AU657046B2 - Collection of particulate material - Google Patents

Description

'4- 6570b P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 ft 44~ t

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 04 *4 ft 4 44 *9 t ft.

44*9 4 qt 'itt 44 44 CAMI~PT ,I'TF SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

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Name of Applicant: F Actual Inventor: Ic Address for Service: T

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Invention Title: Details of Associated Provisional Applications Nos: IREBELT PTY LIMITED -wall Charles Richards REVOR DREDGE ASSOCIATES atent Trade Mark Attorneys 3th Floor, 379 Queen Street RISBANE, QLD, 4000 3PO Box 1339, BRISBANE, 4001) Collection of Particulate Material" PL1889 filed 14 April, 1992 PL4326 filed 26 August, 1992 PL5467 filed 22 October, 1992 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 2 "COLLECTION OF PARTICULATE MATERIAL" TECHNICAL FIELD OF TI-HE INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to collection of particulate material by sequentially emptying a plurality of closeable bins containing the particulate material and in particular, but not limited to, the combination of a collection vehicle and a bin lid opener and a preferred bin to facilitate the collection.

BACKGROUND ART With the introduction of environmental awareness, the collection of domestic garbage has taken on a new complexion, it being realised that new, convenient and economical approaches to garbage collection and recycling must be introduced. It has been proposed to provide householders with a plurality of waste bins so that each householder can sought waste into various categories.

For example, paper, metal cans and bottles and garbage could conceivably be stored and collected separately and this has been tried, the main problem with 15 this scheme is the high expense insofar as separate collections are required for each category.

The alternative has been to provide local or regional sorting facilities where garbage is hand sorted or expensive automated facilities have been tried with minimal success due to the high expense involved.

0 20 In summary therefore, sorting of recyclables from domestic garbage after collection is generally uneconomical, OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has, as its primary object, to provide a useful alternative to the aforementioned prior art In one aspect therefore, there is provided the combination of a side loading refuse vehicle and a lid opener for a lid of a bin, the bin having a hinge means coupling the lid to the bin and about which the lid pivots between closed and open positions, the refuse vehicle having a hopper and a loading mechanism adjacent the hopper, the loading mechanism being adapted to engage a bin at kerbside and empty contents of the bin into the hopper during an emptying operation, the lid opener being mounted on the vehicle and being adapted to move the lid to an open position prior to or during the emptying operation.

-i I: I In a further aspect, there is provided a lid opener suitable for use in the above combination, the lid opener being operable in relation to a/lid hav ing a hinge on one side about which the li pivots to an open position, thp'opener comprising a fluid jet delivery means for delivering a fluid jet against an underside portion of the lid remote from the hinge to give impetus to movement of the lid about the hinge toward the open position.

In still another aspect, there is provided a bin having a container portion including a mouth and lid moveable to open or close the mouth, a hinge means coupling the lid to the container portion and about which the lid pivots between closed and open positions, the bin having a modified portion whereby under external operation of a lid opener, the modified portion facilitates the lid being moved by the lid opener toward the open position. Preferably, the bin includes a plurality of compartments, and typically, two compartments are employed, the compartments being separated by a partition extending generally parallel to an axis defined by the hinge means and about which said lid pivots.

,1 In a still further aspect, there is provided as an independent invention a S' loading mechanism for a bin, the bin having a container portion including a mouth and a lid moveable to open or close the mouth, a hinge means coupling the lid to tt It the container portion and about which the lid pivots between closed and open positions, the loading mechanism being engageable with the bin to empty the contents of the bin into a hopper, the loading mechanism having a lid opener adapted to move the lid of the bin from a closed to open position prior to the bin being emptied. Typically, the lid opener is mounted on the loading mechanism, although in other forms of lid openers these are mounted adjacent the loading 25 mechanism rather than on the loading mechanism itself.

In still another aspect, the present invention resides in a side loading refuse vehicle including the combination of an elongate refuse storage tank divided into longitudinally extending tank sections, a loading mechanism adjacent a side of tlr, refuse vehicle and a refuse transfer mechanism for' delivering refuse or other material emptied into the vehicle by the loading mechanism to the respective tank sections and a lid opener being mounted on the vehicle and being adapted to move j-T> the lid of a bin to an open position prior to or during a bin emptying operation.

4 The storage tank typically has arcuate side walls and is preferably generally square and medially bulged in shape.

The storage tank of the refuse vehicle typically has a plurality of tank sections and typically has two or three tank sections although more tank sections may be employed.

The tank sections can comnprise side-by-side or upper and lower storage regions or combinations of these. The storage regions typically have respective forward and rearward ends and respective entrances adjacent the forward ends through which refuse can enter the regions.

Typically, the tank sections have respective discharge doors with one discharge door being operatively located outside the other discharge door or doors so that the tank sections can be discharged sequentially.

Whiere an upper storage region is employed, it typically includes a sloping floor which slopes down toward the forward end of the upper storage region so that as the vehicle travels, the sloping floor causes compaction of refuse toward the forward end of the upper storage region.

The transfer mechanism typically includes means for receiving and selectively diverting refuse from a bin, the bin either having two compartments which are side-by-side as the bin is emptied, or having two compartments which are one above the other as the bin is emptied, the transfer mechanism operating so that .0 refuse from the compartments is maintained separate as the refuse is moved to the L Ifespective tank sections.

