US3794197A

US3794197A - Non-stop refuse collection system

Info

Publication number: US3794197A
Application number: US00199756A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Stragier
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-11-17
Filing date: 1971-11-17
Publication date: 1974-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 1991-02-26

Abstract

A device designed to be mounted on the side of a garbage pick-up vehicle and adapted to engage and invert refuse containers to transfer the contents thereof into the bed of said vehicle while the vehicle is in motion, allowing the vehicle to collect garbage placed along a roadway in a non-stop operation without manual handling.

Description

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,794,197

Stragier Feb. 26, 1974 [54] NON- STOP REFUSE COLLECTION SYSTEM 2,772,793 12/1956 Brusewitz 214/42 3,016,157 1/1962 Brisson 214/302 1761 Inventor: Marcel strag'er' .8201 Momerey 3,446,377 5/1969 Heinert 214/308 Way, Scottsdale, AYIZ- 35251 3,523,404 8/1970 Girardi 53 391 Filed, Nov 17 1971 3,537,236 11/1970 Fridley 53/391 [2]] Appl' l99756 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza R l d U S A li i D Assistant ExaminerLawrence J. Oresky [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 15,421, March 2, 1970,

abandoned- 57 ABSTRACT 52 us. c1 214/302, 214/308, 198/179 A device designed to be mounted on the Side of a [51 Int. Cl B651 3/02 bage pick'up Vehicle and adapted to engage and invfirt 5 Field f Search 214 77 302, 3 refuse containers to transfer the contents thereof into 5 /391 the bed of said vehicle while the vehicle is in motion, allowing the vehicle to collect garbage placed along a 5 References Cited roadway in a non-stop operation without manual han- UNITED STATES PATENTS dlmg- 3,516,562 6/1970 Knight 214/302 24 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PAIENIEQ FEB2 619M SHEEIIBF3 IN VENTOR. M/WCIEL & anew/6 ram 5/9; M0555 a MAETEA/S 1 NON-STOP REFUSE COLLECTION SYSTEM RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuation of application, Ser. No. 15,421, filed Mar. 2, 1970, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Refuse collection through industrial and residential areas has in the past been an extremely inefficient process requiring a substantial amount of manual handling of refuse containers. The most common method used in the prior art to transfer refuse into a refuse collection vehicle has been the manual lifting and inverting of the refuse containers above a bin or opening located on the vehicle. These vehicles often incorporate mechanisms for moving the refuse from this bin to the interior of the body of the vehicle and tightly compacting the refuse within the vehicle. Various systems have also been developed for mechanically lifting the refuse containers and inverting them above the collection bin on the vehicle. Each of these prior art mechanisms, however, required stopping the vehicle and generally required the manual insertion of the portable refuse container onto the lifting mechanism of the vehicle and manual removal of the refuse containers from the vehicle after the refuse has been transferred. Therefore, even with these improvements, the prior art vehicles were limited to a slow progression along a roadway where the portable containers were located and often required personnel in addition to the vehicle driver for manually manipulating the portable containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention, on the other hand, is directed toward an apparatus and process which totally automates the transfer of refuse from refuse containers to a refuse collection vehicle, eliminating all manual manipulation of the containers. The equipment requires no personnel escept a vehicle driver who directs the vehicle along the roadway adjacent to the refuse containers. The equipment, which is designed to be attached to common side-loading refuse collection vehicles, automatically engages the containers and, by circulating these containers around a track on the side of the vehicle, inverts the containers above the refuse collection bin on the vehicle and then replaces the containers along side the roadway, all of these operations occurring while the vehicle is in motion.

These and other advantages of the present invention are best described in reference 'to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an overall side elevation view of the refuse collection vehicle operating on a roadway along the side of which portable refuse containers are placed.

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the apparatus which is attached to the side of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 and designed for manipulating the portable refuse containers.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 taken along the lines of 33, but with the refuse receiving arm rotated inward to face the vehicle, for ease of illustration.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the arm rotating mechanism shown in FIG. 3 taken along the line 44.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the cart which supports the container engaging arm situated in the supporting track shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a prospective view of this cart within the track to further detail the structure thereof.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the means for coupling the container engaging arm to the cart shown in FIG. 5 and is taken along lines 77 of FIG. 5.

