WO2017176844A1

WO2017176844A1 - System, method and apparatus for separating film from film-coated glass

Info

Publication number: WO2017176844A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/026075
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chu-Shu CHEN; Tsung Huei CHU; Wei Che Tsai; Chun Chiang Wang
Original assignee: Corning Incorporated
Priority date: 2016-04-05
Filing date: 2017-04-05
Publication date: 2017-10-12
Also published as: JP2019513545A; KR20180123181A; TW201825973A; CN109153048A; TWI730078B; KR102452448B1

Abstract

A recycling system is disclosed herein. The recycling system comprises a screener configured to receiving film-coated cullet on one or more uneven plates and reciprocally move the one or more uneven plates positioned in a tilted manner in order to separate film from the film-coated cullet.

Description

SYSTEM, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING FILM FROM FILM- COATED GLASS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of U. S.

Provisional Application Serial No. 62/318358 filed on April 5, 2016 the content of which is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The disclosure relates to methods and systems for recycling glass, and more particularly to removing film from film-coated glass generated in producing LCD glass substrate.

[0003] In the processes of producing LCD glass, film-coated trim glass, such as polyethylene (PE) film-coated trim glass, is generated from LCD glass substrate cutting processes. It is favorable to build a process line to filter the PE film from the PE film-coated trim glass and reclaim the cullet for increasing cullet ratio (i.e., the ratio of the recycled cullet to the raw material used in the manufacture process) of batch in order to reduce raw material usage and costs. However, several known solutions have drawbacks such as low efficiency, low quality of filtered cullet, poor filter rate, dusty operation environment, higher contamination and variation in particle size distribution (PSD) to the final product of cullet.

[0004] Thus, there is a need for a system or a method for reclaiming the cullet to meet high quality requirements of film filter rate, performance, capability, low contamination, stable PSD, and environmental control.

SUMMARY

[0005] The disclosure provides a recycling system for separating film from film-coated cullet. The system comprises a screener configured to receive the film-coated cullet on one or more uneven plates and reciprocally move the one or more uneven plates positioned in a tilted manner in order to separate the film from the film-coated cullet.

[0006] In one embodiment, the one or more uneven plates have a ridged surface selected from at least one of the following: waving, serrated, corrugated, bumpy, stepped, and meshed.

l [0007] In a further embodiment, the one or more uneven plates are tilted in an ascending manner at an angle of 25 degrees to 35 degrees from horizontal and are configured to receive the film-coated cullet at the lower side of the one or more uneven plates. For example, the angle of the one or more ascending uneven plates may be 30 degrees.

[0008] In one embodiment, the ridged surface of the one or more ascending uneven plates has creases equally spaced from 10 mm to 20 mm.

[0009] In another embodiment, the one or more uneven plates are tilted in a manner of descending steps at an angle of 0 degree to 3 degrees from horizontal and are configured to receive the film-coated cullet at the upper side of the one or more uneven plates, for example 1 degree.

[0010] In one embodiment, the steps are equally spaced from 550 mm to 650 mm.

[0011] In one embodiment, a plurality of obstacles may be arranged on the one or more uneven plates.

[0012] In another embodiment, the system for separating film from film-coated cullet comprises a crusher having one or more crusher breakers for crushing film-coated glass into the film-coated cullet.

[0013] In a further embodiment, the one or more uneven plates are reciprocally moved by an eccentric cam.

[0014] In one embodiment, the system is configured such that the film-coated cullet on the one or more uneven plates is moveable at a controllable speed as a function of a slope of the one or more uneven plates and a rotation speed of the eccentric cam.

[0015] In one embodiment, the one or more uneven plates are detachably connected to the screener.

[0016] The disclosure also provides method for separating film from film-coated cullet, comprising: introducing the film-coated cullet to one or more uneven plates; and reciprocally moving the one or more uneven plates positioned in a tilted manner, thereby separating the film from the film-coated cullet.

[0017] In another embodiment, introducing the film-coated cullet on the one or more uneven plates further comprises positioning the one or more uneven plates in an ascending manner at an angle of 25 degrees to 35 degrees from horizontal to receive the film-coated cullet at the lower side of the one or more uneven plates. For example, the angle of the one or more ascending uneven plates is 30 degrees. [0018] In one embodiment, the one or more ascending uneven plates have a ridged surface with creases equally spaced from 10 mm to 20 mm.