The refuse transfer mechanism typically includes a passive or active mechanism or a combination of passive and active mechanisms selected from the followingautomated bin lid opening devices-, (1i) retractable refuse diversion chutes or bin compartment alignment means; (Iii) bin compartment alignment means which aligns with or abuts against a compartment defining portion of a bin so that refuse from the bin remains separate as it flows or is moved from the bin, through the transfer mechanism and finally into the tank sections; (iv) a refuse compaction device; a longitudinally moveable oscillating slide packer; or (vi) a packer which includes an oscillating blade which oscillates about a substantially vertical axis relative to the longitudinal direction of thle tank sections.

The transfer mechanism can move material within the tank sections and in one embodiment a conveyor can be used in one or more of the tank sections so that refuse can be conveyed along the tank sections. Typically, the conveyor is an endless belt conveyor or a travelling floor conveyor.

In one preferred form, the transfer mechanism typically comprises a hopper communicating with the tank sections and means for selectively diverting refuse or other material delivered into the hopper by the loading mechanism to the respective tank sections.

In another prefbrred embodiment, the transfer mechanism comprises a hopper *and an oscillating blade in the hopper being adapted to sweep tlirouah thl(_ hopper 4 to alternately sweep refuse or other material delivered into the hopper by the loading mechanism to one side and then to another side of the hopper as the blade oscillates back and forth within the hopper, the transfer mechanism having a moveable hopper closure means to partially close the hopper behind the blade so as to prevent material intended to be delivered to one side of the hopper being inadvertently delivered to the other side of the hopper as the blade travels through the hopper.

20 'Where the tank sections involve upper and lower storage regions, the transfer mechanism typically comprises respective upper and lower transfer mechanisms for selectively diverting refuse or other material through the entrances to the respective C I upper and lower storage regions.

In another embodiment, the transfer mechanism typically includes a refuse separating means adjacent the loading mechanism and adapted to bc located in close proximity to a bin inverted over the separator means by the loading mechanism for separating refuse delivered into die transfer mechanism so th~e separated refuse is moved to the respective tank sections.

In one typical use, the present invention involves the alignment of compartments in a bin in predetermined geometry with the transfer mechanism, To this end, the vehicle is typically equipped with a bin alignment means including a bin lead-in guide to take into account relative position of a bin on the loading 6 mechanism, the lead-in guide being disposed to move the bin on the loading mechanism as it is emptied so that it is emptied according to the predetermined geometry relative to the transfer mechanism, BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TH-E DRAWINGS In order that the present invention can be more readily understood and be put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings and wherein:- Figure 1 is a pictorial view illustrating one embodiment of a refuse vehicle according to the present invention showing a bin having compartments one above the other being emptied; Figure 2 is cut-away perspective view of the vehicle of Figure 1 illustrating a further stage in the emptying process; vhceFigure 3 is a schematic section view illustrating the interior of the refuse vhceaccording to Figure 1; Figures 4 and 5 are schematic sectional views illustrating an embodiment of 41 a transfer mechanism suitable for use in a vehicle according to Figures 1 to 3; 0 6 Figure 6 is a schematic cut-away pictorial view illustrating one preferred formn of refuse vehicle according to the present invention having th~'ee tank sections; Figures 7 to 10 illustrate operation of a preferred transfer mechanism for a vehicle of the type illustrated in Figure 6; Figure I11 is a part sectional side view illustrating another embodiment of a t refuse vehicle according to the present invention having upper and lower tank sections; Figure 12 is a pictorial view similar to that of Figure 1 of another embodiment of a refuse vehicle according to the present invention showing a bin having side-by-side, compartments being emptied; Figure 13 is a part perspective view illustrating a further stage in the emptying process in relation to the refuse vehicle and bin of Figure 12; Figure 14 is a vertical section through the refuse vehicle, as noted in Figures 12 and 13 and illustrating a preferred transfer mechanism for that vehicle-, Figure 15 is a part horizontal section through the refuse vehicle illustrated in Figures 12 and 13 and illustrating the transfer mechanism of Figure 1i4; 7 Figures 16 and 1' are pictorial views illustrating two different forms of refuse separator meanv~ according to preferred embodiments of the present invention and suitable for u~se with the vehicle of Figures 12 and 13; Figure 18 is a vertical section through a hopper illustrating an alternative embodiment of the present invention involving a bin having two lids; Figure 19 is a pictorial view illustrating part of a tank section suitable for use in a vehicle according to the present invention involving a transfer mechanism having a travelling floor; Figure 20 is a view from above of a partially assembled travelling floor conveyor suitable for use in a vehicle according to the present invention; Figure 21lis a detailed cut-away view illustrating operation of a travelling floor conveyor suitable for use in a vehicle according to the present invention; 144, 1Figures 22 and 23 are pictorial views illustrating the present invention a loading mechanism suspended at the end of a retractable arm assembly; Figures 24 and 25 illustrate a preferred lid opener and associated bin suitable for use with the present invention; Figures 26 and 27 illustrate an alternative lid opener; and Figure 28 illustrate-s a still further lid openier suitable for use with the present invention, METH-OD OF PERFORMANCE Referring to the drawings and initially to Figures 1, 2 and 3, there is illustrated a side loading refuse vehicle 10 having a wheel assembly 11 supporting a cab 12 and a chassis 13, a storage tank 14 having two tank sections 15 and 16 is mounted on the chassis 13, A hopper 17 having a loading aperture 18 is located behind the cab 12, the hopper is adapted to receive refuse from a loading mechanism 19 adjacent the hopper so that the contents of a multi-compartmlent binl 20, which in this case includes a central divider partition 21 shown in phantom in Figure 1, can be partially inverted over the hopper 17 so that the contents of the binl 20 are diverted into the respective tank sections 15 and 16 by the refuse transfer mechanism which call be seen in Figure 3 is anl oscillating blade 22, The blade 22 oscillates about a vertical axis 23 to alternately sweep and compact refusoe delivered into the hopper 17 into the respective tank sections 15 and 16.

