Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 94/25168 21 6217 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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MOBILE TIRE SHREDDER
Backaround of the invention
This invention relates to a mobile apparatus for
mechanically shearing or shredding solid waste material
such as rubber tires.
Disposal of solid waste materials represents a
substantial ecological and economic problem. More
particularly, scrap automobile tires present an especially
vexing ecological and economic problem. Each year there
are an estimated 280 million scrap tires discarded
throughout North America. Unwanted scrap tire piles
scattered throughout the countryside have been estimated to
contain as many as 3 billion tires. Scrap tires' poor
biodegradability, their tendency to trap gasses and rise to
the surface in landfills, the serious fire hazard scrap
tires represent, and the breeding environment that unwanted
scrap tires offer to disease-carrying pests such as rodents
and mosquitos have caused them to be- classified as a
serious environmental nuisance.
The vast majority of used tires are generated at
retail tire outlets where the used tires are removed from
vehicles prior to installation of new tires.
Traditionally, the tires have been collected from the
retail tire outlets by small independent truck operators
who merely pick up the old tires, receive a fee for each
tire collected, and deposit the old tires at municipal or
private dump sites. Specifically, the tires are typically
taken from the retailer in a stake truck, are then
WO 94/25168 2162175 PCT/CA94/00250
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transferred from the stake truck into a transport trailer,
and are then taken in the transport trailer to a tire dump
site. This entire collection process, even if efficiently
carried out, only exacerbates the existing environmental
problem since the supply of festering tires at the dump
sites continues to multiply and the availability of dump
sites continues to dwindle. Further, the collection
process itself is rather inefficient since it is not
uncommon for individuals to collect tires from a retail
outlet, receive a specified payment for each tire
collected, but then never deliver the tires to an
authorized dump site. Rather, the tires end up being
dumped at the most convenient or closest location where
they become an eyesore and further exacerbate the
environmental problems associated with tire disposal.
Summary of the Invention
This invention is directed to the provision of an
improved apparatus and methodology for recycling used
tires.
More specifically, this invention is directed to
the provision of improved methodology and apparatus whereby
the tires are efficiently collected from retail outlets and
efficiently recycled.
The invention contemplates the provision of a 25 unique motor truck capable of
being dispatched to retail
tire outlets where used tires are collected on a regular
basis, shredded on the site by a shredder carried on the
vehicle, stored in shredded form in a storage container
provided on the vehicle, and then, when the storage
WO 94/25168 216 217 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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container is full, taken by the truck to a suitable
processing or recycling facility.
According to an important feature of the
invention, the truck comprises a chassis; a shredder
mounted on the chassis; a storage chamber mounted on the
chassis; and a compactor mounted on the chassis for
stroking movement, positioned to receive the output of the
shredder, and operative when stroked to move the shredded
output into the storage chamber. This arrangement allows
the tires or other waste material to be shredded at the
retail site and stored in the vehicle so as to enable the
vehicle to visit several'xretail sites and, when the storage
chamber is full of the shredded material such as shredded
tires, return to a recycling center to deliver the shredded
material to the recycling center for use in producing a
suitable compound for recycling purposes.
According to a further feature of the invention,
the truck includes a body assembly mounted on the chassis
and including a body structure defining the storage
chamber; the shredder is mounted on the body structure; and
the compactor is positioned within the body structure
beneath the shredder and rearwardly of the storage chamber.
With this arrangement, the compactor receives the discharge
of the shredder and operates when actuated to move the
= 25 shredded discharge into the storage chamber so as to make
room for further shredded product from the shredder.
According to a further feature of the invention,
the truck further includes a conveyor assembly extending
from a location proximate the support surface for the motor
truck to a location proximate the entry to the shredder so
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that waste articles such as tires may be deposited on the
conveyor assembly proximate the support surface and moved
by the conveyor assembly to the shredder for shredding by
the shredder and delivery to the compactor for movement
into the storage chamber.
According to a further feature of the invention,
the body structure includes a closure member at the rear
end of the storage chamber operative when opened to allow
the contents of the storage chamber to be discharged
rearwardly out of the chamber and the compactor is
operative when actuated with the closure member in an open
position to discharge the contents of the storage chamber
rearwardly out of the chamber through the open rear end of
the body structure. This arrangement allows the compactor
to serve both as a means of compacting the shredded
material at each retail site as well as a means of
ultimately ejecting all of the shredded material after the
storage container has been filled and after the vehicle has
been driven to a suitable recycling location.
According to a further feature of the invention,
the truck includes a hydraulic pump driven by the engine of
the truck and a hydraulic motor driving the shredder and
receiving a supply of pressurized hydraulic fluid from the
hydraulic pump. This arrangement allows the truck prime
mover to provide the power for the shredder rather than =
requiring a separate power source on the vehicle to power
the shredder.
According to a further feature of the invention,
the truck further includes a further pump driven by the
engine of the truck and a further hydraulic motor driving
WO 94/25168 21" 21' 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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the conveyor system and receiving a supply of pressurized
hydraulic fluid from the conveyor pump. This arrangement
allows the truck to perform both the pickup and the
shredding of the waste material without the need for a
= 5 separate power source on the vehicle.
The invention also provides a methodology for
producing a rubber crumb material at a recycling center.
According to the invention methodology, vehicles are
dispatched to retail sales locations for rubber tires; at
each location a supply of used tires is collected, the
tires are shredded, and the shredded tires are stored in
the vehicles; and the vehicles, carrying the stored
shredded tires, are thereafter returned to the recycling
center where the shredded tires are discharged for
reduction to rubber crumb material. This methodology
provides a convenient means of addressing the ecological
problems created by used tires and further provides a
source of commercially usable rubber crumb material.
Brief Description of the Drawings
FIGURE 1 is a perspective curbside view of a
motor truck according to the invention;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective roadside view of the
invention motor truck;
= FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the
roadside of the invention motor truck;
FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line
4-4 of FIGURE 3;
FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of the
invention truck;
WO 94/25168 2 162175 PCT/CA94/00250
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FIGURES 6 and 7 are detail views of a conveyor
system utilized in the invention truck;
FIGURE 8 is a detail view of a control panel
provided on the invention motor truck;
FIGURE 9 is a schematic view illustrating the
invention methodology; and
FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of a cart
utilized in carrying out the invention methodology.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
The invention motor truck, in overview, is
designed to travel to a retail tire outlet, pick up a
supply of used tires from the outlet, shred the tires on
site, store the shredded tires in the truck, thereafter
visit further retail tire outlets until the storage
capacity of the truck has been exhausted and thereafter
return to a recycling center where the shredded tire
product is ejected from the truck for use in formulating,
for example, a rubber crumb material for recycling
applications.
The invention motor truck, broadly considered,
includes a chassis 10, a body assembly 12, a hydraulic
system 14, and a control system 16.
Chassis 10 is of known form and includes a cab
18, front wheels 20, rear wheels 22, a platform frame 24,
an engine 26 of gasoline or diesel configuration, and a
drive train 28 including a transmission 30.
Cab 18 may, as shown, be of the cab-over-engine
type and may include a side entry door 32 and a windshield
CA 02162175 2004-04-05
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33. Front wheels 20 are steerable and may, if desirec},,
also be driven.
Rear,wt:eals 22 have a tandem aonfiguratior with
either the front set bf wheels driven by tha drive train 28
or both front and rear sets of wheels driven by the drive
train.
platform frame 24 isr of standard construction and
includes parallel fra.ms rails extending rearwardly from
the cab 3.s to a position rearwardly of tYie 7rear wheels. It
lo arill be understood that the front and rear wheels are
connected to the cab 18 and the rails 32 by suspension
means, not a.lltistrated.
Body asaembly 12 includes a body structure 34, a
shredder 36, a compactor 39, and a conveyor assembly 40.
Body structure 34 is supported in known manner on
atiassis rails 32 rears.*ardly of cab 3.8 and defines a storaqe
chamber 3s. Body struature 34 inaludes a forw3x'd top wall
34a, a reaxw$rd tvp wall 34b joined to the forward top wall
34a by a vertical wall 34c, side wa11s 34d and 34e, a
bottom wall 34f, a front va11 34g, and a rear opening 34h
alosed by a gate 42 wott.titad for pivotal movement about a
hirnge axis 44. Walls 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d, 34s, and 34g have
a flat configuratfon and hottom wall 34f has a downwardly
bowed configurati.on. Gate 42 includes sS.de wa?.ls 42a and
a bowed main body poztion 42b.
Shredder 36 is positioned on body stz-ucture top
wall 34a and includes a rectangular box or bin 36a defin3.ng
a bottom ctiecharge opening 36b aligned with an opening 34i
in body etructure forward top wa1-.1 34a. Shredder 36
further includes a nydraulia motor 45 driving para].Ie2
CA 02162175 2004-04-05
.. g ~,
shradder schafts 46 through a geaae mEchanism 47. Fach shaft
carries a plurality of rotary shearing blades 48 hatirixig
teeth 48a. The shafts are cdunter rotated so that the
shearing blades 48 are also counter rotated as seen by the
arrows in Figure 4. Box 36a defir3es an open top 36c so
that material may be fed into the box from above for
shredding by the counter rotating blades 48, Ska.x'gdder 36
may take various fozzs and may, for example, comprise a
a shredder sold as Model No. 4428 by IMAC Corporation of Grand
Prairie, Texas under the trade-mark'SATIIRN. Shredder 36 also
desirably includes a lid 49 mounted on box 36a for move}xaent
between the i],lustrated open position and a closed posxtion
closing the apened top of the box 36a. The lid is moved
between its open and closed positiprir. by a hydraulic
cylinder 50 secured to'a side faca of box 36a.
Compactor 38 is pasitioned within body structure
34 and has a tranaveram cross-sectional configuration
generally corresponding to the cross-sectional
configuration of the body structure. 6pccifa.call.y,
compactor 38 inc].udes a flat front wall 38a, a bowed bottom
wall 38b corresponding in configuration to the.bowed bottom
wall 34f of "t,txe body staructure; a top wall 38c: flat side
wa13.s 38d mounted ior sliding engagement with body
structure side walls 34d, 34e; and a rear surface including
a flat low4br rear surface 38e and an arcuate upper rear
auu-face 38f eactr.T-ding from the top edge of loweX surface
38e in au,rvilinear fashion to the rear edge ot the top wall
38c. Contpactor 3$c is movable linearly within body
structure aa in stroking fashion by a hydraulic cylinder 48
positioned between the front wall 34g of the body structure
CA 02162175 2004-04-05
- s -
xLrid the compactor and havir-g a multiple cylinder telescop'ic
configuration so that the cylinder tay expand to tnariy times
its stotiaed configuratio.n so as to enable the cylinder to
rRove the compactor from the extxexne forward position seen
in solid lines in Figure 3 to the extreme rearward
position, proscimat-$ the rear opening 34h of the body
structure, seen in dash lines in Figure 3.
convoyor asse7ubly 40 is a thxee-part campound
agsembly including a chain conveyor '=50, a split belt
conveyor 52, and a tail conveyor 54_
Chain conveyor 5D includes a pair of rigidly
a,xtterconrxected = beam members 56 rotationally supporting a
sprocket 58 at their 2owex ends and a sprocket 61 at their
upper ends, and a chain 60 trained around sprockets 58 and
61 artid including spaced hooks 62. Seaats 56 are pivoted to
body structua~a 34 -at 63 and a hydraulic oylinder 64
positioned beneath the body struct.ure f,ncludes a piston rod
66 erigaging the lower end of, bearns 56 and opa7Cative when
acttsated to inove the chain conveyor 50 from the stored
dotted line position of Piqttre 4 p7rexirnate the side wall
34e of the body-.structure and an extended operative
position, seen in solid lines in Figure 4, in which the
lower end of the chain conveyor has beern pivQtsd outwardly
about the pivot axis 62. Chain conveyor 50 Xs powered by
a hydraulic motor 68 driving a shaft 70 which is drivingly
aorsreectad to the upper sprooket 61.
Split belt conveyor 52 inalu.des a pair of rollers
72 drivingly mou.rnted on shaft 70 on opposite sides of chain
cnnveyor 50, a pair of forward rollers 74 drivingly
connected, to a drive shagt 76 jovtx-nalled at its opposite
WO 94/25168 2162175 PCT/CA94/00250
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ends in side plates 78, and a pair of belts 80 trained
around a respective pair of rollers 72, 74. Motor 68 is
secured to the outboard face of one of the side plates 78
so that actuation of the motor upon receipt of a supply of
pressurized hydraulic fluid powers chain conveyor 50 via
sprocket 60 and powers split belt conveyor 52 via rollers
72.
Tail conveyor 54 includes a roller 82 drivingly
secured to shaft 76, a free end roller 84 suitably
connected to roller 82 by frame means (not shown) and a
belt 86 trained around rollers 82 and 84. Tail conveyor 54
is also driven by hydraulic motor 68", via rollers 72, belts
80, rollers 74, shaft 76, and roller 82. A hydraulic
cylinder 88 (shown diagrammatically in phantom in Figure 4)
interconnects the upper end of chain conveyor 50 and an
intermediate location on split belt conveyor 52 and a
further hydraulic cylinder 90 (also shown diagrammatically
in phantom in Figure 4) interconnects split belt conveyor
52 and tail conveyor 54.
Tail conveyor 54 is movable between a dash line
stowed position seen in Figure 4 to the solid line
operative position seen in Figure 4 by actuation of
cylinder 64 to move the bottom of the chain conveyor
outwardly; actuation of cylinder 88 to pivot twin belt
conveyor 52 upwardly about the upper end of the chain
conveyor; and actuation of cylinder 90 to pivot the tail
conveyor 54 clockwise relative to the outboard end of the
split belt 52. The combined action of the cylinders 64,
88, and 90 positions the lower end of the chain conveyor
proximate the support surface 92 of the vehicle in spaced
WO 94/25168 2162175 PCT/CA94/00250
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relation to the side wall of the vehicle and positions the
delivery end 54a of =the tail conveyor 54 in overlying
relation to the blades 48 of the shredder.
Hydraulic system 14 includes a main pump 94
positioned forwardly of the cab of the vehicle and driven
directly from the crank shaft of engine 26; hydraulic motor
45 driving the shredder; a hydraulic reservoir or tank 96
positioned beneath the body structure of the vehicle; and
a valve 97.
Hydraulic system 14 further includes a further
pump 98 driven by the transmission 30 of the vehicle; the
conveyor motor. 68; a reservoir or tank 100 positioned
beneath the vehicle body structure; and a valve 102.
Control system 16 includes a control panel 104
positioned on the curb side of the truck forwardly of the
conveyor assembly with a plurality of control buttons for
controlling the various operations of the invention truck.
Specifically, control panel 104 includes a control button
122 controlling the opening of the lid 49; a control button
124 controlling the closing of the lid 49; a control button
126 controlling the extension of the conveyor assembly 50;
a control button 128 controlling the retraction of the
conveyor assembly 50; a control button 129 controlling
power to the conveyor assembly; a control button 130
= 25 constituting an ON/OFF switch for the shredder 36; a
control button 132 controlling the extension of the
compactor 38; a control button 134 controlling the
retraction of the compactor 138; a control button 136
operative to open the rear door 42; a control button 138
WO 94/25168 216 217 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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operative to close the rear door 42; and an emergency
system shutoff button 140.
