Shredder with magnetic separator

Abstract

A shredder (100) comprises: a shredding chamber (1) having a shredder system suitable for shredding a material, a main conveyor belt (2) arranged in such a way to receive the shredded material from the shredding chamber and unload said shredded material towards an unloading end, and a magnetic separator (4) having a magnetic conveyor belt (41) arranged above the main conveyor belt (2) so as to define a gap (I); the magnetic separator (4) is movably mounted so as to vary the gap (I); and the shredder (100) comprises an actuator (7) suitable for moving the magnetic separator (4) so as to vary the gap (I).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a shredder with magnetic separator.

[0002] Shredders are known which comprise a shredding chamber wherein two counter-rotating rotors are generally mounted. The rotors have blades configured to shred a material fed into the shredder. The shredder generally comprises a main conveyor belt that conveys the shredded material out of the shredding chamber to unload the shredded material.

[0003] Such types of shredders are commonly used for collecting and shredding waste.

[0004] However, it should be noted that the shredded material generally contains ferromagnetic parts that need to be separated from the shredded material. For such a purpose, some shredders are equipped with a magnetic separator consisting of a magnetic conveyor belt that attracts the ferromagnetic parts, separating them from the rest of the shredded material that travels forward on the main conveyor belt.

[0005] Generally, the magnetic separator is fixed in the frame of the shredder and cannot be adjusted in position according to the thickness of the material transported by the main conveyor belt. As a result, a fixed gap is generated between the magnetic conveyor belt and the main conveyor belt. Therefore, if the shredded material on the main conveyor has a low thickness, the magnetic conveyor is far away from the shredded material. As a result, the ferromagnetic material transported by the main conveyor may be out of the field of attraction of the magnetic conveyor. Furthermore, the main conveyor obviously cannot transport shredded material with thickness greater than the gap formed between the magnetic conveyor belt and the main conveyor belt.

[0006] In addition, being fixed, the magnetic conveyor belt hinders the main conveyor belt that cannot be tilted into a compact configuration when not in use.

[0007] US11944981B2 discloses a magnetic separator provided with an adjustment unit for adjusting the position of the magnetic separator.

[0008] WO2008010322A1 discloses a magnetic separation device having an upper empty position to prevent clogging. The magnetic separator is capable of being rotated between a working posture and the upper empty posture.

[0009] JP20006346658A describes a crushing machine capable of appropriately changing the position of a magnetic separator relative to a conveyor device depending on whether or not the objects to be crushed contain magnetic substances.

[0010] The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a shredder with magnetic separator that is versatile and capable of adapting to different formats and thicknesses of the shredded material and, at the same time, reliable and capable of preventing damage to the magnetic separator.

[0011] Another purpose is to provide such a shredder with magnetic separator that is suitable for being disposed in a compact configuration rapidly and easily.

[0012] Yet another purpose is to provide such a shredder with magnetic separator that is reliable and efficient in separating the material.

[0013] These purposes are achieved in accordance with the invention with the features of the attached independent claim 1.

[0014] Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.

[0015] Additional features of the invention will become clearer from the detailed description below, which refers to a purely exemplary and therefore non-limiting embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shredder with magnetic separator according to the invention; Fig. 1A is an enlarged detail of Fig. 1, illustrating a rear part of the shredder with magnetic conveyor; Fig. 2 is a partially interrupted rear view of the shredder of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a partially interrupted sectional view taken along the section plane III-III of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a partially interrupted sectional view taken along section plane IV-IV of Fig. 2; Fig. 4A is an exploded view of some components of Fig. 4; Fig. 5 is a side view illustrating a rear part of the shredder of Fig. 1, with the magnetic separator in raised position; Fig. 6 is a side view illustrating a rear part of the shredder of Fig. 1, with the magnetic separator in lowered position; Fig. 7 is a side view illustrating a rear part of the shredder of Fig. 1, with the magnetic separator in tilted position with compact configuration; Fig. 8 is a sectional view as in Fig. 4, with the magnetic separator in tilted position with compact configuration; and Fig. 9 is a side view of the shredder of Fig. 1, with the magnetic separator and the main conveyor in tilted position with compact configuration.

[0016] With the aid of the Figures, a shredder according to the invention is described, it being comprehensively indicated with reference numeral 100.

[0017] With reference to Fig. 1, the shredder (100) comprises a shredding chamber (1).

[0018] The shredding chamber (1) is provided with a shredding system suitable for shredding a material fed into the shredding chamber. The shredding system generally comprises two counter-rotating rotors equipped with blades for shredding the material. Such shredding systems are known in the art and therefore their detailed description is omitted.