[0019] In another embodiment, introducing the film-coated cullet on the one or more uneven plates further comprises arranging the one or more uneven plates in a manner of descending steps at an angle of 0 degree to 3 degrees from horizontal to receive the film- coated cullet at the lower side of the one or more uneven plates, for example 1 degree.

[0020] In one embodiment, the steps are equally spaced from 550 mm to 650 mm.

[0021] In one embodiment, the method comprises crushing film-coated glass into the film- coated cullet.

[0022] In one embodiment, the method comprises reciprocally moving the one or more uneven plates by an eccentric cam to move the film-coated cullet in a controllable speed as a function of a slope of the one or more uneven plates and a rotation speed of the eccentric cam.

[0023] The disclosure further provides an apparatus for separating film from film-coated glass, comprising: a crusher for crushing the film-coated glass into film-coated cullet; and one or more uneven plates for receiving the film-coated cullet from the crusher and reciprocally moving the one or more uneven plates positioned in a tilted manner, thereby separating the film from the film-coated cullet.

[0024] The process equipment from this disclosure can be configured to be low cost, compact,high efficiency, and labor saving. For example, embodiments can include an integrated automatic control system that allows the system to be operated by one operator. Exemplary disclosed embodiments can enable an overall recycling rate (i.e., the ratio of the material collected in the receiving bucket in the receiving station to the material dumped into the tipper) of at least about 90%. Exemplary disclosed embodiments can also enhance the film removal rate (i.e., the rate of the film being removed from the final material collected in the receiving bucket in the receiving station) to at least about 97% with material loss less than about 7%. The removal rate is calculated by estimating the surface area percentage of the residual film occupies in the final collected material through sampling. The collected film is sellable to the recycle company.

[0025] Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the embodiments as described herein, including the detailed description which follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings. [0026] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary, and are intended to provide an overview or framework to understand the nature and characters of the embodiments recited in the claims. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiments, and together with the description serve to explain principles and operation of the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a glass recycling system according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0028] Figure 2 schematically illustrates a tipper according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0029] Figure 3 schematically illustrates an external appearance of the crusher according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0030] Figure 4a is a schematic side view of a crusher system according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0031] Figure 4b schematically illustrates a crusher breaker according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0032] Figure 4c schematically illustrates a bridge breaker according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0033] Figure 5a schematically illustrates a screener according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0034] Figure 5b schematically illustrates uneven plates within a screener according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0035] Figure 5c schematically illustrates a screener according to one or more embodiments described herein;

[0036] Figure 6 schematically illustrates a receiving system according to one or more embodiments described herein; and

[0037] Figures 7a and 7b schematically illustrate a collection system according to one or more embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment(s), example(s) of which is/are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

[0039] The film-coated trim glass can be recycled after LCD glass substrate cutting process. Fig. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a glass recycling system 100 according to one or more embodiments. The glass recycling system 100 comprises a crusher system 102, a screener system 104, a receiving system 106, and a film and dust collection system 108.

[0040] The crusher system 102 crushes the film-coated trim glass into film-coated cullet. The film-coated cullet is then received by the screener system 104, where most of the film is separated from the film-coated cullet. The separated cullet is collected by the receiving system 106, while the separated film is collected by the film and dust collection system 108. Alternatively, the film and dust collection system 108 can also be connected to the crusher system 102 and screener system 104, where some film and dust may be generated as described below.

[0041] The crusher system 102 comprises a tipper 200 and a crusher 300. Fig. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the tipper 200. The film-coated trim glass is introduced into a cart 404 (shown in Fig. 4a). The cart 404 is moved to a cart scale platform 202 to get the total weight (A), then moved onto the tipper stage 204 against the tipper board 206 and is then positioned. When the cart is positioned on the tipper stage 204, the two forks 208 and 210 extending from the tipper board 206 are stretching below the cart 404 (shown in Fig. 4a). The tipper motor 216 controls the tipper board 206 to move upward and downward. The safety fences 214 may have a grid structure to prevent undesirable approach of any person or object.

