DEVICE AND METHOD FOR COMPACTING HOLLOW ELEMENTS BY CRUSHING

Abstract

According to the invention hollow elements 100.1 like bottles (100.1a) or cans (100.1b) are not only flattened for stronger compacting and thus optionally also perforated but the generated flattened plate-shaped hollow element (100.2) is crushed additional which increases the thickness of the plate by a small amount but which further reduces overall volume. The crushing is advantageously performed by reduced speed passage through a second roller pair, the crushing roller pair (3a, b) compared to a speed of running through the pressing roller pair (1a, b).

Claims

1. A device for compacting hollow elements (100.1), including bottles made from plastic material or cans made from metal, the device comprising: a) a pressing device (1) for flat pressing and optionally perforating a hollow element (100.1), characterized in that b) a crushing device (3) is arranged in pass through direction (10) downstream of the pressing device (1) for crushing the flattened plate shaped hollow element (100.2) in one of the directions of the main plane of the plate (100.2), in or against the pass through direction (10).

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device includes at least one drive device (6) for driving the pressing device (1) or the crushing device (3), and a control for controlling the at least one drive device (6).

3. The device according to claim 1 characterized in that the pressing device (1) comprises at least one pressing roller (1a) that is drivable to rotate for capturing and pulling a hollow element (100.1) through a pressing slot (2) that is configured between the pressing roller (1a) and a pressing counter element (1b) in the pass through direction (10) which performs the flattening, wherein the pressing counter element (1b), either a particularly fixed pressing support surface (2), or a second rotatable, drivable pressing roller (1b) that rotates counter acting to the first pressing roller (1a).

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the pressing slot (2) has the constant width in the pass through direction (10) in that the widest spot is at the most 20% wider than the narrowest spot, or the rotation axes (1a, 1b) of the pressing rollers (1a, b) are arranged parallel to each other.

5. The device according to claim 1 characterized in that the crushing device (3), comprises at least one crushing roller (3a) that is drivable to rotate for capturing and pulling a flattened hollow element (100.2) through a crushing slot (5) that is formed between the crushing roller (3a) and an opposite crushing element (3b) in the pass-through direction (10), wherein the opposite crushing element (3b), comprises either a fixed crush support surface (5), or a second rotatable crushing roller (3b) that is drivable counter rotating to the first crushing roller (3a).

6. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the crushing slot (5) is arranged in the pass-through direction (10) or positioned so that a flattened hollow element (100.2) that is moved through between the pressing rollers (1a, b) in the pass-through direction reaches into the crushing slot (5) as a matter of principle and is captured by the at least one rotating crushing roller (3a), at least one drive device (6) is provided that is configured to drive at least one crushing roller (3a), with a lower circumferential velocity than the circumferential velocity of the two pressing rollers (1a, b).

7. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the rotation axis (3a) of the first crushing roller (3a), also the rotation axis (3b) of the second crushing roller (3b) is either approximately parallel to or oriented at an angle, in particular at a right angle, to the rotation axes (1a, 1b) of the pressing rollers (1a, b).

8. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the rollers (1a, b, 3a, b) have an operating portion (1.1, 3.1) in a direction of their rotation axes (1a, 1b, 3*a, 3*b) in a center portion and bearing journals (1.2, 3.2) that protrude axially on a face side beyond the operating portion wherein the operating portion (1.1, 3.1) is shorter in its axial direction than a largest extension (100) of the smallest hollow element (100.1b) that is provided for processing.

9. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that, the at least one pressing roller (1a, b) or the at least one crushing roller (3a, b) include teeth (4) that are arranged in the operating portion (1.1, 3.1) distributed over the circumference in a radial direction beyond the base diameter (19) of the roller in the operating portion (1.1, 3.1), and the pressing rollers (1a, b) include teeth (4) within plural axially offset tooth ring portions (14), and the teeth (4) of the first pressing roller (1a) penetrate in the radial direction into the axial offsets between the tooth ring portion (14) of the adjacent pressing roller (1b).

10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that a pass-through distance (9) between the pressing device (1) and the crushing device (3) between the respective tightest spot of the pressing slot (2), between the respectively tightest spot of the pressing slot (2) and of the crushing slot (5), is shorter than a length (100) measured in the pass-through direction (10) of the shortest flattened hollow element (100.2b) intended for processing, shorter than a greatest longitudinal extension (100) of the shortest non-deformed hollow element (100.1b), or at least large enough so that the crushing when processing the longest hollow element (100) in the pass-through direction (10) is not strong enough yet so that stress whitening occurs at bending spots of the crushed hollow element (100.3a) if it is made from a synthetic material, at more than 10% of the bending locations.

11. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that teeth (4.1) of the at least one pressing roller (1a, b) viewed in their axial direction (1a, 1b) have a front flank (4.1a) oriented in the direction of rotation wherein the front flank is oriented radially to the axial direction (1a, 1b) or their free outer end is arranged further forward relative to the inner end in the direction of rotation.

12. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that teeth (4.3) of the at least one crushing roller (3a, b) include a curvature or a bevel (4c) viewed in the circumferential direction at a transition from their outer edges (4b) to their side flanks, or provided circumferential grooves (8) have a curvature or a bevel (4c) between the tooth ring portions (14.1, 14.3) viewed in the circumferential direction at a transition from their groove base to their lateral groove flanks.

13. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that teeth (4.1) of the at least one pressing roller (1a), as a function of a wall thickness of hollow elements (100.1) provided for processing are sized and positioned relative to their other pressing roller (1b) so that at least one wall of the hollow element (100.2), at least both walls are penetrated by the teeth (4.1), cut through when the hollow elements run through the pressing device (1).

14. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that wipers (9) reach into the axial offsets, the circumferential grooves (8) between the tooth-ring portions (14) with their wiper surface (9) approximately tangentially to a circumference of the base element of the roller and against the pass-through direction (10), the wipers (9) of the at least one pressing roller (1a) reach as closely as possible to the crushing device (3), the circumference of the at least one crushing roller (3a), into the axial offsets between the tooth-ring portions (14) of the at least one crushing roller (3a).

15. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that a support slot (12) that is defined by the wiper surfaces (9) of the axially offset wipers (9) and possibly an opposite crush support surface (5) expands in the pass-through direction (10) viewed in the axial direction.

16. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that a blade shaft (17) that is drivable to rotate has a rotation axis (17) approximately parallel to the pressing slot (2), is arranged upstream of the pressing device (1) and opposite to a blade counter-element (23), a feed sliding surface (18), wherein a blade (17a, b) is curved backward with its free end in the rotation direction or configured as a backward curved polygon section viewed in a direction of the rotation axis (17).

17. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that a blade shaft (17) is arranged at an axis offset (22) from the pressing slot (2) and relative to the blade counter-element (23) so that the blades (17a, b) press a hollow element (100.1) that sits on the blade opposite element (18) in a direction towards the pressing slot (2) when the blade shaft (17) is driven into the corresponding direction of rotation.

18. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that a minimum blade distance (24a) between a free end of a blade (17a, b) and the blade counter-element (23) is smaller than a smallest extension (100) of a thinnest and/or smallest hollow element (100.1b) provided for processing, or the largest possible blade distance (24a) between the blade shaft (17) and the opposite blade element (23) is greater than the greatest extension (100) of the thickest and/or greatest hollow element (100.1a) that is provided for the processing.

19. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the blades (17a, b) extend in an axial direction of the blade shaft 17 over at least 60% of a length of the operating portion (1.1) of the at least one pressing roller (1a), or the free trailing edge of the blades (17a, b) includes a serration (25), or the blades (17a, b) have a decreasing bending stiffness towards their free end transversal to their main plane, and each blade (17a, b) viewed in axial direction is supported in its radial extension in its center portion in an opposite direction to the direction or rotation, thus on its backside, by the rear free end of another blade (17b, a) that contacts its backside.

20. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the crushing device (3) includes a stop (13) that is arranged transverse to the pass-through direction (10) in a movement path of the flattened, plate-shaped hollow element (100.2).

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that the stop (13) is movable transverse to the pass-through direction (10) out of the movement path of the flattened, plate-shaped hollow element (100.2), movable in a controlled manner, the stop (13) is force loaded against the pass-through direction by a spring (15) or a brake device (16), or the stop (13) is configured movable in the pass-through direction (10), movable in a controlled manner.

22. A method for compacting hollow elements, in particular bottles made from synthetic material or cans made from metal, the method comprising the steps: flattening a hollow element (100.1), transverse to its largest extension 100.1, characterized in that the flattened, approximately plate-shaped hollow element (100.2) is crushed in one of the directions of the main plane of the plate (100.2), in a direction of the greatest longitudinal direction (100.2) of the flattened hollow element (100.2).

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that crushing the flattened hollow element (100.2) is at least commenced before flattening the hollow element (100.1) is completed, or crushing the flattened hollow element (100.2) is terminated the latest when the flattening of the hollow element (100) is completed.

24. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that flattening the non-deformed hollow element (100.1) is performed by pulling the non-deformed hollow element (100.1) through the pressing slot between at least one pressing roller (1a) that is driven to rotate and the press counter-element (1b), a counter-rotating second pressing roller (1b), or the crushing is performed by braking the front end of the flattened hollow element (100.2) in the pass-through direction (10) compared to its pass-through velocity through the pressing slot (2), by pulling the flattened hollow element (100.2) through a crushing slot (5) downstream of the pressing slot (2), in particular without slippage.

25. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the hollow elements (100.1) to be processed are fed to the pressing slot (2) in a direction of their greatest longitudinal extension (100).

26. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the flattened plate shaped hollow elements (100.2) are fed to the crushing slot (5) in one of the directions of the main plane of the plate (100.2), in a direction of a greatest longitudinal extension (100) of the hollow element (100) in a starting condition.

27. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the device is operated so that a pass-through velocity through the crushing slot (5) is less than half of the pass-through velocity through the pressing slot (2), and the circumferential speed of the at least one crushing roller (3a) during operations of the device is less than half of a circumferential velocity of the at least one pressing roller (1a).

28. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the hollow element (100.1) is conveyed before flattening, conveyed by the blades (17a, b) of a blade shaft (17), and the device is controlled so that a circumferential speed of the blades (17a, b) of the blade shaft (17) during operations has at least twice the size as the pass-through velocity through the pressing slot (2), as the circumferential speed of the at least one pressing roller (1a).

Description

[0119] FIGS. 1a, b illustrate different perspective views of the first embodiment of the compacting device;

[0120] FIG. 2a, b illustrate sectional views through the compacting device of FIGS. 1a, b cut perpendicular to the axis direction of the rollers included therein;

[0121] FIGS. 3a-d illustrate blown-up details in a view that is analogous to FIG. 2 in different operating conditions when processing a hollow element;

[0122] FIG. 3b1 illustrates a blown-up detail of FIG. 3b;

[0123] FIG. 3d1 illustrates an enlarged detail of FIG. 3d.

[0124] FIGS. 4a, b illustrate a crushing roller in a side view and in a face view.

[0125] FIG. 5a, b illustrate a pressing roller in a side view and in a face view.

[0126] FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of a pressing roller and a crushing roller assembled in pass-through direction behind one another and with wipers there between;

[0127] FIG. 7a illustrates a second embodiment of the compacting device cut perpendicular to the axes direction of the pressing roller included therein;

[0128] FIG. 7b illustrates a blown-up detail of FIG. 7a; and

[0129] FIG. 8 illustrates a third embodiment of the compacting device cut orthogonal to an axis orientation of the pressing roller and crushing roller arranged therein.

[0130] The basic configuration of the crushing device can be described best with reference to FIG. 1a, b and FIG. 2.

[0131] As evident from FIG. 2a, b the compacting device comprises: [0132] on the one hand side a pressing device 1 for compressing hollow elements, the pressing device including 2 pressing rollers 1a, b that rotate about parallel rotation axes 1a, 1b wherein the pressing rollers are arranged adjacent to each other rotate in opposite directions and engage one another; [0133] and a crushing device 3 arranged in the flow-through direction 10 downstream of the pressing device 1 and including 2 crushing rollers 3a, b that are arranged adjacent to each other and rotate counter acting about parallel rotation axes 3a, 3b which either also mesh with each other or include a very small crushing slot 5 between each other.

[0134] The pressing rollers 1a, b are driven counter acting in a direction so that they move in the pass through direction 10 and an adjacent circumferential portion. The same applies for the 2 crushing rollers 3a, b.

[0135] The pressing slot 2, thus the passage between the 2 pressing rollers 1a, 1b and the crushing slot 5, thus the passage between the 2 crushing rollers 3a, 3b are advantageously aligned with each other in that the 2 roller pairs have an aligned central perpendicular to the connection line between their respective rotation axes 1a, 1b or 3a, 3b, wherein the connection line represents the pass-through direction 10 and is not oriented precisely vertical in this embodiment but slanted top down.

[0136] In FIG. 2a, b a respective plate-shaped wiper 9 is illustrated at each of the pressing rollers 1a, b wherein a main plane of the wiper is in the drawing plane of FIG. 2a, b wherein several wipers are arranged behind one another in the viewing direction 2 so that they engage the grooves 8 (c.f., FIG. 5a, b), in particular in all grooves 8 and wherein the wiper is retained in position between a respective pressing roller 1a, b and an opposite element in a form-locking manner transversal to the axial direction. The wipers 9 are illustrated, e.g., also in FIG. 3d1 and in FIG. 6.

[0137] A feed device 20 for feeding the hollow elements 100.1a, 100.1b is provided in the pass-through direction 10 upstream of the pressing device 1, wherein the feed device includes a blade sliding surface 23 that extends at a downward slant in a direction towards the pressing slot 2 and a blade shaft 17 that is arranged at a distance to the blade sliding surface 23 wherein a rotation axis 17 of the blade shaft 17 is also oriented parallel to the rotation axes 1a, 1b, or 3a, 3b of the four rollers 1a, 1b or 3a, 3b, and wherein the blade shaft is drivable in a direction of rotation so that the blades 17a, 17b that protrude from the blade shaft 17 on both sides push hollow elements in pass-through direction wherein the hollow elements are disposed there between on a side that is oriented towards the blade sliding surface 23, thus the hollow elements are fed towards the two roller pairs of the pressing device 1 and the downstream crushing device 3.

