US3071329A - Food waste disposal apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 1, 1963 Filed Nov. 7. 1960 E. F. SHELL ET AL 3,071,329

FOOD WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ERNEST F. SHELL BY& RoERT c. PnessLEY JR.

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THEHQ ATTORNEY Jan. 1, 1963 E. F. SHELL ET AL 3,071,329

FOOD WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Nov. 7. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ERNEST F. SHELL By ROBERT c. PREssLEY IR.

THEIR ATTORNEY United States Patent Oiitice 3,071,329 Patented Jan. l, 1963 ration of New York Filed Nov. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 67,728 2 Claims. (Cl. 241-46) This invention relates to apparatus for the disposal of waste material wherein garbage and other kitchen wastes are comminuted in the presence of water by power driven comminuting means to a owable mixture and the result ant mixture flushed to the waste disposal system of the house. While it is not limited thereto, this invention is concerned with the provision of improvements in apparatus of this kind which may be mounted in the kitchen sink in position to discharge the comminuted waste into the sink drain opening and in which position the kitchen faucet may be used to supply water to the apparatus for the comminuting operation. More particularly, this invention is especially .applicable to and useful in the portable waste disposal apparatus described and claimed in the co-pending application of Joubert Lindstrom and Fred W. Moore filed concurrently herewith, Serial No. 67,630 and which is assigned to the General Electric Company, the assignee of this application.

As described in the Lindstrom and Moore application that apparatus is arranged to seat in a kitchen sink over the sink drain opening, and it is provided with discharge opening means in the central .area of the discharge charnber at the bottom of the apparatus for discharging comminuted material into the sink opening. This apparatus includes comminuting means above the discharge opening including a rotary waste material impeller. In operation, the impeller is operated to effect the shredding of the waste material by the comminuting means while water is caused to flow through the apparatus, the particles of comminuted waste material entrained with the water ultimately passing through the discharge opening at the bottom.

One diiliculty experienced with this type of apparatus is that the fluid mixture would tend to set up a vortex in the fluid mass in the discharge chamber .above and around the discharge opening. This vortex delayed the discharge of the comminuted mass from the apparatus, thereby delaying the completion of the comminuting operation and also at times preventing the complete discharge of comminuted material from the apparatus, a residue remaining at the location of the vortex. At times a vortex would build up to such an extent that it would not only delay discharge but actually would extend up into the comminuting area and interfere with the comminuting action.

This invention contemplates the provision of drainage means which controls the flow of comminuted waste material to the drainage opening to prevent the formation of vortices around the discharge opening and to positively guide the comminuted material to the discharge. In this way we provide for the discharge of all the comminuted material for ecient and relatively quick operation and also at the same time insure that the apparatus will remain clean.

In accordance with this invention we provide generally spiral shaped guide means spiralling substantially from the outer side wall of the discharge chamber to the discharge opening in the central area.A In one form of this invention several discharge openings will be provided in the central area, and in this case a separate spiral guide will be providedpfor each discharge opening.

For a more complete understanding of this invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is an elevation of portable waste disposal apparatus embodying this invention, parts being shown in section so as to illustrate certain details of construction;

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan View taken through the line 2-2 of FIG. l and looking in. the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrow; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken through the line 4 4 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrow.

Referring to the drawings, this invention has been shown in one form `as applied to the portable waste disposal apparatus for operation in a kitchen sink described and claimed in the aforementioned application of I. Lindstrom and Fred W. Moore. The bottom wall of the sink in which the apparatus may be operated is designated by the numeral l and the usual cold water faucet associated with the sink by the numeral 2. The disposal apparatus is arranged to comminute waste material supplied to it and discharge it into the sink drain 3 provided in the bottom wall 1, and it comminutes the waste material in the presence of water supplied from the cold water faucet 2. The waste disposal apparatus comprises a comminuting unit 4, and a controllable power means 5 for driving the comminuting means.

The unit 4 comprises a housing or hopper `6 which is i defined in part by a generally upright side wall 7 and a bottom wall 8. The walls may be shaped to give the hopper any suitable form such as the box-like form shown, that is, the hopper will be rectangular (substantially square) in horizontal cross section, as shown in FIG. y2. The side wall 7 preferably will be formed of a suitable resin, while the bottom wall, which will house the comminuting means, will be formed of a suitable metal, such as cast aluminum. The bottom wall 8 preferably is of cup-shape, as shown, being provided with an upright side wall portion l0 nested within the lower part of the side wall 7 and positioned with respect to it by an inner circular ridge 1l formed on the inside of the side wall. Interposed between the lower edge of side wall 7 and a ledge l2 on the bottom 8 is a decorative ring 13 formed of .a resilient material such as rubber. The walls 7 and 8 and ring 13 may be secured together in vany suitable Way as by bonding or gluing.

The comminuting means is mounted within the cupshaped bottom wall 8. Any suitable comminuting means may be used, but we prefer to use the comminuting means disclosed in the United States patent to H. J. Macemon-2,S28,083, dated March 25, 1958 and assigned to the General Electric Company, the assignee of this application. Brielly the comminuting means comprises a stationary shredding ring i4 which is provided with cutting surfaces i5 and two series of lower and upper apertures 16 and 17. The shredding ringis provided with an out-turned ilange l at the top sandwiched between the lower surface of rib l?. and a seat i9 provided for it in the upper edge of the side wall ltl of bottom wall S, the flange 18 functioning to support the shredding ring. Co-acting with the shredding ring is a rotatable material impelling flywheel 7.0 which is provided With a pair of movable impellers 21 arranged when the flywheel is rotated (counterclockwise looking down on the flywheel in FIG. l) to impel the waste material against the shredding ring le to comminute the material to a iine mass. It will be understood that during this operation water will be caused to flow into and through the hopper from `faucet 2, and that eventually the water and comminuted material will be impelled outwardly through the apertures 16 and 5 7 into an annular drain space 22 provided between ring t4 and Wall l0 and thence downwardly into a drain chamber 23 under the flywheel 20. The drain chamber 23 drains through three equally spaced elongated openings 24 formed in the bottom wall 8 into the drain line 3 of the sink, over `which opening the apparatus will be positioned, as shown in FIG. 1; as shown in FIG. 2 the openings 24 are arranged in a circle around the central vertical axis of the chamber Z3 and inthe central area of this chamber.

ln order to control the flow of comminuted material through the discharge chamber 23 from the annular space 22 to the central discharge area including the openings 24 in accordance with this invention there are provided a series of spirally formed walls or ribs 25, one provided for each opening 24. Each of these walls spirals in the direction of rotation of the impellers Ztl (counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 2) from a point at the outer wall 1t) in toward the center to merge with the leading end of its opening 24, the leading end being considered in the sense of the direction of rotation of the fly wheel. The inner surface of the bottom wall tapers generally downwardly from the side wall toward the central area like a funnel and so the bottom wall areas between the ribs 2.5 taper downwardly toward the center. The general effect is that spiral shaped areas 26 are provided between adjacent ribs 25, these areas spiralling in the direction of rotation. The areas 26 drop downwardly in elevation in the spiralling direction from a high level point 27 to a low level point at the associated opening 24 and each area 26 inclined downwardly from the cuter spiral edge to the tighter inner spiral edge. Moreover, each area 26 gradually increases in width from the side wall toward the central areas.

These ribs 25 and surfaces 26 function to prevent the formation of a vortex of fluid at the outer wall 1t) under the flywheel 2t); and function to guide continuously the comminuted material fed from space 22 down toward the central openings 24. The ribs and surfaces thus control the flow of comminuted material to the drain, and in preventing the formation of a vortex of fluid actually materially increase the speed of delivery of comminuted waste material to the drain; and prevent the formation of residue deposit of comminuted material in chamber 23 when the comminuting operation is stopped.

An interrupter or flipper 28 is provided to prevent waste, such as carrots, potatoes, lemons and the like from piling up against the shredding ring 14 and riding along it as a bearing so to speak. The interrupter causes the materials to be lifted off the shredding ring face and forces it to tumble around. This offers the shredding ring the opportunity successively to nibble away the edges of the mass.

