US 5,350,122 A · Waste recycling device

Abstract

Bulky waste materials may be effectively reduced to a desirable recycling particle size by a waste recycling device equipped with a preshredding chamber and a shredding chamber. Rotors equipped with differently shaped and configured impacting heads or blades strategically positioned about the rotors within the two chambers serve to break the waste materials into progressively smaller sized particles. The preshredding rotor is typically operated at a lower rotational speed than the shredding rotor. The shredding rotor may be equipped with shredding blades which protectively retract from a working zone when exposed to excessive shearing forces. Relatively rigid waste materials such as wooden pallets may be effectively and continuously reduced in massive quantities to a recyclable size with the waste recycling device.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A waste recycling device for reducing waste objects to a recyclable particle size, said device comprising:

a) a preshredding rotor equipped with a number of blunt impacting projections for fragmenting the waste objects into intermediate sized fragments;
b) a shredding rotor equipped with a plurality of shredding members for shredding the fragments into smaller sized particles, with the shredding members including means for protectively retracting the shredding members from a shredding zone when said shredding members are exposed to an excessive impacting force exceeding a minimum shearing force threshold for maintaining said shredding members within said shredding zone in an unretracted position;
c) means for advancing the fragments from said preshredding rotor to said shredding rotor;
d) power driven means for rotationally driving said preshredding rotor and said shredding rotor at different rotational speeds;
and
e) means for discharging said particles from said device.

3 more elements

A method for recycling waste objects to a recyclable particle size in a waste recycling device equipped with a rotationally balanced preshredding rotor fitted with a number of blunt projections for fragmenting the waste objects to fragments, a rotationally balanced shredding rotor fitted with shredding members for shredding the fragments into particles of a smaller size and the shredding members include means for protectively retracting the shredding members from a shredding zone when said shredding members are exposed to an excessive impacting force exceeding a minimum shearing force threshold for maintaining said shredding members within said shredding zone in an unretracted position, means for advancing the fragments to the shredding rotor from said preshredding rotor and power driven means for rotationally driving the preshredding rotor and the shredding rotor at substantially different rotational speeds, said method comprising:

a) feeding the waste objects to the preshredding rotor;
b) fragmenting the waste objects by impacting the waste objects against the number of blunt projections while maintaining the preshredding rotor at a substantially lower rotational speed than said shredding rotor;
c) allowing the fragments to advance from said preshredding rotor to a shredding zone housing the shredding rotor;
d) shredding the fragments within the shredding zone to a shredded particle size;
e) subjecting at least one of the shredding members to the excessive impacting force so as to cause one or more of the shredding members to retract from the shredding zone;
and
f) collecting the shredded particles.

4 more elements

A waste recycling device for reducing waste objects to a recyclable particle size, said device comprising:

a) a preshredding rotor equipped with a number of blunt impacting projections for fragmenting the waste objects into intermediate sized fragments;
b) a shredding rotor equipped with a plurality of shredding members for shredding the fragments into smaller sized particles and wherein the shredding rotor is equipped with means for protectively retracting the shredding members from a shredding zone when said shredding members are exposed to an excessive impacting force exceeding a minimum shearing force threshold for maintaining said shredding members within said shredding zone in an unretracted position;
c) means for advancing the fragments from said preshredding rotor to said shredding rotor;
d) power driven means for rotationally driving said preshredding rotor and said shredding rotor at different rotational speeds;
and
e) means for discharging said particles from said device.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Waste recycling device

Life of this patent

Waste recycling device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18