Size reduction machine

Claim 2

Apparatus for reducing the particle size of materials comprising: a frame; an arm pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said frame; a counter weight movably mounted on one end of said arm; a motor having a drive shaft mounted on the other end of said arm; an impeller connected to the free end of said motor shaft; an enclosure carried by said frame below said motor, said enclosure having fenestrated side walls and an open top for receiving the motor shaft and said impeller, said enclosure being spaced apart from said impeller, said impeller being movable into and out of said enclosure upon pivotal movement of said arm; and an adjustable stop positioned between said frame and said arm for limiting the maximum downward travel of said impeller into said enclosure, but not restricting upward travel of said impeller within said enclosure.

Claim 3

Apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising means for disabling said rotational means when said impeller is out of said enclosure.

Claim 4

Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said enclosure comprises fenestrated, inverted frusta-conical side walls having an open top and an imperforate bottom wall.

Claim 5

Apparatus as in claim 3, further comprising: a base plate carried by said frame having a beveled circular opening therein for receiving said inverted frusta-conical enclosure; an inverted frusta-conical adaptor open at both ends, the bottom end portion of said adaptor fitting into the top end portion of said enclosure; means for clamping said adaptor to said base plate to wedge the upper portion of the side wall of said enclosure between the beveled edge of said base plate and said adaptor; and a cover plate removably attached to the top of said adaptor, having a first opening therein for receiving material, and a second opening therein for rotatably receiving the drive shaft of said motor.

Claim 6

Apparatus as in claim 4, wherein said means for clamping comprises an exterior concentric flange on said adaptor spaced above the bottom edge of said adaptor and having a plurality of concentric, spaced apart, beveled depressions therein, each depression having a key hole slot therethrough; and a like number of fasteners extending through said slots into said base plate, whereby rotation of said adaptor in one direction causes said beveled depressions to be progressively forced against the heads of said fasteners thereby causing said adaptor to be forced downwardly toward said base plate to wedge the upper portion of the side wall of said enclosure between said adaptor and the beveled portion of said base plate, and whereby rotation of said adaptor in the opposite direction releases said beveled depressions from the heads of said fasteners and aligns the key hole slots with said heads to accommodate removal of said adaptor from said base plate to facilitate access to said enclosure for repair and replacement.

Claim 7

Apparatus as in claim 4, further comprising: a power feeder adjacent said first opening in said cover plate for feeding material through said first opening into said enclosure; and switching means, positioned between said frame and said arm, for regulating the rate of feed of material from said power feeder to said enclosure based on the position of said arm in relationship to said frame.

Claim 8

Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said impeller comprises a plurality of blades radiating from the drive shaft of said motor, each blade having a semi-circular cross-section for at least a portion of its length, the circular part of said semi-circular portion being adjacent the fenestrated side walls of said enclosure when said impeller is within said enclosure.