8 In the embodiment of Figure 3, the tank section 16 is generally L-shaped having a "bubble" door 24, the tank section B~ ncludes a door 25 shown in its open position in phantom at 26. In this embodiment, refuse would initially be discharged from the tank section 16 by opening the bubble door 24 and tipping the tank 14.

Once all the refuse contained in tank section 16 had been discharged, the tank 14 would be lowered and the vehicle 10 could be driven to another site where the bubble door 24 and the door 25 would be opened together and the tank 14 tipped again to discharge the contents of the tank section 15. As an alternative to tipping, a travelling floor can be used for discharge purposes.

In the illustrated embodiment, co-mingled recyclables would be stored in thle tank section 15 and other garbage would be stored in the tank section 16.

9 The embodiment of Figures 1 to 3 involves a bin having a compartment 27 above a compartment 28 as the bin is being emptied, the position of the blade 22 V4 and the relative positions of compartments 27 and 28 of the bin 20 are set according to a predetermined geomtry in order to maintain separation of the refuse 'from the compartments. Thus, the spatial relationship and geometry is such that a major proportion of the contents of compartment 27 is deposited on the far side of the blade 22 while the contents of the compartment 28 and a major proportion thereof would be deposited on the near side of the blade 22.

20 Although an open fall of material from the compartments works to some oil* degree, the inclusion of small diversion plates or ramps or other elements in the transfer mechanism is also envisaged to improve the geometry and this will be discussed below, While the embodiments illustrated so far utilise two tank sections and a Ld 25 refuse transfer mechanism in the form of a compaction device, the refuse transfer mechanism can include a secondary or auxiliary transfer mechanism operating in conjunction with thc compaction device to ensure a more reliable separation of the contents of the compartments 27 and 28 of the bin 20 as the contents of tile bin flows into the hopper, Examples will be illustrated below, Figures 4 and 5 illustrate a further embodiment employing an auxiliary rcfuse transfer mechanism which in this case Is a pivoting ramp 29 which moves to a position illustrated in Figure 5 being aligned with the partition 21 of the bin 9 Ramp 29 is timied to move to its aligned position with the partition 21 just after a jet of water shown at 30 fired from nozzle 31 on the loading mechanism 19 opens the lid 32 of the bin 20 prior to the contents of the bin 20 being discharged. This will be slightly delayed due to the inertia of the bin being raised through its arc of movement to the final stop position illustrated in Figure 5. in other words, the combined effect of the movement o-f the bin through its arc followed by the jet of water discharged from the nozzle 31 followed by raising of thle ramp into the aligned position illustrated in Figure 5 will ensure that minimal recyclables from compartment 27 end up in the wrong tank section. As an alternative to the jet of water, other mechanically equivalent contrivances can be employed including air jets or directly acting mechanical lid openers.

As canl be seen in Figures 4 and 5, a hydraulic, pneumatic, electric or other I I ,cylinder assembly 33 is employed to move the ramp 29 into position.

In another embodiment, thle ramp 29 can be arranged to be moved into position illustrated in phantom at 34 so that all of the contents of the bin 20 will be transfered to tank section 16, This situation may arise in communities where somec householders choose not to recycle, In these circumstances, each bin 20 would be Olt provided with some form of indicator or signal operable by the householder to indicate whether or not the bin was a multi-compartment binl or a single compartment binl or whether it was full of garbage without any recyclables. The driver of the vehicle on seeing the signal would operate controls to retract the ramp 29 to the position illustrated at 34 for those bins which do not contain recyclable material and the full contents of the binl would travel through into tank section 16 which, as mentioned above, in this embodiment is devoted to non-recyclables.

Where a multi compartment bin having correctly filled compartments is to be emptied, ramp 29 would be operated as shown in Figure The embodiment of Figures 1 to 5 illustrates a two tank section vehicle. An alternative to this is a vehicle for use with a triple compartment bin. This embodiment is illustrated in Figure 6. As call be seen, there is illustrated a vehicle 35 where the storage tank in this embodiment has three tank sections comprising a side tank section 36, a lower tank section 37 and an upper tank section 38 for separate storage of refuse delivered into a hopper 40. The hopper 40 includes a ;LI_ r-iii-ur.-, ;11- 154~.- i- wur- rrur~--rm~-~raa:~ loading aperture 41 which in this case is adjacent a side of the vehicle so that the refuse vehicle 35 operates as a side loading refuse vehicle.

