Weighing system for refuse trucks
First Claim
1. Weighing system for a refuse truck having a refuse receptacle which has top opening and lifting means for engaging and lifting a refuse container which has a top opening from a resting position outside of the truck to an inverted position above the opening of the refuse receptacle to permit the contents of the refuse container to fall into the refuse receptacle, said refuse truck being a front end loader which has a pair of forwardly-extending support arms for engaging complementary support fixtures of a refuse container and a lifting boom for lifting the support arms and a refuse container which is supported on said support arms from a position in front of the truck to a position above the top opening of the refuse receptacle, said weighing system comprising:
- (a) a transducer which is mounted on the lifting means of said refuse truck for sensing the weight of a refuse container when the container is supported by the lifting means, said transducer being effective for generating an electrical analog signal which is proportional to the weight which is sensed by the transducer, said transducer comprising a transducer fixture which is mounted on each support arm, said transducer fixture comprising;
(1) a housing which is fixed to the support arm,(2) a pressure load cell which is supported on said housing, said load cell having a main body and an upwardly-extending sensing element which is mounted on said main body for vertical movement relative to said main body, and(3) a pressure plate which is supported on the sensing element of said pressure load cell and which is guided by said housing for vertical movement relative to said housing, said pressure plate having an upper surface for supporting the refuse container,(b) electrical digitizing means for converting said analog signal to a digital signal which is indicative of the weight which is sensed by the transducer,(c) a source of electrical power, and(d) switch means including a normally open limit switch which is operatively connected between said transducer and said source of electrical power so that said transducer is energized only when said switch is closed, said limit switch being mounted on said refuse truck so that the switch is closed as a result of the action of said lifting means at a point during the lifting of a full refuse container and the lowering of an empty refuse container when the container is fully supported by said lifting means.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A weighing system for a refuse truck having lifting means for engaging and lifting a refuse container. The weighing system comprises a transducer which is mounted on the lifting means of the truck for sensing the weight of the refuse container for producing an electrical analog signal. Electrical digitizing means convert the analog signal to a digital signal which is indicative of the weight which is sensed by the transducer. A limit switch is operatively connected to the transducer so that the transducer is energized at a point when a full container is supported by the lifting means and when an empty container is supported by the lifting means for the purpose of determining the weight of the refuse in the container.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. Weighing system for a refuse truck having a refuse receptacle which has top opening and lifting means for engaging and lifting a refuse container which has a top opening from a resting position outside of the truck to an inverted position above the opening of the refuse receptacle to permit the contents of the refuse container to fall into the refuse receptacle, said refuse truck being a front end loader which has a pair of forwardly-extending support arms for engaging complementary support fixtures of a refuse container and a lifting boom for lifting the support arms and a refuse container which is supported on said support arms from a position in front of the truck to a position above the top opening of the refuse receptacle, said weighing system comprising:
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(a) a transducer which is mounted on the lifting means of said refuse truck for sensing the weight of a refuse container when the container is supported by the lifting means, said transducer being effective for generating an electrical analog signal which is proportional to the weight which is sensed by the transducer, said transducer comprising a transducer fixture which is mounted on each support arm, said transducer fixture comprising; (1) a housing which is fixed to the support arm, (2) a pressure load cell which is supported on said housing, said load cell having a main body and an upwardly-extending sensing element which is mounted on said main body for vertical movement relative to said main body, and (3) a pressure plate which is supported on the sensing element of said pressure load cell and which is guided by said housing for vertical movement relative to said housing, said pressure plate having an upper surface for supporting the refuse container, (b) electrical digitizing means for converting said analog signal to a digital signal which is indicative of the weight which is sensed by the transducer, (c) a source of electrical power, and (d) switch means including a normally open limit switch which is operatively connected between said transducer and said source of electrical power so that said transducer is energized only when said switch is closed, said limit switch being mounted on said refuse truck so that the switch is closed as a result of the action of said lifting means at a point during the lifting of a full refuse container and the lowering of an empty refuse container when the container is fully supported by said lifting means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. Weighing system for a refuse truck having a refuse receptacle which has top opening and lifting means for engaging and lifting a refuse container which has a top opening from a resting position outside of the truck to an inverted position above the opening of the refuse receptacle to permit the contents of the refuse container to fall into the refuse receptacle, said refuse truck being a rear end loader in which the truck and refuse container have complementary pivoting means which enables one end of the refuse container to be removably pivotally mounted on the rear end of the truck, said truck having a cable with a grasping element at one end for engaging a complementary fixture on the opposite end of the refuse container and a winch which is operatively connected to the opposite end of the cable for drawing and extending the cable linearly so that the refuse container is pivoted between a lower resting position outside of the truck and an upper dumping position over the rear end of the truck, said weighing system comprising:
