The present invention relates generally to a drum sectioner.
Plastic drums are sometimes used for shipping liquids. Some plastic drums that are used to ship beverages are not reused, but are shipped back empty to the supplier. The supplier grinds the plastic drum and recycles the plastic. The empty drums are somewhat burdensome to return, because of the volume that they occupy.
A known machine uses a combination of band saws and rotating cutters to cut the plastic drums before returning them to the supplier. One band saw cuts the drum longitudinally (along the axis of symmetry of the drum) and two other band saws cut the top and bottom off the drum. This greatly reduces the volume occupied by the empty drum and the cost and effort in shipping it back to the supplier. However, the band saws generate plastic shavings and dust, which is undesirable.
The present invention provides a drum sectioner which cuts an empty plastic drum into a plurality of pieces for return to the supplier, without any shavings or dust. The drum sectioner includes a plurality of hot wires that cut the empty plastic drum cleanly in up to six pieces, depending on the size.
In a preferred embodiment, the drum sectioner includes a longitudinal wire aligned with the axis of symmetry of the drum and a pair of lateral wires positioned adjacent the top and bottom of the drum. The wires separate an upper chamber from a lower chamber in a sealed housing. One or more whole, empty drums are placed in the upper chamber on top of the wires. As electrical current is passed through the wires, the wires heat and begin to melt the drum. The hot wires cut through the drum as the drum begins to descend (e.g. by force of gravity) from the upper chamber to the lower chamber. The drum is sectioned into smaller pieces that are received in the lower chamber, without dust or shavings. The pieces can easily be shipped back to the supplier or to a recycler.
Other advantages of the present invention can be understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
A drum sectioner 10 for sectioning empty plastic drums 12 according to the present invention is shown in
A controller 22, such as a CPU, FPGA, or hard-wired circuitry controls the drum sectioner 10 to perform the functions described herein. The controller 22 controls power supplied through a fused disconnect 24 and by transformers 26, 28. The controller 22 also controls a fume cleaner 30 for removing any fumes generated in the drum sectioning process. An indicator light 32 indicates the status of the drum sectioning process.
Referring to
When current is supplied to the wires 42, 44, the wires 42, 44 achieve a high enough temperature to melt the plastic of the drum 12. The weight of the drum 12 pushes the drum 12 through the wires 42, 44, thereby cutting the drum 12 into sections.
As shown in
When the drum 12 passes completely through the wires 42, 44, the six pieces of the drum 12 drop into the lower chamber 19 of the drum sectioner 10 and can be removed through the lower doors 20 (
The hot wires 42, 44 cut the drum 12 into manageable pieces that can be shipped in less volume without producing plastic shavings or dust. The drum sectioner 12 is automated and requires very little effort by the user.
A drum sectioner 110 according to a second embodiment is shown in
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the arrangement and number of wires 42, 44 could be changed.