AND METHOD

Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a device capable of cutting and fragmenting tyres. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tyre cutting and fragmenting device that can be included as a part of a larger tyre processing/recycling methodology that can process different bead diameters sized tyres and it will be convenient to hereinafter disclose the invention in relation to that exemplary application. However, it is to be appreciated that the invention is not strictly limited to that application, and may be used in cutting and/or fragmenting tyres or other similar objects that can then be utilised in their immediate resultant form or further used as an input or ingredient for subsequent applications including downstream compounding and manufacturing processes.

Background of the Invention The following discussion of the background to the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.

A vehicle tyre (or tire) is a generally a circular ring shaped covering manufactured from rubber and reinforcing elements such as steel and fabric cords which is fitted over the outer circumference of a vehicle wheel. Most vehicle tyres since at least the 1960s have been made from a composite material that includes rubber reinforced with cords of polyester, steel, and/or other textile materials. This composite material has varying configurations in different functional sections of the tyre in order to provide different properties of strength, resilience and shape in accordance with the function of that section. 11 001281

A tyre can therefore generally be said to include three distinct compositional sections with their own distinguishable material composition:

• The crown, located generally around the outer perimeter of the tyre formed from a thick section of rubber that includes rigid steel belts for reinforcement to give high mileage and performance. The crown includes an outer surface having various designs of jagged shaped grooves in it, known as the tread.

• The sidewalls are the radial sections of the tyre between the crown and the inner circular edges of the tyre contacting the wheel rim. The sidewalls include a number of radial reinforcing cords that add to the resilience of the sidewall.

• The bead located at the inner rim of the tyre and is reinforced with a number of concentric circumferential reinforcing steel wires.

Even with reinforcement, vehicle tyres have a limited life and will eventually have to be replaced. Many such used tyres are subsequently processed and recycled in order to reuse the rubber and steel constituents of the tyre. As the tyre structure has different material composition and different qualities of the said materials in each of the above described three distinct sections, it is desirable to process the different sections separately so as not to cross-contaminate the different materials in order to allow for selective downstream application and/or processing of these materials.

The inventors of the present invention have utilised their investigations which support the principles that the cyclical action from the rotation of a tyre along the axis at the centre of its circumference combined with pressure applied towards the centre of the circumference of the tyre in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the tyre results in the forces being transmitted into the material compositions of the tyre so as to devastate the molecular structure and chemical bonds of the composite materials of a tyre. Specifically, numerous cycles of deformation caused to a tyre from the combined rotational and pressurising forces results in the polymers of the tyre breaking apart prior to the metallic and fibrous reinforcing elements of the tyre breaking apart, resulting in polymer fragments coming away from the tyre free of reinforcing elements. Basis for the scientific principles of the present invention can be referenced to 1

3

literature such as that of Gordon J. E., The New Science of Strong Materials, or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor, Princeton University Press, 2006, which cites Hooke's law in the special case of an elastic solid being under the influence of a load, where stress in the material increases from zero to maximum at a time when the material is stretched to the limit. Particular reference is given to the differences of capacity of firm bodies to reserve elastic energy that can be differentiated by working deformation percentage, working pressure (MN/m ² ), stored elastic energy (J/m ³ ), density (Kg/ m ³ ), and reserved energy (J/Kg). The present invention's methodology is thus in part supported by theory that less pressure is required to activate the stored elastic energy within the rubber polymer so as to devastate its molecular structure and chemical bonds in order to force it to break apart into fragments relative to the pressure required to activate the stored elastic energy within for the fabric and steel reinforcing elements of a tyre.

The resultant segments and/or fragments derived from the operations of the present invention may be utilised in their immediate resultant form or further used as an input or ingredient for subsequent applications and downstream processes, including but not limited to those referenced in Patent Cooperation Treaty applications PCT/AU2010/000284 and PCT/AU2010/000507.

