Refuse collection and compaction vehicle

Abstract: The system defines an assembly formed by a truck (1) with a compacting box (2) of wastes and handling crane (3) of a receptor container (4) and containing the wastes assigned to be compacted. The compacting box includes driving hydraulic means (6) of the loading and unloading doors (5), as well as safety means in the lock of the unloading door on which the compacting is carried out by means of pushing the wastes by a vertical and displaceable wall (9) in the inside of the compacting box. The crane includes hooking means (12) of the container in order to place this one facing the loading door (7) of the compacting box, as well as driving means (15) of a mechanism (16) to produce the opening of the corresponding unloading gates (17) foreseen to such effect in the container itself.

Description: The invention refers to a reception, containing and compacting system of solid wastes, either urban or industrial ones. The system is based on the combined use of a truck with crane, a truck box forming a compacting machine for wastes or solid materials and a reception container for such wastes, container which is directly handled by means of a crane to unload the wastes in a compacting box. At present, the collection and elimination of urban and industrial wastes is carried out starting from municipal trucks that run through the streets, industrial polygons and places in which containers are located or have been arranged on which the solid wastes are being deposited. The truck reaches those places and through some operators the hooking of the wastes containers is carried out, these ones being transported in the container properly hooked to the truck, or emptied in a milling hopper which is incorporated to the truck itself. In any case it is necessary the participation of some operators to carry out the hooking/unhooking of the containers, which produces two main problems to be taken into consideration. The first problem consists in the requirement of the operator or operators to carry out the mentioned operations, and the second problem consists in the risk to which such operators are subjected to in the hooking/unhooking operations, sometimes accidents may happen which can be severe due to the disablement or losing of fingers, hands, etc. The European patent EP-A-97500029.0 discloses a system for collecting wastes by using a container capable to open alongside a joint to unload its content when hanging from a crane. To this end, what has to be "manipulated", that is to say, to work by hand, is the container itself. As one may easily check, the worker must leave the truck and hook "manually" the two elevating rings and the four opening rings. Next, the worker goes back to the truck and lifts the container by means of the crane driven by its own hydraulic pistons. Once the worker thinks the container is facing the unloading gate he makes the opening pistons open the container, always having previously got back to the container and having unlocked the safety pin by hand. The French Patent FR-A-2539112 discloses an IGLOO-type container of those ones generally used for glass recycling, joined to a hooking device of the crane quite particular. The complexity of the system derives from the fact that the support ring is an asymmetric element, what forces to provide a rotating hydraulic head device at the hook of the crane. This last point, together with the use of an opening piston to open the container leads to the fact that, once the problem as disclosed by DOREY of manipulating the container by the worker is solved, the troubles caused by a lift operation and an opening operation each one independent from the other with the risk of an opening in a wrong position of the container which might not be facing the gate, and the possibility of third parties breaking open the container and taking out its content, only by pushing by hand the push-button still exist. The effort to carry out this operation is very weak for it should be possible to be performed when the container is hanging from the crane and given that the whole device is asymmetric whereby as the piston acts on the push-button the container would swing dangerously in case the opening effort were strong. One may realize that GUERID solves, partially, DOREY's problems but, in doing so, he makes the device more complex, wherein now, besides the opening piston, there is an hydraulic rotating head. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to avoid any manipulation on the container. A second object thereof is to avoid the container being opened either manually or in a wrong position in relation to the truck gate. Finally, a third object of the present invention is to get the container opening automatically as the container reaches the truck gate in the right facing position. The system which is proposed, based on the assembly formed by a truck with its compacting box, with a crane and an independent container is provided so that the operators are not subjected to the risk of accidents, since the hooking/unhooking of the container is directly carried out by the crane driven by the operator. Also the compacting box, as well as the container and the crane itself, have some new characteristics of which the functional and using advantages of the assembly are derived. More precisely, the compacting box is formed by a box forming an integral part of the truck, box which is equipped with a back unloading gate hydraulically driven and equipped with safety locks. It also has a loading gate located in the upper part, with the possibility of including a lateral loading gate. A vertical wall is installed inside the box in transversal position, displaceable towards the front and towards the back, by means of a hydraulic cylinder driving, wall that in its displacement towards the back will carry out the compacting of the wastes against the back gate, in its closed position. In reference to the reception and containing of the wastes in the container, this one is equipped with an internal mechanism based on connecting rods and levers in relation to some gates provided in the bottom, so that such mechanism is provided to maintain closed those gates when they are in resting position, while if it is driven by means of the crane the tilting movement and the corresponding opening of the gates will be produced, emptying the wastes in the compacting box when such container has been previously hooked by the hooking device associated to the end of the crane boom, this hooking device being displaceable along the boom of the crane in order to arrange the container facing the upper loading gate of the compacting box and to make possible the emptying of the wastes from such container to said compacting box. To complement the description that will be given below and with the object of helping to a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a detailed description is going to be made based on a sheet of drawings which is enclosed to this specification, forming integral part thereof, and where with merely guiding and not limitative character the following has been shown: The only figure shows a representation according to a lateral schematic view of the truck assembly with a compacting box and the crane, as well as the container, all of it carried out according to the object of the invention. As it can be seen in the mentioned figure, the system of the invention comprises a truck (1) with a compacting box (2) and a crane (3), being complemented with an independent container (4) which will be directly handled by means of the crane (3) to carry out the emptying or unloading of the previously deposited wastes in such container (4) over the compacting box (2). Such compacting box (2) is equipped with a back gate (5) driven by means of a hydraulic cylinder (6), gate (5) which will constitute the means of emptying or of unloading the compacted wastes and will be able to be driven for this opening through upward tilting, lateral rotation, etc. Such gate (5) will be complemented with safety locks. In the upper part, the mentioned compacting box (2) will be equipped with a loading gate (7), also possibly having another lateral loading gate (8), in a similar way hydraulically driven and equipped with the adequate locking means. Internally, the compacting box (2) is equipped with a transversal and vertical wall (9) which is displaceable towards the front and towards the back by means of a hydraulic cylinder (10), in order to carry out the corresponding pressing and compacting of the wastes deposited in the box itself (2), when the back gate (5) is in the closing position and the cylinder (10) is displaced backwards, or in order to unload by pushing the compacted wastes when the back gate (5) opens. In reference to the crane (3) of the truck, it is equipped with driving hydraulic cylinders (11), as well as with a hooking device (12) which is displaceable between the end of the boom and a stop (13) foreseen in it. Such hooking device (12) is equipped with an element in horseshoe shape (14) to which a vertical rod (15) is linked which function will be explained later, such rod being driven when the device (12) in its displacement reaches the stop (13). The mentioned device (12) is provided to perform the hooking of the container (4) and to have the possibility of carrying out the handling of this one by the crane, in order to perform the unloading of the wastes received on the container (4) itself, being able to carry out such reception both by the upper part and by the lateral ones. A mechanism (16) is included in the upper part which action by means of the rod (15) of the hooking device (12), acts on the opening of some unloading gates (17) provided in the bottom of such container (4), which gates (17) are linked to a set of connecting rods and joint levers (18) that in the resting position maintain the closing of such gates (17), while in the driving position by means of the rod (15) on the mechanism (16) act on the gates (17) producing their opening to carry out the unloading of the wastes from the container (4) to the compacting box (2), when the crane (3) has produced the pertinent hooking and displacement movements in order to produce that opening and the facing of the exit of the container with the loading gate of the compacting box (2). The mentioned gates (17) are equipped with means of safety lock. The hooking device, and more precisely the assembly that forms the element in horseshoe shape (14) forming the hook itself and the driving rod (15) for the opening of the gates (17), is interchangeable in order to be substituted by other hooking means applicable to conventional containers. The above mentioned hooking, opening and closing means of the container are forced and unfitted for being manually driven, with the advantage that it supposes with regard to the conventional containers in which it is necessary the participation of operators to make the hooking/unhooking.

