U.S. patent number 3,732,997 [Application Number 05/229,685] was granted by the patent office on 1973-05-15 for container lift and dump apparatus.
Invention is credited to Robert P. Reavis, III, Robert P. Reavis, Jr., Robert P. Reavis.
United States Patent |
3,732,997 |
Reavis , et al. |
May 15, 1973 |
CONTAINER LIFT AND DUMP APPARATUS
Abstract
Apparatus is provided for lifting a container and dumping its
contents into a receptacle such as a truck body. The apparatus has
a horizontal fulcrum mounted on the outside of the receptacle and
an elongated frame is swingable about the fulcrum between a lowered
and a raised position. Endless chains on the frame have drive
sprockets coaxial with the fulcrum and hooks on the chains engage
the container to first lift the same while the frame remains in its
lowered position. In the lifted position of the container the hooks
cooperate with abutments on the frame so that continued movement of
the chains swings the frame with the container to a raised position
in which contents of the container are dumped into the
receptacle.
Inventors: |
Reavis; Robert P. (Statesville,
NC), Reavis, Jr.; Robert P. (Statesville, NC), Reavis,
III; Robert P. (Statesville, NC) |
Family
ID: |
22862281 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/229,685 |
Filed: |
February 28, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
414/406; 414/424;
414/409 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65F
3/043 (20130101); B65F 1/02 (20130101); B65F
2003/0246 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65F
1/02 (20060101); B65F 3/02 (20060101); B65F
3/04 (20060101); B65f 003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;214/302,303,313,317,715,315,13R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Forlenza; Gerald M.
Assistant Examiner: Oresky; Lawrence J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container lift and dump apparatus, comprising in combination a
support, a horizontal fulcrum provided on said support, an
elongated frame mounted by one end thereof on said fulcrum for
vertical swinging movement between a lowered position wherein the
frame extends downwardly from the fulcrum and a raised position
wherein it slants upwardly and outwardly from the fulcrum, drive
sprocket means coaxial with the fulcrum, idler sprocket means
provided on said frame remote from the fulcrum, endless chain means
passing around said drive sprocket means and said idler sprocket
means, container engaging means provided on said chain means and
disposed adjacent said idler sprocket means when said frame is in
its lowered position, fixed abutment means provided on said frame
adjacent said drive sprocket means but spaced radially from said
fulcrum, and means for driving said drive sprocket means whereby
said container engaging means may first be lifted by said chain
means to an elevated position against said abutment means while
said frame is relatively stationary, and whereby continued rotation
of the drive sprocket means may then swing the frame with the chain
means to the raised position of the frame in which a container
supported by said container engaging means is dumped.
2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 together with a driving lug
provided on said drive sprocket means in radially spaced relation
from said fulcrum, and a fixed lug provided on said frame, said
driving lug being engageable with said fixed lug when said
container engaging means is in its elevated position, whereby to
assist in swinging the frame to its raised position.
3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 together with resilient
means reacting between said support and said frame to assist in
returning the frame from its raised to its lowered position.
4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 together with a rest
provided on said support for said frame in its lowered
position.
5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 together with a container
rest provided on said frame at a point spaced longitudinally from
said container engaging means.
6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said container
engaging means include upturned hook means adapted to engage a
fixed bail at one side of a container.
7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said abutment means
include downturned hook means adapted to engage a fixed bail at one
side of a container.
8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 which is further
characterized in that said container engaging means and said
abutment means cooperate through the medium of a fixed bail
provided at one side of a container.
9. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 together with a drive motor
mounted on said support and having a drive shaft which constitutes
said fulcrum, said drive sprocket means being secured to said drive
shaft for rotation therewith and said frame being swingably mounted
on the drive shaft.
