AU704378B3

AU704378B3 - Truck mounted ramp

Info

Publication number: AU704378B3
Application number: AU13197/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ian David Sinclair
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-01-22
Filing date: 1999-01-22
Publication date: 1999-04-22
Anticipated expiration: 2005-01-22

Description

The present invention relates to a truck mounted ramp and, in particular, to such a ramp for enabling movement of a fork lift vehicle or the like to and from a container carried on the platform of a truck trailer.

Traditionally, shipping containers carried on truck trailers have required external unloading facilities to unload the containers, thereby placing a burden on the available resources at the site of unloading that may not always be satisfied. This is particularly so at the ultimate destination of the contents of the container, which may vary from an industrial plant to a domestic back yard. Only maritime loading docks and, to a lesser extent, heavy industrial plants can be assured of having the necessary external unloading facilities.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a truck mounted o ramp that is quick and easy to operate, does not take up much valuable •o• space on the truck trailer and can safely support the usual weights of a fork 15 lift used to convey the contents of a container to and from the platform of :6 the trailer.

According to the invention there is provided a truck mounted ramp comprising a ramp deck adapted to be slidably extendable rearwardly from a trailer of the truck, a support leg assembly for the ramp deck adapted to 6666 20 maintain the extended ramp deck at a predetermined height and angle of •inclination with respect to a platform of the trailer upon which a container is mounted for enabling a fork lift vehicle or the like to move upon the deck so as to load or unload the container, and control means for controlling the movement of the support leg assembly whereby when the ramp deck is not in use, the support leg assembly is maintained in a retracted position, and when the ramp deck is in use, the support leg assembly is maintained in an 2/3/99 1

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909 9 extended position whereby the ramp deck is at the said predetermined height and said angle of inclination.

In order that the invention may be readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig 1 is a side view of a truck trailer being self supported and in which is mounted a ramp according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig 2 is an end view of the truck trailer shown in Fig 1, 0 Fig 3 is a cross sectional view taken from the end of the trailer of Figs 1 and 2 showing the ramp, and the surrounding chassis main body and platform of the trailer, Fig 4 is a schematic isometric view of a support leg assembly of a ramp according to a second preferred embodiment of the 5 present invention, Fig 5 is a side view of the rear end of the truck trailer of Figs 1 and 2 in which the ramp has been extended rearwardly and the ramp rear portion has been inclined downwardly in accordance with a first and second stage of the ramp orientation procedure, and Fig 6 is an enlarged side view similar to that of Fig 5 in which the ramp front portion has been elevated to a horizontal position in accordance with a third stage of the ramp orientation procedure for the purposes of unloading a container carried on the platform of the trailer.

The truck trailer 10 shown in the drawings has a chassis 11 consisting of a bifurcated main body 12, wheel axle housings 13 and a 9.

2/3/99 plurality of trailer road wheels 19, the chassis 11 supporting a split trailer platform 14. There are also opposed side rails 16, a pivot pin 17 for connection to a prime mover, and a downwardly extendable post 18 for stabily supporting the trailer 10 so that its platform is substantially level with the ground.

A ramp 20 is mounted on the trailer 10 and includes a deck 21 located between and flushly with the two portions of the split trailer platform 14, the deck 21 being rearwardly extendable from within the trailer 10. The ramp 20 also includes a support leg assembly 22.

10 A shipping container 24 (shown partly in Fig 5) is carried on the split trailer platform 14 via conventional mounting pins 26 which locate the

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container in a raised relationship to the trailer platform 14 and deck 21 of •the ramp Figure 4 shows a support leg assembly 22 of a ramp according to 15 the present invention, which assembly 22 includes opposed slide rails interconnected by cross-members 26, 27 and stopper member 28, a pair of oroller wheels 23 mounted on downwardly extendable support legs interconnected by lower cross-beam 31, and upwardly extendable support

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*posts 32 interconnected by upper cross-beam 33. The slide rails 25 can be simultaneously slidably guided through respective hollow brackets 34 of the cross-member 26 which is welded to the chassis main body 12. The stopper member 28 controls the extent that the slide rails 25 can slide rearwardly of the chassis main body 12. Mounted on the upper crossbeam 33 are guide elements 36 for guiding the extendable deck 21 in a rearward direction from the trailer.

