AU736502B2

AU736502B2 - A hoist for use with a vehicle

Info

Publication number: AU736502B2
Application number: AU70043/98A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Michael Linguroski; Arthur Valkanis
Original assignee: Tieman Industries Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Tieman Industries Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1997-06-12
Filing date: 1998-06-11
Publication date: 2001-07-26
Anticipated expiration: 2018-06-11
Also published as: AU7004398A

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Application Number: Lodged: Class Inst. Class Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority Related Art:

SS

S

Applicant(s): TIEMAN INDUSTRIES PTY LTD Address for Service is: PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 AUSTRALIA Complete Specification for the invention entitled: "A HOIST FOR USE WITH A VEHICLE" Our Ref.: IRN 491602 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): ~~1 A HOIST FOR USE WITH A VEHICLE This invention relates to a hoist mountable on a vehicle for assisting in the movement of goods on to and off from the vehicle. The invention is particularly suited being mounted to a road transport vehicle for raising and lowering bulk goods relative to a tray of the road transport vehicle, and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to that exemplary application. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited thereto.

A hoist is generally used with road transport vehicles to improve the efficiencies of loading and unloading bulk goods onto and off from a tray of the vehicle. While some larger warehouses and other like sites may have their own hoisting facilities it is generally not possible to rely on all sites having a hoist. Accordingly it has become advantageous for vehicles to have their own hoisting facility.

One style of hoist used with road transport vehicles is a tailgate hoist. The tailgate hoist generally includes a platform which when in use extends in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the tray of the vehicle. The platform is capable of being raised or lowered relative to the tray of the vehicle.

To load goods onto the tray of the vehicle the platform is positioned at a loading level to receive the goods. The goods are then transferred to the platform and the platform is then raised or lowered to the level of the tray. The goods may then be transferred to a position on the tray.

The platform is generally moved to a stored position prior to the vehicle being moved. The platform is generally stored substantially perpendicular to the tray, obstructing or possibly forming the rear door of the tray. The platform is mechanically moved between the stored position and in use position by pivoting the platform about one edge. When the platform is obstructing the rear door, moving the platform to gain access to the door adds an unnecessary step to gaining access to the tray if the platform is not going to be used to move goods relative to the tray. Furthermore it is a total waste of time to pivot MC C:\WIMNORD\MELISSA\BRADNODELETEOISTPR.DOC the platform to the in use position when it is only access through the rear door that is required. Furthermore the pivoting mechanism is redundant once the platform is in the in use position and does not directly assist the raising and lowering of the platform for the purposes of moving goods. Still furthermore the hoist platform can only be pivoted to the in use position when there is sufficient space at the rear of the vehicle, therefore access to loaded goods may be denied in some situations.

It is an object of this invention to provide a hoist facility of relatively simple form which can be quickly manoeuvred between a stored position and an in-use position. It is another object of the invention to provide a hoist facility mountable on a vehicle which does not restrict access to goods stored on the vehicle. It is still another object of the invention to provide a vehicle which involves use of such a hoist facility.

According to the invention there is provided a hoist facility being mountable to a vehicle for use in facilitating loading and unloading goods in relation to a tray of the vehicle, the hoist facility including: a platform for receiving the goods to be loaded and unloaded; and 20 an actuating means for raising and lowering the platform, wherein the platform is stored when not in use in a store position substantially parallel and below the tray with a portion of the platform extending beyond the perimeter of the tray providing a step for the user to the tray, the oo::platform being manoeuvrable to an in-use position from the store position in o:•i 25 which in-use position the platform can be located by the actuating means substantially coplanar with the tray.

This keeps the platform from obstructing access to the tray and in particular creates a step between the ground and the tray to assist a use in gaining access to the tray when the facility is not in use.

TC W:\tonia\BF\SpecA70043-98.DOC It is further preferred that the facility includes supports which are intermediate the actuating means and the platform. The supports may include a plurality of rollers which engage channels on opposite side edges of the platform which permit the platform to be rolled between the stored position and the in use position. It is further preferred that the supports include platform fixing means which fix the position of the platform relative to the supports. It is advantageous to fix the platform in the stored position when the vehicle is in transit to stop it from sliding out and causing damage to property at the rear of the vehicle.

It is further preferred that the facility include a pair of housing channels which extend substantially perpendicular to the platform for receiving a further plurality of rollers associated with the supports. It is still furthermore preferred that the facility include support fixing means for fixing the position of the o 15 supports relative to the housing channels. This permits the supports and platform to be fixed in a position, reducing the strain on the actuating means, which has been found to be particularly advantageous whilst the vehicle is in transit.

20 It is still further preferred that the platform include stop means for restricting unauthorised transferring of goods from the platform. In particular, the stop means may include barrier members located adjacent opposite side edges of the platform for restricting unauthorised transferring of goods off the sides of the platform or a trolley stop located adjacent a front end of the platform to 25 restrict unauthorised transferring of goods off the front end of the platform. It is still further preferred that the platform includes ramp means located on the front edge of the platform for facilitating transferring of goods onto and off from the platform. Both the stop means and the ramp means have been found to be particularly advantageous when the goods being transferred to and from the platform are on wheels.

