Description Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the mechanical field and in particular to the field of equipment for the recovery and disposal of urban waste. Even more in detail, the present invention relates to a particular machinery that can be installed in urban contexts, and in both public and private spaces, suitable for allowing the in situ disposal of glass waste, in particular of bottles containing beverages, formulating said waste into granules and storing them therein to send them recovery and further uses.

Prior art

Systems, procedures and specific machinery used for the recovery and recycling of glass in general have been known for several years.

Glass recycling represents in particular a specific sector of waste recycling and consists of a plurality of operations that involve the glass waste material and that lead to obtaining the glass in a form that can make it workable and suitable for the production of new products that can be placed on the market. Glass waste is of various kinds but is essentially of industrial and urban origin.

Some cycles of recovery and recycling of “urban” glass require that used glass containers be introduced by citizens into specific containers commonly known as “bells” or collected through special door-to-door collection services or brought to glass collection areas.

In order for the collected material to be recycled, it must be previously treated in order to obtain a selected material suitable for subsequent treatments for the transformation thereof into a new finished product.

In particular, the suitably selected material must be such as to lend itself to its fusion in order to subsequently cover the function of objects with the most disparate profiles. Among the various steps of the glass recovery and transformation cycle, collection by citizens or collection by authorized personnel undoubtedly represent the most important steps for the efficiency of the entire glass transformation cycle.

One of the best known systems for collecting this material is, as mentioned above, the one that makes use of the so-called “bells”. These are known containers, with a profile similar to that of a bell, with capacities ranging from 2m ³ to 3m ³ . These containers are usually located in different points of the cities and thanks to the presence of specific calibrated holes on the outer surface thereof, they allow receiving, by insertion in said holes, glass waste materials such as bottles, jars, glasses and many other objects. Usually, for emptying such containers, a vehicle with an open body provided with crane and lifting arm is used. The frequency of emptying to be associated must be regular in order to prevent glass waste from accumulating outside the bells.

A further system for the recovery of glass waste is represented by door-to-door collection in residential and commercial structures, etc. by specialized personnel who on predefined days provide to the collection of said material.

To date there are many solutions adopted and various types of containers being tested that offer optimized performance for glass collection and which also have structural features that contribute to their aesthetic appeal, considering that these are structures generally to be positioned in predefined places in city contexts, and which should therefore harmonize with the contextual urban architecture. For this purpose, for the collection of glass, underground containers have been designed and built, for example, connected to the outside by a small column that allows the insertion of the empty bottle; containers variously sized and modular in order to be adaptable to the quantity of local population; and containers which in addition to the usual hole for the introduction of the glass material, have a further hole located at a lower height than the first in order to be able to facilitate users with disabilities.

In addition to the aforementioned, there are many solutions which, in addition to providing methods for urban storage, provide for the crushing of the glass waste material in order to make it suitable for the subsequent steps of the process for its recycling. For example, document WO2011051530 describes a glass recycling machine comprising various units such as a system for storing pieces of broken glass, a system for further grinding the glass, systems for collecting the previously ground glass, systems for the removal of materials of a different nature from that of glass and a system that allows detecting and distinguishing pieces of glass with different coloring and opacity. All in order to make a prior selection of the waste material for the subsequent processing and finishing thereof.

Document US5524837 instead describes an apparatus comprising a particular system for crushing/grinding glass waste, provided with a rotating shaft from which bars extend. Said apparatus is capable of inducing a crushing of the glass such as to obtain a subdivision thereof into parts with particle size suitable for the subsequent processing thereof.

Document JPH09248551 describes a glass processing/recycling plant, on an industrial scale, comprising peculiar systems for the removal of light materials, such as plastic parts, from the glass being processed. In addition to the above, many other solutions exist today for the collection, storage and processing of glass waste for the complete recycling thereof. Although these systems are undoubtedly effective, they necessarily involve costs associated with the various stages of the glass processing/recycling process, which result in sometimes high overall costs. Just think of the costs necessary for the construction of the containers for their collection, as well as those relating to the personnel authorized to recover the differentiated waste material and, obviously, those relating to the construction of the machinery used for the various recycling steps as well as automation and control of the entire industrial process.

