GB2194914A - Waste compactor - Google Patents

Abstract

A power-driven, waste compactor of known kind, wherein the travel of the ram and the platten is substantially horizontal and the ram is a linear-stroke ram housed in an elongate ground-standing box on legs which raise the box a relatively short distance from the ground, and with the power pack housed within the box and behind the ram, is characterised in that the ram, rather than running wholly along the compactor, runs angularly across the compactor and is pivotted at one end to the platten and at its other end to the compactor body. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Waste compactor Field of the Invention The invention relates to waste compactors.

Review of Art Known to the Applicant Power-driven waste compactors are wellknown as a general class. The nearest art currently known to the applicant is the applicant's own commercially-marketed "T1, T2, T3" range of power-driven compactors. The invention takes that known range of compactors as its starting point.

These known compactors are linear-stroke ground-standing machines whose overall shape can be said to approximate to a rectangular box. The box is elongate along its ramstroking axis. It stands on legs which raise it a relatively short distance from the ground. Its power pack (motor, pump and hydraulic reservoir) is housed within the box and behind the ram. The box is substantially closed around its periphery other than at its breach and its throat.

The breach is formed in the top of the box, and accepts infed waste to be compacted by the ram-driven platten. The throat guides waste compacted by the platten and expelled from the compactor into a container which conventionally is coupled to the compactor to embrace the throat.

With the compactor standing on level ground, the travel of the ram and the platten is substantially horizontal.

The conventional compactor of this kind is relatively long, because in order to have an appreciable length of compacting stroke the ram will inevitably protrude an appreciable distance behind the platten. The compactor overall is at least twice the length of the compacting stroke on that basis. In many intended locations of such a compactor, space is tight.

The conventional compactor under discussion, although mechanically efficient and recognised as desirable in such locations, cannot then be used.

Given the need then in such locations for a compactor of minimal overall length, the problem is how to construct such a compactor whilst retaining a compacting stroke at least equal to-and if possible even better than-the conventional long machine.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention, the problem is solved by so constructing a compactor of this known kind that the ram, rather than running wholly along the compactor, runs across the compactor and is pivotted at one end to the platten and at its other end to the compactor body.

Thus the ram swings on its pivots, as it extends and retracts, instead of not altering its orientation with respect to the compactor body and the platten as it extends and retracts in the conventional compactor. This makes it possible greatly to reduce the overall length of the compactor.

Preferably, in such an arrangement, there are two rams, both with their corresponding ends pivotted respectively to the platten and to one of the opposite sides of the compactor body.

The operation of the platten back and forth will then occur with optimum smoothness, and the stresses on the platten and on the rest of the compactor during compacting will be distributed symmetrically.

The platten may with advantage move on bearing blocks which are held captive behind the platten and which act between the walls of the platten and the walls of the compactor body, with the block-holding means being positioned inboard of the platten walls, and with the blocks protruding through cutouts in the platten walls to bear against the compactor body sides.

This bearing-holding arrangement lends itself to a readily removable and replaceable bearing-block construction, altogether more easily achieved than any attempt to fit "wafer" bearings between the outside surfaces of the platten walls and the adjacent surfaces of the compactor body sides.

In an arrangement such as that just defined, preferabiy the container body sides are externally reinforced along the line of travel of the platten bearing blocks.

Such external reinforcement, as well as its primary function, strengthens the compactor body as a whole; and serves as a convenient and non-obvious mounting region for the clamping points for the waste-receiving container.

It is known for the piatten of conventional compactors to close off the breach progressively as it extends to push waste into the container from the throat of the compactor.

This is achieved by the platten drawing a top cover plate across the breach, and sliding the plate back to uncover the breach as the platten subsequently retracts.

In a compactor embodying the present invention, in any of the aspects defined thus far, the top cover plate may with advantage comprise a nesting succession of plates. Such a construction again minimises the length of the compactor body behind the platten.

It is conventional for compactors of the kind under discussion to inevitably pack waste into the compactor body, behind the platten, over a period of time and this results in jamming of the power pack eventually. Much down-time is expended in rectifying this after having opened up the back of the compactor. The waste can be so tightly packed that it literally has to be dug and drilled out before the power pack can be reached.

To overcome this, and in another advan tageous aspect of the invention, a compactor having any combination of the inventive features defined thus far is characterised by the deliberate provision of a gap in the floor of the compactor body behind the platten, preferably at the back region of the compactor body, for waste inadvertently and inevitably finding its way behind the platten to fall through.

To protect the power pack still further, instead of being housed conventionally within the compactor body behind the platten, it may with advantage be housed beneath the floor of the compactor body. As the compactor already stands on legs which raise the floor of the compactor body from the ground, such a construction is feasible but is not obvious.

Still less obvious is a further development of the construction just defined, in which the power pack slides out from beneath the compactor body for servicing. To the best of the applicant's knowledge, this has never previously been proposed in compactors.

Preferably, in the case just defined, the power pack slides sideways out from beneath the compactor body, as distinct from sliding lengthwise of the body and emerging from the back of the compactor. As the principal object of the invention is to reduce the length of the compactor overall, it is clearly advantageous for the power pack to slide out from the side rather than from the back of the compactor body.

The forces generated at the throat of the compactor can be considerable. The passage of compressed waste forced against the throat periphery, and the considerable compressive force exerted by the clamps which fix the waste-receiving container to the compactor body, both contribute to this.

In yet another inventive feature, therefore, a compactor having any of the inventive features already defined is further characterised by the use of reinforcements in the region of the compactor throat periphery, the reinforcements being so shaped and positioned as positively to guide the container into position when it is initially offered up to the compactor.

For that latter purpose, preferably the reinforcements comprise gussets which protrude from the compactor throat periphery and en gage -the inner peripheral surfaces of the container throat.

Brief Description of the Drawings The accompanying drawings show the best way currently known to the applicant of putting the invention into practice. In these drawings: Figure 1 shows diagrammatically the overall external form of the compactor illustrated; Figure 2 and Figure 3, both enlarged with respect to Figure 1, show the throat region of the compactor respectively in side elevation and plan; Figure 4 and Figure 5, drawn to that same enlarged scale, show the back region of the compactor respectively in side elevation and end elevation; Figures 6 and 7, again to the enlarged scale, show the platten respectively in side elevation and plan; Figure 9, drawn to a much enlarged scale, shows details of the nesting top plates of the compactor body; and Figures 9 and 10 are diagrammatic perspective sketches showing the bearing-block holding means within the platen.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment The compactor illustrated is a ram-driven compactor, hydraulically powered, and resembling basically an elongate rectangular box raised from the ground by four corner legs referenced 11. The compactor body has opposite sides 12, a back plate 13, a floor plate 14 and a set of nesting top plates 15. The open breach of the compactor is referenced 16, and the similarly open throat is referenced 17.

In use, as shown in chain line in Figure 1, an infeed hopper guides waste into the throat 16 of the compactor; and a waste-receiving container is clamped to the throat of the compactor and is progressively filled by it in use.

The details of these form no essential part of the present invention. They can be settled by the intended addressee of this specification without inventive thought.

As Figures 2 and 3 show, the floor plate 14 of the compactor body is longitudinally braced by a box beam 18. The sides 12 are similarly longitudinally and externally reinforced by a respective box beam 19. Each such beam 19 provides a convenient mounting for the lugs 21 to which the container clamps (not shown) fix. Each beam 19 also reinforces its associated side 12 against the thrust of the bearing-blocks of the platten, later to be described.

Gussets 22 protrude from the throat of the container along each vertical (in-use) side of the throat periphery, and are complemented by floor plate end 23 and top gusset 24.

The peripheral flange effectively defined by these gussets guides the container (not shown) into place as well as reinforcing the compactor throat.

At the back of the container, and referring now to Figures 4 and 5, the floor plate 14 extends only as far as a cross-beam 25 spanning the container at right angles to each side 12. A gap 26 in the container floor is thereby created, for compressed waste finding its way inadvertently and inevitably behind the platten in use to fall through onto the floor on which the container stands.

Another gap is created effectively by having the back plate 27 extend only part-way up the container body; and by having the topmost of the set of nesting top plates, 28, stop well short of the back of the container body. This sizable gap gives ready access to the rams which, as will now be explained, occupy the back portion of the container body behind the platten.

There are two conventional hydraulically driven rams. Neither of them is specifically illustrated in the drawings. But each of them has one of its ends pivotted at 29 to one side of the platten (Figure 7), inside the platten "box" itself, whilst its other end is pivotted to the back of the container body at 31 (Figure 4), again inside the container body.

Each ram thus runs, colloquially, diagonally across the container body. The two rams in plan form an "X" and so, as Figure 4 shows, the pivots have to be set one above another.

The pivots 31 are so illustrated in Figure 4. In Figure 7, only one of the pivots 29 can be shown but the other 29 is similarly set above it at the other side of the platten box.

The power pack driving both rams is set in a tray held in slideways beneath the floor plate 14. It slides into place for use in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1, and slides out for maintenance in the opposite direction. The inherent flexibility of hydraulic hoses allows this without difficulty Although neither the power pack nor the slideways and tray is illustrated, the addressee of this specification will be able to provide them without difficulty now that he has been given the inventive concept of providing them at all.

