JP2007260709A - Vessel compression device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure the smooth parallel translation of a pressing plate by a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: The vessel compression device 1 equipped with: an enclosure 10; a compression chamber 12 for storing a vessel and compressing the same; a pressing plate 13 as one side of the compression chamber 12 capable of parallel translation to the normal direction; and a driving mechanism for translating the pressing plate 13 comprises: a first gear line 14 composed of two gears arranged in a direction orthogonal to the translation direction of the pressing plate 13 and in which each gear is pivoted to the enclosure; a second gear line 15 having almost the same constitution as that of the first gear line 14 and arranged at a position parallel-translated to a direction orthogonal to the rotary face of the same gear; a gear link member for connecting the confronting gears in the first gear line 14 and the second gear line 15; and a pressing link member for connecting the eccentric positions of the respective gears in the first and second gear lines with the pressing plate 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a container compression apparatus for crushing containers such as cans and plastic bottles, and more particularly to an apparatus intended to be incorporated in a kitchen cabinet.

  Currently, waste collection is being carried out in local governments throughout the country. Currently, separate collection of combustible garbage and non-combustible garbage progresses and is collected and collected from each household on the designated collection date and designated place. That is, waste is accumulated in each household until the designated collection date. Among the accumulated waste, the container waste is particularly bulky and bulky. If this is stored indoors, the storage space may be compressed, and if stored outdoors, the landscape may be damaged, which is a cause of lost treatment.

  Therefore, conventionally, various container compression apparatuses having various configurations have been proposed and provided. In the past, there has been widely provided an apparatus configured to connect two steel plates in a hinge shape and compress the container with the weight of the user. In recent years, many electric types have been adopted due to miniaturization of motors and the like, and the configuration for moving the pressing plate in parallel has increased. For example, an empty can crushing device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2550512 (Patent Document 1) has a configuration in which a pressure plate is fed by rotating a ball screw, and the can is sandwiched between a fixed pressure plate and a pressure plate that are the inner walls of the compression chamber. ing.

  However, when the container is compressed by moving the pressing plate in parallel, the pressing plate may be inclined because the compression load is not always applied to the pressing plate. In such a case, there is a risk that not only the compression becomes incomplete, but also the attachment part of the pressing plate is damaged, or the sliding mechanism is bitten and smooth parallel movement becomes difficult. Therefore, various proposals have conventionally been made regarding a mechanism for moving the pressing plate.

  For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-328797 (Patent Document 2) describes a configuration in which a guide rail (rod) is inserted into both ends of a pressing plate (moving pressing body) and the pressing plate is slid. At this time, the guide rail is received by the guide body loosely fitted to the fixed pressing plate (fixed pressing body), so that the uneven load can be dispersed and the biting can be prevented.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-016792 (Patent Document 3) describes a configuration in which a pressing plate is moved in parallel using a gear. That is, the back surface of the fixed pressing plate (fixed plate) is provided with two pinion gears arranged vertically on both the left and right sides. Each pinion gear meshes with each other and also meshes with a rack gear provided in a housing that supports a pressing plate (movable plate). Further, the left and right pinion gears are connected by a connecting shaft and are configured to rotate integrally. According to the above configuration, since the movement of the pressing plate in the vertical and horizontal directions is synchronized, it is possible to prevent the inclination.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2550512 JP 7-328797 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-016792

  An object of the present invention is to provide a container compression device that can uniformly crush a container and that is inexpensive and saves space by ensuring a smooth parallel movement of a pressing plate with a simpler configuration.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a typical configuration of a container compression device according to the present invention includes a housing, a compression chamber for accommodating and compressing a container, and one surface of the compression chamber in a normal direction. In the container compressing device provided with a pressing plate that can be moved in parallel and a drive mechanism that moves the pressing plate, the container compression device includes two gears arranged in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the pressing plate, and each gear is A first gear train that is pivotally supported by the housing, and a second gear train that is substantially the same configuration as the first gear train, and is arranged at a position translated in a direction perpendicular to the rotation surface of the gear. A gear link member that connects gears facing each other in the first gear train and the second gear train, and the eccentric positions and the pressures of the gears in the first and second gear trains, respectively. And a pressing link member that connects the plates.

