Patent Abstract:
A container for disposing of waste concrete provides a pivoting front wall assembly such that lifting the container by the front wall assembly breaks the bond between hardened concrete and the container facilitating removal of the waste concrete.

Full Description:
SUMMARY  
       [0001]     In certain embodiments, the present disclosure includes a container for holding and disposing of waste concrete. It is often the case that when pouring concrete from a large concrete truck that some of the unused concrete is left in the mixer and must be removed before it hardens. In addition, when the large mixers are washed, the waste that washes out must be disposed of. Containers disclosed herein provide a means of addressing these and other problems. Waste concrete may be added or washed into the containers as a slurry and allowed to harden or set in the container. When the container is full, it may be loaded onto a dump truck and hauled to an appropriate location to be dumped and disposed of. Preferred embodiments of the disclosed containers provide a front wall that is moveable with respect to the side walls and floor such that the front wall tilts and moves back when the container is lifted and dumped. This force caused by the moving front wall breaks the bond between the metal of the container and the concrete and pushed the concrete toward the rear of the container.  
         [0002]     Throughout this disclosure, unless the context dictates otherwise, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising,” is understood to mean “includes, but is not limited to” such that other elements that are not explicitly mentioned may also be included. Further, unless the context dictates otherwise, use of the term “a” may mean a singular object or element, or it may mean a plurality, or one or more of such objects or elements. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0003]     The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.  
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a side plan view of an embodiment of a container.  
         [0005]      FIG. 2  is a front plan view of an embodiment of a container.  
         [0006]      FIG. 3  is a rear plan view of an embodiment of a container.  
         [0007]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a truck.  
         [0008]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a truck. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0009]      FIG. 1  is a side plan view of a container as described herein. The container or box includes slide rails  1 , an undercarriage  2 , side walls  6 , a floor, a rear wall  11  and a front wall  10  that is moveable with respect to the side walls and floor. In preferred embodiments, the container is built to be able to contain up to 10 cubic yards of concrete with a density no greater than 145 pounds per cubic foot. The undercarriage then comprises the structural framework necessary to support the loaded weight of the box and to provide a platform for the floor of the container. The floor preferably comprises a sheet of ¼″ steel. The undercarriage also preferably comprises two or more slide rails  1  and a roller assembly  15  for unloading the contents of the container.  
         [0010]     The A-frame assembly can also be seen from the front perspective in  FIG. 2 . The front wall or forward bulkhead assembly includes an A-frame structure for attachment of the container to the lift mechanism of the truck. The A-frame includes two opposing substantially horizontal members  7  that are parallel to the long axis of the container and lie along the top of the undercarriage  2 , one near each side wall. The horizontal members are attached at their aft ends (toward the rear wall) to the undercarriage by a pivot shaft  9 , which may comprise a shaft held within a pad eye such that the shaft is able to rotate within the pad eye. The horizontal members are attached to the undercarriage at their forward ends (toward the cab) by a shaft  5  and rotation retainer  8  such that the forward end of the horizontal members can move up or down in the rotation retainer  8  as the rear ends of the horizontal members pivot around the pivot shaft  9 . This pivoting motion forces the front wall back with respect to the side walls and floor. In certain embodiments, the front wall  10  may be substantially perpendicular to the floor, or it may form an obtuse angle with the floor, in some embodiments, the front wall  10  may form an angle of about 135° with the floor.  
         [0011]     The A-frame structure also includes two substantially upright members or legs  3 , each rigidly attached to a forward end of the respective horizontal members  7  and angled toward the midline of the container to form the apex of the “A” frame. The top of the A-frame includes an A-frame gusset  14  on either side of the Apex. A shaft  4  provides a common lifting point for attachment to the lift arm of a truck, and is held in the A-frame gussets  14  to provide the hook point for lifting and dumping the container. The A-frame also comprises a hook gusset  13 . The upright members are also rigidly attached to the front wall or bulkhead, in certain embodiments by one or more plate gussets  12 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a rear plan view of an embodiment in which the tail gate is not shown. The tail gate is necessary to hold in the slurry and is opened prior to dumping the waste concrete. Any type of tail gate known in the art may be used. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the interior of the side walls may form an angle with the floor of greater than 90° or they may be substantially perpendicular to the floor. The roller assemblies  15  may comprise rollers of 8″ diameter Schedule 60 pipe on a shaft of 1.75″ diameter shaft or equivalent materials.  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is an embodiment of a truck and container in which the container is being lifted as it would to dump waste concrete from the container. As seen in  FIG. 4  the truck hydraulics are hooked to shaft  4  in order to lift the container up. As the container is lifted, the A-frame rotates about shaft  9  to the extent allowed by rotation retainer  8 . The lifting force and pivoting of the A-frame causes the front wall  10  to pivot toward the rear breaking the bond between the hardened concrete and the metal of the walls and floor of the container.  FIG. 5  illustrates and embodiment of a truck comprising a waste concrete container in which the waste concrete is being dumped from the container. After the container has been lifted, a second hydraulic telescoping cylinder moves the container back on the roller assemblies to dump the concrete.  
         [0014]     All of the apparatus and methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the apparatus and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the apparatus and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1