Device for emptying containers into a collector

A device for emptying containers into a collector, in particular for emptying dustbins into dust-carts, in which a plate-shaped or bow-shaped contact element for the container to be emptied is attached in the lower region of the swivel arm of a tipping device or the lifting and tipping frame of a lift and tip device and is equipped with safety devices protecting it against the effect of impacts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
DE-PS No. 1 024 009 discloses a tipping device for dustbins, in which a 
contact plate for the dustbins to be emptied is mounted at the free end of 
a swivel arm to rock about a shaft parallel to the swivel axis. In order 
to maintain the contact plate in its operating position substantially 
parallel to the longitudinal axis of the swivel arm, it is also held to 
the swivel arm in its upper part by means of a shearing bolt. This 
shearing bolt and the rocking shaft of the contact plate together 
constitute a safety device protecting against the effect of impact. This 
safety device, however, is only effective against those impacts which are 
liable to cause the contact plate to rock relatively to the swivel arm but 
remains ineffective against any other impact on the contact plate. This 
safety device is only intended to prevent damage to the dustbin emptying 
device attached to the back of the dust-cart if in the event of rearward 
collision of the cart the contact plate situated in its lower starting 
position strikes against an obstacle on the ground. Lateral impact on the 
contact plate, on the other hand, is liable to cause severe damage to the 
plate or the swivel arm or any other part of the emptying device. In 
particular, the contact plate of this known arrangement is quite incapable 
of yielding resiliently or absorbing any shock on impact. 
DE-PS No. 1 048 221 discloses a dustbin tipper, in particular a lifting and 
tipping device, in which a contact plate for the dustbin is connected by 
rocking elements to the swivel arm or to the lifting and tipping frame and 
is equipped with a vibrating shaker device. Although the rocking elements 
enable the contact plate to vibrate, they provide no protection against 
the effect of impact, nor do they provide any significant elastic 
buffering of the contact plate against the swivel arm or lifting and 
tipping frame. 
Lastly, DE-PS No. 1 119 758 discloses a swivel arm for tipping dustbins of 
various sizes, in which a tipping stool is mounted on a front plate which 
closes the feed opening of the emptying device. The swivel axis of this 
tipping stool extends parallel to the swivel axis of the swivel arm 
proper. The rocking movement of the swivel arm is transmitted to the 
tipping stool by means of a transmission link which is pivotally attached 
between these two parts and is so designed that it also serves as a 
resilient shock absorbing device. This shock absorbing device, however, 
provides no protection against impact acting on the contact plate of the 
tipping stool. 
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
It is thus an object of the present invention substantially to improve a 
container emptying device having a plate-shaped or bow-shaped contact 
element in the lower region of the swivel arm of a tipping device or of 
the lifting and tipping frame of a lift and tip device so that, firstly, 
the contact element will be effectively protected against the shock of 
impacts acting from any direction and, secondly, the contact element will 
be more yielding so that it can right itself in relation to the container 
to be emptied even if the container has been placed crookedly or in some 
other manner incorrectly against the emptying device, especially in order 
to avoid damaging impacts being exerted on the wall of the container by 
the contact element. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
To solve this problem according to the invention, the contact element is 
designed to be capable of limited spatial displacement relative to the 
swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame in order to enable it to adapt to 
an object exerting pressure on it, this displaceability being provided by 
means of at least one yielding buffering and damping device provided at 
least in the region of the contact surface of said contact element, which 
extends transversely to the swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame. The 
yielding buffering and damping device and the limited spatial mobility of 
the contact element provided by this device afford the advantage that even 
quite substantial impacts against the contact element such as are liable 
to occur when shunting dust-carts or when bringing objects such as 
dustbins against the emptying device can be buffered and absorbed without 
any permanent damage to the contact element or to its connection with the 
swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame or to the object brought into 
contact with it, such as a dustbin. In the course of operation of the 
emptying devices such as dustbin emptying devices, the buffering and 
damping device also provides the special advantage that sudden or jerking 
movements of the swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame are to a 
considerable extent buffered before being transmitted from the contact 
element to the wall of the container to be emptied. This provides 
advantageous protection for the wall of the container, especially in the 
event of a sudden swinging or tipping movement. 