  According to the above configuration, smooth parallel movement of the pressing plate can be ensured with a simple configuration. At this time, the pressing plate can be moved by one driving mechanism.

  The drive mechanism may be directly connected to the pressing plate, and the two gears in the first and second gear trains may mesh with each other. It is a specific structural example of a link mechanism.

  Further, the two gears in the first and second gear trains may mesh with a gear portion provided in the drive mechanism. As a result, the required output of the motor can be reduced, so that the apparatus can be reduced in size, the production cost can be reduced, and the power consumption can be reduced by reducing the output of the motor.

  It is preferable that the gear link member and the pressing link member are integrally formed. Thereby, the rigidity of these members can be increased easily.

  The gear may be fan-shaped. As a result, the rotation radius of the gear is increased, and the stroke of the pressing plate can be increased.

  It is preferable that the container compressing device is housed in a drawer of a kitchen cabinet, and the upper surface of the compression chamber is opened when the drawer is pulled out. By incorporating it in the kitchen cabinet in this way, a new installation space is not required when installing the container compression apparatus in the home, and the apparatus can be easily accepted.

  According to the present invention, by ensuring a smooth parallel movement of the pressing plate with a simple configuration, the container can be uniformly crushed, and an inexpensive and space-saving container compressing apparatus can be provided.

{First Example}
A first embodiment of a container compression apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a container compressing device according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an exploded configuration diagram of the container compressing device, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of being incorporated in a kitchen cabinet. In addition, the numerical values such as specific materials and dimensions described in this embodiment are examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified.

  The container compression apparatus 1 is demonstrated using FIG. 1 and FIG. The casing 10 of the container compressing device 1 is configured as a unit with a frame structure in which metal angle members are combined. The inside of the housing 10 is divided into a mechanism portion 11 in which a motor and gears described later are accommodated, and a compression chamber 12 for accommodating and compressing the container. The boundary between the mechanism portion 11 and the compression chamber 12 is partitioned by a pressing plate 13 constituting one surface of the compression chamber.

  The pressing plate 13 can be translated in the normal direction. The pressing plate 13 is configured to compress the container put into the compression chamber 12 by moving in the direction of narrowing the compression chamber 12 toward the fixed pressing plate 12a that is the inner wall facing the compression chamber 12. .

  An elastic member 30 made of rubber is attached to the opposing surfaces of the pressing plate 13 and the fixed pressing plate 12a. As the elastic member 30, for example, synthetic rubber (neoprene rubber: durometer hardness A65 to 90) can be suitably used. The thickness of the elastic member 30 is desirably about 20 mm. In addition, the elastic member 30 is not provided on the entire surface of the pressing plate 13 and the fixed pressing plate 12a, but is preferably provided in a range of about 2 cm to 9 cm from the lower end.

  The pressing plate 13 is directly connected to a motor 40 as a driving means and a drive transmission mechanism. More specifically, the worm gear 40a attached to the rotation shaft of the motor 40 transmits the drive to the drive gear 41 and rotates the shaft 42. A screw (not shown) is cut on the outer periphery of the shaft 42, and a cylinder 43 having a screw (not shown) cut on the inner periphery is expanded and contracted. The cylinder 43 is connected to the substantially central portion of the pressing plate 13 and presses it. In this way, the rotational driving force of the motor 40 is converted into a linear motion for the parallel movement of the pressing plate 13.

  Further, the cylinder 43 is provided with a protrusion 43a, and is configured to detect by two limit switches 44a and 44b fixed to the housing 10 when the cylinder 43 expands and contracts. The limit switch 44a that detects the protrusion 43a when the cylinder 43 is extended is set so that the gap between the pressing plate 13 and the fixed pressing plate 12a is 10 mm. When the limit switch 44a is input, the control means (CPU) (not shown) stops the pressing plate 13 for 1 second and maintains the compressed state, and then reverses the rotation direction of the motor 40 to move the pressing plate 13 to the original position. To complete the compression process.

