Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65F—GATHERING OR REMOVAL OF DOMESTIC OR LIKE REFUSE
  • B65F3/00—Vehicles particularly adapted for collecting refuse
  • B65F3/02—Vehicles particularly adapted for collecting refuse with means for discharging refuse receptacles thereinto
  • B65F3/0203—Vehicles particularly adapted for collecting refuse with means for discharging refuse receptacles thereinto with crane-like mechanisms
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65F—GATHERING OR REMOVAL OF DOMESTIC OR LIKE REFUSE
  • B65F1/00—Refuse receptacles; Accessories therefor
  • B65F1/0033—Refuse receptacles; Accessories therefor specially adapted for segregated refuse collecting, e.g. receptacles with several compartments; Combination of receptacles
  • B65F1/0053—Combination of several receptacles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65F—GATHERING OR REMOVAL OF DOMESTIC OR LIKE REFUSE
  • B65F1/00—Refuse receptacles; Accessories therefor
  • B65F1/12—Refuse receptacles; Accessories therefor with devices facilitating emptying
  • B65F1/125—Features allowing the receptacle to be lifted and emptied by its bottom
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65F—GATHERING OR REMOVAL OF DOMESTIC OR LIKE REFUSE
  • B65F1/00—Refuse receptacles; Accessories therefor
  • B65F1/0033—Refuse receptacles; Accessories therefor specially adapted for segregated refuse collecting, e.g. receptacles with several compartments; Combination of receptacles
  • B65F2001/0086—Means for holding receptacles together
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65F—GATHERING OR REMOVAL OF DOMESTIC OR LIKE REFUSE
  • B65F2210/00—Equipment of refuse receptacles
  • B65F2210/168—Sensing means

Definitions

• the invention relates to a collection system for recycled materials.
• Such collection systems are widely used.
• they comprise collection containers which are accessible to the public and have insertion openings for the groupage and are provided with emptying flaps.
• the system includes emptying vehicles with loading bays into which the collecting containers are emptied by means of lifting devices which are arranged on the vehicles.
• the subject of the invention is therefore, as defined in claim 1, an at least partially automated collection system.
• this includes a method for emptying the collection container, a coupling device between the hoist and the collection container, and finally novel collection containers which are made possible by the fact that the coupling device according to the invention is used in the method according to the invention.
• the invention accordingly comprises a method for emptying recycling containers, in which glass - possibly sorted by color -, paper, composites etc. are collected for recycling, usually several containers form a battery, and batteries of this type are installed at locations which are accessible both for the transport of the disposal material and for transport vehicles for the purpose of its removal.
• a hoist is mounted on the transport vehicles, for example a crane, on the boom of which means are attached for coupling a container.
• transport vehicles for example a crane
• boom of which means are attached for coupling a container There are different systems, each of which fulfills two functions: lifting the container over the loading bay of the vehicle and actuating an opening mechanism by means of which the container flaps on the bottom are preferably pivoted so that the material to be disposed of can fall down.
• the hoist is maneuvered over the container manually and under observation by the operator in such a way that the container can be coupled to the hoist. If the hoist is not in the operator's field of vision from the start, it is preferably automatically shifted into it.
• the manually specified part of the movement sequence is stored in a suitable manner, for example in the form of control commands from the operator or in the form of spatial coordinates.
• the hoist is equipped with sensors for the movement sequences of all its components, and the sensor signals are transmitted to a control unit housed in the vehicle.
• This data is required so that, after preferably automatically coupling the container to the hoist, the control unit can now give the drives of the hoist the correct commands in an automatic sequence.
• the container is first raised vertically by a distance corresponding to its height, brought over the loading area or the loading space of the transport vehicle and emptied.
• the commands or equivalent data issued for this purpose are also stored by the control unit, because after the container has been emptied, these commands are required again in order to put the container back exactly in its old place; for this the commands "backwards" are processed. It should be noted that the required commands are recalculated for each emptying process. It is not only the coupling or decoupling position that is included in the calculation of the movement commands, but it is preferred to vary the emptying position of the containers to be emptied one after the other in accordance with a predetermined scheme in such a way that uniform filling of the vehicle loading space is ensured .
• the stored data or commands from the manual part of the control process are also processed "backwards" in order to allow the hoist to return to its rest position in the same way as it was initially by had been specified to the operator.
• This sequence is preferred to the variant in which the hoist again follows the same route as when emptying in order to avoid wasting time.
• the manual part of the control will be carried out from the driver's cab of the transport vehicle, and preferably from the driver himself, for example by means of a joystick.
• the containers are coupled and uncoupled to the hoist in automatic mode.
• this can be problematic; it is within the scope of the invention to carry out these coupling operations manually.
• the automatic mode is preferably switched back to manual mode; this switch back can also be the last command of the automatic program.
• the horizontal coordinates are chosen so that the vehicle loading space is loaded uniformly.
• the unloading hatches are then released and the container is lifted while opening the hatches. As a result, the risk of breakage and noise pollution are minimized for certain valuable materials, such as glass.
• the hoist In order to enable automatic coupling, it is expedient to equip the hoist with a sensor which can be brought into active connection with signal transmitters which are attached to the containers in order to position the hoist relative to the containers.
• the container-side elements of the emptying mechanism which are mechanically scanned by the sensor, for example, can serve as signal transmitters.
• magnetic, preferably permanent-magnetic signal transmitters can be attached to the containers, for example a magnetic strip, or else optical signal transmitters, in the simplest case reflectors.
• Fig. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the individual process steps
• Figure 5 is a block diagram of the controller.
• the driver 10 has brought the emptying vehicle 12 to a standstill relative to a container 14 to be emptied such that he can see the container 14 from the vehicle cabin 16.
• a hand lever arrangement 18 arranged in the cabin - which can also be one or more so-called joysticks - he now maneuvers the hoist, here the crane 20, into a position above the container 14, taking the shortest travel path will choose that can be passed through without hindrance by parked vehicles, planting, other containers and the like.
• a first tab 24a is fixed to the container roof and serves to lift the container, while a second tab 24b is connected to a linkage attached in the interior of the container, via which the bottom flaps of the container are kept closed as long as a pull is exerted on this second bracket 24b by means of the crane. Consequently, two relatively movable hooks on the crane jib are required for the actuation, which hooks are to be coupled to the respective assigned brackets.
• FIG. 2 shows the point up to which the crane boom is moved under manual control by the driver 10.
• this is signaled to the driver, for example by an optical display lighting up, or, preferably, by an acoustic signal.
• the driver now triggers automatic mode.
• the head 26 is displaced, if necessary including a rotation, at the free end of the crane boom in such a way that the hooks on the crane side can anchor themselves on the brackets 24.
• These data are also stored for later recycling. Since the control now "knows" where the head 26 is located relative to the vehicle, the actual emptying can take place automatically, the container first being raised to a level which at least corresponds to its own height dimension.
• the container is then moved over the loading bay 28 of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 3.
• the container is lowered until it is seated on the loading surface or on empties already in the loading bay; the is noticeable by relieving the load on the crane or is calculated by the control unit. Only then are the bottom flaps of the container released and the container is raised so that it empties with minimal noise.
• FIG. 4 The entire sequence is summarized in FIG. 4 as a flow chart, including the automatic actuation of the parking brake.
• control 3 shows that, based on the stored data, the control also keeps in memory which part of the loading bay 28 has already been emptied, so that even in the horizontal direction a uniform occupancy is ensured, as shown by the above ⁇ smiling or dash-dotted container positions is illustrated. The same applies if it is a multi-chamber container, the chambers of which are to be emptied one after the other into assigned compartments of the loading bay.
• Fig. 5 shows schematically the control as a block diagram.
• a microprocessor 30 receives input signals from the hand control lever arrangement 18 and from the sensors 38, from which the microprocessor calculates the necessary control commands for the actuators 40 using programs stored in a memory 32.
• the two other memories 34, 36 serve for the intermediate storage of the path data individually entered for each emptying process from the arrangement 18 or from the sensors.
• a number of such emptying devices are known.
• the so-called two-hook system has already been mentioned above.
• hydraulically controlled actuators attached to a hoist pull horizontally displaceable levers relative to one another in order to actuate flaps on the bottom or to spread two container halves.
• a third system comprises a first central element which can be fixed and a second element which can be moved coaxially to it and by means of which the flaps are actuated.
