US3779379A

US3779379A - Automatic corrugated waste picker

Info

Publication number: US3779379A
Application number: US00239277A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Buchbinder; A Buchbinder
Original assignee: Devco Management Inc
Current assignee: Devco Management Inc
Priority date: 1972-03-29
Filing date: 1972-03-29
Publication date: 1973-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 1990-12-18

Abstract

Mixed rubbish is dumped onto the first section of a sorting screen conveyor consisting of a plurality of laterally spaced, narrow conveyor belts or wires, with open spaces between them, through which small particles of trash fall. At the discharge end of the first section, trash is dumped onto the receiving end of a lower, second conveyor section, also consisting of laterally spaced, narrow belts, or wires. In passing from the first section to the second, trash falls freely through the air and tumbles onto the second section, causing thorough agitation of the trash and sifting of small particles through spaces between belts, leaving only bulky corrugated paper on the conveyor. Pickers stationed alongside the sorting screen conveyor manually remove unwanted material too bulky to pass between belts. Conveyor belts below the sorting screen conveyors remove small particle trash for disposal. In one embodiment of the invention, the belts or wires in each section diverge so that spaces between belts gradually open wider to pass larger particles of trash.

Description

llnited States Patent Buchbinder et al.

[ Dec. 18, 1973 AUTOMATIC CORRUGATED WASTE PHCKER [75] Inventors: Robert I. Buchbintler; Albert J.

Buchbinder, both of West Covina, Calif.

[73] Assignee: Devco Management Inc., New York,

[22] Filed: Mar. 29, 1972 [21] Appl. No.1 239,277

[52] US. Cl. 209/102, 209/125 [51] int. Cl. B07b [58] Field of Search 209/102, 125, 99, 209/ 107 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,653,509 4/1972 Goodman, Jr. et a1. 209/102 2,257,567 9/1941 Matanovich et a1 209/125 3,612,269 10/1971 Anderson 209/99 3,595,389 7/1971 Morgan 209/125 1,847,265 3/1932 Sandberg 209/125 Primary ExaminerAllen N. Knowles Attorney-John Q. McQuillan 57] ABSTRACT Mixed rubbish is dumped onto the first section of a sorting screen conveyor consisting of a plurality of laterally spaced, narrow conveyor belts or wires, with open spaces between them, through which small particles of trash fall. At the discharge end of the first section, trash is dumped onto the receiving end of a lower, second conveyor section, also consisting of laterally spaced, narrow belts, or wires. In passing from the first section to the second, trash falls freely through the air and tumbles onto the second section, causing thorough agitation of the trash and sitting of small particles through spaces between belts, leaving only bulky corrugated paper on the conveyor. Pickers stationed alongside the sorting screen conveyor manually remove unwanted material too bulky to pass between belts. Conveyor belts below the sorting screen conveyors remove small particle trash for disposal. in one embodiment of the invention, the belts or wires in each section diverge so that spaces between belts gradually open wider to pass larger particles of trash.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures saw 101 4 PATENTEDBEE 1 81973 PATENIEBuEc 1 8 197a SHEET 2 [1F 4 FATENIEUBEB 18 ms SHEET u 0F 4 AUTOMATIC CORRUGATED WASTE PICKER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains generally to apparatus or segregating and extracting bulky material from a mixture of fine and coarse constituents. More specifically, the invention is primarily concerned with an apparatus for automatically recovering corrugated paper board from municipal rubbish, so that the corrugated board can be recycled and made into new corrugated board or other paper products.