  The limit switch 44b that detects the protrusion 43a when the cylinder 43 is contracted is set so that the gap between the pressing plate 13 and the fixed pressing plate 12a is 97 mm. This is because the object of compression is a beverage container in the present embodiment, and the width of the container is approximately 52 to 90 mm.

  Next, a link mechanism for translating the pressing plate 13 will be described. A first gear train 14 is attached to the upper surface of the housing 10, and a second gear train 15 is attached to the lower surface. The second gear train 15 has substantially the same configuration as the first gear train 14 and is disposed at a position where the first gear train 14 is translated in a direction perpendicular to the rotation surface of the gear.

  The first gear train 14 and the second gear train 15 include two gears 16 and 17 arranged in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the pressing plate 13. The gears 16 and 17 have a fan shape, and are rotatably supported by pivotally supporting the shaft hole 18 on the boss 10a of the housing 10. The gears 16 and 17 mesh teeth 16a and 17a provided on the arc edges of each other. Guide members 19 are attached to both surfaces of the teeth 17a of the gear 17 so that the teeth 16a and the teeth 17a do not fall off.

  A boss 20 is provided at an eccentric position of the gears 16, 17, that is, between the tooth 16 a or the tooth 17 a and the shaft hole 18, and a link member 21 is rotatably connected. The link member 21 is a plate member having an angle structure by folding back the end portion, and one upper and lower ends are connected to the first gear train 14 and the second gear train 15 and the other upper and lower ends are connected to the pressing plate 13. The boss 13a provided is rotatably connected. That is, the link member 21 is configured to be swingable in the horizontal direction in both the connecting portion with the gear trains 14 and 15 and the connecting portion with the pressing plate 13.

  The operation of the drive mechanism and link mechanism configured as described above will be described. First, when the motor 40 is driven to extend the cylinder 43, the pressing plate 13 moves toward the fixed pressing plate 12a. Then, since the pressing plate 13 pulls the link member 21, the gears 16 and 17 of the first gear train 14 and the second gear train 15 are rotated accordingly.

  At this time, even if only one end in the horizontal direction of the pressing plate 13 is going to precede, the link member 21 once connected to the side rotates the gear 16 or the gear 17, so that the other side link member 21 is the pressing plate. The other side of 13 will be pushed out. Therefore, the pressing plate 13 is always kept parallel in the horizontal direction. For example, when a hard container such as a bottle is placed in the compression chamber 12 and the progress is stopped due to an overload at one end of the pressing plate 13, the progress of the pressing plate 13 is also stopped at the other end where there is no load. The

  In addition, when only one end in the vertical direction of the pressing plate 13 tries to precede, the pressing plate 13 can be inclined if the rotational phases of the first gear train 14 and the second gear train 15 are shifted. . However, since the first gear train 14 and the second gear train 15 are connected by the link member 21, the pressing plate 13 does not have a degree of freedom of tilting in the vertical direction and maintains a parallel posture. For these reasons, the pressing plate 13 can be moved while maintaining a parallel posture in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, although it is moved by the single motor 40 and the cylinder 43. ing.

  Here, if the role of the link member 21 is reviewed, it has a function of first connecting the opposing gears of the first gear train 14 and the second gear train 15 to synchronize the rotational phase. This is called a function. Further, by connecting the eccentric position of the gears 16 and 17 and the pressing plate, the gears 16 and 17 are rotated as the pressing plate 13 is moved, or the pressing plate 13 is rotated as the gears 16 and 17 are rotated. The function which moves this is provided, and this shall be called a press link function. Since the gear link function and the pressure link function have orthogonal direction components (see FIG. 2), it is possible to configure the gear link function and the pressure link member separately (in particular, the gear link). In function, the link member may be fixed to the gear).

  However, if the gear link member and the pressing link member are integrally formed as shown in the present embodiment, the orthogonal direction component can be realized by a plate-like body. As a result, the rigidity of these members can be easily increased, the number of parts can be reduced, the structure can be simplified, the parts cost can be reduced, the assembly can be facilitated, and the failure can be reduced.

  By configuring as described above, the container compression device 1 can have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and can be reduced in size using a single motor, so that it can be stored in the drawer of the kitchen cabinet. .

