Abstract:
The vehicle for collecting, sorting and reducing the volume of recyclable wastes and regular household and commercial garbage includes a large container with plural compartments mounted to the exterior of the vehicle includes a lifting mechanism for lifting the container to the top of the vehicle so that its contents can be dropped through chutes into plural bins. The lifting mechanism assures that the integrity of the sort of recyclables into each compartment of the container is maintained as the waste drops from the compartments through the chutes into individual bins. Between the chutes and the bins are crushers and shredders for reducing of volume of wastes deposited in the bins. Other wastes are placed in balers for baling. The bales of wastes are stored in a rack under the vehicle&#39;s housing. Crushing, shredding and baling not only reduces volume but allows the vehicle to collect wastes from more homes than without these on-board capabilities. The vehicle may optionally include a section for receiving and processing other organic wastes to reduce its volume.

Description:
Applicant claims the benefit of the filing of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/143,349, filed Jul. 12, 1999, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to recycling of household and commercial wastes. In particular, it relates to vehicles for collecting recyclables at curbside or at places of commerce. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As a result of increasing concern for the environment and the efficient use of energy resources, there has been a growing interest in recycling of materials, especially recyclable components of household refuse. Among the types of materials that can be recycled are cardboard, chipboard, magazines, newspaper, plastics, glasses and metals. However, in order to recycle these materials efficiently, they have to be collected and carefully sorted. Recyclables may fall into any one of a dozen different categories. Glass, for example, may be clear, green or brown; plastics may be made of clear polyethylene (PET) or high density polyethylene (HDPE) or mixed plastics. Homeowners and business owners, even when highly motivated to recycle, have difficulty sorting recyclables into all the categories possible. 
     Another problem with collecting recyclables is the volume of materials. Glass, cardboard, newspaper, chipboard, magazines and plastic bottles are bulky. Metal cans can be crushed to some extent by the homeowner but still occupy a considerable portion of their original volume. Vehicles for transporting materials are limited by both space and weight, but with recyclables, the volume limits are reached well before the weight limits are reached. Each trip to haul wastes where the volume limits are reached well before the weight limits means that the vehicle is not being used effectively. Doubling the amount of weight on a load will significantly improve transportation economics but would have insignificant impact on fuel consumption. 
     Finally, the economics of recycling in general are fragile. In addition to transportation costs, a major component of costs is the cost of handling. Reducing handling helps to tip the economic factors in favor of recycling and may itself make the difference between a successful recycling program and one that fails. 
     There have been a number of approaches made to addressing the problem of recycling. The attempts based on having the consumer sort recyclables are impractical because, other than performing a very general sort, consumers are not sensitive to the different kinds of glass, metal, or plastic that need to be segregated. More recently, sorting is being done at a central sorting station. Recyclables are brought there and dumped onto large conveyors where technicians sort through them. The segregated recyclables are then taken to various destinations for reuse. This approach assures that the sorting is done correctly. 
     Thus there remains a need for a better way to collect and sort recyclables. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a vehicle for collecting, sorting and reducing the volume of recyclables. The vehicle has three separate stations for recycling: at one station, eight types of recyclables are sorted by type and crushed and shredded; at the second station, balers are used to bale four types of recyclables; and, at the third, wastes are deposited and, optionally, processed to reduce volume. Altogether, there are twelve categories of recyclable&#39;s that are crushed, shredded and baleed. These include aluminum, bi-metals, three colors of glass, three types of plastics, newspapers, magazines, cardboard and chip board. It is also possible to use the first section to receive cardboard or to bale cans and plastics. 
     At the first section, a worker or technician sorts the homeowner&#39;s recyclables and possibly regular household wastes into a large container with eight compartments, one compartment for each of the eight primary categories. Between stops and whenever the vehicle is in motion, the container is covered with netting to prevent any recyclables from falling out. Once filled, the container is lifted up the back of the vehicle and part way across the top. As it is moved across the top of the vehicle, a hatch in the roof of the housing is opened allowing the contents of the container to fall into the appropriate bins in the first section of the vehicle. The recyclables fall through chutes to the bins. Each chute is dimensioned to receive the contents of one full compartment of the container. Below the chutes and above the bins are devices that crush or shred the recyclables so that, by the time they fall into the bins, their volume is considerably reduced. After the container is emptied into the chutes, it is moved rearward across the top of the vehicle and back down for re-loading by the technician. 
