INSTALLATION FOR COMPACTING WASTE AND WASTE ASSEMBLY

Abstract: Installation for compacting waste. This installation consists of a partition pump fitted in a chamber, the changing volume being determined by the partitions and the wall of the chamber. A closable inlet is fitted, while the wall of the chamber can be designed as a hinged wall in the vicinity of the outlet. Scrapers can be provided to ensure that all of the waste remains in the outlet. The outlet can open into a conventional waste container.

Description: Installation for compacting waste and waste assembly The invention relates to an installation for compact¬ ing waste, comprising a rotary element which is fitted in a chamber and which can move along a wall of the chamber in order to define a space, which is becoming ever smaller in the direction of movement of the element, for compacting waste, as well as an inlet and an outlet. An installation of this type has been disclosed in US Patent 4,358,995. In this device a rotary drum is provided with protruding knives. Articles to be compacted, such as cans, are introduced into the slot which is defined by the wall and the rotating drum. The knives grasp tfc.'-a cans and ψ during compacting thereof the latter are moved hrough the slit defined between the wall and the rotary element. With this procedure the compacting is realised over the relatively short path over which the knives of the rotary element grip the articles to be compacted. That is to say a relatively high peak load is necessary. Although an installation of this type is suitable for cans and the like, it cannot be used for compacting sheet-like material parts and the like. The in¬ stallation disclosed in US Patent 4,358,995 is, after all, not capable of forming "balls". Articles which are compacted are reduced in size at one location only and only in respect of the transverse dimension. Moreover, this installation has the disadvantage of being relatively complex and a heavy drive mechanism is necessary in order to be able to absorb the peak load described above. A bale press or waste compacter in which a plane par¬ tition is moved backwards and forwards in a tube is also known from the prior art. With this installation the partition must always be brought back during an idle stroke in order to feed in fresh waste and special measures are ne¬ cessary to ensure discharge. The aim of the present invention is to avoid these disadvantages. This aim is achieved with an installation described above in that the rotary element comprises a partition pump, the partitions moving along the wall in order to define the volume which is continually becoming smaller. The invention is based on the understanding that the material to be compacted is gradually compacted from the time it is introduced to the discharge. By this means, sheet-like material is likewise effectively compacted. Moreover, the effort required for compacting is distributed very uniformly over the travel path of the article concerned, so that the load on the drive can be lower and the installation can be designed more simply. It is pointed out that partition pumps as such have already been known for a long time. For example, reference is made to Netherlands Patent 18,318. Up to now partition pumps of this type have always been used for compacting, for example, gases or for transporting media. It is not suggested that by using a partition pump waste can be compacted gradually from various sides, as a result of which a relatively small compacting installation can be provided. Compacting installations of this type can be used both on the land and in vehicles and vessels, such as in aircrafts. According to an advantageous embodiment of the inven- tion, the part of the wall in the direction of rotation of the element upstream of the outlet is fitted so that it is movable against a pretensioning force. This signifies that if no further compacting can take place in the space defineed by the wall of the chamber and the partitions without overload- ing of the system, the relevant section of the wall moves away because no further compacting takes place. A design of this type is important in particular if waste of highly va¬ riable composition is introduced. In order to prevent material adhering to the drum of the partition pump, scrapers are preferably present down¬ stream of the outlet for the part of the wall in the direc¬ tion of rotation. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the inlet is closable in such a way that said inlet comprises a part of the wall of the partition pump. By this means, the path over which the waste is compacted is increased and it is prevented that material is pressed back towards the inlet during the first part of the travel over the compacting path. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the chamber in which the partition pump is fitted is cylindrical and the centre of rotation of the partitions is in the centre of the cylinder. In order to prevent contamination of the interior of the partition drum, sealing means, which engage on the par¬ titions, are fitted thereon. The partition drum described above can be driven in various ways. Both a motor and a manual drive are conceiva¬ ble. In the case of a motor drive, it is possible always to stop the partition pump in a position such that the parti¬ tions are in the optimum position in front of the inlet and outlet. This is also possible in the case of a manually operated partition pump. This can be achieved by fitting an element which is graspable only in a specific number of posi- tions and which can be grasped by means of a handle which can move over a limited stroke. The invention also relates to a waste assembly, com¬ prising an installation as described above, located on a waste container. In this way, a particularly compact structure is obtained, it being possible to make use of conventional waste containers, so that the costs of the assembly can be kept defineed. Easy emptying is also ensured by this means. The invention will be illustrated in more detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawing. In said drawing: Fig. 1 shows a side view of the waste assembly according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a detail of the installation according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows the operating mechanism for the partition pump in two embodiments according to the invention; Fig. 4 shows a detail of an embodiment of an operating mechanism according to Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 shows the cross-section V-V from Fig. 3. In Fig. 1 the waste assembly according to the invention is generally indicated by 1. This waste assembly consists of a conventional waste container 2. Here this is designed as