ITVR20070053A1 - PLANT FOR THE SEPARATION OF SOLID WASTE SIMILAR TO URBANS IN PARTICULAR FOR THE RECOVERY OF LONG AND FLEXIBLE MATERIALS - Google Patents

Description

Description of the invention having as title:

"PLANT FOR THE SEPARATION OF SOLID WASTE SIMILAR TO URBAN IN PARTICULAR FOR THE RECOVERY OF LONG AND FLEXIBLE MATERIALS"

FIELD OF APPLICATION

The present invention relates to an automatic plant which allows to carry out the sorting of solid waste similar to urban, that is non-special, and in particular the separation and sorting of materials, separating from the remainder the long and flexible ones, which can thus be recycled.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a device which allows the extraction from waste materials (mostly packaging) of commercial, industrial or construction site origin of long, light, flexible and not very thick materials (films, sheets, strapping, etc.) which normally hinder the carrying out of a correct sorting of the various types.

The device according to the invention is constituted by a drum which rotates on its axis and equipped, along the circumference, with suitably inclined radial rods. The drum performs a rotary motion such that the rods intersect orthogonally the "plane" of transit of the material. The rods accompany this material in the appropriate container.

The present invention finds application in the field of waste sorting and valorisation plants, in particular solid waste similar to urban waste, ie non-special and non-toxic waste.

STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

The willingness and general interest to dispose of and, if possible, valorise waste is well known.

The technique has today developed many technical solutions for the selection of waste, a selection that is a mandatory step in order to enhance the waste itself.

The technical solutions already developed today can be summarized as follows:

• rotating screens;

• ballistic screens;

• aeraulic systems;

• optical-electronic systems.

These technical solutions have found a good field of use for treating municipal solid waste, in which they allow to separate the initial heterogeneous flow into several sub-flows, each with a good level of homogeneity; such sub-flows require limited human intervention for selection or quality control.

The treatment of solid waste similar to urban waste, on the other hand, has benefited in a very limited way from this technical development and one of the main reasons is the presence inside such waste of long, light, flexible and not very thick materials such as wrapping films, packaging film, sheets, straps, cables, eco.

All these materials, although of non-special and non-toxic origin, represent a serious problem for the treatment, as they hinder the carrying out of a correct sorting of the various types.

In fact, with the use of traditional waste sorting plants, it frequently happens that polyethylene tapes or nylon tarps or threads wrap and hold smaller materials, clogging the plant or at least preventing their selection. When this happens, the sorting operators are forced to stop the plant and manually proceed with the recovery of this material by removing it from the conveyor belt, so as to liberate the remaining material in a rather laborious way that can continue in the selection process.

Alternatively, it is sometimes preferred to omit the selection of the heterogeneous assembly, with considerable economic damage since, among other things, polyethylene or plastic films generally represent a type of high-value recyclable material.

The recovery, at this point obviously desirable, of these materials, therefore offers three advantages:

• better sorting of other waste;

• the possibility (once recovered and separated by type) to be able to recycle them;

• the possibility of treating existing plants, created to treat solid urban waste, also solid waste similar to urban waste.

Currently a system for the recovery of plastic materials, light and with an extended surface, such as polyethylene belts or belts or nylon sheets, has been devised in the machine object of patent n. EP 1.105.222.

This patent provides for combining a transport device on which the heterogeneous set of materials slides with a pick-up device for picking up the materials. The pick-up device consists of a conveyor equipped with teeth which acts on the heterogeneous flow of materials; the teeth at the moment of the withdrawal effect a pressure on the same material.

Even this solution, however, is subject to considerable evident functional limits, if one wishes to apply it to the treatment of solid waste similar to urban waste as these are not suitable for the active action of pick-up teeth. By their nature such waste is in fact frequently bulky, large and heavy. For example, the packaging cartons: they are difficult to manage, they do not lend themselves to being picked up by teeth and in addition they act as a shield to the underlying materials.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes to provide a plant for the separation and consequent recycling of long and flexible products, capable of eliminating or at least reducing the drawbacks highlighted above.

The invention furthermore proposes to provide a plant for the recovery, disposal and recycling of long and flexible products which is very simple to manufacture so as to be economically inexpensive and advantageous from the point of view of production, so as to be of widespread even on a large scale.

