Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
l~ ¦ Background of the _nvention
15 ¦ This invention relates to refuse collection systems and
16 ¦ specifically to side-loading refuse collection vehicles witb
l~ I a pivoting double arm and extendahle carriage to reach out and
18 ¦ engage a container alongside the vehicle, lift the container, and
19 ¦ dump it into a hopper having an auger in ~he bottom to compact
20 ¦ the refuse into the main body, and then to return ~he container
21 ¦ to its original curbside position.
22¦ Side loading refuse collection vehicles which operate
23¦ ~ithout manual handling of the refuse container are kn~wn,
241 examples being shown in U. S. Patent Nos. 3,773,197 and
3,910,434.
26 However, such prior art devices have used reciprocating plunger
27 packers to transfer and compact the refuse. Reciprocating
28 plungers have numerous disadvantages.
29 Thus, some plunger devices ~ust be in the retracted position
30 while the hopper is being loaded, and no load can be recei~ed
31 while the plunger is compacting or retracting. Therefore,
52 dumping and compacting cycles must be coordinaged and
sequentially separated in thosereciprocating plunger packers. ~ ¦
~ 725
1 Other plunger devices will take a load o~ reEuse at any time,
2 but the hopper must have enough capacity to accept an entiræ
3 container load above the plunger, in the event a container is
¢ dumped while the plunger is near its fully extended position
5 compacting or retracting.
6 Moreover, a reciprocat}ng plunger is severel~ limitea in
7 the volume of refuse it can displace per square ~oot of plunger
8 blade, since it operates only intermi~tently. Accor~ingly, the
9 ~lade must be quite lar~e in c~oss-section in order to ha~e
adeguate capacity. That large cross-section reduces ~he
1~ compaction in the body, as the larger the cross-section o~ the
2 compacting blade, ~or a given compacting force, the less
13 compaction pressure.
14 The side-loading collection vehicles with reciprocating
compactors have presented problems with desiyn of li~ting de~ices.
16 The large area of the blade reguired that the container be lifted
17 fairly high in order to get over the hopper ana used a large part
18 of the cross-section wl~ich might oLherwise be used for loading.
1~ That has made pivoting li~t arms impractical ~or side-loaaers
altnough some have been tried as in Patent No. 3,790,011.
21 Instead, the art has gone to vertical rail devices o~ the general
22 type shown in Patent No. 3,910,434. Such devices have worked
23 satisfactorily, but are specifically designed for use with
24 reciprocating plunger packers, are slower and are of less
mechanical ef~iciency. Further, side-loading devices haYe
26 presented pr~blems because material deposited in the hopper or
27 body passes the compaction blade and accumulates behind it. It
28 must be periodically removed in order to maintain the stroke
29 and avoid damaging the mechanism. Also, reciprocating plungers
tend to compact the material along the axis ~here it is loaded
31 ~ith little lateral movement. Conse~uently, bodies may be
32 unevenly loaded by the compactor.
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1 To the extend that augers haYe been used at all ~or
2 displacing refuse into the body, they generally ha~e been in
3 manually loaded rear end loaders, which may be additional}y
provided with ancillary container Iiting and dump means.
~ Neither has taken advantage of the high output of the auger.
6 Summary of the Invantion
7 Applican~ has deYeloped an improved refuse collection
B vehicle combining the adYantages of a side-loader, which need
9 not back away from the container, with a continuous auger
compactor, and a mechanical lift device. In accordance wi~h
11 applicant's invention, the refuse collection vehicle has a
12 refuse receiving body with an open-topped hopper ~orward of ~he
13 body. An auger in the bot~om o~ the hopper communicates with
1~ the body. A mechanical lit de~ice with arms positioned alo~g
each end of the hopper, is adapted to engage a containr alongside
16 the vehicle, liEt the container, dump it into the hopper and
17 return it to its original position on the ground
18 An auger has inherent productiYity ad~antages because of
19 its continuous operation, its ability to produce higher density
and the fact that at least some portion of the volume swept by
21 the auger is continuously being refilled by material ~lowing
22 from the superimposed hopper.
23 Auger packers typically have problems handling long items
~4 such as boards if they are placed lengthwise of the auger axis.
Applicant discovered that in a side-loader, the li~ting d~vice
26 places loncl objects across the longitudinal axis o the truck
27 and intersecting the axis of the auger, a-t subs-tantially righ~
28 angles because the long objec-ts normally are placed in the refuse
29 container vertically by the user and the lift device empties
3~ them toward the auger axis~ Thus, applicant has disco~ered that
31 previous fears in the axt regarding the handling of long items
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1 with a mechanical li~t device and auger combination, have no
2 basis ~hen the lift device loads over the side and the ~ug~r
3 has its axis lengthwise of the truck.
4 ~aterial deposited on an auger compactor is in contin~ous
motion. Thus, the container may be dumped into the hopper near
6 the edge close to the container and immediately conveyed by the
7 turning auger across the hopper to the other side where i~ is
8 worked into the body. Further, ~aterial spills in~o the spa~e
9 between the auger ~langes - a space not available in a
reciprocating plunger - and is conveye~ a~-ay ~rom ~he po~tion
11 o~ the ~o~per into which it is spilled. The container may then
12 be moved a shorter distance by the leader~ dumped at a lower
~3 height to avoid overhead obstacles such as electrical wires, and
14 emptied quickly. No material accumulates behind the compactor
or in areas from which i~ must be removed to protect e~uipment.
16 An auger arranged in a hop~er which converges axially along
17 the auger, compacts refuse in all three dimensions, whereas a
18 reciprocating plunger only compacts lengthwise. In addition,
19 an auger does much more shredding of the refuse than does a
reciprocating plunger. Shredding allows the materia~ to be
2 packed to a higher density than otherwise, and tears plastic
bags apart to make their contents bio-degradable. Further,
23 augers have a very high mechanical advantage for compacting.
2~ ~hile those differences exist in prior art auger compactors,
2~ applicant has taken uni~ue advantage of those features in his
26 combination auger and mechanical lift device.
A limiting factor in the deisgn of any refuse collection
28 truck is the need to keep the parts of the truck within the
29 legally allowed "envelope " The envelope is the term used
31 to define the width and height limits imposed by law on vehicles
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1 ~hich travel on public roads Generally the legal envelope is
2 13 feet 6 inches high and 8 feet wide. Nothin~ on the truc~
3 should extend out of that envelo~e while the truck is moving on
¢ the highway
~ The three dimensional compaction, shredding, and fas~ and
6 continuous displacement of refuse with the augPr permits a major
7 reduction in cross-section of ~he auger compac-tor as compa~e~
8 to a reciprocating compactor of like capacity~ Therefore~ ~he
9 reduced cross-section means that the packer occupies less of
1~ the space within ~he legal envelope, leaving mo~e space for a
~ mechanical lif~ device.
12 The auger, by virtue of its smaller cross-section also
13 provides a higher compacting pressure That higher pressure
14 transmits h~draulically into the large refuse ~ody providing
excellent compaction. Mixing the reuse as it is sheared,
16 compressed and shredded by the revol~ing auger, improves
17 compactability by jostling material to improve its "fi~" together,
18 distributing moisture thoughollt the load.
19 In the pre~erred embodiment, the side-loader is a pair
of arms pivoted to the vehicle well below -the nopper openin~ an~
21 on the opposite side of the hopper from the container to ~e
22 dumped. One arm is loacted forward of the hopper and the other
2~ is rearward. The arms extend up and over the auger and have a~
2~ their distal ends a carriage which is mounted to reciprocate
laterally toward and away ~rom the hopper Clamps or other
26 engaging devices on the carriage are operable to engage or
27 disengage the container.
29
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1 This pivoting arm arrangement in combination wi~h the
2 continuous auger prov~des a very fast and productive device.
3 The pivoting movement need not lift the refuse container as
4 high as a comparable vertical track device. The container moves
~ along a shorter path from its location on the grouna to a ~umping
6 pDSitiOn with the lip inside the edge of the hopper.
7 Moreover, i~ ~he vertic:al track devices, as the container
: 8 goes over any curved portion of the track, th center o~ gra~it~
9 of ~he load is accelerated wit~ respect to movem~nt of the
~0 conveyor system. The conveyor system mus-t be designed t~ handle
1 that peak power requirement, and therefore operates at less than
~2 full capacity during the rest of the cycle. In a pivoting arm
13 arrangement, that peak is eliminated and a lower capacity power
1~ system can be used.
This faster pivoting movement finds particular advanta~e wit
16 the auger compactor which is able to handle the greater capacity
1~ of the pivoted arm because o the proficiency of the continuous
18 displacement and the three dimensional compaction. Moreover, the
19 low proile and open con~iguration of the auger permit a lower
-hopper top so that the lift device-need not lift the container so
21 high nor pivot through as great an arc as wi~th the higher hopper
22 associated with a reciprocating compactor of like capacity. The
~31 shorter arc, through which the arms swing, increases the minimum
2~1 lever arm available for lifting, and correspondingly reduces the
25¦ lifting force.
26¦ The a~s and carriage of the preferred embodiment extend
271 in a generally inverted U-shape from a low pivot, over the auger
28¦ ends and back down to the refuse containex. The low pivot, ~eing
29 ¦ litt le hi~her than the container, assures that the container
m vement oul:ward awey from the vehicle is minimi~ed at the
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1 beginning of i-ts lift, as such movement can cause collision
2 with nearby obstacles. The U-shaped lift arms are practica~
3 with the auger because the aguer occupies onl~ a small cross-
41 section for its high displacement rate. Thus, the U c~n be o~
~¦ low profile and still clear the auger. That low profile, as
6 ¦ well as the low angle of liflt required for the container to
7 ¦ clear the hopper, permit arms which do not exten~ laterally outsi~
8 ¦ the vehicle envelope any significant distance even when the
~ device is elevated.
1~ The dumping action of the lift device of this invention
11 pivots the container about a very small radius, whereas ~he prior
}2 art rail devices swing the container through a larger arc acros 5
1~ the truck top. The difference further reduces the time re~uLred
14 to dump a container.
These and other advantages will be apparent rom the
16 following description of a preferred embodiment.
1~ Brief Description of the Drawings
18 Fig. 1 is a right side elevation view of a refuse ~ollection
19 vehicle in accordance with this invention;
Fig ~ is a left side elevation view of the hopper and au~er
21 with the remainder of the vehicle, and the lifting device,
22 removed;
23 Fig. 3 is a front elevation view o~ the hopper and auger
2~ taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a front elevation view of the hopper and lifting
26 ~evice with the remainder of the vehicle removed, showing the
27 lift device about to engage a refuse container;
28 Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 4 showing the carriage extended
29 for engaging the container;
Fig. 6 is a view like Fig. 4, showing the arms pivoted to
31 the raised position, lifting the con-tainar over the hopper
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1 ¦ Fig. 7 is a view like Fig. 4, showing the carriage clamps
2 ¦ rotated to dump the con-tainer,
3 ¦ ~ig. 8 is a top ~iew of ~he container and carriage clamp
L ¦ taken along lines 8-8 of Fig 4; ana
~¦ Pig. 9 is a top view of the con~ainer and car~iage clamp
~¦ taken along lines ~-9 of Fig. 5.
71 Referring to Figure 1, the re~use co~lection ve~icle
8 ¦ includes a conventional cab 2 with the usual controls ~or the
9¦ operator 4 to drive the vehicle. ~he frame 6 of the vehicle,
10 ¦ o~ course, is supported ~ro~ the ground 8 on wheels 10 in a
11 ¦ conventional manner and includes a conventional re~use collecti~n
12 ¦ body 12 for accumulating refuse. A hopper 14 between ~he body
13 ¦ 12 and cab 2 receives refuse ~rom a refuse containe~ 16 which
1~ ¦ is elevated from its initial position on ~he ground alondside
1~ ¦ the vehicle, and is dumped by li~ting mechanism 18. The refuse
1~ ¦ in the hopp~r is compactea and transferred to the refuse bod~
17 ¦ by an auger in the hopper ~ottom as shown in ~igure 20 The
18 body 12 includes a power~actuated tail-gate assembly 11, which
lg is raised to allow refuse to shift from the body as the body
is tipped.
21 Referring to Figures 1-3, the hopper 14 has a tapered lower
22 portion 20 and an auger extension 22, ~lich, of course, could
23 be a single piece. The upper extension 22 has a forward end
24 wall 24, rear end wall 26, and left side wall 28, but is open
at the top, right side, and bottom for receiving re~use and
26 directing it to the lower portion 20. The lower por-tion includes
27 a forward end wall 30, rear end wall 32, right side wall 34
28 and left side wall 36 and ~ottom 38. ~n auger 4~ is mounted
29 in the hopper just above -the bottom, the axis or shaft 42 of
the auger ;n the Yertical plane and through the longitudinal
31 axis of the truck, inclines upwardly from front to rear.
32
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1 The lower walls of the hoppex portion are of a complex
2 shape as shown in the ~rawings, but are generally tapered
3 inwardly from top to ~ottom to direct the refuse of the auger,
4 and converge along the auger axis in a conical shape The
~ bottom 38 generally follows the auger, but de~ines the bottom
6 half of a truncated cone which converges as it progresses
7 rearwardly along the axis of ~he auger.
8 The hopper is moun~ed on mem~ers 44, 44a and 52 which are
supported on-the truck ~rame 6. The members 46 and 48 each
~ have a plate 50, 52 on their respective ~orwara and rear sides
11 for mounting ~he lift device as will be described later~
12 The rear wall 32 has an opening 54 through which the xear
13 end of the auger passes. The opening 54 aligns wi~h a
14 corresponaing opening in the body 12 to pass refuse from ~he
hopper to the body. T~e rear end of ~he auger actually extends
16 slightly into the body 12.
17 A shxoud 56 surrounds ~he rear portion of the auger and
18 provides a conduit fox refuse between the opening 54 in the
19 hopper and the corresponding opening in the body 12. A seal -
57 below the shroud 56 seals ayainst the body 12 to ur~her
21 prevent loss of refuse.
22 A motor 59 and gear box 58 at the forward end o~ ~he augex
23 drive the auger in a conventional manner. ~he auger ~0 and its
24 motor 59 alld gear box 58 are mounted on the hopper, e.g. by
bolts 60, and the auger extends -through an opening in the forward
26 wall 30 of the hopper ~7hich is sealed by the ~langes 62 on the
27 gear box.
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1 ¦ The auger is of variable pitch, decreasing in pitch from
21 front to rear, ana als~ decre~ses in diameter from front to
I rear. That cuases the auger to pre-compact the re~use wi~in
41 its swept volume in the hopper as it is transferred axially
to the body. Moreover, the conical shape of the hopper bo~tom
~¦ portion in which the auger is positioned, causes the refuse to
71 compac~ vertically and laterally as it is displaced rearward.
8 ¦ Within the boay, it is further compactad as the body fills, by
¦ the ~orce of the auger pushing additional refuse in~o the body.
10 ¦ ~eferring now to Figure 4, the lift assembly in&ludes an
11 ¦ arm 70 having a lower arm member 72 and an upper arm member 74
~2 ¦ rigidly interconnectea at 77 in a general L-shape. The lower
13 ¦ arm member 72 is mountea between plates 46 and 50 for pivotal
14 ¦ movement about ~n axis 76 parallel to the longitudinal a~is of
15 ¦ the truc~ (right and left being reversed in ~igure 4 whic~ look
16 ¦ toward the rear of the truck). In the lowered position as the
~7 ¦ pivot -76 which is near the hopper bottom and on the le~t side
~8 ¦ of the vehicle, but inclined toward the vehicle centerline The
19 ¦ upper arm member 74 extends horizontally across the truck Erom
~0 ¦ its connection 77 so that its distal end 78 is to the riyht of
21 ¦ the hopper and is ~ar enough to the right to clear any frame
22 ¦ members or vehicle accessories beneath it.
