EP0630742A1 - Apparatus for compacting plastic containers, in particular bottles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for compacting plastic containers, in particular bottles. It includes, in combination, a receptacle 9 of substantially cylindrical shape equipped with an inlet orifice 9a at one of its ends and with an outlet orifice 9b at its other end, and a crushing member 10 having a lower part 12 of downward-facing convex shape, capable of being displaced between a first position in which it is located outside the receptacle 9 and a second position in which its lower part 12 is located in the vicinity of the lower part of the receptacle 9, after having crushed a container. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for compacting plastic containers, in particular bottles.

We know that the purpose of selective garbage collection is to recover materials for recycling.

In particular, it is known to recover glass containers in containers which are placed at the disposal of the public in urban areas.

With regard to plastic containers such as for example bottles of mineral water, the collection and storage of such objects poses the problem of the profitability of their recovery, due to the low weight of each container, compared to its volume.

This problem leads to the fact that storage containers and collection trucks are used with a very low yield, their volume capacity being quickly saturated while their weight capacity is lightly requested.

The present invention aims to provide a device for compacting such objects for collection so as to increase the profitability of their recovery.

The present invention relates to a device for compacting plastic containers, especially bottles, characterized in that it comprises in combination a receptacle of substantially cylindrical shape provided with an inlet orifice at one of its ends and an outlet at its other end, and a crushing member having a lower part of convex shape directed downwards, able to be moved between a first position in which it is outside the receptacle and a second position in which its lower part is in the vicinity of the lower part of the receptacle, after having crushed a container.

Such a device can for example be intended to equip the recovery containers for materials left available to the public in urban areas.

In this case, the device according to the invention is mounted inside the container, the inlet orifice of the receptacle being located opposite an opening provided on the container for the introduction of the objects.

According to the invention, the operation of the crushing member is advantageously carried out using a pedal accessible from the outside of the container by means of a transmission mechanism to the crushing member. of the action exerted by the user on the pedal.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the receptacle is inclined, the outlet orifice being placed at a height less than that of the inlet orifice.

Under these conditions, the plastic containers introduced into the receptacle are naturally positioned inside of it by their own weight.

According to the invention, the term “plastic container” is understood to mean mainly bottles of the type of those containing mineral water or similar containers.

To simplify the description, such plastic containers will be designated by bottle.

According to a preferred variant of this embodiment, the outlet orifice includes a stop which makes it possible to stop the bottles inside the receptacle with a view to their crushing.

Such a stop is provided at a distance from the outlet orifice such that the middle part of a plastic bottle is located to the right of the crushing member.

A suitable mechanism makes it possible to maneuver this stop so that it is in the closed position at the start of the crushing cycle, then in the open position after the crushing to allow the escape of a bottle which has just been overwritten, then back to the closed position at the end of the overwrite cycle.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the crushing member is pivotally mounted about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of the receptacle.

The upper part of the receptacle comprises in this case an opening allowing the passage of the crushing member during the movement of the latter between its first and its second position.

It is understood that according to the invention, a plastic bottle compacted by the device described above is crushed between the convex lower part of the receptacle and the concave lower part of the crushing member.

More specifically, a plastic bottle collapses in the following way: considering the two halves of the bottle located on either side of a median plane, the lower half of the bottle is resting against the lower part of the receptacle of which it substantially matches the shape while the upper half of the bottle sees its convexity reverse by coming to be applied substantially against its lower half.

The crushed bottle according to the invention is then substantially in the form of a half of a bottle cut by a plane passing through its axis.

It then occupies only about a third of its initial volume.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lower concave part of the crushing member bears on the lower part of the receptacle so as to pinch the region of the bottle folded along two of its generatrices diametrically opposite.

Such a pinching makes it possible to stabilize the collapsed shape of the bottle by crushing the plastic material on the lateral edges of half of the bottle.

In this way, the elastic return of the bottle to its original shape is made impossible.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the crushing member comprises on its lower part perforation means which facilitate the crushing of a hermetically closed bottle by piercing it beforehand.

Indeed, in the case where a bottle is introduced into the receptacle while it is corked, it is preferable to pierce its wall to allow the evacuation of the air which it contains in order to avoid its bursting.

Advantageously, such perforation means are in the form of bevelled metal tubes which protrude slightly from the lower part of the crushing member while the part bottom of the receptacle is provided with orifices located opposite said metal tubes when the crushing member is in its second position inside the receptacle.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the outlet orifice of the receptacle is closed by a retractable articulated part. This part is retained in the closed position by a return means which is calibrated so that said part can free the passage in the case where a full bottle is introduced into the receptacle.

