Method for re-using expanded styrene and apparatus for processing expanded styrene
AssigneeSony Corporation
InventorSyuzo Tanaka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for re-using unneeded expanded styrene and an apparatus for preparing comminuted expanded styrene that can be used as a starting material for injection molding. The expanded styrene is rendered re-usable through a first step of comminuting expanded styrene, a second step of illuminating far-infra-red light to the expanded styrene comminuted by the first step to reduce its volume, a third step of further comminuting expanded styrene, reduced in volume by the second step, to prepare a granulated material, and a fourth step of injection-molding the granulated material from the third step to prepare a regenerated article.
Claims2
An apparatus for processing expanded styrene comprising:
- first comminuting means for first-order comminuting charged expanded styrene;
- heating means for heating and reducing the volume of the expanded styrene first-order comminuted by said first comminuting means by illuminating a far-infrared light thereon;
- first sorting means for sorting the expanded styrene first-order comminuted by said first comminuting means according to the size to supply only the expanded styrene first order comminuted to a size not larger than a pre-set value to said heating means
- second comminuting means for first-order comminuting the expanded styrene reduced in volume by said heating means to prepare a granulated material;
- second sorting means for sorting the granulated material prepared by said heating means according to size to discharge only the granulated material having a size smaller than a pre-set value;
- and
- cooling means for cooling the expanded styrene heated by said heating means and for supplying the cooled expanded styrene to said second comminuting means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.