Material or article handling – Device for emptying portable receptacle – For emptying contents thereof into portable receiving means
Reexamination Certificate
1996-06-17
2002-11-05
Brahan, Thomas J. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Device for emptying portable receptacle
For emptying contents thereof into portable receiving means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06474928
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to material handling equipment and, more particularly, to a maneuverable, multi-position container grasping device attached to a refuse collection vehicle for handling curbside containers during collection efforts and emptying the containers at a plurality of positions relative to the vehicle charging hopper.
II. Related Art
As the world of materials handling becomes more mechanized the desire to move objects with minimal human intervention increases. This has become especially increasingly so with respect to the collection of refuse, particularly curbside collection which has been traditionally characterized by labor intensive manual loading. At a curbside there exists a need not only for devices to tip refuse containers into material receiving hoppers but also for a delivery system that can grasp containers from a range of locations relative to the collection vehicle.
Mechanized material handling devices of the class of interest to the present invention usually have a grasping device attached to a large arm or other means for lifting, moving and tipping a container or object of interest. The grasping device often has a pair of spaced and opposed mechanical arms which function to grasp and release a container by closing down and opening up as operated by one or more actuating devices, such as hydraulic cylinders. In situations where only one actuating device is used, a linkage mechanism is required to achieve dual arm movement.
Grasping devices including a single actuator and a pair of arcuate arms are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,608, to Boda; U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,570, to Smith et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,104, to Pickrell. Each of the devices described in these patents includes a relatively complex linkage mechanism.
Grasping devices including multiple actuators and two single member arcuate arms have been described in U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 34,292, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,227,849 and 4,872,801. In each of these patents, the arms are pivotally attached to a common support member and operated by hydraulic cylinders pivotally attached to the same support member.
A grasping device including multiple actuators and arms having multiple members is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,940, issued to Englehardt et al. In this patent, a pair of straight secondary arms are pivoted to a common support member inside a pair of angled primary arms. The secondary arms roll along the inside of the primary arms to form a hexagon as the primary arms are pushed together by hydraulic cylinders.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,731, issued to Jones et al, describes a grasping device including two compound (segmented) arcuate arms linked to an I-beam member operated by actuators.
The devices discussed above are designed to grasp circular objects. A device for lifting and holding containers having a plurality of basic shapes is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,407, to Breckenridge. Breckenridge describes a device having a pair of arms including an inner member pivoted at one end to a frame and an outer member pivoted between its ends to the second end of the inner member. A complex linkage mechanism is attached between the frame and the two members for coordinating movement of the inner and outer members. While the mechanism is functional, a mechanically simpler device for grasping containers having a plurality of shapes is desired.
PCT International Application Publication No. WO 92/01612 describes a device for grasping containers of several shapes. The described device includes oppositely disposed compound articulated arms pivotally attached to a central support member. Each arm includes an inner and an outer member curved to fit around a container and having grip padding for holding the container. In operation, the arms are moved by four actuators. However, the shape of the arms and the grip padding is a compromise, not shaped to fit snugly around the corners of a rectangular object. The corners of a rectangular object fall between the grip padding or are contacted at an angle which limits the ability of the device to manipulate rectangular objects.
A grabber device of the class usable in the combination of the present invention is further illustrated and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/342,752, filed Nov. 21, 1994, and assigned to the same assignee, entitled “CONTAINER HOLDING AND LIFTING DEVICES”. The inventor in that application is Ronald E. Christenson, an inventor in the present application.
A multi-compartment vehicle for unloading and receiving the contents of corresponding multi-compartment collection receptacles is described and shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/389,097, filed Feb. 15, 1995, entitled “MULTIPLE COMPARTMENT BODY FOR WASTE MATERIALS”, by Ronald E. Christenson, the inventor herein, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference for any necessary purposes. That application describes a refuse hauling vehicle including a multi-compartment truck body and a front or side loading, fork-type lift and dump mechanism which lifts and dumps a multi-compartment collection receptacle into a multi-compartment receiving hopper of the truck body.
Other containers of the multi-compartment class are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,071,303 and 5,222,853, issued to Carson, which describe a multi-compartment collection receptacle having a plurality of dedicated compartments with corresponding locking lids. During the dumping operation, a collection receptacle compartment is positioned above a corresponding dedicated compartment in a multi-compartment vehicle and the lid is opened to release the refuse contained therein into the vehicle. A collection receptacle lifting mechanism is mounted on the vehicle body on a rail in a manner that allows it to slide along the length thereof to index or position the collection receptacle as required for unloading.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,035,563; 5,163,805; 5,205,698; and 5,303,841, issued to Mezey, illustrate side loading or front loading, multi-compartment refuse vehicles used in conjunction with corresponding multi-compartment collection receptacles or single compartment containers.
Heretofore, however, container lifting and emptying devices have not been able to selectively position a container above a plurality of compartments in a collection receptacle. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,407, issued to Breckenridge, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,104, issued to Pickrell, describe and show grasping devices connected to extensible boom systems which may be lifted to raise an engaged container above one position along the length of a refuse vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,308, issued to Armando et al., describes an automatic container lifting and emptying apparatus including an extensible boom which can pivot vertically to raise an engaged container above the refuse vehicle and horizontally to pivot the container in a partial circle as it is positioned above the truck body. However, these systems have limited versatility and cannot situate the container above more than one position along the length of the truck body, even though the Armando et al. device is provided with an attached grasping device which can pivot in a circular motion at the end of the extensible boom along an axis transverse to the direction of travel of the telescoping boom.
An extensible boom system that carries a grabber device of the articulated opposed digit type with some versatility is illustrated in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/480,902, filed Jun. 8, 1995, to Ronald E. Christenson, an inventor herein, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. That disclosure is also hereby incorporated by reference herein for any necessary purpose.
The separation of materials at the point of collection is becoming, and in the future will become an even more important consideration in the disposal of refuse. Consequently, a collection apparatus including a container lifting and emptying apparatus which can be positionally
Brahan Thomas J.
McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, Inc.
Mersereau C. G.
Nikolai & Mersereau , P.A.
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