IES960384A2 - A compaction chamber of a baling press - Google Patents

Abstract

A compaction chamber (1,18) of a baling press adapted to form a bale (13) with two substantially parallel spaced apart longitudinal grooves (15,16,17;28,29) in the surface of the bale (13) as the bale (13) is compressed in the baling chamber (1). The grooves in the bale are formed by two raised formers in the floor. The two grooves are located so as to correspond to the distance between the forks of a forklift truck. An optional third groove may be included so as to facilitate the lifting of a bale by a crane. A further option is the provision of formers that withdraw into the floor after compaction, allowing the forks of a forklift to be directly inserted into the chamber to remove a bale.<Fig.1(a)>

Description

A COMPACTION CHAMBER OF A BALING PRESS Field of the Invention The present invention concerns a compaction chamber of a baling press of the type used to crush and compress loose waste materials such as discarded wrappers for example, so as to form coherent blocks of densified material which may be handled as unitized loads by conventional handling equipment such as stillage trucks, fork-lift trucks or cranes for example. In particular, the present specification describes a means for producing blocks of waste material which are more easily handled by mechanical means than those produced hitherto.

Background of the Invention In a conventional baling press, waste material is typically allowed to slide or fall into an open-topped box-like compaction chamber, and periodically a hydraulically-powered plunger which is mounted above the chamber is caused to move downwardly until it enters the chamber where it crushes and compresses the waste material against the flat bottom face (or floor) of the chamber. The plunger is then caused to withdraw to its idle position above the compaction chamber, exposing the partially-filled chamber for the addition of further loose waste materials. (Unlike a waste compactor, the shape and dimensions of the plunger in a baling press are similar to those of the compaction chamber, the plunger typically being a sliding fit inside the chamber). This process is repeated until the chamber is filled with densified waste material when, with the plunger pressing downwardly so as to prevent the materials in the chamber from springing-back by 1707S IE 960384 - 2 partially recovering their shape, one or more bands or straps are tied around the bundle (through slits or grooves in the sides and floor of the chamber, and sometimes also in the face of the plunger). The plunger is then withdrawn to its idle position and one side panel of the baling chamber is removed (usually it is hinged like a door) so as to expose the densified unitized bale of waste material. The size and weight of the bale is obviously dependent upon the nature of the waste material and the size of the compaction chamber, but typically the bale will weigh between one hundred and one thousand kilograms, and it will therefore be too heavy to be manhandled.

Typically, a baling press is provided with mechanical means for assisting with the removal of the bale from the chamber. For example, these means may take the form of a mechanism for tilting the bale upwardly about its bottom edge adjacent to the open side of the chamber, so as to tip or roll the bale out of the chamber and drop it upon its side onto a flat truck or across stillage (or lift truck) forks previously positioned in front of the opened side of the chamber, whence the bale may be removed. To further assist in the ejection process, conventional compaction chambers are sometimes slightly tapered, being narrowest at the side opposite to the open side and widest at the open side, but apart from the strapping slots and/or grooves, conventional compaction chambers and plunger faces are otherwise rectilinear and flat.

However, depending upon the nature of the waste material and the force of the plunger and the density of the bale, it frequently happens that bales become jammed during ejection from the chamber, requiring physically tiring and potentially dangerous manual intervention. Further, bales do not always land in a stable attitude upon the flat truck or stillage forks, and during transit away from the baling press they often roll over or slide sideways and fall to the ground, which is both inconvenient and potentially dangerous.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a compaction chamber whose shape is such that bales which are produced in it are IE 960384 - 3 more easily and securely handled than heretofore by conventional mechanical handling equipment, and in particular by stillage trucks and fork lift trucks and by cranes and hoists. It is a secondary object to provide optional means whereby bales may be lifted directly from the baling chamber by fork lift trucks, cranes or hoists, with or without the provision of any other ejection means.

Summary of the Invention A compaction chamber of a baling press comprises an open-topped receptacle adapted to receive waste-material for compaction within the chamber to form a bale, the receptacle comprising a floor and side walls, characterised in that the floor or one of said side walls is provided with at least two substantially parallel spaced-apart formers which are raised above the surface of said floor or side walls and which are adapted to form at least two substantially parallel spaced-apart longitudinal grooves in a surface of the bale as the bale is compressed in the baling chamber. Preferably, the formers are positioned in the floor.

