Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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UNIVERSAL MATERIAL COMPRESSION AND CONTAINMENT SYSTEM
SPECIFICATION
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a novel device in the general field of hydraulic
presses and more
specifically to a versatile mechanical compacting system which efficiently
compresses a
multiplicity of waste and recycled materials and then provides a method and
apparatus to
efficiently collect and contain said materials for storage and/or shipping.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hydraulic compacting machines are often made for a specific purpose and a
unique material to be
compacted, so that their design & operation produces an optimal compaction of
that material.
Often this specificity is a limiting factor when a variety of materials need
to be compacted.
Purpose build compactors are also often designed to perform several functions
at once, specific
to the material compacted, such as the use of a screw conveyor to move
material into the
compacting chamber, where simpler methods would suffice in order to permit
more versatility.
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Another example is where the compacting machine must pre-shred material, which
then
precludes the use of the machine for other materials which cannot be shredded.
A simpler, yet
versatile method of compressing a multiplicity of materials, whether they are
cohesive or
non-cohesive is needed.
Another problem is what to do with the resulting compacted materials when they
need to be
stored, shipped, etc. to prevent their coming apart in transit and
contaminating a storage area. The
common method of containing compressed fibrous material is by circumferencial
banding, such
as with bales of hay, or similar. When less cohesive materials are compacted
however, an
operator must remove each compressed unit and bag it separately to prevent its
dissolution. A
means to contain the resultant compacted material is needed, as well as an
efficient means to
perform the containment process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Note: For purposes of brevity, the disclosed Universal Material Compression
and Containment
System may be abbreviated as a Compression System, or simply as a Compactor or
a Press, but
throughout this document the full concept of a universal material compression
and containment
system is implied by the use of those terms.
The disclosed invention is designed to provide a versatile hydraulic press
system that is capable
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of compressing a wide variety of materials, including a multiplicity of refuse
or recycled
materials, and to provide an efficient means to collect and contain the
resultant compressed
materials. Cohesive materials are compressed into rectangular blocks which are
then expelled
into containment bags, while non-cohesive materials are directly compressed
into containment
bags.
The advantages of such a system over the prior art include the versatility of
the press due to its
ability to compress a multiplicity of materials including, but not limited to:
Manure, Hog fuel,
Cedar bark mulch, Wood chips, Aluminum cans, Steel cans, Plastic bottles,
Decorative rock, Pea
gravel, Sand, Small cardboard containers, Top Soil, Glass bottles, Rigid Foam
Insulation, etc.
Also, the ability to contain the compressed materials efficiently allows the
operator to process
and store a wide variety of materials in a short time. Because the compression
system is portable,
the unit can be brought to a location for on-site waste processing and
containment, such as at a
construction site, landscaping project, road construction site, etc, then used
at a different site the
next day. Because the compression system is scalable, larger or smaller units
can be
manufactured, with a proposed large compression system being capable of
creating and ejecting
square blocks of compressed material five feet on a side. The system is very
useful for preparing
sandbags rapidly for use in flood control. The system is self-contained and
can be of a portable
size that can be tow with wheels on its legs or on a utility trailer.
The system essentially comprises a press piston having a piston rod on which
is mounted a
compression plate that is pressable into a compression chamber enclosure fed
by a materials
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hopper, the compression chamber enclosure being formed by at least one
sidewall and an
extrusion port gate plate retractably positioned by a gateway piston mounted
on a gateway
siderail at an angle - a perpendicular angle would suit most materials -- to
the press piston.
In a preferred embodiment:
a) the compression chamber enclosure comprises a pair of side walls separated
by a roof panel
and a bottom floor;
b) the press table forms a bottom floor for the compression chamber enclosure;
c) the compression piston is hydraulically driven by a motor, compressor and
lines for
transmitting hydraulic fluid to and from the compression piston;
d) the gateway piston is hydraulically driven by a motor, compressor and lines
for transmitting
hydraulic fluid to and from the gateway piston;
e) a compression piston backstop is positioned sufficiently close to the
compression chamber
enclosure to keep the compression piston's compression plate within the
compression chamber
enclosure, but far enough from the compression chamber enclosure to enable the
compression
plate to be withdrawn from the compression chamber to clear a path, from a
compression
chamber feeder throat that affixed to and below the materials hopper, into the
compression
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chamber.
It is useful to have a slight pivoting movement possible for the compression
plate and the gate
plate, in order to prevent jarring and jamming of those pieces in the
compression chamber
enclosure. This can be accomplished where:
a) the press rod is attached to the compression plate by means of a press rod
anchor pin extending
through an end portion of the piston rod and through a pair of press rod
anchor pin holes
respectively through a pair of compression plate mount side walls that are
affixed perpendicular
to the compression plate;
b) a gateway top anchor pin through a gateway top mount at a top of the
gateway siderail and a
gateway piston anchor pin through a gateway mid mount at a midpoint of the
gateway siderail
fixes the gateway piston in a position parallel to the gateway siderail, a
sufficient distance from
the press table such that a gateway piston rod can withdraw the gate plate
from an extrusion port
gateway and let compressed material be pushed from the system by the
compression plate;
c) the gate plate is attached to a gateway piston rod by means of a gateway
anchor pin extending
through gateway anchor pin holes respectively through a pair of gate plate
flanges.
Useful enhancements include:
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a) the materials hopper having an agitator inside a hopper feeder throat,
operable with an agitator
handle outside the hopper feeder throat;
b) the system being mounted on a press table frame with table support legs;
c) a containment platform extending from the press table to receive compressed
packets of
material;
d) a compression chamber extrusion port on the compression chamber enclosure
being fitted with
a bag clamp for holding open a compressed materials bag in receiving position
for compressed
material that is pushed by the compression plate from the compresssion chamber
enclosure.
Two-way hydraulic control valves with control levers, respectively for the
compression piston
subsystem and the extrusion port gateway subsystem, enable an operator to open
the gate piston
to allow materials from the material hopper to enter a compression chamber,
close the press
piston to compress the material against a gate forming a back to the
compression chamber, open
the gate piston to allow material to be pushed by the compression plate
through an extrusion port
gateway from which the gate piston has withdrawn a gate plate, and close the
gate piston for a
next cycle of compressing and containing of material.
The invention thus provides a scalable, self-contained system comprising a
horizontal hydraulic
piston compressor that is fed by a material hopper, that compresses material
by means of a
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compression plate against a retractable gate, and that pushes the compressed
material through an
extrusion port gateway, upon retraction of the retractable gate by means of a
hydraulic piston
gateway subsystem, and into a containment holder such as a bag.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
All elements of the disclosed invention will now be introduced by reference to
the figures listed
below.
FIG 1. introduces the Universal Material Compression & Containment System 10
with a side
view of its elements affixed to a long narrow steel press table 12 which is
held up by its table
supports 14. A hydraulic tank 16 is attached to one side of the press table 12
by means of tank
supports 18. On top of the hydraulic tank 16 is a fill cap 22, and on its
facing side is a hydraulic
gauge 24 which displays the capacity of the hydraulic tank 16 to the operator
of the press 10. An
external fuel tank 20 with its fill cap 22 is shown affixed to the top rear
end of the press 10,
behind the piston backstop 26. The piston backstop 26 anchors the rear end of
the press piston 28
to the press table 12, the body of which enters the piston end of the
compression enclosure 38 as
shown. The compression assembly 36 (shown by dashed lines) moves back and
forth within the
compression enclosure 38 as the press piston 28 extends or retracts the press
rod 30, as shown in
detail in Fig. 3, The top plate 84 of the compression assembly 36 can be seen
protruding from the
piston end of the compression enclosure 38. Materials are dropped into the
open top end of the
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hopper 42, which narrows to the throat 44 which directs the material into the
compression
chamber 40. To prevent materials clogging the throat 44 of the hopper 42, an
agitator 46 can be
rotated by means of its handle 48. The agitator 46 is a rotating rod spanning
the length of one
side of the throat 44 with a narrow flat steel plate is affixed to the central
axis of this rod. The
handle 48 attached to the agitator 44 is then rotated and by this action the
plate dislodges any
materials prevented from entering the throat 44 and compression chamber 40.