TC W:\tonia\BF\Spec 70043-98.DOC It will be convenient to describe the invention in greater detail by reference to the attached drawings which show one example embodiment of the invention.

The particularity of these drawings and the related description is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the proceeding broad description of the invention.

Figure 1. show in semi diagrammatic form the rear end of a road transport vehicle with the tailgate hoist in the stored position.

Figure 2. shows the vehicle of Figure 1 with the tailgate hoist in the extended in-use position.

*e Figure 3. shows a side elevation of a tailgate hoist of figure 1.

Figure 4. shows a front elevation of the tailgate hoist line with the platform in a raised position and a lowered position.

Referring now generally to the illustrations there is shown a rear end of a vehicle 1, more specifically a road transport vehicle. Whilst Figure 1. shows a vehicle having a housing 2 enclosing a tray 3 it must be understood that the invention may also be used with a vehicle having an open tray. The vehicle 1 is provided with a hoist or tailgate 4 for assisting the loading and unloading goods to and from the tray 3.

The tailgate 4 includes a platform 5 and a pair of supports 6, with the supports 6 being connected to the vehicle 1. The platform 5 is movable relative to the supports 6 to permit the platform 5 to be manually moved between a stored position as seen in Figure 1. and an in-use position as seen in Figure 2. The stored position has part of the platform 5 extending underneath the tray 3 and part of the platform 5 extending out from the vehicle 1. When in the stored position, the part of the platform 5 extending out from the vehicle 1 may be used as a step to assist a user in gaining access to the tray 3. When in the MC C:WIORDWMELISSANBRADNODELETEMIOISTPR.DOC stored position the platform 5 abuts a storage stop 7 which helps stabilise the platform 5 during transportation of the vehicle 1.

Each support 6 includes a platform arm 8 with a plurality of platform rollers 9 extending therefrom. The platform 5 includes a pair of platform channels positioned on opposite side edges of the platform 5 for receiving the platform rollers 9. This arrangement permits the platform 5 to be rolled from a stored position to an in-use position.

Each support 6 also includes a housing arm 11 with a plurality of housing rollers 12 extending therefrom. The housing 2 includes a pair of housing channels 13 positioned on opposite side edges of the housing 2 for receiving o the housing rollers 12. This arrangement permits the platform to be moved between a lowered and raised positions relative to the tray 3. Whilst the o..o 15 platform 5 may be manually moved between a stored and an in-use position, due to the loads involved, the raising and lowering of the platform 5 must be performed by an actuating means.

The actuating means for raising and lowering the platform is best illustrated in Figure 4, which shows a connecting means or chain 14 attached to the housing arm 11. The chain 14 extends within the housing channel 13 to a housing pulley 15 positioned at a top end 16 of the housing channel 13. The chain 14 extends around the housing pulley 15 and back along the housing channel 13 to a tray pulley 17 positioned beneath the tray 3. The chain 14 continues around the tray pulley 17 and extends substantially perpendicular to the housing channel 13 to a ram pulley 18 positioned at one end of a ram 19. A hydraulic ram 19 has been found to be suitable. The chain 14 is terminated at a stop 20 positioned adjacent the ram 19. The ram 19 may extend or retract to raise or lower the tailgate 4. To permit a single ram 19 to actuate movement of both supports 6, an additional tray pulley 21 is included and positioned near the stop MC C:%WINWORDVhELISSA3RAD\NODELETE\HOISTPR.DOC The platform 5 includes barrier members 26 positioned adjacent the platform channels 10. The barrier members 26 are in the from of an angle and are attached to the upper surface of the platform channel 10 for restricting unauthorised movement, in particular wheeled goods, off the sides of the platform Each support 6 includes a platform fixing means 22 for fixing the position of the platform 5 in either the stored or in use position. The platform fixing means 22 includes a fixing rod 23 connected to the housing arm 11 which is capable of movement between an extended position and a retracted position. When in the extended position the fixing rod 23 may engage one of two barrier apertures 24 in the barrier member 26 provided the platform is either in the stored or in-use positions. The fixing rod 23 may be biased by biasing means oo so as to tend towards the extended position.

::Each housing channel 13 includes a support fixing means 27 for fixing the position of the supports 6 relative to the housing channels 13. The support fixing means 27 includes a tab 28 connected to each housing channel 13 having a tab aperture 29 for receiving a locking pin 30. The tab aperture 29 includes a keyway 31 for receiving a lug 32 on the locking pin 30 so that the locking pin 30 may not be removed from the tab aperture 29 unless the lug 32 S: and keyway 31 are aligned. Each housing arm 11 includes a housing aperture 33 for receiving the locking pin 30. This arrangement permits the tailgate 14 for to be fixed in position with respect to the housing 2 so that the ram 19 does not have to be under load when the tailgate 4 is not being used.

