WO2013159168A1

WO2013159168A1 - Shredding device for recycling and reusing the material of plastic bottles

Info

Publication number: WO2013159168A1
Application number: PCT/BR2013/000133
Authority: WO
Inventors: Renato Kasanszky DE FARIA; Cristiane Nasser MIRANDA
Original assignee: De Faria Renato Kasanszky
Priority date: 2012-04-23
Filing date: 2013-04-19
Publication date: 2013-10-31
Also published as: BR112014026370A2; BR102012009570A2

Abstract

The device comprises a tubular body (10), having an open upper end (11) and an open lower end (12); a lid (20) closing the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10); a shredding rotor (80) mounted to the tubular body (10) and driven by an electric motor (85) and releasing, downwardly, the shredded material. The lid (20) is articulated to the tubular body (10) to be displaced between an open position and a closed position, in which it is seated and retained on the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10). The lid (20) houses a motor-fan assembly (40) of downward axial flow. The shredding rotor (80) and the electric motor (85) are lodged in a tubular housing (30), having an inlet upper end (31), removably affixed to the lower end (12) of the tubular body (10), and a lower outlet end (32), for releasing the granulated shredded material.

Description

SHREDDING DEVICE FOR RECYCLING AND REUSING THE MATERIAL OF PLASTIC BOTTLES

Field of the Invention

The present invention refers to a device for shredding plastic bottles of small size, one by one, more specifically PET bottles typically used for storing beverages in general, said shredding device being designed to be used in the disposal place of said bottles, generally in small communities, such as condominiums, restaurants, bars, etc.

Backgrounds of the Invention

Nowadays, only part of the PET bottles used for storing several beverages, such as soft drinks and water, are collected and destined for processing the material, which will be used as raw-material for obtaining resin recovered from the material which forms said bottles.

The non-collected part of these plastic bottles is inappropriately discarded, contaminating the environment and causing damage due to its accumulation (obstruction of water flow in urban centers, formation of open dumps, etc) .

The collected part requires transportation by specialized companies, stations for sorting, separating and decontaminating, large machines and equipment, and a large space for storing the bales of collected bottles, before their processing, according to the volume.

The selective collection of these bottles allows recovering resin from said plastics, for use in the production of other industrialized products. PET is considered a commodity, to which are associated with factors of competitiveness, productivity, price and quality .

It is necessary about 20,000 PET bottles to obtain a resin ton, each 2-liter PET bottle containing 48 to 50 grams of pure resin.

The collecting and reprocessing of plastic bottles, in their entirety, present some disadvantages, not only as to the collection, transportation, decontamination and storage, but also as to the processing cost, due to the high consumption of power, water, fuel for transportation, and chemical products.

Furthermore, the processing machines are of the industrial-type and generally present large dimensions, to treat discards in large quantities and, therefore, require large areas to be installed.

There is known in the prior art a solution of PET crushing machine (MU9000374-8 ) for use in small communities and which comprises a body to receive each PET bottle to be crushed directly in the consumption place, or in a common collecting place in a small community where the content of said bottles is consumed. Said crushing machine, mentioned above, presents a bottle receiving chamber, which inferiorly communicates with a shredding blade rotor, driven by an electric motor and from which the shredded plastic material is downwardly fed to a reservoir for reception of the shredded plastic.

While this prior art solution does not present the drawbacks of treating large volumes of collected bottles processed in large equipment, it has the disadvantages of generating noise beyond acceptable levels, requiring large area of installation not always available in small communities, such as condominiums, restaurants, bars, etc., as well as being . of troublesome maintenance, due to the structural form used in this prior art construction. Objects of the Invention

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shredding device of plastic bottles, which allows recycling and reusing the material with which they are produced, more specifically the material of PET bottles, which may be easily adapted to environments of reduced space available, close to, or even at the place of progressive consumption of the content of said bottles, and which has low manufacture, operation and maintenance costs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shredding device of easy handling and maintenance, operating with low power consumption and producing a low noise level, within the legally acceptable limits, in residential and commercial environments for public use .

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a shredding device, which encourages a better use of discarded PET bottles, by directing them to a particular collecting system for this type of recyclable material, reducing the negative impact of its inadequate discard in the urban centers and even in small communities, allowing said shredded material, then reduced to granules, to be stored, collected and transported, directly or indirectly, to processing sites, occupying a reduced volume in relation to the volume created by the bottles in their entirety.

Moreover, since the bottles are already previously processed at the place where the product is consumed, it is possible to reduce, or even eliminate, the decontamination step existing in the industrial processing systems of said recycled material.

