WO1995007841A1

WO1995007841A1 - Stock feed packaging

Info

Publication number: WO1995007841A1
Application number: PCT/AU1994/000534
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anthony James Mcbride Sawers
Original assignee: Anthony James Mcbride Sawers
Priority date: 1993-09-13
Filing date: 1994-09-12
Publication date: 1995-03-23

Abstract

An apparatus for packaging stock feed such as alfalfa, sorghum and oats, in the form of relatively small cuboids or pellets formed by compacting and extruding loose, low density, finely chopped roughage. The apparatus comprises a compressing means for compressing a predetermined weight, typically at least 10 kg, of the cuboids or pellets to form a compressed package.

Description

STOCK FEED PACKAGING

The present invention relates to an apparatus for packaging stock feed.

The term "stock feed" is understood herein to cover any suitable fodder for animals including, but not limited to, lucerne (alfalfa), sorghum, and oats.

There is a growing export market for stock feed from countries such as Australia and the U.S. to countries such as Japan.

A current practice of a number of stock feed exporters is to transport stock feed in the form of relatively small cuboids, typically 31.75 mm x 31.75 mm x 40 mm to 80 mm, or relatively small pellets, typically 6.25 to 25 mm diameter and 12.5 to 25 mm long, by sea in 20' I.S.O. shipping containers or 40' I.S.O. shipping containers.

The cuboids and pellets are produced by extruding stock feed in the form of loose, low density, chopped roughage, in some instances containing grain, through dies and sectioning the continuous lengths with a deflector plate. The cuboids and pellets so-formed are piled into heaps and allowed to cure before being bulk-handled into shipping containers. In some instances the cuboids and pellets are dried prior to being piled into heaps.

Usually, on arrival at an export market, such as Japan, the cuboids and pellets of stock feed are warehoused and packed into 50 kg jute bags or 1000 kg bulker bags for convenient distribution to farms. A disadvantage of the current export procedure, as outlined above, is that the cuboids and pellets are loosely packed in the containers and in the case of 20' I.S.O. shipping containers (and, in some instances, in the case of 40' I.S.O. shipping containers) the weight of the packed containers is well below the capacity of the containers. This is a disadvantage because the shipping freight costs represent a significant component of the export costs and therefore it is preferable that the weight of the packed containers be as close as possible to the capacity of the containers.

Another disadvantage of the current export procedure is that, in some situations, a significant proportion, up to 3 to 4%, of the cuboids and pellets are affected by mould growth during shipping. In this regard, whilst it is well recognised that less than 10% moisture content in stock feed will inhibit mould growth, it is difficult to maintain moisture contents below this level in view of the relatively large volume of air in a loosely packed container and the cyclical variations in air temperature, with resultant condensation and evaporation, that occur on a day to day basis during shipping to an export market, particularly when shipping from the southern hemisphere across the equator to the northern hemisphere.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for packaging stock feed for transportation which alleviates the disadvantages of the current export procedure described in the preceding paragraphs.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for packaging stock feed comprising, a means for compressing a predetermined weight of relatively small cuboids or pellets of stock feed formed by compacting and extruding loose, low-density, finely chopped stock feed to form a compressed package of stock feed. It is preferred that the compressing means be operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 500 kg/m³.

It is preferred particularly that the compressing means be operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 600 kg/m³.

It is preferred more particularly that the compressing means be operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 650 kg/m³.

It is preferred more particularly that the compressing means be operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 700 kg/m³.

It is preferred particularly that the predetermined weight of stock feed be at least 10 kg.

It is preferred particularly that the predetermined weight of stock feed be at least 15 kg.

It is preferred more particularly that the predetermined weight of stock feed be at least 20 kg.

It is preferred more particularly that the predetermined weight of stock feed be at least 50 kg.

It is preferred that the compressed package be cuboid.

It is preferred that the apparatus further comprises a means for wrapping the compressed package.

It is preferred particularly that the wrapping means be adapted to vacuum seal the compressed package in a plastics material. It is preferred that the apparatus further comprises, a hopper or other storage means for stock feed, and a means for transferring the stock feed from the hopper to the compressing means.

The present invention is described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of an apparatus for packaging stock feed in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of another preferred embodiment of an apparatus for packaging stock feed in accordance with the present invention;

The preferred embodiment of the packaging apparatus shown in Figure 1 comprises a means for compressing relatively small cuboids or pellets of stock feed into a compressed package of stock feed.

The compressing means comprises a support frame 61 which supports a mould 5 having sides 53 and a base (not shown) and an hydraulic powered press 3. The press 3 is operable to cycle between a retracted position at which the press 3 is spaced above the mould 5 so that cuboids or pellets can be fed into the mould 5 and an extended position at which the press 3 extends into the mould 5 and compresses the cuboids or pellets into the compressed package. The base of the mould 5 is movable between a normally closed position to an open position to allow the compressed package to be released downwardly from the mould 5 as the press 3 retracts from the extended position.

