Abstract:
A baler for effecting baling of packaging material for recycling purposes includes a chamber into which material to be baled is delivered and within which the material is compacted by means of a pair of endless belts. The material is fed into the chamber by means of a pair of rollers which carry shearing blades for effecting shredding of the packaging material.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to balers, and is particularly concerned with the provision of an improved form of baler for effecting baling of packaging materials, plastic sheeting, cardboard and rags.  
           [0002]    Retail outlets have been reluctant to bale packaging materials because of the high cost and unwieldy nature of the balers currently on the market.  
           [0003]    It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of baler. It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a baler for use in a retail outlet for baling packaging material such as cardboard boxes.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    According to the present invention there is provided a baler which includes a housing containing a chamber into which material to be baled is delivered and within which the material is compacted, an inlet through which the material is supplied and a pair of rollers carrying shearing blades for effecting shredding of the material fed into the inlet so that the material is delivered into the chamber in shredded form.  
           [0005]    The shredding rollers are preferably motorised rollers which are arranged so that they rotate about parallel axes and are positioned adjacent a feed table on which material to be shredded, compacted and baled is placed. The rollers are preferably arranged to operate in such manner as to draw any material placed on the feed table into the gap between the rollers and to effect shredding thereof as the material is drawn between the rollers.  
           [0006]    The baler chamber preferably contains a pair of rotating endless belt systems for effecting compaction of the material fed into the chamber. The drive for the endless belt systems preferably comprises a pair of drive rollers around which the endless belts are entrained, the endless belts also being entrained over a series of idler rollers.  
           [0007]    The baler housing is preferably an all-steel, clamshell fabricated housing with an outer body mounted on a welded box-section frame and castors for facilitating movement of the baler. Some of the castors are preferably locking castors.  
           [0008]    A holder carrying a roll of wrapping material is preferably mounted on the baler housing and, in use of the baler, the operator will initiate a wrapping cycle of operations once a predetermined quantity of material has been compacted within the bale chamber. Locking solenoids are preferably provided for maintaining the clamshell housing in its closed condition until wrapping of a bale of compacted material has been effected.  
           [0009]    Gas struts or equivalent operating means are preferably provided for opening the clamshell housing once a bale of compacted material has been wrapped, the arrangement being such that a part of the housing containing one of the endless belts is moved into an open position relative to the remainder of the housing to permit discharge of the wrapped bale. One of the idler rollers around which the endless belt in said part of the housing is entrained may be acted on by a gas spring to hold the belt in tension when the clamshell housing is opened to allow the bale to be discharged.  
           [0010]    The wrapped bale of compacted material which is formed typically has a diameter of the order of up to 1 meter and a weight of up to approximately 50 kg., the bale being discharged from the baler with its axis horizontal so as to facilitate rolling of the wrapped bale.  
           [0011]    The two shredding rollers which carry the shearing blades are preferably arranged to rotate about vertically spaced horizontal axes, one above the level of the presented surface of the feed table and the other below the level of the presented surface of the feed table onto which the material to be shredded, compacted and baled is placed. Each of the rollers preferably carries a plurality of axially spaced shearing blades, with the arrangement such that the shearing blades on one of the rollers are staggered relative to the shearing blades on the other roller.  
           [0012]    The design of the shearing blades and the nature of the wrapping material which is used may be such that the wrapping material may be fed between the rollers carrying the shearing blades to effect a wrapping operation. Alternatively, a separate inlet may be provided, adjacent the junction between the two parts of the clamshell housing, for feeding the wrapping material into the baling chamber.  
           [0013]    The feed table is preferably positioned at about waist height or just above to facilitate placing of the packaging material on the table.  
           [0014]    The invention also provides a method of baling packaging material for recycling purposes which comprises the use of a baler as defined above. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0015]    The single FIGURE is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the construction and mode of operation of the baler, 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]    The baler comprises a housing which includes a powder-painted, zinc-coated steel base portion  10  and a cover portion  11  which is also formed of powder-painted zinc-coated steel. The base portion  10  is of rectangular form in plan view and is provided, adjacent its corners, with castor wheels  12  to enable the baler to be moved easily into any desired location.  
         [0017]    The upwardly presented part of the base portion  10  includes a feed table  13  onto which cardboard or other sheets of packaging material which are to be shredded are placed. The feed table  13  is located adjacent a pair of shredding rollers  14  which are driven by electric motors (not shown) and each of which carries a plurality of axially spaced shearing blades  15 , with the arrangement such that the shearing blades  15  on one of the rollers  14  are staggered relative to the shearing blades  15  on the other roller  14 . The cardboard or other sheets pass from the feed table  13  through a passage  16  into the gap between the shredding rollers  14  which are arranged to rotate in opposite directions such that the cardboard sheets are drawn into the gap between the two rollers  14  on rotation of the rollers  14 , which thus also act as feed rollers. As will be seen from the drawing, the passage  16  has a narrow mouth which is spaced from the rollers  14  to ensure that the fingers of the operator cannot approach close to the blades of the shredding rollers  14 .  
