US3705694A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of and an apparatus for reclaiming metal from scrap wire and cable
Assignee: JOHN L SLOCUM
•
Filing: 1970-12-02
•
Granted: 1972-12-12
•
Expires: 1990-12-02
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and a method for reclaiming scrap metal from insulated cables or wires. The insulated wires are chopped into short lengths and subjected to high squeezing pressure between a pair of hard surfaces to crush the casings and destroy the integrity thereof. During the squeezing, the metal pieces are somewhat flattened and the pieces of casing are forced apart, exposing the metal. The metal pieces then fall away or are knocked away from the respective pieces of casing. The metal and casing pieces are then segregated from each other.
Inventors
- 👤 John L Slocum
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 22:39
CPC Classifications
B; B02; B02C; B02C23/00; B02C23/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
24 words
A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said segregating comprises separating said metal pieces from said casing pieces by a gravity separating means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method in accordance with claim 2, in which said casing pieces are lifted from said metal pieces by a pressure differential.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the product of squeezing is rapped to detach casing pieces from their associated metal pieces.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said segregating comprises selectively electrically charging said casing pieces, and electrostatically attracting the charged casing pieces from the metal pieces.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
101 words
A method of recovery of material from scrap insulated wire having an outer encircling casing and an interior conductor metal, including the steps of chopping insulated wire into pieces, inserting the chopped wire pieces into the nip of a pair of rotating squeeze rolls having peripheral surfaces rotating at substantially the same velocity and harder than the conductor metal, applying sufficient squeezing force within the nip of said rolls without any substantial grinding of the pieces to breach the encircling casing, detaching the casing pieces from the respective metal pieces, and segregating the metal pieces from the detached pieces of casing.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
67 words
A method in accordance with claim 6, in which the segregating step segregates the squeezed product into metal pieces, detached pieces of casing, and chopped wire pieces in which casing adheres to the metal, and in which the latter class of product is inserted into said nip and the squeezed product is returned to the chopping step for detaching adherent casing pieces from their associated metal pieces.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
125 words
An apparatus for reclaiming material from insulated wire and for separating interior conductor metal from a surrounding insulating casing, said apparatus comprising: means for chopping the insulated wire into discrete pieces, means for squeezing said chopped wire pieces comprising a pair of hard, substantially smooth surfaced counterrotating cylindrical rolls having peripheral surfaces rotating at substantially the same velocity and having a nip therebetween into which are inserted the chopped wire pieces, said rolls being spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of the metal conductor of substantially all wire to be processed for reclamation to split said casing and thereby expose said conductor metal along substantially its entire length, and means for segregating the resulting metal pieces and casing pieces from each other.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of reclaiming materials from substantially cylindrical pieces of electrical wire having interior conductor metal and a substantially cylindrical surrounding electrically insulating casing of plastic comprising the steps of: squeezing the cylindrical pieces between hard cylindrical rolls having peripheral surfaces rotating at substantially the same velocity and applying squeezing pressure without any substantial grinding of the pieces sufficient to split and extrude the surrounding cylindrical plastic casing to destroy its integrity and to form flattened surface areas on the interior conductor metal, and segregating the resulting metal pieces from the casing pieces.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 8, including means for rapping the squeezed product to detach casing pieces from their associated metal pieces.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
54 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 10, wherein said means for segregating segregates the squeezed product into metal pieces, detached pieces of casing, and metal pieces to which casing adheres, and in which said means for rapping includes conveyor means for returning said metal pieces to which casing adheres to said means for chopping.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein said means for squeezing is disposed in the return path from said means for segregating to said means for chopping.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
146 words
A method of recovery of material from scrap insulated wire having an outer encircling casing and an interior conductor metal, including the steps of: chopping insulated wire into pieces with some pieces of conductor metal being separated from its associated case during the chopping, segregating the metal pieces from the casing pieces and from the chopped wire pieces, inserting the chopped wire pieces into the nip of a pair of rotating squeeze rolls having peripheral surfaces rotating at substantially the same velocity and harder than the conductor metal, applying sufficient squeezing force without any substantial grinding of the pieces within the nip of said rolls to breach the encircling casing, detaching the casing pieces from the respective metal pieces, and segregating the squeezed metal pieces from the detached squeezed pieces of casing and returning any insulated wire pieces to the squeezing rolls for another squeezing operation.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method in accordance with claim 13 including the steps of using an air pressure differential to remove light insulating casing materials and using an air vIbrating table to form discrete streams of metal and casings for collection and a stream of wire pieces for squeezing.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-12-12 | 1976-06-12 | 1976-12-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-12-12 | 1980-06-12 | 1980-12-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-12-12 | 1984-06-12 | 1984-12-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |