US2830770A - Granulating machine - Google Patents

Description

April 15, 1958 M. F. DE LUCA 2,830,770

GRANULATING MACHINE Filed March 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 60 zz M 1a INVENTOR. I l mlghael F: De. Luca Qg -W [ATTORNEY April 15, 1958 M. F. DE LUCA GRANULATING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 12, 1954 INVENTOk. michael EDe Lu. ca.

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ATTORNEY Uilit d States Pate'fi GRANULATING MACHINE Michael F. De Luca, Worcester, Mass.

Application March 12, 1954, Serial No. 415,783 8 Claims. (Cl. 241-73) This invention relates to granulating machines, and more particularly to a machine adapted for cutting, granulating, or pulverizing various materials, such as scrap leather, plastics, etc.

.A conventional machine designed for this purpose has comprised a set of stationary knives cooperating with blunt edged rotary knives which have served both to cut and to break the material into small particles by a combined cutting and impact action. A screen is located below the rotary knives to separate the finely divided material from the larger particles, but the screen tends to become clogged and the material lodges between the knives so that the machine motor may be stalled or require aheavy power input. It is necessary to remove the screen at frequent intervals for the purpose of cleaning it, and this should be accomplished without interferin'gwith the accurate setting of the knives. Moreover, the stationary knives should be so adjustably positioned that they may be easily set in cutting contact with the rotor knives to provide a required cutting action without dismantling the machine. Even more important is the need for a type of rotary knife which is primarily a cutting tool and which will aid in feeding the material to 'thecutting zone as distinguished from the centrifugal action of hurling the uncut fragments outwardly. Moreover, the massive structure of the rotor in a large size machine" has madeit difficult to see the'interior of the machine when it has to be cleaned or the screen re moved or 'the knives inspected. Hence, there should be adequate access to the rotor without requiring remoral or disturbances of the stationary knives or a dismantling of the machine. It is also found that when material is fed to the hopper above the rotary knives, a 'blast of material is thrown outwardly and may injure the operator, so that it is desirable to provide a baffling gate which will admit the material and yet serve for the operators protection.

It is the primary object of this invention to overcome the above disadyantages and to provide a rigidly constructed granulating machine for both large and small size units which may be economically built and efficiently operated for granulating various types of material.

'Ayfurther object is to provide a structure wherein the screen may be easily removed for cleaning the machine andaocess may be had for inspecting the rotor knives but which does not require removing the stationary knives ordisturbing their settingrelative to the rotary knives.

A still further object is to provide a granulating machine with a new type of rotary cutting knife which will cut the fragmentary material more by a direct shearing action-than breaking it by impact and which is so shaped that it aids in feeding the fragments to the cutting zone and minimizes the power requirements.

Another, object is to provide a machine of this type with a bafiling gate in the feed hopper which will prevent any,,substantial amount of the pulverizing material from beingl-throwp outwardly when the operator opens 1 preferably such that the rotor is power driven at a the hopper to feed the machine and yet will permit feed ing large fragments or pieces without obstruction within, Other objects will be readily apparent in the following disclosure.

the hopper.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, showing a large sized granulator, the sectioned portions of the view being taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section, partly broken away,

of the machine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly broken away, of a small,

sized type of granulator having the rotor carried in part by the motor shaft; V Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the machine of Fig.8

supporting legs 14. The casing parts 10 and 12 provide a substantially cylindrical space for a massive rotor casting i required shape. The rotor 15 is integral with or has its ends shaped to form a shaft 16 projecting] axially at both ends of the cutting zone. Two fly wheels; 18 are preferably formed integral with the shaft l6butfl are shown as connected thereto by keys 19.. These fly; wheels and the massive rotor block 15 provide the needed v momentum to give a smooth cutting action. The upper casing member to has a flat top which supports and is; bolted to a feed hopper 26 (shown in Fig 4) cointiiunifi eating with the space 21' within the upper casing. The

lower casing 12 is shaped to provide an exit space 22 for the material that has been granulated, and this corn-,, municates with hopper walls 23 mounted within the table l 13 which directs the granulated material into a suitable receptacle 34 removably supported beneath the table. A. perforated metal screen 24 of suitable mesh is removably mounted below but out of contact with the rotor knives'f near the upper end of the passage 22 in the lower casingl This screen holds the fragments inthe cutting zone until fine enough to pass through the screen mesh. The shaft ends 16 are suitably mounted in ball bearings 25 of stand; ard construction carried in upstanding walls 26 of thef 'i Screw caps 27 suitably threaded to the arbor ends 16 hold the rotor in proper position rela-" machine frame.

