Title of Invention

A DEVICE FOR SHREDDING MATERIAIS

Abstract

This invention relates to a device for. shredding material. It consits of a housing, a feeding means, a. discharge means, a shaft and blade assembly and, a grater plate. The shaft and blade assembly has a wain shaft having & plurality of plates fixedly mounted thereto. A plurality of auxiliary shafts are disposed in the fixed members. The auxiliary shafts are provided with a plurality of freely rotatable blades spaoedly disposed from each other. A srater assembly is provided to sieve the shredded waterial to be discharged. A prim© mover is conneoted to the main shaft for rotating it. PRIE: THIRTY RUPEES

Full Text

This invention relates to a device for shredding materials. The device is particularly but not exclusively useful in shredding hard, semi-hard and soft materials of plant origin such as wood, twigs and leafy matter. Agro-waste products are generally not utilized fully by the farmers. Efforts are continuously being made to recycle agro-wastes back to the fields, as manures and fertilizers, particularly since the harmful effects of chemically fertilized products are being evidenced clearly. Orchard and plantation crops are periodically pruned to promote growth, a portion of this pruned material finding use as firewood. Effective and full utilization of such agro-waste products as bio fertilizer is one of the objects envisaged by this invention, which will be described with reference to tea plantations without excluding other agro-wastes therefrom. Tea bushes are pruned periodically at least once in four years, generating a lot of agro-waste consisting of hard and soft wood pieces, twigs, branches and leafy matter. After pruning, plucking of tea leaves commences after a period of time and only when fresh leaves and buds appear in the pruned bushes. Full potential of agro waste produced during the pruning season has not been effectively tapped. It is possible to recycle the pruned matter to the field if shredded and sized suitably. Shredded agro-waste may be spread on the tea plantations where it will decay in the course of time due to the action of microbes and other ogranisms present in the soil, to produce excellent bio fertilizers. Other advantages of spreading shredded pruned natter in tea plantations are moisture retention in the soil and prevention of reduction of soil erosion during the rainy season. The object of this invention is to develop a shredder which is capable of reducing both hard and soft plant material to the desired size. The device envisaged by this invention is compact and can be moved from place to place without much difficulty, thus avoiding the cost of transportation of the prunned matter and is found useful in large estates as well as in small plantations. The device consists of a housing with an inlet means to receive the matter to be shredded and an outlet for discharging the shredded matter. A shaft and blade assembly is horizontally disposed to the base frame of the housing. The shaft and blade assembly consists of a drivable main shaft. This mainshaft has a plurality of plates fixed thereto. A plurality of auxiliary shafts are mounted on these fixed plates. Freely rotatable blades are provided on the auxiliary shafts. Spacer members are provided in between two blades to prevent their movement sideways. The ends of the auxiliary shafts are fixed or looked to allow the blades to rotate freely around the small shafts in the direction opposite to the motion of the shaft. The shaft assembly is connected to a prime mover. A fly wheel arrangement may also be provided for driving the shaft with uniform speed. A grater plate wh ich acts as a sieve is provided such that the shaft assembly is distanced therefrom to avoid contact. The grater plate has a chute with an outlet or discharge end and may be located either on the side of the shaft assembly or below it. The inlet or feeder means may be a hopper to which material to be shredded is fed either manually or continuously through a conveyor. The inlet portion of the hopper is located somewhere in the middle of the horizontal shaft and blade assembly for uniform distribution of the feed. The grater plate is detachable and the particle size of the shredded matter is determined by the mesh size of the grate plate. Protective means such as flaps of leather or rubber sheets may be provided to reduce the shredded matter being thrown out through the top. Feeding of the material through the hopper may be through drivable rollers which again will reduce the throwing up of material. Speed of rotation of the shaft also can be regulated by conventional means. All the components are detachable for cleaning and reassambly. The device for shredding materials according to this invention comprises a housing provided with an inlet to receive the matter to be shredded, an outlet for discharging the shredded matter, a drivable shaft and blade assembly disposed horizontal to the base of the said housing, the said assembly having a main shaft provided with a plurality of fixedly mounted plates, the said plates holding a plurality of auxiliary shafts, a plurality of freely rotatable blades spacedly disposed on the said auxiliary shafts and a grater plate communicating with the outlet. This invention will now be described with reference to the single figure in the accompanying drawing which depicts a sectional view of the device showing the shaft and blade assembly and the grater plate. The feeding means like hopper is not illustrated in this figure. Reference letters MS indicate the main shaft and the auxiliary shafts are indicated by AS. Fixedly mounted plates on the main shafts are denoted by FP and the plurality of freely rotatable blades by B. Spacer members provided in between these blades are represented by Sp. The grater plate is denoted by the letters GP and the chute through which the shredded matter gets discharged is indicated by C. Method of operation: Agro-waste or any hard/semi-hard matter to be shredded is fed into the device through the inlet means. A prime mover drives the mainshaft and the auxiliary shafts. The blades rotate freely in the auxiliary shaft and comes in contact with the incoming material to shred it. The blades swing outwardly and the cut or shredded matter flows down to the grater. The blade that contacts the matter swings back if the same is unable to cut through the incoming feed, thus allowing the blades adjacent thereto to complete the cutting operation. The sieve in the grater plate permits chopped or shredded particles to fall through whereas unshredded or large particles are subjected to successive operation steps. Arrangements for packing and transporting the shredded material may also be made. Though this invention is described hereinabove with respect to agro-waste, particularly agro-waste from tea plantations, it should be understood that the device is effective in shredding any hard, semi-hard or soft material. Obvious equivalents known to persons skilled in the art are also within the scope of the description and the appended claims. I CLAIM: 1. A device for shredding materials comprising a housing provided with an inlet to receive the matter to be shredded, an outlet for discharging the shredded matter, a drivable shaft and blade assembly disposed horizontal to the base of the said housing, the said assembly having a main shaft provided with a plurality of fixedly mounted plates, the said plates holding a plurality of auxiliary shafts, a plurality of freely rotatable blades spacedly disposed on the said auxiliary shafts and a grater plate communicating with the outlet. 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inlet is provided with a feeding means such as a hopper located near the middle of the shaft assembly. 3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inlet is provided with two drivable rollers through which the matter is fed. 4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a prime mover is provided to drive the shaft assembly. 5. The device as claimed in claims 1 and 4, wherein the main shaft is connected to the prime mover through a fly wheel. 6. The device as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the ends of the auxiliary shafts are fixed to the said plates. 7. The device as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the freely rotatable blades are spaced from each other by spacer member. 8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inlet is provided with flap like protective means to reduce the throwing up of the matter fed thereto. 9. The device as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the grater plate is changeable according to the desired particle size of the shredded agro-waste. 10. The device as claimed in claims 1 and 8 wherein the grater plate is connected to the outlet through a chute which is connectable to a conveyor for transporting the shredded matter. 11. The device as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein all the components are detachably held for easy dismantling, cleaning and reassembling, 12. A device for shredding materials substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Documents:

1471-mas-1996 abstract.jpg

1471-mas-1996 abstract.pdf

1471-mas-1996 claims.pdf

1471-mas-1996 correspondence-others.pdf

1471-mas-1996 correspondence-po.pdf

1471-mas-1996 description (complete).pdf

1471-mas-1996 drawings.pdf

1471-mas-1996 form-1.pdf

1471-mas-1996 form-26.pdf