Apparatus and method for separating newsprint from other sheet material and wrapper for bundle produced thereby

The invention is directed toward providing a method of separating newsprint and other sheet material prior to recycling the newsprint, apparatus for carrying out the method and a wrapper, formed of material which may be recycled with the newsprint, to be used in the method and apparatus of the invention. The invention is used by the individual householder and will serve to eliminate many intermediate steps in the recycling of newsprint.

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for separating newsprint 
sheets from other sheet material. As an important part of the invention, 
the newsprint is bundled into a recyclable package wherein the bundling 
package, to which the invention relates, is compatibly recyclable with the 
newsprint. 
Presently, it has become necessary to recycle various materials. This need 
has arisen because of the overloading of land fills and other depositories 
of waste material and the growing depletion of our forests and other 
natural resources. As a natural result of use of the invention on a large 
scale, continued population growth may be attained without damaging the 
environment. Needless to say, new valuable industries will be spawned to 
aid in the recycling programs. 
Newspaper sheets (newsprint) are recyclable and can be used to produce 
fresh newsprint or paperboard material such as chipboard. As a 
consequence, it has become very important to save old newsprint for 
transportation to recycling or other distribution centers. Many statutes 
have been enacted to require the separation of recyclable materials from 
other trash and waste material. 
These efforts have met with little to no success depending to a large 
extent on the enforcement program and on the individual members of the 
public. For example, in many cases, inadequate facilities are provided for 
apartment dwellers to properly separate the materials within the building 
or complex. The process of separating the recyclable materials from those 
which are not recyclable must start at the family level. If it doesn't 
start there, it is doomed to failure. It should be noted that the present 
methods of newsprint separation and bundling are completely manual. As a 
result they are very time consuming, inefficient and expensive. 
This invention is directed toward assisting in the recycling of old 
newsprint. Present day newspapers are largely of a standard size, 
approximately (111/2".times.14"). The size of the tabloid and of the full 
size newspapers are the same since the full size newspaper usually is 
folded in half. The sheet of an opened tabloid is the same size as one 
page of a full size newspaper. The critical dimensions for both these 
types of newsprint publications are the same for the purpose and objects 
of the instant invention. 
Presently, many newspapers are delivered with advertising inserts which are 
generally printed on glossy stock and are referred to in the trade as 
"shineys" or "slipperies". These sheets cannot be readily recycled by the 
same processing method as the newsprint. Therefore, the slipperies and 
other nonrecyclable material must be separated from the newsprint before 
delivery to the processing plant. 
A further drawback of the present system of recycling of newsprint resides 
in the fact that the newspaper stack usually must be tied. Generally, the 
pile or bundle is tied with string or twine. Neither of these materials 
are recyclable using the system which is usually used for recycling 
newsprint. As a result, one must resort to removing the string or twine 
prior to recycling which is wasteful in time and labor. Some of the string 
or twine is captured under the bundle. Thus, the efficiency of the 
recycling process is inhibited. 
The resident, private home or apartment, must bundle the papers and tie the 
bundle to prevent the papers from spewing out. The tied bundles either are 
left at the curb to be picked up by a scavenger (municipal or private) or 
are left in a designated place on each floor of a large apartment 
building. Periodically, on schedule, the tied bundles from the apartment 
are set out at the curb. In some apartment buildings, the newspapers are 
left loose in a small crate or bin on each floor of the building. In this 
last case, the slipperies are generally removed and the newsprint is 
bundled and tied by a building employee. 
After the tied bundles are picked up by the scavenger, they are delivered 
to a depot (municipal or private). The bundles are now untied, most of the 
cord or string is discarded and the slipperies are removed. The balance, 
namely, the newsprint, is collected and trucked to the recycling plant. At 
the recycling plant, the material is, generally, placed on a large 
conveyor and the slipperies and captured string or twine are removed by 
hand. 
There are variations in the above procedure. For example, complete removal 
of the twine and of the slipperies may be carried out in the recycling 
plant by hand, prior to placing the material on the conveyor. 
Clearly, it is to the advantage of all concerned to eliminate some of the 
steps which add to the waste in time and cost. The best way to do this is 
to separate the newsprint from the other sheet material at the start of 
the process and to bind or tie the newsprint bundles with material which 
may be recycled with the newsprint thus producing a bundle of compatibly 
recyclable materials (newsprint and wrapper) with a large saving in time 
and cost. 