A loading mechanism (not shown) as in the previous embodiment is used to empty the contents of a triple-compartment bin 43 (see Figure 7) into the hopper through the aperture 41 and a refuse transfer mechanism 42 selectively diverts refuse delivered from the triple-compartment bin into the respective tank sections 36, 37 and 38. In the illustrated embodiment, three types of refuse are shown and these are illustrated by the dots, squares and triangular shapes in order to show how the separation occurs.

As can be seen from Figures 6 to 10, a iefuse bin 43 for use with the vehicle includes three compartments 44, 45 and 46 which contain separately the different kinds of refuse which typically have been separated by a householder, S Thus, the respective types of refuse when delivered into the hopper 40 travel through the refuse transfer mechanism 42 into the respective tank sections.

15 As can be seen and also in Figure 6, an oscillating blade 47 sweeps through !f a semi-circular sub-hopper 48 which is located below a sub-hopper 49 through which an elevator 50 travels to raise refuse in the sub-hopper 49 up onto an endless /I belt 51 which conveys refuse to the rear of the tank section 38. This brings about a degree of even distribution and compaction in the tank section 38.

In the illustrated embodiment, the oscillating blade 47 has an upper spill plate 52 which overlays a quadrant of the lower sub-hopper 48 and progressively opens and closes the adjacent quadrants of the sub-hopper 48. Refuse initially delivered Z' onto the plate 52 is above the sub-hopper 48 (see Figure 9) until the blade 47 moves through its stroke in the direction of tank section 37 where the plate begins to move to the other quadrant and the refuse spills into the sub-hop:-, r 48. The operation of this section of the transfer mechanism will be described in more detail below.

In the illustrated embodiment, the storage tank 36 includes an arcuate side walls 53 defining a generally square but medially bulged shape in section and the interior of the tank 36 is divided by a vertical partition 54 and a horizontal partition 55 defiting the respective tank sections 36, 37 and 38 The tank section 36 is generally L-shaped by virtue of the extension provided by the bubble door 56 which is shown open in Figure 6, and in the illustrated embodiment, the tank section 36 IKbVU1yuO IUJ Aob IAlti 14 April, 1993 Trevor I.

can be raised using a hoist in order to discharge refuse through the open door.

Once refuse has been discharged from tank section 36, internal doors 57 and 58 can be o ,ned sec:'.'tially to discharge the contents thereof using a similar tipping action, It will be appreciated from the foregoing therefore that rufuse vehicle 35 will take about half refuse in tank section 36 which in most cases would be normal disposable refuse whereas tank sections 37 and 38 can be used to accommodate two different forms of recyclables. For example, paper could well be stored in tank section 38 while co-mingled glass, plastic bottles and cans could well be stored in tank section 37.

It will be noted that in Figure 6, when compared to Figvr s 7 to 10, part of the sub-hopper 49 has been omitted to expose the blade 47 and the plate 52 for clarity purposes. The operation of the refuse transfer mechanism will become clearer from the following description.

,15 Referring now to Figures 7 to 10, there is illustrated in more detail the refuse transfer mechanism 42 including its operation and where appropriate, like numerals f have been used to illustrate like features. The only difference is that in Figures 7 to 10, moveable chute 59 has been included in the drawings whereas this moveable chute has been omitted in Figure 6 but it being understood that the moveable chute 20 forms part of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 6.

Referring to Figures 7 to 10, there is illustrated initially in Figure 7 a bin 43 engaged on the loading mechanism 19 just prior to an emptying operation being invoked. Figures 8, 9 and 10 show the various stages during which the bin 43 is emptied into the hopper 40. The transfer mechanism in this case includes a moveable ramp 59 including first and second ramp sections 60 and 61 which take the contents of compartments 46 and 45 respectively.

As the bin 43 is inverted above the aperture 41 to the position illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 (Figure 10 in phantom), the ramp 59 is moved into the position illustrated in Figure 9 shortly after a waterje ,or airjet via nozzle 62 has been delivered to the lid 63 so that the lid and ramp will not collide.

At this stage, the oscillating paddle 47 is shown half way through its stroke toward tank section 37. The contents of compartment 46 will flow directly into the |i ,I ii i o "1 1

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fli 12 sub-hopper 48 on the tank section 37 side and be swept by blade 47 into the tank section 37. At the same time, the contents of compartment 44 of the bin 43 will have been deposited onto the quadrant spill plate 52 as illustrated in Figure 9 and as the blade 47 sweeps towards tank section 37, the sub-hopper 48 on the tank section 36 side thereof wili open and the refuse on top of the plate 52 will be pushed off into the sub-hopper 48 on the rearward side of the blade 47 by central fixed scraper 64.

Thus, during the return stroke of the blade 47, lost motion will be experienced between the blade 47 and plate 52 for 90° of the blades travel and the sub-hopper on the tank section 37 side will remain closed. Refuse from compartment 44 which fell off the plate 52 will be transfered into tank section 36 as the blade 47 sweeps towards that tank section. As this happens, refuse will spill into the tank section 37 side of the sub-hopper 48.

