CA2015783A1 - Transportation dolly - Google Patents

Abstract

TRANSPORTING DOLLY
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An object or vehicle transporting dolly supporting one elevated object end comprising of a pair of mounting pads and transporting wheels each connected to a pair of vertically pivoting control arms which have also A vertical pivot connection to a center parallel control member which then can be fixed to a drawand steering control tongue. The scissoring control arms provide for handling multiple width of objects. A frame connection rack or a wheel well for dollying of wheeled vehicles can be fixed to the mounting pad and can optionally swivel on the mounting pad. Articulation between the towing and towed vehicles force the tongue and control arms to direct the mounting pads and the trailering wheels tomaintain a longitudinal alignment to the draw control tongue, even though they are in a fixed longitudinal position to the transported object causing king-pin type of steering with the swivelling at the mounting pad. With the use of a "v" draw tongue pivoting at the wheel pads, the dolly can be towed in a castering mode.
Without the use of the draw control tongue or the swivelling mounting pads, thisdolly can be used to transport the elevated rear of an object or vehicle. Multiple dollies can be interconnected and optionally framed for one end up or complete object trailering with rear wheel steering as an option.

Description

2~7~3 T R A N S P O R T I N Ç ~ O L L Y

BACKGROUND OF THE INYENTION.

This invention relates to a dolly for on~ end ~upportsd transporting of a ramp loaded whe~led obj~t, or a jack loaded unwhselsd object, ~ro~ something as small a6 garden tractors and gol~ cart~ to an au~omobile and to larger yet 5 construction and farm equipmsnt. Al~o ~heds, building~, bridge rail~, mobil~ hemes. etc, are tran~portt3d on one or mDre dol 1 il35 on ene or ~oth end6 .
Rather than transportin8 an automo~ile or heavy ~ uipment compistely upon a trailer, ju~t ons end i6 loaded.
10 A wheeled object i~ connæcted only by the ~ront or rsar wheels. No bumper or ~rame oonnBction iE require~ a~ ~or a tow bar. Also many of the ru~ber bumpers of automobile~
preclude the attachment oi` a tow ~ar. What thi~ invention ~5 relate~ to is a wheal latching rolling tow bar.
Prior art require6 dig~rent ~ i ze of dollies ~or differQnt width~ of v~hicles. Tha loading ramp6 ar~ in a fixed position with large vahiclE3~ not ~itting on a narrow dolly and small vehicle~ not ~itting on a wide dolly.
The prior art utilize~ haywagon typs o~ ~t~ering with a ~wivelling loading platform that maintainc po~ition with the towed vehicl~. Thi~ pass~s road imnpact ~tres~3& dswn the ton~ue ~nd on to the towin~ vehicle.
~ nother version of prior art utili~e6 castaring wheel~

~5 with the draw t~ngue and towad vahicle latched to a riged ;, "
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2~783 longitudinal position with all o~ the towed vehicle mass ~eing passed down the draw tongue *o the tewing ~ehicle wh~n turning a corner or hitting a rut in the road.
Anether need i~ ~or an end rustomer-assembleable 5 automobile sized dollY that can be marketed and delivered in a box. Prior art is completely weld~d with all 500 to 600 pounds trailered to the end oustomer. An assembleable dolly could also be disassembled for storage under a bench when not in use.
Another limitation of prior art for automobiles is for loading vehicles that are di~abled and not rolling such a~ a smashed car. Thers i~ no way to jack up the car under a cross member or di~ferential and set it down on the dolly supporting plat~orm.
¦5 In the automobile towing industry, ~hers i~ a need ~or a variable width dolly to be latched to the wheel~ o~ the non-liftad end. Prior art require6 as~embly of component6 to a ~ixed width depending on the 5ize 0~ car being loaded.
Also large objectr and equipment nsed to be hauled from one site to another. A larger version o~ the dolly i6 needed for frama or whsel attachment and for one end up or both end up transporting of these object~. When lo~g o~jects are trailered on two or more dollie~, there is a n~ed to havs the rear wheel~ steer in the opposit3 direction 2 5 ~or less cornsr cutting. For tha~e lar8e ob~ect6. thare ir a noed for multiple dollies to be attached to one or ~oth end6 with the po~ibility of all dollies b0ing a~le to steer~