In one embodiment of this invention, the buffering and damping device 
comprises at least one elastic supporting and connecting element attached 
between the contact element and the swivel arm or lifting and tipping 
frame or a rigid carrier element provided there, this supporting and 
connecting element at the same time constituting the safety device 
protecting the contact element against impact. It is preferred to provide 
a plurality of such elastic supporting and connecting elements which 
should preferably consist of vibration damping material. The one or more 
than one supporting and connecting element provides a buffering and 
damping effect especially against impacts from the swivel arm or lifting 
and tipping frame, for example when the swivel arm or lifting and tipping 
frame runs into an end position or a rocking movement on the swivel arm or 
lifting and tipping frame sets in suddenly. The buffered, attenuated 
transmission of such impacts and the damping of the vibrations produced in 
the event of such impacts provide considerable protection for the 
container wall resting against the contact element. As an extension and 
further development of this embodiment of the invention, the elastic 
supporting and connecting elements are so formed that they can break or 
tear off so that they serve as predetermined locations of breakage between 
the swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame or a rigid carrier element 
provided there and the contact element. Exceptionally severe impacts are 
therefore liable to break one or other of the supporting and connecting 
elements rather than severely damage the contact element, the swivel arm 
or lifting and tipping frame or any object colliding with the contact 
element. 
Particularly suitable supporting and connecting elements are in the form of 
rubber-metal blocks with metal plates at their end faces, one of these 
metal plates being attached to the swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame 
or to a rigid carrier element provided there while the other metal plate 
is rigidly attached to the back of the contact element. 
If the contact element is bow-shaped, it is particularly suitable to use a 
safety device comprising four supporting and connecting elements arranged 
pairwise one above the other on both sides of the vertical mid-axis of the 
contact element. This crosswise arrangement of the supporting and 
connecting elements provides exceptional safety in absorbing shocks 
exerted on the bow-shaped contact element. At the same time, this 
connection of the bow-shaped contact element with the swivel arm or 
lifting and tipping frame is exceptionally yielding and shock-absorbing so 
that any impacts on the swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame, for 
example those produced when the end position of tipping is reached, can 
only be transmitted in a highly attenuated and buffered form to the 
contact element so that they cannot damage the wall of the container. 
In another embodiment of this invention, the contact element is in the form 
of a substantially rigid bow with a yielding lining which constitutes at 
least part of the yielding buffering and damping device and at the same 
time serves as a yielding abutment for the wall of the container to be 
emptied, this yielding and resilient lining extending right across to and 
over the two lateral ends of the bow-shaped element. This yielding lining 
prevents the transmission of hard impacts from the swivel arm or lifting 
and tipping frame to the wall of a container by way of the contact element 
with which the container is in contact. Conversely, the yielding lining 
which constitutes part of the yielding buffering and damping device also 
prevents the transmission of hard impacts from a container which has been 
moved or driven hard against the contact element to the swivel arm or 
lifting and tipping frame. Even in the event of a backward collision of a 
dust-cart causing the contact element to strike against a hard object, 
such an impact is buffered and damped by the yielding lining which forms 
part of the yielding buffering and damping device. The yielding lining 
provided in such a rigid bow-shaped contact element is particularly 
effective when used in conjunction with elastic supporting and connecting 
elements attached in the path of force between the contact element and the 
swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame. Such a yielding lining should as 
far as possible extend at least over the two lateral ends of the contact 
element so that every part of the bow-shaped contact element benefits from 
this advantageous buffering and damping characteristic and the 
advantageous functional cooperation between the lining and the elastic 
supporting and connecting elements. 
One advantageous example of a yielding lining which has an exceptionally 
efficient buffering and damping action consists of a flexible tube filled 
with liquid or gas, for example compressed air, and attached at both its 
ends to the lateral ends of the bow-shaped contact element and fixed by 
part of its circumferential wall to the contact element which another part 
of its circumferential wall forms the yielding abutment surface for the 
container to be emptied. Every region of this tube provides a soft 
receiving surface for the wall of the container and adapts itself to the 
wall of the container even if the container has not been positioned 
correctly in front of the parts of the emptying device designed to receive 
it, as frequently occurs, especially in the emptying of dustbins. The 
lining tube is also able to yield and thus dampen and absorb shock when an 
object strikes against it. These buffering and damping effects are 
positively superimposed in a particularly advantageous manner on the 
buffering and damping effects of the elastic supporting and connecting 
elements which are mounted in the path of force between the contact 
element and the swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame. 
