US3817352A

US3817352A - Lubricating means for trash compactor ram

Info

Publication number: US3817352A
Application number: US00326431A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Bourgeois; J Grace
Original assignee: Amana Refrigeration Inc
Current assignee: Goodman Co LP
Priority date: 1973-01-24
Filing date: 1973-01-24
Publication date: 1974-06-18
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-18

Abstract

A trash compactor employs a single, vertically disposed screw which drives the ram. In order to keep the screw lubricated over long periods of life, it operates in a tube partially filled with suitable lubricant, whereby the action of the screw threads keeps them and associated parts well lubricated and quiet over long periods of time.

Description

United States Patent [191 Bourgeois et al.'

[ June 18, 1974 LUBRICATING MEANS FOR TRASH COMPACTOR RAM [75] Inventors: Joseph F. Bourgeois, Cedar Rapids;

James M. Grace, Elberton, both of Iowa [73] Assignee: Amana Refrigeration, Inc., Amana,

Iowa

[22] Filed: Jan. 24, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 326,431

[52] U.S. Cl 184/5, 100/229 A, 100/289 [51] Int. Cl B301) 1/18 [58] Field of Search 100/229 A, 289; 184/5;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,582,157 6/1971 Hammon 308/4 C 3,602,081 8/1971 Ballas 308/4 C 3,613,560 10/1971 Bottas.... 100/229 A 3,643,589 2/1972 Carter 100/229 A FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 653,758 5/1963 Italy 184/5 Primary Examiner-Manuel A. Antonakas Assistant Examiner-Daniel J. OConnor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Haven E. Simmons; James C. Nemmers 1 [57] ABSTRACT A trash compactor employs a single, vertically disposed screw which drives the ram. In order to keep the screw lubricated over long periods of life, it operates in a tube partially filled with suitable lubricant, whereby the action of the screw threads keeps them and associated parts well lubricated and quiet over long periods of time.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures s l LUBRICATING MEANS FOR TRASH COMPACTOR RAM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the case of trash compactors using screw driven rams, lubrication of the driving parts is obviously necessary from the standpoint of both long life as well as quiet operation. Experience has proven that while simply greasing the screw'will do the job for short periods, longer periods of use cause the screw to run dry and produce not only increased wear and friction but often also loud chatter or horrendously shrill squeaks. These soon become literally unbearable. Lubricant impregnated washers or bushings have been tried with some success but even they do not maintain silence long enough. Of course, the owner could attend to greasing the screw periodically. But not only is that a rather disagreeable and messy job, it is also a somewhat arduous one because the screw is rather difficult to reach, at least for lubricating purposes. Hence, the chief object of the present invention is to provide a means for lubricating the drive screw of atrash compactor which is effective over long periods of time without requiring attention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the type of compactor concerned in which a single vertically disposed screw drives the ram, the screw is emersed in an open top tube partially filled with a suitable lubricant. The tube is carried by and moves with the ram itself and when the latter is at its upper position, the screw is almost wholly engulfed within the tube. When the ram is reversed after a compacting stroke, the screw threads lift lubricant up from the tube to and about a swivel nut and seat and carried by the ram, whereby not only are the threads of the nut lubricated but also the respective mating surfaces of the nut and seat. Owing to the size of the tube and the quantity of lubricant, the operative surfaces of the screw and nut are kept lubricated and quiet throughout literally years of operation before refilling of the tube is necessary. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings and the more detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical side elevation, partly in section,

of a typical trash compactor employing a ram driven by DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The trash compactor consists of a chassis formed essentially of a heavy, downwardly flanged rectangular floor plate 11 reinforced beneath by a transverse channel assembly 12. Just inboard of and along the side edges of the floor plate 11 are located two broad, shallow vertical channels 13 disposed in facing relation to each other, only one being illustrated in FIG. 1. The lower ends of the channels 13 are provided with horizontal tongues 13a which pass through slots 110 along the side flanges of thefloor plate 11 and engage its under face, being secured thereto by bolts 13b. The

channels 13 extend nearly to the top of the compactor and are capped by a heavy, downwardly flanged top plate 14, also reinforced above by a pair of transverse channel assemblies 15. The respective opposite flanges of the vertical channels 13 are connected by horizontal channels 16 intermediate the floor and top plate 11 and 14, all to form in effect a heavy, cage-like structure in which the ram operates. Over the chassis 10 is slipped an open front, rectangular sheet metal cabinet 17 whose forward edges are flanged at 17a and provided with a toe space 18. The front of the cabinet is closed by three

panels

19, 20 and 21 against the cabinet flanges 17a, the upper edge of the panel 21 being provided with a hand grip 22. The cabinet 17 is secured only to the rear and side edges of the floor plate 11, being otherwise spaced from the chassis 10 in order to minimize transmission of vibration, and the floor and top plates 11 and 14 extend forward to just behind the toe space 18 and the panel 19, respectively.

The ram assembly, generally indicated at 30, consists of an upper horizontal plate 31 of rectangular shape generally spanning the area bounded by the four inner corners of the channels 13 and provided with a pair of transverse upwardly turned flanges 32. From the side edges of the plate 31 depend a pair of deep skirt plates 33, reinforced by angle braces 34 about the two edges of the plate 31 between the skirt plates 33 and by

flanges

35a and 35b along the four vertical and two bottom edges of the skirt plates 33. Over the four corners formed by the skirt plates 33 and their flanges 35a are secured glides 36 fashioned from flat strips of nylon which slidably bearagainst the inner corners of the channels 13. Beneath the upper plate 31 are welded the upper ends of a pair of trapezoidal shaped supports 37 braced by flanges 38 along their upright edges and disposed in spaced, back-to-back relation centrally of the plate 31. Welded to the lower ends of the supports 37 is the upper face of a circular bottom plate 39 centrally disposed with respect to the upper ram plate 31 to which is removably attached a suitable ram head 40. Between the supports 37 is vertically disposed an elongated lubricant container in the form of a tapered tube 41, closed at its lower end, of circular cross-section. The tube 41 is supported upon the top plate 31 by an integral cupped flange 42 at its upper end which opens down through the top plate 31 into an integral spherical boss 43 and thence into the lower, elongated body of the tube 41. A flanged ball swivel seat 44 for a ball swivel nut 45 having a squared upper boss 45a are received in turn in the tube boss 43. The tube flange 42, the seat 44 and nut 45 are retained by a flange plate 46 bolted through the top plate 31 which sealingly compresses the tube flange 42 between the top plate 31 and the flange of the seat 44. The plate 46 is provided with a squared aperture 46a to receive the boss 45a and so prevent rotation of the nut 45. Through the latter is threaded a long, Acme type vertical screw 47 extending down into the tube 41, the threads of the screw 47 being interrupted at 48 toward its upper end and provided thereabove with a pair of opposite flats 49 on which is threaded a nut 50. The latter supports a large, cogged driven gear 51 whose hub 52 fits the flats 49 to fix the gear 51 relative to the screw 47. On the hub 52 is placed a sleeve needle bearing 53 which is received in a flat bushing 54 below an aperture 55 in the chassis top plate 14 andbolted thereto between the channel assemblies 15. Above and below the bushing 54 are interposed a pair of washer-type needle thrust bearings 56, each sandwiched between a pair of flat washers 57. Through the bushing 54 extends the upper end of the screw 47, the latter and thus the entire ram assembly 30 being suspended from the bushing 54 by means of a nut 58 bearing against the uppermost washer 57. In order to prevent whipping of the screw 47, its lower end and that of the tube 41 are extended down through an aperture 59 in the ram bottom plate 39. Forward of the ram assembly 30 a hat-shaped bracket 60 is bolted to the under face of the chassis top plate 14 from which is vertically suspended an appropriate electric motor M, the upper end of its drive shaft carrying a small cogged drive gear 61, the

gears

51 and 61 being connected by a cogged drive belt 62.

Accordingly, as the screw 47 is driven in the appropriate direction, the entire ram assembly 30 moves downwardly owing to the swivel nut 45. The eightnylon glides 36, which in effect provide a total of eight bearing faces, fit tightly against the inner corners of the chassis channels 13 and are heavily greased. The screw 47, which provides a single axis of thrust centrally disposed with respect to the ram assembly 30 and parallel to the glides 36, absorbs most of the resistance encountered by the ram assembly 30 as it descends. Any tendency for it to cock or twist" is resisted by the strength of the ram assembly 30, the extensive length of the eight surfaces of the nylon glides 36 and the substantial lateral spacing of the latter from the axis of the screw 47. Any cocking" relative to the screw 47 is accommodated by the swivel seat 44 and nut 45. The interrupted thread portion 48 of the screw 47 prevents over-travel of the ram 30 upon its upward movement. The tube 41 is filled as indicated in FIG. 1 with a suitable lubricant, such as a light molybdenum disulfide grease, which during operation of the ram 30 is carried by the threads of the screw 47 up to the nut 45 as well as between the latter and the swivel seat 44, thus effectively lubricating the parts and preventing squeaks. The tube holds sufficient grease for several years operation without need of refill. Since the upper end of the tube 41 is effectively closed by the seat 44, nut 45 and screw 47, the consistency of the grease need be only enough so that it does not tend to seep out when the compactor is laid on its side while being transported.

The slide-out mount 70 for the trash container is formed by a rectangular floor pan 71 having a large centrally located, circular aperture 72 therein normally axially aligned with the ram head 40 and somewhat larger in diameter. The mount 70 is carried on a pair of three-piece, ball bearing full extension glides (not shown) connected to the channels 13 and the floor pan 71. A pair of upright, trapezoidal braces 73 secure the floor pan 71 to the cabinet front panel 21. The trash container 74 is supported in the aperture 72 above the floor plate 11 by means of several leaf springs (not shown) carried by the mount 70. When the ram 30 is in its fully retracted position, the container 74 can be pulled forwardly out of the cabinet 17 on its mount 70, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, by the hand grip 22 in order for trash to be deposited or for emptying. When the ram 30 is activated by any conventional means controlling forward and reverse operation of the motor M, it first descends to compress the trash at which time the container supporting springs deflect allowing the container 74 to sink through the aperture 72 until its bottom sits firmly upon the chassis floor plate 11. When maximum compression has been reached, the motor M is automatically reversed to withdraw the ram 30.

Though the invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, being the best mode known of carrying out the invention, it is not limited to that embodiment alone. Instead, the following claims are to be read as encompassing all adaptations and modifications of the invention falling within its spirit and scope.

We claim:

1. In a trash compactor having a ram movable in a substantially rectilinear path from an upper position to a lower trash compacting position, and drive means for moving the ram, the drive means including at least one rotatable driven vertical screw engaging a threaded member carried by and movable with the ram, the screw having a free lower end and threads extending upwards therefrom along the body of the screw, the threaded member being adjacent the upper end of the threaded body of the screw when the ram is in its upper position, the improvement comprising: lubricating means for the screw and threaded member, the lubricating means including a container carried by and movable with the ram, the container spacedly encompassing substantially the entire threaded body of the screw when the ram is in its upper position, and lubricant in the container immersing at least a portion of the threaded body of the screw.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the threaded member comprises a swivel nut, and including a complimentary seat member beneath and swivelly receiving the nut, the seat member being immovably secured to the ram, the nut being secured to the ram against rotation and vertical displacement relative thereto while permitting swivel movement of the seat member and the ram relative to the nut and the screw, and wherein the upper end of the container includes a portion in sealing contact with the seat member effective so that the upper end of the container is closed by the screw, the nut and the seat member conjointly.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the ram includes a horizontal top plate having an aperture, the seat member having a lower spherical boss extending down through the plate aperture and an upper circumferential flange overlying the ram top plate, and wherein the container comprises a length of tube of circular cross-section closed at its lower end, the upper end of the tube having in axial alignment a circumferential flange disposed between the ram top plate and the seat member flange and a spherical boss between the tube flange and the body of the tube therebelow, the tube boss extending down through the top plate aperture and enveloping the exterior of the seat member boss, and including means compressing the tube flange between the seat member flange and the ram top plate.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the lubricant comprises a molybdenum disulfide grease partially filling the container.