Live bottom shear deck refuse bag opener
AssigneeBeloit Technologies, Inc.
InventorJames R. Montgomery
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A plurality of parallel chain loops have outwardly extending blades and travel in plastic channels over an inclined deck. The chains extend between shafts which rotate in opposite directions and are mounted to the shafts so that alternating chains move up the incline and the others move down. Refuse bags deposited on the deck are torn open by the blades. Small refuse objects fall between the chains and slide down the deck to be discharged, while larger objects are carried by the upwardly moving chains to the top of the deck. Refuse objects are thereby initially segregated by size.
Claims16
An apparatus for opening refuse bags to discharge refuse contained therein, the apparatus comprising:
- a garbage bag infeed;
- a deck defining an inclined plane, the deck in receiving relation to the bag infeed;
- a plurality of first chain guides mounted to the deck;
- a plurality of second chain guides mounted to the deck substantially parallel to the first set of chain guides and spaced between the first guides;
- a plurality of first chains which move in an upward direction along the deck in the first chain guides, the first chains forming endless loops about the deck, wherein each first chain has a plurality of links and a plurality of outwardly extending blades;
- and
- a plurality of second chains which move in a downward direction along the deck in the second chain guides, the second chains forming endless loops about the deck, wherein each second chain has a plurality of links and a plurality of outwardly extending blades;
- and wherein the first and second chain guides are spaced apart less than the width of a refuse bag so the blades on the first and second chains moving in the first and second guides rend a refuse bag when it is fed to the deck by the infeed.
An apparatus for breaking refuse bags comprising:
- a deck inclined from the horizontal to define a lower inlet end and an elevated discharge end;
- a plurality of looped first chains mounted to travel over the deck;
- a plurality of upwardly protruding first blades connected to the first chains;
- means for driving the first chains in unison to advance the connected blades upwardly along the deck;
- a plurality of looped second chains mounted to travel over the deck, wherein the second chains run parallel to the first chains;
- a plurality of upwardly protruding second blades connected to the second chains;
- and
- means for driving the second chains in unison along the deck independently of the first chains, wherein the first and second blades are driven past one another to rend refuse bags positioned on the deck, and wherein the upwardly moving first blades advance refuse to the discharge end of the deck, and wherein refuse not engaged by the blades may escape from the inlet end of the deck.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.