U.S. patent application number 14/065719 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-30 for method and apparatus for recycling carpet.
The applicant listed for this patent is Sergio Dell'Orco, Frank Levy. Invention is credited to Sergio Dell'Orco, Frank Levy.
Application Number | 20150115075 14/065719 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45564105 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150115075 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Levy; Frank ; et
al. |
April 30, 2015 |
Method and Apparatus for Recycling Carpet
Abstract
The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for
separating carpet fibers from a backing material to which said
fibers are secured. The apparatus includes a belt for driving a
carpet strip having one or more backings and one or more fibers
secured on a face of said backing into the operative part of the
device. There are a pair of rollers that are adapted to receive the
carpet strip from said belt, and pass the carpet strip to a dish
plate. The dish plate has an edge extending upwardly from the dish
plate. The face of the carpet having the fibers contacts the edge
after the carpet passes through the rollers. The edge of the blade
holds the carpet presenting it to the main drum. The main drum
rotates downwards and has a plurality of pins that shred the carpet
backing and tear apart and free the face carpet fibers from the
backing fibers. The face fibers pass to a receptacle for recycling.
The torn backing fibers, being usually longer and lighter than the
face fibers, remain within the pins of the drum and are transported
towards the back end of the machine and fall in a different
receptacle for recycling.
Inventors: |
Levy; Frank; (Quogue,
NY) ; Dell'Orco; Sergio; (Capalle, IT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Levy; Frank
Dell'Orco; Sergio |
Quogue
Capalle |
NY |
US
IT |
|
|
Family ID: |
45564105 |
Appl. No.: |
14/065719 |
Filed: |
October 29, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
241/24.29 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D01G 11/04 20130101;
B29B 17/04 20130101; B02C 18/0084 20130101; B03B 2009/067 20130101;
B29B 2017/0476 20130101; Y02W 30/521 20150501; Y02W 30/66 20150501;
B29K 2077/00 20130101; B29L 2031/7322 20130101; B02C 23/02
20130101; B29B 2017/0203 20130101; B29B 2017/0217 20130101; Y02W
30/667 20150501; B29B 2017/022 20130101; B02C 18/28 20130101; Y02W
30/62 20150501; B02C 23/08 20130101; Y02W 30/622 20150501; B29B
17/02 20130101; Y02W 30/52 20150501 |
Class at
Publication: |
241/24.29 |
International
Class: |
B02C 18/00 20060101
B02C018/00; B29B 17/04 20060101 B29B017/04; B29B 17/02 20060101
B29B017/02; B02C 23/08 20060101 B02C023/08 |
Claims
1. A method of separating the pile from the backing of a section of
carpet, said method comprising: transporting the section of carpet
upon a feed belt, with the pile contacting a surface of said feed
belt, and with the backing being distally positioned with respect
to said feed belt; directing the carpet section toward a plate
using a first roller and a second roller; rotating a drum
comprising a plurality of pins protruding from an outer surface
thereon; adjusting said rotating drum to be with a tip of each of
said plurality of pins passing at a set distance away from a sharp
edge of said plate; passing the carpet section, from said top and
bottom feed rollers, across a curved surface of said plate, and
across said sharp edge of said plate; shredding the backing of the
carpet section by said pins of said rotating drum, and separating a
substantial portion of the pile from the shredded backing, by said
rotating pins, with said rotating pins throwing the separated pile
in a first direction; and transporting the shredded backing away
from the separated pile by said pins pulling the shredded backing
along a surface of said drum.
2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising adjusting the
proportion of the pile being separated from the shredded backing in
said first direction, by adjusting a first portion of a guide
member to be closer to or farther away from said pins of said
rotating drum.
3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising using a
curved surface of a second portion of said guide member for guiding
the shredded backing into proximity with said pins and said outer
surface of said drum, for said transport therewith.
4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising removing the
shredded backing from said drum using a second guide member.
5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising receiving
the shredded backing from said second guide member onto an outer
surface of a rotating condenser cage, and using negative pressure
within a portion of said condenser cage for sucking air through a
plurality of orifices in said outer surface of said condenser cage,
for carrying away crushed latex and calcium carbonate from the
shredded backing.
6. The method according to claim 5 further comprising depositing
the shredded backing, from said outer surface of said condenser
cage when passing over a second portion of said cage, onto a
transport belt.
7. The method according to claim 6 further comprising transporting
the shredded backing upon said transport belt to a second
receptacle, and receiving the shredded backing within said second
receptacle.
8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising using a
pressing roller for keeping the carpet section properly positioned
on said feed belt.
9. The method according to claim 1 further comprising rotating said
drum at a rate of at least 300 rpm.
10. The method according to claim 9 further comprising rotating
said drum at a rate preferably in the range of 500 rpm to 600
rpm.
11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising presenting
the carpet section across said sharp edge of said plate at an angle
being less than 30 degrees.
12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising presenting
the carpet section across said sharp edge of said plate at an angle
preferably being less than 15 degrees.
13. A method of separating the pile from the backing of a section
of carpet, said method comprising: transporting the section of
carpet upon a feed belt, with the pile contacting a surface of said
feed belt, and with the backing being distally positioned with
respect to said feed belt; directing the carpet section toward a
plate using a top feed roller and a bottom feed roller; rotating a
drum comprising a plurality of pins protruding from an outer
surface thereon; adjusting said rotating drum to be with a tip of
each of said plurality of pins passing at a set distance away from
a sharp edge of said plate; passing the carpet section, from said
top and bottom feed rollers, across a curved surface of said plate,
and selectively presenting the carpet section across said sharp
edge of said plate at an angle to said rotating drum; pushing the
backing against said sharp edge of said plate, by said pins of said
rotating drum, causing shredding of the backing and separating of a
substantial portion of the pile from the shredded backing, with
said rotating pins throwing the separated pile in a first
direction; and transporting at least a substantial portion of the
shredded backing away from the separated pile, by said pins and
said outer surface of said drum pulling the shredded backing
therefrom.
14. The method according to claim 13 further comprising adjusting
the proportion of the pile being separated from the shredded
backing in said first direction, by adjusting a first portion of a
guide member to be closer to or farther away from said pins of said
rotating drum.
15. The method according to claim 14 further comprising using a
curved surface of a second portion of said guide member for guiding
the shredded backing into proximity with said pins and said outer
surface of said drum, for said transport therewith.
16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising removing
the shredded backing from said drum using a second guide
member.
17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising receiving
the shredded backing from said second guide member onto an outer
surface of a rotating condenser cage, and using negative pressure
within a portion of said condenser cage for sucking air through a
plurality of orifices in said outer surface of said condenser cage,
for removing particulates from the shredded backing.
18. The method according to claim 17 further comprising receiving
the shredded backing, from said outer surface of said condenser
cage when passing over a second portion of said cage, onto a
transport belt.
19. The method according to claim 18 further comprising
transporting the shredded backing upon said transport belt to a
second receptacle, and receiving the shredded backing within said
second receptacle.
20. The method according to claim 19 further comprising using a
pressing roller for keeping the carpet section properly positioned
on said feed belt.
21. The method according to claim 20 further comprising rotating
said drum at a rate of at least 300 rpm.
22. The method according to claim 21 further comprising rotating
said drum at a rate preferably in the range of 500 rpm to 600
rpm.
23. The method according to claim 22 further comprising presenting
the carpet section across said sharp edge of said plate at an angle
being less than 30 degrees.
24. The method according to claim 23 further comprising presenting
the carpet section across said sharp edge of said plate at an angle
preferably being less than 15 degrees.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/677,383, filed Nov. 15, 2012, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/806,454, filed
on Aug. 12, 2010, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein
by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to improvements in
apparatus and methods for preparing carpet for recycling.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Many industries are trying to become more environmentally
friendly. As a result, many companies try to use more natural
materials in their products. Others try to use recycled materials.
One industry that has been very active in recycling has been the
carpet industry. Many carpet companies use recycled PET
(polyethylene terephthalate) from soda bottles to manufacture
carpet fibers.
[0004] There is also a great deal of interest in recycling old
carpet. At the present time, there is no uniform method of
recycling carpet. Recycled carpet has a variety of uses including
but not limited to composite lumber in the form of decking and
sheets, tile backer board roofing shingles, railroad ties,
automotive parts, carpet cushion, etc.
[0005] Carpet basically has two components, the face fiber and the
backing structure to which the face fibers are secured. The face
fiber is the part of the carpet on which the consumer walks. It is
the top surface of the carpet. There are four common face fibers in
use today. These are Nylon 6, Nylon 6.6, polypropylene (also called
olefin) and polyester. Each of the face fibers has completely
different properties (of the listed), which is why each of the
types of face fibers must be separated from other different face
fibers. The backing to where the face fibers are secured is usually
a different material. Typical backing materials include polyvinyl
chloride, latex and polypropylene.
[0006] At the present time, most recycling processes used for
carpet try to recycle the face fibers. It is much more difficult to
deal with the backing. The backing is usually composed of one or
two polypropylene scrims and usually an adhesive present in
addition to the backing material itself. Each of these materials
are frequently made from different polymeric materials that are
difficult to recycle together and need to be separated.
[0007] In some recycling processes, the carpet is initially tested
to identify the types of fibers. Once the recycler knows with which
kind of carpet they are dealing, the face fiber is separated from
the backing and the glue is stripped off the back of the carpeting.
In one process described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,063, nylon polymers
or nylon fibers are dissolved in a solvent at, at least, the
dissolution temperature of the nylon in the solvent. The solvent
containing the dissolved nylon is then removed from the remainder
of the solid residue. Last, the solvent nylon solution is cooled to
precipitate and recover the nylon. There are other types of
chemical carpet recycling processes, including those shown in U.S.
Pat. No. 7,067,613 to Mauldin, U.S. Pat. No. 6,610,769 to Blanpain
and U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,489 to Goulet. Besides chemical recycling
processes, there are shredding methods where shredded carpet is
melted to be reused in another application. These patents include
U.S. Published Patent Applications 2004/0048035 to Bailey,
2003/0075824 to Moore and U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,052 to Krishnan. Some
other processes grind the carpet into small granules and then use
air to separate the individual components into their constituent
parts. These patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,949 to Sharer,
U.S. Pat. No. 7,635,099 to Meredith and U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,945 to
Sferrazza. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,300 portions of the carpet are
selected for grinding. These selected separate portions are melted
after grinding for reuse.
[0008] A screen is used to separate ground particles of carpet
materials in U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,575 to White and U.S. Pat. No.
6,155,020 to Deem. Costello et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,207 is
directed towards a process for recycling carpet selvage waste that
employs a device for shearing the face fiber of a carpet using
multiple beveling heads. The device contains four beveling heads
encased in separate boxes each which include a rotating cutting
device, a stationary cutting device and a vacuum hose. The beveling
heads are situated at equal intervals and are placed so that they
are adjacent to a central rotating drum that carries selvage waste
along its outer surface. The device functions by contacting the
moving selvage waste with the beveling heads to yield removed face
fiber and a sheared selvage waste composite. The face fiber is
ultimately removed to a face fiber storage bin through the vacuum
lines attached to the respective box. (See column 9, lines
40-67).
[0009] Hoover, U.S. Published Patent Application 2009/0082476 is
for a process where face yarn is shaved and the face shaved yarn is
reduced in size. Contaminants are removed by mechanical screeners.
The shaved face yarn is then melt filtered and then fiber spun.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0010] It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus
that provides more complete separation of carpet backing from
carpet fibers.
[0011] It is also an object of the invention to provide an
apparatus that facilitates carpet recycling.
[0012] It is another object of the invention to provide a means for
separating a backing made from polypropylene or other polymeric
composition from carpet fibers of nylon or other fibrous polymeric
material.
