US3889886A

US3889886A - Portable waste glass bottle and container crushing device

Info

Publication number: US3889886A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jene D Spivey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-10-10
Filing date: 1973-10-10
Publication date: 1975-06-17
Anticipated expiration: 1992-06-17

Abstract

A portable, power driven waste glass bottle and container crushing device that may be removably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to permit the drum to be filled with crushed glass when the drum is disposed on the flat bed of a truck and thereafter transported to a desired destination. The crushing device permits one man to fill a drum, barrel or other container with crushed glass without the necessity of thereafter moving the filled drum, barrel or container which is of substantial weight to a transporting vehicle. The device if desired may be removably mounted on a roller supported frame to fill boxes or other containers with crushed glass when they are supported on a floor or ground surface.

Description

United States Patent Spivey PORTABLE WASTE GLASS BOTTLE AND CONTAINER CRUSHING DEVICE [76] Inventor: Jene D. Spivey, 7041 Aivlis St.,

Long Beach, Calif. 90815 [22] Filed: Oct. 10,1973

[21] Appl. No.: 405,030

[52] US. Cl 241/100; 241/99 [51] Int. Cl. B02c 19/12 [58] Field of Search 241/99, 186 R, 188 R, 100, 241/884 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,001,075 5/1935 Sunstrand 241/884 2,820,595 1/1958 Schumacher 241/99 3,151,814 10/1969 Morgan et a1. 241/186 R X 3,489,354 1/1970 Harper et a1 241/99 X 3,655,138 4/1972 Guscombe 241/99 1 1 June 17, 1975 Primary Examiner-Roy Lake Assistant Examiner-E. F. Desmond Attorney, Agent, or Firm-William C. Babcock [57] ABSTRACT A portable, power driven waste glass bottle and container crushing device that may be removably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to permit the drum to be filled with crushed glass when the drum is disposed on the flat bed of a truck and there after transported to a desired destinationv The crushing device permits one man to fill a drum, barrel or other container with crushed glass without the necessity of thereafter moving the filled drum, barrel or container which is of substantial weight to a transporting vehicle. The device if desired may be removably mounted on a roller supported frame to fill boxes or other containers with crushed glass when they are supported on a floor or ground surface.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures IH 24 /2a I PORTABLE WASTE GLASS BOTTLE AND CONTAINER CRUSIIING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Portable Waste Glass Bottle and Container Crushing Device.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, various types of power operated devices have been devised and used for crushing of waste glass containers or bottles, but such devices have the operational disadvantage that the glass containers or bottles after being crushed are normally disposed in a drum or barrel that must subsequently be moved to a transporting vehicle. A drum or barrel when filled with crushed glass is of substantial weight and requires more than one man to move it to a position on a truck.

Also, previously available devices for crushing glass containers or bottles are heavy, bulky, and occupy valuable space when not in use.

The primary purpose in devising the present invention is to supply a portable lightweight glass crushing device that may be removably mounted on a drum having an open upper end. The drum, prior to being filled with crushed glass is mounted on a flat bed of a truck or other vehicle capable of moving the barrel or container or drum when filled with crushed glass to a desired destination.

Due to the portable nature of an empty drum or barrel, the drum or barrel may be mounted on the flat bed ofa truck by a single person, and the present invention used to fill the same with crushed glass, without the necessity of the barrel or drum being moved after it is so filled.

If desired, the present invention may be removably mounted on a roller supported frame, and crushed glass as it falls from the present invention being directed downwardly through a funnel also supported from the frame into a box or container that rests on the floor or ground that supports the frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A portable lightweight power driven glass bottle or container crushing device that includes a rigid cylindrical vertically disposed shell that has upper and lower ends, with the lower end portion of the shell being open and of such transverse cross section as to be slidably insertable into the upper open end of a drum or barrel. A flange extends outwardly from the shell adjacent the lower open end thereof, with the flange due to engaging the upper edge of the drum or barrel serving as a stop.

The flange and the lower portion of the shell when inserted into the upper portion of the drum or barrel cooperates to provide a removable mounting to maintain the shell in a vertical position on the drum during the crushing of glass bottles or containers. A number of parallel laterally spaced first bars span the lower interior of the drum and are rigidly secured to the latter. A diametrically extending shaft is rotatably supported by bearings in a normally disposed position relative to the first bars. The shaft has a number of second bars rigidly secured in transversely spaced relationship thereon, with the second bars being so arranged that they may pass through the opening between the first bars when the shaft is driven. An internal combustion engine or other power means is preferably supported from the flange and the engine driving a pulley that is drivingly connected by an endless belt to a grooved driven wheel secured to a projecting end of the shaft. The shell has a number of angularly disposed vertically spaced baflies supported in the upper interior portion thereof. The baffles preferably overlap one another and prevent pieces of broken glass from being thrown upwardly out of the shell when bottles or containers are being crushed. The baffles provide a safeguard that a person crushing glass bottles or containers will not be injured due to being contacted by broken pieces of glass. Bottles or containers as they are fed into the upper end of the device fall downwardly by gravity, with the bottles or containers initially contacting the baffles, as they continue to fall. being broken by contact with the rotating second bars. The broken glass drops downwardly by gravity through the spaces between the first base into the drum or barrel on which the device is mounted.

