Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 03200709 2023-05-03
Roller compactor
The invention relates to a roller compactor for compacting waste located in an
open-top container. The roller compactor has a frame-like base structure which
is adapted to be mounted or to be pulled on a long-distance transport vehicle,
and which carries an articulated arm to the free end of which is attached a
roller
compactor which is rotatable substantially about a horizontal axis of
rotation.
The compactor roller is movable from a rest position, in which it is located
above a base surface of the base structure, to a working position, in which
the
compactor roller projects above the base surface of the base structure.
For compacting waste in a container, a roller compactor of this type is
mounted
or fitted, for example, on a chassis of a long-distance transport vehicle, in
par-
ticular a truck or trailer of such a vehicle, and then moved up to an end face
of
a container that is open at the top. The compactor roller is moved from the
rest
position to the working position, where it can then be lowered into the
container.
The compactor roller located at the free end of the articulated arm is lowered
into the container. In a pivoting movement of the articulated arm, the
compactor
roller is moved back and forth in the container, compacting and/or shredding
the waste located in the container. The compactor roller is usually rotatable
via
a drive and has a structured surface, for example with protruding spikes or
teeth, in order to be able to effectively crush and compact the waste in the
con-
tainer.
A roller compactor is known, for example, from publication document EP 1 513
674 BI. The articulated arm of this design is composed of three sections that
can be pivoted relative to each other and is pivotably mounted on the rear end
of the frame of the base structure. With the aid of at least two hydraulic
cylin-
ders, on the one hand the section of the articulated arm rotatably mounted on
the frame can be pivoted relative to the frame, and on the other hand the mid-
dle section of the articulated arm can be pivoted relative to the section
mounted
on the frame. The section of the articulated arm carrying the compactor roller
is
connected to the middle section in a freely swinging manner. From the working
position, in which the compactor roll is in the container, the articulated arm
can
be brought into a transport position that is as flat as possible by first
placing the
middle section of the articulated arm as high as possible, almost vertically,
and
then pivoting the entire articulated arm onto the frame-like base structure
via
the pivot joint at its foot. During the transition from the rest to the
working
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position, these swiveling movements are performed in reverse order. However,
the movement kinematics of the articulated arm are complex to implement due
to the three-part design. In addition, it must be possible to swivel the
section of
the articulated arm that is pivotably mounted on the frame between a position
that is as horizontal as possible and a vertical position without free
installation
space being available below the frame structure for the hydraulic cylinder
used.
This results in unfavorable leverage ratios when pivoting said frame-mounted
section of the articulated arm from its horizontal position.
Document DE 10 2005 029 199 B4 shows a transportable roller compactor with
an articulated arm that can be loaded onto the loading area of a truck. In
this
case, the articulated arm consists of only two sections that can be pivoted
rela-
tive to one another, one of which carries the compactor roller and the other
of
which is pivotably mounted on a mast foot that (viewed in the direction of
travel
of the truck) is mounted on the rear end of the base frame structure of the
roller
compactor. Due to the mast foot, the swivel joint of the swivel arm is located
above the frame structure. A transition from the resting to the working
position
and vice versa is achieved in this roller compactor by a single pivoting move-
ment of the articulated arm, whereby the pivoting section of the articulated
arm
is swung over the mast foot and is deposited on the frame structure. To this
end, the pivot joint at the base of the mast is designed to allow pivotal move-
ment through an angle of at least 90 about the horizontal axis. Due to the
large
swivel angle, the implementation of the swivel movement by means of a hy-
draulic drive is also costly for this design.
