Robust grabber arm for refuse collection vehicle
AssigneeCon-Tech Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorsGrant McNeilus, Garwin McNeilus, Brian Meldahl
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A grabber arm mechanism for use as part of a refuse collection vehicle has a mismatched pair of grabber fingers which are both arcuate, with a first grabber finger being longer than a second grabber finger. Due to the mismatch in size in the first grabber finger and the second grabber finger, the grabber mechanism is capable of handling a larger range of container sizes thereby providing increased capabilities for a refuse collection vehicle. The configuration of the fingers (mismatched) also provides advantages when dealing with smaller containers.
Claims18
A grabber mechanism attachable to a grabber arm which is carried by a refuse collection vehicle and configured to grab a refuse collection container, the grabber mechanism comprising:
- a grabber bracket configured to be coupled to the grabber arm;
- a pair of mismatched grabber fingers comprising:
- a first grabber finger rotatably coupled to the grabber bracket in a manner to allow rotation about a first axis, the first grabber finger being continuous and having an arcuate portion and having a first length;
- a second grabber finger rotatably coupled to the grabber bracket in a manner to allow rotation about a second axis, the second grabber finger being continuous and having an arcuate portion and having a second length which is not equal to the first length of the first grabber finger;
- wherein the first axis and the second axis are parallel to one another, and wherein an inner surface of the first grabber finger is arranged to face an inner surface of the second grabber finger;
- a first resilient member coupled to the inner surface of the first grabber finger;
- and
- a second resilient member coupled to the inner surface of the second grabber finger, with the first resilient member and the second resilient member configured to contact the refuse collection container when grabbed;
- and
- a drive mechanism coupled to one of the first grabber finger or the second grabber finger, and coupled to the grabber bracket in a manner to cause controlled movement of the first grabber finger and the second grabber finger.
A grabber mechanism configured to be mounted to a refuse collection vehicle for handling refuse collection containers, the grabber mechanism comprising:
- a first grabber arm having a first end and a second end, with the first end rotatably coupled to the refuse collection vehicle for rotation about a substantially horizontal extension axis;
- a second grabber arm having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the second grabber arm is rotatably coupled to the second end of the first grabber arm to allow rotation of the first grabber arm relative to the second grabber arm about a substantially horizontal intermediate axis;
- a grabber bracket rotatably coupled to the second end of the second grabber arm in a manner to allow rotation of the grabber bracket relative to the second grabber arm about a substantially horizontal bracket axis;
- a first grabber finger coupled to the grabber bracket and movable between an open position and a closed position, the first grabber finger having at least one arcuate portion and a length;
- a second grabber finger coupled to the grabber bracket and movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein the second grabber finger has at least one arcuate portion, and wherein the length of the first grabber finger and a length of the second grabber finger are unequal;
- and
- a drive mechanism coupled to the grabber bracket and at least the first grabber finger or the second grabber finger, the drive mechanism configured to cause controlled movement of the first grabber finger and the second grabber finger.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.