Prior Art

The inventors are aware of prior art that has previously attempted to address some of the issues being addresses by the present invention, including W01992015438, WO200149462 A1 and WO2005087379 A1 , where WO200149462 A1 is considered to be the closest prior art to the present invention and yet it still has the disadvantages listed below as well as having its own specific difficulties of accurately fixating a tyre within the receiving chamber along its longitudinal axis within the device.

Disadvantaged of Prior Art

• Non-selective cutting of the three distinct compositional sections of the tyre. 11 001281

Non-selective fragmentation of the three distinct compositional sections of the tyre.

Non-selective fragmentation of the three distinct compositional sections of the tyre without excluding the tyres reinforcing elements.

Discontinuous cutting and fragmentation of the tyre.

Discontinuous non-selective cutting and fragmentation of the three distinct compositional sections of the tyre.

Device has a complex construction consisting of many different components which makes them more difficult to synchronise.

Device has high energy consumption.

It would therefore be desirable to provide an alternative process, method and apparatus for cutting and fragmenting tyres that overcomes some or all of the drawbacks of the processes, methods or devices of the prior art.

In particular there is a need for a process that can provide tyre fragments of selective material composition generally free of reinforcing elements tailored to suit the requirements of downstream manufacturing processes via a universal device suited to different bead diameters sized tyres.

Objectives of the Present Invention

• Selective cutting to enable separation of the distinct material compositional sections of the tyre.

• Selective fragmentation of the distinct material compositional sections of the tyre.

• Selective fragmentation of the distinct material compositional sections of the tyre with a reduced amount of reinforcing element remnants associated with the resultant rubber polymeric fragments.

• Continuous cutting and fragmentation of the tyre by the one device.

• Continuous selective cutting and fragmentation of the distinct material compositional sections of the tyre by the one device.

• Device has a simple construction consisting of few components which makes them easier to synchronise.

• Device has a relatively low energy consumption. • Device is a universal device suited to cutting and fragmenting different bead diameters sized tyres to provide tyre fragments of selective material composition with a substantially reduced amount of reinforcing element remnants associated with the resultant rubber polymeric fragments, tailored to suit the requirements of downstream manufacturing processes.

• Device can process one or more tyres simultaneously.

• Device can partially devulcanise tyre rubber so as to produce devulcanised rubber fragments.

Summary of the Present Invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a tyre cutting and fragmenting device including:

a means for positioning, centring, fixating, preliminarily deforming, rotating, cutting and fragmenting a tyre, the apparatus for which consists of two axially aligned mandrels, each mandrel consisting of a working shaft with attached protrusions or plates which are generally triangular or trapezoidal in shape which create a corrugated working surface in which the pointed tapering ends of the protrusions or plates converge towards the butt-end of the opposing mandrel to form a lathe-like centre between the two;

a means for the compression and/or shredding of the tyre, the apparatus for which consists of a roller being perpendicularly aligned to the longitudinal axis of the two mandrels;

a means for the separation of the tyre into its crown, sidewall and bead sections, being blades aligned in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the two mandrels; and

a receiving chamber for accepting the delivery of a tyre, with at least one wall that incorporates a roller to secure a tyre in an operational position with respect to the mandrels, as well as two opposing walls which contain apertures to enable penetration by the two opposing mandrels together with a recess for their associated bulkheads as well as apertures for blades aligned in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the two mandrels, and a mobile floor which allows for the positioning and processing of different sized tyres; where in use, the receiving chamber accepts the delivery of a tyre in an operational position within the receiving chamber with respect to the mandrels after which the two opposing mandrels converge through opposing sidewalis of the receiving chamber along the longitudinal axis of their working shafts through the opening of the beads of the tyre to enable the attached protrusions or plates of one mandrel to enter into the corresponding gaps between the attached protrusions or plates of the opposing mandrel, and via contact with the beads of the tyre with their respective attached protrusions or plates the mandrels lift and position the tyre at the lathe-like centre of the device, fixating and preliminarily deforming the tyre via its enveloped beads in contact with the attached protrusions or plates of the opposing mandrels and simultaneously centre the tyre with respect to the longitudinal plane of the receiving chamber of the device, and either radially cut the tyre via their attached protrusions or plates by continuing their converging motion along the longitudinal axis of the working shafts of the mandrels, or come to a stationary position and then rotate the tyre to enable the operation of the roller and/or blades of the device as required to cut and/or fragment the tyre in order to obtain predetermined tyre segments and/or tyre fragments of selective material composition, with a substantially reduced amount of reinforcing element remnants associated with the resultant rubber fragments, and a portion of the resultant rubber fragments also having undergone devulcanisation.

Devulcanisation in a portion of the resultant rubber fragments occurs as a result of compressive shear force on their precursor vulcanised rubber at specific temperatures caused by the friction associated with the multifarious operation of the device including deformation of the tyre rubber, thus cleaving the intermolecular bonds of their precursor vulcanised rubber such as the carbon-sulphur or sulphur-sulphur bonds with resultant further shortening of their polymer chains.

It is to be understood that the term "segment" encompasses portions of a tyre of any predetermined size, shape or form, and generally refers to the separate crown, sidewall or bead sections of the tyre or a part thereof, being relatively larger to that of a tyre fragment. It is to be understood that the term "fragment" encompasses portions of a tyre of any predetermined size, shape or form, and generally refers to the chips, crumbs, granules, pellets or powders resultant from a tyre, being relatively smaller to that of a tyre segment.

It is to be understood that all necessary known conventional safety measures are incorporated into the device of the present invention, such as for example explosion prevention and spark prevention measures.

Detailed Description of the Present Invention

The receiving chamber of the device receives the tyre for processing. Depending on the size of the tyre, different conventional know means can be utilised for delivery of the tyre, such as a track, guide, gangway, conveyor or crane.

The receiving chamber of the device incorporates at least one wall with an integrated roller apparatus for gripping and positioning the tyre with respect to the designated parameters of operation of the device so as to align different sized categories of tyres with the working elements of the devise, the said categories ranging from light and heavy vehicle tyres to off-the-road and mining vehicle tyres, the alignment being related to the different diameters of the beads of the tyres and their positioning with respect to the starting position of the mandrels of the device.

The floor of the receiving chamber consists of a conveyor, being of for example a scissor pusher, rollers with spikes, mesh-like ribbon or belt, or multiple side-by-side rack and pinion design, so as to remove the processed tyre segments for downstream processing whilst simultaneously enabling the processed tyre fragments to fall through the floor of the chamber to be collected in a hopper underneath, which in one embodiment can incorporate a baffle, for alternative downstream processing.

Further, the floor of the receiving chamber can be lowered to enable the processing of the larger bead diameter tyres, where in one embodiment the floor can be pivoted to the required position via a hinge type joint at one end of the floor.

Additionally, the receiving chamber incorporates two opposing walls which contain apertures to enable penetration by the two opposing mandrels together with a recess for their associated bulkheads as well as apertures for blades aligned in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the two mandrels.

The bulkheads within the recesses of the apertures of their corresponding sidewalls of the receiving chamber act as guards to prevent the resultant tyre segments and/or fragments of the device of the present invention from inadvertently exiting through the apertures associated with the mandrels during their operation and when they are withdrawn back to their respective starting positions within their respective sidewalls of the receiving chamber. The said bulkheads contain apertures for the working shafts of their respective mandrels together with radial grooves congruently positioned for the protrusions or plates attached to the working shafts of the respective mandrels.

The said recesses of the apertures of their corresponding sidewalls of the receiving chamber maintain the bulkheads within their grooves, thus preventing the bulkheads from being disconnected from the apertures of the corresponding sidewalls of the receiving chamber associated with the respective opposing mandrels. Thus, during the operation of the respective mandrels, their associated bulkheads are in engagement with and rotate together with their respective mandrels. Also, during the convergence of the opposing mandrels and their later return to their starting positions, the recess of the said respective sidewalls ensures the bulkheads do not lose their engagement with their respective mandrels.

