US3856218A

US3856218A - Waste reduction apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3856218A
Application number: US00308546A
Authority: US
Inventors: G Harmon; J Norman; G Tadlock
Original assignee: HARMON ENG
Current assignee: HARMON ENG
Priority date: 1972-11-21
Filing date: 1972-11-21
Publication date: 1974-12-24
Anticipated expiration: 1991-12-24

Abstract

An apparatus for reducing the volume of waste material, particularly solid waste material, thereby increasing the compaction capabilities of a wide variety of materials. The apparatus includes a rotor provided with a plurality of free swinging blades thereon with alternate blades being straight and angulated and moving past and through a stationary comb-like cutter bar or anvil for providing a sequential cutting action which enables reduction of solid waste material with less power requirements. The rotor is disposed within a housing having a hopper inlet and a discharge chute with a deflector plate being disposed in association with the rotor in a manner to hold material in the cutting area to more effectively reduce the material. A fan is provided to facilitate discharge of material, particularly fines thus further enhancing the efficiency of the device.

Description

United States Patent 1 Harmon et al.

[111 3,856,218 Dec. 24, 1974 l l WASTE REDUCTION APPARATUS 221 Filed: Nov. 21, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 308,546

OTHER PUBLICATIONS Advertisement by Bryant Engineering Co., American Miller & Processor, Feb., 1947, page 58.

Prirnary ExaminerRoy Lake Assistant Examiner-E. F. Desmond Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Joe 0. Bolt, Jr.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT An apparatus for reducing the volume of waste material, particularly solid waste material, thereby increasing the compaction capabilities of a wide variety of materials. The apparatus includes a rotor provided with a plurality of free swinging blades thereon with alternate blades being straight and angulated and moving past and through a stationary comb-like cutter bar or anvil for providing a sequential cutting action which enables reduction of solid waste material with less power requirements. The rotor is disposed within a housing having a hopper inlet and a discharge chute with a deflector plate being disposed in association with the rotor in a manner to hold material in the cutting area to more effectively reduce the material. A

- fan is provided to facilitate discharge of material, particularly fines thus further enhancing the efficiency of the device.

8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures WASTE REDUCTION APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to apparatuses for reducing the volume of solid waste material and more particularly a pulverizingor comminuting device employing a hopper and rotor disposed therein 'with the rotor having a novel blade arrangement thereon associated with a cutter bar or anvil and a deflector plate for effectively reducing the volume of waste material and further including a fan structure to facilitate discharge of the material.

2. Description of the Prior Art The disposal of solid waste material constitutes a substantial problem under many conditions. For example, in land clearing operations, building demolition operations, disposal of trash and garbage, disposal of old railroad ties which have been replaced and the disposal of many other types of solid waste material for many years was accomplished by incineration of suchmaterials. In many localities, burning of material is prohibited inasmuch as it creates a substantial health problem. As an alternative to burning, solid waste materials have been disposed of in landfills and the like. Inasmuch as such materials usually have many void spaces, there have been numerous efforts made to compact waste material to facilitate transport of the waste material to the disposal site and also to enable the waste material to occupy a smaller volume of space.

Many types of compacting devices have been employed, some being stationary and some portable and, in addition, efforts have been made to reduce the volume of waste material by cutting, pulverizing, comminuting and the like. While such known devices operate effectively under certain conditions, certain shortcomings have existed in known devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a waste reduction apparatus that is capable of handling a broader range of waste materials such as waste materials from land clearing operations, demolition operations, cross ties from railroad repair operations, garbage, trash and other similar solid waste materials.

Another object of the invention is to provide a waste reduction apparatus employing a housing or casing having a hopper receiving the waste material and a discharge chute for discharging the waste material capable of being mounted stationarily or in a portable manner with the device having a relatively low initial cost and operating for long periods of time without expensive maintenance and efficiently reducing the volume of the solid waste material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a waste reduction apparatus which includes a rotor having a plurality of blades mounted thereon which pass in close proximity to a comb type anvil that are constructed and arranged in such a manner that a sequential cutting action on the waste material is accomplished to more effectively reduce the volume of the material and reduce the power requirements for this operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a waste reduction apparatus in accordance with the preceding objects in which the hopper is provided with a curved deflector plate on the trailing side of the anvil to maintain the material in the cutting area for a substantial period of time to render the cutting and discharging operation moreefficient.

