Abstract:
The concrete product recycling machine is transportable to job sites for breaking apart concrete panels and recycling the concrete and the steel reinforcement therein. The concrete panel recycling machine has a conveyor to transport the panels to rest on top of an anvil. The anvil supports the panel for a hammer to engage the panel on the anvil such that the energy imparted by the hammer is reflected by the anvil and breaks apart the concrete panel. Concrete aggregate produced by the hammer fall onto a conveyor thereunder to transport the concrete for recycling. The hammer may traverse the width of the panel to reach all portions of the surface. The steel reinforcement rods can be sawed into manageable and saleable lengths. The steel can be dropped into a container for removal by scrap dealers.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates to a hammer-anvil principle for fracturing and crushing precast concrete products and recycling the concrete to useable aggregate for new concrete and reinforcing steel as saleable scrap. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   In the construction industry frequently an old structure must be dismantled before a new structure can be put in its place. The old structure may have had tilt up concrete walls or precast concrete floors or panels. The flat panels of concrete in whatever form must be disposed of by either hauling the panels away to a landfill or a recycling center. It would be easier to recycle the materials on the site if possible by reusing the concrete in the new construction and hauling the steel reinforcing rods to a junkyard or recycling center. 
   Hauling the concrete-panels to a landfill is not a good option as land fills are expensive and are getting full, plus, concrete panels may not be neatly stacked in the landfill causing gaps which eventually collapse other materials therein after the landfill is finished. Further, the panels have holes in them which over time will cause portions of the landfill to collapse when the concrete breaks down exposing the gaps. 
   It would be better to recycle the concrete at the building site. 
   Concrete fabricators having flawed product need to recycle the product and could benefit from having a precast concrete product recycling machine permanently installed on site. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The precast product recycling machine can be a transportable machine which can be integrated with a flatbed trailer to be placed at a demolition site for processing such things as precast concrete panels, beams and piers for recycling. If there are steel reinforcing rods in the precast concrete products the steel is separated from the concrete. The concrete can be recycled and screened at the site. Otherwise the concrete can be hauled to a concrete recycling facility. 
   The concrete recycling machine may have a flat bed trailer with a flat area for laying panels or other product on to be recycled. The panels are transported forward onto an anvil positioned on the trailer. The anvil provides a hard backing to reflect the energy from the hammer blows back into the concrete to help fracture the concrete. One or more hammers may be positioned over the concrete product such that the foot of the hammer lands perpendicularly on the concrete panel surface for more efficiently breaking up the concrete. The hammers are housed in a frame, or frames, straddling the panel. The hammer may be a gravity hammer or a powered hammer such as a pneumatic, hydraulic or combination to accelerate the hammer. The anvil is supplied in three components. The direct impact section, a pedestal and a concrete ground pad connected to the pedestal. This configuration isolates residual shock from the operating machine. As the panel is fed over the anvil the hammer fractures and crushes the concrete into aggregate which falls onto a conveyor belt for adding it to a pile of concrete to be further recycled or elevated into a truck for hauling to a recycling facility. If there are steel reinforcing rods in the panels the concrete is removed from the steel rods by shock from hammers and the rods are advanced to a saw, which cuts the steel rods into sections for saleable scarp. The sections of rods can be stored in a container under the trailer and removed when loaded. 
   The recycling machine for precast concrete product has a high merit for service with concrete fabricators who accumulate faulted product due to voids or damage from handling. The machine on the fabricators site (either mobile or stationary) would permit use of the recycled product thus saving waste costs. 
   OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the invention to quickly and easily recycle the materials from manufactured concrete products or demolition of structures. 
   It is an object of the invention to fracture and crush concrete components into small pieces suitable as aggregate for new concrete and separate the steel reinforcement rods or mesh. 
   It is an object of the invention to provide a conveyor or a powered means to advance the loaded product to the anvil for a hammer position. 
   It is an object of the invention to provide a bed for advancing the panel to an anvil. 