[0042] Fig. 3 shows an exemplary embodiment of the crusher 300. The dump hopper cover 302 encompasses and protects a feeding port 402 (shown in Fig. 4a) of the crusher 300. Below the dump hopper cover 302 a crusher housing 312 is connected, in which crusher breakers 416 and 418 utilized to crush the film-coated trim glass into film-coated cullet are located (shown in Fig. 4a), while crusher breaker shafts 310 can be seen at one side of the crusher housing 312. A crusher motor 308 used to control the rotation of the crushers is connected to the other side of the crusher housing 312. A bridge breaker housing 304 is disposed on the dump hopper cover 302 to protect one or more bridge breakers 408 (shown in Fig. 4a) located inside the dump hopper cover 302, with a bridge breaker shaft 306 extruding from both sides of the bridge breaker housing 304 to secure the one or more bridge breakers 408. A breaker position sensor 314 is disposed on the crusher housing 312 to detect the current position of the crusher breaker shafts 310. Further, a web camera 316 may be disposed on the dump hopper cover 302 and connected to a LCD monitor (not shown) to monitor the interior of the crusher 300, e.g., whether there is too much dust inside the crusher 300, or whether there is any glass that cannot be pressed into the crushers.

[0043] Fig. 4a depicts a side view of the crusher system 102 comprising the tipper 200 and the crusher 300 and how it works. As described above, the cart 404 with the film-coated trim glass is moved to the cart scale platform 202 to get the total weight (A). Then, the cart 404 is move onto and positioned on the tipper stage 204. When the tipper 200 is actuated, the tipper motor 216 controls the tipper board 206 to move upward, along with the forks 208 and 210 extending therefrom. The forks 208 and 210 together lift the cart 404 until it reaches the feeding port 402 over a tipping shaft 212 (shown in Fig. 2). The board 206 along with the cart 404 thereon is then tilted as shown by cart 405 to dump the film-coated trim glass 403 from the cart 405 into the crusher 300.

[0044] The crusher breakers 416 and 418 inside the crusher housing 312 crush the film- coated trim glass 403 into the film-coated cullet 406 with a target average fragment size of, for example, about 30 by30 millimeters, and, for example, a target maximum fragment size of about 50 by50 millimeters. However, the size of the crushed film-coated cullet should not be too small since the smaller the crushed film-coated cullet is, the more likely it is suctioned and carried away by the film and dust collection system 108, thus decreasing the recycling rate. The film coated on the film-coated cullet 406 is also broken into smaller pieces and separated from the cullet to be preliminarily and preferably suctioned by the film and dust collection system 108.

[0045] One or more bridge breakers 408 rotating about the bridge breaker shaft 306 facilitate the crushing by pressing the film-coated trim glass 403 into the crusher breakers 416 and 418.

It is to be understood that the one or more bridge breakers 408 are optional.

[0046] The film-coated cullet 406 falls onto a feeder 412 and accumulates therein. A vibrator

410 vibrates the feeder 412 to force the film-coated cullet 406 jumping out from the outlet

414 adjacent to the feeder 412 onto screener 500, as described in detail below.

[0047] In addition, after the film-coated trim glass 403 is dumped, the empty cart 404 descends through moving the forks 208 and 210 downward by the tipper motor 216. The empty cart 404 is then moved to the cart scale platform 202 to get the cart weight (B). The net weight of the film-coated trim glass 403 can thus be calculated by subtracting the cart weight (B) from the total weight (A) for the checking procedure later.

[0048] Figure 4b shows the crusher breakers 416 and 418 in the crusher housing 312. While in the embodiment of Fig. 4b, each of the breakers 416 and 418 is shown to have 12 claws of blades, any suitable number of claws can be applied, depending for example, on the size of the breakers. In one embodiment, a plurality of crusher breakers 416 and 418 overlap each other repeatedly to form a crusher breaker set. In another embodiment, only one crusher breaker is disposed in the crusher housing 312.

[0049] Figure 4c shows the bridge breaker 408 according to one or more embodiments described herein. Although the bridge breaker 408 is shown to be zigzag at its one end, it can be readily understood that any shape suitable for pressing the film-coated trim glass 403 into the bridge breaker 408 can be considered, and one or more bridge breakers 408 can be applied. At another end of the bridge breaker 408 there is a hole 420 through which the bridge breaker shaft 306 passes, such that the bridge breaker 408 can pivot about the bridge breaker shaft 306.

