High efficiency separator apparatus for yard debris
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for collection and reduction of yard debris combining a frontally facing vacuum pick up with a chipper-shredder-blower unit to induce airflow for entraining debris collected at the vacuum pick up; reduce the entrained debris to a more manageable volume; impel the reduced debris to a high-efficiency free-flow-separator device for removing the debris from the air in which it is entrained; and deposit the debris in a detachable accumulator for subsequent dumping.
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Citations
161 Claims
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1-111. -111. (canceled)
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112. A free-flow apparatus for separating entrained yard debris from a transporting air stream by action of body forces thereupon comprising:
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a. a curvilinear primary duct having an outer wall, an interior wall, an entrance for accepting a stream of air bearing entrained yard debris and an exit;
said curvilinear primary duct being adapted for conducting said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said entrance to said exit;
b. a secondary-separation chamber having a roof;
a generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall portion and an opening defined thereinto, a portion of said outer wall of said curvilinear primary duct adjacent to said duct exit being generally tangential to a portion of said generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall portion of said secondary-separation chamber in a first location adjacent to said opening, a portion of said interior wall of said curvilinear primary duct adjacent to said duct exit defining an acute angle with another portion of said generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall portion at a second location generally opposed to said first location adjacent to said opening;
c. said secondary-separation chamber being at least partially encompassed by said curvilinear primary duct;
d. said secondary-separation chamber being adapted to receive said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said exit of said curvilinear primary duct;
e. said generally frusto-conical outer peripheral wall portion of said secondary-separation chamber being adapted to separate said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris into an outwardly located debris-enriched stream and an inwardly located debris-depleted stream by action of body forces thereupon as said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris passes tangentially thereto;
f. an accumulation chamber located below said secondary-separation chamber for receiving debris from said outwardly located debris-enriched stream;
g. a baffle means centrally disposed between said secondary-separation chamber and said accumulation chamber for impeding passage of fine particulates from said accumulation chamber into said debris-depleted stream; and
h. said roof of said secondary-separation chamber having defined therein a generally centrally located passage adapted to exhaust air from said inwardly located debris-depleted stream to the atmosphere. - View Dependent Claims (113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118)
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119. A free-flow apparatus for separating entrained yard debris from a transporting air stream by action of body forces thereupon comprising:
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a. means for delivering a stream of air bearing entrained yard debris;
b. a vessel having an outer vessel wall and means defining an opening therethrough, a roof, and a bottom;
c. a duct having an outer duct wall, an interior duct wall, a duct entrance and a duct exit, said duct being disposed about an upper portion of said vessel;
d. a portion of said outer duct wall adjacent to said duct exit being generally tangential to said outer vessel wall of said vessel at a first location adjacent to said opening, another portion of said interior duct wall adjacent to said duct exit defining an acute angle with said outer vessel wall at a second location generally opposed to said first location adjacent to said opening, said outer vessel wall being generally inwardly curving;
e. said duct entrance being adapted to receive said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris, said duct being adapted for conducting said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said duct entrance to said duct exit, and adapted to direct said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris into said vessel primarily tangentially along said outer vessel wall;
f. said roof having defined therein a generally centrally located passage with a passage entrance and a passage exit;
g. a baffle extending. generally outwardly from a point below said passage entrance, said baffle separating said vessel into an upperly located separation chamber and a lowerly located accumulation chamber, the outer periphery of said baffle being spaced inwardly from said outer vessel wall;
h. said separation chamber being adapted to separate said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris into an outerly located debris-enriched stream and an innerly located debris-depleted stream, said accumulation chamber being disposed to accept debris from said outerly located debris-enriched stream;
i. said generally centrally located passage being adapted for receiving said innerly located debris-depleted stream from said separation chamber through said passage entrance and discharging air from said innerly located debris-depleted stream into the atmosphere; and
j. said baffle being disposed to impede movement of fine particulates from said accumulation chamber into said innerly located debris-depleted stream. - View Dependent Claims (120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137)
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138. An apparatus for separating entrained yard debris from a transporting air stream by action of body forces thereupon, comprising:
- a duct for accepting a flow of air bearing entrained yard debris;
said apparatus having a perimetral wall with a generally inwardly curvilinear surface defining a separation chamber;
said duct opening into said separation chamber adjacent to said generally inwardly curvilinear surface of said perimetral wall and being disposed to direct said flow of air bearing entrained yard debris tangentially along said generally inwardly curvilinear surface of said perimetral wall, said generally inwardly curvilinear surface and said duct being configured to separate said flow of air bearing entrained yard debris into a debris-enriched outer stream and a debris-depleted inner stream;
an accumulator operatively connected to said separation chamber and adapted to receive debris from said debris-enriched outer stream from said separation chamber;
a centrally located exhaust opening out of said separation chamber adapted to discharge air from said debris-depleted inner stream from said separation chamber into the atmosphere; and
a baffle located between said separation chamber and said accumulator disposed to permit passage of said entrained yard debris in said debris-enriched outer stream into said accumulator while impeding movement of particulates from said accumulator into said debris-depleted inner stream from which said air is thereafter discharged from said separation chamber. - View Dependent Claims (139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155)
- a duct for accepting a flow of air bearing entrained yard debris;
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156. An apparatus for separating entrained yard debris from a transporting air stream by action of body forces thereupon comprising:
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a. a curvilinear primary duct for accepting a stream of air bearing entrained yard debris, said curvilinear primary duct having an outer wall, an interior wall, a duct entrance and a duct exit;
said curvilinear primary duct being adapted for conducting said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said duct entrance to said duct exit;
b. a secondary-separation chamber having a roof and a generally downwardly and outwardly flaring outer peripheral wall and means defining an opening thereinto, a portion of said outer wall of said curvilinear primary duct adjacent to said duct exit being generally tangential to a portion of said generally downwardly and outwardly flaring outer peripheral wall of said secondary-separation chamber in one location adjacent to said opening, a portion of said interior wall of said curvilinear primary duct adjacent to said duct exit defining an acute angle with another portion of said generally downwardly and outwardly flaring outer peripheral wall at another location generally opposed to said one location adjacent to said opening;
c. said secondary-separation chamber being at least partially encompassed by said curvilinear primary duct;
d. said secondary-separation chamber being adapted to receive said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris from said duct exit of said curvilinear primary duct;
e. said secondary-separation chamber being configured to separate said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris into an outerly located debris-enriched stream and an innerly located debris-depleted stream by action of body forces upon said yard debris as said stream of air bearing entrained yard debris passes along said generally downwardly and outwardly flaring outer peripheral wall;
f. an accumulation chamber located below said secondary-separation chamber for receiving debris from said outerly located debris-enriched stream;
g. a baffle means centrally disposed between said secondary-separation chamber and said accumulation chamber for impeding re-entrainment of fine particulates from said accumulation chamber into said innerly located debris-depleted stream; and
h. said roof of said secondary-separation chamber having defined therein a generally centrally located passage adapted to exhaust air from said innerly located debris-depleted stream to the atmosphere. - View Dependent Claims (157, 158, 159, 160, 161)
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Specification