CA3200709A1 - Roller compactor - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a roller compactor for compacting waste that is located in a container which is open at the top, comprising: a frame-like base structure (10), which is configured to be mounted or drawn on a transport vehicle that is suitable for long journeys, and an articulated arm (23), one end of which is supported by the base structure (10) and the other, free end of which supports a roller compactor (26) that essentially can be rotated about a horizontal axis of rotation, wherein the roller compactor (26) is movable from an idle position, in which it is located above a base surface of the base structure (10), to a working position, in which the roller compactor (26) protrudes the base surface of the base structure (10). The roller compactor is characterized in that the articulated arm (23) is mounted to a mast foot (21) so as to be pivotable about a horizontal pivoting axis, said mast foot being mounted to the base structure (10) so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis of rotation.

Description

Roller compactor The invention relates to a roller compactor for compacting waste located in an open-top container. The roller compactor has a frame-like base structure which is adapted to be mounted or to be pulled on a long-distance transport vehicle, and which carries an articulated arm to the free end of which is attached a roller compactor which is rotatable substantially about a horizontal axis of rotation.
The compactor roller is movable from a rest position, in which it is located above a base surface of the base structure, to a working position, in which the compactor roller projects above the base surface of the base structure.
For compacting waste in a container, a roller compactor of this type is mounted or fitted, for example, on a chassis of a long-distance transport vehicle, in par-ticular a truck or trailer of such a vehicle, and then moved up to an end face of a container that is open at the top. The compactor roller is moved from the rest position to the working position, where it can then be lowered into the container.
The compactor roller located at the free end of the articulated arm is lowered into the container. In a pivoting movement of the articulated arm, the compactor roller is moved back and forth in the container, compacting and/or shredding the waste located in the container. The compactor roller is usually rotatable via a drive and has a structured surface, for example with protruding spikes or teeth, in order to be able to effectively crush and compact the waste in the con-tainer.
A roller compactor is known, for example, from publication document EP 1 513 674 BI. The articulated arm of this design is composed of three sections that can be pivoted relative to each other and is pivotably mounted on the rear end of the frame of the base structure. With the aid of at least two hydraulic cylin-ders, on the one hand the section of the articulated arm rotatably mounted on the frame can be pivoted relative to the frame, and on the other hand the mid-dle section of the articulated arm can be pivoted relative to the section mounted on the frame. The section of the articulated arm carrying the compactor roller is connected to the middle section in a freely swinging manner. From the working position, in which the compactor roll is in the container, the articulated arm can be brought into a transport position that is as flat as possible by first placing the middle section of the articulated arm as high as possible, almost vertically, and then pivoting the entire articulated arm onto the frame-like base structure via the pivot joint at its foot. During the transition from the rest to the working Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 2 -position, these swiveling movements are performed in reverse order. However, the movement kinematics of the articulated arm are complex to implement due to the three-part design. In addition, it must be possible to swivel the section of the articulated arm that is pivotably mounted on the frame between a position that is as horizontal as possible and a vertical position without free installation space being available below the frame structure for the hydraulic cylinder used.
This results in unfavorable leverage ratios when pivoting said frame-mounted section of the articulated arm from its horizontal position.
Document DE 10 2005 029 199 B4 shows a transportable roller compactor with an articulated arm that can be loaded onto the loading area of a truck. In this case, the articulated arm consists of only two sections that can be pivoted rela-tive to one another, one of which carries the compactor roller and the other of which is pivotably mounted on a mast foot that (viewed in the direction of travel of the truck) is mounted on the rear end of the base frame structure of the roller compactor. Due to the mast foot, the swivel joint of the swivel arm is located above the frame structure. A transition from the resting to the working position and vice versa is achieved in this roller compactor by a single pivoting move-ment of the articulated arm, whereby the pivoting section of the articulated arm is swung over the mast foot and is deposited on the frame structure. To this end, the pivot joint at the base of the mast is designed to allow pivotal move-ment through an angle of at least 90 about the horizontal axis. Due to the large swivel angle, the implementation of the swivel movement by means of a hy-draulic drive is also costly for this design.
Document DE 20 2014 105 681 U1 describes a transportable roller compactor with an articulated arm and a compactor roller, in which a carriage that can be moved in the direction of travel of a transport vehicle is arranged on a base structure that can be mounted on the transport vehicle. The articulated arm is mounted on the carriage. In a transport position of the roller compactor, the car-riage is moved forward on the base structure in the direction of travel and the compactor roller is deposited in a part of the base structure located behind it. In a working position, the carriage is moved backwards on the base structure, seen in the direction of travel, allowing the compactor roll to be guided by the swivel arm into a container located behind the transport vehicle without having to swivel the articulated arm over the mast base. Advantageously, this design ensures that the compactor roller is mounted relatively far forward on the transport vehicle when viewed in the direction of travel in the transport position, Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 3 -but the displaceable carriage leads to increased design effort for the roller com-pactor.
Document EP 3 556 546 Al also shows a mobile roller compactor with a base structure on which a swivel arm with a compactor roller is arranged. The roller compactor is designed to be coupled to a forklift truck with one side of the base structure and thus moved to different containers. The mobile roller compactor is then disconnected from the forklift and coupled to the container, ready for use.
In addition to the swivel capability of the arm, in one embodiment a rotatability about a vertical axis is provided to extend the working range to the sides as well. In principle, however, the use of this system is limited to a spatially rela-tively small area of use, e.g., within a waste yard, since the chassis of the fork-lift is not suitable for long-distance transport to a site of use, e.g., many kilome-ters away, without transporting the roller compactor and possibly the forklift there, e.g., on a low-loader. In addition, the coupling process is time-consuming and requires appropriate coupling devices, e.g. suitable eyelets, on the contain-ers.