• the device according to the invention for actuating at least one emptying flap of a collecting container or container by means of lifting gear which can be coupled to the container is better suited for automating the emptying process. It should be possible to arrange the parts of the device on the container side within the container, which improves its appearance. The parts of the direction should have a compact design, and it should be possible to get by without emptying rods within the container.
• the container has a coupling element which is operatively connected to the emptying flap and can be driven to rotate from the lifting gear.
• Such a coupling element has the advantage that a counterpart arranged on the hoist can "dip" and center itself, this counterpart being anchored to the container in a rotationally and axially fixed manner.
• the container preferably has an abutment, which can be welded to a container roof, for example, and there is a stator on the hoist, which is anchored to the abutment.
• the coupling element is a rope drum or chain drum to which at least one rope or chain is attached, while the other end of the rope or chain is in operative connection with the emptying flap.
• the rope can be directly connected to the e.g. flap arranged at the bottom can be connected; if it is wound up by rotating the drum, the flap is kept closed while it can open under the weight of the bulk material when the rope is unwound.
• the device preferably comprises a stator which is anchored to the abutment and a rotor which is anchored to the coupling element. It is advantageous if the stator and rotor have retractable or extendable positive locking elements which can be brought into engagement with the abutment or coupling element. However, it is of course also possible to make the connections or at least one of the two by frictional connection.
• stator and rotor are preferably arranged coaxially, with cylindrical sections suitable for corresponding bores of the abutment or of the coupling element. Bores are the easiest to manufacture, but it goes without saying that other cross-sectional shapes are also required. are cash.
• a preferably hydraulic drive motor for the rotor can be accommodated in the stator.
• the coupling element is preferably suspended loosely with play on the abutment, and the relative dimensions of the anchoring means on the rotor or coupling element are selected such that the coupling element lifts and centers somewhat when anchoring the rotor, so that the coupling element does not come into contact with during operation the abutment. Storage of the coupling element in the container can therefore be dispensed with.
• the lifting device preferably has sensors that supply control signals when the coupling element in particular is touched.
• a cone can be attached to the free end of the rotor, which, when it strikes a shoulder of the coupling element, controls actuators of the lifting device via the sensor signals in such a way that the cone tip is gradually centered with respect to a bore of the coupling element.
• the part of the device on the container side is preferably attached invisibly in the interior of the container, below a top wall thereof.
• the access opening can be closed with lids which are spring-biased in the closed position, but which deflect when the rotor is lowered.
• Figure 6 shows a largely schematic embodiment of the invention, in the upper part in a side view, in the lower part in an axial section.
• An abutment 112 is attached to the inside of the roof 110 of the container, for example welded on; Welds, struts and the like are omitted in the drawing as insignificant.
• the abutment has in its upper part a first cavity 114, which is rectangular parallel to the roof 110 in section.
• Two flaps 118 are articulated to two opposite edges 116, the free ones edges facing each other overlap like roof tiles. The flaps are pretensioned into the position shown by means of springs (not shown) and stops, but can be deflected inwards and then lie against the vertical walls 120.
• the cavity narrows to a second cavity 122, the cross-sectional shape of which is circular parallel to the roof 110.
• This section of the abutment 112 has a groove-like depression 124. Another groove 126 jumps in from the outside.
• a drum 128 is located under the abutment 112.
• Three disc sectors 129 are connected, for example screwed, to the drum 128, which engage in the groove 126 with axial and radial play.
• the drum 128 thus hangs loosely on the abutment 112, but is secured against rotation in this state, for example by teeth (not shown) arranged on the underside of the disk sectors engaging in a counter-toothing which is provided in the groove 126.
• the drum is penetrated by a bore 130 which has the same diameter as the second cavity 122 of the abutment 112; but this is not mandatory.
• This cavity widens approximately in the middle of the bore 130 to form a further, groove-like depression 132, the cross section of which is wedge-shaped.
• traction means for example cables 133 or chains, are fixed at one end, while the other end is connected, for example, to flaps on the bottom for emptying the container, with corresponding deflection rollers being provided in the container.
• the upper part of the drawing represents the part of the arrangement on the hoist side consisting of a stator 134 and a rotor 136.
• the stator 134 comprises a connecting plate 138 with which it is attached to the jib of a crane (not shown).