The flywheel 20 is supported and driven by a driving shaft 29. This shaft is journalled in a bearing 3G provided `for it in the central axis of the bottom wall 8. Preferably the central area 31 of the flywheel will be dished downwardly and it will constitute an upper thrust bearing for the flywheel, while the lower end of the shaft is provided with a head 3-2 which will constitute a lower thrust bearing. An impeller retainer 33 is threaded on the shaft 29 and received in the dished area 31 of the flywheel to lock the flywheel to the shaft. The comminuting chamber 34 above the flywheel is defined by a metallic sleeve 35 formed as a frustrum of a cone. The shaft 29 extends vertically upwardly through the hopper 6 and is driven by the power means 5. The power means preferably will include a suitable electric motor (not shown) controlled by means of an on and off switch 36.

While we have shown and described a specific embodiment of our invention, we do not desire our invention to be limited to this particular construction shown, and we intend by the appended claims to cover all modifications within the true spirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Food waste disposal apparatus comprising a housing having a comminuting chamber with an ingress opening for waste material and also having a bottom wall ywith a vertically arranged discharge opening located generally in the central area thereof, comminuting means in said comminuting chamber including a rotating flywheel and a fixed shredding element surrounding the flywl eel, said flywheel being vertically spaced from said discharge opening and defining with the Said bottom wall a discharge chamber, means defining a passage for the discharge of comminuted material from said shreddirg element to' said discharge chamber, and said bottom wall having a flow interrupting vertical rib extending from the outer edge of said bottom wall to a point downstream of said central discharge opening, the floor of the bottom wall gradually sloping down toward the central opening whereby the vertical rib and the sloping floor serve to prevent the formation of vortices in said discharge chamber and to guide comminuted material into said discharge opening.

2. Food waste disposal apparatus comprising a housing having circular side and bottom walls defining a com minuting chamber open at the top for the reception of waste material, and said bottom wall provided with means defining a plurality of elongated vertical discharge openings spaced apart and arranged generally in a circle around a central vertical axis of said chamber, comminuting means in said chamber including a stationary shredding ring, a flywheel rotatable on said vertical axis and located above said bottom wall within said ring and constituting the bottom of a comminuting chamber and establishing with the bottom and side walls a discharge chamber, said flywheel when rotated in a predetermined direction impelling waste material against said shredding ring where it is comminuted and passes into the discharge chamber, and a series of vertical ribs on said bottom wall, one rib being related to each opening, each rib extending substantially 'from said side wall to a point downstream from its related discharge opening, the area of the bottom wall between each adjacent pair of ribs sloping downwardly from the side wall toward the central discharge opening located between the pair of ribs, said ribs and sloping bottom wall areas functioning to guide comminuted material to said openings and preventing `the formation of vortices of said material on said bottom wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims (1)

1. FOOD WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING A COMMINUTING CHAMBER WITH AN INGRESS OPENING FOR WASTE MATERIAL AND ALSO HAVING A BOTTOM WALL WITH A VERTICALLY ARRANGED DISCHARGE OPENING LOCATED GENERALLY IN THE CENTRAL AREA THEREOF, COMMINUTING MEANS IN SAID COMMINUTING CHAMBER INCLUDING A ROTATING FLYWHEEL AND A FIXED SHREDDING ELEMENT SURROUNDING THE FLYWHEEL, SAID FLYWHEEL BEING VERTICALLY SPACED FROM SAID DISCHARGE OPENING AND DEFINING WITH THE SAID BOTTOM WALL A DISCHARGE CHAMBER, MEANS DEFINING A PASSAGE FOR THE DISCHARGE OF COMMINUTED MATERIAL FROM SAID SHREDDING ELEMENT TO SAID DISCHARGE CHAMBER, AND SAID BOTTOM WALL HAVING A FLOW INTERRUPTING VERTICAL RIB EXTENDING FROM THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID BOTTOM WALL TO A POINT DOWNSTREAM OF SAID CENTRAL DISCHARGE OPENING, THE FLOOR

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