Bearings may be positioned within the said recesses to reduce friction between the bulkheads and their corresponding sidewalls of the receiving chamber. The two opposing mandrels of the apparatus for positioning, centring, fixating, preliminarily deforming, rotating, cutting and fragmenting a tyre incorporate on their working shafts attached protrusions or plates which are preferably triangular or trapezoidal in shape whose entry through the opening of the beads of the tyre results in the beads enveloping the protrusions or plates of the mandrels, thus causing preliminary deformation of the tyre as the opposing butt-ends of the mandrels converge on each other through apertures in the sidewalls of the receiving chamber along the longitudinal axis of the mandrels.

In a preferred embodiment, the said protrusions or plates of the mandrels are attached with a cantilever free-end to at least one of the mandrels for entry into the corresponding gaps between the attached protrusions or plates of the corresponding opposing mandrel.

In a further embodiment, one or more of the said attached protrusions or plates are specifically sharpened so as to enable the radial cutting of the tyre. Additionally, circular blades can be attached to the protrusions or plates so as to more easily enable the radial cutting of the tyre.

In another embodiment, the protrusions or plates are wholly attached to the working shaft of the converging mandrels.

In yet another embodiment, the converging pointed ends of the working shafts of the mandrels are simply corrugated with no protrusions or plates attached.

The convergence and rotation of the mandrels as necessary is operated by one or more drivers as required. The roller for the compression and/or shredding of the tyre is generally of a cylindrical barrel-like or mill-like geometric form.

In one embodiment, the roller is driven towards the lathe-like centre between the two mandrels towards the centred fixated tyre whilst rotating to cause compression and secondary deformation to the tyre in conjunction with the rotation of the mandrels, resulting in the fragmentation of the tyre sidewalls.

In another embodiment, the roller is fixated in a non-rotating position and thus driven towards the lathe-like centre between the two mandrels towards the centred fixated tyre in conjunction with the rotation of the mandrels to shred the tread, and outwardly protruding sidewalls if necessary, of the tyre, the outer working surface of the roller preferably being corrugated, with sharpened outcroppings and/or inserted teeth, and with blade-like or needle-like attachments inserted as necessary.

In this embodiment the non-rotating roller shreds/cuts the tread of the tyre as well as partially shredding/cutting the outwardly protruding sidewalls of the tyre as necessary. Additionally, the roller also in this embodiment can provide compression and secondary deformation to the tyre in conjunction with the rotation of the mandrels, also resulting in the fragmentation of the tyre sidewalls.

The roller can be fixated in a non-rotating position by any known conventional means, such as via fixation of its axis of rotation or fixation of the working surface of the roller.

In one specific embodiment, the roller can be used to only shred/cut the tread from the crown of the tyre only by having only attachments inserted onto the outer working surface of the roller that are of such configuration and material that will not penetrate the reinforcing layer beneath the tread of the tyre. A metal detecting proximity switch can be incorporated within this embodiment to also ensure disengagement of the needle-like attachment when metal is detected in the crown of the tyre. Additionally, a limit and limit switch can be incorporated within this embodiment to also ensure the roller and its attachments do not progress further towards the lathe-like centre between the two mandrels towards the middle of the centred fixated tyre past a predetermined limit.

In another specific embodiment, the roller can be used to bisect or dissect the tyre through its crown by having blade-like attachments inserted onto the outer working surface of the roller that are in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the mandrels.

The blades for the separation of the tyre into its crown, sidewall and bead sections when in use are positioned to go through the their corresponding apertures in the sidewalls of the receiving chamber, these being the same said sidewalls through which the mandrels converge on each other through their own corresponding apertures. The apertures in the sidewalls of the receiving chamber for the blades are preferably positioned outside of the boundary of the apertures in the same sidewalls of the receiving chamber for the mandrels and their associated bulkheads.