Heretofore, the only method of extracting salvageable rubbish from municipal rubbish has been by pickers, who manually pick out any cartons or other pieces of corrugated board from the trash as it is dumped by the pickup trucks. This is an expensive, timeconsuming, and laborious process, and since much of the corrugated board is deeply buried under other trash in the dumping process, it is relatively inefficient, and only a small percentage of the total salvageable corrugated board is ever recovered. The recovery of salvageable corrugated board is important for two reasons: (1 each pound of reclaimed corrugated board represents a pound of wood-pulp saved, with a corresponding reduction in the wasteful use of forest resources; and (2) each pound of reclaimed corrugated board represents that much less trash to be burned or otherwise disposed of, hence, a reduction of environmental pollution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for continuously and automatically separating out any salvageable corrugated paper board from mixed municipal rubbish, with a minimum of hand labor.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the class described which can be designed to handle any desired capacity of rubbish in a smooth traffic flow pattern that allows the collection vehicles to unload and return to their routes in the shortest possible time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanized, automatic corrugated waste picker that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install, simple to operate, and efficient. An experimental unit embodying the invention has demonstrated the capability of recovering up to 90 percent of the salvageable corrugated paper board content of the trash.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of two illustrative embodiments thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the apparatus, as seen from the left-hand end of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of an alternative shaker'bar arrangement, which can be used in place of the laterally spaced conveyor belts in the sorting screen conveyor; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the shaker bars shown in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described first, and attention is therefore directed to those illustrations. The apparatus of the invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10, and comprises a framework 12 upon which is mounted a sorting screen conveyor 14 having a loading end 16 and a discharge end 18. Mounted on the framework 12 below the sorting screen conveyor 14 are two reject conveyors 20 and 22, which, carry away debris that falls through the openings in the upper conveyor. Also mounted on the framework 12 alongside the sorting screen conveyor 12 on opposite sides thereof are

platforms

24 and 26, at two different levels, connected by steps 28.

The framework 12 is an open steel beam structure, made up of

vertical posts

30, 31, 32 and 33, and

horizontal beams

36, 37 and 38, joined together in any suitable way, as by welding or riveting. Mounted on the framework 12 at various points thereon, as best shown in'FIG. 1, are bearing blocks rotatably supporting

pulleys

40, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45, around which are trained a plurality of laterally spaced, narrow conveyor belts 48, which form the sorting screen conveyor 14. The conveyor belts 48 may be in the form of rubberized fabric belts, or chains, or steel cables, and whatever form the belts take, the pulleys 40-45 are correspondingly shaped to work with them. Thus, for example, if the belts 48 consist of roller chains, the pulleys 40-45 will be sprocket wheels.

One important characteristic of the sorting screen conveyor 14 and its supporting structure is that there are open spaces between the belts 48, through which material smaller than a predetermined size falls, leaving the larger objects remaining on the conveyor. To this end, the belts 48 are preferably spaced apart laterally from one another about 6 inches on centers, so that any article smaller than 6 inches in one dimension will tend to fall through the space between them. The supporting structure directly below the conveyor belts 48 is entirely open, and any material falling through drops onto the reject conveyors 20, 22 below. Most of the material falling through the open spaces between belts 48 will consist of cans, bottles, paper products, and solid debris of all kinds, such as articles of wood, rubber and plastic, steel scrap, leaves, grass, dirt, rags, garbage, and the like.

The major portion of typical solid wastes with large flat surfaces is corrugated paper board, and this is retained on the belts 48. Occasionally, large articles of wood, plastic, metal or glass will be retained on the belts 48, and these will be extracted manually by inspectors standing on the

platforms

24 and 26, who monitor the material passing them on the conveyor 14. The inspectors also remove any material that would degrade the quality of the salvaged corrugated, such as oil soaked corrugated, or corrugated coated with paraffin or plastic.

To shake outsmall debris trapped between flat sheets or corrugated or standing on top of the sheets, the sorting screen conveyor 14 is made in at least two sections A and B, with a 3-foot drop at C, where material passing over pulley 44 falls through the air and tumbles onto the lower section B. This tumbling action turns the material over and shakes it up, so that any trapped debris is freed to fall through the spaces between the belts 48 in the lower conveyor section B. The free fall at C is obtained by locating pulley 45 directly below pulley 44, and passing belts 48 over pulley 44 downwardly and back under pulley 45, before resuming its flight as conveyor section B.

