JP2000229701A - Paper cup crushing and collecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To collect a large quantity of paper cups by effectively crushing these cups irrespective of the size. SOLUTION: A pedestal 23, is provided with an opening part 21, receiving each of top edges C1a to C3a of three paper cups C1 to C3 at a peripheral edge part 22 of this opening part 21, and a crushing part 20 is equipped with a press form 24 pushing it in the opening part 21 of the pedestal 23 from the outside of respective bottom parts C1b to C3b of these paper cups C1 to C3, by pushing the press form 24 into the opening part 21 from the outside of these top parts C1b to C3b of the paper cups C1 to C3, these paper cups C1 to C3 are crushed in a state of being turned over by pushing. Thus these crushed paper cups C1 to C3 are discharged to a storage part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a used paper cup, plastic cup or styrene paper cup used in a vending machine or the like which supplies beverages with disposable cups (these are referred to as "paper cups" in this specification). "
The present invention relates to a paper cup crushing apparatus for crushing and processing paper cups and a paper cup collecting apparatus for collecting the crushed paper cups.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Normally, when collecting used paper cups, used paper cups randomly placed in a box installed at a vending machine or the like are collectively collected in a plastic bag or the like. . However, when the used paper cup is collected as it is, the volume of the paper cup becomes bulky,
Since the box becomes full with a small number of paper cups, the paper cups collected in the box must be frequently removed. In addition, the economic efficiency of transporting the collected paper cups to the disposal site is poor, and there is a disadvantage in recycling.

[0003] In view of the above, a paper cup collecting apparatus for stacking and collecting paper cups so that the volume of the paper cup is not bulky is conventionally known. As shown in FIG. 13, the paper cup collection device includes paper cups 70a of large, medium, and small sizes.
70a to 71c, and stations 71a to 71c and chutes 72a to 72c.
When the paper cups 70a to 70c are set in the paper cups 70a to 70c, the paper cups 70a to 70c are set by the stations 71a to 71c.
0c is conveyed and collected by the stacking mechanism by stacking on the chutes 72a to 72c separately for the large, medium and small paper cups 70a to 70c. The paper cups 70a to 70 stacked on the chutes 72a to 72c in this manner.
c is manually taken out of the apparatus and transferred into a plastic bag or the like.

[0004] If the paper cups 70a to 70c are stacked and collected in this way, the volume of the paper cups 70a to 70c does not become bulky, and more paper cups 70a to 70c are collected.
Since 70c can be collected in the apparatus, the amount of one collection per unit volume increases, and the paper cup 7 in the apparatus can be recovered.
It is not necessary to take out 0a-70c frequently.

[0005]

However, FIG.
As shown in the figure, when collecting and collecting paper cups 70a to 70c of various sizes such as large, medium and small, the paper cups 70a to 70c can be effectively stacked unless they are collected for each size. Therefore, chutes 72a to 72c corresponding to the respective sizes are required. That is,
Depending on the situation in which this apparatus is used, the numbers of use of the large, medium, and small paper cups 70a to 70c are different, so it is necessary to prepare chutes 72a to 72c according to the situation. Therefore, when one of the large, medium, and small chutes is full, the paper cup must be taken out even if the other chutes are not full, so that the storage space in the apparatus cannot be fully utilized. .

[0006] Each size chute 72a
Large, medium and small paper cups 70 to 72c
Since a to 70c must be separated and transported, a sorting mechanism and a transport mechanism are required. If the sorting mechanism and the transport mechanism rely on humans for sorting and transporting, the size of the apparatus becomes large and labor is required. On the other hand, if all of them are to be automated, the apparatus becomes complicated.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a paper cup crushing apparatus for effectively crushing a paper cup irrespective of its size, and a paper cup collecting apparatus capable of crushing a large amount of paper cups regardless of its size. The purpose is to gain.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a paper cup crushing apparatus comprising: a pedestal having an opening and receiving a mouth of the paper cup at a periphery of the opening; and a pedestal opening from the outside of the bottom of the paper cup. And a pressing die. According to such a paper cup crushing apparatus, a paper cup is placed so that the mouth of the paper cup abuts on the periphery of the opening of the pedestal, and a pressing die is inserted into the opening of the pedestal from outside the bottom of the paper cup. By pushing the paper cup, the paper cup is crushed upside down.

Here, the "inverted state" refers to a state where the bottom of the paper cup is further pushed in than the position of the mouth when the paper cup is crushed. If the paper cup is simply crushed from above and below the mouth and bottom, the paper cup tries to return to its original state due to the elasticity of the paper cup.However, the paper cup crushed upside down in this way returns to its original state. It is maintained in its collapsed shape without trying. By collecting paper cups that have been kept in the same shape as crushed as described above, a large amount of paper cups can be collected at once.

It is preferable that the paper cup crushing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a receiving mechanism for receiving the paper cup pressed and crushed by the pressing die from below the opening of the pedestal and pushing it back out of the opening. By receiving the bottom of the paper cup to be pushed in from below by such a receiving mechanism, the force received from the pressing die can be transmitted evenly to the bottom of the paper cup, and the paper cup can be evenly crushed.
A larger amount of paper cups can be collected.

According to such a paper cup crushing apparatus, the bottom of the paper cup is pushed into the opening of the pedestal so that the paper cup is crushed upside down. By pushing the paper cup back out of the opening by the receiving mechanism, the crushed paper cup can be easily removed thereafter.

Further, in the paper cup crushing apparatus of the present invention,
It is desirable to have a load detecting means for detecting a load by the pressing die. By monitoring the load applied to the pressing die by this load detecting means, if a relatively hard bottle other than a paper cup, an aluminum can, a steel can, or a stone, etc. is erroneously set in the paper cup crusher of the present invention. To inform the user of the contamination of the apparatus and prevent the contamination of the paper cups to be collectively collected.

By the way, the paper cup collecting device of the present invention comprises:
The apparatus includes a crushing unit for crushing a paper cup to be collected, a discharge unit for discharging the paper cup crushed by the crushing unit, and a storage unit for storing the paper cup discharged by the discharge unit. By crushing and storing a paper cup to be collected, it becomes possible to collect a large amount of paper cups at once, regardless of the size of the paper cup.
Therefore, there is no need to provide storage units for paper cups of large, medium, and small sizes, and it is sufficient to provide storage units for storing paper cups of all sizes in one hall. It can be fully utilized.

Here, it is desirable to use the paper cup crushing device as described above for the crushing portion. If the paper cup crushed by the paper cup crushing apparatus as described above is turned over and discharged by the discharge unit and stored in the storage unit, the crushed paper cup is maintained in the crushed state. Therefore, it is not bulky, and a larger amount of paper cups can be stored and collected.

Preferably, the discharge section is formed by a sliding discharge mechanism for sliding the paper cup crushed by the crushing section. Since the paper cup crushed by the crushing part only needs to be uniformly discharged regardless of its size, there is no need to use a complicated discharge mechanism, and a sliding discharge mechanism that slides using gravity or a forced external force is applied. The discharge can be performed with a relatively simple structure by using a sliding discharge mechanism that slides in a proper manner.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a right side view of a paper cup collecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a paper cup crushing apparatus shown at A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4A is a right side view of the paper cup crushing apparatus shown in part A, FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the cup receiver shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a plan view.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper cup collecting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention comprises a paper cup collecting apparatus main body 10.
Inside the crushing unit 20 for crushing the paper cup C to be collected
A discharge unit 30 for discharging the paper cups C1 to C3 crushed by the crushing unit 20, and a storage unit 40 for storing the paper cups C1 to C3 discharged by the discharge unit 30.

The crushed portion 20 has an opening 21 and a peripheral portion 22 of the opening 21 has openings C1a of paper cups C1 to C3.
To C3a, and a press cup 24 formed by a press die 24 that is pressed into the opening 21 of the pedestal 23 from outside the bottoms C1b to C3b of the paper cups C1 to C3.

The opening 21 of the pedestal 23 is larger than the outer diameter of the paper cup C1 having the smallest mouth C1a to be collected by one.
It is formed by a circular hole of 60 mmφ having an inner diameter smaller by about 0 to 12 mm and having an inner diameter about 10 to 15 mm larger than the outer diameter of the paper cup C3 having the largest bottom portion C3b.