The blades move through their corresponding apertures in the sidewalls of the receiving chamber with the assistance of drivers, for example hydraulics. The said drivers are attached at one end to their respective fixed members such as a pillar or post, and with their free ends attach the blades to directional guides for directing the blades through their respective apertures in the sidewalls of the receiving chamber for separating the tyre into its crown, sidewall and bead sections as required.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The present invention will now be described with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a particular preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a general schematic side view of a preferred embodiment of the tyre cutting and fragmenting device. Figure 2 is a more detailed longitudinal cross-sectional schematic view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a tyre being deformed by the roller of the cutting and fragmenting device.

Figure 4 is an axonometric schematic view of a mandrel with its protrusions or plates having free cantilever ends.

Figure 5 is an axonometric schematic view of a mandrel with its protrusions or plates being wholly attached to the working shaft of the mandrel.

Figure 6 is a schematic side view of a sidewall section of the receiving chamber which depicts the apertures for the mandrel and its associated bulkhead.

Figure 7 is a transverse cross-sectional schematic view of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a general schematic front view of a preferred embodiment of the receiving chamber. Figure 9 is a more detailed schematic front view of a preferred embodiment of the receiving chamber. Figure 10 is a transverse cross-sectional schematic side view of Figure

9.

Figure 11 is a transverse cross-sectional schematic side view of Figure 9 specifically depicting blades for the separation of the tyre into its crown, sidewalls and beads sections.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

In Figure 1 , there is shown a preferred embodiment of the tyre cutting and fragmenting device (1). A mandrel (2) together with its opposing mandrel (2a) is depicted with their respective associated trollies (3, 3a). Support pillars (4, 4a) are also depicted for the pushers (5, 5a) of the trollies. A driver (6) is shown for the rotation of the mandrels, together with the bearing supports (7, 7a) for the working shafts (8, 8a) of the mandrels. The roller (9) and its associated pusher (10) are also depicted. Blades (11, 11a) for the separation of the tyre into its crown, sidewalls and beads segments are shown, together with their drivers (12, 12a). A hopper (13) is depicted for the collection of the processed tyre fragments, together with its baffle (14) for regulating discharge of the tyre fragments for transportation to downstream processing. A transport initiator element (15) is also shown for initiating the said transportation of the tyre fragments. The receiving chamber (28) of the device is shown, and a support column (38) of the device is also depicted.

Figure 2 depicts a longitudinal cross-sectional view of Figure 1 to show in more detail the tyre cutting and fragmenting device (1) with its two mandrels (2, 2a) their respective associated trollies (3, 3a). A driver (6) for the rotation of the mandrels when engaged at the lathe-like centre is shown, together with the mandrels' respective bearing supports (7, 7a) and working shafts (8, 8a). The roller (9) and its associated pusher (10) are outlined. The hopper (13) and its baffle (14) are also shown. Further, the position of the tyre (16) within the receiving chamber (28) of the tyre cutting and fragmenting device (1) is shown. Additionally, detail is provided of the respective coupling elements (17, 17a) between the bearing supports (7, 7a) and their respective trollies (3, 3a). Also, the mobile floor (18) and sidewalls (24) of the receiving chamber (28) are depicted.

Figure 3 provides a cross-sectional view of a tyre (16) being deformed by the roller (9) in relation to the position of the mandrels (2, 2a). Specifically, the deformed portion of the tyre (16a) is shown in contact with the roller (9), as well as the resultant outcropping/protrusion (19) of the sidewali of the tyre. Further, the beads (20) of the tyre are shown in their compressed position due to the converging action of the mandrels (2, 2a). Figure 4 gives detail of a particular embodiment of a mandrel (2) with its depicted bearing support (7) for its working shaft (8), where the protrusions or plates (22) extend with their pointed ends (23) in a free cantilever arrangement beyond the butt-end (21) of the mandrel (2). Figure 5 shows detail of another embodiment of an opposing mandrel

(2a) with its depicted bearing support (7a) for its working shaft (8a), where the protrusions or plates (22a) are wholly attached to the working shaft (8a) and do not extend beyond the butt-end (21a) of the mandrel (2a), instead providing a gap (23a) in between the protrusions or plates (22a) for the insertion of the free cantilever pointed ends (23) of the protrusions or plates (22) of its opposing mandrel (not shown).