a suitable coupling 32 with 'a reduced projecting end 33 l of the rotor shaft, and the motor characteristics are sired constant speed.

special cutting knife construction.

a straight cutting edge 41 are adjustably mounted in a recess in the upper face of the lower casing 12 and at the junction between the upper casing 14) with the lower part Patented Apr. 15, 1958 12. Each knife 40 is a long, rectangular bar provided" with an elongated transverse slot 42. A cap screw 43- has its head or a washer 44 suitably bearing against the" knife at the sides of the slot, and this cap screw is threaded into the lower casing part 12 and serves to clamp the knife 40 in an adjusted position. The knife may be thrust inwardly by means of a set screw 45 suitably threaded into the lower casing body 12 after the cap screw 43 has been cap screw 43 holds the knife rigidly in position. To

7 place or adjust. the knife, the' clamping: bolts H sto iomoved and the upper casing is lifted from contact with the lower casing, thus exposing the knives 40. Each of the knives is preferably adjustably mounted the same as is shown at the right hand side of Fig. 2.

Although a standard shape of knife may be employed with the other features of this machine, I have found that a superior efliciency is had with a special type of rotary knife. This rotary knife 50, shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 5, has an extending claw-like projection 51 provided with a sharp straight edge which is positioned and shaped to aid in feeding the material to the cutting edge 41 of the stationary knife 49 and cut the same. These claw-shaped knives may be each made as an integral body of hardened steel, or the outer claw end 51 may be a separate hard'body removably mounted on the inner portion of the knife. As shown, the central rotor body may be cut away to provide flat faced notches that permit the flat arm 52 of each knife to be mounted substantially radially of the rotor. Set screws 54 serve to removably secure the arms of the claw knives on the rotor cutter block 15. It will be appreciated that after these rotary cutter knives have been mounted in place with their cutting edges located at equal distances from the axis of rotation, the stationary knives will be suitably adjusted so that the respective cutting edges will just clear and so cut material adequately therebetween.

The shape of the cutter knife may be varied somewhat, but it is desirable that this part be primarily a knife and not a breaker hammer and yet that it have suflicient strength and mass to deliver a needed impact blow to the material and force the knife therethrough. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, a claw-like projecting portion 51 of the cutter knife is arranged at substantially right angles to a radius of the rotor and to the face of the arm portion 52 of the tooth. The outer face 55 of the claw may be flat or it may be ground to the arc of a cylinder so that the whole face will make a substantially rubbing contact with the edge 41 of the stationary knife and thus minimize any tendency for material to clog between the two knives. The claw projects forwardly in the direction of rotation so that its edge may be considered as a peripheral portion of an imaginary cylinder around the rotor. The included angle at the cutting edge 51 of the claw subtended between the two converging faces of the V-shaped claw is between 20 and and preferably from 40 to 50 although considerable variation may be had. However, if the angle is too acute, the cutting knife will be unnecessarily thin and therefor weak and unable to withstand the shocks of the granulating action. If the angle is too blunt or appreciably greater than about 60, the knife will then serve more as a breaker hammer than a cutter. Hence, it is preferable that this edge be reasonably sharp and lie within the specified angular requirements which provide a thick portion or heavy mass at the back of the tooth to aid in driving the tooth edge through the body being cut.

This claw type of cutter knife or tooth tends to grab the material and to move it forward into the cutting zone between the two knives. The oversized material is held above the arcuate shaped screen 24 and the claws seize that material and hurl it upwardly against the left hand stationary knife 40. Similarly, the claws above the rotor block grab the material that is coming down through the chute 21 and force it against the right hand stationary knife 40. In this structure, the claw knives force the material into the cutting zone rather than leaving the feeding action to a matter of chance as determined largely by the gravity of the material descending through the upper hopper and the rotary motion of the knives. A suitable number of stationary knives are provided. The two shown are arranged substantially diametrically of the rotor. Also, there may be any suitable number of the claw knives 50 on the rotor, only three being shown for the sake of clarity of illustration. It is also, feasible to set the knives at an angle to the rotor 4 axis and grind their cutting edges to lie in a cylinder, so that they are shaped as parts of a helix.

