Patent Publication Number: US-4059050-A

Title: Can crusher

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The collecting and reprocessing of small cans, such as beverage containers and the like, are beneficial to society both in conserving natural resources and in improving the environment. Makers and users of such cans are particularly interested in collecting and reprocessing of the cans. However, collecting and reprocessing cans has to be done in an efficient manner in order to make it profitable to move the cans from the point of collection to the point of reusing the metal. Because of shipping rates, bulk rates and the like, it is necessary that the cans be crushed and deposited into large containers in an efficient process. 
     It is thus advantageous to have a high volume can crusher processor that crushes cans separated from bottles, in large volumes and moves the crushed cans through tubes to fill large movable containers that are efficiently trucked or otherwise moved and transported to the point of economically reprocessing the metal in the cans. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In an exemplary embodiment of this invention, a pair of wheels are used with one rigid wheel and the other wheel having a resilient tire. The wheels and tires are held in abutting in line relationship by a rigid frame. The frame supports the wheels through their respective axles with the outer circumferential surfaces of the wheels touching. The wheel that is non-resilient has projecting bar members that are contacted by the outer surface of the resilient tire. The non-resilient wheel is rotated by a suitable motor and drive mechanism, with the wheel functioning like a fly-wheel. 
     The wheels are positioned in a substantially vertical arrangement in line with a vertically positioned hopper and first chute that receives the cans and directs the cans through the chute into the intersecting contact of the wheel surfaces. The wheel surfaces crush the cans and discharges the cans at a high velocity, because of the high speed of rotation of the wheels. The projecting cans then pass downwardly through a second chute where the cans impact against an angled baffle surface that deflects the cans into an air passage discharge line, through which air is moving. The combination of the air and velocity of the deflected cans, combine to move the cans through a tube or the like into a collecting receptacle. 
     The deflecting plate also restricts the air passage in the mixing chamber to increase the velocity of the air at the point of contact with the deflected cans. A conveyor, conveys the cans up to the hopper in a large volume movement. 
     The combination of the resilient tire and the non-resilient lugged wheel, provides the crushing force to the cans and yet insures rotation of the respective wheels through a single drive wheel, without slippage between the respective wheels and without excessive tire wear. Also the lugs aid in driving the crushed cans into the intersecting contact face of the rotating wheels and also aids in crushing the cans. By driving the non-resilient wheel, this wheel functions similar to a fly wheel. Also because of the lugs, this wheel does the primary crushing of the cans. So the direct driving of the non-resilient wheel reduces slippage between the wheels, thus reducing tire wear. 
     It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved high volume, easily dispensing, can crusher. 
     In another embodiment, the air for the air passage is drawn from a connection to the upper hopper. This creates a side movement of air that draws the lighter cans to be crushed into the upper chute and into the rotating wheels. The heavier bottles drop short of the chute opening into a separate container. Thus the bottles and other heavier objects are removed from the crusher operation. 
    
    
     Other objects and many advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and an examination of the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partially cut away, of the can crusher. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the can crusher. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 2. 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing an alternative can and bottle sorting arrangement. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 5. 
    