It should also be recognized that, if the glass is recovered by authorized personnel, the collection operation is decidedly noisy. In fact, it must be considered that this operation necessarily implies the pouring of the glass from the collection containers into loading hoppers integrated with the transport systems of the recovered material. This recovery also takes place at set daily times, usually early in the morning, resulting in an unwanted bustle for locals and tourists. In this regard, the object of the present patent application for industrial invention is to propose a peculiar system provided with an equally peculiar glass recovery machine, integrated with systems that lend themselves not only to its collection but also to the preliminary processing steps of waste material in order to make it already selected for the subsequent processing steps in specifically dedicated sites. Said machinery is offered directly to users and is typically used for, but not limited to, the recovery, formulation in granules, storage of glass waste produced in urban contexts.

Description of the invention The present description relates to a particular system for the in situ disposal of glass waste. More in detail, the present invention relates to a system that makes use of a machine that allows, in an automated mode, the crushing on site, and therefore not in places specifically used for the disposal of waste, of glass articles.

Even more in detail, the machinery of the system according to the present invention allows the disposal of glass articles. Disposal understood as the collection of waste in collection containers and crushing thereof in the form of granules. The glass articles processed by the machinery of the subject system are generally articles used to contain food substances (especially beverages). Typically these are containers such as bottles or jars.

Advantageously, the machinery of the system according to the present invention allows the primary user to be able to carry out a substantial volumetric reduction of his/her own glass waste, allowing not only to have an equally advantageous result in terms of volume but to obtain a waste not polluted by foreign agents to the glass except for those relating to the labels and their residual glue, as well as food residues, all elements that are easily eliminated in treatment plants dedicated to the recycling of glass waste, producing a secondary raw material of absolute purity.

Advantageously, the machinery of the system according to the present invention operates in an automated mode: specifically, said machinery comprises a peculiar collection container in the form of a bottle provided with a sealed lid. To start the shredding/crushing process, the user will only have to lift the lid and insert the bottles and/or jars, one at a time. A system of rocker doors will ensure that once the bottle has been introduced, its weight will allow the opening of the door located in the middle of the inlet barrel and the consequent closure of the top door, effectively preventing the escape of dust and guaranteeing at the same time the safety of the machinery. The opening of the lid at the top of the bottle-like container automatically starts the machine through a sensor placed on its top. The shut-down, which is also automatic, is timed. After about thirty seconds of non-introduction of new bottles, the machine will switch off. The storage tank of the bottle-like container typically has, but not necessarily, a capacity of about 400 kg corresponding to about 1000 medium-sized bottles. The same includes a system of sensors that guarantee a machine stop at the filling level evaluated by triggering a lock of the head cap with the use of an electric lock, thus preventing the machinery from being used improperly. The electronic system, through dedicated software, communicates that the bottle-like container has been filled to the server of the collection center which sends a means for emptying it. The container is emptied using a vacuum designed for vitreous and particularly abrasive dusts and placed on vans provided with storage tanks. The container of the subject machinery is also provided with at least two flaps, one on the upper part of the container which preferably has the profile of a cap with a lock which, once removed, gives access to an industrial-type socket typically at 230 V, the other, with the same operation, is typically, but not necessarily, placed on the lower portion of the “bottle” and allows direct access to the container to allow it to be emptied.

Said container is provided with a shredder. The shredder containment structure is preferably made entirely of aluminum, and so is the container itself, while the shredder body is made of stainless steel. Said container comprises, in its structure, an outer casing of which at least two portions can be identified: a first lower portion with a cylindrical profile preferably made of metal, even more preferably of aluminum, and a second upper portion, shaped like a bottleneck, typically, but not necessarily, made of polycarbonate.

The machinery of the system according to the present invention provides for the bottle-like container to be fixed to the ground through a typically circular structure in the form of a concrete platform, which is made on site and on which a template is supplied and fixed for fixing the same bottle-like container. The machinery of the subject system provides that a 230 V voltage cable comes out of the platform, typically supplied by the municipal administration on whose territory the bottle will be located. The structure of the machinery provides that said cable is made to pass, through a dedicated and isolated path, inside the container in the form of a bottle and feeds all its functions.

The electrical system with which the machine is equipped is provided with a life-saving system that trips when the machine malfunctions, giving the signal to the central server which will restore the functional system.

The integrated electronic control system is mounted on a panel and has a screen on which the user can read the successful start-up and/or shutdown of the machinery and its possible shutdown due to overflow and/or malfunction as well as any other messages that the management and/or ownership of the machinery will decide to carry out. The display is visible through a polycarbonate window and the entire outer structure of the bottle is covered with a film that allows providing useful surface for advertising space. The electronic management and control system is, in some embodiments, implementable in such a way that the bottle-like collection container also has the systems to be a station for detecting data and meteorological conditions.

Description of the figures

The system for the in situ disposal of glass waste according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

- FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of the machinery 1 of the subject system. More in detail, the subject figure shows that the machinery 1 of the subject system comprises a bottle-like container 2 comprising in turn two portions: a first lower portion 2’ containing the tank 7 for collecting the glass crushed into granules (not visible in the subject figure) and the grinding motor 6 (also not visible in the subject figure) suitable for grinding the glass articles introduced into the container 2 through the access opening located on the top 2’” shaped like a cap. From said opening, which is provided with a lid 3 shaped as a sealing cap, the glass article passes through the inlet mouth 5 (inside said second upper portion 2” of the container 2) until it reaches a system of rocker flaps 4 and finally the underlying grinding system.

- FIGURE 2 shows a schematic view of the machinery 1 of the system according to the present invention. More in detail, Figure 2 (a) is a schematic view of the longitudinal section of the machinery 1 in which the allocation of the tank 7 for collecting the granules is indicated, Figure 2 (b) is a plan view of the cross section of the said machinery 1 at the height at which the container 2 has the grinding system 6. Figure 2 (c) is a plan view of the base of the container 2 and specifically of its first lower portion 2’ adapted to be fixed by means of a template on a cement base.

- FIGURE 3 is the representation of the operation diagram of the control system of machinery 1.

Detailed description of the invention

In its preferred embodiment, the glass waste disposal system according to the present invention comprises at least one machine 1 in turn comprising a bottle-like container 2, inside which the glass articles/waste are introduced by the users of said system specifically to be crushed so as to obtain a formulation in vitreous granules of said waste with the result of optimizing upstream the processing and recycling process of glass waste.

Specifically, the bottle-like container 2 substantially comprises at least two portions: a first lower portion 2’ and a second upper portion 2” containing the so-called “bottleneck”. From said second upper portion 2” it is possible for the glass waste to enter the container by the user. Said second upper portion 2” is for this purpose provided on the top 2’” of said container 2 with an access opening shaped like a cap which is a sealed lid 3. Inside said container 2 there is, starting from top to bottom, or from inside said second upper portion 2”, at least one rocker flap 4, preferably a rocker flap system 4 which after introducing the glass article, by way of a non-limiting example a bottle, causes the weight thereof to determine the opening of the flap 4 and its subsequent repositioning in the closed configuration. Said rocker flap(s) 4 is/are typically located halfway up the inlet mouth 5 inside the container 2. Said machine 1 is also provided with a special sensor which, when it senses that the lid 4 is in an open configuration, triggers the start of a grinding system 6, inside the container 2 and below the said inlet mouth 5 which will carry out the grinding of the glass waste as well as its formulation into granules which will be deposited in an underlying and appropriate collection tank 7 which can be found inside said first portion 2’ of container 2. The grinding system 6 is in turn placed in a containment structure preferably made of aluminum, while the grinding body is made of stainless steel.

The system according to the present invention also provides, in one of its preferred embodiments, that the container 2 of the machine 1 has its first portion 2’ with a cylindrical profile made of metal, preferably of stainless steel, while the second upper portion 2”, profiled in the manner of a bottleneck, is made of a thermoplastic polymer, preferably of polycarbonate.

The system for the in situ disposal of glass waste also provides that said machine is integrated with an electrical system that includes the presence of common wiring systems for connection to at least one voltage cable, typically 230 V, supplied by the municipality in which said system operates. The same electrical system also provides for the presence of at least one common life-saving system which is activated for any malfunction or anomaly found by the control system of said machine. The system according to the present invention in fact provides that the entire operation of the machine 1 is automated and managed by an integrated control system which provides for the installation on the container 2 of a panel comprising a screen on which all the parameters relating to the state of operation of machine 1 as well as any anomalies can be identified. Typically, the integrated control system provides that the grinding system stops after a time ranging from 20 seconds to 40 seconds, preferably after 30 seconds. The whole is managed by dedicated software specially created for the system for the disposal of glass articles according to the present invention. Specifically, the subject system provides that the machine 1 is integrated with a control system which contemplates the presence of an electronic control board with microprocessor with basic functions of:

- Automatic motor start and stop via relay module with cut-out capacity 230 Vac 20 A;

- Too full alarm signal by mechanical sensor;

- Door alarm signaling;

- Self-resettable thermal fuse;

- Magnetothermic overload protection fuse;

- Graphic display;

- Setting for Wi-Fi module.

Further embodiments according to the present invention provide for said machine 1 to be provided with signaling systems which indicate the stationary or operating status of said machine. Specifically, said machine 1 comprises signaling systems with emitters of colored LED lights, typically red and green, which respectively indicate the working or stop status, for example for maintenance, of the machine (red light) or of free access to its operation (green light).

A further embodiment according to the present invention provides that the machine 1 of the subject system is integrated with sensors for detecting meteorological conditions such as, by way of non-limiting example: temperature, humidity, wind, rain, snow, hail.

In still further embodiments, said system is also provided with common systems, with known technology, which make it such as to act as a recharging unit for bicycles and/or electric cars.

In one of its preferred embodiments, the subject system provides that the container 2, and in particular its internal tank 7, of the machine 1 has a capacity for containing glass articles/bottles, ranging from 300 kg to 600 kg, preferably from 350 kg to 500 kg, and is typically 400 kg.

In one of its preferred embodiments, the machine has an overall height between 130 cm and 160 cm, preferably 149 cm; and an overall width between 60 cm and 100 cm, preferably 70 cm.

As mentioned above, the system according to the present invention provides for the presence of an electric lock adapted to block the sealed lid 3 of the top 2’” when the system detects that the maximum filling level of the container 2 and specifically of the tank 7 has been reached.

As mentioned above, the container 2 of the machine of the system according to the present invention lends itself to provide, on its surface, spaces for providing the user with advertising information. For this purpose, said container 2 can have, in some embodiments of the invention, an integrated screen on which information is presented, or comprise removable films containing advertising information or contributing to giving said machine 1 a particular aesthetic appeal.

In fact, it should be considered that said machine lends itself to being placed not only in urban contexts such as squares, streets and the like, but also inside closed environments such as shopping centers, fairs, etc. In this regard, some embodiments according to the present invention provide that on at least a portion of the surface of said container 2 a fabric covering can be found, comprising on its surface small variously colored glass granules arranged so as to form an orament and with the purpose of drawing the user’s attention to the specific functionality of the system according to the present invention. In all its embodiments, the system according to the present invention provides that said machine 1 has at the base of the first lower portion 2’ of the container 2 a template which serves to fix the same container as a bottle on a cement base made by the municipality.