Device for sorting of goods

Claim 1

An arrangement for collecting, conveying and sorting material such as refuse or laundry into various kinds of goods, said material being transported in conveyance shafts from a number of depositing places to a common collecting place with separate containers for the various kinds of goods, comprising: a number of chute doors at each depositing place, the number of doors corresponding to the various kinds of goods being handled; at least one storage space for each kind of goods being located immediately inside the corresponding chute door in order to collect the goods after being entered through said chute door each storage space ending in a substantially vertical dumping shaft and having a lower sliding surface being directed obliquely downwards towards said dumping shaft; a discharge hatch for closing a discharge opening of each storage space, said hatch being kept in closed position by means of a locking mechanism, the discharge hatch forming part of an inner wall surface of said substantially vertical dumping shaft, the locking mechanism maintaining the discharge hatch closed and allowing a certain amount of goods to be collected before the storage space is emptied, which occurs at disengagement of said locking mechanism, said discharge hatch being pivoted at its upper margin on a substantially horizontal axis so as to close the discharge opening of the storage space when being at a locked position, the lower part of said discharge hatch being operable to swing out into said dumping shaft to open in response to the force of dumped goods in the storage space to thereby cause the dumped goods to enter the dumping shaft; said conveyance shafts including a number of said substantially vertical dumping shafts common to the various kinds of goods being entered through said chute doors, and collisted in said storage spaces, each conveyance shaft conveying material from at least two depositing places; switching valves in said conveyance shafts for distributing the various kinds of goods to the corresponding containers; means for controlling the disengagement of said locking mechanisms and the position of said switching valves in order to connect said storage spaces for one and the same kind of goods through the conveyance shafts with the corresponding container.