Waste compacting apparatus

Claim 1

A waste compacting apparatus which comprises: an elongated waste receiving chamber of generally rectangular cross section, said chamber having a waste inlet opening intermediate the chamber ends and a waste outlet opening at the forward end thereof; a size reduction chamber of decreasing rectangular cross section affixed at its rear end to said waste outlet opening, said size reduction chamber having a first opposite pair of parallel walls and a second opposite pair of walls tapering inwardly toward the far end of said size reduction chamber; an elongated outlet snout of rectangular cross section equal to that of the far end of said size reduction chamber, said outlet snout having its near-end affixed to the far end of said size reduction chamber and having a discharge opening at its outlet end; a compaction ram having a rectangular cross section and a substantially flat waste-compacting face at its forward end, said ram being slidably mounted in said elongated waste receiving chamber and adapted for reciprocating movement between a rearward position behind said waste inlet opening and a forward position at the near end of said size reduction chamber; means for driving said compaction ram between said rearward position and said forward position; an upper straight-edge shearing knife affixed within said waste receiving chamber and extending across and projecting downwards from the upper surface thereof normal to the sides of said receiving chamber and adjacent the forward edge of said waste outlet opening; and a unitary lower vee-shaped shearing knife affixed to and extending forward from the top forward edge of the waste-compacting face of said compacting ram with the central vee tip thereof pointing rearwardly and being in the same plane as the center line of said compaction ram's upper surface and of said drive means, said lower shearing knife slidably contacting said upper shearing knife as said ram is driven forward toward said waste inlet opening.