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US 2024/0166433 A1Published application
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 robust grabber arm for use as part of a refuse collection vehicle has an inner arm member and an outer arm member which are designed to have parallel beams coupled to one another so that a wide operating profile is created. Further, care is taken in configuring compounds so that each of the hinge points and coupling points are accessible for service and maintenance purposes. To provide additional consistency, common bearings and hinge pins are used throughout, so that maintenance and possible replacement can be easily achieved.
Claims28
A robust grabber arm for retrieving refuse collection containers and dumping contents into a collection hopper of a refuse collection vehicle, comprising:
- an inner arm having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is rotatably coupled to the refuse collection vehicle using a plurality of first bearings and is rotatable about a first axis, the inner arm comprising a pair of substantially parallel inner arm beam members situated substantially perpendicular to the first axis and coupled to one another by at least one inner arm cross member, the inner arm member further comprising a plurality of attachment ears situated at the second end;
- an outer arm having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the outer arm is rotatably coupled to the plurality of attachment ears using a plurality of second bearings, with the outer arm and the inner arm being rotatable with respect to one another along a second axis which is not in line with the substantially parallel inner arm beam members, wherein the first axis and the second axis are substantially parallel with one another, the outer arm comprising a pair of substantially parallel outer arm beam members separated from one another while also coupled to one another by at least one outer arm cross member positioned at a predetermined location between the first end and the second end;
- a grabber mechanism coupled to the second end of the outer arm via a plurality of third bearings, the grabber mechanism configured to grab and carry a refuse container;
- and
- a drive system configured to selectively cause rotation of the inner arm about the first axis, rotation of the inner arm and the outer arm with respect to one another about the second axis, and movement of the grabber mechanism;
- wherein the plurality of first bearings, the plurality of second bearings and the plurality of third bearings are all configured to be the same.
3 more elements
A refuse collection vehicle, comprising:
- a frame supporting a refuse collection body;
- and
- a robust grabber arm coupled to the frame, the robust grabber arm comprising:
- an inner arm having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is coupled to the frame in a manner to allow rotation about a first axis, the inner arm comprising a pair of inner arm beam members and a connecting inner arm cross member coupled to each of the pair of inner arm beam members to provide rigidity to the inner arm, the inner arm further having a plurality of flanges extending from the second end in a direction that is not in line with the pair of inner arm beam members;
- an outer arm having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is coupled to the plurality of flanges extending from second end of the inner arm in a manner to allow rotation about a second axis which is substantially parallel with the first axis and which is positioned to extend through the plurality of flanges, the outer arm comprising a pair of outer arm beam members and an outer arm cross member coupled between each of the pair of outer arm beam members at a coupling location between the first end and the second end to provide rigidity to the outer arm;
- a grabber mechanism rotatably coupled to the outer arm at the second end thereof, the grabber mechanism configured to grab and hold a refuse collection container;
- and
- a drive system configured to cause movement of the inner arm, the outer arm and the grabber mechanism so as to cause grabbing of the refuse collection container by the grabber mechanism and movement of the refuse collection container from a ground position adjacent to the refuse collection vehicle to a dumping position above the refuse collection body thereby causing any refuse contained within the refuse collection container to be emptied into the refuse collection body;
- wherein the rotatable coupling of the inner arm to the frame, the rotatable coupling of the inner arm to the outer arm and the rotatable coupling of the grabber mechanism to the outer arm is achieved using bearing of the same type which can be easily replaced.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.