Patent ID: 6991401

Claim:
A compactor wheel with trash exclusion properties mountable on an axle of a compaction vehicle, comprising: an outer cylindrical drum mountable for rotation on the compaction vehicle axle such that an inner peripheral edge of the drum is disposed adjacent to the compaction vehicle and an outer peripheral edge is disposed away from the compaction vehicle; a plurality of upstanding compaction cleats circumferentially spaced on and transversely spaced across the face of said drum and rigidly mounted thereto, said cleats being of first and second types, said first compaction cleat type having a base generally elongated in the direction of drum rotation, tapering at each end, and being trapezoidal in profile so as to transmit crushing and grinding forces into the landfill materials without attracting trash materials thereto, said second compaction cleat type having a generally rectangular base and being wedge shape in profile with wedge faces oriented generally in the direction of drum rotation so as to transmit traction forces into the landfill, an innermost row of cleats of the first type mounted adjacent to said inner peripheral edge of the drum; a plurality of circumferential rows of cleats of both said first and second types disposed on said drum outwardly of said first mentioned row of cleats, said rows of cleats being arranged such that from the inner to the outer peripheral edge of the drum there are no cleat free zones.