Summary of the Invention

These and other objects are achieved through a shredding device for recycling and reusing the material of plastic bottles, said device being of the type which comprises a tubular body, which has an open upper end and an open lower end; a lid closing the upper end of the tubular body; and a shredding rotor mounted to the tubular body, having a shaft driven by an electric motor, said shredding rotor being disposed so as to downwardly release the shredded material.

The lid is articulated to the tubular body, so as to be displaced between an open position, in which it releases the upper end of the tubular body, for the introduction of the bottles, and a closed position, in which it is seated and retained on the upper end of the tubular body, said lid housing, internally, a motor-fan assembly, of downward axial flow and presenting at least one air inlet opening, upstream of the motor-fan assembly.

The shredding rotor and the respective motor are lodged in the interior of a tubular housing, having an inlet upper end, removably affixed to the lower end of the tubular body, and a lower outlet end, for releasing the shredded material.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described below, with reference to the enclosed drawings, given by way of example of a constructive form of the device and in which:

Figure 1 represents a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a shredding device for plastic bottles of the present invention, with the lid in its open position, illustrating the shredding rotor and internally receiving a PET bottle, disposed with its neck turned upwards and already deprived of the usual retaining ring of the lid;

Figure 2 represents a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the shredding device illustrated in Figure 1, with the lid being in its closed position;

Figure 3 represents a partial sectional view, taken according to line III-III in Figure 2, of an inner region of the housing of the shredding rotor;

Figure 4 represents a longitudinal sectional view of the lid, in an enlarged scale and schematically illustrating the motor-fan assembly mounted in the interior of the lid; and

Figure 5 represents a longitudinal sectional view of the housing of the shredding device, in an enlarged scale and illustrating the rotor of the shredding device and a constructive form for a shredded material reservoir.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention will be described below with the aid of the exemplary construction illustrated in the enclosed drawings. However, other possible constructive variants may be considered within the concept presented herein.

The plastic bottle shredding device of the present invention comprises . a tubular body 10, preferably cylindrical and presenting an open upper end 11 and an open lower end 12, said tubular body 10 being superiorly closed by a lid 20 and carrying, inferiorly, a tubular housing 30, as described ahead. The tubular body 10 is dimensioned to receive, in its interior, at least one plastic bottle G, generally a PET bottle, vertically disposed in the interior of the tubular body 10, in the upright or the inverted position, which plastic bottle G may present different dimensions, as it occurs with the known PET bottles for beverages in general, presenting volumetric capacities which range usually from 2 liters to 350ml. However, the tubular body 10 must have its diameter projected so as to prevent the insertion of the lying bottles, that is, with the axes thereof horizontally disposed, as a function of the positioning of the shredding rotor. The lid 20 is articulated to the tubular body 10, by any adequate articulation means 20a, so as to be angularly displaced between an open position, in which it releases the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10, for introduction of the plastic bottles G, and a closed position, in which it is seated and retained onto the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10.

The lid 20 internally houses a motor-fan assembly 40, of downward axial flow and presents at least one air inlet opening 21, disposed upstream of the motor-fan assembly 40.

In the illustrated embodiment, the lid 20 presents the form of an inverted tubular cup, with an open lower end 22 which is articulated, by the articulation means 20a, to the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10, according to an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the tubular body 10, so as to be seated and retained onto the latter, with the lid 20 in the closed position.

The lower end 22 of the lid 20 and the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10 incorporate respective external annular flanges 23, 13, to be mutually seated with the lid 20 in the closed position, at least one of said external annular flanges 23, 13 carrying one retention means 50 to be releasably engaged to the other of said external annular flanges 23, 13, in order to keep them seated against each other.

In the illustrated construction, the external annular flange 23 of the lid 20 carries a retention means 50 in the form of a clamp 51, having an end tooth 52 which is engaged under a flap 13a provided in an adjacent end portion of the external annular flange 13 of the tubular body 10. It should be understood that different constructions may be used for the retention means 50, as long as they guarantee a simple and reliable operation for affixing and releasing the lid 20 in relation to the tubular body 10.

According to a way of carrying out the present invention, one of the external annular flanges 23, 13, for example, that of the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10, carries an annular gasket 60, to be compressed by the other external annular flange 13, 23, when the lid 20 is taken to the closed position. Similarly to the above, an upper end 31 of the tubular housing 30 and the lower end 12 of the tubular body 10 incorporate respective external annular flanges 14, 34, to be mutually seated and demountably affixed to each other, by fastening means 70 which may take, for example, the form of bolts and nuts.

One of the external annular flanges 14, 34 carries an annular gasket 65, which is compressed by the other external annular flange 14, 34, when said external annular flanges 14, 34, are mutually seated and affixed to each other, as previously described in relation to the annular gasket 60 used in the seating of the lid 20 onto the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10.