The deck 21 is able to pivot about a pin 43 as shown in Fig 5 so as to define a rear portion 38 and a front portion 39 of deck 21. As also shown in Fig 5, the deck 21 has an angled rearward end surface 37 that is able to rest flat on the ground.

Located in concealed fashion within the support posts 32 are air rams that cause telescopic extension of the support legs 30 downwardly and support posts 32 upwardly.

In use, the driver of the prime mover which tows the trailer operates a set of controls, say by a joy stick, that directs the movement of the various components of the support leg assembly of the ramp using the power supply of the prime mover. The ramp deck 21 is firstly extended 10 rearwardly of the trailer 10 under guidance of the guide elements 36 by a i fork lift or like pulling vehicle which may be chained to the rearmost end of Sthe deck 21 and driven away from the rear of the trailer 10. When the pivot pin 43 is clear of the support leg assembly 22 and trailer 10 in a vertical plane, the pulling vehicle continues to pull the deck 21 rearwardly 15 which causes the slide rails 25 to be slideably extended rearwardly to the extent provided for by the stopper member 28. In an alternative embodiment as shown in Fig 5, the pulling vehicle may cease pulling the deck 21 rearwardly when or very shortly after the pivot pin 43 is clear of e the support leg assembly 22 and trailer 10. The pulling vehicle then lowers the deck 21 so that the angled rearward end surface 37 rests on the ground, and the rear portion 38 of deck 21 has the desired angle of inclination to the trailer platform 14.

The support legs 30 are coincidently extended downwardly by operation of the air rams until the roller wheels 23 strike the ground, whereafter the air rams continue their operation so as to extend upwardly the support posts 32 until the height reached by the uppermost rear end 111111~3 of the front portion 39 of the deck 21 is the same as the height of the floor of the container 24 (see Fig An air bag 42 or like lifting device is then operated so as to lift the front end 41 of the front portion 39 of deck 21 to a height where it is level with the rear end 40 of the deck front portion 39, thereby providing a horizontally orientated deck front portion 39 at the same height as the floor of the container 24, so as to enable a fork lift vehicle or the like to move upon the deck 21 for loading or unloading the container 24.

Various other modifications may be made in details of design and 10 construction without departing from the scope or ambit of the invention.

O0*'* For instance, the extendable support legs 30 may be rigidly Sconnected to the trailer chassis 11 whilst the trailer 10 is being towed, but S• may be detached therefrom whenever the trailer 10 is stationary and requires unloading of the container(s) carried thereon, thereby allowing for 15 the controlled extension of the slide rails 25, support legs 30 and the support posts 32 as described above.

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THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:- 1. A truck mounted ramp comprising a ramp deck adapted to be slidably extendable rearwardly from a trailer of the truck, a support leg assembly for the ramp deck adapted to maintain the extended ramp deck at a predetermined height and angle of inclination with respect to a platform of the trailer upon which a container is mounted for enabling a fork lift vehicle or the like to move upon the deck so as to load or unload the container, and control means for controlling the movement of the support leg assembly whereby when the ramp deck is not in use, the support leg assembly is maintained in a retracted position, and when the ramp deck is in use, the support leg assembly is maintained in an extended position whereby the ramp deck is at the said predetermined height and said angle of inclination.

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2. The truck mounted ramp of claim 1 wherein the support leg assembly includes opposed slide rails interconnected by cross-members and a stopper member which controls the extent to which the slide rails are able to slide rearwardly.

S3. The truck mounted ramp of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the deck has Soa rear portion and a front portion pivotally interconnected to the rear portion.

*S SC Dated this 2nd day of March 1999.

IAN DAVID SINCLAIR and BERNADETTE DIANA SINCLAIR By their Patent Attorneys PETER MAXWELL ASSOCIATES ;4, Al U1V9