• a motor preferably a hydraulic motor, by means of which the rotor 136 can be driven to rotate about its axis 140, the direction of rotation being controllable.
• the stator and rotor contain means, for example scenes that interact with tappets, which allow support pieces 142 to be extended or retracted from the stator 134 and to be removed from the rotor. to let gate drive pieces 144 extend or retract.
• the carrier and driver pieces are shown extended, although they are only extended during operation if the stator is in the abutment and the rotor is in the drum of the part of the arrangement on the container side.
• the arrangement is operated as follows.
• the operator controls the crane boom manually over the container until the rotor is approximately above the flaps 118.
• the system switches to automatic operation.
• the part of the arrangement on the hoist side is provided with a number of sensors, the selection and arrangement of which can be readily taken out by the person skilled in the art from the following functional description.
• the crane boom now lowers the assembly consisting of the stator and rotor vertically.
• a guide cone 146 at the bottom tip of the rotor will generally abut anywhere on shoulder 147 because the axis of the rotor and the axis of the container side assembly will be misaligned.
• Such an abutment is detected by first sensors and their output signal is processed into a command by means of which the crane boom is shifted in the direction of the axis alignment while the rotor continues to penetrate into the second cavity 122.
• the centering has taken place and the connecting plate 138 sits on the top of the abutment, which is detected by a second sensor.
• the support pieces 142 are at the level of the groove-like depression 124, and the driver pieces 144 are slightly above the depression 132.
• the support and driver pieces are extended.
• the support pieces 142 anchor the stator not only axially fixed to the abutment 112, but also non-rotatably; for this purpose, the recess 124 is not circular, but comes into positive engagement with the support pieces 142.
• 124 teeth are provided at the base of the recess, which are complementary to teeth of the support pieces 142.
• the drum When the driver pieces 144 are extended, the wedge shape of which is complementary to the wedge-shaped cross section of the depression 132, the drum is raised because of this wedge shape and the driver pieces located slightly higher than the depression 132, so that they come out of the groove 126 is released and does not touch the abutment because it is centered by the driver pieces 144.
• the driver pieces also anchor themselves in a rotationally fixed manner on the drum 128. The rotation lock of the drum is thereby removed.
• lifting is carried out by means of a lifting device (crane and crane boom) and shifted over the loading bay of the Emptying vehicle where the container is placed.
• a lifting device Crane and crane boom
• the motor located in the stator is switched on, so that the rotor 136 rotates the drum 128 and, depending on the direction of rotation, winds up or unwinds the traction means, thereby releasing the emptying flaps so that they open open under the weight of the contents when the container is lifted again.
• the motor is operated in the opposite direction, so that the flaps are closed by the traction means.
• the container can then be put down again, support and driver pieces are drawn in and the part of the arrangement on the hoist side is released.
• the container While the container is being lifted, opened, closed and put down again, it remains axially and non-rotatably coupled to the hoist via its abutment 112, and therefore its position cannot change in an uncontrolled manner. This means that the container is repositioned precisely at the previous location, exposed, the movements carried out for emptying are stored and run through in reverse order for the return of the container, as described above in connection with the method according to the invention .
• the coupling device is also particularly suitable for automatic operation: if the vehicle has locating means for the container, the position of the flaps 118 can also be detected; Even if the accuracy of the location is not particularly good - for example on the order of centimeters - this is sufficient for the coupling process because of the "self-search" described above using the cone 146. If one equips containers and vehicles with the coupling device according to the invention, the containers are set down to their previous location exactly to the centimeter after emptying. This in turn makes it possible to use containers with floor plans that interlock positively; this has the advantage that batteries made from such containers are stable and, in the case of smaller horizontal dimensions, the containers are not readily exposed to vandalism.
• a "battery" comprises at least a first and a second container of the same height and width, but the battery can also be composed of any number of containers.
• a battery thus consists of at least a first container and a second container of the same height and width, in which the first container has at least one vertical wall having a projection and the second container has at least one, one to the projection has complementary recess vertical wall.
• This design enables the two containers to be placed side by side in a form-fitting manner, which is particularly useful when a "short" container is framed by two “long” ones.
• this measure presupposes that the operator of the emptying vehicle can position the containers lifted and emptied over the vehicle loading bay with great precision back in their previous place.
