US3621775A

US3621775A - Compacting mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3621775A
Application number: US846542A
Authority: US
Inventors: Douglas A Dedio; John E Baker
Original assignee: WATERBURY HYDRAULIC AND POLLUTIO
Current assignee: WATERBURY HYDRAULIC AND POLLUTIO
Priority date: 1969-07-31
Filing date: 1969-07-31
Publication date: 1971-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 1988-11-23
Also published as: GB1286009A; FR2053343B1; DE2027417A1; FR2053343A1

Abstract

A REFUSE COMPACTING MECHANISM WHICH HAS A VARIABLE RESTRICTED THROAT IN ITS OUTLET TUBE TO APPLY SUFFICIENT RESISTANCE TO PERMIT EFFECTIVE COMPACTING.

Description

NOV. 23,197] 95010 ETAL 3,621,775

COIPACTING MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVIiN'I ()RS Del/ems A! 60 0 13y 059A 5 EAKG? M'IW NOV. 23, 1911 DEDIO ElAL COHPAGTING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 31, 1969 INVIiNl ()RS Da A, 060 0 Q/OH Y 5- 54x09 NOV. 23, 197] D, k DEDIQ ETAL 3,623,775

COMPAGTING MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1969 5 Sheets-Sheet INV/i/V'l ()RS buauqs ANDDIO d Y 584K676 United States Patent 3,621,775 COMPACTING MECHANISM Douglas A. Dedio, Torrington, and John E. Baker, Waterbury, Conn., assiguors to Waterbury Hydraulic & Pollution Sciences, Inc., Waterbury, Conn.

Filed July 31, 1969, Ser. No. 846,542 Int. Cl. B30b 15/16 U.S. Cl. 100-49 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A refuse compacting mechanism which has a variable restricted throat in its outlet tube to apply suflicient resistance to permit effective compacting.

The present invention is directed to an improved compacting mechanism and more particularly to an improved compacting mechanism which is simple to operate, and inexpensive to maintain.

Compacting mechanisms presently in use utilize means for depositing the refuse, such as garbage, etc., into a receiving chamber. A ram is then activated to move the refuse out of the receiving chamber and into a compacting area. When a predetermined amount of refuse has been compacted, it is deposited into a garbage receptacle for removal.

Heretofore, complicated control mechanisms have been used for compacting the garbage. Some of these mechanisms are extremely expensive and require skilled personnel to handle them. Others tend to jam and do not perform in an efficient manner. Still others require high hydraulic pressures for adequate operation. Still others require complicated signal means for controlling the operation.

The present invention comprises an improved compacting mechanism which is simple to operate and maintain and is less expensive to manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved compacting mechanism which does not require high hydraulic pressure to operate.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved compacting mechanism which has means for varying the resistance to the load.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved compacting mechanism which utilizes a minimum of signal means for controlling the unit.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved mechanism in which the tendency to jam is reduced substantially.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the present invention in position to receive refuse;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1 showing the refuse being directed into a compacting section;

FIG. 3 shows the refuse being directed into the refuse container;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional detail of a restricted throat usable with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view thereof;

. main ram is in its forward position.

FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view thereof;

FIG. 9 shows an adjustable throat showing the throat in its widest position;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the throat in its narrowed position;

FIG. 11 is a sectional end view of the mechanism shown in FIGS. 9 and 10;

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment variable throat feature of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an end view showing the mechanism of FIG. 12 in its widest position;

FIG. 14 is a similar view showing the mechanism of FIG. 12 in its restricted position;

FIG. 15 shows another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. I16 shows an end view thereof;

FIG. 17 shows another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is an end view thereof showing the throat in its widest position;

FIG. 19 is an end view thereof showing the item in a restricted position;

FIG. 20 is a side view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is an end view showing the throat in its widest position;

FIG. 22 is an end view showing the item in its operative position; and

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic view of a hydraulic circuit for controlling the structure of the present invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the present invention is directed to a compacting mechanism 1 which comprises 'a hopper section 2 which is connected to a chute 3 through an opening 4 at the top. The chute 3 may extend upwardly through a building (not shown) so that when the occupants of the building throw refuse down the chute 3 it will be deposited in the hopper section 2. The rear of the hopper section 2 communicates with a ram section 5. The front end of the hopper section 2 has a tapered transition section 6 leading into a tapered reducing section 7 communicating with discharge tube 8. A foot or some other appropriate mounting may also be provided to support the mechanism.

The ram section 5 is provided with a main ram 10 having a ram follower 11 extending rearwardly therefrom. The main ram 10 is controlled by a pair of hydraulic traverse cylinders 12. The traverse cylinders 12 are mounted at the rear end of the ram section 5 and have the forward ends of the pistons 13 mounted on the main ram 10. The main ram 10 has a plug cylinder 14 mounted thereon which moves with the main ram 10. The piston 15 of the plug cylinder 14 extends through an opening 16 in the main ram 10 and has the auxiliary ram 17 carried at its forward end.

