US2185352A

US2185352A - Bottle breaker device

Info

Publication number: US2185352A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles F Peters
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1938-04-20
Filing date: 1938-04-20
Publication date: 1940-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 1957-01-02

Description

Jan. 2, 1940. c. F. PETERS BOTTLE BREAKER DEVICE Filed April 20, 1938 INVENTOR aka/Zea I'Pe fen? Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application April 20, 1938, Serial No. 203,018

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a bottle breaking machine and it particularly relates to a machine for breaking bottles which have been used for spirituous or alcoholic liquors.

According to many local, State and Federal regulations and laws affecting the sale of spirituous or alcoholic liquors, it is necessary to break bottles containing alcoholic beverages after consumption of the beverage.

Breaking of the bottles by hand, however, either by striking them with a hammer or by throwing them against stones, often causes injury, because of flying pieces of glass. The broken glass is frequently scattered around so that it is liable to cause injury either to footwear or to the hands or body of the person using the particular locality.

Furthermore these methods of breaking bottles do not most satisfactorily break the bottles and usually there are large parts of the bottles left with ragged edges, which are difficult to dispose of.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus and mechanism for breaking bottles which will rupture the bottle in relatively small pieces, which will prevent scattering of the broken pieces and which will protect the hands and clothing of the person whose duty it is to break the bottles.

Another object is to provide an inexpensive bottle breaking device for breaking empty bottles which have contained spirituous liquors or alcoholic beverages which will be economical in operation, cost and space consumption and which will enable breaking of the bottle and retention of the broken pieces without danger to the breaker of the bottle and without any possibility of scattering the broken pieces.

Other objects will be obvious or will appear during the course of the following specification.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most satisfactory to provide a breaking apparatus in association or in combination with the lid of an ordinary ash can or trash can,

i which lid is provided with a closed pocket or elongated cylindrical receptacle into which the bottle may be placed. This receptacle is pref-' erably opened or slotted in such a manner as to permit access from the receptacle to the inside of the can and to permit the broken pieces of glass to fall into the bottom of the can when the bottle has been broken.

Pivotally mounted upon the cover is a hammer device which may be actuated from the exterior of the can to strike and rupture the bottle.

This hammer device may be pivotally mounted upon the lid and may have a foot pedal or treadle hanging down on the outside of the can. The pedal may be provided with a guide, if desired, attached to the bottom of the can.

The lid of the can is desirably so held onto the periphery of the can that it will not be lifted and so that there will be breaking of the bottle by the upward stroke of the hammer.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates one of the many embodiments of the present invention, but to which the present invention is by no means restricted, since many changes and a1- ternatives could be made all within the scope of the present invention,

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of the can with the bottle breaker attachment thereon,

Fig. 2 is a side sectional View upon an enlarged scale as compared to Fig. 1 and upon the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 showing a bottle in position,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional View upon the line 3 -3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to Figs, 1 to 3, the can or main receiver A may be of standard construction and formed of galvanized iron or other sheet metal.

The cover B carries the bottle breaking mechanism. The cover B has a base ill and a depending side H which is beaded as indicated at l2. If desired, the side of the lid may be provided with a recess l3 receiving the bead M which will latch the cover B down in position.

Through the'base ll! of the cover projects the inclined cylindrical container, supplemental receiver or pipe member l5 which extends as indicated at IE, to closely adjacent the side wall ll of the bottom container A.

The cylinder i5 may be rigidly attached to the cover B as by welding, soldering or otherwise to the opening it through which it projects in the base Ill.

The container l 5 is provided with a lid l9 having a handle or hand grip portion 20, a hinge 2| and a spring 2?. which tends to press the lid down against the upper end of the cylinder l5. The cylinder i5 is slotted, as indicated at 23, adjacent its open bottom It so as to permit access to the bottle 24 by the hammer device D, when positioned therewithin.

Attached to the side ll of the cover are the angle members 25, the rivets 26 serving to attach them to the side wall Ii. Between the forward ends of the angle members 25 is the pin 21 which fits through the sleeve 28 of the hammer device D. The sleeve 28 is provided with an arm 29 which extends outwardly and fits between the jaws 30 of the clevis member 3|.

The pivot pin 32 pivotally connects said arm 29 in position between the jaws 38 of said clevis 3!. The clevis 3! is located at the top of a bar 33 which hangs down outside of the can and at its lower end it is provided with a pedal 3! to permit actuation of the breaking device.

If desired, the angle members 36 may be attached to the lower portion 3? of the can A by the flange 38 and rivets 39. The outturned plate members iii of the rod 33 may be caused to fit inside of said flanges 6i and thus guide the pedal 34 in its upward and downward movement.

The sleeve 28 is also provided with a downwardly depending arm 52 normally held down in the position shown in Fig. 2 by the weight of the hammer 43 all forming part of the hammer device D.

In operation the cover it is moved to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, the bottle 24' is placed into the container l and then a foot is applied to the pedal 34 to cause the hammer 43 to move upwardly and strike the bottle, rupturing the glass and causing said glass to fall in finely divided particles toward the bottom of the con tainer A.