Control button 122 is operative when actuated to
apply pressurized fluid to hydraulic cylinder 50 in a sense
to retract or open the lid 49; control button 124 is
operative when actuated to actuate cylinder 50 in a sense
to return the lid to a position closing the top of the
shredder; control button 126 is operative when actuated to
energize cylinders 64, 88, and 90 in a sense to move the
conveyor system 50 from the retracted, stored dash line
position of Figure 4 to the solid line extended or
operative position of Figure 4 in which the discharge end
54a of tail conveyor 54 is positioned over the shredder
blades 48; control button 128 is operative when actuated to
energize cylinders 64, 88, and 90 in a sense to return the
conveyor system to its stored dash line position of Figure
4; control button 129 is operative when actuated to
control valve 102 in a sense to deliver pressurized fluid
from pump 98 to motor 68 so as to power the conveyor
assembly and is operative when again actuated to control
valve 102 in a sense to direct pressurized fluid from motor
68 and route the pressurized fluid via a bypass line 143
directly to reservoir 100 so as to shut off power to the
conveyor assembly; control button 130 is operative when
actuated to control valve 97 in a sense to deliver
pressurized fluid from pump 94 to motor 46 so as to power
the shredder and is operative when again actuated to
control valve 97 in a sense to divert pressurized fluid
from motor 46 and route the pressurized fluid via a bypass
line 142 directly to the reservoir 96 so as to shut off
WO 94/25168 21 b 217 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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power to the shredder; control button 132 is operative when
actuated to energize cylinder 48 in a sense to extend the
cylinder and stroke the compactor rearwardly toward the
rear of the body structure; control button 132 is operative
when actuated to energize the cylinder 148 in a sense to
retract the cylinder and retract the compactor to its solid
line position of Figure 3; control button 136 is operative
when actuated to actuate a hydraulic cylinder 141 in a
sense move the door 42 to an open position; control button
138 is operative when actuated to energize cylinder 141 in
a sense to move the rear door 42 to a closed position; and
control button=140 is operative when actuated to shut off
all power to the system in the event of a jam or other
emergency.
In operation, the truck is driven by the operator
to a retail sales outlet for motor vehicle tires where the
used tires, accumulated at the retail sales outlet since
the last visit of the truck, are collected, shredded, and
stored in the storage chamber.
A cart 144 may be utilized to facilitate the
storage of the used tires 145 at the retail outlet and to
facilitate the loading of the tires onto the conveyor
system 50. Specifically, cart 144 may comprise a pair of
partitions 144a, 144b arranged at right angles to each
other and upstanding from the bed 144c of the cart to
divide the cart into four areas on each of which a
plurality of tires (for example, five) can be stacked.
Upon the arrival of the motor truck at the retail
site, the truck is parked with the engine idling so as to
continuously drive pumps 94 and 98; the cart 142 is wheeled
WO 94/25168 216 217 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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to a location proximate the conveyor assembly 50; control
button 122 is actuated to move the lid 49 to an open
position; control button 126 is actuated to move the
conveyor assembly 50 to its extended operative position;
control button 129 is actuated to deliver pressurized fluid
from pump 98 to motor 68 to power the conveyor assembly;
control button 130 is actuated to deliver pressurized fluid
from pump 94 to motor 45 to power the shredder; the vehicle
operator places a tire 145 on each hook 62 as the chain
conveyor 56 moves in the direction of the arrows in Figures
4 and 6; the tires 145 are carried upwardly by chain
conveyor 56, picked up by split belt conveyor 52 for
delivery to tail conveyor 54, and discharged by tail
conveyor 54 into the open top 36c of the shredder box 36a;
and the tires falling downwardly into the open top of the
shredder box 36a pass between the counter rotating shredder
blades 48 where they are shredded by shredder blade teeth
48a to produce a plurality of tire shreds or fragments 145a
which pass through aligned openings 36b and 34a for
downward discharge into the storage chamber 35 defined by
body structure 34 at a location above and immediately
rearwardly of compactor 38.