The pressing die 24 is larger than the outer diameter of the paper cup C3 having the largest bottom C3b by about 30 to 36 mm.
The base 25 having an outer diameter of mmφ and the inner diameter of the smallest paper cup C1 at the bottom C1b to be collected is 14 to
A circular contact surface 26 of 35 mmφ having an outer diameter smaller by about 20 mm, and a curve from the periphery of the contact surface 26 to the lower periphery of the base 25 so as to restrict the crushing direction of the crushed paper cups C1 to C3. The guide surface 27 is formed.

If the opening 21 of the pedestal 23 and the pressing die 24 are provided, any of the large, medium, and small paper cups C1 to C3 is placed on the peripheral edge 22 of the opening 21 and the pressing die. 24, the paper cups C1 to C3 do not fall into the opening 21, and the bottoms C1b to C3b of the paper cups C1 to C3 are further deeper than the positions of the mouths C1a to C3a. Can be pushed into position.

Below the pedestal 23, there is provided a receiving mechanism 50 which receives the paper cups C1 to C3 which are pressed and crushed by the pressing die 24 and pushes the paper cups C1 to C3 out of the opening 21. The receiving mechanism 50 includes a base 51 fixed below the pedestal 23 and a receiving portion 5 supported by an elastic body (spring) 52 on the base 51.
3. The receiving portion 53 is fitted into the opening 21 of the pedestal 23 and swings up and down freely by the action of the elastic body 52.

A cup receiver 28 as shown in FIG. 4 is provided at the rear of the crushing section 20. Cup holder 28
Is for aligning the centers of the mouths C1a to C3a of the paper cups C1 to C3 with the centers of the openings 21 of the pedestal 23 when placing the paper cups C1 to C3 on the pedestal 23. As shown in FIG. 4, such a cup receiver 28 has a paper cup C1 centered on the opening 21 of the base 23.
This is a state in which the two plates are twisted so as to approximately follow a circle C0 that is assumed to be C3, and is bent forward from the rear portion of the crushed portion 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, such a cup receiver 28 is swingably attached to the rear portion of the crushed portion 20 by a hinge 29a and an elastic body (spring) 29b. Is guided so as to be located on the approximate center of the opening 21 of FIG. When the paper cups C1 to C3 are approximately at the center, some misalignment is pushed back by the guide surface 27 of the pressing die 25, and the paper cups C1 to C3 are centered.

The crushed portion 20 having the structure described above is
As shown in FIG. 1, the rear of the crushing part 20 is fixed in a state where it is lowered by about 30 °, and the pedestal 23 inclined in this way constitutes the discharge part 30. The paper cups C <b> 1 to C <b> 3 crushed by the pressing die 24 are stored in the storage section 40 through the discharge section 30 by the action of gravity from the gap between the cup receiver 28 and the pedestal 23.

FIGS. 5 to 8 are explanatory views showing the process of crushing the paper cup by the crushing unit 20. FIG. Here, a process of crushing the paper cup C1 will be described as an example.

First, as shown in FIG. 5, the paper cup C1 is placed so that the opening C1a of the paper cup C1 comes into contact with the peripheral portion 22 of the opening 21 of the base 23. At this time, in order to evenly crush the paper cup C1, the mouth C1a of the paper cup C1 is used.
Is placed so that the center of the opening is the center of the opening 21 of the pedestal 23 as much as possible. Then, the press die 24 is lowered.

As shown in FIG. 6, as the press die 24 descends, the paper cup C1 is crushed. At this time, the cup receiver 28 is moved rearward by the hinge 29a and the elastic body 29b so as not to hinder the lowering of the press die 24.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lowering of the press die 24 proceeds, and even when the contact surface 26 of the press die 24 reaches the upper surface of the pedestal 23, the press die 24 is still lowered, and the bottom of the paper cup C1 is lowered. The press mold 24 is pushed into the opening 21 of the pedestal 23 from outside C1b. With the lowering of the pressing die 24, the receiving portion 53 is lowered by the contraction of the elastic body 52 supported by the base 51. By receiving the bottom C1b of the paper cup C1 pushed by the receiving mechanism 50 from below, the force received from the press die 24 is applied to the bottom C1 of the paper cup C1.
b can be evenly transmitted, and the paper cup C1 can be evenly crushed.

