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US-12616162-B1 - Bedding material separator

US12616162B1US 12616162 B1US12616162 B1US 12616162B1US-12616162-B1

Abstract

A separator device is provided for sifting soiled animal bedding including a separator frame having a stand and at least one wheel. The stand engages and disengages with a floor to move from a stationary position to an ambulatory position. The separator device includes a flexible member and a screen attached to the flexible member for supporting the soiled animal bedding. An actuator is attached to the screen and applies an oscillatory force to the screen. The oscillatory force causes the screen to oscillate to sift soiled animal bedding as the animal bedding is moved along the separator frame. Reusable animal bedding material falls through the screen while clumped animal manure moves toward the front of the separator frame. A container supported by the separator frame collects clumped animal manure falling off of the front edge of the screen.

Inventors

  • Tyler Casebeer

Assignees

  • Tyler Casebeer

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20250409

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A separator device for sifting soiled animal bedding to separate animal bedding material from clumped animal manure, the separator device comprising: a separator frame including handles attached to the separator frame and located at a back of the separator frame; at least one wheel rotationally attached to the separator frame; a stand attached to the separator frame and configured to: engage with a floor when the separator frame is in a stationary position, such that the separator frame is positioned in an upright position when at rest; disengage with the floor when the separator frame is moved from the stationary position to an ambulatory position by applying a lifting force to the handles acting in a direction perpendicular to the floor, such that the separator device is movably supported by the at least one wheel; a flexible member attached to the separator frame; a screen attached to the flexible member and configured to support the soiled animal bedding; an actuator mechanically attached to the screen and configured to apply an oscillatory force to the screen, wherein: the screen is mechanically supported by the flexible member, such that: the screen lies along a plane extending from the back of the separator frame towards a front of the separator frame; the oscillatory force applied to the screen by the actuator causes the screen to oscillate relative to the separator frame; the oscillation of the screen sifts the supported soiled animal bedding, such that: the supported animal bedding is moved along a direction from the back of the separator frame towards the front of the separator frame; and during the movement of the supported animal bedding, the animal bedding material falls through the screen while the clumped animal manure moves towards the front of the separator frame until the clumped animal manure falls off a front edge of the screen; and a container supportable by a container support of the separator frame, such that the clumped animal manure falling off of the front edge of the screen is collected by the container when the container is supported by the container support; wherein the separator frame additionally includes the container support and the container support is configured to mechanically support the container.
  2. 2 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the stand is located between the at least one wheel and the back of the separator frame such that an upward force is applied to the handles to transition the separator device from the stationary position to the ambulatory position.
  3. 3 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one wheel is located between the stand and the back of the separator frame such that a downward force is applied to the handles to transition the separator device from the stationary position to the ambulatory position.
  4. 4 . The separator device of claim 1 , comprising a screen assembly, the screen assembly including a screen frame located between the actuator and the screen and attached to both the actuator and the screen such that an oscillation of the actuator urges oscillation of the screen frame to urge oscillation of the screen.
  5. 5 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the separator frame comprises a sidewall located above the screen to at least partially define a hopper volume above the screen to contain a quantity of the soiled animal bedding and the clumped animal manure prior to separation of the clumped animal manure from the animal bedding.
  6. 6 . The separator device of claim 5 , wherein the sidewall is oriented at an angle relative to the direction perpendicular to the floor such that the hopper volume has a first cross-sectional area at a first distance above the screen and a second cross-sectional area at a second distance above the screen, the first cross-sectional area greater than the second cross-sectional area.
  7. 7 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the actuator comprises a high-frequency brushless direct current motor mechanically attached to the screen and an eccentric weight on a rotating shaft configured to apply an oscillatory force to the screen.
  8. 8 . The separator device of claim 7 , wherein the high-frequency brushless direct current motor coupled with the eccentric weight is configured to impart to the screen an oscillatory force of about 20 pounds at a frequency of about 1,300 to about 1,500 oscillations per minute.