Compressed
blocks 112 are formed within the compression chamber 40, and expelled through
the gateway 74
into a containment bag 114 which is held in place by the gate 110 pushing onto
the top of a large
containment frame 96 which is seated into a gateway recess 78. (See Fig. 4 for
details) The gate
110 moves up and down in the gateway guiderail 76 by means of the attached
gateway piston 64
and gateway rod 66. When the gate 110 is up, the inner sides of the gateway
guiderail 76 forms
the gateway 74, through which the compressed blocks 112 are pushed onto the
containment
platform 80 until they reach its end plate 82. The gateway guiderail 76 wraps
around the gateway
siderail 54 which forms the support structure of the gateway assembly 116 (see
Fig. 3 description
below) by connecting to the front lip of the hopper 42 to the gateway top 56,
this structure
supports the piston 64 which controls the gate 110. The gateway piston 64 is
anchored to the
gateway top 56 by means of the gateway piston anchor 60. The gateway rod 66 is
anchored to the
gate by means of the gateway rod anchor. Also shown affixed to the lever shelf
52 on one side of
the press table 12 are the hydraulic control levers 50 used to operate each
piston and the
associated hydraulic control valves 124 that perform this control function.
FIG 2. shows a top view of the compression enclosure 38 and a top cutaway view
of the gate 110
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held within the lower gateway guiderails 76 which also wrap around the gateway
siderails 54.
When the gate 110 is up, the gateway 74 is open and able to expel compressed
material or
compress material into containment bags 114. Also shown is the top view of the
throat 44 into
which material is funneled by the hopper 42 (shown in Fig. 1) and down into
the compression
chamber 40 where it is to be compressed. In cases where the material is not
passing into the
compression chamber 40 easily, one may rotate the agitator 46 by its handle 48
to free the
blockage.
FIG 3. shows a side closeup cutaway view of the compression enclosure 38 with
its compression
assembly 36 (see inset Fig. 3a) and also a partial cutaway side view of the
gateway assembly 116.
The compression assembly 36 is comprised of a top plate 84, a bottom plate 86,
a side plate 88
and a compression plate 92. The press piston and press rod 30 is affixed to
the compression
assembly 36 by means of a press rod anchor pin 34 passing through the press
rod anchor hole 32
into the end of the press rod 30 (not shown). The compression assembly 36 is
shown in its
retracted position in order to allow material to pass through the throat 44,
and into the
compression chamber 40. The gateway assembly 116 is comprised of two parallel
vertical
siderails 76, connected by a top 56 member, and this structure supports a
gateway piston anchor
60, gateway piston 64, rod 66, and rod anchor 68, together which controls the
position of the gate
1 10 which slides within the gateway guiderails 76, and bottoms into the
gateway recess 78.
Fig 4. shows a facing view of the gateway assembly 116 with a large
containment frame 96
clamped into an open gateway 74 by means of the gate 110 as shown and affixed
to the press
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table 12. The large containment frame 96 is prevented from horizontal movement
by means of
securement pins 102 which protrude down from the bottom of the gate 110, and
up from the
gateway recess 78. These securement pins 102 pass through the securement holes
100 in the large
containment frame 96 to prevent its horizontal movement, and also to secure
the containment bag
114 for filling. Also shown is a more detailed view of the elements of the
gateway assembly 116,
including the gateway top 56, siderails 54, guiderails 76, gateway 74, and an
end view of the
compression plate 92. Within the gateway siderails 54, affixed to, and hanging
from the bottom
of the gateway top 56 is successively, the gateway top anchor 58, gateway
piston anchor 60,
gateway piston anchor pin 62, gateway piston 64, gateway rod 66, gate anchor
70, gate anchor
pin 72 and finally the gate 110.