It has been found that by striking the bottle in the position as shown in Fig. 2 that a most satisfactory shattering eiTect is obtained with the bottle being broken into relatively small pieces, and it is found also that the device as shown will enable efiicient and assured breaking ofthe bottles, now in general use regardless of size. This is true even though the bottles that may be placed in the container H are substantially smaller in diameter than the container i5.

It is thus obvious that the applicant has provided a simple inexpensive bottle breaking mechanism capable of being used widely to break bottles in accordance with city, State or Federal regulations or laws and which will be most economical from the viewpoint of space consumption.

The lid B carries all of the mechanism and may be manufactured to fit upon ordinary cans now available and by replacement of the special breaking lid B with a standard lid, the can A may be carried away for dumping of the broken glass therein or without any danger to the operator of the breaking device.

It is obvious that many changes, alterations and modifications might be made in the specific structure shown and that the hammer might be actually pivoted upon the container i5 itself or the lid B might be otherwise constructed.

As indicated upon Figs. 1 and 2,, the cover may be provided with a handle H attached at one side to the base iii of the cover B and at the other side to the cylinder 85.

Although many difierent'sizes and diameters may be utilized, it has been .found convenient to.

utilize in one embodiment a can about 16 inches in height and about 14 inches in diameter with a cover about 5 inches in height.

It is apparent that the can A, as shown, may also be square or hexagonal and, if desired, in stead of forming a separate receptacle, the side wall of the can may constitute part of a chute into the cellar or into some other place of disposal receiving the broken pieces of the bottle. The striking of the side of the bottle while loosely placed in the bottom of the pipe element or auxiliary container it at a point substantially removed from the bottom of the neck results in a shattering of the bottle and it is only when the bottle is so shattered that it will fall out of the bottom of the secondary receptacle l5.

It is apparent that the device, as shown, may also be used for breaking or fragmenting other glassware than bottles and that other changes may be made in the exact proportionment and position of the parts without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to any particular construction or arrangement of bottle breaker device, or to any particular application of any such construction,

or to any specific method .of operation, or manner of use, or to any of various details, thereof, herein shown and described, as the same may be modified in various particulars or be applied in many varied relations without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, the practical embodiments herein illustrated and described merely showing some of the various features entering into the application of the invenion.

What-is claimed is:

l. A bottle breaker comprising a main receiver to receive broken glass, a cover for said main receiver carrying an obliquely positioned supplemental receiver to receive the bottle to be broken said supplemental receiver having an open lower end adjacent the side of the main receiver, the bottle to be broken when placed in said supplemental receiver being stopped against the side of the main receiver and thus held in position in' said supplemental receiver, said supplemental receiver extending obliquely downwardly through said cover toward, but stopping short of the interior side of the main receiver, and means to break said bottle when placed in said supplemen ta], receiver, said means including a hammer pivotally mounted on the opposite interior of said receiver from said interior side against which said bottle is stopped and lever means to actuate said hammer to break said bottle in said supplemental receiver.

2. A bottle breaker comprising a main receiver to receive broken glass, a, supplemental receiver to receive the bottle to be broken said supplemental receiver having an open lower end adjacent the side of the main receiver, the bottle to be broken when placed in said supplemental receiver being stopped against the side of the main receiver and thus held in position in said supplemental receiver, said supplemental receiver extending obliquely downwardly through said cover toward, but stopping short of the interior side of the main receiver, and means to break said bottle when placed in said supplemental receiver, both receivers having covers and the second receiver being carried by the cover of the first receiver, said means including a hammer pivotally mounted'on the opposite interior of said receiver from said interior side against which said bottle is stopped and lever means to actuate said hammer to break said bottle in said supplemental receiver.

3. A bottle breaker comprising a cylindrical can, a cover therefor, a cylindrical container extending obliquely downwardly through the cover, said cylindrical container having an open lower end adjacent the side of the cylindrical can, the bottle being held in said cylndrical container by contact with the wall of the can a cover for said container and a hammer device to break a bottle when placed in said container, said device being pivotally mounted on said cover with a hammer element extending downwardly inside the can and end of said cylindrical container terminating sufiiciently short of the side of the cylindrical can opposite said hammer to expose a suflicient area of the bottle to be struck by said hammer and to be broken.

4. A bottle breaker comprising a main receptacle to receive the broken glass, a cover for said main receptacle, a supplemental receiver carried by said cover, and means to break said bottle when placed in said supplemental receiver, the supplemental receiver discharging into the main receiver when the bottle is broken, said last-mentioned means comprising lever means having one inside arm hanging downwardly within the receiver with a lower end portion formed to break the bottle and having another outside arm hanging downwardly outside of the container, with the lower end portion formed to enable actuation thereof, said arms being pivotally connected and pivotally mounted at the upper end of the main receiver, said inside arm being moved upwardly toward the supplemental re- ,ceiver upon actuation ofsaid outside arm.

CHARLES F. PETERS.