Patent Publication Number: US-6338596-B1

Title: Waste collection device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a waste collection device. 
     It is known that one of the systems currently used to collect waste, particularly municipal waste, provides for containers inserted in pits formed in the road paving and provided with means for moving from a position in which they are retracted into the pit to a position in which they protrude from said pit. 
     When a container is inserted in the pit, the inlet of the pit is closed by means of a lid which lies above the container and is provided with at least one hollow pillar in which users place the bags of waste, which fall into the underlying container. 
     Said container is periodically removed from the pit in order to be emptied. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aim of the present invention is to make devices of the above described type particularly effective. 
     This aim is achieved by a waste collection device according to the invention, characterized in that it comprises, inside a pit: 
     a plate for supporting at least one waste container, said plate being provided with means which are adapted to limit its downward motion to a minimum elevation which allows said container to lie fully within said pit; 
     a monolithic structure, which comprises a base and a lid which are vertically spaced so that when the lid is at the level of the paving that surrounds the pit the base lies at a lower level than the plate that supports the at least one container at the minimum elevation, said base being adapted to make contact with the lower surface of said plate, said lid being provided with at least one pillar for introducing waste, said monolithic structure that comprises the base and the lid being provided with means which are adapted to produce its vertical translatory motion between a lower stroke limit, at which said lid is at the level of the paving that surrounds the pit, and an upper stroke limit, at which the plate that supports the at least one container rested on said base is at said level. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further characteristics and advantages will become apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the invention, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a sectional plan view of the invention, taken along the plane I—I of FIG. 2; 
     FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views, taken along the plane II—II of FIG. 1, in different steps of operation. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the above Figures, the numeral  1  generally designates the pit formed in the road paving  2  to contain the device, and proximate to the bottom of said pit there is a weighing device; the Figures show the posts  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6  of said device, which support sensors, such as  3   a ,  4   a  for the posts  3  and  4 , which are adapted to accommodate, so that it rests on them, the plate  7  for supporting the waste container  8  and are connected to means for detecting the weight of said container. 
     As clearly shown in FIG. 2, the sensors on the four posts are arranged so as to block the plate  7  at a minimum elevation which allows the container  8  to lie entirely within the pit  1  when the plate  7  rests thereon. 
     The numeral  9  furthermore generally designates a monolithic structure which comprises the base  10  and the lid  11 , which are connected by means of the posts  12 ,  13 ,  14  and  15 , whose length is such that, as clearly shown in FIG. 2, when the lid  11  is at the level of the paving  2  that surrounds the pit the base  10  is arranged at a level which is lower, by an extent which is specified in the operating description, than the minimum level of the plate  7  that supports the container  8  so that it rests on the sensors, such as  3   a ,  4   a , of the weighing device. 
     The base  10 , which is provided with the holes  10   a ,  10   b ,  10   c ,  10   d  for the passage of the posts  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , comprises the cross-members  10   e  and  10   f , which allow it to make contact with the lower surface of the plate  7 ; the lid  11  is provided with the pillars  11   a ,  11   b  for inserting the waste; and finally, the monolithic structure  9  is provided with means which comprise the pantograph  16  and are adapted to produce its vertical movement between the position shown in solid lines in FIG.  2  and the position shown in FIG. 3, as will become apparent during the description of the operation. 
     Finally, the reference numerals  17  and  18  designate elements of a safety device for preventing the accidental fall of the structure  9  inside the pit  1 , which comprises abutments provided with means for moving from a position which lies within the base  10  to a position for insertion in seats  21  which are formed in the walls of the pit and shown in FIG.  3 . 
     The operation of the invention is now described starting from the situation shown in solid lines in FIG. 2, which is the situation of normal use: the plate  7  rests on the sensors, such as  3   a ,  4   a , of the weighing device, with the waste container  8  arranged within the pit  1 , and the monolithic structure  9  is at its lower stroke limit, with the lid  11  at the level of the surrounding paving  2  and the base  10  at a lower level than the plate  7 , which rests on the sensors; users gradually introduce the waste bags in the pillars  11   a ,  11   b  and the weight of the container  8  that receives said bags is recorded continuously by data acquisition means D (FIG. 3) through the appropriately provided weighing device by virtue of the pulses that arrive from the sensors such as  3   a ,  4   a.    
     When it is necessary to empty the container  8 , the means for moving the monolithic structure  9  are actuated, producing a first portion of the stroke, up to the condition shown in dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 2, in which the base  10  has made contact with the lower surface of the plate  7  for supporting said container  8 . 
     The length of this portion of the stroke, during which only the monolithic structure  9  moves while the container  8  is static, is calculated so as to allow to completely empty into said container the pillars  11   a ,  11   b,  which, when the container is full,, are clogged by the last bags to be introduced, by virtue of their rise with respect to said container  8 , thus providing a functional condition which is absolutely essential for correct operation of the device. 
     The upward stroke of the monolithic structure  9  then continues to the upper stroke limit, shown in FIG. 3; this position allows handy extraction of the container  8  in order to empty it into a transport truck, optionally assisted by a roller platform  19  with which the plate  7  may be provided. 
     Nothing changes, of course, if a plurality bins is present instead of the single container  8 . 
     The described invention is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; thus, for example, the weighing device can be omitted and the plate  7  for supporting the at least one waste container can be provided with means of any kind for downward blocking at the minimum elevation; instead of the illustrated posts there may be fixed abutments A which are rigidly coupled to the pit and are provided in any manner, but there may also be cables C which optionally comprise sensors  2   a,    4   a  of a weighing device and are fixed to the walls of the pit at one end and to said plate  7  at the other end (see the schematic representation of FIG.  3 ). 
     The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MN99A000005 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.