Refuse compactor

In a refuse compactor of the type having a rectangular box-like cabinet made up of a pair of parallel upright side walls, a horizontal top wall connected to the side walls, a removable upright rear wall connected to the rear edges of the top and side walls and a horizontal bottom wall connected to and extending between the bottom edges of said side walls, a trash basket drawer having upright side walls, a rear wall, a hinged front door and a bottom wall, said drawer being removably received via an access opening in the front of the cabinet and horizontally movable between a fully inserted trash compacting position within the cabinet wherein said drawer bottom wall seats on said cabinet bottom wall and movable outwardly therefrom to trash loading and unloading positions, and a refuse compacting mechansim mounted in the upper interior region of the cabinet and having a platen movable between a retracted position above the drawer and extended position disposed within the drawer when the latter is in its compacting position, the improvement wherein said rear wall of said drawer has contoured means provided along the interior surface thereof defining a vertically extending surface disposed parallel to and spaced slightly rearwardly of the path of travel of said platen during movement of said platen within said drawer to and from said extended position whereby said platen blocks horizontal movement of said drawer from its compacting position toward its trash unloading position while said platen is within said drawer.

In a refuse compactor of the type having a rectangular box-like cabinet made up of a pair of parallel upright side walls, a horizontal top wall connected to the side walls, a removable upright rear wall connected to the rear edges of the top and side walls and a horizontal bottom wall connected to and extending between the bottom edges of said side walls, a trash basket drawer having upright side walls, a rear wall, a bottom wall and a front door hinged to one of said drawer side walls for swinging movement on an upright axis between open and closed positions, said drawer being removably received via an access opening in the front of the cabinet and horizontally movable between a fully inserted trash compacting position within the cabinet wherein said drawer bottom wall seats on said cabinet bottom wall and movable outwardly therefrom to trash loading and unloading positions, and a refuse compacting mechanism mouhted in the upper interior region of the cabinet and having a platen movable between a retracted position above the drawer and extended position disposed within the drawer when the latter is in its compacting position, the improvement wherein said drawer door comprises a single piece of sheet metal having a series of inwardly extending tabs struck from each vertical side edge of said door and overlappingly engaging the associated drawer side wall in the closed position of said door to thereby horizontally align said drawer door with said drawer side walls.

In a refuse compactor of the type having a rectangular box-like cabinet including a pair of parallel upright side walls, a horizontal top wall connected to the side walls, and a horizontal bottom wall connected to and extending between said side walls, a trash basket drawer having upright side walls, a rear wall, a hinged front door and a bottom wall, said drawer being removably received via an access opening in the front of the cabinet and horizontally movable between a fully inserted trash compacting position within the cabinet wherein said drawer bottom wall seats on said cabinet bottom wall and movable outwardly therefrom to trash loading and unloading positions, and a refuse compacting mechanism mounted in the upper interior region of the cabinet and having a platen movable between a retracted position above the drawer and extended position disposed within the drawer when the latter is in its compacting position, said refuse compacting mechanism comprising an extensible toggle linkage means having first connector means operably coupled to said cabinet, second connector means operably connected to said platen and movable therewith, and third connector means intermediate said first and second connector means and comprising first and second spaced pivot means movable relative to one another transversely of the direction of movement of said platen to extend and retract said linkage means, and a motor mounted on and carried by said toggle linkage means for bodily movement therewith, said toggle linkage means including force transmitting means operably coupling said motor with said toggle linkage means for causing said relative movement of said spaced pivot means to thereby move said platen between said extended and retracted positions thereof, said force transmitting means comprising a threaded shaft and nut rotatable relative to one another by said motor and mounted to said third connector means for bodily movement with said toggle linkage means, the improvement wherein said motor is disposed beneath said threaded shaft between said shaft and said platen.

In a refuse compactor comprising a framework, a receptacle removably received in said framework adjacent one end of said framework and having an open end facing the end of the framework opposite said one end, a compacting mechanism mounted in said framework adjacent said opposite end thereof including a presser platen movable into and out of the open end of said receptacle between extended and retracted positions thereof, said mechanism comprising an extensible toggle linkage means having first connector means operably connected to said framework, second connector means operably connected to said platen and movable therewith, and third connector means intermediate said first and second connector means and comprising first and second spaced pivot means movable relative to one another transversely of the direction of movement of said platen to extend and retract said linkage means, and a motor mounted on and carried by said toggle linkage means for bodily movement therewith, said toggle linkage means including force transmitting means operably coupling said motor with said toggle linkage means for causing said relative movement of said spaced pivot means to thereby move said platen between said extended and retracted positions thereof, said force transmitting means comprising a threaded shaft and nut rotatable relative to one another by said motor and mounted for bodily movement with said toggle linkage means, the improvement wherein said motor is disposed beneath said threaded shaft and between said shaft and said platen.

In a refuse compactor of the type having a rectangular box-like cabinet made up of a pair of parallel upright side walls, a horizontal top wall connected to the side walls, a rear wall connected to the rear edges of the top and side walls and a horizontal bottom wall connected to and extending between the bottom edges of said side walls, a trash basket drawer having an open upper end and a bottom wall, said drawer being removably received via an access opening in the front of the cabinet and horizontally movable between a fully inserted trash compacting position within the cabinet wherein said drawer bottom wall seats on said cabinet bottom wall and movable outwardly therefrom to trash loading and unloading positions, and a refuse compacting mechanism mounted in the upper interior region of the cabinet and having a platen movable between a retracted position above the drawer and extended position disposed within the drawer when the latter is in its compacting position, said compacting mechanism comprising an extensible toggle linkage means having first connecting means operably connected to said cabinet, second connector means operably connected to said platen and movable therewith, and third connector means intermediate said first and second connector means and comprising first and second spaced pivot means movable relative to one another transversely of the direction of movement of said platen to extend and retract said linkage means, a motor mounted on said linkage means for bodily movement therewith and screw and nut means coupling said motor with said toggle linkage means for causing relative movement of said spaced pivot means to thereby move said platen between said extended and retracted positions thereof, the improvement wherein said first connector means comprises a pair of pivot shafts extending axially between said cabinet side walls near the upper ends thereof, a pair of rail members extending transverse to said pivot shafts and holding the same in fixed spaced relation,

• said compactor linkage being pivotally connected to said pivot shafts to form an immobile pivot anchorage for said linkage mechanism, and a pair of anchor bracket plates individually welded one to each of the interior surfaces of said cabinet side walls adjacent said cabinet top wall, the opposite ends of said pivot shafts being operably coupled to the associated bracket plate for transmitting refuse compacting reaction loads from said linkage to said cabinet side walls.

In a refuse compactor comprising a framework, a receptacle removably received in said framework adjacent one end of said framework and having an open end facing the end of the framework opposite said one end, a compacting mechanism mounted in said framework adjacent said opposite end thereof including a presser platen movable into and out of the open end of said receptacle between extended and retracted positions thereof, said mechanism comprising an extensible toggle linkage means having first connector means operably connected to said framework, second connector means operably connected to said platen and movable therewith, and third connector means intermediate said first and second connector means and comprising first and second spaced pivot means movable relative to one another transversely of the direction of movement of said platen to extend and retract said linkage means, and a motor mounted on and carried by said toggle linkage means for bodily movement therewith, said toggle linkage means including force transmitting means operably coupling said motor with said toggle linkage means for causing said relative movement of said spaced pivot means to thereby move said platen between said extended and retracted positions thereof, said force transmitting means comprising a threaded shaft and nut rotatable relative to one another by said motor and mounted for bodily movement with said toggle linkage means, a trunnion block in which said shaft is journalled for rotation, a flat motor mounting plate secured at one end to said block and extending therebeyond, said motor being mounted to said plate in cantilever fashion with the motor armature shaft being oriented parallel to said shaft, and a force multiplying drive train coupling said motor armature shaft to the said threaded shaft, said drive train including a drive pinion on said motor armature shaft, a larger driven pinion meshing with motor drive pinion, said larger pinion being journalled on a stud shaft and keyed thereto for rotation therewith, the improvement wherein said stub shaft is journalled in a one-piece plastic part which includes said driven pinion and a pair of bushings, one of said bushings having a sleeve portion protruding through and journalled in a bearing bore hole in said plate and the other of said bushings having a sleeve portion extending toward said motor, said stud shaft protruding at its ends beyond the ends of said bushing sleeves, a one-piece bracket cup secured to said plate between said motor and said plate and abutting said sleeve of said other bushing and having said stud shaft journalled therein, a drive sprocket secured on the end of said stud shaft on the side of said plate remote from said motor, and a larger driven sprocket secured to a protruding end of said threaded shaft and a chain trained over said sprockets.

In a refuse compactor comprising a framework, a receptacle removably received in said framework adjacent one end of said framework and having an open end facing the end of the framework opposite said one end, a compacting mechanism mounted in said framework adjacent said opposite end thereof including a presser platen movable into and out of the open end of said receptacle between extended and retracted positions thereof, said mechanism comprising a motor and force transmitting means operably coupling said motor with said mechanism for causing said relative movement of said platen between said extended and retracted positions thereof, said force transmitting means comprising a threaded shaft and nut rotatable relative to one another by said motor, said motor being mounted on and at one side of a support plate with the motor armature shaft oriented parallel to said shaft, and a force multiplying drive train coupling said motor armature shaft to the said threaded shaft, said drive train including a drive pinion on said motor armature shaft, a larger driven pinion meshing with motor drive pinion, said larger pinion being mounted on a stub shaft journalled in said support plate, said stud shaft protruding at its opposite ends beyond the opposite sides of said plate, a drive sprocket secured on the end of said stud shaft on the side of said plate remote from said motor, and a larger driven sprocket secured to a protruding end of said threaded shaft and a chain trained over said sprockets, said driven sprocket and said motor drive pinion being disposed on opposite sides of said stub shaft.