US3817458A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Recycling method and apparatus
Assignee: Chicago Hydraulics Inc
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Filing: 1972-06-19
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Granted: 1974-06-18
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Expires: 1992-06-19
Abstract
Abstract A recycling system for solid municipal waste, in which the garbage is milled to given maximum size, then fed to a threelevel flotation separation vessel; in the flotaton separation vessel, paper is raked from the surface, metal, glass and like heavy solids are removed from the vessel bottom by a deep drum separator, and light organic materials are extracted from an intermediate level by a dewatering screw. The paper materials are dried and compressed; the organic materials are treated separately but similarly. The heavy solids are passed through a magnetic separator to recover ferrous metals, which are washed in a vibratory cleaner. The residual heavy solids are fed to a twolevel flotation separation vessel to segregate metal from glass on a surface-differential basis; the two outputs of this second vessel are washed in vibratory cleaners.
Inventors
- 👤 M Gilberto
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 21:07
CPC Classifications
B; B03; B03B; B03B9/00; B03B9/06; Y; Y02; Y02W; Y02W30/00; Y02W30/50; Y02W30/52; Y10; Y10S; Y10S209/00; Y10S209/93; Y10S241/00; Y10S241/38
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
65 words
A method of classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 1, including the additional step of compressing the flake material raked off from the fluid flotation medium in step II(a) by passing that material along an open mesh conveyor between a plurality of successive pairs of pressure rollers to remove entrained fluid therefrom and produce a relatively dry, dense paper material.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
66 words
A method of classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 1, in which the solid material removed from the first fluid medium flotation separation vessel, is taken from below the surface of the fluid medium, with the solid material being elevated as it is withdrawn from the first vessel and the fluid medium permitted to drain back into the vessel during removal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
72 words
A method of classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 3, including the additional step of compressing the solid organic material removed from the fluid flotation medium in Step II(c) by passing that material along an open mesh conveyor between a plurality of successive pairs of pressure rollers to remove entrained fluid therefrom and produce a relatively dry, dense organic material suitable for use as a landfill material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
A method of classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 1, in which each of the outputs IV B, C and D is passed through a cleaning fluid and simultaneously vibrated to clean the output product.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
238 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from solid municipal waste comprising: milling means for milling raw solid waste to particulate form, of predetermined maximum size; a first flotation separation vessel, filled with a liquid flotation medium, and including a surface rake for raking off floating flake material from the surface of the liquid medium, the flake material primarily comprising paper, a dense material separator for removing dense material, comprising primarily metal and glass heavier than the liquid medium, from the bottom of the first flotation vessel, and a dewatering elevator for removing solid material, comprising primarily solid organic material lighter than the fluid medium, from the upper part of the first flotation vessel; said elevator being displaced from both said rake and said dense material separator; conveyor means for conveying the output of the milling means to the first flotation separation vessel and for depositing that output onto the surface of the liquid in the first flotation vessel at a point closely adjacent the surface rake; a magnetic separator for magNetically separating ferrous materials from the dense material constituting the output of the dense material separator in the first flotation separation vessel; and a glass-metal separator for separating the remainder of the dense material into glass material of little surface area and light-metal material of larger surface area on the basis of surface area differentials, the glass-metal separator comprising a second liquid medium flotation separation vessel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 6, in which the liquid flotation medium utilized in both the first and the second flotation separation vessels is water.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
108 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 7, in which the dense material separator in the first flotation separation vessel comprises a rotary drum extending to the bottom of the vessel and projecting above the liquid surface in the vessel, the drum having a multiplicity of radially directed interior vanes, and a conveyor extending into the interior of the drum between the vanes and the surface of the flotation liquid for carrying away dense material removed from the bottom of the vessel on the vanes of the drum and released when the vanes have rotated to the top of the drum.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
93 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 6, in which the dewatering elevator for the first flotation separation vessel comprises an elongated conduit projecting into the vessel at an angle to the horizontal and extending below the surface level of the liquid flotation medium, a helical screw extending axially of the conduit and substantially filling the conduit, and means for continuously rotating the screw, and in which the dewatering elevator is located at a substantial distance from the surface rake in the first flotation separation vessel.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
63 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 6, and further comprising first dewatering and densifying means for the paper flake material comprising the output of the surface rake in the first flotation separation vessel and second dewatering and densifying means for the solid organic material removed from the first flotation separation vessel by the dewatering elevator.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
95 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from solid municipal waste, according to claim 10, in which at least one of the dewatering and densifying means comprises an elongated, open mesh conveyor of substantial width, means for depositing material to be densified on one end of the conveyor in a narrow stream, and a plurality of pairs of pressure rolls located on opposite sides of the conveyor at spaced points along the conveyor for successively pressing the material into thinner and wider configuration across the conveyor and for squeezing entrained liquid from the material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
50 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 11, in which each pair of pressure rolls is continuously driven so that the surface of each roll engaging the conveyor is moving in the same direction and at approximately the same speed as the conveyor.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
108 words
A system for classifying and reclaiming usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 6, in which the glass-metal separator further comprises a first separator drum extending only partly below the surface of the liquid flotation medium in the second separation vessel, a deflection baffle located adjacent the bottom of the first separator drum, means for introducing the remainder of the dense material into the second separation vessel immediately above the baffle, and a second separator drum extending to the bottom of the second separation vessel, the first separator drum serving to collect light metal and the second separator drum serving to collect glass and other ceramic materials.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
69 words
A system for classifying and reclaimiNg usable materials from municipal waste, according to claim 13, in which the baffle includes a relatively narrow gap spaced from the first separator drum, and further comprising means for directing an air stream upwardly through that gap to deflect light metal particles toward the first separator drum without materially interferring with movement of heavier particles to the bottom of the second separation vessel.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-06-17 | 1977-12-17 | 1978-06-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-06-17 | 1981-12-17 | 1982-06-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-06-17 | 1985-12-17 | 1986-06-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |