Many plastics granulators, especially in the smaller sizes, have bins which collect the granulated product as it discharges from the cutting area. Machine operators slide these bins out and empty their contents as they become full. A problem common to all granulators with bins is that some of the granulate does not end up in the bin. Even though most manufacturers provide baffles to direct this material toward the center of the bin opening, the violent action caused by the cutting process causes a significant amount of granulated particles to miss the bin. As a result, granulate piles up inside the base of the granulator housing as well as on the floor. This is very objectionable from an environmental standpoint to some customers. This also creates waste, since any product which is not kept clean cannot be reprocessed. In addition, the spillage sometimes is so bad that it jams the bin and prevents the operator from removing it.
The present invention embodies a bin design which ensures that all granulate is received in the bin and which prevents jamming.
A device embodying the invention is a unitary deflector, cut and formed from light gauge steel sheet. The deflector bolts directly to the bottom of the granulator's screen chamber (where the product exits the cutting area) and has two vertical baffles which extend downwardly into the bin. Each of these baffles is positioned about one-fourth inch inside its respective bin side-wall. To enable the bin to slide in and out of the base, two narrow slots are formed in the top corners of the back wall. The deflector also prevents any upward escape by the granulate, because the top is closed off between both vertical baffles.
The close spacing between the baffles and the bin walls and the protrusion (over-lap) of the baffle into the bin causes this deflector to be extremely successful in preventing spillage.