If this were done, the slipperies would be separated from the newsprint and 
the bundle would be secured with recyclable binding by the resident. Under 
present conditions, there are no practical systems or methods available to 
the resident. It is for this reason, that we are forced to use the 
expensive procedure which has been set forth above, in some detail. 
Accordingly, it is an important object of the invention to provide an 
apparatus and a method to enable the resident to separate the slipperies 
from the newsprint easily and quickly. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide the resident with means 
and a convenient and inexpensive method for binding the bundles with 
material which may be recycled with the newsprint. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a bundle wrapper 
which may be recycled with the newsprint. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an integral, 
durable and recyclable wrapper and straps to be used with the apparatus 
and method of the invention for securing each bundle. 
It is also an object of the invention to provide a unitary wrapper 
comprising both a body member and straps for securing each bundle.

In the drawings, wherein, for the purpose of illustration, there is shown a 
preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 10 designates an 
apparatus of the invention, generally. Apparatus 10 is seem to comprise a 
frame 12 having a base 14, upright vertical members 15, a support platform 
16 extending outwardly from vertical members 15 and a pair of outwardly 
extending rods 18 above the support platform 16 and spaced therefrom. A 
top frame 20 is affixed to the upright vertical members 15 extending 
outwardly and above the rods or arms 18. 
Support platform 16 is provided with an opening 22 therein which is 
dimensioned such that newsprint sheets 50 will rest on two side ledges 24 
and the smaller slipperies 52 will drop through the opening 22 to a 
discard area 80 below the platform 16 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 4). 
A plurality of folded wrappers 30 is mounted on the rods 18. Each wrapper 
30 (best seen in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7) is provided with a pair of eyelets 32 
on each of the two opposite faces of each wrapper 30. The plurality of 
wrappers is held in place by placing them on the rods 18 through the 
eyelets 32, and locating them behind a bump 19 on each arm 18. The 
plurality of wrappers 30 is kept in place behind the opening 22 in 
platform 16 and they are moved forward, over the bumps 19 one at a time so 
that the one, to be used, is in position over the opening 22 in the 
platform 16 and assumes the general shape of a parallelepipedic sleeve. 
The wrapper 30, which is in the forward, operative position is prevented 
from moving forward off the rods 18 by an upturned end 21 on the end of 
each of the rods 18. 
In order, to hold the wrapper 30 open to receive sheets for separation, a 
guide sleeve 26 of rigid material is provided. Guide sleeve 26 is 
preferably in the shape of a parallelopiped with two opposite faces (top 
and bottom) removed. Once guide sleeve 26 is in place, the wrapper will 
not move. When the apparatus is not in use, guide sleeve 26 is held in its 
upper position by means of a latch 28 which coacts with a support 31 of 
top frame 20. In FIG. 1, the guide sleeve is shown in its upper or clear 
position. 
Guide sleeve 26 comprises a front face 27 and a rear face 29 and is 
provided with two vertical, slidable, vertical rods 40 which are joined at 
the top by element 42. The lower portion of rods 40 are affixed to guide 
sleeve 26. Two tubes 43 are affixed to a bar 44 which is a part of top 
frame 20 so that guide sleeve 26 will drop down to the proper position 
when latch 28 is released. 
A pair of springs 36 are affixed to rear face 29 and are biased such that 
they are urged toward the interior of the front face 27 near the edges 
thereof. Thus, the sheets which are supported on ledges 24 will be held 
firmly in place against the front face 27 of guide sleeve 26. The smaller 
shineys or slipperies 52 will not be held by the springs 36. They will 
drop through the opening 22 to discard area 80. The slipperies drop due to 
either the force of gravity, vibration of apparatus 10 due to the weight 
of the contents or gentle rocking of apparatus 10. 
