JP3247080B2 - Cutting device for PET bottles with smoke suppression mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plastic bottle used for volume reduction, for example, in homes or business establishments, for convenience of storing empty PET bottles until the date of collection. It relates to a cutting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In April 1997, the "Container and Packaging Recycling Law" was enacted to reduce the amount of general garbage and reuse resources, and the recycling of PET bottles became mandatory. However, PET bottles have the lowest collection rate among the seven items to which the law is applied.

One of the reasons for this is that PET bottle containers are very bulky and take up space for storage at home.

[0004] In such a social background, a cutting device for reducing the volume has been proposed so that the PET bottle can be easily stored in a home or a business place.

[0005] A cutting device 50 shown in FIG. 10 is a cutting device comprising an annular member 51 and a handle 52 having a cutter blade 53 oriented obliquely. When rotated, the plastic bottle P is spirally cut by the cutter blade 53, and the volume can be reduced to about １ ／ of the original volume.

However, in the case of the cutting device 50, the cutting is all performed manually, and the length of the cutting is several times the length of the PET bottle.
There are problems such as a large labor burden associated with cutting. Also,
There is also a danger of accidentally touching the cutter blade and causing injury.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the applicant of the present invention has disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 9-199378.
A plastic bottle cutting device was proposed in which the plastic bottle cutting means was a heating wire stretched in a grid or grid shape. According to this cutting device, there is no human burden when cutting,
It is possible to safely cut and reduce the volume of plastic bottles.
However, on the other hand, there has been a problem that fumes and unpleasant odors are generated due to fusing by the heating wire.

Accordingly, a main object of the present invention is to cut a PET bottle safely without a human burden at the time of cutting, and at the same time, to cut a smoke and an unpleasant odor generated by fusing. It is to provide a device.

[0009]

A plastic bottle cutting apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has a plastic bottle fusing passage hole formed therein, and the fusing passage hole has a plan view. A cutting device main body provided with a heating wire stretched in a girder shape or a lattice shape, and an upper side of the fusing passage hole in which the empty PET bottle is set, along a vertical direction while being guided by other members. And a push guide body for holding the PET bottle until the cutting is substantially completed.The cutting device for a PET bottle, wherein the fusing smoke inlet is formed in the fusing passage hole, A blown smoke discharge passage communicating with the blown smoke inlet is formed in the cutting device main body, and the blown smoke discharge passage is formed by a forced exhaust means such as a fan provided in the middle of the blown smoke discharge passage. And it is characterized in that is adapted to be discharged to the outside through the replenishing portion.

In this case, a cover plate having the through-hole for fusing is provided detachably on an upper surface of the cutting device main body for disposing the heating wire and exchanging the heating wire. The lid plate is hollow inside,
The fusing smoke suction port is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the fusing passage hole, and a connection port formed on the lower surface of the lid plate is connected to the fusing smoke discharge flow path when mounted on the cutting device main body. Is preferably adopted. Further, in order to prevent the fusing efficiency from being lowered, the fusing smoke inlet is disposed at a position higher than the heating wire disposing portion, and communicates with the fusing passage hole to blow the lower region. An accommodation space for temporarily accommodating the later PET bottle is formed, and an outlet opening laterally from the accommodation space is made openable and closable by a door, and the accommodation space is at least at the time of fusing the PET bottle. It is preferable that the outlet is closed and a closed space is formed except for the passage hole for fusing.

On the other hand, it is preferable that at least one end of the heating wire is elastically supported in the extending direction so that the heating wire does not become loose even if thermal expansion occurs during fusing.

Further, a limit switch is provided for detecting the lowest position of the PET bottle pushing guide body and turning off the electricity so as to be able to leave the place when the switch is turned on and to prevent forgetting to turn off the electricity. It is better to do so.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the present PET bottle cutting apparatus 1, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1, the PET bottle cutting device 1 includes a box-shaped cutting device main body 2 having a plastic bottle P fusing passage hole 6 formed on the upper surface side, and the fusing passage hole. The push guide body 3 holds the empty PET bottle P set in six parts from the start of cutting to the completion of fusing.

More specifically, the cutting device main body 2 has a circular fusing passage hole 6 penetrating in the vertical direction on the upper surface thereof, and the fusing passage hole 6 is formed in a plan view. Heating wire 1 stretched in a grid (or grid)
., And a housing space 7 that communicates with the fusing passage hole 6 and temporarily accommodates the plastic bottle after fusing is formed in a lower area thereof. This storage space 7
The front side has an opening (extraction opening), and a door 8 is provided in this opening so as to be openable and closable by hinges 9, 9.

Further, the cover plate 12 on the upper surface of the cutting device main body 2
In order to blow the PET bottle P along the longitudinal direction in the lower part of the cover plate 12 as shown in FIG. 3, the heating wire 1 such as four nichrome wires is used.
1, 11,... Are stretched in a grid pattern in plan view. The four rectangular frame size defined by the heating wire 11, 11 ... can insert mouth P ₁ PET bottle P, and the heating wire 11, 11 ... strikes against the shoulder portion of the bottles P It is stretched as follows. The mouth P of the plastic bottle P ₁
The materials other than the normal polyethylene terephthalate, for example, when reproducing in the case that is formed of another material of vinyl chloride, polypropylene or the like is large, fibers PET bottles P in recycling factory, the mouth P ₁ part In the previous stage, it takes extra time. Therefore, in advance if the mouth P ₁ part to cut separately from other portions, it is possible to omit the work remove mouth in recycling factory, so the aim is to achieve significant labor saving.

There are various cross-sectional shapes of the heating wires 11, 11, such as a tape having a width of about several mm or a circular cross section. According to experiments by the present inventors, It has been confirmed that the tape-shaped thing is twisted in the process of fusing the plastic bottle P, and the plastic bottle P cannot be finely blown vertically. Therefore, those having a circular cross section are preferable, but those having a large cross sectional dimension are more preferable.
Rather, it has been found that the smaller the cross-sectional dimension, the more likely it is to be able to cut cleanly along the vertical line.

On the other hand, the electric circuit of the heating wires 11, 11,..., As shown in FIG.
Are connected in series by electric wires 24, 24, and a temperature fuse 23 is interposed between the connecting electric wires 24, 24 to prevent heating. In the circuit, reference numeral 20 denotes a limit switch, and reference numeral 30 denotes a transformer. The heating wire 11,
The range of the amount of electricity given to 11...
The voltage is preferably in the range of 40 V, preferably 20 to 30 V, and the current is preferably in the range of 1.5 to 2.2 A, preferably 1.7 to 2.0 A.

Since the heating wire 11 is expanded by thermal expansion at the time of power supply, one fixed end is elastically supported in the extending direction so as not to be loosened at the time of fusing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, one end of the heating wire 11 is fixed to a pin shaft 13 protruding upward, and the other end is slidable along the extending direction. The slide body 14 (15) is fixed to the supported slide body 14 (15), and the slide body 14 (15) is pulled in the separating direction by springs 16, 16. As the structure of the elastic support, various structures other than this example can be considered,
In any case, at least one end of the heating wire 11 is elastically supported, and even if the heating wire 11 is extended by thermal expansion by always applying a tensile force, the tensioned state can be maintained without loosening at all times. Become.

On the other hand, the limit switch 20 provided on the side portion has its operating leaf spring 20a projecting upward from a slit groove formed in the cover plate 12, and the pushing guide body 3 is lowered most. It is activated when it gets down to the position, and cuts off the power supply to the heating wires 11, 11,....