Preferably, the formers comprise raised strips extending longitudinally of the floor or one of said side walls and an upper surface of each strip having a groove extending longitudinally thereof.

Preferably, two of said raised strips are so spaced apart that they coincide with the spacing of the forks of a lift truck. Preferably, said two raised strips have such a profile that the impressions or indents made by strips in a bale of waste material will coincide with the profiles of the forks of a lift truck. Preferably also the two strips are substantially equispaced to either side of the centreline of the chamber. The axial centrelines of said raised strips are substantially aligned with banding slits in the front and rear panels of said chamber, and the uppermost surfaces of the raised strips should preferably be provided with recesses whose purpose is to locate and guide banding tapes.

Optionally a third raised strip may be provided substantially mid-way between said two raised strips, the third raised strip having such a profile that the impression made by said strip in a bale of waste IE 960384 - 4 material will facilitate the insertion of a sling for handling said bale by a crane or hoist.

Optionally also, the raised strips may be so mounted upon the floor of the compaction chamber that they are mechanically retractable to a folded position wherein the uppermost surfaces of said strips are substantially flush with, or below the surface of the adjacent floor.

It will be readily apparent that the under-sides of bales produced in a baling chamber constructed according to the invention will be impressed with grooves which will facilitate the insertion of forks and/or slings, the grooves further tending to prevent the bales from slipping sideways during handling by a lift truck or a crane or hoist.

In the case of a compaction chamber equipped with retractable strips, it will be apparent that a bale may be removed directly from the compaction chamber by means of a counterbalanced lift truck or a hoist and without the help of any special ejector mechanism.

The invention also includes a baling press having a compaction chamber as described above.

The invention also includes a process for forming a compressed bale of waste material comprising placing waste material in a compaction chamber as defined above, pressing the material within the chamber to form a bale characterised in that the bale is impressed by means of formers to form at least two substantially parallel longitudinal grooves, slots or channels in a surface of the bale.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following description of two embodiments thereof, given for illustration only and without prejudice to the claims, wherein: Figure la shows a a pictorial view of an empty compaction chamber constructed according to the invention IE 960384 - 5 Figure lb shows a pictorial view of a bale which has been produced in the chamber shown in la Figure 2a shows a sectional side view through an alternative empty compaction chamber constructed according to the invention Figure 2b shows a sectional side view through the same compaction chamber in which the raised strips have been retracted and a strapped bale is awaiting removal by a counterbalanced fork lift truck.

Detailed Description of the preferred embodiments Referring first to Figure la, there is seen an empty open-topped box-shaped compaction chamber 1 having two fixed side panels 2 and 4, a fixed back panel 3 and a removable front panel 5 supported upon hinges 6, and a floor 7. Three substantially parallel spaced-apart raised strips 8, 9 and 10 are fixed to the floor 7, strip 9 being located along the central axis of the chamber and strips 8 and 10 being substantially equispaced to either side of strip 9. In order to facilitate the strapping of a completed bale, slits 11 are provided in the front and back panels 5 and 3, and grooves 12 are provided centrally along the apices of the raised strips 8, 9 and 10, the respective slits 11 and grooves 12 being aligned when the removable front panel 5 is in its closed operative position.

Referring also to Figure lb, there is seen a bale 13 which has been produced in the chamber 1 shown in Figure la by the following procedure: With the removable f ront panel 5 secured in its operative position by clamps (not shown), banding straps 14 are laid along the grooves 12, and are allowed to project through the slits 11 in the front and rear panels 5 and 3 respectively.

Loose waste material may then be dropped into the chamber 1 and from time to time, whenever the chamber begins to fill up, a flat-faced plunger or press (not shown) is driven downwardly into the chamber 1 in order to crush and compress the waste material, and the plunger is then withdrawn to its idle position above the chamber in order to allow IE 960384 - 6 further loose waste material to be dropped into the chamber 1 on top of that already compacted.

Eventually when the chamber 1 has been filled by material which has been crushed, the banding straps 14 are passed back through the slits 11 in the front panel 5, across the top surface of the waste material, and out through the slits 11 in the back panel 3. The plunger is then driven downwardly to compress the previously crushed waste and to hold it in this position and prevent it from springing back while the respective ends of the banding straps 14, which are projecting through the slits 11 in the back panel 3, are tied or clipped together. The plunger is then withdrawn, the front panel 5 is removed by hinging it out of the way, and the bale 13 is ejected from the chamber 1 by an ejection means (not shown).

It is seen in Figure lb that the approximate shapes of the raised strips 8, 9 and 10 have been impressed into the bottom surface of the bale 13, forming grooves or slots at 15, 16 and 17 respectively. The outermost slots 15 and 17 are so located and shaped that they can engage with the forks of a stillage truck or a fork-lift truck, and the narrower central slot would enable a rope or wire sling to be passed beneath the bale for handling by hoist or crane.

Turning now to Figure 2a, there is seen a side sectional view through an alternative embodiment of the invention, in which the empty chamber 18 is viewed from the back towards the front, the front panel having been removed. There are seen two side panels 19 and 20 and a floor 21, and a pair of raised strips 22 and 23 which are provided with grooves 24 and 25 respectively for banding straps.

Figure 2b shows the same sectional view through the same chamber 18 in which a bale 26 has just been formed substantially in accordance with the procedure described above. In this case, the strips 22 and 23 have been retracted into recesses 26 and 27 respectively in the f loor 21 of the chamber 18 by a mechanism (not shown), thus exposing the ends of the slots 28 and 29 respectively in the bottom surface of the bale 26. This would enable a counterbalanced type of fork-lift truck to lift and remove the bale 26 from the chamber without any need for an ejection IE 960384 - 7 means, or in the event of a failure or jam-up in the normal procedure if an ejection means is provided.

It is envisaged that in another embodiment not illustrated, the vertical raised strips are fixed to the front or rear (removable) panel of the chamber instead of the floor. Thus, in this embodiment the grooves are formed in a side wall of the bale. After the bale has been formed, the front or rear panel containing the raised strips is opened either by hinging it open or by removing it. The bale can then be tipped out of the chamber. This embodiment facilitates interfacing with lifting forks when a bale has been tipped over on its side, as with many types of existing ejection mechanisms. The invention is not limited, therefore, to the details of the embodiments hereinbefore described.

It will be readily apparent that the objectives of the invention have been achieved, in that a baling chamber is provided whose shape is such that bales which are produced in it are more easily and securely handled than heretofore by conventional mechanical handling equipment, and in particular by stillage trucks and fork lift trucks and by cranes and hoists. And further, that optional means are provided whereby bales may be lifted directly from the baling chamber by fork lift trucks, cranes or hoists, with or without the provision of any other ejection means.

Claims (5)

1. A compaction chamber (1, 18) of a baling press comprising an open-topped receptacle (1, 18) adapted to receive waste-material for compaction within the chamber to form a bale (13), the receptacle comprising a floor (7, 21) and side walls (2, 3, 4, 5; 19, 20) characterised in that the floor (7, 21) and/or one of said side walls (2, 3, 4, 5; 19, 20) is provided with at least two substantially parallel spaced-apart formers (8, 9, 10; 26, 27) which are raised above the surface of said floor (7, 21) or side wall (2, 3, 4, 5; 19, 20) and which are adapted to form at least two substantially parallel spaced-apart longitudinal grooves (15, 16, 17; 28, 29) in a surface of the bale (13) as the bale (13) is compressed in the baling chamber (1).

2. A compaction chamber as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the formers comprise raised strips (8, 9, 10; 26, 27) extending longitudinally of the floor (7, 21) and/or one of said side walls (2, 3. 4, 5; 19, 20) and an upper surface of each strip having a groove (12) extending longitudinally thereof.

3. A compaction chamber as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that two of the raised formers (8, 10; 22, 23) are located in a floor (7) of the chamber and are so spaced apart and shaped that they coincide substantially with the spacing and profile of the forks of a lift truck, being substantially equispaced to either side of a centreline of the chamber (1), and substantially aligned with banding slits (11) in the front and rear panels of the chamber.

4. A compaction chamber as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the raised formers (22, 23) are retractable from a raised position to a retracted position wherein the uppermost surfaces of the strips are substantially flush with, or below the level of the adjacent surface of the floor.

5. A compaction chamber as claimed in any of the preceding claims characterised in that a third raised former (9) is located substantially mid-way between said two raised formers (8, 10), the IE 960384 - 9 third raised former having a profile such that the impression made by it in a bale of waste material will facilitate the insertion of a sling for handling the bale by a crane or hoist.