Figure 6 provides a sectional side view of the sidewali (24) of the receiving chamber (28) depicting the aperture (27) for the bulkheads (25) associated with the mandrels (2, 2a) as well as the apertures (26) for the protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the mandrels (2, 2a).

Figure 7 depicts a transverse cross-sectional view of Figure 6 to show the section of the sidewali (24) and related apertures (26) for the protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the mandrels (2, 2a) in their relative position with respect to the recesses (27) for the bulkheads (25) within the sidewall (24) which maintain the required position of the bulkheads (25) during operation. Figure 8 shows a tyre (16) within the receiving chamber (28) positioned in relation to the positioning integrated roller apparatus (29) of the receiving chamber (28) and the protrusions or plates of the mandrels (not shown). Also depicted is a conveyor type embodiment of the mobile floor (18) for the removal of tyre segments from the receiving chamber (28), showing a corrugated roller (30) and conveyor driver (31) of the mobile floor (18). Additionally, a delivery mechanism (32), for example a crane, is shown for the initial delivery of the tyre (16) into the receiving chamber (28), as well as the hopper (13) for the collection of tyre fragments from the receiving chamber (28). Figure 9 is a more detailed view of the receiving chamber (28), depicting the position of the tyre (16) in relation to the integrated roller apparatus (29) of the receiving chamber (28) and its associated pusher (33), as well as in relation to the operating roller (9) of the device (1) and its associated pusher (10) and the mobile floor (18) of the receiving chamber (28) and its associated roller (30). Additionally, a further driver (34) is shown for the lifting or lowering of the mobile floor (18) enabling it to move on the hinge-like joint (35) as necessary depending on the size of the different bead diameters sized tyres received in the receiving chamber (28) for processing. Also referenced are the bulkheads (25) and hopper (13) of the receiving chamber (28).

Figure 10 depicts a transverse cross-sectional view of Figure 9 to show the relative position of the tyre (16) in relation to the operating roller (9) of the device (1) and the mobile floor (18) of the receiving chamber (28) and its associated roller (30) and the hopper (13) beneath. Also depicted are the sidewalls (24, 24a) of the receiving chamber (28).

Figure 11 is a detailed transverse cross-sectional side view of Figure 9 depicting blades (11 , 11a) extending through their respective apertures (36, 36a) in the sidewalls (24, 24a) of the receiving chamber (28) for the separation of the tyre (16) into its crown, sidewalls and beads sections as required. Also depicted are the respective drivers of the blades (11, 11a), for example hydraulic cylinders (37, 37a). Figure 11 also shows how the blades (11 , 11a) are positioned in relation to the protrusions or plates (22, 22a), working shafts (8, 8a) and bearing supports (7, 7a) of the mandrels (2, 2a). Further, the orientation of the tyre (16) is also shown with respect to the mobile floor (18) of the receiving chamber (28) and its associated hopper (13) beneath.

Detailed Description of the Workings of the Device

A tyre (16), ranging from light and heavy vehicle tyres to off-the-road and mining vehicle tyres, is delivered into the receiving chamber (28) of the tyre cutting and fragmenting device (1) via a delivery mechanism (32), for example a crane. The integrated roller apparatus (29) of the receiving chamber (28) as well as the mobile floor (18) of the receiving chamber (28) adjust their respective positions, via pusher (33) and driver (34) respectively, to receive any different bead diameters sized tyre into the receiving chamber (28) for processing. The internal dimensions of the receiving chamber (28) are in proportion to the largest sized tyre (16) that requires processing.