Document DE 20 2014 105 681 U1 describes a transportable roller compactor
with an articulated arm and a compactor roller, in which a carriage that can
be
moved in the direction of travel of a transport vehicle is arranged on a base
structure that can be mounted on the transport vehicle. The articulated arm is
mounted on the carriage. In a transport position of the roller compactor, the
car-
riage is moved forward on the base structure in the direction of travel and
the
compactor roller is deposited in a part of the base structure located behind
it. In
a working position, the carriage is moved backwards on the base structure,
seen in the direction of travel, allowing the compactor roll to be guided by
the
swivel arm into a container located behind the transport vehicle without
having
to swivel the articulated arm over the mast base. Advantageously, this design
ensures that the compactor roller is mounted relatively far forward on the
transport vehicle when viewed in the direction of travel in the transport
position,
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but the displaceable carriage leads to increased design effort for the roller
com-
pactor.
Document EP 3 556 546 Al also shows a mobile roller compactor with a base
structure on which a swivel arm with a compactor roller is arranged. The
roller
compactor is designed to be coupled to a forklift truck with one side of the
base
structure and thus moved to different containers. The mobile roller compactor
is
then disconnected from the forklift and coupled to the container, ready for
use.
In addition to the swivel capability of the arm, in one embodiment a
rotatability
about a vertical axis is provided to extend the working range to the sides as
well. In principle, however, the use of this system is limited to a spatially
rela-
tively small area of use, e.g., within a waste yard, since the chassis of the
fork-
lift is not suitable for long-distance transport to a site of use, e.g., many
kilome-
ters away, without transporting the roller compactor and possibly the forklift
there, e.g., on a low-loader. In addition, the coupling process is time-
consuming
and requires appropriate coupling devices, e.g. suitable eyelets, on the
contain-
ers.
Document GB 2 261 832 A shows a compactor roll mounted at the end of an
arm of a self-propelled excavator. Advantageously, the arm equipment of a
possibly already existing excavator can be used in this way. Here, too, the ap-
plication is limited to a relatively small area of use, e.g. within a waste
yard, if
the excavator is not transported as a whole, e.g. on a low-loader.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a roller compactor which
is us-
able without a set-down or recoupling operation on a long-distance transport
vehicle in order to compact waste in containers, in which, even with a simple
structure, a transition from a rest position of the articulated arm to a
working po-
sition can be made by an uncomplicated movement of the articulated arm.
A roller compactor of the type mentioned at the beginning is characterized in
that the articulated arm is mounted on a mast base and pivotable about a hori-
zontal pivot axis, which base is additionally mounted on the base structure so
as to be rotatable about a vertical pivot axis.
Without having to remove the roller compactor from the transport vehicle and
without having to couple it to the container, the roller compactor can be used
from the transport vehicle. Only the swivel arm must be brought from a rest po-
sition to the working position, which is done by a rotary movement of the mast
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foot around the vertical axis of rotation and a swivel movement of the articu-
lated arm around the horizontal swivel axis. Due to the rotational movement of
the mast base around the vertical axis of rotation, a small swivel angle is
suffi-
cient for swiveling the articulated arm, since the articulated arm does not
have
to be swiveled beyond its mounting point. This significantly simplifies the
design
of the swivel arm, as over-swiveling is only possible in a cumbersome manner,
especially when using hydraulics for the drive.
The additional design work required for the rotary motion, on the other hand,
is
less than for the implementation of a sliding motion. In addition, rotary move-
ments can be implemented with low wear and correspondingly low mainte-
nance requirements. A further advantage is that a lateral working position is
also possible, in which the compactor roller is used in a container standing
next
to the roller compactor.
In an advantageous embodiment, the roller compactor is constructed in such a
way that it can be pulled onto a truck or a trailer of a truck as a transport
vehicle
or can be permanently mounted on a chassis of the transport vehicle. For
mounting, the roller compactor can have, for example, an eyelet by which it is
pulled onto a transport vehicle in the same way as a container. In particular,
the
base structure for use with the truck or its trailer has a rectangular base
area. In
this case, a longitudinal side oriented parallel to the direction of travel of
the
transport vehicle is longer than a transverse side oriented transverse to the
di-
rection of travel. Preferably, in the rest position, the mast foot is arranged
cen-
trally in the transverse direction and off-center in the longitudinal
direction on
the base structure, for example, off-center in the rear part of the base
structure
as viewed in the direction of travel by about 20 to 40% of the length of the
base
structure.
