An early model SEMAT Cargo rear loader, October 1983
The Cargo, a modern new swing-link type rear loader was introduced during the early 1980s. The new model used a unique three-section packer panel, the uppermost end being pivotally connected at the roof of the tailgate. The hinge connection of the lower and center panels is guided by a pair of relatively short links, swinging from bearings mounted in the hopper sidewalls. Sweep cylinders, anchored to center panel (as is common in typical slide-sweep type refuse packers) operated the lower panel. The larger packing cylinders, connected at the top of the tailgate, act against the upper-center panel axis. The articulating movement of the folding center and upper panels serves to further compact the refuse, and also acts as a barrier between the tailgate and body interior.
The Cargo was the creation of SEMAT designer Marcel Colin, who also was responsible for the refined version of the Superpac. The Cargo name was subsequently changed to Cargopac, which featured an updated body and a heavier "V" shaped reinforcement of the hopper swing link pivots. The Cargo and Cargopac were sold alongside the old Superpac models for a few years, until the latter were phased out during the 1990s. In the United Kingdom, the Cargopac was distributed by C.P. Davidson Ltd.
INSIDE THE SEMAT CARGO/CARGOPAC
Phase 1; Cycle is started as lower (sweep) panel opens. A set of cylinders is connected pivotally at the hinge point of the upper and center panels, operating the crank arms on the sweep panel. The sweep panel is pivotally connected to the center panel, and is supported at each end of the hinge by swinging links, located inside the hopper,
Phase 2; packing cylinders extend, pulling all three panels downward, simultaneously un-folding the center and upper panels. The packing cylinder ends are pivotally connected to the hinge of the lower and center panels. The refuse within the hopper is partially crushed against the floor.
Phase 3; The sweep cylinders extend, rotating the sweep panel and clearing the hopper. Refuse is crushed further during this phase, and crew may begin loading hopper as soon as sweep panel clears the sill. Note how the unfolded center and upper panels form a barrier, preventing refuse already compacted within the body from falling back into the hopper area.
Phase 4: The packing cylinders retract, pulling all three panels upward and inward. A "triple compaction" force is exerted by the combination of the packing panel (forward compaction) and the folded center and upper panels. The latter are heavily reinforced, and form a kind of "wedge", pushing downward and upward against the load.
Crushing bulky items: The Cargopac may be "short-cycled", using the tip of the sweep panel to break bulkier items against the hopper floor prior to compaction.
Cargopac was essentially the same as the Cargo with a modernized body, reinforced tailgate
Larger 2-axle commercial Cargopac was called Megapac or Grand Collecteur
A massive Cargopac semi-trailer used in Nice
The ever-popular Renault D-Series cabover
Small-body Cargopac with lighter tailgate reinforcement...
...and the big 22-cubic meter Cargopac on twin-steer chassis
