EP2212104A1

EP2212104A1 - Device for crushing cans/bottles or similar objects

Info

Publication number: EP2212104A1
Application number: EP08845400A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ari Kinnunen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-10-29
Filing date: 2008-10-27
Publication date: 2010-08-04
Also published as: EP2212104A4; FI20070819A0; FI20070819A; FI125046B; WO2009056674A1

Abstract

Device for crushing cans, bottles, or similar, comprising a piston device (3), between the wall of which and the opposing wall (2, 4) of the device the object is crushed, and installed in a casing (1). The piston (3) can be moved in two directions from its middle position, in order to create two pressing chambers (e.g., 12). In the device, there is a crank mechanism (10, 11) connected to a rotatable shaft (5), for moving the piston (3).

Description

Device for crushing cans/bottles or similar objects

The present invention relates to a device for crushing can, bottles, or similar objects. More specifically, it relates to a device, with the aid of which it is possible to put bottles, cans, and similar objects into the smallest space possible for transport and storage.

Recycling is a modern and good way to save both manufacturing energy and especially raw materials. In Finland, quite a high percentage of certain materials is recycled. The recycling of glass bottles in particular is organized efficiently.

The storage of beverages and other materials is increasingly moving from the field of glass packages to plastic and metal packages. Metal packages, very often packages of aluminium, such as beverage cans, are manufactured from material suitable for recycling, whereas, depending on the grade of plastic, plastic packages can either be recycled for reuse, or used to produce heat by burning.

No matter what the recyclable material is, and what the purpose of the recycling is, there are problems relating to arranging its transport and storage. It is easy to understand that if cans or plastic bottles or jars are transported to sales point full, they return to the cycle empty. Taking an empty can or similar to a recycling point is purely a waste of energy, if the operation involves cans or similar that are in any way not processed. For this reason, attempts are made to reduce the volume of empty cans and similar products already at the collection points. However, quite often processing remains at some centre location and the cans are forwarded from the collection point, such as a shop, entirely unprocessed.

In the field of technology, devices are certainly known that can be used, for example, to squash cans into a smaller space. To refer to some examples, US application publication 2002/0083851 discloses a compressed-air driven crushing device, in which the can is dropped into a chamber, the cover closed, and crushing into a flat sheet is performed. Its high price, slow operation, and use of compressed air make this device entirely unsuitable for shop use, for example. German utility model publication 202004017108 and German application publication 4129249 disclose the use of two plate-like parts joined by a hinge, for squashing a can. The former is manually operated and the latter motor driven and thus the latter may be suitable for local use in shop. These devices squash the can by pressing it from the sides.

Devices are also known, in which the can or bottle is placed between pressing plates in such a way that the pressure is in the longitudinal direction of the bottle.

Additionally it is known to use a device, which is hand driven and in which the movement of a piston is achieved by the aid of a mechanism of a gear wheel and toothed bars. The piston moves to and fro forming two crushing chambers. This mechanism is weak and very slow to use.

The present invention is intended to create an easy-to-use device with a relatively simple construction and easily installable in any location whatever, with the aid of which a shop, for example, can receive cans, particularly aluminium beverage cans, but also plastic packages such as bottles, from which crushed pieces are obtained, saving storage and transport capacity.

The aforementioned and other advantages and benefits of the present invention are achieved in the manner described as characteristic in the accompanying claims.

In the following, the invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying patent drawing, which show some characteristic features of the invention as somewhat schematic images.

Thus

Figure 1 shows the basic assembly of the device according to the invention, seen at an angle and with the casing of the device partly removed;

Figure 2 shows a direct top view of the same device; and Figure 3 shows the section A - A of Figure 2.

As stated, Figure 1 shows an angled view of the device according to the invention, from which most of the device's casing has been removed. As is obvious, the device must be well encased for safety. In the device according to the invention, the forces acting are quite large and also large tensions may arise during crushing in certain exceptional cases, which may throw the objects being crushed, in a manner demanding protection.

Figure 1 shows part of the casing structures 1, which in practice continue to combine as a practically enclosed casing. Of course, the feed openings for the objects being crushed remain open. In principle, the device consists of a first sturdy wall 2, a moving part, which in the present application will be referred to as a piston 3, and a sturdy wall structure 4 on the other side of the piston. In this connection, reference should also be made to Figures 2 and 3 to understand the matter better. The same structures with the same reference numbers are also clearly visible in Figures 2 and 3.

The piston 3 moves backwards and forwards. The example figures show one way to create a backwards and forwards motion with a constant stroke. Thus, a shaft 5 is rotated especially by an electric motor, which is not drawn in the figure. The shaft 5 is mounted in the casing of the device with the aid of a suitable bearing 6. The shaft 5 continues on an essentially straight axis inside the piston. For the motion of the piston to be nevertheless possible, there is an opening 7 in the outer edge of the piston. In a sturdy wall 8 that is essentially in the centre of the piston, there is a vertical elongated opening 9, which is entered by a shaft pin 11 in the outer end of the transverse part 10 at the inner end of the shaft 5. This forms a crank construction, the length of which is adjusted to be such that the motion of the piston 3 is suitably extensive.