Once the tyre (16) is thus received into and simultaneously positioned within the receiving chamber (28) in an operational position in relation to the two opposing mandrels (2, 2a) operatively connected to the receiving chamber (28), the two opposing mandrels (2, 2a) converge through opposing sidewalls (24, 24a) of the receiving chamber (28) along the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a) through the opening of the beads (20) of the tyre (16) to enable the attached protrusions or plates (22) of one mandrel (2) to enter into the corresponding gaps (23a) between the attached protrusions or plates (22a) of the opposing mandrel (2a).

Consequently, via contact with the beads (20) of the tyre (16) with their respective attached protrusions or plates (22, 22a), the mandrels (2, 2a) lift and position the tyre (16) at the lathe-like centre of the device (1), fixating and preliminarily deforming the tyre (16) via its enveloped beads (20) in contact with the attached protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the opposing mandrels (2, 2a) and simultaneously position the tyre (16) with respect to the working zone of the receiving chamber (28) in relation to the roller (9) and its attachments and blades (11 , 11a) of the device (1), ensuring that the tyre (16) does not come into contact with the sidewalls (24, 24a) of the receiving chamber (28).

Subsequently, if required, the opposing mandrels (2, 2a) radially cut the tyre (16) via their attached protrusions or plates (22, 22a), by the mandrels (2, 2a) continuing their converging motion along the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a) as the free cantilever pointed ends (23) of the attached protrusions or plates (22) of mandrel (2) insert into the gaps (23a) between the attached protrusions or plates (22a) of mandrel (2a) until such time as the tyre (16) is radially cut by the attached protrusions or plates (22, 22a). Alternatively, the opposing mandrels (2, 2a) come to a stationary position prior to radially cutting the tyre (16), and then rotate the tyre (16) about the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a) to enable the simultaneous operation of the roller (9) and/or blades (11 , 11 a) of the device (1 ) as required to cut and/or fragment the tyre (16) in order to obtain predetermined tyre segments and/or tyre fragments of selective material composition, with a substantially reduced amount of reinforcing element remnants associated with the resultant rubber fragments, and a portion of the resultant rubber fragments also having undergone devulcanisation. The operation of cutting the tyre (16) into its into its crown, sidewall and bead sections involves extending the blades (11,11a) via their respective drivers (12, 12a), for example hydraulics, through the their corresponding apertures (36, 36a) in the sidewalls (24, 24a) of the receiving chamber (28), where these apertures for the blades ( 1 , 11a) are preferably positioned outside of the boundary of the apertures (27) for the mandrels (2, 2a) and their associated bulkheads (25). Thus, the said blades (11 ,11a) cut tyre (16) into its crown, sidewall and bead sections as required as the mandrels (2, 2a) rotate the tyre (16) about the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a). The distance between the blades (11) and (11b) as well as the distance between the blades (11a) and (11c) can be varied in order to obtain different sized segments of the sidewalls of the tyre (16) as necessary.

The operation of fragmenting the tyre (16) into the required tyre fragments, inclusive of fragments with a substantially reduced amount of reinforcing element remnants and/or devulcanised rubber fragments as required, the roller (9), generally of a cylindrical barrel-like or mill-like geometric form with generally either a straight-lined or corrugated working surface, is driven by a pusher (10) towards the lathe-like centre between the two mandrels (2, 2a) towards the centred fixated tyre (16) along the longitudinal axis X-X being thus fixated by the protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the two mandrels (2, 2a). Whilst the roller (9) is rotating it comes in contact with the tyre (16) to cause compression and secondary deformation to the tyre (16) with resultant squeezing and outcropping of the tyre tread (16a) and tyre sidewalls (19) into the space between the roller (9) and the protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the two mandrels (2, 2a). The mandrels (2, 2a) simultaneously rotate the tyre (16) about the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a), causing numerous cycles of deformation to the tyre (16) creating cyclical dynamic loading from the combined rotational and pressurising forces of the roller (9) and the mandrels (2, 2a), and resulting in the polymers of the tyre breaking apart thus causing the fragmentation of the tyre (16), predominantly fragmenting the deformed tyre sidewalls (19).

