EDITORIAL NOTE 2015101164 - There are 4 pages of Description which are not page numbered Primary. All over the world people use fluorescent tubes and HID (Mercury vapour lights) to light up areas. After time these light become old and are replaced with new lights. The advent of LED light has in some instances accelerated this process. Disposal of the old lights is becoming a problem. This due to the difficulty in handling and that many of the older designed lights contain mercury. There are several machines on the market for disposing and recycling of these lights. Some small and other large commercial machines. The patent being applied for here is in regards to a portable machine suitable for domestic use and commercial enterprises. I the inventor purchased a business which used to manufacture one such machine. The core business which I purchased was unrelated to the light bulb recycling business. To the best of my knowledge no patent was applied to the machine. The intellectual property for the machine was handed over to my company as part of the sale of the business. Before I purchased the business the old light bulb recycling machine was sold to approximately 50 end users and then, for various reasons the manufacture stopped making the machine. The reasons the machine was not produced could be summarised as below: 1 Too complicated for users to use 2 It could only recycle about 15 kg of fluorescent tubes before it needed emptying 3 The long fluorescent tubes could break in the operators hand before entering the machine 4 It needed different models to do long fluorescent tubes and HID lamps (Mercury Vapour lamps) As the new business owner I was receiving requests for more machines. I could not provide these due to primarily the safety issues of points 1, 2 and 3. Point 4 added to the cost. I have re-invented or innovated the existing machine. Hence I am applying for this Innovation Patent.
Common principal of operation of the old and new machine. The machine is designed to crush long fluorescent tubes and mercury filled HID lights; which during the crushing process the mercury vapour is collected in a carbon filter and the glass and metal fragments are stored in a separate contained for later disposal. The mercury vapour is sucked through a two stage pre filter, through a fan and pushed into a carbon filter to collect the mercury vapour. Figure 1A and Fig 1B are of the old machine design Figure 2A and Fig 2B are of the new machine design Detailed operation highlighting the new patentable innovations. New Machine Significate advantage Old Machine Long fluorescent tubes are fed in The long fluorescent tubes The long fluorescent tubes are fed from the side of the machine down (30) are fully enclosed with into device number (6) and a hollow pipe (29). They are crushed pipe (29) before being clamped and broken in sections and enter the holding drum (3). The broken. In the old machine before entering the machine. The tubes (30) are fully enclosed before the long fluorescent tubes long fluorescent tube (7) was they are crushed. could brake outside of the exposed and could break outside machine. This is an the machine. important innovation for this type of machine. The cute (5) is used to contain The new machine can do The cute (5) is used to contain mercury filled HID lights before they both types of lamps mercury filled HID lights before break. Flap (28) would spring close simultaneously. Doing both they break. Flap (28) would spring once a HID lamp entered. At the type together is a new close once a HID lamp entered. At same time the rotating crusher (2) invention. the same time the rotating would break the lamp. The crusher crusher (2) would break the lamp. is rotated by the motor (1). The crusher is rotated by the motor (1). This old machine need assembled onto the machine to do different bulbs. It can only do one type of light tube at a time. A limit switch (33) is added to the The important safety No limit switch on the flap (28) flap (28). This limit switch is on a feature is new. The timer timer. If the flap opens for a short and the electric break are time then the machine keeps new inventions. operating. If the flap is open for too long the machine senses an issue. Personal limbs or seeming too long. The motor (1) has an electric break and will stop immediately As shear or anvil (31) has been This allows the new No such feature was on the old added to the new machine. The machine to do different machine anvil cuts any wire or material that types of light tubes with may have wrapped itself around the very little maintenance. crusher (2). Direction of rotation is The anvil (31) is a new clockwise in the drawing to show invention. the anvil cutting before the next crushing cycle. Both machines have a lid to which By bolting all the The old machine has similar major the motor (1) and crusher (2) is components to the lid we components but only the crusher bolted to. The new machine also has can use 44 gallon drum or (2) and motor (1) is bolted to the the suction fan (24) and filter (22) similar to collect the lid. The fan (10), power supply and carbon filter (26) fixed to the crushed light bulbs (32). (11), overload trip out spring (14), same lid. The mercury vapour is This eliminates double filter (13) and carbon filter (12) sucked through a two stage pre- handling of the crushed are all inside the drum and some filter (22), through a connecting material (32) as it goes underneath the collection area pipe (23), sucked into the fan (24), straight into a drum for (15). Hence the drum is custom out of the fan through connecting recycling. Using a multi fit made and cannot be used as a pipe (25) into the carbon filter (26) lid to fit recycled drums is a storage area for the crush and discharged at point (27) as new invention. material (32). Clean air is clean air. discharged at (18) The fan (24) and two stage air filter Easy servicing on the new Major components, fan (10) (22) can be inspected from the top machine. The old machine power supply (11) , load spring of the machine. required a complete re- (14) are underneath the collection build to inspect the fan or bag (9) The machine runs off 24V DC and power supply. Ease of the power supply is separate to the service in a new machine. innovation. To seal the lid (4) to the drum (3) The drum (3) becomes the The old machine the drum (3) and the seal (20) is put onto the drum holding container and the machine are all part on the (3) first. Then the assembly is transport container once one machine and cannot be lowered onto the drum. Sealing with the machine is lifted of the separated. Inside the drum two soft C shaped foam (20) the drum drum (3) and drums (3)'s separate sealing areas (12) and (3) means recycled 44 gallon drums lid is place on it. Sealing the (15) are required to keep the air or similar can be used drum with a C shaped foam flow working. Each time there is (20) is a new invention. about 10 kg of waste (32) bag (9) must be removed and replaced with a new bag The total machine weight is now The new machine is 63% The total machine weight of the less than 25 kg lighter than the old machine is 68 kg machine. Lightening up the machine this much is true innovation