Patent ID: 6086002
Filing Date: 2000-07-11
Classification: B02C

Abstract:
A hydraulic assisted comminuting, vacuuming and spreading and/or loading system for debris that can contain small rocks, lawn clippings, leaves, plants, native materials, duff from forest floors, straw, pine needles, chipper chips, chunks of wood processed by chippers captured on-site or trucked-in, commercial mulch, comprising:a self propelled vehicle having remote and near ends, ground engaging means in contact with the earth's surface to establish a datum line, said self propelled vehicle including a bed at said remote end;a frame trailerable attached to to one of said remote and near ends of said self propelled vehicle, said frame including first and second ends, ground engaging wheels in contact with the earth' surface at said datum line;a comminuting chamber attached to said frame at one of said first and seconds ends and having a plurality of side walls upwardly depending from said frame and including sets of independently servicing input openings for inputting debris interior of the comminuting chamber and an output opening, said chamber including a hammermill comprising disc means located within the side walls having a shaft extending across said chamber, a first hydraulic motor attached at one end of said shaft, a first controller operatively attached to said first hydraulic motor for controlling independent operation thereof, said hammermill including a series of bifurcated hammers attached to said disc means and movable therewith, and a disconnectably connected grate at the periphery of said disc means through which comminuted material passes;a first conduit means disconnectably connected to said output opening of said comminuting chamber to convey said comminuted material therethrough, and connectably disconnected therefrom to permit materials other said comminuted material to be conveyed therethrough independent of said comminuting chamber,an air fan chamber attached to said frame and having an input opening attached to said first conduit means, an output opening horizontally positioned at a position above said datum line, a fan positioned within said chamber including a flywheel having a shaft, a second hydraulic motor attached at said shaft, a second controller operatively attached to said second hydraulic motor for controlling independent operation thereof,a directional dispersal means having an input pivotally connected to said output opening of said air fan chamber at said position above said datum line, and an output end also positioned above said datum line,a second conduit means disconnectably connected to said directional dispersal means to deliver said comminuted material to said vehicle in a first mode of operation and connectably disconnected therefrom in a second mode of operation whereby one of (i) materials other than said comminuted material and (ii) said comminuted material existing from said air fan chamber is propelled long distances off-set to said self propelled vehicle for ecological purposes by said directional dispersal means,a hydrocarbon sourced engine, mounted to said frame having a drive shaft rotating in a specified range, a hydraulic pump attached to said drive shaft of said engine and providing independent hydraulic sourcing of said first and second hydraulic motors to provide independently controlled rotation of said hammermill and said fan positioned within the comminuting and air fan chambers, respectively, to drive one of (i) said materials other than comminuted material and (ii) said comminuted material exiting from said air fan chamber at a flow rate Q through at least said air vacuum generating chamber, thence from the air fan chamber where Q is a high rate.