   It is an object of the invention to provide a transportable concrete product recycling machine so that it can be easily hauled to job sites. The operating components can also be fixed in position to process faulted or damaged product at a manufacturing site. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side cross sectional view of the precast concrete product recycling machine on a trailer. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the precast concrete product recycling machine in a stationary installation. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a hammer assembly and mounting. 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a hammer assembly. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The precast product recycling machine  10  can be mounted on a flat bed trailer  20  such that it can be quickly and easily hauled to a construction site or on a recycling service route. 
   The principle employed in the precast concrete product recycling machine  10  to reduce concrete products is the hammer-anvil concept which applies shock plus crushing phenomena. The shock applies initially with minor penetration but sets the pattern of breakup. This is apparent by hairline cracks even beyond the hammer face dimension. Further penetration until end of stroke causes separation of product into desired aggregate sizing. 
   The product to be recycled such as panels  30  are placed on the feed portion of the trailer  20  comprising a feed conveyor  40  and rollers  44  for advancing the panel  30  to an anvil  60 , which is placed directly under the hammer  50  axis of motion. The anvil  60  is supported by mounting on a pedestal  42  which contributes to the anvil mass and transmits a residual shock to a ground pad  63 . This allows the residual shock to bypass the trailer structure. 
   The conveyor  40  has sidewalls or guides  45  to align the concrete panels  30  with the hammers  50 . The sidewalls or guides  45  are adjustable for the size of the panels  30  and the position of the hammers  50 . The hammers  50  can accommodate the width of the panels  30  by use of multiple adjacent hammers  50 . 
   The hammer  50  can be of any type. Typical hammers  50  operate in a frame  158  and are gravity drop, pneumatic, hydraulic or a combination thereof. The hammer  50  has a hammer head  58 , which may have a pattern of teeth  59  or a point at the end of the hammer head  58  to help fracture the concrete panel  30  and crush it into aggregate. 
   There may be more than one hammer  50 . In the case where two or more hammers  50  are in operation the hammers  50  take turns hitting the concrete. The hammers  50  taking turns lowers the power requirement of the panel recycling machine since only one hammer  50  is being powered at a time. The hammers  50  are adjacent to each other in frame  158  and together span the width of the panel  30 . 
   The fractured and crushed concrete produced from the panel fall off the anvil  60  and are transported away from the trailer  20  by conveyor  72  to the side of the trailer or elevated into a truck for hauling to a stockpile. 
   The intensity of the hammer blows are controlled by the velocity of the downstroke of the hammer  50 . The thickness and width of the hammers  50  and the hammer head  58  and tooth  59  patterns all effect the fracturing and crushing of the concrete. The conveyor  40  may be moved forward or backward by a machine operator who monitors the recycling machine to have the hammer completely fracture and crush the concrete before more of the panel  30  is introduced to the hammer  50 . The operator may also adjust the velocity of the hammer  50 . 
   If the panel  30  has steel reinforcing rods  32  therein a saw  180  may be employed to cut the steel reinforcing rods  32  into sections of 4-5 feet lengths or the entire length of the rods in the panel  30  can be collected and recycled. 
   The hammers  50  will shed most of the concrete from the steel reinforcing rods  32  and the steel can be dropped into container  190 . 
   The hammer  50  is supported on a frame  158 , which supports the hammer head  58  of the hammer  50  perpendicular to the panel  30  for the most efficient transfer of energy from the hammer  50  to the concrete panel  30 . The hammer stroke length may be adjusted to accommodate different thicknesses of concrete panels  30  or for the spacing of the steel reinforcement rods  32  in the concrete panels  30 . 
   The hammer  50  may be adjusted for impact force and cycle time as warranted by the panel  30  thickness and other properties. 
   A power supply  95  such as an engine to drive compressors or pumps to power the hammer  50  and conveyor  40  may also be on the trailer  20 . 
