Patent Publication Number: US-11376603-B2

Title: Depackaging apparatus with improved cleaning

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to sorting waste, in particular for the purposes of recycling or disposal. The invention relates more particularly to a device for cleaning packages in the context of reprocessing waste, in particular waste from supermarkets. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the field of processing waste, in particular waste from supermarkets, processor apparatus is known for collecting the material adhering to the outside surfaces of packages for processing. Such an apparatus is shown in accompanying  FIG. 1 . 
     That apparatus  1  comprises a cylindrical drum  4  that is rotatable about a longitudinal axis Ox and that is provided with orifices  6  to form a screen that retains the packages while allowing the material for collecting to pass through, motor means  12  for driving the cylindrical drum  4  in rotation, and an outer casing  3  for collecting the material that has come from the packages  13  inserted into the cylindrical drum  4  and that has passed through the wall of the cylindrical drum  4 . Optionally, a rotary brush  7 , likewise driven in rotation by the motor means  12 , may be mounted in the cylindrical drum  4  in order to brush the inside surface of the drum. 
     Thus, when a package  13  is inserted into that apparatus  1 , it is caught by the brush  7  so as to be brushed and taken into the contact zone where the brush makes contact with the inside surface of the cylindrical drum  4 , in which zone the package is subjected to intense brushing. This has the effect of removing the materials adhering to the surface of the package  13 . Once the package has left the contact zone, it is ejected by the brush  7  towards an upper region so as to follow a path that is substantially circular, during which it flies over the brush  7  and strikes the cylindrical drum  4  prior to being captured once again by the brush that takes it into the contact zone in order to be subjected therein once more to intense brushing. Each time it flies away from the contact zone, the package being processed loses an additional portion of the materials adhering to its surface, which materials are centrifuged when the package passes over the brush while spinning. 
     While processing packages containing waste that is stringy—such as meat or pineapple—or that can clump together, easily such as semolina, plugs form that obstruct the orifices in the drum (which is said to be “clogged” with material). It is then necessary to proceed frequently with operations for unclogging the drum. Such operations require access to the inside of the drum and they require the obstructed orifices to be cleaned one by one, which makes it necessary to begin by emptying the drum. Machine downtime is considerable and unclogging operations have a significant impact on the cost of operating the machine. 
     OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the invention is to reduce the time and/or the cost of unclogging a processor apparatus for collecting material adhering to a package surface. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To this end, there is provided processor apparatus for collecting material adhering to surfaces of packages for processing as waste, the processor apparatus comprising a cylindrical drum that is rotatable about a longitudinal axis and that is provided with orifices to form a screen that retains the packages while allowing the material for collecting to pass through; and motor means for driving the rotary drum in rotation. According to the invention, the processor apparatus also includes unclogging means for at least partially unobstructing the orifices while the cylindrical drum is rotating. Thus, the orifices are unclogged while the drum is rotating and the downtime of the processor apparatus for unclogging purposes is reduced, thereby improving the profitability of the processor apparatus. 
     A device is obtained that is particularly robust when the unclogging means comprise a wheel mounted to rotate about a first axis and provided with at least one radially projecting element for engaging in an orifice of the drum. 
     The device is particularly reliable when the first axis is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. 
     The volume of waste that can be loaded into the drum is increased when the wheel is mounted outside the cylindrical drum. 
     The wheel is particularly inexpensive to construct when the wheel comprises at least one disk mounted to rotate about the first axis or a plurality of spaced-apart disks mounted to rotate about the first axis. 
     Advantageously, each orifice is defined by four faces, with construction of the drum and of the wheel being simplified when the four faces are parallel in pairs. 
     When the radially projecting element is a tooth, the wheel can be constructed in simple manner, e.g. by oxyacetylene cutting a metal sheet. The unclogging of the orifices is more effective when the tooth has a height that is greater than the thickness of the cylindrical drum. 
