A vehicle includes a chassis, a body, a lift assembly coupled to the body, a collection arm assembly coupled to the lift assembly and including a pair of interface members configured to engage an object, an object detection system configured to provide object detection data, and controller. The controller is configured to receive an indication, based on the object detection data, that the object is within an aligned zone relative to the body, determine an initial location of the object relative to the body, move the lift assembly so that the pair of interface members are aligned to engage the object, actuate the collection arm assembly to engage the pair of interface members with the object, and instruct the lift assembly to raise the object relative to the body.

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.

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.

A multi-use garbage truck has an ability to not only to front load containers of garbage into a hopper in a refuse collection body, but also an ability to swap out the forks, if not arm connection assemblies, or even entire frame arms, to be replaced with one of a plurality of attachments which connect to at least one, if not both frame arms with attachments for various uses such as snow plow, leaf blower, street sweeper, bucket, grapple, etc. Furthermore, an ability to independently operate the left frame arm relative to the right frame arm can now be provided so that the left frame arm can utilize and perform one function and the right frame arm provide another or at least be independently operable from one another.

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.

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.

A refuse vehicle includes a chassis, a body coupled to the chassis, a lift arm assembly coupled to at least one of the chassis or the body and selectively repositionable between a first position and a second position, a fork tube coupled to the lift arm assembly, a set of bump plates coupled to the fork, and a lateral stabilizer assembly coupled to at least one of the frame or the body. The lift arm assembly includes a first arm, a second arm, and an implement coupled to the first arm and the second arm. The lateral stabilizer assembly includes a lateral stabilizer and a backer plate. The lateral stabilizer assembly is configured to prevent lateral sway of the implement when the lift arm assembly is in the first position by the lateral stabilizer coming in contact with the set of bump plates.

A carry can includes a container defining a refuse compartment and an articulating collection arm coupled to the container. The articulating collection arm includes an extension mechanism, a lift mechanism coupled to the extendable arm, and a grabber mechanism coupled to the lift arm. The extension mechanism includes an extendable arm and a first actuator positioned to facilitate extending and retracting the extendable arm. The lift mechanism includes a lift arm and a second actuator positioned to facilitate pivoting the lift arm about a pivot axis. The second actuator includes (i) a transmission device coupled to the lift arm and positioned along the pivot axis and (ii) a rotational actuator coupled to the transmission device and positioned along an offset axis that is parallel to and is offset from the pivot axis. The grabber mechanism includes grabber arms and a third actuator positioned to facilitate opening and closing the grabber arms.

A refuse vehicle includes multiple tractive elements, a prime mover, and an independent accessory system. The prime mover is configured to generate mechanical energy to drive one or more of the tractive elements. The independent accessory system includes one or more storage tanks configured to store a fuel, and an accessory primary mover. The accessory primary mover is configured to fluidly couple with the one or more storage tanks to receive the fuel from the one or more storage tanks and operate to pressurize a hydraulic fluid to drive an accessory of the refuse vehicle. The accessory primary mover is configured to pressurize the hydraulic fluid to drive the accessory of the refuse vehicle independently of operation of the prime mover.

A lift assembly for a refuse vehicle includes a lift arm pivotally coupled to a body of the refuse vehicle and a pair of forks pivotally coupled to the lift arm, the pair of forks is configured to engage with a refuse container. The lift assembly further includes an electric lift arm actuator comprising an output shaft. The electric lift arm actuator may be communicably coupled to an electric energy system. The lift assembly further includes a pin coupled to the lift arm assembly and the electric lift arm actuator. The pin is configured to rotate about a pin axis. Rotation of the output shaft causes the lift arm assembly to rotate relative to the body via the pin.