Patent Application
20230264893
The present disclosure is in the field of sanitation. More particularly, the present disclosure provides a fully self-contained automatic two stage hydraulic system in a 12-volt environment attached entirely to a collection bin that hydraulically powers a lifter to grasp, lift, and empty trash carts into the bin.
Many sanitation companies, municipal sanitation departments, and other trash collectors are confronted with problems associated with trash pickup locations that are difficult to reach and service because of heavily trafficked, narrow, or windy roads or road surfaces that are in poor condition. Some sanitation customers are located great distances from one another in rural areas. A typical front-loading or side-loading compactor truck may be too large to safely navigate such roads. Operating a large compactor truck in a rural or rugged area where collection locations may be far apart may consume excessive fuel and unduly stress a large vehicle. In addition, covering many miles before a truck is sufficiently full may not be economically feasible. Operating a small truck, which may make more sense in areas of rough road conditions or remote customers, may also not make economic sense as such trucks have limited space for trash and may require more manpower to lift and empty trash containers resulting in higher labor and associated expense. Smaller trucks that do have compactor apparatus must be outfitted with onboard hydraulic systems, which requires significant vehicle retrofit, and can cross-contaminate hydraulic systems across a fleet of such smaller trucks.
Systems and methods described herein provide a fully self-contained automatic two stage hydraulic system in a 12-volt environment for powering a cart lifter to grasp, raise, and empty full trash carts. The system is attached to a collection bin of between three and eight cubic yards in volume and does not rely on hydraulic apparatus of a medium-duty truck that may periodically move the bin. The system also may not rely on outside electrical power over the course of several hours of lifting and emptying of carts.
The system includes a 12-volt battery that completely powers the hydraulics of the system, which reside entirely on the bin, in most embodiments on a side panel of the bin. The battery may receive recharging which is accessible from the medium-duty truck to which the bin remains attached for safety and ease of transportation purposes in most embodiments.
The lifter, which may also be referred to a a gripper or tipper, is attached to a front surface of the bin. Hydraulic lines run from the system on the side of the bin to the lifter on the front of the bin. Controls for the system may be located in a panel on a side of the bin either near the hydraulic and electrical components of the system or distant therefrom, for example on a different panel of the bin.
When a trash cart is positioned in front of and within reach of the lifter, the system, upon instruction, hydraulically causes the lifter to grasp and commence lifting the cart. When hydraulic relief pressure reaches a given pressure threshold which may be due to the weight of the cart, the system automatically distributes hydraulic load by switching to a lower stage via use of a pressure relief valve, a mechanical component. When the system mechanically senses that the load is heavier than the first stage can support (via the internal pressure-sensing valve or pressure relief valve”) the system transitions to the second stage. This two-stage system allows for sufficient motor RPM and lifting from 600-2000 psi. The first stage is calibrated for a flow rate of 5 Gallons per minute (GPM) up to 600 psi. As greater physical load is applied to the lifter, the second stage transitions to 1-2 GPM up to 2,000 psi. The detection of the need for greater hydraulic pressure and change in stage are handled entirely by the system. The 12-volt battery provides all of the power that is needed for an extended period to lift many carts of differing weights and fill the bin.
The bin may be moved between different points at a single collection site (for example houses or buildings within a neighborhood, office park, or industrial park) or between multiple collection sites (for example between nearby neighborhoods) by a medium-duty truck that lifts the bin via forks at the rear area of the truck. The bin has pockets on each side into which the forks may be inserted, thus enabling the bin to be lifted and moved. The bin is not in most embodiments lifted such that it is raised high enough to fully rest upon a bed of the medium-duty truck, if such bed area even exists on a given medium-duty truck. Instead, the bin is lifted several feet off the ground and held by the medium-duty truck with the bin tilted forward at an angle. The medium-duty truck may then safely carry the bin between points at a single collection site or between collection sites, even at relatively high speeds. As the bin typically does not have a lid and instead has an open top, a tarp may be used to cover the open top of the bin while being transported by the medium-duty truck.
When the bin is full and/or a collection route or work shift ends such that the bin needs to be emptied and made ready for the next day, the medium-duty truck may carry the bin to a central location. There, the medium-duty truck may release the bin by setting it down on flat pavement and decoupling from the bin by removing its forks from pockets of the bin and driving a short distance away. A large front-loading compactor truck may approach the bin, insert its forks into the bin's pockets. The large compactor truck then lifts the bin and empties the bin into the compactor truck's own large container where the contents are compacted. The compactor truck is large enough to handle the contents of many bins.
Once the compactor truck has emptied the bin, the medium-duty truck may then return to the bin, insert its forks into the side pockets of the bin, lift the bin, and then return to pick up locations and continue lifting and emptying carts or alternatively return to a yard, depot, or other secure home location of the trash collector where the bin may be stored overnight or until needed again.
The components of the system are modular. The bin may be a standard trash bin of about between three to eight cubic yards in volume. The lifter may be a Perkins Gripper Model #D6098B-56C-27K, but it may also be any one of many similar devices provided by various manufacturers. In embodiments, the lifter may be interchangeably referred to as a tipper or gripper.