An important feature of this construction provides for inspection and removal of the screen 24. This screen is shaped as an arcuate portion of the periphery of a cylinder and is arranged concentric with the axis of the rotor, so as to maintain a screening surface at a desired distance from the rotor knives. The screen has outwardly extending flanges 60 which are removably supported on blocks 62 which may be hollow or as desired. The lower casing Wall 12 is provided with an opening, and preferably one on each side of the rotor, in which a closure block 62 is removably positioned. The block may be substantially a parallelopipedon in shape and is as long as the screen. Each block is provided with a groove 64 within which a flanged end 60 of the screen 24 lies, and the upper faces of these flanges may, if desired, be engaged and clamped into position by the upper casing 10, although this clamping action is not necessary. The blocks 62 are removably held in place by the bolts 11 which secure the upper casing 10 to the lower casing 12. Each bolt, as shown in Fig. 2, projects downwardly through a thin portion of the lower casing 12 above the opening carrying the block and it is threaded into the upper wall of the removable block 62, so that the clamp bolt 11 serves to draw that closure block up against the under face of the cut-out portion of the casing part 12 and at the same time to clamp the two casing parts 10 and 12 securely together. It will thus be seen that by removing the bolts 11 from threaded engagement with the blocks 62, the latter may be slid outwardly and the screen 24 then removed through either opening as thus provided These block openings are sufliciently large so that the operator may see readily into the casing and determine the knife settings or for other purposes.

A simplified and smaller type of granulating machine is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In this construction, the granulator rotor 70 is carried at one end directly by the shaft 71 of the constant speed electric motor 72 which drives the rotor. The shaft 71, which is suitably mounted in hearings in the motor casing, is connected by a key 74 to the granulator rotor 70. The rotor is bored axially at one end to provide a socket for the projecting end 71 of the motor shaft. A long cap screw 75 threaded into a socket in the outer end of the motor shaft 71 projects through an axially bored hole in the rotor, and the head of this cap screw engages a shoulder in the bore and so holds the parts together. This cap screw may be suitably adjusted or removed by means of a screw driver. Thus the granulator rotor is carried at its left hand end solely by the bearings (not shown) of the electric driving motor.

The right hand end of the rotor 70 is carried in ball bearings 76 suitably mounted within a central opening in an annular cap 77 which is bolted by cap screws 78 to the casing wall 79 of the granulator. The inner and outer raceways of the ball bearings 76, which may be of suitable construction, are carried within the central opening of cap 77. They are located by shoulders on the rotor 70 and cap 77 and held in place by a further small cap 81 that is secured by cap screws to the larger cap 77. A circular flange on the small cap engages the outer raceway as shown. The casing 79 forms a vertical hollow pipe-like structure having short arcuate walls shaped to define a space within which the rotor 70 and its knives 82 may revolve. The knives may be made as above described. The stationary knives 83 are mounted in elongated bosses 84 projecting diametrically from the casing. The bosses are recessed internally to provide space for the elongated knife body of rectangular cross section. Set screws 85 threaded through the ends of the boss engage the long back of the knife 83 and serve for adjusting the two ends of the knife inwardly. A cap screw 86 suitably threaded through the wall of the boss 84 serves to fix the knife 83 in a stationary position relative to the rotor. Thus, in this construction, the

twostationary knives are. put into place from the inside of the casing and may be readily adjusted.

. The rotor 70 may have formed integral therewith two fly. wheels 87 which have suflicient mass to provide a required momentum, but these may be omitted and the casing parts shaped accordingly to provide a closure. The left hand fly wheel 87 is located in a circular opening 90 in the left handcasing wall, and the right hand fly wheel 87 is shaped to fit inside the cap 77. The left hand wall of theigranulator casing may be suitably connected to the ,motor casing. As shown, the wall may have a circular groove 91 interfitting with a projecting circular flange 92 on the electric motor casing, and screws 93serve to .hold the granulator wall rigidly in position relative to, the motor casing. i

The screen 94,which maybev made of metal and provided with suitably sized openings therethrough for the passage of the powdered material, lies beneath the rotor in the space provided by the upwardly flaring walls 95 of the rotor casing. The screen is located just below the,stationary knives 83 with its edges close to or engaging the' knives and so is held from turning in' its setting It will be evident that the casing may be removed from the rotor bytakirig out cap .screws 93. Since the ball bearings are carried by the cap 81 fastened to the casing 77, this serves to slide the ball bearings off the end ofthe rotor shaft butleaves the rotor supported at its left hand end on the motor shaft. The rotor 70 may be removed from the motor shaft by taking'out the connecting cap screw 75 from the shaft 71 of the electric motor. Also, desired, the eridcap 77 with its ball bearings, cap 81 and the rotorwith its fly wheels may be taken out. through the righthand opening in the casing wall without disassembling the latter from the electric motor casing. This provides for-removal or cleaning the upper gate 101, the gate 101 moves inwardly and the" of .the screen. Thelowerportion 'of the hollow casing connects through a. suitable passage95 formed by baffle walls under the table 96, whichrca'rriesthe granulator.

and motor, to a receptacle suitablylo'cated for receiving the granulated material.

