GB2186268A - Refuse compactor container - Google Patents

Abstract

A container for a refuse compactor comprises a shell 37 for containing compacted refuse and an inlet opening 45 formed at one end of the shell through which the refuse is forcedly introduced into the shell from the compactor, the opening 45 only partially spanning the shell end 41a, and the shell having a generally concave inner face at the other end of the shell opposite to the inlet opening. This concave inner face directs compacted refuse in a direction substantially outwardly from the direction in which the refuse is forcedly introduced into the shell through the inlet opening so as to distribute the refuse throughout the shell interior. Preferably the shell has a liquid drain mounted to the bottom thereof. The generally concave face is provided by a lower inclined part 57a and an upper concave part 57b. The rectangular shell may include reinforcing ribs 43, lifting lugs 55 and the opening 45 may be provided in a latchable closure 49 which is pivotal about hinges 48. A pin 53 may be in inserted in holes in the closure to extend across the opening and retain matter in the container. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to compactor containers THIS INVENTION relates to improvements in or relating to containers for compactors which have particular application and use in compaction waste disposal systems.

Compaction waste disposal systems of the type with which this invention finds application, generally comprise a separate compactor unit and container which are mutually connected to each other. The compactor is provided with a preliminary filling chamber having one side wall coincident with one end of the compactor and its opposite side wall defined by a compaction plate connected to a hydraulically operable ram. The said end is connected to an inlet opening of the container so as to provide open communication between the chamber and the container.The container is formed with a rigid shell and is adapted to receive matter deposited within the preliminary chamber via its inlet opening for temporary storage therein.Once the preliminary chamber is filled with waste matter the hydraulically operable ram can be operated to forcedly transfer the matter from within the chamber, through the opening, into the container. After successive fillings of the preliminary chamber, and transfer of the deposited matter into the container, the container will eventually fill, whereupon the compactor functions to effect compaction of matter within the container on further transfers of matter from the chamber.

A deficiency in containers previously designed for use in this system was that the matter deposited into the container did not completely fill the shell interior before maximum compaction of the contents occurred.

Such a problem normally occurred due to the inlet opening being of a lesser cross-sectional area than the corresponding cross-sectional end of the shell, wherein matter transferred into the container would approach maximum compaction immediately upon a line of matter being formed between the compaction plate of the compactor and the rear wall of the container. Thus the compacted matter would jam between the compaction plate and container rear wall on reaching maximum compaction and would not move outwardly frorn this line to occupy the remainder of the container.

Accordingly, it is object of the present invention to enable matter transferred into the compactor container to be distributed throughout the shell interior thereof before obtaining maximum compaction.

In compaction systems of the type for which the present invention has application the containers used therewith are adapted for detachment from the compactor to provide for removal from the compactor and emptying of the contents thereof for use again. To remove these containers from the compactors a heavy vehicle provided with a lifting mechanism is generally used wherein the container may be transferred by the lifting mechanism onto the rear tray of the vehicle and subsequently be carted away to the rubbish disposal site or the like for emptying of the contents thereof.

Unfortunately, in storing waste matter which has a component of liquidy material therein, leakage of the liquidy material often occurs creating an unpleasant environment around the compaction system and indeed causing problems in transportation of containers to discharge areas.

Accordingly, it is a preferred object of the present invention to substantially obviate or mitigate the problems associated with the storage and transfer of waste material having a liquidy component therein.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improvement in a container for a compactor comprising a shell for containing compacted matter, and an inlet opening formed at one end of said shell through which matter may be forcedly introduced into said shell during compaction, said opening only partially spanning said shell end; the improvement comprising the shell having a contoured inner face at the other end opposite to said inlet opening of said shell; wherein said contoured inner face is disposed to direct compacted matter in a direction substantially outwardly from the direction in which said matter is forcedly introduced into the shell through said inlet opening so as to distribute said matter throughout the shell interior.

Preferably, said inner face is of concave shape.

Preferably, the shell for containing compacted matter has a drain mounted to the bottom thereof, said drain communicating with the interior of said shell to collect liquidy material from said matter and maintain said liquidy material apart from the bulk of said compacted matter during residence within said shell.

The invention will be better understood in the light of the following description. The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the compaction system incorporating both the compactor and the compactor container; Figure 2 is an end elevation of the compactor container showing the inlet opening; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the compactor container shown in Fig. 2; and Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the compactor container shown at Fig. 3.

