Abstract:
A device for producing compost and heat from composting, comprises a container for creating, containing, and transferring the compost and the heat. The container comprises a hatch for transferring feedstock into the container and for transferring the compost out of the container, and also comprises conduit bearing a heat-transfer medium, such as water, for transferring the heat out of the compost. The device also comprises wheels for supporting the container in a position to facilitate use of the hatch and for rotating the container.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to heat exchangers, and especially to water heaters in which heat is created by composting. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    As compared to what is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,940, the present invention more readily facilitates mixing what is commonly referred to as a compost pile. As a result, the present invention can more readily create higher temperatures in a compost pile and shorter times to product compost. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Disadvantages of prior art heat exchangers, and especially of prior art water heaters in which heat is created by composting, may be overcome according to the present invention. 
         [0004]    According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for producing compost and heat from composting, said device comprising:
       container means for creating, containing, and transferring said compost and said heat, comprising:
           material-transfer means for transferring feedstock into said container means and for transferring said compost out of said container means;   heat-transfer means, for transferring said heat out of said compost; and   support-and-rotation means for supporting said container means in a position to facilitate use of said material-transfer means and for rotating said container means.   
               
 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  shows a partly broken away side view of an embodiment of the device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  shows a partly broken away end view of an embodiment of the device in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of components that are inside an embodiment of the device according to the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , construction of the preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention will now be described. 
         [0014]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the container means comprises a right-circular cylindrical, thermally insulated, metal shell  1  approximately 4 feet long and 4 feet in diameter. The material-transfer means comprises an openable and closeable, thermally insulated, metal door  2 . The door  2  is conformable with and sealable against the shell  1 , and has a hinge  3  and a handle  4 ; between the door  2  and the interior of the shell  1 , there may also be a removable screen  2 A having openings large enough to allow more-fully composted material (not shown) to pass through the screen  2 A and out of the shell I but small enough to keep less-fully composted material (not shown) in the shell  1 , and to thereby facilitate largely continuous production of compost and of heat. (The accompanying drawings do not depict feedstock, compost, water, or partly composted feedstock; except as done in the immediately preceding sentence, for the sake of brevity this specification does not state that such materials are not shown.) The container means further comprises as openable and closeable, thermally insulated, metal door  5  in each end of the shell  1 ; each door  5  is conformable with and sealable against the shell  1 , has latches  6  and handles  7 , and is to facilitate servicing components of the device that are inside the shell  1 . To provide venting of stale air from the interior of the shell I to the exterior of the shell  1 , the shell  1  also comprises a tube  8  through an end of the shell  1  and presenting a comb-like structure to the interior of the shell  1 ; the tube  8  may also (not shown) be shaped and configured to facilitate pre-heating heat transfer medium, such as water, before the heat-transfer medium enters the shell  1 . 
         [0015]    The heat transfer means comprises passage means, for pasting heat-transfer medium through the compost, and being a pipe  9  containing a tube  10 . The tube  10  comprises rotation-facilitating means, such as mechanical couplings  11 , to allow for rotation of components of the device. 
         [0016]    The support-and-rotation means comprises two sets each of two air-filled or solid rubber tires  12  on strut and axel assemblies  13 . Each set of tires  12  supports and straddles the underside of a respective end of the shell  1 . 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the passage means comprising the pipe  9  and the tube  10  is shaped and configured to account for shrinkage and settling of the feedstock, and of the compost, in the shell  1 . Being offset downwardly from a horizontal axis of the shell  1 , the pipe  9  and the tube  10  can be more within the compost and the feedstock than they would be if either or both of the pipe  9  and the tube  10  was symmetric about such as axis. 
         [0018]    The tube  10  is coiled about that axis. That coiling is preferably at more than one diameter, as a plurality of conduits  10 A,  10 B, and  10 C. The conduits  10 A,  10 B, and  10 C commence from an axial portion of the passage means (being the pipe  9 ), are shaped and configured to pass through the compost and the feedstock, and end in an axial portion of the conduit means (being the pipe  9 ). Alternatively (not shown), the conduits  10 A,  10 B, and  10 C comprises one continuous conduit that commences from an axial portion of the passage means (being the pipe  9 ), is shaped and configured to pass through the compost and the feedstock, and ends in an axial portion of the passage means (being the pipe  9 ). In either event, the shell  1  comprises and opening to at least one of the axial portions, and at least one of the axial portions comprises an opening  18  on its underside, to allow fresh air to get to the feedstock and to the compost, and to allow stale air to exit from the feedstock and the compost; guard means, being a slat  19  offset from that opening  18  on its underside and attached to at least one of those axial portions, is shaped and configured to guard against the compost or the feedstock entering the opening  18  on the underside of the axial portion of the passage means (being the pipe  9 ). Also in either event, the container  1  comprises positioning-and-supporting means, being struts  14  parallel to but spaced apart from that axis and struts  15  configured radially about that axis, for positioning and supporting the tube  10 . The struts  15  comprise a comb-like structure  16  extending from the pipe  9  to engage a coil of the tube  10  in a respective gap  17  in that comb-like structure  16 . 
         [0019]    The shell  1 , the door  2 , and the door  5  may, for example, be composed of stainless steel or epoxy-coated metal, or, alternatively, of epoxy-coated wood or fiberglass with carbon fiber on the outside. In any event, the inside surface of each of the shell  1 , the door  2 , and the door  5 , and the surfaces of components of the device that are inside the shell  1 , should be chemically inert and be able to withstand the heat, and the dampness, associated with composting. 
         [0020]    If the shell  1 , but neither the pipe  9  nor the tube  10 , are to be rotatable, then especially strong positioning-and-supporting means (such as especially strong struts  14  and especially strong struts  15 ) are needed to avoid the tube  10  collapsing onto and wrapping around the pipe  9 . 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , installation and use of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention are illustrated. 
         [0022]    The types, proportions, and amounts of materials to be inserted into the shell  1  through the door  2  as compost feedstock are well known to those learned in composting. The types of inserted materials can usefully comprise water and a combination of materials such as deciduous leaves, chicken manure, wood clippings, and saw dust. Partly composted feedstock which has been removed through the door  2  along with compost, can be returned through the door  2  as feedstock. Also, the volume of the compost pile in the preferred embodiment of the invention is approximately 1 cubic yard. 
         [0023]    Three sets of test results with that volume of compost pile in a preferred embodiment of the invention are set out below, solely by way of example. In all three tests, the compost pile temperature was approximately 150 degrees Fahrenheit. 
         [0024]    In one test of a device according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, water at approximately 45 degrees Fahrenheit input to the upstream end of the device exited approximately one minute later from the downstream end of the device at approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit. 
         [0025]    In two other tests of a device according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, water with a flow rate of approximately 1.3 gallons per minute input to the upstream end of the device at approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit exited at the downstream end of the device; the temperature of the water exiting was, in one test, 110 degrees Fahrenheit and, in another test, 130 degrees Fahrenheit. 
         [0026]    As a result of the foregoing, the device of the present invention may be used to produce heated water to be used for baths or shows or for forced air heating of spaces such as the interiors of buildings. 
         [0027]    It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that a number of variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.