Document GB 2 261 832 A shows a compactor roll mounted at the end of an arm of a self-propelled excavator. Advantageously, the arm equipment of a possibly already existing excavator can be used in this way. Here, too, the ap-plication is limited to a relatively small area of use, e.g. within a waste yard, if the excavator is not transported as a whole, e.g. on a low-loader.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a roller compactor which is us-able without a set-down or recoupling operation on a long-distance transport vehicle in order to compact waste in containers, in which, even with a simple structure, a transition from a rest position of the articulated arm to a working po-sition can be made by an uncomplicated movement of the articulated arm.
A roller compactor of the type mentioned at the beginning is characterized in that the articulated arm is mounted on a mast base and pivotable about a hori-zontal pivot axis, which base is additionally mounted on the base structure so as to be rotatable about a vertical pivot axis.
Without having to remove the roller compactor from the transport vehicle and without having to couple it to the container, the roller compactor can be used from the transport vehicle. Only the swivel arm must be brought from a rest po-sition to the working position, which is done by a rotary movement of the mast Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 4 -foot around the vertical axis of rotation and a swivel movement of the articu-lated arm around the horizontal swivel axis. Due to the rotational movement of the mast base around the vertical axis of rotation, a small swivel angle is suffi-cient for swiveling the articulated arm, since the articulated arm does not have to be swiveled beyond its mounting point. This significantly simplifies the design of the swivel arm, as over-swiveling is only possible in a cumbersome manner, especially when using hydraulics for the drive.
The additional design work required for the rotary motion, on the other hand, is less than for the implementation of a sliding motion. In addition, rotary move-ments can be implemented with low wear and correspondingly low mainte-nance requirements. A further advantage is that a lateral working position is also possible, in which the compactor roller is used in a container standing next to the roller compactor.
In an advantageous embodiment, the roller compactor is constructed in such a way that it can be pulled onto a truck or a trailer of a truck as a transport vehicle or can be permanently mounted on a chassis of the transport vehicle. For mounting, the roller compactor can have, for example, an eyelet by which it is pulled onto a transport vehicle in the same way as a container. In particular, the base structure for use with the truck or its trailer has a rectangular base area. In this case, a longitudinal side oriented parallel to the direction of travel of the transport vehicle is longer than a transverse side oriented transverse to the di-rection of travel. Preferably, in the rest position, the mast foot is arranged cen-trally in the transverse direction and off-center in the longitudinal direction on the base structure, for example, off-center in the rear part of the base structure as viewed in the direction of travel by about 20 to 40% of the length of the base structure.
In an advantageous embodiment of the roller compactor, the vertical axis of ro-tation is offset from the swivel axis. The offset changes the mounting point on the base structure between a rest position and a working position. In this way, a more favorable weight distribution for transport can be achieved in the rest po-sition, which also represents a transport position of the roller compactor in a transportable roller compactor design.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the roller compactor, the articulated arm is mounted to the mast base via a swivel joint, the swivel joint having a maximum swivel angle of less than 90 and preferably less than 75 . Such a Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 5 -small swivel angle is sufficient, since the articulated arm does not have to be swiveled over the mast base due to the rotation about the vertical axis for changing between rest and working position.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the roller compactor, the mast base is part of a rotating arrangement, which may also include, for example, a cabin with controls from which operation of the roller compactor may be performed.
The mast foot or the rotating arrangement can be driven hydraulically or by electric motor to rotate relative to the base structure, with one drive preferably being designed to be self-locking, e.g. by using a worm drive. To achieve a high level of operational safety, a locking arrangement is preferably provided in addi-tion to the self-locking of the drive, by means of which rotation of the mast base or the rotating arrangement can be blocked relative to the base structure. The locking arrangement can, for example, have a hydraulically or electromotively displaceable slide with a locking bolt that engages in a receptacle on the base structure.
It also serves to increase operational safety if a section of the base structure in which the mast foot or the rotating assembly is arranged is designed as a plat-form. This reduces the risk of pinching or crushing during rotation.
In another advantageous embodiment of the transportable roller compactor, the articulated arm has two articulated arm members that can be pivoted against each other, of which a first articulated arm member, which is mounted on the carriage, is cranked. The two-piece design of the articulated arm simplifies its structure and movement kinematics. In the rest position, the cranked articulated arm member allows space-saving positioning of the compactor roller under the first articulated arm member while keeping the mast base low. Preferably, a support is arranged on the base structure on which the compactor roller is placed in the rest position. In one embodiment, the support can have a clevis at its free end, into which the articulated arm is inserted in the rest position, thus achieving high lateral stability of the articulated arm during transport.
The invention is explained in more detail below by means of an example of an embodiment with the aid of figures. The figures show:
Figure la side view of a roller compactor mounted on a transport vehicle;
Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 6 -Figures 2-6 each an isometric view of the roller compactor of Fig. 1 without the transport vehicle in various operating conditions; and Figure 7 an isometric detail view of a locking arrangement of the roller compactor of Figs. 1 to 6.
Figure 1 shows a side view of an example of a roller compactor mounted on a long-distance transport vehicle I. The transport vehicle used is a typical truck with a chassis 2 and a driver's cab 3. The transportable roller compactor is mounted on the chassis 2 in the area behind the driver's cab 3 and is firmly mounted, in particular bolted to supports of the chassis 2 of the transport vehi-cle I. Due to the design of the roller compactor for use on a truck, a large area of use with a radius of many kilometers or even hundreds of kilometers is real-istic.
Instead of a fixed mounting on the transport vehicle 1, an alternative embodi-ment can also provide that the roller compactor has an eyelet on one end face.