the lower part of a container with wheels, that is to say without lid. The installation according to the invention, which is indicated by 3, is fitted in place of the lid. This installation consists of a cylindrical chamber 4 in which a partition pump 5 is located. Partition pump 5 consists of a drum 6 which has an axis of rotation 7 and par¬ titions 8. An inlet opening 9 and an outlet opening 10 are made in chamber 4. Inlet opening 9 is closable by lid 11, which, in a space-saving manner, is movable parallel to the wall of the chamber 4. This lid can, of course, also be fitted as a hinged lid, but it is essential that after closing inlet opening 9 a continuous wall section is produced along which partitions 8 can move. The part of the wall of the chamber indicated by 12 lying in the direction of rota¬ tion of the partition pump upstream of the outlet 10 is spring-hinged. The hinge is fitted at 13 and the spring is indicated by 14. It can be seen from the detail in Fig. 2, that part 15 of the wall of chamber 4 in the direction of rotation of the partition drum downstream of outlet 10 is provided with spring-mounted scrapers 16. The shape of the scrapers corresponds to the grooved shape of the drum, which is generally indicated by 17 and, moreover, can be seen from Fig. 5. Two embodiments of the operating mechanism of the partition drum are shown in Fig. 3. Firstly, it is possible to fit on the outside of the chamber a set of teeth, indicated by 20, on which a pinion 21 of drive motor 22 can engage. Position-detecting means, which are not shown, can be present to ensure that after a compacting operation the partition pump is in the position shown in Fig. 1, so that the inlet opening 9 can be left free to the maximum extent and an optimum compacting effect can be obtained. Likewise, a safety device can be present which prevents the motor turning if lid 11 is not completely closed. Another embodiment of the drive mechanism for the partition pump is also shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This is a manual operation. On the outside of chamber 4, a disc 30 with recesses 31 is fitted on the shaft 7 of the drum. Four such recesses are present. As can be seen in particular from Fig. 4, a lever mechanism 32 engages in these recesses 31. Lever mechanism 32 consists of a lever arm 33, which is hinged about hinge point 34. Lever arm 33 is, on the one hand, provided with a receiver 35 for an operating lever 36. On the other hand, it is provided with a hinge point 37 on which a push rod 38 engages, the free end of which push rod can engage with recess 31. Spring 39 is fitted in order to achieve engagement in recess 31. The installation described above functions as follows: If waste has to be compacted, lid 11 is opened and this material is introduced through inlet opening 9. During this operation the partition pump is in the position shown in Fig. 1. Lid 11 is then closed and drum 6 in Fig. 1 is rotated clockwise, as a result of which the waste present in the upper left-hand part of the partition pump in Fig. 1 is sub- jected to a compacting movement. If the waste contains parts which are difficult to compact, so that too large a pressure is produced within the volume defineed by the partition pump, part 12 of the wall of the chamber moves outwards against the force of spring 14. In normal cases, such a movement will not take place and the compacted material will be discharged at outlet 10 into container 2. At wall section 15, residual waste is removed by scrapers 16. It is necessary to rotate drum 5 stepwise by a quarter turn, after which new waste can be introduced. This signifies that compacted waste is never dumped directly into the container 2. If a motor drive is used, drum 6 of the partition pump is operated correspondingly. In the manually operated installation shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, disc 30 will be rotated clockwise by moving the operating lever 36 in the direction of arrow 40 in Fig. 4. By the presence of only four recesses 31 and by limiting the stroke of the operating lever 36 in a manner which is not shown, it is ensured that a quarter turn is always carried out, the partitions 8 always being in the position shown in Fig. 1 when they come to rest. The construction according to Figs. 3 and 4 comprises a ratchet mechanism. In this way it is possible to compress the waste supported on all sides. This is in contrast to constructions according to the prior art, with which only local compression takes place. Although the invention has been described above with reference to a preferred embodiment, it must be understood that numerous modifications can be made thereto without going beyond the scope of the present invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Installation for compacting waste, comprising a rotary element which is fitted in a chamber and which can move along a wall of the chamber in order to define a space, which is becoming ever smaller in the direction of movement of the element, for compacting waste, as well as an inlet and an outlet, characterised in that the rotary element comprises a partition pump, the partitions moving along the wall in order thus to define the volume which is continually becoming smaller. 2. Installation according to Claim 1,. in which the section of the wall upstream of the outlet is fitted to be movable against a pretensioning force. 3. Installation according to one of the preceding claims, in which the section of the wall downstream of the outlet is provided with scrapers. 4. Installation according to one of the preceding claims, in which the inlet is closable in such a way that it forms a part of the wall. 5. Installation according to one of the preceding claims, in which the chamber is cylindrical and the centre of rotation of the partitions is in the centre of the cylinder. 6. Installation according to one of the preceding claims, in which sealing means are fitted between the par- tition drum and the partitions. 7. Installation according to one of the preceding claims, in which the partition drum is provided with means for driving said drum. 8. Installation according to Claim 7, in which the means are arranged to engage with a motor drive. 9. Installation according to Claim 7, in which the means comprise an element which is engageable only in a specific number of positions, which element can be engaged by means of an operating lever. 10. Waste assembly comprising an installation for compacting in accordance with one of the preceding claims, located on a waste container.

Inventors: DE BOER STEVEN BERTUS, DE BOER, STEVEN, BERTUS
Applicants: BOER STEVEN BERTUS DE, DE BOER, STEVEN, BERTUS
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B30B9
IPC codes: B30B9, B30B11, B65F1, B65F3