The sorting screen conveyor belts 48 are driven in the direction of the arrows by means of an electric motor 50 and speed-reduction gear box 52, the latter having an output drive sprocket that drives a chain 54. Chain 54, in turn, is trained around a sprocket on pulley 40, and pulley 40 thus drives the belts 48. Motor 50 and gear box 52 are mounted on a platform fixed to vertical posts 30 below the pulley 40.

The reject conveyors 20 and 22 are arranged side-byside, below the sorting screen conveyor 14, and travel in the direction transverse to the line of travel of the upper conveyor. Each of the conveyors 20, 22 comprises a wide, flat belt 56 trained around pulleys 58 and 59, the upper flights of which travel in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 3. The two conveyors 20, 22 are driven by an electric motor 60 with an integral, speed reduction gear box 62 having an output sprocket which drives a chain 64. Chain 64 is trained around a sprocket fixed to a shaft 66, which is common to both of the pulleys 59, and the two reject conveyors 20, 22 are thus driven by their respective pulleys 59. The motor 60 and gear box 62 are mounted on a platform 68 fixed to the posts 32 and horizontal beam 38.

At the right-hand end of the conveyors 20, 22, as seen in FIG, 3, and just below the pulleys 59 is a reject conveyor (not shown), onto which the reject material carried by conveyors 20, 22 is dumped, and this is transported to a pulverizer and paper fiber classifier subsystem (not shown) where the material is further broken down and separated. An inspector may be stationed at the discharge end of the conveyors 20, 22, or alongside the reject conveyor receiving material therefrom, where he can hand pick any salvageable corrugated paper that has fallen endwise through the conveyor 14, and throw it in with the corrugated paper that has been separated out by the apparatus.

At the discharge end 18 of the sorting screen conveyor 14, the salvaged corrugated paper board passes over the pulley 40 and drops onto a conveyor (not shown) which carries it to a compactor, where the corrugated material is shredded and compressed into wirebound bales for removal to a paper recycling plant.

The operation of the invention is as follows. The apparatus is preferably set up as an integral part of an overall waste disposal system, which would include other units for pulverizing, classifying and segregating the rubbish, and finally carbonizing the combustible organic material, besides salvaging all of the usable corrugated paper board. Waste material is delivered to the plant in standard rubbish collection vehicles, which discharge it onto a large receiving pad, where the material can be preliminarily inspected, and any articles unsuitable for treatment on the apparatus 10 can be removed and placed directly on the reject conveyor. Unsuitable material might consist of steel drums, wooden pallets, barrels, items of furniture, scrapped appliances, shrubbery, etc. The remaining materials are then fed into a receiving tumbler (not shown) where they are agitated to break up and disintegrate sacked or boxed solid waste material. Some of the smaller particles of dirt, dust and glass are sifted out of the tumbling rubbish, and this is delivered to the reject conveyor for disposal. After leaving the receiving tumbler, the solid waste material is fed directly into a metering conveyor (not shown) which spreads out the waste material into a thinner stream for feeding onto the apparatus 10 at the loading end 16.

While there is no limitation on the size or capacity of the present apparatus, a typical corrugated picker of the type shown and described herein might be designed to handle mixed municipal rubbish at the rate of twenty tons per hour, of which the salvageable corrugated content might average around 30 percent. Thus, with four pickers working in pairs on the

platforms

24, 26 on opposite sides of the machine, it has been found possible to maintain an average output of 12,000 pounds per hour on a more-or-less continuous basis.

The rubbish is discharged onto the loading end 16 of the conveyor to a maximum depth of about 12 inches, and as it moves along on the laterally spaced belts 48, any objects that are small enough to slip through the open spaces, do so, and fall onto the conveyor 22 below. At the discharge end of section A, the material remaining on the belts 48 passes over roller 44 and, at C, falls through the air in a free fall drop onto section B. The free fall at C is preferably about 3 feet in height, which tumbles the rubbish and agitates it thoroughly, inverting large pieces of flat corrugated board and separating pieces that have been clumped together. On section B of the sorting screen conveyor 14, fine material continues to drop through the spaces between belts 48, and falls onto conveyor 20 below. Inclined deflector boards 70 (FIG. 1) along the edges of conveyors 20, 22, deflect the falling material onto the belts 56, and keep it from spilling over the sides.

