Systems for unbaling, separating and decortifying fibrous crops
US11102934B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 7, 2015 |
| Grant date | Aug 31, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 4, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC D)Textiles; Paper
- CPC primaryD01B1/22
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Processing of baled material includes a bale opening stage, a separation stage, and a decortication stage. The bale opener features a conveyor moving incoming bales toward a toothed extractor with an array of teeth driven on a revolutionary path moving upwardly past the adjacent end of the conveyor to rake through the bale and extract material therefrom. The conveyor tilts upward reduce a working angle between the conveyor and the toothed extractor to urge the shrinking bale toward the moving teeth. A separation stage features multiple sets of vertically stacked, counter-rotating rollers with different characteristics from one set to the next. A decorticator has an external container, an internal drum rotatably supported therein, and an array of teeth on the drum. Driven rotation of the internal drum spins the fibrous stalks around the internal drum and impacts the fibrous stalks against surrounding interior wall surfaces of the external container.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.