DEVICE FOR COLLECTING WASTE IN A PIT

DISPOSITIF SERVANT A RECUEILLIR DES DECHETS DANS UNE FOSSE

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Device for collecting waste in a pit, including a pit
having a lid which can be opened and allowing transit, when
it is in closed position, at the level of the surrounding
paving; the lid is associated with the upper edge of the
pit, and the pit furthermore has a lifting unit that moves
at least one waste container from a position in which it is
fully inserted in the pit to a position in which it
protrudes fully from it; the lid has at least one column to
allow users to put waste into the at least one container.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Device for collecting waste in a pit, comprising a
pit having a lid which can be opened and allows transit,
when it is in closed position, at the level of the
surrounding paving, said lid being associated with the
upper edge of said pit, said pit furthermore having a
lifting unit which is suitable to move at least one waste
container from a position in which it is fully inserted in
the pit to a position in which it protrudes fully from it,
said lid having at least one column to allow users to put
waste into the at least one container.
2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the openable
lid is divided into two halves respectively pivoted at one
side on a rim of the pit and provided with movement means
that are suitable to rotate them from the closed position
to the open position and vice versa.
3. Device according to claim 1, wherein both the
openable lid and the lifting unit have oleodynamic movement
means suitable to be connected to the oleodynamic circuit
of a motor vehicle for removing the waste from the at least
one container.
4. Device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting
unit has movement means comprising an oleodynamic cylinder
and comprises a platform suitable to support at least one
waste container.

Description

211 385.~
The present invention relatQs to a device ~or
collecting waste in a pit.
It is known that the methods currently used to collect
municipal solid waste are quite unsatisfactory.
Considering the method currently in widespread use,
which consists in using large bins which are placed
alongside the street surface proximate to the sidewalks and
in which users place the waste contained in bags and
various containers, it is easy to note its drawbacks both
lo from the aesthetic point of view, since the bins certainly
do not provide pleasant urban furnishing, and from the
point of view of hygiene, due to the fumes that leak from
said bins.
Such bins also cause unwanted space occupation
particularly in densely populated areas.
It should also be noted that known collection methods
entail a considerable use of labor, both for the above
mentioned municipal solid waste and more generally for
waste of any kind.
In order to obviate all these drawbacks, Canadian
application no. 2,039,852-3 of April 5, 1991 in the name of
the same Applicants discloses a device that comprises a
structure having a base and a lid which are mutually
connected so as to delimit a portion of space for
accommodating a bin that receives the waste by means of a
column associated with the lid; said structure is connected
to lifting means that move it from a position in which it
is retracted inside a pit, so that its lid is aligned with

2113~rj,j
the surrounding acces~ surface, and a position in whlch it
protrudes from the pit and in which it is the base that is
aligned with said access surface.
This device is highly effective, but further studlee
have allowed to provide a new device which again has the
aim of freeing the road surface from any bulky structure
having a negative aesthetic impact and furthermore provides
optimum hygiene conditions and easy handling for operators.
The proposed aim is achieved by a device for
o collecting waste in a pit, according to the invention,
characterized in that it comprises a pit having a lid which
can be opened and allowing transit, when it is in closed
position, at the level of the surrounding paving, said lid
being associated with the upper edge of said pit, said pit
furthermore having a lifting unit suitable to move at least
one waste container from a position in which it is fully
inserted in the pit to a position in which it protrudes
fully from it, said lid having at least one column to allow
users to put waste into the at least one container.
Further characteristics and advantages of the
invention will become apparent from the following
description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment
thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example
in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
figure l is a longitudinal sectional view, taken along
the plane I-I of figure 2, of the device according to the
invention with its lid closed:
figure 2 is a transverse sectional view, taken along

the plane II-II of figure 1, of the device according to the
invention with its lid open.
With reference to the above figures, the reference
numeral 1 designates a pit, which is provided by ground
excavation, is lined with masonry, and has an openable lid
formed by two halves 2 and 3 hinged respectively at 4 and 5
to an upper rim of the pit.
Said lid is moved between a closed position,
illustrated in figure 1, in which it allows transit over it
o by virtue of the strength of its structure and it is at the
level of the surrounding paving 6, and an open position,
shown in figure 2, by actuating oleodynamic cylinders 7 for
the half 2 and oleodynamic cylinders 8 for the half 3.
The two halves of the lid have columns 9 for the half
2 and 10 for the half 3, which allow users to insert waste
in the underlying containers, which will be described
hereinafter.
As regards the lid, it should be noted that a seal
suitable to prevent the escape of fumes from the pit is
provided in the manner described and claimed in the above
mentioned patent application no. 2,039,852-3 and comprises
a channel 11, which is filled with water and runs along the
entire rim of the pit; when the lid is closed, said channel
accommodates a ridge extending from said lid.
The pit 1 accommodates a lifting unit which comprises
a platform 12, provided with sliders 13 that can slide
along guides 14, which are fixed to the walls of the pit,
by virtue of the action of an oleodynamic cylinder 15; said
platform is suitable to support the waste containers,

con~tltuted by ordinary bins such as 16, and there are 5iX
of said containers, each one being located at a column 10,
for introducing the waste.
The normal condition of the device is the one shown in
figure l: the containers are accommodated in the pit
below the street level; only the columns 10 protrude above
said street level, and the waste is inserted therein by the
users and falls into the bins 16.
Said bins are periodically emptied by moving the lid
into the open position shown in figure 2 and by lifting the
platform 12 of the lifting unit up to the level of the
paving 6 surrounding the pit, as shown in dashed lines in
said figure 2, so as to easily move the bins 16 to the
collection truck.
Indeed, the actuator cylinder 15 of the lifting unit
and the actuator cylinders 7 and 8 that move the lid can
advantageously be actuated by virtue of the connection,
with quick couplings not shown in the figures, of said
actuator cylinders to the oleodynamic circuit of the
collection truck.
The described invention is susceptible to numerous
modifications and variations, all of which are within the
scope of the inventive concept.
In the practical embodiment of the invention, the
materials employed, as well as the shapes and dimensions,
may be any according to the requirements.

Representative Drawing