GB1592547A - Apparatus for shattering frangible articles - Google Patents

Description

(54) APPARATUS FOR SHATTERING FRANGIBLE ARTICLES (71) We, JOHN HENRY TEMPLE RIN FRET, a Canadian Citizen, and ELIZABETH MARGARET RINFRET, a British Subject, both of The Grange, West Ashby, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The invention relates to apparatus for shattering frangible articles such as glass bottles and the like and provides a guideway for supporting at least one frangible article, a shield around the guideway, and at least one hammer member mounted for movement across the guideway to shatter the article against a part of the guideway so that the shattered article is contained within the shield.

Preferably, the shield forms part of a housing for the apparatus and the or each hammer member is pivotally mounted within the housing.

Preferably, the or each hammer member is spring urged towards said part of the guideway and actuating means are provided for cocking the or each hammer member and releasing it to strike an article in the guideway.

Preferably the guideway provides a Vsectioned support for a frangible article and preferably the hammer member is movable towards the apex of the V to strike the article.

Breaker bars may be provided at the lower end of the guideway, one of said bars being arranged along each arm of the V-sectioned guideway. In this case the hammer member strikes the frangible article opposite the breaker bars so that the article is crushed between the bars and the hammer.

The guideway may be formed as a chute which may be integral with the shield.

There may be a plurality of hammer members and the actuating means may comprise a cam member for cocking and releasing each hammer member, said cam members being mounted on a rod and a motor being provided to rotate said rod.

Two preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of a first embodiment of bottle crushing apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 is a vertical section through the bottle crushing apparatus of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of bottle crushing apparatus with certain parts omitted for clarity.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, a bottle crushing apparatus comprises a hammer assembly 10, operable by an operating handle 11 and mounting within a housing, generally indicated by 12. The housing includes a base 14, parallel side walls 15, a rear wall 16 and a top wall 17, which may comprise steel plates welded together or any other suitable form of construction. The front wall 19 of the housing is in the form of a V-sectional chute which provides a guideway 20 for bottles and other frangible articles to be crushed in the apparatus. The lower end of the chute 19 is joined to forwardly extending portions 21 of the side walls 15 by a cover member 22 which extends forwardly and downwardly from the lower end of the chute and defines with the side wall portions 21 a covered passageway 23 for the egress of broken glass.

Welded to the lower edges of the chute 19 where it joins the passageway 23 are two breaker bars 27. The breaker bars are welded to the two edges of the cover member 22 adjacent the lower end of the chute 19 and form a V-shaped support.

The chute 19 and walls of the housing 12 provide a shield around the guideway 20 to contain the shattered article in use of the apparatus as will be described below. The upper end of the guideway 20 is closed off by a lid 25 hinged to the side walls.

The side walls 15 include, at their lower rear parts, holes 26 for bolts (not shown) which may be used to mount the apparatus on a wall or stand.

Bolted to the underside of the top wall 17 are a pair of angle brackets 28, the depending flanges of which provide mountings for the operating handle 11 and hammer assembly 10.

The hammer assembly 10 comprises a hammer member 30 rigidly fixed between a pair of hammer arms 31 which are in turn welded to a pair of spring arms 32. The spring arms 32 are pivoted at one end to the brackets 28, joined togther at their other ends by a spring retaining plate 34 and joined together intermediate their ends by a lug plate 35. A spring 36 is attached at one end to the plate 34 and at its other end to a retaining flange 37 which is welded to one of the brackets 28. The hammer member is in the form of a block of generally rhomboidal section, the leading edge of which is flattened to provide a striking surface 38. It is found that this shape of hammer member is particularly effective in practice.

The operating handle 11 is welded at its lower end to a pair of plates 40 which form with the handle a ball crank lever, and is pivotally mounted at its lower end on the brackets 28 for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to and spaced from the pivot axis of the hammer assembly 10. Pivoted on a pin extending between the plates 40 and spaced from the handle pivot, is a lug member 42 of trapezoidal section. The lug 42 is prevented from anit-clockwise rotation relative to the plates 40 in the position shown in Figure 2 by a further pin 43 extending between the plates and tends to adopt this position by gravity action. The member 42 may however pivot in a clockwise manner for a purpose to be described below. In use, member 42 engages with the lug plate 35 to operate the hammer.

