Patent Application
20100102475
None
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Portions of the disclosure of this patent document contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a commonly used material for packing and packaging. Due to the quantities of EPS used in commerce, it is advantageous to recycle EPS wherever possible so that it can be reused. However, EPS at room temperature is a solid that cannot be reformed without destroying its shape. Therefore, a means for reconstituting EPS into an extruded ingot provides a means for recycling EPS.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an EPS recycling and extruding machine that can accept a variety of sizes and shapes of waste EPS material to be recycled. A further object of the invention is to provide an EPS recycling and extruding machine that comprises a means for crushing waste EPS pieces until they can be melted and extruded. Still another object of the invention is to provide an EPS recycling and extruding machine that has controls allowing the machine to be pre-heated, activated, and the machine's speed adjusted, and further comprises emergency shut off controls. These and other object of the invention will become apparent through the appended summary, description and claims.
An expanded polystyrene recycling and extruding device comprises a conveyor belt with a tensioner and motor for moving waste expanded polystyrene (EPS) pieces into the body of the device. A crusher accepts the waste EPS pieces and reduces their size. The crusher comprises an intake housing surrounding an upper crusher with at least one row of teeth for breaking down EPS. The EPS then falls into a lower crusher to be broken down into even smaller pieces. The lower crusher comprises two rows of crusher gears. Below the lower crusher, a screen retains EPS pieces larger than a predetermined size, and allows sufficiently reduced pieces of EPS to pass through.
An extruder accepts the EPS pieces that fall through the screen. The extruder comprises a heated housing for melting the EPS and an Archimedian screw comprising an auger for moving the melted EPS to an extruding nozzle along the axis of rotating helical flighting. The heated housing comprises heating elements, and in one preferred embodiment, the elements comprise three distinct heating zones capable of reaching different temperatures for progressively heating and melting the EPS.
A controller is associated with the device for controlling the various motors and heating elements. The controller has controls for altering and setting the speed of the conveyor motor and belt, and the speed of the upper and lower crushers. The temperature of the heating elements, including each section of heating elements, and the speed of the extruder is also controlled by controlling the extruder motor.
In preferred embodiments of the device, a hopper channels crushed EPS from the lower crusher into the extruder. A back door is disposed on the housing allows access to the upper and lower crushers for maintenance, and a ventilation panel allows gasses to escape from the device.
In another preferred embodiment, a smaller version of the device is shown, comprising a single housing with a control panel. In this embodiment, the controller comprises a touch display for controlling the motors and heating elements.
In order to use the device of the present invention, a user places waste EPS into the device. The device is then activated so that recycling can begin. EPS is fed through the upper and lower crushers, and falls through the screen into the heating element where it melts and the auger urges it, as a liquid, through the nozzle of the extruder. A means for collecting the extruded EPS is placed under the nozzle. After the device has processed the lasts of the EPS, and the last of the EPS has left the nozzle, the device can be deactivated.
Referring to
In order to keep the belt 14 taught and in motion, a tensioner 20 is disposed at one extreme end of the belt, and a motor 22 is associated with the belt. Supports 24 hold the conveyor 12 at an angle to move EPS up and into the subsequent parts of the device, and an emergency cut-off switch 26 is associated with the conveyor for halting operation in an emergency.
Still referring to
Still referring to
A controller is associated with the device for controlling the various motors and heating elements. The controller has controls for altering and setting the speed of the conveyor motor and conveyor belt, and the speed of the crusher motor and speed of the upper and lower crushers. The temperature of the heating elements, including each section of heating elements, and the speed of the extruder is also controlled by controlling the extruder motor.
Referring to
Referring to
In order to use the device of the present invention, a user places waste EPS into the device by placing the EPS on the conveyor or if no conveyor is used, directly in the housing. The device is then activated, and may have been pre-heated so that recycling can begin immediately once waste EPS is deposited in the device. EPS is fed through the upper and lower crushers, and falls through the screen into the heating element, where the auger urges it, as a liquid, forward through the nozzle of the extruder. A means for collecting the extruded EPS, in one preferred embodiment, a bin, is placed under the nozzle. The bin can be emptied as necessary, and testing has revealed that 7-8 minutes to fill a bin is average. After the device has processed the lasts of the EPS, a user waits until the last of the EPS has left the nozzle. At that point, the device can be deactivated.
All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6. In particular, the use of “step of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.
