Refuse body loading mechanism

Claim 2

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, wherein the improvement comprises means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, which means includes discs rotatably mounted on the sidewalls of the hopper, pivots connecting said discs with lower portions of the packer blade, said pivots being so located on the discs and the discs being so positioned on the hopper that during rotation said pivots are moved orbitally in a circular path which guides the scraping edge of the blade, first in a loading direction along the curved bottom of the hopper, and then in a return direction spaced above said curved bottom, and power-operated means for rotating said discs which comprises crank means rotatable with said discs and hydraulic ram means connected between the sidewalls of the hopper and crank means, there also being hydraulic ram means pivotally connected between the sidewalls of the hopper and upper portions of the packer blade to complement the action of the firstmentioned hydraulic ram means, and there being means for controlling said hydraulic ram means, said controlling means including rotatably mounted shaft, control cams rigidly mounted on said shaft, a star wheel rigidly mounted on said shaft, and spaced pins projecting from one of the discs which are positioned to engage the star wheel during rotation of the disc to cause rotation of the cams.

Claim 3

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, wherein the improvement comprises means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, which means includes discs rotatably mounted on the sidewalls of the hopper, pivots connecting said discs with lower portions of the packer blade, said pivots being so located on the discs and the discs being so positioned on the hopper that during rotation said pivots are moved orbitally in a circular path which guides the scraping edge of the blade, first in a loading direction along the curved bottom of the hopper, and then in a return direction spaced above said curved bottom, and power-operated means for rotating said discs which comprises eccentric plates rotatable with the discs, the power-operated means for accomplishing the rotating motion including hydraulic ram means connected between the sidewalls of the hopper and said eccentric plates.

Claim 4

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, wherein the improvement comprises means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, which means includes discs rotatably mounted on the sidewalls of the hopper, pivots connecting said discs with lower portions of the packer blade, said pivots being so located on the discs and the discs being so positioned on the hopper that during rotation said pivots are moved orbitally in a circular path which guides the scraping edge of the blade, first in a loading direction along the curved bottom of the hopper, and then in a return direction spaced above said curved bottom, and power-operated means for rotating said discs which comprises eccentric plates rotatable with the discs, the power-operated means for accomplishing the rotating motion including hydraulic ram means connected between the sidewalls of the hopper and said eccentric plates.

Claim 5

A refuse vehicle as claimed in claim 2 in which there is means for controlling the hydraulic ram means, said controlling means including a rotatably mounted shaft, control cams rigidly mounted on said shaft, a star wheel rigidly mounted on said shaft, and spaced pins projecting from the periphery of one of said eccentric plates and extending in geneRally radial directions, said pins being positioned to sequentially engage the star wheel during rotation of the disc.

Claim 6

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, wherein the improvement comprises means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, which means includes members rotatably mounted on the sidewalls of the hopper, pivots connecting said member members with lower portions of the packer blade, said pivots being so located on the rotary members and the rotary members being so positioned on the hopper that during rotation said pivots are moved orbitally in a circular path which guides the scraping edge of the blade, first in a loading direction along the curved bottom of the hopper, and then in a return direction spaced above said curved bottom, and power-operated means for rotating said rotary members, the rotatably mounted members being discs which are rotatable in openings of the sidewalls, and there being means for controlling the power-operated means, said controlling means including a rotatably mounted shaft, control cams rigidly mounted on said shaft, a star wheel rigidly mounted on said shaft, and spaced pin means rotatable with one of the rotatably mounted members and positioned for sequential engagement with said star wheel during rotation of the disc.

Claim 7

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, wherein the improvement comprises means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, which means includes members rotatably mounted on the sidewalls of the hopper, pivots connecting said member members with lower portions of the packer blade, said pivots being so located on the rotary members and the rotary members being so positioned on the hopper that during rotation said pivots are moved orbitally in a circular path which guides the scraping edge of the blade, first in a loading direction along the curved bottom of the hopper, and then in a return direction spaced above said curved bottom, and power-operated means for rotating said rotary members, the rotatably mounted members being discs which are rotatable in openings of the sidewalls, and there being means for controlling the power-operated means, said controlling means including a rotatably mounted shaft, control cams rigidly mounted on said shaft, a star wheel rigidly mounted on said shaft, and spaced pin means rotatable with one of the rotatably mounted members and positioned for sequential engagement with said star wheel during rotation of the disc.

Claim 8

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, wherein the improvement comprises means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, which means includes members rotatably mounted on the sidewalls of the hopper, pivots connecting said members with lower portions of the packer blade, said pivots being so located on the rotary members and the rotary members being so positioned on the hopper that during rotation said pivots are moved orbitally in a circular path which guides the scraping edge of the blade, first in a loading direction along the curved bottom of the hopper, and then in a return direction spaced above said curved bottom, and power-operated means for rotating said rotary members, there being a stationary baffle in the upper portion of the hopper extending downwardly and rearwardly and having a rear edge terminating intermediate the height of the hopper and a substantial distance rearwardly over the curved bottom, the upper portion of the packer blade being convex in cross section in a forward direction with the convexity so tailored and positioned that the upper portion of the packer blade is close to the rear edge of the baffle shortly after the beginning of packing movement and all during the rest of the packing stroke, while said upper portion of the blade rides upwardly beyond the edge of the baffle to be scraped thereby during the final portion of the packing stroke.

Claim 9

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, wherein the improvement comprises means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, which means includes members rotatably mounted on the sidewalls of the hopper, pivots connecting said members with lower portions of the packer blade, said pivots being so located on the rotary members and the rotary members being so positioned on the hopper that during rotation said pivots are moved orbitally in a circular path which guides the scraping edge of the blade, first in a loading direction along the curved bottom of the hopper, and then in a return direction spaced above said curved bottom, and power-operated means for rotating said rotary members, there being a stationary baffle in the upper portion of the hopper extending downwardly and rearwardly and having a rear edge terminating intermediate the height of the hopper and a substantial distance rearwardly over the curved bottom, the upper portion of the packer blade being convex in cross section in a forward direction with the convexity so tailored and positioned that the upper portion of the packer blade is close to the rear edge of the baffle shortly after the beginning of packing movement and all during the rest of the packing stroke, while said upper portion of the blade rides upwardly beyond the edge of the baffle to be scraped thereby during the final portion of the packing stroke.

Claim 10

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, and there being means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, wherein the improvement comprises a stationary baffle in the upper portion of the hope hopper extending downwardly and rearwardly and having a rear edge terminating intermediate the height of thE hope hopper and a substantial distance rearwardly over the curved bottom, the upper portion of the packer blade being convex in cross section in a forward direction with the convexity so tailored and positioned that the upper portion of the packer blade is close to the rear edge of the baffle shortly after the beginning of packing movement and all during the rest of the packing stroke while said upper portion of the blade rides upwardly beyond the edge of the baffle to be scraped thereby during the final portion of the packing stroke.

Claim 11

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with sidewalls and with a curved bottom positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge, and there being means for supporting the packer blade for swinging movement and for bodily movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, wherein the improvement comprises a stationary baffle in the upper portion of the hope hopper extending downwardly and rearwardly and having a rear edge terminating intermediate the height of thE hope hopper and a substantial distance rearwardly over the curved bottom, the upper portion of the packer blade being convex in cross section in a forward direction with the convexity so tailored and positioned that the upper portion of the packer blade is close to the rear edge of the baffle shortly after the beginning of packing movement and all during the rest of the packing stroke while said upper portion of the blade rides upwardly beyond the edge of the baffle to be scraped thereby during the final portion of the packing stroke.

Claim 12

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with a curved bottom and with sidewalls, and having a rear wall with a horizontal loading lip, said hopper being positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge which is in shearing relationship with the loading lip at a predetermined time in the cycle of movement, and there being means for supporting the packer blade for movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, wherein the improvement comprises having the scraping edge of the blade reinforced by spaced-apart downardly-tapered webs, there being recesses in the scraping edge which extend upwardly between webs and there being web reinforced teeth between recesses to dig into refuse and pull it into the hopper after it moves past the loading lip.

Claim 13

A refuse vehicle of the type having a storage body and having a receiving hopper with a curved bottom and with sidewalls, and having a rear wall with a horizontal loading lip, said hopper being positioned at the rear of the body and in communication therewith, and there being a packer blade extending transversely of the hopper and having a lower scraping edge which is in shearing relationship with the loading lip at a predetermined time in the cycle of movement, and there being means for supporting the packer blade for movement upwardly and downwardly and forwardly and rearwardly in the hopper, wherein the improvement comprises having the scraping edge of the blade reinforced by spaced-apart downardly-tapered webs, there being recesses in the scraping edge which extend upwardly between webs and there being web reinforced teeth between recesses to dig into refuse and pull it into the hopper after it moves past the loading lip.