Inspectors standing on

platforms

24 and 26 hand pick any contaminated or unusable corrugated paper, or any unwanted objects that have failed to fall through the open spaces between belts 48, and this extracted material is thrown out onto the reject conveyors 20, 22 for disposal. Corrugated paper that reaches the discharge end 18 of the sorting screen conveyor is dumped onto a conveyor (not shown) which removes it to a shredding and baling unit.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in which the apparatus is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 80. The apparatus comprises a sorting screen conveyor made up of three sections D, E and F, each of which comprises a plurality of narrow, laterally spaced belts, cables, or chains 82, trained around pulleys 84 and 86. The belts 82 diverge continuously from the receiving end 88 of the apparatus to the discharge end 90 thereof, so that the spaces between belts 82 gradually open wider to allow coarser material to fall through.

Rubbish is delivered onto the receiving end 88 of the apparatus by a metering conveyor 91, of the type mentioned earlier in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, and is dropped in a free fall of about 3 feet onto the receiving end of section D. Fine material immediately falls through the spaces between the belts 82 onto a conveyor belt 92 below, which, in this case, travels in the same direction as the belts 82. Each of the sections D, E and F is inclined upwardly, and as the material is carried along the belts, the fine material continues to drop out as the belts 82 spread farther apart. Ma-

terial passing over pulleys 86 drops in a free fall onto the receiving end of section E, where the process is repeated. Finally, corrugated material is discharged from section F onto a corrugated feed conveyor 94, which carries it to a shredder and baler (not shown). Material falling onto conveyor belt 92 is discharged onto a second conveyor belt 94 which is inclined upwardly and discharges its load onto a reject conveyor 98. Each of the conveyor sections D, E and F is driven by an electric motor 100 with an integral speed-reduction gear box and a sprocket and chain drive to pulley 86. Metering conveyor 91 is driven by its own motor 102 a and chain drive. Preferably, each of the sections D, E and F is driven a little faster than the preceding conveyor, which has the effect of spreading the rubbish more thinly over the sorting screen conveyor as it advances along the same. This prevents clumping, or piling up of the rubbish, which may interfere with its falling freely through spaces between belts 82. While platforms for hand-pickers are not shown on the apparatus of FIGS. 4 and 5, it will be understood that such platforms could be provided.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a modification of the invention, in which inclined shaker bars 104 are used instead of

belts

48 or 82, for the sorting screen conveyor. Each of the shaker bars 104 is a narrow, elongated bar of steel, said bars being parallel to one another and spaced apart laterally about 6 inches from one another. The upper ends of the shaker bars 104 are carried by eccentric cranks 106 on a shaft which is journaled in bearing blocks 108. The lower ends of the shaker bars are carried by eccentric cranks 110 on a shaft which is journaled in bearing blocks 112. One or the other of the said shafts is driven by a motor (not shown) which causes the shaker bars to oscillate. Rubbish carried by the shaker bars is shaken and agitated, causing the loose, fine material to fall through the spaces between the bars 104, while the large, bulky corrugated material is advanced down the inclined shaker bars. The term conveyor elements as used in the claims refers to any of the several forms mentioned, i.e., belts, cables,

chains, shaker bars, or anything of an equivalent nature.