Figures 2 and 3 show clearly how the rotation of the shaft 5 creates motion in the piston. The shaft pin 11 moves up and down in the groove 9 following the rotation. When the shaft pin 11 is at the extreme end of the groove, either up or down, the piston 3 is in the middle. The horizontal position of the crank part 10, for its part signifies the piston being at the extreme right-hand or left-hand side. The path is adjusted to be such that the object being crushed cannot block the motion, but it is nevertheless crushed as flat as possible.

The ensure the movement of the piston, slider pieces of material with the lowest possible friction, or similar arrangements ensuring movement, are arranged between it and the inner bottom of the device.

In the immediate vicinity of the walls 2 and 4, there are exit holes or openings 13 for the crushed products, in the bottom of the casing of the device. When an object to be crushed drops to the right or left side of the piston 3, the piston is close to one extreme position, so that the greatest possible space, for example 12 in Figure 2, is available for the object. The piston moves towards the wall 2 and at some stage of the movement the piston wall touches the side of the object, additional movement first presses the object onto the wall, thus ensuring its position. Further movement causes the object to be crushed to the desired state. The start of the return movement of the piston 3 signifies the dropping of the crushed object through the opening 13 into a collection sack or similar.

The operation of the other side is analogous to the above description.

The device according to the invention thus crushes objects on the outward and return movements of the piston. It is obvious that this creates a double output, but an important aspect is that this construction makes the device automatic, with the aid of which two kinds of collected objects can be crushed, without requiring a separate device for each. For example, the crushing operation on one side can be used for metal cans and that of the other side for plastic bottles. A separate collection sack is reserved for both products, so that the reselt is easily exploitable recycled material.

Both the surfaces of the walls 2 and 4 facing the piston and the surfaces of the piston 3 facing the walls 2 and 4 can be equipped with any kind of construction providing flexibility, in order to create a certain degree of flexibility. Flexibility is necessary, for example, because due to the structure of the objects being crushed, there are points in them than cannot, for technical reasons, be crushed quite as flat as other points. In the embodiment shown, flexibility is achieved by dividing the walls into portion, making possible a kind of mutual give between adjacent portions. Reference number 14 depicts this property. Of course, flexibility can be achieved in very many different ways.

The manufacturing costs of the device according to the invention are very reasonable. Metal plates are mainly used, the thickness and other structure of which is dimensioned to withstand the load used. In addition to the parts shown, a reduction gearbox coming to the shaft is needed, as is an electric motor driving it. There are no special conditions for the use of the device.

Described above is one functional and well-regarded embodiment of the invention. However, it is obvious that many changes relating to both the shape and functions can be made, while nevertheless remaining within the scope of protection of the stated inventive idea and the accompanying Claims.

For example, various parts assisting crushing can be added to the device. One additional part is also particularly a puncturing device belonging to part on the bottle side, which punctures a bottle before the crushing force is directed to it. This is because a bottle closed with a cork will make a noisy bang if it is crushed without the air in the bottle being able to escape with crushing force.

Additional parts can also be used to ensure that bottles or cans are placed at a specific, optimal compression location. Such additional parts can be, for example, spring-like parts that carry the bottle/can from underneath.

It is obvious that additional parts, with the aid of which the proper feed of objects to the pressing chamber is ensured, and other functions, quite many of which can be easily automated, so that pressing always takes place when an object is fed to the opening reserved for it, also relate to the device according to the invention.

Even though only electric motor driven devices have been mentioned above, it is clear that the driving force may be pneumatic or hydraulic as well.

Claims

1. Device for crushing cans, bottles, or similar, comprising a piston device (3) , between the wall of which and the opposing wall (2, 4) of the device the object is crushed, and installed in a casing, whereby the piston (3) can be moved from its middle position in two directions, in order to create two separate pressing chambers (e.g., 12), characterized in that, in the device there is a motor driven crank mechanism (10, 11) connected to a rotatable shaft (5), for moving the piston

(3).

2. Device according to claim 1 , characterized in that in the pressing chambers located next to both side walls (2, 4) of the casing (1) there is, immediately next to the wall (2, 4), an opening (13) for dropping a crushed object into a collection vessel.

3. Device according to claim 1 , characterized in that, in the intermediate wall (8) of the piston (3), there is an essentially vertical slot (9) for the pin (11) of the crank.

4. Device according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the walls (2, 4) and/or the opposing walls of the piston are equipped with surfacings (14) with a limited flexibility.

5. Device according to any of the above claims, characterized in that the device is driven by an electric motor.

6. Device according to any of the above claims, characterized in that there is an automatic starting switch for starting the device when cans/bottles, or similar objects are fed into it.