US 5,312,051 AGranted

Fresh wet concrete reclaimer

AssigneeHaahjem North America, Inc.

InventorMark Preisser

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Abstract

A concrete reclaimer includes a concrete processor having a rotating inclined screen and a pipe discharging water. Fresh concrete being disposed is poured into an open end of the rotating screen, and migrates toward the opposite open end. The concrete passes over a fine mesh and then a coarse mesh screen, washing out cement slurry when passing over the former, and removing sand when passing over the latter. Gravel is discharged from the remaining screen open end. Specially configured nozzles are arranged in a particular pattern along the pipe. Collection and storage pits are provided for the resultant segregated cement slurry, sand, and gravel. In a preferred embodiment, a concrete processor includes a five horsepower pump and a ten horsepower screen rotation motor. With the screen inclined at 8 degrees from the horizontal and rotating so as to move the screen past an arbitrary stationary reference point at 330 feet per minute and with water being fed at 178 gallons per minute at a pressure of 12 pounds per square inch, the concrete processor separates one cubic yard of concrete per minute.

Claims16

Dependent claims

For use with fresh concrete to be disposed, a reclaiming apparatus including a concrete processor comprising:

rotatable screen means including at least two screen elements defining a cylindrical surface having a longitudinal axis and also having open ends, a first one of said at least two screen elements being of a relatively fine mesh, for passing cement slurry therethrough and preventing passage of sand and gravel therethrough, and a second one of said at least two screen elements being of a relatively coarse mesh, for passing sand therethrough and preventing passage of gravel therethrough, said rotatable screen means being inclined with respect to horizontal, one of said open ends being relatively higher, and the other of said open ends being relatively lower, whereby fresh concrete is introduced into said higher open end and migrates toward said lower open end,
motor and drive means fastened to said concrete processor and rotatably connected to said rotatable screen means, and
spray pipe means extending longitudinally within said cylindrical outer configuration and including means defining orifices through which water sprays when introduced under pressure into said spray pipe means, said spray pipe means being disposed eccentrically within said cylindrical screen means outer configuration, and being offset downwardly from said longitudinal axis towards concrete being processed, whereby water sprays unimpeded toward said rotatable screen means, through concrete being processed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.