GB2053065A

GB2053065A - A process and device for dividing lead batteries

Info

Publication number: GB2053065A
Application number: GB7941754A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: BLEIBERGER BERGWERKS UNION AG
Current assignee: BLEIBERGER BERGWERKS UNION AG
Priority date: 1979-07-05
Filing date: 1979-12-04
Publication date: 1981-02-04
Also published as: DE2942751C2; IT1127762B; DE2942751A1; AT362003B; IT7928425A0; ATA467979A; FR2460551A1

Abstract

In the process, batteries 6 are conveyed under the influence of gravity into the region of a knife 1 moving in a horizontal plane, located in a predetermined position relative to the knife and severed at least once, whereupon the solid and liquid components of the battery are segregated and further treated in a conventional way. A device for carrying out the process comprises at least one dropping well (5), Fig. 1, which has at its discharge end at least one movable knife 1, rotatable as shown, at least one stationary counter knife 2 and at least one plate 3, coupled with the knife 1, and located at a distance d as viewed in the dropping direction of the batteries, behind the cutting plane for supporting the batteries during the cutting operation. The rotatable knife or knives may be replaced by a reciprocable knife or knives. The severed slices 6b may be further divided by a bladed rotor 21 a co- operating with a blade 24, Fig. 10. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A process and a device for dividing lead batteries The invention relates to a process and a device for dividing lead batteries for the purpose of recovering lead from the storage battery scrap.

Modern, acid-filled lead or starter batteries consist of about 55 percent of their weight of lead and lead compounds. The acid filling amounts to about 25 percent by weight. The remainder of the weight is taken up by the casing material and the separators.

The recovery of the lead content of the batteries is therefore of paramount importance for reasons not only of economy but also of environment protection.

As a result of this importance, a large number of methods for the processing of storage battery scrap has been developed over the years.

One of the most essential steps in each processing method is the opening of the batteries. The only exception to this is the process for the metallurgical treatment of complete batteries in the shaft furnace according to Varta, although it is limited to a small number of processing companies with particular marketing conditions for the smelted hard lead.

Moreover, even this method requires the opening of the batteries, as the battery acid would greatly impede the shaft furnace process and must thus be drained first.

The casing of hard rubber, bakelite or plastic material surrounding the battery proper must be divided to the extent where the leadcontaining material can drop out or be knocked out.

The simplest and oldest method is that of breaking up the battery casings by dropping them, if necessary by additional use of a heavy hammer or an axe.

This working method, due to the physical effort and hygienic hazard (lead dust) it entails, can be employed at present only in isolated cases and for very small volumes.

And it will become even more difficult in the future to find people who are willing to do this job.

Added to this must be the fact that modern starter batteries are usually provided with casings of plastic material such as polypropylene.

This casing material is so elastic and resistant to breaking that it can no longer, or only with great working effort, be broken up by impacting.

In view of these difficulties, attempts have been made for decades to develop mechanical aids for the opening or dividing of scrap batteries.

Known for some time as saws (circular saws, band saws) and shears with vertically guided shear blades (guillotines) by means of which the lid of the battery is severed. The content of the battery is then manually dumped or knocked out of the casing material and the lid is further crushed in a mill.

The use of shears or saws gives rise to the following problems: Each battery must be firmly clamped down for cutting, which operation is failure-prone at full mechanisation. Damaged batteries are bukly and jam up the cutting device.

Only one cut can be made because the battery cannot be newly clamped down after it. The battery content can therefore be knocked out of the remaining, still very high, casing which great effort only, as the wet packages suck into the casing. In the winter, frozen packages cannot be removed from the casings at all.

When using saws, the following additional particular problems arise: Rapid blunting of the sawteeth requiring frequent sharpening.

Odour and noise nuisance caused by blunt sawteeth. Acid fumes or vapours developed by the rapidly running circular saw blade.

High incidence of saw sludge.

Practice has proven that permanent operation with this type of saw is not to be recommended, for the reasons outlined above. In the course of the search for a solution to the problem of dividing batteries, shears with vertically arranged cutting blade were constructed and used in an extensive series of tests. The results were not quite satisfactory, as just like in the case of the law, the batteries must be manually and individually conveyed into the cutting range of the blades and aligned and fixed according to the desired direction of cut. Cutting itself presents no problem, but removal of the cut-up battery parts from the operating zone and knocking the battery content out of the lower casing halves is troublesome.

For small throughputs of a few hundred tons of batteries per year, this work might be accepted as worth the effort. Such battery shears are actually in use by many scrap dealers, especially in the United States. Their operation represents a certain hazard, however, as the hands keep coming into the operating zone of the shear blade. Added to this must be the hazards of getting splashed by acid and exposed to lead. U.S. Patents Nos. 3,736,823, 3,453,150, 3,152,504 and 3,269,870 all relate to such battery shears in which a linearly moved or stationary kniff in the latter case, the batteries are pressed against the knife by means of a moved plunger-cuts off the lids of the batteries in a plane between the pole connectors and the upper edge of the battery plates.The battery content is then knocked out of the battery casings thus opened, either manually or by means of a mechanical device.

British Patent Specification No. 892,411 relates to a process according to which the batteries are first conveyed through a heated tunnel oven so as to be able to lift the battery lid and the grid plates hanging thereon out of the battery casing after softening of the sealing mass consisting of bitumen. This process is rendered obsolete by the changed presentday construction of starter batteries. As a rule, the lid of the battery is now firmly welded to the casing itself.

For larger throughputs, it has been attempted to make extensive use of mechanised battery shears. The Penarroya Company of Paris-St. Denis has developed hydraulically operated shears with a capacity of simultaneously cutting up to seven batteries aligned on a conveyor belt. The batteries were fixed by means of hydraulically operated plungers. After cutting, the lower halves of the batteries were pushed onto a conveyor belt by means of a hydraulically operated strip. Several people were posted at the end of the conveyor belt in order to knock the battery plates out of the casings.

The plant was dismantled after several years of operation because it proved uneconomical and the complaints of the workers employed there made it impossible to keep running it.

No solution of the problem could thus be expected from this direction. Higher efficiency and better working conditions cannot be achieved unless this shear device is largely mechanised. The movable parts required for this purpose, some of which are very complex, are extremely failure-prone under the corrosive influence of leaking battery acid.

Further, any such mechanism is blocked time and again by bulky casing fragments and battery sludge.

These difficulties are avoided in a process according to the invention for dividing lead batteries by cutting the batteries with a knife in such a way that each battery is conveyed from above under the influence of gravity to a knife movable in an essentially horizontal plane, is then fixed in a certain position in relation to the knife and cut by the knife once or several times, whereupon the solid and liquid battery components are segregated in a conventional manner and further processed.

According to a preferred form of the process of the invention, the movable knife executes a rotating motion.

This proposal was based on the conviction that it would be technically advantageous in view of driving the device to provide a knife mounted on a rotating shaft. Providing a device based on the rotor principle, as known per se in chopping devices, for carrying out the process according to the invention, was only possible after surmounting various basic difficulties.

The most serious among these difficulties were feeding the batteries to the device, adjustment of a certain cutting distance (measured from the top of the battery down), fixing the battery to avoid its tilting during the cutting operation and ejection of the lower battery parts after severing of the lid.

The usual solutions for these problems, such as plate conveyors, hoisting beams and hydraulic systems, would have been technically extremely complex and thus failureprone, aside from the corrosion by sulphuric acid.

All this led to the deliberation to make the rotor knife rotate horizontally and to feed the batteries to it from above. This in turn gave rise to the problem that the batteries dropping down had to be caught at a certain position (height) and fixed for the cutting operation.

Claws or plates steered over the knife position and horizontally pivoting into the well below the knife would have become very failure-prone machine parts, partly squashed batteries would have clogged up the well.

All these problems are solved in the device according to the invention for carrying out the process previously mentioned by providing at least one drop well for the batteries at the outled end of which a movable knife whose cutting plane is arranged transversely or essentially vertically in respect of the well is provided, with at least one stationary counter knife being arranged at the outlet end of the well, and with at least one plate coupled with the movable knife in respect of its movement provided essentially parallelly to the cutting plane of the movable knife and-viewed in dropping direction of the batteries at a dis- tance behind the cutting plane, said plates serving for supporting the batteries during the cutting process.