This is achieved by means of a plant for the recovery, disposal and recycling of long and flexible products, the characteristics of which are described in the main claim.

The dependent claims of the solution in question outline advantageous embodiments of the invention.

The main advantages of this solution, in addition to all those deriving from the constructive simplicity, first of all concern the fact that the waste products of the long fiber type are collected by a special device that channels these products towards a lane different from that of the products of normal size or nature.

Preferably, the lane is arranged laterally and this is why the selector device is constituted, in its preferred embodiment, by a drum which rotates on its axis and is provided, along the circumference, with radially and suitably inclined rods.

This solution, as will be seen better below, provides for the drum to perform a rotary motion in such a way that the rods affect the transit flow of the material to be selected.

The rods are suitably spaced between them and inclined with respect to the plane of the drum.

The inclination of the rods themselves with respect to the plane of the drum causes each rod to gradually pass from a horizontal position as it affects the flow of the material to a vertical position.

The effect of this movement causes the rods to accompany the long and flexible material in the appropriate container.

ILLUSTRATION OF DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become evident upon reading the following description of an embodiment of the invention, provided by way of non-limiting example, with the aid of the drawings illustrated in the attached tables, in which:

Figure 1 represents the schematic side view of the plant according to the invention as a whole;

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic plan view thereof;

Figures 3 and 4 show schematic side and plan views, respectively, of details of the extractor device of the plant according to the invention;

Figures 5 and 6 show schematic side and plan views respectively of the plant according to the invention according to a further embodiment;

Figures 7 and 8 show schematic side and plan views respectively of the plant according to the invention according to a further embodiment;

Figures 9 and 10 show schematic side and plan views, respectively, of details of the extractor device of the implant according to the embodiment of Figures 7 and 8;

Figures 11 and 12 show schematic side and plan views, respectively, of a variant of the detail of the extractor device of the implant according to the embodiment of Figures 7 and 8, variant obtained by doubling the extraction mechanism;

Figures 13 and 14 show schematic side and plan views respectively of the plant according to the invention according to a further embodiment;

Figures 15 and 16 show schematic side and plan views, respectively, of details of the extractor device of the implant according to the embodiment of Figures 13 and 14;

Figures 17 and 18 show schematic side and plan views respectively of the plant according to the invention according to a further embodiment;

Figures 19 and 20 show schematic side and plan views respectively of the plant according to the invention according to a further embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION With reference to the attached figures, the plant according to the invention, indicated as a whole with 10, in its preferred embodiment, illustrated in figures 1 to 4, is substantially constituted by one or more belts conveyors 11 and 12 placed in succession, suitable for transporting the product.

At least one of these belts, namely the belt 12, allows the product to reach an elevated area, in correspondence with which a device for sorting long products according to the invention is arranged, indicated with 13.

The sorting device 13 which is fixed under the towing head of the belt 12, is composed of a drum 14 carrying a plurality of rods 15 which are physically designed to intercept the long and flexible materials.

The drum 14 is mounted on a shaft 16, placed on a bracket 17, receives the rotary motion from a gearmotor 18.

In turn, the bracket 17 is mounted on a column 19 which supports the selection device in height, and which is fixed to the ground through the use of a fixing plate 20.

In the first version described and illustrated, the drum 14 is arranged on an axis inclined for example by about 45 ° and the rods 15 are arranged radially but also at a certain angle with respect to the axis of the drum, to form a substantially frusto-conical arrangement .

This allows the drum 14 carrying the rods 15 to rotate continuously moved by means of the shaft 16 by the gearmotor 18.

The machine is, as mentioned, placed directly under the conveyor belt drive head and the materials transported by the conveyor belt fall into the area directly below and can be collected by a first collection belt 21, while the long and flexible product selected by the device according to the invention, it is arranged on a second belt 22, parallel to the previous one or in any case positioned outside the collection area of the first belt.

The collection belts 21 and 22 are arranged orthogonally to the direction of advancement of the transfer belt 12.

The materials of small size or of rigid structure fall directly onto the first belt 21 and are only marginally disturbed by the movement of the rods 15 of the machine.

