GB2263093A - Improvements in refuse containers. - Google Patents

Abstract

There is described a container for the collection of refuse for recycling. comprising a container body of substantially parallelepiped shape and having its internal volume divided into two or more separate enclosed compartments (A to C), a first compartment having a selectively closeable discharge opening (6) in a first side thereof and having a selectively openable communicating opening (7) in a side opposite said first side, the communicating opening leading to an adjacent compartment of the container, a respective charging opening being provided in a top wall of each compartment, and means being further provided to direct the refuse into one of the compartments via its charging opening. The means can be a hopper and a conveyor and controllable gates closing the openings or a rail mounted bin tipping device. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN REFUSE CONTAINERS The present invention relates to refuse containers, and particularly concerns refuse containers intended for recyclable refuse.

The collection of refuse for recycling presents various difficulties, in that different types of refuse such as paper, metals and glass have to be kept separate if recycling is to be economically viable.

The present invention provides a refuse container with a loading hopper to receive refuse for recycling, a plurality of collection volumes within the container to receive different types of refuse, and a distribution means for transporting refuse from the hopper to a selected one of the collection volumes.

According to the present invention a container for the collection of refuse for recycling, comprises a container body of substantially parallelepiped shape and having its internal volume divided into two or more separate enclosed compartments, a first compartment having a selectively closeable discharge opening in one side thereof and a respective charging opening being provided in a top wall of each compartment, and means being further provided to direct the refuse into a selective one of the compartments via its charging opening.

Preferably, the compartments are arranged in a linear array, an end compartment having an external discharge opening in a first side, and having a selectively openable communicating opening in a side opposite said first side, the communicating opening leading to an adjacent compartment of the container. Compartments in the array each have selectively openable communicating openings leading to all adjacent compartments.

This allows the container to be used to collect several types of refuse from a number of collection sites, keeping the different types of refuse separate until the container is discharged. The container may have a plurality of external discharge openings associated with its respective collection compartments, or the collection compartments may be interconnected by openable doors which are sequentially controlled to discharge each compartment separately through previously discharged compartments.

The distribution means may be a screw conveyor, a belt conveyor, or preferably a chain conveyor wherein a slideway for the refuse is provided and a plurality of pusher bars are caused to propel the refuse along the slideway from the hopper. Refuse is graded into respective collection volumes by means of openings in the slideway which are closeable by doors and through which refuse may fall into the respective collection volumes.

To load refuse into the hopper, a lifting and tipping device may be provided to handle refuse bins of one or more standard sizes.

The lifting and tipping device may incorporate weighing means to determine the amount of refuse in each bin, and identification means to determine the origin of the bin. This will allow simple computation of any payment due for collection of recyclable refuse.

Each bin preferably has a coded identification plaque readable by a sensor on the lifting and tipping device.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation showing a recycling container situated on a vehicle; and Figure 2 is a sectional view in the plane II-II of Figure 1.

Referring now to the Figures, the refuse container 1 is provided at its forward end with a loop 2 engageable by a hook 3 of a conventional load handling arm 4 of a vehicle 5.

The container 1 has its internal volume divided into three sections, A, B and C by two internal divisions 6 and 7. Doors 6a and 7a are provided in the partitions 6 and 7, and an unloading door 8 is provided at the rear of the container. In the schematic drawing, these doors are hinged at their upper edges, and are secured at their lower edges by catches (not shown) operated by a control system (also not shown). The control system is arranged so that opening of the doors is permitted only in sequential fashion, with the unloading door 8 being opened first, the door 7a in partition 7 being opened second, and the door 6a in partition 6 being opened last. The reason for this will be described later.

Extending above the three internal divisions A, B and C of the container 1 is a conveyor 9, comprising a pair of endless circulating elements such as chains which extend around guide pulleys 10 and 11 at the front and rear of the container respectively.

Between the chains 9, a plurality of scraper bars 12 extend transversely to the container, the scraper bars 12 being moved longitudinally of the container in contact with the horizontal upper surface of a guide 13.

As can be seen from Figure 2, inclined sidewalls 14 and 15 extend downwardly and inwardly from the upper edges of the container towards the guide surface 13.

In the guide surface 13, hatches 16, 17 and 18 are provided, the opening and closing of these hatches being controlled by an operating system (not shown). The hatches are preferably opened by sliding doors which move in the transverse direction of the container, but other types of opening and closing mechanisms may be used provided that the hatches, in their open positions, do not foul the return run of the chains 9 and scraper bars 12 which pass beneath the hatches.