Medium-duty trucks and some heavy-duty trucks may refer to truck classes 5-7, which have a gross vehicle weight rating range of 19,501-33,000 lbs. The medium-duty truck described herein may be a Ford model F550, a Chevrolet Silverado 5500HD/International CV, a Dodge Ram 5500, an Isuzu NRR, a Freightliner Business Class M2 106, a Kenworth T170, a Peterbilt 325, or another model.
The lifting mechanism including forks of the medium-duty truck may be provided by various vendors in the truck-mounted lifting systems industry. The bin does not use any hydraulic power or equipment of the truck. The truck requires no hydraulic retrofit to accommodate the system provided herein.
In a typical use case, the bin would remain attached to the medium-duty truck over the course of a workday as the medium-duty truck makes it rounds to collection points. While 12-volt battery in the bin may have enough power to handle multiple grasping and lifting of carts on its own over a portion of a day, in most cases the bin maintains an electrical and physical attachment to the medium-duty truck. Such electrical attachment may be via cable extending from the truck to the bin and is not high voltage. A commercial class battery is not needed in the truck for the purpose of recharging the on-board 12-volt battery in the bin. No electrical upgrade to the medium-duty truck of any kind is needed.
The bin is typically not left unattended for extended periods in publicly accessible areas for safety and security reasons. If for any unforeseen reason the bin is left unattended, the system cannot easily be switched on and little opportunity to tamper or commit vandalism is provided. While technically the bin is configurable to operate without connection to truck power, in its current configuration the truck power functions as a safety. If the bin was left at a publicly accessible location for a period of time, an electrical safety switch (being truck power disconnect) renders the bin disabled so that bystanders cannot operate the bin.
Turning to the figures,
As noted, the bin may be a standard industry trash collection bin, approximately three to eight cubic yards in volume. The self-contained system 100 is situated on a side panel of the bin 102. The lifter 114 is attached to a front panel of the bin 102. When the bin 102 is being held by a medium-duty truck for moving as described above, the truck would be at the side opposite the panel holding the lifter 114. In
In
The system, including bin 1002, lifter 1014, and internal components shown in
In an embodiment, a self-contained electro-hydraulic system for trash collection is provided. The system comprises boxlike steel trash collection bin and a hydraulically activated trash cart lifter mounted on an outward-facing front surface of the bin. The system also comprises a control unit mounted on a side surface of the bin comprising a 12-volt battery, an electric motor, a rotator, and a two-stage hydraulic pump. The system hydraulically causes the lifter to grasp a trash cart positioned proximate the gripper. The system also changes, based on hydraulic pressure measurements, a stage of the pump from a first stage of about 5 gallons per minute to a second stage of about 1-2 gallons per minute. The system also lifts and tilts the cart based on the change in stage, enabling contents of the cart to fall into the bin. Power for the pump and lifting of the cart is supplied entirely by the 12-volt battery. The bin is moved between locations of trash carts by a medium-duty truck with a lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism comprises at least forks that lift the bin via pockets on side surfaces of the bin. The bin, after visits to multiple locations of trash carts, is transported by the medium-duty truck to a central location and is decoupled from the medium-duty truck. Upon decoupling, the bin is lifted and emptied by a front-loading compactor truck. The system does not contact a hydraulic system of the medium-duty truck in lifting trash carts.
In another embodiment, a method for lifting and emptying trash carts without truck power is provided. The method comprises a two-stage hydraulic pump attached to a collection bin activating a cart lifter device mounted to a front surface of the bin. The method also comprises the pump causing the lifter device to grasp and commence lifting a first cart positioned proximate the tipper device. The method also comprises the pump, based on at least measurements of hydraulic pressure captured during commencement of lifting, altering hydraulic stage of the pump from a first stage of about 5 gallons per minute to a second stage of about 2 gallons per minute. The method also comprises the pump maintaining hydraulic pressure as the lifter device lifts and tilts the cart. The method further comprises an electric motor attached to the bin driving the pump. The method further comprises the motor receiving power from a 12-volt battery. The 12-volt battery is attached to the bin and is sole source of power for the pump and lifting of the bin. The bin is periodically moved by a medium-duty truck to locations of additional carts for emptying and to a central location for emptying of the bin by one of a front-loading truck and a rear-loading compactor truck. The system does not contact a hydraulic system of the medium-duty truck in lifting trash carts.
In yet another embodiment, a system for lifting and tilting trash carts independent of auxiliary hydraulic power is provided. The system comprises a cart lifter attached to a trash collection bin and a self-contained control apparatus attached to the bin that applies hydraulic pressure to the lifter to commence lifting of a trash car. Based on a first observed pressure, the system alters a pump stage associated with pressure and lifts and tilts the cart based on the altered pump stage. The self-contained control apparatus comprises at least a 12-volt battery, an electric motor, a rotator, and a two-stage hydraulic pump. The alteration of pump stage is from about 5 gallons per minute to about 1-2 gallons per minute. The trash collection bin is connected to a medium-duty truck and is moved between collection sites by the medium-duty truck The bin, after visits to multiple collection sites of trash carts, is transported by the medium-duty truck to a central location, is decoupled from the medium-duty truck, and is emptied by a trash compactor truck. The system does not rely on hydraulic power of the medium-duty truck to lift and tilt the trash cart. The apparatus does not rely on electric power of the medium-duty truck to lift and tilt the cart.
