Patent Publication Number: US-10308429-B2

Title: Belt operated container handling system for side loader

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     I. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to container handling equipment, including systems for accessing, grabbing, lifting and tipping a wide range of sizes and shapes of collection containers into charging hoppers or compartments of side loading collection vehicles, or other receptacles, and thereafter returning empty containers to their pickup locations. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automated container handling system including a pivoting arm and a base carriage arrangement that carries a mechanized container grabbing device. The arm is capable of lateral extension, and also capable of full lift and dump operation. A linearly-operating lift system is provided that enables the basic carriage and container grabbing device operates along a stationary belt attached to the arm to lift and lower containers held by the grabbing device. 
     II. Related Art 
     Various vehicles dedicated to the collection of refuse or recyclables have included mechanized container handling devices that allow an operator to cause the device to access, lift, empty and return containers of interest without the need for any direct interaction by the operator so that the operator may remain in the vehicle. Such a holding or grabbing device is generally connected to an arm or extendable boom which is connected, in turn, to a base mounted on the vehicle. The arm or boom and grabbing device are operated in concert to access and engage a container of interest, lift and dump the container into a receiving hopper and return the empty container to the original location. Grabbing devices are also known which have opposed arms or fingers that converge around the girth of containers. Such devices generally have themselves been attached to extendable arm members configured to pivot in a generally vertical plane to lift and invert a captured container and return it empty to an upright position. 
     Systems also have been devised in which converging/diverging gripper arms are mounted on a carriage to reciprocate along a lift assembly using a chain drive. 
     Mechanisms of known container handling devices generally have a large number of moving parts and articulated joints which are exposed to the extreme clogging and corrosive conditions of refuse collection, and, as such, tend to require frequent maintenance. It would thus be advantageous to provide a simplified mechanism to enable a base carriage and carried container grabbing device to automatically operate along a lift and dump arm that reduces mechanism complexity and maintenance requirements. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     By means of the present invention, there is provided a simplified lift and lowering system that includes a base carriage that operates along a stationary belt attached to a pivoting arm. The arm has a lower end that is capable of lateral extensions and the upper end that returns to the same position when the arm is retracted. The arm has a curved upper portion and is mounted to discharge or dump containers into the charging hopper section of a side-loading refuse vehicle. The stationary belt is carried in a recessed central area of the arm and is anchored at the upper end of the curved section of the arm and attached to a spring-loaded belt tensioner at the lower end of the arms. The underside of the belt has a tread designed to ride over a drive pulley or sprocket without slipping. 
     The base carriage arrangement includes a hydraulic motor designed to operate a drive pulley or sprocket that moves the carriage arrangement along using the underside of the belt. The belt is held against the drive pulley by a pair of flanking idler pulleys. The drive pulley or sprocket operates along the belt to raise and lower the carriage arrangement along the pivoting arm. The curved upper section of the arm returns to the same position in relation to the corresponding charging or receiving hopper when the arm is fully retracted to lift and dump a container in the same place in relation to the hopper. 
     A container grabber is attached to the base carriage arrangement and may be operated by a hydraulic actuating system to capture and release containers to be emptied and is preferably one comprising opposed spaced fingers that are mounted to spaced mounting shafts that rotate to open and close the fingers. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a side-loading refuse truck provided with the container handling system of the invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of a side-loading refuse vehicle with the cab removed for clarity showing the container handling system of the invention with the base carriage in the fully lowered position; 
         FIG. 2B  is a view similar to  FIG. 2A  with the pivoting arm fully extended laterally; 
         FIG. 2C  is a view similar to  FIG. 2A  showing the base carriage in the container dumping position; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the container handling system of the invention with the arm partially extended; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a further enlarged fragmentary front perspective view showing the base carriage; 
         FIG. 6A  is a reduced perspective view of a pivoting arm and a base carriage with the grabber removed for clarity; 
         FIG. 6B  is an enlarged perspective view of the base carriage circled in  FIG. 6A ; and 
         FIG. 6C  is a top view of the carriage of  FIG. 6B  with parts removed for clarity. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description is intended to be exemplary of a preferred apparatus and method of utilizing the concepts of the present invention and is not intended to exhaustive or limiting in any manner with respect to similar devices and methods and other variations which might occur to those skilled in the art. The following description further utilizes an illustrative example which is believed sufficient to convey an adequate understanding of the broader concepts to those skilled in the art, and exhaustive examples are believed unnecessary. 
       FIG. 1  depicts a side elevational view of a side-loading refuse truck, generally at  10 , incorporating the container handling system of the invention, shown generally at  12 , mounted on the truck. The vehicle includes a chassis  14 , a cab shown partially at  16  and wheels  18 . The vehicle body includes a storage chamber  20  which is connected to a charging hopper  22  and a tailgate (not shown) which is pivotally carried by a pair of vertically operating hinges, one of which is partially shown at  24  mounted at the top rear of the storage chamber. The tailgate is operated to open and close by hydraulic cylinders (not shown) and the vehicle body in conjunction with the operation of the tailgate, is tilted by further hydraulic cylinders (also not shown), to discharge stored refuse. Operation of the tailgate and truck body are well known. Electrical and hydraulic connections to the container handling system are shown at  26 . 
     The automated container handling system  12  is best depicted in  FIGS. 2A-5  and includes a main arm  30  mounted to swivel about an upper support member  32  at the upper end. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 2B and 3 , the arm  30  has a support structure which includes vertical shapes  34  and  36  designed to be fixed to the side of the charging hopper as by plate shapes  38  and to member  32 . A pair of spaced struts  42  and  44  are pivotally attached to upper support member  32  at  46  and  48  and fixed support shapes  50  and  52  at  54  and  56 , respectfully. The pivoting spaced struts  42  and  44  enable the upper part of the arm  30  to move laterally and downward when the arm is extended laterally. Further, spaced struts  58  and  60  are pivotally mounted to a member  61  attached to the arm  30  as at  62  and  64  and to a lower member  66  attached to a structure designed to be fixed to a truck as at  68  and  70 . The lateral movement of the arm  30  is controlled by a pivotally mounted hydraulic cylinder  72  connected between joints  74  and  76 . The arm includes a heavy belt  78  which extends the length of arm  30  and is anchored at the top at  80 . The lower end of the belt is connected to a spring-loaded belt tensioner at  82  which includes a clamping device that fixes the end of the belt. 
     A base carriage arrangement is shown generally at  90  and is best seen in  FIGS. 4, 5 and 6A-6C . The base carriage arrangement includes a carriage with a drive system  92  and an attached grabber system  140 . 
     The drive system is best shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6A-6C  and includes a hydraulic motor  96  that is connected to an operates a drive sprocket or pulley  98  that rides on the underside of the belt  78  which has a tread compatible with the sprocket or pulley  98 . The belt  78  may be fabricated from a carbon fiber material, a rubber blend or any other suitable material. Idler pulleys  100  and  102  flank sprocket  98  and are provided to maintain the belt tension around sprocket  98 . 
     The base carriage arrangement  90  rides along the arm  30  on sets of flanged rollers. Upper or top side roller sets are shown at  104  and  106 . Rollers  104  and  106  are on common shafts  108  and  110  with idler pulleys  102  and  104 , respectively. Pairs of flanged lower rollers or guide wheels, one of each pair being shown at  110  and  112  in  FIG. 6B  are located on either side of arm  30  and ride in grooves in arm  30  as at  114 . Common shafts  116  and  118  connect beneath arm  30  and are supported by structured plate shapes  120  and  122 ,  122  being shown in phantom for clarity. The lower guide wheels with the associated structure secure the carriage  92  to the arm  30 . The structure further includes side plates, one of which is shown at  124 . The hydraulic motor  96  operates to move base carriage arrangement  90  up and down along the arm  30  to lift, dump, lower and return containers to their assigned spots. 
     A container grabber  140  is attached to the base carriage and includes spaced, opposed finger elements, one may have split members as at  142  and  144  and the other a single element as at  146 . The opposed finger elements are attached to rotating members as at  148  and  150  ( FIG. 5 ) as by a plurality of plate members as at  152 . 
     In operation, the refuse truck stops with the container handling system alongside of a container of interest to be emptied. The arm is then advanced laterally with the grabber fully open until the grabber is close to the container. The grabber is then operated to capture the container and thereafter the arm is retracted to an upright position and the base carriage is raised and the container emptied into the loading hopper. 
     This invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use embodiments of the example as required. However, it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different devices and that various modifications can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself.