Plant for compacting and crushing scrap

Abstract

 A plant (50) for compacting and crushing scrap comprising a compacting press (1) and a crushing mill (100), said press (1) comprises a tank (2) for receiving material to be compacted, means (5) for compacting said material when it is arranged in the tank (5), said compacting means (5) being rotatably associated with said tank (2), mobile between a first receiving position and a second compacting position of the material inside the tank (2), means (16) for pushing the material after compacting from the tank (2) to the press (1) through a transfer channel (200) placed between them.

Description

[0001] The present invention refers to a plant for continuously compacting and crushing scrap.

[0002] More specifically, the present invention refers to a compacting press coupled with a crusher, like a crushing mill of metal materials, both iron and otherwise, which come from the recovery of products intended for demolition.

[0003] As known, to crush such materials crushing plants are used, commonly known as crushers or hammer mills, which comprise, in brief, a strong stationary metal cage in which a rotor rotates at a high speed provided with hammers that reduce the material supplied to the mill into pieces.

[0004] To supply the crushing mill it is necessary for the material to have dimensions and characteristics of compacting such as to allow the material to enter the cage as well as effective and efficient crushing thereof. Moreover, the compacting of the material before it is supplied to the mill 100 is necessary to avoid undesired fumes being emitted as well as fragments of material being thrown into the air at high speed caused by the fast rotation of the mill's rotor.

[0005] Therefore, the material to be supplied to the mill, coming, for example, from car frameworks, is suitably compacted, generally in the form of a parallelepiped block, before it enters the mill for crushing.

[0006] In the prior art of the field such compacting takes place with independent methods and machines, i.e. that operate separately from the crushing mill.

[0007] Therefore, the prior art has some drawbacks and disadvantages.

[0008] Indeed, compacting and crushing are two steps that take place separately not just in terms of time but also in terms of space and this results in discontinuous behaviour of the mill.

[0009] Moreover, the prior art makes it necessary to store and transport the blocks from the compacting station to the crushing station.

[0010] In addition, at the time of supply to the mill special machines need to be used, like cranes, to drop the blocks of material into the supply mouth from above.

[0011] Therefore, there is a great need to have a plant for compacting and crushing scrap that has the compacting press and the crushing mill stably coupled together and that allows continuous operation of the crushing plant.

[0012] The purpose of the present invention is that of providing a plant for compacting and crushing scrap having structural and functional characteristics such as to satisfy the aforementioned requirements and at the same time to avoid the aforementioned drawbacks with reference to the prior art.

[0013] Such a purpose is accomplished through a plant for compacting and crushing scrap in accordance with claim 1. The dependent claims outline preferred and particularly advantageous embodiments of the plant for compacting and crushing scrap according to the invention.

[0014] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention shall become clear from reading the following description provided as an example and not for limiting purposes, with the help of the figures illustrated in the attached tables, in which:

• figure 1 shows a side section view along a vertical plane of a plant for compacting and crushing scrap in accordance with the present invention;
• figures 2 and 3 show a cross section view of the compacting press of figure 1, in receiving and compacting position, respectively.

[0015] With reference to the aforementioned figures, a plant for compacting and crushing scrap in accordance with the present invention is globally indicated with 50.

[0016] Said plant 50 consists of a compacting press 1 and a crushing mill 100, as shown in figure 1.

[0017] In the present description, we shall not describe the crushing mill 100 since it is already known to the man skilled in the art.

[0018] In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the press 1 comprises a tank 2 for receiving material to be compacted extending longitudinally.

[0019] The tank 2 is held off the ground through a support structure indicated with 18 in the illustrated figures.

[0020] The tank 2 has a catch basin inside the tank 2 with an opening facing upwards from where the supply with material to be compacted comes through means known in the field.

[0021] In the illustrated example, a vertical wall 3 is associated with the tank 2, extending along the entire length of the tank and arranged perpendicularly and to the left (looking at figs. 2 and 3) with respect to the horizontal base wall 4 of the tank 2.

