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(11) | EP 2 808 272 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Disposal system |
| (57) A system (1) for disposing of contaminated/dangerous material or of at least one
waste comprising a carriage (10) which delimits a containment compartment (4) configured
to receive waste through a filling aperture (6) of the carriage (10). The carriage
(10) delimits, downstream of the containment compartment (4) and in communication
therewith, at least one exit aperture (8) of the waste, closed by a mobile carriage
trap-door (12). Said carriage (10) comprises retention means of said trap-door (12)
in a closed configuration of the exit aperture (8). The system further comprises at least one emptying station (14) comprising a collection chamber (16) positioned under the carriage (10) when the carriage (10) engages said station, and which is configured to receive the waste coming out of the exit aperture (8), for example by gravity. The emptying station (14) further comprises release means acting on the retention means to reach an open configuration of the carriage trap-door (12). |
[0001] The present invention relates to a system for disposing of contaminated/dangerous material or of at least one waste, and a carriage for use within the above-mentioned system.
[0002] In specific sectors of the art it is currently unavoidable, in order to dispose of contaminated materials or waste, for a plurality of individuals assigned to the recollection thereof to come into contact with the same, with a clear disadvantage for the health of the operators.
[0003] Taking as an example the health care field, the recollection of bed sheets, medical staff uniforms or the products used in the operating room implies a series of contacts with a plurality of people, a circumstance that increases the possibility that one of these may contract a disease or come into contact with blood or other bodily fluids.
[0004] Therefore, it would be desirable to minimize the possibility of potential contacts with the above-mentioned type of material or waste.
[0005] The present invention therefore has the object of solving the drawbacks of the prior art and, in particular, of providing a system and a carriage suitably designed to avoid that every operator involved in the recollection chain has to access contaminated material, and to ensure that the carriage containing the above-mentioned material may be emptied solely at certain places and in controlled situations.
[0006] Such object is attained by means of a system according to claim 1, and by means of a carriage according to claim 13. The dependent claims show preferred embodiment variants.
[0007] The object of the present invention will now be described in detail, with the aid of the attached drawing tables, wherein:
[0008] - Figures 1 and 2 show a schematic view of the system object of the present invention, in accordance with one possible embodiment;
[0009] - Figures 3 and 4 show two moments of engagement of the carriage in the emptying station, and figures 3a and 4a illustrate corresponding enlargements of the areas highlighted in such figures;
[0010] - Figures 5 and 6 show two sections of the emptying station, where the mobile platform lies respectively in a first and a second position;
[0011] - Figures 7 and 8 show perspective views of the carriage in accordance with a first embodiment, respectively with doors closed and open;
[0012] - Figures 9a, 9b, 9c show perspective views of the carriage in accordance with a further embodiment, wherein the left door is progressively opened, and wherein the shelves are shown as liftable/lowerable.
[0013] With reference to the above-mentioned drawing tables, the reference numeral 1 indicates, in its entirety, a system for disposing of contaminated/dangerous material or of at least one waste.
[0014] Although in the following description reference will be made almost exclusively to the term "waste", such term will likewise indicate any contaminated/dangerous material, or a specific material, such as bed sheets, white coats, operating room materials, garbage, scraps or the like.
[0015] Such system 1 comprises a carriage 10, for example comprising roller means 2 for the displacement thereof, and which delimits a containment compartment 4 configured to receive waste through a filling aperture 6 of the carriage 10.
[0016] Therefore, such carriage advantageously comprises a carriage casing 18 which delimits the above-mentioned compartment 4, such compartment being delimited at the bottom by an end wall 20 of the carriage 10.
[0017] In accordance with the embodiments shown in the figures, the roller means 2 are secured to the carriage casing 18 and, preferably, to the end wall 20. For example, such means comprise a plurality of wheels, at least one of which is rotatably mounted to the casing or to the above-mentioned wall.
[0018] In accordance with the embodiments shown in Figures 9, the containment compartment 4 may be divided into a plurality of half-compartments 4', 4" by the interposition of one or more brackets 42. Preferably, at least one of the brackets is rotatably fitted to the carriage casing 18, for example to be lifted or lowered.
[0019] Furthermore, according to a further embodiment, the containment compartment may be laterally closed by means of one or more swivelling doors 44, 44'. For example, such at least one door may have a vertical rotation axis, as shown, and may fitted in an articulated manner to the carriage casing 18. Preferably, the door 44, 44' is configured to achieve a rotation of about 270°, so as to overlap at least in part a side wall 46, 46' of such casing 18.
