Patent Application
20070119850
The present disclosure relates generally to dumpsters.
Dumpsters are used to store waste material. For example, there are municipal waste dumpsters used to store municipal waste and which can be loaded onto and off of a vehicle for transporting the dumpster between a waste collection site and a landfill or other location.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a dumpster that comprises a relatively high strength-to-weight fiber-reinforced composite material. Exemplarily, the dumpster comprises a metallic frame and a plurality of fiber-reinforced polymer panels secured to the metallic frame to define an interior waste storage volume for storing waste in the dumpster.
Illustratively, according to another aspect of the disclosure, the dumpster comprises opposed first and second side walls, first and second end walls interconnecting the first and second side walls at opposite longitudinal ends of the dumpster, and a floor to which the first and second side walls and the first and second end walls are secured. The first and second side walls, the first and second end walls, and the floor cooperate to define the interior waste storage volume. Further, the first end wall comprises a door pivotably mounted at the top thereof for discharge of waste from the interior waste storage volume. Exemplarily, each of the first side wall, the second side wall, the first end wall, the second end wall, and the floor comprises at least one of the fiber-reinforced polymer panels.
The above and other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.
While the concepts of the present disclosure are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific exemplary embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives following within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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The fiber-reinforced composite material may be embodied in a variety of ways. For example, the material may be embodied as a fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) having a reinforcing agent in a polymer resin matrix. The FRP material may be embodied as any FRP structure including, but not limited to, a solid laminate or a sandwich panel (e.g., a panel having first and second skins with a core sandwiched therebetween and possibly fiber insertions extending from the first skin through the core to the second skin). As such, the FRP structures may be embodied, for example, as either 2-D or 3-D structures (e.g., a 2-D or 3-D laminate or panel). An exemplary sandwich panel for use in the dumpster 10 is TRANSONITE® available from Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. of Raleigh, N.C.
The matrix may include a thermosetting resin, although thermoplastic resins are also contemplated for use. Examples of thermosetting resins which may be used include, but are not limited to, unsaturated polyesters, vinyl esters, polyurethanes, epoxies, phenolics, and mixtures and blends thereof.
The reinforcing agent may include E-glass fibers, although other reinforcements such as S-glass, carbon, KEVLAR®, aramids, metal, UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) materials, high modulus organic fibers (e.g. aromatic polyamides, polybenzamidazoles, and aromatic polyimides), and other organic fibers (e.g. polyethylene and nylon) may be used. Blends and hybrids of the various reinforcing materials may be used. Other suitable composite materials may be utilized including whiskers and fibers such as boron, aluminum silicate, and basalt.
In the case of where the FRP structure is embodied as a sandwich panel, the core type may include, but is not limited to, balsa wood, foam, open-cell material, closed-cell material, and various types of honeycomb.
The FRP structures may be embodied as any of the structures disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,794,402; 6,023,806; 6,044,607; 6,070,378; 6,081,955; 6,108,998; 6,467,118 B2; 6,645,333; 6,676,785, the entirety of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. It should be appreciated that the structures disclosed in the above-identified patents may be sized, scaled, dimensioned, orientated, or otherwise configured in any desired manner to fit the needs of a given design of the FRP structure.
Illustratively, the dumpster 10 is configured as an open top hollow rectangular box, although other geometric or irregular shapes are also contemplated (e.g., cubic or other polygonal shapes). In the illustrative rectangular box example, the dumpster 10 has opposed side walls 14, a first end wall 16 interconnecting the side walls 14 at a first longitudinal end of the dumpster 10, a second end wall 18 interconnecting the side walls 14 at an opposite second longitudinal end of the dumpster 10, and a floor 20 to which the walls 14, 16, 18 are secured. The walls 14, 16, 18 and the floor 20 cooperate to define the interior waste storage volume 12. In addition, the walls 14, 16, 18 cooperate to provide the dumpster 10 with a top opening 22 for reception of waste material into the volume 12. The top opening 12 may be covered or uncovered.