On the contrary, long and flexible materials, such as cables, straps, films, etc., tend to dangle for a certain period (which depends on their length) from the head of the belt, allowing them to be first pushed laterally by the rods 15, diverting their fall on an area different from the natural fall area, ie towards the second separate collection belt 22. The oblique arrangement of the drum 14 and of the rods 15 which pass from a horizontal to a vertical position, allows the rods, while in the upper part they are arranged horizontally and can intercept the long and flexible materials which are suspended from the head of the belt, can then push them sideways, and finally hold them laterally, until the next rod arrives, making sure to release these materials downwards, arranging them on the second conveyor belt 22.

The separation efficiency and the dimensions of the extracted pieces depend on the speed of the device with respect to the belt speed and on the distance of the machine from the belt drive head.

In this way it is possible to set more adjustments between the two limit situations:

• the sorting machine 13 is positioned very close to the drive head of the belt 12 and has a high rotation speed:

the machine has a strong efficiency, also extracting medium flexible bodies (less than 1.5 meters)

• the sorting machine 13 is positioned far from the belt drive head (there is therefore a strong fall of the material, for example 2 meters) and has a slow rotation speed:

the machine has a limited effectiveness and loses long bodies of less than 2-3 meters; instead it intercepts the longer bodies.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a machine entirely similar to the one previously described, with the only difference that the drum 23, instead of being arranged below and in axis with the supply belt 12, is arranged laterally and with an orthogonal axis with respect to the belt. same.

In this case the drum 23 selects all the long rigid and flexible products and only secondarily the long and flexible materials are picked up from the belt 22 while the long and rigid products continue beyond.

Figures 7 and 8 instead illustrate a solution in which the selector 24 is not of the drum type, but of the oscillating rod type.

As can be seen in the details of Figures 9 and 10, the selector device 24 comprises a support frame 25 associated with a fulcrum 26 on which a movable oscillating slide 27 is pivoted.

The selector device 24 is fixed by means of brackets 28 to the conveyor belt 12, while what determines the movement of the oscillating slide 27 is constituted by an actuator cylinder (pneumatic or hydraulic) 29 fixed on the frame 25.

The slide 27 is equipped at its end with a sliding rod 30 which physically intercepts the long and flexible materials. The sliding rod can move from a retracted to an extended position and vice versa, through the use of a further actuator cylinder 31 whose rod is connected to an appendage 32 which allows the rod 30 to move in and out.

From the functional point of view, the slide 27 moved by the cylinder 29 continuously travels forward and backward quarter circles having the fulcrum 26 as its center. The rod 30 placed on the slide 27 laterally deviates the long and flexible materials transported by the overlying belt 12, making them fall sideways to the normal place of fall, i.e. on the belt 22, while the short and rigid materials fall on the belt 21.

In Figures 11 and 12, the preceding device is doubled, so that the cylinders 31 come into operation allowing the rods to be withdrawn only at precise moments, thus allowing the long and flexible materials to be conveyed from one side only.

The operation of the device in relation to the belt to which it is coupled can have a mode with continuous operation of the belt and continuous operation of the device (solution A), or with alternating operation of the belt and the device (solution B).

For example, the tape advances for about 2 meters and then stops, then the device cycle starts, after which the device stops, and finally the tape restarts.

The separation efficiency and the dimensions of the extracted pieces depend on the speed of the device compared to the speed of the belt.

For example, if you want to extract materials longer than 2 meters, the device must perform a complete cycle at least in the time it takes for the belt to travel 2 meters in solution A, while in solution B the device must double its speed.

Figures 13 to 16 illustrate a solution in which the device for selecting long and flexible materials is obtained by using a gripper 34.

In this case the machine of which the gripper 34 is part is positioned at a pre-defined distance, in front of the towing head of the conveyor belt 12 to which it is associated.

The gripper 34 is in axis with the belt, while the structure and arm of the machine itself are arranged parallel, but displaced with respect to the axis of the belt.

In the latter case, the machine is composed of an arm 35 hinged by means of a fulcrum 36 to a support structure 37 and carrying, at the opposite end, the gripper 34, which is substantially composed of two jaws hinged together which are they can join or divide by means of actuator cylinders 34 '.