By the way, in the present cutting device 1, a mechanism for preventing generation of smoke and unpleasant odor when the plastic bottle P is blown off by the heating wires 11, 11,... First, the lid plate 12 has a hollow inside, and has an opening on the inner peripheral surface where the fusing passage hole 6 is formed to form a fusing smoke inlet 12A. As shown in FIG. 5, four discharge flow path connection ports 12a to 12d are formed. on the other hand,
As shown in FIG. 3, four discharge channel connecting ports 17A protruding upward are provided at the locations where the heating wires 11, 11,...
17B are provided, and the cover plate 12 is
The discharge passage connection ports 12a to 12d, 17
A to 17D are connected to each other. As shown in FIG. 6, the fusing smoke discharge passages R communicating with the discharge passage connection ports 17 </ b> A to 17 </ b> B are respectively connected to ring-shaped chambers 18 surrounding the fusing passage holes 6. The cooling water is guided to a lower fan chamber 19B provided with a fan 21 through a vertical discharge flow path 19A continuous with the fan 18. The fusing smoke flowing from the fusing smoke inlet 12A at the time of fusing is guided to the fan chamber 19B through the discharge passage R, and then continuously formed at the outlet of the fan 21, such as activated carbon or zeolite. Deodorant filling section 22 filled with deodorant S
After the smoke is adsorbed and the off-flavor is extinguished,
It is configured to be discharged to the outside through the discharge port 22a.

On the other hand, slide rods 4a and 4b which are vertically movable are respectively inserted into two corners of the upper surface of the cutting device main body 2 of the pushing guide body 3, and are fixed to the tops of the pair of slide rods 4a and 4b. It is movable up and down. The bottom (upper side) of the plastic bottle P placed upside down in the fusing passage hole 6 is supported, and the plastic bottle P is held upside down until cutting is completed. On the lower surface side of the pushing guide body 3, a projection 6 is preferably made of an elastic material such as sponge or resin foam.
Has been fixed. This protruding body 6 is installed to push the PET bottle P tightly to the end.
As shown in FIG. 2, the grooves 6a, 6b,... Are formed two-dimensionally in a shape corresponding to the positions of the heating wires 11, 11,... When the pushing guide body 3 reaches the lowest position. , 11... Descend to a position where they enter the concave grooves 6a, 6b, so that the plastic bottle P is completely pushed out.

When cutting an empty plastic bottle P using the plastic bottle cutting device 1 described above, first, as shown in FIG. 8A, a handle provided on the upper surface of the pushing guide body 3 is used. Hold 3a and pull it up
Then Satoshi reversed bottles P, and inserts the mouth P ₁ in the heating wire 11, 11 ... rectangular frame within, to support the bottom by pushing the guide member 3. Here, PET bottle P
Is held in an inverted state in order to prevent the heating wire 11 from being cooled by the solution when the liquid remains in the container, so that the fusing by the heating wires 11, 11,. By holding the PET bottle P upside down, the remaining liquid can be quickly drained, and the subsequent fusing can be performed smoothly.

When the switch 10 is turned on from this holding state and power is supplied to the heating wires 11, 11,..., The fusing by the heating wires 11, 11,. FIG. 8 (B)
As shown in (2), the pushing guide body 3 gradually descends together with the slide bars 4a and 4b while applying a pushing force to the PET bottle P by its own weight, and holds the PET bottle P firmly until the melting is completed. Smoke generated during the fusing is sucked from a fusing smoke inlet 12A formed in the lid plate 12 by driving the fan 21, passes through the fusing smoke discharge flow path R, and is filled with a deodorant filling portion by the pushing action of the fan 21. It is sent to 22. The deodorant S is adsorbed in the process of passing through between the particles, and after the off-flavor is removed, is released to the outside through the discharge port 22a.

At this time, the fusing of the PET bottle P is performed with the door 8 of the storage space 7 closed. Assuming that the accommodation space 7
When the fusing is performed with the openings open, air is generated from the accommodating space 7 to the fusing smoke inlet 12A, and the induced air cools the heating wires 11, 11. It has been found that Therefore,
As in the present apparatus 1, the fusing smoke inlet 12A is positioned above the location where the heating wire 11 is provided, and at least at the time of fusing the plastic bottle P, the accommodating space 7 is closed by a door 8 at the outlet. The opening is performed in a closed space except for the passage hole 6 for fusing. That is, by closing the outlet with the door 8 so that the air flow induced from the accommodation space 7 is not generated, as shown in FIG. 5, air mainly flows in only from the upper opening side. Heating wire 11,1 by induced air
.. Flow into the fusing smoke inlet 12A together with the fusing smoke without being cooled.