The bundle is loaded by placing a sheet between the previously placed 
sheets and the springs 36 so that the newsprint sheets being bundled are 
held firmly in place against the front face 27 of the guide 26 close to 
the outermost edges of the inserted newsprint. By holding the newsprint 
sheets in this manner, the chance that a slippery will be held firmly in 
the wrapper is minimized. When the user is ready to remove a filled 
wrapper of newsprint from the ledge, a circumferential strap is used to 
hold the wrapper and its contents firmly after which the guide sleeve 26 
is moved upward and is held by latch 28. The guide sleeve 26 is raised out 
of the wrapper by means of hanger element 42 and the wrapper is closed as 
is described further in this description. 
Platform 16 is spaced above the base 14 to permit the slipperies 52 to be 
collected in discard area 80. A preferred elevation is one which permits a 
container or shopping bag to be placed under the opening 22 to catch the 
slipperies 52 and facilitate easy removal of them for disposal by 
recycling or otherwise depending upon the material and the availability of 
recycling systems for them. 
The dimensions of the apparatus 10 set forth below are designed for the 
separation of newspaper sheets 50 and slipperies 52 which are presently in 
use. Folded, full-size newspaper and tabloid sheets are about 111/2" wide 
and 14" long and the slipperies are usually smaller in both dimensions and 
almost always in the width dimension. 
To accommodate the above dimensions of the sheets being processed the 
platform is 131/2" wide and about 12" or more deep. Opening 22 is 101/4" 
wide so that each support ledge 24 is 15/8" wide. Thus, it can be seen 
that the newspaper sheets will rest securely on the support ledges 24 held 
firmly in the wrapper by springs 36. 
The preferable dimensions of the wrapper 30 is 131/2" wide and 17" high. 
Eyelets 32 on the front and back faces of wrapper 30 are each spaced 1" 
from the top and 1" from the side to accommodate for the newspaper 
material and the construction of the apparatus and wrapper of the 
invention. 
To aid in the separation of the newsprint from the slipperies, the 
apparatus is rocked slightly from front to rear. This helps in separating 
slipperies (which may be clinging to newsprint sheets) from the newsprint 
sheets so that the slipperies drop into the discard area. 
When the wrapper 30 is full, or must be removed, even if it is not full, 
the guide sleeve 26 is raised from inside the wrapper by means of element 
42 and the bundle is removed from the platform by hand, taking care that 
the sheets don't fall out of the wrapper, as has been described above. 
Now, the bundle is secured, as will be described below, so that it may be 
delivered readily to the municipal collection units or other units in the 
recycling processing chain. 
The wrapper 30 of the invention is seen to have a front face 60 and a back 
face 62. A strap 64 is preferably unitary with front face 60. The strap 64 
has at least one wedge shaped taper 74 and surrounds the girth of a closed 
bundle by pulling it tightly around the bundle and engaging one of its 
plurality of wedge shaped tapers 74 in a pair of slots 76 and 77 in front 
60. Now, the guide sleeve 26 is raised to its upper position and latched. 
The wrapper and its contents are removed from the support platform 16 
while holding the bundle securely to avoid dropping the contents. 
Strap 64 is pulled as tightly as possible around the bundle and one of the 
wedge shaped tapes 74 is inserted in a slot 76 and pulled out through slot 
77. The appropriate wedge shaped taper 74 is used so that the bundle is 
held securely. If a taper, other than the one at the end of the strap is 
used, then the excess portion of the strap may be removed or tucked into 
the bundle. 
A strap 66 which is preferably unitary with front face 60 is provided with 
at least one wedge shaped taper 67 at the end thereof. Strap 66 is pulled 
over an open end of the bundle and is held in place by placing an 
appropriate wedge shaped taper 67 of a plurality of tapers in slots 82 and 
84 in back face 62. Similarly, a strap 68 which has at least one wedge 
shaped taper 69 and is preferably unitary with back face 62 is used by 
placing it over the other open end of the bundle and engaging the 
appropriate wedge shaped taper 69 in slots 61 and 63 on front face 60. 
Since the bundle formed from wrapper 30 and the newsprint wrapped within it 
are made of recyclable material such as recycled newsprint, the total 
package can be delivered directly to a recycling plant. It is unnecessary 
to remove any string or cord so that the intermediate, wasteful handling 
of the bundles is dispensed with. This results in a great, convenient, 
saving in time, material and cost and increases the amount of recycling 
which will be done. 
The invention, as described herein, is capable of variation and 
modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention 
as set forth in the appended claims.