Should it be desired, a roller supported frame may be provided on which the device is mounted in much the same manner as previously described in connection with the barrel or drum. The frame includes a downwardly extending funnel into which the crushed glass is directed and the funnel in turn directing the crushed glass into a box or other container of relatively low height that rests on the ground or floor surface that supports the frame. The present invention is portable and operates equally satisfactorily whether supported on a drum or barrel, or on the frame above described.

The present invention permits barrels or drums to be moved in an empty condition onto the flat bed of a truck or other supporting vehicle by a single man, and the same man thereafter moving the present invention to a glass bottle and container crushing position on the barrel or drum. Glass bottles or containers are sequentially fed through the invention until the barrel or drum is completely filled, with the invention thereafter being moved to another empty drum. Thus, a single man may utilize the device to fill barrels or drums on a supporting vehicle with crushed glass, but without being required to move the barrels or drums after they are so filled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the portable waste glass bottle and container crushing device removably supported on the top of a drum;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view of the device taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross sectional view of the de vice taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of the upper portion of the bottle crusher taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the bottle crushing device removably mounted on the top of a roller supported frame that has a funnel extending downwardly therefrom to direct crushed glass into a box or container situated under the funnel.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The portable, power driven glass bottle or container crushing device A is shown in FIG. 1 removably mounted on the upper end of a drum B that is preferably mounted on a flat bed C of a conventional truck which when the drum B is filled with crushed glass transports the drum to a desired destination. After the drum B has been filled with crushed glass. the device A is moved to another empty drum and the above described operation is again repeated.

The glass bottle and glass container crushing device A as can be best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 includes a cy lindrical shell that has a circular flange 12 secured thereto, and the portion of the shell below the flange 12 being identified by the numeral 100 in HQ. 2. The shell portion 10a is of such transverse cross section as to be slidably insertable through the open end 14 of drum B. The flange 12 serves as a stop to hold the shell 10 in a vertical position on the drum B by the flange 12 engaging the upper edge extremity of the drum that defines the opening 14 as shown in FIG. 2. The flange 12 as can be seen in FlG. 1 includes an outwardly projecting extension 1241 that serves as a support for an internal combustion engine D or other power means.

The flange 12 as shown in FIG. 2 supports two diametrically opposed bearing blocks 16 that rotatably support a shaft 18. An end portion 18a of shaft 18 projects outwardly from one of the bearing blocks 16. The end portion 18a has a grooved driven wheel 20 rigidly secured thereto, which wheel is engaged by a resilient endless belt 22 that extends to a driving pulley 24 that is rotated by the engine D. The interior of the shell 10 adjacent the bearing blocks 16 has a number of parallel, laterally spaced, first bars 26 secured to the interior thereof, and the bars being normally disposed to the shaft 18. The bars 26 define spaces 28 therebetween. The shaft 18 has a sleeve 30 rigidly secured thereto by pins 32 or other suitable fastening means. The sleeve 30 has a number of parallel, laterally spaced, second bars 34 extending outwardly therefrom. When the shaft 18 is driven, the second bars are rotated and sequentially move through the spaces 28.

The shell 10 has an upper open end 38 as shown in FIG. 4 that is at all times partially closed by a cover 40, and the cover 40 by hinges 42 supporting a second cover 44 that may be disposed in the position shown in H0. 4 to permit a bottle or glass container 46 as shown in phantom line in FIG. 4 to enter shell 10 and drop downwardly by gravity into the confined space 48 within the shell. The glass container or bottle thereafter first strikes a downwardly projecting safety baffle 50 and then falling by gravity from the baffle 50 onto an oppositely disposed second safety baffle 52. The bottles or containers 46 thereafter roll from the second baffle 52 by gravity to be contacted by the rotating second bars 34. The rotating second bars 34 cooperate with the first bars 26 to crush a glass bottle or container 46 when the wheel 20 is driven, and the crushed glass (not shown) falling downwardly from the shell 10 into the drum B. The operation is continued until the drum B is filled with crushed glass. The device A is then moved to an empty drum B and the above described operation is repeated.

