EP0021579B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for the manufacture of plastics articles
Assignee: Plastic Recycling Ltd
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Filing: 1980-05-12
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Granted: 1983-05-11
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Expires: 2000-05-12
Abstract
Abstract The manufacture of plastics products, in particular of board-like articles from scrap or salvaged plastics materials, results by providing a mat of the raw material in particulate form, heating the mat to the softening point of the material by conveying it through an oven (4). After that the mat is compressed between three rollers (10, 2, 8) arranged generally one above the other by being passed between the top and middle rollers (10, 2), then between the middle and lower rollers (2, 8), and then around the lower roller (8) to continue in the direction away from the oven, the middle and lower rollers being of substantially greater diameter than the upper roller (10).
Inventors
- 👤 William Jeffery Mair
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 01:35
CPC Classifications
B; B29; B29B; B29B17/00; B29B17/0026; B27; B27N; B27N3/00; B27N3/007; B29C; B29C43/00; B29C43/22; B29C43/30; B29C43/305; Y; Y02; Y02W; Y02W30/00; Y02W30/50; Y02W30/62
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
278 words
A method of manufacturing a plastics articles from a raw material containing at least 50% by weight reclaimed synthetic thermoplastics material by providing a mat of the raw material in particulate or granulated form on a conveyor belt (1), heating the mat of material by conveying the mat through an oven (4) on the conveyor belt to cause the thermoplastics material in the mat to soften, and compressing the softened mat downstream of the oven for which compression two rollers (2, 8) are provided arranged one above the other, one of the rollers supporting the conveyor belt, whereby the softened thermoplastics material binds the pieces of other material in the mat, the mat being cooled during compression, characterized in that the mat is compressed between the said conveyor belt (1) and a further belt (7) passing around said two rollers (2, 8) and an additional roller (10) arranged generally one above the other to define a first passage between the upper and middle rollers (10, 2) and a second passage between the middle and lower rollers (2, 8), the said middle roller (2) also supporting the conveyor belt, the mat passing from the oven through the said first passage, around the middle roller (2) to the said second passage, and then around the lower roller (8) to continue in the direction away from the oven, the middle and lower rollers (2, 8) being of substantially greater diameter than the upper roller (10) and being of sufficient diameter to mitigate cracking of the mat as it passes around the said rollers, and in that the mat is cooled as it passes around at least the said middle roller (2).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method as claimed in Claim 1, characterized in that the said middle roller (2) is of greater diameter than the said lower roller (8).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that both said middle (2) and lower (8) rollers have a diameter at least twice that of the said upper roller (10).
Claim 4
Independent Claim
34 words
A method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the ratio of the diameters of the said upper (10), middle (2) and lower (8) rollers is substantially 1:3:2 respectively.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
30 words
A method as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 4, characterized by cooling the mat as it passes around at least the said middle (2) and lower (8) rollers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
269 words
Apparatus for manufacturing a plastics articles from raw material containing at least 50% by weight reclaimed synthetic thermoplastics material, comprising a conveyor belt (1), means (5) for feeding a mat of the raw material in particulate or granulated form onto the conveyor belt at an upstream portion thereof, an oven (4) downstream of the raw material feeding means for heating the mat to cause the thermoplastics material in the mat to soften as the mat is passed through the oven on the conveyor belt, and compression means downstream of the oven for compressing the softened mat, said compression means being composed of two rollers (2, 8) arranged one above the other, one of the rollers supporting the conveyor belt, means being provided for cooling the mat during compression, characterized by a further belt (7) arranged to pass around an arrangement of said two rollers (2, 8) and an additional roller (10) downstream of the oven and to co-operate with the said conveyor belt (1) for compressing the softened mat, the three rollers being arranged generally one above the other to define a first passage between the upper and middle rollers (10, 2) and a second passage between the middle and lower rollers (2, 8), the said middle roller (2) also supporting the conveyor belt, the middle and lower rollers (2, 8) being of substantially greater diameter than the upper roller (10) and being of sufficient diameter to mitigate cracking of the mat as it passes around the said rollers, and by means for cooling the mat of material as it passes around at least the said middle roller (2).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, characterized in that the said middle roller (2) is of greater diameter than the said lower roller (8).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 or 7, characterized in that both said middle (2) and lower (8) rollers have a diameter at least twice that of the said upper roller (10).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the ratio of the diameters of the said upper (10), middle (2) and lower (8) rollers is substantially 1:3:2 respectively.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 6 to 9, characterized by means for cooling the mat as it passes around at least the said middle (2) and lower (8) rollers.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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