Patent ID: 7988080
Filing Date: 2011-08-02
Classification: A01F,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A rotary chopper element for a chopper assembly that includes a counter knife assembly, the counter knife assembly including a grate portion extending laterally across a material supply path, the rotary chopper element comprising an elongated generally cylindrical rotary member having a longitudinal axis extending therethrough and being rotatable about said longitudinal axis, said rotary member mountable generally parallel to the grate portion of the counter knife assembly to define a material flow path between the grate portion and said rotary member, said rotary member including an outer surface and a plurality of knife blades fixedly mounted along and about the outer surface of said rotary member in a knife blade array, said rotary member including a plurality M of ring portions axially disposed in an ordered side-by-side arrangement along said longitudinal axis of said rotary member, each said ring portion including an outer surface and a plurality N of mounting lugs positioned radially about said outer surface in the same general annular plane, said mounting lugs on each ring portion being approximately equally and uniformly radially distributed about said longitudinal axis, at least one knife blade attached to each of said mounting lugs the mounting lugs of each succeeding ring portion being radially offset from the mounting lugs of the preceding ring portion by approximately the same predetermined amount, said attached knife blades on said mounting lugs defining said knife blade array along and about the outer surface of said rotary member, said knife blade array including N spaced helixes extending along and wrapping about said rotary member, said rotary member rotatable about its longitudinal axis when mounted generally parallel to the grate portion of the counter knife assembly to effect the transport of material within the material flow path between the grate portion and said rotary member through the chopper assembly, wherein said mounting lugs include a yoke member having a yoke length Yl, generally parallel opposed sides defining a yoke thickness Yt, and a beveled leading edge.