The description is directed towards a compaction system which includes a compactor container of a type which embodies the present invention and which is adapted for waste disposal.

The compaction system 11 generally con sists of a compactor 13 and a compactor container 15.

The compactor 13 comprises a standing frame 17, a housing 19, a hydraulically operable ram (not shown) and a preliminary chamber 21. The housing 19 encloses the ram and the preliminary chamber 21, and is fixedly mounted as a unit to the standing frame 17.

The housing 19 has a pair of longitudinal side walls 23 and a pair of opposing transverse walls 25 at opposite ends of the compactor.

The preliminary chamber 21 is located towards the discharge end 25a of the housing and the hydraulically operable ram is disposed in the remainder of the housing.

The chamber 21 is formed with an entry chute 27 having inclined inner faces 29 to facilitate the deposit of waste matter therein.

The entry chute 27 is located about the periphery of an opening provided in the top of the housing, which leads to the interior of the chamber. The chamber in turn is defined by a pair of parallel side walls formed integrally with the longitudinal sides 23 of the housing, a transverse wall disposed intermediately of and in parallel arrangement with the opposite ends 25 of the housing and a base 31. The chamber is provided with a discharge opening formed integrally with the discharge end 25a of the housing and which is normally spaced from the intermediate transverse wall thereof.

The intermediate transverse wall is in fact defined by a compaction plate which is fixedly connected to the extendable arm of the hydraulically operably ram. Accordingly, the intermediate transverse wall is capable of rectilinear movement longitudinally of the housing between extended and retracted positions of the ram arm, thus enabling matter deposited within the preliminary chamber to be discharged out through the discharge opening of the compactor provided at the discharge end 25a.

The compactor container 1 5 is fixedly attached to the compactor by means of a releasable coupling arangement 33. The container comprises a substantially rectangular shell 35 made from rigid high strength material such as steel. The shell is defined by a pair of longitudinal side walls 37, upper and lower horizontal walls 39a, 39b and a pair of transverse ends 41. The walls are reinforced by a plurality of transverse and longitudinal ribs 43 which circumscribe the shell to provide additional strength. One transverse end 41a is provided with a closure 49 which is capable of pivotal movement relative to the shell about the transverse pivotal axis 47 of a pair of hinges 48 provided near the top of the container. The closure is sealingly latched to the container end 41a by means of a lockable latch 51 provided towards the bottom of the end 41a.An inlet opening 45 is provided in the closure which only partially spans the corresponding end of the shell, having its top and bottom edges 46a, 46b respectively, disposed intermediately of the upper and lower horizontal walls 39. The inlet opening 45 is disposed so as to align with the discharge opening (not shown) provided at the discharge end 25a of the compactor 13.

The closure 49 is also provided with a suitable retainer pin 53 which is inserted through a pair of holes located at opposite sides of the shell to transversely span the inlet opening 45 at a location intermediate its upper and lower ends 46.

The sides of the shell are provided with a series of mounting lugs 55 which are positioned to enable the lifting mechanism of a heavy vehicle to be coupled thereto to facilitate lifting of the container whilst being maintained in a horizontal attitude.

The other end 41b of the shell has a contoured inner face of a shape reflected by the corresponding outer face 57 as shown in the drawings. The outer face (and hence inner face) is provided in two parts, a lower part 57a and an upper part 57b. The lower part 57a is inclined outwardly of the shell from the bottom 49b to a point 59 midway between the upper and lower walls 39. The inner face of the upper part 57b is of a concave shape which extends outwardly from the upper wall 39a to the point 59 defining a bubble formation at this end of the shell.

The bottom wall 39b is provided with a drain (not shown) enclosed within a recess 61 formed integrally with the bottom wall. The recess 61 is provided with a bung 63 located within a bung hole to allow the contents to be discharged from the recess externally of the shell. In the present embodiment, the drain is provided with a grating formed in coplanar relationship with the bottom wall 39b of the container, to allow communication between the recess interior and the shell interior but concurrently allowing the respective contents thereof to be maintained apart.

The operation of the compaction system will now be described.

Initially, the preliminary chamber 21 is arranged so that the compaction plate and arm of the ram is retracted to provide a chamber in which waste material may be deposited via the chute. In addition, the compactor container is fixedly attached to the compactor so that the discharge opening of the compactor directly communicates with the shell interior via the inlet opening 45. In this position, the closure 49 is locked into position, as shown at Fig. 1 of the drawings and the retainer pin 53 is removed from the corresponding holes thereof. On the preliminary chamber being filled with waste material the hydraulically operable ram may be operated so that the compaction plate and arm is extended causing the matter contained within the preliminary chamber to be forcedly transferred into the compactor container via the coincident dis charge and inlet openings.The compaction plate extends to a position adjacent the discharge end 25a of the compactor and then is retracted back to its original position leaving the chamber empty so that it may receive further waste matter. On several fillings of the chamber being discharged into the compactor container, matter transferred into the container will eventually traverse along the shell interior longitudinally until the first mass of material transferred thereto is forced to engage the inner face of the other end 41b of the shell. As more matter is transferred into the container the matter will be compacted until the action of the ram and compaction plate forces matter under compression against the point 59 of the shell.Consequently the inner face directs this matter initially outwardly from the direction of compaction and eventually in a direction opposite to the direction of compaction by action of the bubble formation so as to be distributed into those regions of the shell interior which have not been occupied with matter.

Concurrent with the storage of waste matter within the container, liquidy material therein under the force of gravity will tend to collect along the bottom wall 39b thereof. Accordingly, this liquidy material will be received by the drain via the grating and be collected within the recess 61. During the time that waste matter is stored within the container the grating will operate to effectively maintain the liquidy material apart from the bulk of the compacted matter residing within the shell.

Consequently, the compactor container can allow for the transfer of material from the compactor to the shell interior until such time as the interior is fully occupied with matter as a result of the distributing action of the inner face at the other end 41b of the shell and furthermore avoid leakage of liquidy material from the shell interior during this time.

On the container attaining maximum compaction of waste material therein, the retainer pin 53 may be inserted into the corresponding holes of the closure 49 to retain the compacted matter within the shell. Due to the high magnitude of compaction of waste matter within the container and the bulkness of such matter, the retainer pin functions quite adequately to retain the contents of the container from spilling out therefrom.

Subsequently, the container may be detached from the compactor by disabling the coupling arrangement 33 and transporting the container away from the compactor. The compactor container can then be lifted onto the back of a heavy vehicle by a suitable lifting mechanism which can be connected to the mounting lugs 55 located on the shell and be transported to a waste disposal site. At the site, the latch 51 may be disengaged, thereby releasing the closure 49 from locking engagement with the shell. Subsequently, the closure can be pivoted about its axis and the contents of the container discharged from the shell interior. The closure may then be returned and locked into position by the latch and the container itself returned to the compactor for connection therewith to allow for the local storage of waste therein.

It should be appreciated that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment herein described.

Claims (6)

1. An improvement in a container for a compactor comprising a shell for containing compacted matter, and an inlet opening formed at one end of said shell through which matter may be forcedly introduced into said shell during compaction, said opening only partially spanning said shell end; the improvement comprising the shell having a contoured inner face at the other end opposite to said inlet opening of said shell; wherein said contoured inner face is disposed to direct compacted matter in a direction substantially outwardly from the direction in which said matter is forcedly introduced into the shell through said inlet opening so as to distribute said matter throughout the shell interior.

2. An improvement as claimed at claim 1, wherein said inner face is of concave shape.

3. An improvement as claimed at claim 2, wherein said inner face is provided with a lower part inclined outwardly of the shell from the bottom thereof to a point approximately midway between the top and bottom of the shell, and an upper part extending outwardly of the shell from the top thereof to said point, wherein said upper part defines a bulbous formation integral with said shell.

4. An improvement as claimed at any of the preceding claims, wherein said shell for containing compacted matter has a drain mounted to the bottom thereof, said drain communicating with the interior of said shell to collect liquidy material from said matter and maintain said liquidy material apart from the bulk of said compacted matter during residence within said shell.

5. An improvement as claimed at claim 4, wherein said drain comprises a grating overlying a recess formed integrally within the bottom of said shell, said recess being provided with a bung hole and bung to enable the contents thereof to be discharged externally of the shell.

6. An improvement in a container for a compactor substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.