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201~783 SUMMARY OF T~E INVENTION

The present invention will provide a one end up variabl~ width object transporting dolly with ~ing-pin type 6teering controll~d by a draw control tongue and inter-v~hicle articulation. Ths tran~porting wheel~ are in a i!ixed widthwiss and lon~itudinal position to the *ransported object but will pivot at tha object ~upport mounting pads through four pivoting control arms attachad to ths center parall~l control membar and the draw oontrol tongue during intsr-~ehicls articuiation. It i~ by virtue o~ the 1O ~oregoing basic concspt that the principle objective i~
achieved.
Another object is to provide a transporting doll~ of ths class described that can be f ixed to multiple widths o~
loaded objects by ~ust widening or narrowing the distance IS between the trailaring wheels through the four pivoting control arms and the center paral 1~1 control memb~r.
Another object of this invention is to provide a horizontally pivoting draw oontrol tongue and loading ramps that will *ilt ~or loading o~ rolling wheeled vehicl~s.
A further object of this invention i~ to provide for an absence o~ 6tru~-ture betwe~n the two mounting pads 80 ~n object to be tran~ported can be jacked up between the mounting locations and tha dolly backed under without i nter fering with ths jack.
A further object of thi~ invsntion i~ to provide for a cu6~0mer Assembleable automobil~ sized dolly that can ~e : . .. .
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di~assembled ~or ~torage.
A further object of thi~ invention i6 ~or the dolly to be utiliz~d as rear end ~ran~porting dolly with ths draw control tongue bein8 ~unctionless and optionally removed, 5 and with the mounting pads not ~wivelling.
A further object of thi~ invantion is ts provide a varia~le width castering dolly with a "v" tongue pivoting at the mounting pads allowing a transported vehi~le to be bacXed up in the same manner as a trailer or a tow bar.
A furthsr object o~ thi~ invention i~ to provide for mul~iple dol 1 ie~ to be at*ached to an objec~ with the ~ront dolliss steering progre~sively less as controlled by the draw control tongue and the piggy-back inter-tongue connection. The rear end of the object can also ~e 1~ supported by a rear dolly or set o~ dollie~ and can be jU6t a support dolly or it can provide rsar wheel steering in the opposite direction controlled by a ~ront and rear dolly mechanical and~or hydraulic interconnsction.
The dolly or dollies can be mounted on a frams for 2~ front only. ~iddle only ca6tering, rear only supporting, rear only supported ~teerin~, or the ~rams can be extended for complete object trailering.
She ~oregoing and other objectivss and advanta~ o~
this inv2ntion will appear from the detailed description 2 5 takon in ronnection with accompanying drawing of the pref~rred embodiment~. Any detail or other option not descr}bed does not preclude its inclu~ion within the spirit and scope o~ this invention.

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201~7~

B~I~.F DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a ~chsmatic plan view of a vehicl~ towing dolly embodying the invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the dolly showing the inter vehicle articulation movement of all of the dolly 5 compone~ts providing for ths articulat~d ~teering;
FIG. 3 is a ~chematic plan view o~ an unloaded dolly latched to it~ narrow trailering po6ition;
~ IG. 4 is a schematic 6ide elevation at the axle of the dolly with a vohicle loaded u~ing a removable ramp, 1~ ~I&. 5 is a schematic side elevation at the axle o~ the dolly showing th~ fixsd ramp and tilting tongue vehicle loading position, FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of a mounting pad utilizing multiple wheels for each side o~ the transporting dolly;
FI&. 7 is a schematic plan view o~ a frame mount or equipment 6wivelling mounting pad:
~ IG. 8 is a schematic plan view of a ~wivellad wheel well mounting padr 2~ FIG. 9 i~ a ~chematic plan view o~ multiple dolli~s in a pi8gyback mode.
FIG. 10 i6 a 6chematic plan view of multiple articulating dollies for complete object trail3rin~
utilizin~ both snd Gteering;
FIG. 11 i~ a ~chematic plan view of multiple dolliee for both end ~teering utilizing dual ~tinger~, , :
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2 ~ 3 , FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view o~ multiple dollies f~r both and steering utilizing a mechanical tie bar;
~ IG. 13 is a ~chematic plan ViBW 0~ multiple dollies ~or both end 6tesring utilizing hydraulic means for csntrol 5 and rear wheel stsering power.
FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view of a castering dolly including a "v" draw tongue with a pivot joint attachment to the steering pivot point under the mounting pads.

