FR3085285A1 - RESTORATION WASTE COLLECTOR - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to devices comprising a feed hopper 1, a crusher 2 powered by a motor 3 and collection bins 4. The objects of the invention are to reduce the downtime caused by breakdowns. , simplify staff work and service, and improve staff safety. According to the invention, the hopper 1, the crusher 2, its drive means 3, 38 and 39, its power supply 18 and its control box 17 are carried by the frame of a trolley 8, removable and interchangeable in case failure, fitting under the upper wall 11 of a cabinet 9. The electrical circuit of the crusher and the means of the carriage is supplied by a single connector 18. Lanes 19a and 19b arranged in the hopper and 20a and 20b in the Crusher directs the crushed food and the crushed cans to the underlying bins 4a and 4b. A tubular network 25-26 leads the liquid remains to a tank 4c. Sensors 22-23 and 43 secure the device.

Description

The invention relates to a collector-shredder of catering waste.

In catering, collective or not, when the service is finished, catering waste is collected in containers assigned to this task or in collector-shredders reducing their volume.

By waste is understood food remains, including what has not been consumed or unfit for consumption, such as vegetable purees, salad remains, chicken or rabbit bones, bread or side crusts, peels, pits and leftover fruit. In the fast food industry there are disposable plates, cups and cutlery and canned drinks.

This waste is collected and distributed either by service personnel, or directly by the consumer who not only serves his place of consumption but also his tray. It distributes the content between areas for collecting reusable items after washing and bins or containers for food waste. The state of the art already provides so-called "industrial" devices for the treatment of catering catering waste. The known devices include, carried by a frame, a waste collection hopper and a crusher disposed above a reception area of a shredded waste collector bin. It discloses devices collecting ground food, food plus dishes and drink cans.

In addition to noise and odor nuisance, such devices have the disadvantage of being fragile in terms of their grinding means which undergo stresses varying according to the resistance offered by the waste disposed in the hopper, for example between remains food alone or with their crockery in crushable material and metal cans. This drawback is increased when the device is used by consumers who are not informed about its operation and the resulting constraints, or quite simply lax by not respecting the instructions for dumping into containers.

As a result, the knives, blades or discs of the grinding means, but also their motor means and intermediate drive means are subject to frequent breakdowns which, when they are long, make it necessary to provide spare devices.

Such operating stoppages are all the more expensive since it is necessary to call on the manufacturer or a maintenance company, generally distant, since the kitchen and service staff are not able to carry out this maintenance.

The object of the invention is to provide a collector-shredder for catering waste, the structure of which makes it possible to ensure, at the place of use, rapid maintenance not requiring the movement of a specialist and allowing rapid recovery of the service.

It applies to devices comprising a feed hopper and a crusher delivering on at least one receiving tank placed under it and without contact.

According to the invention, the hopper, the crusher, its drive means, its electrical connection means and its operating control and safety means are carried by the chassis of a carriage, removable and interchangeable, inserted under the upper wall of a piece of furniture with a facial door, this piece of furniture comprising, in said upper wall, at least two openings, leading to two independent trays for receiving shredded material, these trays being assigned to the collection, respectively, of shredded material from the mixed food and shredded metal cans and plastic bottles, while the hopper is divided by a vertical separator into two lanes corresponding to the underlying trays and the electric circuit of the trolley is supplied by a single connector, suitable for receive the plug of a power supply cable reaching the cabinet.

With this structure, all technical means are carried by a removable carriage which, in the event of a malfunction, is disconnected from its sole power source, then, after removal of the collection bins, is removed from the cabinet, to be replaced by a trolley in stock, supporting the same means, but in working order. Thus, the downtime of the service is limited to the period of supply of a new carriage and no longer depends on the time of repair of the means having caused the breakdown, such as total or partial breakage of a means of grinding, replacement of '' an electric motor, failure of an electrical component.

Preferably, the upper wall of the cabinet has a third opening under which is arranged a funnel for collecting liquids which is part of a tubular network going into a third collecting tank, assigned to liquids.

Thus, before engaging a metal beverage can in the specific corridor provided in the hopper, the operator can pour the rest of the content into the third opening, thereby releasing the bins for collecting, respectively, food waste and metallic waste, of an unsuitable liquid volume disrupting its content.

In one embodiment, the upper plane of the chassis carries the hopper and the crusher, while its lower part is divided:

• in an anterior zone, for receiving the shredded and liquid collection tanks, and, • in a posterior zone, supporting a control box which, containing the command and control means, is accessible by a rear door.

With this arrangement, when the trolley is placed in the cabinet, the cabinet door faces the rear wall of the cabinet and cannot be opened, for example by catering staff, and can therefore only be opened by staff maintenance after the cart has been removed from the cabinet. This provides security for the functional settings of the device.

In one embodiment, the mill is divided, longitudinally and by a vertical wall, into two lanes, corresponding to those of the hopper, and, vertically into:

• a lower grinding level, in which its two parallel shafts are motorized with reverse rotations and at different speeds, are synchronized and carry grinding discs which, provided with peripheral teeth, are spaced and are inserted in the intervals between discs of the neighboring shaft, • and a higher level of feed, in which two other parallel shafts, also motorized and with synchronized reverse rotations, carry toothed diametrical arms, spaced apart longitudinally and capable of sucking the waste discharged into the hopper in providing a downward pulling force, adding to the drive torques provided by the grinder discs;

• the shafts of the two levels being connected, by a chain drive, to a geared motor with variable speed drive controlled by the value of the absorbed current.

The organization of the shredder makes the best use of the electrical energy allocated to the shredding function, while the control of the motor by the instantaneous current delivered by the shredder makes it possible to constantly adjust the speeds and the direction of drive of the shafts, to obtain an excellent yield and a perfectly adapted power.

Advantageously, the crusher comprises in its housing lateral and fixed cleaning blades extending horizontally, from two of the sides facing the housing, between the wall of the housing and one of the two motorized shafts of the level lower, each blade being inserted, with a reduced functional clearance, in one of the intervals formed between two discs wedged on the same shaft, for the interlocking passage of the discs opposite the neighboring shaft.

This allows, immediately after shredding and shredding, to eliminate waste, and more particularly filamentous waste which, aggregating in these intervals, increases the electrical power consumed, while reducing speed and efficiency.

Preferably, each disc comprises a hexagonal axial bore by which it is locked in rotation on a shaft of the same cross section, but with an angular offset relative to its neighbors, so that the teeth on a shaft are distributed in helices offering a propeller grinding attack.

This mounting of the discs distributes the instant grinding effort along the shafts, improves the wear resistance of the teeth, reduces the breakdown of the crusher and makes it possible to limit the instantaneous electrical power required.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows, given with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing, representing an embodiment of the crusher-compactor according to the invention.

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the entire apparatus;

Figure 2 is a plan view from above;

Figure 3 is a side view in vertical and cross section along lll-lll of Figure 2, showing the arrangement of the hopper, the crusher and the collection bins;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view along IV-IV of Figure 3, passing through the interior of the mill;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view along V-V of Figure 2, showing the chain drive means of the grinder shafts, and the liquid collection network.

Figure 6 is a sectional view along IV-IV of Figure 3 showing on an enlarged scale the components of the mill;

Figure 7 is a sectional view along VII-VII of Figure 6 showing, on an enlarged scale, the intersection of the disks and the cleaning blades.

The apparatus shown in the figures generally comprises, from top to bottom, a hopper 1, a grinder 2, an electric drive geared motor 3 and collection bins 4a, 4b and 4c.

According to the invention, the hopper 1, the crusher 2 and the geared motor 3 are carried by the upper plate 6a of a tubular frame 6. The latter is provided with rollers with which it forms a carriage 8 enabling it to be engaged in or take it out of a protective cabinet 9 with facial door 10 with two flaps.

The upper wall 11 of the cabinet 9 is shown as carrying meal trays P. It is crossed by openings, respectively:

• rectangular 13, for receiving all food, with or without crockery and cutlery, • circular 14, for receiving metal cans or plastic containers, • and circular 15, for draining liquids.

The lower part of the carriage 8 is divided, under the plate 11, into:

• an anterior part A1 receiving the tanks 4a, 4b and 4c without contact, bearing on the ground, and, • a posterior part A2, supporting a box 17 containing the command, control and piloting means, including the supply electrical is effected by a single connector 18, visible in Figure 1

FIG. 4 shows that when the carriage 8 is inside the cabinet 9, the door 17a of the cabinet 17 is close to the rear wall 9a of the cabinet 9 and therefore cannot be opened to modify the functional settings of the crusher 2 This provides protection against any attempt at unauthorized intervention.