Claims: Reception, containing and compacting system of solid wastes, comprising a truck (1) with a compacting box (2) a crane (3) of the retracting boom type, mounted on said truck (1) a container (4) with an opening mechanism (16) on its upper part that maintains closed container gates (17) when said opening mechanism (16) is in resting position, means for automatically opening the container (4) comprising a hooking device (12) associated to the end of the crane boom, this hooking device (12) being displaceable by means of the retraction of the crane boom in order to move the container (4) from a hooking position to a transfer position when it is facing the loading gate (7) of the compacting box (2), characterised in that the container gates (17) are in the opening position only when a driving rod (15) is acting on said opening mechanism (16), a stop (13) fixed on the crane (3) being placed so as to provoke the acting of the driving rod (15) on the opening mechanism (16) when the container (4) is in the transfer position, once the crane boom has retracted completely and the hooking device has reached the stop (13). Reception, containing and compacting system of solid wastes, according to the first claim and characterized in that the crane includes in its boom a booking device of the container, as well as means of driving to produce the opening of the emptying or unloading gates themselves of such container, being the mentioned device of displaceable hooking by means of the crane boom in order to occupy a hooking position of the container and a transfer position of this one until its facing with the loading door of the compacting box. Reception, containing and compacting system of solid wastes, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the container is equipped in its upper part with a driving mechanism by an element of the hooking device foreseen in the crane, being that mechanism associated to a set of connecting rods and joint levers through which the tilting movement of the unloading gates foreseen in the bottom of the container is carried out, in order to produce their opening and/or closing, doors which are associated to a safety device in the lock. Reception, containing and compacting system of solid wastes, according to the previous claims, characterized in that the hooking device foreseen in the crane, is equipped with a couple of elements, susceptible of being interchangeable in order to be substituted by other hooking means for their application to conventional containers, where both elements of such hooking device are formed by a horseshoe profile constituting the hook itself and a vertical rod as element which acts on the driving mechanism of the container unloading doors, which rod action is carried out when the displacement of the hooking device itself along the boom of the crane reaches a foreseen stop to this effect thereof.

Inventors: RAMIS RUBIO ANTONIO, RAMIS RUBIO, ANTONIO
Applicants: RAMIS RUBIO ANTONIO, RAMIS RUBIO, ANTONIO
Application year: 1997
Main classification: B65F3
IPC codes: B65F3, B65F1