Refuse vehicle

An apparatus adapted to be mounted upon a vehicle chassis rearwardly of the cab thereof for loading and compacting compressible material comprising:

• (a) a refuse loading compartment disposed rearwardly of the cab having a floor and side walls;
• (b) a forwardly open storage compartment disposed rearwardly of said loading compartment and in open communication therewith having side walls, a substantially vertically disposed end wall and a floor elevated with respect to the floor of said loading compartment;
• (c) a generally planar member disposed intermediate said loading and storage compartments said member being pivotally connected to said storage compartment proximate the forward edge of said floor thereof and being pivotally movable from a first position defining an inclined plane interconnecting said floors of said storage and loading compartments to a second generally horizontal position substantially coplanar with said floor of said storage compartment;
• (d) a longitudinally movable, generally vertically disposed, substantially planar compaction blade including means for moving said blade comprising a fluid actuated assembly consisting of a plurality of telescopically interconnected members housing a fluid actuated piston, one end of said assembly being connected to said compaction blade for uniform movement of said blade, the other end of said assembly being connected to the forward end of the loading compartment, said compaction blade being movable relative to said planar member from a first position forward of the forward edge of said planar member wherein said blade closes the forward opening in said storage compartment, to a second position proximate said rearward end wall of said storage compartment said blade being constructed and arranged to cooperatively interact with said planar member for removing refuse from said planar member when the latter is in a second position and carrying the refuse rearwardly of said planar member and storage compartment toward the end wall thereof for compaction of the trash between said compaction blade and said end wall;
• (e) a pusher assembly carried within said loading compartment and reciprocally movable rearwardly beneath said compaction blade to a position proximate said planar member for moving refuse deposited into said loading compartment onto said planar member when said latter member is in a first position, said pusher assembly being provided with a curved refuse engaging blade adapted to cooperate with said planar member to lift the trash deposited thereon as said member is raised to said second position, the curvature of said blade closely corresponding to the arc generated by the movement of the forward edge of said planar member as said member moves from said first to said second position, whereby as said member is moved to said second position said blade and said planar member cooperatively interact so that as the trash is lifted it will not fall between said blade and said planar member;
• and
• (f) means for moving said planar member from the first to second postion.