[0138] As illustrated in FIG. 1a, b, all four rollers 1a, 1b, 3a, 3b, as well as the blade shaft 17 are received between two side lobes of a housing and supported at the side lobes and all four rollers are jointly driven by a drive device 6 that includes an electric motor 6a and an electric junction box 7, wherein the entire drive device 6 is mounted on a transversal plate that extends in a transversal direction to the two side lobes and is bolted together with both side lobes.

[0139] The drive device 6 drives all four rollers 1a, 1b, 3a, 3b as well as the blade shaft 17 through gears and chain drives, however, with the subsequently discussed angular velocities that differ from each other.

[0140] For this purpose the drive device 6 drives one of the two pressing rollers through a chain drive that is arranged closely outside of the side lobe wherein the drive device also drives the other pressing roller and the two crushing rollers 3a, 3b through sprockets that are attached thereon torque proof, while the blade shaft 17 is driven by the directly driven pressing roller 1b outside of the other lobe through another chain drive.

[0141] It is furthermore evident that an axis offset of the two pressing rollers 1a, 1b is identical in this case to the two crushing rollers 3a, 3b which, however, is not mandatory for the invention.

[0142] The pass-through distance 21 between the connection lines that extend parallel to one another between the two rotational axes of the pressing roller pair on the one hand side and of the crushing roller pair on the other hand side viewed in axis direction as illustrated in FIG. 2a is only slightly larger than an average of a diameter of a pressing roller and a diameter of a crushing roller.

[0143] It is appreciated that a connection line between the two rotation axes is recited for simplification reasons due to the two-dimensional illustration, wherein it is appreciated that this is a connection plane that is defined by the two rotation axes.

[0144] Advantageously the two pressing rollers 1a, 1b are configured as mirror images in the axial direction at least in their operating portion which is described later, and on the other hand side also the two crushing rollers 3a, 3b.

[0145] FIG. 2a, b differ in that the blade shaft 17 is respectively illustrated in another rotation position.

[0146] In FIG. 2b the blade shaft 17 is in a rotation position so that one of the blades 17a is in the position where its free blade edge 17a1 has the smallest possible blade distance 24a from the blade opposite surface 23 viewed in axial direction.

[0147] In FIG. 2b, however, the blade shaft 17 is illustrated in a position so that a free pass-through between the blade shaft 17 and the blade sliding surface 23 is maximized, thus the largest blade distance 24b is illustrated.

[0148] Depending on the smallest and largest blade distance 24a, b desired, the radius, thus the throwing circle of the freely terminating edge 17a1, 17b1 of the blades 17a, 17b, to the rotation axis 17 has to be predetermined and an axis distance 22 between the rotation axis 17, the blade shaft 17 and the blade sliding surface 23 has to be determined.

[0149] In this case there are only two blades 17a, b, which are provided at the blade shaft 17 and configured identical and mounted at the blade shaft 17 so that a radial distance of their free end edges to the rotation axis 17 is identical.

[0150] FIGS. 3a-d illustrate the feed function, the pressing function and the crushing function of the hollow elements 100.1a, 100.1b, to be processed in a sectional view of the compacting device with a viewing direction in an axial direction of the rollers 1a, b, 3a, b and/or the blade shaft 17.

[0151] In FIG. 3a a deformed large hollow element 100.1a configured as a plastic bottle is arranged in the feed device 20 in which the non-deformed hollow element 100.1a contacts the blade sliding surface 23 and slides down on the blade sliding surface 23 in a direction of its greatest extension 100 so that its lower end already contacts one of the two pressing rollers 1a, b.

[0152] As evident, a smallest extension 100 of the hollow element 100.1a of the largest hollow element 100.1 to be processed is still smaller than a largest possible blade distance 24b between the blade shaft 17 and the blade sliding surface 23.

[0153] A front surface of the blade 17a that is oriented in rotation direction has a camber in a portion between the central element of the blade shaft 17 where it is bolted down and its free terminal edge 17a1 which can include a serration 25 as illustrated in FIG. 1b so that the free end portion is curved backward, thus swept back in rotation direction relative to the portion that is proximal to the central element. The blade 17a contacts a topside of the non-deformed container 100.1a in this portion with its front surface.