The packaging apparatus further comprises, a hopper 7 for storing the cuboids or pellets of stock feed,

SUBSTITUTE SHEET(Rule 26 and a conveyor assembly 9 and a feed delivery chute 11 for transferring the cuboids or pellets from the hopper 7 to the mould 5.

In use, a predetermined weight of the cuboids or pellets, typically 20 kg, is fed from the hopper 7, along the conveyor assembly 9/feed delivery chute 11, into the mould 5 and is compressed therein by the press 3 to form a compressed package of a predetermined minimum density, typically at least 500 kg/m³.

The packaging apparatus further comprises a means for vacuum sealing a compressed package from the mould 5 in a suitable plastics material.

In this regard, the vacuum sealing means comprises, a vacuum sealing station 13, and a conveyor assembly 15 for transporting a compressed package released from the mould 5 to the vacuum sealing station 15.

The preferred embodiment of the packaging apparatus shown in Figure 2 is similar to that shown in Figure 1 and, in the circumstances, where appropriate the same numerals are used to denote the same parts.

The main difference between the preferred embodiments is that the steps of compressing the stock feed are carried out in a series of steps in relation to a single stationary mould in the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 1 and are carried out in relation to a plurality of moulds that are movable between a series of stations in the preferred embodiment shown in Figure 2.

With reference to Figure 2, the packaging apparatus comprises a support table 19 on which is mounted four moulds 5 equally spaced around a central axis 21 of the support table 19. The support table 19 is rotatable about the central axis 21 to move each mould 5 in turn to a series of stations, generally identified by the numerals 23, 25, 27, at which:

(a) cuboids or pellets of feed stock are supplied by means of a conveyor assembly 9/feed delivery chute 11 from a hopper 7 into the mould 5;

(b) the feed stock in the mould 5 is compressed by a press 3 to form a compressed package; and

(c) the compressed package is released from the mould 5 onto a transfer conveyor 15 which transfers the compressed package to a vacuum seal station 13.

The principal advantage of the preferred embodiment of the packaging apparatus shown in Figure 2 over that shown in Figure 1 is that the use of a plurality of moulds 5 enables higher production rates to be achieved.

It can readily be appreciated that vacuum sealed compressed packages produced by the preferred embodiments of the packaging apparatus shown in the figures can be conveniently handled and stacked onto pallets for loading in conventional shipping containers and can be off-loaded quickly and conveniently at the destination.

In addition, it can readily be appreciated that vacuum sealed compressed packages produced by the preferred embodiments of the packaging apparatus shown in the figures are unlikely to be subject to mould damage during shipping and moreover can be stored outside without being subject to weather damage. An advantage of the preferred embodiments of the packaging apparatus of the present invention is that there is scope for higher moisture content stock feed to be packaged without increased risk of mould damage and, as a consequence, there is reduced dependency on natural or artificial drying of stock feed to reduce moisture content before and after forming the cuboids and pellets.

A particular advantage of the preferred embodiments of the packaging apparatus shown in the figures is in relation to 20' I.S.O. payload containers. In this connection, the maximum weight of cuboids or pellets of stock feed that can be bulk-loaded into 20' I.S.O. shipping containers is between 14.0 and 17.0 metric tonnes (average 15.5 metric tonnes), which is considerably below the typical maximum weight of 21.5 metric tonnes of cargo that can be carried by the containers. However, the applicant has found that the vacuum sealed compressed packages of cuboids or pellets of stock feed produced by the preferred embodiments of the packaging apparatus shown in the figures can be loaded to approximately 20.0 metric tonnes in 20' I.S.O. shipping containers (and the maximum weight of 21.5 metric tonnes is considered to be achievable) . This is a significant advantage in economic terms because the freight cost/metric tonne for containers loaded to the maximum weight is considerably lower than that for containers bulk loaded with cuboids or pellets.

Many modifications may be made to the preferred embodiments of the packaging apparatus described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An apparatus for packaging stock feed comprises, a means for compressing a predetermined weight of relatively small cuboids or pellets of stock feed formed by compacting and extruding loose, low-density, finely chopped stock feed to form a compressed package of stock feed.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein the compressing means is operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 500 kg/m³.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2, wherein the compressing means is operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 600 kg/m³.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3, wherein the compressing means is operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 650 kg/m³.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 4, wherein the compressing means is operable to compress stock feed to a density of at least 700 kg/m³.

6. The apparatus defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined weight of stock feed is at least 10 kg.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 6, wherein the predetermined weight of stock feed is at least 15 kg.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein the predetermined weight of stock feed is at least 20 kg.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8, wherein the predetermined weight of stock feed is at least 50 kg.

10. The apparatus defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the compressed package is cuboid.

11. The apparatus defined in any one of the preceding claims, further comprises, a means for wrapping the compressed package.

12. The apparatus defined in claim 11, wherein the wrapping means is adapted to vacuum seal the compressed package in a plastics material.

13. The apparatus defined in claim 12, further comprises, a hopper or other storage means for stock feed, and a means for transferring the stock feed from the hopper to the compressing means.

14. An apparatus for packaging stock feed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.