# Garbage Can Hauler



## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Salty9 said:


> All I had to do was modify 2 straps to hold the garbage can. I almost cried. DIY is not supposed to this easy. Where's the challenge?


You could also work on your lap time.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

This would be a perfect application for a remote-controlled or autonomous system, and possibly even made to run on tracks. If the cans are going downhill heavy, and returning light, it may be possible to achieve "over unity" by using regen and the net change of potential energy. Of course the energy was originally imparted to the trash when it was moved uphill. I was considering something like this for bringing firewood down to my house from a hilltop out back.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

Salty9 said:


> One of my weekly chores is trundling a garbage can down a long driveway for roadside pickup. I had been in the planning stages for a transit vehicle quite awhile. A couple of weeks ago I found this at a garage sale:
> 
> http://www.clubrunnergolf.com/
> 
> ...


Needs to be able to pickup the can, load it, haul it to a designated spot, drop it off without dumping it over and then return unassisted and then to go back and retrieve the can and again place it in a designated spot and unload then go to the designated charging spot and charge and shut down until the next week. It would need to remain on standby for the computer but not on the charger. The charger best used for an item like this would be an induction charger so the unit would not have to unplug and plug itself in when needed. 

Lots of work ahead. Great DIY project. Might consider just building from scratch.


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

onegreenev said:


> Needs to be able to pickup the can, load it, haul it to a designated spot, drop it off without dumping it over and then return unassisted and then to go back and retrieve the can and again place it in a designated spot and unload then go to the designated charging spot and charge and shut down until the next week. It would need to remain on standby for the computer but not on the charger. The charger best used for an item like this would be an induction charger so the unit would not have to unplug and plug itself in when needed.
> 
> Lots of work ahead. Great DIY project. Might consider just building from scratch.


Thanks, I see you grok DIY more deeply than I do. But, I try.


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## njloof (Nov 21, 2011)

You're not truly done until it can repair itself.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

njloof said:


> You're not truly done until it can repair itself.


... and pay for itself


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## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

I hear Robby the Robot is looking for work. Do any of you remember Robby?


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

You mean this feller?


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## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

onegreenev said:


> You mean this feller?


Yeah. His all time achievement was The Forbidden Planet. I was really jazzed when I first saw him. I wanted to build a robot for a long time after that.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

Fun


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

Strange no one has suggested GUNTHER (General Utility Non Theorizing Environmental Robot) from Lost in Space with its usual warning "Danger, Will Robinson"


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

Oh no, its an invasion of General Utility Non Theorizing Environmental Robots.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

"Forbidden Planet" is probably my all-time favorite SF movie. The special effects were quite amazing for the time, and Anne Francis looked really nice!  That vehicle Robby was driving was a pretty good EV as well. It would be cool to learn more about how it was constructed.


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## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

Dude, You have your work cut out for you so get cracking. Do the bot frirst and then he can build the transport in his spare time from other chores like mixing Mia tia's for you.


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## dragonsgate (May 19, 2012)

PStechPaul said:


> "Forbidden Planet" is probably my all-time favorite SF movie. The special effects were quite amazing for the time, and Anne Francis looked really nice!  That vehicle Robby was driving was a pretty good EV as well. It would be cool to learn more about how it was constructed.


It does get a little boring after watching it ten or twelve times.


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## electro wrks (Mar 5, 2012)

This is a powered hand truck I designed and built in 2008 for a friend with health issues. As with you, she needed to move a garbage can up and down a hill. A mobility scooter motor/trans-axle was used with a cordless drill trigger switch mounted in the upper most tube. The motor was originally 24v, but was set up in a 12v system. The speed was easy to control with the lower power setting and the drill trigger switch, but it could still carry ~200lbs. (~100kilos) up fairly steep hills. The cordless drill switch also had a reversing lever. The over-sized lawn tractor tires and wheels worked great on rough and/or soft ground.

Keeping the load balanced, as with any two wheeled hand truck, eventually became a problem with her. You still need good upper body strength and coordination to maintain the balance. More so as the load became heavier and the center of gravity higher.


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## onegreenev (May 18, 2012)

Nice power truck.


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

electro wrks said:


> This is a powered hand truck I designed and built in 2008 for a friend with health issues. As with you, she needed to move a garbage can up and down a hill. A mobility scooter motor/trans-axle was used with a cordless drill trigger switch mounted in the upper most tube. The motor was originally 24v, but was set up in a 12v system. The speed was easy to control with the lower power setting and the drill trigger switch, but it could still carry ~200lbs. (~100kilos) up fairly steep hills. The cordless drill switch also had a reversing lever. The over-sized lawn tractor tires and wheels worked great on rough and/or soft ground.
> 
> Keeping the load balanced, as with any two wheeled hand truck, eventually became a problem with her. You still need good upper body strength and coordination to maintain the balance. More so as the load became heavier and the center of gravity higher.


I like that.

I have a sack barrow (hand truck) frame without wheels, and a small mower transaxle with F+R gears. A 12v motor and trigger switch would work well enough...


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## electro wrks (Mar 5, 2012)

Woodsmith said:


> I like that.
> 
> I have a sack barrow (hand truck) frame without wheels, and a small mower transaxle with F+R gears. A 12v motor and trigger switch would work well enough...


The nice thing about the cordless drill trigger switch is that the fine PWM control allows for a very soft start. This is important because all of the counter-torque from the wheels is transferred through the handle to the operator. If this force is applied too quickly, in combination with trying to keep the load balanced, the operator might lose control.

Another nice feature of many cordless drill controls is the built-in electronic brake. In the "sack barrow" I built, the e-brake would stop it every time the trigger was released-a nice safety feature when stopping on a hill. Of course, with this set-up, there was no freewheel function.


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

I've read that the WII nunchuk has decent accelerometers that can be repurposed. 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...RC1&_nkw=wii+nunchuk+black&_sacat=0&_from=R40

I also found this on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=engi16bLJe0

I was interested in the info from minute 2 on. I would suggest muting the volume as the music? serves only to irritate.


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## PStechPaul (May 1, 2012)

You can even make a contraption that balances and moves on a single ball:


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## Woodsmith (Jun 5, 2008)

I'm now imagining a garbage can balancing on a ball, with no visible means of support!

It would be really cool, twitching and adjusting every time some trash is put in it, and then taking itself to the end of the drive for collection time!


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## Salty9 (Jul 13, 2009)

Woodsmith said:


> I'm now imagining a garbage can balancing on a ball, with no visible means of support!
> 
> It would be really cool, twitching and adjusting every time some trash is put in it, and then taking itself to the end of the drive for collection time!


Droll. Its starting to read like a story line for a new Disney animated film.


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