PLASTIC SHREDDER

Abstract

A bottle shredder is disclosed. The bottle shredder features a bottle holder, sized to receive a plastic bottle, a wire cutter and bottle support, both of which are located below the bottle holder. The bottle holder is attached to a linear slide, which is capable of moving the bottle holder directly above a shredding apparatus. The shredding apparatus contains at least one feed roller operatively connected to a first motor, a spur gear, a bearing block, featuring at least one bearing, and at least one shredding blade operatively connected to a second motor via the spur gear and bearing block. Below the shredding apparatus is a finished shreds chute, which collects the post-shredded bottle parts.

Claims

1. A bottle shredder, comprising: a bottle holder, sized to receive a plastic bottle; a wire cutter, located below the bottle holder; a bottle support, located below the bottle holder; a linear slide attached to the bottle holder, capable of moving the bottle holder directly above a shredding apparatus, the shredding apparatus comprising: at least one feed roller operatively connected to a first motor, a spur gear, a bearing block, featuring at least one bearing, at least one shredding blade operatively connected to a second motor via the spur gear and bearing block, wherein the at least one feed roller is proximate to the at least one shredding blade; a finished shreds chute, located directly below the shredding apparatus.

2. The bottle shredder of claim 1, further comprising: at least one bag; and a bag holder for holding the at least one bag. wherein the bag holder and at least one bag are proximate to the shredding apparatus.

3. The bottle shredder of claim 1, further comprising: a case having a top surface, four side surfaces, and a bottom surface, wherein the case is sized to accommodate the bottle holder, the wire cutter, the bottle support, the linear slide, the shredding apparatus, and the finished shreds chute, wherein the top surface is equipped with an opening and a safety door having an open position and a closed position.

4. The bottle shredder of claim 3, wherein the shredder will not operate when the safety door is in the open position.

5. The bottle shredder of claim 1, wherein the first motor is an electric motor and the second motor is an electric motor.

6. The bottle shredder of claim 1, wherein the bottle support is disposed such that the wire cutter is substantially level with the neck of a bottle placed in the bottle holder.

7. The bottle shredder of claim 1, wherein the case is constructed out of molded plastic.

8. The bottle shredder of claim 1, wherein the wire cutter is constructed out of a diamond-coated wire.

9. The bottle shredder of claim 1, wherein the at least one shredding blade is constructed out of a chromium-molybdenum alloy steel.

10. The bottle shredder of claim 1, wherein the finished shreds chute is constructed out of stainless steel.

11. The bottle shredder of claim 3, the case further comprising a side door disposed on one of the four side surfaces.

12. The bottle shredder of claim 11, wherein the side door allows the bottle shredder to be refilled with at least one bag.

13. A method of shredding bottles, comprising the steps of: providing, a bottle shredder comprising: a bottle holder, sized to receive a plastic bottle, a wire cutter, located below the bottle holder, a bottle support, located below the bottle holder, a linear slide attached to the bottle holder, capable of moving the bottle holder directly above a shredding apparatus, the shredding apparatus comprising: at least one feed roller operatively connected to a first motor, a spur gear, a bearing block, featuring at least one bearing, at least one shredding blade operatively connected to a second motor via the spur gear and bearing block, wherein the at least one feed roller is proximate to the at least one shredding blade, a finished shreds chute, located directly below the shredding apparatus; inserting, a bottle into the bottle holder; allowing, the bottle to rest on the bottle support; removing, a cap off the bottle by the linear slide dragging the neck of the bottle along the wire cutter such that the bottle is now proximate to the at least one feed roller; and feeding, the bottle into the shredding mechanism, by the at least one feed roller; shredding, the bottle, by the shredding mechanism.

14. The method of claim 13, the bottle shredder, further comprising: at least one bag; and a bag holder for holding the at least one bag. wherein the bag holder and at least one bag are proximate to the shredding apparatus.

15. The method of claim 13, the bottle shredder further comprising: a case having a top surface, four side surfaces, and a bottom surface, wherein the case is sized to accommodate the bottle holder, the wire cutter, the bottle support, the linear slide, the shredding apparatus, and the finished shreds chute, wherein the top surface is equipped with an opening and a safety door having an open position and a closed position.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of: allowing, the shredded bottle to fall through the bag holder into the at least one bag.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising an initial step of: moving, the safety door, into the closed position.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising a final step of: moving, the safety door, into the open position.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the method takes no longer than two seconds to perform.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a cutaway side view of an embodiment of the present invention, showing the internals of this embodiment.

