Glass container shredding machine

Abstract

Crushing machine (1) for crushing glass containers (2), in particular glass bottles, comprising: - a motor-driven rotor (8) rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation (9), in particular about a vertical or upright axis of rotation, with at least one drive element (10) for taking a glass container (2) along in a direction of rotation (11) about the axis of rotation (9), and - at least one stationary pressing element (12) having an inner surface (13) facing the axis of rotation (9), the distance of which to the axis of rotation (9) decreases when viewed in the direction of rotation (11), wherein, when the rotor (8) is rotated in the direction of rotation (11), the pressing element (12) projects increasingly further radially inwards into a transport space (16) defined by the drive element (10) for the glass container (2).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a crushing machine for glass containers, in particular glass bottles.

[0002] Vast quantities of glass bottles for beverages and other contents are in circulation worldwide. A small portion of these glass bottles are reusable containers, typically used within a deposit system as part of a closed-loop recycling program. Empty glass bottles are cleaned, filled, and sold. After being emptied by the end customer, they are returned as empties to one of the bottling plants, where the cycle begins anew.

[0003] The vast majority of these are so-called single-use containers, of which single-use beverage bottles make up a significant portion. These glass bottles retain their original external volume after being emptied. This remaining large volume increases the necessary storage and transport capacities, which directly impacts costs. It is therefore advantageous if the volume of single-use bottles is significantly reduced after emptying, i.e., if they are broken into cullet. Depending on the size of the fragments, the broken single-use bottles occupy a considerably smaller volume. This reduces storage and transport volume, and the glass can be recycled more easily, cost-effectively, and efficiently.

[0004] If glass bottles are subject to a deposit, the buyer typically returns them to designated reverse vending machines after emptying them. This applies to an increasing number of such glass bottles due to legal regulations. These regulations aim to help meet environmentally necessary recycling quotas. The buyer receives their deposit back after emptying the glass bottle by placing it in a designated reverse vending machine, which checks whether it is an approved deposit bottle and, if successful, refunds the deposit.

[0005] The capacity of the machines themselves for the returned empty containers presents a challenge. Other types of containers accepted by such machines include PET bottles and beverage cans. Both are typically compacted within the machines after insertion and verification by being compressed. This compaction achieves the desired volume reduction, significantly extending the emptying interval of the collection container, thus increasing the machine's availability. Since a deposit can be paid for the unprocessed PET bottle or can, it must be ensured after the return and payment of the deposit that a second deposit is not issued for the same PET bottle or can. Compaction ensures that the deposit is only paid once for each container fed into the machine.The machine will not accept the compacted container a second time and will therefore not issue any further deposit refunds.

[0006] The same functionalities are desired for glass bottles: firstly, the volume should be significantly reduced, and secondly, after the deposit has been returned to the machine, a second deposit refund should be avoided. Established technologies exist for glass bottles that handle the crushing process and, if necessary, prevent the repeated issuance of the deposit. Depending on the type of glass bottle, the requirements for the crushing machine can vary considerably. Glass bottles can differ significantly in volume and dimensions. Typically, the volumes, especially for deposit-bearing containers, range from 100 ml to 3 liters. Secondly, glass bottles can also vary considerably in material thickness. Glass bottles for water, soft drinks, or beer, for example, can be very thin-walled to make the beverage packaging as cost-effective and lightweight as possible.These glass bottles are therefore easy to break and thus do not place high mechanical demands on the crushing technology. However, there are also glass bottles that are deliberately made with very thick walls to emphasize the perceived value of the product or to prevent unwanted breakage. This is often the case with spirits, as a thick-walled bottle – often with a very thick base (up to more than a centimeter thick) – appears very high-quality and thus enhances the perceived value of the contents.

[0007] When thin-walled, thick-walled, or even just thick-walled glass bottles need to be processed—that is, shredded—weak, relatively unstable shredding units are insufficient. In such cases, shredding machines are sometimes used that employ a massive, high-speed rotor with attached, protruding blades to shatter the glass bottles within a process chamber. The bottles strike the blades of the rotating rotor and are either shattered directly or accelerated to high speeds by the impact, shattering against a wall of the process chamber. Such a shredding machine does not require a powerful drive motor, as the effect relies primarily on the high rotational speed of the rotor, which achieves a high peripheral speed at the blades.This, in turn, results in a very high impulse being exerted on the glass bottle when it comes into contact with the attachments. A disadvantage of this design is that the glass bottle can only be fed in once the rotor is already rotating at the intended speed. If the glass bottle is in the process chamber before the rotor starts, it blocks its start-up. Another disadvantage of this technique is that thick bottle bottoms can potentially block the rotor abruptly, leading to very high forces within the shredding machine and potentially damaging it. The high rotational speed of the rotor means that glass bottles, already broken into shards, can be struck multiple times by the attachments, resulting in further shredding than necessary or desired. This is especially true if this repeated shredding produces large quantities of glass dust.This is generally undesirable, as it can not only lead to damage and increased wear within the shredding machine, but can also cause health problems for people (service personnel, etc.) who inhale it frequently.

[0008] Depending on the operating conditions, it may not be possible, or at least not desirable, for the shredding machine to start before the glass bottle is fed in. If the person feeding the glass bottle into the shredding machine, for example via an automated system, has access to the process chamber while the bottle is entering, the person must not be caught by the rotating rotor, and the glass bottle must not be broken or otherwise shredded at that moment. The operator could be injured by the rotating rotor, the bottle struck by the attachments, or even by flying shards. In such a configuration, the process chamber must be closed after the operator has fed their glass bottle into the automated system and thus into the shredding unit's process chamber, and before the shredding mechanism starts.

[0009] Another well-known operating principle is a type of glass crusher that functions similarly to stone crushers. The glass bottle falls between two crushing plates, which then reduce the distance between them, breaking the bottle. An advantage of this design is that the glass crusher can start only when the bottle is already positioned between the crushing plates. Since the crushing plates generally do not move very quickly, no significant momentum is generated if a particularly thick-walled glass bottle, especially its thick base, blocks the crusher. Because the movement is relatively slow, this process produces significantly less glass dust than a rapidly rotating rotor.The disadvantage is that quite large driving forces are required and the glass breaker has to be built very massively, and therefore heavy and expensive.

[0010] Breaking thick bottle bottoms is not only unnecessary from the point of view of optimal compaction, but even harmful, since the resulting volume of the broken bottom is larger than that of the unbroken one.

[0011] The present invention aims to circumvent these described disadvantages. It seeks to achieve the desired volume reduction, ensure that the deposit can only be collected once, and largely eliminate glass dust. Simultaneously, it should be possible to operate a shredding machine with a glass container inside while avoiding a very bulky, expensive, and heavy design due to thick glass bottle bottoms.

[0012] This problem is solved according to the invention by a comminution machine for comminuting glass containers, in particular glass bottles, comprising a motor-driven rotor rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation, in particular about an upright or vertical axis of rotation, with at least one drive element for taking a glass container along in a direction of rotation about the axis of rotation, and at least one stationary pressing element having an inner surface facing the axis of rotation, the distance of which to the axis of rotation decreases when viewed in the direction of rotation, wherein, when the rotor is rotated in the direction of rotation, the pressing element projects increasingly further radially inwards into a transport space defined by the drive element for the glass container.The axis of rotation can, in principle, be oriented at any angle – vertical, inclined, or horizontal – although only in a vertical or inclined orientation is the glass container to be shredded moved into its final position by gravity. In a horizontal orientation, the glass container to be shredded must be moved into its final position manually or by a drive mechanism.

[0013] According to the invention, a glass container to be crushed is fed into a process chamber in such a way that, depending on the desired arrangement of the process chamber, the bottom of the glass container comes to rest in a specific area. This can be achieved, for example, by feeding the glass container vertically, bottom first, into the process chamber, where it falls and comes to rest at its lower boundary. The process chamber contains a motor-driven, vertically arranged rotor. One or more drive elements are arranged on this rotor, which grip the fed glass container and carry it along in the direction of rotation. The crushing of the glass container takes place within the process chamber, which narrows during a work cycle. Due to the narrowing, the glass container within it breaks.

[0014] The inner surface of the pressing element(s) can be blunt or serrated. Preferably, the driving element(s) are tubular, particularly with a polygonal cross-section, to form a self-contained driving or interior space for the glass container. The inner surface of the pressing element(s) can be arranged in an arc around the axis of rotation, but can also have a linear slope or sections with a variable slope.