Projecting forward from the front end of the container is a hopper 19, open upwardly, and having inclined surfaces which guide material deposited in the hopper onto the forward end of guide surface 13.

In order for the vehicle to collect refuse for recycling, a refuse bin lifting and emptying mechanism 20 is mounted to the vehicle chassis, and is positioned so that a refuse bin may be lifted by the mechanism 20 and inverted to discharge its contents into the hopper 19.

The recycling container is intended primarily for the collection of glass for recycling, and its operation will be described in relation to the collection of glass of three different colours, which has been primarily sorted into bins each containing glass of one colour only.

In the collection of coloured glass, it is important that the clear glass should not be contaminated with coloured glass at any time. Thus, when the vehicle arrives at a collection point where bins of pre-sorted glass are placed for collection, the bins containing clear glass are collected first. Each bin 21 is engaged by the bin lifting mechanism 20, and its contents discharged into hopper 19. The vehicle operator then sets the control system so that hatch 18 in the guide surface 13 is opened, and starts the rotation of pulleys 10 and 11 so that the chains 9 and scraper bars 12 are drawn rearwardly along the upper surface of the guide surface 13, to propel the clear glass rearwardly towards the open hatch 18. The doors 6a, 7a and 8 are, of course held closed during collections.

When all the clear glass has been discharged from bin 21 into hopper 19, and transported therefrom along guide surface 13 to fall through hatch 18 into the interior volume C of the container, the vehicle operator then closes hatch 18 and opens hatch 17. Brown glass is then collected by discharging the appropriately coloured glass into the hopper 19, transporting it along guide surface 13 and allowing it to fall through the open hatch 17 into the interior volume B of the container. When all the bins 21 of brown glass have been collected, and all the brown glass has been discharged into volume B of the container, hatch 17 is closed and hatch 16 is opened, so that green glass may be discharged from bins 21 into hopper 19 and thence into volume A of the container.

When all the bins at a collection point have been emptied, their respective contents being kept separate in the internal volumes of the container, the vehicle is driven to the next collection point, where collection of recyclable glass starts again.

Since it may be the case that one colour of glass will predominate over the others, the sizes of the internal volumes A, B and C of the container may be adjusted so as to afford more space for the particular colour of glass which is found to be prevalent.

Alternatively, the partitions 6 and 7 may be made so as to be movable within the container, in order that varying collection patterns can be accommodated.

When the container is full, the vehicle is taken to a recycling collection point where the contents are to be discharged.

To discharge the contents from the vehicle, the front of the container is raised to pivot the container to an inclined position.

Discharge door 8 is then opened so that the clear glass in compartment C of the container is discharged by gravity through the unloading door 8. The rearmost volume C of the container is used for clear glass to minimise the risk of contaminating the clear glass with coloured glass. Such contamination drastically reduces the recycling value of clear glass.

The vehicle is then moved to an unloading station for brown glass, and the door 7a in partition 7 is opened so that the brown glass can be discharged by passing through compartment C and out of the discharge door 8.

The vehicle is then moved to the discharge point for green glass, and door 6a in partition 6 is opened so that the green glass in compartment A passes through compartment B, through compartment C, and exits through discharge door 8.

The container is then returned to the horizontal position, so that doors 6a, 7a and 8 are closed by gravity and are locked shut by their respective control mechanisms.

The vehicle is then ready for a further collection round.

As an alternative to mounting the bin emptying mechanism 20 on the vehicle chassis, the mechanism 20 may be mounted to the container, together with a suitable power pack. This will allow the vehicle to leave its container at a collection point, so that bins of variously coloured glass may be lifted and discharged into the hopper, and transported by the conveyor to the appropriate collection volume A, B or C within the container. When the container is full, the vehicle may return, collect the container and take it for discharge.

As an alternative to the chain-type conveyor shown in the drawings, a screw conveyor may be provided, or a simple conveyor belt equipped with a number of movable sweeper arms may be provided to deflect collected refuse or glass off the belt into the respective collection volumes.

While three internal volumes are shown for the container, it is conceivable that only two may be provided, or more than three volumes may be provided by altering the number of partitions.