After all of the tires 145 at the retail sales
outlet have been loaded onto the conveyor system and
shredded by the shredder, control button 130 is again =
actuated to divert pressurized fluid from hydraulic motor
45 and turn off the shredder whereafter control button 132
is actuated to energize hydraulic cyylinder 48 in a sense to
extend the compactor 38 and move the tire shreds 144a
rearwardly within storage chamber 35; control button 134 is
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actuated to energize the hydraulic cylinder 48 in a sense
to retract the compactor and return the compactor to its
solid line position seen in Figure 3; control button 124 is
actuated to move the lid 49 to its closed position; control
button 129 is actuated to shut off power to the conveyor
assembly; and control button 128 is actuated to return the
conveyor assembly to its stored position.
The truck is now ready to be driven to another
retail tire sales outlet where more tires 145 will be
shredded and moved into the storage chamber. This process
is continued until the storage chamber has been filled with
tire shreds, 'whereafter the truck will return to a
recycling or processing facility where the shredded
contents of the truck are discharged. Specifically, upon
arrival at the processing or recycling facility, control
button 136 is actuated to open the rear door; control
button 132 is actuated to extend the compactor and move the
compactor from the solid line position of Figure 3 to the
dash line position of Figure 3 and discharge all of the
shredded tire contents from the vehicle onto a suitable
surface or into a suitable container; control button 134 is
actuated to return the compactor to its solid line position
of Figure 3; and control button 138 is actuated to return
the rear door 42 to its closed position.
The truck is now ready to resume the task of
picking up used tires at a prescheduled series of retail
tire outlets until the storage chamber has again been
filled with tire shreds whereafter the truck will again
return to the processing or recycling center to discharge
its shredded contents.
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It will be understood that the extent to which
compactor 38 is moved rearwardly upon actuation of control
button 132 will depend upon the amount of tire shreds
already in the storage chamber. Specifically, the
hydraulic system supplying pressurized hydraulic fluid to
cylinder 48 includes a pressure sensor which shuts off the
delivery of pressurized fluid to the cylinder 48 after a
predetermined hydraulic fluid pressure is sensed
corresponding to a predetermined resistance being
encountered by the rearwardly moving compactor. It will
further be understood that the rearward stroke or movement
of the compactor will be less and less as the storage
chamber becomes more and more filled with tire shreds until
a situation is reached in which literally no rearward
movement of the compactor is possible because of the stored
tire shreds. As a further precaution to guard against
overloading the storage chamber and overstressing the
compactor, a photoelectric eye 150 is provided in the body
structure immediately beneath the discharge opening of the
shredder. When the beam of the photoelectric eye 150
senses that the tire shreds have reached a level
corresponding to the level of the beam, the beam disables
the shredder and the compactor so as to preclude the
delivery of further tire shreds to the storage chamber with
consequent overloading of the compactor. The concave,
curvilinear rearward surface 38e of the compactor has the
effect of moving tire shreds rearwardly and simultaneously
upwardly as the compactor moves rearwardly so as to ensure
that the entire storage chamber 35 is filled with tire
shreds.
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Shredder 36 also desirably further includes a
spray nozzle 152 positioned to discharge water downwardly
into the area between the counter rotating blades 48 as the
blades are rotating to shred tires 145. The water from
nozzle 152 has the effect of cooling and lubricating the
tire shreds 145a. It will be understood that a water tank
and water pump (not shown) will also be provided to provide
a supply of pressurized water to the nozzle 152.
The truck further includes a further
photoelectric eye 154 positioned on the conveyor assembly
and operative to count each tire as the tire is loaded onto
the truck. Fo'r example, and as best seen in Figure 6, a
photoelectric eye 154 may be provided on split belt
conveyor 52 where it senses the passage of=each tire 145
between the elements of the photoelectric eye. The passage
of each tire is arranged to be digitally read out on a
suitable instrument in the cab 18 of the truck and a record
of each tire loaded onto the truck is entered into a
suitable memory device positioned in the cab of the truck.
