WO2023070210A1

WO2023070210A1 - Material shredder for a demolition site, and associated method

Info

Publication number: WO2023070210A1
Application number: PCT/CA2022/051586
Authority: WO
Inventors: Angélique SALVAS; Martin Robichaud; Xavier Falardeau
Original assignee: Gsr Construction
Priority date: 2021-10-27
Filing date: 2022-10-26
Publication date: 2023-05-04
Also published as: CA3135947A1

Abstract

A material shredder for a demolition site comprises an upper portion for receiving material through an inlet, and a shredding component connected to a source of motive power for shredding the material and generating shredded waste material. A lower portion which receives the shredded waste material can be connected by its outlet to a suction source for suctioning the shredded waste material. A pressure plate presses the material loaded into the upper portion against the shredding component during the shredding process. One method of using the shredder makes it possible to simultaneously shred the material and suction the shredded waste material.

Description

MATERIALS SHREDDER FOR A DEMOLITION SITE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

STATE OF THE ART

(a) Scope

The subject of this patent application generally relates to waste management devices in the workplace, and particularly industrial sites, construction, renovation and demolition sites. More specifically, it relates mainly to waste processing equipment on industrial production sites, construction and renovation sites, and particularly demolition and decontamination sites.

(b) Prior Art

[0002] On construction, renovation, and particularly demolition sites, the quantity of waste to be managed is very high, and little valued. Thus, challenges of logistics and loss of value of materials resulting from demolition result from current methods of management of demolition residues.

[0003] Among other things, the materials that typically result from renovation and demolition include concrete screeds, ceramics, concrete blocks, cementitious plaster, fiber cement panels, fiberglass, wood, siding resilient flooring, gypsum and plaster, as well as suspended ceiling tiles. All of these materials have normally lost residual values. For construction, we mainly find gypsum scraps.

[0004] In other cases, residual materials result from the demolition of contaminated materials, such as plaster, concrete blocks, cementitious plaster, fiber cement panels, asbestos vinyl tiles, flexible floor covering, gypsum and plaster, terra cotta blocks, and acoustic tiles that have different characteristics that complicate the logistics of transporting these materials and their handling. [0005] The typical logistics consists of throwing the pieces of demolished material, as the demolition proceeds, into waste bins, and transporting the waste bins in containers outside the building. Alternatively, in other cases, a chute for demolition materials is installed on the face of the building. The other end of the chute overlooks a container. Workers bring the pieces of demolition material to the entrance of the chute, and drop them down the chute. The pieces of demolition material end up in the container at the foot of the fall. In both cases, pieces of demolition materials of different natures and different sizes are stored in the container, therefore with a lot of wasted space, which multiplies the number of container replacements necessary for a demolition site and causes a lot of waste handling. On decontamination sites, the waste resulting from the demolition of contaminated material must be bagged, followed by the decontamination of the bag, in a shower, before being placed in another clean bag to be finally transported to the contaminated waste container. .

[0006] This is why there is a need for means and methods which simplify the logistics of storage and transport of construction, renovation, demolition and decontamination residues. There is also a need for means and methods to simplify the recovery of residual materials resulting from a construction, renovation and demolition process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0007] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will appear from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the accompanying drawings, namely:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a portable garbage disposal for a demolition site in accordance with one embodiment; Figure 2 is a front sectional view of the grinder of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom view of a conduit of the grinder of Figure 1;

[0011] Figure 4 is a perspective view of an upper portion and a grinding element of the grinder of Figure 1; And

[0012] Figure 5 is a diagram representing a method of using the crusher of Figure 1.

[0013] It should be noted that throughout the description, in relation to the accompanying drawings, similar features are identified by similar references.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The object of the present invention is to provide a material crusher and a method of operating the crusher overcoming or alleviating one or more disadvantages of known crushers and methods of crusher operation, or at least providing an alternative useful.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a crusher making it possible to increase the compactness of demolition waste in order to reduce disposal costs.