In some instances, it may be desired to fill a low box or other container with crushed glass, such as the container 8 shown in phantom line in FIG. 5. To facilitate the filling of the container B with crushed glass, a rigid frame E is provided that is of circular transverse cross section, and includes a number of circumferentially spaced, vertically positioned legs 54 that have rollers or casters 56 secured to their lower ends thereof. The legs 54 have the upper ends thereof secured to a circular rib 58. A reinforcing ring 60 is also secured to legs 54 as shown in FIG. 5. The shell 10 is supported from the frame E in the same manner as previously described in connection with the drum B. The flange 12 serves as a stop by engaging the upper edge of the rib 58. Flange 12 holds the device at a desired elevation above the ground or supporting surface F.

A funnel G is secured to the lower end of the shell 10 by conventional means, and the funnel having a restricted lower open end 62 through which the crushed glass (not shown) is directed into the box or container B.

The glass bottle or container crushing device A as can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive is portable, and may be selectively positioned on either a drum or barrel B or frame B. Irrespective of the support used with the glass bottle or container crushing device A, it will be apparent that a single individual may use the device to crush glass bottles or containers 46, and with the crushed glass then dropping by gravity into either a drum B or box B. The device A above described is simple and easy to use, and permits a single individual to fill an empty drum or barrel with crushed glass after the drum or barrel is disposed on the flat bed of a truck.

The shell 10 is illustrated in FIG. 4 as being of two piece construction, but this is merely a matter of convenience in fabrication. A one piece shell 10 may be used if desired.

The use and operation and structure of the present invention has been explained previously in detail and need not be repeated.

1 claim:

1. A portable power driven glass container crushing device that may be removably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to fill said drum with crushed glass containers when said device is resting on the flat bed of a conventional truck or trailer or on the ground, said crushing device including:

a. a rigid, cylindrical vertically disposed shell that has upper and lower open ends, with said shell having a lower end portion of such transverse cross section as to be removably insertable through said open end of said drum and extend downwardly therein;

b. a circumferentially extending circular flange that projects outwardly from said shell adjacent said lower open end thereof, said flange acting as a stop by engaging an upper edge of said drum to support said shell therefrom, with said lower end portion of said shell extending downwardly into said drum;

c. a plurality of rigid, parallel, laterally spaced first bars that extend transversely across the interior of said drum and intermediately disposed between said upper and lower ends thereof;

d. diametrically opposed bearing means supported in fixed positions on said flange relative to said drum;

e. a shaft rotatably supported in said bearing means, said shaft having a first end portion that projects outwardly from said bearing means and said shaft adjacently disposed to said first bars,

f. an internal combustion engine assembly supported on said flange, said engine assembly including a drive shaft and a driving pulley secured to said shaft;

g. an endless belt;

h. a driven pulley rigidly secured to said first end of said shaft and drivingly engaged by said belt;

i. a plurality of second parallel transversely spaced bars that are rigidly secured to said shaft intermediate the ends of said bars, said second bars being rotatable through spaces defined between said first bars and said second bars of such length as to project upwardly a substantial distance above said first bars when said second bars are substantially normal to said first bars; and

'. a plurality of vertically spaced baffles in the upper interior of said shell that angle downwardly and overlap, with a glass container when deposited in the upper open end of said shell dropping down drum.

Claims

1. A portable power driven glass container crushing device that may be removably mounted on a drum having an upper open end to fill said drum with crushed glass containers when said device is resting on the flat bed of a conventional truck or trailer or on the ground, said crushing device including: a. a rigid, cylindrical vertically disposed shell that has upper and lower open ends, with said shell having a lower end portion of such transverse cross section as to be removably insertable through said open end of said drum and extend downwardly therein; b. a circumferentially extending circular flange that projects outwardly from said shell adjacent said lower open end thereof, said flange acting as a stop by engaging an upper edge of said drum to support said shell therefrom, with said lower end portion of said shell extending downwardly into said drum; c. a plurality of rigid, parallel, laterally spaced first bars that extend transversely across the interior of said drum and intermediately disposed between said upper and lower ends thereof; d. diametrically opposed bearing means supported in fixed positions on said flange relative to said drum; e. a shaft rotatably supported in said bearing means, said shaft having a first end portion that projects outwardly from said bearing means and said shaft adjacently disposed to said first bars; f. an internal combustion engine assembly supported on said flange, said engine assembly including a drive shaft and a driving pulley secured to said shaft; g. an endless belt; h. a driven pulley rigidly secured to said first end of said shaft and drivingly engaged by said belt; i. a plurality of second parallel transversely spaced bars that are rigidly secured to said shaft intermediate the ends of said bars, said second bars being rotatable through spaces defined between said first bars, and said second bars of such length as to project upwardly a substantial distance above said first bars when said second bars are substantially normal to said first bars; and j. a plurality of vertically spaced baffles in the upper interior of said shell that angle downwardly and overlap, with a glass container when deposited in the upper open end of said shell dropping downwardly therein by gravity through spaces defined between said baffles to a position adjacent said first bars where said container is sequentially struck by said rotating second bars to be broken into a plurality of pieces sufficiently small as to fall downwardly through said spaces between said first bars into said drum.