Indeed, the excessive weight of a full bottle compared to that of an empty bottle exerts on the part a thrust greater than the restoring force of said return means. The full bottle then passes directly through the receptacle without being immobilized therein so that its crushing is impossible.

This produces a selection of bottles which is also operational for distinguishing bottles made of materials other than plastic such as glass.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, a safety shutter is provided at the inlet opening of the receptacle.

Such a shutter is connected to the crushing member so as to close the inlet opening of the receptacle during the crushing of a bottle and to prevent the user from engaging an arm, for example.

According to this embodiment, a device makes it possible to prevent the operation of the crushing member if an obstacle hinders the closing of the shutter during the crushing operation. Thus, possible accidents which could occur during the use of the device according to the invention are avoided.

According to a first variant, the safety shutter closes the inlet opening of the receptacle at the same time as the crushing member moves from its first position to its second position. In this variant, any obstacle preventing the closing of the safety shutter causes the blocking of the crushing member and interrupts the crushing cycle.

According to a second variant, the safety shutter closes the inlet orifice prior to actuation of the member which cannot be moved if the safety shutter is not in the fully closed position.

• la figure 1 représente en élévation un conteneur équipé d'un dispositif selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention,
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe selon II-II de la figure 1,
• la figure 3 est une vue en perspective du dispositif selon un mode de réalisation de l'invention,
• les figures 4, 5 et 6 sont des vues de détail selon la flèche A de la figure 3,
• les figures 7 et 8 sont des vues partielles de dessus de la figure 4,
• les figures 9, 10 et 11 sont des vues de détail selon la flèche B de la figure 3.

In order to better understand the invention, there will now be described by way of illustration, and without any limiting character, an embodiment taken as an example and referring to the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 shows in elevation a container equipped with a device according to an embodiment of the invention,
• FIG. 2 is a sectional view along II-II of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device according to an embodiment of the invention,
• FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are detailed views along the arrow A in FIG. 3,
• FIGS. 7 and 8 are partial top views of FIG. 4,
• FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 are detailed views according to arrow B in FIG. 3.

The container 1 of Figures 1 and 2 is of the type traditionally used for the selective collection of garbage.

It has an orifice 2 for the introduction of the objects to be recovered, located at the top of the container 1.

A compacting device according to the invention is placed inside the container 1 with the inlet orifice of its receptacle facing the orifice 2 of the container.

The compacting device 3 rests on a base 4 which rests on the bottom of the container.

The base 4 has a vertical branch 5 in the vicinity of the wall before the of the container. The branch 5 is hollow and has a longitudinal slot on its face oriented towards the outside of the container. It constitutes a guide rail for a pedal 6 located close to the ground and accessible from outside the container.

The pedal 6 makes it possible to actuate the compacting device 3 by means of a cable 7 secured to the pedal 6 at one of its ends and to the crushing member of the compacting device 3 at its other end. . Pulleys 8 guide the cable.

In FIG. 3, the compacting device 3 comprises a receptacle 9 of substantially cylindrical shape and a crushing member 10 articulated around an axis 11 so as to be able to pivot between a first position shown in FIG. 3 where it is located outside the receptacle 9 and a second position, not shown, where it is located inside the receptacle 9.

In the illustrated embodiment, the axis of receptacle 9 is inclined so that the inlet port 9a is at a height greater than that of the outlet 9b of the container.

The lower part of the receptacle 9 described here comprises, in cross section, two branches inclined towards the inside which are symmetrical with respect to the vertical median axis of the receptacle and by a horizontal branch which joins the lower ends of the two inclined branches. Each branch of this cross section corresponds to a flat wall which extends along the axis of the receptacle.

The crushing member 10 is constituted, in the illustrated embodiment, by four blades 12 a -12 d whose shape corresponds substantially to the internal cross section of the lower part of the receptacle 9.

On one of the blades 12 b , the crushing member 10 comprises three bevelled hollow tubes 12 e directed downwards in the crushing position of the crushing member. Such tubes constitute perforation members which facilitate the crushing of a hermetically closed bottle by creating in the wall thereof passages for the air which it contains.

A plate 12 f having an orifice in the extension of each tube 12 e is mounted axially sliding relative to the latter by being pushed outwards for example by springs. Such a plate makes it possible both to conceal the hollow tubes 12 e when the crushing member is in the extended position relative to the receptacle 9 and to extract the hollow tubes from the wall of the bottle after the crushing of this last.

To facilitate penetration of the hollow tubes into the wall of the bottle, three holes are provided in the bottom wall of the receptacle, opposite each of said tubes 12 e .

One of the blades 12 d , the closest to the inlet orifice 9 a of the receptacle, has a recess for the passage of the neck of a bottle introduced with its base forward.

If the bottle is introduced with its base back, the neck is located near the outlet orifice of the receptacle and not opposite one of the blades 12.

The four blades 12 are welded to a bracket 13, the two lateral branches of which are pivotally mounted around the axis 11.

A lug 14 welded in the central part of the bracket 13 extends outwardly parallel to the lateral branches of said bracket. It comprises a longitudinal slot 15 which crosses it perpendicularly and through which the cable 7 is subjected to a retaining part capable of sliding in line with the slot.

The cable 7 is returned to the pedal 6 by means of pulleys 8.

According to a preferred variant of the invention, the blades 12 have, in their upper part in the crushing position, a width slightly greater than the corresponding part of the lower part of the receptacle. Thus, a plastic bottle crushed by the compacting device is mainly pinched along the lateral edges of the lower part of the receptacle on which the blades 12 rest.

This gives a white deformation of the plastic which promotes the maintenance of the bottle in its collapsed form.

The receptacle 9 is partially closed at its upper part by a rolled sheet in the shape of a cylinder 16 which has cutouts allowing the tilting of the bracket 13 inside the receptacle 9, the tab 14 penetrating into a slot provided for this purpose in sheet 16.

It will be understood that the compacting device 3 described here operates in a relatively simple manner, by actuation of the pedal 6 which causes the crushing member 10 to pivot in the crushing position in the receptacle 9.

Particular mechanisms making it possible to control the introduction of the bottles, the evacuation of these as well as the operating safety of the device will now be described.

At the outlet 9 b of the receptacle is provided a stop 17 which makes it possible to stop the bottles inside the inclined receptacle with a view to their crushing.

The stop 17 is actuated by an appropriate mechanism which controls its positioning as a function of the angular position of the crushing member 10.

This mechanism comprises a part 18 which is secured in rotation to the bracket 13 by means of a U-shaped part 19 which is welded on the one hand to one of the branches of the bracket 13 and on the other hand at room 18.

Such a mechanism is shown in the detailed views of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

In these figures, it can be seen that the part 19 has a lug 20 on one of its faces, as well as a recess 21 in the vicinity of the lug 20.

The stop 17 is mounted on a lever 22 mounted pivoting about an axis 23 parallel to the axis 11. The lever 22 also has two lugs 24 and 25 on its side placed opposite the lug 20 and the recess 21 of Exhibit 19.

Figures 5 and 6, there is shown the control mechanism of the stop 17 during the crushing cycle.

In FIG. 5, the lug 20 of the part 19 pivots about the axis 11, at the same time as the crushing member 13. During this pivoting, the recess 21 exceeds the lug 24, while that the lug 20 meets the lug 24 which causes the lever 22 to tilt.

At this time of the crushing cycle, the blades 12 of the crushing member are already in contact with the bottle to be compacted. The latter is therefore held in position in the receptacle although the stop 17 has partially cleared the outlet orifice 9b .

In FIG. 6, the part 19 has reached the end of the stroke and the lever 22 has reached its position of fully retracting the stop 17.

The stop 17 then locks in its retracted position, for example by pressing on the edge 26 of the receptacle outlet orifice.

The return of the crushing member 10 outside the receptacle 9 takes place in the opposite direction, the part 19 pivoting until the lug 20 meets the second lug 25 of the lever 22.

At this time, the crushing member 10 is raised enough to release the crushed bottle which escapes from the receptacle by sliding towards its outlet orifice.

The action of the lug 20 on the lug 25 causes the stop 17 to return to position, which is thus able to stop a next bottle with a view to its crushing.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the stop 17 and the lever 22 seen from above with respect to FIG. 4.

We see in these figures that the stop 17 is mounted around a vertical axis 27 on the lever 22 and that a spring 28 exerts a traction on the end of the stop 17 located on the side of the lever 22 in the direction of maintenance of the stop 17 in alignment with the lever 22.

To this end, the spring 28 is fixed at its other end to a rod 29 integral with the lever 22.

The length of the rod 29 is determined, depending on the stiffness of the spring 28, so that the latter exerts on the stop 17 a restoring force which is such that a plastic bottle is stopped in the receptacle 9 to be crushed (figure 7) while a glass bottle, of higher weight, crosses the outlet orifice of the receptacle by pushing the stop 17 (figure 8).

The length of the rod 29 can advantageously be adjusted by using a threaded rod on which a nut is screwed to which the spring 28 is subjected.

On the side of the inlet opening 9a of the receptacle is provided a safety device which makes it possible to prevent the operation of the member from being crushed, for example in the case where a user introduces his arm into the opening Entrance.

To this end, the device comprises a shutter 30 of its inlet orifice which is integral in rotation with the crushing member by means of a drive mechanism shown in FIGS. 9 to 11.

The shutter 30 is pivotally mounted around the axis 23. This arrangement has been chosen for reasons of convenience, but it is clear that a different axis of rotation could be used for the shutter 30 than that which is used for tilting. lever 22.

In FIG. 9, the receptacle 9, the crushing member 10 and the shutter 30 are shown diagrammatically in dashed lines.

The actual drive device consists of a rack 31 and a part 32 provided with a lug 33.

The rack 31 is welded to one of the branches of the bracket 13 around the axis of rotation 11. The part 32 is welded to a metal tube 34 engaged around the axis 23 and secured to the shutter 30 at its other end. In other words, the part 32 is integral in rotation with the shutter 30.

The parts 31 and 32 each have a pivot 35 and respectively 36 connected by a connecting rod 37.

Thus, the movements of the crushing member 10 which result in a pivoting of the rack 31 lead to the pivoting of the part 32, which drives the shutter 30 in a rotational movement.

While the connecting rod 37 is held around the pivot 35 on the rack 31, it is simply hooked on the pivot 36 of the part 32. For this purpose, it has a notch 38 in which the pivot 36 engages, a spring 39 being stretched between the axis 11 and the upper end of the connecting rod 37 to press the bottom of the notch 38 against the pivot 36.

The rack 31 and the part 32 therefore move in the manner of a deformable parallelogram around two fixed points which constitute the axes 11 and 23.

In the case where a user introduces an arm into the inlet orifice of the receptacle 9, the angular displacement of the shutter 30 is hampered by the arm of the user, which leads to the immobilization of the part 32.

If the movement of the crushing member towards the receptacle is not interrupted, the rack 31 continues to pivot around the axis 11. The connecting rod 37 then descends relative to the pivot 36 which emerges from the notch 38.

In this case, the teeth of the rack meet the lug 33 which engages in one of them and thus prohibits any additional angular movement of the rack 31 in the direction of the receptacle.

In this way, the crushing of a bottle can in no case be carried out if any object passes through the inlet port of the receptacle.

The rack mechanism 31 and lug 33 of the safety device can be replaced by other mechanisms providing equivalent kinematics, for example a mechanism comprising a cam, in place of the rack, and a stop in the form of an angular sector in place and place of the ergot. Such a stop prevents the cam from lowering until the shutter 30 has not completely closed the bottle introduction orifice.

According to a variant not shown, the safety device could act so as to ensure first of all the complete closure of the shutter 30 and then the movement of the member 10, on the sole condition that the shutter 30 is in position closed.

Claims (10)

1 - containers compacting device of plastic, in particular bottles, characterized in that it comprises in combination a container (9) of substantially cylindrical shape provided with an inlet (9a) to one from its ends and from an outlet orifice (9 b ) at its other end, and a crushing member (10) having a lower part (12) of convex shape directed downwards, capable of being moved between a first position in which it is located outside the receptacle (9) and a second position in which its lower part (12) is located in the vicinity of the lower part of the receptacle (9), after having crushed a container. 2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a control pedal (6). 3 - Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the receptacle (9) is inclined, the outlet orifice (9 b ) being placed at a height less than that of the orifice entry (9 a ). 4 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the outlet orifice (9 b ) has a stop (17) which allows to stop the bottles inside the receptacle (9) with a view to their crushing. 5 - Device according to claim 4, characterized in that a suitable mechanism makes it possible to operate this stop (17) so that it is in the closed position at the start of the crushing cycle, then in the open position after crushing to allow the escape of a bottle which has just been crushed, then again in the closed position at the end of the crushing cycle. 6 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the crushing member (10) is pivotally mounted about an axis (11) substantially parallel to the axis of the receptacle (9) . 7 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lower part (12) of concave shape of the crushing member (10) comes to bear on the lower part of the receptacle (9) so as to pinch the area of the bottle folded along two of its diametrically opposed generators. 8 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the crushing member (10) has on its lower part (12) perforation means (12 e ) which facilitate the crushing d '' a hermetically sealed bottle by first piercing it. 9 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises, at the outlet orifice ( 9b ) of the receptacle (9), a retractable articulated part (17,22) retained in closed position by a return means which is calibrated so that said part (17,22) can free the passage in the event that an excessively heavy bottle is introduced into the receptacle (9). 10 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a safety device comprising in particular a shutter (30) to the inlet (9a) of the receptacle (9) is provided for prevent the operation of the crushing member (10) if an obstacle hinders the closing of the shutter during the crushing operation.

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