Automated process for handling bales for pellet production

{
  "publication_number": "US9163191B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Automated process for handling bales for pellet production",
  "abstract": "An automated system and method are provided for conveying plant material bales. The system and method retrieves stacked bales from a storage site and places the bales on a conveyor assembly line, wherein the bales are indexed, accumulated, and metered for discharge into a bale shredder. Once the bales are on the conveyor assembly, the bales are automatically moved and arranged without manual intervention.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method of conveying bales of plant material to a shredder, the method comprising: placing the bales in line on a conveyor assembly; automatically arranging the bales on the conveyor assembly to be adjacent to one another, without manual intervention, wherein the arranging of the bales includes indexing, accumulating and metering of the bales; and discharging the bales into the shredder.",
    "2. The method of claim 1 wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps occur sequentially.",
    "3. The method of claim 2 wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps take place on separate conveyors.",
    "4. The method of claim 1 wherein the bales are arranged to provide a continuous flow of bales into the shredder.",
    "5. The method of claim 1 further comprising sensing the arrangement of the bales with a sensor, and providing feedback from the sensor to actuate changes in the arrangement.",
    "6. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming the bales from agricultural crop residue material selected from a group comprising of corn stover, soybean stubble, and sorghum residue.",
    "7. A method of conveying bales of plant material to a shredder, comprising: placing the bales in line on a conveyor assembly; arranging the bales on the conveyor assembly so as to be adjacent to one another, without manual intervention, wherein arranging the bales includes indexing, accumulating and metering of the bales; discharging the bales into the shredder; and wherein the bales are arranged to provide a continuous flow of bales into the shredder.",
    "8. The method of claim 7 wherein the bales are arranged automatically.",
    "9. The method of claim 7 wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps occur sequentially.",
    "10. The method of claim 7 wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps take place on separate conveyors.",
    "11. The method of claim 7 further comprising sensing the arranging of the bales with a sensor, and providing feedback from the sensor to actuate changes in the arrangement.",
    "12. The method of claim 7 further comprising forming the bales from agricultural crop residue material selected from a group comprising of corn stover, soybean stubble, and sorghum residue.",
    "13. A method of conveying bales of plant material to a shredder, comprising; forming the bales from agricultural crop residue material selected from a group comprising of corn stover, soybean stubble, and sorghum residue; placing the bales in line on a conveyor assembly; automatically arranging the bales on the conveyor assembly so as to be adjacent to one another, without manual intervention; and discharging the bales into the shredder.",
    "14. The method of claim 13 wherein the arranging step includes indexing, accumulating and metering of the bales.",
    "15. The method of claim 14 wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps occur sequentially.",
    "16. The method of claim 15 Wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps take place on separate conveyors.",
    "17. The method of claim 13 wherein the bales are arranged to provide a continuous flow of bales into the shredder.",
    "18. The method of claim 13 further comprising sensing the arranging of the bales with a sensor, and providing feedback from the sensor to actuate changes in the arrangement.",
    "19. A method of conveying bales of plant material to a shredder, comprising: placing the bales in line on a conveyor assembly; arranging the bales on the conveyor assembly to be adjacent to one another, without manual intervention; and discharging the bales into the shredder; and sensing the arranging of the bales with a sensor, and providing feedback from the sensor to actuate changes in the arrangement; wherein the bales are arranged to provide a continuous flow of bales into the shredder.",
    "20. The method of claim 19 wherein the arranging step includes indexing, accumulating and metering of the bales.",
    "21. The method of claim 19 further comprising forming the bales from agricultural crop residue material selected from a group comprising of corn stover, soybean stubble, and sorghum residue.",
    "22. A method of conveying bales of plant material to a bale shredder, comprising: forming the bales from agricultural crop residue material selected from a group comprising of corn stover, soybean stubble, and sorghum residue; placing the bales in line on a conveyor assembly; arranging the bales on the conveyor assembly so as to be adjacent to one another, without manual intervention, wherein the bales are arranged to provide a continuous flow of bales into the shredder; and discharging the bales into the shredder.",
    "23. The method of claim 22 wherein the bales are arranged automatically.",
    "24. The method of claim 22 wherein the arrangement step includes indexing, accumulating and metering of the bales.",
    "25. The method of claim 24 wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps occur sequentially.",
    "26. The method of claim 24 wherein the indexing, accumulating and metering steps take place on separate conveyors.",
    "27. The method of claim 22 further comprising sensing the arranging of the bales with a sensor, and providing feedback from the sensor to actuate changes in the arrangement."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present invention is directed towards an automated process for the handling and processing of bales of plant material for use in pellet manufacturing and other related biomass processing and in particular, the use of agricultural wastes and residues as well as energy crops that lack natural binders.\n\nBiomass feedstock is useful in numerous industries such as the production of cellulosic ethanol, electricity production, feed, heating fuels, and other commercial applications. The 2005 Billion Ton study by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture concluded that agricultural and forest based biomass can displace 30% of the U.S. petroleum consumption by using approximately one billion dry tons of biomass feedstock per year. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires the United States to make one billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol from wheat straw, corn stover, rice straw, soybean stubble, milo stubble, forage sorghum, prairie hay, woodchips, cotton-gin residue, and a dozen other forms of agricultural waste and residues. In the past, such waste and residues materials have been generally considered to be of little or no value. In the past, meaningful volumes of cellulosic biomass agriculture material have not been brought to market on a commercial scale due to difficulties in integrating the supply chain to source, harvest, transport, store, and process the material at a profit. Cellulosic ethanol producers and other renewable biomass users like electric utilities and industrial co-generation facilities require reliable supplies of high quality biomass feedstocks.",
  "cpc": [
    "C10L 5/44",
    "B65G 47/252",
    "B65G 47/26",
    "C10L 5/363",
    "F23G 2201/701",
    "F23G 2201/80",
    "F23G 2205/12",
    "F23G 2209/262",
    "F23G 2900/50206",
    "F23G 5/02",
    "F23G 5/033",
    "F23G 5/444",
    "F23G 5/50",
    "F23K 1/00",
    "F23K 1/02",
    "F23K 2201/10",
    "F23K 2201/20",
    "F23K 2201/30",
    "F23K 2201/50",
    "F23K 2201/505",
    "F23K 2203/103",
    "F23K 2203/201",
    "F23K 3/00",
    "Y02E 50/10",
    "Y02E 50/30"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B02B 5/02",
    "B02C 19/00",
    "B02C 9/04",
    "B03B 7/00",
    "B65G 47/252",
    "B65G 47/26",
    "C10L 5/36",
    "C10L 5/44",
    "F23G 5/02",
    "F23G 5/033",
    "F23G 5/44",
    "F23G 5/50",
    "F23K 1/00",
    "F23K 1/02",
    "F23K 3/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "ZEECK JAMES RUSSELL",
    "SCHNEIDER CHARLES J",
    "PELLET TECHNOLOGY LLC"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "ZEECK JAMES RUSSELL",
    "SCHNEIDER CHARLES J"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2011-08-19",
  "publication_date": "2015-10-20",
  "grant_date": "2015-10-20",
  "priority_date": "2009-05-08",
  "application_number": "US-201113213629-A",
  "family_id": "45525723",
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}