Here again, it is particularly advantageous if the movable knife is a rotating knife and the plate coupled therewith is a rotating plate.

This means that if the instant device is provided in the space between a horizontally rotating double knife with rotating plates or disks staggered downwards at a desired distance and rigidly connected to the knife shaft, it is possible without additional movable parts to make a battery introduced into the charging well in the desired position drop down to exactly that level where it is severed in the required spot by the respective cutting knife arranged behind the rotating plate or disk.

The severed slice then freely drops downwards. After the cutting operation, the rest of the battery slides down in the well until it is supported by the next rotating plate. The second cutting blade then severs the next slice and so forth. The height of the rotating plates can be adjusted as required by means of a thread so as to yield the desired cutting height or slice thickness. In addition, this principle results in an ideal fastening of the battery during the cutting operation. The battery is held underneath by the rotating plate and then forced against the corner formed by the two well walls by the rotating knife, so that it is excellently fixed during the entire cutting operation. From the top, the batteries following in the well exert a corresponding contact pressure.The cut-up battery scrap freely drops down through an acid-proof conus formed of baffles and guide plates onto a slowly moving conveyor belt. This belt is so steeply inclined in its first part that the liberated battery acid can flow back into a collecting vessel.

In the search for battery shears of very high hourly capacity, it was found that the principle on which the previously described rotor shears are based can be successfully realised at translational motion of the shear knife and the following supporting plate (see previous rotating plate).

A further form of the process according to the invention is thus characterised in that the moving knife executes a linear reciprocating motion. The corresponding embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterised in that the movable knife is a linearly reciprocating knife and that the plate coupled to this knife carries out a reciprocating motion. The distance between the cutting plane of the movable knife and the supporting plate may be adjustable in this case, as well.

The hydraulic drive required for such translational motion or an excenter drive admittedly have certain disadvantages as compared to a rotating drive, although battery shears provided with a linearly reciprocating shear knife also have certain advantages. For instance, in a device with translational motion of the shear knife, the driving part is arranged completely outside of that portion of the device in which the material flow occurs; shielding the driving part from aggressive components thus presents fewer problems than a rotating drive which would of need have to be arranged below the rotating shear knife. Moreover, the cutting rate of rotating and translational cut is equal, so that a higher capacity can be achieved in a simple way in the case of translational cut by providing multiple arrangements of knives and dropping wells for the batteries.

A particularly advantageous development of the process according to the invention is thus characterised in that each battery is fixed during the cutting operation at a certain distance behind the cutting plane as viewed in the feeding direction.

An essential advantage of the invention resides in the fact that fixing the battery does not require a possibly failure-prone fixing means. Fixing during the cutting operation is effected by engagement of the cutting knife in the battery, forcing the material into the corner (counter knife) and the weight of the material column supported by the battery to be cut.

The basic principle of the invention, the essentially horizontal guidance of the shear knife and the supporting of the batteries moved downwards in the well under the force of gravity during the cutting operation by means of a supporting plate moved synchronously with the shear knife, is thus successfully applied in the case of the rotary shears as well as the linearly reciprocating shear knife (battery planing tool).

The process and the device according to the invention described so far thus produce diskshaped battery scrap. If the following segregating and dressing operations require battery scrap of even smaller dimensions, a further development of the process according to the invention provides for the solid battery components, after the first cutting operation, to be conveyed to a further knife rotor of cylindrical shape, preferably under use of the force of gravity, for further dividing in a cutting direction essentially vertical to the cutting direction of the first movable knife, with the cuttings or slices produced by the first knife falling into the gaps of the cylindrical second knife rotor and then being guided against the top knife and sheared off by the following knife.The corresponding embodiment of the device according to the invention is characterised in that a second cylindrical knife rotor whose shaft is positioned essentially parallelly to the cutting plane of the movable knife is provided behind the movable knife which is arranged at the discharge end of the dropping well.