[0050] The screener system 104 may comprise a plurality of screeners 500. Fig. 5a illustrates the exterior of the screener 500 in one embodiment. The screener 500 comprises a case 501 covered by a lower cover 502 and an upper cover 504. The lower cover 502 and upper cover 504 are fixed on the case 501 by a plurality of locks 532. The case 501 is supported by a plurality of springs 506 connected the main frame 505 supported by a plurality of vibration isolators 514, 515, and 516. One or more counterweights 518 are used to balance the screener 500.

[0051] In this embodiment, the case 501 of the screener 500 is tilted in an ascending manner. An inlet 520 receives the film-coated cullet and/or the cullet from the outlet 414 of the crusher 300 or the outlet 530 of another screener 500 at the lower side of the case 401, and an outlet 530 discharges the film-coated cullet and/or the cullet into an inlet 604 of a bucket elevator 600 or the inlet 520 of another screener 500 at the upper side of the case 401.

[0052] Two inspection doors 522 and 528 are utilized to monitor the interior of the crusher 300 to determine, e.g., whether there is too much dust inside the screener 500. The inspection doors 522 and 528 may be transparent and may be opened. It can be readily understood that any number of inspection door would be applicable. Air enters the case 401 from an air flow inlet opening 526 and leaves the case 401 from film collection holes 524 and 525 in order to carry the separated films away, as described in detail below. [0053] A motor 508 below the case 501 drives two eccentric cams 510 and 51 1 to rotate, which are connected by a shaft (not shown) about which the eccentric cams 510 and 511 rotate. The eccentric cams 510 and 511 abut against springs 512 and 513, respectively, which then together abut against a block 503 attached at the bottom of the case 501.

[0054] Fig. 5b shows three uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 installed in series inside the case 501 of the screener 500. The uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 may have serrated ridged surfaces, i.e., the profiles of the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 may be serrated. The ridged surfaces of the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 may also be at least one of waving, corrugated, bumpy, stepped, meshed, and the like. Although the ridged surfaces of the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 are illustrated to have equally spaced creases, unequally spaced creases may also be applied. Optionally, the ridged surfaces of the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 may be irregular. Further, the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 may be detachably connected to the screener 500 in order to let the one or more uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 be cleaned or replaced independently. Although three uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 are illustrated, any number of uneven plates would be applicable. The uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 may, for example, be made of metal, alloy (e.g., carbon steel), or any material hard enough to facilitate the separation of the film from the film-coated cullet when the film- coated cullet hits the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 as described below.

[0055] Referring back to Fig. 5a, when the screener 500 is activated, upper cover 502 and lower cover 504 are closed and locked. Depending on the gearing to drive the cams, in certain embodiments, the motor 508 may self-rotate, for example, at 60- 120 rpm, such as at about 100 rpm. The motor 508 then drives the two eccentric cams 510 and 51 1 to rotate at, for example, 0-1800 rpm via a frequency converter (not shown). The two eccentric cams 510 and 511 then repeatedly move the springs 512 and 513 back and forth, so as to reciprocally move the case 501 back and forth via the block 503. The springs 506 amplify the movement of the whole case trigged by the springs 512 and 513 to, for example around 60-80 mm, thus creating a vibration of the case 501 as well as the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 therein. During the operation, the vibration isolators 514, 515, and 516 act as damping mechanisms between the screener 500 and the ground.

[0056] The film-coated cullet and/or the cullet enter the inlet 520 of the screener 500 and is(are) dropped on the lower end of the uneven plate 540. When the case 501 vibrates, the ridged surfaces of the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 help the film-coated cullet and/or the cullet jump on the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544. When the film-coated cullet falls on the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544, the impact of falling separates film from the film-coated cullet, while they have been preliminarily separated in the crusher 300 as mentioned above. Two of air suction pipes are connected to the screener 500 at the film collection holes 524 and 525 on the lower cover 502 at one end and to the film for applying negative pressure in the case 501 and dust collection system 108 at another end. Thus, the separated film inside the case 501 is caught by the suction air and transferred to the film and dust collection system 108. It can be understood that any suitable number of film collection holes and pipes is applicable. The air velocity of the suction air is fine-tuned and balanced to reduce loss rate of cullet as a result of caught cullet by the film and dust collection system 108.

[0057] With the case 501 keeping its vibration, the separated film, the separated cullet as well as the film-coated cullet would jump and move forward (i. e. , climbing) along the longitudinal direction of the case 50 in a controllable speed around 10 cm/s as a function of a slope of the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 and a rotation speed of the eccentric cam. Because of different specific weights of the cullet and the film, wherein the cullet is denser than the film, such as cullet and film specific weights of about 2.383 and 0.9 respectively, the separated film can move forward faster than the separated cullet and the film-coated cullet while some of the separated film would float in the air, such that the separated film is more inclined to be suctioned by the pipes through the film collection holes 524 and 525 than the separated cullet.

[0058] It is noted that the film may not be completely separated from the film-coated cullet when the film-coated cullet reaches the outlet 530. In such case, multiple screeners 500 can be arranged, i.e., the outlet 530 of one screener can thus position over the inlet 520 of another screener, such that the film may be separated from the film-coated cullet in the subsequent screener if not in the previous one.

[0059] Fig. 5c illustrates another embodiment of the screener 560. The screener 560 has similar structure and function to the screener 500 comprising the eccentric cam 566 and springs 568, 570, and 572, except that the uneven plate of the screener 560 is arranged in a manner of descending steps 564, i.e., the film-coated cullet is received at the upper side of the screener 560, and the film-coated cullet and/or the cullet is discharged at the lower side of the screener 560.

[0060] The purpose of the step design is for the film-coated cullet to drop from the height of the steps while it is moving forward along the longitudinal direction of the screener 560, so as to help on the separation of the film and the cullet. A sealed cover 562 on the top with suction air catches the film to the film and dust collection system 108, while the air enters the screener 560 from a plurality of small holes on the steps. As mentioned above, the separated film can move forward faster than the separated cullet and the film-coated cullet while some of the separated film would float in the air, such that the separated film is more inclined to be suctioned by the sealed cover 562 than the separated cullet.

[0061] Optionally, a plurality of obstacles (e.g., chains, baffles, etc) can be arranged on the steps to facilitate the separation of the film from the film-coated cullet. Specifically, the obstacles strengthen the impacts the film-coated cullet encounters, thus increasing the recycling rate of the cullet. For example, the chains can swing and wobble due to the vibration of the screener 560, thereby expediting the separation of the film from the film- coated cullet. The plurality of obstacles can be detachably connected on the one or more uneven plates and thus easy for cleaning.

[0062] Figure 6 schematically illustrates the receiving system 600 comprising a bucket elevator 602 and a receiving station 614. An inlet 604 of the bucket elevator 602 receives the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet from the outlet 530 of another screener 500. After the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet is received, the bucket elevator 602 transfers the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet to the receiving station 614 by the motor 608 via the outlet chute 610 of the bucket elevator 602 and the inlet 612 of the receiving station 614. An inspection door 606 is utilized to monitor the interior of the crusher, which may be transparent and may be opened. A clean door 624 can be disposed at the bottom of the bucket elevator 602 for cleaning the inside of bucket elevator 602 when too much film and/or dust has accumulated. Preferably, the film and/or dust in the bucket elevator 602 can also be suctioned by the film and dust collection system 108

[0063] When the receiving station 614 is collecting the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet, a receiving bucket (i.e., raw cullet hopper, not shown) with capability of around 1200 kg is positioned on the floor scale 622 with its opening upward. A retractable cover 618 descends onto the receiving bucket to seal the opening thereof, and the slide gate 620 on the retractable cover 618 opens and the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet is discharged into the receiving bucket. When a target weight (i.e., weight setpoint) detected by the floor scale 622 of the collected cullet and/or film-coated cullet is reached, the slide gate 620 is closed, and then the retractable cover 618 is opened (i.e., raise the retractable cover 618). The receiving bucket full of the collected cullet and/or film-coated cullet is then replaced by an empty receiving bucket. Then, the retractable cover 618 descends to close the receiving bucket, and the slide gate 620 opens again. It is noted that when the slide gate 620 is closed, the bucket elevator 602 may keep transferring the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet to the receiving station 614. In such case, the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet accumulates on the closed slide gate 620 and falls into the receiving bucket as the slide gate 620 is opened again.