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20~7~3 DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the drawings, th~ tran~porting dolly of the pre&0nt invention i~ designated in it~ entirety by the rsfersnce numsral 10.
FIG l illu~trate6 the top schematic plan view of a 5 vehicle transporting dolly with wheel wells 40 for attachment to the tran~port~d vehicle 70 front or rear wheels. Ths draw control bar 14 is attached with a conventional trailer hitch and coupler 12 to the pulling vehicle 11. The parallel control membar 2S is att~ched to l~ the mounting pad~ 40 with vertically pivoting joint~ 32 at ths parallel control mamber, vertical pivot joints 34 at the mountin~ pads and with control arm~ 30 connscting the pivoting joint~ at the eight pivot~ 32. 34. From the drawings it will be apparent that line6 sxtended through the IS axe~ of the pivots 32, 34 of each latsral pair of control arm6 30 ~orm a parallelogram. It ic by thi~ arran~ement that the laterally spaoed pair o~ moun*ing pad~ 40 r~main parallel to each other throughout tha range of independent lateral movement illustrated in ~ig8. 1. 2 and 3. The 2 joints 34 could be under and toward the c~nter of the mounting pad 40 or even naar the outside ~dge for bettsr horizontal leverage. ~x10s 50 are attached to ths mounting pads and are o~ conv~ntional ar~ being ~ixed axle. drop axle~ torsioned axle or spring mount~d axle ~or one or more wheel~ 60 on each sids. Whon the mounting pad6 40 ar0 attached to the tran~ported vshicle 70 whs31s. th~ mounting . . .
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2~7~3 pads will take and remain in ihis position to the transported vehiGle 70 during the stopping and pulling aGtion of ~he pulling vehicle 11 even though the control arms 30 try to ~icissior the moun~ing pad6 40 together and 5 apart. The mounting pad 40 width between each other and their individual longitudin21 position are fixed by the transported vehicle. with wider vehicles requirin~ the control arms 30 scissoring wider, and narrowsr vshicle~
requiring the control arms ~0 ~ci~isoring narrower.
l I~ ther transported vehicle was damaged and one o~ its wheels on ths transported ond wa~ ~urther b~ck then the undamaged side, one of the mounting pads 40 would be further back with the control arms 30 on each 6ide not ~ing siymmetrical and causing the parall~l control member ~5 to be closer to tha damaged side.
Note that the tran~ported vehicle 70 in this and al 1 the following ~igurss could be an object that i~ tran6port~d or A frame upon which the dolly i~ *ied to the object.
FIG 2 illustrates the turning tachni~ue o~ thi~
2~ invBntion that is cau6ed by the inter-vahicle articulation, Specifically, th~ draw control tongue 14 i5 pulled toward one ~ide of the transported vehicle 70. Th0 paral lel control memb~r 25 iCi longitudinally fixed to the draw control tongue 14 and pushes and pulls on the control arm~i which in turn push and pull on the mounting pad6 ~0 cau~ing the mounting pads 40 and the transportine wheels 60 to maintain longitudinal alignment to the draw control *ongue 14 with 5wiv211 ing at the mounting pad either through . ~i , .. .. ... . .. ..