Further features and advantages of the invention are evident from the following, by no means limiting examples in which the invention is described in detail under reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic view of the entire plant for carrying out the process according to the invention in a first embodiment of the device according to the invention with rotating knife; Figure 2 a front elevation view of the device according to the invention with rotating knife; Figure 3 the plan view thereof; Figure 4 a diagrammatic view of a second embodiment of the device according to the invention with linearly reciprocating knife in section along line I-I in Fig. 5; Figure 5 the plan view thereof; Figure 6 a section along line Ill-Ill in Fig.

4; Figure 7 a diagrammatic view of a variant of the second embodiment of the device according to the invention in section along line lV-lV in Fig. 8; Figure 8 the plan view thereof; Figure 9 a section along line VI-VI in Fig.

7; Figure 10 a partially sectional front elevation view, viewed in the direction of the shaft of the knife rotor, of the second cylindrical knife rotor which is optionally provided behind the devices according to Figs. 2 to 9; Figure 11 a front elevation view vertical to this direction and Figure 12 the plan view thereof without the housing.

In the figures, parts of like function are provided with identical reference symbols.

Figs. 1 to 3 show how scrap batteries 6 of various dimensions are conveyed from the battery bunker 16 in the direction of arrow 17 to the cutting device with rotating knife; the batteries are preferably conveyed under use of the force of gravity, optionally combined with a conveyor.

In the cutting device, a horizontally arranged two-bladed shear knife 1 is connected to, and thus rotates with, rotating shaft 7 which rotates in arrow direction 9 (Figs. 2 and 3). Shaft 7 is driven from below via motor 15 and bevel gears 18 and 19. The cutting device further comprises the stationary counter knife 2 and rotating plate (rotor disk) 3 also connected to and rotating with shaft 7.

The plan view of Fig. 3 shows the counter knife 2 to have a corner 10 pointing approximately in the rotation path of the rotating knife 1 whose direction is indicated by arrow 9. Battery 6a to be cut up is forced into corner 10 of the counter knife 2 by the pressure of the rotating knife and thus held against displacement in a radial and/or peripheral direction. From below, battery 6a to be cut up is held by the rotating plate 3 which is arranged parallel to the rotating knife 1, but at a distance d from the knife viewed in dropping direction of the batteries. From above, battery 6a to be cut up is held by the weight of the following batteries 6 (Fig. 2).

First, a slice 6b whose thickness corresponds to distance d of the rotating plate 3 from the plane of the rotating knife 1 is cut off from battery 6a to be cut up. This cut is made by the first blade of the rotating knife 1.

The distance is adjustable by means of a nut 4. The second blade of rotating knife 1 cuts off a further slice, and so forth. The battery is thus completely cut into slices 6b of adjustable thickness so that the term "battery chopper" seems appropriate for the device. The slices 6b drop through sector-shaped cutouts 8 (Fig. 3) provided in the rotating plate 3 onto a conveyor 11 which conveys them in arrow direction 12 to further processing, optionally to a further dividing means (as explained in the following). Battery acid and battery acid sludge drain in arrow direction 13 in Fig. 1 into a battery acid sludge container 14.

It is understood that knives 1 and 2 are both adjustable and replaceable.

Fig. 2 shows the funnel-shaped dropping well 5 for the batteries 6 and 6a. The batteries are conveyed by gravity through well 5 to the rotating knife 1 which is arranged at the discharge end of well 5 in a rotating plane transverse in respect of the well. Counter knife 2 is also arranged at the discharge end of well 5. The battery poles bear the reference number 6' in Fig. 2.

In the two embodiments of the device according to the invention as shown in Fig. 4 to 9, scrap batteries 6 of various dimensions are conveyed, for instance, from a battery bunker (not shown) in the direction of arrow B to the two dropping wells 5 of the cutting device having a lineraly reciprocating knife; conveying is preferably effected by means of gravity, optionally combined with a conveyor. The battery poles bear the reference number 6'.

In both embodiments, the cutting device proper consists of a sturdy steel profile frame 31. Guides for the knife sled 30 arranged at the discharge end of the dropping wells 5 and linearly reciprocating in an essentially horizontal plane or vertically in respect of the well are fixed to the lateral supports. The guides are represented in Fig. 6 and 9; the knife sled moves on two rails 32 of rectangular profile and adjustable height and is guided by means of sliders 33 fixed on top and on the sides.

It is understood that other types of guides, such as round-bottom or dovetail guides, may also be provided.

A linearly reciprocating motion is imparted to the knife sled 30 via an appropriate lever system from a hydraulically or pneumatically controlled piston drive 7a, excenter drive (crank drive) or the like. Two shear blades 1 a of which one each is associated with one of the dropping wells 5 which are positioned in transverse direction above the main frame 31 are arranged side by side on the knife sled 30. This results in double the cutting capacity as compared to an embodiment with a single shear blade for a given feeding rate of the knife sled 30 or cutting rate of the blades la fixed to the sled.

A stationary counter knife 2 is arranged at the discharge end of each dropping well 5.

The shear blades 1 a are inclined in respect to the counter knifes 2 or the direction of the reciprocating motion in order to achieve an even distribution of the cutting forces (Fig. 5 and 8). The counter knives 2 can be provided with a corner 10 pointing approximately in the direction of the normal of the cutting edge of the respectively associated movable knife.

Battery 6 to be cut up is forced into this corner 10 of the counter knife 2 or into the corner of the dropping well 5 by the pressure of the movable knife 1 a and is thus safely fixed against displacement during the cutting operation (the function of corner 10 is strictly that of fixing and not of cutting). From below, battery 6 to be cut up is held by supporting plate 3a which is arranged parallel in respect of the movable blade 1 a, but at a distance "d" from this viewed in dropping direction of the batteries. From the top, the battery to be cut up is held by the weight of the following batteries 6 (Fig. 4 and 7). The distance "d" between supporting plate 3a and the cutting plane of the blades 1 a, 2 may be adjustable.

Supporting plate 3a can be rigidly connected to the knife sled 30 (Fig. 4 to 6) or articulated to it (Fig. 7 to 9) in such a manner that the supporting plate 3a is arranged parallel to the cutting plane within the zone of the dropping wells 5, but then abruptly tilts downwards so that the remaining fine matter will roll off, as will be explained in the following.

If the device according to the invention is provided in moving direction of the movable knife 1 a viewed from in front of this knife with a supporting plate 3a staggered downwards by a desired distance "d" and connected to the knife sled 30 and the knife sled 30 is passed underneath the dropping well 5 in which the batteries are conveyed by means of gravity exclusively, a battery 6 introduced into well 5 will drop down just so far that it comes to rest on supporting plate 3a; moving knife 1 a following supporting plate 3a severs the battery 6 in the desired spot, i.e. it cuts off a slice of the thickness "d".The severed battery slice freely drops through the free cutout 8a provided between the cutting edge of each movable blade 1 a and the edge of the supporting plate 3a adjacent the blade edge and arranged transversely to the moving direction of the knife sled 30 (c.f., in particular, the plan view representations in Fig. 5 and 8): the battery slices can then, optionally by means of a conveyor, be subjected to further dividing (as explained later on) or to any other phases of treatment. Battery acid and battery acid sludge are collected and conveyed to a battery acid sludge container (not shown).

After reaching the front point of return shortly following the end of the cutting operation-knife sled 30 moves back into the starting position. During this time, battery 6 slides down in the dropping well 5 until it rests on the supporting plate 3a again. Blade 1 a severs the next slice at the next advance stroke, and so forth.

It is understood that blades la and 2 are adjustable and exchangeable.

A further increase in capacity can be achieved by symmetrically doubling knife sled 30 and supporting plate 3a around an axis of symmetry positioned transversely to the cutting direction, so that a total of four blades 1 a is fixed to the knife sled 30, with the two front blades performing the cutting operation during the advance movement of sled 30 and the two rear blades cutting during the retracting movement of the sled. It is understood that in this case, dropping well(s) 5 must be provided with two juxtaposed counter knives and that the multiply provided lever systems (piston drive 7a) must be laterally displaced so as to assure a uniform exposure to force and to avoid displacement (tilting) of sled 30.

The embodiment of the device according to the invention as shown in Fig. 4 to 6 differs from the embodiment represented in Fig. 7 to 9 only by different variants for cleaning supporting plate 3a after the cutting operation.