[0064] After the receiving bucket full of the collected the cullet and/or the film-coated cullet is removed from the receiving station 614, the cullet weight can be measured, and the recycling rate may be estimated. While there still may be at least some film-coated cullet in the collected material, such as, for example about 3% film-coated cullet in the collected material (corresponding to 97% of film removal rate), the recycled material in the receiving bucket is appropriate for applying to other manufacture process such as manufacturing glass sheets.

[0065] It can be readily understood that the more screeners in the screener system 104 are used, the higher the film removal rate is; however, the recycling rate would be expected to decrease at the same time due to the fact that some separated cullet is suctioned by the film and dust collection system 108 rather than collected by the receiving system 106.

[0066] Turning to Figs. 7a and 7b. The film and dust collection system 108 may comprise one or more film and dust collectors 700. Preferably, a plurality of film and dust collectors 700 are designed to run alternatively to keep the system running without interruption while the operator changes bags. The film and dust collector 700 collects film dust generated from the screener system 104 through the dust collection inlet 722 into a bag placed under the discharge gate 708 of the film and dust collector 700. The bag may, for example, be sized around 1 cubic meter, and may, for example, load 200-300 kg. Preferably, the film and dust collector 700 may also collect film dust generated from the crusher system 102 and the receiving system 106.

[0067] A motor 718 activates the suction through a pipe 716. Filters 720 (shown as 5 by5) filter the film and/or dust suctioned through a dust collection inlet 722. A compression dry air buffer tank 712 and reverse pulse jets 710 can work together to provide compression dry air onto the filters 720 from inside a dust collector housing 706, thus cleaning the film and/or dust attached on the filters 720. The filters 720 may also be cleaned manually by unlocking a lock 704 of a top cover 702. The film collected in the system can be automatically discharged into a bulk bag with its pulse jet system. The collected film may be sellable to a recycling company. An inspection door 714 can be utilized to monitor the interior of the crusher, which may be transparent and may be opened. Examples

[0068] Various embodiments will be further clarified by the following examples.

EXAMPLE 1

[0069] In this example, the screener in Figs. 5a and 5b is utilized. The loading of the tipper 200 is 500 kg. The crusher 300 is 1 meter wide. Each of the crusher breakers 416 and 418 in the crusher 300 has 12 claws of blades. The rotation speed of the crusher breakers 416 and 418 is 20 rpm. In order to achieve 97% of film removal rate, 3 screeners are utilized in the screener system 104 in series. The overall system performance of this example is 800kg/hr.

[0070] The length of the screener 500 is 1.2 m. The feature of the screener 500 is that the case 401 thereof is tilted in an ascending manner at an angle of 25 degrees to 35 degrees from the level, preferably 30 degrees, such that the film-coated cullet is received at the lower side of the one or more uneven plates 540, 542, and 544. The two eccentric cams 510 and 511 repeatedly move the springs 512 and 513 back and forth at around 50 mm, and amplified by the springs 506 to around 50 to 70 mm, preferably 60 mm, and 80 mm at maximum.

[0071] The ridged surfaces of the uneven plates 540, 542, and 544 of the screener 500 have equally spaced creases 550 spaced from 10 to 20 mm. The height 548 of each crease is 5 mm, and the slope of the bevel edge 546 of each crease is 40-45 degrees relative to the ground.

EXAMPLE 2

[0072] In this example, the screener in Fig. 5 c is utilized. The loading of the tipper 200 is 800 kg. The crusher is 2 meters wide, and the number of the breakers is twice of that in example 1. Each of the crusher breakers in the crusher 300 has 6 claws of blades. The rotation speed of the crusher breakers is 50 rpm. No bridge breaker is needed in this example thanks to the more and faster-rotating crusher breakers. In this example, only one screener is needed to achieve 97% of film removal rate. The overall system performance of this example is 800kg/hr.

