US3062130A

US3062130A - Automatic can crusher

Info

Publication number: US3062130A
Application number: US828163A
Authority: US
Inventors: Leo F Huber; Frank C Kennedy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-07-20
Filing date: 1959-07-20
Publication date: 1962-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 1979-11-06

Description

Nov. 6, 1962' L. F. HUBER EQI'AL 3,062,130

AUTOMATIC CAN CRUSHER Filed July 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Fig. 8.

INVENTORS Leo R Huber BY Frank C. Kennedy 1962 1.. F. HUBER a-rm.

AUTOMATIC cm CRUSHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20, 1959 INVENTO Leo F Huber Fronk C. Kennedy United States Patent Oil-ice 3,062,130 Fatented Nov. 6, 1962 3,062,130 AUTOMATIC CAN CRUSHER Leo F. Huber, 2828 Cracker Ave., Redwood City, Calif., and Frank C. Kennedy, P.0. Box 823, Belmont, Calif. Filed July 20, 1959, Ser. No. 828,163 3 Claims. (Cl. 100-216) This invention relates to a device for automatically crushing cans.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a device which will automatically feed cans to a crushing apparatus and crush the cans one by one in sequential order so that the device may be left substantially unattended.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device having a can feeding chute which is arranged to sequentially feed unitary cans to a can crushing chamber and to provide a reciprocating piston within the chamber which is arranged to sequentially crush cans dispensed to the container and the further provision of a timing device which times the metering of cans to the crushing chamber at times when the piston is in the retracted position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a can crushing device having a can crushing chamber formed in a cylindrical configuration and arranged to form a guide for a can crushing piston or ram in which the can crushing chamber forms the guide for the piston during its,

reciprocal movement.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel control device for continuously causing reciprocating movement of a piston in which the movement of the piston actuates a linkage mechanism to control a valve which operates to cause the piston to move forwardly and rearwa-rdly at a regular cyclic interval.

Still a further object of this invention is that the can receiving chamber is apertured with an aperture sufliciently small to allow a crushed can to drop from the can crushing apparatus but forms a stop to restrain the dropping of cans which are in the uncrushed condition.

A still further object of this invention is to provide bosses on the two opposite can crushing faces which are formed at right angles to one another to ease crushing of the can.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference represent corresponding parts in each of the several views.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the can crushing apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 taken at line 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken at line 44.

'FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken at line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the electrical and hydraulic circuit for the can crushing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the ram showing the boss mounted on the face thereof.

FIG. 8 is a view of the base plate showing a boss mounted on the face thereof.

Referring to the drawings the can crushing apparatus of this invention comprises a cylindrical housing A having a ram B reciprocally mounted therein.

The end of the housing A is formed with a compression plate 15.

Cans indicated at C are fed into the can crushing chamher 18 disposed between compression plate 15 and the head 20 of ram B so that the can can be crushed between head 20 of ram B and compression plate 15 to create a crushed can as indicated at C The cylindrical guide of housing A is formed with a cut-out portion 25 about the upper portion of can crushing chamber 18 to allow the metering of cans into the can crushing chamber.

Ram or piston B is slidably mounted within the cylinder and is powered by a hydraulic cylinder or motor 28 which causes piston or ram B to be reciprocally moved. A rod 29 connects motor 28 to head 20 of piston B.

The top portion of the piston is formed with a flange 30 which projects upwardly outwardly through the cylinder of housing A by means of an elongated aperture 33 formed in the top portion of the housing. Flange 30 is arranged to control the hydraulic circuit to effect the reciprocating motion of the crusher through a toggle mechanism 35.

Toggle mechanism 35 includes a pair of arms 36 mounted to flange 30 and each attached to the side wall of housing A on pins 37 which engage with a loss motion slot 38 formed in arms 36.

A tension spring 39 is connected to the two opposite ends of arms 36 so as to tension the toggle mechanism.

' Thus as flange 30 moves toward one or the other side of center (established by a reference line between the two pins 37) the arms will toggle to one or the other side of the reference line.