         [0018]    The base portion  10  of the baler includes a first steel support structure  17  on which are mounted a drive roller  18  and an idler roller  19 . An endless belt  20  is entrained over the two rollers  18  and  19  and over a guide  21  carried by a swing arm  22  which is acted on by a gas-operated tension spring assembly  23  pivotally mounted on the first steel support structure  17  so that the endless belt  20  is urged into the configuration shown in the drawing.  
         [0019]    A second steel support structure  24  is mounted on the first steel support structure  17  for pivotal movement relative thereto about a horizontal pivot axis  25 . A drive roller  26  and an idler roller  27  are mounted on the second steel support structure  24 . An endless belt  28  is entrained over the two rollers  26  and  27  and over a guide  29  carried by a swing arm  30  which is acted on by a gas-operated tension spring assembly  31  pivotally mounted on the second steel support structure  24  so that the endless belt  28  is urged into the configuration shown in the drawing. The two endless belts  20  and  28  are driven in the same direction with the result that the adjacent runs of the two endless belts  20  and  28  are travelling in opposite directions so that any material trapped between the two adjacent runs is subjected to a rolling compacting action.  
         [0020]    The baling chamber within the baler is defined by a bottom member  32  attached to the first steel structure  17  and by a top member  33  attached to the second steel structure  24 . The arrangement is such that, during operation of the baler to effect shredding and compaction of the cardboard, the components of the baler are in the positions shown in the drawing. An edge  34  of the cover portion  11  rests on an edge  35  of the base portion  10  and the cover portion  11  is held in engagement with the base portion  10  by means of a locking mechanism mounted on a handle  36 . The handle  36  is movable into a release position in which the cover portion  11  and the second steel structure  24  are movable, in an anti-clockwise direction as viewed in the drawing, into a position in which the edge  34  of the cover portion  11  is substantially horizontal. The cover portion  11  and the second steel structure  24  are supported in this position by a telescopically extensible stay  37  which is pivotally mounted at its one end on the first steel support structure  17  and is pivotally connected at its other end to the second steel support structure  24 .  
         [0021]    A roll  38  of shrink-wrap material is mounted on a support roller  39  positioned immediately below the feed table  13  and the arrangement is such that the shrink-wrap material can be withdrawn manually from the roller  39  and then fed through the gap between the two shredding rollers  14 . Standard shrink-wrap material can be employed and this is thin enough and flexible enough to be able to pass between the two shredding rollers  14  without being subjected to significant cutting.  
         [0022]    In use, cardboard or other packaging material is placed on the feed table  13  and is moved manually so that it enters the passage  16 . As soon as the leading end of the packaging material is located between the two shredding rollers  14 , it is engaged by the cutting blades  15  and is drawn between the rollers  14  so as to drop into the space between the adjacent runs of the two endless belts  20  and  28 . The endless belts  20  and  28  are continuously driven so as to compact the shredded packaging material. Operation of the endless belts  20  and  28  and continued feeding of further shredded material into the space between the two endless belts  20  and  28  will result in the formation of a generally cylindrical mass of compacted shredded material between the adjacent runs of the two endless belts  20  and  28 . Operation of the two endless belts  20  and  28  serves to effect rotation of the progressively compacted mass in the baling chamber and outward deflection of the adjacent runs of the two endless belts  20  and  28 .  
         [0023]    Once a sufficient amount of packaging material has been fed into the baling chamber defined by the bottom member  32  and the top member  33 , the feeding of the packaging material into the passage  16  is discontinued and, instead, the leading end of the roll of shrink-wrap material is fed into the passage  16  so as to be engaged between the shredding rollers  14  and fed into the space between the endless belts  20  and  28 . The shrink-wrap material is drawn from the support roller  39  and a sufficient length of shrink-wrap material is utilised for it to be wrapped several times around the generally cylindrical mass of shredded and compacted material within the baling chamber. The shrink-wrap material is then cut once wrapping of the generally cylindrical mass within the baling chamber has been completed.  
         [0024]    The locking mechanism holding the cover portion  11  and the second steel support structure  24  in their operating positions is then released by means of the handle  36  and the cover portion  11  and the second steel support structure  24  are raised into the position in which the edge  34  of the cover portion  11  is substantially horizontal. This allows the wrapped cylindrical bale of shredded and compacted material to be rolled out of the baling chamber. Once the wrapped bale has been removed, the parts of the baler are returned to their original positions, in readiness for the formation of the next bale.