EP0918711B1

EP0918711B1 - Waste handling container and method

Info

Publication number: EP0918711B1
Application number: EP97915494A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jorma Toivonen; Pekka Ristola; Hannu Alho
Original assignee: Recytec Oy
Current assignee: JORPELEHTO OY
Priority date: 1996-03-27
Filing date: 1997-03-27
Publication date: 2002-08-14
Anticipated expiration: 2017-03-27
Also published as: ATE222207T1; WO1997035789A1; AU2294997A; DE69714744D1; FI981928A0; FI961389A0; EP0918711A1; FI981928A

Abstract

A method for the transportation of waste, a waste handling system and a waste container. Wastes of various types separated at source are collected separately by a waste collection truck (30) and transferred to a transfer station (32), where each type of separated waste is taken to the transfer container (33) intended for that type of waste. Each type of sorted waste is taken in a transfer container to a landfill site, an incinerator, a glassworks, a steelworks or other waste recycling site (34). The transfer container that is part of the waste handling system has a conical shape and round cross section. At its wider end, there is a hatch (41) for filling and emptying the container. The transfer container is filled in an upright position.

Description

The object of the invention is
a method for handling waste transfer container equipped with guide rails for co-operation with guide rails of a container hoisting equipment, the method comprising the following steps:

the transfer container is placed to a filling site by a transfer truck or by a container handling vehicle equipped with container hoisting equipment,
the transfer container is turned into an upright position so that the end equipped with a hatch faces upwards for filling the container,
the transfer container is removed from the filling site by a transfer truck or by a container handling vehicle by lifting the container with the container hoisting equipment to a horizontal position onto a transfer truck or onto a container handling vehicle,

It is usual to collect waste, such as household waste or industrial waste, in one container as municipal waste, which is then transported by a waste collection truck either to a landfill site or to a refuse incineration plant for combustion. The new Waste Management Act, however, requires sorting and recovery of waste.

Wastes can, in principle, be separated at any stage, but the most reasonable and perhaps also the most economical way is to separate waste at source. This type of waste separation is so-called source separation. In this case, different types of waste are collected one type at a time by a waste collection truck and taken, for example, to a landfill site, an incinerator, a glassworks, or a steelworks.

However, it is not economical to transport waste directly to the above-mentioned places, because the number of landfill sites is decreasing and transportation distances are growing. A more advantageous system is to collect wastes at source by means of a waste collection truck and take them to a transfer station, where the wastes are transferred to a larger container, i.e. to a transfer container and are then taken on, for example, to a landfill site. The present transfer stations have, however, been built only for the transfer loading of unsorted municipal waste, so the transfer loading of sorted waste is not possible at these transfer stations.

The document DE-A-0 243 316 presents a method for the transportation of waste. According to the method waste is collected at source by a waste collecting truck and brought to the transfer station, where the waste will be tipped into the container, which is in an upright position. When the container is full the hatch will be closed and the the container will be lifted to a horizontal position onto a transfer truck. On the truck the container is located the hatch against the cabin of the truck. Therefore the container must be provided with another hatch for emptying at the opposite end of the container. Two hatches in one container has disadvantages. The structure of the container is more complicated and It is almost impossible to get the bottom hatch impermeable for preventing leakage. Another disadvantage is that the container must have a straight cylinder form. It is because the container is filled via one end and emptied via another end. The waste must go all the way through the container but when doing so it can be easily stucked.

It would be advantageous

that wastes of various types separated at source be collected by a waste collection truck and taken to a transfer station
that, at the transfer station, each type of waste be transferred to a dedicated transfer container,
and that each type of separated waste be taken in the transfer container to a landfill site, an incinerator, a glassworks, a steelworks or other waste treatment site.

The purpose of the invention is to create a new, more advantageous way of transporting waste. It is characteristic of the method relating to the invention that

the transfer container, being wedge-shaped seen in a cross-section perpendicular to the hatch, is placed to a filling site by the container hoisting equipment of a transfer truck or by a container handling vehicle so that the container hoisting equipment is gripping the container by the lug located at the end of the transfer container having larger diameter and the hatch,
for removing the transfer container from the filling site, the container is first turned to a horizontal position by a tilting mechanism of the transfer station,
then the horizontally located transfer container is gripped by the lifting devices of the transfer truck or the container handling vehicle from the lifting lug located at the closed bottom end of the container having smaller diameter,
and the transfer container is lifted, the dosed bottom end first, onto a transfer truck or onto a container handling vehicle so that the hatch of the container remains at the rear end of the transfer truck, and that the container can be emptied from the same end of larger diameter, where the container was filled.

To prevent odours and other nuisance impacts, the transfer container is kept tightly shut except when filling and emptying the container. In this way, the waste handling is closed so that it that does not cause a nuisance in its environment.

It is characteristic of one advantageous embodiment of the method

that the transfer container is brought to the transfer station by a transfer truck or container handling vehicle and is lowered in a tilted position off the transfer truck,
and that the transfer container is lifted up in a tilted position and taken from the filling site of the transfer station by a transfer truck or container handling vehicle.

It is characteristic of another advantageous embodiment of the method that, at the transfer station filling site, the transfer container is lifted into an upright position so that the end equipped with a hatch is lifted up, and waste can be tipped into the container, and that after filling, the transfer container is lowered back into a horizontal position and transferred from the transfer station filling site by a transfer truck or container handling vehicle.

According to a third advantageous embodiment of the method, the transfer container is turned into an upright position and back into a horizontal position around the tilting axis of the transfer container. With the waste handling method according to the invention, it is possible to load sorted waste at the transfer station, but it is also possible to load unsorted municipal waste there.

Empty containers are lowered off by a transfer truck or a container handling vehicle. They are equipped with transfer container hoisting equipment, such as a cable lifting device for demountable bodies, hooklift or a corresponding system. The lowering is performed at an angle of 30° to 85° to the horizontal plane, for example, the most advantageous angle being approximately 60°. After the container has been lowered, the transfer container is turned into an upright position, the hatch at its upper end is opened and a filling hopper is aligned with the container, and the transfer container is ready for filling. The hopper also at the same time functions as a so-called buffer storage, because the collection truck and the transfer container are not always filled or emptied simultaneously. The transfer containers may also be of different lengths. Therefore, the hopper above the container may, for example, also be such that it can be moved hydraulically in a vertical direction.

In a waste handling method a transfer station includes a mechanism that turns the transfer container into a vertical position for the filling of the container and that turns the container back into a horizontal position after filling.

Wastes are loaded into the transfer container by driving the collection truck onto a horizontal loading platform, where the truck tips the wastes into a round transfer container directly or through a hopper. Waste can also be loaded into the containers by means of a conveyor system. At the transfer loading stage, it is also possible to use a waste crusher. At larger transfer stations, the waste brought in can also be weighed. Collection trucks bringing in the waste can be directed centrally from the control room according to waste material and type of waste so that wastes are taken to the right containers.

Waste is brought to a transfer station by a transfer truck, which tips its waste load into a transfer container. In the waste handling there may also be used a compactor, which can, if necessary, be taken to the point where the transfer container is located. The compactor presses the waste in a transfer container. Compacting of waste is repeated several times during the filling of a transfer container, because the transfer containers to be filled are large in size. The end of the transfer container that rests on the ground is closed, and at the opposite end of it there is a tight closing mechanism that prevents the occurrence of nuisance impacts such as leakage and odours.

Waste is compacted in the transfer container while the container is in a vertical position. Compacting is done with a compactor moving on guide rails above the transfer containers. The container is filled from the end of larger diameter, and the waste is compacted towards the end of smaller diameter. As the container is also emptied from the larger diameter end, the conical shape of the container makes it easier to empty.

Since waste is compacted vertically, the force of gravity presses the waste lightly even when the compactor is out of order. In such a case, the advantage is that a power failure does not stop the waste handling.

Larger transfer stations may have at their disposal a so-called transfer container handling vehicle, which removes a full container from the filling site and replaces it with an empty container. From the storage area, the containers are further transferred to different sites by articulated vehicles. At smaller transfer stations, a transfer truck, which is a truck with a demountable body or similar vehicle, lowers the container at an angle, the most advantageous being approximately 60°. After lowering, the container is moved to a vertical position hydraulically using a simple lever mechanism. When removing a container, the above-mentioned stages take place in reverse order, in which case a transfer container is first turned into a tilted position and then lifted. A transfer truck takes the transfer container directly to its destination or transfers it to a so-called storage area.

When a transfer container is full, a transfer truck picks up the container. The truck lifts the transfer container and transfers the waste in the container to the final storage or reuse site. After the transfer container has been transferred to the emptying site, the container's hatch is opened. The transfer container is emptied by tilting it, the conical shape of the container making emptying easier. It is possible to lift a transfer container by, for example, a cable- or hooklift. For a hooklift, a lifting lug has been attached to at least one end of the container. The lug is attached at approximately 1400-1600 mm height from the ground. According to common practice in Finland, the lug is at 1570 mm height from the ground.

A full transfer container is taken by transfer truck from the transfer station to a landfill site, an incinerator, a hazardous waste handling plant, a glassworks, a steelworks or other final storage or recycling site. The transportation of a transfer container is possible with the vehicles in use at present, including equipment that is known as such, and that is suitable for rail transport as well as sea and container transport. A transfer container is emptied by opening the hatch which is at the end of larger diameter and tipping the container. Thanks to its conical shape, the container empties easily.

Another object of the invention is a waste container including

guide rails for co-operation with guide rails of a container hoisting equipment,
a hatch for filling the container,
lifting means,

It is characteristic of the waste container relating to the invention

that the bottom end of the transfer container is closed and the opposite end of the container is equipped with a hatch for filling and for emptying the container,
that the end, which is equipped with a hatch has larger diameter than the bottom end so that the container seen in a cross-section perpendicular to the hatch is wedge-shaped, most advantageously in the form of a truncated cone,
and that the both ends of the container are equipped with lifting lugs for the container hoisting equipment of a transfer truck or a container handling vehicle.

According to an advantageous embodiment, transfer containers relating to the invention are conical and round transfer containers, which are filled and emptied at the same end, that of larger diameter, which is directed upwards during filling. The end of smaller diameter facing the ground is solid and closed, thus preventing any leakage into the ground. As the process is leakproof and odourless, a transfer station can in principle be situated anywhere, for example, in a town.

It is also possible to heat and cool a container. Heating can be done with exhaust gas or liquefied gas when the container is in place or also during transportation. For heating and cooling, longitudinal channels have been incorporated in the walls of the container, through which the heating or cooling medium is conveyed. A transfer container can also be equipped with a compacting unit attached to it, in which case the transfer container can be used as such as a waste receptacle.

On the basis of the above-mentioned, it can be summarised that the advantages of the waste handling relating to the invention are the following:

suitable for the transfer loading of sorted waste
a closed structure, which is impermeable and clean for the environment, because fluid and gas leakages causing odours are prevented
present transportation vehicles can be used to transport transfer containers relating to the invention
suitable for compacting both small and large quantities of waste
waste can be crushed at the loading stage
waste can be weighed or packed at the treatment stage
requires only little compressing force, so the equipment is economical and does not waste energy
power failures and, for example, malfunctioning of the compactor do not bring the waste treatment plant to a halt, as force of gravity does the pressing
a transfer container can be heated or cooled
a transfer container can be used as a compostor.

In the following, the invention is described, using examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1: shows a waste collection truck and receptacles meant for sorting waste.
Figure 2: shows a diagrammatic view of the waste management relating to the invention.
Figure 3: shows a diagrammatic side view of emptying the waste truck container into a transfer container.
Figure 4: shows a diagrammatic side view of the compacting stage in a transfer container.
Figure 5: shows a transfer container seen from the side.
Figure 6: corresponds to Figure 5 and shows a transfer container with the hatch open.
Figure 7: shows the transfer container in Figure 5 seen from the closed end.
Figure 8: shows the transfer container in Figure 5 seen from the end that can be opened.
Figure 9: shows the lifting or lowering of a transfer container.
Figure 10: shows the device for tilting a transfer container seen from the side.
Figure 11: shows the device for tilting a transfer container seen from the direction of the container.
Figure 12: shows the upper part of a transfer container and the filling hopper above it.
Figure 13: shows a filling hopper in Figure 12 seen from above.
Figure 14: shows from above a transfer container and a filling hopper that can be turned to the side.
Figure 15: shows the compactor of a transfer container seen from the side.
Figure 16: shows the compactor in Figure 15 seen from the other side.
Figure 17: corresponds to Figure 5 and shows a transfer container according to the second embodiment, seen from the side.
Figure 18: shows the transfer container in Figure 17 seen from the end.
Figure 19: corresponds to Figure 5 and shows a transfer container according to the third embodiment, seen from the side.
Figure 20: shows the transfer container in Figure 19 seen from the end.
Figure 21: corresponds to Figure 5 and shows a transfer container according to the fourth embodiment, seen from the side.
Figure 22: corresponds to Figure 9 and shows the lifting and lowering of a transfer container with a hooklift, seen from the side.
Figures 23: and 24 show a transfer container placed in a pit at a transfer station.
Figure 25: shows the use of a transfer container 33 as a compostor.
Figures: from 26 to 28 show the lifting of a transfer container into an upright position.
Figure 29: shows a transfer station and transfer containers seen from the side.
Figure 30: shows the transfer station in Figure 29 seen from the other side.
Figure 31: shows the turning of a transfer container into a horizontal position at a transfer station.
Figure 32: shows a transfer truck and a transfer container at the transfer station.
Figure 33: shows a waste collection truck and the filling of a transfer container, and the device for tilting the transfer container according to another embodiment.
Figure 34: shows the tilting of a transfer container at a transfer station with a truck and a cable.
Figure 35: corresponds to Figure 34 and shows a transfer container turned into the horizontal position.
Figure 36: shows the filling of a transfer container placed in a pit.
Figure 37: corresponds to Figure 36 and shows the compacting stage in a transfer container.
Figure 38: corresponds to Figure 36 and shows a transfer container turned into the horizontal position with the tilting device relating to a third embodiment.
Figure 39: corresponds to Figure 36 and shows a transfer container that has been lifted onto the truck.
Figure 40: shows a transfer container placed in a pit and a fourth embodiment of the tilting device.
Figures 41: and 42 show in stages the operation of the tilting device shown in Figure 40.

Figure 1 shows a waste collection truck 30 and receptacles 31 meant for the sorting of waste, in which waste is sorted at source. The receptacles 31 in the example in Figure 1 are meant for glass, wood and metal.

Figure 2 shows a diagrammatic view of a waste management, in which the central features are a waste transfer station 32 with the transfer containers 33. Waste that has been sorted is brought by waste collection truck from receptacles 31 to the transfer station 32, in which each type of waste has its own dedicated transfer container 33. In the example in Figure 2, there are receptacles 31 for iron-, glass-, bio-, wood- and paper waste.

Empty transfer containers 33 are conveyed from the intermediate store 60 for empty containers to the transfer station 32 either by the upper or lower route, as described in more detail below. Transportation by the upper route is shown by a broken line.

When the transfer containers 33 are full, they can be transferred to the intermediate store 61 for full containers or taken to their final storage or treatment plant 34, which, in the example in Figure 2, are a steel or other metalworks, a landfill site, a composting site, a glassworks and an incinerator. Full transfer containers 33 are transported either by the upper or lower route. Transportation by the upper route is shown by a broken line.

Figure 3 shows the emptying of the container 35 of a waste truck 30 into the transfer container 33 situated at a transfer station. It can be seen from the Figure that a transfer container 33 is placed in an upright position on a lower level in such a way that the waste collection truck 30 can tip the waste directly into the transfer container 33.

Figure 4 shows the compacting stage in a transfer container 33, in which the compactor 36, which is moved on guide rails 37, has been positioned above the transfer container. Next, the piston 38 of the compactor 36 presses down the waste in the transfer container 33 from above. After the compacting stage, more waste can again be tipped into the transfer container 33. A transfer container can be equipped with a tight hatch 41, which is closed after completion of filling and compacting.

Figure 5 shows a transfer container 33 seen from the side. The transfer container 33 is conical and it has been fitted with guide rails 39, which correspond, for example, to the guide rails in a demountable body so that the transfer container 33 can be lifted onto the transfer truck, which is, for example, a truck equipped with known devices for lifting a demountable body. The transfer container 33 is also equipped with lifting

lugs

40a and 40b for the hooklift. At the smaller-diameter end, the transfer container 33 is dosed, and the lifting lug 40a at that end has been attached to the bottom of the container. At that end of the transfer container which is of larger diameter, there is a hatch 41, to which the lifting lug at that end has been attached. The hatch 41 has been linked to the transfer container 33 by means of a hinge 42, and the hatch 41 is opened by a hydraulic cylinder 43.

Figure 6 shows the transfer container 33 in Figure 5 with the hatch 41 open, and Figure 7 shows the transfer container 33 seen from the closed smaller-diameter end. The Figure shows the lifting lug 40a attached to the closed bottom of the transfer container 33. Correspondingly, Figure 8 shows the transfer container 33 in Figure 5 seen from the larger-diameter end, so that the openable hatch 41 and the attached lifting lug 40b can be seen in the Figure.

Figure 9 shows the lifting or lowering of a transfer container 33. In Figure 9, the transfer container 33 is in a tilted position resting on the tilting device 44. The tilting device 44 is supported on an axle 64 so that the device 44 and with it the container 33 can be turned by means of the hydraulic cylinder 45 from the inclined lifting position shown in Figure 9 to a vertical position and back.

A transfer container 33 is lowered using the lifting cable 47 of the transfer truck 46, and the cable 47 is unfastened. After that, the transfer container 33 is turned to an upright position using a tilting device 44, as shown, for example, in Figure 3. The upright position is used when waste is being tipped into the container 33. After the transfer container 33 has been filled with waste it is again turned to the inclined position in Figure 9 using the tilting device 44 and lifted onto the transfer truck 46 with the lifting cable 47.

Figure 10 shows from the side the transfer container tilting device 44, which is part of the transfer station, and the hydraulic cylinder 45 that adjusts its position. Figure 11 shows the tilting device 44 in Figure 10 seen from the direction of the container.

Figure 12 shows the upper part of a transfer container 33, which is at the transfer station 32 with the hatch 41 open. On top of the open upper part of the transfer container 33 has been placed a filling hopper 48a, which can be moved vertically on

guide rails

49a and 49b. Figure 13 shows the hopper 48a in Figure 12 seen from above.

Figure 14 shows from above the first transfer container 33 which is at a transfer station 32 and a filling hopper 48b according to a second embodiment which in Figure 14 is shown above another transfer container. The filling hopper 48b can, however, be tumed around the axis 50 so that it is above the first transfer container 33 which has no hopper in Figure 14. In this way, one filling hopper 48b can be used alternately with two transfer containers that are adjacent to each other.

Figure 15 shows the compactor 36 of a transfer container seen from the side. The compactor 36 can be moved sideways on guide rails 37 above any transfer container that is within the reach of the guide rails. After this, the waste in the transfer container can be compacted into a smaller space with the piston. Figure 16 shows the compactor 36 in Figure 15 seen from the other side.

Figure 17 shows a side view of a transfer container 33b, with channels 51 incorporated, through which heating or cooling medium can be passed. In this case, it is possible to heat or cool the transfer container 33b while in place or during transportation, in which case heating can done, for example, by the truck's exhaust gas. The container can also be equipped with heat insulation in a manner known as such.

Figure 18 shows the transfer container 33b in Figure 17 and its heating or cooling channels 51 seen from the end of the container.

Figure 19 shows from the side a transfer container 33c, the sides of which are fitted with axles 52. The transfer container 33c can be tilted on these axles. Figure 20 shows the transfer container 33c in Figure 19 seen from the end.

Figure 21 shows a side view of a transfer container 33d, with a compacting unit 53 fitted, in which case the transfer container 33d can be used as such as a waste receptacle.

Figure 22 shows from the side the lifting or lowering of a transfer container 33 using a hooklift 54 in a transfer truck 46. It can be seen from the Figure that it is necessary to tilt the transfer container 33 with a hydraulic cylinder 45 in order to make it possible for the hook 55 of the hooklift 54 to grip the lug 40b of the transfer container 33. The lug 40b must be high enough above the level 56 of the transfer truck 46. The distance from the lug 40b from the ground 56 has been marked with a reference mark h. This distance is usually approximately h=1400-1600 mm. According to common practice in Finland, the distance of a lifting lug from the ground is h=1570 mm.

Figures 23 and 24 show the first position of a transfer container 33 in a pit 57 in the ground 56 at the transfer station 32. In this embodiment, the transfer container can be moved out of sight conveniently. It is also easier to construct a pit 57 than a loading structure of any other kind. The pit 57 is also cool during summer, which reduces the fermentation of the waste in the transfer container 33. The transfer container 33 is lifted as described in solutions presented above.

Figure 25 shows the use of a transfer container 33 as a compostor. To aerate wastes in the compostor, a rotatable agitator 58 has been attached to the piston 38 of the compactor 36 with locking elements. An air hose 59 has been led to the agitator 58 so that while waste is agitated in the compostor, air is also blown in with a agitator/aerator.

