US5385307A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Cryogenic tire recycling system
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1993-12-27
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Granted: 1995-01-31
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Expires: 2013-12-27
Abstract
Abstract The raw material in used tire carcasses is reclaimed by cutting the tire into quarter segments and freezing the segments with liquid nitrogen in a controlled environment freezing chamber. Rotary air locks pass material to and from the chamber. Steel and fiber materials are removed in a stripping chamber where the frozen rubber both broken into smaller chunks. A robot arm with magnets and hooked fingers removes the fiber and steel. The rubber chunks are then pressed through dies to reduce the size to a uniform rubber crumb. The press consists of multiple pointed fingers in registration with multiple sized holes in a screen type die. The rubber crumb is removed with a suction device and dried using heat from a closed loop nitrogen cycle on the way to collection containers.
Inventors
- 👤 Essa T. Azar
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 19:39
CPC Classifications
F; F25; F25D; F25D3/00; F25D3/10; F25D3/11; B; B29; B29B; B29B17/00; B29B17/02; B29B17/0206; B29B17/04; B29B17/0404; B29B17/0408; B29B2017/0213; B29B2017/0217; B29B2017/022; B29B2017/0416; B29B2017/0424; B29B2017/0456; B29K; B29K2021/00; B29K2105/00; B29K2105/06; B29K2105/26; B29L; B29L2030/00; Y; Y02; Y02W; Y02W30/00; Y02W30/50; Y02W30/62; Y10; Y10S; Y10S241/00; Y10S241/31; Y10S241/37
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
106 words
An apparatus for reclaiming the rubber, fiber, and steel materials of a discarded tire carcass comprising; means for cutting the tire carcass into a number of segments of equal volume; means for freezing said segments to the point of embrittlement; a robot arm capable of rotation, translation, and reciprocation; a head on said robot arm for fracturing the rubber in said embrittled tire segments to produce said fractured rubber particles; means for separating the fiber and steel from said rubber particles in said composite; press means for sizing said rubber particles to a uniform size; and suction means for transporting said uniform size particles to containers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
109 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for cutting further comprises; first powered conveyor means for transporting the tire carcass in a first direction; first cutting means centrally located with respect to said first powered conveyor means for substantially bisecting the tire carcass as it is transported in said first direction; second powered conveyor means for transporting the tire carcass in a second direction, substantially normal to said first direction; second cutting means centrally located with respect to said second powered conveyor means for substantially bisecting the tire carcass as it is transported in said second direction; whereby the tire carcass is transformed into four quarter tire segments.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for freezing further comprises; multiple liquid nitrogen spray nozzles for spraying the tire carcasses; multiple nitrogen recovery nozzles for recovering the nitrogen; and means for resupplying said spray nozzles with the nitrogen recovered by said recovery nozzles.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
84 words
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said means for freezing further comprises; a sealed freezing chamber totally enclosing said spray nozzles, said recovery nozzles, and a tire carcass segment; first rotary air lock means for inserting a tire carcass segment into said freezing chamber; and second rotary air lock means for removing a tire carcass segment from said freezing chamber; wherein the air lock means allow insertion and removal of tire carcass segments while preventing communication of said freezing chamber with the surrounding atmosphere.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said freezing chamber further comprises; means for controlling the temperature, pressure, and humidity within said freezing chamber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for separating further comprises; electromagnetic means on said head for attracting the steel material; hook means protruding from said electromagnetic head for snagging the fiber material; and discharge chute means for the steel and fiber material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
38 words
The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said means for separating further comprises; means for rotating said head; and third rotary air lock means for transporting said fractured rubber particles from said means for separating to said press means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
64 words
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said press means further comprises; a press head having multiple pointed fingers arranged in concentric rings; and die means having multiple uniformly sized apertures arranged in concentric rings corresponding to said concentric rings of said pointed fingers; wherein said press head forces said fractured rubber particles through said apertures so as to produce said uniformly sized rubber particles.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said press means further comprises; multiple die means with separate ones of said die means having different sized apertures so as to produce finer or coarser uniformly sized rubber particles, and different ones of said multiple die means are selectively useable in said press means.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
206 words
An apparatus for reclaiming the rubber, fiber, and steel materials of a discarded tire carcass comprising; means for cutting the tire carcass into a number of segments of equal volume; means for freezing said segments to the point of embrittlement, said means for freezing comprising; multiple liquid nitrogen spray nozzles for spraying the tire carcasses; multiple nitrogen recovery nozzles for recovering the nitrogen; and means for resupplying said spray nozzles with the nitrogen recovered by said recovery nozzles; a sealed freezing chamber totally enclosing said spray nozzles, said recovery nozzles, and a tire carcass segment; first rotary air lock means for inserting a tire carcass segment into said freezing chamber; and second rotary air lock means for removing a tire carcass segment from said freezing chamber; wherein said first and said second air lock means allow insertion and removal of tire carcass segments while preventing communication of said freezing chamber with the surrounding atmosphere means for fracturing said embrittled segments to create a composite of rubber particles, fiber, and steel; means for separating the fiber and steel from said rubber particles in said composite; press means for sizing said rubber particles to a uniform size; and suction means for transporting said uniform size particles to containers.
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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) | 1998-01-30 | 1998-08-01 | 1999-01-31 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2002-01-30 | 2002-08-01 | 2003-01-31 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2006-01-30 | 2006-08-01 | 2007-01-31 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |