B65F2003/023

Electric side loader arms for electric refuse vehicle

A refuse vehicle comprises a chassis, a body assembly, a power source, and a side-loading lift assembly. The chassis is coupled to a plurality of wheels. The body assembly is coupled to the chassis and defines a refuse compartment configured to store refuse material. The side-loading lift assembly comprises a refuse container engagement mechanism and at least one electrically-driven actuation mechanism. The refuse container engagement mechanism is powered by the power source and is configured to selectively engage a refuse container. The at least one electrically-driven actuation mechanism is powered by the power source and is configured to selectively actuate the side-loading lift assembly between an extended position, a retracted position, and a refuse-dumping position.

AUTOMATED TRASHCAN ROVER
20220363472 · 2022-11-17 ·

Apparatuses and systems for an automated trashcan rover for lifting and moving a trashcan. An automated trashcan rover device may include a motor coupled to a plurality of wheels, a gripping means for grasping and lifting the trashcan, and a power source for power operation of the device. A controller is coupled to the motor, gripping means, and power source and is configured to control the lifting and moving of the trashcan.

ELECTRICALLY ACTUATED SIDE LOADER ARM DESIGNS FOR ELECTRIC REFUSE VEHICLE

A refuse vehicle comprises a chassis, a body assembly, a battery system, and a side-loading lift assembly. The body assembly is coupled to the chassis and defines a refuse compartment configured to store refuse material. The battery system is configured to be charged via at least one of an on-board electrical energy generator, an external power source, or a power regenerative braking system. The side-loading lift assembly comprises a refuse container engagement mechanism and at least one electrically-driven actuation mechanism. The refuse container engagement mechanism is configured to selectively engage a refuse container. The at least one electrically-driven actuation mechanism is powered by the battery system and is configured to selectively actuate the side-loading lift assembly between an extended position, a retracted position, and a refuse-dumping position.

Portable apparatus for emptying a waste receptacle
11492196 · 2022-11-08 · ·

An apparatus is provided with an outer frame with a series of wheels, and first and second support arms connected to the outer frame and extending upwardly. The apparatus has first and second rails to slidably receive an upper lip of a portable waste receptacle, with the first rail supported by the first support arm for translation relative to the first support arm. The apparatus has a dumping system with a lifting assembly and a power assembly. The dumping system is connected to the outer frame and the first rail to move the first and second rails along the first and second support arms between a load position and a dumping position. A controller is in communication with the dumping system to control the position of the first and second rails via the dumping system.

ROBUST GRABBER ARM FOR REFUSE COLLECTION VEHICLE
20230086945 · 2023-03-23 ·

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.

Semi-autonomous refuse collection

Operating a refuse collection vehicle to collect refuse from a refuse container includes positioning a refuse collection vehicle with respect to a refuse container to be emptied, and manually engaging a switch to initiate a dump cycle to be performed by the refuse collection vehicle on the refuse container. The dump cycle includes engaging the refuse container with a portion of the vehicle, lifting the engaged refuse container to a dump position, and moving the refuse container to release contents of the refuse container into a hopper of the refuse collection vehicle. The dump cycle continues to completion as long as the switch remains manually engaged.

PROCESSED USED-MATERIAL COLLECTION AND TRANSFER SYSTEM AND METHOD
20230076374 · 2023-03-09 ·

A content collection system and method for curbside collecting of multiple segregated recycled material streams stored in a product storage container. The product storage container can include a compartment and a door associated with the compartment. A product collection interface is associated with a product collection vehicle, and is configured to engage with any configuration of product storage container. A product transfer module is associated with the product collection interface and is configured to receive content from the product storage container. The product transfer module includes weight sensors to calculate the weight of content in the product transfer module. A release mechanism is configured to discharge the content from the product transfer module to a bulk product holding unit associated with the vehicle. Software application can be utilized to request collection and/to receive collection data. Computer systems can be utilized to control operations of the system.

ROBUST GRABBER ARM FOR REFUSE COLLECTION VEHICLE
20230129820 · 2023-04-27 ·

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.

Refuse vehicle with spatial awareness

A refuse vehicle comprising a chassis, a body assembly coupled to the chassis, the body assembly defining a refuse compartment, one or more sensors coupled to the body and configured to provide data relating to the presence of an obstacle within an area near the refuse vehicle, a controller configured to receive the data from the one or more sensors, determine, using an obstacle detector and the data, the presence of an obstacle within the area and initiate a control action, wherein the control action includes at least one of controlling the movement of the refuse vehicle, controlling the movement of a lift assembly attached to the body assembly, or generating an alert.

Lighting system for a refuse vehicle

A refuse vehicle includes a chassis, a vehicle body supported by the chassis, a lift assembly, and a projector. The vehicle body defines a receptacle for storing refuse. The lift assembly is configured to selectively engage a waste container. The lift assembly is movable between a first position and a second position. The projector is positioned to emit light outwardly away from the refuse vehicle and proximate the lift assembly to define a target area.