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A refiner that reduces solid material to a particulate form includes a rotatable sidewall, a bottom, at least one exit hole, and a rotatable toothed disk. One or more baffles may be attached to the chamber sidewall to form one or more surfaces that extend into the chamber. The baffles help move the

A refiner that reduces solid material to a particulate form includes a rotatable sidewall, a bottom, at least one exit hole, and a rotatable toothed disk. One or more baffles may be attached to the chamber sidewall to form one or more surfaces that extend into the chamber. The baffles help move the solid material toward the rotating toothed disk. The baffles also limit material from being inadvertently thrown out of the chamber. A moveable gate may be positioned to change the size of the exit hole and thus regulate the size of particulate material exiting the chamber. The position of the gate may be adjusted during the operation of the refiner chamber. A gate indicator indicates the relative position of the particle size gate. One or more attachments to the bottom of the chamber may be used to limit the amount and/or size of material engaging the toothed disk.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention of claimed is: 1. A refiner chamber in which solid material is reduced to a particulate form, comprising: (a) a rotatable sidewall; (b) a bottom disposed across an end of the sidewall, wherein the bottom and the sidewall define a chamber; (c) a tooted disk rotatably mounted within the

The invention of claimed is: 1. A refiner chamber in which solid material is reduced to a particulate form, comprising: (a) a rotatable sidewall; (b) a bottom disposed across an end of the sidewall, wherein the bottom and the sidewall define a chamber; (c) a tooted disk rotatably mounted within the chamber such that an edge of the toothed disk approaches near the rotatable sidewall; (d) one or more attachments directly secured to the bottom, wherein the one or more attachments are secured to the bottom where the edge of the toothed disk approaches the rotatable sidewall, the one or more attachments being configured to limit the amount ad/or size of solid material tat can be held laterally between the sidewall and the toothed disk and reduced to a particulate form; and (e) one or more cleats on the interior surface of the sidewall, in which the cleats are configured to engage solid material in the chamber, direct the solid material toward the toothed disk, and act as an opposing member that helps hold the solid material laterally between the disk and the sidewall as the disk rotates and reduces the solid material to a particulate form. 2. The refiner chamber of claim 1, in which the one or more attachments is a riser plate formed of a surface extending in an upwards direction towards the toothed disk. 3. The refiner chamber of claim 2, in which the upward angle of the riser plate is adjusted to determine the amount and/or size of solid material that can be held between the sidewall and the toothed disk. 4. The refiner chamber of claim 1, in which the one or more attachments is a floor comb formed of one or more elements having an upper surface that is slanted upward in a direction towards the toothed disk. 5. The refiner chamber of claim 4, in which the one or more floor comb elements have a triangular cross-section. 6. The refiner chamber of claim 1, in which the one or more attachments are positioned on the bottom near the outer edge of the toothed disk. 7. The refiner chamber of claim 1, in which the sidewall and the toothed disk are configured to rotate in the same direction under normal operating conditions. 8. The refiner chamber of claim 1, in which the one or more attachments includes a false floor secured to the bottom that makes an effective floor in the chamber higher than the bottom. 9. The refiner chamber of claim 1, in which the rotatable sidewall has a rim that rides on a low-friction surface supporting the sidewall. 10. The refiner chamber of claim 1, further comprising one or more limiters positioned next to the sidewall to limit potential vertical movement of the sidewall. 11. The refiner chamber of claim 1, further comprising a low-friction surface positioned next to the sidewall to guide the sidewall when the sidewall is rotating. 12. The refiner chamber of claim 1, further comprising a rim scraper positioned at the open end of the sidewall to dislodge or push solid material from the open end inward into the chamber. 13. The refiner chamber of claim 12, further comprising a breaker bar positioned on the rim scraper at the open end of the sidewall to break up or reorient solid material in the chamber and direct the solid material toward the interior of the chamber. 14. The refiner chamber of claim 1, further comprising one or more pusher bars on the interior surface of the sidewall to push solid material in the chamber toward the toothed disk as the sidewall rotates. 