Yet another significant feature of the present invention is to provide a waste reduction apparatus incorporating a fan structure at each end of the rotor and hopper to facilitate discharge of the material, particularly fines, and render the action of the rotor more effective by maintaining the rotor relatively free of material and entraining the material in the air to more effectively discharge such material through the discharge chute.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the waste reduction apparatus of the present invention illustrating a typical installation on an over-the-road trailer.

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view, on a reduced scale, illustrating the association of the waste reduction apparatus to the transporting trailer.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the waste reduction apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 44 of FIG. 3 illustrating the relationship of the components of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a fragmental, longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of one endportion of the rotor.

FIG. 6 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section 66 on FIG. 3 illustrating the structure of the fan on each end of the rotor.

FIG. 7 is a detail sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 7-7- on FIG. 6 illustrating further structural details of the fan.

FIG.8 is a diagrammatic perspective viewillustrating the relationship of the rotor and blades thereon and the comb anvil.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one of the straight blades.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of one of the angular blades.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The waste reduction apparatus of the present invention is generally designated by reference numeral 12 and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, it may be mounted on a suitable load carrying trailer generally designated by reference numeral 14, which is of conventional construction. A suitable source of power, such as an internal combustion engine generally. designated by reference numeral 16 is mounted on the trailer and drivingly connected with the waste reduction apparatus 12 through a power transmitting mechanism 18. While the waste reduction apparatus 12 is illustrated as being mounted on a trailer 14, it may also be stationarily supported or rendered portable by employing other structural arrangements. When the device is mounted on a trailer, it is constructed so that it will comply with dimensional limitations of over-theroad vehicles in the area in which it will be used.

The waste reduction apparatus 12 includes an elongated generally cylindrical housing 20 having an inlet hopper structure generally designated by reference numeral 22 extending upwardly therefrom in offset relation to the housing and also a discharge chute generally designated by the numeral 24 extending upwardly and in an angular direction in spaced relation to the hopper 22.

The hopper 22 includes a substantially vertical wall 26 that generally is tangent to one side of the cylindrical casing and an inclined wall 28 which diverges upwardly in relation to the vertical wall 26 and the

walls

26 and 28 are interconnected by end walls 30 thus pro- I viding an inlet for solid waste material 32 with the casing 20 having a substantial circumferential extent open to the hopper inlet or passageway 30. The solid waste material may be deposited into the hopper inlet in any suitable manner such as by using a conveyor, funnellike device or any other suitable manual or automatic device.

Disposed interiorly of the casing is a rotor generally designated by numeral 34 which includes a substantially cylindrical drum 36 having a plurality of longitudinally spaced discs 38 rigidly fixed thereto in equally spaced relation. At each end of the cylindrical drum 36, a stub shaft or axle 40 is mounted concentrically by spaced apertured circular plates 42 which are rigidly fixed to the drum 36 and rigidly fixed to the shaft 40 as by welding or the like thereby forming a rigid assembly of the shafts 40 and the drum 36.

Mounted on the discs 38 is a plurality ofstraight blades 44 and angular or offset blades 46 which are pivotally secured to the discs and project outwardly therefrom for passing in cutting relation to a comb-like anvil or cutter bar 48 which includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced projecting anvils 50 in alignment with the periphery of the discs 38. Each straight blade 48 (FIG. 9) is generally rectangular and includes an aperture 52 for receiving a mounting bolt 54. The outer end portion of the blade 44 has projecting cutting edges 56 on each side edge thereof with one side of the cutting edge 56 being defined by a bevelled surface 58 which is scarfed or serrated. The outermost corners of the cutting edge 56 are rounded at 60 and the outer end edge of the blade may also be slightly flared outwardly at the end portions thereof.

Each offset blade 46 (FIG. includes an inner end portion 62 having an aperture 64 therein for receiving a mounting bolt 54 in the same manner as blade 44.

