Optimised drive system for the rotor of a shredding machine

Abstract

The present invention relates to a shredding machine (1) comprising at least one feeding system (9) for feeding the material to be shredded, the rotor (7) to which hammers are rigidly connected, said hammers being located inside an internal chamber (8) in which the material is shredded during the rotation of the rotor (7), an evacuation system (10) for evacuating the material that has been shredded inside the internal chamber (8), and a combustion engine (2) for operating the shredding machine (1). The drive system of the rotor (7) comprises a hydraulic motor (5, 5') fed with hydraulic fluid provided by at least one drive pump (3a) that rotates by means of a transmission connected to the combustion engine (2); wherein the drive pump (3a) feeds fluid to the hydraulic motor (5, 5') through hoses.

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] OPTIMIZED DRIVE OF THE ROTOR OF A SHREDDING MACHINE

[0003] Object of the invention

[0004] The present invention relates to an optimized drive for the rotor of a shredding machine, whether mobile or stationary. Thus, the object of the present invention is based on a drive for use in a shredding machine rotor that optimizes both rotational speed and torque, regardless of the design and / or installation of the shredding machine.

[0005] Background of the invention

[0006] A shredder is a machine that processes construction materials, metals, various waste, etc., with the goal of reducing their size and increasing their density. This results in a material suitable for a variety of industrial applications; therefore, the shredder is primarily focused on recycling these materials.

[0007] In principle, a shredder comprises a drive system using a fuel engine, a feed system, a shredding system and an evacuation system.

[0008] The drive system is responsible for supplying mechanical power to the fragmentation process, and in turn (depending on the case) supplying the hydraulic and / or electrical power necessary for other systems of the machine, such as the drive of the feeding system, cooling motors, output conveyor belts, etc.

[0009] The feed system is responsible for feeding the machine with the material to be shredded, once it has been placed in it by other means.

[0010] The fragmentation system is responsible for fragmenting the material and reducing its size, resulting in a relative increase in the density of said material due to a reduction in volume. This is achieved through hammers arranged in a rotor, which, as they rotate, strike the material inside an internal fragmentation chamber until the material is small enough to exit the evacuation area through grilles within a specific clearance (space).

[0011] The evacuation system is responsible for transporting the already fragmented material to the outside and conveying it to the facility's subsequent processes, which are typically sorting processes, such as separating ferrous and non-ferrous materials, metals and non-metals, etc., all based on the client's needs to achieve the desired material separation.

[0012] The fragmentation process is generated by the corresponding hammers rotating at high speed (around 600 rpm) and with high torque, which, by striking the material against an anvil, allows it to be fragmented and reduced in size. Both the rotation speed and torque are transmitted to the hammers through the rotor where they are mounted.

[0013] Therefore, it is the rotor element that must be supplied with the preset speed and torque depending on the type of material to be shredded.

[0014] Currently, a combustion engine (which rotates at around 1800 rpm, to provide the necessary torque) is used to supply speed and torque to the rotor. This engine is connected to a clutch, which, through a system of pulleys and belts, transmits the movement to the rotor, reducing its rotation speed.

[0015] The rotor must rotate at around 600 rpm, so it is necessary to reduce the revolutions of the combustion engine, using a reduction system consisting of pulleys and belts.

[0016] The problem with using this pulley and belt system is that it affects the design of the shredder and, in particular, the final position of the combustion engine. This combustion engine must be in the same plane as the rotor drive to be able to use the pulleys and belts. The connection via belts and pulleys requires both parallel mounting and positioning, depending on the different belt size ranges.

[0017] This makes it even more difficult to alternate between different pulley sizes to try to achieve different speeds.

[0018] Likewise, the location and side of the rotor shaft by which it is driven are also conditioned by the direction of rotation of the combustion engine.

[0019] On the other hand, the rotor of a hammer shredder typically operates at speeds between approximately 575 and 700 rpm. Due to uneven wear or breakage of a hammer, the rotor can become unbalanced, transmitting the generated vibration to the adjacent structures of the shredder.

[0020] This effect tends to be most pronounced in mobile equipment, causing problems for more sensitive components such as those found in drives (coolers, electrical and hydraulic components, etc.).

[0021] In the case of working with belt transmission, the existence of radial pull complicates the isolation of the drive as the anti-vibration elements are subjected to a shear effect.

[0022] To all this, it must be added that the pulley and belt system is a rigid design that does not allow modifications, that is, it is designed to perform a specific reduction based on the speed required in the rotor according to the type of material to be fragmented, and cannot be modified punctually, so that any modification entails having to change the entire pulley system to achieve the reduction and therefore the required speed.

[0023] Likewise, it is not possible to lower the speed of the combustion engine, since if its speed is reduced (directly in the engine), the torque supplied by the combustion engine is reduced, not reaching the torque necessary to fragment the material. Description of the invention

[0024] In order to achieve the objectives and avoid the drawbacks mentioned in the previous sections, the invention proposes an optimized drive for the rotor of a shredding machine, which comprises at least one system for feeding the material to be shredded; the rotor to which hammers located within an internal chamber in which the material is shredded as the rotor rotates are integrally connected; a system for evacuating the material that has been shredded within the internal chamber by means of the hammers striking, and a combustion engine for operating the shredding machine.

[0025] The rotor drive comprises a hydraulic motor powered by hydraulic fluid supplied by at least one drive pump that rotates via a transmission connected to the combustion engine; the drive pump supplies fluid to the hydraulic motor through hoses.

[0026] In a first embodiment of the invention, the hydraulic motor is directly connected to the rotor to transmit rotary motion to said rotor; the rotor's rotational speed is varied by varying the flow rate of hydraulic fluid provided by the drive pump.

[0027] In a second embodiment of the invention, the hydraulic motor is connected to a first gear ratio, which is in turn connected to the rotor to transmit rotary motion to said rotor; in this case, the variation in the speed of the rotor's rotation is controlled by control means selected from control means with the variation in the flow of hydraulic fluid provided by the drive pump; and control means with the variation in the transmission of the first gear ratio comprising a gearbox.

[0028] In a third embodiment of the invention, the hydraulic motor is connected to the rotor by means of a second multiplier mechanism, which instead of being a gearbox as described in the preceding paragraph, is a driver pulley, a second driven pulley and a transmission belt that is coupled to both pulleys; where the driver pulley with a larger diameter is fixed to a transverse shaft that receives the movement through the hydraulic motor; and where the driven pulley of smaller diameter is connected to the rotor to thereby achieve the multiplication of revolutions that are transmitted to said rotor.

[0029] Below are some differences between the optimized drive of the invention and current state-of-the-art systems.

[0030] The combustion engine can be installed in any part of the shredding machine in the three described embodiments of the invention, which from the point of view of the design of the shredding machine is an advantage due to the dimensions of the combustion engine.

[0031] Considering the third embodiment of the invention, since the hydraulic motor has reduced dimensions, it should be noted that this arrangement does not affect the design of the shredding machine (the hydraulic motor is connected to the combustion engine in the same way as indicated in the other embodiments described).

[0032] Since the hydraulic motor is connected to the pulleys, and since the speed of the hydraulic motor can be adjusted, the rotor rotation can still be regulated using the established design of the two pulleys and the belt.

[0033] However, in current systems using a combustion engine, since the speed of the combustion engine is not adjustable, the design of the pulley and belt system is rigid, making it impossible to modify the rotor speed unless the ratio between the pulleys is changed, which would entail a change in the design. Likewise, in current systems using a combustion engine, the pulleys and belt reduce the transmission of rotary motion, not increase it as occurs in the optimized drive of the invention.

[0034] It would also be possible to vary the speed of the rotor rotation by simultaneously varying the fluid flow provided by the drive pump and with the variation of the transmission of the multiplier mechanism.

[0035] Below, to facilitate a better understanding of this specification and as an integral part thereof, a series of figures are attached, which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, represent the object of the invention. Brief description of the figures

[0036] Figure 1.- Shows a perspective view of the shredding machine that incorporates the optimized drive of a rotor of the machine, object of the invention.

[0037] Figure 2.- Shows another perspective view of a part of the shredding machine.

[0038] Figure 3.- Shows another perspective view of the shredding machine similar to that shown in Figure 1, where the rotary motion is transmitted to the rotor by means of a first transmission mechanism.

[0039] Figure 4.- Shows a view similar to that shown in Figure 3, where in this case the rotary motion to the rotor is transmitted by a second transmission mechanism.

[0040] Description of an embodiment of the invention

[0041] Considering the numbering adopted in the figures, the optimized rotor drive

[0042] (7) of a shredding machine (1) comprises a combustion engine (2), a pump box (3) to drive the flow of hydraulic fluid, a hydraulic system (4), a hydraulic motor (5), (5') and an intermediate device selected from a first multiplier mechanism (6) (figures 1-3) formed by a gear box, and a second multiplier mechanism (6') (figure 4) formed by a belt (13), a driving pulley (11) and a driven pulley (12) of smaller diameter than the driving pulley (11).

[0043] Considering the second multiplier mechanism (6'), the driving pulley (11) with a larger diameter is connected to the hydraulic motor (5') by means of a transverse shaft (14); where the driven pulley (12) is connected to the rotor (7) to thus achieve the multiplication of revolutions that are transmitted to said rotor (7).

[0044] The machine itself comprises at least one feeding system (9) for the material to be fragmented; the rotor (7) to which hammers located inside an internal chamber (8) in which the material is fragmented during the rotation of the rotor (7) are integral; an evacuation system (10) for the material that has been fragmented inside the internal chamber

[0045] (8), and the combustion engine (2) to operate the shredding machine (1).

[0046] The pump box (3) includes at least one drive pump (3a) to provide the hydraulic fluid (oil) that feeds the hydraulic motor (5), (5') through hoses (4a) that are part of the hydraulic system (4).

[0047] The combustion engine (2) acts on the drive pump (3a) increasing the pressure of the hydraulic fluid, subsequently distributing it through the hydraulic system (which mainly includes the hoses (4a) or hoses that transfer the hydraulic fluid to the different drives) until feeding the hydraulic motor (5), (5') that transmits its rotary movement to the rotor (7) of the fragmenting machine (1) by means of the multiplier mechanism (6), (6'); where hammers attached to said rotor (7) hit the material inside an internal fragmentation chamber (8), until said material has a size that allows it to exit to an evacuation area by crossing grills of a certain passage light (space).

[0048] The hydraulic motor (5), (5') is the device that provides the required speed and torque to the rotor (7) through the multiplier mechanism (6), (6').

[0049] In this way, it is firstly possible to make the position of the combustion engine (2) independent of the rotor (7), which is an important design advantage when configuring the design of the shredding machine (1).

[0050] On the other hand, the hydraulic motor (5), (5') provides a very high torque at low speeds, so it is necessary to include the multiplier mechanism (6), (6') to increase the speed of the rotor (7) until reaching the required speed.

[0051] This increase in speed entails a decrease in the torque, but given that the torque that the hydraulic motor (5), (5') is capable of supplying is high, despite the torque being reduced, as the speed increases, this torque still allows its use to transmit the rotary movement to the rotor (7).

[0052] Likewise, through the present invention, the rotation speed of the rotor (7) can be modified, without any change in design or system, according to the needs of the fragmentation process, improving the quality of the final products obtained after fragmentation.

[0053] For example, when fragmenting an aluminium or CDW (construction and demolition waste) material, low rotor speeds (7) are of interest; in the case of aluminium material, to avoid the generation of dust (which is highly flammable and can therefore lead to explosions during the fragmentation process), and in the case of construction and demolition waste, low rotor speeds (7) are of interest to avoid rapid wear of the hammers attached to said rotor (7). On the other hand, the possibility of being able to modify the rotation speed of the rotor (7) also prevents resonance from occurring in some of the elements of the fragmenting machine (1).

[0054] In one embodiment of the invention, the multiplier mechanism (6), (6') has a multiplication range between 4 and 7; so that if for example the hydraulic motor rotates at 90 rpm, the rotor (7) can rotate between 360 rpm and 630 rpm.

[0055] The hydraulic motor (5), (5') provides a speed between 90 rpm. and 150 rpm.; with a torque between 34000 and 120000 Nm.

Claims

MODIFIED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on October 22, 2024 (22.10.2024) 1 . A drive for a rotor of a shredding machine, wherein the shredding machine (1 ) comprises at least one feeding system (9) of the material to be shredded; the rotor (7) to which hammers are rigidly connected located inside an internal chamber (8) in which the material is shredded during the rotation of the rotor (7), an evacuation system (10) of the material that has been shredded inside the internal chamber (8), and a combustion engine (2) to operate the shredding machine (1 ); wherein the drive of the rotor (7) comprises a hydraulic motor (5, 5') fed with an hydraulic fluid provided by at least one drive pump (3a) that rotates by means of a transmission connected to the combustion engine (2); wherein the drive pump (3a) feeds fluid to the hydraulic motor (5, 5') through hoses;characterised in that the hydraulic motor (5, 5') is connected to an intermediate device selected from a first multiplying mechanism (6) and a second multiplying mechanism (6'), which is in turn connected to the rotor (7) to transmit rotary movement to said rotor (7); wherein the variation in speed of the rotation of the rotor (7) is controlled by control means selected from control means with the variation of the hydraulic fluid flow rate provided by the drive pump (3a); and control means with the variation in the transmission of the respective multiplier mechanism (6, 6').; 2. The drive for the rotor of a shredding machine, according to claim 1 , wherein the first multiplier mechanism (6) comprises a gear box.

3. The drive for the rotor of a shredding machine, according to claim 1 , wherein the second multiplying mechanism (6') comprises a belt (13), a drive pulley (11 ) and a driven pulley (12) wherein said driven pulley (12) comprises a smaller diameter than a diameter of the drive pulley (11 ); wherein the drive pulley (11 ) is connected to the hydraulic motor (5') by means of a transverse shaft (14); and wherein the driven pulley (12) is connected to the rotor (7). HOJA MODIFICADA (ARTICULO 19) DECLARACION SEGUN EL ARTICULO 19 (1 ) Claim 1 amended; claim 2 deleted; claim 3 amended; claims 4 to 5 renumbered. Claims 1 and 3 currently on file have been combined in a new amended claim 1 . The technical features of claim 3 currently on file have been placed in the characterizing part of said amended claim 1 . Dependent claims 4-5 currently on file have been renumbered as claims 2-3, and their dependency has been aligned with the above-identified amendments. Dependent claim 2 currently on file has been withdrawn. The set of claims 1 to 3 has also been amended removing the term "optimised", specifying that the invention consist on "a drive for a rotor of a shredding machine". This amendment better define the invention, because amended claim 1 defines a drive for a rotor. Respectfully submitted.

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