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2~7~3 - the steering of the transported vehicle or betw2sn the mounting pad 40 and the tire of the tran~ported vehicls i~ a non-steerin~ end i5 transported.
In the above d~cribed way. a transported vehicle 70 will trail a towing vehicle 11 with king-pin type o~
steerin~.
~ I~ 3 is an unloaded dolly with its width narrowed and ~ixed by a widthwi~e latching bar 36. A wider bar with pivotin~ connection~ can be utilized to ~tabilize and fix IO the width ~or loading transported objsctfi.
FJG 4 illustrate~ a ~ide view of the dolly with the wheel 60 not shown. This view i~ of a ~ront 103ded vehicle utilizing the ramp~ 41 in a remova~le modo with th0 ramp bracket ~5 over top and re~ting on the wheel well pads.
l5 Note *hat *he tilt action of the tongue i~ not utilized in this mode. The main advantage o~ thifi mode is *hat the ramp is removed when the vshicle i~ being towed and will not hit or scrape the vehicle undercarriage wh0n at a crest of a driveway or roadway. Al~o prevented is ~craping of ths pavemsnt in a valley o~ a driveway or ro~dway.
~ IG 5 is a ~ide view. a~ain with the transporting wheel removed, showing the tilt ~ction at the tilt joint 16 with the tilt pin 20 removed allowing the ~ongue to tilt longitudinglly about the widthwi~0 horizontal plane on the 2~ tilt pivot bolt 18. In this mode the ramp~ 41 are in a gized position with the ramp brac~et 45 mounted under the mounting pad 40. Thc tilting actiGn 8top8 only when the . : .- ` . ! ~ . . . .: . i : , . . , :': ' .,: . ' :
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ramp 41 makes contact with the road surface. When the vehicle is loaded. ths center of gravity over the transporting wheels rock~ the wheel pads and ramps down at the ~ront end straightening out the tilt action of the 5 tongue. When the tilting tongus i8 bac~ to its normal position, the ti lt pin 20 is manually reinssrted and clipped to fix the tilting into the normal po~ition.
FIG 6 illu~trates a wheel pad ~0 with dual axle~ S0 and transporting whsels ~0 for horizontal ~tability when lO attached to the rsar wheel~ of a transported vehicle. Mo tongue i6 necessary in this mode.
FIG 7 illustrates a swivelling frame mount ~7 with the 6WiVi 1ling joint 48 attaching it to a n3rrow mounting pad 40 for attaching the mount 47 to a frame when transpGrting l5 unwheeled objectc or as a frame m~unt for wheeled equip~ent.
~ IG 8 illustrates a wheel well mount 47 with a swivel joint 48 attaching it to the mounting pad ~0. This swivelling mounting pad would be utilized for transporting the non-steering end of a vehicla when the swivelling be~ween the tire and the fixsd mounting pad i~ not con6idered adequate.
FIG 9 illu~trates a multipls of dollies 10 in a piggybac~ed attachment ~wivel joint 13 to interconnect th~
tongues for multiple dolly 6t0ering at one end o~ a ~` ~ 5 transported obiect.
~ IG 10, i~I& 11. FIG 12 and FIG 13 illustrate multiple dollies embodying the sama sci~60ring arm6 ~or ~oth end object trailerin~ with rear wheel steering in the opposite `` 10 ' : ` : ` , ` `, ~ ; .,, '' : ' :' ':, :' " ' ' , , ~. .` ' `: ' :' . ' ' :`

2~1~7~3 direction controlled only by the inter-vehicle articulation.
The various techniques of rear stinger to tongue. rear stlnger to rear stinger, mechanical tie bar. and hydraulic control and ram ~re in no way intended to b~ an exhaustive set of altsrnatiYes.
~ IG lO utilizes two dollies lO. with the ~ront dolly having a rear tele6coping swivelling stinger 27 extending from the parallel control mem~er. The rear dolly i5 attached to the sting~r providing ~or rear dolly iteering a~
10 described above regarding ~IG 2.
FIG 11 illustrates a rear facing rear dolly including a 6tin8er 28 with a coupler for 5wivel connection tu the ~ront stinger 27. This rear facing dolly configuration will allow multiple dollie6 to be attached at each end a~ descri~ed in ~5 FIG 9, all o~ which would have ~teering controlled by tha inter-vehicle articulation.
~ IG 12 illu6trate~ multiple dolliex with a fixsd arm ~6 extsnding from the mounting pad with a ~wivelling joint for connection o~ a steering tie bar 48 to the rear ~upporting 2 dolly or dollie~.
FIG 13 illu~trates a hydraulic sourc 55 attached to a hydraulic control 56 with a tie lin~ 57 for powering the ~` hydraulic ram 58 to rontrol the ~itesring of ths rear 6upporting dolly or dollio~.
FIG 14 illu~trate~ a variable width ca~tsring tran6porting tolly including a "v" draw tongue 15 fix~d, ~` wit~ a pivot attachment 4~ to ths steerin~ pivot peint on ' 11 ~```` ~
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the whssl pad 5 4 0, i n a 1 ong i ~ud i na 1 pos i tien to the transportsd objec~ 70 and the mounting pads 40, allowing the whssl pads to castsr whether the transporting vehicle 11 is pulling forward or pushing backward. Tho advantage of this 5 mode is tha* the transpor~d object can be backed up the sams as with a tow bar or trailer.
It is to bs noted from the drawings that the pi~ots 32, 34 of each pair o~ control arms 30 are arranged to form a parallogram. It is by this arrangsment that the pair of mounting pads 40 remain parallsl to each oth~r throughout the rangs o~ lateral movement ~f the pad~ toward and away ; ~rom each oth~r.
It will be apparant to those ~killed in th~ art that various changes and combination other than those discus~ed may be made in ths size. shape, type, number and arrangem~nt of the parts described hereinbefors and could take vari~us other forms within the ~cope and ~pirit~o~ the followin8 cl aims .