[0154] When the blade shaft 17 continues to rotate as illustrated in FIG. 3b, the blade 17a compresses the hollow element 100.1a in the transversal direction 11 of a direction of its largest extension 100, in particular in the direction of its smallest extension 100 and presses the hollow element 100.1a against the blade sliding surface 23 and additionally further in a direction of the pressing device 1, thus of the pressing roller pair 1a, b which grip a contacting end of the hollow element 100a with their teeth and pull the hollow element between each other, thus through the pressing slot 2 and thus deform it into an approximately plate-shaped hollow element 100.2a as illustrated in FIG. 3c.

[0155] Thus, the blade shaft 17 has a circumferential velocity that is higher than a circumferential velocity of the pressing rollers 1a, b.

[0156] Since typically there is no clear distance between the pressing rollers 1a, b in viewing direction of FIG. 3b, c but the teeth of the pressing roller 1a engage the teeth of the other pressing roller 1b, the approximately plate-shaped deformed hollow element 100.2a is wave-shaped on the one hand side in the pass-through direction 10 and on the other hand side also wave-shaped in the axial direction 1a of the pressing rollers 1a, b as evident in the blown-up view of FIG. 3c1. Additionally the wall sections of the plate-shaped deformed hollow element 100.2a are partially cut by the teeth 4.1 which are closely adjacent in this plate-shaped condition but only through a defined cutting length, thus perforated.

[0157] Through additional pulling the plate-shaped hollow element 100.2a will protrude further and further from the pressing slot 2 of the pressing device 1 and will thus protrude into the crushing slot 5 between the two subsequent crushing rollers 3a, b and will be gripped by their teeth 4.3 as illustrated in FIG. 3d and in the blown-up view of FIG. 3d1.

[0158] Thus, the crushing slot 5 can be a distance between the outer circumferences of the crushing rollers 3a, b as illustrated in FIG. 3a in axial direction, thus for serrated crushing rollers a clear distance between the throwing circles of their teeth 4.3 or the outer circumferences or throwing circles can contact each other or almost contact each other with a distance which is significantly less than a distance of the crushed hollow element 100.3 as illustrated in FIGS. 2a, b, 3b through d. The throwing circles of the teeth 4.3 however can also overlap in the radial direction, so that the teeth 4.3 penetrate gaps between the teeth 4.3 of the adjacent crushing roller in the circumferential direction in an alternating manner.

[0159] Since the circumferential velocity of the crushing rollers 3a, b is significantly less than the circumferential velocity of the pressing rollers 1a, b the plate-shaped hollow element 100.2a that is pushed by the pressing rollers 100a, b out of the pressing slot 2 is crushed between the pressing roller pair 1a, b and the crushing roller pair 3a, b against the pass-through direction 10 and the already crushed hollow element 100.3a that is shorted by a large amount in this pass-through direction 10 is run through between the crushing rollers 3a, b and thus compressed again transversal to the pass-through plane 10 which is arranged in a plane that extends in the pass-through direction 10 and parallel to the four rotation axes plural 1a, 1b, 3a, 3b to form a crushed hollow element 100.4a that is additionally compressed in the transversal direction 11.

[0160] As illustrated in particular in the blown-up view of FIG. 3d1, the narrow sides of the plate-shaped wiper 9 that are oriented towards each other, the wiper surfaces 9 define a support slot 12 in the transversal direction 11 to the pass-through plane 10 wherein the support slot defines the thickening of the flattened hollow element 100.2a in this portion.

[0161] Since the wipers 9 terminate in the pass-through direction 10 at a distance 26 in front of the crushing rollers 3a, b, an additional thickening of the hollow element 100.3a that is already being crushed is possible in this offset before the hollow element is captured by the crushing rollers 3a, b and is compressed again in the transversal direction 11.

[0162] In this sectional view of FIGS. 3c, 3d it is apparent that the end condition of the hollow element 100.4a, whose size decreases in the viewing direction of these figures over all three processing situations of FIG. 3b, c, d corresponds to a much reduced volume compared to the plate-shaped hollow element 100.2a that is compressed by the pressing device and whose length in pass-through direction corresponds essentially to the greatest extension 100 of the hollow element 100.1a.

[0163] FIG. 3b also illustrates a smallest hollow element 100.1b configured as a beverage can that still has to be processed by the device in addition to the maximum size hollow element 100.1a that still has to be processed by the compacting device.

[0164] In order to optimize the crushing effect, it has to be assured that the hollow elements 100.1 that are to be processed are respectively pulled in a direction of its largest extension 100 and which are run in the pass-through direction 10 through the device.

[0165] Therefore, a width of the axial operating portion 1.1 of the pressing rollers 1a, 1b is selected smaller than a longest extension 100 of the smallest, in particular shortest, container 100.1b that is provided for processing and illustrated in FIG. 5a, so that also this container has to be fed to the device in a direction of its largest extension 100.