[0015] One possible embodiment comprises several drive elements arranged axially spaced apart from one another, particularly one above the other, on the rotor, wherein a stationary pressing element is arranged at axial height between each pair of adjacent drive elements, which, when the rotor rotates in the direction of drive rotation, engages between the two adjacent drive elements. Another possible embodiment comprises several stationary pressing elements arranged axially spaced apart from one another, particularly one above the other, wherein a drive element is arranged at axial height between each pair of adjacent press elements on the rotor, which, when the rotor rotates in the direction of drive rotation, engages between the two adjacent press elements.

[0016] A type of process chamber floor can be attached to the lower part of the rotor, upon which the glass container being fed rests. When the rotor slowly begins to rotate, the drive element(s), and with them the enclosed glass container, describe a circular path concentric to the rotor's axis of rotation. The glass container thus rotates on the process chamber floor around the rotor's axis of rotation. The rigid, non-rotating press element(s) have a shape extending towards the rotor such that the distance to the rotor, and therefore to the enclosed glass container, decreases as the rotor's angle of rotation increases. As a result, depending on the rotor's outer diameter, the glass container comes into contact with the stationary press element(s) sooner or later as the rotor rotates.As the rotor rotates, the remaining space between the glass container and the pressing elements becomes progressively smaller. This causes the pressing elements to exert pressure on the glass container, eventually leading to its breakage. The shards then fall downwards within the process chamber into a collection container. The arrangement and shape of the drive and pressing elements are designed such that the drive elements encircle the glass container in such a way that it can only move away from the pressing elements within the drive elements. This results in the container breaking within a predetermined maximum rotation angle, depending on its outer diameter. As the rotation continues, the floor of the process chamber, on which the glass container rests, is preferably interrupted. This opening allows the bottom of the glass container and the shards resting on the pressing elements and the process chamber floor to fall downwards into the collection container.The material is scraped off by scraping elements attached to the rotor. The process is completed within one revolution, the rotor is stopped by the control system, and a new cycle can begin. A work cycle does not necessarily have to mean a full rotation of the rotor. It is also possible for the work cycle to be completed after any given angle of rotation of the rotor, after which the rotor returns to its starting position. Should the rotor become blocked, or should the glass container not be broken after all, the rotor can be returned to its starting position by the control system, and the glass container can be removed.

[0017] In possible embodiments of the comminution machine according to the invention, the rotor has a scraper element for each pressing element, arranged downstream of the drive element(s) in the direction of rotation. This scraper element is positioned above the respective pressing element to carry away any shards resting on the pressing element during the rotor's rotation in the direction of rotation. The lowest pressing element is preferably axially spaced from the bottom of the process chamber by at least the standard thickness of the base of a glass container to be comminuted, thus ensuring that the base of the glass container is not broken. This has a positive effect on the necessary system design, as the forces occurring within the system can be significantly reduced, and particularly thick glass bases do not place additional demands on the system or impede its operation.

[0018] Preferably, the rotor has a lowest scraper element located downstream of the drive element(s) in the direction of rotation. This scraper element is positioned axially between the bottom of the process chamber and the lowest pressing element. As the rotor rotates in the direction of rotation, it picks up shards and the glass bottom of a broken glass container resting on the bottom of the process chamber. Advantageously, the lowest scraper element is positioned downstream of the scraper element(s) above it in the direction of rotation to also pick up shards that have fallen from the pressing elements onto the bottom of the process chamber. Preferably, the inner side of the pressing element(s), viewed in the direction of rotation, terminates before or above an opening in the bottom.

[0019] The rotor can be equipped with drive elements for one or more glass containers, thus enabling the simultaneous processing of multiple glass containers in a single movement cycle (per rotor revolution). For example, the rotor can have at least one first drive element for carrying a first glass container and at least one second drive element for carrying a second glass container, each positioned in the direction of rotation around the axis of rotation, with the first and second drive elements arranged at an angle to each other with respect to the axis of rotation.

[0020] Further possible variations arise from the number and shape of the drive and pressing elements. The shape of the pressing elements determines how much the remaining transport or interior space for the glass container changes with the rotor's angle of rotation. The force exerted on the glass container can be modified by the design of the inner surfaces of the pressing elements that come into contact with it. With wide contact surfaces, the force is distributed over a larger area of ​​the glass container, while with a blade-shaped contact surface, the force is concentrated on a very small area. The drive and pressing elements can all be identical or adapted to a specific bottle shape, so that, for example, particularly bulbous glass containers can be effectively crushed. These variations allow the system to be optimized and adapted in various ways.To achieve the minimum required drive torque for the rotor, a small number of pressing elements with a cutting-edge contact surface can be used. For a higher average number of smaller shards, the number of pressing elements can be increased, and for a lower average number of larger shards, the number of pressing elements can be decreased.

