Patent Publication Number: US-6339987-B1

Title: Bindery compaction process

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/376,775, filed Aug. 17, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,799. 
     This invention relates to a bindery compactor utilized for the compression of paper waste in a bindery. More particularly, a bindery compactor is disclosed in which both air conveyed fine paper waste particles and cart transported gross paper particles can be received and compacted into a receiver. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Binderies produce paper waste in two gross categories. First, there is relatively large particulate paper waste, which paper waste results from printed paper pages being trimmed preparatory to stitching. Second, and after stitching has occurred, the bound pages are uneven. Trimming of the pages—usually with a machine known as a “three knife”—produces fine paper waste. Binderies produce a surprising tonnage of such waste, with “medium” size binderies producing from 30 to 80 tons of such waste per month. 
     In many small to medium size binderies, both the large paper waste and the fine paper waste are transported in carts for recycling. Thereafter, removal of the waste material from the bindery in an uncompressed format occurs by van. This results in an inordinate number of van transport trips, increasing the cost of the recycling effort. 
     In other bindery facilities, processing of the large paper waste and the fine paper waste occurs in a compactor at the bindery. Since this disclosure relates to compactors, a review of the compactor prior art is relevant. 
     Compactors are well known in the paper waste collection industry. A compactor usually charges a receiver. The receiver is a large closed container in the order of 7 feet high, 7 feet wide, and 22 feet in length. The receiver has an opening at one end in the order of 42 inches high by 60 inches wide. 
     The compactor includes a chute of corresponding dimension to the opening. This chute leads from the opening of the receiver, a distance away from the receiver. This chute is traversed by a 42 inch high by 60 inch wide platen powered by a hydraulic ram. This hydraulic ram powers the platen through the volume defined by the chute to compact material in the chute. Material to be compacted is placed in the chute. This material is crowded or compacted into the waste receiver. 
     The ram and platen are normally withdrawn from the chute. This defines a waste receiving volume between the waste receiver and platen. Waste material is dumped into this volume to be compacted until the volume is fill. When the volume to be compacted is full, compaction of the filled volume of the chute occurs into the receiver. When fully charged with paper waste materials, the receiver can hold in the order of 9,000 to 13,000 pounds of paper waste for recycling. 
     It is known to have the volume to be compacted in front of the compactor platen monitored by an electric eye. When the volume to be compacted is full, the compactor cycles forward to crowd waste paper material into the receiver. Upon completion of the compacting, the ram retracts the platen to define an emptied volume to be compacted ahead of the platen. During cycling forward of the compactor platen, the volume that was the volume to be compacted is sealed by a sealing plate affixed to the top of the platen and trailing the platen. This sealing plate makes the dumping of material into the compactor behind the platen not possible when the platen of the compactor is cycling to compress material into the receiver. 
     As binderies increase in product volume, pneumatic transporting of fine waste particles becomes economically feasible. Unfortunately, pneumatic transport and the machines necessary to recycle the pneumatically transported fine paper waste particles are expensive. Typically, the fine paper waste particles are transported in pneumatic ducts. Transporting air pressures within the ducts are in the range of 18 inches of water. Transporting speeds in the ducts as high as 50 mph occur. The pneumatically transported paper waste materials are typically discharged at their destination through a cyclone separator to a baler exterior of the bindery facility. Balers used with such pneumatic systems are expensive, specialized pieces of equipment which compress and thereafter bind the waste. Only large bindery facilities can economically justify installation of balers. 
     In larger binderies, even where pneumatic transport is utilized, large paper waste is conveyed by cart to a conventional compactor and not a baler. Thus, the use of a single machine for the processing of both the large particulate waste particles and the small waste particles is not known. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A bindery compactor receives and compacts simultaneously large particulate paper waste and pneumatically conveyed fine paper waste. The compactor operates with a platen cycling within a compactor chute, in which the platen is normally forward in the compacting position with a sealing plate attached to the platen extending to close the top of the chute and form the bottom of two waste paper receiving bins. A first of these paper waste-receiving bins is for large particulate paper waste loaded from a cart dumper. A second bin of these paper waste-receiving bins is for pneumatically transported fine paper waste from a cyclone separator. In the second bin, accumulation of fine particle paper waste occurs to a height where an electric eye triggers cycling of the compactor. When cycling is triggered, the compactor platen retracts from extension to the chute withdrawing the sealing plate and allowing the stored paper waste from either bin to fall into the chute ahead of the retracting platen. Upon reaching full retraction, the platen reverses direction to compact all paper waste falling from either bin in the chute. The platen then closes off the bottom of the bins with the sealing plate, and remains extended in the forward position until the next compactor cycle. Provision is made to manually cycle the compactor where the waste bin for the large particulate paper waste fills ahead of the waste bin for the small particulate paper waste. 