'FIG. 8 is an elevation view of the container designed to be engaged by the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and showing the position of one of the arms of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 as it engages the container.

FIG. 9 is an elevation view of a container after engagement by the arm of FIG. 2 and showing the apparatus by which said container is inverted. The inverted container is shown in dashed lines in this figure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is designed to be mounted in a vertical plane at the side of a refuse collection vehicle 10 which is adapted to receiving refuse in a receiving bin 12 which is located between the cab 14 and the truck body 16. The receiving bin 12 is adapted to receiving refuse which is dumped therein from containers such as the portable containers 18. Advantageously, a transfer means such as the blade 20 shown in dashed lines in FIG. I activated by a hydraulic cylinder 22, may be utilized to transfer refuse from the receiving bin 12 to the interior of the body 16 of the vehicle 10. A driver operates the vehicle from the cab 14 and therefore the apparatus is advantageously mounted so that the forward portions thereof are adjacent the cab 14 and may be visually monitored by the driver.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the major subassemblies of the apparatus will be described. A track 24 is situated in a vertical plane along the side of the vehicle 10 and is formed generally in the shape of a trapezoid having a forward inclined leg 24a, an upper horizontal leg 24b, a rear inclined leg 24c, and a lower horizontal leg 24d, each of these legs being connected to the adjacent legs by curved corner sections. Four container engaging means 26a, 26b, 26c and 26d are attached to the track 24 and designed to be driven around the trapezoidal track 24 in unison. These container engaging means 26a through 26d are spaced equidistant along the track 24 and are shown in FIG. 2 in positions 27a through 27d respectively along that path of the track. Each of the container engaging means 26 includes a U-shaped arm 28a through 28d which is designed to receive a portable container 18 as the vehicle 10 is driven adjacent to the container 18.

The structure of each of the container engaging means 260 through 26d is identical and therefore the following discussion of the container engaging means 260 in reference to FIGS. 3 through 6 is representative of each of the container engaging means 260 through 26:1. The container engaging means 260 includes a cart 30 which comprised a bed 32 on which are rotatably mounted a pair of

axles

34 and 35, said axles carrying at their extremities a pair of truncated conical wheels 36 through 39 which are designed to run within the track 24, which track includes two V-shaped sections 40 and 42, one leg of which is connected to a cross member 44. The cart 30 will therefore run within the track 24 and the motion of the cart 30 will be defined by the path of the track 24. The cart 30 is additionally connected to a chain 46 which is utilized to drive the cart around the track 24. Supported from the cart 30 is a clevice 48 which extends perpendicular to the plane of the cart 30. This clevice is drilled to support a pin 50 on which is rotatably mounted a bushing 52 in which a supporting arm 54 is in turn rotatably mounted. The arm 54 can therefore rotate about one axis within the bushing 52 and about a perpendicular axis about the pin 50. The latter motion, i.e. the motion about the pin 50, is limited by a stop 56 which is mounted on the cart 30 and which abuts the outside of the bushing 52..

Attached to the outer extremity of the arm 54 are three

radius arms

58, 60 and 62. Each of these arms carries a perpendicular axle not shown in FIG. 3 on which is rotatably mounted a

wheel

64, 66 and 68. These wheels are adapted to rotate about an axle which is attached to the arms 58 through 62 about an axis parallel to the axis of the bushing 52. Each of these wheels 64 through 68 has an arcuate groove 70 in its outer surface. This groove designed to engage guides as described below. Rigidly attached to the arm 54 and extending at an angle therefrom is an arm 72 which carries at its outer extremity a bearing 74 in which is rotatably mounted a vertical drop arm 76, this arm 76 being therefore rotatable in an axis which is perpendicular to both the axis of the bushing 52 and the axis of the pin 50. Rigidly mounted to the drop arm 76 is a U-shaped container receiving member 78 which is shown in FIG. 3 in section through a line separating the arms of the U. Attached to one of the arms of the U-shaped member 78 is a vertical extension member 80 which carries at its upper extremity a container top engaging means 82 and at its lower extremity a container side engaging means 84.