[0021] The invention is illustrated in the figures and explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment. It shows (each without drive motor, electrical control unit and housing parts): Fig. 1 the crushing machine according to the invention for crushing glass bottles with rotatable drive elements in a starting position, in a broken, perspective front view; Fig. 2a, Fig. 2b the crushing machine with the drive elements in the starting position and with a glass bottle to be crushed, in a broken, perspective front view ( Fig. 2a) and in a top view ( Fig. 2b); Fig. 3a, Fig. 3b the crushing machine with the drive elements in an intermediate position in which the glass bottle is clamped between the drive elements and pressing elements, in a broken, perspective front view ( Fig. 3a) and in a top view ( Fig. 3b); and Fig. 4a, Fig. 4b the crushing machine with the drive elements in a final position in which the glass bottle, with the exception of its bottle base, is broken between the drive elements and pressing elements, in a broken, perspective front view ( Fig. 4a) and in a top view ( Fig. 4b).

[0022] The in Fig. 1 The crushing machine shown is used for crushing glass bottles 2 ( Fig. 2) and comprises a process chamber 3 with interior walls 4, a fixed floor 5 and a floor opening 6, as well as a collection container 7 located below the floor 5, which is connected to the process chamber 3 via the floor opening 6.

[0023] In process chamber 3, a motor-driven rotor 8 is rotatably mounted about a vertical axis of rotation 9. The rotor 8 has several, here five, axially spaced drive elements 10 arranged one above the other for taking the glass bottle 2 along in a driving direction 11 about the axis of rotation 9. In this case, the drive elements 10 are designed as square tube sections.

[0024] Furthermore, process chamber 3 contains several, here five, axially spaced, stationary, plate-shaped pressing elements 12, arranged one above the other. Each pressing element is positioned at axial height between two drive elements 10 or between the lowest drive element 10 and the base 5. The pressing elements 12 have an arcuate inner surface 13 facing the axis of rotation 9. This surface extends around the axis of rotation 9 over an angular range, here approximately 140°, and its distance from the axis of rotation 9 decreases continuously when viewed in the direction of rotation 11. The arcuate inner surface 13 can be blunt or serrated and, when viewed in the direction of rotation 11, ends shortly before the base opening 6. The lowest pressing element 12 is axially spaced from the base 5 by at least the standard base thickness of a glass bottle 2 to be crushed.Instead of being arc-shaped, the inside 13 of the pressing elements 12 can alternatively have a linear slope or sections with a changed slope, whereby in any case the distance to the axis of rotation 9, seen in the direction of rotation 11, decreases.

[0025] The rotor 8 has several, here five, axially spaced stripping elements 14 arranged one above the other, each positioned at axial height between two adjacent pressing elements 12 and engaging between the two adjacent pressing elements 12 when the rotor 8 rotates. The rotor 8 also has a lowermost stripping element 15, arranged downstream of these stripping elements 14 in the direction of rotation 11, which is positioned at axial height between the base 5 and the lowermost pressing element 12 and engages between the base 5 and the lowermost pressing element 12 when the rotor 8 rotates.

[0026] In Fig. 1 and in Fig. 2a, Fig. 2b the rotor 8 is in its starting position, in which the arc-shaped inner surface 13 of the pressing elements 12 does not project into the drive or interior space 16 of the tubular drive elements 10. Fig. 2a, Fig. 2b the glass bottle 2 to be crushed is inserted from above into the interior 16 and stands on the bottom 5.

[0027] When the rotor 8 is driven in the direction of rotation 11, the pressing elements 12 with their arc-shaped inner surface 13 begin to project further and further radially inwards into the interior 16, until finally in the Fig. 3a, Fig. In the intermediate position shown in 3b, the glass bottle 2 is clamped by the pressing elements 12 in the interior 16.

