This application claims priority from United Kingdom patent application No 16 01 978.8, filed Feb. 3, 2016, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for separating components of a pocket sprung mattress sub-assembly, in which individual metal springs are retained within a matrix of fabric pockets. The present invention also relates to a method of separating components of a pocket sprung mattress sub-assembly.
It is known to recycle spring-containing mattresses, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,979. The manual handling of springs is difficult, given that their movements are somewhat unpredictable and when exposed, they tend to present dangerous sharp edges. The system disclosed in the aforesaid United States patent publication performs a cutting and crushing operation to yield spring particles that can be processed further or handled manually without risk of injury.
A problem with this known approach is that very high grade cutting blades are required in order to cut through the spring steel present within the mattresses. Even high grade cutting blades, including carbide laminates, will degrade and require replacement, thereby increasing overall running costs. The equipment itself tends to be expensive, replacement of worn parts becomes expensive and further unpredictable costs are often involved during periods when the machine cannot actually be operated; due to the presence of a jam or due to routine repair. Consequently, machines of this type tend to be uneconomic for recycling mattresses containing pocket springs or the recycling of pocket sprung sub-assemblies.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for separating components of a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly, in which individual metal springs are retained within a matrix of fabric pockets, comprising: a rotatable tearing drum; a drive motor arranged to rotate said tearing drum; a plurality of tearing devices, each arranged to pull metal springs from a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly during the rotation of said tearing drum; and a feeding assembly configured to: compress an end portion of said pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly; and move said end portion continually to bring an end of said pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly into contact with said rotating tearing devices.
In an embodiment, the feeding assembly includes a first feed roller and a second feed roller. The first feed roller and the second feed roller may include protrusions for gripping a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly.
Preferably, said feeding assembly also includes an anvil plate, wherein said anvil plate is positioned between said rotating drum and said feed rollers; and said anvil plate is configured to support an end portion of a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly while said tearing devices tear against and pull metal springs from said pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of separating components of a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly, in which individual metal springs are retained within pockets, comprising the steps of: compressing an end portion of a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly; feeding said compressed end portion of said pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly towards a plurality of tearing devices supported on a rotating drum; piercing said pockets by means of said tearing devices; pulling individual springs out from their respective pocket; and releasing pulled-out springs for subsequent collection.
A pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly is shown in
Assemblies of this type are difficult to recycle, therefore existing recycling operations are uneconomic and it is usual for sub-assemblies of this type be directed toward landfill. It is possible to remove the springs by hand but this is time consuming and dangerous. Furthermore known shredding operations are difficult to implement, given that the steel present within the springs will tend to damage shredding machines, causing the machine to jam when a subsequent batch is introduced. Thus, known automated techniques fail to meet their expectations, in terms of the actual through-put that they can achieve; again rendering the whole exercise uneconomic.
A schematic representation of a method for separating components of a pocket sprung sub-assembly is illustrated in
Thus, in this way, an end portion of a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly is compressed. This compressed end portion is then fed towards tearing devices supported on a rotating drum 208. Pockets are pierced by the tearing devices which then pull individual springs out from their respective pocket, whereafter the pulled out springs are released for subsequent collection.
In an embodiment, the compressing step may compress the sub-assembly by at least one third and the feeding step may be facilitated by the presence of first protrusions 206 extending from the first feed roller 201 and second protrusions 207 extending from the second feed roller 202. The piercing step is facilitated by supporting the tearing devices upon a rotating drum 208, configured to rotate in the direction of arrow 209.
To further enhance the separation process, recycled steel may be displaced by magnetism, illustrated by magnet 210 and the pocket material may be displaced by air, represented by air blower 211.
An apparatus for separating components of a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly is illustrated in
Inside the apparatus 301, there are a plurality of moving tearing devices, each configured to pierce a fabric pocket containing a spring, engage with the spring, pull the spring from the fabric matrix and release the spring for subsequent collection. It is then possible, as illustrated in
As described with reference to
A sectional view of the apparatus identified in
A feeding assembly 408 is configured to compress an end portion of pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assemblies introduced by the feed conveyor 402. Furthermore, the feeding assembly 408 is also configured to move compressed end portions continually, to bring the ends of mattress sub-assemblies into contact with the rotating tearing devices. Thereafter, the separated material falls onto the outfeed conveyor 403 via an outlet chute 409.
Rotatable tearing drum 405 is shown in greater detail in
The feeding assembly 408 also includes an anvil plate 504 that is positioned between the rotating drum 405 and the feed rollers 501, 502. The anvil plate 504 is configured to support an end portion of a mattress sub-assembly while tearing devices 407 tear against and pull metal springs from the mattress sub-assembly.
In this embodiment, the feeding sub-assembly further comprises a top pressure rolling device 505, that is arranged to force a pocket-sprung-mattress sub-assembly onto the anvil plate 504. In this embodiment, the top pressure device 505 includes a first top pressure roller 506 and a second top pressure roller 507.
A view inside the apparatus 301, viewed up the outlet chute 409, is shown in
In the arrangements shown in
After disengaging from a respective tearing device, the steel springs exit via the feed conveyor 402. By the application of magnetism, it is possible to direct the steel springs into a specified region, as illustrated in
In addition to blower 211, illustrated schematically in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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16 01 978.8 | Feb 2016 | GB | national |