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US 12,679,641 B2Granted
Refuse vehicle with assisted lift assembly
AssigneeOshkosh Corporation
InventorsRyan Wolf, Christopher Rukas, Chris Mills, Greg Steffens, Eric Hutchinson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A refuse vehicle includes a chassis, a series of tractive elements coupled to the chassis, a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis, a lift arm rotatably coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container, a lift arm actuator coupled to the chassis and configured to move the lift arm relative to the chassis to raise the refuse container and deposit refuse from the refuse container into the refuse compartment, and a lift assister coupled to the chassis and the lift arm and configured to bias the lift arm to oppose downward movement of the lift arm.
Claims16
A refuse vehicle comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of tractive elements coupled to the chassis;
- a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis;
- a lift arm rotatably coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container;
- a lift arm actuator coupled to the chassis and configured to move the lift arm relative to the chassis to raise the refuse container and deposit refuse from the refuse container into the refuse compartment;
- and
- a lift assister coupled to the chassis and the lift arm and configured to bias the lift arm to oppose downward movement of the lift arm, wherein the lift assister is movable through a range of motion including (a) a first range of positions in which gravity biases the lift arm to move away from the refuse compartment and (b) a second range of positions in which gravity biases the lift arm to move toward the refuse compartment;
- and
- wherein either:
- (a) the lift assister is configured to bias the lift arm to oppose the downward movement of the lift arm in the first range of positions and the lift assister does not oppose the downward movement of the lift arm in the second range of positions;
- or
- (b) the lift assister is configured to bias the lift arm to oppose the downward movement of the lift arm in the second range of positions and the lift assister does not oppose the downward movement of the lift arm in the first range of positions.
9 more elements
A refuse vehicle comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of tractive elements coupled to the chassis;
- a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis;
- a lift arm rotatably coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container;
- a lift arm actuator coupled to the chassis and configured to move the lift arm relative to the chassis to raise the refuse container and deposit refuse from the refuse container into the refuse compartment;
- and
- a lift assister coupled to the chassis and the lift arm and configured to bias the lift arm to oppose downward movement of the lift arm, the lift assister including a spring coupled to the chassis and the lift arm and configured to bias the lift arm to oppose the downward movement of the lift arm.
4 more elements
A refuse vehicle comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of tractive elements coupled to the chassis;
- a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis;
- a lift arm rotatably coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container;
- a lift arm actuator coupled to the chassis and configured to move the lift arm relative to the chassis to raise the refuse container and deposit refuse from the refuse container into the refuse compartment;
- and
- a lift assister coupled to the chassis and the lift arm and configured to bias the lift arm to oppose downward movement of the lift arm, wherein the lift assister includes:
- an electric motor coupled to the chassis and the lift arm and configured to a braking torque to bias the lift arm to oppose the downward movement of the lift arm;
- a sensor configured to provide sensor data indicating an angular position of the lift arm;
- and
- a controller operatively coupled to the electric motor and configured to control the electric motor based on the sensor data.
8 more elements
A front-loading refuse vehicle comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of tractive elements coupled to the chassis;
- a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis;
- a lift arm coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container, the lift arm being rotatable relative to the chassis about an axis of rotation that extends laterally;
- a lift arm actuator coupled to the chassis and configured to move the lift arm between a forward position in which the lift arm extends forward of the axis of rotation and a rearward position in which the lift arm extends rearward of the axis of rotation;
- and
- a spring coupled to the chassis and the lift arm, wherein at least one of (a) the spring is configured to bias the lift arm toward the rearward position when the lift arm is in the forward position or (b) the spring is configured to bias the lift arm toward the forward position when the lift arm is in the rearward position.
4 more elements
A front-loading refuse vehicle comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of tractive elements coupled to the chassis;
- a refuse compartment coupled to the chassis;
- a lift arm coupled to the chassis and configured to engage a refuse container, the lift arm being rotatable relative to the chassis about an axis of rotation that extends laterally;
- a linear actuator having a first end coupled to the chassis and a second end coupled to the lift arm, wherein the linear actuator is configured to move the lift arm between a forward position in which the lift arm extends forward of the axis of rotation and a rearward position in which the lift arm extends rearward of the axis of rotation;
- an electric motor coupled to the lift arm and the chassis;
- a sensor configured to provide sensor data indicating an angular position of the lift arm;
- and
- a controller operatively coupled to the electric motor and the sensor and configured to:
- determine, based on the sensor data, whether the lift arm is moving downward;
- and
- control the electric motor to apply a braking torque on the lift arm to oppose movement of the lift arm in response to a determination that the lift arm is moving downward.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.