[0019] By way of example, the shredder (100) may be of slow-speed type, and the rotors may rotate synchronously with each other at a speed comprised between 0 and 40 revolutions per minute. A rotor may have a length of 1,500-1,900 mm and a diameter of 500-800 mm.

[0020] The shredder (100) comprises a main conveyor belt (2) for receiving the shredded material coming out of the shredding chamber (1). The main conveyor belt (2) extends in a longitudinal direction along an axis (X) inclined upward by an angle (α) of 10°-30°.

[0021] The main conveyor belt (2) comprises a front portion (20) arranged under the shredding chamber (1), and a rear portion (21) protruding rearwardly with respect to the shredding chamber (1).

[0022] The shredding chamber (1) has an opening from which the shredded material falls onto the front portion (20) of the main conveyor belt. The shredded material travels toward the rear portion (21) of the main conveyor belt and is unloaded from a rear end of the rear portion (21) of the main conveyor belt.

[0023] As better shown in Fig. 9, the rear portion (21) is hinged to the front portion (20) of the main conveyor belt by means of a hinge (22) with horizontal axis. An actuator (23) is disposed between the front portion (20) and the rear portion (21) in order to rotate the rear portion (21) about the hinge (22).

[0024] In this way, the rear portion (21) of the main conveyor belt can go from an operating position (shown in Fig. 1), wherein it is aligned with the front portion (20), to a non-operating position with compact configuration (Fig. 9), wherein is inclined with respect to the front portion (20).

[0025] A slide (24) is connected to the main conveyor belt (2) and extends in transverse direction relative to the axis (X) of the main conveyor belt.

[0026] The shredding chamber (1) and the main conveyor belt (2) are mounted on a driving system (3) that may consists in tracks or wheels. Alternatively, the shredder (100) may be fixed.

[0027] A magnetic separator (4) is disposed above the main conveyor belt (2) in such a way to take the ferromagnetic material contained in the shredded material transported by the main conveyor belt (2).

[0028] The magnetic separator (4) comprises a frame (40) that supports a magnetic conveyor belt (41). The magnetic conveyor belt (41) is arranged above the rear portion (21) of the main conveyor belt, defining a gap (I) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic conveyor belt (41).

[0029] The magnetic conveyor belt (41) extends in transverse direction along an axis (Y) orthogonal to the axis (X) of the main conveyor belt.

[0030] The magnetic conveyor belt (41) has a lower face (41a) facing the main conveyor belt. and an upper face (41b) facing upwards. In this way, the magnetic material traveling on the main conveyor belt (2) is attracted by the lower face (41a) of the magnetic conveyor belt (41), reaches the upper face (41b) of the magnetic conveyor belt (41) and is unloaded onto the slide (24) of the main conveyor belt (2) by gravity.

[0031] In this way, the slide (24) of the main conveyor belt feeds the ferromagnetic material taken from the shredded material travelling on the main conveyor belt.

[0032] The magnetic separator (4) is movably mounted in such a way to vary the gap (I) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic conveyor belt (41).

[0033] With reference to Figs. 1A and 1B, the shredder (100) has a rear frame (5) that protrudes rearwardly relative to the shredding chamber (1).

[0034] The rear frame (5) has a portal shape and comprises two uprights (50) and a crosspiece (51) connecting the two uprights (50). Rails (52) extending vertically are mounted in the uprights (50).

[0035] A central connection (53) and two side connections (54) protrude from the crosspiece (51) of the rear frame. The central connection (53) comprises two flanges that protrude radially from the crosspiece. Each side connection (54) comprises a flange that protrudes radially from the crosspiece. The central connection (53) is disposed in a central position on the crosspiece (51). The side connections (54) are disposed on either side of the crosspiece and are equally spaced with respect to the central connection (53).

[0036] A carriage (6) is slidingly mounted in the rails (52) of the frame in such a way to slide in a vertical direction.

[0037] The carriage (6) comprises two slides (60) that slide in the rails (52) of the rear frame. The carriage (6) also comprises an upper crosspiece (61) and a lower crosspiece (62) connected to the slides (60) so as to form a rectangular structure.

[0038] Two connections (63) protrude from the upper crosspiece (61) of the carriage.

[0039] A central connection (64) and two side connections (65) protrude from the lower crosspiece (62) of the carriage. The central connection (64) comprises two flanges that protrude radially from the lower crosspiece of the carriage. Each side connection (65) comprises a flange that protrudes radially from the lower crosspiece of the carriage. The central connection (64) is arranged in a central position of the lower crosspiece (62) of the carriage. The side connections (65) are arranged on either side of the lower crosspiece of the carriage and are equally spaced with respect to the central connection (64).

[0040] It should be noted that the distance between the side connections (54) and the central connection (53) of the crosspiece of the rear frame is equal to the distance between the side connections (65) and the central connection (64) of the lower crosspiece of the carriage. Conversely, the connections (63) of the upper crosspiece (61) of the carriage are arranged in intermediate position with respect to the central connection (64) and the side connections (65) of the lower crosspieces of the carriage.

[0041] The frame (40) of the magnetic separator (4) comprises a front side (40a) and a rear side (40b).

[0042] Two front connections (43) protrude superiorly from the front side (40a) of the frame of the magnetic separator. Each front connection (43) consists of two flanges. A first hole (45) and a second hole (46) are provided in each front connection (43).

[0043] The distance between the front connections (43) of the magnetic separator frame is equal to the distance between the side connections (65) of the lower crosspiece (62) of the carriage. In this way, the connections (65) of the lower crosspiece of the carriage are pivoted to the front connections (43) of the magnetic separator frame by means of a pin (P3) with horizontal axis that is inserted into the first hole (45) of the front connection (43) of the magnetic separator frame. In this way, the magnetic separator (4) can rotate around the axis of the pin (P3) and can be tilted in compact configuration.

[0044] As better shown in Fig. 4A, the front connections (43) of the frame of the magnetic separator have a cushioning pad (47) made of a soft material, such as rubber, which is suitable for abutting against the rear frame (5) when the magnetic separator is in compact configuration, as shown in Fig. 8.

[0045] Going back to Fig. 1B, two rear connections (44) protrude superiorly from the rear side (40b) of the frame of the magnetic separator. Each rear connection (44) consists of a flange. The distance between the rear connections (44) of the frame of the magnetic separator is equal to the distance between the connections (63) of the upper crosspiece (61) of the carriage.

[0046] An actuator (7) is mounted between the rear frame (5) and the carriage (6) in order to move the carriage. The actuator (7) is a linear actuator comprising a cylinder (70) and a piston (71). One end (72) of the cylinder (70) is pivoted to the central connection (53) of the crosspiece (51) of the rear frame by means of a pin (P1). One end (73) of the piston (71) is pivoted to the central connection (64) of the lower crosspiece (62) of the carriage by means of a pin (P2).

[0047] Two first chains (8) connect the rear frame (5) to the frame (40) of the magnetic separator. Two second chains (9) connect the carriage (6) to the frame (40) of the magnetic separator.

[0048] Each first chain (8) has a first end (80) and a second end (81). The first ends (80) of the first chains are connected to the side connections (54) of the crosspiece of the rear frame. The second ends (81) of the first chains are connected to the front connections (43) of the frame of the magnetic separator. Specifically, the second end (81) of the first chain is connected to the second hole (46) of the front connection of the frame of the magnetic separator.

[0049] Each second chain (9) has a first end (90) and a second end (91). The first ends (90) of the second chains are connected to the connections (63) of the upper crosspiece (61) of the carriage. The second ends (91) of the second chains are connected to the rear connections (44) of the frame of the magnetic separator.

[0050] In view of the above, the first chains (8) are arranged in more peripheral positions than the second chains (9) and all the chains do not interfere with each other.

[0051] Fig. 5 illustrates the situation in which the piston (71) of the actuator is in retracted position. Therefore, the carriage (6) is in raised position. In such a case, there is a maximum gap (11) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic separator (4) that allows for processing the shredded material with a thickness compatible with the maximum gap (11).

[0052] Fig. 6 illustrates the situation in which the piston (71) of the actuator is in extracted position. Therefore, the carriage (6) is in lowered position. In such a case, there is a minimum gap (I2) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic separator (4) that allows for processing the shredded material with a low thickness compatible with the minimum gap (I2).

[0053] The gap (I) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic separator (4) can be automatically varied within the range between the minimum gap (I2) and the maximum gap (11) depending on the thickness of the shredded material transported by the main conveyor belt (2).

[0054] Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate the case in which the magnetic separator (4) has been tilted to a non-operating position with compact configuration, and has been rotated around the pin (P3) that connects the front connections (43) of the magnetic separator to the side connections (65) of the lower crosspiece of the carriage. In such a situation, the cushioning pads (47) of the front connections (43) of the magnetic separator are in contact with the rear frame (5) and the magnetic separator is held in place in such a way that a transverse axis of the magnetic conveyor belt extends vertically.