10. The combination of a container, a receptacle for contents of
said container, and apparatus whereby the container may be lifted
and its contents dumped into said receptacle, said apparatus
comprising a horizontal fulcrum provided on the outside of said
receptacle, an elongated frame mounted by one end thereof on said
fulcrum for swinging movement between a lowered position wherein
the frame extends downwardly from the fulcrum and a raised position
wherein it slants upwardly and outwardly from the fulcrum, drive
sprocket means coaxial with the fulcrum, idler sprocket means
provided on said frame remote from the fulcrum, endless chain means
passing around said drive sprocket means and said idler sprocket
means, means provided on said chain means for engaging said
container, said container engaging means being disposed adjacent
said idler sprocket means when said frame is in its lowered
position, fixed abutment means provided on said frame adjacent said
drive sprocket means but spaced radially from said fulcrum, and
means for driving said drive sprocket means whereby said container
engaging means may first lift said container to an elevated
position in which the container engaging means come into abutment
with said abutment means while said frame is relatively stationary,
and whereby continued rotation of the drive sprocket means may then
swing the frame with said container to the raised position of the
frame in which the contents of the container are dumped into said
receptacle.
11. The combination as defined in claim 10 wherein said container
includes a fixed bail at one side thereof, said container engaging
means including upturned hook means engageable with said bail.
12. The combination as defined in claim 10 wherein said container
includes a fixed bail at one side thereof, said container engaging
means being engageable with said bail and acting through the medium
of the bail to abut said abutment means.
Description
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus
for lifting and tilting containers so as to dump the contents
thereof into a suitable receptacle, and the principal object of the
invention is to provide a power-driven apparatus whereby the
container lifting and dumping operation may be very quickly and
easily performed.
While the apparatus of the invention may be used with different
types of containers and various types of receptacles, it is
particularly useful for emptying refuse bins or carts into the
bodies of refuse trucks, or the like. This is shown and described
in the disclosure which follows, although it is to be understood
that either or both the container and the receptacle may be mobile
or stationary, as required by conditions of the environment in
which the invention is used.
Inasmuch as the receptacle, such as a truck body for example, is
raised off the ground, it is necessary for the container to first
be lifted prior to dumping. The apparatus of the invention, which
is mounted on the outside of the receptacle and has means for
releasably engaging the container, is especially adapted to first
lift the container to an elevated position and then to tilt the
same for dumping the contents thereof into the receptacle. An
important feature of the invention resides in a novel structural
arrangement whereby the container lifting and dumping phases are
effected successively by a continuous operation of only one power
source.
With the foregoing more important object and features in view and
such other objects and features which may become apparent as this
specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the
following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which like characters of reference designate like
parts, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a refuse truck with the
container lifting and dumping apparatus of the invention mounted
thereon, the container being shown in the lowered position;
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but with the container in the
dump position;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary view, partly in section and
partly in elevation, showing the lift and dump apparatus with the
container lowered;
FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the apparatus per se;
FIGS. 5a, 5b and 5c are fragmentary sectional views, taken
substantially in the plane of the line 5--5 in FIG. 4 and showing
the apparatus in the lowered, elevated and dumping positions,
respectively;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one of the frame side members;
FIG. 7 is a diagramatic view of the hydraulic system;
FIG. 8 is a view, similar to FIG. 3, but showing a modified
embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the modified embodiment of FIG. 8
mounted on a refuse truck.
Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, more
particularly to FIGS. 1-6, the lift and dump apparatus of the
invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 and
is shown as being mounted at the back of a refuse truck 12 for use
in lifting and dumping a container 13 into the body of the truck.
For illustrative purposes the container 13 is shown as being in the
form of a refuse cart having a pair of wheels 14 and a handle 15,
the side members 15a of the handle being fixed to the sides of the
cart and extended to form a fixed bail 16 on the side of the cart
opposite from the handle 15.
The lift and dump apparatus 10 comprises a support 17 which is
suitably mounted at the back of the truck 12. A hydraulic motor 18
is mounted on the support 17, as by the screws 19, the motor having
a horizontal drive shaft 20 with a pair of sprockets 21 secured to
the ends thereof. The shaft 20 constitutes a fulcrum for a
vertically swingable frame 22, the latter including a pair of
transversely spaced frame side members 22a provided with bearings
23 at one end thereof, as is best shown in FIG. 4. The bearings 23
are secured in cut-outs 23a formed in one end of the side members
22a as shown in FIG. 6, and the bearings are rotatably positioned
on the motor shaft 20 inside of the sprockets 21 so that the entire
frame 22 is swingably mounted by one end thereof on the fulcrum
shaft 20. The frame is swingable between a lowered position shown
in FIG. 1 wherein it extends downwardly from the fulcrum shaft 20,
and a raised position wherein it slants upwardly and outwardly from
the fulcrum shaft, as shown in FIG. 2. A suitable rest 24 is
provided on the support 17 for the frame 22 in the lowered position
of the latter.