[0013] It is a further object of the invention to reduce unrecycled
carpet materials.
[0014] It is still another object of the invention to increase the
recyclability of carpet materials.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The present invention is directed to an apparatus for
preparing one or more sections of carpet for recycling. The
apparatus of the present invention permits a carpet strip to be
separated into its backing component and its fiber component. By
the term strip is meant a carpet section that is up generally up to
72'' wide and any length desired. The width of the carpet used in
the present invention is only limited by how wide the cylindrical
roller or drum is. One of the benefits of the present invention is
that the old carpet need not be cut into fairly small pieces in
order to recycle it. The carpet has a backing material that is made
of a first polymeric thermoplastic material and has fibers of a
second polymeric thermoplastic material extending from the backing.
Although the first and second material may be the same polymeric
thermoplastic material, the more usual situation is where the first
and second materials are different thermoplastic materials and
therefore more difficult to separate from each other. In addition,
blends of the two different polymeric materials, such as nylon and
polypropylene do not have the same types of uses as polypropylene
and nylon would have separately. As a result, there is a greater
market for the individual components than for the blend. In
addition, some of the polymeric materials are incompatible with
each other and therefore blends of these materials are not
marketable as recycled polymers. In one embodiment of the
invention, the first carpet material is polypropylene.
Polypropylene, while it can be used as a carpet fiber, does have
particular application as a backing material.
[0016] Secured to the backing material by any suitable means
including but not limited to heat bonding or an adhesive is a fiber
that constitutes the pile of the carpet. This pile may be a length
of fiber that has one end secured to the backing and the other end
extending upwardly therefrom or the fiber may be a length of fiber
that is folded over so that it is in the form of two lengths
connected at a base portion. The two lengths are secured at the
base portion to the backing where there is a fold at the base. The
fiber may also be secured to the backing in any suitable manner.
The carpet backing is the structure that holds together all the
single lengths of fiber that form the pile of the carpet. The fiber
that is attached to the backing is preferably a nylon material but
could be another type of material such as polyethylene
terephthalate or other carpet material. The term nylon material
includes but is not limited to nylon 6 and nylon 6.6 or blends
thereof.
[0017] The carpet strip is preferably placed face down on the
feeder belt or feed in belt of the device of the present invention.
By face down is meant that the carpet fibers attached to the
backing are positioned closer to the surface of the feeder belt
than the backing. The feeder belt drives the carpet strip to a
first roller, which is positioned above the belt. This roller holds
the carpet in position on the belt as the carpet is passed into the
device of the present invention. The first roller is preferably
positioned above one of the rollers of the feeder belt so that the
two rollers can keep the carpet strip from rising above the surface
of the belt during belt travel. The two rollers help also to hold
the carpet while the pins of the main drum tear the carpet apart
and free the face pile fibers from the fibers of the backing
structure. From the belt the carpet strip is passed to a pair of
nip rollers that drive the leading edge of carpet strip to the edge
of a dish plate. This edged may be a sharp edge if desired. The nip
rollers pull the carpet from the feeder belt to the dish plate. The
top nip roller is preferably a floating roller meaning that it can
be adjusted to accommodate different thicknesses of carpet and hold
the carpet with an adjustable pressure operated by two air
cylinders positioned one on each side of the machine. Once set to
the desired height and pressure in one embodiment, the upper of the
two nip rollers may be secured in that position.
[0018] The dish plate has an upper edge which the fiber side of the
carpet passes. The angle of the upper edge is preferable less than
about 30.degree., more preferably less than about 20.degree. and
most preferably less than about 15' The dish plate has a top
surface that is curved to conform generally to the curve of the
circumference of the upper nip roller. The carpet fibers contact
the surface of the curve on the dish plate as the carpet strip
passes from the nip rollers. As the carpet is driven up the face of
the curved portion of the dish plate by the nip rollers, the first
end of the carpet strip reaches the top edge of the dish plate and
is aggressed by the pins of the main drum that tear the carpet and
free the face pile fibers from the fibers of the backing structure.