     The four categories of baleable waste are taken to the second section of the vehicle, sorted by type into one of four baler bins, and then baleed. When a baler has finished binding each bale, the door to the baler is opened, which automatically kicks the bale out of the baler bin, and then it is dropped from the baling area into a rack that is slung underneath the mid-section of the vehicle. 
     The third section enables the present vehicle to accept all types of household wastes, including garbage. In a preferred embodiment, the garbage is compacted in the third section or processed in some other way, such as incineration, to reduce its volume. 
     The combination of volume reduction and sorting in the same vehicle is a major advantage of the present invention. Not only does this permit the vehicle to collect more recyclables before having to return to the central collection station, but it reduces handling. Wastes do not have to be taken from collection bins to crushers and shredders at the central station or at their final destination; rather, they are crushed and shredded when deposited into the bins on the vehicle. 
     Another feature of the present invention that is important is the combination of balers and crusher/shredders on the same vehicle. This combination means that the present vehicle can collect and prepare all categories of recyclable waste for delivery to their respective recycling facility. 
     The baler rack is still another feature of the present invention, allowing the baleed waste to be stored on the vehicle, preferably under the baler section out of the way of those operating the baling area. 
     The various compartments and bins of the present vehicle are dimensioned for collecting residential waste efficiently, another feature of the present invention. Some bins and compartments are larger than others because of variations in the volume of waste of different categories. In general, the bins and compartments are sized for the anticipated volume of waste they are expected to receive. 
     The closed system of the present invention is a particular feature that it prevents waste particulate created from the volume reduction process from being blown or falling off the vehicle as it goes about its business. 
     Other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art of recycling vehicle design from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments, accompanied by the following drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the figures, 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recycling vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the recycling vehicle of FIG. 1 showing the balers, crushers, and shredders according to preferred embodiment; 
     FIGS. 3A,  3 B and  3 C show top views of the present recycling vehicle with the hatch closed and opened and with the floor of the container closed and opened, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 4A,  4 B and  4 C show a back view of a recycling vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, with the large container shown in its lowermost position, in an intermediate position and in its topmost position; and 
     FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the third section of the present invention showing the depositing of wastes from a curbside container into the interior of the third section. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is a vehicle designed to facilitate recycling of certain components of household refuse. These components include glass, plastic, aluminum, bi-metals, paper, cardboard, magazines, and chip board and are referred to herein as “recyclables”. It is also possible to include household garbage as one of the categories. The vehicle not only permits collecting and sorting of these recyclables by type when they are picked up at curbside, but it reduces the volume of them and deposits them into individual bins that can serve as shipping containers. These individual bins are easily off-loaded with a fork lift and loaded directly onto trucks destined for facilities where these individually sorted materials can be used as a resource. These facilities are referred to herein as recycling facilities and are places where products are made that incorporate or use the collected recyclables. 
     Referring now to the figures, the present vehicle, generally referred to by reference number  10 , includes a tractor  12 , and a housing  14  on a frame  18  and has a front section  20 , a mid-section  21  and a back section  22 . Back section  22  includes a large external sorting container  24 , internal bins  26 , crushers  28 , shredders  29  and chutes  30 . Back section  22  also includes a lifting mechanism  32  for moving container  24  to the top of vehicle  10  and over the crushers  28  and shredders  29  for depositing recyclables into bins  26 . 
     Front section  20  is a baling station  34  including balers  36  in a baling station and bale rack  38 . Mid-section  21  includes a container  78  for receiving wastes and, optionally for processing the received wastes for volume reduction, such as by compaction. 
     Container  24  is divided into eight compartments  40 , three on one side and five on the other. These compartments are intended to receive the eight categories of glass, plastics and metals. The size of each compartment  40  does not need to be uniform but should be sized based on the average ratios of the volumes of each category generated. For example, if twice as much volume of ABS plastics as aluminum cans is generated on the average by households, then the compartment  40  for ABS plastics should be twice the size of the compartment  40  for aluminum cans. As packaging technology evolves, these ratios may change. Consequently, from time to time the relative sizes of the compartments may need to be adjusted accordingly. Establishment of optimum sizes is a simple, straight-forward process of surveying the discarded wastes from a representative neighborhood where the present vehicle  10  will be operating. 
     Optionally, container  24  may include a full width trough (not shown) to facilitate the hand sort. 
     At the top of housing  14  is a hatch  42  operated by a telescoping hydraulic ram  44  that will open and close the floor  46  of container  24 . Ram  44  is powered by a separate generator (not shown) or from the power takeoff of the vehicle. Limit switches  48  prevent ram  44  from moving hatch  42  and floor  46  too far. Operation of auxiliary hydraulic equipment from a power take off or generator is well known, especially to those skilled in heavy equipment design and waste collection vehicle design. 
