US3088683A - Paper disintegrator - Google Patents

Description

May 7, 1963 E. F. JOSEPH ETAL PAPER DISINTEGRATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1962 FIGLZ.

INVENTORS ATTORNEY F. JOSEPH C LE NEAY BENJAMIN B. BY 5MM( May 7, 1963 E. F. JosEPH ETAL 3,088,683

PAPER DISINTEGRATOR Filed June 6, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l (INVENTORS Y ELIAS F. JOSEPH D BENJAMIN cL-:NEAY

BY Wvg ATTORNEY United States Patent Gice 3,088,683 Patented May 7., 1963 3,088,683 PAPER DISINTEGRATOR Elias F. Joseph and Beniamin B. Cleneay, Tyler, TeX., assignors to J. B. Sedberry, Inc., Tyler, Tex., a corporation of Tennessee Filed yJune 6, 1962, Ser. No. 200,498 6 Claims. (Cl. 241-86) This invention relates to a compact, portable paper disintegrator particularly adapted for office use for destroying paper of all kinds, and is especially useful where it is necessary to destroy classified material -to the point of a complete loss of identity.

Various means of disposing of classified paper material employ intense heat, chemicals, or water, which in certain situations are inconvenient and undesirable. This invention employs a small hammer mill which disintegrates the paper t a-nely ground dry pulp which may be easily disposed of without the inconvenience associated with other types of disposal.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a compact, portable paper disintegrator which will reduce the material fed into `it to an unidentifiable dry pulp-like mass.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hammer mill type of disintegrator for dry material which requires no materialvconveying fan or blow pipe system due to the special design of the grinding chamber.

A further object of the invention is to provide a paper disintegrator which requires no plumbing, heat, or chemicals to accomplish the desired result.

Another object of .the invention is to provide a paper disintegrator which may be easily and safely operated by any employee without special training.

Another object of the invention is to provide a paper disintegrator ywhereinpaper clips, rubber bands, metal binders, andvstaples need not be rst removed from the papers to be destroyed, thus saving time in the disposal process.

With these `and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists .in the novel construction, combination, and Varrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is fa front elevation of the paper disintegrator with the upper portion of the front wall removed and part of the doors covering the lower portion broken away to show the collection container.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation partly in section showing the upper portion of the cabinet and the grinding chamber.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation partly in section showing part ofthe grinding chamber and the discharge hopper with the upper part of ythecollection bag attached thereto.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, A designates a portable sound-proofy and dust-proof cabinet having a hammer mill B and an electric motor C mounted in the upper portion thereof. Directly beneath the grinding chamber and communicating Vtherewith is a removable bag D'for collecting'the disintegrated paper.

The cabinet A includes a bottom wall 1, side walls 2, a rear wall 3, `and a frontwall 4 covering the upper portion of the cabinet. In order that the cabinet may be easily moved about, casters I are mounted on the outer surface of the bottom wall at the corners thereof. The lower half of the front of the cabinet is provided with a pair of doors 5 so that access may be obtained to the collection bag D to permit removal thereof and disposal of thepulverized paper. A -cover 6 is hinged at 7 to the rear wall 3 to -provide access to the hammer mill B. The cover 6 is provided with an elongated opening 8 which is surrounded by an upstanding continuous wall forming the mouth 9 of a material-receiving inlet chute communicating with the grinding chamber E. A cover 10 is hinged at 11 to the wall 9 to close oi the inlet opening when desired. All of the parts of the cabinet proper just described are provided with a lining of sound deadening insulation 12. For ventilation purposes, the rear wall 3 is provided with a ser-ies of openings 13 which communicate with a plurality of shielding louvers 14.

A supporting frame F is securely bolted to the side and end walls ofthe cabinet forming a horizontal supporting base for the hammer mill and the electric motor for operating the same.

The grinding chamber E includes a lower section 2t) and an upper section 21 hingedly secured thereto at 22. The lower section is enclosed in a casing G provided with feet 23, 23, which are bolted at 25 to the frame F. The upper section 21 includes imperforate front and rear walls 26 -and 27, respectively,of generally arcuate shape whose upper ends are spaced apart to form an opening 28. A chute 29 is secured to the upper edges of the front and rear walls at the opening 28 and extends angularly upwardly into the opening 8 in the cover 6. A bafle plate 30 is secured to the rear wall of the chute 29 and extends angularly downwardly and outwardly therefrom so that it formsa narrowed venturi-like opening 31 at the lower end of the chute and at the vertical center line of the mill for a purpose which will later appear. A perforated, pivotcd baffle gate 32 is secured to the opposite end walls of the chute 29' transversely thereof to prevent the material being ground from being thrown back up the chute during the grinding operation.

The rear wall 27 of the upper section 21 of the grinding chamber is provided on its inner face with a perforate retarding screen 33 against which the material being disintegrated is thrown `by the rapidly rotating hammers H when it enters the mill through the opening 31. This screen tends to temporarily retain the material in the upper section so that it is subjected'to a more thorough shredding action from the hammers before it passes into the lower section 2). The section 26 includes a perforate, arcuate, sizing screen 34 through which the pulverized or disintegrated material passes into a hopper 36 whose neck 37 extends downwardly to an opening 38 in the frame F. A bag supporting member K is secured to hopper 36 at neck 37 and includes a tubular collar 39 surrounding a rectangular neck 40 fitted in the opening 38. The collar 39 is provided with upper and lower spaced iianges 41 and 42, respectively, the lower flange 42 serving as a support for an elastic retaining ring 43 which engages the upper edge of the open end of the bag D to keep it in position to receive the discharged material.

The hammers H are conventionally mounted on `a shaft 50 which is rotatably driven by the motor C and rotate -counterclockwise as indicated bythe arrow in FIG- URE 2. While the hammers are rotating, paper may be fed into the grinding chamber through chute 29 past gate 32 and into the upper section 21 through opening 31. The high speed rotation of the hammers H sucks air in through the chute 29 with such force that paper need only be placed in the inlet mouth 9 whereupon it is rapidly pulled downwardly into the path of the hammers. Thus, the-papersto be" disintegrated maybe quickly disposed of, thereby requiring less time on the part of the operator than is necessary with other types of machines.

The velocity of air entering the grinding chamber is increased considerably by the angle and position of the chute 29, the venturi-effect of the narrowed opening 31, and the angular position of the lower surface 26 of the upper edge o-f the front wall 26. The surface 26 lies in a horizontal plane and is thus offset from the arc defined by `the contour of wall 26 which brings it closer to the tips of the hammers H at the point Where the material enters the grinding chamber through opening 31. The clearance X between the surface 26' and the hammer tips which has been found to be most satisfactory in service is approximately 1/16 of an inch. Although this clearance may vary slightly more or slightly less than the aforesaid 1/16 of an inch, the velocity of incoming air will be affected adversely so that maximum suction will not be obtained. The importance of obtaining the maximum suction effect is not only to draw paper into the grinding chamber las rapidly as possible, but also to provide sufficient force of air to quickly clear the screen 34 so that a continuous discharge of disintegrated material into the collection bag D is obtained. The arrangement and relationship of parts just described combine to provide an eficiently operating disintegrator which does not require an additional source of air such as a material conveying fan, resulting in a savings of cost and space.

From the foregoing, it will now be seen that the present invention provides a device for effecting the flameless destruction of private or personal papers which would otherwise be destroyed by burning, by chemical action, or exposed to view of trash collectors.

The hammer mill which includes the usual shaft and rotating hammers cooperates with a circular mill casing arranged and concealed within the cabinet portion of the apparatus. With the hammers of the mill operating in the direction of the arrow in FIGURE 2, it will be apparent that they define a hammer circle operating in conjunction with the anvil or grid to effect complete reduction of the paper into a fine dry granular condition.

As the paper to be destroyed enters the mill, the hammers pick it up and throw it against the covered quadrant of the retarding screen 33 where the paper is given its preliminary reduction. Thereafter, it is carried over the remaining 180 of the open screen 34 lying wholly below the transverse center of the hammer circle.

As the mill operates, a certain amount of pressure is built up in the cabinet and the air pressure thus generated may escape through the llouvers 14 in the rear walls of the cabinet.

We claim:

1. Disintegrating apparatus comprising, in combination, a cabinet, a frame disposed transversely of the cabinet substantially medially thereof, a hammer mill supported on said frame, said hammer mill including an arcuate imperforate upper section and an arcuate lower section having a perforate bottom wall, an imperforate casing enclosing said lower section, said upper and lower sections forming a grinding chamber, said upper section including front and rear walls whose upper edlges are spaced apart .to define a material receiving opening therebetween, a motor for driving said mill also supported on said frame, a shaft having a plurality of hammers thereon and disposed within said grinding chamber, one end of said shaft connected to said motor, a feeding chute at the top of the cabinet communicating with the opening in said upper section and offset therefrom, a discharge hopper supported on said casing below the perforate bottom wall of said lower section, and a removable collection receptacle in receiving relation to said discharge hopper.

2. Disintegrating apparatus according .to claim 1, wherein the feeding chute includes a material receiving hopper having a pivoted cover and the upper casing is provided with an angularly disposed upwardly extending chute surrounding said opening and communicating with said material receiving hopper.

3. Disintegrating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a baffle plate is secured to the rear wall of said chute and extends angularly downwardly and outwardly therefrom :to form a restricted opening at the lower end of said chute.

4. Disintegrating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the restricted opening at the lower end of said chute is aligned with the vertical axis of the shaft on which said hammers are mounted.

5. Disintegrating apparatus comprising, in combination, a cabinet, a frame disposed transversely of the cabinet substantially medially thereof, a hammer mill supported on said frame, said hammer mill including an arcuate imperforate upper section and an arcuate lower section having a perforate bottom wall, an imperforate casing enclosing said lower section, said upper and lower sections forming a grinding chamber, said upper section including front and rear walls whose upper edges are spaced apart to define a material receiving opening therebetween, a motor for driving said mill also supported on said frame, a shaft having a plurality of hammers thereon and disposed within said grinding chamber, one end of said shaft connected to said motor, the inner surface of the upper edge of 'the front Wall of said upper section adjacent said material receiving opening spaced closer to the path defined by the tips of the hammers than the inner surface of the balance of .the upper and lower sections, a feeding chute at the top of the cabinet communicating with the opening in said upper section and offset therefrom, bafiie means within said chute and extending into said material receiving opening, a discharge hopper supported on said casing below the perforate bottom wall of said lower section, and a removable collection receptacle in receiving rel-ation to said discharge hopper.

6. An apparatus for use in ofces and the like to effect the destruction of paper by reducing it to a fine dry pulp, comprising, in combination, a cabinet having side walls, a movable top wall, and a bottom wall, at least one of said side walls having air pressure escape louvers, another of said side walls having an access opening in the lower portion thereof and at least one door for closing said opening, said bottom wall mounted on casters for ready movement to la selected location, a horizontal support disposed transversely of the interior of the cabinet, a charging hopper on the top wall, a hammer mill having an `opening at the top thereof and including an arcuate imperforate upper section and an arcuate lower section having Ia perforate bottom wall, an imperforate casing enclosing said lower section, said upper and lower sections forming a grinding chamber, a downwardly tapering chute communicating at one end with said charging hopper and at its lower end communicating with the opening in the top of the mill and discharging at the vertical center line of the mill, a perforated plate hinged at its upper end to the end walls of the chute, baiile means within said chute for narrowing the opening of the lower end of said chute, means on the horizontal support in said cabinet for detachably holding a collection bag in position to receive discharged material from the perforate bottom wall of said grinding chamber, and an electric motor also carried by the suppont and operatively connected to the hammer mill shaft.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,241,66-7 Mankoif May 13, 1941 2,490,564 Vincent Dec. 6, 1949 2,517,903 Luhrmann Aug. 8, 1950 2,563,958 Pollitz Aug. 14, 1951 2,731,208 Dodd Jan. 17, 1956 2,764,361 Moore Sept. 25, 1956

Claims (1)

1. DISINTEGRATING APPARATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A CABINET, A FRAME DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF THE CABINET SUBSTANTIALLY MEDIALLY THEREOF, A HAMMER MILL SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME, SAID HAMMER MILL INCLUDING AN ARCUATE IMPERFORATE UPPER SECTION AND AN ARCUATE LOWER SECTION HAVING A PERFORATE BOTTOM WALL, AN INPERFORATE CASING ENCLOSING SAID LOWER SECTION, SAID UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS FORMING A GRINDING CHAMBER, SAID UPPER SECTION INCLUDING FRONT AND REAR WALLS WHOSE UPPER EDGES ARE SPACED APART TO DEFINE A MATERIAL RECEIVING OPENING THEREBETWEEN, A MOTOR FOR DRIVING SAID MOLL ALSO SUPPORTED ON SAID FRAME, A SHAFT HAVING A PLURALITY OF HAMMERS THEREON AND DISPOSED WITHIN SAID GRINDING CHAMBER, ONE END OF SAID SHAFT CONNECTED TO SAID MOTOR, A FEEDING CHUTE AT THE TOP OF THE CABINET COMMUNICATING WITH THE OPENING IN SAID UPPER SECTION AND OFFSET THEREFROM, A DISCHARGE HOPPER SUPPORTED ON SAID CASING BELOW THE PERFORATE BOTTOM

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