     The drum can be constructed by welding together curved sheets when the wheel includes at least two successive radially projecting elements that extend along respective radial directions forming a first angle between them, and when the wheel also includes at least two successive radially projecting elements that extend along respective radial directions forming a second angle between them, the second angle being an integer multiple greater than one of the first angle. 
     Advantageously, the processor apparatus includes a comb having teeth that extend between successive pairs of disks of the wheel. 
     Waste is made easier to discharge when a package ejector is arranged to slide inside the drum along a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. 
     Also advantageously, the apparatus includes compression means for pressing against an inside face of the cylindrical drum and mounted in the cylindrical drum in the immediate vicinity of its inside surface, the compression means being motor driven so as to be caused to rotate about an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. The compression means then serve to guide the waste into a space that diminishes progressively as the waste approaches the wall of the drum. This ensures that the package and its content are pressed against the wall of the drum, and thus that the content is extracted from the package. 
     Advantageously, the packages are inserted into the cylindrical drum via a loading hopper having a loading opening and a feed opening facing a feed port leading into the cylindrical drum. Loading operations are made easier when the loading hopper is arranged on a frame of the processor apparatus to slide between a first position in which the feed opening is spaced apart from the feed port, and a second position in which the feed opening faces the feed port. 
     The performance of the machine with various different types of waste can easily be evaluated when the apparatus includes weighing means for weighing the hopper in its second position. 
     Other characteristics and advantages of the invention appear in the light of the following description of a nonlimiting embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       The invention can be better understood on reading the following description of a particular, nonlimiting embodiment of the invention. 
       Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic view of the prior art apparatus, shown in longitudinal section and described above; 
         FIG. 2  is a fragmentary diagrammatic view in perspective of the apparatus of the invention, with the front of the apparatus being more particularly visible in the foreground; 
         FIG. 3  is a fragmentary diagrammatic view in perspective of the apparatus of the invention, with the rear of the apparatus being more particularly visible in the foreground; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic longitudinal section view on a plane V-V of the apparatus of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic front view of the apparatus of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagrammatic perspective view of the apparatus of the invention, showing the screen in a first position; 
         FIG. 8  is a view analogous to  FIG. 6 , showing the screen in a second position; 
         FIG. 9  is a detailed view of the apparatus of the invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagrammatic perspective view of the drum of the apparatus of the invention; and 
         FIG. 11  is a diagrammatic perspective view a detail of the drum of the apparatus of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 to 6 , the processor apparatus of the invention, given reference  1 , includes a frame  2  in the form of a structure made up of machine-welded steel bars and carrying a hinged casing  3  made of steel (with the casing  3  being shown in part only for reasons of clarity). 
     The casing  3  contains a cylindrical drum  4  or “trommel”  4  in the form of a sheet-metal cylinder perforated by a series of orifices  6  over the great majority of its surface so as to constitute a screen that is rotatable about a longitudinal axis Ox. A door  5  hinged about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis Ox serves to close the first end  4 . 1  of the trommel  4 . A rotary cylindrical brush  7  and a roller  20  are mounted inside the trommel  4 . The trommel  4  also contains a package ejector  30  in the form of a disk  31  connected to a rod  32  of a piston  33 , the rod  32  being mounted to slide inside the trommel  4  along a direction that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis Ox. The disk  32  includes a cutout  34  to avoid the brush  7  and a flap  35  that receives packages thrown out by the brush  7  against the flap  35 , and directs them towards the first end  4 . 1  of the trommel  4 , thereby directing the packages towards the outlet of the trommel  4 . 
     A hopper  40  substantially in the shape of an upside-down pyramid has a loading opening  41  and a feed opening  42  facing a feed port  8  leading into the trommel  4 . A motor-driven worm screw  43  extends inside the hopper  40  in order to direct packages  13  towards the feed opening  42  so as to feed the trommel  4  with waste. The hopper  40  has four wheels  44 . 1  to  44 . 4  located in the proximity of the corners of the loading opening  41  of the hopper  40 . These wheels  44 . 1  to  44 . 4  co-operate with first and second rails  45 . 1  and  45 . 2  that are secured to the frame  2  so that the hopper  40  can slide between a first position (shown in  FIG. 7 ) and a second position (shown in  FIG. 8 ). In the first position of the hopper  40 , the feed opening  42  of the hopper  40  is spaced apart from the feed port  8 . In its second position, the feed opening  42  of the hopper  40  faces the feed port  8 , and each of the wheels  44 . 1  to  44 . 4  stands on a respective piezoresistive strain gauge  46 . 1  to  46 . 4 . The trommel  4  is driven in rotation about the longitudinal axis Ox by means of a motor (not shown in figures) and it is guided at each of its ends by two guide wheels  11 . The brush  7  is driven in rotation by a motor  12  that is carried by the frame  2 , at one of the ends of the apparatus  1 . The speed of rotation of the brush  7  is preferably much faster than the speed of rotation of the trommel  4 . 
     The rotor  20  is driven in rotation about an axis that is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis Ox by a motor  23  and it serves to improve the recovery of material contained in the packages. The roller  20 , which is generally cylindrical in shape, is mounted inside of the trommel  4  in order to roll on the inside surface of the trommel  4 . The roller  20 , which can be seen more clearly in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , comprises two successive segments along its length: a first segment referred to as a “depackaging segment”  21  has an outside surface that bristles with spikes so as to extract materials from the packages, and possibly so as to shred the packages, and a second segment, referred to as a “flattening segment”  22 , has an outside surface that is smooth and that is arranged to force materials for collecting through the trommel  4 . 
     The piezoresistive strain gauges  45 . 1  to  45 . 4 , the motor drive of the trommel  4 , the motor  12  of the brush  7 , the motor  23  of the compression roller, the piston  33 , the motor drive of the worm screw  43 , and other electrical equipment (detector for detecting closure of the door  5  etc.) are all connected to a control unit  80  of the processor apparatus  1 , which unit is provided with a memory  81 , a touch display  82 , and wireless communication means  83  (specifically a Wi-Fi interface). 
     As can be seen in  FIGS. 9 to 11 , the orifices  6  in the trommel  4  are substantially rectangular in section, and each of them is defined by four faces  6 . 1 ,  6 . 2 ,  6 . 3 , and  6 . 4  that are parallel in pairs. Thus, the faces  6 . 1  and  6 . 3  are parallel to each other and they extend in respective planes that are substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis Ox. The faces  6 . 2  and  6 . 4  extend in planes that contain the longitudinal axis Ox. In this example, the trommel  4  is made up from three sheets  50 ,  51 , and  52  of high elastic limit S700 steel and of thickness e. The sheets  50 ,  51 , and  52  are initially curved prior to being welded together to make a cylinder  53  having three longitudinal welds  54 ,  55 , and  56 . The cylinder  53  is then placed in a high-pressure water-jet cutter machine in order to make the orifices  6 . The orifices  6  are positioned relative to one another with accuracy of about 0.2 millimeters. The orifices  6  are of a section that is preferably in the shape of a quadrilateral, with short sides having dimensions lying in the range five millimeters to eight millimeters and long sides having dimensions lying in the range eight millimeters to twelve millimeters. Sections of five millimeters by eight millimeters and of eight millimeters by twelve millimeters are most preferred. The orifices  6  are made in the screen  4  at a pitch p lying in the range nine millimeters to eighteen millimeters. As can be seen in  FIG. 10 , the longitudinal welds  54 ,  55 , and  56  do not include orifices  6 . Thus, the longitudinal series  6 . 10  and  6 . 20  of orifices  6  that are situated on either side of the weld  54  are spaced apart by a distance D that is equal to twice the pitch p. The trommel  4  shown in  FIG. 10  has a diameter of about eight hundred millimeters and it includes fifty rows of one hundred and thirty-two orifices  6 . The one hundred and thirty-two orifices  6  are arranged in three sectors of forty-four orifices  6  each that are made in the sheets  50 ,  51 , and  52 . These three sectors are spaced apart from one another by first, second, and third zones  57 ,  58 , and  59  in which the longitudinal welds  55 ,  55 , and  56  lie respectively. 
     The processor apparatus  1  includes means for unclogging the orifices  6  during rotation of the trommel  4 , which means, in this example, are in the form of a wheel  60  mounted to rotate about a first axis  61  that extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis Ox. The wheel  60  comprises fifty identical disks  62  that are spaced apart from one another by spacers. Each disk  62  is constrained to rotate with a splined shaft  63 , and it possesses radial slots  64  co-operating with the splines  65  of the shaft  63 . Each disk  62  has a root cylinder  66  having projecting therefrom teeth  67  of height h, which in this example is greater than the thickness e of the trommel  4 . 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 9 , the disk  62  has forty-four teeth  67 . 1  to  67 . 44 , each extending along a respective radial direction  68 . 1  to  68 . 44 . Each radial direction  68 . 1  to  68 . 44  of the forty-four first teeth  67  extends relative to the next at a first angle α 1  equal to eight degrees, thereby covering an angular sector of three hundred and forty-four degrees. The disk  62  also has a forty-fourth tooth  67 . 44  and a first tooth  67 . 1  in succession, for which the respective forty-fourth and first radial directions  68 . 44  and  68 . 1  form a second angle α 2  equal to sixteen degrees. The wheel  60  thus possesses a meshing angular sector  69  and a second or “escape” angular sector  70  covering the second angle α 2 . In this example, the value of the angle α 2  is twice the value of the angle α 1 . 
     The wheel  60  is mounted outside the trommel  4  so that the teeth  67  of each of the disks  62  co-operates with the orifices  6  in the trommel  4  in the same manner as two gear wheels. 
     A comb  71  secured to the frame  2  is placed in the proximity of the wheel  60  so that the teeth  72  of the comb extend between successive pairs of disks  62  of the wheel  60 . 
     In operation, the user brings the hopper  40  into its first position, and loads it with packages  13  via its loading opening  41 . Once the hopper  40  is loaded, the user pushes it into its second position. The piezoresistive strain gauges  46 . 1  to  46 . 4  transmit to the control unit  80  respective electrical signals representative of the loads to which they are subjected. The control unit  80  deduces therefrom of the weight of packages  13  loaded in the hopper  40 , stores this weight in the memory  81 , and displays it on the display  82 . Optionally, this quantity is transmitted by the wireless communication means  83  to a remote server. The control unit  80  causes the trommel  4 , the brush  7 , and the rotor  20  to be set into rotation. The control unit  80  then causes the worm screw  43  to the put into operation until a determined quantity of packages  13  is inserted into the trommel  4 —as can be measured by using the piezoresistive strain gauges  46 . 1  to  46 . 4 . Rotation of the trommel  4  causes the wheel  60  to rotate and the teeth  67 . 1  to  67 . 44  to be inserted into the orifices  6  while the trommel  4  is rotating. Since the ratio of the pitch diameters of the wheel  60  and of the trommel  4  is an integer (which ratio is 3 in this example), the wheel  60  always presents the escape sector  70  in register with the welds  54 ,  55 , and  56 , thereby avoiding any collision between a tooth  67  and any one of the welds  54 ,  55 , or  56 . The clogging material ejected from the orifices  6  by the teeth  67  drops into the trommel  4 , where the brush  7  and the roller  20  break it up and discharge it through the orifices  6 . 
     The packages  13  may be discharged from the trommel  4  in various ways. Depending on the degree of dirtying of the packages  13 , the processor apparatus  1  may operate with the door  5  fully or partially open, with the packages  13  being discharged progressively as they are processed. It is also possible to close the door  5  while the packages  13  are being processed, and then, after a predefined processing duration, to open the door  5  and actuate the jack  33  so as to cause the package ejector  31  to be extended so as to slide into the inside of the trommel  4  and push the packages  13  out from the trommel  4  via the first end  4 . 1 . The control unit  80  can then be actuated to operate the worm screw  43  in order to reload the trommel  4 . 
     The dimensions of the orifices  6  in the drum  4  are selected to retain the packages  13 , while allowing the materials that they contain and that adhere to the packages  13  to pass through. The passage of the materials in question is made even easier by the centrifugal effect of the trommel  4  rotating, with these materials then being found in the casing  3 , while the packages  13  are retained inside the trommel  4 . 
     Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and covers any variant coming within the ambit of the invention as defined by the claims. 
     In particular, although in this example waste is compressed by a cylindrical roller that is rotatably mounted, the invention applies equally well to other compression means, e.g. such as a stationary cylindrical roller, a stationary plane scraper positioned to form an acute angle with the inside surface of the drum, or a stationary metal sheet of cross-section that is substantially comma-shaped. Such a scraper or such a sheet could present a portion provided with claws (depackaging first function) and a second portion for guidance (flattening). More generally, the compression means serve to guide the waste into a space that diminishes progressively as the waste approaches the inside surface of the drum. The compression means of the invention may equally well comprise a compression cone having its axis of rotation optionally parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum, or it may comprise a cylinder of octagonal or any section. 
     The compression means may equally well be arranged to perform other processing functions, optionally in addition to the above-mentioned functions. In the above-described roller, it is possible for there to be a third segment provided with bristles similar to the bristles of the brush. 
     Although in this example the unclogging means comprise a wheel with teeth, the invention applies equally to other means for unclogging the drum while it is rotating, e.g. such as high-pressure injection of water, of air, or of shot striking the drum. 
     Although in this example the casing is made of steel, the invention applies equally to other materials for making the casing, such as stainless steel, other types of metal, synthetic materials, or carbon or glass fibers. 
     Although in this example the package ejector is actuated by a piston, the invention applies equally to other ways of actuating the package ejector, e.g. such as actuation of that is manual of pneumatic. 
     Although in this example the processor apparatus has piezoelectric strain gauges, the invention applies to other types of weighing means such as for example fluid pressure sensors, a Wheatstone bridge, or a sensor for sensing movement of a pre-stressed element. 
     Although in this example the apparatus includes a brush and compression means, the invention applies equally well to apparatus that does not include a brush and/or that does not include compression means, and in which the material for connecting is separated from the surfaces of the waste by a centrifugal and agitation effect. 
     Although in this example the drama is made by welding together three curved sheets of S700 steel, the invention applies equally well to making the drum in other ways, such as for example a drum made from one, two, or more than three curved sheets, which may be made of other grades of steel, e.g. such as steels that are particularly resistant to abrasion, of the Hardox® or Z120M12 type. 
     Although in this example the orifices situated on either side of a weld are spaced apart by a distance that is equal to twice the pitch at which the orifices are laid out, the invention applies equally well to orifices situated on either side of a weld that are spaced apart by a distance that is less than or greater than twice the layout pitch, and that is preferably proportional to an integer multiple of the orifice layout pitch. 
     Although in this example the wheel has forty-four projecting teeth, the invention applies equally well to unclogging means having one to forty-three teeth or indeed more than forty-four teeth. The wheel could have projecting elements of some other type, e.g. such as brushes or portions of cylinders. 
     Although in this example the wheel comprises a plurality of spaced-apart disks, the invention applies equally well to a wheel comprising a single-piece structure obtained by molding or by machining a block. 
     Although in this example the wheel is mounted outside the drum, the invention applies equally well to a wheel mounted inside the drum.