Granted Patent B2

US 12,291,395 · App. 18/179,244 · Granted May 6, 2025

Inventors: Robert B. Williams (Albertville, AL); Stanley L. Maroney (Attalla, AL)

Assignee: The Heil Co.

B65F3/043B65F2003/025B65F2003/0279B65F2003/0283B66F9/0755

Abstract

Claims (61)

1. A refuse collection vehicle comprising:

a fork assembly including one or more forks configured to engage one or more respective fork pockets of a refuse container;

a lift arm coupled to the fork assembly, the lift arm operable to lift the refuse container while the fork assembly is engaged with the one or more fork pockets;

at least one position sensor configured to collect data indicating a positioning of the lift arm relative to a surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned;

at least one container detection sensor configured to generate sensor data describing the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container, wherein the one or more forks are rotatable, about an axis parallel to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned, relative to the at least one container detection sensor and the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned; and

a computing device communicatively coupled to the fork assembly and the lift arm, the computing device programmed to perform operations comprising:

receiving the sensor data describing the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container;

analyzing the sensor data to determine a position of each fork pocket;

determining, by the computing device, a positioning of the lift arm relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned based on the data provided by the at least one position sensor arranged to collect data indicating the positioning of the lift arm;

determining, by the computing device, a height of one or more ends of one or more forks of the fork assembly relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned based on the positioning of the lift arm relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned;

determining, by the computing device, an amount and a direction of travel of the lift arm required to align the one or more ends of the one or more forks with the position of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets based on the height of the one or more ends of the one or more forks and the position of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets; and

moving the lift arm in the determined amount and the determined direction of travel.

2. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is programmed to perform operations comprising automatically adjusting a positioning of the lift arm relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

3. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise adjusting an angular position of at least one of the one or more forks of the fork assembly relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

4. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one container detection sensor comprises at least one of a camera or an analog ultrasonic sensor.

5. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:

the sensor data describing the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container comprises data indicating a position of two or more sides of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets; and

the operations further comprise determining the position of the center of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets based on the position of the two or more sides of the respective fork pocket.

6. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

rotating the one or more forks relative to the at least one container detection sensor.

7. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the lift arm is rotatable relative to the at least one container detection sensor and the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

8. A method of operating a refuse collection vehicle to collect refuse from a refuse container, the method comprising:

receiving, by at least one processor, sensor data describing one or more fork pockets of the refuse container, wherein the refuse collection vehicle comprises at least one container detection sensor configured to generate the sensor data;

analyzing the sensor data describing the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container to determine a position of each fork pocket;

determining, by the at least one processor, a positioning of a lift arm of the refuse collection vehicle relative to a surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned based on data provided by one or more body sensors;

determining, by the at least one processor, a height of one or more ends of one or more forks of a fork assembly of the refuse collection vehicle relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned based on the positioning of the lift arm relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned, wherein the one or more forks are rotatable, about an axis parallel to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned, relative to the at least one container detection sensor and the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned;

determining, by the at least one processor, an amount and a direction of travel of the lift arm required to align the one or more ends of the one or more forks with the position of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets based on the height of the one or more ends of the one or more forks and the position of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets; and

transmitting, by at least one processor, a signal to cause the lift arm to move the determined amount and the determined direction of travel.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein transmitting, by the at least one processor, a signal to cause the lift arm to move the determined amount and the determined direction of travel comprises transmitting, by the at least one processor, a signal to cause a positioning of the lift arm to be adjusted relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising transmitting, by the at least one processor, a signal to cause an angular position of one or more forks of the fork assembly to be adjusted relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

the sensor data describing one or more fork pockets of the refuse container comprises data indicating a position of two or more sides of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets; and

the method further comprises determining the position of the center of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets based on the position of the sides of the respective fork pocket.

12. A refuse collection vehicle comprising:

a fork assembly including one or more forks configured to engage one or more respective fork pockets of a refuse container;

a lift arm coupled to the fork assembly, the lift arm operable to lift the refuse container while the fork assembly is engaged with the one or more fork pockets;

at least one position sensor configured to collect data indicating an angular position of the fork assembly relative to a surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned;

at least one container detection sensor configured to generate sensor data describing the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container, wherein the one or more forks are rotatable, about an axis parallel to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned, relative to the at least one container detection sensor and the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned; and

a computing device communicatively coupled to the fork assembly and the lift arm, the computing device programmed to perform operations comprising:

receiving the sensor data describing the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container;

analyzing the sensor data to determine an alignment angle to align at least one of the one or more forks with a respective fork pocket;

determining, by the computing device, an angular position of one or more forks of the fork assembly relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned based on the data provided by the at least one position sensor arranged to collect data indicating the angular position of the fork assembly;

determining, by the computing device, an amount and a direction of rotation of the fork assembly required to align the one or more forks of the fork assembly with the fork pockets based on the angular position of one or more forks of the fork assembly relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned and the determined alignment angle; and

rotating the fork assembly in the determined amount and the determined direction of rotation.

13. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise adjusting a positioning of the lift arm relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

14. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 12 , wherein rotating the fork assembly in the determined amount and the determined direction of rotation comprises adjusting an angular position of at least one of the one or more forks of the fork assembly relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

15. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 12 , wherein the at least one container detection sensor comprises at least one of a camera or an analog ultrasonic sensor.

16. The refuse collection vehicle of claim 12 , wherein:

the at least one container detection sensor configured to collect sensor data describing the one or more fork pockets of the refuse container is configured to detect a position of two or more sides of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets; and

the operations further comprise determining the position of the center of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets based on the position of the two or more sides of the respective fork pocket.

17. A method of operating a refuse collection vehicle to collect refuse from a refuse container, the method comprising:

receiving, by at least one processor, sensor data describing one or more fork pockets of the refuse container, wherein the refuse collection vehicle comprises at least one container detection sensor configured to generate the sensor data;

analyzing the sensor data to determine an alignment angle to align at least one fork of a fork assembly of the refuse collection vehicle with a respective fork pocket;

determining, by the at least one processor, an angular position of one or more forks of the fork assembly relative to a surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned based on data provided by one or more body sensors, wherein the one or more forks are rotatable, about an axis parallel to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned, relative to the at least one container detection sensor and the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned;

determining, by the at least one processor, an amount and a direction of rotation of the fork assembly required to align the one or more forks of the fork assembly with the one or more fork pockets based on the angular position of one or more forks of the fork assembly relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned and the determined alignment angle; and

transmitting, by the at least one processor, a signal to cause rotation of the fork assembly in the determined amount and the determined direction of rotation.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising transmitting, by the at least one processor, a signal to cause a positioning of a lift arm of the refuse collection vehicle to be adjusted relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein transmitting, by the at least one processor, a signal to cause rotation of the fork assembly in the determined amount and the determined direction of rotation comprises transmitting, by the at least one processor, a signal to cause an angular position of one or more forks of the fork assembly to be adjusted relative to the surface on which the refuse collection vehicle is positioned.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein:

the sensor data describing one or more fork pockets of the refuse container includes data indicating a position of two or more sides of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets; and

the method further comprises determining the position of the center of each fork pocket of the one or more fork pockets based on the position of the sides of the respective fork pocket.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (97)