[0166] It is furthermore evident in FIG. 3b that the smallest blade distance 24a illustrated in FIG. 2a is smaller than the smallest extension 100 of the smallest container 100.1b that is to be processed so that the blade 17a still engages the container 100.1b also when this is the smallest container and moves the container along in a direction of the pressing device 1 and advantageously compresses the container in its transversal direction, thus in a direction of its smallest extension 100. Namely this compression puts up the resistance against the rotating blade 17a, b that is sufficient for the feed effect.

[0167] The blades 17a, b can still have an increasing elasticity in their portion towards the free end.

[0168] In the instant embodiment this is achieved in spite of constant wall thickness of the plate-shaped blades 17a, b that protrude radially in the opposite direction from their attachment location at the central body in that the blades 17a, 17b are supported from their attachment location at the central element to their forward free end edge 17a1, 17b1 are support at their backsides approximately in the center portion and thus by the rear end edge 17a2 of a particular other blade 17a wherein advantageously there are only two blades 17a, b that are distributed over the circumference.

[0169] For this purpose the plate-shaped blades 17a, b that are elbowed in the viewing direction of the rotation axis 17 two times with their end portion into the same direction, wherein the blades are bolted with their center portion between the two elbows with the central element of the blade shaft 17, wherein the shape and size of the blades 17a, b is selected so that each blade 17a, b supports with its rear free end edge 17a2, 17b2 the back side of the forward portion of the other blade 17b, a between its bolted connection at the base element and its free forward end edge, advantageously at a back side of its forward elbow.

[0170] FIG. 7a with an enlarged detail in FIG. 7b illustrates a much simpler second embodiment of the compacting device.

[0171] Contrary to the first embodiment, the pressing device 1 is only made from a single pressing roller which pulls the hollow element 100.1a between the pressing roller 1a and a pressing support surface 2 extending at a distance from its circumference through the pressing slot 2, wherein the pressing support surface 2 is advantageously formed by the extension of the blade sliding surface 23 of the upstream feed device 20.

[0172] Also the crushing device 3 is configured much simpler.

[0173] The crushing device 3 includes a stop 13 configured as a plate which protrudes transversally into the movement path of the hollow element 100.2a that is pressed out of the pressing device 1 and flattened, and which crushes the hollow element 100.2a into a crushed hollow element 100.3a.

[0174] In order to take care of the material that is pushed out of the pressing slot 2 the plate-shaped stop 13 is pivotably supported by the pressing slot 2 remote from the pass-through direction and preloaded in a direction 1 by the spring 15. This crushing device 3 is also essentially a break device 16 for the flattened hollow element 100.2a that is pushed out of the pressing device 1.

[0175] Thus, the hollow element 100.2a is crushed against the pass through direction 10 but can also easily escape laterally and therefore a support slot 12 adjoins downstream of the pressing slot 2 which is formed on the one hand side by the wiper surfaces 9 of the wipers 9 of the pressing roller 1a and on the other hand side by a crush support surface 5 which includes the extension of the press support surface 2 in the pass-through direction 10 beyond the portion of the pressing roller 1a.

[0176] In spite of that both terminate at a distance in front of the plate-shaped stop 13.

[0177] In particular, however, contrary to the first embodiment the crushed hollow element 100.3a is not compressed a second time in the transversal direction 11 to the pass-through direction 10 after the crushing.

[0178] Thus, a highly simplified device of this type will by far not achieve the same compacting result as the illustrated first embodiment of the device and will also not function without problems.

[0179] A medium solution between the first embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3 and the second embodiment of FIG. 7a is the third embodiment according to FIG. 8.

[0180] Thus the pressing device 1 is configured the same as for the second embodiment according to FIG. 7a, b, however with the difference that the only provided pressing roller 1a reaches either directly to the press support surface 2 or even into corresponding grooves in the component that extend in the pass-through direction, thus a plate whose outer surface represents the press support surface 2 in order to cause a cutting of the wall of the hollow element 100.1a by the teeth 4.1 of the pressing roller 1a.

[0181] The crushing device 3 differs from the crushing device of FIG. 7a, b in that it has no plate-shaped stop but a rotating crushing roller 3a that is analogous to the crushing roller 3a of the first embodiment which is arranged in the pass-through direction after the pressing roller 1a and in a opposite crush support surface 5 that is arranged at a distance, wherein the crushing slot is arranged between the pressing roller and the crush support surface.

[0182] The crush support surface 5 is the extension of the press support surface 2.

[0183] The embodiment of FIG. 8 thus can be viewed as a half left of the crushing slot 5 and the press slot 2 of the first embodiment according to FIGS. 2a, b, 3a through c, wherein the half right of it is replaced by the press support surface 2 and the subsequent crush support surface 5 which advantageously transition into each other without a shoulder.