[0020] In the embodiment shown, the carriage comprises a pair of doors 44, 44' which cooperate centrally to close at least in part the containment compartment 4, for example by the aid of a lever 48 or a lock. In the embodiments shown, the carriage 10 has been represented with the doors open only for clarity of description.
[0021] Specifically, the doors 44, 44' may also close the filling aperture 6, when laterally accessible to the carriage casing 18.
[0022] In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the filling aperture 6 is delimited by an upper wall 50 of the carriage casing 18, and by a containment member 52 (for example a net optionally in metal), secured to the casing 18 and preferably connected to at least one of the side walls 46, 46' (advantageously to both of them).
[0023] Downstream of the containment compartment 4 and in connection therewith, the carriage 10 delimits at least one exit aperture 8 of the waste, closed by a mobile carriage trap-door 12.
[0024] Therefore, the exit aperture - different from the filling aperture 6 - has the purpose of releasing the waste that has progressively accumulated in the containment compartment 8.
[0025] For example, the filling aperture 6 is located in the upper half of the carriage casing, while the exit aperture is located in the lower half thereof, so that the exit of waste through the carriage trap-door 12 takes place essentially by gravity.
[0026] Preferably, the carriage trap-door 12 is fitted to a carriage casing 18 so as to swivel in relation to a rotation axis X. For example the axis X is a substantially horizontal axis.
[0027] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, one or more roller means 2 are fitted to the carriage trap-door 12, the latter delimiting at least one portion of the end wall 20 of the carriage 10. According to a preferred variant, the carriage trap-door 12 coincides with the end wall 20.
[0028] In order to hold the carriage trap-door 12 in a closed configuration of the exit aperture 8, the carriage 10 comprises retention means of such trap-door 12.
[0029] According to one embodiment, the retention means comprise a bolt 30, associated with the carriage 10, and in particular a carriage casing 18, which works on a portion 32 of such trap-door 12. For example, the above-mentioned portion 32 is schematised as a pin or a projection.
[0030] The bolt 30 may preferably swivel (about an axis Z of figure 3a, the latter being advantageously orthogonal to the rotation axis) between a locked configuration of the above-mentioned portion 32 and a release configuration of the same 32 (figure 4a), wherein it is allowed to achieve an open configuration of the carriage trap-door 12, and therefore the exit of the waste.
[0031] Obviously, for the variants that require at least one bracket 32, the waste exit will only affect the portion of the compartment 4 located lower than such bracket or, for a plurality of brackets, placed beneath the vertically lower bracket.
[0032] According to a variant, the bolt 30 may delimit a contact portion 54, the function of which will be clarified below.
[0033] According to a further variant, the bolt 10 comprises return means 36 of the bolt 30, to reposition it elastically to retain the carriage trap-door 12. In the variant shown, the return means act in traction between the upper portion 56 of the bolt and the carriage casing 18. Optionally, such means may however act in thrust between the upper portion 56 and the carriage casing 18.
[0034] The system 1 further comprises at least one emptying station 14 comprising a collection chamber 16 positioned under the carriage 10 which, when the carriage 10 engages the station, is configured to receive the waste coming out of the exit aperture 8, for example under the action of gravity.
[0035] Therefore, the collection chamber 16 is arranged at a lower level than the carriage, at least partially buried or at a fixed lower level, so that the emptying of the containment compartment 4 quickly follows the opening of the carriage trap-door.
[0036] With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the arrows 58, 60 respectively symbolize an engagement direction of the carriage in the emptying station 14, and an opposite disengagement direction of the carriage from such station. Therefore, when the exit aperture 8 of the waste at least partially overlaps an access mouth 28 to the collection chamber 16, the carriage may be considered engaged or inserted in the emptying station 14.
[0037] The emptying station 14 further comprises release means acting on the retention means to reach an open configuration of the carriage trap-door 12.
[0038] For such reason, as long as the carriage is taken to the emptying station (i.e., until it is distanced from the station 14), the emptying of the containment compartment is virtually impossible, because the release means are located at the station.
[0039] Advantageously, the emptying station 14 comprises at least one support guide 22, 22' or a support member which, when the above-mentioned trap-door 12 is in the open configuration, keeps the carriage 10 suspended above the collection chamber 16. In the embodiment shown, the station 14 comprises a pair of support guides 22, 22', distanced along the thickness of the carriage 10.
[0040] Therefore, the carriage 10 may be inserted along the guide/member or between le pair of guides/members along the engagement direction 58, and may be removed from such station in the opposite direction 60, since the main direction of extension Y of at least one support guide 22, 22' is substantially parallel to such directions 58, 60. Optionally, the plurality of support members may be distanced along a direction parallel to the above-mentioned directions 58, 60.
[0041] In other words, the pair of guides creates a track for insertion/removal, and support of the carriage.
[0042] According to a preferred variant, the pair of support guides 22, 22' acts as a kerb 62 of the carriage casing 18 which preferably peripherally delimits at least in part the exit aperture 8.
[0043] Furthermore, preferably the support guide 22, the support member, one of the guides 22, 22' or one of the members carries the release means of the carriage trap-door 12.
[0044] According to a preferred embodiment, the release means comprise an abutment surface 34 such that, upon insertion the carriage 10 along the guide 22 or in the support member, such abutment surface 34 moves the bolt 30 to release the portion 32 of the carriage trap-door. Preferably, the abutment surface 34 acts on the contact portion 54 of the bolt 30.
[0045] According to a preferred embodiment, the abutment surface 34 is made on an appendage 40, connected and which extends in an inclined manner in relation to a main direction of extension Y of at least one of the support guides 22, 22'.
[0046] In other words, the above-mentioned appendage 40 creates a sort of invitation which favours the insertion of the carriage in the emptying station, for example even when the carriage is affected by the weight of its own content.
[0047] According to an advantageous variant, the emptying station 14 comprises a mobile platform 24, preferably a swivelling platform, which in a first position defines a sliding surface 26 for the roller means 2, and which in a second position opens the access mouth 28 to the collection chamber 16.
[0048] In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, the mobile platform 24 comprises a substantially L-shaped element, the sliding surface 26 being made on a longer side of the L and wherein said platform is hinged on a shorter side of the L.
[0049] Preferably, the mobile platform 24 is located at the support guide or the support member, and advantageously between the support guides or the support members, for example vertically beneath them.
[0050] Therefore, in the situation shown in figure 2, the mobile platform 24 is positioned firmly to close the access mouth 24 whereby the carriage may be moved to the engagement position of the station, by the sliding movement of the roller means on the sliding surface. At a later step, the mobile platform 24 is moved, for example in a motorised manner, to the second position - removing the support of the roller means - so that the guide 22, 22' or the support member supports the carriage 10.
[0051] Advantageously the mobile platform 24 may swivel about an axis substantially parallel to the rotation axis X of the carriage trap-door 12. Preferably, the mobile platform 24 is operatively connected to motor means 38 which can be controlled to achieve any of the positions described. For example, the motor means may be controlled by a user interacting with a button or a switch (not shown), or through sensor means (not shown) operatively connected to the motor means, configured to detect the engagement position of the carriage at the station and to only later control the activation of the motor means. By way of a non-limiting example, the sensor means may comprise a load cell or a photocell.
[0052] A further object of the present invention is a carriage 10, preferably usable in a system 1 as described above. As to the preferred features of such carriage, reference should be made to the embodiments mentioned with regard to the system.
[0053] Innovatively, the carriage and the system object of the present invention ensure that the above-mentioned material may be emptied solely at determined places and in controlled situations, but especially entirely avoids the need for handling after introduction into the carriage.
[0054] Advantageously, the carriage and the system object of the present invention may be automated in order to make the emptying operations efficient and repeatable.
[0055] Advantageously, the carriage object of the present invention has been designed to prevent any tampering of the trap-door aperture, as well any unwanted release of material or outside the relevant emptying station.
[0056] Advantageously, the carriage and the system object of the present invention are malfunction-proof also of the retention means, in that the trap-door is reliably kept closed by means of the plurality of devices described.
[0057] Advantageously, the carriage and the system described have a variable configuration, therefore may be adapted to the specific needs. Furthermore, also the bulkiness is reduced so as to simplify the carriage handling.
[0058] A man skilled in the art may make several changes or replacements of elements with other functionally equivalent ones to the embodiments of the above system and carriage, to meet specific needs.
[0059] For example, the disposal system may be suspended rather than exploited on the ground. In this case, the carriage is connected to a suspended conveyor that drives the carriage towards the loading station, which is also suspended. In other words, the loading station does not have a mobile platform and the carriage trap-door may be closed for example either with a motorised actuator or by having the carriage slide with the open trap-door along a cam member interacting with the trap-door itself.
1. System (1) for disposing of contaminated/dangerous material or of at least a waste
comprising:
- a carriage (10) which defines a containment compartment (4) configured to receive
said waste through a filling aperture (6) of the carriage (10);
wherein the carriage (10) defines, downstream of the container compartment (4) and
in communication therewith, at least one exit aperture (8) of the waste, closed by
a mobile carriage trap-door (12), and wherein said carriage (10) comprises retention
means of said trap-door (12) in a closed configuration of the exit aperture (8);
- at least one emptying station (14) comprising a collection chamber (16) positioned
under the carriage (10) when the carriage (10) engages said station, and which is
configured to receive the waste coming out of the exit aperture (8), for example by
gravity;
the emptying station (14) comprising release means acting on the retention means to
reach an open configuration of the carriage trap-door (12).
2. System according to claim 1, wherein the carriage trap-door (12) is fitted to a carriage
casing (18) so as to swivel in relation to a rotation axis (X).
3. System according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one or more roller means (2) are fitted
on the carriage trap-door (12) for a movement of the carriage on wheels, said carriage
trap-door defining at least a portion of an end wall (20) of the carriage (10).
4. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the emptying station (14)
comprises at least one guide (22, 22') or a support member which, when said trap-door
(12) is in the open configuration, keeps the carriage (10) suspended above the collection
chamber (16).
5. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the emptying station (14)
comprises a mobile platform (24), for example motorised, which in a first position
defines a sliding surface (26) for the roller means (2), and which in a second position
opens an access mouth (28) to the collection chamber (16).
6. System according to claim 4 and according to claim 5, wherein the guide (22, 22')
or support member supports the carriage (10) when the mobile platform (24) lies in
the second position.
7. System according to claim 2 and according to claim 5, wherein the mobile platform
(24) is rotatable around an axis substantially parallel to the rotation axis (X) of
the carriage trap-door (12).
8. System according to claim 7, wherein the mobile platform (24) comprises a substantially
L-shaped element, the sliding surface (26) being made on a longer side of the L and
wherein said platform is hinged on a shorter side of the L.
9. System according to any of the previous claims when dependent on claim 4, wherein
the retention means comprise a bolt (30), joined to the carriage (10), which works
on a portion (32) of said trap-door (12), and wherein the release means comprise an
abutment surface (34) such that, upon insertion of the carriage (10) along the guide
(22, 22') or in the support member, said abutment surface (34) moves the bolt (30)
to release said portion (32).
10. System according to claim 9, wherein the abutment surface (34) is made on an appendage
(40), connected and which extends in an inclined manner in relation to a main direction
of extension (Y) of at least one support guide (22,22').
11. System according to claim 9 or 10, comprising return means (36) of the bolt (30),
to reposition it elastically to retain the carriage trap-door (12), when the carriage
(10) is distanced from the emptying station (14), optionally distanced from the abutment
surface (34).
12. System according to any of the previous claims when dependent on claim 5, wherein
the mobile platform (24) is operatively connected to motor means (38) which can be
controlled to achieve any of said positions.
13. Carriage (10), for example usable in a system (1) for disposing of contaminated/dangerous
material or of at least one waste according to any of the previous claims, said carriage
(10) comprising roller means (2) for the movement thereof, and defining a containment
compartment (4) configured to receive said waste through a filling aperture (6) of
the carriage (10);
and wherein the carriage (10) defines, downstream of the container compartment (4) and in communication therewith, at least one exit aperture (8) of the waste, closed by a mobile carriage trap-door (12), and comprising retention means of said trap-door (12) in a closed configuration of the exit aperture (8);
said system (1) comprising at least one emptying station (14) comprising a collection chamber (16) positioned under the carriage (10), when the carriage (10) engages said station, and which is configured to receive the waste coming out of the exit aperture (8), said emptying station (14) comprising release means acting on the retention means to reach an open configuration of the carriage trap-door (12).
and wherein the carriage (10) defines, downstream of the container compartment (4) and in communication therewith, at least one exit aperture (8) of the waste, closed by a mobile carriage trap-door (12), and comprising retention means of said trap-door (12) in a closed configuration of the exit aperture (8);
said system (1) comprising at least one emptying station (14) comprising a collection chamber (16) positioned under the carriage (10), when the carriage (10) engages said station, and which is configured to receive the waste coming out of the exit aperture (8), said emptying station (14) comprising release means acting on the retention means to reach an open configuration of the carriage trap-door (12).