In an advantageous embodiment of the roller compactor, the vertical axis of ro-
tation is offset from the swivel axis. The offset changes the mounting point
on
the base structure between a rest position and a working position. In this
way, a
more favorable weight distribution for transport can be achieved in the rest
po-
sition, which also represents a transport position of the roller compactor in
a
transportable roller compactor design.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the roller compactor, the articulated
arm is mounted to the mast base via a swivel joint, the swivel joint having a
maximum swivel angle of less than 90 and preferably less than 75 . Such a
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small swivel angle is sufficient, since the articulated arm does not have to
be
swiveled over the mast base due to the rotation about the vertical axis for
changing between rest and working position.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the roller compactor, the mast base is
part of a rotating arrangement, which may also include, for example, a cabin
with controls from which operation of the roller compactor may be performed.
The mast foot or the rotating arrangement can be driven hydraulically or by
electric motor to rotate relative to the base structure, with one drive
preferably
being designed to be self-locking, e.g. by using a worm drive. To achieve a
high
level of operational safety, a locking arrangement is preferably provided in
addi-
tion to the self-locking of the drive, by means of which rotation of the mast
base
or the rotating arrangement can be blocked relative to the base structure. The
locking arrangement can, for example, have a hydraulically or electromotively
displaceable slide with a locking bolt that engages in a receptacle on the
base
structure.
It also serves to increase operational safety if a section of the base
structure in
which the mast foot or the rotating assembly is arranged is designed as a plat-
form. This reduces the risk of pinching or crushing during rotation.
In another advantageous embodiment of the transportable roller compactor, the
articulated arm has two articulated arm members that can be pivoted against
each other, of which a first articulated arm member, which is mounted on the
carriage, is cranked. The two-piece design of the articulated arm simplifies
its
structure and movement kinematics. In the rest position, the cranked
articulated
arm member allows space-saving positioning of the compactor roller under the
first articulated arm member while keeping the mast base low. Preferably, a
support is arranged on the base structure on which the compactor roller is
placed in the rest position. In one embodiment, the support can have a clevis
at
its free end, into which the articulated arm is inserted in the rest position,
thus
achieving high lateral stability of the articulated arm during transport.
The invention is explained in more detail below by means of an example of an
embodiment with the aid of figures. The figures show:
Figure la side view of a roller compactor mounted on a transport
vehicle;
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Figures 2-6 each an isometric view of the roller compactor of Fig. 1
without
the transport vehicle in various operating conditions; and
Figure 7 an isometric detail view of a locking arrangement of the
roller
compactor of Figs. 1 to 6.
Figure 1 shows a side view of an example of a roller compactor mounted on a
long-distance transport vehicle I. The transport vehicle used is a typical
truck
with a chassis 2 and a driver's cab 3. The transportable roller compactor is
mounted on the chassis 2 in the area behind the driver's cab 3 and is firmly
mounted, in particular bolted to supports of the chassis 2 of the transport
vehi-
cle I. Due to the design of the roller compactor for use on a truck, a large
area
of use with a radius of many kilometers or even hundreds of kilometers is real-
istic.
Instead of a fixed mounting on the transport vehicle 1, an alternative embodi-
ment can also provide that the roller compactor has an eyelet on one end face.
In this case, the size and position of the eyelet are based on commercially
available containers so that the device for mounting containers on a truck can
also be used to mount the roller compactor.
Figure 1 shows the transportable roller compactor in a transport position in
which it can be driven to the point of use by the transport vehicle I.
Figures 2 - 6 show the example of the roller compactor according to Figure 1
in
each case in an isometric representation in various operating states and
partly
from different viewing directions. For the sake of clarity, Figures 2 - 5 show
the
roller compactor without the transport vehicle 1.
Figures 2 - 6 depict in sequence a transition of the roller compactor from the
idle state (the transport state according to Figure 1) to an operating state
in
which waste located in a container is compacted and/or shredded.
The roller compactor has a base structure 10 which is of frame-like
construction
with longitudinal beams 11 and transverse beams 12. The designation longitu-
dinal beam or transverse beam here refers to an orientation of the beams rela-
tive to the direction of travel of the transport vehicle 1. With regard to its
base
area, the base structure 10 has dimensions which correspond to standard
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containers used in waste management, so that it can be mounted on a typical
truck or a corresponding trailer of a truck.
In a rear section of the base structure 10, there is a rotating arrangement 20
comprising a mast base 21 and a cabin 27 arranged on a rotatable platform. In
order to reduce a risk of injury due to the rotating arrangement 20, in this
sec-
tion the base structure 10 is covered with panels on its upper side. In a
front
section of the base structure 10, the latter may likewise be covered with
panels
or may be uncovered, as in the example shown. In the application, the indica-
tions front and rear refer to the usual direction of travel of the transport
vehicle
1.
An articulated arm 23 is mounted on the mast base 21 via a swivel joint 22 so
that it can swivel about a horizontal swivel axis. In the illustrated
embodiment,
the articulated arm 23 has two articulated arm members 231, 232 connected to
each other in an articulated manner. A compactor roller 26 is disposed at the
free end of the articulated arm 23, the compactor roller 26 being rotatable
about
a substantially horizontal axis of rotation. The compactor roller 26 can
prefera-
bly be actively rotated, for example via a hydraulic motor arranged inside it.
The articulated arm 23 can be pivoted relative to the mast base 21 by means of
one or more hydraulic cylinders not specified in the figures. Optionally, a
further
hydraulic cylinder can be provided with which the two articulated arm members
231, 232 can be pivoted relative to each other. In contrast, in the
illustrated em-
bodiment example, it is provided that the articulated arm member 232 can
swivel freely around the articulated arm member 231 and thus follow the move-
ment of the (driven) compactor roller 26 in a container.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first articulated arm member 231 mounted on
the mast base 21 is cranked. As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2 in the rest po-
sition (transport position), the cranked articulated arm member 231 in conjunc-
tion with the mast base 21 creates space for the compactor roller 26 when the
second articulated arm member 232 is driven in under the first articulated arm
member 231 in the manner shown. A low height of the roller compactor in the
transport state is thus achieved. In order to hold the articulated arm 23 in
the
transport position in a transport-safe manner and, in particular, in a
laterally sta-
ble manner, a support 13 with a clevis 14 is arranged on the base structure 10
in the front region. The second articulated arm member 232 is laterally stable
in
the fork head 14 in the rest position.
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To operate the roller compactor, the transport vehicle 1 is moved backwards to
a front side of a container that is open at the top. Then the movement fre-
quency according to figures 2-6 is run through to reach the operating position
in
figure 6. In this operating position, the compactor roller 26 can be moved for-
ward and backward in the container not shown here for compacting the waste
contained therein.
As shown in Figure 3, lifting the articulated arm 23 first lifts it out of the
fork 14
and straightens it up. The position of the articulated arm members 231 and 232
relative to each other is maintained. In the case of a second articulated arm
member 232 that can be actively pivoted relative to the first articulated arm
member 231 via a hydraulic cylinder, this can be achieved via the hydraulic
cyl-
inder. If the second articulated arm member 232 is freely swiveling relative
to
the first articulated arm member 231, as in the present embodiment example, a
hooking apparatus 24 is provided, for example, which locks the two articulated
arm members 231, 232 together in the rest position by means of a hook and/or
a movable bolt. In order to prevent the compactor roller 26 from hitting the
cranked section of the first articulated arm member 231 in the process, a stop
25, for example in the form of a rubber buffer, is attached to one of the
articu-
lated arm members 231, 232.