   The controls for the precast concrete product recycling machine  10  are not illustrated but are important to establish limiting in the operations for preventing self-destruction, adjusting for intensity of shock and production rate. Sensors provide input to indicators and a computer to regulate the system actions. The computer responds to a program that can be varied to tailor functions to suit product being processed. Manual and automatic operation is included in system controls. 
   The figures each show a slightly different embodiment of the invention. The invention can be integral with a trailer for transportability as in  FIG. 1  or fixed in position at one site as in  FIG. 2 . 
   In a preferred embodiment the hammer is a hammer assembly  50  as in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The hammer mass  51  has a pair of arms  52  connected at the top by a header block  56  and at the bottom by a hammer head  58  with teeth  59 . The hammer mass  51  has an angled face  90  along the inside facing edges of arms  52  for engaging the angled face on the guide plate with plastic wear strips  92  on the outer guide plate  80  and the mounting guide plate  82 . The guide plates operate on the inside perimeter edges of the arms  52  to keep the hammer aligned straight up and down relative to the guide plates. The angled face  90  along the arms  52  and angled face guide plate plastic wear strips  92  on the outer guide plate  80  and the mounting guide plate  82  are made of a high density plastic which provides smooth slippery surfaces to slide along as the hammer mass slides up and down relative to the guide plates  80 ,  82  while holding the hammer in place to limit side to side movements which can result in a reduction in the force applied to the concrete. The length of the angled face guide plate plastic wear strips  92  on the guide plates  80 ,  82  provide for stably holding the hammer mass  51  in place as it slides up and down on the guide plates  80 ,  82 . The angled face guide plate plastic wear strips  90 ,  92  are preferably at 45 degrees to the face and side of the hammer mass  51 . 
   The outer guide plate  80  has slots for spacers  87  for guide plates lugs  85  on the guide plate spacers  81  of mounting guide plate  82  thus locking the guide plates  80 ,  82  together to form a guide for stabilizing the hammer mass  51  as it moves up and down. The guide plate spacers  81  provide for the guide plates  80 ,  82  to surround the cylinder  53  and the piston  84  which is centered within the hammer mass  51 . The piston  84  is connected to the hammer mass  51  at the hammer head  58  by a rod connection  110  passing through an aperture in the hammer mass  51  and the base of the piston  116 . The pin has a rubber collar  112  to help reduce shock and a retainer  114 , which secures the rod connection  110  in place. A cushion  118  can also be used on top of the piston base  116  to help reduce shock between the piston  84  and the hammer mass  51 . 
   The hydraulic cylinder  53  and the piston  84  are centered in the hammer mass  51  which is centered in the guide plates  80 ,  82  to provide for forces straight up and down without wasted side to side or front and back motions to decrease the efficiency of the hammer  50 . The center of mass of the hammer mass  51  is in line with the center of the hydraulic cylinder  53  and piston  84  so that the mass will tend to not tilt or twist the hammer assembly  50  during use which wastes energy and contributes to vibrations and wear. 
   The hydraulic cylinder  53  has cylinder mounting collars  86  mounted thereon for attaching the outer guide plate  80  thereto. The outer guide plate  80  has apertures  89  for engaging the cylinder mounting collars  86  and cylinder mounting shock absorbers  88  preferably made out of rubber for surrounding the cylinder mounting collars  86  and being between the cylinder mounting collars  86  and the aperture  89 . A cover plate  83  keeps the cylinder mounting shock absorbers in place. Hydraulic line  99  connects from a hydraulic pump and to a to hydraulic valve  98  on the hydraulic cylinder  53  to power the hammer retract. 
   In one mode of operation the hydraulic cylinder  53  is only used to raise the piston  84  up into the cylinder  53  and the hammer mass  51  is then allowed to drop by gravity and hit the concrete to be broken up. The teeth  59  at the base of the hammer head  58  of the hammer mass  51  hits the concrete and first cracks and then breaks up the concrete. The teeth  59  being spaced apart allows space along the surface of the concrete for breaking up the concrete and increasing the shock at the point where the teeth impact the concrete. 
