Waste material testing apparatus

Claim 1

An apparatus for testing the compressibility of waste materials varying in size, material content and density comprising, in combination, a portable six walled container simulating a commercial compactor container, one of said container walls having a charging aperture formed therein and another of said container walls having at least a portion of the wall formed of transparent materials, the transparent material extending from substantially adjacent the charging aperture to the wall opposed to said wall having the charging aperture formed therein; a compactor unit including an open bottom hopper communicating with the top portions of a compression chamber, said compression chamber having one end connected to said aperture in the one wall of the container; a ram unit reciprocal in said compression chamber to move waste material deposited in said hopper into the interior of said container; fluid pressure means for advancing said ram unit towards said container, said fluid pressure means including a manually operable pressure generator; and means for indicating the pressure developed by said manually operable pressure generating means, whereby the compressibility characteristics of a selected lot of waste material may be determined by concurrently observing the degree of compaction of the waste material in said container and the maximum pressure required to establish the observed degree of compaction.

Claim 2

An apparatus for testing the compressibility of waste materials varying in size, material content and density comprising, in combination, a portable six walled container simulating a commercial compactor container, one of said container walls having a charging aperture formed therein and another of said container walls having at least a portion of the wall formed of transparent materials, the transparent material extending from substantially adjacent the charging aperture to the wall opposed to said wall having the charging aperture formed therein; a compactor unit including an open bottom hopper communicating with the top portions of a compression chamber, said compression chamber having one end connected to said aperture in the one wall of the container; a ram unit reciprocal in said compression chamber to move waste material deposited in said hopper into the interior of said container; fluid pressure means for advancing said ram unit towards said container, said fluid pressure means including a manually operable pressure generator; and means for indicating the pressure developed by said manually operable pressure generating means, whereby the compressibility characteristics of a selected lot of waste material may be determined by concurrently observing the degree of compaction of the waste material in said container and the maximum pressure required to establish the observed degree of compaction.