REFUSE COLLECTION VEHICLE BODY WITH PENDULUM PACKER
A refuse collection vehicle body having a receiving hopper with a pendulum packer device mounted for arcuate movement therewithin, a tapered storage compartment for receiving refuse material from the receiving hopper, a tailgate assembly having a pneumatic mechanism for controlling the tailgate latch mechanism, and an ejection system for dumping the refuse material collected within the storage compartment, the storage compartment having a trough or channel associated with its top portion for housing the hydraulic cylinders associated with the pendulum packer device and the tailgate assembly, The hydraulic cylinder associated with the ejection system as well as the hydraulic tank and hydraulic fluid cooler associated with the vehicle body are all positioned over hazmat containment devices to contain any leakage from these components during normal operation. The tapered storage compartment is formed by joining two rectangular sheets of material to a pair of wedge shaped members.
1 . In a refuse collection vehicle having a vehicle body, structural members associated with the vehicle body, a receiving hopper for receiving refuse material, a storage compartment positioned adjacent the receiving hopper, a pendulum packer device pivotally mounted for arcuate movement within the receiving hopper for transferring the refuse material in the receiving hopper to the storage compartment, a tailgate assembly pivotally mounted to one end portion of the storage compartment, a first hydraulic cylinder for pivotally moving the pendulum packer device within the receiving hopper, a second hydraulic cylinder for pivotally moving the tailgate assembly between its open and closed positions, a third hydraulic cylinder for raising and lowering the storage compartment for dumping the refuse material collected within the storage compartment, a hydraulic tank for supplying hydraulic fluid to the first, second and third hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic lines coupled between the hydraulic tank and the first, second and third hydraulic cylinders for operation thereof, and a hydraulic fluid cooler for cooling the hydraulic fluid supplied to the first, second and third hydraulic cylinders, the improvement comprising:
at least one of the structural members associated with said refuse collection vehicle being hollow, at least a portion of at least one of said hydraulic lines being routed through the at least one hollow structural member.
2 . The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said at least one hollow structural member includes at least one access panel for providing access to the hydraulic line routed therethrough.