At this time, the paper cup C1 has its bottom C1
b is pushed into a position deeper than the position of the mouth C1a, and the side surface C1c of the paper cup C1 is crushed by the guide surface 27 of the pushing die 24. Thus, the paper cup C1 is crushed into a so-called “inverted state”. Thus, the paper cup C1 crushed to the inverted state is maintained in the crushed shape without trying to return to the original state. By collecting the crushed paper cups C1 maintained in the shape as they are, a large amount of paper cups C1 can be collected at a time.

When the pressing die 24 reaches the lowest point, FIG.
As shown in FIG. The receiving part 53 is raised by the expansion of the elastic body 52 as the pressing die 24 is raised. As the receiving portion 53 moves up, the pressed paper cup C1 is pushed back from the bottom portion C1b to the outside of the opening 21 of the pedestal 23. The paper cup C1 pushed back out of the opening 21 in this way is discharged from the gap between the cup receiver 28 and the pedestal 23 into the discharge section 3.
0 and stored in the storage unit 40 (FIGS. 1 and 3).
See).

As described above, the paper cup C to be collected
By crushing 1 and storing it, it becomes possible to crush similarly and collect a large amount of paper cups at once regardless of the size of the paper cups. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the accommodating portions 40 for the sizes of the paper cups such as large, medium and small, and it is sufficient to provide the accommodating portions 40 for accommodating the paper cups of all sizes in one hall. It is possible to make full use of the space.

The pressing die 24 of the crushing part 20 is provided with a load detecting means 60 for detecting a load by the pressing die 24. FIG. 9 is a detailed view showing the load detecting means,
(A) is a figure which shows the state before the press die 24 contacts a foreign material, (b) is a figure which shows the state after the press die 24 contacts a foreign material. The load detecting means 60 includes a support 62 that supports the pressing die 24 via an elastic body (spring) 61, and a support 6.
2 comprises an overload detection sensor 63 fixed at 2.

As shown in FIG. 9 (a), when a relatively hard steel can S other than a paper cup is erroneously placed, the pressing die 24 descends, and as shown in FIG. 9 (b), Press mold 2
When 4 contacts the steel can S, the elastic body 61 contracts,
The pressing die 24 comes into contact with the overload detection sensor 63. At this time, the overload detection sensor 63 informs the foreign object contamination and turns on a lamp (not shown) indicating the occurrence of an abnormality, or makes a buzzer (not shown) utter a sound, to thereby press the mold 2.
4. Emergency stop. In this way, protection of the apparatus and prevention of foreign matter from being mixed into the paper cups to be collectively collected are prevented.

FIGS. 10 to 12 show another embodiment of the discharge section. FIG. 10 is a view showing a discharge mechanism using a link, (a) to (c) are explanatory diagrams showing the process, FIG. 11 is a view showing a discharge mechanism using a pressing member, and FIG. 12 is a view showing a discharge mechanism using air. FIG.

A discharge mechanism using a link used in the discharge section shown in FIG.
4 is connected using a link 65. The discharge table 64 has an opening (not shown) similar to the pedestal 23, and is swingably connected to a rear portion of the pedestal 23 by a pin 66. According to the discharge mechanism using such a link, the paper cup C1 crushed by lowering the press die 24 is used as the discharge table 64 connected by the link 65 by raising the press die 24, as shown in FIG.
And is discharged by the action of gravity.

The discharging mechanism using a pressing member used in the discharging section shown in FIG. 11 is a device for forcibly discharging the crushed paper cup C1 by applying an external force from the front to the rear of the pedestal 23 by the pressing member 67. On the other hand, the air discharge mechanism used in the discharge unit shown in FIG. 12 is a device that forcibly discharges the crushed paper cup C1 by blowing air from the front to the rear of the pedestal 23 with the air discharge pipe 68. It is.

If a discharge unit using these discharge mechanisms is used, as shown in FIG. 1, the crushing unit 20 can be provided horizontally without having to be inclined beforehand. In addition, if these crushing parts 20 are provided inclining as shown in FIG. 1 and these discharge mechanisms are used, the crushed paper cups can be discharged more reliably.

[0039]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) A paper cup crushing apparatus having a pedestal having an opening and receiving the mouth of the paper cup at the periphery of the opening, and a pressing die for pushing the opening of the pedestal from outside the bottom of the paper cup. For example, by pushing the pressing die into the opening of the pedestal from the outside of the bottom of the paper cup, the paper cup is crushed upside down, so that it is maintained in the collapsed shape without trying to return to the original state . Therefore, a large amount of paper cups can be collected at a time by collecting the paper cups which have been maintained in the shape as they are crushed.

