Abstract:
A compacting apparatus for a light weight loose material has a chamber for receiving the material and an auger for driving the material into a compression tube. During initialization, a plug in the tube impedes the material to cause a compact material plug to form which restricts further loose material in a continuous compacting action. A spring loaded restrictor partially occludes the compression tube for impeding the compacted material in a compression action to thereby form a compressed plug of the loose material continuously.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The industrial field of this disclosure relates to apparatus for the compressing or compacting of loose materials into a more compact size with higher density. Generally, a compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through a pressing process. A trash compactor is often used by homes and businesses to reduce the volume of trash. In landfill sites for example, a large bulldozer with spiked wheels called a landfill compactor is used to drive over waste thereby pressing it down. Waste collection vehicles may incorporate a compacting mechanism which is used to increase the amount of waste the vehicle can accommodate, and to thereby reduce the number of times it has to be emptied. This usually takes the form of hydraulically powered sliding plates which sweep out a collection hopper and compress the material into what has already been loaded. Compactors are used in scrap metal processing, the most familiar being the car crusher. Such devices can either be of the “pancake” type, where a scrap automobile is flattened by a descending hydraulically powered plate. The other type is the baling press, where the automobile is compressed from several directions until it resembles a large cube. 
     Many retail and service businesses, such as fast food, restaurants, and hotels, use compactors to reduce the volume of non-recyclable waste as well as to eliminate curb nuisances such as rodents and odors. These compactors typically use electric or hydraulic operation, and have various loading configurations including, “ground-access,” “walk-on,” and “secured indoor chute.” These compactors are almost exclusively of welded steel construction for: durability under pressure and exposure to the elements. There are also trash compactors, hydraulic or manual, designed for residential use to reduce the volume of garbage. For example, some compactors reduce the volume of polystyrene by thirty times. There are solar-powered trash compactors that can hold the equivalent of 200 gallons of trash before they need to be emptied. In the construction industry, there are three main types of compactors: the “plate,” the “jumping jack,” and the “road roller.” The latter type is used for compacting crushed rock for road beds, foundations, and slabs. The plate compactor, also known as a vibratory rammer, has a vibrating baseplate suitable for creating a level grade, while the jumping jack compactor has a smaller footprint and is used mainly to compact backfill in narrow trenches. The presently disclosed compactor using a different means for compressing material and a unique method. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an example perspective view of a presently disclosed apparatus having dual compression tubes; 
         FIG. 2  is an interior perspective view of an auger housing thereof showing dual augers in side-by-side positions; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the compression tubes showing distal ends of the dual augers therein; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a starter plug positioned in a compression tube and a restrictor position above it; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a compression tube with the restrictor shown in contact with the starter plug; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a compression tube showing a compressed material plug emerging therefrom and with the restrictor in contact with the plug. 
     
    
    
     Like reference symbols in the drawing figures indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The presently described compacting apparatus (apparatus  10 ) is shown in the included drawings which are briefly described above.  FIG. 1  is an overview of apparatus  10 . Apparatus  10  is ideally used for compacting a low density loose material (material  20 ) such as a loose fiber, as for instance the solid parts, pieces, and shreds of solidified spray-on wall and ceiling insulation where such loose material  20  may be trimmed off the solidified insulation during finishing operations. Apparatus  10  may be effectively used for compacting other kinds and types of materials as well, and all such materials are meant by the term “material  20 .” 
     In some embodiments apparatus  10  may have a hollow chamber (chamber  30 ) which may have an aperture  32  such as an inlet opening adapted by common attachment hardware for receiving a hose or tube (hose  40 ), as shown in  FIG. 1 . Material  20 , in a loose form, may be carried into chamber  30  through aperture  32  by a forced air flow within hose  40 , for instance as would be known to those of skill in the art, and also by other transport means. Chamber  30  may have a rigid lower portion  34  such as a sheet metal enclosure, as shown, and may further have an upper portion  36  of a filter fabric well known to those of skill in the art. The lower  34  and upper  36  portions of chamber  30  may be mutually joined by common hardware at an upper opening  34 -U of lower portion  32 . A lower opening  34 -L of lower portion  32  may be secured to an opening  52  in an auger housing (housing  50 ) by common hardware. Chamber  30  and housing  50  form a fully enclosed space open only to aperture  32  which receives material  20  into chamber  30  and one or more compression tubes (tube  60 ), to be described, which may be used for compressing and expelling material  20  from housing  50  in a compressed block form as shown in  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 1  also shows material  20  exiting a tube  60  in compressed block form. 
