EP2944585A1

EP2944585A1 - A garbage-packing device

Info

Publication number: EP2944585A1
Application number: EP15167760.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Raoul Renser
Original assignee: Meiren Engineering Oue
Current assignee: Meiren Engineering Oue
Priority date: 2014-05-17
Filing date: 2015-05-14
Publication date: 2015-11-18
Also published as: EE05769B1; EE201400014A

Abstract

A garbage packaging device comprises a body of a garbage truck or a separate garbage container, a horizontally moving press plate (1) inside the body or the container, said press plate is a vertical plate with a conveyor belt (2) connected with one end to the upper edge of the plate (1) and to a rotating drum (3) on the other end.

Description

Background of the Invention

The invention relates to the field of packaging mechanisms, more specifically to the field of garbage packaging devices. The invention relates to a packaging machine located inside the body of a garbage truck or in separate containers, comprising a conveyor belt that is attached to a press plate.

Background Art

Various garbage packaging mechanisms with a press plate for front or side loading garbage truck packagers are known from prior art. Rear loading garbage trucks that are currently widespread have a rather complicated build and fit less garbage for their mass than front and side loading garbage trucks. Therefore, side and front loading garbage trucks have more potential when taking into account the useful mass of the collected garbage. Furthermore, a control feature from the cabin can be added to side loading garbage trucks, improving working ergonomics. However, rear loading has its advantages - it can be operated in very confined situations. Thus, the key to making front and rear loading garbage trucks more popular and making use of their presumable potential would be to use the most compact technical solution for loading garbage, packaging it, and pushing it out later on. To fit as much garbage as possible into the packager of the garbage truck, the garbage must be pushed away from the inlet and compressed. Press plates that extend to varying lengths to compress the garbage in the packager are used; this allows for tighter packaging of the garbage and helps push out the garbage during the emptying phase.
Canadian Patent Application No. CA2533768 discloses the body of a garbage truck, wherein the body comprises a reversible parallel-moving garbage packager which compresses the garbage and extends to the outlet in order to push the garbage out.
German Patent Application No. DE4318560 discloses a rear loading garbage truck, wherein the body comprises a presser that moves from wall to wall.
German Utility Model No. DE20217320 discloses a garbage truck, wherein the press plate for compressing the garbage is located behind the cabin, and it rotates around a horizontal axis.
European Patent Application No. EP0577540 discloses a garbage truck, wherein the body comprises a garbage press that works only when the garbage loading has ended.
European Patent Application No. EP0405345 discloses a telescopic press plate inside the body of a garbage truck, wherein said press plate works by periodically packaging the garbage against the rear wall of the garbage truck's body.
In the technical solutions known in the art, front or side loading garbage trucks cannot be loaded when the garbage packager is extended, as this might cause garbage to get lodged behind the press plate which makes it impossible to transfer the garbage inside the body and compress it. Therefore, the operator has to wait for the packager to return to its original position or use the packager only when the garbage loading has ended. However, in the latter case, loss of space during packaging is greater.
A garbage truck with a FAUN SIDEPRESS C240 side loader was disclosed at the Environmental Trade Fair IFAT (2008). The packaging mechanism of the FAUN SIDEPRESS C240 uses a packager with a press plate, wherein the press plate is connected with plates at the upper edge to prevent garbage from getting behind the press plate. In this technical solution, the packager does not extend far enough in the body to push out the garbage without tilting the body of the truck, and some of the garbage is left uncompressed as well. Furthermore, the plates connected to the presser take up a lot of space in the body of the truck.

Summary of the Invention

The invention provides a conveyor belt-based packaging mechanism for use in the body of side or front loading garbage trucks or in separate containers. The aim of the invention is to provide a packaging mechanism that extends as far as possible inside the body of a garbage truck or a container without getting the garbage lodged behind the press. The packaging mechanism can be used for economically packaging all types of household waste as compactly as possible. The packaging mechanism comprises a press plate which is connected to the free edge of the conveyor belt, which is wound onto a drum, at the upper edge. The conveyor belt covers the part behind the press plate so that the garbage stays on the conveyor belt and does not get lodged behind the press plate when in operation. As a result, garbage is loaded into the body of the garbage truck or container even when the press plate is in the packaging phase, eliminating the need to wait for the press plate to return to its original position. The conveyor belt is wound onto a rotatory drum and extends to the end of the body of the garbage truck or container along with the press plate - this allows the garbage to be packaged inside the body or container in its full length and pushed out without having to tilt the body of the garbage truck or the container.