[0055] Therefore, it should be noted that the magnetic separator (4) is pivoted to the carriage (6) by means of the pins (P3) with horizontal axis, in order to go from an operating configuration, wherein the magnetic conveyor belt (41) is parallel to the main conveyor belt (2), to an idle configuration, wherein the magnetic conveyor belt (41) has a substantially vertical transverse axis.

[0056] Fig. 9 illustrates the situation in which the actuator (23) of the main conveyor belt has moved the rear portion (21) of the conveyor belt closer to the magnetic separator (4) in compact configuration in order to drive the shredder (100).

[0057] Equivalent variations and modifications may be made to the present embodiment of the invention by a person skilled in the art, falling in any case within the scope of the invention as expressed by the attached claims.

Claims

1. Shredder (100) comprising: - a shredding chamber (1) having a shredding system suitable for shredding a material fed into the shredding chamber, - a main conveyor belt (2) arranged in such a way to receive shredded material from the shredding chamber and unload said shredded material towards an unloading end, - a magnetic separator (4) configured to take the ferromagnetic material contained in said shredded material transported by said main conveyor belt (2); said magnetic separator (4) comprising a frame (40) and a magnetic conveyor belt (41) supported by the frame (40) and arranged above said main conveyor belt (2) so as to define a gap (I) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic conveyor belt (41); said magnetic separator (4) is movably mounted in such a way to vary said gap (I) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic conveyor belt (41), - an actuator (7) suitable for moving said magnetic separator (4) in such a way to vary the gap (I) between the main conveyor belt (2) and the magnetic conveyor belt (41), and - a rear frame (5) arranged behind said shredding chamber, said magnetic separator (4) being movably supported by said rear frame (5), characterized in that said frame (40) of the magnetic separator has at least one cushioning pad (47) made of a soft material that is suitable for going in contact against the rear frame (5) when the magnetic separator is in compact position.

2. The shredder (100) according to claim 1, comprising a carriage (6) mounted in such a way to slide vertically in said rear frame (5); said magnetic separator (4) being connected to said carriage (6) and said actuator (7) being disposed between the rear frame (5) and the carriage (6) for moving the carriage (6).

3. The shredder (100) according to claim 2, comprising first chains (8) connecting said rear frame (5) to said magnetic separator and second chains (9) connecting said carriage (6) to said magnetic separator.

4. The shredder (100) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said rear frame (5) comprises two uprights (50) with two rails (52) in the form of vertical tracks; and said carriage comprises two slides (60) suitable for running in said rails (52) of the rear frame (5).

5. The shredder (100) according to claim 4, wherein said rear frame (5) comprises a crosspiece having a central connection (53) and two side connections (54); said carriage comprises an upper crosspiece (61) having two connections (63) and a lower crosspiece (62) having a central connection (64) and two side connections (65); said magnetic separator (4) comprises a frame comprising a front side (40a) with two front connections (43) and a rear side (40b) with two rear connections (44); said side connections (65) of the lower crosspiece (62) of the carriage being hinged to said front connections (43) of the magnetic separator by means of pins (P3); said actuator (7) being connected to the central connection (53) of the crosspiece of the rear frame and to the central connection (64) of the lower crosspiece of the carriage; said first chains (8) being connected to the side connections (54) of the crosspiece of the rear frame and to the side connections (65) of the lower crosspiece of the carriage; and said second chains (9) being connected to the connections (63) of the upper crosspiece of the carriage and to the rear connections (44) of the magnetic separator.

6. The shredder (100) according to claim 5, wherein said front connections (43) of the magnetic separator have a first hole (45) for accommodating the pin (P3) that hinges said front connections (43) to the side connections (65) of the lower crosspiece of the carriage and a second hole (46) for accommodating a second end (91) of said second chains.

7. The shredder (100) according to any of claims 2 to 6, wherein said magnetic separator (4) is hinged to said carriage (6) by means of pins (P3) with horizontal axis in such a way to go from an operating configuration, wherein the magnetic conveyor belt (41) is parallel to the main conveyor belt (2), to an idle configuration, wherein the magnetic conveyor belt (41) has a substantially vertical transverse axis.

8. The shredder (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said main conveyor belt (2) comprises a front portion (20) disposed under the shredding chamber (1) and a rear portion (21) protruding posteriorly with respect to the shredding chamber (1); the rear portion (21) being hinged to the front portion (20) of the main conveyor belt by means of a hinge (22) with horizontal axis; said shredder comprising an actuator (23) arranged between the front portion (20) and the rear portion (21) of the main conveyor belt to rotate the rear portion (21) around the hinge (22).

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