15. The refiner chamber of claim 1, in which the bottom defines an exit hole through which particulate material may exit the chamber, the refiner chamber further comprising one or more scrapers on the lower interior surface of the sidewall next to the bottom to dislodge material that may have collected at the exit hole. 16. A refiner chamber in which solid material is reduced to a particulate form, comprising: (a) a rotatable sidewall; (b) a bottom disposed across an end of the sidewall, wherein the bottom and the sidewall define a chamber; (c) a toothed disk rotatably mounted within the chamber such that an edge of the toothed disk approaches near the rotatable sidewalk; (d) one or more attachments directly secured to the bottoms, wherein the one or more attachments are secured to the bottom where the edge of the toothed disk approaches the rotatable sidewall, the one or more attachments being configured to limit the amount and/or size of solid material that can be held laterally between the sidewall and the toothed disk and reduced to a particulate form; and (e) one or more baffles fanning one or more surfaces that extend from the sidewall inward into the chamber at an upper part of the chamber, wherein the one or more baffles do not extend near the bottom of the chamber. 17. The refiner chamber of claim 16, in which the surfaces of the one or more baffles limit material ricocheting off the sidewall from exiting the refiner chamber through the open end of the sidewall. 18. The refiner chamber of claim 16, in which one or more of the baffles extend from the sidewall at an angle relative to the surface of the sidewall. 19. The refiner chamber of claim 16, in which one or more of the baffles extend from the sidewall at an angle relative to the rotational axis of the sidewall. 20. The refiner chamber of claim 16, in which the width of one or more of the baffles extends into the chamber at least four inches. 21. The refiner chamber of claim 16, in which the width of one or more of the baffles extends into the chamber at least 10% of the radius of the chamber. 22. A refiner chamber in which solid material is reduced to a particulate form, comprising: (a) a rotatable sidewall; (b) a bottom disposed across an end of the sidewall, wherein the bottom and the sidewall define a chamber, and wherein the bottom defines an exit bole through which particulate material may exit the chamber; (c) a toothed disk rotatably mounted within the chamber; (d) one or more attachments secured to the bottom that limit the amount and/or size of solid material that can be held between the sidewall and the toothed disk and reduced to a particulate form; and (e) a movable gate capable of changing the size of the exit hole and regulating the size of particulate material that exits the chamber through the exit hole. 23. The refiner chamber of claim 22, in which the movable gate is further configured such that it can be positioned during the operation of the refiner chamber to change the size of the exit hole. 24. The refiner chamber of claim 22, further comprising an actuator linked to the movable gate to adjust the position of the gate. 25. The refiner chamber of claim 24, in which the actuator is configured to receive an actuating signal that directs the adjustment of the position of the gate. 26. The refiner chamber of claim 25, in which the actuating signal is received from a remote control via wired or wireless communication. 27. The refiner chamber of claim 22, in which the movable gate is connected via a shaft to a driver bar located below the bottom of the chamber. 28. The refiner chamber of claim 27, further comprising an actuator connected to the driver bar to adjust the position of the gate. 29. The refiner chamber of claim 27, further comprising a gate position indicator connected to the driver bar to indicate the relative position of the gate. 30. The refiner chamber of claim 22, further comprising a gate position indicator formed of a sensor that senses and reports the relative position of the gate. 31. The refiner chamber of claim 22, in which the gate has releasable fasteners that, when released, allow the gate to be moved, and when fastened, secure the position of the gate. 32. The refiner chamber of claim 31, in which the releasable fasteners are bolts that can be loosened to release the gate and tightened to fasten the gate. 33. The refiner chamber of claim 22, further comprising a guard plate that protects an edge of the movable gate. 34. The refiner chamber of claim 22, further comprising one or more cleats on the interior surface of the sidewall, in which the cleats are configured to engage solid material in the chamber, direct the solid material toward the toothed disk, and help hold the solid material as the disk rotates and reduces the solid material to a particulate form. 35. The refiner chamber of claim 22, further comprising one or more scrapers on the lower interior surface of the sidewall next to the bottom to dislodge material that may have collected at the exit hole. 36. The refiner chamber of claim 22, in which the one or more attachments is a riser plate formed of a surface extending in an upwards direction towards the toothed disk. 37. The refiner chamber of claim 36, in which the upward angle of the riser plate is adjusted to determine the amount and/or size of solid material that can be held between the sidewall and the tooted disk. 38. The refiner chamber of claim 22, in which the one or more attachments is a floor comb formed of one or more elements having an upper surface that is slanted upward in a direction towards the toothed disk. 39. The refiner chamber of claim 22, in which the one or more attachments includes a false floor secured to the bottom that makes an effective floor in the chamber higher than the bottom.