| 1. | Waste container (1) with a compaction device where the waste container is of the type equipped with one or more hinged lids (4,5) at the top and where the waste container may have a single tophinged lid in a singlesided embodiment or be equipped with two opposite lids in the doublesided embodiment of the container, which lids are both hinged to the horizontal rear edge of the lid so that the lids swing open with an upward and backward movement, the lid in question rotating round a horizontal axis of rotation determined by the hinges, characterised by the fact that the compaction device (10) comprises a set of vertical compaction piston (13) leaders (11) built into the container, the starting position of which is just below and connected to the lids (4,5), a set of vertical screw spindles (12) fixed to the container and equipped with a set of rotating nuts (15) pivotally mounted on the compaction piston; that these nuts (15) are driven in a per se known way by a central gear motor (18) via a common transmission system primarily consisting of a chain drive (19,20,21), the transmission system, including the gear motor, being designed to follow the piston (13) up and down during the compaction movement. that the compaction piston (13) consists of a horizontal piston section (22) mounted with vertical leaders and rotating nuts as described, which central piston section is common to all the container lids (4,5), and that each lid has a separate piston section comprised by a set of telescoping piston plates with the first plate (23) articulated with the horizontal piston section (22) and the second plate (24) articulated with the underside of the lid in question (4 or 5), and that the telescoping piston plates (23,24) are located immediately under the lid and move in conjunction with the lid when it is opened, the piston plates being designed to rotate as a single unit in the articulation (23a) with the horizontal piston section, whereas the piston plates are designed to rotate in both articulations (23a, 24a) and exploit the telescopic capacity of the plates when the compaction piston (22) is displaced downward. |
| 2. | Waste container pursuant to Claim 1 of the doublesided type characterised by the fact that the vertical leaders (11) and fixed screw spindles (12) of the compaction device are placed in the container's centre line and that the compaction piston is constructed symmetrically round this centre line. |
| 3. | Waste container pursuant to Claim 1 of the singlesided type characterised by the fact that the leaders and screw spindles are placed against the container's inner back wall (26) with the piston directed towards the front side of the container (27). |
| 4. | Waste container pursuant to Claim 1 characterised by the fact that the compaction device is driven by an electric gear motor (18). |
| 5. | Waste container pursuant to Claim 4 characterised by the fact that its builtin electric control is based on impulses from sensors registering the current position and compacting force of the piston (13) allowing the compaction of waste in the container to occur in an automatic sequence by downward displacement of the piston until it reaches a predefined maximum compaction force or final bottom position after which the piston is designed to return to its starting position immediately under the container lid. |
| 6. | Waste container pursuant to Claim 5 characterised by the fact that that the waste container is designed for mains connection with a flexible electric cable at the place of installation. |
| 7. | Waste container pursuant to Claim 1 characterised by the fact that the container lid (s) (4,5) are equipped with stopping devices which prevent the lids from being opened when the compaction device is active and which stopping devices are mechanical and suitably designed to be activated directly by the piston when it leaves its starting position. |
| 8. | Waste container pursuant to Claim 7 characterised by the fact that the container lid (s) are equipped with lid contacts designed to prevent activation of the compaction device when one or both lids are open. |
The waste container is of the type equipped with at least one hinged top lid and is designed to be handled and emptied using a lorry equipped with a front lift specially made for the purpose. With this front lift the container can be grabbed and swung upward and backward over the operator's cab and emptied on the lorry platform. Once emptied, the waste container is returned to where it was taken. Usually, a larger container is placed on the platform to receive the waste, or the platform is equipped with tall sides. In some instances the platform, or the container placed on the platform, is equipped with a device to compact the waste. In this way the lorry container is capable of holding the content of several waste containers. The waste container handling is highly rational and labour- saving, and this is one of the reasons why this container type is so widely used, not least in Germany.
The waste container comes in a single-sided and a double-sided embodiment. The single- sided type is equipped with a single lid opening along one side of the container and hinged along the rear edge. This type of container may be placed against a wall, for example. The double-sided type is equipped with two lids both designed like a gable roof with a joint central structure. The lids are both hinged to this central structure and thus can be opened from both sides of the container. This type of container is intended to stand alone, i. e. to be accessible from both sides of the container. In both cases, the container is box shaped with sides converging slightly inward towards the bottom with a top mainly made up by the lid (s) as described.
In practice it is a problem that waste containers of the type in question fill up quickly, especially in the event of voluminous waste such as packaging waste, cardboard and paper. So in fact a fairly small amount of waste is handled when the container is emptied.
This is not an optimal situation. The need to compact the waste in the waste container is therefore obvious, but so far it has been impossible to find a technically feasible solution to the problem.
Other forms of waste containers equipped with built-in compactors and compaction devices with hydraulic or mechanical driving mechanisms are available, but they are all very bulky and intended primarily for transportation on lorries with lifting platforms.
This means that containers must be loaded and unloaded from the back of the lorry. This way of handling the containers is much more labour-intensive and time-consuming than the above method where containers are handled and emptied using a lorry with a front lift. The driver does not have to leave the cab during the lifting operation, has a full view of the waste container and may drive on as soon as the container has been emptied. This saves handling time. Due to their size and weight, known waste containers with a compaction device cannot be handled with a front lift.
The object of this invention is to remedy the above-mentioned shortages and inconveniences by developing a waste container of the single-sided or double-sided type described with a built-in compaction device allowing the waste to be compacted while the waste container is still capable of handling with a front lift as described. The new waste container must be easy and cheap to manufacture and it must be easy to mount the compaction device on existing waste containers.
According to this invention, the task is solved by designing the waste container as specified in the characterisation part of Claim 1 which allows the compaction device to be incorporated in the container largely without significant structural changes to the container.
The invention is characterised by the compaction device comprising a set of vertical compaction piston leaders built into the container, the starting position of which is just below and connected to the lid (s). Furthermore, a set of vertical screw spindles is fixed to the container and equipped with a set of rotating nuts pivotally mounted on the compaction piston. They are operated by a central gear motor via a chain drive in a per se known way. The transmission system, including the gear motor, is designed to follow the piston up and down during the compaction movement.
The compaction piston consists of a horizontal piston section mounted with vertical leaders and rotating nuts as described. This central piston section is common to all the container lids. In connection with each lid there is also a separate piston section comprised by a set of telescoping piston plates with the first plate articulated with the horizontal piston section and the second plate articulated with the underside of the lid in question.
The telescoping piston plates are located immediately under the lid and move in conjunction with the lid when it is opened. This is possible because of the concerted rotation of the piston plates in the articulation with the horizontal piston section while exploiting the telescoping capacity of the plates. When the compaction piston is activated to compact the waste, which occurs with the lid closed, the telescoping piston plates follow the down movement of the end articulated with the horizontal piston section while the opposite end remains up and in articulation with the lid. The result is that the compaction piston as a whole presses the waste down and out towards the container sides.
The vertical leaders and fixed screw spindles of the compaction device are suitably placed along the container's centre line with the piston similarly constructed symmetrically round this centre line. This applies to double-sided waste containers. It ensures an even load distribution on the piston and the leaders. In single-sided waste containers, according to the invention, it is expedient to place leaders and screw spindles close to the container's inner back wall. The piston is then directed towards the front side of the container. This design is distinguished by being compact and allowing efficient screening of the leaders and screw spindles.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the compaction device is driven by an electric gear motor. This is easily controlled in an automatic compaction sequence by means of a built-in electric controller, e. g. a PLC. In a per se known way, the control is based on impulses from sensors registering the current position and compacting force of the piston.
The compaction of the waste in the container occurs by downward displacement of the piston until it reaches a predefined maximum compaction force or final bottom position.
Then the gear motor reverses and the piston returns to its starting position immediately under the container lid. The automatic compaction sequence is initiated by manually pressing a starter switch.
For safety reasons, according to the invention, the container lid (s) are designed with stopping devices which prevent the lids from being opened when the compaction device is active. The stopping devices are mechanical and suitably designed to be activated directly by the piston when it leaves its starting position. The container lid (s) are also equipped with lid contacts which prevent activation of the compaction device when one or both lids are open.
The invention is described in detail in the following with references to the figures in the drawings where: Figure I shows a cross-section of a double-sided waste container according to the invention with one lid open and the other lid closed; Figure 2 shows the same container with closed lids and the compaction piston in its lower position; Figure 3 shows the waste container seen from above with the lids removed; Figure 4 is an enlarged section of the waste container shown in Figure 1 ; Figure 5 shows the waste container in a single-sided embodiment with the lid open, and Figure 6 shows the same container with the lid closed and the piston pressed down.
In the embodiment shown in Figures 1-4 the waste container consists primarily of a rectangular container I, the sides of which 2 and 3 converge slightly downward. The container top is comprised by two opposite lids 4 and 5 and a horizontal fixed centre piece 6 connecting the two gable ends 7 and 8 of the container 1. The container bottom is marked 9. The lids are both hinged to the centre piece 6 and open upward as shown in the right side of Figure 1.
The waste container is equipped with a compaction device 10 which is comprised primarily by two vertical leaders 11, two vertical, fixed screw spindles 12 and a piston 13 which can be displaced vertically in the two leaders 11. On top of the piston two bearing housings 14 are mounted for two rotary nuts 15 arranged in ball bearings 16 in the bearing housings. Each nut is fitted with a concentrically mounted sprocket wheel 17. A gear motor 18 similarly mounted on top of the piston 13 drives the two nuts 15 synchronously via a transmission system including a continuous chain 19 and two coupling sprocket wheels 20 and 21. This way the nuts 15 which are screwed on the screw spindles 12 can displace the piston in the leaders 11 in parallel between a final upper and lower position, see Figure 2.
The piston 13 is comprised by a horizontal centre plate 22 which is only slightly wider than the container centre piece 6. In connection with each lid 4 and 5 the centre plate 22 is equipped with a set of inter-telescoping plates 23 and 24. One plate 23 is articulated with the centre plate 22 in hinge joint 23a, and the other 24 is similarly articulated with the lid 4 or 5, respectively, in other hinge joints 24a located on the underside of the lid near its front edge. The articulations 23a and 24a combined with the telescoping capacity of the plates allow the plates 23 and 24 to move freely so that the lid can be opened as shown in Figures I and 4 while the plates follow the lid's upward movement. This allows free access to the container through the lid. Furthermore, the movability of the plates allows downward displacement of the horizontal centre plate 22 of the piston 13 towards the container bottom 9 (see Figure 2) during waste compaction without causing the inter- connection of plates 23 and 24 and their respective articulation with the centre plate 22 and the lid 4 or 5, respectively, to be lost. This means that the centre plate 22 and the connected telescoping plates 23 and 24 continue to form an overall piston unit capable of keeping the waste in the compaction compartment of the container. The gear motor 18, the transmission system 19 and the spindle drives 12 and 15 generate the piston force necessary for compaction.
While the piston is active, i. e. during compaction, the lids 4 and 5 are of course closed and locked. This is achieved through mechanical locking devices not shown in the drawings which are activated in a suitable way by the piston when it commences its downward displacement movement. Other lid contacts not shown prevent activation of the compaction system in the usual way when just one lid is open. The waste container thus meets all occupational safety requirements. The waste container can be operated by anyone, including persons without special knowledge of the technical functions of the waste container. Each compaction cycle (automatic compaction sequence) is initiated by pressing a starter button. When the sequence is completed and the piston has returned to the starting position shown in Figure 1, the lid locks are unlocked and the lids can be opened for waste filling.
Figures 5 and 6 show a single-sided embodiment of the waste container with just one lid 25. Apart from this, the waste container is more or less identical with the double-sided waste container described above. The compaction devices 13 are identical in the two types of container.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown above. Other combinations of materials, other detailed embodiments and other design solutions for the individual components and accessories of the waste container are conceivable within the framework of this invention, just as the invention may be extended to other areas than the specified.
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