[0028] When the rotor 8 rotates in the direction of rotation 11 until it reaches the Fig. 4a, Fig.As the rotor 8 continues to rotate to the end position shown in Figure 4b, the pressing elements 12, with their arc-shaped inner surface 13, project even further radially inwards into the interior 16, breaking the glass bottle 2 into fragments 17. Since the lowest pressing element 12 is positioned sufficiently high, the bottle base 18 is not broken. The scraping elements 14, 15 on the rotor 8 pick up the fragments 17 resting on the pressing elements 12 and on the base 5, as well as the bottle base 18, in the direction of rotation 11, in order to convey them through the bottom opening 6 into the collection container 7.

[0029] As an alternative to the embodiment shown, the rotor 8 can have several axially spaced first drive elements 10 arranged one above the other for taking along a first glass bottle 2 and several axially spaced second drive elements 10 arranged one above the other for taking along a second glass bottle 2, wherein the first and the second drive elements 10 are arranged angularly offset from each other with respect to the axis of rotation 9.

Claims

[1] Crushing machine (1) for crushing glass containers (2), in particular glass bottles, comprising: - a motor-driven rotor (8) rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation (9), in particular about a vertical or upright axis of rotation, with at least one drive element (10) for taking a glass container (2) along in a direction of rotation (11) about the axis of rotation (9), and - at least one stationary pressing element (12) having an inner surface (13) facing the axis of rotation (9), the distance of which to the axis of rotation (9) decreases when viewed in the direction of rotation (11), wherein, when the rotor (8) is rotated in the direction of rotation (11), the pressing element (12) projects increasingly further radially inwards into a transport space (16) defined by the drive element (10) for the glass container (2). [2] Comminution machine (1) according to claim 1, characterized bySeveral axially spaced drive elements (10) are arranged on the rotor (8), in particular one above the other, wherein a stationary press element (12) is arranged at axial height between two adjacent drive elements (10), which, when the rotor (8) is rotated in the direction of rotation (11), engages between the two adjacent drive elements (10). [3] Comminution machine (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by Several axially spaced, in particular one above the other, stationary pressing elements (12), wherein a drive element (10) is arranged on the rotor (8) at axial height between two adjacent pressing elements (12), which, when the rotor (8) is rotated in the direction of rotation (11), engages between the two adjacent pressing elements (12). [4] Comminution machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the inside (13) of the pressing element(s) (12) is blunt or cutting edge. [5] Comminution machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the rotor (8) has for each pressing element (12) a scraper element (14) arranged downstream of the drive element(s) (10) in the direction of rotation (11), which is arranged above the respective pressing element (12) in order to carry away shards (17) which are on the pressing element (12) in the direction of rotation (11) when the rotor (8) rotates in the direction of rotation (11). [6] Comminution machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that below the drive element(s) (10) a fixed base (5) is arranged on which a glass container (2) to be crushed rests when it rotates around the axis of rotation (9). [7] Comminution machine (1) according to claim 6, characterized by, that the lowest pressing element (12) is axially spaced from the base (5) by at least the standard base thickness of a glass container (2) to be crushed. [8] Comminution machine (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by that the floor (5) has a floor opening (6). [9] Comminution machine (1) according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized by , that a collection container (7) is arranged below the floor (5). [10] Comminution machine (1) according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized by, that the rotor (8) has a lowest scraper element (15) arranged downstream of the drive element(s) (10) in the direction of rotation (11), which is arranged at axial height between the base (5) and the lowest press element (12) in order to carry away shards (17) and a glass base (18) of the broken glass bottle (2) which are resting on the base (5) in the direction of rotation (11) when the rotor (8) rotates in the direction of rotation (11). [11] Comminution machine (1) according to claims 5 and 10, characterized by , that the lowest scraper element (15) is subordinate to the scraper element(s) (14) arranged above it in the direction of rotation (11). [12] Comminution machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inside (13) of the pressing element(s) (12), as seen in the direction of rotation (11), ends before or above a bottom opening (6). [13] Comminution machine (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inside (13) of the pressing element(s) (12) is arranged in an arc around the axis of rotation (9). [14] Comminution machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the drive elements (10) are tubular, in particular with a polygonal tube cross-section. [15] Comminution machine (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the rotor (8) has at least one first drive element (10) for taking along a first glass container (2) and at least one second drive element (10) for taking along a second glass container (2), each in the direction of rotation (11) about the axis of rotation (9), wherein the first and the second drive element (10) are arranged at an angle to each other with respect to the axis of rotation (9).

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