EP2253461A1

EP2253461A1 - Electric bottle crusher

Info

Publication number: EP2253461A1
Application number: EP10425166A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bruna Cimarossa
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-05-22
Filing date: 2010-05-20
Publication date: 2010-11-24
Also published as: ITPS20090013A1

Abstract

The object of the invention (fig. 1) comprises an electric bottle crusher "ANANKE" (1) for household use, which has a practically parallelepiped shape.

On the top front part of the bottle crusher a panel (17) is installed, which incorporates a start-stop button (16), an "on" light (18) and a selector switch (20) for the version designed to be used with a container (9).

An electrical panel (19) for governing and controlling the appliance is designed to be installed on the back of the panel (17).

A fixed plate (8) is positioned on the base of the bottle crusher; this is where the bottle is crushed. Two columns (3) fitted with a rack and two columns (12) fitted with a bearing guide (14) are installed on the fixed plate (8).

A moving pressing plate (5), slides from the top to the bottom and vive versa of the columns (3), driven by a gear motor (15) which relays movement to the aforementioned plate (5) by means of a pinion (6) which engages with the rack set into the columns (3). The moving plate (5) slides up and down the columns (3) on bushings (4), and up and down the columns (12) on the bearings (14) fitted into the guides set into the said columns. Accurate movement of the moving plate (5) is regulated by micro limit switches (2) and (7).

On the bottom front part a loading/unloading door (10) for the bottles to be crushed is situated; if this door is not properly closed a micro safety switch (11) prevents the bottle crusher from operating.

The bottle rusher (1) is enclosed in an elegant external casing (21) and easily fits in with any type of kitchen.

Description

This invention refers to an electric bottle crusher, designed for household use and given the trade name "ANANKE", suited to crushing all types of small sized packaging containers commonly used for packaging food items and is particularly suited to all types of plastic bottle.
The electric bottle crusher "ANANKE" has a parallepiped shape and comprises a variety of components which enable, by means of a simple manoeuvre, the reduction in volume of all the packaging which is disposed of in a household environment on a day-to-day basis.
This packaging, of different shapes and origins, when crushed, can easily be stored in higher volumes in a handy plastic bag or in a special recycling bin.
Considering the frequent use of disposable plastic packaging in the household environment, the significant advantage of having, at hand, a device which enables this packaging to be crushed before being earmarked for the rubbish tip or for recycling, is clear.
At the moment there is nothing that can resolve the aforementioned problem. In fact, the machines which are currently on the market are bigger in size and cannot therefore be easily installed into a household environment and they use hydraulic or pneumatic presses to crush packaging earmarked for disposal.
The innovation that the hereby patent wishes to safeguard is that of a bottle crusher, for household use, suited to crushing all types of small sized packaging containers, generally of the disposable type, commonly used for packaging food items.
The hereby invention refers to an electric bottle crusher "ANANKE" comprising a base structure made up of a fixed plate on which the packaging is crushed. 4 vertical columns are fixed onto the four corners of the fixed plate, up and down which a moving pressing plate slides, driven by an electric gear motor.
The movement of the moving pressing plate, which occurs from top to bottom and vice versa, sliding up and down the columns, is driven by an electrical gear motor in order to render the bottle crusher silent and easy to fit into any household environment. The electric gear motor, fixed onto the moving pressing plate, drives the said plate by means of two pinions which engage with the racks set into two of the four columns. On the opposite side, the moving pressing plate is held in place by bearings positioned on the other two columns. This type of operation is designed to render the appliance easy to use and suitable for all types of plastic packaging and, where necessary, also for small tins which are commonly used for packaging long-life products. The electric bottle crusher "ANANKE" is a single piece design with an essentially parallepiped shape and extremely limited size which allows it to be placed on the kitchen work surface like any other portable household appliance. Furthermore, the bottle crusher can be equipped with a special container designed to store the crushed packaging, which is fitted to the base of the said appliance on the underlying part.
The electric bottle crusher "ANANKE" comprises a variety of components which guarantee easy, automatic, regular operation of the appliance, and at the same time allow it to be used in complete safety and in compliance with all relevant and applicable regulations in force.
On the top front part of the bottle crusher, a panel is installed, which comprises a start-stop button, an "on" light and a selector switch for the version of the bottle crusher which is designed to be used with the crushed packaging container.
The loading/unloading door for the packaging to be crushed is positioned on the lower front part. In the event that the loading/unloading door is not properly closed a micro safety switch prevents the bottle crusher from operating.
The bottle crusher is enclosed in an elegant external casing which easily fits in with any type of kitchen.
The invention is further described in the following non-limiting implementation examples, with reference to the figures in the attached drawings. In which:

1) fig. 1 is a perspective view of the whole concordant with the invention;
2) fig. 2 is a close up view of the guide detail concordant with the invention;

The object of the invention (fig. 1) comprises an electric bottle crusher (1) for household use, given the name "ANANKE", suited to crushing all types of small sized packaging containers commonly used for packaging food items, with a parallelepiped shape, comprising a variety of components and principally: a base structure made up of a fixed plate (8) on which, four columns are vertically fitted onto the four sides; two columns (3) fitted with racks and, on the opposite corners, another two columns (12) fitted with bearing guides (14); a moving pressing plate (5) which slides up and down the columns (3) and (12) and an electric gear motor (15) which, engaging with its pinions (6) on the racks set into the columns (3), drives the moving pressing plate (5) until it strikes the fixed plate (8), to then bring it back up to its start position at the top, rendering the appliance silent and versatile.
The electric gear motor (15), fixed onto the moving pressing plate (5), drives the latter by means of two pinions (6) which engage with the racks set into the columns (3), giving it a particularly powerful crushing force and rendering the bottle crusher suitable for all types of plastic packaging and, where necessary, also for small tins which are used for packaging long-life products.
The guides which enable movement of the moving pressing plate (5) are composed of two self-lubricating bushings (4) which slide up and down the columns (3), and two bearings (14), fixed on supports (13), which slide up and down the beds set into the columns (12).
The base fixed plate (8) is made of checker plate or similar so that the surface on which the bottles are crushed is not totally smooth but has small raised parts, which, other than facilitating the actual crushing, allow the plastic containers to keep the shape acquired after crushing.
In order to insert and remove the packaging to be crushed in the bottle crusher, a loading/unloading door (10) is designed to be situated at the base of the appliance. This is equipped with a safety device which allows the appliance to work only if the door (10) is properly closed, by means of a micro switch (11).
In order to prevent bags containing the pressed packaging finishing up strewed around the house, the appliance can be equipped with a container (9), fitted at the base of the bottle crusher (1), which enables all the pressed packaging to be stored. Operation with the container (9) can be chosen using a selector switch, so that storage of the pressed packaging occurs automatically.
In order to reduce environmental impact, the bottle crusher (1) can be combined, by means of a relative automation system, with a container for different types of packaging materials for automatic separate recycling, enabling the pressed packaging to be sent directly to the tip without need for any further sub-division.
The bottle crusher (1) is enclosed in an elegant external casing (21) which easily fits in with any type of kitchen.
Finally it is obvious that the system herein described and illustrated can be further modified remaining within the scope of the claims which follow.

Claims

Electric bottle crusher "ANANKE" (1), for household use, suited to crushing all types of small sized packaging containers commonly used for packaging food items with a parallelepiped shape, comprising a variety of components and principally: a base structure made up of a fixed plate (8) on which, four columns are vertically fitted onto the four sides; two columns (3) fitted with racks and on the opposite corners, another two columns (12) fitted with bearing guides (14); a moving pressing plate (5) which slides up and down the columns (3) and (12),
characterised by the fact that the movement of the moving
pressing plate (5), from its start position at the top until it
strikes the fixed plate (8), and vice versa, is driven by an electric gear motor (15) rendering the appliance silent and versatile:
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the electric gear motor (15), fixed onto the moving
pressing plate (5), drives the said plate by means of two pinions which engage with the racks set into the columns (3), giving it a particularly powerful crushing force;
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the engagement of the pinions (6) with the columns (3) is made on the self-lubricating bushings (4) used as guides for the moving pressing plate (5);
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the moving pressing plate (5), as well as being guided by the self-lubricating bushings (4), slides up and down the columns (12) on bearings (14);
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the base fixed plate (3) is made of checker plate or similar so that the surface on which the bottles are crushed is not totally smooth but has small raised parts, which, other than facilitating the actual crushing, allow the plastic packaging to keep the shape acquired after crushing;
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that the appliance can be equipped with a container (9), fitted at the base of the bottle crusher (1), which enables all the
pressed packaging to be stored;
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that using a selector switch (20) operation with the container can be chosen (9), so that storage of the pressed packaging occurs automatically;
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that on the loading/unloading door (10) for the packaging to be crushed, a micro safety switch is designed to be positioned, allowing the appliance to work only if the door (10) is properly closed;
The bottle crusher according to claim 1, characterised by the fact that it can be combined, by means of a relative automation system, with a container for different types of packaging materials for automatic separate recycling, enabling the pressed packaging to be sent directly to the tip without need for any further sub-division.