Another feature of the invention, which is also employed in the construction of Fig-1, but not shown therein for lack of space, comprises hinged gates 100 and 101 so mounted inside the hopper 20 as to prevent material from being thrownoutwardly, into the face of the operator when he attempts to feed the granulator. This hopper 20, which is removably bolted to the top of the granulator-casing, mavhavean outwardly projecting platform 102 onto which the fragmentslto be pulverized are laid The, hopper is closed at the top by wall 103 which has a hinged or removable'cover 107 providing direct access. from above to the interior of the hopper. The interior of the hopper is substantially unobstructed so-that large-pieces orfragments of material may be fed to the knives.

The upper gate 101 is fixed on a hinge pin 105 suitably mounted for rotation in holes in the opposite casing walls. The hopper walls 20, the top 103 and the gate 101 form a complete enclosure'above the rotor, so that during normal operation of the machine any material thrown upwardly by the knives is compelled to fall back into the granulating zone. The lower gate 100 is also fixed on a hinge pin 106 rotatively carried by the opposite casing walls, and that gate 100 normally lies in an inoperative and non-obstructing position close to the hopper wall. The two pins 105 and 106 project beyond one casing wall where they carry rigidly fixed thereto two arms 108 and 109, respectively. These arms are connected at their outer ends by a pivoted linkage 110. Thus, the arm 108 is fixed relative to the swinging gate 101 so that the two parts must move together and the arm 109 is fixed to move with the gate 100, and the link 110 compels them to move together. When the operator lifts on the outside arm 108 or 109 or pushes material against gate is swung towards the right to close off the lower portion of the passage in the hopper. These gates and linked arms are so constructed that the lower gate 100 will be swung up far enough into the hopper to prevent material from being hurled past it when the upper gate is opened sutficiently to permit a new charge to be dropped into the hopper. This charge will lie on the lower gate until its weight is adequate or manipulation of the gate by the operator will serve to drop the charge intothe granulatorl The operation of the machine will be apparent from theabove disclosure. The stationary knives are suitably adjusted relative to the rotary knives, and the motor drive serves to cut the material between the two sets of knives. The claw shape of the rotary knives drags the material upwardly from the screen and downwardly from the hopper entrance into the cutting zone of the asso* ciated stationary knife. These claws are particularly effective whenlarge pieces of scrap, for example, are fed into the hopper. Such a machine requires frequent inspection and cleaning or removal of the screen below the knives. This is effected in the construction shown in Fig. 2 simply by removing the closure block 62 from .one or both of the walls of the casing, and the screen is left in position and by removal of the cap screws 93 the granulator casing may be moved laterally toward the right and away from the electric motor. Since the bearings 76 are supported on the annulus 77, which in turn is carried by the casing 79, this serves to remove the bearings intact and to leave the rotor hanging from the motor shaft with its right hand end free. This provides for removing and cleaning the screen 94. The gates in the hopper form a safety device. When the upper swinging gate 101 is pushed open either by crowding material past it or by lifting upwardly on the outside linkage and its connected arms, this serves to swing the lower gate 100 upwardly to a position where it closes the bottom of the hopper and prevents the outward passage of the granulating material. The new charge rests on the lower gate 100 until it is ultimately dropped into the granulater, when the upper gate swings back to a closed position.

It will now be appreciated, in view of the above disclosure, that various modifications may be made in this granulating machine and that the different inventive features hereof may be employed in other related constructions. Hence the specification is to be interpreted as describing preferred embodiments of the invention and not as imposing limitations on the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A granulating machine comprising a casing providing a granulating chamber having an outlet passage therebeneath and an upper inlet passage for feeding material to be cut, at least one stationary cutter knife movably mounted on and having a beveled cutting edge projecting inwardly from the casing, means for adjustably fixing the blade in position, a power driven, massive fly wheel type of rotor rotatably mounted in said chamber which has knife supporting surfaces, a set of rotary claws, each shaped as an outwardly projecting longitudinal arm terminating in a V-shaped knife projecting laterally thereof in the direction of rotation, means for securing the claw arms on said surfaces of the rotor in a balanced relationship, each stationary and rotor knife having a fective length of the chamber, each rotor knife revolving close to and cooperating with the entire effective length of the beveled edge of the stationary knife for a shearing operation and having an outer peripheral face which lies substantially in the cylindrical path of revolution of the knife edge and substantially in a plane with the outer beveled face of the stationary knife where the knife edges meet for a shearing action, the inner face of each V- shapcd knife making an angle of from 20 to 60 with the outer peripheral face of the claw and projecting forwardly to provide a space radially inwardly of the cutting edge which insures that the rotary claw picks up and delivers the material to the blades and that only the rotary knife edge strikes the material initially at cutting contact in a shearing action, and a screen beneath and close to the claw knives which passes only the finer granular material to the outlet passage.