The blade 46 also includes an outer end portion 66' which is oriented in angular relation to the inner portion 62 with the angle being varied depending upon the materials to be reduced. An angle of 45 has been used successfully but different blade angles and lengths will be used with different materials to minimize power requirements and to provide different final particle sizes and shapes. The outer end portion 66 of the blade 46 and a portion of the inner end portion 62 thereof is provided with an outwardly projecting cutting edge 68 which is bevelled at 70 and also scarfed or serrated. The mounting bolts 54 serve to freely swingably mount the

blades

44 and 46 in position on the discs with the blades being alternately arranged and passing in close proximity to the cutting bars or anvils 50 thus providing a cutting or shearing action. The cutting action is enhanced by the sequenced action of an offset blade and a straight blade passing through the material that is force and protect the structure of the hopper. The bot tom cylindrical portion of the cylindrical casing 20 curves so that it remains closely adjacent the periphery of the blades as illustrated in FIG. 4 and is in the form of a generally curved or circular deflector plate 74 which retains the material in the cutting area for a long period of time and also serves as a portion of the loading chute 24. The loading chute includes a bottom or lower wall 76 that is a tangential extension of the lower portion of the casing or the curved deflector plate 74 and also an upper wall 78 which extends substantially radially from the casing 20 in circumferentially spaced relation to the wall 28 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The chute 24 also includes end walls 80 which guide the particles of waste material 82 outwardly'into a discharge pipe or chute extension 84 that may be provided I with a curved spout 86 or the like. The discharge pipe or chute extension 84 may be detachably mounted or pivotally mounted so that it may be oriented for discharge of material laterally of the vehicle 14 into a container, a load body on a truck or any other suitable area.

At each end of the hopper 22, a fan assembly 88 is provided in the form of a hollow housing 90 that may be cylindrical in configuration and connected with the end walls 30 of the hopper 22 in any suitable manner. The outer circular plate of the housing 90 is provided with an air inlet aperture 92 provided with a closure screen 94 to prevent entry of objects into the housing and to prevent engagement with the fan impeller 96 that is disposed interiorly of the housing 90 and rigidly fixed to the shaft 40 in any suitable manner such as by the use of a hub 98 secured thereto. As illustrated, the

impeller 96 includes an inner circular plate 100 rigid with the hub 98 and radial blades 102 having inclined corner portions 104 fixed to the plate and also fixed with respect to an annular front plate 106 thus providing a centrifugal impeller for intake of air through the opening 92 and discharge thereof into a tangential discharge housing 108 which communicates with and merges with the chute 24 through an open area 110 in the end walls 80 so that air discharged by the fan will entrain and convey fine particles of waste material through the discharge chute and effectively prevent clogging of the waste reduction apparatus. The plates 42 may be solid in which event all air for material transfer is applied by the fans through housing 108. However, air can be permitted to pass through the apertured plates 42 when the ends thereof are in communication with the atmosphere either directly or through the fan housing. This air will be drawn in and expelled through holes in the periphery of the drum in the manner of a squirrel cage fan to facilitate discharge of material through the discharge chute.

trated, the supporting structure or trailer 14 may be a conventional low-boy trailer, the drive mechanism may be a multiple V-belt drive and the power source may be an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or the like to enable the device to be transported to the site of a land clearing operation or to the location of any other solid waste material to be reduced in volume.

The comb anvil or cutter bar 48 may be detachably supported for removal and replacement with suitable fastening bolts being provided for this purpose. Alternatively, the anvil or cutter bar 48 may be in the form of a plurality of individual comb-like teeth that are independently secured in place thus facilitating replacement of the anvil teeth. Also, the liner or reinforcement 74 may be a replaceable plate having ribs or projections on the inner surface thereof to retain the solid waste material in the hopper thusenabling the cutting action of the knives to commence even before the solid waste material reaches the cutting anvils or bars 50. The dimensions of the various components may vary and the strength characteristics of all of the components may vary depending upon the desired capacity and waste reduction capabilities of the apparatus.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A solid waste reduction apparatus comprising, in

combination:

a. a housing support means constructed to include a horizontally oriented, substantially cylindrical shaped portion defining a material reduction area, said housing including horizontally spaced, upwardly projecting wall means defining a vertically oriented material entrance passageway, said passageway detailed in location whereby material can flow by gravity through said passageway into said material reduction area, and wherein said housing includes a material discharge passageway projecting substantially radially from said cylindrical shaped portion;