Figures 1 and 3 show that the hopper which, extends longitudinally only over a length equal to that of the accumulated tanks 4a and 4b, is divided by a vertical separator 19 delimiting two lanes 19a and 19b, superimposed on the tanks 4a and 4b underlying.

In this embodiment, the separator 19 is provided with a window 20 allowing the immaterial beam F generated between the emitter 22 and the receiver 23 to pass arranged on two of the opposite edges of the hopper 1. This equipment being associated with a safety automaton which, arranged in the box 17 manages, on the one hand, the stopping of the gearmotor 3 as soon as the light curtain F is obscured, for example by a hand or a dumping of waste, and on the other hand and after a timed delay , restarting the geared motor 3.

Figures 1,3 and 5 show that a funnel 25 for collecting liquids is arranged under the opening 15 of the upper wall 11 of the cabinet. It is connected to the upper end of a tubular network 26, the lower end of which opens above the tank 4c for collecting liquids.

As shown in Figures 3 and 6, the housing 27 of the crusher 2 is in the form of a box open upwards and downwards and is divided transversely, by a vertical wall 28 delimiting two lanes 29a and 29b, in correspondence with those 19a and 19b of the hopper 1.

Functionally, the housing 27 of the crusher 2 is also divided into an upper level of feed and a lower level of grinding. In each of these levels, it carries a group of two parallel and motorized shafts, respectively 32a and 32b and 34a and 34b. The shafts are mounted free in rotation in bearings of the housing and have a polygonal, for example hexagonal, section by which they are linked in rotation, respectively, to toothed arms 33 and to discs 35.

The toothed arms 33, visible in FIGS. 2 to 7, are provided with notches or teeth at their diametrical ends. They are wedged on their shaft, 32a or 32b, with the interposition of spacer rings 30 giving them a longitudinal spacing of the value of three to four discs 35. The shafts 32a and 32b have a larger center distance than the shafts 34a and 34b so that , in operation, the arms wedged on a shaft describe circular paths which do not intersect those of the toothed arms 33 of the other shaft. They are intended to catch the material introduced into the hopper 1, to pull it into the lower part of the crusher. Their action exerts on the food waste and on the cans a pre-compression, which is added to the pulling action carried out for grinding by the discs 35 and therefore reduces the power required from the geared motor.

As shown in more detail in Figure 6, the discs 35 are provided over their entire periphery with hooked teeth 36. They are locked in rotation on their shaft 34a or 34b by the hexagonal profile of their axial bore, cooperating with that of the tree. They are spaced longitudinally from each other by spacer rings 40 having a length equal to their thickness to form between them gaps 41 which can accommodate the disks of the neighboring shaft. It is these spacer rings 40 which determine the low functional clearance between opposite disks. The parallel shafts 34a and 34b have a center-to-center allowing the disks to intersect by engaging the disks of one of the shafts in the intervals 41 of the other shaft. In addition and as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the teeth of the discs facing each other define circular paths which intersect.

The arrows 31 in FIG. 6 show that the direction of rotation of the shafts 32a and 32b are opposite and that the same is true for the directions of rotation of the shafts 34a and 34b.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the rotational connection between, on the one hand, a motor pinion 37, wedged on the shaft of the motor 3, and, on the other hand, driven pinions

38a, 38b, 38c and 38d, wedged on the shafts 32a and 32b and 34a and 34b, is ensured by a triple chain 39 with very resistant links (Figure 3), to eliminate the risks of breakdown by rupture of the drive.

This drive mode of the shafts ensures their synchronization with constant gear ratios. By way of example, the grinding shaft 34a carries grinding disks 35, having a diameter of the order of 100 to 180 mm, and pivots with a speed V1, of the order of 18 revolutions / min, then that the other grinding shaft 34b pivots at a speed V2, of the order of 22 revolutions / min, while the feed shafts 32a and 32b rotate at the same speed V3, of the order of 13 to 15 revolutions / min.

The electric motor 3 is supplied by a speed variator itself controlled by the means arranged in the box 17 reacting to a sensor placed in the motor and measuring the instantaneous electric current necessary for driving the shafts. Thus, when the current drawn exceeds a warning value, for example due to significant mechanical forces to ensure the feeding and / or grinding, the power supply of the geared motor 3 is temporarily modified so that the trees which it drives stop and turn in the opposite direction, then return to normal, in an attempt to reduce the jamming forces by moving the materials which are the cause. Depending on the settings, this cleaning operation can be carried out several times in succession and lead to a complete stop, if the causes of the jam are not removed and risk heating the gearmotor and damaging it.

To reduce the risk of mechanical breakdowns, for example consecutive to the destruction of a diametral arm 33, or the toothing of a disc 35, these elements have at least a thickness of the order of 10 to 18 mm, are made in alloy steel, treated to increase its hardness up to 58 HRC and have machined and ground side faces.

In one embodiment, in order to reduce the resistant torque originating from the simultaneous attack of food residues by the hook teeth 36 of the discs 35, each disc is set in rotation on its hexagonal shaft 34a or 34b with an angular offset of approximately 5 degrees compared to its neighbors. With this arrangement, and as shown in FIG. 6, the teeth 36 juxtaposed on the same shaft are distributed in a helix and offer a start of non-linear grinding, which reduces the value of the instantaneous force.

In addition, to eliminate jams by accumulation of various grinds between the discs 35 and reduce friction, forcing the engine torque to be increased on the shafts 34a and 34b, the casing 27 of the crusher 2 comprises lateral stripping blades

42. Each blade 42 extends horizontally between an outer wall of the housing 27 and one of the two grinding shafts 34a or 34b, and is inserted, with reduced functional clearance, in each of the intervals 41 formed between the wedged disks 35 on the same tree, as shown in figure 7.

These blades 42 are made of the same material as the discs 35 and are manufactured in the same way and with the same treatments to offer the same resistance over time.

In addition to the arrangements which have just been described to improve the resistance of the device and to reduce the various breakdowns of its components, the device according to the invention also includes means securing its use by personnel not warned of the dangers of this one.

These means include:

• The light curtain F and 22-23 arranged on the edges of the hopper 1 to trigger the shutdown of the gearmotor 3, if its beam F is obscured, temporarily by the dumping of waste, or permanently, for example by the engagement in the hopper of the hands or arms of an operator. The barrier is associated with a safety automaton of the housing 17 which, for temporary occultation, replenishes the gearmotor after a stop for a few seconds, but maintains the stop until the end of the occultation.

• Sensors 43 arranged on the upper front edge of the carriage 8, visible in FIG. 1, and detecting the maximum filling of the tanks 4a and 4b, to trigger the stopping of the gearmotor 3.

• And a sensor 44, visible in FIG. 5, and arranged on the lower flap of the door 10 in two flaps to detect the opening thereof and trigger the stopping of the geared motor 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper door flap comprises a tab 45 protruding downward and coming into the closing path of the lower flap, to follow its closing movement, allow the start-up and guarantee the safety of the personnel by preventing its opening without opening the lower flap triggering the stopping of the power supply.

All these sensors are electrically connected to the means of the box 17 so that they react on the power supply of the gear motor 3 to stop the latter as soon as a hand of the operator or the personnel is no longer safe and risks being caught by the toothed arms of the feeding means or by the teeth of the grinding discs 35.

When the device is in use, door 10 closed, the carriage 8 is entirely in the cabinet 9 and connected by its single connector 18 to an external power cable reaching the cabinet.

In this configuration, opening door 10 to empty the tanks automatically stops the power supply to the gearmotor 3 and secures the device, if this has not been done by one of the sensors 43 having detected the filling of one of the tanks.

When it is necessary to serve, the carrier of each tray P brings the tray close to the appliance and empties into the opening 13 the food waste with, possibly, the non-reusable dishes. The lane 19a of the hopper then that 29a of the crusher housing orient this waste towards the toothed arms 33, then towards the grinding discs 35. The ground material falls into the tank 4a.

Before or after, the rest of the drink contained in a can or other disposable container is emptied into the opening 15, where the funnel 25 and the network 26, conduct the liquid to the tank 4c. Then, the can is thrown through the opening 14 and guided by the lanes 19b and 29b in the grinder. This transforms it into shreds which fall into the tank 4b.

Given the precautions taken to improve the resistance of the components of the device, it can operate durably, without a breakdown stopping the recovery of food waste. However, in the event that such a breakdown occurs and proves to be irreparable on site, for example by broken element, component failure or jamming jam, the collection is stopped only the time to get the carriage 8 out of the cabinet 9 and replace it with another carriage with components in working order.