The end portion of the frame 22 remote from the fulcrum shaft 20 is
provided with a pair of bearings 25 for a countershaft 26 which
extends through apertures 27 in the frame side members 22a and has
a pair of idler sprockets 28 secured thereto. A pair of
transversely spaced endless chains 29 pass around the drive
sprockets 21 and idler sprockets 28, as will be apparent.
Means are provided on the chains 29 for engaging the fixed bail 16
of the container 13, these means consisting of a pair of upturned
hooks 30 provided at the ends of a cross bar 31 which is suitably
secured to the chains 29 as at 32. When the frame 22 is in its
lowered position as in FIG. 3 (and also in FIG. 1) the cross bar 31
with the hooks 30 is disposed adjacent the idler sprockets 28, or
adjacent what then is the lower end of the frame. However, when the
motor 18 is energized to rotate the shaft 20 in the direction of
the arrow 33, the chains 29 move the cross bar with the hooks
upwardly, as indicated at 34 in FIG. 3.
A container rest 35 is supported by a transversely elongated
bracket 36 on the lower or outer end of the frame 22, adjacent the
idler sprockets 28 and in spaced relation from the hooks 30.
Conveniently, the rest 35 may be in the form of a roller for
engaging the adjacent side of the container 13 when the latter is
applied to the apparatus of the invention as presently
described.
When the contents of the container 13 are to be emptied into the
body of the truck 12, the container is wheeled toward the apparatus
10 at the back of the truck. By using the handle 15, the container
13 may be tilted slightly about the axis of its wheels 14, so that
the fixed bail 16 on the container is slightly raised and then
permitted to drop into the upturned hooks 30 on the chains 29, as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Then, by energizing the motor 18 to rotate
the drive shaft 20 in the direction of the arrow 33, the chains 29
move the cross bar 31 with the hooks 30 upwardly as at 34. The
engagement of the hooks 30 with the bail 16 of the container lifts
the entire container off the ground to an elevated position in
which the container still remains substantially upright and the
frame 22 still remains relatively stationary in its lowered
position. As the container is being lifted, it may tilt slightly
about a fulcrum provided by engagement of the hooks 30 with the
bail 16, so that the container comes to rest against the roller 35
on the frame 22.
A pair of abutments in the form of downturned hooks 37 are secured
to the side members 22a of the frame 22 at points adjacent the
drive sprockets 11 but in radially spaced relation from fulcrum
shaft 20. When the container 13 is lifted from its lowered position
to its elevated position, the container bail 16 carried by the
upturned hooks 30 is received in the downturned abutment hooks 37
on the frame 22 as shown in FIG. 5b. Since the hooks 37 are fixed
to the frame, further raising movement of the container relative to
the frame is not possible. However, as rotation of the drive shaft
20 in the direction 33 continues, the upward moving force exerted
by the hooks 30 through the bail 16 against the abutment hooks 37
at a point spaced radially from the shaft 20 produces a leverage
action by which the entire frame 22 is swung upwardly about the
fulcrum shaft 20 to its raised position shown in FIGS. 2 and 5c.
This carries the container 13 into the dumping position shown in
FIG. 2, wherein its contents are emptied into the truck body 12. It
may be mentioned at this point that as shown in the drawings, the
transverse spacing of the lifting hooks 30 is greater than that of
the abutment hooks 37 and consequently, the leverage action which
swings the frame 22 upwardly comes about through the medium of the
container bail 16 when seated in the hooks 30, 37. However, if the
transverse spacing of the hooks 30, 37 were substantially the same,
that is, if the hooks 37 were disposed in substantially the same
vertical planes as the hooks 30, the two sets of hooks would come
into physical contact in the lifted position of the container and
such contact between the two sets of hooks would then provide the
leverage action for swinging the frame 22 and the container to the
dumping position.
In any event, additional means may also be provided to effect or to
assist in effecting the leverage action for swinging the frame to
the dumping position of the container. Such additional means
comprise a pair of driving lugs 38 secured to the respective drive
sprockets 21 at points spaced radially from the fulcrum shaft 20,
the lugs 38 being engageable with fixed abutment lugs 39 secured to
the respective frame side members 22a. FIGS. 3 and 5a show the
relative positions of the lugs 38, 39 when the frame 22 is lowered
and the container 13 is on the ground. When the chains 29 raise the
container to its elevated position shown in FIG. 5b where the hooks
30 being the container bail 16 into the hooks 37, the drive
sprockets 21 will have rotated sufficiently for the lugs 38 on the
sprockets to come into abutment with the fixed lugs 39 on the frame
22. Thereafter, continued rotation of the sprockets will provide a
leverage action at the abutting lugs 38, 39 for swinging the frame
22 to the dumping position of the container, as in FIG. 5c, quite
independently of or in addition to any leverage action such as may
exist at abutment of the hooks 30, 37 with each other or with the
container bail 16. FIG. 7 diagramatically shows the hydraulic
system including the driving motor 18 which is connected by hoses
40 through flow control valves 41 to a four-way actuating valve 42,
the latter communicating through a line 43 with a pump 44 and with
a fluid reservoir 45. The four-way valve 42 has a fluid return line
46 to the reservoir 45, and a by-pass 47 from the outlet of the
pump 44 to the reservoir is provided with a pressure relief valve
48. The motor 18 is reversible and when the pump 44 is in
operation, the motor may rotate in one direction or the other by an
appropriate setting of the four-way valve 42 which is manually
controlled. THe pump 44 may be driven by the engine of the truck
12, or in any other suitable manner.
When the motor 18 rotates so as to drive the shaft 20 in the
direction of the arrow 33, the container 13 is first lifted as at
34 and subsequently dumped as in FIG. 2, as has been already
explained. When the dumping operation is completed, the direction
of rotation of the motor 18 is reversed so that with the assistance
of gravity, the frame 22 with the container thereon moves back from
the dumping position of FIGS. 2 and 5c to the position of FIG. 5b
in which the frame 22 is fully lowered against the rest 24 but the
container is still elevated. Thereupon, continued rotation of the
motor 18 in the reverse direction causes the chains 29 to lower the
container to the ground as in FIGS. 1 and 5a, thus completing the
operating cycle.
Generally speaking, the center of gravity of the container 13 in
the dumping position of the frame 22 lies at the outside of the
fulcrum shaft 20, so that when rotation of the motor 18 is
reversed, the returning movement of the container and frame is
gravity-assisted. However, if this should not occur, the returning
movement of the container may be assisted by hand of the attendant
of the machine, at least during the initial stage of the returning
movement until gravity takes over.
However, in a slightly modified embodiment of the invention shown
in FIGS. 8 and 9, resilient means are provided to positively assist
in returning the container from its dumping position. For most
part, the modified embodiment is the same as that already described
in conjunction with FIGS. 1-7, except for the resilient biasing
means which comprise a tension spring 52 having one end thereof
secured to a bracket 53 which is rigidly fixed to the support 17.
The other end of the spring 52 has connected thereto a length of
chain 54, the links of which are selectively engageable with a hook
or detent 55 provided on a cross member 56 extending between the
frame side members 22a.
It will be apparent that when the container 17 is lifted and then
dumped as shown in FIG. 9, the tension spring 52 reacting between
the support 17 and the frame 22 will become stretched, and the
energy stored in the stretched spring will subsequently assist in
returning the frame 22 from the dumping position, at least to the
point where gravity takes over in fully lowering the frame 22
against the rest 24 and returning the container to the ground while
the drive shaft 20 rotates in the appropriate reverse
direction.
While in the foregoing there have been described and shown the
preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications and
equivalents may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the
invention as claimed.
* * * * *