23 ¦ The sides oE the "envelope", i.e. legal width and h~ight,
24 ¦ within which all parts of the truck must be when -the truck is
25 ¦ moving are indicated at 79, 81.
26 A ram assembly 82 is connected between the plate 50 and
27 a gusset 80 mounted near the distal end of the arm. That ram
28 assembly is operable to pivot the arm as shown in Figure 6,
29 and preferably consists o two parallel xam cylinders 84, 86
side-by-side having their respective piston rods 88, 90 extending
31 in opposite directions to double the available stro~e ~or ~he
32 given length of ram cy~inder. 1 ~
1118725
1 ~ ~eferring to Figure 5, the upper arm member 74 is a hollow
2 ¦ tube, preferably of rectangular section. Telescoped into the
3 upper arm member 74 is a carriage ex-tension arm 9~. A cylinder
assembly 94 is attached to the upper arm member 74 by brac~et
~ 98 and to the outer end of the carriage extension arm 32 by
6 a bracket 100. The cylinder assembly 94 is operable to exten~
7 and retract thè carriage extension arm g2 as shown in ~igure 5.
8 A bracket 96 mounted on the arm mem~er 74 has a roller (not
9 shown) on supporting pin 97 which extends down through an opening
in the top o~ arm member 74 and bears on the top of extension
1l 92 to provide a bearing for movement ~f the extension 92. A
~ ~orward roller (not shown) on a su~porting pin 99 on the gusset
1~ 8~ similarly provides a bearing for the underside of the extension'
1_ 92 so that the extension is supported by the two bearings.
1~ A carriage assembly 102 is mounted on-the outer end of the
16 extension arm 92. Upright carriage member 104 is attached a~
1~ its upper end to the extension arm and depends generally
18 vertically down therefrom. A pivot plate 106 is pivotally mounte~
19 on the bottom of the upright carriage member on pin 10B.
A container dumping cylinder assembly liQ is connected t~
21 the upright member 104 by a bracket 112 and to -the pi~ot plate 106
22 A container grasping clamp assembly 114 is rigidly mounted to a
23 connecting tube 116 and extends outwardly therefrom. The
2~ connecting tube 116 is rigidly connected to the pivot plate 106
Referring again to Figure 1, it can be seen that lift
26 assembly lg includes two identical arm assemblies 70, 70a. One
27 70 is mounted forward of the hopper and the other 70a is mounted
~8 rearward. Each arm assem~ly has a respec-tive carriage extension
29 arm ~2, upright carriage member 104, 104a and pivot plate 106,
106a. A tubular rame member 118 interconnects the upright
31
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11187Z5
l carriage m mbers 104, l~la to rigidify the lifting device, and
2 ¦ has an offset center portion 10~ to accommoaate the refuse
3 ¦ container as it is dumped.
4 ¦ Referring to Figures 8 and 9, the grasping clamp assembly
¦ 114 is fixed to rotate with the connection 116 and includes a
6 ~ pair of clamping fingers 122, 124 mounted to pi~ot about v~rtical
7 ¦ pins 126, 128 to open and close`the clamp. Cylinder assemblies
8 ¦ 125, 127 are connected at 129, 131 and 133 on the clamp assembly
9 ¦ to open and close the cla~p.
10 ¦ The various cylinder and ram assemblies are con~rolled by
1~ the operator 4 from the driver's position by controls in t~e
12 ca~ which may be arranged in a convenient array.
13 In operation the vehicle is dri~en toward a position
14 alongside a container 16 in the position shown in Fi~ure 7 ~except
5 that no container 16 is grasped in the clamp assembl~ wit~ the
16 arm 70 up, the carriagè 102 retracted, and the clamp assembly up.
1~ T~at position locates the entire lifking aevice within the width
18 of the enve.lope 79, 81 so that no part o~ the lift.de~ice or
19 its operating mechanism extends out to be a hazard.
