WO1993010965A1

WO1993010965A1 - Material compactor

Info

Publication number: WO1993010965A1
Application number: PCT/US1992/010404
Authority: WO
Inventors: D. Liegel Reinald; E. Naber Charles
Original assignee: Hein-Werner Corporation
Priority date: 1991-12-04
Filing date: 1992-12-03
Publication date: 1993-06-10
Also published as: AU3234693A

Abstract

A portable material compactor (10) having a number of ribs (22) for aligning a container (37), such as an oil filter or paint can in a crushing chamber prior to the crushing operation. The compactor (10), when used for crushing sealed containers is provided with a piercing device (47) to puncture the container (37) to be crushed and allow the fluid and gas to escape from the container prior to or during the crushing operation, the crushed container is removed from the piercing device (47) by an extracting frame (72) mounted in the path of motion of the press head (50).

Description

-1-

r

MATERIAL COMPACTOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to compacting machines and more particularly to a container crushing 5 machine.

RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 07/802,335, filed on December 4, 1991, entitled "Apparatus for Compacting Material."

10 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art to which this invention relates is replete with devices and apparatus for the compacting and crushing of cans and containers of various sizes and shapes. The devices range from simple, manual operated

15 devices such as shown and described in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,948,164, 4,212,242, 4,387,637, 4,459,905 and 4,459,908 to the more complex as represented in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,048,096, 3,079,856, 3,580,167 and 4,771,685. The latter group of patented devices utilize various methods

20 of powering the device, such as an electric motor driving gear sets or an electric motor driving screw sets.

Another method for crushing waste containers utilizes hydraulic rams as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,771,686. The device disclosed in the '686 patent also shows a piercing bolt mounted on a vertical side frame that must be manually struck by an operator to puncture the container. Such method is not efficient and will not accommodate a complete drainage of the punctured container. Another problem with the piercing method disclosed in the '686 patent is that the crushed container may become stuck on the piercing bolt thereby preventing the device from functioning until the stuck container is cleared. The related U.S. Patent Nos. 4,275,650 and

4,213,384 disclose can piercing devices. Such piercing devices are mounted on a carrier that is attached to the movable plate by a spring biased stud passing through the movable plate. The stud and spring extend into the area containing the can to be crushed. During the crushing operation, the piercing device punctures the can to be crushed. During that crushing operation, the spring is compressed which provides the energy to withdraw the piercing device from the crushed can. The '650 and '384 patents disclose further that the piercing device may be mounted behind the fixed plate and the can release mechanism be activated by the moving plate. The principal problems with such arrangement as disclosed in the '650 and *384 patents are that the spring and stud arrangement will become fouled with the liquid in the can being crushed thereby limiting their effectiveness and the spring and stud arrangement may themselves pierce the can thereby eliminating any means for extracting the crushed can from the piercing device. As disclosed, the piercing device acts as a plug during the crushing operation and will not allow the fluid in the can to escape until the can release mechanism removes the crushed can from the piercing device. The purpose of the piercing device is not met if the fluid and gases in the can are not released before or during the crushing operation. Such plugging action will not avoid the typical consequence of crushing a sealed can, such as a paint can, namely an explosion.

An additional problem with the prior art devices mentioned above is that they, for the most part, are designed to be used in one position, i.e., vertically or horizontally; or they are designed to be mounted to a waste receptacle or mounted on a flat surface.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The material compactor according to the present invention is portable and can be used in an industrial, commercial or household environment and in any convenient attitude as determined by the operator. The compactor is designed to crush used oil filters taken from motor vehicles such as (but not limited to) automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer tractors, farm tractors, marine engines, etc. The compactor not only removes the oil in the filter but also crushes the filter housing and filter element into a compact unit suitable for easy disposal. The extracted oil is collected in the compactor and channeled to a drain hole which facilitates collection of the oil.

Another embodiment of the invention is designed to compact paint cans. Unlike oil filter containers and the like which have openings in the container, a paint can is usually sealed. If the interior of the paint can is not opened, the can will probably explode during the crushing operation. The compactor according to the present invention includes a piercing device mounted in a recess formed in the base of the compactor. The piercing device punctures the paint can as the can is crushed in the compactor. In one embodiment of the piercing device a bar or cylinder is provided for bending the portion of the container cut during the piercing process. The bar or cylinder may extend beyond the cutting edge of the piercing device. As the piercing device cuts and penetrates the container in the compactor, the bar or cylinder pushes the cut portion of the container back into the can thereby allowing the fluid in the can interior to flow into the interior of the material compactor of the present invention. Without the bar or cylinder the piercing device acts as a plug and the fluid in the can cannot exit until the piercing device is extracted, usually after the can has been crushed.