The truck further desirably includes a mobile fax which
enables the operator to fax a bill of lading at the end of
each pickup to the processing or recycling center where the
information on the fax is recorded for each pickup made by
the truck so that, when the truck eventually arrives at the
processing or recycling center with a full load of shredded
tires, the center is already aware of the number of tires
on the truck and the pounds of rubber on the truck
generated by the shredded tires. To ensure against theft
on the part of the driver, the truck desirably is weighed
in as it arrives at the processing or recycling center to
WO 94/25168 21 b 217 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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ensure that all of the tires that have been loaded onto the
truck are accounted for. The truck also desirably includes
a mobile telephone to facilitate communication between the
driver and the processing center so that the operator may
follow either a preselected route of retail sales outlets
or may receive directions for a new retail sales outlet
after each pick up.
Preferably the shredder also includes an overload
sensing device which, in the event of jamming of the
shredder due to an overload condition or due to the
inadvertent loading of foreign objects into the shredder,
shuts down the'shredder, and also shuts down the conveyor
assembly to preclude the delivery of more tires to the
shredder until such time as the shredder has been cleared.
The floor 34f of the body structure preferably
has a slight slope downwardly toward the front of the body
structure so that water from the spray nozzle 152, as well
as stagnant water collected in the tires, collects on the
floor toward the front end of the body structure where it
may be conveniently discharged, for example into a sewage
drain, through a discharge drain opening 156.
Upon arrival of the truck at the recycling
center, the tire shreds 145a are discharged from the truck
and delivered to a processor 160 where the tire shreds are
reduced to a rubber crumb material 162. This rubber crumb
material 162 is in turn fed to a further processing
apparatus 164 where the rubber crumb is mixed with recycled
plastic material to form a resin compound of rubber and
plastic in the form of pellets 166. The rubber/plastic
resin compound pellets 166 provide a feed stock that has
WO 94/25168 216 217 5 PCT/CA94/00250
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rnany applications in the production of commercial products.
For example, the pellets 166 may be used in the formation
of asphalt pavement mixtures, in the formation of asphalt
emulsion/sealants, or in the formation of asphalt roofing
products.
Although the invention motor truck has been
described in association with processing rubber motor
vehicle tires, the invention motor truck has usefulness
wherever it is desired to process any type of solid waste
material. For example, the invention motor truck may be
utilized to process plastic waste in the form of plastic
bottles. In this application, the conveyor assembly 50
would be modified to specifically handle pickup and
delivery of plastic bottles to the shredder 36. The
handling of plastic bottles might be accomplished by the
provision of a separate conveyor system on the roadside of
the truck, opposite the conveyor system for picking up
tires, which would operate to deliver plastic bottles to
the shredder. Whereas the same motor truck might have a
curbside conveyor system for handling rubber tires and a
roadside conveyor system for handling plastic bottles, more
typically the motor truck would have one conveyor system or
the other.
The invention motor truck will be seen to have
many important advantages. Specifically, the motor truck
provides a viable alternative to the present system of
disposing of rubber tires where the tires are typically
collected from the retail sales sites and hauled to dump
sites where they create an eyesore, a fire hazard, and an
environmentally offensive condition. The present invention
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allows the scrap tires to be efficiently collected and
taken to a recycling center where they are reduced to
rubber crumb which may be further combined with scrap
plastic to form a resin/plastic compound. The invention
motor truck, and the invention methodology, thereby serve
to simultaneously eliminate an environmental problem and
simultaneously produce a commercially usable product.
Yet more specifically, the invention motor truck,
by allowing the shredding of the scrap tires at each retail
site, allows a given vehicle to collect a far greater
amount of scrap rubber than is possible utilizing
conventional trucks, thereby adding considerably to the
efficiency of the collection process. The invention motor
truck and methodology further provide a convenient and
efficient means of collecting and processing any type of
solid waste material.
Whereas a preferred embodiment of the invention
= has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be
apparent that various changes may be made in the disclosed
embodiment without departing from the scope or spirit of
the invention.