The contents of compartment 45 will travel down the ramp section 61 into the sub, hopper 49 and as the sub-hopper 49 fills, operation of the elevator 50 will raise refuse up and deposit same on to the endless conveyor 51 which will move the refuse rearwardly in the tank section 38.

It will be appreciated that a bin can be emptied at any time and depending on the position of the blade 47, as a bin is emptied the contents of the compartments it 20 will always reach the right tank section.

eferring to Figure 11, there is illustrated another vehicle according to the iinvention. In this case, the vehicle does not include the bubble door of the previous F embodiments, but can do so. The vehicle in this case has a partition 65 defining upper and lower storage regions which partition slopes toward a forward end 66 of tank section 67 so that material such as glass will vibrate forward in an upper storage region 68 and gradually fill from the rearward end 69 toward ihie-oward end 66.

The embodiment of Figure 11 includes two doors, an outer door 70 which I extends the full length and width of the vehicle while a second door 71 to storage i region 68 is located inside the door 70. The vehicle includes an entrance 72 adjacent the forward end 66 of the tank section 67. The entrance commuimcates with respective upper and lower material 13 transfer mechanisms which in this case comprises a conveyor assembly 73 and an oscillating compactor blade asse.mbly shown generally at 74. This compactor blade assembly is the same as in the previous embodiments except the spill plate is omitted.

Referring now to Figures 12 and 13, there is illustrated a refuse vehicle for use with a multi-compartment bin having side-by-side compartments. In this case, the vehicle is a side loading refuse vehicle having a wheel assembly 76 supporting a cab 78 and a chassis 79. A storage tank 80 is mounted on the chassis, a hopper 81 communicates with the tank 80. The hopper has a loading aperture 82 adjacent a side of the vehicle 75 and a loading mechanism 83 is adjacent the hopper.

The hopper is adapted to receive refuse from a bin 84 during a loading operation and a typical loading operation is illustrated in Figures 12 and 13.

As in the previous embodiments, the tank section 80 includes two tank Co sections. A refuse transfer mechanism is employed to move refuse delivered into 15 the hopper into the tank 80 and in the illustrated embodiment includes a refuse separator means in the form of a divider plate 85, the leading edge 86 of which aligns and abuts against or is closely spaced from an upper edge 87 of a partition 88 in the bin 84. The partition 88 divides the bin 84 into two side-by-side compartments and as will be appreciated from the foregoing description, when the bin 84 is inverted over the hopper as illustrated in Figure 13, the contents of the respective compartments are maintained separate by virtue of the divider plate being in place.

C t r, As can be seen in Figure 12, the bin 84 includes a lid 89 which is illustrated If in the position shown in Figure 12 so that a slot 90 in the lid can be seen in the drawing. This slot 90 enables the lid to straddle the divider plate 85 and therefore the divider plate 85 does not interfere with operation of the lid 89.

I Referring to Figures 14 and 15, there is illustrated in more detail internal operation and construction of the vehicle 75. Where appropriate, like numerals have been used to illustrate like features. As can be seen, the plate 85 defines a side wall of a chute 91 along which refuse delivered into the hopper flows to a sub7jopper 92 which feeds an elevator 93. The elevator in turn feeds a conveyor 94, the' conveyor and elevator deliver refuse into the tank section atop a partition 95 while 1r 14 other refuse free falls into a lower hopper section 96 where an oscillating blade 97 sweeps refuse into a lower tank section 98 below the partition 95. The upper tank section 99 typically carries commingled recyclables in the form of plastic bottles and cans while the lower tank section 98 typically carries other domestic garbage.

As can be seen in Figure 14, the lid 89 of the bin 84 swings freely by virtue of the slot 90 enabling passage of the divider plate 85. As a consequence of the slot not extending the full width of the lid 89, the plate 85 includes a cut-out portion at 100 to accommodate for this feature.

As can be seen in Figure 15, the bin ?4 can be slightly out of position on the loading mechanism and for this reason, respective lead-in guides 101 and 102 are employed and these will be described in more detail in relation to Figures 16 and 17.

S Referring to Figure 16, there is illustrated the basic configuration of the leadin guides 101 and 102 relative to the divider plate 85 and the leading edge 86 15 thereof. As can be seen, the lead-in guides 101 and 102 comprise convergent plates !which include bin abutment flange members 103 and 104. It will therefore be appreciated by virtue of the lead-in guides 101 and 102 and the position of the edge 86 that a bin loaded on to the flange members 103 and 104 will be suitably positioned so that the divider plate 85 serves its purpose for maintaining thb refuse j i| ;20 in the respective compartments of a bin separate as they are delivered into the 1, hopper.

The embodiment of Figure 17 is slightly different to that of Figure 16 inasfar as this arrangement applies to a three tank section vehicle and to a three Scompartment bin having partitions defining a T-shaped upper edge similar to the bin 43 (see Figure 7) and as can be seen in this case, a second ramp 105 is made available for refuse in the third, compartment, In all other respects, the hopper is the same as for the previous embodiments.

Referring now to Figure 18, there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of S .a bin 106 where in this case a partition 107 extends as slown. In this case, the bin includes two lids 108 and 109 which swing open so the partition 107 engages with or becomes closely spaced from a moveable ramp 110. The contents of the bin flows to either side of an oscillating paddle 111 to be swept alternately into The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: iAi respective tank sections 112 and 113 defined either side of a vertical partition 114.