The compactor according to the present invention includes a press head having an extracting frame mounted thereon which is retracted with the press head to pull the crushed container off of the piercing device. The piercing device can be of any suitable length but in the preferred embodiment is of a length that will allow the pointed end of such piercing device to break the plane of the press head when such press head is at its farthest extension (closest to the press end) during a crushing operation. The piercing device may be a diagonally pointed, hollow tube of suitable material, preferably steel or it may be a solid, pointed member with a helically formed slot extending from the pointed end to the end of said member mounted in the recess in the press end, or it may be a hollow tube with a solid, pointed tip attached thereto and having a plurality of cross bores exposing the hollow tube interior. The apparatus of the invention comprises a press assembly having a press end member and a tube end member mounted on tie rods, such assembly forming a crushing chamber. The press end member and tube end member support the hydraulic ram assembly, the drain and the piercing device of the compactor. The entire press assembly in one embodiment is enclosed within a cabinet pan mounted on the press end member and tube end member. The hydraulic ram and hydraulic pump assembly powers the compactor and provides reciprocating motion to the press head. The cabinet enclosure is completed with a cover that slides between open and closed positions over the top of the cabinet. In the closed position the cover engages mounting screws which attach the cabinet pan to the press end and further functions as a retention member. The cabinet cover opening and closing motion is facilitated by a handle mounted on the cover and by guide slots extending along a substantial length of each of the formed cover sides. A seal is provided between the press end, the tube end and the cabinet pan to prevent any fluid extracted from the crushed container from leaking out of the cabinet other than through the drain hole. The seal can be formed of any suitable material such as cork, rubber, silicone, neoprene, polyurethane or closed cell foam, that is compatible with the type of fluids that are to be extracted from the container being crushed, such as motor oil or paints and varnishes or similar coating fluids.

Compacting is accomplished by a press head slidably mounted on the tie rods mounted between the press end member and tube end member. One side of the press head is attached to the hydraulic ram by a floating coupler which allows compensating movement of the hydraulic ram and press head thereby allowing self alignment of the hydraulic ram and the press head. In the preferred embodiment a plurality of rod guide collars are mounted on the press head on the same side as the floating coupler is attached to facilitate the sliding motion of the press head during the reciprocating motion of the hydraulic ram. The hydraulic ram assembly, specifically the hydraulic tube, is fixed to the tube end member in axial alignment with the floating coupler and floating flange attached to the press head. A principal object of the invention is to provide a piercing means that will penetrate a sealed container and allow the fluid and gases to escape contained therein prior to and during the crushing operation. An additional important object of the invention is to provide an extracting frame which will remove the crushed container from the stationary piercing device after the crushing operation. The extracting frame will operate to pull the crushed container off of the piercing device during the contracting stroke of the hydraulic ram attached to the press head.

Another object of the invention is to provide a recess in the press head and press end member which facilitates the collection and flow of fluid from the material compactor into the drain hole. The recess in the press end member is in fluid communication with the drain hole and the piercing device is removably attached to the press end in the recess, thereby providing a moat around the piercing device. The recess in the press head is in axial alignment and juxtaposed with the recess in the press end member. The recess in the press head is deep enough to allow the piercing device to break the plane formed by the planar face of the press head when the press head is in its extended position, namely closest to the press end member during the crushing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guide that will automatically align a container in the material compactor with the press head and press end member to facilitate the puncture of the container by the piercing device.

Another object of the invention is to allow the compactor to be operated in any suitable vertical, horizontal or diagonal aspect as selected, from time to time, by the operator.

Other principal features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following drawings, the detailed description and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of the press assembly according to the invention with a portion of the side wall removed to show the press plate; Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the press assembly taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of Figure

2;

Figure 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of Figure i;

Figure 6 is a top view of the hollow piercing device; Figure 7 is a side view of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a top view of a slotted piercing device;

Figure 9 is a side view of Figure 8; and Figure 10 is a perspective view of the extracting device.

Before explaining at least the embodiments of the invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments or being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The material compactor 10 of the present invention is comprised of principally a press assembly 35 and a cabinet pan 20 as shown in Figure 1. A cover 24 is pivotally mounted on the housing as described hereinafter. The press assembly 35 generally includes an open frame work that acts as a support for a double acting hydraulic ram assembly 63 for reciprocating a press head 50 toward and away from one end of the press assembly.

