Patent Application
20120260811
The present invention relates to a device for compacting hollow bodies, in particular sheet metal beverage cans.
Devices for compacting hollow bodies are known in various embodiments from prior art. With these devices, a roller often acts against a counter bearing, with a draw-in gap for the hollow bodies to be compacted between said components. Draw-in elements project from the roller in a radial fashion; on the one hand, said draw-in elements are designed to improve the draw-in, and on the other hand, they are designed for compacting the hollow body. In most cases, the counter bearing is another roller. However, the counter bearing can also be a disk-shaped component, for example, which has a planar or convex abutment surface.
Examples of devices for compacting hollow bodies can be found in DE 85 15 290 U1; DE 201 11 752 U1; DE 10 2006 036 145 A1; DE 20 2008 012 248 U1; DE 101 14 686 C1; DE 103 25 368 B4; DE 200 23 690 U1; and DE 10 2006 033 617 A1.
DE 103 25 368 B2 discloses a compacting device that has two oppositely drivable rollers, which are arranged at a distance to one another and developed such that empty containers are cut up and crushed between them. For this purpose, each roller has a plurality of disks arranged successively along the axis of the roller. Some of the disks act as pressure disks, and the other disks act as cutting disks. Furthermore, the rollers are arranged such that the disks of the one roller engage in the spaces between the disks of the other roller. With an opposite rotating motion of the rollers, an empty container is pulled into the clearance of the rollers and crushed and cut up by the many pressure and cutting disks. This in particular also allows the compacting of empty, closed containers without having to perforate them first. The draw-in elements of these rollers are formed by the teeth of the cutting disks, which are in the shape of hooks in the direction of the circumference of the rollers.
A compacting device according to DE 85 15 290 U1 also has a pair of rollers, driven in opposite directions, with pin elements projecting in a radial fashion from the body of the rollers as draw-in elements.
DE 200 23 690 U1 describes a device of this class for compacting empty beverage containers. That device has an essentially funnel-shaped tapering conveyer path into which the beverage containers are fed and where they are successively compacted under the action of feed and crushing devices that laterally delimit the feed path. The means for conveying and crushing the beverage containers are comprised of rollers driven by axial cylinder engines. These rollers have, as draw-in elements, a plurality of cutter-shaped elevations distributed on their circumference, which are aligned in parallel relative to one another and run across essentially the entire length of the rollers. Instead of said cutter-like elevations, the rollers also can have pins or spikes that project from their body.
The device disclosed herein advantageously provides a device for compacting that is equipped with draw-in elements that, in addition to being an effective drawing-in elements, are also effective compacting elements.
A system is disclosed for compacting hollow bodies comprising a roller and a counter-bearing element, which may be a second and possibly essentially identical roller, positioned with a gap between the roller and counter-bearing element. The gap is formed between the outer diameters of the first roller and the counter-bearing element. The roller may have a cylindrically-shaped body with projecting draw-in elements which run continually in a longitudinal direction of the roller along the body of the roller and are arranged in parallel with one another, wherein the draw-in elements form undulatory strips. The strips of the system may be zig-zag shaped, and the strips may have two flanks that diverge outward and end in a top surface. The top surface of the strips may be essentially planar.
Surprisingly, it was found that devices where the draw-in elements are formed by strips that deviate from a straight course, i.e., which run in an undulatory fashion, very effectively draw the hollow bodies to be compressed into the draw-in gap between the roller and its counter bearing. An additional result is that the hollow bodies leaving the device in accordance with the invention are strongly compacted.
Draw-in elements formed by strips running in a zigzag fashion proved in particular effective.