List of Figures

The preferred embodiments of the invention are described by reference to the accompanying figures, wherein the figures represent the following:

FIG 1. Cross-section of a garbage truck with a front and side loading garbage packager in the garbage loading phase.
FIG 2. Cross-section of a garbage packager.
FIG 3. Cross-section of a working garbage packager inside a front and side loading garbage truck during the garbage loading phase.
FIG 4. Cross-section of a front and side loading garbage truck during the unloading phase.
FIG 5. Cross-section of a front and side loading garbage truck during the unloading phase, wherein the body is in the tilted position to unload the garbage.

Exemplary embodiment of the invention

The invention provides a garbage packaging machine for use in primarily side or front loading garbage trucks or separate stationary press containers. Figures 1 to 4 show the preferred embodiment for use in a garbage truck. As shown in Figures 1 to 5, the invention consists of a press plate 1, a conveyor belt 2, a drum 3, and push or telescopic cylinders 4. As shown in Figure 2, the packaging machines comprises a traditional horizontally moving vertical press plate 1 with one or two push or telescopic cylinders 4, and a horizontally moving conveyor belt 2 which is connected to the upper edge of the press plate on one side and to a rotating drum 3 on the other side; the conveyor belt 2 is wound onto the drum 3. According to the preferred embodiment, the drum 3 is covered with a plate or separated by a wall 5, as shown in Figure 2, to prevent the garbage 6 from getting lodged in between the conveyor belt 2 and drum 3. The exit slit of the conveyor belt 2 is equipped with a seal-cleaner 7, as shown in Figure 2, to prevent the garbage 6 from getting lodged in between the drum 3 and conveyor belt 2. In one embodiment of the invention, the seal-cleaner 7 is made of plastic or polyurethane which is gently pushed against the conveyor belt 2 if necessary. The telescopic cylinders 4 has a double function: it is used to move the press plate 1 inside the body 8 of the garbage truck or the separate garbage container to compress or push out the garbage as well as return the press plate 1 to its original position.
The press plate 1, which is connected to the conveyor belt 2, moves along the bottom of the body of the garbage truck or separate container on a sliding surface. The conveyor belt 2 is wound onto the drum 3 and the length of the belt 2 is determined by the length of the body 8 or garbage container so that the conveyor belt 2 reaches the end of the body 8 or garbage container when it is unwound. The wound up conveyor belt 2 does not take up much space in the body 8 of the garbage truck or separate garbage container. Moreover, the extension of the press plate 1 is increased by unwinding the conveyor belt 2. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the conveyor belt 2 is made of reinforced rubber or PVC. Because the press plate 1 is positioned quite low in case of side loaders, the purpose of the belt 2 is to prevent garbage from falling behind the press plate 1 during compression. The conveyor belt 2 covers the area behind the press plate 1 so that the garbage will not fall behind the press plate 2. Thus, it is also possible to load garbage 6 into the garbage truck when the press plate 1 is operational. The bold dashed line in Figure 2 shows the extension of the conveyor belt 2 when the press plate 1 is operational; the bold line shows the position of the conveyor belt 2 when the press plate 1 is in its original position.
The width of the press plate 1 is determined by the internal width of the body 8 of the garbage truck or separate garbage container, and the lower edge of the press plate 1 runs against the bottom of the body of the garbage truck or separate garbage container. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the press plate 1 is flat and rectangular; in a more preferred embodiment of the invention, the press plate 1 is rectangular and has a zigzag profile (as shown in Figure 2). In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gap between the wall of the body 8 of the garbage truck or separate container and the press plate 1 is 5 to 10 mm. There are elastic seals on the sides of the press plate 1 to close off the gap between the body 8 of the garbage truck or separate container and the press plate 1 so that small pieces of garbage do not get behind the press plate 1. The press plate 1 is made of metal, and in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the press plate 1 is made of steel.
The press plate 1 moves on sliding surfaces along the bottom and side walls of the body 8 of the garbage truck or separate garbage container. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, sliders are provided on the edges of the press plate 1 (not shown in the figures) and guiding surfaces are provided on the sides of the body at the height of the upper edge of the press plate (not shown on the figures). In a preferred embodiment, the sliders are made of plastic. There are four sliders in total: two at the top and two at the bottom. In another embodiment of the invention, the press plate 1 moves on rollers or wheels at the bottom of the body 8.
Garbage can be compressed throughout the length of the body 8, as shown in Figure 2 (position C) - as a result, a higher degree of compression and a larger quantity of collected garbage 6 is achieved. In another embodiment of the invention, the garbage can only be compressed with the press plate 1 until it moves into position B, as shown in Figure 2, and when the press plate 1 moves to the end of the body 8, into position D, as shown in Figure 4, the body 8 of the garbage truck or a separate container can be emptied of the garbage 6 by the press plate 1.
In another embodiment of the invention, the drum 3 of the conveyor belt 2 is equipped with a hydraulic motor. In this case, telescopic cylinders with unidirectional actuation are used, which means that the press plate 1 is pulled back by the conveyor belt 2. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, traditional hydraulic cylinders can also be used in garbage trucks with a tilting body, e.g. single-stage hydraulic cylinders that can make the press plate 1 reach halfway to the end of the body 8, and package the garbage accordingly.