The cabinet pan 20 is mounted to the press assembly with cabinet screws 21 through cabinet pan mounting holes into holes provided in the press end member 40 and tube end member 60. The cabinet pan 20 encloses the crushing chamber and is sealed to the press head member 40 and tube end member 60 with a seal gasket (not shown) . A number of guides or ribs 22 are provided in the bottom of the cabinet pan to align the container 37 with the press head 50 and end member 40 as shown in Figure 2. The cover 24 may be hinged to the pan 20 or in a preferred embodiment wherein a slide guide slot 25 is provided in the cover 24 which is aligned with two of the cabinet mounting screws 21 attached to the tube end 60. The cover is retained in a closed position by a cover retention slot 26 which engages the cabinet pan mounting screws 21 in the press end 40. The sliding motion of the cover is facilitated by a cover handle 27. Referring to Figures 1 through 4 the press assembly 35 includes a press end member or plate 40 and a tube end member or plate 60 interconnected by means of a number of tie rods 70. The tie rods 70 are formed from steel and include a shoulder 38 and a threaded section 32 on each end. One end of each tie rod 70 is threadably fixed to the press end member 40 by a tie rod nut 71. The other end of each tie rod 70 is threadably fixed to the tube end member 60 also by tie rod nuts 71.

The press end member 40 as shown in Figure 3 has a drain hole 58 to which a suitable drain conduit may be attached to facilitate the flow of waste fluid from the compactor to a collection tank (not shown) . The press end member 40 also has at least one horizontal slot 42 and at least one vertical slot 43 machined in an intersecting pattern on the inner surface of the member 40 that also intersects with the drain hole 58. The slots 42 and 43 intersect in a T-shape pattern to allow any fluid trapped in the end of the press assembly to flow into the drain hole 58.

The tube end member 60 is substantially the same size as the press end member 40. At the approximate planar center of the tube end member 60, a through bore 61 is provided for mounting a hydraulic piston ram assembly 63. A cylindrical member 81 having a flange 82 is mounted on the tube end member 60 by screws 84 in axial alignment with the bore 61. The cylindrical member 81 is threaded internally to facilitate mounting of the threaded end 64 of hydraulic tube and ram assembly 63 on the tube end member 60.

Between the press end member 40 and the tube end member 60 is mounted a press head 50, Figure 4. The press head 50 is made from material similar to the material used in the press end member 40 and tube end member 60, such as steel. The press head 50 includes a number of holes 48 through which the tie rods 70 project to allow the press head to slide toward and away from press end 40. Such sliding is facilitated by rod guides 51 fixed to the press head 50 on the side opposite the side that will be involved in the crushing operation. The rod guides 51 are collars axially aligned with the tie rod guide holes 48. The press head 50 is also provided with at least one horizontal slot 55 and at least one additional slot 56 which intersect and are aligned with the corresponding slots 42 and 43 in the press end member 40. A number of slots 53 are provided in the bottom of the press head 50.

The hydraulic ram assembly 63 is mounted to the tube end member 60 as previously described, with the ram member 73 of the hydraulic ram assembly 63 being attached to the press head 50 by means of a floating coupler 80 having a flange 85 for mounting on the press head 50, as shown in Figure 2 , with mounting bolts 84 in the flange mounting holes 86. The floating coupler 80 and flange 85 facilitate the alignment of the hydraulic ram assembly 63 in the mounting hole 61 in the tube end member 60 with the floating coupler hole 88 in the floating flange 85. Such self alignment capability is necessary to prevent jamming of the press head during the crushing operation.

Sealed containers must be punctured prior to or during the crushing operation to evacuate the container of fluids and gases. Failure to so puncture the container may result in an explosion during the crushing operation. Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3 a piercing device 47 is shown mounted in the drain hole 58 in the press end member 50. The piercing device is shown in Figures 6 and 7 in the form of a hollow cylinder 90 having a pointed end 91 and one or more holes 92 through the sides of the cylinder 90 in communication with the interior of the cylinder 90. An alternate form of piercing device 47A as shown in

Figures 8 and 9 which has a solid cylindrical member 94 having a pointed end 95 with a helically formed slot 96 extending from the pointed end 95 along substantially the entire length of the member 94. Both piercing devices 47 and 47A are adapted to be mounted in the drain hole 58 in the press end 40. The piercing device can be threaded or otherwise fixed into the drain hole 58 thereby forming a fluid seal with the press end. If at any time the piercing device becomes plugged with debris or fluid from the crushing operation, the piercing device can be removed from the press end, the recess cleaned with an appropriate tool and the piercing device replaced. The piercing devices 47 and 47A are mounted in the hole 58 in the press end member 40. The fluid from the crushed container 37 flows through the center of the piercing device 47 or through the slots 96 in the piercing device 47A.