     At the back section  22  of housing  14  is a lift mechanism  32  that holds container  24  and lifts it vertically so that floor  46  clears hatch  42  and can be moved laterally from back section  22  toward front section  20 , as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. When container  24  has been moved far enough so that it is directly over crushers  28  and shredders  29 , hatch  42  is withdrawn forward to uncover crushers  28  and shredders  29 . Then floor  46  is moved forward to allow the contents of compartments  40  to fall from container  24  into crushers  28  and shredders  29 . 
     Crushers  28  and shredders  29  have tapered entrances so that they slow and control the flow of recyclables. Crushers and shredders  28 , 29 , crush and shred the recyclables and deposit them through chutes  30  in bins  26 . The correspondence of the number and arrangement of compartments  40 , chutes  30  and bins  26  is such that the contents of each compartment falls into a single chute and thence into a single bin so that the integrity of the sort by the technician is preserved; that is, once the recyclables are sorted by the technician, there is no mixing of the wastes even as they are handled together. Each bin  26  thus will have only one type of glass or plastic or metal and cross contamination of the recyclables is minimized if not eliminated. 
     The movement of the recyclables in container  24  to bins  26  is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 3A (in which the hydraulic cables have been eliminated to simplify the drawings) hatch  42  is shown in the closed position. The eight bins  26  are shown in ghost through hatch  42 . FIG. 3B shows container  24  directly over bins  26  with hatch  42  opened by movement of one section of telescoping ram  44 . In FIG. 3C, floor  46 , that holds the contents of container  24  in place is pulled away by the other section of telescoping ram  44 , allowing the contents of container  24  to fall. 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B show back portion  22  of vehicle  10 . In FIG. 4A, external sorting container  24  is shown in its lowermost position. FIG. 4B shows external sorting container  24  in an intermediate position and being raised to the top of vehicle  10 . A mast  58  such as would be found on a fork lift can be used to lift external sorting container  24  using chain link belts and sprockets. Mast  58  is also preferably hydraulically operated from either a separate generator or the vehicle&#39;s power take off. Rails  60  on either side of back  20  of vehicle  10  help guide container  24  as it is raised and lowered. 
     FIG. 4C shows container  24  in its highest position. Also visible in FIG. 4C is floor  46  and hatch  42 . A catcher  62  at the end of telescoping ram  44  catches floor  46  of container  24 . Container  24  must be lifted just high enough so that floor  46  clears hatch  42 . It will take just under two minutes for the vehicle to cycle through one time lifting container  24  on the rear section, traversing the top of the vehicle, and dumping the recyclables into the chutes and crushers/shredders. The lift container  24  stores between  25  and  40  households before dumping is necessary. Typically, sixty-three households can be serviced in one hour. 
     In use an operator or technician would receive recyclables at curbside, sort the recyclables into 12 categories including three colors of glass (clear, green and brown), three types of plastic (PET, HDPE and mixed plastics), aluminum and bimetals, newspapers, magazines, cardboard, and chip board. These may be placed at curbside by the homeowner in any variety of formal or informal containers and bags. Hooks  52  on containers  24  facilitate sorting by allowing the technician to hang plastic boxes containing recyclables from the homeowner on the back of container  24  during the sort. Also, bags may be used instead of boxes with a trough mechanism attached to lifting container  24 . 
     The glass, plastic and metals are placed by the technician into the appropriate compartments  40  of container  24 . Once these components of the recyclable wastes are identified and sorted, the remainder are taken to baling station  34  in front section  20  of vehicle  10  and sorted for baling. Meanwhile, container  24  is lifted (as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4) by lifting mechanism  32  to the top of vehicle  10 , moved forward until directly over crushers  28  and shredders  29 , whereupon hatch  42  is drawn back to expose them, and then floor  46  of container  24  is slid open allowing the segregated recyclables to fall into crushers  28  and shredders  29  where its volume is reduced before falling further through chutes  30  into bins  26 . The cycle time for lift mechanism  32  and ram  44  is less than two minutes. By the time the wastes are in bins  26 , their volume is greatly reduced—approximately 10:3. 