In this case, the size and position of the eyelet are based on commercially available containers so that the device for mounting containers on a truck can also be used to mount the roller compactor.
Figure 1 shows the transportable roller compactor in a transport position in which it can be driven to the point of use by the transport vehicle I.
Figures 2 - 6 show the example of the roller compactor according to Figure 1 in each case in an isometric representation in various operating states and partly from different viewing directions. For the sake of clarity, Figures 2 - 5 show the roller compactor without the transport vehicle 1.
Figures 2 - 6 depict in sequence a transition of the roller compactor from the idle state (the transport state according to Figure 1) to an operating state in which waste located in a container is compacted and/or shredded.
The roller compactor has a base structure 10 which is of frame-like construction with longitudinal beams 11 and transverse beams 12. The designation longitu-dinal beam or transverse beam here refers to an orientation of the beams rela-tive to the direction of travel of the transport vehicle 1. With regard to its base area, the base structure 10 has dimensions which correspond to standard Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 7 -containers used in waste management, so that it can be mounted on a typical truck or a corresponding trailer of a truck.
In a rear section of the base structure 10, there is a rotating arrangement 20 comprising a mast base 21 and a cabin 27 arranged on a rotatable platform. In order to reduce a risk of injury due to the rotating arrangement 20, in this sec-tion the base structure 10 is covered with panels on its upper side. In a front section of the base structure 10, the latter may likewise be covered with panels or may be uncovered, as in the example shown. In the application, the indica-tions front and rear refer to the usual direction of travel of the transport vehicle 1.
An articulated arm 23 is mounted on the mast base 21 via a swivel joint 22 so that it can swivel about a horizontal swivel axis. In the illustrated embodiment, the articulated arm 23 has two articulated arm members 231, 232 connected to each other in an articulated manner. A compactor roller 26 is disposed at the free end of the articulated arm 23, the compactor roller 26 being rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis of rotation. The compactor roller 26 can prefera-bly be actively rotated, for example via a hydraulic motor arranged inside it.
The articulated arm 23 can be pivoted relative to the mast base 21 by means of one or more hydraulic cylinders not specified in the figures. Optionally, a further hydraulic cylinder can be provided with which the two articulated arm members 231, 232 can be pivoted relative to each other. In contrast, in the illustrated em-bodiment example, it is provided that the articulated arm member 232 can swivel freely around the articulated arm member 231 and thus follow the move-ment of the (driven) compactor roller 26 in a container.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first articulated arm member 231 mounted on the mast base 21 is cranked. As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2 in the rest po-sition (transport position), the cranked articulated arm member 231 in conjunc-tion with the mast base 21 creates space for the compactor roller 26 when the second articulated arm member 232 is driven in under the first articulated arm member 231 in the manner shown. A low height of the roller compactor in the transport state is thus achieved. In order to hold the articulated arm 23 in the transport position in a transport-safe manner and, in particular, in a laterally sta-ble manner, a support 13 with a clevis 14 is arranged on the base structure 10 in the front region. The second articulated arm member 232 is laterally stable in the fork head 14 in the rest position.
Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 8 -To operate the roller compactor, the transport vehicle 1 is moved backwards to a front side of a container that is open at the top. Then the movement fre-quency according to figures 2-6 is run through to reach the operating position in figure 6. In this operating position, the compactor roller 26 can be moved for-ward and backward in the container not shown here for compacting the waste contained therein.
As shown in Figure 3, lifting the articulated arm 23 first lifts it out of the fork 14 and straightens it up. The position of the articulated arm members 231 and 232 relative to each other is maintained. In the case of a second articulated arm member 232 that can be actively pivoted relative to the first articulated arm member 231 via a hydraulic cylinder, this can be achieved via the hydraulic cyl-inder. If the second articulated arm member 232 is freely swiveling relative to the first articulated arm member 231, as in the present embodiment example, a hooking apparatus 24 is provided, for example, which locks the two articulated arm members 231, 232 together in the rest position by means of a hook and/or a movable bolt. In order to prevent the compactor roller 26 from hitting the cranked section of the first articulated arm member 231 in the process, a stop 25, for example in the form of a rubber buffer, is attached to one of the articu-lated arm members 231, 232.
After the articulated arm 23 has been set up, the next step, which is shown in Figure 4, is to rotate the rotating assembly 20 and with it the mast base 21 and the cabin 27 about a vertical axis until the position shown in Figure 5 is reached. From this position shown in Figure 5, the compactor roller 26 can then be lowered into the container by pivoting the pivot joint 22.
The cabin 27 contains the controls necessary for the sequence shown of rais-ing the articulated arm 23, rotating the rotating assembly 20, and lowering the articulated arm 23 and then operating the compactor roller 26. After the vehicle 1 is returned to the container, the operator takes a seat in the cabin 27 to oper-ate the roller compactor. The elevated position of the cabin 27 on the transport vehicle makes it possible to look into the container during the compaction pro-cess. This increases safety during the compaction process. In order to safely enter and exit the cabin 27, a hook-in, extendable, fold-out or fixed ladder may be provided to allow access to the cabin 27 at least when the roller compactor is in the rest position and, if necessary, also when the roller compactor is in the working position.
Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