It is advantageous to equip a compostor-transfer container 33 with heat insulation by a method known as such and possibly also with heating pipes as described in the embodiment in Figures 17 and 18.

Figures 26 and 27 show the lifting of a transfer container 33 to an upright position using the compactor piston 38. In Figure 26, the transfer container 33 is first in a horizontal position on guide rails 62. The hook 63 attached to the piston 38 grabs the lug 40b of the transfer container 33, lifting the container to an almost upright position, as shown in Figure 27.

The guide rails 62 are two-piece elements comprising a vertical part 62b and a horizontal part 62a. The vertical part 62b of the guide rails is supported by the axle 64, so that it can be pulled away from the horizontal part 62a by a drive cylinder 45.

In Figure 28, the piston 38 of the compactor has been disconnected from the transfer container 33. The vertical part 62b of the guide rails and, with it, the transfer container 33 has been moved from an inclined position to an upright position and the hatch 41 of the container 33 has been opened. The container 33 is now ready to receive waste.

Figure 29 shows a side view of transfer containers 33 at a transfer station 32. In the Figure, the transfer containers are in an upright position, as container 33a, but one transfer container 33b has been turned into a horizontal position using a tilting device 44. It can be seen from the Figure that a waste truck 30 is above one transfer container in position, ready to tip the waste into the container. At the opening of the transfer container above the transfer container there is a filling hopper 48, which channels the waste tipped by the waste truck 30 into the transfer container. Above the adjacent transfer container, there is also a filling hopper in place, and also a compactor 36 equipped with a piston 38 to pack the waste tightly into the transfer container.

Figure 30 shows a transfer station 32 seen from the other side. It can be seen from the Figure that waste trucks 30a and 30b drive onto a platform 70 at the transfer station 32. A transfer truck 30a is tipping waste through a hopper 48 into a transfer container 33a, which is in an upright position. Behind, there is also a compactor 36, which is moved aside from the hopper 48 when the waste truck 30a tips waste into the hopper. Behind the transfer container 33a, which is in an upright position, there is also a transfer container 33b which has already been turned to a horizontal position and which is thus ready to be lifted onto the transfer truck 46.

Figure 31 shows a transfer station 32 with a horizontal transfer container 33. It can be seen from the Figure that the hopper 48 has been lifted aside when the transfer container 33 is being turned from an upright position into a horizontal position or vice versa.

Figure 32 shows a transfer truck 46, which is grabbing the lug 40a at the closed end of the transfer container 33 with a hooklift 54. In this embodiment, a transfer container 33 is lifted onto the body of the transfer truck 46 with the opposite end first to that in the embodiment in Figure 2. The advantage of this embodiment is that the hatch 41 of the transfer container 33 remains at the rear end of the transfer truck 46, in which case the transfer container 33 can be emptied by tipping, using the tipping device of the transfer truck 46.

Figure 33 shows an embodiment in which the tilting device 44 of the waste container 33 does not include a hydraulic cylinder or similar actuator. It has been replaced by a cable 47, which is used to tilt the transfer container. This method is shown in more detail in the following Figures 34 and 35.

Figure 34 shows that the cable 47 of the tilting device 44 of the transfer container 33 has been connected to the hook of the transfer truck's 46 hooklift 54. By pulling the cable 47, the transfer container 33 can be tilted and turned to a horizontal position, as is shown in the next Figure 35.

Figure 36 shows a transfer station that is placed in a pit 57. In this case, both the waste collection truck 30 and the transfer truck 46 shown in the next Figure 37 can operate on the ground level 56. A guiding hopper 48 that is placed at the upper end of the transfer container has been attached to the tilting device 44 of the transfer container 33. It can be incorporated in the tilting device 44, because it moves with the transfer container 33 when tilted. Moreover, the tilting device 44 can be equipped with a tilting actuator, such as a hydraulic cylinder 45 for turning the transfer container into a horizontal position. Alternatively, however, it is possible to use a cable connected to the transfer truck, as shown in the embodiment in Figure 40.

In Figure 37, the waste truck in the previous Figure has driven away and a compactor 36 has been moved above the transfer container 33. It may also have an agitator 58 attached to it, because in a pit 57, a transfer container 33 can also function advantageously as a compostor.

In Figure 38, the hydraulic cylinder 45 of the tilting device 44 has turned the tilting device and the transfer container 33 attached to it to a horizontal position around the axle 64. The transfer container 33 is now in a horizontal position on the ground level 56, in which case the transfer container 33 can be lifted onto the transfer truck 46 in the same way as known demountable bodies. For this, a lug 40a has been attached to the transfer container 33 for the hooklift 54. However, the transfer container 33 can also well be lifted with known demountable body cable-operated lifting devices. Thus known trucks and lifting equipment at present in use can be used in the handling of the transfer container 33.

In Figure 39, the transfer container has been lifted onto the transfer truck 46. The structures of the tilting device 44 and the guiding hopper 48b remain in place in such a position that another emptied transfer container can be brought there immediately. After that, the transfer container is turned into an upright position by carrying out the above mentioned actions in reverse order.

Figures 40 to 42 show a transfer container 33 which has been placed in a pit 57 and whose tilting device 44 is operated by the transfer truck 46 and a cable 47. Figures 41 and 42 show in stages how the tilting device 44 and the transfer container 33 attached to it can be turned to an upright position by pulling the cable 47. The Figures do not show in more detail how the transfer container 33 is further lifted onto the transfer truck 46. In addition, if the tilting device 44 is to remain in the horizontal position as seen in Figure 41, some kind of locking device is needed to keep the tilting device 44 in this position.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the different embodiments of the invention may vary within the scope of the claims presented below.

Claims

A waste transfer container (33) including

guide rails (39) for co-operation with guide rails of a container hoisting equipment (47, 54),

a hatch (41) for filling the container,

lifting means (40),

the bottom end of the transfer container (33) being closed and the opposite end of the container being equipped with a hatch (41) for filling and for emptying the container,

characterised in

that the end which is equipped with a hatch (41) has larger diameter than the bottom end so that the container (33) seen in a cross-section perpendicular to the hatch is wedge-shaped, most advantageously in the form of a truncated cone,

and that the both ends of the container (33) are equipped with lifting lugs (40a, 40b) for the container hoisting equipment (47, 54) of a transfer truck (46) or a container handling vehicle.
A waste transfer container (33) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the walls of the transfer container (33) are provided with heating and/or cooling channels (51).
A method for handling a waste transfer container (33) according to claim 1, the method comprising the following steps:

the transfer container (33) is placed to a filling site (32) by a transfer truck (46) or by a container handling vehicle equipped with container hoisting equipment (47, 54),

the transfer container (33) is turned into an upright position so that the end equipped with a hatch (41) faces upwards for filling the container,

the transfer container (33) is removed from the filling site (32) by a transfer truck (46) or by a container handling vehicle by lifting the container with the container hoisting equipment (47, 54) to a horizontal position onto a transfer truck (46) or onto a container handling vehicle, whereby

the transfer container (33), being wedge-shaped seen in a cross-section perpendicular to the hatch, is placed to a filling site (32) by the container hoisting equipment (47, 54) of a transfer truck (46) or by a container handling vehicle so that the container hoisting equipment is gripping the container by the lug (40b) located at the end of the transfer container having larger diameter and the hatch (41),

for removing the transfer container (33) from the filling site (32), the container is first turned to a horizontal position by a tilting mechanism (44, 62b) of the transfer station (32),

then the horizontally located transfer container (33) is gripped by the lifting devices (47, 54) of the transfer truck (46) or the container handling vehicle from the lifting lug (40a) located at the closed bottom end of the container having smaller diameter,

and the transfer container (33) is lifted, the closed bottom end first, onto a transfer truck (46) or onto a container handling vehicle so that the hatch (41) of the container remains at the rear end of the transfer truck, and that the container can be emptied from the same end of larger diameter, where the container was filled.
A method as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that an empty transfer container (33) is lowered from a transfer truck (46) to a filling site (32) so that a transfer truck, locating on the ground (56) or on a platform (70), is lowering the container, the closed end first and the hatch (41) end of larger diameter facing upwards, down to a lower level or down into a pit (57) with aid of a tilting device (44) of the filing site.
A method as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that an empty transfer container (33) is placed to a filling site (32) so that the container is lowered from the transfer truck (46) down to a horizontal position, and that the horizontally locating container is lifted into an upright position, the hatch (41) end of larger diameter upwards, by a tilting device (44) of the filing site.