[0073] The length of the screener 560 is 3.11 m. The feature of the screener 560 is that the steps 564 thereof tilted in a descending manner at an angle of 0 degrees to 3 degrees from the level, preferably 1 degree, such that the film-coated cullet is received at the upper side of the steps. The height of each step 564 is 75 mm, and the length of each step 564 is 550-650mm, preferably 600 mm. Such design makes screener 560 more stationary than the screener 500 of example 1. The upward surfaces of the steps 564 are arranged to be flat, while in another embodiment these steps may also be ridged. It may be perceived that the one or more uneven plates of the screener 560 may also be designed as a descending slope with ridged surfaces. The eccentric cam 566 repeatedly moves the spring 568 back and forth at around 10 mm, and amplified by the springs 570, 571 , 572, and 573 to around 20 mm.

[0074] Although the screeners in the above examples are shown to be in a straight manner, the screener may also be curved to fit the narrow environment. The ridged surfaces of the uneven plates within the screener may be one or more of the following combined: waving, corrugated, bumpy, stepped, meshed, or the like.

[0075] It can be understood that the method and apparatus utilized in the present disclosure are applicable to separate materials with different specific weights and not limited to separate film from film-coated cullet. For example, the metal, alloy, or plastic film coated on the metal, alloy, plastic, or glass may be separated by the method and apparatus utilized in the present invention.

[0076] It is noted that the term "around" may be utilized herein to represent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed to any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. This term is also utilized herein to represent the degree by which a quantitative representation may vary from a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basic function of the subject matter at issue.

[0077] Various modifications and variations can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the claimed subject matter. Thus, it is intended that the specification cover the modifications and variations of the various embodiments described herein provided such modification and variations come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A recycling system comprising:

a screener configured to receive film-coated cullet on one or more uneven plates and reciprocally move the one or more uneven plates positioned in a tilted manner in order to separate film from the film-coated cullet.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more uneven plates have a ridged surface selected from at least one of the following: waving, serrated, corrugated, bumpy, stepped, and meshed.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more uneven plates are tilted in an ascending manner at an angle of 25 degrees to 35 degrees from horizontal and are configured to receive the film-coated cullet at the lower side of the one or more uneven plates.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the ridged surface of the one or more uneven plates comprises creases equally spaced from 10 mm to 20 mm.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more uneven plates are tilted in a manner of descending steps at an angle of 0 degree to 3 degrees from horizontal and are configured to receive the film-coated cullet at the upper side of the one or more uneven plates.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the steps are equally spaced from 550 mm to 650 mm.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein a plurality of obstacles are arranged on the one or more uneven plates.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a crusher having one or more crusher breakers for crushing film-coated glass into the film-coated cullet.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the crusher further comprises a bridge breaker for pressing the film-coated glass into the one or more crusher breakers.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more uneven plates are reciprocally moved by an eccentric cam.

1 1. The system of claim 10, wherein the system is configured such that the film-coated cullet on the one or more uneven plates is moveable at a controllable speed as a function of a slope of the one or more uneven plates and a rotation speed of the eccentric cam.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more uneven plates are detachably connected to the screener.

13. A recycling method comprising:

Introducing film-coated cullet to one or more uneven plates; and

reciprocally moving the one or more uneven plates positioned in a tilted manner, thereby separating film from the film-coated cullet.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein introducing the film-coated cullet on the one or more uneven plates further comprises positioning the one or more uneven plates in an ascending manner at an angle of 25 degrees to 35 degrees from horizontal to receive the film-coated cullet at the lower side of the one or more uneven plates.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more uneven plates comprises a ridged surface with creases equally spaced from 10 mm to 20 mm.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein introducing the film-coated cullet on the one or more uneven plates further comprises arranging the one or more uneven plates in a manner of descending steps at an angle of 0 degree to 3 degrees from horizontal to receive the film- coated cullet at the lower side of the one or more uneven plates.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the steps are equally spaced from 550 mm to 650 mm.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising crushing film-coated glass into the film- coated cullet.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising reciprocally moving the one or more uneven plates by an eccentric cam to move the film-coated cullet at a controllable speed as a function of a slope of the one or more uneven plates and a rotation speed of the eccentric cam.

20. A recycling apparatus comprising:

a crusher for crushing film-coated glass into film-coated cullet; and

one or more uneven plates for receiving the film-coated cullet from the crusher and reciprocally moving the one or more uneven plates positioned in a tilted manner, thereby separating film from the film-coated cullet.