     Housing  50  may engage, rotationally mounted therein, at least one auger  70 . A pair of said auger  70  may be mounted within housing  50  as shown in  FIG. 2 . Additional augers may be applied. Each auger  70  may be engaged at one end (proximal end  72 ) with a rotary driver (driver  80 ) and at an opposite end (distal end  74 ) with a tube  60  as shown in  FIG. 3 . It should be noticed, in  FIG. 2 , that auger flights  76  of the two augers  70  are coiled in opposing senses and rotate in opposing rotational directions as well, as shown by the arrows in  FIG. 2 . This has an important function wherein flights of the augers moving in said counter-rotating action impel the loose material in opposing lateral directions so that material  10  does not favor one of the augers over the other enabling uniform material handling between the two augers. Material  10  moves down side walls of housing  50  directly into a pulling side of each auger  70 . This improves the handling of material  10  since it is extremely light weight and has a tendency to bridge thereby starving the rotating augers  70 . 
     Driver  80  may be any rotational impeller including electric motors, liquid fuel powered engines, or wind or water driven apparatus, as just a few possibilities, and such a driver  80  may be applied as a direct drive or may use a mechanical take-off using gears, belts, etc. Such drive applications will be known to those of skill in the art. At their proximal ends  72  augers  70  may be supported in bearing mounts  78  as shown or by appropriate alternate rotational supporting means as is known in the mechanical arts. 
     In one aspect of a method of use of apparatus  10 , material  20 , in a loose, low density form, is suctioned into hose  40  as shown in  FIG. 1 . Such suction may be applied by any vacuuming device wherein material  20  may then be blown through hose  40  to chamber  30  through aperture  32 . It is well known to transport light disbursed materials, as for instance injection molding resin pellets, by suction and air driven blowing. In like manner, material  20 , in its loose form, may be picked up and blown into chamber  30 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , lower portion  34  of chamber  30  may have a funnel shaped aspect so that entering air and entrained material  20  in its loose form tends to circulate in a spinning motion within the funnel shaped aspect of portion  34  forming a funnel-confirmation. Material  20 , being heavier than the air carrying it, is pushed toward the walls of chamber  30  thereby aggregating while the released air rises centrally moving upward and out of chamber  30  through the fabric material of upper portion  36 . The arrows shown at the top of  FIG. 1  indicate and represent escaping air. Material  20  settles downwardly, as further material  20  creates a downward pressure, and falls into augers  70 . Augers  70  continually move material  20  in its loose form into tubes  60 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , tubes  60  may be round and terminal portions  62  of tubes  60  may be cut away longitudinally leaving a bottom, near-semicircular half, in place while removing an upper half. A restrictor  64  may be cantilevered out longitudinally, and held in place by a spring  80 , in a position over terminal portion  62 . During startup of operations restrictor  64  may be lowered into contact with a starter plug (plug  90 ), as shown in  FIG. 5 , and later into contact with compressed material  10  as shown in  FIG. 6 . Spring  80  applies a downward force on restrictor  64  which, in turn, applies this force to plug  90  and also to compressed material  10  as it emerges from tube  60 . The downward spring force applied by spring  80  may be adjusted using mounting screws  82 . 
     An initial step of the method of use of apparatus  10  includes placing plug  90  into tube  60  as shown in  FIG. 4 . This may be accomplished when restrictor  64  is in a raised position as shown. In a further aspect of the method of use of apparatus  10 , as loose material  20  continuously fills auger  70  it is driven by the rotation of auger  70  into tube  60 . With plug  90  in place and with restrictor  64  pressing down on plug  90  material  20  emerging from tube  60  is pressed by auger  70  against plug  90  in a compacting action. For greater compaction, spring  80  is adjusted to press with a greater force onto plug  90  so that a greater force must be applied by auger  70 . Once a compacted plug of material  20  is formed to a desired firmness in tube  60  it pushes plug  90  out of tube  60  and off terminal portion  62 . Plug  90  may be tethered as shown using cable  84  so as to be available when initializing the method in the future. Once a first firm plug of material  20  has been formed in the terminal portion  62  of tube  60 , the restrictor impedes its progress so that it acts to force a continuing compacting action. As shown in  FIG. 1 , as the firm plug of material  20  moves off terminal portion  62  it tends to shear under its own weight and may be collected in a container  100 . 
     Embodiments of the subject apparatus and method have been described herein. Nevertheless, it will be understood that modifications by those of skill in the art may be made without departing from the spirit and understanding of this disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments and approaches are within the scope of the following claims.