• the containers can be elegantly designed if the projection is convex-cylindrical and the recess is concave-cylindrical.
• the measure of making the cylinder diameter larger than the width of the containers also gives the containers an elegant appearance. It is preferred to choose the angle of the projection of the projection larger than that of the recess; this makes it possible not only to line up the containers along a straight line, but also with kinking longitudinal axes without losing the positive fit and the container battery forming ugly protruding angles.
• one of the container groups preferably has two projections, namely at both ends defining the container length. It represents the core of the battery, so to speak, and also works harmoniously as a single container.
• the added containers on the other hand, have a cantilever at one end and the recess at the other, so that the recesses can always lie "inside" and the battery has cantilevers at its end. It is of course also conceivable for a container to have depressions at both ends, which then adapt to the projections of two adjacent containers.
• the volume of the containers is preferably varied such that the ends (with cantilever or recess) remain unchanged and only the container length between them is dimensioned according to the desired capacity, while the width and height remain uniform.
• FIG. 7 shows one of the containers in perspective
• FIG. 8 shows another of the containers in perspective
• FIG. 9 shows a top view of one of the possible variations of a collecting battery in the arrangement according to the invention
• FIG. 10 shows the same arrangement in side view reproduces.
• the container according to FIG. 7 comprises a body 210 with middle flat vertical walls 212, convex-cylindrical projecting vertical end walls 214 and a top wall 216, which is also convex-cylindrical.
• the upper edge of the walls 214 is connected to the end edge of the top wall 216 via spherical shell-shaped gussets 218.
• the container is provided with emptying flaps 220, which, however, play no role for the present.
• top wall 216 there are, for example, two insertion openings 222 dimensioned for the insertion of bottles and other hollow glasses.
• two flaps 224 are pivoted inward, under which parts of an emptying mechanism or other coupling elements for emptying mechanisms.
• the diameter of the cylindrical wall parts is somewhat larger than the width of the container, measured between the outer surfaces of the flat walls 212, so that edges 226 are visible at the joints.
• the container shown in FIG. 7 is the basic container which is placed in the center of a disposal station with more than two containers and to which containers according to FIG. 8 can be connected on both sides.
• the container according to FIG. 8 is, at least at one of its ends and in its central part, constructed in the same way as the container according to FIG. 7; this end is therefore only shown hidden in FIG. 8.
• a recess or groove is provided such that the end wall 230 and the gusset 232 are cut out and the cutout is taken up by a vertical, concave-cylindrical wall 234.
• This wall 234 has the same cylinder diameter as the walls 214, but extends only over an arc or angle that is slightly larger than half the arc or angle of the walls 214.
• FIGS. 9 and 10 show an example of a container battery.
• a container 240 for white glass a container 242 for brown glass, a container 244 for green glass, a container 246 for paper and a container 248 for light-weight packaging.
• the glass containers have only one opening on each side, while the other two containers have slots.
• the container 244 has cantilevers at both ends, the other containers each have a cantilever and a recess, the recesses being attached to the cantilever of the neighboring container. It can be seen in particular that the "short" container 242 is held in a form-fitting manner between the two adjacent containers.
• the containers do not necessarily have to be lined up in a straight line, but rather that adjacent containers are in each case adjacent to one another can be pivoted considerably before ugly inner corners arise between the recess of a container and the flat wall of the secondary container.
• the design of the containers lends itself to production from fiber-reinforced plastics, in particular glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy resin, but production from metal, for example sheet steel, is by no means excluded. You can also provide material combinations of both or other materials.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Refuse Collection And Transfer (AREA)
• Control And Safety Of Cranes (AREA)
• Processing Of Solid Wastes (AREA)
• Filtering Of Dispersed Particles In Gases (AREA)
• Cyclones (AREA)
• Refuse-Collection Vehicles (AREA)
• Loading Or Unloading Of Vehicles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (7)

Publications (2)

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ID=27215174

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Country Status (5)

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• 1996
  • 1996-06-01 AT AT96917486T patent/ATE186892T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-06-01 EP EP96917486A patent/EP0773896B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-06-01 CA CA002196412A patent/CA2196412A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-06-01 WO PCT/EP1996/002374 patent/WO1996039347A2/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1996-06-01 DE DE59603710T patent/DE59603710D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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