US 4,844,106 AGranted

Apparatus and method for cleaning shards for recycling

AssigneeJames W. Hunter

InventorsJames W. Hunter, Richard N. Schneider

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Apparatus and a method accomplished by the apparatus is disclosed for cleaning shards, such as clay pigeon fragments, of debris and contaminant materials for recycling. The apparatus includes a reservoir containing a washing fluid and a moving conveyor partially submerged in the fluid. A screen has an outlet positioned above the submerged portion of the conveyor so that the shards may pass along the screen to the conveyor while some debris and contaminant material falls through the screen and into the reservoir away from the conveyor. The shards are washed in the fluid and are conveyed by the conveyor out of the fluid and past a bank of spray nozzles which spray the shards in a direction against the motion of the conveyor. Preferably, the screen from the bottom of a hopper and the shards are introduced by the hopper onto the conveyor under the influence of a fluid spray. A pump system circulates fluid through the various sprayers. A weir is included to trap buoyant debris. Crushing apparatus may be employed to reduce the shards to the desired particulate size for reuse.

Claims24

Dependent claims

Apparatus adapted to clean shards, such as fragments of glass, thermoset materials, ceramics, plastics and the like, in order to remove debris and contaminant materials therefrom, comprising:

a reservoir containing a washing fluid such that the fluid has a selected depth and a fluid surface in said reservoir;
a conveyor having a first conveyor portion submerged in the fluid in said reservoir and a second conveyor portion extending out of said fluid at an angle to said fluid surface;
mesh screening means positioned above said conveyor and having a discharge outlet above said first conveyor portion for screening debris and contaminant material from said shards, said screen means having open regions sized for retaining said shards theron and discharging said shards at said discharge outlet onto said first conveyor portion while allowing debris and contaminant material having a size small than the open regions to fall therethrough;
a deflector positioned beneath the screening means whereby debris and contaminant materials which fall through the open regions in said screen means are deflected away form the conveyor;
drive means for moving said whereby the shards on said first conveyor portion are conveyed through and out of said fluid to the second conveyor portion toward a conveyor discharge;
and
first spray means for spraying fluid on the shards as they move along the second conveyor portion.

4 more elements

Apparatus adapted to claim shards, such as fragments of glass, thermoset materials, ceramics, plastics and the like, in order to remove debris and contaminant materials therefrom, comprising:

a reservoir containing a washing fluid such that the fluid has a selected depth and a fluid surface in said reservoir;
a conveyor having a first conveyor portion submerged in the fluid in said reservoir and a second conveyor portion extending out of said fluid at an angle to said fluid surface;
screen means positioned above said conveyor and having a discharge outlet above said first conveyor portion for screening debris and contaminant material from said shards, said screen means having open regions sized for retaiing said shards thereon and discharging said shards at said discharge outlet onto said first conveyor portion while allowing debris and contaminant material having a size smaller than the open region to fall therethrough;
drive means for moving said conveyor whereby the shards on said first conveyor portion are conveyed through and out of said fluid to the second conveyor portion toward a conveyor discharge;
first spray means for spraying fluid on the shards as they move along the second conveyor portion;
and
second spray means for spraying the shards along said screen means above the fluid surface.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.