    
     Referring now to the drawings, the cans are initially dumped into a lower hopper 14. The lower hopper 14 feeds the cans onto a moving conveyor 16. Conveyor 16 comprises a known belt conveyor having bars 17 secured on the surface thereof, which belt is rotated on known rotating member 18. The rotating member 18 is driven by a belt 20 through a gear box 24, and by belt 22 that is driven by motor 26. The belt 16 moves the cans upwardly in the direction of the arrow from lower hopper 14 to the upper hopper 30. Upper hopper 30 feeds the cans into the upper chute 32 that has angled plate members 33 that position the cans for passage into the contact surface of the respective wheels 34 and 46, which are rotatably supported in a suitable frame 10. 
     Wheel 46 comprises a rim 42 that is secured to axle 50 and has a mounted resilient tire 44. Wheel 34 is a non-resilient wheel that is fixed to axle 52. The outer circumferential surface of wheel 34 has bar members 36. Wheel 34 is driven in rotational movement by a drive mechanism to be described hereinafter, and rotates in the clockwise direction of the arrow. The resilient tire portion of wheel 46 contacts rigid wheel 34 and is rotated in the counterclockwise direction of the arrow. With this movement, the cans 60 are pulled between the two wheels and are crushed by movement therethrough into the crushed cans 56. These crushed cans then drop through the enlarged opening of the lower chute 51. The bars 36 function both to increase the friction contact between wheel 34 and wheel 46, and also to aid in contacting and moving the respective cans 60 into and through the crushing contact of the respective wheels. 
     Shaft 52 of wheel 34 is rotated through a known drive mechanism or gear box 24 that is in turn rotated by belt 22 from motor 26. An air volume impeller 27, driven by a motor 29, pulls air through opening 28 and discharges the air into the mixing chamber 40. This air passes through air passage 48 and then into discharge tube 38. 
     The cans after being crushed are thrown at a high velocity into the lower chute passage 51. The high velocity is imparted to the cans by the speed of rotation of the wheels 46 and 34. The crushed cans 56 impact against the upper plate 53 of the V-shaped baffle that also has a lower plate 54. This angled upper baffle plate 53 deflects the cans into the direction of the arrow in tube 38, as in FIG. 4. The lower baffle 54 projects into the air passage 48 reducing its cross-sectional volume and thus creates a venturi effect that increases the velocity of the air passing therethrough at the point of contact in the mixing chamber 40 with the crushed cans 56. Thus, the air pressure plus the velocity of the cans, combine to move the cans through the conduit 38 into a large receptacle, trailer or the like (not shown). 
     It may also be understood, that the air moving through passage 48 also creates a movement of air downwardly through the lower chute passage 51 that further causes downward movement of the crushed cans 56 into the discharge tube 38. 
     Thus the system is capable of moving large amounts of cans at a relatively high velocity and rate through tube 38 to selectively fill containers. 
     In a modified embodiment, see FIGS. 5 and 6, a system is provided that is capable of separating steel cans and bottles from aluminum cans that are crushed and delivered to the containers. In this embodiment, the combination of articles are dumped into hopper 14 and carried by conveyor 16 upward into the enclosed hopper 80. In this movement, a known magnetic drum 72 is used to drive the conveyor belt 16. The steelcans are held by the magnetic drum 72 in continuous movement of the belt around drum 72 until the belt 16 separates from the drum 72, wherein the steel cans 92 then slide down chute 94 along wall 86 and out opening 88 into the receptacle 90. Blower 27 draws air through suction opening 74, tube 76 and funnel 82 into the hopper 80. This movement of air pulls the lighter weight aluminum cans 93 into the entry 106 of the upper chute 32. The bottles 98, being heavier than the cans 93, are not so pulled by the air movement and drop through trap door 102 and move down chute 96 into the container 100. The screen 84 prevents large particles from being drawn by the air suction through tube 76 into the blower 27. 
     Also in this embodiment, the non-resilient wheel 116 is not driven by the previously described drive mechanism, but rather is driven by a separate motor 112 and a drive belt 114. The wheel 116 has a width approximately twice that of the tire 46, and the extra width is smooth and does not have cross bars 36 thereon. The belt 114 is positioned on this smooth surface. Also the conveyor system is driven by a direct motor 108 to the drive drum 72. 
     Wheel 116 is heavier than the tire wheel 46 and operates as a fly wheel. Further wheel 116, with lugs 36, does the primary work in moving the cans into the space between the wheels and in driving the cans through that space. Thus the non-resilient wheel carries the greatest load and is subject to the greatest amount of slippage. Since this wheel is the one that is driven, there is little or no slippage between wheel 116 and tire 46, and thus wear on tire 46 is greatly reduced. 
     The entire housing 118 is enclosed so that the air drawn through screen 84 primarily passes through the spaces on the open side of the chute 80 opposite screen 84. This provides the maximum movement of air in the direction of moving cans 93 to enter into the chute 32. Little or no air is drawn through chute 32 in the opposite direction because of the closeness of positioning of the wheels 116 and 46 in the enclosed chamber 118.