In a further alternative embodiment, not shown, the bin emptying mechanism 20 may be mounted on the side of the container for movement in the longitudinal direction of the container. This will allow bins of variously coloured glass to be lifted and discharged at appropriate points along the length of the container, directly into the internal collection volumes of the container. There would thus be no need for a conveyor arrangement extending above the collection volumes A, B and C. The bin lifting and tipping arrangement may be controlled by cable from a power unit comprising a number of fixed winches, cables being used not only to move the bin tipping mechanism 20 longitudinally of the container, but also to operate the mechanism to lift the bins.

As an alternative to cable drive, any of the embodiments may be powered by hydraulic means either from the vehicle's hydraulic supply, or by a self-contained hydraulic pump, driven either by a petrol engine or by electricity.

The bin lifting and emptying mechanism may include sensors to determine the weight of material collected from each bin, and may include sensors to cooperate with identifying plaques or other arrangements on the bins, so that a record of amounts of material collected can be kept. The identifying plaques may also give information as to the nature of the contents of the bin, e.g. the colour of glass therein. The sensor may then be linked with the control mechanisms to deposit the glass in the appropriate collection volume, thus eliminating a source of operator error.

In any of the above embodiments, the discharge of material from the various compartments may be achieved through separate discharge openings leading from the compartments directly to the exterior, rather than by sequentially discharging the compartments and routing material through previously discharged compartments.

Claims (15)

1. A container for the collection of refuse for recycling, comprising a container body of substantially parallelepiped shape and having its internal volume divided into two or more separate enclosed compartments, each compartment having a selectively closeable discharge opening in one side thereof and having a selectively openable communicating opening in a side opposite said first side, the communicating opening leading to an adjacent compartment of the container, a respective charging opening being provided in a top wall of each compartment, and means being further provided to direct the refuse into one of the compartments via its charging opening.

2. A container according to Claim 1, wherein the compartments are arranged in a linear array, a compartment at one end of the array having a discharge opening communicating directly with the exterior positioned in a first side thereof, and having a selectively openable communicating opening in a side opposite said first side, the communicating opening leading to an adjacent compartment of the container, each other compartment having a communicating opening leading to each of its adjacent compartments.

3. A container according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein a hopper is provided at an upper part of the container, and from the hopper a conveyor device leads to the respective charging openings of the compartments, control means being provided to direct refuse from the hopper to a selected one of the charging openings.

4. A container according to Claim 3, wherein the container is elongate and is divided transversely into a number of compartments, and the hopper is provided at a first end of the container, and the conveyor device comprises a horizontal guide surface over which refuse is moved by one or more pusher elements, the guide surface having a plurality of openings therein to serve as respective charging openings for the compartments, and each charging opening having a closure means whose upper surface is substantially a continuation of the guide surface.

5. A container according to Claim 3, wherein the guide surface is a curved channel section and the pusher element is a screw conveyor.

6. A container according to Claim 5, wherein the guide surface is substantially planar and horizontal, and the pusher element comprises a number of pusher bars moved relatively to the guide surface.

7. A container according to Claim 6, wherein the guide surface is substantially fixed and the pusher bars are moved by endless flexible elements.

8. A container according to Claim 6, wherein a moving belt acts as the guide surface and the pusher bars are selectively movable between retracted positions in which they are clear of the belt, and active positions in which they each deflect material from the belt into a respective one of the charging openings.

9. A container according to Claim 1, wherein the means for directing refuse into the charging openings is a bin lifting and tipping device mounted to the container so as to be movable along the length thereof and operable at locations corresponding to the locations of the charging openings, so that refuse tipped from a bin when the device is in one of the locations will fall through a respective charging opening.

10. A container according to Claim 9, wherein the bin lifting and tipping device is mounted for movement along a rail secured to the container and extending longitudinally thereof, the bin lifting and tipping device being moved along the rail by a hydraulic motor or ram.

11. A container according to Claim 10, wherein the bin lifting and tipping device is hydraulically actuated.

12. A container according to Claim 9, wherein the bin lifting and tipping device is mounted for movement along a rail secured to the container and extending longitudinally thereof, the bin lifting and tipping device being moved along the rail by means of cables extending between pulleys fixed at the ends of the container.

13. A container according to Claim 10, wherein the bin lifting and tipping device is operated by a winch acting on a cable extending along the length of the container and fixed thereto at one end thereof.

14. A container according to Claim 2, further including control means associated with each communicating opening to allow sequential opening thereof after the discharge opening is opened, so that material from each compartment is discharged into a neighbouring, previously discharged compartment.

15. A container substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.