   The concrete to be broken up is placed on an anvil  60  to increase the shock induced in the concrete by the hammer mass  51 . The shock of the hammer blow is reflected by the anvil  60 , which helps crack and then break up the concrete. 
   In another embodiment the cylinder  53  is a duplex cylinder having N 2  compressed by the hydraulic lifting of the piston  84  in the hydraulic cylinder  53 . The compressed N 2  valve  195  and flex hose or piping  97  to reservoir  96  where it stays in compression until needed to accelerate the piston downward to increase the impact of the hammer mass  51  over a gravity drop hammer. When it is desired to increase the impact of the hammer mass  51  valve  195  is opened and the compressed N 2  passes from the reservoir  96  through flex hose or piping  97  to the hydraulic cylinder  53  and applies force to the piston to accelerate the hammer mass  51  and increase the impact on the concrete. The hydraulic cylinder  53  thereby stores hydraulic force in the form of compressed gas on the upstroke of the hammer mass  51  to be used later in the downstroke. N 2  is the preferred gas in a duplex hydraulic cylinder because it does not have a diesel effect acting with hydraulic oil leakage. 
   The hammer assembly  50  has a pivotable connection to the mounting plates  104  by a mounting hinge pin  94  through apertures in the mounting hinge and apertures on the guide plate mounting  102 . The pivoting of the guide plate  82  allows the hammer mass to be tilted downward for servicing and for transportation. Further, the pivoting is useful for angling the hammer head  58  to be perpendicular to the concrete surface to be broken up. The top portion of guide plate mounting  82  has anti-bind rods  120  for adjusting the angle of the hinge mounting plate  92  and therefore the hammer mass  51 . A spring  122  between the anti-bind rod  120  and the hinge mounting plate  92  allows the hammer head  58  and teeth  59  to be angled slightly so as to be easier to lift off the concrete rather then be pinched by or angled into the concrete and thereby be caught and harder to lift out of the concrete. The hydraulic cylinder  53  then expends less energy lifting the hammer mass  51  after it impacts the concrete. The pivot angle for lift out is important when the hammer over a moving conveyor or the concrete moves or slips since the concrete may change position under the hammer when the hammer teeth  59  are imbedded in the concrete. 
   The mounting bracket  104  is attached by bolting to the hinge mounting plate  92  and to a mounting support  105  which is attached to a frame by brackets  106  to mount the hammer assembly for use on a recycling machine for concrete products or another type of concrete breaking machine. 
   A plurality of hammer assemblies  50  attached to the mounting support  105  each hitting at different times can efficiently break a wide concrete product apart. In a preferred pattern of hammering there are five hammers first one of the outside hammers  50  hits the pavement then the other outside hammer, then an inside hammer then the other inside hammer and then the center hammer. In this manner first the outside edges are broken then a middle portion and then the center. 
   For the hammer assembly  50  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  the hammer mass  51 , guide plates  80 ,  82 , and hydraulic cylinder  53  are all positioned to minimize the effects of friction on hammer mass  51  velocity. This is assured by the down stroke of the cylinder piston  84  to be directly in line with the hammer mass  51  center of gravity and guide plates  80 ,  82  that act parallel and in symmetry with the driven motion. The hammer assembly  50  is mounted on a hinge assembly  100  arrangement that allows the hammer assembly  50  to rotate to a horizontal position for servicing. 
   The pivoting hinge assembly  100  axis may include shock isolation that is not attenuated by the fracturing process. The linkage pivot may employ rubber rings between bearing races. 
   Actuator bars  201 ,  202 ,  203  and  204  are used in conjunction with sensors, which control the movement of the hammer by computer and valving. 
   Hoisting eye  225  is used in conjunction with a crane for lifting the hammer mass  51  out of the power hammer assembly  50  or placing the hammer mass  51  in the power hammer assembly  50 . Since the hammer mass can be on the order of 2200 kilograms a crane is needed to assemble the power hammer assembly  50  and to replace worn or broken hammers. 
   Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.