  9. 9 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the flexible member comprises a fatigue-resistant stainless steel configured such that an oscillatory frequency of about 1,300 to about 1,500 vibrations per minute imparts a displacement of the flexible member of about 0.10 inches to about 0.18 inches.
  10. 10 . The separator device of claim 1 , comprising a rechargeable battery attached to the separator frame, the rechargeable battery in electrical communication with the actuator to provide electrical power to the actuator.
  11. 11 . The separator device of claim 10 , wherein the rechargeable battery comprises a 3 amp-hour, rechargeable, 18-volt, direct current lithium-ion battery.
  12. 12 . The separator device of claim 1 , comprising a speed control device in electrical communication with the actuator to selectively control an oscillation speed of the screen.
  13. 13 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is configured to apply the oscillatory force to the screen in a direction transverse to a plane defined by the screen such that the oscillatory force includes a force component in a vertical direction.
  14. 14 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the screen comprises rods extending in a direction parallel with a direction extending from the first end to the second end, the rods positioned with an open space between each rod of 0.2 to 0.5 inches.
  15. 15 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein an outside diameter of the wheel is about 75% to about 85% of a distance measured from a top of the separator frame to the floor.
  16. 16 . The separator device of claim 1 , wherein the operating volume of the separator device is about 55 dB.
  17. 17 . A separator device for sifting soiled animal bedding to separate animal bedding material from clumped animal manure, the separator device comprising: a separator frame including handles attached to the separator frame and located at a back of the separator frame; at least one wheel rotationally attached to the separator frame; a stand attached to the separator frame and configured to: engage with a floor when the separator frame is in a stationary position, such that the separator frame is positioned in an upright position when at rest; disengage with the floor when the separator frame is moved from the stationary position to an ambulatory position by applying a lifting force to the handles acting in a direction perpendicular to the floor, such that the separator device is movably supported by the at least one wheel; a flexible member attached to the separator frame; a screen attached to the flexible member and configured to support the soiled animal bedding; a sidewall attached to the separator frame to at least partially define a hopper volume above the screen to contain a quantity of the soiled animal bedding and the clumped animal manure; an actuator mechanically attached to the screen, the actuator including an eccentric weight attached to a rotating shaft of the actuator configured to apply an oscillatory force to the screen; a battery attached to the separator frame and in electrical communication with the actuator to provide electrical power to the actuator; a speed control device in electrical communication with the actuator to selectively control a rotational rate of the actuator to control an oscillation speed of the screen, wherein: the screen is mechanically supported by the flexible member, such that: the screen lies along a plane extending from the back of the separator frame towards a front of the separator frame; the oscillatory force applied to the screen by the motor causes the screen to oscillate relative to the separator frame; the oscillation of the screen sifts the supported soiled animal bedding, such that: the supported animal bedding is moved along a direction from the back of the separator frame towards the front of the separator frame; and during the movement of the supported animal bedding, the animal bedding material falls through the screen while the clumped animal manure moves towards the front of the separator frame until the clumped animal manure falls off a front edge of the screen; and a container supportable by a container support of the separator frame, such that the clumped animal manure falling off of the front edge of the screen is collected by the container when the container is supported by the container support; wherein the separator frame additionally includes the container support and the container support is configured to mechanically support the container.
  18. 18 . A method of operating a separator device for sifting soiled animal bedding to separate animal bedding material from clumped animal manure comprising: placing a quantity of the soiled animal bedding onto a screen of a separator device, the separator device comprising: a separator frame including handles attached to the separator frame and located at a back of the separator frame; at least one wheel rotationally attached to the separator frame; a stand attached to the separator frame; a flexible member attached to the separator frame; a screen attached to the flexible member and configured to support the soiled animal bedding; an actuator mechanically attached to the screen and configured to apply an oscillatory force to the screen; and a container supportable by a container support of the separator frame, such that the clumped animal manure falling off of a front edge of the screen is collected by the container when the container is supported by the container support; and operating the actuator to urge the screen to oscillate to sift the animal bedding material through the screen while moving clumped animal manure in a direction toward the front of the separator frame to separate the animal bedding material from the clumped animal manure.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein operating the actuator produces less than 55 dB of sound volume.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein operating the actuator includes operating the actuator at a rotational speed to impart to the screen an oscillatory force of about 20 pounds at a frequency of about 1,300 to about 1,500 oscillations per minute.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to separator devices and methods for sifting soiled animal bedding and more particularly to separator devices and methods configured to oscillate a screen at particular frequencies and displacement distances at relatively low volume levels. BACKGROUND Cleaning and mucking animal stalls presents several challenges to workers, including repetitive motion injuries, excessive time requirements, and the inconvenience of having to remove boarded animals from stalls during cleaning procedures. Workers are frequently required to separate clumped animal manure from stall bedding materials to both thoroughly clean the stall and to reclaim any bedding suitable for reuse. Typically, this task involves the use of a pitchfork or similar manual tools to lift soiled bedding from the stall floor, followed by manually sifting or employing mechanical sifting devices to separate manure from reusable bedding. Such manual tasks are labor-intensive, inefficient, and can lead to repetitive strain injuries over time. Additionally, many existing mechanical sifting devices are relatively bulky and produce considerable noise, which often necessitates temporarily relocating animals from their stalls, thus adding to worker inconvenience and increasing overall time spent on stall maintenance. SUMMARY Although bedding sifting devices provide some assistance to workers cleaning animal stalls, one problem that workers face is that sifting devices can be relatively large and difficult to maneuver inside and outside of an animal stall. Additionally, many sifting devices are relatively loud, resulting in a perceived need to remove the animal from the stall during the cleaning operation. Additionally, some devices also lack a clumped animal manure receptacle attached to the device. As a result, workers may require many trips into and out of the stall to be cleaned in addition to the numerous repetitive motions of using a pitchfork to move or sift the soiled animal bedding, potentially increasing a likelihood of injury to worker cleaning the stall. Generally, the animal bedding material separator oscillates a screen at a relatively high frequency and relatively low volume to increase the efficiency of the device and to eliminate the need to remove the animal from the stall during a cleaning operation. The device can also improve the efficiency of the separation, or sifting, of the soiled animal bedding to reduce the amount of animal bedding material placed in the stall over time. Components of the separator are mounted to a relatively small, wheeled frame to promote ease of maneuverability inside and outside of the stall. More particularly, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, a separator device for sifting soiled animal bedding to separate animal bedding material from clumped animal manure includes a separator frame. The separator frame includes handles attached to the separator frame that are located at a back of the separator frame. The separator device also includes at least one wheel rotationally attached to the separator frame and a stand attached to the separator frame. The stand is configured to engage with a floor when the separator frame is in a stationary position such that the separator frame is positioned in an upright position when at rest. The stand is also configured to disengage with the floor when the separator frame is moved from the stationary position to an ambulatory position by applying a lifting force to the handles acting in a direction perpendicular to the floor. The lifting force is applied such that the separator device is movably supported by the at least one wheel. The separator device further includes a flexible member attached to the separator frame. The separator device still further includes a screen attached to the flexible member, the screen is configured to support the soiled animal bedding. The separator device also includes an actuator mechanically attached to the screen. The actuator is configured to apply an oscillatory force to the screen. The screen is mechanically supported by the flexible member such that the screen lies along a plane extending from the back of the separator frame towards a front of the separator frame. The screen is mechanically supported by the flexible member such that the oscillatory force applied to the screen by the motor causes the screen to oscillate relative to the separator frame. The oscillation of the screen sifts the supported soiled animal bedding, such that the supported animal bedding is moved along a direction from the back of the separator frame towards the front of the separator frame. During the movement of the supported animal bedding, the animal bedding material falls through the screen while the clumped animal manure moves towards the front of the separator frame until the clumped animal manure falls off a front edge of the screen. The separator device further includes a container supportable by a conta