[0184] Thus, this embodiment has the advantage that the crushed hollow body 100.3a is compressed again by this embodiment of the crushing device 3 transversal to the pass-through direction 10 in order to form a crushed and compressed hollow element 100.4a and is thus compacted further.

[0185] FIGS. 4a, b, 5a, b illustrate a pressing roller 1a and a crushing roller 3a respectively in a side view and in a face view, and in FIG. 6 in a mounted condition.

[0186] FIG. 5a illustrate in the side view, thus transversal to the rotation axis 1a of the illustrated pressing roller 1a, the operating portion 1.1 in the center, in which the annular tooth portions 14 that are covered with teeth 4.1 in the circumferential direction alternate in the axial direction 1a of the pressing roller 1a with ring grooves 8 whose groove base has a smaller diameter than a base diameter 18 of the pressing roller 1a, from which the teeth 4.1a protrude in an outward direction. Thus the grooves 8 are advantageously wider in the axial direction than the teeth 4.1.

[0187] Bearing journals 1.2 are visible that protrude axially from the operating portion 1.1 wherein the pressing roller 1a is supported in the two side lobes that are visible in or at FIG. 1a, b.

[0188] Additionally a protrusion adjoins at a face of the bearing journal 1.2 wherein the protrusion has a multi-tooth profile 1.3 on its circumference wherein the multi-tooth profile is used for sliding a sprocket onto the multi-tooth profile and fixating the sprocket to provide a chain drive of the pressing roller 1a.

[0189] As illustrated in the right portion of FIG. 5a, the second pressing roller 1b is arranged relative to the first pressing roller with respect to an arrangement of their tooth ring portions 14 and their grooves 8 so that their teeth 4.1 radially engage the grooves 8 of the first pressing roller 1a and vice versa, wherein the teeth 4.1 of one pressing roller 1b advantageously do not penetrate further than to the base diameter 18 between the tooth ring portions 14 of the other pressing roller 1b as evident from the face view of two meshing pressing rollers 1a and 1b of this type in FIG. 5b.

[0190] The base diameter 18 is provided and illustrated in FIG. 5 on a face side outside of the respective last tooth ring portion 14 that is illustrated in the axial direction.

[0191] In order to achieve good capture and ingestion of the hollow element 100.1a/b to be processed, the teeth 4.1 that are advantageously evenly distributed over the circumference respectively have a front flank that precedes with a free radially outer end which forms a hook-shaped front end portion of the tooth 4.1 which can engage and cut into the wall material of the container 100.1 with a sharp radially outer edge.

[0192] The incisions according to FIG. 5b in a direction of the rotation axis 1a between the teeth 4.1a that are adjacent in the circumferential direction of a tooth ring portion 14 are approximately configured U-shaped wherein the transitions from their flanks to their bases are strongly cambered and the forward oriented front flank 4.1a of this recess is flatter than its rear edge, the front flank 4.1a of the next tooth 4.1.

[0193] These incisions are advantageously configured helical about the axial direction 1a of the respective pressing roller 1a, b so that a hollow element is not simultaneously gripped by two axially offset teeth 4.1 but sequentially which reduces a loading of the pressing rollers 1a, b.

[0194] Thus the tooth height in radial direction corresponds [0195] with respect to the base diameter 18 to half a difference between an entire diameter 19 to a pressing roller 1a and the base diameter 18, and/or [0196] with respect to the groove base of the ring grooves 18 to half a difference between a diameter of the groove base and entire diameter 19 of the pressing roller 1a.

[0197] In FIG. 4a, b, however, a crushing roller 3a meshes in side view with two crushing rollers 3a, b, thus their cooperation is illustrated in a face view from which a difference of the configuration compared to a pressing roller 1a becomes clear.

[0198] The solutions have in common that a respective central bearing journal 3.2 extends on a face side into the axially extending operating portion 3.1 and additionally beyond the bearing pinion a protrusion on which a multi-tooth profile 3.3 is arranged.

[0199] From FIG. 4 it is initially evident that the inclination of the teeth that is visible in the axial direction which are arranged on the crushing roller 3a distributed over the circumference and distributed in the axial direction is oriented opposite to the direction of rotation, whereas the inclination of the teeth 4.1 is oriented in the direction of rotation in the pressing roller 1a, b.

[0200] This improves the intended crushing effect or braking effect for the plate-shaped hollow element 100.2 that arrives in the crushing slot 5.

[0201] Furthermore, it is evident that offsets 8 between the individual teeth 4.3 that are provided in the crushing rollers 3a, b between the tooth ring portions 14 in axial direction do not reach radially down to a base of the tooth, thus a groove that extends in the axial direction 1a between two circumferentially adjacent teeth 4.3 is continuous in the axial direction and no circumferentially extending groove is arranged in the groove base.

