GB2418901A

GB2418901A - Bin emptying carriage

Info

Publication number: GB2418901A
Application number: GB0422113A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Elizabeth Williams; Andrew P Walker
Original assignee: WASTE CONNECTIONS Ltd
Current assignee: WASTE CONNECTIONS LIMITED
Priority date: 2004-10-06
Filing date: 2004-10-06
Publication date: 2006-04-12
Also published as: GB0422113D0

Abstract

A track assembly (10) for mounting on a refuse collecting vehicle body (3, Fig 3) has a track (14, 16) mountable on the vehicle and a carriage (18) is moveable along the track (14, 16). The carriage (18) is capable of supporting a lifter mechanism (12) to enable movement of the lifter mechanism (12) along the track (14, 16). A bin for emptying is placed in a pannier (28) and preferably hydraulically raised and tipped.

Description

Lifter Carriage This invention relates to lorries for collecting household

recyclable material, and in particular to a method of loading the recyclable material from the kerbside into the body of the truck ready for transportation.

Awareness of the need to recycle household products such as bottles, paper and tins has risen sharply in recent years. This has lead to the provision in some areas of a recyclable material collection service which operates in parallel with the refuse collection service.

It is desirable to maintain separation of the different forms of recyclable material during collection to remove the necessity of sorting the material downstream in the recycling process. Therefore, it is beneficial to have a recycling material collection lorry which has a series of distinct compartments in which to transport the separated recyclable material.

In addition to separate containers, known recycling collection trucks are provided with a mechanism for lifting a bin and/or container containing the recyclable material from ground level, up the side of the lorry before unloading the material into the container. Such a mechanism is typically mounted to the exterior of the truck body and removes the requirement to manually lift the bins and/or containers containing the recyclable material in order to tip the contents of the bin and/or container into the respective container. Since the bins and/or containers need only be manually lifted onto the lifter mechanism, it is possible to collect the recyclable material from the roadside faster than would otherwise be possible.

The speed with which the recyclable material can be collected from the roadside is of paramount importance since labour costs are the largest overhead in the collection of recyclable material. By providing a faster, more mechanised delivery of the recyclable material from the roadside into the truck, the labour overheads are substantially reduced.

However, there are problems with the existing method of mechanically loading the bins and/or containers. As mentioned above, given that the bins and/or containers do not need to be manually lifted in order to unload the contents of the bin and/or container into the truck body, each bin and/or container can be of a larger size and consequently greater weight than would be possible without the mechanism. However, the bin and/or container still needs to be manually mounted onto the lift mechanism. The mechanism must, therefore, extend downwards from the underside of the lorry towards the ground in order to aid the mounting of the bin and/or container onto the mechanism. It follows therefore that the mechanism cannot be supported by the region of the truck body directly above the rear wheels since the lowering of the mechanism to allow the manual loading of the bin and/or container would be obstructed by the wheels, unless the mechanism is mounted outboard of the wheels which leads to undesirable vehicle width.

Furthermore, it is inconvenient for the user of the truck to have to mount a bin and/or container carrying a certain form of recyclable material at a certain location along the truck body in order to have that bin and/or container raised and tipped into the correct container.

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided a track assembly for mounting on a vehicle body, the assembly having a track mountable to a vehicle, a carriage moveable along the track, the carriage capable of supporting in use a lifter mechanism so as to enable movement of the lifter mechanism along the track.

This arrangement allows the lifter to be moved longitudinally of the vehicle body so as to allow a bin and/or container to be loaded onto the lifter at its lowest vertical position minimising the manual effort required to load the bin and/or container. The bin and/or container can then be raised vertically towards the top edge of the vehicle body in order that its contents may be tipped into the body. In addition to the vertical movement, the bin and/or container may be moved horizontally so as to deliver the contents of the bin and/or container into the correct area within the vehicle body.

Preferably, the carriage is powered to move in relation to the track by an actuator, most preferably a hydraulic actuator.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a lifting assembly for mounting on a vehicle, including the track assembly of the first aspect of the invention, the assembly further including a lifter mechanism supported on the carriage, the lifter mechanism carrying a pannier for receiving a bin and/or container, the lifter mechanism being arranged to lift the pannier, and a controller for controlling movement of the carriage and lifting of the pannier.