The ramp 110 can be retracted to the position shown at 115 in the event of a contaminated bin being observed by the driver of the refuse vehicle so that all the contents of the bin can ultimately be delivered into the tank section 113.

The previous embodiments have illustrated the use of various transfer mechanisms including compacters and conveyors. Another form of conveyor that can be employed in a transfer mechanism is a travelling floor that can extead from say a sub-hopper right back or part way along one or more of the tank sections.

Referring now to Figure 19, a typical tank 116 is illustrated and as can be seen, the tank has a section which can be described as a medially bulged square shape which results in arcuate corner regions at 117 and 118. The travelling floor in this case i, includes a plurality of plates 119 arranged so the travelling floor is arcuate in shape to match the shape of the tank 116.

Referring to Figure 20, there is illustrated the form of the travelling floor i 1 which comprises a base 120 having a plrality of rails 121 on which are mounted self-lubricating plastics bearing members 122. The plates 119 are in the form of contiguous inverted channel members so that the plates 119 can reciprocate back and forth on the bearings 122 on the rails 121 in sealed relation.

Operation of a typical travelling floor is illustrated in Figure 21 and where appropriate, like numerals have been used to illustrate like features, As can be seen, :pairs of cylinder assemblies 123 and 124 are disposed at opposite ends of piston rods 125, each of which are connected to respective drive arms 126, 127 and 128.

The drive arms 126, 127 and 128 are arcuate and have offset mounting bars 129 which are coupled to groups of the plates 119.

The resultant action upon controlled operation of the cylinder assemblies is that the plates 119are all driven in unison in the discharge direction to move refuse into the tank section but are selectively retracted in the upstream direction so that the load being conveyed is not retracted with the individual plates 119. Usually every third plate 119 is retraced initially followed by every alternate remaining plate and then the final plates are retracted before all plates are driven on a downstream stroke once again to shift the load, Thus, the plates normally reciprocate over a range of abou 12 inches as the cylinder assemblies 123 and 124 operate in i I i I" I S ::4

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1; 16 predetermined sequence.

The travelling floor can be used in any tank section as the transfer mechanism or can be used in conjunction with any of the previous described transfer mechanisms.

Referring now to Figures 22 and 23, there is illustrated a further embodiment, and where appropriate, like numerals have been used to illustrate like features. As can be seen, the only difference between the embodiments of Figures 3 and 4 and that of the earlier embodiments is that the loading mechanism 19 in this case is located at the end of a retractable arm assembly 130. The loading mechanism 19 can be extended transversely of the vehicle to engage a bin and then the loading mechanism 19 can be retracted to a position adjacent the hopper 17 wherein the bin can be tipped to the position illustrated in Figure 23 so its contents can be discharged into the hopper 17. In this embodiment, operation of the loading mechanism, insofar as engaging a bin 20, is controlled from the vehicle cab 12 15 whereas in the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the loading mechanism 19 is fixed 0 Af adjacent the hopper and the bin 20 must be placed in position by an operator. The retractable arm assembly or its mechanical equivalent can be used with any of the previous embodiments.

Referring to Figures 24 and 25, there is illustrated a lid opener and associated bin suitable for use with the vehicle illustrated in the preceding figures. The lid opener comprises a nozzle 131 coupled to the loading mechanism 19 and communicating with a source of water or air under pressure via a hose 132, The 'Itl nozzle 131 is secured to a finger plate 133 of the loading mechanism 131 by a bracket 133'. When the finger plate 131 is operatively engaged with the bin 134, the nozzle 131 is aligned with a modified portion of the bin 134, which in this case is an aperture 135 so that the jet of water 136 passes through the aperture 135 to impinge upon the underside 137 of the lid 138 and thereby move the lid from its closed position (illustrated in phantom in Figure 25) to an open position, Thi; operation of the lid opener is illustrated diagrammatically in Figure There will be many other mechanisms which can be operative to open the lid of a bin in the combination described ii conjunctiot ith the refuse vehicle 10 and it will be understood that the present specificatioon embraces all mechanically

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material emptied into the vehicle by the loading mechanism to the respective tank i sections and a lid opener being mounted on the vehicle and being adapted to move the lid of a bin to an open position prior to or during bin emptying operation.

17 equivalent apparatus which results in the lid being moved to the open position.

Figures 26 and 27 illustrate a suitable lid opening device shown generally at 139 and the lid opening device is mounted on a clamp section 140 of the loading mechanism 19 where a bracket 141 carries a pneumatic or similar actuator 142 which pivots an arm 143 about a horizontal axis 144. Prior to this, a finger 145 is positioned beneath the lip 146 of the lid 147 as illustrated in Figure 26. Finger 145 is moved into position by another pneumatic or similar actuator 148. The operation takes place while the bin 149 is still stationary prior to the bin being lifted from its kerbside position and thus by imparting sufficient impetus to the arm 143, the bin lid 147 can be flipped back to an open position prior to the bin being emptied.

