Patent Application
20120291639
This disclosure pertains to garbage compactors, and, more specifically, to the hydraulic cylinder configuration on garbage compactors.
Current compactor designs consist of cylinders being mounted inside of a packer head behind a ram. These cylinders are connected to the packer head at one end and the ram on the other. These cylinders force the ram forward compacting garbage into a container. In self-contained machines the cylinders are sometimes mounted in a cross pattern which increases wear of cylinder pins and pin mounts. This makes repairs difficult as the space that the cylinders are mounted in may be very small and cramped. This puts a lot of stress on hoses and cylinders when any material bypasses the ram, which may cause the cylinders to start compacting in reverse as well, which may wear the machine out twice as fast. The bypassed garbage may compact in between hoses causing them to burst, resulting in additional maintenance requirements. It may be very hard to clean out behind the ram with the cylinders in this area because there is even less space with the cylinders in here.
It may also be very difficult to remove the cylinders in this cramped space when they need to be replaced. The pins must normally be cut with a torch resulting in increased health risks with the technician normally being in this space with the smoke of the torch.
Current compactors with guide systems also have the guides bolted to the ram. In order for the guides to be replaced the ram must be removed from the packer head resulting in increased maintenance costs and more down time for the owner of the equipment.
In the instant application, cylinders may be mounted to the outside of a charge chamber. This may result in easier maintenance and lower repair bills. In cases where the pins are rusted solid and must be cut out the technician may not be confined to such a cramped space, lowering health risks and allowing faster maintenance resulting in less expensive repairs. There may also be several variations of guide systems removable from the outside of the machine, which may provide similar benefits.
In one embodiment, one end of a cylinder would be connected to a bracket at the back of a packer head on the outside of the packer head. The opposite end of the cylinder would be connected to a bracket on the outside of the charge chamber protruding through a gap in the side of the charge chamber and back to the ram. In another embodiment the bracket protrudes directly through the side of the charge chamber to the ram
While the detailed description above has been expressed in terms of specific examples, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other configurations could be used. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that various equivalent modifications of the above-described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