Preferably, in use, movement of the carriage and lifting of the pannier are controlled by the controller so as to automatically move the pannier from a rest position adjacent a wheel of the vehicle to a loading position vertically above a wheel of the vehicle without impinging a wheel of the vehicle. A sensor may be provided to sense when the lowermost part of the pannier has cleared the wheel of the vehicle.

Advantageously, this arrangement allows the area above the rear wheel to be accessed by the lifting assembly since the horizontal movement provided by the track assembly allows the pannier to move over the wheel.

A further advantage is that a bin and/or container can be loaded onto the pannier at a position other than that directly in line with the corresponding container since the pannier can be moved horizontally to the correct position.

In accordance with a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method of delivering the contents of a bin and/or container into a vehicle body, including the steps of providing a lifting assembly of the second aspect of the invention, the method further including the steps of mounting a bin and/or container on the pannier, lifting the pannier with the lifter mechanism to a first position, moving the lifter mechanism by means of the carriage so that the pannier reaches a second position, and lifting the pannier to a third position to tip the contents of the bin and/or container into the vehicle body.

The movement and lifting sequence is preferably automated. Most preferably, the movement and lifting sequence is arranged to allow the bin and/or container to be loaded into the pannier at herb height, then the contents to be tipped into a container above a wheel of the vehicle.

The invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the figures in which: Fig.1 is a first side view of a vehicle including the track assembly of the current invention, Fig.2 is a view of the vehicle of Fig. I, Fig.3 is a second side view of the vehicle of Fig. 1, Fig.4 is a partial side view of a vehicle including the track assembly of the current invention and the lifter mechanism of Fig.6, Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the track assembly of the current invention, Fig.6 is a side view of a lifter mechanism, Fig.7 is a partial side view of a vehicle having a second embodiment of the track assembly of the current invention and including a second form of known lifter mechanism, and Fig.8 shows an end view of the vehicle of Fig.7.

With reference to Figs.1-3, a recycling collection vehicle 1 has a cab 2 and a body 3.

Carried under the body 3 are a pair of rear wheels 4 and front wheels 9. The body 3 has an open top 5, a near (herb) side 7 and an off side. The body contains a number of containers 6 for receiving recyclable material. The near side 7 (see Fig.]) carries a number of lifting assemblies 8.

Referring now to Fig.4 the lifting assembly 8 comprises a track assembly 10 (see Fig.5) and a known lift mechanism 12 (see Fig.6) mounted on the track assembly.

The track assembly 10 has a first track 14 and a second track 16 which are fixedly attached to the side 7 of the vehicle body 3. The first track 14 and second track 16 are arranged substantially parallel to the open top 5 of the vehicle body 3. A carriage 18 is carried on the first track 14 and second track 16 so as to provide horizontal movement of the carriage 18 along the length ofthe first and second tracks 14, 16. Relative movement is provided by way of runners which are not shown for clarity. The carriage 18 is provided with a head portion 20 and a foot portion 22. The carriage 18 forms a rigid structure onto which is mounted the lifter mechanism 12. The lifter mechanism 12 has an upper region 24 and a lower region 26. The upper region 24 is attached to the head portion 20 of the carriage 18 and the lower portion 26 is attached to the foot portion 22 of the carriage 18.

The lifter mechanism 12 include a pannier 28 which can be raised or lowered by means of an electric motor arranged at the upper portion 24 driving via a cable which is attached to the pannier 28.

With reference again to Fig.4, in use, a bin and/or container containing recyclable material is placed in the pannier 28. The electric motor is then driven to raise the pannier 28 from its position shown in Fig.4 to a position near the open top 5 of the vehicle body 3.

The contents of the bin and/or container can then be emptied into the corresponding container 6. Alternatively, the pannier 28 may be raised so that it's lower surface 30 is clear of the rear wheel 4. The carriage 18 and lifter mechanism 12 can then be manually slid along the tracks 14, 16 to a position directly above the wheel 4. The pannier 28 can then be raised to a position adjacent the open top 5 of the vehicle body 3 where the contents of an associated bin and/or container (not shown for clarity) can be tipped into the respective container 6.