Another example is given in Figure 28 of a mechanical lid opening device j and as can be seen, in this embodiment, the loading mechanism 19 is equipped with a lever 150 which automatically toggles a roller 151 into position against the lip 146 j,,t4 of the lid 147 so that as the bin 149 is raised from kerbside, the secondary lever 152 15 causes the roller 151 to move along the lip 146 of the lid 147 to flip the lid backward and leave the bin open.

The previous embodiments illustrate various features of the present invention which can be ;!ed in any combination. The lid opening devices employed in each case including waterjets airjets or mechanical lid opening devices of the type illustrated in Figures 26 to 2, being operable at various stages of the emptying process as required.

M t It will be appreciated therefore the present invention illustrates various novel concepts, preferred forms of which have been disclosed herein for the purpose of obtaining broad protection, It will therefore be appreciated that whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention, many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. k j .4 i a

Claims (20)

1. The combination of a side loading refuse vehicle and a lid opener for a lid of a bin, the bin having a hinge means coupling the lid to the bin and about which the lid pivots between closed and open positions, the refuse vehicle having a hopper and a loading mechanism adjacent the hopper, the loading mechanism being adapted to engage a bin at kerbside and empty contents of the bin into the hopper during an emptying operation, the lid opener being mounted on the vehicle and being adapted to move the lid to an open position prior to or during the emptying operation.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the lid opener is operable in relation to a bin including a lid having a hinge on one side about which the lid pivots to an open position, the lid opener comprising a fluid jet delivery means for delivering a fluid jet against an underside portion of the lid remote from the hinge to give impetus to movement of the lid about the hinge toward the open position.

3. A bin when used with combination of claim 1 or claim 2, the bin having A t a container portion including a mouth and lid moveable to open or close the I I mouth, a hinge means coupling the lid to the container portion and about which C'0, the lid pivots between closed and open positions, the container portion of the bin ti having a portion modified to allow passage of a fluid jet of the lid opener to 6 impinge against an underside of the lid to give impetuous movement of the lid S toward the open position.

4. The bin of claim 3 wherein the bin includes a plurality of compartments, the compartments being separated by a partition extending generally parallel to t i an axis defined by the hinge means and about which said lid pivots. A loading mechanism for a bin being emptied into a refuse vehicle, the bin having a container portion including a mouth and a lid moveable to open or close the mouth, a hinge means coupling the lid to the container portion and about which the lid pivots between closed and open positions, the loading mechanism being engageable witlithe bin to empty the contents of the bin into a hopper, the loading mechanism having a lid opener adapted to move the lid of the bin from a closed to open position prior to the bin being emptied. IAjn 6. The invention according to ahy one of the preceding claims wherein the Ci v /,qi this end, the vehicle is typically equipped with a bin alignment means including a bin lead-in guide to take into account relative position of a bin on the loading j 1 d am lid opener is mounted on the loading mechanism or adjacent the loading mechanism.

7. In a side loading refuse vehicle, the combination of an elongate refuse ft f ft ft. f ft f f "og ftf *o.o oooeo 19 storage tank divided into longitudinally extending tank sections, a loading mechanism adjacent a side of the refuse vehicle and a refuse transfer mechanism for delivering refuse or other material emptied into the vehicle by the loading mechanism to the respective tank sections and a lid opener being mounted on the vehicle and being adapted to move the lid of a bin to an open position prior to or during a bin emptying operation.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein the transfer mechanism comprises a hopper and an oscillating blade in the hopper being adapted to sweep through the hopper to alternately sweep refuse or other material delivered into the hopper by the loading mechanism to one side and then to another side of the hopper as the blade oscillates back and forth within the hopper, the transfer mechanism having a moveable hopper closure means to partially close the hopper behind the blade so as to prevent material intended to be delivered to one side of the hopper being inadvertently delivered to the other side of the hopper as the blade travels through the hopper.

9. The combination of claim 7 wherein the storage tank of the refuse vehicle has two or three tank sections, and the transfer mechanism comprises a hopper communicating with the tank sections and means for selectively diverting refuse or other material delivered into the hopper by the loading mechanism to the respective tank sections. The combination of claim 7 wherein the tank sections comprise upper and lower storage regions having respective forward and rearward ends and respective entrances adjacent the forward ends, the transfer mechanism comprising respective upper and lower transfer mechanisms for selectively diverting refulse or other material through the entrances to the respective upper and lower storage regions,

11. The combination of claim 7 wherein the transfer mechanism includes a refuse separator means adjacent the loading mechanism and adapted to be located in close proximity to a bin inverted over the separator means by the loading mechanism for separating refuse delivered into the transfer mechanism so the separated refuse is moved to the respective tank sections. 12, The combination of claim 7 wherein the refuse vehicle includes a conveyor in one of the tank sections so that refuse can be conveyed along the tank sections, oscillates about a vertical axis 23 to alternately sweep and compact refuse delivered i into the hopper 17 into the respective tank sections 15 and 16. 1 the conveyor being an endless belt conveyor or a travelling floor conveyor.

13. The combination according to any one of claims 7 to 12 including a bin releasably coupled to the loading mechanism, the bin having respective refuse storage compartments and the loading mechanism, bin and transfer mechanism being operatively associated one to another so that as the bin is emptied by the loading mechanism into the transfer mechanism, refuse is selectively transfered from the respective compartments of the bin into the respective tank sections.