According to one aspect of the invention, a crusher of materials for a demolition site is defined. The crusher includes an upper portion, a crushing element, a lower portion and a pressure plate. The upper portion is used to receive materials through an entrance. The crushing element, adapted to be connected to a source of motive power, serves to crush the materials and generate debris from the crushed materials. The lower portion is connected to the upper portion. The grinding element is disposed between the upper portion and the lower portion. The lower portion, used to receive at least partly the shredded material debris, comprises an outlet adapted to receive a suction source for sucking up the shredded material debris. The pressure plate is adapted to apply pressure to the loaded materials in the upper portion, the pressure being applied against the crushing element.

[0017] Optionally, the upper portion may comprise a first converging section converging towards the grinding element.

[0018] Optionally, the upper portion may also comprise a portion of constant section above the converging section, the pressure plate being adapted to fit into the portion of constant section.

[0019] Optionally, the upper portion may further comprise a stopper making it possible to stop a stroke of the pressure plate in order to prevent the pressure plate from contacting the grinding element.

[0020] Optionally, the pressure plate can be of similar dimensions and shape to the dimensions and shape of the entrance to the upper portion so that the pressure plate can at least partially close the entrance to the upper portion. .

[0021] Optionally, a hydraulic cylinder can be connected to the pressure plate so as to allow the generation of a force on the pressure plate in order to press the materials against the crushing element.

[0022] Optionally, a release mechanism can be connected to the pressure plate in order to release the pressure plate from the entrance of the upper portion in order to insert the materials therein. The hydraulic cylinder can not only also serve as a release mechanism.

[0023] Optionally, the grinding element may comprise a grinding shaft comprising a plurality of grinding discs arranged parallel to one another on an axis of rotation of the grinding shaft. The upper portion further comprises a comb whose teeth are inserted between the grinding discs making it possible to at least partially prevent the materials from bypassing the grinding discs.

[0024] Optionally, the grinding element may comprise two similar grinding shafts, the two grinding shafts being counter-rotating (rotating in opposite directions to each other). The upper portion thus comprises two combs, each of the two combs having teeth inserted between the grinding discs of a respective one of the two grinding shafts in order to prevent at least in part the materials from bypassing the two grinding shafts .

[0025] Optionally, the two grinding shafts can be interconnected by a set of gears, allowing synchronization of the two grinding shafts. Also, the grinding discs of each of the two grinding shafts can be nested.

[0026] Optionally, the crusher can include a motor connected to the crushing element in order to activate it independently.

[0027] Optionally, the suction source connected to the outlet can be included with the shredder in order to suck up the debris of shredded materials more independently.

[0028] Optionally, the lower portion may comprise a second converging section converging towards the outlet.

[0029] Optionally, the crusher can further comprise a detector connected to a controller. The detector makes it possible to detect the presence of the pressure plate in the entrance of the upper portion. The controller controls a start of the grinding element when the pressure plate is located in the entrance of the upper portion and controls a shutdown of the grinding element when the entrance is cleared at least in part of the pressure plate. According to another aspect of the invention, a method of using the crusher defined above on a demolition site generating materials to be disposed is defined. The method includes the steps of: a) loading the upper portion with the materials to be laid out; b) at least partially blocking the entrance to the upper portion using the pressure plate; c) crushing the materials to be disposed using the crushing member to generate the crushed material debris; and d) vacuuming the crushed material debris.

[0031] Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of applying pressure to the materials to be placed using the pressure plate.

[0032] Optionally, the grinding and suction steps can be done simultaneously.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method of using the crusher described above on a demolition site generating materials to be disposed is defined. The method includes the step of simultaneously crushing the materials loaded into the upper portion using the crushing member to generate the crushed material debris and sucking the crushed material debris, the materials being subjected to pressure applied via the pressure plate against the grinding element when the pressure plate at least partly closes the entrance to the upper portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments will now be described in more detail below with reference to the attached figures in which the embodiments are illustrated. The above can however be incorporated in many different forms. and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein.

[0035] With respect to the present description, references to elements in the singular must be understood to include elements in the plural, and vice versa, unless the text explicitly or clearly indicates otherwise. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express all disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of propositions, sentences, words and the like, unless otherwise specified or clearly indicated by the context. Thus, the term "or" should generally be understood to mean "and/or" and so on.

[0036] Quotation of ranges of values and values here or in the drawings is not intended to be limiting, rather referring individually to all values within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein. The words "about", "approximately", or the like, when accompanying a numerical value, should be construed to indicate a deviation such as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art to operate satisfactorily for an intended purpose. The ranges of values and/or the numerical values are provided here by way of example only, and do not constitute a limitation of the scope of the described embodiments. The use of any examples either directly or with the use of associated language ("for example", "such as", or the like) provided herein, is merely intended to better illuminate exemplary embodiments and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments.

In the following description, it is understood that terms such as "first", "second", "up", "down", "above", "below", and the like are relative words and therefore should not be construed as limiting terms.

[0038] It should further be noted that for the purposes of this disclosure, the term "coupled" means the joining of two elements directly or indirectly to each other. Depending on the embodiments, such a junction may be of a fixed nature or mobile. Such a junction can allow the flow of fluids, the transmission of electricity, electrical signals or other types of signals or communication between two elements. Such a junction may involve only two elements or all the intermediate elements. Such a junction may be permanent in nature or alternatively may be temporary, removable or releasable in nature.

[0039] The terms "top", "bottom", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside" and "outside", etc. are further intended to be construed in their normal sense in relation to the normal mill installation, the normal orientation of which being illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0040] The subject of this innovation is a portable waste crusher for construction, renovation, demolition and decontamination sites. This portable grinder, installed in the work area, can simultaneously grind and vacuum construction materials, renovation, demolition and decontamination, either contaminated or other materials.

[0041] Following the demolition of the various coatings and materials, these are crushed. The crusher is coupled to a source of suction in order to evacuate the construction, renovation, demolition and decontamination materials directly outside the site, for example in a container, to be, for example, transported to a site of proper burial according to the standards in force, or transported to recovery or reclamation sites.

[0042] In the case of the demolition of contaminated materials, the container is typically equipped with double container bags under negative pressure. The container equipped with negative pressure equipment equipped with a HEPA filter that eliminates 99.97% of particles larger than 0.3 microns and contaminated with asbestos, mold, silica or lead.

With concomitant reference to Figures 1 to 7, the grinder 100 comprises a conduit 105, itself consisting of an upper funnel 102, a main section 104 and a lower funnel 106. The main section 104 houses a grinding element, and more particularly the grinding shafts 115 mounted on supports 120 such as ball bearings. At least one of the grinding shafts 115 is actuated in rotation, directly or indirectly, by a power transmission element, such as an electric or hydraulic motor 150. The two grinding shafts 115 can be connected together by a gear train 126, thus not only allowing the power source to be connected to only one of the grinding shafts 115, thus simplifying assembly, but also allowing synchronism between two or more grinding shafts 115. Such synchronism makes it possible to use crushing shafts 115 rotating in opposite directions to each other (counter-rotating) and interlocking closely, making it possible to grip and engulf the materials placed inside the upper funnel 102 The grinding shafts 115, in motion and in contact with the materials, grind the materials into pieces of smaller dimensions. The grinding shafts 115 consist of a series of grinding discs 117 arranged parallel to each other along an axis of rotation of each grinding shaft 115. Combs 119 are placed on either side of the shafts 115, sloping to guide the materials towards the crushing shafts 115. The combs 119 have teeth 121 interposed between the crushing discs 117 of each of the crushing shafts 115, thus preventing the materials from passing easily between the discs grinding 117.

Each grinding shaft 115 comprises several grinding disks 117 themselves comprising one or more fingers 137. These fingers 137 can be similar to hammers or more or less sharp blades, depending on the nature of the materials to be grind.

The crusher 100 includes a pressure plate 130 adapted to close the conduit 105 during the material crushing process. Depending on the embodiment, the pressure plate 130 can either be mounted on a hydraulic cylinder system 140, or operated manually. [0046] The pressure plate 130 offers a closure that is at least partial and possibly sealed, thus helping to limit the dispersion of dust and grit during the grinding of the materials. The pressure plate 130 applies a pressure, typically constant, on the construction, renovation, demolition and decontamination equipment. Through this pressure exerted on the materials during grinding, the pressure plate 130 contributes to the acceleration of the grinding process. In addition, the pressure plate 130 helps eliminate or reduce the tumbling of the materials inserted into the crusher 100.

The pressure plate 130 can be placed in a first position, called the grinding position, during which it is mounted at the top of the duct 105 and particularly of the upper funnel 102, partially closes the inlet 110 of the upper funnel 102 and applies pressure to the materials. The pressure plate 130 can be placed in a second position, called the loading position, during which the pressure plate 130 is set back relative to the inlet of the duct 105 in order to release it and allow the loading of materials to be ground. into the upper funnel 102. In Figure 7, the pressure plate 130 is shown in its loading position. So that the pressure plate 130 cannot come into contact with the grinding shafts 115, the upper funnel 102 can be provided with a stop 123.

[0048] The upper funnel 102 provides safety for workers to avoid entrapment and injury when loading demolition materials into it. The upper funnel 102 serves as a guard for worker safety. The upper funnel 102 further aids in the retention of the materials when loading them and thus avoid placing them in the crusher 100 several times in connection with the loading. The upper funnel 102 also acts as a temporary storage space for demolition materials before they are crushed. When the upper funnel 102 is filled with demolition materials, the pressure plate 130 is placed on them. It applies a continuous pressure on the materials which prevents the materials above, in response to the movements of the materials which are in the process of being crushed, to escape from the upper funnel 102. The upper funnel 102 can be provided with an upper part of constant section so that the pressure plate 130 can press the materials inside the upper funnel 102 while sealing against the walls of the upper funnel 102, thus preventing dust resulting from the grinding from spreading to the working environment.

The crusher 100 also includes an outlet 112 at the bottom of the lower funnel 106, adapted to connect a suction source 175 thereto (vacuum cleaner, vacuum pump or other suction source generating a negative pressure with respect to at atmospheric ambient pressure) allowing the crushed materials to be evacuated in a container 176 as the crushing process progresses.

[0050] The general shape of the duct 105, of a typically trapezoidal section in one or two planes allowing an interior horizontal area generally decreasing with the reduction in the elevation of the section considered, offers an appropriate shape for a crusher in order to prevent materials remain blocked in the crusher 100 and thus allows a good flow of the crushed materials.

It should be noted that the conduit 105 and its sections can have different shapes, and for example the shape of a rectangular funnel (or in other words the shape of a truncated pyramid as shown), truncated conical shape or other.

The lower funnel 106, in the bottom of the conduit 105, is used to receive the crushed materials. In the lower funnel 106 is the outlet 112, located on the lower wall 114 of the lower funnel 106, or a suction socket 112 for the connection of the suction hose 200. The location of this suction socket suction 112 also limits the dispersion of dust in addition to allowing the suction, therefore an effective elimination, of the crushed materials. Typically, the suction hose 200 does not need to be handled by a worker and is directed to the container 176.

The grinder 100 includes an electrical circuit (sensor, switch, connectors, etc., not shown) allowing the detection of the presence of the pressure plate 130 and thus activating the grinding shafts 115 of the grinder 100 only when the pressure plate 130 is in the crushing position and to apply pressure to the materials in the upper funnel 102. This electrical circuit is adapted so that, as soon as the pressure plate 130 is raised, for example in order to allow the loading of materials in the crusher 100, the crushing shafts 115 of the crusher 100 stop and cannot be activated.

According to the embodiments, the crusher 100 can be motorized by an electric motor, or a hydraulic motor, present on the demolition site or integrated into the crusher 100.

Similarly, the operation of the pressure plate 130 can be manual, but more often operated via a hydraulic or electric tool present on the demolition site, or integrated into the crusher 100.

[0056] When post-use recovery of demolition materials is desired, it is possible to move the outlet of the suction hose to containers (typically of smaller dimensions than the typical container of the state of the art) depending on the type of crushed demolition material, and thus obtain small-sized pieces of a relatively homogeneous nature in each container, pre-sorted, and therefore more easily recoverable or recyclable. The content of these containers is therefore easy to distribute to parties interested in the recovery of these materials. The space required for the containers, which are smaller than typical prior art containers due to greater compactness of the shredded scrap given the decrease in interstices between the different pieces of shredded material as opposed to non- crushed, makes it possible to manage different demolition materials in parallel and a more efficient management of the weight of demolition materials per unit of volume (shredding allows a greater density of scrap).

Reference is now made to Figure 8. The operation of the mill of the present application consists of one or more of the following steps:

1 - an installation of the crusher at the demolition site (500);

2 - a connection of a hose connected to a source of negative pressure at the suction inlet at the bottom of the crusher, with the other end of the hose leading to a storage site for the crushed materials, such as a container (502 );

3 - the loading of materials resulting from a demolition process into the crusher (504);

4 - the installation of a pressure plate on the materials to be crushed (506); And

5- the initiation of simultaneous operation of the negative pressure source and the grinder (508).

Thus the materials are crushed and moved continuously from the crusher to the storage site for the crushed materials, such as the container 176.

Although preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is clear to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from this description. Such modifications are considered possible variations within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

1. A material crusher for a demolition site, the crusher comprising: an upper portion, the upper portion serving to receive materials through an inlet; a crushing element, the crushing element being adapted to be connected to a source of motive power, the crushing element serving to crush the materials and generate debris from the crushed materials; a lower portion, the lower portion being connected to the upper portion, the crushing element being arranged between the upper portion and the lower portion, the lower portion serving to receive at least in part the debris of crushed materials, the lower portion comprising an outlet adapted to receive a suction source for sucking up the crushed material debris; and a pressure plate, the pressure plate being adapted to apply pressure to the materials loaded in the upper portion against the crushing element.

2. The crusher of claim 1, wherein the upper portion comprises a first converging section, the first converging section converging towards the grinding element.

3. The crusher of claim 2, wherein the upper portion comprises a portion of constant section above the converging section, the pressure plate being adapted to fit into the portion of constant section.

4. The crusher of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the upper portion further comprises a stop, the stop for stopping a stroke of the pressure plate to prevent the pressure plate from contacting the grinding element.

5. The crusher of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pressure plate is similar in size and shape to the size and shape of the inlet of the upper portion so that the pressure plate can at least less partially close the entrance to the upper portion.

6. The crusher of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a hydraulic cylinder connected to the pressure plate, the hydraulic cylinder for generating a force on the pressure plate to press the materials against the crushing element .

7. The grinder of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a release mechanism connected to the pressure plate, the release mechanism being adapted to release the pressure plate from the inlet of the upper portion in order to insert the materials.

8. The crusher of any one of claim 7 wherein the hydraulic ram serves as the release mechanism.

9. The grinder of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the grinding element comprises a grinding shaft comprising a plurality of grinding discs arranged parallel to each other on an axis of rotation of the grinding shaft, the upper portion further comprising a comb whose teeth are interposed between the grinding shafts in order to at least partially prevent the materials from bypassing the grinding disks.

10. The crusher of claim 9, wherein the crushing element comprises two similar crushing shafts, the two crushing shafts being counter-rotating, the upper portion further comprising two combs, each of the two combs having teeth interposing between the grinding discs of a respective one of the two grinding shafts in order to at least partially prevent the materials from bypassing the grinding discs.

11. The grinder of claim 10, where the two grinding shafts are interconnected by a set of gears.

12. The grinder of claim 10 or 11, wherein the grinding discs of each of the two grinding shafts are nested.

13. The grinder of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising a motor, the grinding element being connected to the motor.

14. The crusher of any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising the suction source connected to the outlet of the lower portion in order to suck up the debris of crushed materials.

15. The crusher of any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the lower portion comprises a second converging section, the second converging section converging towards the outlet.

16. The grinder of any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising a detector connected to a controller, the detector making it possible to detect the presence of the pressure plate in the entrance of the upper portion, the controller controlling a setting depending on the grinding element when the pressure plate is located in the entrance of the upper portion and controlling a shutdown

16 of the grinding element when the inlet is cleared at least in part of the pressure plate.

17. A method of using a crusher at a demolition site generating materials to be disposed, the crusher being as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, the method comprising: loading into the upper portion the materials to be laid out; at least partially block the entrance to the upper portion using the pressure plate; crushing the materials to be disposed using the crushing member to generate the crushed material debris; and vacuuming the crushed material debris.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising applying pressure to the materials to be laid using the pressure plate.

19. The method of claim 17 or 18, where grinding and suction are done simultaneously.

20. A method of using a crusher at a demolition site generating materials to be disposed, the crusher being as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, the method comprising simultaneously crushing the materials loaded into the upper portion using the crushing element to generate the crushed material debris and suck the crushed material debris, the materials being subjected to pressure applied via the pressure plate against the crushing element when the plate at least partially closes off the entrance to the upper portion.

17