[0202] Furthermore, an extension of a tooth ring portion 14 is much greater in the axial direction than an axial extension of the offset 8 between the axially offset teeth 4.3.

[0203] Accordingly, the two pressing rollers that rotate adjacent to each other about parallel axes 3a, 3b can only come into engagement with each other in that they are positioned in their alternating rotational position as evident from FIG. 4b so that the tooth 4.3 viewed in the crushing gap 5 in the axial direction of the one pressing roller 3a penetrates between two circumferentially adjacent teeth 4.3 of the adjacent crushing roller 3b but does not reach the base diameter of the other pressing roller 3b and vice versa.

[0204] The mutual distance in the radial direction as well as in the circumferential direction is required for absorbing the material of the container 100.2 that is run there between and already flattened contrary to the pressing rollers according to FIG. 5a, b where a clearance in axial direction between adjacent teeth 4.1 is not mandatory or shall even be avoided in order to cause the wall material of the container 100.2 to be cut through.

[0205] The other advantageous solution is to provide a clear pass-through as a crushing slot 5 between the throwing circles of the teeth 4.3 of the 2 crushing rollers 3a, b.

[0206] FIG. 6 illustrates the arrangement of a pressing roller 1a relative to the adjacent crushing roller 3a in a side view according to FIGS. 5a, 4a.

[0207] Thus, permanently mounted plate shaped wipers 9 are drawn which extend with their main plane orthogonal to the rotation direction 1a and penetrate into each of the grooves 8 of the pressing roller 1a and reach as closely as possible to its bottom in order to remove possibly adhering material of the hollow elements from the pressing roller 1a during its rotation.

[0208] For the crushing roller 3a illustrated thereunder 2 different options are illustrated adjacent to each other.

[0209] In the left portion the offsets 8 between the teeth 4.3 of this crushing roller 3a are smaller in the rotation direction 3a, than the offsets between the teeth 4.1 of the pressing roller 1a and do not correlate in the axial direction with them either.

[0210] Accordingly the wipers 9 terminate before the outer circumference of the teeth 4.3 of the crushing roller 3a wherein the wipers continue in the viewing direction of FIG. 6 behind the crushing roller 3a in the direction of rotation 3a.

[0211] In the right half however the grooves 8 of the pressing roller 1a are aligned with the offsets 8 of the crushing roller 3a in the axial direction so that the wipers radially penetrate with their 2 end portions into the grooves 8, and on the other hand side into the offsets 8 wherein the wipers are certainly offset from the pass through plane 10 along which the flattened hollow element moves.

[0212] In particular the offset base of the offset 8 having slanted flanks in a side view between the teeth 4.3 is wide enough in the axial direction so that the wipers 9 reach proximal to this offset base.

REFERENCE NUMERALS AND DESIGNATIONS

[0213] 1 pressing device [0214] 1a, 1b pressing roller [0215] 1a, 1b rotation axis [0216] 1.1 operating portion [0217] 1.2 bearing journal [0218] 1.3 multi-tooth profile [0219] 2 pressing slot [0220] 2 press support surface [0221] 3 crushing device [0222] 3a, b crushing roller [0223] 3a, 3b rotation axis [0224] 3.1 operating portion [0225] 3.2 bearing journal [0226] 4, 4.1, 4.2 tooth [0227] 4a front flank [0228] 4b outer edge [0229] 4c camber, bevel [0230] 5 crushing slot [0231] 5 crush support surface [0232] 6 drive device [0233] 6a motor [0234] 7 control [0235] 8 circumferential grooves [0236] 8 offset [0237] 9 wipers [0238] 10 pass through direction [0239] 10 pass through plane [0240] 11 transversal direction [0241] 12 support slot [0242] 13 stop [0243] 14 annular tooth portion [0244] 15 spring [0245] 16 break device [0246] 17 Blade shaft [0247] 17 rotation axis [0248] 17a,b blade [0249] 17a1, 17b1 front free end edge [0250] 17a2, 17b2 rear free end edge [0251] 18 base diameter [0252] 19 total diameter [0253] 20 feed device [0254] 21 pass through offset [0255] 22 axes offset [0256] 23 opposite wing element, wing sliding surface [0257] 24a smallest blade distance [0258] 24b largest blade distance [0259] 25 teething [0260] 26 offset [0261] 100.1 non-deformed hollow element [0262] 100.2 flat end plate shaped hollow element [0263] 100.3 crushed hollow element [0264] 100.4 crushed and subsequently re-flattened hollow element [0265] 100 largest extension [0266] 100 smallest extension