Exemplarily, the dumpster 10 is about 20 feet long, about 8 feet wide, and about 12 feet high and weighs less than 10,000 pounds (4,536 kg). For example, the dumpster 10 weighs about 6300 pounds (2,858 kg). This is less than the weight of all-metal dumpsters weighing 10,500 pounds (4,763 kg) or, in some cases, 10,150 pounds (4,604 kg).
Further exemplarily, the dumpster 10 is constructed to satisfy ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 1496-1:1990(E) which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Under a load of about 52,911 pounds (24,000 kg) (the load including the weight of both the dumpster 10 and cargo therein), a wall 14 of the dumpster 10 deflected only about 2 15/16inches (7.46 cm), within the ISO envelope. The wall 14 returned to its original state upon removal of the cargo. Each wall 14 is thus resiliently deflectable.
To provide the dumpster 10 with the thus-described shape or other shape, the dumpster 10 comprises a frame 24 and a number of FRP panels 26 secured thereto and sized according to their particular use and location within the dumpster 10. The structural members of the frame 24 may all be metallic, may all be made of a fiber-reinforced composite material, or may be a mix of metallic and fiber-reinforced composite members. In the case where the frame 24 has at least one metallic structural member, the frame 24 may be referred to as a metallic frame, as in the illustrative example of the dumpster 24 which has a number of metallic structural members made of carbon steel or other metal.
In the illustrated embodiment, each side wall 14 is provided by a number of frame members and a number of panels 28. In particular, exemplarily, each side wall 14 is provided by an upper horizontal longitudinal tubular beam 30, a lower horizontal longitudinal channel 32, a pair of vertical corner posts 34, and joints 36 in the form of castings interconnecting the posts 34, the beam 30, and the channel 32.
There are, for example, three panels 28a, 28b, 28c which form the main body of the wall 14. The panels 28a, 28b, 28c are secured to the beam 30, the channel 32, and the posts 34 by use of additional frame members. For example, on the outside of the panels 28a, 28b, 28c, there are a horizontal upper channel 38, a pair of corner angle bars 40, and a pair of vertical tubular bars 42, and, on the inside of the panels 28a, 28b, 28c, there are a number (e.g., three) of horizontal upper angle bars 44, a horizontal lower angle bar 46, and a pair of vertical T-shaped bars 48. Each of the panels 28a, 28b, 28c of the wall 14 is secured to the upper channel 38, the lower channel 32, one of the upper angle bars 44, and the lower angle bar 46. The intermediate panel 28b is also secured to both tubular bars 42 and both T-shaped bars 48, each of which extends between the intermediate panel 28b and an adjacent end panel 28a, 28c. Each end panel 28a, 28c of the wall 14 is also secured to one of the tubular bars 42, one of the T-shaped bars 48, and one of the corner angle bars 40. The panels 28a, 28b, 28c may be secured to their respective frame members by use of, for example, an adhesive or other bonding agent and/or one or more fasteners.
An access hole 50 may be formed in any of the panels 28a, 28b, 28c of the wall 14, illustratively, the intermediate panel 28b. The hole 50 may be closed with a plug 52 when not in use.
The first end wall 16 is provided, for example, by a number of the frame members and a door 54. The frame members include a pair of posts 34 and horizontal upper and lower transverse tubular bars 56, 58 interconnecting the posts 34 via joints 36. Gussets 59 may be secured to beams 30 and the bar 56.
The door 54 is mounted at its top to the upper transverse bar 56 by hinges 60 for pivotable movement between a closed position shown in
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As for the materials of the frame members, as alluded to above, the frame members may be made of metal and/or a fiber-reinforced composite material. Exemplarily, all of the frame members are made of metal (e.g., steel) except frame members 46, 48, 92, and 94.
An exemplarily construction of each panel 28 is shown in
While the concepts of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected.
There are a plurality of advantages of the concepts of the present disclosure arising from the various features of the systems described herein. It will be noted that alternative embodiments of each of the systems of the present disclosure may not include all of the features described yet still benefit from at least some of the advantages of such features. Those of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise their own implementations of a system that incorporate one or more of the features of the present disclosure and fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