In order to obtain cut/shredded pieces of only the tread of the tyre (16), the roller (9) is fixated in a non-rotating position by any known conventional means, such as via fixation of its axis of rotation or fixation of the working surface of the roller (9), and thus fixated is driven by its pusher (10) towards the lathe-like centre between the protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the two mandrels (2, 2a) towards the centred fixated tyre (16) in conjunction with the rotation of the mandrels (2, 2a) about the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a) to cut/shred the tread of the tyre (16), and the outwardly protruding sidewalls of the tyre (16) if necessary. For this operation, the outer working surface of the roller (9) is preferably corrugated, with sharpened outcroppings and/or teeth insertions, or blade-like or needle-like attachments inserted as necessary, depending on the geometric shape of the resultant desired cut/shredded shapes required.

In this embodiment, in order to ensure that only the tread of the tyre (16) is cut/shred, a metal detecting proximity switch can be incorporated within this embodiment to ensure disengagement of the roller (9) attachment when metal is detected in the crown of the tyre. Additionally, a limit and limit switch can be incorporated within this embodiment to also ensure the roller (9) and its attachments do not progress further past a predetermined limit towards the lathe-like centre between the protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the two mandrels (2, 2a).

Otherwise, if also required in this embodiment, the roller (9) can be allowed to progress further into and past the reinforcing metal and fibre layer beneath the tread of the tyre (16), thus moving towards the lathe-like centre between the protrusions or plates (22, 22a) of the two mandrels (2, 2a) to provide compression and secondary deformation to the tyre (16) in conjunction with the rotation of the mandrels (2, 2a) about the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a), thus also resulting in the fragmentation of predominantly the tyre sidewalls caused by the cyclical dynamic loading from the combined rotational and pressurising forces of the roller (9) and the mandrels (2, 2a), and resulting in the polymers of the tyre breaking apart.

Alternatively, in order to bisect or dissect the tyre (16) through its crown, blade-like attachments are inserted onto the outer working surface of the roller (9) that are in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X-X of the working shafts (8, 8a) of the mandrels (2, 2a). The pusher (10) then pushes the bladelike attachments of the roller (9) through the crown of the tyre (16) towards the lathe-like centre between the two mandrels (2, 2a) towards the middle of the centred fixated tyre (16) in conjunction with the rotation of the mandrels (2, 2a) about the longitudinal axis X-X of their working shafts (8, 8a), resulting in the bisection or dissection of the tyre (16) as necessary.

The resultant segments from the requisite processes of the device (1) are transported via the mobile floor (18) operated by its driver (31) to requisite downstream processing/application, including but not limited to that referenced in Patent Cooperation Treaty application PCT/AU2010/000507 for which the action of the rotating roller (9) on the tread of the tyre (16) produces deformation with cuts and cracks to the crown of the tyre (16), making the resultant crown segment particularly suited to action by the aggressive medium referenced in Patent Cooperation Treaty application PCT/AU2010/000507.

The resultant fragments from the requisite processes of the device (1) are collected in a hopper (13) and via controlled exit through its baffle (14) are transported via operation of the transport initiator element (15) to requisite downstream processing/application, including but not limited to that referenced in Patent Cooperation Treaty application PCT/AU2010/000284 for which the simultaneous actions of the roller (9) and the mandrels (2, 2a) causing numerous cycles of deformation to the tyre (16) creating cyclical dynamic loading from the combined rotational and pressurising forces, and resulting in the polymers of the tyre breaking apart thus causing the fragmentation of the tyre (16), predominantly fragmenting the deformed tyre sidewalls (19), whereby the polymers of the tyre breaking apart prior to the metallic and fibrous reinforcing elements of the tyre breaking apart, result in a significant amount of polymer fragments coming away from the tyre free of reinforcing elements and being particularly suited to the devulcanising extrusion process referenced in Patent Cooperation Treaty application PCT/AU2010/000284.