Trash compactor

Claim 2

A trash compactor comprising: a cabinet having a support floor raised a short distance above the ground level upon which the cabinet is supported; a horizontally arranged frame located beneath said support floor and roller means supporting said frame for movement of the frame away from the support floor and the cabinet; a cabinet door pivotally connected at its lower end to said frame upon a horizontal axis, said door normally extending a distance approximately vertically upwardly of and closing the cabinet for a distance above said support floor; a bag support means upon said door for removably holding an open trash bag upright within the cabinet with the closed bottom of the bag supported upon said support floor for thereby supporting the weight of a trash containing bag upon said floor; and releasable locking means securing the frame in its position beneath the support floor; wherein said cabinet door may be tilted outwardly of the cabinet, thus tiltably raising the bag away from the support floor and said door and its attached frame may be moved away from the cabinet for removal of the bag, after it is filled, from the bag support means.

Claim 3

A compactor as defined in claim 1, and said bag support means including a platform, secured to said door, upon which the bag bottom is rested, with the platform resting upon the support floor when the door is upright for supporting the bag bottom upon the support floor; and the platform tilting upwardly away from the support floor when the door is tilted.

Claim 4

A compactor as defined in claim 1, and said door being pivotally connected to said frame by means of a vertically arranged pivot plate secured to the frame and overlapping and pivotally connected to a hinge plate fixedly secured to a vertical side edge of the door; and a spring biased, horizontally slidable locking pin extending through and opening in said pivot plate and normally abutting against the overlapped face of the hinge plate; an opening formed in said hinge pLate and positioned to receive said locking pin when the door is tilted relative to the cabinet to thereby rotate the hinge plate about its pivotal connection to the pivot plate; and said releasable locking means including a locking member mounted upon the frame and movable to engage against said support floor; and a linkage interconnecting the locking pin and the locking member for moving and holding the locking member out of engagement with said support floor when the locking pin extends through said hinge plate opening; and manually operable means for retracting the locking pin from the hinge plate opening.

Claim 5

A compactor as defined in claim 3, and said locking member comprising a hook pivotally connected to said frame for swinging upwardly for engaging a portion of the bottom of the support floor, and said linkage operating to permit said hook to swing downwardly out of engagement with said floor when the locking pin enters the hinge plate opening.

Claim 6

A device as defined in claim 4, and including a spring normally holding the hook in its upwardly swung, floor engaging position.

Claim 7

A compactor as defined in claim 4, and said linkage including a link pivotally connected to the frame at one end and connected to the pin at its opposite end, with a lever connected to said opposite end for pivoting the link for retracting the pin from the hinge plate opening, and said link having a portion engaging the hook and holding it downwardly out of engagement with said support floor when the link is pivoted.

Claim 8

In a cabinet having an elevated, horizontal support floor arranged a short distance above the support for the cabinet, and a cabinet door for closing a portion of the cabinet above the support floor, the improvement comprising: a horizontally arranged frame movably fitted beneath said support floor; and hinge means connecting the door hingedly to the frame and for releasably locking the frame and door to the cabinet, said hinge means including a flat plate fastened to the frame and a hinge plate fixedly fastened to the door, with the two plates being overlapped and pivotally connected by a pivot pin; a locking pin extending through the frame plate and normally engaging the overlapping hinge plate face and thus being in a retracted position, and an opening formed in the hinge plate for receiving the locking pin in a pin-extended position when the door, with the plate, is swung open relative to the cabinet; a locking member fastened to the frame and normally engaging the cabinet when the locking pin is retracted; and link means interconnecting the locking pin and locking member for moving the locking means into a cabinet disengaged position when the locking pin is extended, whereby the frame with the open door may be removed from the cabinet as a unit; and manually operable means for manually retracting the locking pin from the hinge plate opening.

Claim 9

In a cabinet having an elevated, horizontal support floor arranged a short distance above the support for the cabinet, and a cabinet door for closing a portion of the cabinet above the support floor, the improvement comprising: a horizontally arranged frame movably fitted beneath said support floor; and hinge means connecting the door hingedly to the frame and for releasably locking the frame and door to the cabinet, said hinge means including a flat plate fastened to the frame and a hinge plate fixedly fastened to the door, with the two plates being overlapped and pivotally connected by a pivot pin; a locking pin extending through the frame plate and normally engaging the overlapping hinge plate face and thus being in a retracted position, and an opening formed in the hinge plate for receiving the locking pin in a pin-extended position when the door, with the plate, is swung open relative to the cabinet; a locking member fastened to the frame and normally engaging the cabinet when the locking pin is retracted; and link means interconnecting the locking pin and locking member for moving the locking means into a cabinet disengaged position when the locking pin is extended, whereby the frame with the open door may be removed from the cabinet as a unit; and manually operable means for manually retracting the locking pin from the hinge plate opening.

Claim 10

A cabinet as defined in claim 7, and said locking member including a hook pivotally connected to said frame for swinging into engagement with an adjacent portion of the bottom of said support floor when the locking pin is in its retracted position and for swinging out of engagement with said support floor when the locking pin is in its extended position.

Claim 11

A cabinet as defined in claim 8, and said link means including a link pivotally connected to the frame at one end and connected to the locking pin at its opposite end; and said manually operable means including a lever connected to said opposite end of the link for pivoting the link and thereby retracting the pin from the hinge plate opening, and said link having a portion engaging the hook and holding it out of engagement with the support floor when the link is pivoted to correspond to the locking pin extended position.