b. a cutting assembly rotatably supported in said material reduction area, said cutting assembly including a plurality of axially spaced circular discs, with each disc having a plurality of cutting elements pivment to an operable cutting position projecting radially from said disc; and, I

c. anvil means supported on said housing for coperation with said cutting elements for effecting a reduction of material introduced through said entrance passageway, said anvil means including a plurality of anvil elements, one anvil element axially spaced and aligned with each of said discs and detailed in length to extend to a position adjacent the circumferential edge of said disc.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with fan means drivingly connected with the cutting assemblyfor discharging air into the discharge passageway for entraining reduced waste material thereinto facilitate discharge of such material and prevent clogging of the cutter means.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said cutting elements includes a plurality of cutter blades projecting radially from the periphery of the discs and being mounted on the discs for free swinging movement, certain of the cutter blades being straight and other of the cutter blades being angulated with the straight and angulated blades being alternately arranged on the drum for sequenced cutting of the solid waste material. I

4. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said anvil means includes an elongated bar having a plurality of longitudinally spaced projecting cutter bars along one edge thereof thereby defining a comb-like structure with the cutter bars receiving the cutter blades therebetween and holding solid waste material during the sequenced cutting action of the blades.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said housing includes a curved deflector plate extending from the cutter bar towards the discharge passageway with the curvature of the deflector plate being substantially the same as the path of movement of the outer ends of the cutter blades thereby retaining solid waste material in the cutting area for an extended period of time.

6. The structure as defined in claim 5 wherein said housing and cutting assembly are elongated with the entrance passageway and discharge passageway and being commensurate in length therewith, said discharge passageway being in the form of a chute extending generally tangentially from the housing, said housing including fan means at each end thereof drivingly connected with the cutting assembly and including discharge means communicated with the discharge passageway for discharging air through the chute for entraining fine particles of solid waste material to facilitate discharge of material from the discharge chute.

7. The structure as defined in'claim 6 wherein each of said fan means includes a screened inlet facing outwardly of the casing concentric with the rotational axis of the rotatable member.

8. A structure as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that said waste reduction apparatus is mounted on vehicle support means whereby said apparatus can be moved to various locations for reducing waste.

Claims

1. A solid waste reduction apparatus comprising, in combination: a. a housing support means constructed to include a horizontally oriented, substantially cylindrical shaped portion defining a material reduction area, said housing including horizontally spaced, upwardly projecting wall means defining a vertically oriented material entrance passageway, said passageway detailed in location whereby material can flow by gravity through said passageway into said material reduction area, and wherein said housing includes a material discharge passageway projecting substantially radially from said cylindrical shaped portion; b. a cutting assembly rotatably supported in said material reduction area, said cutting assembly including a plurality of axially spaced circular discs, with each disc having a plurality of cutting elements pivotally supported and circumferentially spaced adjacent the edge of said disc, said disc detailed in shape and location to provide a rotary supporting surface beneath and adjacent the bottom of said material entrance passageway for supporting material to be automatically fed by gravity during a cutting operation, said cutting elements detailed in size and location to be capable of pivotal movement to an inoperable cutting position completely within the circumference of said disc and movement to an operable cutting position projecting radially from said disc; and, c. anvil means supported on said housing for coperation with said cutting elements for effecting a reduction of material introduced through said entrance passageway, said anvil means including a plurality of anvil elements, one anvil element axially spaced and aligned with each of said discs and detailed in length to extend to a position adjacent the circumferential edge of said disc.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with fan means drivingly connected with the cutting assembly for discharging air into the discharge passageway for entraining reduced waste material thereinto facilitate discharge of such material and prevent clogging of the cutter means.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said cutting elements includes a plurality of cutter blades projecting radially from the periphery of the discs and being mounted on the discs for free swinging movement, certain of the cutter blades being straight and other of the cutter blades being angulated with the straight and angulated blades being alternately arranged on the drum for sequenced cutting of the solid waste material.

7. The structure as defined in claim 6 wherein each of said fan means includes a screened inlet facing outwardly of the casing concentric with the rotational axis of the rotatable member.