  FIG. 3 is an example showing a state in which the container compressing device 1 is accommodated in the drawer 22 a of the kitchen cabinet 22. As shown in FIG. 3, the compression chamber 12 of the container compressing device 1 is disposed on the front side of the drawer 22a. Thereby, when the drawer 22a of the kitchen cabinet 22 is pulled out, the container compressing device 1 itself is pulled out, and the upper surface of the compression chamber 12 is opened. The drawer 22a is preferably configured to restrict the movement range so that only the compression chamber 12 is exposed. Further, it is desirable to provide a switch 23 for detecting that the drawer 22a is closed so that the motor 40 does not operate unless the drawer 22a is closed.

{Other embodiments}
Another embodiment of the container compressing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another configuration, where the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 4A is an example in which the positional relationship between the shaft hole 18 and the boss 20 in the link mechanism is varied. In the first embodiment, the boss 20 that connects the link member 21 is described as being provided between the tooth 16a or the tooth 17a and the shaft hole 18. However, as shown in FIG. 4A, a shaft hole 18 may be provided between the tooth 16a or the tooth 17a and the boss 20. As a result, the force transmitted between the gear 16 and the gear 17 can be freely adjusted.

  FIG. 4B is a configuration in which the driving mechanism moves the pressing plate 13 via the link mechanism without directly connecting the pressing plate 13. The gears 16 and 17 are not meshed with each other, and can be meshed with a gear portion 43b provided on the side surface of the cylinder 43 of the drive mechanism. As a result, the stroke required to move the pressing plate 13 increases, but the motor output required for compression can be reduced, so that the apparatus can be downsized by reducing the output of the motor, the production cost can be reduced, and Low power consumption can be achieved.

  FIG. 4C shows an example in which the cylinder 43 is further removed and the screws provided on the outer periphery of the shaft 42 are engaged with the gears 16 and 17. In this case, the shaft 42 acts as a worm gear, and by rotating the shaft 42, the gears 16 and 17 can be rotated to move the pressing plate 13.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a container compressing device for crushing containers such as cans and plastic bottles, and can be particularly used by being incorporated in a kitchen cabinet.

It is a figure explaining the structure of the container compression apparatus which concerns on 1st Example. It is a disassembled block diagram of a container compression apparatus. It is a figure explaining the state assembled in the kitchen cabinet. It is a figure explaining another structure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container compression apparatus 10 ... Housing | casing 10a ... Boss 11 ... Mechanism part 12 ... Compression chamber 12a ... Fixed press board 13 ... Press board 13a ... Boss 14 ... 1st gear train 15 ... 2nd gear train 16, 17 ... Gears 16a, 17a ... Teeth 18 ... Shaft hole 19 ... Guide member 20 ... Boss 21 ... Link member 22 ... Kitchen cabinet 22a ... Drawer 23 ... Switch 30 ... Elastic member 40 ... Motor 40a ... Worm gear 41 ... Drive gear 42 ... Shaft 43 ... Cylinder 43a ... projection 43b ... gear parts 44a and 44b ... limit switch

Claims (6)

A container comprising a casing, a compression chamber for accommodating and compressing the container, a pressing plate which is one surface of the compression chamber and movable in a normal direction, and a drive mechanism for moving the pressing plate In the compression device,
A first gear train comprising two gears arranged in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the pressing plate, each gear being pivotally supported by the housing;
A second gear train having substantially the same configuration as the first gear train and disposed at a position translated in a direction perpendicular to the rotation surface of the gear;
A gear link member for connecting opposing gears of the first gear train and the second gear train;
A container compression device comprising: a pressing link member that connects an eccentric position of each gear of the first and second gear trains and the pressing plate. The container compression device according to claim 1, wherein the driving mechanism is directly connected to the pressing plate, and two gears in the first and second gear trains mesh with each other. The container compression device according to claim 1, wherein two gears in the first and second gear trains mesh with a gear portion provided in the drive mechanism. The container compression apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gear link member and the pressing link member are integrally formed. The container compression apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gear has a sector shape. The container compressing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the container compressing apparatus is accommodated in a drawer of a kitchen cabinet, and the upper surface of the compression chamber is opened when the drawer is pulled out.

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