Movement of the toggle arm is connected to control a valve 45 through a switching plate 45. Switching plate 45 is pivotally mounted on an axle 46 mounted on top of housing A. Switching plate 45 is connected to toggle mechanism 35 through a connecting rod 48. The point of connection between toggle mechanism 35 and switching plate 45 is arranged to provide a sufficient leverage so that the switching of the toggle can actuate valve 40. The tip portion of switching plate 45 is provided with a microswitch actuating arm 49 which is arranged to actuate two micro-switches 51 and 52 mounted on the top of housing A. The toggle mechanism 35 is arranged so that when the piston moves with flange 30 to the rear of the center line between pins 37 in the toggle will move to the rear position as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 1 so as to cause valve 40 to be in a position so as to cause a reversal of the movement of the piston. Conversely, when flange 30 is moved forwardly beyond the center point the reverse will Occur causing a reversal on valve 40. In the forward position arm 49 actuates micro-switch 51 and in the opposite position the arm will actuate micro-switch 52.

Cans C are metered into can crushing chamber 18 on a can feeding chute 60. A metering mechanism 61 is mounted on the lower end of the chute which is arranged having an L-Shaped arm 62 which is rotatably mounted on the end of the chute and controlled by a solenoid 65. The solenoid when actuated causes arm 62 to rotate thus causing the can resting on arm 62 to drop into can crushing chamber 18. The opposite leg 66 of arm 62 functions to restrain the can immediately preceding the can metered on chute 60 in readiness to be delivered to the can feeding chamber on the next cycle of the machine.

The hydraulic circuit to actuate the device as seen in FIG. 6 includes a pump 68 which is arranged to pump fluid into a reverse pressure tank 69. The output from the pressure tank is then fed into valve 40 which i arranged in one position to supply fluid from tank 69 to a first end 70 of hydraulic motor 28. The valve in the same condition allows the hydraulic circuit of motor 28 to be directed throuh the opposite end 71 of the motor through valve 40 to the input of valve 68.

When valve 40 is reversed end 70 of motor 28 is connected through valve 40 to the input of pump 68 and end 71 is connected through valve 4-0 through the output of pressure tank 69. Thus by shifting valve 46 the direction of movement of hydraulic motor 28 is effected.

Actuating arm 49 is arranged to engage micro-switch 51 when the piston is in the restricted position and engage micro-switch 52 when the arm is in the forward position. The micro-switches are connected through a battery St? to a two-way solenoid 65 which is connected in such a way that arm 62 will rotate in the forward direction when microswitch 51 is actuated and will reverse operation when micro-switch 52 is actuated thus controlling the feeding of the cans to the chamber.

The front face of head 2t) is provided with a horizontal boss 90 which projects outwardly from the face of head 20 a short distance along a substantially horizontal axis. The face of compression plate 15 is provided with a ver tical boss 91 which projects outwardly in vertical orientation relative to the plate. Boss 91 is provided with a knurled or rough surface so as to frictionally engage the ends of cans C which are in crushing chamber 18.

In operation pump 68 is actuated and cans are fed onto chute 60. Toggle mechanism 35 thence reciprocates to cause valve 40 to shift from the first to the second position in accordance with the position of the ram relative to the crushing chamber. By this mechanism the ram sequentially reciprocates so that both the forward and the reverse limits of the strokes are limited only by the control afforded by the toggle mechanism. By this means all cans are crushed to a substantially uniform thickness in that the forward stroke of the ram ceases after the ram has projected a given distance. This has advantages where it is desired to have crushed cans which are of substantially uniform size.

The metering of the cans from the crushing chamber is obtained through a slot 95 at the bottom forward portion of chamber 18. Slot 95 is made slightly larger than the crushed length of a can so that after the ram retracts the can will be in a position to drop from the chamber through aperture 95. Boss 91 is oriented in a vertical position so as to offer minimum resistance to the dropping of the can through the aperture.

The bottom portion of the crushing chamber is constructed so as to form a complete support for cans so that only after the can is crushed can the can drop through aperture 95.

The wall of cylindrical housing A functions both as the chamber or housing to form the side walls of the compres sion chamber and the support for compression plate 15 in addition to providing a highly accurate guide for ram 13.

