EP0301927B1 - Refuse compactor, especially for domestic refuse - Google Patents

Abstract

Refuse compacter, especially for domestic refuse, consisting of a trapdoor flap (23) followed by an access chute towards a compacting unit (1) whose piston (10) is provided with means for moving it cyclically between a low position inside a container and a high position, as well as for exerting a compacting pressure in the low position. The chute forms a slide device (29) containing a movable shovel (36), arranged under the trapdoor flap and emerging on the container via an orifice (33) closed off by a guillotine shutter (41, 47), the piston carrying drive members which, during the cycle which starts in the low position and ends in compacting, ensure the opening of the guillotine shutter and the sweeping of the slide device by the shovel towards its opening during the rise of the piston beyond a certain stroke part, and then the closure of the guillotine shutter and the return of the shovel during the descent beyond this same stroke part. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a refuse compactor, in particular household refuse, consisting of a hatch followed by an access chute to a compacting block, the piston of which is provided with means for cyclically moving it between a position. low inside a container and a high position as well as to exert a compaction pressure in the low position.

Compactors of this type already in use greatly facilitate the treatment of garbage and in particular household garbage whose volume they reduce, facilitate handling and avoid excessively rapid fermentation.

They are generally placed between the kitchen and the outside, the hatch at a work surface and the compaction block outside or built into the wall.

However, they have the disadvantage that certain waste remains attached to the walls of the chute, which makes frequent cleaning necessary, sometimes difficult to achieve due to access difficulties.

In addition, the immediate dumping of garbage from the chute into the container requires that the piston is at rest in the high position, the compacted garbage therefore being in the open air, which causes their fermentation and the release of bad odors.

The object of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks and, to do this, it proposes a garbage compactor, of the type specified in the introduction, the chute of which constitutes a drawer containing a movable pusher and opening onto the container through a closable orifice. and which further comprises means for opening and closing said orifice with synchronized control on the movement of the piston to ensure, during the cycle which begins in the low position and ends with compaction, the opening of said orifice and the scanning of the drawer by displacement of the pusher towards said orifice during the rise of the piston beyond a certain portion of stroke, then the closing of the orifice and the return to the rest position of said pusher during the descent the descent below this same stroke portions, as described in DE-C-649 640, said compactor being characterized in that said opening and closing means comprise a sliding guillotine shutter ration of said orifice, distinct from the piston and connected to the pusher constituted by a shovel, as well as drive fingers integral with the piston and acting on the guillotine to lift it and move the shovel towards the orifice thus discovered, during the rise of the piston beyond said stroke portion, the descent of the guillotine by elastic return of the shovel to its rest position.

In this way, each drawer is guaranteed to clean the drawer, which constitutes the entire path traveled by the garbage between the hatch and the compacting container.

But above all, the interposition of the assembly formed by the drawer and the guillotine makes it possible to leave the piston at rest in the compacting position since the ascent of the piston, at least partial, can take place while the garbage is retained in the drawer by the guillotine. The compacted garbage is therefore isolated from the outside by the piston, which prevents their fermentation and the release of bad odors.

The aforementioned document DE-C-649 640 describes a baler for compacting fibrous materials, in particular wool, which is therefore not strictly speaking a refuse compactor. In addition in this baler, it is the piston itself which plays the role of the shutter of the access port to the compacting block and the pusher is constituted by a massive block and of large dimensions, connected to the piston by an articulated linkage, so that, with respect to the means for opening and closing the trash compactor of the present invention, this known assembly has the drawback of being of a complex structure, inconvenient handling and noisy operation more susceptible to faults.

Advantageously, the guillotine consists of two flaps, the fingers acting to lift it on the cleats of a first guillotine flap which discovers a window of the second guillotine flap, which in turn is raised by the first thanks to a set of Cooperating stops carried by each of them, the descent of the two flaps taking place in reverse order by elastic return, preferably thanks to the shovel, itself resiliently returned to the rest position and connected by a cable to the first flap.

These extremely simple mechanisms ensure all movements of the guillotine flaps and the shovel in synchronism with the raising and lowering of the piston. The presence of two guillotine shutters acting in series makes it possible to considerably reduce the size of the compaction block.

Preferably, there is provided a locking lever of the hatch kept erased by the shovel when it is in the rest position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, means are provided for maintaining the pressure of the piston in contact with the refuse between two compaction cycles, and means for placing the piston in the high position when the maximum compaction pressure is reached before the expiration of a determined delay time.

This results on the one hand in a better seal for the compacted garbage and on the other hand in the erased position by manual or automatic control of the piston when the container is full, since then the maximum compaction pressure is reached from the start compaction.

