Refuse vehicle with locking tailgate
AssigneeOshkosh Corporation
InventorsJerrod Kappers, Vince Schad, Jacob Solberg, Troy Meyers
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refuse vehicle includes a chassis, a body, a tailgate, a tailgate actuator, and a tailgate locking assembly. The body supports the chassis and defines a receptacle configured to store refuse therein. The tailgate is positioned at an end of the receptacle and is rotatably coupled to the body. The tailgate actuator coupled to the tailgate and is configured to move the tailgate relative to the body between an open position and a closed position. The tailgate locking assembly is coupled to the body and the tailgate actuator and is configured to couple the tailgate to the body in response to the movement of the tailgate actuator.
Claims20
A refuse vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a body supported by the chassis and defining a receptacle configured to store refuse therein;
- a tailgate positioned at an end of the receptacle, the tailgate rotatably coupled to the body;
- a tailgate actuator coupled to the tailgate and configured to move the tailgate relative to the body between an open position and a closed position;
- and
- a tailgate locking assembly coupled to the body and the tailgate actuator, the tailgate locking assembly comprising:
- a pivot plate rotatably coupled to the body, a first end of the pivot plate coupled to the tailgate actuator;
- a pivot arm coupled to the pivot plate at a second end of the pivot plate, the pivot arm extending away from the pivot plate at an angle;
- and
- a locking arm rotatably coupled to the pivot arm and spaced apart from the pivot plate by the pivot arm, the locking arm configured to engage with a tailgate coupling mechanism of the body to couple the tailgate to the body in response to movement of the tailgate actuator.
A tailgate locking assembly, comprising:
- a mounting bracket;
- a pivot plate rotatably coupled to the mounting bracket, a first end of the pivot plate configured to couple to a tailgate actuator for securing a tailgate to a body of a vehicle;
- a pivot arm coupled to the pivot plate at a second end of the pivot plate, the pivot arm extending away from the pivot plate at an angle;
- and
- a locking arm rotatably coupled to the pivot arm and spaced apart from the pivot plate by the pivot arm, the locking arm configured to engage with a tailgate coupling mechanism of the body to secure the tailgate of the vehicle to the body of the vehicle.
A method of locking a tailgate to a body of a refuse vehicle, comprising:
- controlling a tailgate actuator to move the tailgate to a closed position by engaging an end of the tailgate with the body so as to align a tailgate latch of the tailgate with a coupling mechanism of the body;
- and
- automatically actuating a tailgate locking assembly that is movably coupled to the tailgate actuator to couple a portion of the tailgate locking assembly to the coupling mechanism and thereby secure the tailgate latch to the coupling mechanism in response to an indication that the tailgate is in the closed position, by:
- actuating a pivot plate that is rotatably coupled to the body and that is coupled to a first end of the tailgate actuator responsive to movement of the tailgate actuator, the actuation of the pivot plate causing movement of a pivot arm that is coupled to at a second end of the pivot plate and extends away from the pivot plate at an angle;
- and
- actuating a locking arm that is rotatably coupled to the pivot arm and is spaced away from the pivot plate by the pivot arm responsive to movement of the pivot arm to engage both the tailgate latch and the coupling mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.