Compressed wood fuel pellet and method and machine for making same
First Claim
1. A method of making compressed wood fuel pellets, comprising the steps of severing a wafer off of an elongate piece of wood against the grain of said wood, splitting out a portion along the grain of said wood, said portion remaining within said wafer, confining said portion of the wafer in a direction generally perpendicular to the grain of the wood, and compressing the confined portion along the grain of the wood.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and machine for making a new and improved compressed wood fuel pellet. The method comprising the steps of severing a wafer of tree trunk or branch, punching or splitting a small portion along the grain in the wafer, confining each portion across the grain, and then compressing each portion along the grain to form a compressed wood fuel pellet of contiguous wood having a specific gravity of about 1.2-1.4 with a very high efficiency process and machine.
19 Citations
19 Claims
- 1. A method of making compressed wood fuel pellets, comprising the steps of severing a wafer off of an elongate piece of wood against the grain of said wood, splitting out a portion along the grain of said wood, said portion remaining within said wafer, confining said portion of the wafer in a direction generally perpendicular to the grain of the wood, and compressing the confined portion along the grain of the wood.
- 2. A compressed wood fuel pellet split out of a severed wafer section of tree branch or trunk, characterized by contiguous wood fiber which closely proximates an original cross section across the grain, and which is compressed along the grain by at least 40% to a specific gravity of at least 1.2.
- 14. A machine for making compressed wood fuel pellets comprising a circumferential splitting edge for splitting a portion out of a wood wafer, an inward facing circumferential cage surface rearward of the splitting edge for confining the split portion in a direction generally perpendicular to the grain of the split portion, a compression hammer surface rearward of the cage surface and engageable against the confined end grain of the split portion, an anvil surface facing the hammer surface and engageable against an opposed end grain of the split portion, mechanism operatively connected to force the hammer surface and anvil surface together for compressing the split portion along the grain of the wood and within the cage surface, and wafer feed structure for feeding the entire wafer to the splitting edge.
Specification