• . la figure 1 est une vue en coupe transversale d'un compacteur conforme à l'invention;
• . la figure 2 est une coupe frontale du même compacteur;
• . la figure 3 est une coupe verticale selon la ligne III-III de la figure 1;
• . la figure 4 est une vue cavalière de la pelle;
• . la figure 5 est une vue cavalière éclatée de la guillotine; et
• . la figure 6 est un schéma des principales commandes du compacteur.

An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

• . Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a compactor according to the invention;
• . Figure 2 is a front section of the same compactor;
• . Figure 3 is a vertical section along the line III-III of Figure 1;
• . Figure 4 is a side view of the shovel;
• . FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the guillotine; and
• . Figure 6 is a diagram of the main compactor controls.

The compactor for domestic use shown consists of a compacting block 1 and a control box 2 embedded in the wall as well as a supply assembly 3 arranged inside a kitchen below d '' a work plan 4.

In the compacting block provided with two inspection doors 5 and 6, the second of which makes it possible to remove the container 7, there is essentially, in addition to this container, the jack 8 with its rod 9 and the piston 10.

In the container 7 is disposed a bag 11 protected by four removable shutters 12 which protect the bag and which facilitate its extraction when they have been removed one by one.

The piston 10, articulated on its rod at 13, is crossed by the latter between two uprights 14 which carry a double inverted U-shaped caliper 15 whose descending wings receive pads 16 cooperating with slides 17.

The control unit 2 contains the engine 18 with its oil tank 19, a receptacle 20 for programming cards, as well as the main switch 21 and an audible or light signal 22.

The supply assembly 3 contains a hatch designated by the general reference 23, a well-known commercial device constituted essentially by a short duct 24 closed at its upper part by a first leaf 25 and at its lower part by a second leaf 26. A linkage 27 ensures that when the leaf 25 is lifted by the pusher 28, the leaf 26 cannot open. On the contrary, when the leaf 25 is closed, the leaf 26 is free to open under the weight of the garbage which it retains upstream.

The supply assembly 3 forms at its lower part an inclined drawer 29 limited by the inclined lower wall 30, the side walls 31 and the rear vertical wall 32.

At its lower part, the drawer 29 opens out through an orifice 33 in the compacting block above the level of the container 7.

The side walls 31 form two slides 34 cooperating with two guides 35 integral with a shovel 36 carrying two studs 37 to which are fixed two springs 38 hooked to the rear wall 32.

The orifice 33 making the drawer 29 communicate with the compacting block 1 is capable of being closed by a guillotine with two flaps whose lateral edges are engaged with slides 39 integral with the vertical wall 40 separating the compacting block 1 of the power supply 3.

The shutter 41 is provided with a window 42 and high 43 and low 44 stops intended to cooperate with a high stop 45 and the lower edge 46 of the shutter 47, which in turn carries stops 48 and fixing studs 49. The flap 47, the height of which corresponds to that of the window 42, is operated by means of the cleats 48 by means of fingers 50 carried by the caliper 15 of the piston 10. The studs 49 receive two cables 51 passing over the pulleys 52 and passing through the guides 35 at the rear of which they are retained by studs 52.

Finally, note the presence of two levers 53, articulated under the conduit 24 and the notches 54 of which engage with stops 55 carried by the leaf 26 on which is also mounted a control magnet 56.

We find in the diagram of Figure 6 the motor 18, the cylinder 8, the piston 10, and, on the main power supply of the motor controlled at 20 by one of the programming cards, the main switch 28 in series with a switch 57 controlled on closing by the magnet 56 and on opening by a pressure switch 58 connected to the power supply of the jack. The return of the jack carries a check valve 59. Finally a comparator 60 acts, when the signal of a timer 61 triggered by a contact 62 carried by the piston 10 is preceded by that of a maximum pressure indicator 63, on the horn or light 22.

The compactor thus described operates in the following manner. The user introduces refuse by the leaf 25, the leaf 26 being closed. It then closes the leaf 25 and the linkage 27 allows the leaf 26 to open when the leaf 25 closes and to close immediately after the garbage has fallen into the drawer 29. The control magnet 56 closes the switch 57 and the motor 18 is supplied since the compactor is in service, the switch 28 is itself closed. The compaction cycle then takes place in accordance with the program of card 20.

The piston 10, which was in the low rest position, rises and the fingers 50 raise the flap 47 of the guillotine by the tabs 48, thus uncovering the window 42 of the flap 41. In turn, by the tabs 45 and 43, the flap 47 lifts flap 41. Simultaneously, the cables 55 set in motion the shovel 36 which runs through the drawer 29 and carries the garbage which might not have fallen through the orifice 33 discovered by the shutters of the guillotine.

