Aerosol can evacuator and compactor

Claim 2

Apparatus for evacuating and compacting aerosol cans comprising: A. a feed chute; B. means connected to said feed chute to sense the orientation of a can and to feed properly oriented cans; C. a crushing mechanism connected to receive the cans from said feed chute; D. a hydraulic ram connected to said crushing mechanism and adapted to move to a first position where a can is evacuated and to a second position whereby a can is compacted; E. a puncturing means reciprocably connected to said crushing mechanism whereby in a first position a can may be loaded or removed and in a second position a can is punctured; F. air logic means connected to said feed chute, sensing means, hydraulic ram and puncturing means to control the sequence of operation; and G. means connected to said crushing mechanism to receive the contents evacuated from a can when punctured.

Claim 3

In apparatus for evacuating and compacting aerosol containers having feeding, positioning, compaction and recovery means, the improved crushing chamber comprising: A. first and second end plates; B. first and second side plates connected to said end plates; C. first and second rails connected to said side plates and adapted to support an aerosol container; D. a stator plate connected to said side plates spaced apart from the end of said rails and having an orifice through it; E. an air cylinder connected to said first end plate and having a reciprocable piston; F. a piercing tip connected to said piston so as to be clear of said stator plate in a first position and to extend through said orifice in said stator plate in a second position; G. a hydraulic cylinder connected to said second end plate and having a reciprocable piston; H. a ram plate connected to said hydraulic cylinder piston so as 1. to provide room for a container on said rails in a first position; 2. to hold a container against said stator plate in a second position while said piercing tip moves from a first to a second position whereby the container is punctured; 3. to crush a container when moving from said second position to a third position; and 4. to release a crushed container when returning to said first position whereby the crushed container falls out of said chamber.

Claim 4

In apparatus for evacuating and compacting aerosol containers having feeding, positioning, compaction and recovery means, the improved crushing chamber comprising: A. first and second end plates; B. first and second side plates connected to said end plates; C. first and second rails connected to said side plates and adapted to support an aerosol container; D. a stator plate connected to said side plates spaced apart from the end of said rails and having an orifice through it; E. an air cylinder connected to said first end plate and having a reciprocable piston; F. a piercing tip connected to said piston so as to be clear of said stator plate in a first position and to extend through said orifice in said stator plate in a second position; G. a hydraulic cylinder connected to said second end plate and having a reciprocable piston; H. a ram plate connected to said hydraulic cylinder piston so as 1. to provide room for a container on said rails in a first position; 2. to hold a container against said stator plate in a second position while said piercing tip moves from a first to a second position whereby the container is punctured; 3. to crush a container when moving from said second position to a third position; and 4. to release a crushed container when returning to said first position whereby the crushed container falls out of said chamber.