the tub, as shown in
FIG. 5, by a distance sufficient to assist feeding and
directing the cut material into the rotating flighting
18. Each leg 3la and 3lb of the base end 31 i~
approximately 2 inches in length. It has been determined
that by substantially equally spacing three wedge
deflectors within and about the interior surface of the
container tub substantially facilitates feeding of the
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CA 02246390 1998-09-29
cut bale material into the mixer, speeds up the mixing
process, and provides optimum feeding and mixing
conditions for the mixer. Preferably, the wedge
deflectors are about 14 inches in length and are located
approximately 11 to 12 inches above the floor 17 of the
mixer lO and equally spaced about the interior surface of
the tub. The wedge shaped or prison shaped deflector
members 30 have provided excellent fee~in~ and ~hAnnQling
of wet silage and hay bales and the combination of three
wedges about the interior surface of the mixer 10 has
provided satisfactory and excellent mixing re~ults by
deflecting the cut baled material into the center of the
tub such that it is engaged by and with the auger
flighting portion 18 to be cut and mixed within the
mixer.
In FIGS. 7-9, an adjustable wedge deflection
member 35 in accordance with the present invention is
illustrated. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the adjustable
wedge deflection member 35 includes a hinge member 36
mounted to the tapered end portion 30c, which anchors and
mounts the wedge deflection member 35 to the interior
surface 32 of the container tub 12, as will hereinafter
be described. The adjustable wedge deflection member 35,
as illustrated in FIGS. 7-9, is similar in shape and
cross-section to the wedge deflection member 30 described
in FIGS . 5 and 6. However, each leg 3la and 3lb of the
base 31 includes a reinforcing member 37 extending
laterally therebetween, as shown in FIG. 8. The
reinforcing member 37 has an opening 38 therein which is
substantially aligned with an opening 39 in the container
tub 12 when the deflection member 35 is mounted to the
interior surface 36, as shown in FIG. 7. The interior
surface 37a of the reinforcing member 37 includes a nut
member 40 securely attached thereto and overlying the
opening 38 in the reinforcing member 37. A bolt member
41 is inserted through opening 39 through a spring member
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42 and is engaged and received by nut member 40 to
securely anchor the base ~nd 31 of the wedge deflector 35
to the container tub 12. By adjusting the bolt membor 41
inwardly and outwardly, the adjustable wedge deflection
member 35 may be adjusted inwardly and biased outwardly
by spring member 42 with respect to the container tub
interior surface 32. This is adjustable and biasing
movement is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, as shown in the
dotted lines 35a and 35b.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the hinge member 36
is fixedly attached to the tapered end portion 30c of the
adjustable wedge deflection member 35 and i5 firmly
mounted to the interior container tub surface 32. The
hinge member 36 permits the inward and outward adjustment
of the adjustable wedge deflection member 35, as
previously discussed above.
In accordance with the present invention it is
preferred that the upper ~urface of the wing extension
member 21 of the lower flighting portion 20 includes a
deflector or kicker plate 45 mounted at an angle ad~acent
to the leading edge 21a to feed the cut material into the
auger flighting to facilitate mixing. The kicker plate
member 45 is further illustrated in FIG. 9 and is a few
inches in length and, preferably, is about three inches
in length. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 3a, the kicker
plate 45 is mounted adjacent to the leading edge 2~a of
the wing extension member 21 of the lower flighting
portion 20 at an angle "b" of between about 25 to 45
degrees with respect to the leading edge 2la. It has
been found that an angle of approximately 35 degrees
provides the optimum deflection of the cut material into
the auger flighting to facilitate mixing. Also, as shown
in FIG. 3a, the kicker plate 45 is raised at an angle
with respect to the surface of the wing extension member
21 to provide the deflection of the cut material into the
auger flighting. In FIG. 9, the preferred configuration
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of the kicker plate is sub~tantially a quadrangular
planar shape. ~he kicker plate 45 includes a deflection
portion 45a and a funneling portion 45b which deflects
and directs the cut material toward~ the center of the
auger flighting for enhanced mixing action. However, it
is within the scope of the present invention that the
kicker plate may be substantially rectangular in shape to
deflect and direct the cut material into the center of
the auger flighting.
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