Waste collection and disposal system

Claim 2

A portable waste collection container for use with a collection vehicle, said vehicle having a plurality of separate adjacent compartments open at the top to receive different types of waste and having a common inlet chute above the compartments, said container comprising a bottom walls, side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall to a top edge to form an enclosure with an open tope, a partition extending between the side walls to divide the enclosure into a plurality of waste compartments corresponding in number to the compartments in the collection vehicle, a separate cover for each of the container compartments, each cover being mounted for pivotal movement from an open to a closed position and being normally in a closed position, the container having mounted thereon a releasable lock combined with each cover for independently maintaining each cover normally in a closed position, each lock including a release means which causes the simultaneous release of each of the locks when the release means engage the inlet chute in the collection vehicle just above the open tops of the compartments of the collection vehicle, thereby allowing the covers to simultaneously move to an open position for discharge of waste into the container compartments.

Claim 3

The portable waste collection container of claim 1 in which means is provided to align the container compartments with the collection vehicle compartments before the release means releases the container cover locks.

Claim 4

The portable waste collection container of claim 2 in which the inlet chute of the collector vehicle is provided with grooves extending toward the open tops of the collector vehicle compartments, there being one such groove for each lock, and the release means for the locks each have a lock release portion extending outwardly from the container for engagement with one of the grooves, the locks being positioned on the container in a manner such that the container must be properly positioned before the lock release portions will engage the grooves.

Claim 5

The portable waste collection container of claim 3 in which each lock has a locking nose engageable over a cover to hold the cover in a closed position, means is provided to bias the locking nose onto the cover, and each lock release means has a releasing member extending outwardly from the container, the locking nose and releasing member being on opposite sides of a pivot for the lock so that when the releasing member is moved inwardly the locking nose will release the cover.

Claim 6

The portable waste collection container of claim 4 in which the releasing member of each lock is engageable in one of the grooves when the container is properly aligned, the releasing member being forced inwardly as the container reaches the bottom of the inlet chute of the collector vehicle.

Claim 7

A portable waste collection container for use with a collection vehicle, said vehicle having a plurality of separate adjacent compartments open at the top to receive different types of waste and having a common inlet chute above the compartments, said inlet chute having grooves extending toward the open tops of the compartments, said container comprising a bottom wall, side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall to a top edge to form an enclosure with an open top, a partition extending between the side walls to divide the enclosure into a plurality of waste compartments corresponding in number to the compartments in the collection vehicle, a separate cover for each of the container compartments, each cover being mounted for pivotal movement from an open to a closed position and being normally in a closed position, a releasable lock for maintaining each cover in a closed position, said locks each having a lock release portion extending outwardly from the container for engagement with one of the grooves in the inlet chute thereby allowing the covers to move to an open position for discharge of waste in the container compartments, the locks being positioned on the container in a manner such that the container must be properly positioned before the lock release portions of the locks will engage the grooves, and means to align the container compartments with the collection vehicle compartments before the lock release portions release the container cover locks.

Claim 8

A portable waste collection container for use with a collection vehicle, said vehicle having a plurality of separate adjacent compartments open at the top to receive different types of waste and having a common inlet chute above the compartments, said inlet chute having grooves extending toward the open tops of the compartments, said container comprising a bottom wall, side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall to a top edge to form an enclosure with an open top, a partition extending between the side walls to divide the enclosure into a plurality of waste compartments corresponding in number to the compartments in the collection vehicle, a separate cover for each of the container compartments, each cover being mounted for pivotal movement from an open to a closed position and being normally in a closed position, a releasable lock for maintaining each cover in a closed position, said locks each having a lock release portion extending outwardly from the container for engagement with one of the grooves in the inlet chute thereby allowing the covers to move to an open position for discharge of waste in the container compartments, the locks being positioned on the container in a manner such that the container must be properly positioned before the lock release portions of the locks will engage the grooves, and means to align the container compartments with the collection vehicle compartments before the lock release portions release the container cover locks.

Claim 9

The portable waste collection container of claim 6 in which each lock has a locking nose engageable over a cover to hold the cover in a closed position, means is provided to bias the locking nose onto the cover, and each lock has a releasing member extending outwardly from the container, the locking nose and releasing member being on opposite sides of a pivot for the lock so that when the releasing member is moved inwardly the locking nose will release the cover.

Claim 10

The portable waste collection container of claim 7 in which the releasing member of each lock is engageable in one of the grooves when the container is properly aligned, the releasing member being forced inwardly as the container reaches the bottom of the inlet chute of the collector vehicle.