EP2368703A1

EP2368703A1 - A waste treating apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP2368703A1
Application number: EP11171407A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marco Santandrea
Original assignee: ATOP SpA
Current assignee: ATOP SpA
Priority date: 2005-03-29
Filing date: 2005-06-22
Publication date: 2011-09-28
Also published as: EP1707345B1; ITPI20050034A1; EP1707345A1

Abstract

A waste treating apparatus for kitchen units, comprising a compacting unit and an organic waste grinding unit integrated in said waste treating apparatus in order to process both organic waste, by said waste grinding unit, and inorganic waste by said compacting unit and to carry out a separate waste collection.

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a waste compacting unit of many kinds, such as plastic, metal, glass containers, capable of shrinking the waste before their disposal and their collection by a public disposal centre, and of assisting a separate waste collection.

Description of the prior art

As well known, machines exist for solid waste treatment, such as plastic, metal, glass bottles or containers, capable of compacting the waste before disposal and collection by a public disposal centre so that the waste has a minimum encumbrance.
A waste compacting machine is described in W02004106046 . It provides a compacting step of the waste arranged within plastic bags, and at the same time it can compact containers of glass, plastics and metal. The compression of the waste arranged in a bin is carried out by a pantograph, which moves a piston and is operated by a carriage and by a cam. The piston enters the bin and compacts the waste in it present, sliding in a previously arranged shell, for preventing the waste containing plastic bags to be damaged.
Another type of waste compacting machine, described in EP1074486 , provides a frame having three apertures for introducing the waste. In the machine means are provided for compacting plastic waste and metal waste, associated respectively to a first and a second aperture. Means for crushing glass waste is provided adjacent to a compacting means and are associated to the third aperture. At least one open bin is provided, arranged below a compacting and crushing means, where the crushed waste and the compacted waste are respectively collected. A compacting means comprise a movable support frame on which two compacting plates are mounted that can slide with respect to each other within a couple of cylinders with axes parallel to each other. In particular, the first cylinder is suitable for receiving plastic waste and the second cylinder is suitable for receiving metal waste.
However, the compacting means used in the machines above described, and normally in prior art machines, cannot compact the waste effectively. In particular, if pantograph compacting means are used, the mechanism can jam due to an asymmetrical action, thus requiring a stop of the machine to clear the jammed parts. Furthermore, such machines are structurally complex, bulky and expensive and are not suitable for a household use.
A further technical problem of the apparatus of prior art is that they can treat single species of waste. In other words, most of the known waste treating apparatus are capable to process a single kind of waste, without assisting completely a separate waste collection, i.e. their sorted collection in different containers.

Summary of the invention

It is a feature of the invention to provide a waste compacting unit that allows a reduction of the volume of the material treated and is effective with respect to the devices of prior art.
It is another feature of the invention to provide a waste treating apparatus that is structurally easy and cheap with respect to apparatus of prior art.
It is another feature of the invention to provide a waste treating apparatus for processing also organic waste, further assisting a separate waste collection.
These and other features are accomplished with one exemplary embodiment of the waste treating apparatus for kitchen units, according to the invention, comprising a compacting unit and an organic waste grinding unit that are integrated in the waste treating apparatus in order to process both organic waste, by said waste grinding unit, and inorganic waste by said compacting unit and to carry out a separate waste collection.
It is thus possible to carry out a separate waste collection and then an effective and environmentally acceptable operation.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the compacting unit and the organic waste grinding unit are positioned in a side by side arrangement and overhead of respective collecting bins for separate collection of the respective treated waste.
In a preferred embodiment, the compacting unit comprises:

at least one inlet for introducing the waste to treat;
a compacting chamber;
a waste compacting means acting in said compacting chamber, said compacting means movable by a motor driven means that is suitable for causing it to move along a working direction;
at least one compacted waste collecting bin arranged below a compacting chamber.

In an advantageous exemplary embodiment, said compacting means divides said compacting chamber into two parts in each of which said waste to compact can be put.
In particular, the waste compacting means provides a compacting plate mounted on a carriage reciprocating along said working direction.
Advantageously, in a compacting chamber piercing means are provided cooperating with said compacting means to cause a volume reduction of the waste.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention the base is divided into two portions that can move independently between a supporting position and a releasing position.
In a possible exemplary embodiment of the invention, the organic waste grinding unit comprises:

an inlet for introducing the waste to treat;
a grinding chamber provided with grinding means for the waste coming from said inlet;
an outlet for liquid residues percolating from said waste through said chamber;
a waste collecting container, for collecting the waste that has been ground in said chamber;
flow sorting means, suitable for causing selectively the liquid residues of said waste to pass towards said outlet.

In particular, the compacting means comprises a base for supporting the waste during compacting, the base being movable between a supporting position, where it prevents an access towards said collecting bin, and a releasing position, where it allows an access towards said collecting bin.
Advantageously, the grinding unit may comprise at least one knife rotating about an axis suitable for cooperating with a stationary knife connected to the wall of the grinding chamber, in order to grind the waste coming from the inlet.
In particular, the grinding unit comprises a plurality of knives arranged on the boundary of a rotating drum capable of rotating about its own longitudinal axis.
In particular, the compacting unit comprises a compacting plate mounted on a carriage reciprocating along a working direction.
According to another aspect of the invention a modular element for kitchen units comprises a compacting unit, said modular element comprising a piece of furniture having a height, depth and width of standard size for kitchen units.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now shown with the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, exemplifying but not limitative, with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

figure 1 shows diagrammatically a cross sectional view of a possible exemplary embodiment of a waste compacting unit, according to the invention,
figures 2 and 3 show diagrammatically a cross sectional view of a compacting chamber of the compacting unit of figure 1 in two different operative steps,
figure 4 shows diagrammatically a top plan view of the compacting unit of figure 1,
figures 5 and 6 show diagrammatically an elevational side view of the drive and the kinematical chain that operate a compacting means for the unit of figure 1;
figures 7 and 8 show diagrammatically a partially cross sectioned elevational front view of two different configurations of the base of a compacting chamber of the unit of figure 1;
figures from 9A to the 9E show diagrammatically a full compacting cycle executed by the compacting unit of figure 1 for highlighting detail features thereof;
figures 10A and 10B show respectively an elevation lateral and an elevation front view of an element for kitchen units according to the invention, integrating the compacting unit of figure 1 and a grinding unit;
figures 11 and 12 show, respectively in an elevation front view and a perspective view, the compacting unit of figure 1 integrated within a piece of furniture for kitchen units;
figure 13 shows diagrammatically a position-time diagram (x, t) for the compacting means of the compacting unit of figure 1 during a possible waste compacting step.

Description of a preferred exemplary embodiment

With reference to figure 1, a waste compacting unit 1, according to the invention, provides a compacting chamber 3 in which the waste 30 to dispose of is put, such as bottles and containers of various type of glass, plastics or metal, for reducing its volume and assisting its following disposal in public collecting centres. In particular, the waste is put into chamber 3 through a first inlet 103a or a second inlet 103b, shown in a top plan view of figure 4, according to the kind of the material to treat in order to assist a separate waste collection.
In a compacting chamber 3 a compacting plate 2 is mounted sliding along a working direction 100 by means of a carriage 20. Compacting plate 2 divides compacting chamber 3 into two parts 3a and 3b that are accessible when the machine is turned off for disposing the waste of, through the respective inlets 103a and 103b. Below each part 3a or 3b of chamber 3 a respective waste collecting bin 35a and 35b is arranged, suitable for receiving the compacted waste.
To compact both the waste put into first part 3a and in second part 3b of chamber3, plate 2 can act along the above described working direction 100 both in one direction 101 and in an opposite direction 102 (figure 4). This is allowed according to the invention by the transmission mechanism of carriage 20 and then of compacting plate 2. As shown in detail in figures 5 and 6 the mechanism of transmission of the movement provides a bidirectional motor 50 that operates a worm screw 55. According to the speed of rotating shaft 51 of motor 50, worm screw 55 moves in one direction (figure 5), or in the opposite direction (figure 6), causing the pulley 11 that engages with it to rotate in the corresponding direction. A belt 15 connects pulley 11 to a plurality of other pulleys 12, 13 and 14 that transmit the movement to carriage 20 by rotating shaft 23.
To assist the compacting step of the waste, in chamber 3 piercing elements 5 are provided connected to side support plates 6. When the waste is at side plates 6, piercing elements 5 pierce its surface obtaining a corresponding number of holes 31, that assist the exit of air contained inside during a compacting step (figure 3). This way, the waste is compacted easily and at the same time an explosion of the container is avoided, owing to the air trapped by a stopper 32, avoiding to damage the machine.
The motor 50 can be associated to a control circuit, not shown in the figures, suitable for repeating for a predetermined number of times the last portion of the stroke of compacting plate 2 during a waste compacting step. In figure 13 a qualitative diagram is given of the position (x) of plate 2 versus time (t), under this repetition procedure of the compacting step. More in detail, starting from a starting position x₀, at time to, plate 2 approaches side wall 6 of chamber 3, and compacts a first time the waste, as shown graphically by coordinates (x1, t1). Then plate 2 withdraws and reaches position x₂, at time t₂. At this point, the conveying direction of plate 2 is again reversed, and at time t₃ it is again at position x₁, compacting again the waste. The above steps are repeated a predetermined number of times, for example three, in order to avoid the possible resilient memory recovery of the waste, thus eliminating trapped air or air recalled by the resilient memory recovery after the first compacting step.
To avoid that the waste can pass in containers 35a or 35b before the completion of the compacting step the base of chamber 3 is associated to means that cause its opening/closing in synchronism with the compacting step. This is obtained by operating the opening/closing mechanism directly by carriage 20, as shown in particular in figures 7 and 8. Alternatively, according to a different embodiment not shown in the figures, an independent motor can operate the opening/closing mechanism.
In figures 7 and 8, base 4 of compacting chamber 3 is provided divided into two portions 4a and 4b which can be operated independently. In particular, during a compacting step of waste 30 put in part 3a of chamber 3, the portion 4a of base 4 is in a supporting position to prevent an access to bin 35a (figure 7). At the end of the compacting step, the portion 4a of base 4 rotates about a hinge 14a and reaches a releasing position in order to cause the waste 30 already compacted to reach bin 35a (figure 8).
As diagrammatically shown in figures from 9A to 9E, in compacting chamber 3 an interposition plate 7 is provided capable of translating, biased by resilient means 8, towards/away from side walls 6, which are equipped with piercing elements 5. More in detail, during a compacting step of the waste (figure 9C), interposition plate 7 of compacting chamber 3b translates progressively towards side walls 6, owing to the force exerted by the waste 30 being compacted, thus loading resilient means 8. At the end of a compacting step, resilient means 8 cause interposition plate 7 to move away from the relative side wall 6 in a withdrawn position (figure 9D). This way, the extraction is obtained from piercing elements 5 of the already compacted waste 30 that can then fall down in the waste collecting bin (figure 9E).
Always as diagrammatically shown in figures from 9A to 9E if base 4 of compacting chamber 3 provides two separate portions 4a and 4b, these comprise independent engaging/releasing means 40-41. In particular, the engaging/releasing means provides a protruding side 40 integral to the relative base portion 4 suitable for engaging/releasing in/from a groove 41 executed in the interposition plate 7 of compacting chamber 3. When the interposition plate 7 translates towards the relative side wall 6, the protruding side 40 leaves groove 41 and allows base 4 to move to the releasing position.
This way, pieces of waste 30 can be put in the two portions 3a and 3b before starting the machine. During a working cycle, while the piece of waste arranged in portion 3b of the compacting chamber is processed, the piece of waste 30' arranged in portion 3a is supported by base 4a, awaiting to be compacted in turn.
According to the invention, furthermore, the compacting unit 1 above described can be integrated within a piece of furniture for kitchen units 150 having a size (depth and width) for example of 30*60, 45*60 cm, etc. (figure 11). In this case, compacting unit 1 may be coupled, within a piece of furniture for kitchen units 200, sized as a standard module, to an organic waste grinding unit 10 (figures 10A, 10B and 12). In particular, as depicted in Figures 10B and 12, compacting unit 1 and organic waste grinding unit 10 are positioned in a side by side arrangement and overhead of respective collecting bins 35a, 35b, 35c for separate collection of the respective treated waste.
This way, a household appliance 200 is obtained capable to process both organic waste, by grinding unit 10, and inorganic waste by compacting unit 1. It is thus possible to carry out a separate waste collection and then an effective and environmentally acceptable operation. A user can load the waste to be treated in the front of the modular element and the user can unload treated waste by removing the collecting bins 35a, 35b, 35c from the front of the household appliance 200.
Normally, organic waste has a liquid fraction and a solid fraction. Therefore, for reducing the volume of the waste to send to public collection centres and at the same time to avoid conditions favourable to multiplication of bacteria, in the first step of the organic waste treatment process a relevant portion of the waste liquid fraction is separated from the solid fraction. This step is made through waste sorting means 120, 121 and 130. In particular, the waste sorting means 120, 121 and 130 comprises a sieve 121 movable between a first position, where it allows the percolation of only the waste liquid fraction, and a second position, where it allows the passage also of the waste solid fraction. The liquid residues percolating from the waste through the chamber 110 exits through an outlet 300. The sieve 121 is operatively connected by a rod 120 to a control valve 130, arranged downstream of a grinding chamber 110, in order to synchronize its movements. The second step of the organic waste treatment provides the arrangement of sieve 121 in the second position, in order to cause the solid fraction of the processed waste to reach grinding chamber 110 where a fine grinding is made by knives 115, which are arranged on the boundary of a rotating drum 111 and cooperate with a stationary knife 116 connected to the wall of chamber 110, in order to provide a substantially "comb-shaped" structure.
The foregoing description of a specific embodiment will so fully reveal the invention according to the conceptual point of view, so that others, by applying current knowledge, will be able to modify and/or adapt for various applications such an embodiment without further research and without parting from the invention, and it is therefore to be understood that such adaptations and modifications will have to be considered as equivalent to the specific embodiment. The means and the materials to realise the different functions described herein could have a different nature without, for this reason, departing from the field of the invention. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Claims

A waste treating apparatus for kitchen units, comprising a compacting unit and an organic waste grinding unit integrated in the waste treating apparatus in order to process both organic waste by said waste grinding unit, and inorganic waste by said compacting unit, and to carry out a separate waste collection.
The waste treating apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the compacting unit (1) and the organic waste grinding unit (10) are positioned in a side by side arrangement and overhead of respective collecting bins (35a,35b,35c) for separate collection of the respective treated waste.
The waste treating apparatus, according to claim 1, characterised in that it is arranged as a modular element for a kitchen unit.
The waste treating apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the compacting unit (1) comprises a base (4a) for supporting the waste during compacting, the base (4a) being movable between a supporting position, where it prevents an access towards said collecting bin (35b), and a releasing position, where it allows an access towards said collecting bin (35b).
The waste treating, according to claim 1, characterised in that it is arranged as a household appliance in which a user can load waste to be compacted (30') and organic waste to be ground in respective inlet parts (3a,3b,3c) of the household appliance and wherein the inlet parts (3a,3b,3c) are in the front of the household appliance.
The waste treating, according to claim 1, wherein the grinding unit comprises at least one knife (115,116) rotating about an axis suitable for cooperating with a stationary knife connected to the wall of a grinding chamber, in order to grind the waste coming from an inlet.
The waste treating apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the grinding unit comprises a plurality of knives (115) arranged on the boundary of a rotating drum (111).
The waste treating apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the organic waste grinding unit (1) comprises:
- an inlet (3c) for introducing the waste to treat;

- a grinding chamber (110) provided with grinding means (115,116) for the waste coming from said inlet (3c);

- an outlet (300) for liquid residues percolating from said waste through said chamber (110);

- a waste collecting container (35c), for collecting the waste that has been ground in said chamber (110) ;

- flow sorting means, suitable for causing selectively the liquid residues of said waste to pass towards said outlet (300).
The waste treating apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the compacting unit (1) comprises a compacting plate (2) mounted on a carriage reciprocating along a working direction (100).
The waste treating apparatus, according to claim 1, wherein the compacting unit (1) comprises:
- at least one inlet (3a,3b) for introducing the waste to treat;

- a compacting chamber (3);

- a waste compacting means (2) acting in said compacting chamber (3), said compacting means (2) movable by a motor driven means (50) that is suitable for causing it to move along a working direction (100);

- at least one compacted waste collecting bin (35a,35b) arranged below a compacting chamber (3).
The waste treating apparatus of claim 3 characterised in that said modular element is arranged as a household appliance in which a user can unload treated waste by removing the collecting bins (35a, 35b, 35c) from the front of the household appliance (200).