     An advantage of this apparatus and process is the ability to handle both pneumatically transported fine particulate paper waste and cart transported large particulate paper waste. Specifically, when the platen is in the normally extended position, the bottom of both the bin for the fine particulate paper waste and the bottom of the bin for the large particulate paper waste is closed. This closure prevents residual air pressure from the cyclone separator (in the order of 2 inches of water) from blowing by particulate paper waste. 
     A further advantage of this invention is that the bin for receiving the fine particulate paper waste is given a buffering volume, which buffering volume exceeds the volume to be compacted. As a consequence, when the platen is cycled for crowding of paper waste into the receiver, the residual volume of fine particulate paper waste dissipates any residual air pressure. Further, and where repeated cycling of the compactor empties the fine particulate bin, residual large particulate paper waste materials prevent the fines from blowing by the compactor receiver. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bindery compactor according to this invention with two bins shown overlying the chute of a conventional bindery compactor having one of the chutes filled with pneumatically conveyed material received from a cyclone separator and the other of the chutes receiving waste material from a cart shown attached to a conventional cart dumper; and, 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation ofjust the compactor, cart bin, and pneumatically conveyed paper waste bin utilized in this invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1, receiver R is shown connected to compactor C. Compactor C has two major modifications which make this disclosure possible. First, the cycle of compactor C is the reverse of that previously utilized. In the prior art, platen P is normally extended in the crowding disposition with respect to receiver R. Second, two buffering bins B have been built overlying compactor C. (See FIG. 2) These respective buffering bins B enable waste material to first be accumulated and thereafter periodically compacted. 
     In setting forth this disclosure, a convention compactor C will be described. Thereafter, the altered cycle of this invention will be set forth followed by a description of buffering bins B. Operation will briefly be set forth. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, chute T has opening O at top  14 . Platen P is actuated by hydraulic ram H. Platen P has excursion from normally extended position  16  to retracted position  18 . 
     There is a need in conventional compactors C to prevent material to be compacted from falling between hydraulic ram H and the back end of chute T. Accordingly, platen P has horizontal guard plate G closing opening O when platen P is in the forward position. 
     It is to be understood that compactor C essentially has a reverse cycle compared to compactors of the prior art. In the case of the normal compactor C, opening O is normally open. In the case of the compactor C utilized with this invention, opening O is usually closed. To prevent material from leaking by horizontal guard plate G, this plate is swept by wipers  20 ,  22 . 
     Returning to FIG. 1, and remembering that opening O is normally closed, it will be seen that two buffering bins B are built overlying normally closed opening O. First, large particle buffering bin B 1 . conventional cart dumper D attached and disposed to dump carts containing large paper particles into large particle buffering bin B 1 . Thus, when sufficient large particles are accumulated in a bindery, dumping to compactor C can occur. This is the usual use of a compactor in a bindery. 
     Second, opening O has small particle buffering bin B 2  attached overlying normally closed opening O. Filling of this small particle buffering bin B 2  occurs from cyclone separator Y attached to duct  24  coming from the interior of a bindery (not shown). 
     Referring to FIG. 2, cyclone separator Y is easy to understand. Typically, conventional vacuum inlets are employed interior of the bindery in the vicinity of the “three knife” cutter (not shown). These fine particles are conveyed under air pressure through duct  24  under air pressures in the range of 18 inches of water. Cyclone separator Y is made at an cone angle of about 22° from the vertical. In the interior it includes a complimentary perforate exhaust cone E. Assuming input pressure of 18 inches of water into cyclone separator Y, output of transported particulate small particulate waste occurs under about 2 inches of water pressure. 
     Ordinarily, discharge of particulate matter under 2 inches of water pressure could cause blow by of materials such a fine particulate paper waste. Here, however, factors prevent such blowing by. 
     First, small particle buffering bin B 2  is provided with electric eye L. Electric eye L slides on bracket  26  and is maintained at a height with respect to compactor C so that discharge from small particle buffering bin B 2  more than fills the volume ahead of platen P. Thus, at no time will small particle buffering bin B 2  be completely empty. 
     Second, platen P is normally closed. In the normally closed position, blowing by of fine particulate waste cannot occur. 
     Third, the only exit for material from compactor C, assuming that platen P is in the open position, is out though large particle buffering bin B 1 . This bin is usually full of large particle waste which resists such blowing by. In the rare case that this bin is empty, the dimension of the bin are such that air blowing by under the relatively low two inches of water pressure is not sufficient for blowing the fine particulate matter completely free of the bin. 
     It will be understood that the invention here set forth reverses the cycle of normal compactors. At the same time, by the adding of the large particle buffering bin B 1 and small particle buffering bin B 2 , compactor C is converted into enabling one receiver R to transport away all materials from a bindery. Bales, balers, and separate bale transport is no longer required.