The container compactor includes a hole 59 in the press head 50 which is aligned with the drain hole 58 in the press end member 40. When the press head 50 moves toward the press end member 40, along the tie rods 70, the piercing device 47 mounted in the press end member 40 will break the plane formed by the planar face of the press head 50 without touching the press head. The press head 50 is provided with a series of guide slots 53 to facilitate the motion of the press head along the container guides 22. The container guides 22 are mounted in the interior of the press assembly and in one embodiment are mounted in the cabinet pan 20. When a piercing device is utilized in the material compactor, the container 37 being crushed usually becomes fixed to the piercing device and must be extracted from the piercing device. In the present invention an extracting member 72 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape as shown in Figure 10 and generally includes a pair of side members 100 connected at one end by a cross member 102 and at the other end by an extracting plate 104. The extracting plate 104 is provided with an aperture 74 to allow the piercing device 47, 47A to pass through during the crushing operation. In operation the side members 100 of the extracting member 72 are aligned with the press head 50 through the outer guide slots 53. A container 37 is placed on the guides 22 between the press head 50 and the plate 104. The extracting plate 104 is pinched between the press end member 40 and the crushed container during the crushing operation. The piercing device passes through the aperture 74 and the container 37 thereby releasing the fluid and gases in such container. After the crushing operation, as the press head 50 is retracted toward the tube end 60 by the hydraulic ram assembly, the press head engages the cross member 102 pulling extracting plate 104 away from the end member 40 and the crushed container 37 off of the piercing device 47. The extraction device is also provided with slots 105 which are aligned with container guides 22.

The invention as disclosed may be used, at the choice of the operation in any of a vertical, horizontal or diagonal aspect and may be wall mounted, table mounted or mounted to a waste receptacle, all of which are well known in the art.

Thus, it should be apparent that there has been provided in accordance with the present invention a material compactor that fully satisfies the objectives and advantages set forth above. Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A material compactor comprising: a frame including a pair of end plates and a number of tie rods supporting said plates in a parallel spaced relation, a press head mounted for sliding movement on said tie rods, means mounted on one of said end plates for moving said press head toward and away from said other end plate, and a number of guides mounted on the bottom of said end plates, said guides axially aligning the material to be crushed in a perpendicular relation to said press head whereby the material will be crushed on movement of said press head toward said other end plate.

2. The compactor according to claim 1 including means mounted on said other of said end plates for piercing the material to be crushed in order to discharge any fluids from the crushed material.

3. The compactor according to claim 2 wherein said piercing means comprises a pointed member mounted on said other end plate to allow the fluids to be discharged from the crushed material.

4. The compactor according to claim 3 wherein said pointed member includes a helically formed slot formed from one end to the other end of said member to allow any fluid in the crushed material to flow through said slot.

5. The compactor according to claim 4 wherein said pointed member is hollow to allow the fluid to flow through said pointed member.

6. The compactor according to claim 2 including means operably connected to said press plate for removing crushed material from said piercing means.

7. The compactor according to claim l including a horizontal and vertical grooves on the inside surface of said other plate to facilitate the flow of fluid from the compactor.

8. A can crusher comprising: a pair of end members, means for supporting said end members in a parallel spaced relation, a press head mounted on said supporting means for movement toward and away from one of said end members, means mounted on the other of said end members for moving said press head toward said one of said end members, a pan mounted on said end members to enclose three sides of said end members, and a cover mounted on said end members to enclose said pan.

9. The can crusher according to claim 8 including aligning means in the form of a number of ribs, mounted on said pan, said press head including a number of notches in said press head to accommodate said ribs.

10. The can crusher according to claim 8 including an opening in the bottom of said one end member for draining fluids from the compactor.

11. The can crusher according to claim 8 including means mounted on said one of said end members for piercing said cans to discharge fluids from the cans.

12. The can crusher according to claim 11 wherein said piercing means comprises a hollow cylindrical member to discharge the fluids from the compactor.

13. The can crusher according to claim 11 wherein said cylindrical member includes a helical slot for discharging fluids from the compactor.

14. The compactor according to claim 11 including means operably connected to said press head for removing the cans from said piercing means when said press head moves away from said piercing means.

15. The compactor according to claim 14 including means mounted on said pan for aligning the axis of said cans with said press head.