After the articulated arm 23 has been set up, the next step, which is shown in
Figure 4, is to rotate the rotating assembly 20 and with it the mast base 21
and
the cabin 27 about a vertical axis until the position shown in Figure 5 is
reached. From this position shown in Figure 5, the compactor roller 26 can
then
be lowered into the container by pivoting the pivot joint 22.
The cabin 27 contains the controls necessary for the sequence shown of rais-
ing the articulated arm 23, rotating the rotating assembly 20, and lowering
the
articulated arm 23 and then operating the compactor roller 26. After the
vehicle
1 is returned to the container, the operator takes a seat in the cabin 27 to
oper-
ate the roller compactor. The elevated position of the cabin 27 on the
transport
vehicle makes it possible to look into the container during the compaction pro-
cess. This increases safety during the compaction process. In order to safely
enter and exit the cabin 27, a hook-in, extendable, fold-out or fixed ladder
may
be provided to allow access to the cabin 27 at least when the roller compactor
is in the rest position and, if necessary, also when the roller compactor is
in the
working position.
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In the illustrated embodiment, the vertical axis of rotation about which the
mast
foot 21 rotates does not pass through the swivel joint 22, but is offset from
it.
Thereby, in the rest position of the articulated arm 23, the swivel joint 22
lies in
front of the axis of rotation. This ensures that in the rest position the
articulated
arm 23 and with it the compactor roller 26 are further forward in the
direction of
travel of the transport vehicle 1 than in the working position. This has an
advan-
tageous effect on the driving behaviour of the transport vehicle 1.
With suitable load capacity or design of the transport vehicle 1, in
particular if it
has laterally extendable supports, operation of the compactor roller 26 can
also
take place in the position shown in Figure 4. In this case, the transport
vehicle 1
can approach the front side of the container laterally in order to compact
waste
in this container.
A rotation of the rotating arrangement 20 or, in particular, of the mast base
21
can be driven by a hydraulic motor or by an electric motor. In the example
shown, the drive is hydraulic, whereby a hydraulic unit with an associated con-
trol cabinet is arranged as part of the rotating assembly 20 next to the cabin
27
on the rotating platform. In addition to driving the rotating arrangement 20,
the
hydraulic unit also supplies the drive for the compactor roller 26. The drive
for
the rotating arrangement 20 can advantageously be provided by a worm drive,
whereby it is self-locking. Preferably, a ball bearing is used to support the
rotary
arrangement 20.
In order to achieve a high level of operational safety during transport and
also
operation, a locking arrangement 28 is arranged at the mast foot 21 in the
illus-
trated embodiment, with which the rotational position of the rotating arrange-
ment 20 can be locked relative to the base structure 10.
The locking arrangement 28 is shown in a detailed isometric view in Figure 7.
It
has a slider 281, at the lower end of which is arranged a bolt that is not
visible
here. The slider 281 is guided vertically displaceably in a guide 282. Its
position
can be adjusted via a hydraulic cylinder 283.
The bolt or bolt head arranged at the lower end of the slider 281 penetrates
into
a locking opening 16 on the base structure 10 when the slider 281 is lowered,
whereby the rotation of the rotary arrangement 20 relative to the base
structure
10 is blocked. A corresponding locking opening 16 can be provided on the base
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structure 10 for the rest position according to Figure 2, for the operating
posi-
tion according to Figures 5 and 6 and, if necessary, also for the lateral
operat-
ing position according to Figure 4.
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List of reference signs
1 Transport vehicle
2 Chassis
3 Driver's cab
Base structure
11 Longitudinal beam
12 Transverse beam
10 13 Storage support
14 Clevis
Transverse beam
16 Locking opening
15 20 Rotational arrangement
21 Mast base
22 Swivel joint
23 Articulated arm
231 First articulated arm member
232 Second articulated arm member
24 Hooking apparatus
Stop
26 Compactor roller
27 Cabin
25 28 Locking arrangement
281 Pusher
282 Ladder
283 Hydraulic cylinder
Date recue/Date received 2023-05-03