- 9 -In the illustrated embodiment, the vertical axis of rotation about which the mast foot 21 rotates does not pass through the swivel joint 22, but is offset from it.
Thereby, in the rest position of the articulated arm 23, the swivel joint 22 lies in front of the axis of rotation. This ensures that in the rest position the articulated arm 23 and with it the compactor roller 26 are further forward in the direction of travel of the transport vehicle 1 than in the working position. This has an advan-tageous effect on the driving behaviour of the transport vehicle 1.
With suitable load capacity or design of the transport vehicle 1, in particular if it has laterally extendable supports, operation of the compactor roller 26 can also take place in the position shown in Figure 4. In this case, the transport vehicle 1 can approach the front side of the container laterally in order to compact waste in this container.
A rotation of the rotating arrangement 20 or, in particular, of the mast base can be driven by a hydraulic motor or by an electric motor. In the example shown, the drive is hydraulic, whereby a hydraulic unit with an associated con-trol cabinet is arranged as part of the rotating assembly 20 next to the cabin on the rotating platform. In addition to driving the rotating arrangement 20, the hydraulic unit also supplies the drive for the compactor roller 26. The drive for the rotating arrangement 20 can advantageously be provided by a worm drive, whereby it is self-locking. Preferably, a ball bearing is used to support the rotary arrangement 20.
In order to achieve a high level of operational safety during transport and also operation, a locking arrangement 28 is arranged at the mast foot 21 in the illus-trated embodiment, with which the rotational position of the rotating arrange-ment 20 can be locked relative to the base structure 10.
The locking arrangement 28 is shown in a detailed isometric view in Figure 7.
It has a slider 281, at the lower end of which is arranged a bolt that is not visible here. The slider 281 is guided vertically displaceably in a guide 282. Its position can be adjusted via a hydraulic cylinder 283.
The bolt or bolt head arranged at the lower end of the slider 281 penetrates into a locking opening 16 on the base structure 10 when the slider 281 is lowered, whereby the rotation of the rotary arrangement 20 relative to the base structure

10 is blocked. A corresponding locking opening 16 can be provided on the base Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03 structure 10 for the rest position according to Figure 2, for the operating posi-tion according to Figures 5 and 6 and, if necessary, also for the lateral operat-ing position according to Figure 4.
Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03 List of reference signs 1 Transport vehicle 2 Chassis 3 Driver's cab Base structure

11 Longitudinal beam

12 Transverse beam 10 13 Storage support 14 Clevis Transverse beam 16 Locking opening 15 20 Rotational arrangement 21 Mast base 22 Swivel joint 23 Articulated arm 231 First articulated arm member 232 Second articulated arm member 24 Hooking apparatus Stop 26 Compactor roller 27 Cabin 25 28 Locking arrangement 281 Pusher 282 Ladder 283 Hydraulic cylinder Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

Claims (17)

Claims

1. A roller compactor for compacting waste located in an upwardly open con-tainer, comprising:
- a frame-like base structure (10) adapted to be mounted or hoisted onto a transport vehicle, and - an articulated arm (23) which is supported at one end by the base structure (10) and which carries at its other, free end a compactor roller (26) rotatable substantially about a horizontal axis of rotation, the com-pactor roller (26) being movable from a rest position in which it is lo-cated above a base surface of the base structure (10) to a working po-sition in which the compactor roller (26) projects above the base sur-face of the base structure (10), characterized in that the articulated arm (23) is mounted on a mast foot (21) so as to be pivot-able about a horizontal pivot axis, the mast foot (21) being mounted on the base structure (10) so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis of rotation.

2. The roller compactor of claim 1, wherein the vertical axis of rotation is off-set from the pivot axis.

3. The roller compactor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the base structure (10) has a rectangular allowance.

4. The roller compactor of claim 3, wherein the mast base (21) is centered on the base structure (10) in the transverse direction and off-center in the lon-gitudinal direction.

5. The roller compactor of claim 4, wherein the mast base (21) is longitudi-nally off-center by about 20 to 40% of the length of the base structure (10).

6. The roller compactor according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the base structure (10) is arranged for mounting or for mounting on a truck or a trailer of a truck as a transport vehicle.

7. The roller compactor according to claim 6, wherein the mast foot (21) is ar-ranged on a rear part of the base structure (10) as viewed in the direction of travel, wherein a longitudinal side of the base structure (10) aligned Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03 parallel to the direction of travel of the transport vehicle is longer than a transverse side extending transversely to the direction of travel.

8. The roller compactor of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the articulated arm (23) is mounted to the mast base (21) via a pivot joint (22), the pivot joint (22) having a maximum pivot angle of less than 900 and preferably less than 75 .

9. The roller compactor of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the mast base (21) is part of a rotating assembly (20).

10. The roller compactor of claim 9, wherein the rotary assembly (20) includes a cab (27) with controls.

11. A roller compactor according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the mast base (21) or rotating assembly (20) is hydraulically or electric motor driven rotatable relative to the base structure (10).

12. The roller compactor according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein a ro-tation of the mast foot (21) or the rotating arrangement (20) relative to the base structure (10) can be blocked by a locking arrangement (28).

13. The roller compactor of claim 12, wherein the locking arrangement (28) comprises a hydraulically or electromotively displaceable slider (281) hay-ing a locking pin that engages a receptacle on the base structure (10).

14. The roller compactor according to any one of claims 1 to 13, in which a section of the base structure (10) in which the mast foot (21) or the rotating arrangement (20) is arranged is designed as a platform.

15. The roller compactor of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the articulated arm (23) comprises two articulated arm members (23a, 23b) pivotable rela-tive to each other, a first articulated arm member (23a) of which, mounted on the carriage (20), is cranked.

16. The roller compactor of claim 15, wherein in a rest position the compactor roller (26) is positioned below the first articulated arm member (23a).
Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03

17. The roller compactor according to claim 16, in which a support (13) is ar-ranged on the base structure (10), on which the compactor roller (26) is supported in the rest position.
Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03