The present shredding device for plastic bottles further comprises a shredding rotor 80, mounted to the tubular body 10, immediately below the lower end 12 of the latter, said shredding rotor 80 comprising a hollowed disk 81 provided with a plurality of cutting blades 82, arranged so as to cut the body of the plastic bottle G received in the interior of the tubular body 10, producing granulated shredded material, which is the most appropriate form and which achieves greater value, to be applied by the industries which use plastic resin or recycled plastic material free of contamination, that is, with purity characteristics of the virgin resin used in the manufacture of bottles, particularly the PET bottles. The cutting blades 82 may be also designed to create a downward air flow, intensifying the impelling effect of the downward air flow generated by the motor-fan assembly 40. The hollow disk 81 is affixed to a free upper end of a shaft 83, generally coaxial to the axis of the tubular body 10 and which has its lower end coupled to an electric motor 85, also lodged in the interior of the tubular housing 30. The shredding rotor 80 is disposed so as to downwardly release away from the tubular housing 30, the shredded material, in the granulated form, preventing loss of material to be reused.

The shredding rotor 80 and the respective electric motor 85 are housed in the interior of the tubular housing 30, which presents the inlet upper end 31 which is removably affixed to the lower end 12 of the tubular body 10, and a lower outlet end 32, for releasing the shredded material.

In the illustrated construction, the electric motor 85 of the shredding rotor 80 is mounted in the interior of a generally cylindrical tubular fairing 90, affixed in the interior of the tubular housing 30 and having its interior maintained in communication with the exterior of the tubular housing 30, by means of at least two radial ducts 33, through which the air of the environment external to the tubular housing 30 is caused to pass through the electric motor 85, allowing the latter to be refrigerated.

The assembly of the electric motor 85, in the interior of the tubular fairing 90, allows for a certain reduction in the transmission of noises from the motor to the exterior of the shredding device.

The radial ducts 33 are mounted in the interior of the tubular housing 30, communicating the exterior of the latter with the interior of the tubular fairing 90. The tubular fairing 90 defines, with the tubular housing 30 and below the shredding rotor 80, an annular chamber CA for the discharge of the shredded material in granulated form. In the illustrated construction, the electric motor 85 and the shredding rotor 80 are mounted in the tubular fairing 90, the latter being affixed to the tubular housing 30 by means of at least two radial arms 36, diametrically opposite and configured to cover the two radial ducts 33, preventing them from being hit by the granulated shredded material, which is downwardly thrown from the shredding rotor 80. In the illustrated example, each radial arm 36 takes the form of a V-shaped profile, with the two faces defining downward deflecting ramps for the granulated shredded material, which is released, from the shredding rotor 80, through the annular chamber CA.

In the illustrated construction, the motor-fan assembly 40 draws air from the exterior of the lid 20, forming a downward air flow in the interior of the tubular body 10. The air admission is carried out through the openings 21 of the lid 20 which are defined, in the illustrated construction, in a cylindrical side wall 24 of the lid 20. Although not illustrated, it should be understood that the openings 21 may be also provided in at least part of an upper wall 25 of the lid 20.

The lid 20 externally carries, for example in its upper wall 25, a grip means 26 to facilitate the movement of the lid 20 by the user, between open and closed positions of the lid.

Under the lower outlet end 32 of the tubular housing 30, it may be provided a reservoir R, preferably open, for collecting the granulated shredded material, as illustrated in Figure 5. The open reservoir facilitates the exit of the air flow to the room atmosphere, and it may be internally provided with a collecting bag (not illustrated) , to allow the granulated shredded material to be collected directly in a transportable package.

The energization of the electric motor 85 may be carried out in parallel to the energization of the motor-fan assembly 40, and in series with a connector or switch provided in the seating region of the lid 20 in the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10, so that the energization of the two motors, from a control switch (not illustrated) , is only effected when the lid 20 is seated and locked against the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10.

It should be further understood that the motor-fan assembly 40 and the shredding rotor 80 may be independently driven, by manual operation, by maintaining the power supply of the motor 85 of the shredding rotor 80 through the connector/switch, so that it is only energized and driven when the lid 20 is closed. In a possible construction, the shredding device may be provided with sensor means to indicate the presence of a plastic bottle G in the interior of the tubular body 10, to enable the automatic driving of the shredding rotor 80 upon closing the lid 20, with a plastic bottle G already fed in the interior of the tubular body 10, with the plastic lid and its usual retention ring, made of the same material, being previously removed, so that the material to be shredded is defined only by the material, generally PET, which forms the bottle body. The removal of the retention ring may be achieved by any adequate means as, for example, by a ring cutting device to be installed close to the operation place of the present shredding device.

According to the way of carrying out the present invention illustrated in the enclosed drawings, the electric motor 85 of the shredding rotor 80 and the motor-fan assembly 40 are electrically mounted in parallel and energized from an external power source, through a switch I, operatively associated with the upper end 11 of the tubular body 10 and with the lid 20, in the closed position.

