The present invention relates to a machine for shredding inorganic waste provided with means suitable for increasing its safety. For inorganic waste we mean, for example, containers or packaging made of plastic, glass, metals, paper or cardboard, etc.

Various systems for the volumetric reduction of inorganic waste are known which are often used in industries or in recycling plants. In particular, there are two different technologies: compaction and shredding.

The compaction is carried out substantially by crushing, by means of rollers or hydraulic presses, the material to be treated, thus obtaining a percentage of volumetric reduction that hardly exceeds 60%; furthermore, the resulting product does not facilitate or in any case make the recycling chain that must be carried out in order to recover the material longer.

The shredding, on the other hand, allows to obtain a much greater volumetric reduction, even over 90%. It is generally performed through the use of double/single/square shaft shredders with opposing blades, rotating in the opposite direction, or through the use of fixed blades and rotating blades.

The resulting material will in this case be composed of small fragments which, through the use of appropriate technologies, can make the recycling chain shorter.

These machines are therefore able to reduce the volume of inorganic waste.

However, the shredding performed with the methods indicated above presents several critical issues which are mainly safety, noise, the high cost of construction and maintenance of the machines, the high shredding time, the possibility of jamming whose resolution requires rotation in the opposite direction, of the motor, the large dimensions of the machines themselves and the powers necessary for operation, which are in the order of tens of kW.

In industrial contexts the aforementioned criticalities can be negligible, or solved in different ways such as for example in the case of the safety problem, where large hoppers and material insertion ducts are used, built in a particular way to prevent the personnel from reaching the blades, cut. Another aspect of the problem consists in the fact that the volume reduction operation by means of shredding plants is usually performed on the place where the recycling process is carried out. The waste materials as such are withdrawn from the streets, homes or various commercial activities and transported to the places where the treatments are carried out.

There are also other equipment for use in the vending sector or installed on public land or on commercial activities that allow the volumetric reduction of waste through the methods described above (compaction or shredding) which have other limits such as the possibility of treating a single type of waste (plastic only, glass only), or the possibility of inserting only bottles, one bottle at a time, maximum half-liter bottles or just coffee glasses.

In the case of machines to be installed in domestic users, the problem of safety is crucial, also due to the fact that these machines would be used by non-experts. This problem occurs mainly in the loading area which allows the material to be treated to access the shredding area since, due to the small size of the machine, it is easy to reach the shredding area with your hands.

Object of the present invention is solving at least in part the aforesaid problems of the prior art, by providing a machine, according to claim 1, suitable for reducing the volume of inorganic waste by means of shredding, provided with means suitable for allowing the loading of the materials to be treated ensuring maximum safety for the operator.

The machine for shredding inorganic waste is of the type comprising: - first loading means, suitable for receiving the materials to be shredded and pouring them into a shredding chamber;

- second shredding means, driven by an electric motor, suitable for shredding the introduced materials;

- third unloading means, suitable for collecting the shredded materials, in which said second shredding means comprise a shredding chamber limited by solid walls, characterized in that said first loading means comprise a loading zone suitable for receiving the materials to be treated said loading zone being connected with said shredding chamber, in which the passage between said loading zone and said shredding chamber is regulated by one or more mobile elements, able to assume the following two positions:

- a first position in which said passage is closed;

- a second position in which said passage is open.

To increase operating safety, there is also the presence of a door to close access to the loading area, said door being provided with automatic closing means designed to allow it to open only when the mobile element, which regulates the entry of the materials into the shredding chamber, both in the closed position, so that it is impossible to reach the shredding chamber with the hands. As will be seen in the following description of an application example, the technological limitations and drawbacks of the prior art are overcome, as the invention creates a machine with industrial performance but with dimensions and even domestic usability. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variants of the present invention form the subject of the dependent claims.

With a machine conforming to the invention, a real reduction of 85 ÷ 95% is obtained, in fact the scale cannot leave the grinding chamber until it reaches the predetermined size (about 1 cm).

Other advantages of the machine according to the invention are increased safety and a reduction in operating noise. Furthermore, the cost of production and maintenance is reduced, the shredding speed increases, the mechanism is avoided, it is possible to insert more waste at the same time with different types of waste, even large containers or packaging of various kinds. also flexible up to bags or whole bags.

This machine can be used both in the home and in commercial or industrial activities, appropriately scaling the size according to the customer's needs, thus introducing, within the recycling chain, the concept of volumetric reduction at the source, thus facilitating other recycling processes with a view to localized circular economy.

The repercussions in terms of environmental benefit are also of considerable importance, given by the lower pollution of the means of transport circulating on the roads, due to the fact that the volume reduction would be carried out before the transport itself.

It is understood that all attached claims form an integral part of the present description.

It will be immediately obvious that innumerable variations and modifications (for example relating to shape, dimensions, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) can be made to what is described without departing from the scope of the invention as appears from the attached claims. The present invention will be better described by a preferred embodiment, given by way of non limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine according to the invention;

- Figures 2 (a, b) are a diagram of the inside of the machine, according to a vertical and a horizontal plane passing through the axis of the knife holder rotor; - figures 3 (a, b, c) show three configurations of the loading system for the materials to be treated.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, with (1) a machine for shredding inorganic materials according to the invention is indicated.

According to a preferred embodiment, said machine (1), has compact dimensions and a design suitable for a home installation or in small commercial or artisan businesses, in which solid inorganic waste is produced.

The machine (1) is equipped with:

- an upper opening, closed by a first door

(2), which allows the introduction of the materials to be shredded; - a lower opening, closed by a second door

(3), from which the shredded materials are extracted;

- a small control panel (4), positioned on the upper door (2), designed to signal the status of the machine (1) and any malfunctions as well as allowing the start-up and selection of the work cycle.

Both doors (2, 3) are equipped with an electric lock (not shown) that keeps them closed during the operation of the machine (1). Said machine (1) includes:

- first loading means (12), suitable for receiving the materials to be shredded;

- second shredding means (13), suitable for shredding the introduced materials;

- third unloading means (14), suitable for collecting the shredded materials;

- fourth electronic control means (not shown) designed to regulate the operation of the machine. Said first loading means (12) comprise said first door (2) which allows access to a large area (20), in which there is a sensor (not shown), to detect the presence of materials to be treated, said the loading area (20) being limited downwards by a movable element (21), rotatable around a pin (22), which has the main function of regulating the flow of the materials to be treated.

According to a preferred embodiment, the element (21) has the sectional shape of an arc of circumference. This allows accommodating the materials to be treated in the concavity and to pour them easily into an underlying shredding chamber (30) by rotating around said pin (22).

According to another preferred embodiment, said mobile element (21) can be replaced by multiple mobile elements (not shown) designed to open the passage between the loading area (20) and the shredding chamber (30).

This and other functions of the mobile element (21) will be better specified below.

Said second shredding means (13) comprise:

- a shredding chamber (30), in which there is preferably a filling sensor (not shown), inside which there is a single shaft main rotor (31), driven by an electric motor (32), on said rotor main (31) being mounted a first series of larger knives (33) interspersed with a second series of minor knives (34), having shapes and distances suitable for shredding and dragging, avoiding the ball effect on said single shaft main rotor (31) );

- a rake (35) on which a third series of major knives (36) is mounted, possibly interspersed with a fourth series of minor knives (not shown), said knives (36) of the rake (35) interacting with said knives (33, 34) of the main rotor (31).

The wall of said shredding chamber (30), made of wear-resistant steel, comprises:

- a first section (30a), substantially circular in shape and having a center on the axis of said main rotor (31); a second section (30b), which is connected with said first section (30a), of a substantially circular shape, but with a greater radius than the previous one so as to increase the distance between the trajectory of the ends of the blades (33) and the wall of the shredding chamber (30);

- said movable element (21) which rotates around the pin (22) so as to open/close the passage between said loading area (20) and said shredding chamber (30).

In the lower part of the wall of the shredding chamber (30) a plurality of openings is made, so as to obtain a sort of evacuation net (38), suitable for letting the shredded material through, acting as a sieve that allows only the fragments that have reached a predetermined size, said openings being able to have various shapes (for example round, square, etc.) and dimensions.

The rake (35) is placed outside the shredding chamber (30), in correspondence with the main rotor (31) in order to interact with it. Said interaction occurs following a rotation of said rake (35) towards the main rotor (31) and the consequent insertion of the blades (36) of the rake (35) between the knives (33, 34) of the main rotor (31). Said insertion is made possible by suitable openings (39) made on the wall of the shredding chamber (30).

Alternatively, the rake (35) can be placed inside the shredding chamber (30); in this case said minor knives are present (not shown) and no openings are necessary in the wall of said shredding chamber to allow the knives (36) of the rake (35) to pass. Furthermore, on the rake (35) there are sensors, able to identify both its position with respect to the main rotor (31), and the presence of any loads interposed in the movement that excessively hinder its rotation, causing an increase in the absorption of incompatible electrical power, with the capacity of the power supply network.

Said mobile element (21) can assume various positions, rotating around said pin (22): - a first position, shown in FIG. 3a, in which the mobile element (21) has the concavity facing upwards and completely closes the passage between the loading area (20) and the shredding chamber (30); a second position, shown in FIG. 3b, in which the mobile element (21) opens the passage between the loading area (20) and the shredding chamber (30), allowing the loaded material to enter the shredding chamber (30), the passage from said first position to said second position being able to take place gradually; this will allow a progressive increase of the load on the shredding knives avoiding both too high starting torques, an excessive load of materials, and a block of the rotor (31), requiring high electrical power absorbed by the network; the rotation of the mobile element (21) is also a function of the size of the materials to be loaded, in fact by increasing the angle of rotation, the area of the passage section also increases;

- a third position, shown in FIG. 3c, in which the mobile element (21) rotates by 180°, completely closing the passage towards the loading area (20) and delimiting a large area (30c), inside the shredding chamber (30), in to which the materials projected by the centrifugal force, consequent to the strong rotation imparted by the main rotor (31), tend to accumulate dynamically; in practice, the materials partially shredded and projected by the centrifugal force tend to accumulate in the area (30c) of the shredding chamber (30), falling by gravity into the area below where they are hooked again by the knives (33, 34) of the main rotor (31) to pass between the knives (36) of the rake (35) and undergo a new shredding.

In addition to the functions described, said movable element (21) also has an important safety function, as it prevents access by hand to the shredding chamber (30) since the deposition of the materials in the loading area (20) takes place with the mobile element (21) in the closed position.

Furthermore, the mobile element (21) reduces the noise since, after the total discharge of the material present in the loading area (20) into the shredding chamber (30), it is arranged according to said third position so as to avoid the return of flakes towards the inlet and, being provided with suitable seals, also reduces the noise generated by crushing. According to a preferred embodiment, the installation, inside the shredding chamber (30), of a suction system (not shown) of the dust that is generated in the shredding of some materials is provided. Said third unloading means (14), for the collection of the shredded materials, comprise a jacket conveyor (41), positioned outside the shredding chamber (30). Said conveyor (41) is shaped in such a way as to receive the shredded material that comes out of the evacuation net (38) and to convey it towards a collection area, where a basket (42) is positioned. A level sensor (not shown) is positioned in the jacket (41) or in the basket (42) to detect the filling of the basket itself, to signal its status to an electronic control system.

There are also electronic means (not shown) able to receive signals from the various sensors in order to control the operation of the machine (1) and to emit alarm signals in case of malfunctions.

The operation of the machine (1) is as follows.

After opening the upper door (2), the operator places the materials to be shredded in the loading area (20). These materials are collected in the concavity of the mobile element (21) (FIG. 3a). After loading, the upper door (2) is closed and the electric locks of both doors (2, 3) are activated.

The mobile element (21) rotates gradually, preferably after the motor (32) has already been started with no load, in order to limit the current absorption at start-up. The rotation of the mobile element (21) around the pin (22) allows to open the passage between the loading area (20) and the shredding chamber (30), said rotation taking place with the necessary gradualness to avoid a too rapid insertion of the materials to be shredded. In this way, the power required by the system is limited and the use of lower power motors is made possible and, therefore, able to operate with the low electrical power installed in domestic users.

The material falling into the shredding chamber (30) is thrown by the knives (33, 34) of the main rotor (31) against the walls of the shredding chamber (30) itself. Driven by the rotation of the knives, the material circulates inside the shredding chamber (30) with a circular trajectory around the axis of the main rotor (31), passing several times between the blades of the main rotor (31) and those of the rake (35), breaking up further at each step. The circular trajectory causes it to be projected by centrifugal force against the walls of the shredding chamber (30); this fact allows the formation of said dynamic accumulation in the area (30a) of the shredding chamber (30) and facilitates the exit through the evacuation network (38), when the fragments have reached the desired size.