Arrived in the high position, the piston begins its descent during which, thanks to the springs 38, the two flaps 41 and 47 and the shovel 36 return to their rest position.

During all the movements of the shovel 36, the levers 53, by their notches 54 in engagement with the stops 55, prohibit the opening of the leaf 26, even if garbage is introduced into the conduit 24 by the leaf 25.

At the end of the stroke, the piston 10 is stopped by the pressure switch 58 which acts on the switch 57 and it is kept under pressure by the non-return valve 59.

Before arriving at the end of the stroke, the piston triggered by the contact 62 the timer 61 which, in turn, acts on the horn 22 via comparator 60 if its end of delay signal is later than that of the maximum pressure indicator 63. The user is thus warned that the receptacles 7 are full since then the maximum pressure is reached shortly after the passage of the piston at the level of the contact 62. The user can then carry out an operation controlled for example by a second active position of the switch 28, which places the piston in the high position and makes it possible to extract the container 7 by the door 6 and then empty it.

It will also be specified that, as a variant, the control of the horn 22 can be designed to act on the latter when the piston 10 is facing a contact noting that it is in the position for which the container 7 is full and that simultaneously the maximum compaction pressure, detected by the indicator 63, is reached. The user can then carry out an operation controlled for example by a second active position of the switch 28, which places the piston in the high position allowing the container 7 to be extracted through the door 6, then to empty it from its bag 11.

It is easily understood that, thanks to the invention and in particular to the interposition of the drawer 29 with its shovel 36 and its guillotine 41, 47, it is possible to easily clean the conduit 24 which is very short and to keep the piston under pressure in the low position, the already compacted garbage thus being perfectly isolated.

As also, the drawer is cleaned by the shovel 36, the assembly is protected against any unhealthy fermentation and kept in an excellent state of cleanliness.

Claims (7)

1. Refuse compactor, especially for household refuse, formed of a trap (23) followed by a chute giving access to a compacting block (1) whose piston (10) is provided with a means for moving it cyclically between a low position inside a container and a high position as well as for exerting a compacting pressure in the low position, the chute forming a drawer (29) containing a mobile pusher (36) and opening into the container through an orifice (33) which may be closed, said compactor further comprising means for opening and closing said orifice, controlled in synchronism with the movement of the piston for, during the cycle which begins in the low position and ends by compacting, causing opening of said orifice and sweeping of the drawer by moving the pusher toward said orifice, during the rising movement of the piston beyond a certain travel portion, and then causing closure of the orifice and return of the pusher to the rest position, during the downward movement short of the same travel portion, characterized in that said opening and closing means comprise a sliding guillotine (41, 47) for closing said orifice, said guillotine being separate from the piston and connected to the pusher which consists of a shovel (36), as well as drive fingers (50) integral with the piston (10) and acting on the guillotine (41, 47) for lifting the latter and moving the shovel (36) toward the orifice (33) thus uncovered during the rising movement of the piston (10) beyond said travel portion, the downward movement of the guillotine being produced by resilient return of the shovel in its rest position.
2. Refuse compactor according to claim 1, characterized in that the guillotine comprises two flaps, the fingers (50) acting for raising it on lugs (48) of a first guillotine flap (47) which uncovers a window (42) of the second guillotine flap (41), which in turn is raised by the first through a set of cooperating lugs (43, 44, 45) carried by each of them, the downward movement of the two flaps taking place in the reverse order by resilient return of the shovel (36) in its rest position.
3. Refuse compactor according to claim 2, characterized in that the shovel (36), returned resiliently to the rest position, is connected by a cabling (51) to the first flap.
4. Refuse compactor according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by a lever (53) making the trap inoperative which is held retracted by the shovel when it is in the rest position.
5. Refuse compactor according to one of claims 1to 4, characterized by means (59) for maintaining the piston under pressure in contact with the refuse between two compacting cycles.
6. Refuse compactor according to claims 1 to 5, characterized by means (22) tripped by the contact pressure controller (63) indicating that the maximum compacting pressure is reached before expiry of the time set by the timer (61) initialized on passage of the piston by the contact (62), for signalling that the container (7) is full and that the piston (10) may be put again in the high position by manual operation of the switch (28), for removing the bag (11) from the container (7).
7. Refuse compactor according to claims 1 to 5, characterized by means (22) tripped by the contact pressure controller (63) indicating that the maximum compacting pressure is reached when the piston (10) is opposite a contactor showing that it is in the position in which the container (7) is full, for signalling that the piston (10) may be put again in the high position by manual operation of the switch (28) for removing the bag (11) from the container (7).

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