It appears from the above description that the apparatus according to the invention:

• has a more resistant mechanical structure than that of existing devices, allowing it to suffer very few failures, • improves the safety of users and service personnel, thanks to numerous safety sensors automatically stopping the shredder as soon as manual operation is likely to injure personnel, • and, in the event of a mechanical or electrical breakdown, stopping the appliance accidentally, replaces the repair time with the replacement time for the defective truck with another.

Claims (9)

1.) Collector-shredder of catering waste comprising a feed hopper (1), a shredder (2) delivering on at least one receiving tank, placed under the shredder and without contact with it, characterized in that the hopper ( 1), the crusher (2), its drive means (3 and 39), its electrical connection means (18) and its operation control and safety means (17) are carried by the chassis (6) a carriage (8), removable and interchangeable, inserted under the upper wall (11) of a piece of furniture (9), this piece of furniture comprising, in said upper wall (11), at least two openings (4a, 4b), leading to two independent tanks (4a, 4b) respectively for the reception of shredded mixed food and shredded cans, while the hopper is divided by a vertical separator (19) into two lanes (19a, 19b) corresponding to the underlying tanks and that the electric circuit of the carriage (8) is supplied by a s eul connector (18), able to receive the plug of a power supply cable. 2.) Collector-shredder of catering waste according to claim 1 characterized in that the upper wall (11) of the cabinet has a third opening (15) under which is arranged a funnel (25) for collecting liquids, this funnel making part of a tubular network (26) leading to a third collection tank (4c). 3.) collector-crusher of catering waste according to claim 1 characterized in that the upper plate (6a) of the frame (6) carries the hopper (1) and the crusher (2) with its geared motor (3), while its lower part is divided into an anterior zone Help receiving the bins (4a, 4b and 4c) for collecting waste and liquids, and, into a posterior zone A2 supporting a control box (17) which, containing the control means and control, is accessible by a rear door (17a). 4.) Collector-shredder of catering waste according to claims 1 and 3, taken together, characterized in that the crusher (2) is divided by a transverse wall (28), into two vertical corridors (29a and 29b), corresponding to those (19a and 19b) of the hopper, and, vertically a ) in a lower grinding level, in which its two parallel shafts (34a and 34b) are motorized, with reverse rotations and at different and synchronized speeds, and carry grinding discs (35) which, provided with peripheral hooked teeth (36), are spaced and are inserted in the intervals (41) between disks of the neighboring shaft, and b) an upper level of feed, in which two other parallel shafts (32a and 32b), also motorized and with synchronized reverse rotations, carry diametrically toothed arms (33), spaced apart longitudinally and capable of sucking the waste discharged into the hopper (1) by providing a pulling force downward, adding to the drive torques provided by the discs of grinder; while c) the shafts (32a-32b and 34a-34b) of the two levels are connected, by a chain transmission (39), to a gearmotor (3) with variable speed drive controlling its current to manage its stop and resume in reverse until unlocked. 5.) Collector-crusher of catering waste, according to claims 1 and 4 taken together, characterized in that it comprises cleaning blades (42) extending horizontally between the housing (27) of the crusher and each of the two motorized shafts (34a and 34b) of the lower level, each blade (42) being inserted with reduced functional clearance in one of the intervals (42) formed between the discs (35) wedged on the same shaft. 6.) Collector-shredder of catering waste according to claims 1 and 4 taken together, characterized in that each disc (35) comprises an axial bore of polygonal cross section by which it is locked in rotation on a shaft (34a or 34b) of the same cross section, each disc (35) being angularly offset by relative to its neighbors, so that the teeth of the disks of a tree are distributed in helices and offer a grinding attack in helix. 7.) Collector-shredder of catering waste according to claim 1, characterized in that the hopper is secured by a light curtain F comprising, a transmitter (22) and a receiver (23) arranged opposite and on two of its opposite edges, this barrier being associated with a safety automaton managing the stopping of the geared motor (3), as soon as this barrier is obscured, then its restarting after detection of the passage of food waste. 8.) Collector-crusher of catering waste according to claim 1 characterized in that the upper front edge of the carriage (8) carries sensors (43) interrupting the supply to the crusher (2) as soon as they are filled. 9.) Collector-shredder of catering waste according to claim 1 characterized in that the door (10) of the cabinet (9) comprises two shutters, of which the lower one supports a sensor (44) connected to the means for controlling and securing the crusher (2) to stop the operation of the crusher, upon opening of said door, while the upper one carries a lower tab (45) projecting downward in the closing path of the lower door.