In use, glass bottles are inserted into the guideway 20 and are supported by the chute 19 and breaker bars 27. The base of the bottle rests on the edge of the base 14 where it is supported by a pad 44 which may be resilient. The pad 44 may be omitted, but is useful when smaller bottles are to be crushed since it aids their correct location in the apparatus. A screw (not shown) may also be provided extending upwardly through the base plate, the screw being adjustable to provide a support for smaller bottles above the base plate to ensure that such smaller bottles are aligned with the hammer.

The handle 11 is then pivoted in a clockwise manner so that the lug 42 engages the lug plate 35 to withdraw the hammer member I 8 and cock the hammer against the force of spring 36. When the handle has moved a sufficient degree, the lug member 42 slides off the lug plate 35, the hammer is released and the spring 35 forces the hammer to strike and shatter the bottle. It will be realised from the drawings that the bottle is supported at two parts on its circumference by the guideway and breaker bars and the hammer strikes at a third point. This achieves more effective crushing of the bot tle. The fragments of the bottle drop out of the apparatus through passageway 23.

When the handle is pivoted in an anticlock wise direction to return it to the position shown in Figure 2, the lug 42 pivots clockwise to slide over the lug plate 35 and then returns by gravity to the illustrated position.

In a modification of the invention (which has not been illustrated) the hammer member can be pre-loaded against the spring, and can be operted by a trigger mechanism at the base of the chute 19, so that when a bottle is dropped down the chute the triggering mechanism releases the spring loaded hammer.

Another embodiment of bottle crushing apparatus is illustrated in Figure 3. In this embodiment, which is designed to crush many bottles simultaneously, the guideway 20 is defined by two convergent grid assemblies 50 including transverse breaker bars 51.

A number of hammers 52 are pivoted on a rod 53 and are urged towards the guideway 20 by springs 61 connected between cranked ends 54 of the hammer members and a fixed bar 56. The hammers are cocked and released by cam members 58 which engage pins 57 on the hammers. The cams are arranged on an axle 59 which is driven by a motor 50 and are rotationally offset so that the hammers operate sequentially. The apparatus is enclosed in a housing, not shown, which provides a shield around the guideway 20.

In use, bottles are fed into a hopper 63 and drop into the guideway 20. The grids 50 are designed so that bottles will not fall out of the lower end or between the vertical bars of the grids. The hammers are withdrawn and released by the cam members and strike the bottles to crush them between the hammers and breaker bars. The fragments fall out of the lower end of guideway 20.

It will be realised that the invention is not limited to the two described embodiments and various modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims. For example, in the first embodiment, the hammer may be motorised rather than manually operated using a cam arrangement to replace the handle assembly. Furthermore, the lid may be connected to the handle so that the lid is opened as the handle pivots anti clockwise to the position shown in Figure 2 and closes at the handle pivots clockwise.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. Apparatus for shattering frangible articles comprising a guideway for supporting at least one frangible article, a shield around the guideway, and at least one hammer member mounted for movement across the guideway to shatter the article against a part of the guideway so that the shattered article is contained with the shield.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (1)

1. **WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **.

   10.

   The hammer assembly 10 comprises a hammer member 30 rigidly fixed between a pair of hammer arms 31 which are in turn welded to a pair of spring arms 32. The spring arms 32 are pivoted at one end to the brackets 28, joined togther at their other ends by a spring retaining plate 34 and joined together intermediate their ends by a lug plate 35. A spring 36 is attached at one end to the plate 34 and at its other end to a retaining flange 37 which is welded to one of the brackets 28. The hammer member is in the form of a block of generally rhomboidal section, the leading edge of which is flattened to provide a striking surface 38. It is found that this shape of hammer member is particularly effective in practice.

   The operating handle 11 is welded at its lower end to a pair of plates 40 which form with the handle a ball crank lever, and is pivotally mounted at its lower end on the brackets 28 for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to and spaced from the pivot axis of the hammer assembly 10. Pivoted on a pin extending between the plates 40 and spaced from the handle pivot, is a lug member 42 of trapezoidal section. The lug 42 is prevented from anit-clockwise rotation relative to the plates 40 in the position shown in Figure 2 by a further pin 43 extending between the plates and tends to adopt this position by gravity action. The member 42 may however pivot in a clockwise manner for a purpose to be described below. In use, member 42 engages with the lug plate 35 to operate the hammer.

   In use, glass bottles are inserted into the guideway 20 and are supported by the chute 19 and breaker bars 27. The base of the bottle rests on the edge of the base 14 where it is supported by a pad 44 which may be resilient. The pad 44 may be omitted, but is useful when smaller bottles are to be crushed since it aids their correct location in the apparatus. A screw (not shown) may also be provided extending upwardly through the base plate, the screw being adjustable to provide a support for smaller bottles above the base plate to ensure that such smaller bottles are aligned with the hammer.

   The handle 11 is then pivoted in a clockwise manner so that the lug 42 engages the lug plate 35 to withdraw the hammer member I 8 and cock the hammer against the force of spring 36. When the handle has moved a sufficient degree, the lug member 42 slides off the lug plate 35, the hammer is released and the spring 35 forces the hammer to strike and shatter the bottle. It will be realised from the drawings that the bottle is supported at two parts on its circumference by the guideway and breaker bars and the hammer strikes at a third point. This achieves more effective crushing of the bot tle. The fragments of the bottle drop out of the apparatus through passageway 23.

   When the handle is pivoted in an anticlock wise direction to return it to the position shown in Figure 2, the lug 42 pivots clockwise to slide over the lug plate 35 and then returns by gravity to the illustrated position.

   In a modification of the invention (which has not been illustrated) the hammer member can be pre-loaded against the spring, and can be operted by a trigger mechanism at the base of the chute 19, so that when a bottle is dropped down the chute the triggering mechanism releases the spring loaded hammer.

   Another embodiment of bottle crushing apparatus is illustrated in Figure 3. In this embodiment, which is designed to crush many bottles simultaneously, the guideway 20 is defined by two convergent grid assemblies 50 including transverse breaker bars 51.

   A number of hammers 52 are pivoted on a rod 53 and are urged towards the guideway 20 by springs 61 connected between cranked ends 54 of the hammer members and a fixed bar 56. The hammers are cocked and released by cam members 58 which engage pins 57 on the hammers. The cams are arranged on an axle 59 which is driven by a motor 50 and are rotationally offset so that the hammers operate sequentially. The apparatus is enclosed in a housing, not shown, which provides a shield around the guideway 20.

   In use, bottles are fed into a hopper 63 and drop into the guideway 20. The grids 50 are designed so that bottles will not fall out of the lower end or between the vertical bars of the grids. The hammers are withdrawn and released by the cam members and strike the bottles to crush them between the hammers and breaker bars. The fragments fall out of the lower end of guideway 20.

   It will be realised that the invention is not limited to the two described embodiments and various modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims. For example, in the first embodiment, the hammer may be motorised rather than manually operated using a cam arrangement to replace the handle assembly. Furthermore, the lid may be connected to the handle so that the lid is opened as the handle pivots anti clockwise to the position shown in Figure 2 and closes at the handle pivots clockwise.

   WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

   1. Apparatus for shattering frangible articles comprising a guideway for supporting at least one frangible article, a shield around the guideway, and at least one hammer member mounted for movement across the guideway to shatter the article against a part of the guideway so that the shattered article is contained with the shield.

   2. Apparatus as claimed in \ claim 1 in

   which the shield forms part of a housing for the apparatus and the or each hammer member is pivotally mounted within the housing.

   3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the or each hammer member is spring urged towards said parts of the guideway and actuating means are provided for cocking the or each hammer member and releasing it to strike an article in the guideway.

   4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which the actuating means comprises a lever manually operable to cock and release the hammer member.

   5. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the guideway provides a V-sectioned support for a frangible article and there is a single hammer member which is movable towards the apex of the V-section to strike the article.

   6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which breaker bars are provided at said part of the guideway, one of said bars being arranged along each arm of the V-section at said port.

   7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 in which the guideway is formed as a chute and the chute and shield are integrally formed.

   8. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims I to 3 in which there are a plurality of hammer members and said guideway forms a receptacle for a plurality of frangible articles simultaneously.

   9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 when dependent on claim 3 in which the actuating means comprises a cam member for cocking and releasing each hammer member, said cam members being mounted on a rod and a motor being provided to rotate said rod.

   10. Apparatus for shattering frangible articles substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 and 2 or Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.