Fig.7 shows a second embodiment of the invention in which a lift assembly 50 has a known lifter mechanism 12 similar to that shown in Fig.5. A track assembly 51 has a first track 52, a second track 54 and a third track 56. A carriage 58 is carried on each of the first second and third tracks 52, 54, 56. The carriage 58 is moveable horizontally along the first, second and third tracks 52, 54, 56 by way of a first and second hydraulic actuators 60, 62.

It is conceivable within the scope of the invention that an alternative form of actuations be provided such as a pneumatic actuator or electric linear motor.

The provision of the first and second actuator 60, 62 allows the lift assembly 50 to be operated automatically once a bin and/or container (not shown for clarity) has been placed in the pannier 28. Such a system is able to utilise the space directly above the rear wheel 4 in the following manner. The pannier 28 is raised by the lifter mechanism 12 until the lower surface 30 of the pannier 28 is raised above the rear wheel 4. Once this has occurred the lift carriage is automatically powered by the hydraulic actuator 60, 62 to move the pannier 28 to a position where it is directly above the rear wheel 4. The pannier 28 can then be lifted to a position next to the open top 5 of the vehicle body 3.

It will be appreciated that this motion can be achieved with the vertical and horizontal movement of the pannier 28 occurring one after the other or simultaneously.

A suitable sensor such as a light sensor or a microswitch may be provided to signal to the controller that the pannier has cleared the wheel.

It will also be appreciated that the first embodiment of the invention could be supplied with power actuators and operated in a similar manner to that described above in relation to the second embodiment.

Claims

Claims 1. A track assembly for mounting on a vehicle body, the assembly

having a track mountable on a vehicle, a carriage moveable along the track, the carriage capable of supporting in use a lifter mechanism so as to enable movement of the lifter mechanism along the track.
2. The track assembly of claim 1 wherein the track includes mount features for mounting the track to a vehicle body.
3. The track assembly of claim 1 or 2 wherein, in use, the track runs parallel to a top lip of the vehicle body.
4. The track assembly of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the track comprises a first track and a second track.
5. The track assembly of claim 4 wherein the first track is arranged at an upper end of the carriage for engaging a first set of runners and the second track is arranged at a lower end of the carriage for engaging a second set of runners.
6. The track assembly of claim 5 wherein the track further includes a third track arranged in between the first and second track for engaging a third set of runners.
7. The track assembly of any preceding claim wherein the carriage is powered to move in relation to the track by an actuator.
8. The track assembly of claim 7 wherein the actuator is a hydraulic actuator.
9. The track assembly of claim 8 wherein the actuator is capable of attachment to a vehicle body.
10. A lifting assembly for mounting on a vehicle, including the track assembly of the first aspect of the invention, the assembly further including a lifter mechanism supported on the carriage, the lifter mechanism carrying a pannier for receiving a bin and/or container, the lifter mechanism being arranged to lift the pannier, and a controller for controlling movement of the carriage and lifting of the pannier.
11. The lifting assembly of claim 10 wherein the carriage moves in a plane which is at degrees to that of the movement of the pannier.
12. The lifting assembly of claim 10 or 1 1 wherein the carriage moves in the horizontal plane.
13. The lifting assembly of any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein in use movement of the carriage and the pannier are controlled by the controller so as to automatically move the pannier from a rest position adjacent a wheel of the vehicle to a loading position vertically above a wheel of the vehicle without impinging a wheel of the vehicle.
14. A vehicle for the collection of recyclable material including the track assembly of any one of claims 1 to 9, or the lifting assembly of any one of claims 10 to 13.
15. A method of delivering the contents of a bin and/or container into a vehicle body, including the steps of providing a lifting assembly of the second aspect of the invention, the method further including the steps of mounting a bin and/or container on the pannier, lifting the pannier with the lifter mechanism to a first position, moving the lifter mechanism by means of the carriage so that the pannier reaches a second position, and lifting the pannier to a third position to tip the contents of the bin and/or container into the vehicle body.