Still looking at Figure 1, the lines of the two rams forming an "X" can be seen diagrammatically indicated in broken line. And the sizable gap between the top of the back plate 13 (27 in Figures 4 and 5) and the top of the nesting top plates 15 (28 in Figures 4 and 5) can also clearly be seen.

Figure 8 shows the nesting top plate construction. The plate 28 already referred to is fixed to the top of the compactor body. The two other plates 32 and 33 forming the nest are carried on guide strips (not referenced) projecting inboard from the compactor body sides 12. The projecting stop plates 34 and 35, carried on each opposite end of each of these plates 32 and 33 respectively, co-operate with one another and with a similarly projecting plate 36 fixed to the top of the platten box 37 in self-evident sliding manner as the platten moves back and forth to cause the plates to uncover and close progressively the breach 16 of the compactor.

Rubberised canvas strips 38, 39, 41 are fixed respectively to each of the plates 28, 32 and 33 to act as seals. Although the stop plates 35 (upper) and 36 are shown as bolted to their respective carrying plates 33 and 37, they would in practical embodiments be welded into place because of the forces involved.

The platten bearing-blocks are a particularly important feature of this compactor. Figures 6, 7, 9 and 10 show their construction and operation. Rectangular hard nylon blocks 42 each incorporate a pair of blind holes 43 extending a short distance into the block. At the back of the platten box, which is open to receive the rams, plates 44, 45 are welded to form a vertical open-backed enclosure which receives a bearing-block 42; and a cutout 46 in the side of the platten box allows the block 42 to protrude through the platten side and bear against the adjacent inner surface of the compactor body side 12 just behind the external reinforcing beam 19.

Bolts 47, 48 engage threaded bosses 49, 51 respectively in each plate 45 to pass through that plate and into the holes 43 in the block 42. This holds the block in place in a readily removable fashion, and also gives a neat means of adjustment of the blocks for smooth running and as they inevitably wear in use.

At the front of the platten box, which is internally reinforced by a folded sheet 52, advantage is taken of the folded construction reinforcement to provide the second bearingholding location on that side of the platten box. There is again a cutout, corresponding to the cutout 46 but this time referenced 53, for the bearing-block 42 to protrude through. A single plate 54 is welded in the fold of the sheet 52 and incorporates threaded bosses 55, 56 akin to the bosses 49, 51. Bolts (not shown) corresponding to the bolts 47 and 48 hold this front bearing-block in place.

The line of movement of the bearing-blocks 42 with the platten is of course the line of the reinforcing beam 19. The bottom of the platten box runs on guide strips which are not specifically referenced and need not be described in further detail. The sheet and bar steel from which the compactor is welded up can readily be selected by the addressee of this specification.

Claims (13)

1. A power-driven waste compactor of the kind in question, characterised by the feature that the ram runs across the compactor and is pivotted at one end to the platten and at its other end to the compactor body.

2. A compactor according to Claim 1 and in which there are two rams, both with their corresponding ends pivotted respectively to the platten and to one of the opposite sides of the compactor body.

3. A compactor according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the platten moves on bearing blocks which are held captive behind the platten and which act between the walls of the platten and the walls of the compactor body, with the block-holding means being positioned inboard of the platten walls, and with the blocks protruding through cut-outs in the platten walls to bear against the compactor body sides.

4. A compactor according to Claim 3 and in which the container body sides are externally -reinforced along the line of travel of the platten bearing blocks.

5. A compactor according to any of the preceding claims and in which the- platten draws a top cover plate across the breach, and slides the plate back to uncover the breach as the platten retracts, characterised by the feature that the top cover plate comprises a nesting succession of plates.

6. A compactor according to any of the preceding claims and characterised by the provision of a gap in the floor of the compactor body behind the platten, for waste to fall through.

7. A compactor according to Claim 6 and in which the gap is at the back region of the compactor body.

8. A compactor according to any of the preceding claims and in which the compactor power pack is housed beneath the floor of the compactor body.

9. A compactor according to Claim 8 and in which the power pack slides out from beneath the compactor body for servicing.

10. A compactor according to Claim 9 and in which the power pack slides sideways relative to the body.

11. A compactor according to any of the preceding claims and characterised by the use of reinforcements in the region of the compactor throat periphery, the reinforcements being so shaped and positioned as positively to guide the container into position when it is initially offered up to the compactor.

12. A compactor according to Claim 11 and in which the reinforcements comprise gussets which protrude from the compactor throat periphery and engage the inner peripheral surfaces of the container throat.

13. A power-driven waste compactor substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.