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(a) a transducer including a tension load cell which is located between said one end of the cable and said grasping element for sensing linear tension of said cable, and for sensing the weight of a refuse container when the container is supported by the lifting means, said transducer being effective for generating an electrical analog signal which is proportional to the weight which is sensed by the transducer, (b) electrical digitizing means for converting said analog signal to a digital signal which is indicative of the weight which is sensed by the transducer, (c) a source of electrical power, and (d) switch means including a normally open limit switch which is operatively connected between said transducer and said source of electrical power so that said transducer is energized only when said switch is closed, said limit switch being mounted on said refuse truck so that the switch is closed as a result of the action of said lifting means at a point during the lifting of a full refuse container and the lowering of an empty refuse container when the container is fully supported by said lifting means. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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6. Weighing system for a refuse truck having a refuse receptacle which has top opening and lifting means for engaging and lifting a refuse container which has a top opening from a resting position outside of the truck to an inverted position above the opening of the refuse receptacle to permit the contents of the refuse container to fall into the refuse receptacle, said truck being equipped with a cart dumping mechanism which includes a support element which is pivotally mounted on the truck for movement between a lower start position to an upper dumping position and which includes a supporting fixture which is adapted to engage a complementary fixture on the cart, the cart dumping mechanism also includes drive means for pivoting the support element between said upper and lower positions so that the cart is pivoted from a lower resting position outside of the truck to an upper dumping position relative to the truck, said weighing system comprising:
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(a) a transducer which is mounted on the lifting means of said refuse truck for sensing the weight of a refuse container when the container is supported by the lifting means, said transducer comprising a pressure load cell which is mounted on said supporting fixture for engagement by said complementary fixture so that the weight of the cart is on said pressure load cell, said transducer being effective for generating an electrical analog signal which is proportional to the weight which is sensed by the transducer, (b) electrical digitizing means for converting said analog signal to a digital signal which is indicative of the weight which is sensed by the transducer, (c) a source of electrical power, and (d) switch means including a normally open limit switch which is operatively connected between said transducer and said source of electrical power so that said transducer is energized only when said switch is closed, said limit switch being mounted on said refuse truck so that the switch is closed as a result of the action of said lifting means at a point during the lifting of a full refuse container and the lowering of an empty refuse container when the container is fully supported by said lifting means. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. Weighing system for a refuse truck having a refuse receptacle which has top opening and lifting means for engaging and lifting a refuse container which has a top opening from a resting position outside of the truck to an inverted position above the opening of the refuse receptacle to permit the contents of the refuse container to fall into the refuse receptacle, said weighing system comprising:
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(a) a transducer which is mounted on the lifting means of said refuse truck for sensing the weight of a refuse container when the container is supported by the lifting means, said transducer being effective for generating an electrical analog signal which is proportional to the weight which is sensed by the transducer, (b) electrical digitizing means for converting said analog signal to a digital signal which is indicative of the weight which is sensed by the transducer, (c) a source of electrical power, and (d) electrical sensing means for sensing the position of the lifting means relative to the truck, said electrical sensing means being operatively connected to said source of electrical power, said transducer and said digitizing means for automatically initiating a first digital signal at a first predetermined position of said lifting means during the lifting of a full refuse container, and for automatically initiating a second digital signal at a second predetermined position of said lifting means during the lowering of an empty refuse container. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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Specification