While we have shown and described two illustrative embodiments of the invention is considerable detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to such details, but might take various other forms within the scope of the claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for separating relatively large objects of essentially two-dimensional shape, including pieces of corrugated paper board, from a mixture of trash containing materials of substantially smaller dimensions, the apparatus comprising:

at least two conveyor sections arranged end to end, each section having an entrance end and an exit end;

a plurality of narrow, laterally spaced conveying elements extending from the entrance end of each conveyor section generally in the direction of the exit end of the section; and

means for actuating the conveying elements of each section so as to advance a mixture of trash deposited on the conveying elements at the entrance end of each section toward the exit end of the section, the spacing between elements being great enough to allow the smaller materials in the mixture of trash to drop between the elements as the mixture advances yet close enough to retain the relatively large objects on the conveying elements, and the exit end of one section being positioned above the entrance end of another section by a vertical distance sufficient to insure that relatively large flat objects in the mixture of trash will turn over in passing from the one section to the other section, whereby other materials in the trash mixture that were lying initially on top of the flat objects will fall underneath the flat objects onto the conveying elements of the other section, and the smaller materials will drop through the spaces between the elements while the large flat objects advance to the exit end of the other conveyor section.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said conveyor elements consist of narrow, endless belts passing around pulleys at opposite ends of each of said conveyor sections.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1, which further includes platforms alongside said conveyor sections, upon which operators stand to remove unwanted material from the conveyor, or to retrieve corrugated paper board that may fall edgewise through the spaces between said conveyor elements.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said conveyor elements diverge slightly from said loading end to said discharge end, thereby causing the spaces between said elements to open wider as the trash progresses along said conveyor, allowing objects to drop through as the spaces widen sufficiently to allow them to pass.

5. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said conveyor elements consist of oscillating shaker bars.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means located below the conveying elements of each conveyor section for receiving and carrying away the smaller material that drops between the elements.

7. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said means located below said conveyor for receiving falling material comprises a second belt conveyor having its discharge end separate from the discharge end of said sorting screen conveyor.

8. Apparatus for separating relatively large flat objects of corrugated paper board from a mixture of trash containing other materials of substantially smaller dimensions, the apparatus comprising:

at least two conveyor sections arranged end to end, each section having an entrance end and an exit end, the exit end of one section being positioned above the entrance end of another section;

pulleys located at the entrance end and exit end of each conveyor section, the pulleys being mounted for rotation about axes perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor sections;

a plurality of narrow, endless, flexible elements extending in laterally spaced relation from the entrance end to the exit end of each conveyor section, each element passing successively around a pulley at the entrance end of the one conveyor section, over a pulley at the exit end of the one section, downwardly and under a pulley at the entrance end of the other section and around a pulley at the exit end ef the other section; and

means for driving the plurality of endless elements around the pulleys in a direction to advance a mixture of trash deposited on the elements at the entrance end of the one section toward the exit end of the other section, the spacing between elements being great enough to allow the smaller materials in the mixture to drop between the elements as the mixture advances yet close enough to retain the relatively large flat objects on the elements, and the vertical distance between the exit end of the one conveyor section and the entrance end of the other conveyor section being sufficient to insure that the relatively large flat objects in the mixture of trash will turn over in passing from the one section to the other section, whereby other materials in the mixture that were lying initially on top of the flat objects will fall underneath the flat objects as they psss to the other conveyor section, and the smaller materials will drop through the spaces between the elements while the large flat objects advance to the exit end of the other conveyor section.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising means located below the conveying elements of each conveyor section for receiving and carrying away the smaller material that drops between the elements.

10. A method for separating relatively large flat objects of corrugated paper board from a mixture of trash containing other materials of substantially smaller dimensions comprising the steps of:

depositing a mixture of trash at one end of a plurality of narrow elongated, laterally spaced elements lying in one plane and extending in generally the same direction, the spacing between elements being such as to retain large flat objects of corrugated paper board while permitting materials of substantially smaller dimensions to drop through the openings between the elements;

actuating the elements to advance the trash towards the other end of the elements in the one plane;

allowing the advancing trash to tumble over the other end of the elements in the one plane onto another plurality of narrow, elongated, laterally spaced elements lying in another plane and extending in generally the same direction as the first plurality of elements, the vertical distance between the other end of the elements in the one plane and the elements in the other plane being sufficient to insure that relatively large flat objects of corrugated paper board in the mixture of trash will turn over in passing from the one plane to the other plane, whereby other materials in the trash mixture that were initially deposited on top of the corrugated board will fall underneath the board onto the elements in the second plane; and

actuating the elements in the second plane to advance the trash in the same general direction toward a discharge end of the elements in the second plane.

