Mechanical arm
AssigneeThe Heil Co.
InventorClaude Boivin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mechanical arm designed to provide automated garbage collection with smooth, constant movement (i.e. movement that has minimal jerk/shock) thereby resulting in limited shock stress on the components and leading to high durability. The mechanical arm including a horizontal displacement system having a plurality of sections rollingly engaged to one another and a motor mounted to an immobile section for drivingly extending section in a generally horizontal orientation, a vertical displacement system having a plurality of masts rollingly engaged to one another and a motor mounted to a first mast for drivingly extending a second mast in a generally vertical orientation, and/or a grabber system having a plurality of fingers mounted to a frame and operated by a single motor.
Claims20
A mechanical arm of a garbage truck, the mechanical arm comprising:
- a first mast;
- a second mast engaged to the first mast and movable relative to the first mast in a direction being substantially perpendicular to a ground surface;
- at least two sprockets pivotally mounted on the first mast, wherein the at least two sprockets comprise two first sprockets pivotally mounted on the first mast;
- two second sprockets pivotally mounted on the second mast;
- a first chain forming a closed loop extending around the at least two sprockets, the first chain engaged to the second mast;
- a second chain looped around the two second sprockets;
- a grabber system mounted to the second mast, the grabber system having at least two actuated fingers for holding a bin to be discharged in the garbage truck, wherein the first chain is engaged to the grabber system via the second chain;
- and
- a motor drivingly engaged to the second mast via the first chain and operable to move the second mast and the grabber system relative to the first mast between a low position and a high position, a height of the grabber system greater in the high position than in the low position,
- wherein the motor is mounted to the first mast and remains substantially at a constant height between the low and high positions of the second mast.
A horizontal displacement system for a mechanical arm of a garbage truck, the horizontal displacement system comprising:
- a proximal arm section securable to a frame of the garbage truck, the proximal arm section defining a first aperture;
- a distal arm section engaged to the proximal arm section and movable relative to the proximal arm section in a direction being substantially parallel to a ground surface, the distal arm section defining a second aperture;
- a motor drivingly engaged to the distal arm section and operable to linearly move the distal arm section relative to the proximal arm section between a retracted configuration in which the proximal and distal arm sections overlap one another such that the first and second apertures are coaxially aligned, and an expanded configuration in which at least a portion of the distal arm section is offset from the proximal arm section, the linear movement translating the second aperture relative to the first aperture in the direction substantially parallel to the ground surface;
- and
- a locking device configured to, when the distal arm section is in the retracted configuration, transition between a locked state and an unlocked state,
- wherein the locking device is configured to transition to the locked state by moving a locking bar into the coaxially aligned first and second apertures, and
- wherein the locking device is configured to transition to the unlocked state by removing the locking bar from the coaxially aligned first and second apertures.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.