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the contact element is a 
substantially rigid bow-shaped element having a yielding lining in the 
form of a belt extending freely between the two ends of the bow-shaped 
element and fixed to the ends thereof, which belt constitutes at least 
part of the yielding buffering and damping device and forms a yielding 
abutment for the wall of the container to be emptied. This belt is even 
better able to fit snugly against the wall of the container when the 
device is in operation and any hard impacts coming from the swivel arm or 
lifting and tipping frame will be buffered by the belt and distributed 
over a large surface area before being transmitted to the container to be 
emptied. The transmission of these impacts is attenuated to such an extent 
that the container wall is shielded against damage but at the same time 
the transmission is hard enough to enable shaking vibrations to be 
effectively exerted on the container to be emptied. Above all, this 
contact belt fits almost perfectly against the container wall when 
transmitting force so that forces are optimally transmitted to every part 
of the container wall, and even if a container has been inserted 
inaccurately or crookedly into the emptying device. Moreover, the contact 
belt will also adapt itself to any deformed regions of the container wall, 
even if the container wall has an irregular form. The belt also 
constitutes a highly effective part of the yielding buffering and damping 
device when any objects are moved abruptly into contact with the belt, as 
for example a container which is to be emptied, or if in the event of a 
backward collision of the dust-cart carrying the emptying device, the 
contact element and belt strike hard against a solid object. If buffering 
supporting and connecting elements are arranged in the path of force 
between the contact element and the swivel arm or lifting and tipping 
frame, a highly advantageous functional cooperation between the buffering 
supporting and connecting elements and the contact belt is obtained, 
particularly since the buffering and damping effect of the belt is 
superimposed upon that of the supporting and connecting elements. The ends 
of the belt may be in the form of loops by which the belt may be suspended 
on receiving pins extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal 
axis of the swivel arm or lifting and tipping frame at the ends of the 
contact element. Alternatively, the ends of the belt may be fastened by 
clamping plates at the ends of the contact element. 
The contact belt may have an elasticity and inherent rigidity sufficient to 
enable it to assume a particular form when not under stress. It would then 
be preferable to design the belt so that it is bow-shaped in the 
unstressed condition and therefore ready at any moment to receive a 
container to be emptied. The belt may consist of a band of woven textile 
or it may consist of a rubberized or plastics impregnated fabric. It would 
also be advantageous to use a belt in the form of a strip of natural or 
synthetic rubber or a strip of plastics material reinforced with a textile 
insert. All these variations are particularly suitable for obtaining a 
belt having the required inherent rigidity and elasticity to enable it to 
assume any desired form in the unstressed state. At the same time, a 
contact belt formed according to these various possibilities is also 
sufficiently yielding to ensure that it can always fit snugly against the 
wall of any container to be emptied. 
If the substantially rigid bow-shaped contact element is also to be 
provided with lateral buffering means which are to provide a buffering 
effect on the outside, the yielding lining of the contact element may be 
equipped with an elastic shock absorber at each end. If a contact belt is 
used as elastic lining, it may have thickened suspension loops at each end 
to serve as elastic shock absorbers. These lateral shock absorbers provide 
substantially improved protection for the contact element against any 
objects striking against it or in the event of the contact element 
striking against a fixed obstruction.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION 
In the examples illustrated, the invention is applied to lifting and 
tipping devices 10 having a lifting and tipping frame 12 attached to a 
swivel arm 11 by way of a four-link guide. The devices for displacing the 
lifting and tipping frame 12 in relation to the swivel arm 11 and for 
displacing the swivel arm 11 have been omitted for the sake of clarity. 
The lifting and tipping frame 12 comprises a carrier 13 designed to grip 
underneath the upper circumferential rim of the container to be emptied, 
e.g. a dustbin 31 (FIG. 3). This carrier is formed to receive, for 
example, dustbins of polygonal cross-section with rounded corners of the 
peripheral wall. The carrier element 13 is capable of receiving both large 
and small dustbins. Attached to the lower part of the lifting and tipping 
frame 12 is a bow-shaped contact element 14 wide enough to receive the 
larger and wider dustbin. Dustbins of large capacity are placed centrally 
on the carrier part 13 and received centrally by the bow-shaped contact 
element 14 while smaller and correspondingly narrower dustbins are placed 
eccentrically on the carriers 13, to one or other side thereof, and 
received correspondingly eccentrically by the bow-shaped contact element 
14. The contact element 14 consists of a rigid, bent bar 15 of steel 
having a rearwardly extending arm 16 at each end. These arms 16 curve 
outwards at their free ends to form flanges 17. In the example of FIGS. 1 
to 3, the rigid bar 15 is lined with a buffering and damping contact 
surface 18, for example of rubber or soft, yielding plastics material. 
This lining 18 may include a layer of foam. The lining 18 extends both 
over the internal surface of the rigid bar 15 and over the internal 
surface of the arm 16 and the rear surface of the flange 17. 
In the example of FIG. 4, a tubular, yielding lining 28 is fitted to the 
bar 25. This tube may consist of rubber, preferably rubber with a textile 
insert or plastics with a suitable reinforcing insert. Each end 29 of the 
tube is tightly closed, for example by being vulcanized, welded or glued. 