2. A cutter according to claim 1 in which the claw shaped knife has a cutting edge and a thick back formed by two converging faces subtending an angle at the knife edge which is substantially between 40 and 50.

3. A granulating machine comprising a casing having two separable superimposed upper and lower casting parts providing a granulating chamber therebetween and an upper inlet and a lower exit passage therefor, said parts having opposed upper and lower faces, inwardly projecting stationary cutter knives movably mounted for in- Ward adjustment between said faces, means for adjusting each knife inwardly and fixing it in a cutting position, means for removably securing the casting parts together, a power driven rotor mounted within the casing chamber which has rotary knives cooperating with the stationary knives to cut material therebetween, a hopper communicating with the inlet passage above the rotor for delivering material to the knives, an arcuate screen below the rotor and above the exit passage, said lower casting part having a closure opening below and remote from said upper face and the stationary knife and opposite to the normal screen position which has its vertical and longitudinal dimensions greater than those of the screen and is sized for ready removal of the screen therethrough, and a removable closure block for the opening which supports the screen and provides access to and removal of the screen without disturbing any knife setting.

4. A granulating machine according to claim 3 in which the lower part of the casing has an upper surface provided with recesses carrying the stationary knives and arranged for replacement thereof when the upper casing part is removed, and means for securing the casing parts and closure block together and holding the screen in position.

5. A granulating machine comprising a casing having upper and lower separable casing parts forming a granulating chamber, a hopper thereabove and a screen below, a set of inwardly projecting, adjustably mounted stationary knives mounted on the top of the lower casing part andprojecting into said chamber, a power driven rotor axle projecting at both sides of the chamber, a massive rotor within the chamber which is rigid with the axle, said rotor having knives thereon cooperating with the stationary knives to cut material therebetween, fly Wheels on'each end of the rotor axle outside of the granulating chamber, bearings for both ends of the rotor axle located outside of the chamber and said fly wheels and mounted. on the lower casing part and removably positioned by the upper casing part, said rotor and fly wheels being removable as a unit with the bearings when the upper casing part has been removed, said lower casing wall having an exit for granulated material and a lateral opening below its top and remote from the stationary knives which is sized and arranged for the removal of the screen therethrough, and 'a closure block for said opening which is removable without disturbing the knives.

6. A granulating machine comprising a casing Wall defining a granulating chamber, stationary knives on the casing wall which adjustably project into the chamber, a rotor having knives cooperating with the stationary knives for cutting material therebetween, a screen mounted below the rotor, an electric motor casing fixed relative to said wall, an electric motor in said casing having a projecting shaft, means for removably securing one end of the rotor to the motor shaft so that said'end is supported solely by the motor, bearings for the free end of the rotor,

and a support for the bearings removably mounted on the wall, said support and bearings being removable as a unit so as to expose the rotor.

7. A granulating machine according to claim 6 in which the bearing support is an annulus surrounding the bearings and'adjacent rotor end and comprising a cap secured to the annulus which holds' the hearings in an assembled relation to the annulus, so that removal of the annulus separates the bearings from the rotor and leaves the rotor supported solely by the motor shaft.

8. A granulating machine according to claim 7 in which the screen is an arcuate body and the casing wall has upwardly flaring side portions supporting the screen below the stationary knives, the casing wall having an opening closed by the annulus and cap which provides for removal of the screen therethrough.

References Cited in the filevof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 512,958' Guild Jan. 16, 1894 1,699,944 Ball Jan. 22, 1929 2,171,949 Roca et al Sept. 5, 1939v 2,225,781 Hinerfeld Dec. 24, 1940 2,326,682 Roddy Aug.'10, 1943 2,381,775 Roddy Aug. 7, 1945 2,669,271 Treckmann Feb. 16, 1954

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