(2) Further, by providing a receiving mechanism for receiving the paper cup pushed by the pressing die and pushing it back out of the opening, the force received from the pressing die can be evenly transmitted to the bottom of the paper cup. Can be evenly crushed, so that a larger amount of paper cups can be collected. Further, by pushing back the bottom of the pressed paper cup out of the opening by the receiving mechanism, the crushed paper cup can be easily removed thereafter.

(3) Further, by providing a load detecting means for detecting a load by the pressing die, a load applied to the pressing die is monitored, and if a relatively hard bottle other than a paper cup, an aluminum can, a steel can, Or, when a stone or the like is set by mistake, it informs you of foreign matter, protects the device,
It is possible to prevent foreign substances from being mixed into the paper cups to be collectively collected.

(4) A crushing part for crushing the paper cup to be collected, a discharge part for discharging the paper cup crushed by the crushing part, and a storage part for storing the paper cup discharged by the discharge part are provided. According to the paper cup collecting device, since the paper cup to be collected is crushed and accommodated, it is possible to collect a large amount of paper cups at a time regardless of the size of the paper cup. In other words, there is no need to provide storage units for paper cups of large, medium and small sizes, and it is sufficient to provide storage units for storing paper cups of all sizes in one hall. It can be fully utilized and the size of the device can be reduced.

(5) By using the above-described paper cup crushing device in the crushing section, the paper cup crushed in an inverted state is discharged by the discharge section and stored in the storage section. Since the crushed paper cup is maintained in the crushed state as it is, it is not bulky, and a larger amount of paper cup can be stored and collected.

(6) Since the discharge portion is formed by the sliding discharge mechanism for sliding the paper cup crushed by the crushing portion, the crushing portion can be provided horizontally without providing the crushed portion inclining in advance. If these parts are used in addition to the inclined part, the crushed paper cup can be more reliably discharged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a right side view of a paper cup collecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the paper cup crusher shown in section A of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the paper cup crushing apparatus shown in section A of FIG.

4 (a) is a perspective view of the cup receiver shown in FIG. 3,
(B) is a plan view.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of crushing a paper cup by a crushing unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of crushing a paper cup by a crushing unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of crushing a paper cup by a crushing unit.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of crushing a paper cup by a crushing unit.

FIG. 9 is a detailed view showing an overload detecting means,
(A) is a diagram showing a state before the pressing die contacts foreign matter,
(B) is a figure which shows the state after a press die contacts a foreign material.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a discharging mechanism using a link,
(A) to (c) are explanatory diagrams showing the process.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an ejection mechanism using a pressing member.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a discharge mechanism using air.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a conventional paper cup collection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Paper cup collection apparatus main body 20 Crushed part 21 Opening 22 Peripheral part 23 Pedestal 24 Push type 25 Base 26 Contact surface 27 Guide surface 28 Cup receiver 29a Hinge 29b Elastic body 30 Discharge part 40 Storage part 50 Receiving mechanism 51 Base 52 Elasticity Body 53 Receiver 60 Load detection means 61 Elastic body 62 Support 63 Overload detection sensor 64 Discharge table 65 Link 66 Pin 67 Push member 68 Air discharge pipe

Claims (6)

[Claims] An apparatus for crushing a paper cup, comprising: a pedestal having an opening and receiving a mouth of the paper cup at a peripheral edge of the opening; and a press die for pushing the opening of the pedestal from outside the bottom of the paper cup. 2. The paper cup crushing device according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving mechanism for receiving the paper cup pushed by the pressing die and pushing it back out of the opening. 3. The paper cup crushing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a load detecting means for detecting a load applied by said pressing die. 4. A crushing section for crushing a paper cup to be collected, a discharge section for discharging the paper cup crushed by the crushing section, and a storage section for storing the paper cup discharged by the discharge section. Paper cup collecting device. 5. The paper cup collection device according to claim 4, wherein the crushing unit is the paper cup collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 6. The paper cup collecting device according to claim 4, wherein the discharge section is formed by a sliding discharge mechanism that slides the paper cup crushed by the crushing section.