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Claims (17)

1. A transport dolly comprising:
(a) a control member;
(b) a pair of mounting pad members;
(c) first and second pairs of control arms disposed on opposite lateral sides of the control member, first pivot means securing one end of said first pair of control arms pivotally to the control member, second pivot means securing one end of said second pair of control arms pivotally to the control member, each of said first and second pairs of control arms adapted for pivotal movement of each of said first and second pairs of control arms independently of the other of the said first and second pairs of control arms, third pivot means securing the other end of the control arms of the first pair pivotally to one of the pair of mounting pad members, and fourth pivot means securing the other end of the control arms of the second pair pivotally to the other of the pair of mounting pad members, for moving the mounting pad members independently laterally toward and away from each other, lines extending through the axes of the four pivot means of each pair of control arms forming a parallelogram, whereby the pair of mounting pad members remain parallel to each other throughout the range of said lateral movement; and (d) supporting wheel means secured for rotation in planes parallel to each mounting pad member.

2. The transport dolly of claim 1 including latch means releasably interengaging the pair of mounting pad members in a laterally retracted position of the pad members.

3. The transport dolly of claim 1 including draw bar means connected at one end to the dolly and arranged at the opposite end for connection to a towing vehicle.

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4. The transport dolly of claim 3 wherein the draw bar means comprises a tongue member secured at one end to one end of the control member and arranged at the opposite end for connection to a towing vehicle.

5. The transport dolly of claim 4 including pivot means interconnecting the tongue member and control member for pivoting said tongue and control members on a transverse axis.

6. The transport dolly of claim 5 including pivot lock means releasably interengaging the tongue member and control member for releasably securing said tongue and control members together against pivotal movement on the said transverse axis of said pivot means.

7. The transport dolly of claim 3 wherein the draw bar means comprises a pair of tongue members each secured at one end pivotally to a different one of the pad members and arranged at its opposite end for connection to a towing vehicle.

8. The transport dolly of claim 3 including pivot means on the draw bar means for pivotally connecting the draw bar means of a second dolly positioned behind the first named dolly.

9. The transport dolly of claim 3 including an extension member secured to and extending rearwardly from the control member, and pivot means on the rearward end of the extension member for pivotally connecting thereto the tongue member of a second dolly positioned behind the first named dolly.

10. The transport dolly of claim 1 wherein the supporting wheel means comprises a single wheel secured to each pad member.

11. The transport dolly of claim 1 wherein the supporting wheel means comprises a pair of wheels secured to each pad member in longitudinally spaced apart arrangement.

12. The transport dolly of claim 1 including load mount means overlying each pad member and secured pivotally thereto for relative pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis.

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13. The transport dolly of claim 12 wherein the load mount means comprises a frame mount.

14. The transport dolly of claim 12 wherein the load mount means comprises a wheel well mount.

15. The transport dolly of claim 1 including an attachment arm secured at one end to one of the pad members of each of a pair of said dollies, and a tie bar pivotally interconnecting the opposite ends of said attachment arms.

16. The transport dolly of claim 1 including power means interengaging the control member and one control arm of one of the first and second pairs of control members for pivoting said control arm relative to the control member.

17. The transport dolly of claim 16 wherein the power means comprises an extensible fluid pressure piston-cylinder unit.

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