Further according to the present invention, the present shredding device may comprise an electrical coupling connector CE, having, a portion incorporated to the lower end 12 of the tubular body 10 and a portion incorporated to the upper end 31 of the tubular housing 30, so as to allow the energization of the electric motor 85.

There may be further provided an electromagnetic circuit breaker to protect the whole device and its components, with a three-pin plug, according to the National Institute of Metrology (INMETRO) rules in force .

The operation of the shredding device of the present invention requires that the label, the plastic lid and its retention ring be previously removed from the PET bottles to be shredded, as mentioned above. Then, the plastic bottle G is vertically introduced with the nozzle turned upwards or downwards, in the interior of the tubular body 10, from the upper end 11 of the latter, with the lid 20 being open. The bottle is thus seated against the blades 82 of the shredding rotor 80.

The lid 20 is then closed and the motor-fan assembly 40 may be energized, together with or independently of the energization of the electric motor 85 of the shredding rotor 80. The driving of the motor-fan assembly 40 produces a downward air flow which pushes the plastic bottle G downwards,^' towards the blades 82 of the shredding rotor 80 which, upon being rotatively driven, starts the shredding of the plastic bottle G, throwing the granular fragments downwards, through the annular chamber CA of the tubular housing 30 and outwards from the latter, through its lower outlet end 32.

Claims

1. A shredding device for recycling and reusing the material of plastic bottles, said device being of the type which comprises a tubular body (10), having an open upper end (11) and an open lower end (12),; a lid (20) closing the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10) ; a shredding rotor (80) mounted to the tubular body (10), having a shaft (83) driven by an um electric motor (85) and arranged so as to downwardly release the shredded material, characterized in that the lid (20) is articulated to the tubular body (10), in order to be displaced between an open position, in which it releases the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10), for introduction of the plastic bottles (G) , and a closed position, in which it is seated and retained on the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10), said lid (20) internally housing a motor-fan assembly (40), of downward axial flow, and presenting at least one air inlet opening (21), upstream of the motor-fan assembly (40); the shredding rotor (80) and the respective electric motor (85) being lodged in the interior of a tubular housing (30), having an inlet upper end (31) removably affixed to the lower end (12) of the tubular body (10), and a lower outlet end (32), for releasing the shredded material in the granulated form.

2. The shredding device, as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the lid (20) presents the form of an inverted tubular cup, with an open lower end (22) articulated to the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10), according to an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the tubular body (10), in order to be seated and retained onto the latter, with the lid (20) in the closed position.

3. The shredding device, as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that the lower end (22) of the lid (20) and the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10) incorporate respective external annular flanges (23,13), to be seated against each other with the lid (20) in the closed position, at least one of said external annular flanges (23, 13) carrying one retention means (50) to be releasably engaged to the other external annular flange (23, 13), to keep them seated one against the other.

4. The shredding device, as set forth in claim 3, characterized in that it comprises an annular gasket (60) carried by said external annular flanges (23, 13), so as to be compressed by the other external annular flange (23, 13), when the lid (20) is taken to the closed position.

5. The shredding device, as set forth in any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the upper end (31) of the tubular housing (30) and the lower end (12) of the tubular body (10) incorporate respective external annular flanges (14, 34,), to be mutually seated and demountably affixed to each other by fastening means (70) .

6. The shredding device, as set forth in claim 5, characterized in that the fastening means (70) are defined by bolts and nuts.

7. The shredding device, as set forth in any of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that it comprises an annular gasket (65) carried by one of said external annular flanges (14, 34), so as to be compressed^' by the other external annular flange (14, 34), when said flanges are mutually seated and affixed to each other.

8. The shredding device, as set forth in any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the electric motor (85) of the shredding rotor (80) is mounted in^' the interior of a tubular fairing (90), affixed in the interior of the tubular housing (30) and having its interior maintained in communication with the exterior of the tubular housing (30), by means of at least two radial cooling ducts (33) .

9. The shredding device, as set forth in claim 8, characterized in that the tubular fairing (90) defines, with the tubular housing (30), an annular chamber (CA) for the release of the shredded material in the granulated form.

10. The shredding device, as set forth in any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the electric motor (85) of the shredding rotor (80) and the motor- fan assembly (40) are electrically mounted in parallel and energized from an external power source, through a switch (I) operatively associated with the upper end (11) of the tubular body (10) and with the lid (20) in the closed position.

11. The shredding device, as set forth in claim 10, characterized in that it comprises an electric coupling connector (CE) , having a portion incorporated to the lower end (12) of the tubular body (10) and a portion incorporated to the upper end (31) of the tubular housing (30).