FIG 5. shows a facing view of the gateway assembly 116 similar to that shown
in Fig. 4, but with
its gate 110 in the closed position due to the extended gateway piston 64.
This closed position
allows the press 10 to compress materials against the inside of the gate 110.
FIG 6a. shows a side view of a large containment frame 96 with its securement
holes 100. FIG
6b. shows a facing cutaway view of the large containment frame 96 with the
same securement
holes 100. Securement holes 100 are found in all sides of the large frame as
shown.
FIG 7a. shows a side view of a small containment frame 98 with its securement
holes 100,
extrusion port 118 and slot 106 for the small bag clamp 104. Securement holes
100 are found in
all sides of the small frame as shown in Fig. 6b. FIG 7b. shows a facing view
of the small
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containment frame 98 with its extrusion port 118. FIG 7c. shows a side view of
the small bag
clamp 104 with its handle 108.
FIG 8. shows a top view of the Compression System 10 including additional
elements not visible
in Fig.l such as the motor 120, hydraulic pump 122, and their connecting
rotary coupling 134.
All other elements and assemblies shown have been itemized previously. Only
the first section of
the press piston 28 has been shown here, and the hopper 42 is absent for
clarity.
FIG 9. shows a functional schematic of the hydraulic and other elements used
by the Universal
Material Compression & Containment System 10 in order to operate the two
pistons. The motor
120 can be operated by means of fuel from the fuel tank 20 through the fuel
line 128, and/or by
means of a power source 130 from the power line 132. The motor 120 turns the
pump 122 by
means of a rotary coupling 134, and the pump 122 operates the hydraulic system
by means of
hydraulic fluid supplied by the hydraulic tank 16 through hydraulic lines 126
and controlled by
means of two way control valves 124, which allow the operator to use the
control levers 50
(shown in Figs. 1 & 8) to open or close the gate piston 64 and the press
piston 28.
The functions of each element and how they interact with each other element of
the preferred
embodiment will now be described. In order to understand these functions and
interactions more
clearly, the Compression System 10 has been organized into the following
general categories,
namely Support, Hydraulic, Compression, Gateway, and Containment. Support
elements provide
the structural platform upon which all other elements are attached. Hydraulic
elements are
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comprised of a hydraulic pressure system and its auxiliary elements.
Compression elements
provide the necessary press apparatus to perform one of the core functions of
this invention.
Gateway elements are an integral part of the compression system 10, and
finally, the
Containment elements make it possible to secure and contain the compressed
materials ejected
from the press. Relevant elements of each category will now be described in
detail below.
Support elements include the press table 12, table supports 14, (hydraulic)
tank support 18, lever
shelf 52, gateway siderail 54, gateway top 56, containment platform 80, and
its end plate 82. The
press table 12 is the structural platform onto which all elements of the
Compression System 10
are attached, and is raised and supported to a useful operational height by
means of table supports
14. These supports 14 may be permanently fixed to the underside of the table
12. or may be
foldable for transport. Structural supports for elements in the hydraulic
category include the
(hydraulic) tank supports, in this case hollow rectangular steel bars, affixed
by welding to the
side of the press table, as well as unlabelled structural supports for both
motor 120 and hydraulic
pump 122 (usually a part of said elements), the lever shelf 52 which supports
the hydraulic
control levers 50 and control valves 124, and the piston backstop 26. Support
elements for the
gateway assembly 116 include the gateway siderail 54 and gateway top 56.
Support elements for
the containment system include the containment platform 80 and its end plate
82 which provide
the means to inject compressed material into a containment bag 114 anchored to
the gateway 74
by means of a containment frame.
