Abstract: A refuse collection apparatus in which a packing panel having a curved packing surface is moved through a hopper. The hopper may include a vertically inclined forward packing surface so that refuse is packed between the curved packing surface and the vertically inclined forward packing surface of the hopper. The hopper may include a straight rearward wall portion with the packing panel having a narrowed lower edge. During its movement into the hopper, the packing panel may be moved so that its narrowed lower edge is in contiguous relation to the straight rearward wall portion of the hopper. The packing panel may include one or more upstanding ribs on its curved packing surface which provide a reduced area for application of high localized pressures to refuse contacted by a rib.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for operating an auxiliary hydraulic load at low noise levels. A pump having a capacity which is sufficiently large to supply the load with the necessary volume of hydraulic fluid at relatively low pump speeds is driven by an engine operating at a speed near its idling speed. Throttle control means control the fuel supply to the engine at a level sufficient to drive the pump while maintaining the engine speed near its idling speed. When the engine speed is increased to a predetermined level in excess of its idling speed, means are provided to maintain the output from the pump at or below a predetermined flow rate to not overload the pump means or the auxiliary load. The pump may include a variable displacement pump or a plurality of fixed displacement pumps with means to vary the pump output in response to the pressure demand from the auxiliary load to maintain the torque input requirements for the pump below a predetermined level.