Claims

1. Apparatus for separating relatively large objects of essentially two-dimensional shape, including pieces of corrugated paper board, from a mixture of trash containing materials of substantially smaller dimensions, the apparatus comprising: at least two conveyor sections arranged end to end, each section having an entrance end and an exit end; a plurality of narrow, laterally spaced conveying elements extending from the entrance end of each conveyor section generally in the direction of the exit end of the section; and means for actuating the conveying elements of each section so as to advance a mixture of trash deposited on the conveying elements at the entrance end of each section toward the exit end of the section, the spacing between elements being great enough to allow the smaller materials in the mixture of trash to drop between the elements as the mixture advances yet close enough to retain the relatively large objects on the conveying elements, and the exit end of one section being positioned above the entrance end of another section by a vertical distance sufficient to insure that relatively large flat objects in the mixture of trash will turn over in passing from the one section to the other section, whereby other materials in the trash mixture that were lying initially on top of the flat objects will fall underneath the flat objects onto the conveying elements of the other section, and the smaller materials will drop through the spaces between the elements while the large flat objects advance to the exit end of the other conveyor section.

8. Apparatus for separating relatively large flat objects of corrugated paper board from a mixture of trash containing other materials of substantially smaller dimensions, the apparatus comprising: at least two conveyor sections arranged end to end, each section having an entrance end and an exit end, the exit end of one section being positioned above the entrance end of another section; pulleys located at the entrance end and exit end of each conveyor section, the pulleys being mounted for rotation about axes perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor sections; a plurality of narrow, endless, flexible elements extending in laterally spaced relation from the entrance end to the exit end of each conveyor section, each element passing successively around a pulley at the entrance end of the one conveyor section, over a pulley at the exit end of the one section, downwardly and under a pulley at the entrance end of the other section and around a pulley at the exit end ef the other section; and means for driving the plurality of endless elements around the pulleys in a direction to advance a mixture of trash deposited on the elements at the entrance end of the one section toward the exit end of the other section, the spacing between elements being great enough to allow the smaller materials in the mixture to drop between the elements as the mixture advances yet close enough to retain the relatively large flat objects on the elements, and the vertical distance between the exit end of the one conveyor section and the entrance end of the other conveyor section being sufficient to insure that the relatively large flat objects in the mixture of trash will turn over in passing from the one section to the other section, whereby other materials in the mixture that were lying initially on top of the flat objects will fall underneath the flat objects as they psss to the other conveyor section, and the smaller materials will drop through the spaces between the elements while the large flat objects advance to the exit end of the other conveyor section.

10. A method for separating relatively large flat objects of corrugated paper board from a mixture of trash containing other materials of substantially smaller dimensions comprising the steps of: depositing a mixture of trash at one end of a plurality of narrow elongated, laterally spaced elements lying in one plane and extending in generally the same direction, the spacing between elements being such as to retain large flat objects of corrugated paper board while permitting materials of substantially smaller dimensions to drop through the openings between the elements; actuating the elements to advance the trash towards the other end of the elements in the one plane; allowing the advancing trash to tumble over the other end of the elements in the one plane onto another plurality of narrow, elongated, laterally spaced elements lying in another plane and extending in generally the same direction as the first plurality of elements, the vertical distance between the other end of the elements in the one plane and the elements in the other plaNe being sufficient to insure that relatively large flat objects of corrugated paper board in the mixture of trash will turn over in passing from the one plane to the other plane, whereby other materials in the trash mixture that were initially deposited on top of the corrugated board will fall underneath the board onto the elements in the second plane; and actuating the elements in the second plane to advance the trash in the same general direction toward a discharge end of the elements in the second plane.