Patent ID: 11884486
Assignee: CON-TECH MANUFACTURING, INC.
Field: Environmental technology (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 12:
13. A robust grabber arm for attachment to a refuse collection vehicle at a predetermined position, the grabber arm comprising:
a mounting bracket configured to be coupled to a frame of the refuse collection vehicle and having a pair of uprights plates configured to accommodate mounting;
an inner arm having a pair of substantially parallel inner arm beam members spaced apart from one another, with each of the inner arm beam members having a first end rotatably coupled to a corresponding one of the pair of upright plates of the mounting bracket to allow rotation of the inner arm about a first axis which is perpendicular to the upright plates of the mounting bracket, the pair of substantially parallel inner arm beam members coupled to one another via an inner arm cross beam, wherein the inner arm cross beam member is permanently affixed to the pair of substantially parallel inner arm beam members at a location which is spaced away from the first end;
an outer arm having a pair of substantially parallel outer beam members spaced apart from one another while also being coupled via an outer arm cross member, each of the outer beam members rotatably coupled to a corresponding one of the inner beam members at a first end to allow rotation about a second axis, the outer arm cross member being permanently affixed to each of the pair of the substantially parallel outer beam members at a location which is spaced away from the first end of the outer arm beam members and not aligned with the first axis or the second axis;
a grabber mechanism having a grabber bracket coupled to a second end of the outer arm, and further having a pair of grabber arms coupled to the grabber bracket and configured to grab a refuse container;
a pair of alignment links, each having a first end coupled to the grabber mechanism and a second end coupled to one of the inner arm beam members;
a first drive mechanism coupled to the mounting bracket and the inner arm, wherein driving the first drive mechanism causes rotation of the inner arm about the first axis; and
a second drive mechanism coupled to the mounting bracket and the outer arm, wherein driving the second drive mechanism will cause rotation about the second axis.