[0022] In practice, the vertical wall 3 acts as a side wall.

[0023] Means 5 for compacting the materials arranged in the basin of the tank 2 are associated with the tank 2.

[0024] Said compacting means 5 are mobile between a first receiving position, in which the opening of the tank is in communication with the outside, and a second compacting position, in which the opening is totally blocked by the compacting means 5.

[0025] Said compacting means comprise a first compacting head 10 and a second compacting head 20.

[0026] The first compacting head 10 is rotatably associated with the tank 2 about a first rotation pin 6 and is suitable for completing an oscillation of about 90° with respect to the tank 2 between the receiving position and the compacting position and vice-versa.

[0027] The first head 10 has a trapezoidal boxed structure having a first compacting plane 11 suitable for going into direct contact with the material to be compacted.

[0028] Basically, said first compacting plane 11 of the first head 10 is arranged vertically and coplanar to the vertical wall 3 when the compacting means 5 are in receiving position, whereas it is arranged horizontally inside the tank 2 and in direct contact with the material to be compacted in said compacting position.

[0029] In the rest of the present description, unless otherwise indicated, explicit reference shall be made to the spatial arrangement of compacting means in compacting position, i.e. as arranged in figure 3.

[0030] Therefore, the first rotation pin 6 is arranged on the tank 2 at the apex of the vertical wall 3 and on the first head 10 at the bottom left-hand corner proximal to the vertical wall 3.

[0031] The oscillation of the first head 10 about the first pin 6 is carried out through the actuation of a first cylinder-piston group 7.

[0032] Said first cylinder-piston group 7 is hinged at one end 8 to the first head 10 at a point distal from the first rotation pin 6, in the example at the top right-hand corner opposite the one where the first pin 6 is situated and at the other end 9 to the tank 2 at a point proximal to the rotation pin 6, in the example slightly above it, as can be seen in figure 3.

[0033] Operatively, when the first cylinder-piston group 7 is actuated in extension, the first head 10 rotates to go into the compacting position, whereas when it is actuated into retraction, the first head 10 rotates towards the receiving position. In the same way as the first head 10, the second head 20 has a trapezoidal boxed structure having a second compacting plane 21 suitable for going into direct contact with the material to be compacted.

[0034] However, the size of the second head 20, in the illustrated example, is smaller than that of the first head 10.

[0035] In order to obtain an effective compacting of the material arranged in the tank 2 between the base wall 4 and the vertical wall 3, the second compacting head 20 is rotatably associated with the first head 10 about a second rotation pin 12 and is suitable for completing an oscillation of about 90° with respect to the first head 10.

[0036] The second pin 12 about which the second head 20 can carry out the oscillation is arranged on the first head 10 along the first compacting plane 11 at the bottom right-hand corner opposite the one where the first rotation pin 6 is arranged (bottom left-hand corner) and on the second head 20 at its bottom left-hand corner.

[0037] The oscillation of the second head 20 about the second pin 12 is carried out through the actuation of a second cylinder-piston group 13.

[0038] Said second piston-cylinder group 13 is hinged at one end 14 to the second head 20 at a point proximal to the second rotation pin 12, in the example at the top left-hand corner above the bottom left-hand corner where the second pin 12 is situated and at the other end 15 to the first head 10 in the top left-hand corner above the bottom left corner where the rotation pin 6 is situated, as can be seen in figure 3.

[0039] Operatively, when the second cylinder-piston group 13 is actuated in extension, the second compacting plane 21 rotates to go perpendicular to the first compacting plane 11, whereas when it is actuated into retraction, the second compacting plane 21 rotates to go coplanar with the first compacting plane 11.

[0040] Of course, during the compacting operation of the material, both the first cylinder-piston group 7 and the second cylinder-piston group 13 are actuated synergically.

[0041] In such a way, in the receiving position, both the first head 10 and the second head 20 are positioned with the respective compacting planes 11, 12 coplanar to the vertical wall 3, as can be seen in figure 2.

[0042] Whereas, in the compacting position, the first head 10 is positioned with the first compacting plane 11 horizontally inside the tank 2, parallel to and above the base wall 4 and in direct contact with the material to be compacted, the second head 20 is positioned with the second compacting plane 21 vertically inside the tank, to the point where it touches the base wall 4, parallel to the vertical wall 3 and in direct contact with the material to be compacted, as can be seen in figure 3.

[0043] In practice, to go from the receiving position to the compacting position, the first compacting plane 11 completes a rotation of 90° and the second compacting plane completes a rotation of 180° (equal to 90° with respect to the first plane 11) with respect to the initial position.

[0044] In order to allow the second compacting head 20 to reach the base wall 4 of the tank 2, the side wall 17 of the tank 2, opposite the vertical wall 3 arranged inside the tank 2, has a rounded profile such as to "follow" the path of the second head 20 as can be seen in figures 2 and 3.

[0045] Of course, the distance between the vertical wall 3 and the rounded side wall 17 is such as to ensure the necessary space for the easy rotation of the second head 20 inside the tank 2.

[0046] At the end of compacting, the compacted material, said also in Italian "bigatella", inside the tank 2 can be suitably supplied to the mill 100 through a piston 16 able to move sliding along the entire longitudinal extension of the tank 2 to push the compacted material towards the mill 100, in this way avoiding fumes being emitted and chips of metal material being thrown out by the mill 100.

[0047] In order to optimise the processing times of the material, the compacting press 1 is coupled with the mill 100.

[0048] Such coupling can be carried out through the use of a transfer channel 200 having its ends associated with the press 1 and the mill 100, respectively.

[0049] In virtue of this particular arrangement, the plant 50 for compacting and crushing scrap according to the present invention operates continuously.

[0050] Furthermore, as can be seen in figure 1, the press 1 can also work with a certain inclination such as to ease the connection between the press 1 and the mill 100 through the channel 200.

[0051] As an alternative to the compacting press 1 described above, it is possible to use any other press suitable for providing the compacted material to be supplied to the mill 1 continuously.

[0052] As can be appreciated from that which has been described, the plant for compacting and crushing scrap according to the present invention allows the requirements to be satisfied and the drawbacks mentioned in the introductory part of the present description with reference to the prior art to be overcome.

[0053] Of course, a man skilled in the art can bring numerous modifications and variants to the plant for compacting and crushing scrap described above in order to satisfy contingent and specific requirements, all of which are covered by the scope of protection of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. Plant (50) for compacting and crushing scrap comprising a compacting press (1) and a crushing mill (100), characterised in that said press (1) comprises a tank (2) for receiving material to be compacted, means (5) for compacting said material when it is arranged in the tank (5), said compacting means (5) being rotatably associated with said tank (2), mobile between a first receiving position and a second compacting position of the material inside the tank (2), means (16) for pushing the material after compacting from the tank (2) to the press (1) through a transfer channel (200) placed between them.

2. Plant (50) according to claim 1, wherein said compacting means (5) comprise a first compacting head (10) and a second compacting head (20), said first compacting head (10) being rotatably associated with said tank (2).

3. Plant (50) according to claim 2, wherein said second compacting head (20) is rotatably associated with said first compacting head (10).

4. Plant (50) according to claim 2, wherein a first and second cylinder-piston group (7, 13), suitable for allowing the movement between said receiving position and said compacting position, are hinged to said first and second compacting heads (10, 20), respectively.

5. Plant (50) according to claim 4, wherein said first cylinder-piston group (7) is hinged to the tank (2).

6. Plant (50) according to claim 4, wherein said second cylinder-piston group (13) is hinged to the first compacting head (10).

7. Plant (50) according to claim 2, wherein in said compacting position said first and said second compacting heads (10, 20) are arranged at a right angle.

8. Plant (50) according to claim 2, wherein in said receiving position said first and said second compacting heads (10, 20) are arranged along a common vertical plane.

9. Plant (50) according to claim 1, wherein said pushing means comprise a piston (16) that can slide inside said tank (2).

Drawing