In order to control the rotation of the drop arm 76 within the bearing 74, a ratchet mechanism 86 and a drive mechanism 88 is utilized. The ratchet mechanism, as best seen in FIG. 4, includes a ratchet 90 and a spring driven Pawl 92. The ratchet 90 has a circular surface except for two detent positions, one of which serves to maintain the U-shaped arm 78 so that the opening of the U is in the direction of travel ofthe vehicle 10. The second detent position holds the U-shaped arm 78 in a position rotated 180 so that the arm 78 has its opening facing the rear of the vehicle 10. The driving means 88 includes a gear 94 which is driven by two

rack gears

96 and 98 as shown in FIG. 2. Each of these

gears

96 and 98 is designed to rotate the pinion gear 94 to drive a chain 100 which in turn drives a sprocket 102 through 180. This sprocket 102 is rigidly attached to the drop arm 76 and therefore rotates the drop arm 76 through 180 between successive detent positions of the ratchet mechanism 86 each time one of the

racks

96 and 98 is adjacent the pinion gear 94.

Referring specifically to FIG. 2, a series of guides are shown which are intended to engage the rollers 64 through 68 to maintain the proper rotary position of the arm 54 within the bushing 52. It will be noted from FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 that the

rollers

64 and 68 are in the same plane, while the roller 66 is in a parallel plane further removed from the bushing 52. The functioning of each of the guides shown in FIG. 2 will therefore be explained. Beginning first with a guide [04 adjacent the rear trapezoidal leg 240, it can be seen that, as the cart 30 proceeds down this portion of the track 24, the weight of the U-shaped arm tends to rotate the arm 54 counterclockwise within the bushing 52. The guide 104 is positioned in the plane such that it will engage the rollers 66, and this engagement will limit counterclockwise rotation of the arm 54 so that the U-shaped arm 28b rests in a horizontal plane. As the cart supporting the arm 54 proceeds down the leg 240, a position will be reached at which the

rollers

64 and 68 will engage another guide 106 and the roller 66 will disengage the guide 104. The engagement of the

rollers

64 and 68 with the guide 106 will maintain the U-shaped arm in a horizontal plane. As the cart 30 proceeds along the lower horizontal leg 24:! of the track 24, the pinion gear 94 proceeds past the rack gear 98 to rotate the U- shaped arm to a position as shown at 28c with the opening of the U-shaped arm facing in the direction of progress of the vehicle. The cart 30 will proceed along the leg 24d of the track 24 until it reaches the forward leg 240 at which point the

rollers

64 and 68 disengage from the guide 106 and the roller 66 becomes engaged with a guide 108. Since the weight of the U-shaped arm 28d is now ahead of the bushing 52, the arm 54 tends to rotate in a clockwise direction within the bushing 52. The engagement of the roller 66 with the guide 108 limits this clockwise rotation to maintain the U-shaped arm 28d in a horizontal plane. The cart 30 proceeds along the leg 24a of the track 24 until it reaches the leg 24b of the track 24, at which time the roller 66 becomes disengaged from the guide 108 and the

rollers

64 and 68 become engaged on two sides within a tubular guide member 110. This tubular guide member 110 serves not only to limit rotation of the arm 54 within the bush ing 52, but also to raise the arm 54 about the pin 50, therefore controlling motion about this second axis. By so guiding the arm 28:! about the pin 50, the guide 110 rotates the U-shaped arm 28a about the axis of the leg 24!; of the track 24 so that the U-shaped arm 28 is inverted and positioned behind the plane of the track 24. This is the position at which the container 18 which is maintained within the U-shaped arm 28a is inverted so that the refuse contained therein will drop into the receiving bin 12 of the vehicle 10. As the cart 30 pro ceeds further along the leg 24!), the guide 110 rotates the arm 54 about the pin 50 to return the U-shaped arm 28 to its normal position in front of the plane of the track 24. As the cart proceeds still further along the leg 24b, the pinion gear 94 engages with the rack gear 96 to rotate the U-shaped arm 28 so that it opens toward the rear of the vehicle 10. As will be explained below, the rotation of the drop arm 76 within the bearing 74 by the action of the rack gears 96 and 98 on the pinion gear 94, serves to allow the U-shaped arms such as the arm 28:! of FIG. 2 which is at the forward leg 24a of the track 24 to engage and lift portable refuse containers, while the U-shaped arm which is at the rear leg 24c of the track 24 is rotated to allow disengagement of the arm, such as the arm 2812, from the portable refuse container 18 as the vehicle 10 proceeds along the roadway.

Motion of each of the arms 28a through 28d is intermittent and is controlled by a motor (not shown) which drives the chain 46 around the track 24. At each successive intermittent motion, each of the U-shaped arms 28a through 28d moves to the next successive position 27a through 27d along the track as shown in FIG. 2 and comes to rest in that position. However, as the arm which is in the position 270' engages a container, this container will operate a lever arm 112 which will begin the intermittent operation of the motor to translate each of the U-shaped arms 28a through 28d one quarter of the way around the trace 24 to the next position. This operation allows the vehicle to pick up portable refuse containers 18 which are not evenly spaced along the roadway, and also allows the arm which is in position 27a to maintain the portable container 18 in an inverted position over the refuse bin 12 for a period of time.

Since it is often necessary to jolt the container when it is in its inverted position within the U-shaped arm, such as the arm 28a in FIG. 2, the guide 110 is preferably formed so that it abruptly inverts the U-shaped arm 28a as the cart 30 is driven to its final intermittent position. This is accomplished by making the guiding surfaces of the guide 110 sufficiently abrupt to rapidly rotate the arm 54 about the pin 50, as shown in FIG. 3.

In order to maintain the arm 54 in a horizontal axis while the cart 30 is proceeding along the forward and rear trapezoidal legs 24a and 246 of the track 24, the stop 56 as shown in FIG. 3-5 is incorporated on the cart 30 so that the bushing 52 will abut the stop 56. As can be seen in FIG. 2, when the cart is inverted as it proceeds along the leg 24:! of the track 24, both of the

rollers

64 and 68 are engaged with the guide 106, and this engagement alone serves to maintain thearm 54 along a horizontal axis.

Referring specifically to FIG. 7, a U-shaped pin 114 is utilized to maintain the axial position of the arm 54 within the bushing 52. To facilitate this engatement, the arm 54 contains an annular groove 116 and the bushing 52 is drilled in two places so that the pin 114, when inserted through the drilled holes within the bushing 52, will engage the groove 116 of the arm 54, allowing the arm 54 to rotate, but maintaining the axial position thereof. This connection allows easy removal ol'each of the U-shaped arms with its associated mechanism from the bushing 52 and the cart 30 by the simple removal of the U-shaped pin members 114, so that the U-shaped arms 28a through 28d may be removed from the vehicle while the vehicle is in transport to and from a dumping site.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, the structure of a specific portable refuse container adapted to be engaged by the mechanism described above will be explained. The refuse container 18 has a truncated conical base section 118 terminating in an annular ridge 120 at the base of an upper truncated conical section 122. The U-shaped arm 28 is intended to engage the base section 118 as the vehicle IO-approaches the container. It should be understood that the engaging arm 28 is in the position of the arm 28:] shown in FIG. 2, and that the arm 28 is below the ridge 120 of the container 18, so that minor variances in the relative height of the vehicle 10 and the container 18 do not prevent engagement of the arm 28 with the base portion 118 of the container 18. Likewise, the vehicle lid engaging means 82, which is supported from the vertical arm 80, is positioned below a lid 124 which is hinged at a point 126 from the container 18. As the portable refuse container 18 enters the U-shaped arm 28, it also engages the lever 112, as shown in FIG. 2, and the cart 30 which supports the arm 28 proceeds up the forward leg 24a of the track 24 raising the U-shaped arm 28 to a height which will raise the container 18from the roadway. In this position, the container 18 is supported by the U- shaped arm 28 as shown in FIG. 9, and'the lid engaging means 82 partially raises the lid 124 to assure that it is free to pivot about the point 126. As the U-shaped arm 28 proceeds along the upper guide 24b, as shown in FIG. 2, the guide 110, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, engages the

rollers

64 and 68 to rotate the arm 54 about the pin so that the container 18 is inverted to the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 9. When the container 18 is so inverted, the weight of the lid 124 causes this lid to pivot open about the point 126, and refuse within the container 118 is therefore free to fall from the container 18 into the receiving bin 12 of the vehicle 10. It should be understood, on viewing the dotted line drawing of FIG. 9, that the drop arm 76 and the arm 72 are positioned behind the container 18, and the refuse within the container 18 will therefore not fall on this mechanism.

To operate this equipment, the driver directs the vehicle along the roadway, and, by watching the arm which is presently in position 27d (FIG. 2), steers the vehicle to engage a container 18 with the arm 28d. As the vehicle moves past the position at which the container 18 was located, the apparatus, due to actuation of the lever 112 by the container 18, moves this newly engaged container to an inverted position above the receiving bin 12 (position 2711, FIG. 2). The arm moves up the inclined portion 24a of the track at a rate such that its rearward component of velocity is about the same as the forward velocity of the vehicle and thus the arm moves vertically to engage the lifting offset of the container and the container is lifted without being dragged along the ground. Simultaneously, the arm 28b, which is engaged with an emptied container 18, is moved from the inverted position 27a (FIG. 2) to position 2717 at the rear, disengaging its container 18 in the process of moving down the leg 240 of the track 24. The arm moved down the inclined portion 24c of the track at a rate such that its rearward component of velocity is about the same as the forward velocity of the vehicle and thus the arm moved vertically down to release the container without dragging it along the ground. Thus, a full container is engaged at position 2711, and an empty container is disengaged at point 27b. The speed of the arm movement along the track advantageously can be coordinated with the vehicle velocity so that the container 18 which is lifted onto the mechanism is replaced with an empty container 18 at substantially the same spot. The only personnel required for this operation is the vehicle 10 driver, and the vehicle may proceed, without stopping, along the roadway, engaging and disengaging containers as it moves.

What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operator-driven along said roadway comprising:

refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers while said vehicle is continuously moving along said roadway and inverting said containers above said refuse receiving means while said vehicle is moving; means mounted on said vehicle for replacing said portable containers along said roadway; and

means mounted on said vehicle for periodically removing refuse from said refuse receiving means to the interior of the body of said vehicle.

2. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operator-driven along said roadway, comprising refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers while said vehicle is continuously moving along said roadway and inverting said containers above said refuse receiving means while said vehicle is moving; and means mounted on said vehicle for replacing said portable containers along said roadway, wherein said engaging and inverting means comprises: i

a U-shaped arm; means for guiding said arm along a path relative said vehicle so that the open end of said U-shaped arm is oriented in the direction of motion of said vehicle, and said U-shaped arm will receive said container while said vehicle is in motion and will lift and invert said containers while said vehicle is in motion; means mounted on said vehicle for detecting the presence of one of said containers in a position for lifting by said arm; and

means responsive to said detecting means for moving said arm along said guiding means.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 additionally comprising:

an abrupt discontinuity in said guiding means, at a position along said guiding means where said U- shaped arm is inverted, for jolting said container.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said replacing means comprises:

means for guiding said U-shaped arm further along said path relative to said vehicle with the open end of said U-shaped arm oriented in a direction opposite that of the motion of said vehicle, and for lowering said U-shaped arm so that said containers engage said roadway in an erect position.

5. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway into a refuse collection vehiclc which is continuously driven by an operator along said roadway, which comprises:

container engaging means mounted at a first position on said vehicle which allows said engaging means to engage said containers due solely to operatororientation of said vehicle during said continuous driving, said engaging means being operable to invert said containers; and which engaging means comprise a plurality of lifting arms, each arm adapted to lift one of said containers, said arms guided along a path on said vehicle to move past said first station, and vertically to a second position at which said containers are inverted; and

means mounted on said vehicle for receiving refuse from said containers when said containers are inverted.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 additionally comprising:

means for replacing said containers along said roadway, said means mounted on said vehicle, and comprising:

means for guiding said lifting arms further along said path to a third station, and

means for rotating said arms between said second and third stations allow said arms to disengage said containers when said containers contact said roadway.

. 6 7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein said path comprises a closed loop generally in a vertical plane at one side of said vehicle, and wherein said first station is forward of said third station on the side of said vehicle, said first and third stations each being below said second station.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 6 further comprism neans for rotating said arms between said third and said first stations to allow said arms to engage said containers as said vehicle is driven along said roadway.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8 wherein said plurality of arms comprises four arms, each of which is disengagable from said means for guiding when said arms are not in use.

10. An apparatus for transferring refuse from portable containers situated along the side of a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is driver-oriented along said roadway and which has a cab in which said driver is located and a body in which refuse is collected and stored, comprising:

a refuse receiving bin, mounted on said vehicle between said cab and said body, said bin accessible from outside said vehicle for placing refuse on said vehicle;

a packing mechanism for transferring refuse from said bin to said body, and for compacting said refuse in said body;

a track mounted on one side of said vehicle, said track lying in a vertical plane and forming a closed loop on the side of said vehicle, a portion of said track situated adjacent said bin;

four carriage members adapted to be driven around said track, said carriage members being equally spaced along said closed loop;

means for driving said carriage members around said track;

an arm, mounted on said vehicle, and operable to energize said driving means when said vehicle is in a position to engage one of said portable containers;

four U-shaped arms, each removably mounted on a respective one of said carriage members, each adapted to engage one of said portable containers when said portable containers are inserted into the open end of said U-shaped arm;

pinion gears, mounted on each of said U-shaped arms, said gears, where rotated, adapted to change the orientation about a vertical axis of said U- shaped arms; and

a series of rack gears, mounted on said track, engagable with said pinion gears, adapted to rotate said pinion gears and said U-shaped arms so that said U-shaped arms, when at the forward extremity of said closed loop, are oriented in the direction of motion of said vehicle, and when at the rear extremity of said closed loop, are oriented in the opposite direction, so that said U-shaped arms will engage said portable containers at the forward extremity of said closed loop and disengage said containers at the rear extremity of said loop.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 additionally comprising:

pivot means, connecting said U-shaped arms to said carriage members, said pivot means allowing said U-shaped arms to rotate about the axis of said track; and

camming means mounted on said track, said camming means causing said U-shaped arms to pivot about said pivot means at a position along said track adjacent said bin to invert said U-shaped arms.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein said U-shaped arms engage and disengage said portable containers as said carriage members are driven upward and downward, respectively, along said track, so that said U-shaped arms will properly engage and disengage said containers when the relative height of said vehicle and said containers varies.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein the motion of said carriage members along said track is.intermittent, so that containers remain statically inverted over said bin for a period of time, allowing removal of said refuse into said bin.

14. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operator-driven in a first direction along said roadway, comprising:

7 refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle;

means mounted on said vehicle facing said first direction for engaging said containers responsive to movement of said vehicle in said first direction; means mounted on said vehicle for lifting and inverting said containers over said refuse receiving means; and

means mounted on said vehicle for reversing the orientation of said engaging means to face opposite said first direction for replacing said containers along said roadway responsive to further movement of said vehicle in said first direction.

15. An apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein said means for engaging said containers comprise means having a forward directed opening suitable to engage said containers when translated forward horizontally relative to said containers, which opening is rearwardly directed when said engaging means is reversed to disengage said containers when translated forward horizontally relative to said containers.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 in which said means having a forward directed opening suitable to engage said containers comprise a rigid U-shaped arm.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 14 wherein said containers are situated along the side of said roadway, and said engaging means are mounted on the side of said vehicle so that these means operate as said vehicle is driven along side said containers.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 16 wherein said reversing means comprise means for rotating said U- shaped arm to an opposite orientation so as to facilitate replacing of said containers along said roadway.

19. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle, comprising:

refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle;

means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers when said' engaging means are translated in a first direction relative to the container;

means mounted on said vehicle for inverting said means for engaging said containers comprise a U- shaped arm disposed in a horizontal plane such that the opening of said U-shaped arm is initially oriented in a forward direction relative to the orientation of said vehicle.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 20 wherein said means for rotating said engaging means additionally comprise means for rotating said engaging means degrees until said opening of said U-shaped arm is oriented in a rearward direction so that said containers may be disengaged by translating said engaging means forward.

22. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle, comprising:

refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle;

means mounted on said vehicle for engaging a first one of said containers when said engaging means are translated forward relative to the orientation of said vehicle;

means mounted on said vehicle for inverting said engaging means and first container above said refuse receiving means;

rotating means mounted on said vehicle for rotating said engaging means 180 degrees about a vertical axis so that said first container may be disengaged by translating said engaging means forward; and for rotating said engaging means 180 degrees about a vertical axis after disengagement of said first container from said engaging means so that a second and succeeding ones of said containers may successively be engaged, inverted and disengaged when said engaging means are translated forward.

23. The apparatus defined in claim 22 wherein said container engaging means comprise a U-shaped arm disposed in a horizontal plane.

24. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operator-driven along said roadway, comprising:

refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle;

means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers while said vehicle is continuously moving along said roadway, said engaging means comprising a U-shaped arm in which the open end of said U-shaped arm is oriented in the direction of motion of said vehicle so as to engage said containers;

means mounted on said vehicle for inverting said containers above said refuse receiving means while said vehicle is moving;

means mounted on said vehicle for reversing by 180 degrees the orientation of said container engaging means after said engaging means engage said containers; and

means mounted on said vehicle for replacing said containers along said roadway after said reversing means have reversed the orientation of said engaging means said replacing means comprising said U- shaped arm in which said open end of said U- shaped arm is oriented opposite to the direction of

Claims

1. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operatordriven along said roadway comprising: refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers while said vehicle is continuously moving along said roadway and inverting said containers above said refuse receiving means while said vehicle is moving; means mounted on said vehicle for replacing said portable containers along said roadway; and means mounted on said vehicle for periodically removing refuse from said refuse receiving means to the interior of the body of said vehicle.

2. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operator-driven along said roadway, comprising refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers while said vehicle is continuously moving along said roadway and inverting said containers above said refuse receiving means while said vehicle is moving; and means mounted on said vehicle for replacing said portable containers along said roadway, wherein said engaging and inverting means comprises: a U-shaped arm; means for guiding said arm along a path relative said vehicle so that the open end of said U-shaped arm is oriented in the direction of motion of said vehicle, and said U-shaped arm will receive said container while said vehicle is in motion and will lift and invert said containers while said vehicle is in motion; means mounted on said vehicle for detecting the presence of one of said containers in a position for lifting by said arm; and means responsive to said detecting means for moving said arm along said guiding means.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 additionally comprising: an abrupt discontinuity in said guiding means, at a position along said guiding means where said U-shaped arm is inverted, for jolting said container.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said replacing means comprises: means for guiding said U-shaped arm further along said path relative to said vehicle with the open end of said U-shaped arm oriented in a direction opposite that of the motion of said vehicle, and for lowering said U-shaped arm so that said containers engage said roadway in an erect position.

5. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway into a refuse collection vehicle which is continuously driven by an operator along said roadway, which comprises: container engaging means mounted at a first position on said vehicle wHich allows said engaging means to engage said containers due solely to operator-orientation of said vehicle during said continuous driving, said engaging means being operable to invert said containers; and which engaging means comprise a plurality of lifting arms, each arm adapted to lift one of said containers, said arms guided along a path on said vehicle to move past said first station, and vertically to a second position at which said containers are inverted; and means mounted on said vehicle for receiving refuse from said containers when said containers are inverted.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5 additionally comprising: means for replacing said containers along said roadway, said means mounted on said vehicle, and comprising: means for guiding said lifting arms further along said path to a third station, and means for rotating said arms between said second and third stations allow said arms to disengage said containers when said containers contact said roadway.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 6 wherein said path comprises a closed loop generally in a vertical plane at one side of said vehicle, and wherein said first station is forward of said third station on the side of said vehicle, said first and third stations each being below said second station.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 6 further comprising: means for rotating said arms between said third and said first stations to allow said arms to engage said containers as said vehicle is driven along said roadway.

10. An apparatus for transferring refuse from portable containers situated along the side of a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is driver-oriented along said roadway and which has a cab in which said driver is located and a body in which refuse is collected and stored, comprising: a refuse receiving bin, mounted on said vehicle between said cab and said body, said bin accessible from outside said vehicle for placing refuse on said vehicle; a packing mechanism for transferring refuse from said bin to said body, and for compacting said refuse in said body; a track mounted on one side of said vehicle, said track lying in a vertical plane and forming a closed loop on the side of said vehicle, a portion of said track situated adjacent said bin; four carriage members adapted to be driven around said track, said carriage members being equally spaced along said closed loop; means for driving said carriage members around said track; an arm, mounted on said vehicle, and operable to energize said driving means when said vehicle is in a position to engage one of said portable containers; four U-shaped arms, each removably mounted on a respective one of said carriage members, each adapted to engage one of said portable containers when said portable containers are inserted into the open end of said U-shaped arm; pinion gears, mounted on each of said U-shaped arms, said gears, where rotated, adapted to change the orientation about a vertical axis of said U-shaped arms; and a series of rack gears, mounted on said track, engagable with said pinion gears, adapted to rotate said pinion gears and said U-shaped arms so that said U-shaped arms, when at the forward extremity of said closed loop, are oriented in the direction of motion of said vehicle, and when at the rear extremity of said closed loop, are oriented in the opposite direction, so that said U-shaped arms will engage said portable containers at the forward extremity of said closed loop and disengage said containers at the rear extremity of said loop.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10 additionally comprising: pivot means, connecting said U-shaped arms to said carriage members, said pivot means allowing said U-shaped arms to rotate about the axis of said track; and camming means mounted on said track, said camming means causing said U-shaped arms to pivot about said pivot means at a position along said track adjacent said bin to invert said U-shaped arms.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein the motion of said carriage members along said track is intermittent, so that containers remain statically inverted over said bin for a period of time, allowing removal of said refuse into said bin.

14. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operator-driven in a first direction along said roadway, comprising: refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle facing said first direction for engaging said containers responsive to movement of said vehicle in said first direction; means mounted on said vehicle for lifting and inverting said containers over said refuse receiving means; and means mounted on said vehicle for reversing the orientation of said engaging means to face opposite said first direction for replacing said containers along said roadway responsive to further movement of said vehicle in said first direction.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 16 wherein said reversing means comprise means for rotating said U-shaped arm to an opposite orientation so as to facilitate replacing of said containers along said roadway.

19. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle, comprising: refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers when said engaging means are translated in a first direction relative to the container; means mounted on said vehicle for inverting said containers above said refuse receiving means; and means mounted on said vehicle for rotating said engaging means about a vertical axis so that said containers may be disengaged solely by translating said engaging means in said first direction.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 19 wherein said means for engaging said containers comprise a U-shaped arm disposed in a horizontal plane such that the opening of said U-shaped arm is initially oriented in a forward direction relative to the orientation of said vehicle.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 20 wherein said means for rotating said engaging means additionally comprise means for rotating said engaging means 180 degrees until said opening of said U-shaped arm is oriented in a rearward direction so that said containers may be disengaged by translating said engaging means forward.

22. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle, comprising: refuse receiving means mountEd on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for engaging a first one of said containers when said engaging means are translated forward relative to the orientation of said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for inverting said engaging means and first container above said refuse receiving means; rotating means mounted on said vehicle for rotating said engaging means 180 degrees about a vertical axis so that said first container may be disengaged by translating said engaging means forward; and for rotating said engaging means 180 degrees about a vertical axis after disengagement of said first container from said engaging means so that a second and succeeding ones of said containers may successively be engaged, inverted and disengaged when said engaging means are translated forward.

24. An apparatus for transferring refuse from containers situated along a roadway to a refuse collection vehicle which is operator-driven along said roadway, comprising: refuse receiving means mounted on said vehicle; means mounted on said vehicle for engaging said containers while said vehicle is continuously moving along said roadway, said engaging means comprising a U-shaped arm in which the open end of said U-shaped arm is oriented in the direction of motion of said vehicle so as to engage said containers; means mounted on said vehicle for inverting said containers above said refuse receiving means while said vehicle is moving; means mounted on said vehicle for reversing by 180 degrees the orientation of said container engaging means after said engaging means engage said containers; and means mounted on said vehicle for replacing said containers along said roadway after said reversing means have reversed the orientation of said engaging means said replacing means comprising said U-shaped arm in which said open end of said U-shaped arm is oriented opposite to the direction of motion of said vehicle.