Particularly in the case of charging battery scrap that is already broken up into small particles, a layer of fine material often remains on supporting plate 3a and thus reduces the effective cutting height resulting from the difference "d" in height between supporting plate 3a and the upper edge of the blade.

For maximum cutting capacity, supporting plate 3a should be freed of remaining material after each cutting operation.

In the variant according to Fig. 4 to 6, this is achieved by a stripper 34 mounted on frame 31 pivotably against spring action and liftably so as to avoid jamming (c.f. double arrows in Fig. 4). The fine material is stripped off by stripper 34 in the direction of arrow F in Fig. 4.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 7 to 9, supporting plate 3a is articulated to knife sled 30 at 35 and held by lateral guide strips 36 which extend parallel to the moving direction of shear blade 1 a within the zone of well 5 and then curve downwards (Fig. 7 and 9).

This results in the supporting plate 3a tilting downwards shortly before the end of the cutting operation, when its supporting action is no longer required, so that the material deposited on it is thrown off in the direction of arrow F in Fig. 7.

If, as in the majority of cases, no exactly defined cut in a certain spot of the battery is intended, particularly if further dividing is to follow, as explained later on, and a treatment installation is connected at the outlet side, scrap batteries or partly devided battery scrap may be dropped into well 5 at random. The scrap is then not severed into slices, but chopped into random pieces of a height limited by distance "d" between blade la and supporting plate 3a.

In this case, fine particles of material remain deposited on supporting plate 3a so that it is practical to clean plate 3a off by either providing a stripper 34 or make it tilt down as described under reference to Fig. 7 to 9.

Fig. 10 to 12 show the post-divider according to the invention which may be arranged on the outlet side of the dividing means shown in Fig. 1 to 9.

If mechanical treatment processes are to follow on the outlet side, it must be assured that each of the battery slices 6b obtained must be cut up in at least one spot so that its content can drop out while slice 6b passes through a rotary tube, while on the other hand, the dimensions of the pieces of cut-up battery scrap must not exceed a given maximum so as to avoid jamming in the means such as separators and sifters arranged on the outlet side.

If the cut of the movable blade 1 or la happens to run parallel to the cell walls of the battery, this results in a slice in the form of a package closed all the way around which passes the treatment means unchanged and fails to release its content. In order to avoid such undesirable results, a further embodiment of the invention provides for a second cylindrical knife rotor to be arranged on the outlet side of movable blade 1 or 1 a to assure that at least one further cut is effected transversely to this package or slice.

According to Fig. 10, the battery slices 6b produced by means of movable blade 1 or 1 a according to Fig. 1 to 9 are conveyed to a second cylindrical knife rotor 21 whose structure and function are explained in detail under reference to Fig. 10 to 12.

The second dividing means essentially consists of a horizontally arranged knife rotor 21 with horizontally arranged shaft 22 whose preferably three to six blades 23 are tangentially arranged in such a manner that they form a knife cylinder. The cylinder surface, however, exists only within the zone of the releasably inserted cutting blades and the arm- or strip-shaped blade holders.

Gaps 22a between the arm- or strip-shaped blade holders are provided for receiving the battery pieces 6b to be further divided. The depth of gaps 22a determines the dimensions of the further divided battery scrap.

The adjustable and exchangeable counter knife or top knife 24 is mounted in the reinforced front wall of the filling hopper 25 above the knife rotor 21.

In the front and lower range, the second dividing means is enclosed by a housing 26.

It is important that shaft 22 of the second knife rotor 21 be arranged essentially parallel in relation to the cutting plane of the movable blade 1 or 1 a of the first dividing device, i.e., for instance, the knife rotors 1 or 21 of the two cutting means according to Fig. 2, 3 and 10 have rotating axes which cross another.

By the embodiment or arrangement of the second knife rotor 21 according to the invention, the cuttings or slices 6b produced by the first movable knife 1 or 1 a drop under the influence of gravity in free fall into the gaps of the cylindrical knife rotor 21, are forced by the following knife holder or knife 23 against the top knife 24 and sheared off at the desired height. The further divided material can then freely drop down.

Essential advantages of this embodiment of the invention over other cutting devices are, among others, that no undivided material can drop through the second knife rotor 21 such as it would be the case, for instance, in a second rotating knife with vertical shaft, and that small rocks and iron parts are kept away from the cutting blade of the post-divider because they preferably drop down to the lowest spot of the gaps 22a in the knife rotor 21.

The second dividing means can preferably be arranged immediately below the first dividing device. If this should be undesirable due to the increased overall height of the battery dividing device, the second dividing means, i.e. the post-divider, can be arranged below the outlet of a discharge conveyor belt removing the slices 6b from the first dividing device or above the inlet of the treatment installation arranged on the outlet side of the second dividing means.

Under application of the process and the device according to the invention, battery dividing plants of all dimensions and capacities can be established: For smallest throughputs, this type of installation, such as the guillotine up to now, will be used for the cutting operation proper, while the remaining operations will be carried out manually.

For large plants with capacities of more than 10000 tons per annum, a fully automatic charge with appropriate discharge devices from storage bunkers and a device for aligning and singling out the batteries will be provided.

While in the smaller plants, the segregating work, essentially removal of the casing fragments, can be carried out manually on the slowly moving discharge conveyor belt, larger plants call for arrangement of the known treatment processes with fully mechanised segregation of the individual battery components on their outlet side.

In the process according to the invention, segregation is effected by drying and opening of the battery scrap in a heated rotary tube with subsequent dry sifting and air separation.

Only the last step, separation of the coarse lead metal from the casing material, is carried out as a wet operation.

In the dressing process according to Stolberger Zink AG and in the process according to Tonolli, the crushed battery scrap is first subjected to wet sifting in order to separate the battery sludge and the coarse fraction is then segregated into lead-containing and leadfree material by means of heavy-media separation.

At present, jaw crushers and rebound crushers are used as a preliminary stage for such plants. But these crushers are not capable of breaking up modern batteries with crush-proof casings of plastic material without tearing up the batteries to such an extent that their content becomes a matted mass which can no longer be properly segregated into its components by means of wet treatment (sink-float segregation) or air classification.

The battery dividing devide according to the invention produces well defined and smoothly severed pieces of scrap.

The separators are obtained in such large pieces that they may easily be separated.

When using shredders, the separators are pulverised and incorporated into the fine particles where they cause trouble during smelting (polyvinyl chloride!) The most important advantages of the invention may be summarised as follows: 1. Simplest possible construction; no sensitive movable parts or arrangement of the few movable parts largely outside of the part of the device where material flow occurs.

2. The device may be charged with acidfilled batteries. The acid liberated can be collected without difficulty. The device can be made acid-proof by means of a few sheets of acid-proof material.

3. High efficiency; by changing the number of revolutions of the knife or by providing a plurality of dropping wells and knives, the capacity can be increased in adjustment to requirements. The device can be fully automatised by providing additional units for supplying the batteries.

4. Advance in the device by force of gravity (dead weight of the batteries).

5. Maximum safety for the operating staff since the working zone may be fully encased.

6. The device is capable of processing large proportions of destroyed or already dismantled batteries.

7. The batteries can be cut into slices of any given thickness. The casing material is therefore obtained in smaller pieces and knocking the plate packages out of the casings is unnecessary.

8. By providing a post-divider, the battery slices obtained by means of the device according to the invention can be further divided.

Post-dividing treatment will be practical if mechanical treatment processes of the type mentioned above are to be supplied with the divided battery scrap.

The applicant built a prototype of such a plant in order to test the functional efficiency of the present invention.

The results were so good that the device was immediately used for operation.

The only additional equipment required to make this prototype fit for actual use in the plant of the applicant were a charging bunker, a discharge conveyor belt and a collecting vessel for sulphuric acid.

This plant has a capacity of at least ten metric tons of batteries per shift and is capable of processing starter batteries of all conventional sizes and types.

Claims

1. A process for dividing lead batteries by cutting them up by means of a knife, said process comprising the steps of conveying each battery from above under the influence of gravity to a knife moving in an essentially horizontal plane, then fixing the battery in a certain position in relation to the knife and severing it once or several times and finally segregating and further processing the solid and liquid components of the battery.

