Portable plastic melter

Claim 1

A portable plastic melter for the treatment of a mixture of particles of a thermoplastic material and an aggregate material for reducing the plastic to a flowable condition while maintaining the aggregate uniformly dispersed in the flowable plastic comprising: means for receiving said particulate and for discharging said mixture at the bottom thereof in a mushy state, said means comprising a vertically aligned preheater hopper having a downwardly sloping sidewall defining a large opening at the top for receiving said particulate mixture and a small opening at the bottom thereof for discharging said mixture in a mushy state, and means within said hopper to apply heat along a generally vertical surface to the contents of said hopper to reduce said contents to a mushy state; a downwardly sloped guide plate located beneath the bottom small opening of said preheater hopper and adapted to receive the mushy composition falling therefrom, and means to heat said guide plate; pump means at the lower end of said guide plate for removing the mushy composition; a superheater to which said pump means forces the composition, said pump means quickly forcing the composition through said superheater where the plastic is heated substantially and reduced to a free-flowing state; a discharge spray nozzle for the melted composition exciting from said superheater; and a countercurrent fluid heating means including a fluid heater, means for carrying the fluid from said fluid heater through said superheater to heat said superheater, means for carrying said heating fluid from said superheater to below and in heatexchange relationship with said guide plate to comprise said guide plate heating means, means to carry said heating fluid from said guide plate to said preheating hopper to comprise said hopper heating means, and means to pass said fluid back to saiD fluid heater.