The platform 5 includes a ramp means 34 at a front end 36 of the platform 5 for assisting the movement of goods on to and off from the platform 5. The ramp means 34 is particularly advantageous for goods which are to be wheeled onto 3o and off from the platform 5 by providing a sloping surface 35 between a loading level (not shown) and an upper surface 40 of the platform 5. The ramp means 34 includes a contacting member 37 for making contact with the loading level.

The contacting member 37 is rotatably connected to a platform member 38 via MC C:\WINWORDMELISSAXBRADNODELETE\HOISTPR.DOC a hinge means 39. When in an unfolded configuration the platform member 38 and contacting member 37 form the sloping surface 35. When in a folded configuration the platform member 38 and contacting member 37 provide a surface substantially co-planar with the upper surface 40 of the platform The contacting member 37 includes handle recesses 41 for assisting a user move the contacting member 37 between the folded and unfolded configurations. The ramp means 34 also includes a trolley stop 41 for restricting the unauthorised movement of wheeled goods across the sloping surface 35. The trolley stop 41 is pivotally attached to the platform member 38 and is pivotable between an active position 42 and an in-active position 43.

When in a transporting mode the vehicle 1 would arrive at a loading dock with the tailgate 4 in the stored position. The user would release the locking pin oooo and lower the tailgate 4 so that the platform 5 is clear of the storage stop 7.

The fixing rods 23 would be retracted to permit the platform to be rolled out to °the in used position. The fixing rods 23 would then be extended to engage the barrier apertures 24 fixing the platform 5 in the in-use position. The platform may be raised or lowered to the loading level with the contacting member 37 unfolded if necessary. To ready the vehicle 1 for transportation, these steps are performed in the reverse order.

Finally, it is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and or additions may be introduced into the construction and arrangements of the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

MC C:kWNWORDVWELISSAIBRAD\NOOELETE\HOISTPR.DOC

Claims

1. A hoist facility being mountable to a vehicle for use in facilitating loading and unloading goods in relation to a tray of the vehicle, the hoist facility including: a platform for receiving the goods to be loaded and unloaded; and an actuating means for raising and lowering the platform, wherein the platform is stored when not in use in a store position substantially parallel and below the tray with a portion of the platform extending beyond the perimeter of the tray providing a step for the user to the tray, the platform being manoeuvrable to an in-use position from the store position in which in-use position the platform can be located by the actuating means substantially coplanar with the tray.

2. A hoist facility according to claim 1, including a pair of supports connected to the actuating means for association with the platform wherein the platform is manoeuvred relative to the supports between the stored position and the in-use position. 20

3. A hoist facility according to claim 2, wherein the platform includes a pair of platform channels located on opposite side edges of the platform for o: receiving a plurality of rollers associated with the supports such that the platform is rolled between the stored position and the in-use position. a.

4. A hoist facility according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the supports include a platform fixing means for fixing the platform in either the stored position or the in-use position. A hoist facility according to claim 4, wherein the platform fixing means includes a fixing rod which is engageable with apertures in the platform to fix the platform in either the stored position or the in-use position.

TC W:\Atonia\BFSpea70043-98.DOC

6. A hoist facility according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the actuating means includes a ram which is connected to the support via a connecting means such that the platform is raised and lowered by extending and retracting the ram.

7. A hoist facility according to claim 6, wherein the ram is a hydraulic ram.

8. A hoist facility according to any one of claims 2 to 6, including a pair of housing channels extending substantially perpendicular to the platform for receiving a further plurality of rollers associated with the supports such that the supports are rolled relative to the housing channels under the influence of the actuating means.

9. A hoist facility according to claim 8, including a support fixing means for 15 fixing the supports relative to the housing channels.

10. A hoist according to claim 9 wherein the support fixing means includes a pair of locking pins which extend through apertures in tabs associated with the ev housing channels and through apertures associated with the supports to fix the 20 position of the supports relative to the housing channels.

11. A hoist facility according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the platform includes stop means for restricting unauthorised transferring of goods S: from the platform.

12. A hoist facility according to claim 11, wherein the stop means includes barrier members located adjacent opposite side edges of the platform for restricting unauthorised transferring of goods off the side edges of the platform.

13. A hoist facility according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the stop means includes a trolley stop located adjacent a front end of the platform to restrict unauthorised transferring of goods off the front end of the platform. TC W:\tonia\BF\Specl70043-98.DOC

14. A hoist facility according to claim 13, wherein the platform includes ramp means located on the front edge of the platform for facilitating transferring of goods onto and off from the platform.

15. A hoist facility according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the platform is manually manoeuvred between the stored position and the in-use position.

16. A vehicle including a hoist facility according to any one of the preceding o0 claims.

17. A hoist facility substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the illustrations. 15 DATED: 10 May, 2001 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK :Attorneys for: :TIEMAN INDUSTRIES PTY LTD C C W:\tonia\BF\Speci\70043-98.DOC