[0035] FIG. 3 shows a front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 4 shows a top view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 5 shows a left side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0038] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numerals.

[0039] Reference will now be made in detail to each embodiment of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of the present invention is shown. Here, bottle shredder 100 features opening 121, safety door 107, handle 109, side safety door 120, and bag 113. Here, safety door 107 is shown in the open position. When in this position, bottle shredder 100 is unable to operate. This allows a user to safely place bottles in bottle shredder 100, as well as ensure that bottle shredder 100 will not operate while it is being serviced. Side safety door 120 operates in a similar fashion, however in FIG. 1 side safety door 120 is shown in the closed position. That said, when side safety door is in the open position, bottle shredder 100 will not operate. As such, both safety door 107 and side safety door 120 must be in the closed position for bottle shredder 100 to operate. Side safety door 120 also allows bag 113 to be replaced when it is full. Bag holder 112 (See FIG. 2) is accessible when side safety door 120 is in the open position. In some embodiments, safety door 107 operates an aperture covering opening 121. In those embodiments, when safety door 107 is in the open position, the aperture closes, preventing opening 121 from being used.

[0041] FIG. 2 shows a side view of the internals of an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the present invention features linear slide 102, bottle holder 103, wire cutter 105, bottle support 106, second motor 119, at least one bag 113, finished shreds chute 111, bearing block 117, spur gear 114, first motor 118, second motor 119, bag holder 112, at least one shredding blade 115, and at least one feed roller 116. Here linear slide 102 serves to move the bottle from the load position (above bottle support 106 and wire cutter 105), into a cutting position where the bottle, after its cap has been cut off by wire cutter 105, is placed above an embodiment of the cutting apparatus of the present invention.

[0042] Preferably, the cutting apparatus employs at least one feed roller 118. Ideally, at least one feed roller 116 will be a roller constructed from an acetal resin coated with a high-friction coating, such as Delrin produced by DuPont, Inc. Other embodiments exist with feed rollers having various levels of friction, provided that the feed roller is capable of driving a proximate bottle into the shredding apparatus of the present invention. This embodiment of the cutting apparatus also features spur gear 114 which drives the at least one shredding blade 115. Further, the at least one shredding blade 115 is connected to bearing block 117 which features a plurality of bearings. Bearing block 117 allows at least one shredding blade 115 to spin freely, improving the efficiency of the present invention. First motor 118 drives the at least one feed roller 116 and second motor 119 drives the at least at least one shredding blade 115. Preferably these motors are electric, but any suitable power source may be used. Once a bottle is in the shredding apparatus of the present invention, it is shredded by the at least one shredding blade 115 such that the resulting shreds are roughly to . Note that the configuration of the at least one shredding blade 115 may be adjusted to change the size of the shreds that are produced. Once the bottle had moved through the shredding apparatus of the present invention, the resulting shreds will pass through finished shreds chute 111, which guides the shreds into bag holder 112 and into at least one bag 113. Once at least one bag 113 is filled, it can be easily and quickly replaced so that the present invention may continue to operate.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is optimized to receive 500 mL plastic bottles. Other embodiments exist where the present invention is optimized for bottles ranging from 200 mL-2 L bottles. Other embodiments also exist where the present invention is not optimized for a particular size, and is capable of accepting a variety of sizes of plastic bottles.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 3, a front view of an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Here, like in FIG. 1, handle 109, at least one bag 113, and side safety door 120 are shown. In particular, this view is provided so that the attachment mechanism of side safety door 120 to the case 101 (See FIG. 4) of the present invention can be plainly seen. While it is shown as a simple hinge here, side safety door 120 may be slid open, or may be temporarily detached.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 4, a top view of an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Here, the present invention features case 101, hinges 108, handle 109, safety door 107, and side safety door 120. The present invention can be constructed out of a wide variety of materials including molded plastic, acetal resin, diamond-coated wire, tool steel, stainless steel, and chromium-molybdenum alloy steel (4140 cold finished annealed steel). While some combination of these materials can be used for each component, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has case 101, handle 109, safety door 107, and opening 121 constructed out of molded plastic; wire cutter 105 out of diamond-coated wire; bottle holder 103 and at least one feed roller 116 out of an acetal resin, preferably Delrin; spur gear 114 out of tool steel; bottle guide 110, finished shreds chute 111, bag holder 112, bottle support 106, and bearing block 117 out of stainless steel; and at least one shredder blade 115 out of chromium-molybdenum alloy steel.

[0046] FIG. 5 shows an alternative side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.