Hydraulic elements include the hydraulic tank 16, its fill cap 22, and
hydraulic gauge 24, the
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press piston 28 and piston rod 30, the hydraulic control levers 50 and their
control valves 124,
the hydraulic pump 122 and all hydraulic fluid lines 126. The hydraulic tank
16 is a rectangular
steel tank or reservior that holds hydraulic fluid, the level of which maybe
monitored by means of
the hydraulic gauge 24 on its side. This tank 16 is the fluid reservior used
with the hydraulic
pump 122 to provide pressure for the operation of both the primary press
piston 28, and the
secondary gateway piston 64 by means of the hydraulic fluid lines 126. Control
of this pressure is
by means of two way hydraulic control valves 124, and their actuating control
levers 50.
Auxiliary elements necessary for operation of the hydraulic system are
described below.
Auxiliary hydraulic elements include the fuel tank 20, fill cap 22, fuel line
128, motor 120,
power source 130, power line 132, and rotary coupling 134. For the hydraulic
system to maintain
the necessary pressure to operate both pistons, the hydraulic pump 122 must be
rotating. Fig. 8
shows a motor 120 connected to the pump 122 by means of a rotary coupling 134,
and that motor
is supplied with fuel by means of its fuel line 128 from the fuel tank 20
attached nearby. An
alternate means of driving the motor 120, and therefore the hydraulic pump
122, is to use a
power source 130 by way of a power line 132. (See Fig. 9)
Compression elements include the compression enclosure 38 and its associated
elements, and the
compression assembly 36 with its associated elements. The compression
enclosure 38 is a long
rectangular steel box open at both ends; the rear end is where the press
piston 28 enters and
where the press rod 30 attaches to the compression assembly 36, and the front
end attaches to the
gateway assembly 116. The compression enclosure 38 includes a rectangular
opening
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approximately midway along its top, which is where material enters the
compression chamber 40
by means of the throat 44 as directed by the hopper 42, and as encouraged by
means of the
agitator 46 when necessary. The compression assembly 36 is an assembly of
rectangular steel
plates affixed together by welding, bolting or similar means, and is comprised
of the top plate 84,
bottom plate 86, side plates 88, and compression plate 92. The compression
assembly 36 is
attached to the press rod anchor hole 32 of the press rod 30 by means of a
press rod anchor pin 34
inserted through the anchor pin holes 90 of both side plates 88. An additional
element related to
the smooth reciprocation of the compression assembly 36 is the use of low-
friction wear strips
adhesively applied to the side plates 88 and bottom plates 86.
Gateway elements comprising the gateway assembly 116, starting from the top,
include the
gateway top anchor 58 which connects the following elements to the top of the
gateway support
structure, the gateway piston anchor 60, gateway piston anchor pin 62, the
gateway piston 64,
gateway rod 66, gateway rod anchor 68, gate anchor 70, gate anchor pin 72, the
gate 110, the
gateway recess 78. As shown in Figs 1,3,4, & 5, the gate 110 moves up and down
within the
gateway guiderails 76, and when the gate is up, creates the boundary of the
gateway 74, which is
the opening through which the compressed material is ejected for containment.
Containment elements include the large containment frame 96 which secures
larger containment
bags 114 around said frame by means of securement pins 102 in the bottom of
the gate 110
passing through securement holes 100 on all sides of the frame, as well as
pins 102 in the bottom
of the gateway recess 78, as shown in Figs. I & 4. The small containment frame
98 is secured in
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a similar fashion within the gateway 74, and employs smaller diameter
containment bags 114
which are secured to this frame by means of the small bag clamp 104 clamping
over the end
material of the bag 114 by fitting into the small bag clamp slot 106. By this
means material
passes through the extrusion port 118 into said bag 114. When compressing non-
cohesive
materials, the narrowing sides of the small containment frame 98 funnels the
material through the
extrusion port 118.
