Apparatus for reconditioning bagged material

Apparatus for reconditioning bagged material comprises a frame and opposed spaced front and back breaker plates mounted on the frame. The front breaker plate is pivotally mounted on the frame along either the top or bottom edge and the back breaker plate is pivotally mounted on the frame along the opposite of the top and bottom edge. An eccentric arrangement engages the free edges of the breaker plates for moving the free edges of each breaker plate toward and away from the other breaker plate. A first pair of crushing plates and a second pair of crushing plates are selectively mountable on the apparatus by a detachable coupling means for mounting either the first pair or the second pair on the eccentric for supporting the crushing plates at opposed spaced locations generally at right angles to the breaker plates to define a rectangular receiving space for receiving the bags, and also for moving the crushing plates of the mounted pair in circular paths in opposite directions toward and away from each other.

We claim:

1. In an apparatus for reconditioning bagged material comprising opposed spaced front and back breaker plates, opposed spaced crusher plates arranged generally at right angles to said breaker plates to define a rectangular space for receiving bagged material, and eccentric means for cyclically moving said breaker plates toward and away from each other and synchronously moving said crusher plates toward and away from each other, wherein said crusher plates move away from each other as said breaker plates move toward each other, the improvement wherein said crusher plates comprise one of a first pair of crusher plates and a second pair of crusher plates, and coupling means between said eccentric means and said crusher plates for rigidly coupling a selected one of said first pair and said second pair to said eccentric means, and means for detachably mounting a selected one of said first and second pairs to said coupling means for rigidly coupling said pair to said eccentric means for moving the crusher plates toward and away from each other, generally at right angles to said breaker plates to define a space for receiving the bags, wherein said selected one of said first and second pairs define a space for receiving bagged material of pre-selected cross sectional area maintained substantially constant during bag-crushing movement of the plates.

2. The improvement according to claim 1, comprising a pair of arms, each said arm attached at one end to said eccentric means for supporting one of said one pair of crusher plates at the other end.

3. In an apparatus for reconditioning bagged material including a frame, opposed spaced front and back breaker plates having top and bottom edges, means for pivotally supporting said front breaker plate on said frame along one of said top and bottom edges, means for pivotally supporting said back breaker plate on said frame along the opposite of said top and bottom edges, eccentric means engaging each said breaker plate at the non-pivotally supported, free edge for moving the free edge of each breaker plate toward and away from the other breaker plate, opposed spaced crusher plates arranged generally at right angles to said breaker plates to define a rectangular receiving space for receiving bagged material, and means for coupling each of said crusher plates to said eccentric means comprising a support arm rigidly connected at one end with said eccentric means and supporting a crusher plate at its other end, wherein said eccentric means and said support arms are arranged to move said crusher plates in circular paths in opposite directions towards and away from each other, the improvement wherein said crusher plates comprise one of a first pair of crusher plates and a second pair of crusher plates, and comprising detachable coupling means for rigidly mounting a selected one of said first pair and said second pair on said supporting arms for supporting said one pair at opposed spaced locations generally at right angles to said breaker plates to define a rectangular receiving space of selected cross-sectional area for receiving the bags maintained substantially constant during bag-crushing movement of the plates.

4. The improvement according to claim 1 or 3, wherein said coupling means comprises pintle means.

5. The improvement according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said coupling means comprises pintle means, wherein the other end of each arm has a plurality of bosses with holes for receiving one or more pintles, and wherein said crusher plates have bosses with cooperating holes therein for receiving said pintles.

6. The improvement according to claim 1 or 3, comprising means for adjusting the spacing between said front and back breaker plates for varying the height of the bag receiving space for receiving bags of substantially different cross sectional height.

7. The improvement according to claim 3, comprising means for adjusting the spacing between said front and back breaker plates for varying the height of the bag receiving space for receiving bags of substantially different cross sectional height, wherein said pivotal supporting means on said back breaker plate comprises slide means, guide means supported on said frame for receiving said slide means for moving said back plate toward and away from said front plate, an adjustment member having one end ridigly attached to said slide means, and means on said frame for selectively engaging said adjustment member at a selected location on said member spaced from said one end.

8. The improvement according to claim 2 or 3 wherein said one end of said arm is bifurcated, said bifurcated ends having serrated engagement surfaces, wherein said eccentric means has cooperating serrated surfaces for engaging said arms and wherein each said arm is attached to said eccentric means by a bolt attached to said eccentric means and positioned to extend between the tangs of said bifurcated end, a U-shaped clamp having a hole therethrough for receiving said bolt, the sides of said U-shaped clamp being adapted to engage said bifurcated end on either side thereof, and a nut on said bolt for clamping said U-shaped member and said arm to said eccentric at a selected position.

9. A method for comminuting bundles, having one or more bags of a powdered or granular substance tightly arranged in said bundles, in an apparatus having a pair of opposed front and back breaker plates and a pair of spaced side crusher plates arranged substantially at right angles to said breaker plates to define a bundle-receiving space, comprising measuring the height and width of said bundles in cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said bundles, adjusting the spacing between said breaker plates to correspond approximately to the height of said bundles, adjusting the spacing between said crusher plates to correspond approximately to the width of said bundles to provide a cross-sectional area in said bundle-receiving space approximately corresponding to the cross-sectional area of said bundle, inserting one end of a bundle longitudinally into said bundle-receiving space, moving said plates toward and away from each other to alternatively crush said bundle from the front and back and the sides, while maintaining the instantaneous cross-sectional area between said plates approximately constant, and feeding said bag through said bundle-receiving space.