14. The combination according to any one of claims 7 to 12 wherein the tank sections have respective discharge doors with one discharge door being operatively located outside the other discharge door so that the tank sections can be discharged sequentially. The combination according to any one of claims 5, 6, 7 or 9 wherein the transfer mechanism includes a passive or active mechanism or a combination of i I, ipassive and active mechanisms selected from the following:- an automated bin lid opening device; (ii) a retractable refuse diversion chute or bin compartment alignment means; (iii) bin compartment alignment means which align with or abut against a compartment defining portion of a bin so that refuse from the bin remains separate as it flows from the bin, through the transfer mechanism and finally into the tank sections; (iv) a refuse compaction device; a longitudinally moveable oscillating slide packer; (vi) a packer which includes an oscillating blade which oscillates about a substantially vertical axis relative to the longitudinal direction of the tank sections; or (vii) a travelling floor conveyor.

16. The combination according to claim 8 wherein the hopper is generally selri- circular in plan and the moveable hopper closure means comprises a refuse spill plate which forms a generally horizontal closure for a quadrant of the semi-circular hopper so that as the blade travels through the hopper, adjacent quadrants of the hopper are alternately and progressively closed and opened by the plate so that refuse" is separated by being delivered into the hopper on top of the plate and then 21 subsequently flowing to a position below the plate.

17. The combination of claim 16 wherein the blade travels back and forth through a 180° arc between tank section entrances at each end of the blade travel and each end of the travel of the blade is defined as a forward stroke, during the last 900 of travel toward a tank section entrance and travel of the blade is defined as a return stroke during the initial 900 of movement away from a tank section entrance after the forward stroke is completed, the relative motion of the blade and the plate involving lost motion between the blade and the plate during a major portion of the return stroke.

18. The combination according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the transfer mechanism employs an elevator to raise refuse to an upper tank section.

19. The combination according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein a plurality of independent hopper regions are employed so that refuse from a multi-compartment bin can be selectively delivered into the hopper regions as the bin is emptied. The combination of claim 19 wherein the transfer mechanism includes an elevator having upper and lower ends, the hopper regions include respective distal and proximal regions relative to the loading mechanism, the distal and/or proximal regions being sub-divided into upper and lower regions which include a sub-hopper containing the lower end of the elevator,

21. The combination according to claim 9 wherein the transfer mechanism includes a mechanism selected from the following:- an oscillating blade or plate; (ii) an endless belt; or (iii) a travelling floor, 22, The combination according to claim 10 wherein the upper storage region includes a sloping floor which slopes down toward the forward end of the upper I storage region, the upper transfer mechanism includes so that as the vehicle travels, the sloping floor causes compaction of refuse toward the forward end of the upper storage region,

23. The combination according to claim 10 wherein the upper transfer mechanism comprises a conveyor assembly having an upwardly and rearwardly extending conveyor run for moving refuse from the entrance to the rearward end of 22 the tank section,

24. The combination according to claim 13 wherein the lower transfer mechanism comprises a compactor assembly. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the trarnsfer mechanism includes means for receiving and selectively diverting refuse from a bin having two compartments which are side-by-side as the bin is emptied or a bin having two compartments one above the other as the bin is emptied so that refuse from the compartments is maintained separate as the refuse is moved to the respective tank sections.

26. The combination according to claim 7 or claim 25 wherein the vehicle includes a bin alignment means including a bin lead-in guide to take into account relative position of a bin on the loading mechanism, the lead-in guide being a: ~disposed to move the bin on the loading mechanism as it is emptied so that it is *emptied according to a predetermined geometry relative to the transfer mechanism. t: 27. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the transfer mechanism includes a refuse separator means that abuts or locates adjacent a bin partition located beneath a bin lid, the separator means not interfering with any automatic operation of the lid as the bin is emptied.

28. The combination according to claim 12 or claim 21 wherein the storage tank AiI is arcuate in shape and the travelling floor is arcuate, at least in part to match the I, lis shape of the tank section. 29, The combination according to claim 7 wherein the transfer mechanism comprises a retractable means operable to prevent refuse being delivered to one of the tank sections, The combination according to any one of claims 7 to 12, 25, 27 or 29 wherein the loading mechanism is coupled to the vehicle via a retractable arm assembly,

31. The combination according to any one of claims 7 to 30 including the combination according to any one of claims 1 to 6. DATED this 14th day of April, 1993. FIREBELT PTY LIMITED By its Patent Attorneys TREVOR DREDGE ASSOCIATES i}i ABSTRACT A side loading refuse vehicle 10 having a wheel assembly 11 supporting a cab 12 and a chassis 13, a storage tank 14 having two tank sections 15 and 16 is mounted on the chassis 13. A hopper 17 having a loading aperture 18 is located behind the cab 12, the hopper is adapted to receive refuse from a loading mechanism 19 adjacent the hopper so that the contents of a multi-compartment bin 20, which in this case includes a central divider partition 21 shown in phantom in Figure 1, can be partially inverted over the hopper 17 so that the contents of the bin 20 are diverted into the respective tank sections 15 and 16 by the refuse transfer mechanism in the hopper 17. The bin includes a lid 32 which is opened prior to the bin being emptied using a lid opener 31 which is fitted to the vehicle, i I I I