When compressing cohesive materials such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles,
small cardboard
containers, rigid foam insulation and glass bottles, etc., the operator
activates the appropriate
hydraulic control lever 50 to pressurize the gateway piston 64, thereby
sliding the gateway 74
down into the gateway recess 78. The press piston 28 should now be retracted
so that materials
entering the compression chamber 40 are not blocked by the top plate 84 of the
compression
assembly 36. Materials are dumped into the top of the hopper 42, which funnels
them down
through the throat 44 into the compression chamber 40, and the agitator may be
used to ensure
the chamber is at full capacity by removing stoppages. The press piston 28 is
then extended
which causes the compression plate 92 to press the material against the inside
of the gate 110 and
the inside walls of the compression chamber 40, which thereby creates a
compressed rectangular
block 112 of material. The extended length of top plate 84 of the compression
assembly 36
prevents any more material from falling into the compression chamber 40 while
the press piston
28 is moving forward. The press piston 28 is then retracted to release
pressure on the compressed
block 112, and then the gate 110 is raised to open the gateway 74. The press
piston 28 is then
extended to expel the block 112 through the gateway 74, and out onto the
containment platform
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80, or into a frame-secured containment bag 114.
When cohesive materials are to be placed into containment bags 114, usually
the large
containment frame 96 is secured into the gateway 74 by means of the gate 110,
as described
above. As shown in Fig. 1, as each compressed block 112 is formed, it is
expelled into the
containment bag 114, which is supported by the containment platform 80, and
backstopped by its
end plate 82. When the containment bag 114 is full, the gate 110 is raised;
the bag is released
from the frame 96, and tied shut to contain its contents. By this means it has
been observed that
approximately 801b of material can be pressed into 50Lb burlock bags, but the
level of
compression is determined by the compressibility of each unique material.
When compressing non-cohesive materials, such as hog fuel, manure, cedar bark
mulch, wood
chips, decorative rock, pea gravel, sand, and top soil, etc., the gateway 74
secures the small
containment frame 98 as above, to which the smaller containment bag 114 is
secured onto the
end of the frame 98 near its extrusion port 118 by means of the small bag
clamp 104 sliding into
slot 106 provided for this purpose. When non-cohesive materials are placed
into the hopper 42,
the material readily falls down into the open compression chamber 40. By
extending the press
piston 28, the material first compressed against the gate 110, and then is
moved through the
gateway 74 and out into the containment bag 114. This cycle is repeated until
the bag 114 is full,
which is then removed from the extrusion port 118 end of the frame 98, and
tied off.
The preferred materials or equipment used for constructing or employing said
novel device will
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now be described. The motor 120 used in the preferred embodiment is a 31
horsepower Van
Guard engine supplied by a 5 gallon removable fuel tank, while an electric
motor of equivalent
torque output may also be used. A 3<< inch diameter hydraulic ram is used for
the press piston 28,
and a 1 inch ram for the gateway piston 64. A 4500 P.S.I. hydraulic pump 122
pressurizes the
20 gallon hydraulic tank 16, and the system uses 3200 P.S.I. two way control
valves 124. The
structural elements are made of common steel, painted for rust resistance, but
equivalent
materials may be used with similar properties.
Other embodiments of the novel device or variations on specific elements will
now be described.
Other embodiments are not ruled out or similar methods leading to the same
result. The hydraulic
system may be operated by gas or electric or hybrid engines, and may be
powered by battery or
mains voltage. Hydraulic components may be operated by computer controlled
actuators and
these may be regulated by sensors for pressure, temperature, fluid capacities,
etc., in order to
optimize efficient operation. The press 10 may be stationary, i.e. bolted to
the floor, or may be
portable with an axle and trailer hitch, or collapsible for transporting. The
press 10 may be
designed in a variety of sizes in order to efficiently provide the optimal
throughput depending on
the range of materials regularly compressed.
The foregoing description of the preferred apparatus and method of operation
should be
considered as illustrative only, and not limiting. Other manufacturing
techniques and other
materials may be employed towards similar ends. Various changes and
modifications will occur
to those skilled in the art, without departing from the true scope of the
invention as defined in the
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above disclosure, and the following general claims.
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