Mechanical chute for kitchen food waste removal and containment

1 . A mechanical chute apparatus for waste removal, the mechanical chute apparatus comprising:

a chute housing configured for installation in a chute apparatus opening in a wall of a building structure, the chute housing having a housing top, a housing bottom, a first housing side, a second housing side and a housing interior surface;

a housing curved pivot located at the housing bottom on the housing interior surface;

a chute drawer removably installed in the chute housing and slidably engaged with the chute housing, the chute drawer having a first drawer side, a second drawer side, a drawer rear and a drawer front defining a central drawer opening;

a chute pan pivotally mounted to the chute drawer at a rear lower portion of the drawer front, the chute pan having a front chute pan end, a rear chute pan end and a chute pan opening, the chute pan further having a first horizontal position wherein the rear chute pan end is horizontal to the front chute pan end and at least a portion of the chute pan opening is adjacent to a lower surface of the chute drawer, and a second pivoted position supported by the housing curved pivot wherein the rear chute pan is positioned at an angle to and below the drawer front; and

drawer hardware configured to mount the chute drawer in the chute housing and to open and close the chute drawer;

wherein when the chute drawer is opened by an operator of the mechanical chute apparatus, the chute pan is in its first horizontal position to enable the operator to place at least one waste item in the chute pan, and in response to the chute drawer being closed by the operator, the chute pan is placed in its second pivoted position to permit the at least one waste item to fall out of the chute pan for disposal thereof.

2 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a drawer exterior face fixed to the drawer front.

3 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the drawer face is adhesively mounted to the drawer front.

4 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the drawer face is mechanically fastened to the drawer front.

5 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the drawer hardware configured to open and close the chute drawer comprises a drawer pull mounted to the drawer exterior face.

6 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the drawer hardware configured to mount the chute drawer comprises a first drawer slide mounted to the first housing side and a second drawer slide mounted to the second housing side.

7 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the chute pan is pivotally mounted to the chute drawer by a chute hinge.

8 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the chute housing and at least a portion of the chute drawer are made of marine grade high density polyethylene (HDPE) panels.

9 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one chute ventilation opening provided in the housing.

10 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one chute ventilation opening is located at the housing top.

11 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the chute housing and the chute drawer are made of a material comprising plastic.

12 . The mechanical chute apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the mechanical chute apparatus is made of a material selected from the group consisting of plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic, sheet metal, and plywood.