Refuse container engagement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12338068-B2
Application number	US-202318217387-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2023
Priority date	Apr 23, 2019
Publication date	Jun 24, 2025
Grant date	Jun 24, 2025

Abstract

A refuse collection vehicle includes a grabber that is operable to engage a refuse container, at least one sensor that is arranged to collect data indicating a relative positioning of a first arm of the grabber and a second arm of the grabber, and a controller having one or more control elements for selecting a target positioning of a first arm of the grabber and a second arm of the grabber. The first arm and the second arm automatically move to the target positioning in response to a signal received by an onboard computing device of the vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A refuse collection vehicle comprising:
a grabber that is operable to engage a refuse container, wherein the grabber comprises a first arm and a second arm;
at least one container sensor arranged to generate sensor data indicating a presence of the refuse container; and
an onboard computing device coupled to the at least one container sensor, wherein the first arm and the second arm automatically move to a target positioning in response to a determination of the target positioning by the onboard computing device, wherein, to automatically move the first arm and the second arm to the target positioning, the onboard computing device is configured to:
determine, based at least in part on the sensor data from the at least one container sensor, a dimensional feature of the refuse container; and
determine the target positioning based at least in part on the dimensional feature of the refuse container.

2. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein automatically moving the first arm and the second arm to the target positioning further comprises:
receiving, by the onboard computing device, data collected by at least one body sensor, the data indicating a relative positioning of the first arm and the second arm;
receiving, by the onboard computing device, the sensor data from the at least one container sensor;
determining, by the onboard computing device, the presence of the refuse container based on the sensor data received from the at least one container sensor;
determining, based on the relative positioning between the first arm and the second arm and the target positioning, a direction of travel of a piston coupled to the grabber, wherein the direction of travel is a direction that the piston is required to travel to position the first arm and the second arm in the target positioning; and
in response to determining the presence of the refuse container, moving the piston in the determined direction of travel.

3. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:
the onboard computing device determines the target positioning based on the sensor data from the at least one container sensor; and
automatically moving the first arm and the second arm to the target positioning further comprises:
receiving, by the onboard computing device, data collected by at least one body sensor, the data indicating a relative positioning of the first arm and the second arm;
receiving, by the onboard computing device, the sensor data from the at least one container sensor;
determining, based on the relative positioning between the first arm and the second arm and the target positioning, a direction of travel of a piston coupled to the grabber, wherein the direction of travel is a direction that the piston is required to travel to position the first arm and the second arm in the target positioning; and
moving the piston in the determined direction of travel.

4. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 3 , wherein determining the target positioning based on the sensor data received from the at least one container sensor comprises:
analyzing, by the onboard computing device, the sensor data received from the at least one container sensor to determine that the refuse collection vehicle is proximate the refuse container;
processing, by the onboard computing device, the sensor data received from the at least one container sensor to determine a width of the refuse container; and
determining, based on the width of the refuse container, the target positioning.

5. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the target positioning comprises a distance between the first arm and the second arm that is larger than the width of the refuse container.

6. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the first arm and the second arm travel an equal amount in response to the determination of the target positioning.

7. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one body sensor that is arranged to collect data indicating a positioning of at least one of the first arm or the second arm, wherein the at least one body sensor is located in a cylinder coupled to the grabber, and wherein the onboard computing device is further coupled to the at least one body sensor.

8. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the onboard computing device determines a distance between the first arm and the second arm based on an amount of extension of a piston coupled to the cylinder, and wherein the amount of extension is detected by the at least one body sensor.

9. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one container sensor is coupled to a grabber beam of the refuse collection vehicle.

10. A method, comprising:
receiving, by an onboard computing device of a refuse collection vehicle, sensor data generated by at least one container sensor of the refuse collection vehicle, wherein the sensor data indicates a presence of a refuse container;
determining, by the onboard computing device, a target positioning for a grabber of the refuse collection vehicle, the determining comprising:
determining, based at least in part on the sensor data from the at least one container sensor, a dimensional feature of the refuse container; and
determining the target positioning based at least in part on the dimensional feature of the refuse container; and

causing, by the onboard computing device, a first arm and a second arm of the grabber to automatically move to the target positioning.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
receiving, by the onboard computing device, data collected by at least one body sensor, the data indicating a relative positioning of the first arm and the second arm;
determining, by the onboard computing device, the presence of the refuse container based on the sensor data received from the at least one container sensor; and
determining, based on the relative positioning and the target positioning, a direction of travel of a piston coupled to the grabber, wherein the direction of travel is a direction that the piston is to travel to position the first arm and the second arm in the target positioning;
wherein the causing the first arm and the second arm to automatically move to the target positioning comprises causing the piston to move in the direction of travel in response to determining the presence of the refuse container.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
receiving, by the onboard computing device, data collected by at least one body sensor, the data indicating a relative positioning of the first arm and the second arm; and
determining, based on the relative positioning and the target positioning, a direction of travel of a piston coupled to the grabber, wherein the direction of travel is a direction that the piston is to travel to position the first arm and the second arm in the target positioning;
wherein the causing the first arm and the second arm to automatically move to the target positioning comprises causing the piston to move in the direction of travel.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the determining the target positioning comprises:
analyzing, by the onboard computing device, the sensor data received from the at least one container sensor to determine that the refuse collection vehicle is proximate the refuse container;
processing, by the onboard computing device, the sensor data to determine a width of the refuse container; and
determining, based on the width of the refuse container, the target positioning.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the target positioning comprises a distance between the first arm

Assignees

• Heil Co

Inventors

• Lewis David G
• Maroney Stanley L
• Blanchard Chad R

Classifications

• B65F2003/023

  Gripper arms for embracing the receptacle · CPC title

• B65F2003/0253

  Means for synchronising or coupling two or more discharging devices, e.g. for allowing the discharge of one large container or the simultaneous discharge of two or more containers · CPC title

• B65F2003/0269

  capable of moving along the side of the vehicle · CPC title

• B65F2003/0283

  between the cab and the collection compartment · CPC title

• B65F3/041 Primary

  Pivoted arms or pivoted carriers · CPC title