Exemplary use of the invention

Garbage 6 is emptied from a garbage container using lifting equipment or, in case of smaller separate containers, by hand into the body 8 of the garbage truck where it falls to the bottom of the body in front of the press plate 1. If the press plate 1 is not in position A (as shown in Figure 3) during the garbage emptying, but further away in positions B and C, then the garbage will fall onto the conveyor belt 2. After the press plate 1 returns to position A, the garbage 6 will fall in front of the press plate 1, as shown in Figure 1.
In a preferred embodiment, there is a reversible partition wall 9 in the body 8, as shown in Figures 3 to 5, so that bigger objects would not get stuck between the partition wall 9 and the press plate 1. The dashed line in figures shows the movement of the partition wall 9 when pushing the garbage with the press plate 1; the continuous line shows represents the partition wall 9 when standing still.
The press plate 1, which is actuated with telescopic cylinders 4, extends to the end of the body 8 when in use, as shown in Figure 4 (position D). In this case, it is possible to empty out the body 8 by pushing out the garbage 6 with the press plate 1, which means that there is no need to tilt the body 8 of the garbage truck for emptying it. If necessary, the press plate 1 can move back and forth several times during the emptying phase until all of the garbage 6 has been pushed out of the body 8.
In another embodiment of the invention, in case of a shorter extension, a press plate 1 with hydraulic cylinders may be used. In this embodiment, the garbage 6 is packaged only to position B, as shown in Figure 3. In this case, the body 8 of the garbage truck is emptied by tilting, as shown in Figure 5.

Claims

A garbage packaging device comprising the body of a garbage truck or a separate garbage container with a horizontally moving press plate inside, characterized in that said press plate is a vertical plate with a horizontally moving conveyor belt connected to the upper edge of the plate, and the conveyor belt is connected to a rotating drum on the other end.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the drum is separated from the garbage with a covered plate or wall.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that a seal-cleaner made of plastic is provided over the conveyor belt.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that a seal-cleaner made of polyurethane is provided over the conveyor belt.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the press plate, which is connected to the conveyor belt, is adjusted to move along the bottom of the body of the garbage truck or separate garbage container on a sliding surface.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the press plate is made of metal, preferably the press plate is a flat rectangular plate made of steel.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the press plate is a rectangular steel plate with a zigzag profile.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor belt is essentially the width of the press plate.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the press plate has sliders, and guiding surfaces for the sliders are provided on the sides of the body of the garbage truck or separate garbage container at the height of the upper edge of the press plate, and preferably there are 4 sliders, wherein 2 of them are at the top and 2 at the bottom.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that rollers or wheels are provided on the press plate or at the bottom of the body of the garbage truck or separate garbage container.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the space between the wall of body of the garbage truck or separate garbage container and the sides of the press plate is preferably 5 to 10 mm.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that elastic seals are provided on the sides of the press plate.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor belt, which is connected to the press plate, extends to the rear end wall along the body of the garbage truck or separate garbage container.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the press plate is adjusted to push the garbage inside the body of the garbage truck or separate container in the horizontal direction.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the drum of the conveyor belt is equipped with a hydraulic motor, wherein telescopic cylinders with unidirectional actuation are used and the conveyor belt is used to pull the press plate back to its original position.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the packaging device is installed on a side or front loading garbage truck or separate press container.
A garbage packaging device of claim 1, characterized in that the press plate is connected to single-stage hydraulic cylinders.