Recycling of laminated glass
AssigneeAndela Tool & Mahcine, Inc.
InventorsCynthia A. Andela, David Spencer, Jeffrey James Birt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A machine for comminuting laminated glass members, such as automotive windshields and architectural glass, comprises infeed rollers feeding the member over a breaker bar, where an impactor assembly breaks the glass into small fragments and the plastic disposed between layers of the glass member into larger fragments, so that a size-based separation may be employed. The speed of the infeed rollers is controlled responsive to the thickness of the glass member.
Claims17
A device for comminuting a laminated glass member comprising first and second glass sheets laminated on either side of a planar plastic liner, and separating the glass and plastic thereof, comprising:
- a hollow housing having an inlet aperture formed therein;
- a pair of infeed rollers mounted within said housing and juxtaposed to said inlet aperture and driven for rotation about horizontal axes, whereby a laminated glass member to be comminuted is fed into said aperture and drawn into said housing by said rollers;
- a breaker bar fixed within said housing, said breaker bar defining a sharp horizontal edge parallel to the axes of said paired infeed rollers and disposed proximate said rollers, such that a laminated glass member fed between said rollers passes over said sharp edge of said breaker bar;
- an impactor assembly comprising a shaft driven for rotation about an axis parallel to said sharp edge of said breaker bar, and a plurality of impactors mounted on said shaft, said impactor assembly being disposed within said housing such that as said shaft is rotated, distal ends of said impactors pass closely by said sharp edge of said breaker bar, and force an exposed edge portion of said laminated glass member downwardly over said sharp edge of said breaker bar, whereby said impactors comminute said upper and lower sheets thereof into relatively small fragments of glass, and break said plastic liner into relatively larger fragments;
- and
- a size discrimination separator for separating said relatively small fragments of comminuted glass from relatively large fragments of the plastic of said liner;
- and
- wherein the thickness of the laminated glass member to be comminuted is sensed and the speed of the infeed rollers varied responsive thereto, such that thicker members are processed at slower speeds than thinner members.
A device for comminuting glass layers of a laminated glass member and breaking a plastic liner thereof, and for separating glass and plastic fragments thus created, comprising:
- a hollow housing;
- a pair of horizontally oriented feed rollers each operatively attached to a drive motor;
- a horizontal breaker bar fixedly attached within said housing, proximate said horizontally oriented feed rollers;
- an impactor assembly within said housing, proximate said breaker bar, said impactor assembly comprising an impactor shaft mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis and a plurality of impactors mounted on said rotating impactor shaft;
- a motor for rotating said impactor shaft;
- wherein said impactor shaft is spaced from said breaker bar such that distal tips of said impactors closely approach a cutting edge of said breaker bar, forcing an exposed edge portion of said windshield downwardly over said edge, comminuting the glass thereof into relatively small fragments but breaking the plastic liner into relatively larger fragments;
- and
- a size-based separator for performing a size-based separation of said glass and plastic fragments, and
- wherein the thickness of the laminated glass member is sensed, and the speed of the motors driving the infeed rollers is controlled responsive thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.