2~ The vehicle is stopped wi.h the lift device centered
21 opposite the container 16 and close enough to the container to
2 be within reach of tne lift device when laterally extended.and
23 the lift mechanism is lowered to the position of Figure 4 with
~a the arm 70 lowered, the clamp assembly 102 lowered, and the clamp ¦
fingers 122, 124 open. If there are no obstructions, this lowerin
26 may be carri.ed out as the ~ehicle approaches the container rathex
28 t n waitincl for a full stop.
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1 The carriage 102 then is extended laterally, by extension
2 of cylinder assembliès 94, 94a, to thè`position of Figure 5.
3 The carriage is now adjacent the container 16 and the ~lamp
cylinder assemblies 125, 127 are then operated to close the
clamp fingers 122, 124 around the container ana squeeze it as
6 shown in Figure 9. The operator is in sight of the container
7 16 and the clamp, and ~isually determines how far to extend the
B carriase. If the container is not precisely centered on the
9 clamp, the closing of the clamp will center it wi~hin
With the container grasped in the clamps, the arm 70 is
lI elevated by extension of t~e ram assembly 82 to lift the container~
12 off the ground. The carriage 102 is simultan~ously retracted
~3 by retraction o cylinder assembly 94 to bring the container
14 toward the truck as it li~ts. Referring now to Figure 6, the
arm 70 continues to eIevate by extension of ram assembly 82 to
16 its maximum elevation while the carriage continues to retrac~
17 towara the truck until fully retracted. The container is now
18 over the open top of the hopper. Next the cylinder llO is
19 ¦ extended to rotate the pivot pla-te 106 and dump the container as
20 ¦ shown in Figure 7. In order to increase the speed, the rota-tion
21 ¦ to dump can begin before the lift arms are fully elevated.
22 ¦ The operation is then reversed, with the piston assembl~
23 ¦ 110 being retracted, the lift arms being lowerea by retraction
2~ ¦ of the ram assembly 82 and the carriage being extended by
25 ¦ extension of piston assemblies 94, 94a, all of which may be
26¦ done simultaneously. The container is thus re-turned to its
27 ¦ original position, and the clamp fingers are opened to release
28 ¦ the container. The carriage then is retracted, the arm raised,
29 ¦ and the clamp assembly raised to the position of Figure 7. The
30 ¦ truck is then ready to drive on to the next container.
31
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1~187~
~ I ~lternatively, the truck can be advanced to the next containPr
2 I stop during the lif-ting dumping and lowering cycle. In that
3 ¦ event, each container will be movea down the street one station,
¦ each time the truck mans the :route. That is sometimes acceptable
5 ¦ because the containers are of standard size and usually are
~ ~ provided by the'refuse collection or the city.
7 ~ Th~q refuse falls into the hopper 14 and down into the path
8 ¦ of the auger. T~e augur pre-compacts the'refuse in three
9 ¦ dimensions and also shreds it as it moves it along the hopper
10 ¦ bottom, because of the aecreasing pitch and decreasing diameter
1~ ¦ The auger pushes the refuse into the boay with'enough force to
12 ¦ compact the refuse in the body without an aaditional compactor.
13 It can be seen that the'location of he boom piYot 76 is
l_ at about the height of the large diameter portion of the container
1~ to be lifted. Therefore, as the arms elevate, the container
1~ swings out only a little further from the ~ehicle during its
~7 initial lift.
~8 The lift device is generally of inverted U-shape, i~e.
lg arm members 72, 74 and upright carriage member 104 from an
2~ inverted U. That enables the lift device to clear the shroud
21 56 and the motor 59. However, in the elevated position as
22 shown in Figures 6 and 7, the arm extends barely beyond the
~3 hopper at the furtherest point 130 so that it will not be a
2~ hazard to passing traffic. This lack of protrusion is enhanced
by the fact that lower arm member 7~ is not vertical in the
~6 unrelated position of Figure 4. The use of a small dia~eter
27 auger permi-ts the lateral inclination of the lower lift arm
~8 member as seen in Figure ~ to be greater than with a
29 reciprocating plunger.
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