The rotation of the arm 35 is driven by an actuator cylinder 38, while the angular position of the gripper is regulated by an actuator cylinder 39.

From the functional point of view, the rest or initial position of this device is with the arm 35 in the high position, and in this phase therefore the cylinder 38 is fully extended.

Now the cylinder 39 extends retracting the gripper 34 to close to take the long and flexible product, while the cylinder 38 is retracted until the arm 35 is completely lowered.

The gripper cylinders 34 'activate the opening of the gripper 34, the cylinder 39 is shortened, making the gripper advance, while the gripper 34 activated by the gripper cylinders 34' closes, capturing the materials dangling from the belt drive head.

Continuing in the work cycle, the cylinder 39 extends by retracting the gripper 34, the cylinder 38 extends by raising the arm 35 to the high position.

Then the gripper 34, activated by the cylinders 34 'opens, depositing the long bodies in a suitable space or, better still, on a special machine which completes their recovery.

The operation of the device in relation to the belt to which it is coupled can have several modes, but the privileged one provides for an "alternate" operation of the belt with the machine, and in particular that, when the gripper 34 advances under the head of the belt and closes , the tape is stationary.

The separation efficiency depends on the speed of the device relative to the speed of the belt.

Finally, figures 17 and 18 illustrate an embodiment in which the long and flexible material selector device consists of a catenary 40 with rods 41 moving on a plane tangent to the transit of the material or orthogonal to the transit of the material. itself, as shown in Figures 19 and 20. The rods 41, placed on the catenary 40, push the long and light material, conveying it onto a container or onto a dedicated conveyor belt 22, while the remaining product is deposited on the conventional belt 21.

As can be seen, the separation of this particular type of waste from the remainder, using the teachings according to the invention, is performed at the beginning of the selection cycle, without the possibility of retaining other types of waste, automatically and sending it to a dedicated line of treatment.

In summary, the types used in the plant according to the invention are substantially seven:

a) by means of a drum that rotates on its axis and equipped, along the circumference, with rods with a radial course and suitably inclined. The drum performs a rotary motion which is tangent to the transit of the material. The rods must be suitably spaced between them and inclined with respect to the plane of the drum. The rods intersect orthogonally the flow of material and accompany the long and flexible material in the appropriate container or on a conveyor belt;

b) A drum that rotates on its axis and is equipped, along the circumference, with suitably inclined radial rods. The drum performs a rotary motion on a plane that is orthogonal to the transit of the material. The rods must be suitably spaced between them and inclined with respect to the plane of the drum. The rods accompany the long and flexible material in the appropriate container or on a conveyor belt.

c) A rod, pivoted at one of its ends, which performs an alternating motion on a plane that intersects the transit of the material. The rod pushes the long and light material on the two opposite sides and conveys it to the appropriate container or onto a conveyor belt.

d) A pair of rods pivoted at one of their ends which each perform in a co-ordinated way an alternating motion on a plane that intersects the transit of the material. The rods push the long, light material to one side, conveying it onto a container or onto a conveyor belt.

e) A rod, pivoted at one of its ends and which performs an alternating motion on a plane tangent to the transit of the material and equipped at the mobile end with pincers that capture the long and flexible material and accompany it in the appropriate container or on a conveyor belt.

f) a catenary with rods that move on a plane tangent to the transit of the material. The rods push the long and light material, conveying it on a container or on a conveyor belt.

g) A catenary with rods that move on a plane orthogonal to the transit of the material itself. The rods push the long and light material, conveying it on a container or on a conveyor belt.

The invention has been previously described with reference to a preferential embodiment thereof. However, it is clear that the invention is susceptible of numerous variants which fall within its scope, within the framework of technical equivalences

Claims (26)