The roller of a device in accordance with this disclosure acts against a counter bearing. Said counter bearing can be a planar or convex abutment surface of a disk-shaped component, for example. However, the counter bearing is preferably a second roller that is aligned parallel to the first roller, which is furthermore preferably identical to the first roller.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing description and the following description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The invention is explained in greater detail by means of the exemplary embodiments shown in the following drawings. The drawings show:
Reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplary embodiments consistent with the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
The exemplary device 1 shown in the drawings drawing is intended for compacting sheet metal beverage cans. It has a housing 2, which accommodates two rollers 3 and 4 arranged in parallel, as well as a feed impeller 5. An electromotor 6 is arranged on the outside of the housing 2, which drives the two rollers 3 and 4, via toothed belts and drive chains [not shown], in opposite directions in relation to each other, i.e., in the directions of the arrows 7 and 8. Electromotor 6 also drives the feed impeller 5 in the direction of the arrow 9, i.e., counter-clockwise. A draw-in gap 23 exists between the two rollers 3 and 4.
The rollers 3, 4 have a cylindrical body 10, with bearing and journal pins projecting axially from both ends of said body. Furthermore, a plurality of strips 12 aligned in parallel project in a radial fashion from the body 10 of the rollers 3, 4. The strips 12 have a zigzag form and run in the longitudinal direction of the rollers 3, 4 over their entire length.
As an example, the rollers 3, 4 may be comprised of metal and produced with machining. In that production process, first a full cylinder with a diameter d is turned (see
The feed impeller 5 has as a central shaft 16 and is rotatably supported on both sides of the housing 2 via said shaft. Flanges 17 are arranged at the end areas of the shaft 16 to rotate therewith, and three blades 18 are fastened in a respective distance of approx. 120° on said flanges. Said blades 18 preferably consist of folded sheet metal. The feed impeller 5 is designed on the one hand to feed the beverage cans to be compacted to the rollers 3 and 4 and, in cooperation with a return panel 19, for returning beverage cans not initially compacted to the rollers 3 and 4, which will be described in greater detail below. The return panel 19 is arranged concentrically to the shaft 16 of the feed impeller 5 and has a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the blades 18. It runs from an area adjacent to the roller 4 up to an area above the shaft 16 of the feed impeller 5.
Also arranged in the housing is a feed panel 20, which is attached to the housing 2 on one edge and runs angularly downward toward roller 3. The return panel 19 and the feed panel 20 run essentially over the entire length of the rollers 3 and 4. For clarity, the feed panel 20, the return panel 19, and one blade 18 of the feed impeller 5 have been omitted in
The housing 2 has on its upper end an input opening 21 and on its lower end an output opening 22.
The method of operation of the exemplary device 1 described above is explained in greater detail in the following.
Beverage cans placed into the device 1 via the input opening 21 travel under the effect of gravity via the feed panel 20 into the area of the two rollers 3 and 4. Because said rollers move in opposite directions from one another, i.e., in the direction of the arrows 7 and/or 8, the beverage cans are drawn into the draw-in gap 23 formed between the two rollers 3 and 4. Said draw-in is supported by the feed impeller 5. The ends 24 of the blades 18 are angled such that they exert pressure on the beverage cans in the area of the rollers 3, 4, which is directed into the direction of the draw-in gap 23. The drawn-in beverage cans are flattened in the draw-in gap 23 and at the same time, because of the sharp-edged transitions between the side flanks 13, 14 and the top surfaces 15 of the strips 12, they are cut so that deposit logos or similar safety identifiers are destroyed to prevent any misuse.
The beverage cans that were flattened between the rollers 3, 4 drop down through the output opening 22 into a collection container (not shown). Any beverage cans not drawn in between the rollers 3 and 4 during the first run are captured by the blades 18 of the feed impeller 5 and guided along the return panel 19 so that they finally reach the area of the rollers 3 and 4 again via the feed panel 20.
Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2009 049 070.1 | Oct 2009 | DE | national |
The present application claims priority from PCT International Application No. PCT/DE2010/01156 filed Sep. 30, 2010, which claims priority from German Patent Application No. 10 2009 049 070 filed Oct. 12, 2009, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/DE10/01156 | 9/30/2010 | WO | 00 | 6/25/2012 |
