Destruction Method With 45 Degree Feeding

• US 20070164142A1
• Filed: 03/28/2007
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charles Castronovo
• Original Assignee: Charles Castronovo
• Inventors: Castronovo, Charles
• Granted Patent: US 7,357,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 241/185.500
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/0007 specially adapted for disintegrating documents
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/14 within horizontal containers B02C18/062, B02C18/065 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/148 specially adapted for disintegrating plastics, e.g. cinematographic films for plastic bottles B02C19/0093, disintegrating plastics B29B17/00
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/16 Details
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/18 Knives; Mountings thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 18/2283 using rollers B02C18/225 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 19/22 Crushing mills with screw-shaped crushing means
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 2018/0015 for disintegrating CDs, DVDs and/or credit cards
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 2018/168 User safety devices or measures in shredders
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 2018/188 Stationary counter-knives; Mountings thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 2018/2208 for weblike material
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 7/26 Means for mounting or adjusting the cutting member; Means for adjusting the stroke of the cutting member
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 9/04 in the form of plates or sheets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/04 Processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/6492 Plural passes of diminishing work piece through tool station

Abstract

True zero-clearance cutting on a commercial scale is provided via a cutting area including a sacrifice material that is relatively softer than the cutter. One example is a cutting system which is capable of cutting a material such as, for example, tape or paper, into a fiber or powder. The cutting system includes a cutting blade, typically a rotary cutter, and a sacrificial plate or round bar contacting the cutting blade. The contacting portion has a zero clearance during the cutting operation. A metering mechanism is also provided which is capable of metering the material at a predetermined rate to the cutting blade. A mechanism is also provided for incrementally moving the sacrificial blade towards the cutting blade to ensure that the zero clearance is maintained between the cutting blade and the sacrificial plate, even when the sacrificial plate begins to wear down due to usage. Also, destruction of the material is further enhanced by advantageous strategic patterning of cutting edges on a rotary cutter, and further by secondary shredding features. Systems are provided for reducing to-be-destroyed paper and other relatively-thin planar materials to a dust or powder-size.

Claims

1-107. -107. (canceled)

108. A destruction method, comprising:

feeding a to-be-destroyed input material towards a rotating cutter at a material entry point defined by an intersection of a first line drawn downwards vertically originating from a center of the cutter rotation and a second line downwards from the same origin at an angle of approximately 45 degrees, the material entry point being where the second line intersects a periphery of the cutter.

109. The destruction method of claim 108, comprising feeding the to-be-destroyed input material into an approximately 45 degrees open gap.