The ends of the tube 28, thus made stiff and firm, are attached to the 
flanges 17, as shown in FIG. 4, outside the bar 15 itself and the bar ends 
16. These stiffened ends 29 therefore do not come into contact with the 
wall of the container during the lifting and tipping movement of the 
lifting and tipping frame 12. Dustbins are nevertheless liable to strike 
against these stiffened ends 29 when they are brought towards the lifting 
and tipping device 11 but the stiffening of these ends is then 
advantageous since it prevents damage to the yielding part of the lining 
28. Even if one of the outer flange regions 17 of the bow-shaped contact 
element 14 strikes against some object, the stiffening provided by sealing 
the ends 29 effectively protects the bow-shaped contact element and the 
lifting and tipping device against hard impacts as well as protecting the 
yielding lining 28. 
The interior 30 of the tube is filled with liquid, for example water 
containing antifreeze, or preferably with gas, for example, air under 
pressure. This tubular lining 28 is firmly attached on one side thereof, 
i.e. over part of its circumferential wall, to the rigid bar 15 while the 
part of the circumferential wall of the tube which is freely exposed on 
the internal side of the bar 15 forms the yielding abutment surface for 
the container which is to be emptied. The yielding lining formed by a tube 
filled with liquid or gas has the particular advantage that it can adapt 
itself very effectively to the form of the wall of the dustbin carried by 
the element 15 so that, in cooperation with the elastic supporting and 
connecting elements, it ensures optimum buffering of a dustbin on the 
lifting and tipping frame against the forces of impact. At the same time, 
this yielding, tubular lining 28 is also optimally able to adapt itself to 
the wall of a dustbin even when this has been set eccentrically or 
inaccurately in position. The yielding character of this lining 28 is 
particularly suitable in enabling the dustbin once it has been taken up 
into the device to right itself even when the lifting and tipping frame is 
already in motion so that it may subsequently still take up the correct 
position for the emptying process. 
In both embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 4, the bar 15 is connected to the lifting 
and tipping frame 12 by way of a shock protective safety device 20. For 
this purpose, carrier plates 21 are rigidly fixed, for example by welding, 
on both sides of the lifting and tipping frame 12 in the region of the 
contact element 14, as may be seen more clearly in FIGS. 2 to 4. A carrier 
mounting 22 is welded to the back of the rigid bar 15. Supporting and 
connecting blocks 23 are placed between the carrier mounting 22 and the 
carrier plates 21. In the example illustrated, these supporting and 
connecting blocks 23 consist of rubber-metal elements having a metal plate 
24 and screw bolt 25 at each end face. These supporting and connecting 
blocks 23 are mounted on the respective carrier plates by the metal plates 
24 on one end face and are fixed into position there by the screw bolts 
25. The metal plates 24 at the other end face connect the supporting and 
connecting blocks to the carrier mounting 22 and, as shown in FIG. 3, the 
supporting and connecting blocks are fixed to the carrier mounting 22 by 
the screw bolt 25 provided at that end face. As may be seen from FIGS. 2 
to 4, two supporting and connecting blocks 23 arranged one above the other 
are provided on each side of the lifting and tipping frame 12 so that 
there is a total of four such blocks situated one at each corner of a 
rectangle. In this example, each supporting and connecting block 23 has 
its own carrier plate 21 welded to the lifting and tipping frame. These 
carrier plates 21 may be bent over laterally as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, so 
that they have a substantially U-shaped profile, both to increase the 
stability and to provide a certain covering for the supporting and 
connecting blocks 23. 
The supporting and connecting blocks 23 constitute the only connection 
between the lifting and tipping frame 12 and the rigid bar 15. Due to the 
resilience of the supporting and connecting blocks, the bar is capable of 
rocking within limits in relation to the vertical axis of the lifting and 
tipping frame 12 and is therefore capable of compensating for any 
eccentric loading resulting from the eccentric positioning of a smaller 
dustbin. The supporting and connecting blocks 23 provided as the only 
means of connection also constitute a safety device protecting the contact 
element 14 against knocks or impacts on the rigid bar 15. Minor knocks or 
impacts are absorbed and buffered by the supporting and connecting blocks 
23 whereas larger impacts such as may occur, for example, when the bar 15 
strikes against an object or gets caught on it when the dust-cart is in 
motion, cause the supporting and connecting blocks 23 to be torn off 
without the bar 15 and lining 18 being damaged. Torn or damaged supporting 
and connecting blocks 23 may readily be replaced by removing the nuts on 
the screw bolts 25. On the side of the carrier mounting 22, this may 
easily be carried out if the nuts are accessible through openings 26 in 
the lining 18 (righthand part of FIG. 3) or if the nuts are firmly 
attached to the carrier mounting so that the supporting and connecting 
blocks can be turned with the metal plate 24 to unscrew the bolt 25 from 
the nut. 