The discharging tube 8 has a photoelectric sensing mechanism 20-21 to sense when a container 18 is mounted thereon. The reducing section 7 is provided with photoelectric sensing mechanism 22-23 which senses whether there is any refuse in this section. The sensing mechanism 22-23 does not become effective until after a predetermined time after it is broken in order to prevent small stray pieces of refuse to activate it.

With this construction when a sufiicient amount of refuse is deposited into the hopper section 2 and the reducing section 7, as sensed by photoelectric mechanism 22-23, the

main ram 10 is moved forward as shown in FIG. 2.

This operation-occurs only when photoelectric mechanism 20-21 is broken by can 18. The ram follower 11 acts as a door to close off the opening 4 in the chute 3 when the When the main ram 10 reaches the end of its stroke (when the opening 4 is closed) it pushes the refuse through the transition section 6 and reducing section 7 and into the discharge tube. At this point, the refuse is compacted and ready to be moved into waste container 18. The auxiliary ram 17 is then activated and the compacted refuse is pushed into a removably mounted waste container 18.

Since the chute 3 is closed by the ram follower 11 of the main ram 10 and the main ram 10 never enters the reducing section 7 the refuse around the main ram 10 will be dragged through the space between the main ram and the transition section. Hence, there is no pile up, bridging or jamming of the refuse. This is aided by the fact that the hopper section is much larger than the ram.

In order to create enough resistance to permit proper compacting, a restricted throat mechanism 30 is provided near to forward end of the discharge tube 8. The restricted throat mecahnism 30 is in the form of a cone with the smaller portion of the taper forcing away from the hop per section.

The throat 30 as shown in FIG. 1 may be permanently fixed in position and may have a permanently fixed diameter and angle to give a constant resistance. If desired, the throat 30 can be made variable so that the resistance may be varied, depending on the conditions of each installation. The present invention provides for various mechanisms which have been designed to provide a variable throat. These mechanisms are shown in FIGS. 5 through 22.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 the throat mechanism 30 is held in place by stationary inner block 31. The mechanism 30 is tapered thereby reducing the size of the opening. When refuse is forced through this restricted opening, a resistance is created which reduces the refuse bulk to a predetermined density. The ring 31 is held in place by bolts 33.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 the adjustable blocks 32 are shown as tapered and are moved inwardly by means of bolts 34 to reduce the opening in the stationary inner ring 30. This design allows the operator of the refuse packer to vary the area of the discharge tube opening for greater reduction of refuse bulk and additional weight per refuse container.

In FIGS. 9 to 11 the upper wall 40 of the discharge tube is in the form of an adjustable plate pivotally mounted at 41. It is adapted to swing down to reduce the discharge opening and create a resistance against the hydraulic ram. A lose or heavy pack can be controlled with this type of throat adjustment. Support bars 42 on each side of the discharge tube 8 contains holes 43 to permit pins to be used to lock the plate in required position. Lock pins 44 hold adjustable plate 40 in required angle position. Although the adjusting plate 40 is shown in top position, it can be located anywhere along the periphery of the discharge tube 8.

In FIGS. 12 to 14 stationary ring halves 50 are permanently fixed to discharge tube 8. Adjustable ring sections 51 reduce the diameter of the discharge tube thereby creating a resistance on the ram. Adjustment of bolts 52 regulates density and weight of packed refuse by permitting the movable ring halves to move inwardly and outwardly.

In FIGS. 15 and 16 a traverse orifice 60 is mounted in tube 8. When the materials reach the point of the traverse orifice 60 a resistance is created. The position of this traverse orifice 60, the angle of its taper 61 and the diameter at the smaller end 62 contribute to the resistance. The resistance introduced by the traverse orifice 60 directly determines the density of the packed materials. The orifice 60 may be positioned along the tube 8 by means of bolts 63 mounted on stationary blocks 64.

In FIGS. 17 to 19 the positioning orifice 70 is stationary with one section 71 being adjustable. The extrusion area of the orifice 70 at the smaller end can be adjusted by pivoting section 71 around pin 73. This is done by advancing or retracting the adjusting screw 72 in block 74.

In FIGS. 20 and 21 the positioning of the orifice 80,

the angle of the construction and the diameter of the smaller end, all contribute to the resistance inserted against the material to be extruded. The extruding area of the orifice can be adjusted to either increase or decrease the area by moving a rotating orifice half 81 to any position from full closed to full open. The pins 82 cooperate with a collar 83 to hold the movable half 81 in position.

FIG. 23 shows a schematic of the hydraulic system which may be used in connection with the present construction. At rest, the pump motor is stopped and solenoid FA, FB, GA and GB are de-energized. Photoelectric system 22-23 is on target and photoelectric system 20-21 is in target by can 18.

When trash chute beam is broken for a period of time greater than a predetermined amount of time, pump motor 100 starts and solenoid FA is energized. Solenoid FA directs oil flow from the pump to the head or cap end of compacting ram extend cylinders 12 causing the main ram 10 to move forward.

PS 2 is pre-set to a predetermined PSI. When compacting ram resistance builds up to this setting through compaction of refuse or reaching the end of the stroke, solenoid FA is de-energized, solenoid GB is energized, and the auxiliary ram 17 extends, forcing the refuse through a venturi into the discharge chute until the preset setting of PS 3 is reached, normally when the ram 17 reaches the end of its stroke.

Solenoid GB is then de-energized and solenoid PE is energized and all rarns retract together until the setting of PS 1 is reached at the end of the return stroke. If the adapter chute photo cell beam is still broken by refuse PSI de-energizes solenoid PB and energizes solenoid FA to start another cycle. Cycle repeats until chute is clear.

In the description of the invention as outlined above it will be noted that the auxiliary ram is carried on the main ram. It is of course possible that the two rams may be telescopically mounted one within the other and may be operated in the same manner as outlined above, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an improved compacting mechanism which is simple to operate, maintain and manufacture. The improved mechanism does not require high hydraulic pressure to operate and which has means for varying the resistance. It has a minimum of signal controls and the tendency to jam is reduced considerably.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A compacting mechanism comprising a hopper section for receiving material said hopper section having top side and bottom walls, a discharge tube mounted adjacent the hopper section and in substantial axial alignment therewith, ram means in substantial axial alignment with said discharge tube and said hopper section means to move said ram means axially to compact said material and move it from the hopper section into the discharge tube, means in the discharge tube for creating a resistance to said material being compacted, said resistance means comprising annular ring means mounted within the discharge tube and having an opening smaller than the opening of the discharge tube, the inner walls of said ring being tapered, said ram means being smaller than the hopper section and the top and side walls of said hopper section being spaced from said ram means to prevent jamming of the material being compacted, the hopper section being larger than said discharge tube in cross-section, said hopper section being connected to said discharge tube by an intermediate reducing section of tapered cross-section.

2. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resistance means are adjustable in order to permit the resistance to the load to be adjusted.

3. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein said annular ring means in the discharge tube comprises a plurality of blocks wherein at least one block is movable radially of the tube to restrict the opening of the tube.

4. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein means and mechanism segments of said annular ring means are adapted to be moved radially inwardly.

'5. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein said annular ring means is movable axially of the discharging tube.

6. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein said annular ring means has a portion of which is pivotly mounted for movement in a radial direction.

7. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein a segment of the annular ring means is movable in an are around a stationary portion thereof.

8. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hopper section is substantially rectangular and the discharge tube is substantially circular and tapered section means connects said rectangular hopper with the circular discharge tube.

9. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 8 wherein a tapered transition section and a tapered reducing section is interposed between the hopper section and the discharge tube.

10. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein an opening at the top of the hopper section connects it with a chute.

11. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ram is housed in a ram section communicating with the hopper.

12. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ram mechanism comprises a main ram and an auxiliary ram.

13. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 12 wherein the main ram is propelled by two cylinders mounted in the ram section.

14. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 12 wherein the auxiliary ram is propelled by a cylinder mounted on the main ram.

15. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 12 wherein the main ram has a follower element adapted to close the opening in the chute when it is in its active position.

16. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein signal means are provided to determine whether or not a waste receptacle is mounted on the discharging tube.

17. A compacting mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein signal means is provided to determine the presence of refuse in the tapered mounting section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 358,375 2/1887 Billings 229 X 362,156 5/1887 Hagquist et a1. 100-191 UX 380,185 3/1888 Chase 100-229 UX 1,585,149 5/1926 Humphrey 100191 UX 1,715,859 6/1929 Norton 100191 UX 1,752,222 3/1930 Anderson 100148 1,769,658 7/1930 Veenhuyzen 100148 UX 2,148,003 2/1939 Wurtzel 100148 X 2,902,949 9/1959 Meakin 107-14 3,229,622 1/1966 French et al. 100-214 3,384,007 5/1968 Boje et al. 100229 X 3,481,268 12/1969 Price et a1. 100229 X 3,541,949 11/1970 Clar 10049 3,241,479 3/1966 Grillot 100 -179 FOREIGN PATENTS 869,926 1941 France 100179 187,858 1907 Germany l00---148