One of the important features of this invention i the provision of the two bosses 90 and 91 which are positioned at relative right angles to one another and in which one of the bosses particularly on compression plate 15 is provided with a rough or frictional surface. The two bosses engage opposite ends of the cans at substantially right angles to one another to form a preliminary crimping which materially facilitates the crushing of the cans.

The frictional surface on boss 91 in addition holds the can in place so that there is a minimum of lateral movement during the crushing operation thus preventing the can from being crushed other than in a straight crushed configuration. This prevents a flattening or an oblong crushing which can occur if the two ends of the can are not held in relative alignment during the crushing operation.

The vertical boss on ram B similarly holds the rear end of the can in position so that the bosses in addition to forming the initial crimping also function to hold both ends of the cans in relative position during the crushing operation.

It is believed apparent that other control mechanisms other than the toggle mechanism shown in the principal embodiment can be used to automatically cause the reciprocal action of the ram. For example, the flange 30 could be arranged to directly actuate micro-switches as for example the microswitches 51 and 52 of FIG. 6 which would operate solenoid instead of the direct mechanical linkage shown in such a way as to alternate hydraulic valve 40. In such a variation the same micro-switch can be used to control both operation of solenoid 65 and valve 40.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit of the invention as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a can crusher the combination of a cylindrical housing, a compression plate mounted on one end of said housing, a piston mounted within said cylindrical housing slidably engaged with the cylindrical bore of said housing, the lower portion of said housing forming a guide for said piston and a guide to align cans metered into the housing in registration with said piston, a hydraulic motor a portion of which is mounted within said piston operable to cause said piston to move toward said compression plate and away from said compression plate, means to meter uncrushed cans between said piston and said compression plate, said cylinder having an opening therein adjacent said compression plate so as to allow a crushed can to fall by gravity through said opening, said housing formed to define a longitudinal opening extending through the housing to the piston, a flange formed on the piston projecting outwardly from the housing through the longitudinal opening formed by the housing, linkage means connected to said flange, and valve means connected to said linkage means to cause said hydraulic motor to move to the forward and reverse direction in accordance with the position of said flange relative to said housing.

2. A can crusher according to claim 1 and wherein a single elongate boss is mounted on said piston and a single elongate boss is mounted on said compression plate, the boss on said piston .and the boss on said compression plate being disposed at right angles to each other and aligned to bisect the center of the can when the can is deposited between the piston and the compression plate.

3. In a can crusher the combination of a cylindrical housing, a compression plate mounted on one end of said housing, a piston mounted within said cylindrical housing slidably engaged with the cylindrical bore of said housing, the lower portion of said housing forming a guide for said piston and a guide to align cans metered into the housing in registration with said piston, a hydraulic motor a portion of which is mounted within said piston operable to cause said piston to move toward said compression plate and away from said compression plate, means to meter uncrushed cans between said piston and said compression plate, said cylinder having an opening therein adjacent said compression plate so as to allow a crushed can to fall by gravity through said opening, said housing formed to define a longitudinal opening extending through the housing to the piston, a flange formed on the piston projecting outwardly from the housing through the longitudinal opening formed by the housing, lever arm means pivotally and slidably connecting to said cylindrical housing and pivotally mounted on said flange, control valve means connected to said motor, switch plate means connected to said valve means to cause said hydraulic motor to move in the forward and reverse direction, linkage arm means interconnecting said lever arm means and said switch plate means operable to control said valve means in accordance with the position of the piston relative to the cylindrical housing.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Geyer Mar. 26, 1889 Matthews et a1. May 9, 1893 5 Cumpston Apr. 13, 19 09 Pickett Sept. 6, 1910 Ligon May 25, 1920 Ernst et a1. Jan. 31, 1933 Kinkel Sept. 21, 1948 10 Voigt et a1 July 15, 1952 6 Heymers July 15, 1952 Smith Nov. 25, 1952 Jennings Mar. 13, 1956 Seltzer Oct. 30, 1956 Nelson Nov. 19, 1957 Beach Dec. 15, 1959 Bunke Jan. 12, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of 1896