Thereafter, when the pushing guide body 3 reaches the lowermost position, the operating leaf spring 20a of the limit switch 20 is operated, and the power supply to the heating wire 11 is cut off. Note that a timer may be provided instead of the limit switch, and power supply may be stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed.

The PET bottle P passes through the fusing passage hole 6 and is longitudinally blown by the heating wires 11, 11,..., As shown in FIG.
, The bottom small piece 27, and the side face divided pieces 26A to 26H whose side faces are divided into eight strips. If the cut pieces 25 to 27 of the blown PET bottles are bundled with rubber bands or the like, the later handling becomes easy. The volume reduction rate by the present cutting device 1 is approximately 1/10 to 1/20 from the bottle state.
Becomes

[0029]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, there is no need for human labor when cutting, and it is possible to cut and reduce the volume of plastic bottles safely, thereby improving the recovery rate and, consequently, effectively utilizing resources. It will contribute to. At the same time, the smoke generated by the fusing can be treated to eliminate the off-flavor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front side perspective view of a PET bottle cutting device 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a heating wire disposition portion.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the cover plate 12;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a fusing passage hole 6;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a fusing smoke discharge channel R;

FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram of the heating wire 11;

FIG. 8 is a stage diagram of a fusing procedure.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a divided state after cutting the PET bottle.

FIG. 10 is a cutting procedure diagram of a conventional PET bottle cutting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cutting device for PET bottles, 2 ... Cutting device main body, 3 ...
Push guide body, 4a, 4b: slide bar, 5: protruding body,
6 ... fusing passage hole, 7 ... accommodation space, 8 ... door, 11 ... heating wire, 12 ... lid plate, 12A ... fusing smoke inlet, 20 ... limit switch, 21 ... fan, 22 ... deodorant filling section, S
... Deodorizer, R ... Fused smoke discharge channel, P ... Pet bottle

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-276400 (JP, A) JP-A-8-1600 (JP, A) JP-A-6-315900 (JP, A) 31900 (JP, U) JP-A 3-123700 (JP, U) JP-A 64-54974 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B26F 3/12

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cutting device body having a fusing passage hole formed in a PET bottle, and a heating wire stretched in a cross-girder or lattice shape in plan view in the fusing passage hole portion. On the upper side of the fusing passage hole where the empty PET bottle is set, the pushing guide body that is movable along the vertical direction while being guided by other members, and holds the PET bottle until almost the completion of cutting, A fusing smoke inlet is formed in the fusing passage hole, and a fusing smoke discharge channel communicating with the fusing smoke inlet is formed in the cutting device body. And a forcible discharge means, such as a fan, provided in the middle of the fusing smoke discharge flow path, so that the smoke passes through the deodorant filling section and is discharged to the outside. With PET bottles for the cutting device. 2. A cover plate having the fusing passage hole formed thereon is detachably provided on an upper surface of the cutting device main body, and the lid plate has a hollow inside and a fusing passage hole. The fusing smoke suction port is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cover, and a connection port formed on the lower surface of the lid plate is connected to the fusing smoke discharge flow path when mounted on the cutting device body. The cutting device for PET bottles with the smoke eliminating mechanism described in the above. 3. The fusing smoke inlet is disposed above the heating wire disposing portion, and communicates with the fusing passage hole to temporarily lower the plastic bottle after fusing in a lower region thereof. An accommodating space portion for accommodating the accommodating space is formed, and an outlet opening laterally from the accommodating space is made openable and closable by a door, and the accommodating space is closed at least when the PET bottle is melted. The cutting device for a PET bottle with a smoke eliminating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cutting device is a closed space except for a passage hole for fusing. 4. The PET bottle cutting device with a smoke eliminating mechanism according to claim 1, wherein at least one end of the heating wire is elastically supported in the direction in which the heating wire is stretched. 5. The cutting device for a PET bottle with a smoke eliminating mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a limit switch for detecting a lowest position of the pushing guide body and cutting off power supply to the heating wire.