In the example illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 11, the contact element 14 
consists of a rigid curved bar 25 of steel and a contact belt 38 arranged 
on the inside of this bar. 
In FIG. 5, the rigid bar 35 is bent backwards at each end to form arms 36 
whose free ends are folded outwards in the form of flanges. The contact 
belt 38 is placed over these flange parts 37 and round the free edges and 
is clamped to the back of the flange part 37 and arms 36 by retaining 
blocks 39. The belt 38 has sufficient inherent rigidity and elasticity to 
assume the bow-shaped form shown in FIG. 1 when it is not under stress but 
it is also sufficiently yielding to fit exactly over the form of the wall 
of a container when under stress. In its middle region, the rigid bar 35 
is connected to the lifting and tipping frame 12 by a safety or impact 
protective device 20. 
The attachment of the belt 38 to the rigid bar is shown on an enlarged 
scale in FIG. 6. This shows that the wall of the bar is just as thick at 
the free ends of the arms 36 as at the upper and lower edge of the bar 35, 
where the stiffening flange 40 is provided, but curved outwards at the 
free ends and rounded off at the free edges. The contact belt 38 in the 
form of a band is passed over this rounded edge to the outside wall of the 
bar, where it is clamped into position by a retaining block 39 in the form 
of a strip screwed to the arm 36 of the bar. The ends of the belt 38 may 
in addition be glued or vulcanised to these blocks 39. 
As may be seen from FIG. 7, the contact belt 38 may also serve as carrier 
for laterally placed shock absorbers 41. For this purpose, the belt 38 has 
an elastic thickened portion in the region extending round the flanged end 
of the arm 36. This thickened portion may be made of rubber or a resilient 
plastics material and may, for example, be glued or vulcanized to the belt 
38. 
In the modified form of attachment of the belt 38 to the rigid bar 35 shown 
in FIGS. 8 to 11, a holding spindle 42 consisting of a pin 43 and a sleeve 
44 rotatably mounted thereon is provided at the free end of each arm 36 of 
the bar to extend in the axial direction of the lifting and tipping frame 
12. A suspension loop 45 formed at each end of the belt 38 is placed over 
its respective holding pin 42. 
The rigid bar 35 is reinforced in this example by a stiffening flange 40 on 
the upper and lower side thereof. These stiffening flanges are extended 
beyond the outwardly bent wall of the bar at the free ends of the arms 36. 
The holding spindles 42 are inserted between these extended parts of the 
flange 40, as shown in FIG. 10. In this embodiment, the belt is easily 
inserted in the rigid bar 35 and can also easily be replaced by removing 
the sleeves 44, which are glued or vulcanized into the loops 45, from the 
pins 43 of the spindle. 
In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, the suspension loops 45 are 
considerably thickened and symmetrical in form. Each loop 45 is made to 
form an integral part of one or other end of the belt 38, in particular by 
being vulcanized thereto, and forms a shock absorber 46 projecting right 
round the end of the flange 40. Due to the symmetric form of this shock 
absorber 46 and loop 45, the whole belt 38 can be turned round inside the 
bar 35 if it is partly worn down; in other words, it may be removed from 
the bar and reinstalled in the reverse position. 
The contact belt 38 provided in the examples of FIGS. 5 to 11 may be 
rubberized or impregnated with plastics material for the purpose of 
increasing its inherent rigidity and elasticity so that it assumes its 
trapezoidal or bow-shaped form when not under stress. The belt 38 may, 
however, also be made of some other material, for example a strip of 
natural or synthetic rubber reinforced with a textile insert or steel 
gauze insert. Suitably reinforced plastics strips may also be used to form 
the belt 38. 
In the examples of FIGS. 5 to 11, the impact protective safety device 20 
used for attaching the rigid bar 15 to the lifting and tipping frame 12 
consists of four supporting and connecting blocks 23 in the form of 
rubber-metal elements having metallic end plates and rubber bodies in the 
middle. These rubber-metal blocks 23 resemble those used in the example of 
FIGS. 1 to 4 in being screwed to the external surface of the wall of the 
bar 35 by one of its end plates. The second end plate is screwed to a 
plate forming a carrier element 21 which is rigidly attached to the 
lifting and tipping frame 12, for example by welding. In this arrangement, 
two supporting and connecting blocks 23 are arranged one above the other 
on each side of the lifting and tipping frame 12 so that there is a total 
of four such blocks 23 arranged at the corners of a rectangle.