2. A process according to claim 1, wherein the movable knife executes a rotating motion.

3. A process according to claim 1, wherein the movable knife executes a linear reciprocating motion.

4. A process according to claim 2 or 3, wherein after the first cutting operation the solid battery components are conveyed, preferably under utilisation of the force of gravity, in a cutting direction essentially vertical to the cutting direction of the first movable knife, to a further cylindrical knife rotor for further dividing, so that the cuttings or slices produced by the first knife drop into the gaps of the cylindrical second knife rotor and are forced against the top knife by the following knife and sheared off.

5. A device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein each battery is fixed during the cutting operation at a certain distance behind the cutting plane viewed in feeding direction.

6. A device for carrying out the process according to any one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein at least one dropping well (5) is provided for the batteries (6), with at least one movable knife or blade (1, 1a) whose cutting plane is arranged transversely or essentially vertically in relation to the well (5) being provided at the discharge end of the well (5) and at least one stationary counter knife (2) being arranged at the discharge end of well (5) and wherein at least one plate (3, 3a) coupled with the movable knife (1, 1 a) in respect of its motion is provided essentially parallel in relation to the cutting plane of the movable knife (1, la) at a distance (d) behind said cutting plane as viewed in dropping direction of the batteries (6) for supporting said batteries (6) during the cutting operation.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the movable knife is a rotating knife (1) and the plate coupled therewith is a rotating plate (3).

8. A device according to claim 6, wherein the movable knife is a linearly reciprocating knife (1a) and the plate (3a) coupled therewith carries out a reciprocating motion.

9. A device according to any one of the claims 6 to 8, wherein a second knife rotor (21) of cylindrical shape is arranged on the outlet side of the movable knife (1) which is arranged at the discharge end of the dropping well (5), the shaft (22) of the knife rotor (21) being arranged essentially parallel in relation to the cutting plane of the movable knife (1).

10. A device according to claim 7, wherein the rotating plate (3) is rigidly connected to the shaft (7) driving the rotating knife (1).

11. A device according to claim 7 to 10, wherein the rotating plate (3) is of circular shape and provided with at least one cutout (8) approximately in the form of a sector.

12. A device according to claim 7, 10 or 11, wherein the counter knife (2) is provided with at least one corner (10) pointing apprroximately in the direction of the rotating path (arrow 9, Fig. 2, 3) of the rotating knife (1).

13. A device according to claim 8, wherein the moving knife (knives) (la) is (are) fixed to a linearly reciprocating knife sled (30) and the knife sled (30) also carries the supporting plate (3a).

14. A device according to claim 13, wherein the supporting plate (3a) is articulated on the knife sled (30) pivotably around an axis arranged transversely to the moving direction of the knife sled (30) and a guide (36) curving downwards in one portion is provided for the supporting plate (3a) (Fig. 7 to 9).

15. A device according to claim 13 or 14, wherein viewed in plan view a free cutout (8a) for passing the cut-off battery slices is provided between the cutting edge of each movable knife (lea) and that rim of the supporting plate (3a) adjacent the cutting edge and positioned transversely to the moving direction of the knife sled (30).

16. A device according to any one of the claims 8 or 13 to 15, wherein the movable knife (knives) (lea) is (are) inclined in relation to the direction of the reciprocating motion and the stationary counter knife (knives) (2) is (are) provided with a corner (10) approximately pointing in the direction of the cutting edge normal of the respectively associated movable knife (lea).

17. A device according to any one of the claims 6 to 16, wherein the distance (d) between the cutting plane of the movable knife (1, la) and the supporting plate (3, 3a) is adjustable.

18. A device according to claim 9, wherein the second knife rotor (21) is arranged immediately below the outlet of the first dividing device (1-4, la, 2, 3a) containing the movable knife (1, la).

19. A device according to claim 9, wherein the second knife rotor (21) is arranged between the outlet of a discharge conveyor belt (11) which is connected to the outlet of the first dividing device (1-4, 1 a, 2, 3a) containing the movable knife (1, la).

20. A device according to claim 9, wherein the second knife rotor (21) is arranged above the inlet of a treatment installation arranged on the outlet side of the second knife rotor (21).