The main drum is provided with a plurality of pins. These pins
extend upwardly from the outer surface of the drum. As the main
drum rotates downwards from the top edge of the dish plate about
its axis, the pins push down the carpet backing around the top edge
of the dish plate. The close tolerances of the top edge, the upper
nip roller and the main drum's pins, make possible for the pins to
shred and tear apart the whole structure of the carpet, thus
separating a significant percentage of the carpet fiber from the
backing. In some instances the fibers when separated from the
backing material have as little as 5-10% of backing and adhesive
material with the carpet fibers which is significantly better than
is typically obtained. Similarly the backing that is separated from
the carpet fibers may only have as little as 10% carpet fiber
present with the backing material separated from the fibers.
[0019] The face carpet fibers separated from the backing fibers by
the high speed of the pins of the drum generally fly away
tangentially to the drum and drop by gravity into a suitable
receptacle where they can be collected for recycling. The main drum
preferably rotates at a high speed. Preferably the drum rotates at
about 525 RPM's. The receptacle may be provided with one or more
sidewalls that are hinged or flexible to permit the opening area of
the receptacle to be enlarged to facilitate collection of the
fibers.
[0020] The receptacle may be a belt that removes the fibers away
from the device for further processing. The apparatus of the
present invention is preferably provided with a suitable guide to
assist in directing the fibers to the receptacle. There may also be
a guide that directs the remainder of the carpet strip into contact
with the pins extending outwardly from the main drum as the drum
rotates. In a preferred embodiment, the guides may be combined into
a single guide. The combined guide of the present invention,
broadly speaking, is in the form generally of an inverted V in
cross section. The apex or point of the inverted V is an edge
preferably extending from the region adjacent, from one side of the
main drum to the opposite side of the main drum. The V has two legs
extending generally downwardly from the apex. The first leg has a
generally curved profile and the curve follows the general curve of
the circumference of the main wheel drum. The position of the guide
is adjustable so that the surface of the curved guide leg that is
adjacent the main drum can be moved closer or further away from the
main drum to increase or decrease the separation and removal of
pile fiber that fly away tangentially to the main drum from the
backing fibers that continue to turn inside the pins of the main
drum towards the back end of the machine (the closer the edge of
the guide is to the drum, the higher quantity of pile fiber can be
removed). This adjustment causes as a secondary effect that
bringing the edge of the guide closer to the drum increases the
percentage of undesired backing fiber contaminating the pile fiber,
therefore the user of the machine will have to decide the best
compromise on the distance of the guide from the main drum for his
needs.
[0021] The opposite leg of the guide is positioned so that one end,
the end opposite the apex is in or nearly in the receptacle so that
the shredded fiber may be deposited from the knife blade into the
receptacle. In a preferred embodiment, the second leg of the V
extends partially into the receptacle where it contacts an inner
surface of the sidewall of the receptacle. Because the guide is
adjustable with respect to the proximity of the first curved leg to
the surface of the main drum, the second leg also moves as a result
of this adjustability. This motion is such that the receptacle is
preferably provided with a flexible side wall or a hinged sidewall
to accommodate the movement of the guide.
[0022] The receptacle may be any suitable container for receiving
the shredded pieces of carpet fiber. Alternatively, the fiber may
drop onto a channel or belt where the fiber pieces are passed from
the belt to a receptacle or other packing means for recycling.
Similarly, the fibers may be processed directly at the facility
where the carpet is treated by the apparatus of the present
invention.
[0023] After the fibers are stripped from the backing, the pins on
the main drum cause the backing to be directed around the drum
where the backing reaches a negative pressure roller (also known as
a condenser cage), which holds the shredded backing to its outer
surface by the internal vacuum. As the negative pressure roller
rotates, the shredded backing is transported to a pair of rollers.
One roller is a drive roller; the second roller causes the shredded
backing to pass onto a belt where it can be transported away from
the device for further processing. The condenser cage also assists
in removing dust generated by the process. This dust enters the
cage through the orifices in the surface and the negative pressure
in the cage causes the dust to be removed.
[0024] A second guide positioned on the other side of the main
drum. This guide cuts off the wind generated by the rotation of the
main drum and the pins on the main drum and forces the backing to
fall on the negative pressure roller or condenser cage.
[0025] The negative pressure roller is preferably a roller with a
plurality of orifices in the surface of the roller that are
preferably smaller than the sizes of the pieces of the shredded
carpet backing. The negative pressure in the roller causes the
backing particles to adhere to the surface of the drum because of
the vacuum present in the roller. This negative pressure causes the
backing particles to fall from the area where the second guide
meets the main drum onto the negative pressure roller. As particles
of backing go along the negative pressure roller they are held in
place by the vacuum until they are removed from the negative
pressure roller and dropped onto the belt for removal and
recycling. The air sucked through the holes of the perforated
surface of the negative pressure roller removes a great amount of
dust, latex and calcium carbonate (all components of the carpet
backing) generated during the tearing action of the pins of the
main drum on the carpet. This dusty air is then processed and
cleaned through a dedicated filter (not shown in the enclosed
drawings).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a representative example of a side view of a
carpet section.
[0027] FIG. 2 is a side view of a carpet fiber shredding portion of
the apparatus of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus of the present
invention.
[0029] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an example of the pins used on
the main wheel of the apparatus of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] FIG. 1 shows a representative example of a side view of a
carpet section. The section 10 has a backing 11 to which the carpet
fibers 12 or pile are secured by adhesive 13 or other suitable
means. The fibers can have any suitable length extending from the
backing as desired by the carpet manufacturer in response to the
consumer needs or desires. In some carpets, the fibers may form a
tight nap due to the number of fibers per square inch. In other
carpets, the fibers may be longer and more flexible as in a shag
type carpet.
[0031] The carpet section of FIG. 1 shows a single strand of fiber
folded about a center section 14 and secured to the backing 11 at
the center section. These small pieces of fiber are sometimes
called a "U". It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art
that other types of arrangements of the fiber are also possible.
For example, one end of a fiber strand may be secured to the
backing and the other opposite end of the fiber strand extends
outwardly from the backing. The carpet section may be a full piece
of carpet or it may be strips that have been cut from a carpet.
[0032] The carpet that may be used in the present invention is
preferably a carpet that has the backing made from one
thermoplastic polymeric material and the fibers made from a
different polymeric thermoplastic material although prior to being
placed on the belt of the device of the present invention, the face
fibers could have been trimmed as close to the backing as possible
by conventional shearing devices. However, it is not required that
the face fibers be pre-trimmed in the present invention. In the
conventional process the face fibers are recycled separately from
the remainder of the carpet. In conventional systems, the backing
with the residue of fiber secured thereto is recycled as a
composite material; however, this composite material has limited
use in recycling as the backing is typically made from a polymeric
thermoplastic method that is different from the pile fibers.
[0033] As depicted in FIG. 2, the apparatus 20 of the present
invention includes a belt 21 that may be any suitable length or
width. The carpet section may be any suitable length and width as
long as it fits on the belt of the apparatus. The carpet section
used in the present invention is not limited to narrow strips but
rather fairly large sections may be fed into the device. The carpet
10 to be recycled can be the entire original carpet or could have
already been initially trimmed so that any long fibers on the upper
surface of the carpet are removed leaving only the base or backing
and a short section of the fiber extending upwardly from the
backing. The carpet section to be recycled is positioned on the
feed belt in a face down position with the backing 11 configured
upwardly on the feed belt and the fiber portion of the carpet 12
contacting the feed belt 21. At one end of the belt there is a
pressing roller 22 that keeps the carpet section positioned on the
feed belt. The pressing roller 22 is preferably positioned above
one of the belt rollers at the end of the section of belt. The belt
drives the carpet section from the belt to a pair of rollers. These
rollers are nip or feed rollers. There is a top feed roller 23 and
a bottom feed roller 24. The top 23 and bottom feed roller 24
direct the carpet section to a dish feed 25. The dish feed
preferably has a length similar to the length of the main drum from
about one end to the other end of the main drum but it does not
have to be the full length of the drum. The dish feed 25 may be in
the form of a block or dish plate with a curved surface 26 that
generally conforms to the curve of the circumference of the upper
feed roller 23. At the upper edge of the dish feed 25 there is a an
edge 27. The tip of the blade has a sharp edge. At the edge of the
dish feed the carpet is forced by the downward rotation of the main
drum 28 to move over the edge of the dish feed and travel down
toward the base 29 of the apparatus. The main drum preferably
rotates at a fairly high speed in the order of more than 300 rpm's
and more preferably more than 400 rpm's and most preferably 500-600
rpm's. The main drum 28 is in the form of a cylinder of any
suitable length and diameter. The main drum has a plurality of pins
extending outwardly from the surface of the main drum. The main
drum can also be adjusted in distance from the edge 27, so that its
pins grab onto the backing 11 and shred and tear apart the
structure of the carpet backing, thus freeing the pile fibers such
as the "U's". The free pile fibers are thrown down tangentially by
the pins of the drum and fall from the area of the edge toward the
receptacle 30 that receives the fibers. The receptacle 30 can be
any configuration, in one embodiment the receptacle can be in the
farm of a conveyor type belt that shredded fibers fall onto and are
removed by the motion of the belt.
[0034] The longer shredded backing fibers remain closer to the pins
of the drum and are dropped to between the rear surface of the dish
feed 25 and a guide 32. The guide 32 has a first surface 33 that
may be curved to generally conform to the curve of the
circumference of the main drum 28. The curved surface of the first
leg 33 of the guide keeps the shredded backing fibers in position
on the pins 31 of the main drum 28. The second surface 34 of the
guide is angled towards the receptacle that received the fiber
debris stripped from the backing. This guide is adjustable so that
it can be moved closer to the main drum 28 or further away
depending on the quantity of pile carpet fiber that is to be
separated from the carpet backing fiber. As the guide moves closer
to the main drum or further away as required, the second surface 34
of the guide is also moving thereby narrowing or widening the
opening area of the receptacle 30 receiving the carpet fiber
debris. Because of this motion the receptacle has at least one side
wall 35 that is angled as shown. In a more preferred embodiment,
this side wall is hinged so that the opening of the receptacle can
be adjusted as the guide is adjusted in response to the desired
pile fiber/carpet backing fiber separation.
[0035] As the backing fiber 11 moves along the main drum 28, the
pins 31 extending outwardly of the surface of the main drum 28 pull
the backing along the outer surface of the main drum 28. As shown
in FIG. 4, as the backing fiber is moved by the pins on the drum
the backing fiber is transported to a guide bar 40 that breaks off
the circumferential wind generated by the rotating pins and causes
the backing to be removed from the pins. The guide bar 40 is
adjustable so that it can be made closer to or farther away from
the pins 31 on the main drum 28. The shredded pieces of backing
fall onto the outer surface of a negative pressure roller 41 or a
condenser cage. The condenser could be located as shown in the
existing drawing, but may also be located as a separate machine in
a different location. The backing at this stage is substantially
backing material with a small quantity of pieces of the fiber
"U's". The negative pressure roller has a plurality of orifices in
the outer surface of the roller. A vacuum on the surface of the
roller in the region of the orifices causes particles of the
shredded backing to adhere to the outer surface of the negative
pressure 41 as it rotates. The shredded backing is transported to a
second belt where the backing is deposited on the belt 42 and
transported to a receptacle (not shown) for further processing.
[0036] The air sucked through the plurality of orifices in the
outer surface of the negative pressure roller carries with itself a
great amount of dust and crushed latex and calcium carbonate
generated during the tearing action of the pins of the main drum on
the carpet.
* * * * *