| US 11,753,351 B1 | ||
| Loader-mountable compost turning apparatus | ||
| Thor Anderson, Rock Valley, IA (US); Joel A. Negus, Sioux Center, IA (US); Nolan Den Boer, Rock Valley, IA (US); and Greg Dejager, Rock Rapids, IA (US) | ||
| Assigned to Kooima Ag, Inc., Rock Valley, IA (US) | ||
| Filed by KOOIMA COMPANY, Rock Valley, IA (US) | ||
| Filed on Dec. 21, 2018, as Appl. No. 16/228,958. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 62/646,623, filed on Mar. 22, 2018. | ||
| Int. Cl. C05F 17/00 (2020.01); C05F 17/914 (2020.01); E02F 3/96 (2006.01); B01F 27/052 (2022.01); B01F 27/70 (2022.01); B01F 27/112 (2022.01); B01F 27/072 (2022.01); B01F 33/502 (2022.01); B01F 35/32 (2022.01); B01F 101/33 (2022.01) | ||
| CPC C05F 17/914 (2020.01) [B01F 27/052 (2022.01); B01F 27/0724 (2022.01); B01F 27/112 (2022.01); B01F 27/70 (2022.01); B01F 33/5021 (2022.01); B01F 35/3204 (2022.01); E02F 3/96 (2013.01); B01F 2101/33 (2022.01)] | 20 Claims |
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1. A compost turning apparatus mountable on at least one support arm of a loader for turning composting materials in a windrow resting on a ground surface, the apparatus comprising:
a mobile base elongated in a longitudinal direction with opposite inboard and outboard ends, the mobile base having a frame with a forward lateral side for orienting in a forward direction of movement of the mobile base, the forward direction of movement being oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the frame having a rearward lateral side oriented away from the forward lateral side, the frame having an inboard portion located toward the inboard end of the mobile base, an outboard portion located toward the outboard end of the mobile base, and a bridging portion extending between the inboard and outboard portions, the frame defining a windrow tunnel through which a windrow of composting materials resting on the ground surface moves during movement of the mobile base in the forward direction, the windrow tunnel being positioned between the inboard and outboard portions of the frame and below the bridging portion of the frame such that the inboard portion is longitudinally offset from the windrow tunnel and the inboard portion does not move over composting materials moving through the windrow tunnel; and a rotor rotatably mounted on the mobile base and extending across the windrow tunnel, the rotor including:
a rotor shaft mounted on the frame to rotate about a central longitudinal axis of the rotor shaft; and
a plurality of paddles each having a base and a tip and a radial axis extending from the base to the tip, each paddle of the plurality of paddles having the base of the paddle mounted on the rotor shaft and extending outwardly from the rotor shaft along a respective said radial axis to the tip of the paddle opposite of the base;
wherein each paddle includes a paddle panel having a front surface oriented forwardly with respect to rotation of the rotor shaft, the front surface of the paddle panel being substantially planar in shape and extending laterally transverse to the radial axis and terminating at the tip with a blunt end edge;
a rotor drive assembly mounted on the mobile base and being configured to rotate the rotor shaft and plurality of paddles of the rotor with respect to the frame; wherein the inboard portion of the frame includes a mount structure configured to be engaged by the at least one support arm of the loader to removably mount the apparatus on the at least one support arm such that raising and lowering of the at least one support arm raises and lowers the apparatus with respect to the ground surface below the apparatus, the mount structure being located on the rearward lateral side of the frame such that forward movement of the loader moves the apparatus in the forward direction of movement of the mobile base; wherein the rotor drive assembly includes a motor hydraulically-connectable to a hydraulic power system of the loader. |