AU2006214804B2 - Improvements relating to pendulum packers - Google Patents

Description

1 TITLE IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO PENDULUM PACKERS This invention relates to pendulum packers which are used to pack, with compression, refuse into containing areas. 5 Technical area of this invention An example of a pendulum packer is described in Australian patent 649408 and entitled "Material Handling Apparatus". Devices of this type have a compression member which is supported as in a pendulum so as to rotate about an approximately horizontal axis and the 10 compression member is caused to swing from a position where it is approximately at the same height as its axial support through an arc to a position where it is approximately immediately below its axial support. The downward stroke is a compression stroke and the backward stroke is a recharge or repositioning stroke. 15 The referred to Australian patent describes a work head which acts as a compression member which has a rearward face which is supported so as to be sloping so that, especially when it is in a fully retracted position, any debris inserted into the area will generally be deflected from engaging behind the compression member, and also when the compression member is being moved 20 back through a retraction stroke, it will have a tendency to divert the material away from its path. Otherwise, a front of the compression member which generally extends between side walls and a back wall, is positioned to abruptly confront any material within its path and thereby capture this to an effective extent and cause AMENDED SHEET

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ueceiveu IZi may /wuu/ 2 it to be pushed through a defined path and into a containment area with compression. Problems addressed by this invention The problem addressed by this invention is that in relation to a current 5 manufacture of such a work head or compression member, the referred to Australian patent describes and constrains the patent to extend only to the case where an outer most surface of the work head, as well as side walls, have an outer edge in the case of the sides of a curved shape which conforms to a curved shape of a back wall of a body which follows approximately an arc to be 10 traversed by the work head. Our discovery is that such an arrangement has an unfortunate result and there is both a simpler and more economic construction that can be used in this application, and further, such an alternate construction also has functional advantages in use. 15 The problem with having an outer surface and edge in the case of each side conforming in shape to a back wall is that material has a high potential to be caught up between the respective moving surfaces and where the conforming shapes are close to each other jam between the respective surfaces. This material that will be caught therebetween will then continue to be caught 20 therebetween. According to this invention, we have discovered that there is significant advantage in simply not having an underneath or outermost surfaces closely conforming throughout its width and length to the shape of the back wall. From a cost point of view and even from a functional point of view, it is 25 advantageous to have, at least in preference, an open area between the front and back walls. AMENDED SHEET

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iseceiveu i0 viay &Vu I 3 For the purpose of this specification the word "comprising" means "including but not limited to", and the word 'comprises' has a corresponding meaning. Brief summary of the invention Accordingly, in one form of the invention, it can be said to reside in a refuse 5 compression arrangement comprising a body having an upper most inlet, and a lower outlet to a side of the body, a back wall and a side wall to each side of the back wall defining a pathway for refuse introduced into the inlet and to be pressed by a compression member into the outlet, the compression member being supported so as to be constrained to swing through an arc with rearward 10 and forward outer edges being positioned so that, at least through a substantial length of the arc, the respective edges are close to or are scraping the inner surface of the back wall, the compression member also having a shape with a front face abruptly aligned to its compression direction, and a rear face which is aligned to be substantially inclined to its retraction direction, wherein the forward 15 outer edge of the front face and the rearward outer edge of the rear face define part of an opening to an open area existing between the front face and the rear face, which allows for incidental refuse gathering. In preference, the compression member includes a pair of side faces, the lower edges of which further define part of the opening to the open area existing 20 between the faces. In preference, the compression member is further characterised in that the compression member does not have a face extending between its outer rearward and forward edges of the rear and front faces respectively. 25 In preference, there is included as a part of the compression member a refuse clearing access means which is openable for access and removal of refuse in the open area between the front and rear faces. AMADED SHEET

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4 In preference, the refuse clearing access means is a part at least of the front face. In preference, the access part is a part only of the front face and is supported by a pivot and is balanced so that it will assume a normally closed position but is 5 adapted to open to a refuse clearing position when the compression member is at or toward its retracted position and with refuse effecting an opening force. In a further form the invention may be said to reside a refuse compression arrangement with a compression member operatively held to be moved between a retracted position and a compression position with a curved pathway 10 defining by a curved floor and sides, the compression member having a shape that provides for an open area between a front wall and a rear wall and the curved floor which allows for incidental refuse gathering. In yet a further form the invention may be said to reside a refuse compression arrangement with a compression member operatively held to be moved 15 between a retracted to a compression position with a curved pathway defined by a curved floor and sides, the compression member having a shape that provides for an open area between a front wall and a rear wall and the curved floor which allows for incidental refuse gathering without jamming and further includes a refuse clearing access means. 20 in preference, the refuse clearing access means includes an operatively openable portion in either of the rear wall or the front surface. A brief description of the drawings For a better understanding of this invention it will now be described with the assistance of drawings wherein: 25 Fig I is a perspective view of the embodiment with a compression member in a retracted position; AMENDED SHEET

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Keceivea n iviay LUU / Fig 2 is a side elevation of the same embodiment with the view being schematic and showing a retracted position at (a) and a compression position in (b); Fig 3 is a cross sectional view through the embodiment as shown at 3-3 in Fig 1; 5 Fig 4 is a cross sectional view through the embodiment as shown at 4-4 in Fig 1; Fig 5 is a cross sectional view of a second embodiment with an opening flap to allow for discharge of refuse that may be in the area of the compression member; 10 Fig 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment as shown in Fig 5 with part cutaway; Fig 7 is a side view of a third embodiment where there is a compression member with a lower front portion that is able to freely pivot to release refuse; and 15 Fig 8 is a further view of the third embodiment. A description of the embodiments Now referring to the drawings in detail, there is a refuse compression arrangement 1 which can be used in a number of installations either in connection with for instance a mobile truck with a containment vessel on board 20 or in a fixed installation. However, in each case, the operation is very much similar in that there are a pair of hydraulic rams 2 and 3 which engage between and within a box frame 4 and 4a of the body 1 and in each case a respective arm 5 in the one case and 6 AMENDED SHEET

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Keceiven 1 iMay LUI U 6 in the other which are each supported by a pivotal connection 7 in the one case and 8 in the other with respect to the body 1. The body 1 itself has a back wall 10 that is shaped so that its surface 11 will conform to an arc, which will be described generally through a working cycle of 5 a compression member 12. In other words the shape of this surface is generally conforming to being a part of a cylinder in which the axis is the axis of the compression member. The compression member 12 is constructed so that it has four walls, these being two side walls 13 and 14, a front face 15 which is abruptly aligned to its 10 compression direction 16, which is aligned to have its front face defining a plane which is approximately radial to its pivot support although in this case the aligned is with a closer part of the face to the pivot axis being more forward than that part which is further from the pivot axis, and a rear wall 17 which is aligned to be substantially inclined in relation to its retraction directions 8. There is no 15 wall extending in a planar direction from a front outer edge 21 to a rear outer edge 22 of the compression member 12. The lowermost edges of the four walls 13, 14 and 15 then define an opening to an open area 23 that exists between the walls that allows for ample area to temporarily hold trash without jamming. 20 As can now be seen, the alignment of the upper wall is such that when rubbish is inserted into the body 1, it will be normally deflected by this rear wall, especially when this is in the retracted position as shown in Fig 1 However, when retracting, this wall 17 will push debris away to recharge the compression stroke by pushing trash out to a position that will then be in front of 25 the compression member 12. However, the lower most edges of the side walls 13 and 14 are such that these are simply linear in the case of the edges and this then leaves as between the AMENDED SHEET

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neceiveu i: iviay zuu' .7 surface 11 of the back wall 10 and the compression head, open area 23 which ensures that any refuse that might accidentally pass into this area will have ample area in which to be positioned without jamming the compression member. 5 The respective front outer edge 21 and rearward outer edge 22 are each intended to be either close to or engaging with the surface 11 of the back wall. In one preferred case both edges are clear from the surface by a small amount of 4-5 mms- In another case there is positioned a scraper blade which is of a mild steel that is supported against the rear outer edge 22 which then is 10 intended to effect a scraping of the surface 11. Our invention is intended not to be specifically limited to the extent of actual or close contact of these edges. Referring now to Fig 3, where it can be seen that the compression member 12 does not have a floor defining a bottom thereof. There are two strengthening gussets or ribs 31 and 32 located behind a front face 15 and a rear wall 17 of 15 the compression member 12, to strengthen the floorless compression member 12. This has been found to be a very effective arrangement and further reduces the possibility of refuse being caught and perhaps jamming beneath the work head compression member 12. Any refuse that may pass by the front wall or face 15 20 will collect in the ample area beneath the rear wall 17. This refuse then can be eventually removed by having an option to move the compression head to a further location where access to the area beneath the rear wall can be gained or there can be a removable portion of the curved floor that can be used to gain access and effect the very occasional clearing that may be useful. 25 In a second embodiment shown in Figs 5 and 6 which also does not have any floor as in the first embodiment, there is now included as a part of a compression member 39 a portion 40 of a front wall 41 which is supported to pivot about axis 42. This axis position is chosen so that the path of the bottom AMENDED SHEET

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Received 15 May 2007 8 edge of the portion will separate further upon such opening action from its distance from the curved floor surface thus ensuring that there is provided an opening gap- This portion 40 is in this case a lower half of the front wall and is balanced with a weight 43 so that it will normally stay closed even through a 5 range. of positions from a fully retracted position to a fully forward position. In the fully retracted position however the balance is selected so that with some. weight of additional refuse behind it this will cause the portion to swing open and release the refuse. Once the refuse is released then the balance will return the portion to a closed position, which is maintained so as to be aligned with 10 and approximately planar with the remainder of the front wall 41 by engagement against the rib 44, which is secured, to an upper portion 45 of the front wall 41. The closed position will also be maintained upon any forward movement of the front wall 41 and it will not matter if there is an occasional opening of the portion 40 upon a return stroke of the compression member. 15 Such an arrangement has the advantage that it can be self cleaning as it is the weight of refuse trapped therein that effects its own release, although it does require some additional components and is therefore slightly more expensive. Now referring to the third embodiment as shown in Figures 7 and 8 there is a compression member 50 with in this case a front wall 51, which has two parts 20 52 and 53. The first of these is an upper part 52, which is supported by an uppermost hinge 54 and is held in a fixed relationship to struts 55 by bolts 56. A lower part 53 is pivotally supported by a hinge 57 which is secured to a lower edge 58 of the upper part 52. There is, in this case however, no counterbalance to restore its position from time to time but in many cases upon it encountering 25 refuse the lower part 53 will be pushed against strut 59 and therefore act as with the fixed wall system as in the first embodiment. If refuse builds up beneath the rear wall 60 then the nuts 61 can be unscrewed and the upper part can be AMENDED SHEET

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Received 15 May 2007 9 swung open to allow for total access to this inner area. Otherwise the compression head is supported by a pivot connection 62. The advantage of the invention as previously described then is that at the least, it can be in some cases less expensive to manufacture than hitherto, and it has 5 working advantages because it will have less potential to jam up and ensnare and grind on refuse as has previously been considered to be the case. Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognised that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to 10 be limited to the details described herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus. AMENDED SHEET

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Claims (8)

1. A refuse compression arrangement comprising a body having an upper most inlet, and a lower outlet to a side of the body, a back wall and a side wall to each side of the back wall defining a pathway for refuse introduced into the 5 inlet and to be pressed by a compression member into the outlet, the compression member being supported so as to be constrained to swing through an arc with rearward and forward outer edges being positioned so that, at least through a substantial length of the arc, the respective edges are close to or are scraping the inner surface of the back wall, the compression member also 10 having a shape with a front face abruptly aligned to its compression direction, and a rear face which is aligned to be substantially inclined to its retraction direction, wherein the forward outer edge of the front face and the rearward outer edge of the rear face define part of an opening to an open area existing between the front face and the rear face, which allows for incidental refuse 15 gathering.

2. The refuse compression member as in claim 1 where the compression member is further characterised in that the compression member does not have a face extending between its outer rearward and forward edges of the rear and front faces respectively. 20

3. The refuse compression arrangement as in any one of the preceding claims where there is included as a part of the compression member a refuse clearing access means which is openable for access and removal of refuse in the open area between the front and rear faces.

4. The refuse compression arrangement as in the immediately preceding 25 claim, wherein the refuse clearing access means is a part at least of the front face. AMENDED SHEE3 IPEA/AU Received 15 May 2007 11

5. The refuse compression arrangement as in the immediately preceding claim, wherein the access part is a part only of the front face and is supported by a pivot and is balanced so that it will assume a normally closed position but is adapted to open to a refuse clearing position when the compression member 5 is at or toward its retracted position and with refuse effecting an opening force, so as to be thereby, substantially self cleaning.

6. A refuse compression arrangement i/ith a compression member operatively held to be moved between a retracted position and a compression position with a curved pathway defining by a curved floor and sides, the 10 compression member having a shape that provides for an open area between a front wall and a rear wall and the curved floor which allows for incidental refuse gathering.

7. A refuse compression arrangement with a compression member operatively held to be moved between a retracted to a compression position 15 with a curved pathway defined by a curved floor and sides, the compression member having a shape that provides for an open area between a front wall and a rear wall and the curved floor which allows for incidental refuse gathering without jamming and further includes a refuse clearing access means.

8. The refuse compression arrangement as in the immediately preceding 20 claim further characterised in that the refuse clearing access means includes an operatively openable -portion in either of the rear wall or the front surface. AMENDED SHEET IPE.AIAU