Patents by Inventor Jeffrey Blake Pruett

Jeffrey Blake Pruett has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and apparatus for processing biomass material
    Patent number: 9127227
    Abstract: An assembly for processing green biomass material for pelletizing into a fuel pellet includes a heating assembly, a drying assembly and a cooling assembly. The heating assembly heats a thermal fluid to a temperature within the range of 200° F. to 550° F. The drying assembly includes a rotating dryer drum that has a plurality of thermal fluid tubes therein. Material that is dried in the dryer drum is conveyed to a rotating cooling drum that has a cooling tube extending along the interior thereof. A nozzle is mounted on the end of the cooling tube to discharge cooling fluid on the material therein, and a plurality of flights are mounted on the interior of the cooling drum and arranged to direct material from the inlet to the discharge outlet as the cooling drum is rotated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: ASTEC, INC.
    Inventors: J. Donald Brock, Malcolm L. Swanson, Gary L. Catlett, Jeffrey Blake Pruett
  • Method And Apparatus For Processing Biomass Material
    Publication number: 20130067806
    Abstract: An assembly for processing green biomass material for pelletizing into a fuel pellet includes a heating assembly, a drying assembly and a cooling assembly. The heating assembly heats a thermal fluid to a temperature within the range of 200° F. to 550° F. The drying assembly includes a rotating dryer drum that has a plurality of thermal fluid tubes therein. Material that is dried in the dryer drum is conveyed to a rotating cooling drum that has a cooling tube extending along the interior thereof. A nozzle is mounted on the end of the cooling tube to discharge cooling fluid on the material therein, and a plurality of flights are mounted on the interior of the cooling drum and arranged to direct material from the inlet to the discharge outlet as the cooling drum is rotated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Publication date: March 21, 2013
    Applicant: ASTEC, INC.
    Inventors: J. Donald Brock, Malcolm L. Swanson, Gary L. Catlett, Jeffrey Blake Pruett