CLAIMS 1. Plant for the treatment of solid waste similar to urban waste in particular for the recovery of long and flexible materials, said plant comprising conveyor belts (11, 12) placed in succession, suitable for transporting the product, at least one (12) of these belts allowing the product to reach an elevated area, characterized in that at least one sorting device for long products (13) is arranged in correspondence with said elevated area, comprising at least one support element for one or more rods (15, 30, 41) or gripping elements (34) whose action determines the selection of said material and its deposit towards a specially dedicated container or conveyor (22). 2. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to the preceding claim, characterized by the fact that said sorting device (13) which is fixed under the driving head of the belt (12), is composed of a drum (14) carrying a plurality of rods (15) designed to intercept the long and flexible materials in advance. 3. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said drum (14) is mounted on a shaft (16), placed on a bracket (17), which receives the rotary motion from a gearmotor or the like (18). 4. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in turn the bracket (17) is mounted on a column (19) which supports the selection device in height, and which is fixed to the ground through the use of a fixing plate (20). 5. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said drum (14) is arranged on an inclined axis, for example of about 45 °, and the rods (15) it supports are arranged radially but also at a certain angle with respect to the axis of the drum, to form a substantially frusto-conical arrangement. 6. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said machine 13 is placed directly under the driving head of the conveyor belt (12) and the materials transported by the conveyor belt fall into the area directly below and can be collected by a first collection belt (21), while the long and flexible product selected by the device according to the invention, is placed on a second belt (22), parallel to the previous one or in any case positioned outside the first ribbon collection area. 7. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said collection belts (21, 22) are arranged orthogonally to the direction of advancement of the transfer belt (12). 8. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that long and flexible materials, such as cables, straps, films, etc., tend to hang down for a certain period (which depends on their length) from the head of the belt, allowing them to be first pushed laterally by the rods (15), diverting their fall onto an area different from the natural fall area, that is towards the second separate collection belt (22). 9. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the oblique arrangement of the drum (14) and of the rods (15) which pass from a horizontal to a vertical position, allows the rods , while in the upper part they are arranged horizontally, they can intercept the long and flexible materials that are suspended from the head of the belt, then they can push them sideways, and finally hold them laterally, until the next rod arrives, making sure to release these materials towards the bottom, placing them on the second conveyor belt (22). 10. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drum (23) instead of being arranged below and in axis with the supply belt (12), is arranged below but laterally and with axis orthogonal to the belt itself. 11. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drum (23) selects all the long rigid and flexible products and only secondarily the long and flexible materials are picked up from the belt (22 ) while long and rigid products continue on. 12. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device for selecting the long and flexible materials is of the oscillating rod type (24). 13. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the selector device (24) comprises a support frame (25) to which a fulcrum (26) is associated, on which a mobile oscillating slide (27). 14. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said selector device (24) is fixed by means of brackets (28) to the conveyor belt (12), while what determines the movement of the slide oscillating (27) consists of a cylinder (29) fixed on the frame (25). 15. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the slide (27) is equipped at its end with a sliding rod (30) which physically intercepts the long and flexible materials. 16. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the sliding rod (30) can move from a retracted to an extended position and vice versa, through the use of an additional actuator cylinder (31) whose stem is connected to an appendix (32) which allows the rod (30) to move in and out. 17. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the cylinder (31) comes into operation allowing the rod to be withdrawn only at specific moments, thus allowing long materials to be conveyed and flexible on one side only. 18. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the separation efficiency and the dimensions of the extracted pieces depend on the speed of the device with respect to the speed of the belt. 19. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device for selecting the long and flexible materials is obtained by using pliers (34). 20. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the machine of which the grippers (34) are part, is positioned at a pre-defined distance, in front of the belt drive head conveyor (12) to which it is associated. 21. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said grippers (34) are in axis with the belt, while the structure and arm of the machine itself are arranged parallel, but displaced with respect to the axis of the tape. 22. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the machine is composed of an arm (35) hinged by means of a fulcrum (36) to a support structure (37) and load bearing, at the opposite end, the gripper (34), which is substantially composed of two jaws hinged together which can be joined or divided by means of actuator cylinders (34 '). 23. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotation of the arm (35) is driven by an actuator cylinder (38), while the angular position of the gripper is regulated by a cylinder actuator (39). 24. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the separation efficiency depends on the speed of the device with respect to the speed of the belt. 25. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the long and flexible material selector device consists of a catenary (40) with rods (41) which move on a plane tangent to the transit of the material or orthogonal to the transit of the material itself. 26. Plant for the separation of solid waste similar to urban waste according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rods (41), placed on the catenary (40), push the long and light material, conveying it on a container or on a belt dedicated conveyor (22), while the remaining product is deposited on the conventional belt (21).