     In the event a homeowner wishes to pre-sort wastes, a container with divisions in it corresponding to those in container  24  can be provided that allows the technician to simply place the homeowner&#39;s container over container  24  and transfer the contents of the former to the latter. A system illustrating this process is shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,511,687 and 5,275,522. If the present vehicle  10  is used in an area where homeowners are either required to pre-sort or where many do pre-sort, container  24  can be modified in size or height to make it easier to lift a second container over it. 
     Still other wastes—paper, cardboard, chipboard—are placed in balers for baling in front section  20 . The bales of wastes are stored in a rack  38  under the vehicle&#39;s housing  14 . 
     The newspapers, magazines, cardboard and the chip board are taken by the technician to baling station  34  in front section  20  where they are sorted into one of four baler bins  54 . There are two balers  36  in baling section  34 , each one with two bins  54  and one baling head  56 . The four categories of baleable wastes: newspaper, magazines, cardboard and chip board are placed into the four bins  54 . After baling, these recyclables are placed into bale rack  38  underneath housing  14 . Bale rack  38  is slung under vehicle  10  between its rear wheels the wheels of tractor  12  and rolls between a retracted and secured position under housing  14  and an extended position where it extends from the side of housing  14 . In the extended position, a bale can be pushed off the side of vehicle into the bale rack  38 . Bale rack  38  can then be pushed back under housing  14  and latched in place. Bale rack  38  will hold three bales, enough for 500 homes&#39; worth of paper recyclables. There is little reduction in volume of the paper recyclables but the baling makes handling and control easier, and the sorting by type avoids further handling and thus increases the value of the sorted recyclables when collected for recycling. 
     Any industrial baler can be used with the present invention. A suitable baler is made by Orwak model 9020 for example. Preferably, frame  18  of the vehicle under the balers  36  is reinforced to hold its weight and balers  36  are tied to the frame for support and stability. The preferred baler has two bins and one head that moves laterally over the bins from one to the other depending on which side the baling is to take place. Preferably there are two, twin-bin balers on each vehicle  10 , providing four bins altogether, one for each type of baleable waste. 
     The crushers and shredder may similarly be made by any manufacturer of industrial crushers and shredders, such as those made by Prodeva. 
     The bins into which the recyclables are placed after being crushed and shredded are preferably made out of recycled plastics so that they are lightweight but still strong enough for use. These are equipped with forklift fork slots to facilitate lifting by a fork lift. 
     The present vehicle  10  can receive the recyclables waste from up to 500 households before it needs to be emptied. Five hundred households will produce two bales of recyclable paper. 
     The vehicle is a closed system, that is, there are barriers throughout to prevent recyclable wastes falling or blowing from the vehicle. Netting is used over container  24  and hatch  42  covers crushers  28  and shredders  29  when they are not receiving recyclables. Crushers  28  and shredders  29  have sufficient throat size to receive a full compartment&#39;s  40  of recyclables inside housing  14 . Fiber guides  64  help to keep the output of chutes  30  moving into the right bins  26 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of mid-section  21 , which is designed to receive wastes from a household that do not fall into any of the other categories but are nonetheless organic or largely organic. This section is generally not intended for receipt of such items as car batteries, old tires, broken appliances, etc. Mid-section  21  has an interior  80  for receipt of waste  82  through at least one opening  84  in housing  14 , preferably through the top of housing. Waste  82  is accumulated in curbside containers  88  by the homeowner and placed near the curb  90  on a date scheduled for collection of wastes  82 . A lifting mechanism  94  operated from within the cab of tractor  12  or from the exterior of housing  14  grips container  88  and lifts it up the side of housing  14  via a rail system  98 , inverting it at the top of housing so that its contents are dumped through opening  84 . Lifting mechanism  94  can be operated using a chain link system much like that shown in FIGS. 4A-4C. 
     Opening  84  may have a covering (not shown) that is manually or automatically operated by any convenient means, such as by a spring mechanism or an electrical or hydraulic mechanism. 
     On the interior  80  of mid-section  21  is a mechanism for processing the wastes  82  such as a pair of plates  100  that are made to press against wastes  82  by hydraulic cylinders  102  to compact them. Alternatively, wastes can be emptied into a hopper leading to an on-board incineration system with suitable filters that would permit the wastes to be reduced to a carbon residue, except for small metallic components and other non-incinerable components. 
     Power for the various components can be derived from a small electric generator located, for example, above the cab of tractor  12 , or from the power take off of tractor  12  connected to a shaft running under frame  18  which would operate the hydraulic pumps required for the various power components of vehicle  12 . 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art of recycling that many modifications and substitutions can be made to the preferred embodiments described above without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, defined by the appended claim.