Solid material comminution or disintegration – Apparatus – With separation or classification of material
Patent
1996-11-25
1999-11-16
Husar, John M.
Solid material comminution or disintegration
Apparatus
With separation or classification of material
2411864, 2411891, 241194, B02C 1304, B02C 13286
Patent
active
059842164
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to glass recycling machines. In particular, the present invention is concerned with an apparatus for recycling automotive windshield glass.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In order to efficiently recycle or dispose of an automotive windshield, it is desirable to comminute the glass. Numerous machines have been developed specifically for comminuting empty glass containers. These machines typically include an inlet opening through which the glass containers are inserted and an outlet opening through which the broken glass fragments and glass dust are ejected. To accomplish the breaking of the glass, these machines usually employ either a crushing apparatus or a hammermill form of breaker apparatus.
For several reasons, existing glass comminuting machines are not well adapted for the recycling or disposal of automotive windshields. First, such devices are extremely large and are typically only found at large recycling plants. It is not common for an auto shop to have ready access to such a recycling machine. Second, the inlet opening through which the glass enters the comminuting machine is typically of a dimension which requires that the windshield be broken into smaller pieces prior to its insertion into the opening.
Third, an automotive windshield is comprised of two layers of glass and a plastic liner bonded securely between them. This construction requires that the glass must first be freed from the plastic liner material before it can be recycled.
A fourth problem associated with existing devices employed for the recycling of automotive windshields is that machines that employ a crusher-type apparatus are susceptible to jamming when plastic is inserted into the machine's outlet. The presence of the plastic liner sandwiched between the two layers of glass thus prevents the use of this type of machine.
Finally, after the glass has been freed from the surface of the plastic liner, the two materials are commingled and must be separated for recovery and recycling.
It is therefore desirable to provide an apparatus that can accommodate a glass sheet of the dimensions of an automotive windshield, and thereby eliminate the need to fragment the sheet prior to beginning the recycling or disposal process.
It is also desirable to provide an apparatus that can strip the two layers of glass off of the inner plastic liner material and then separate the two substances for recovery.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a compact automotive windshield recycling machine that can be used on site, thereby eliminating the need to transport the windshield to an independent recycling plant. Due to its small, compact size, the recycling machine of the present invention can be placed in a typical automotive or glass repair shop without taking up a large amount of valuable work space. The compact, space saving feature will also be of value to a central recycling plant.
It is a second feature of the present invention to provide a glass recycling machine having an inlet opening that will accommodate the full width of an automotive windshield, thereby eliminating the need to fragment the sheet of glass prior to utilizing the machine. The sheet of glass is drawn into the machine by dual feed rollers that each have a shaft on both ends. The shafts extend through openings in the housing side plates and turn in a bearing mounted on an offset. The lower offsets are fixedly mounted to the housing side plates while the upper offsets are slidably attached to the housing side plates, allowing the upper roller to part and accommodate the thickness of the glass windshield.
It is another feature of the present invention to include a stationery breaker bar and an adjustable rotating impactor shaft having a plurality of flexible impactors attached thereto. As the glass sheet is feed into the interior of the machine via the feed rollers, it passes over the stationery breaker bar and into the line of impact of the rotating flexible impactors. The combi
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Andela Cynthia
Andela James
Andela Tool & Machine, Inc.
Angeli Michael de
Husar John M.
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