GB2044688A

GB2044688A - Vehicle With Removable Load- carrying Body

Info

Publication number: GB2044688A
Application number: GB8005483A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-02-21
Filing date: 1980-02-19
Publication date: 1980-10-22
Also published as: GB2044688B

Abstract

The body (2) (e.g. a container on a trailer vehicle (1)) is removed from the trailer without the need for lifting gear by elevating one end of the body, e.g. using a hydraulic lifting ram (4), extending and locking pairs of legs (7 and 8) at the sides of the body, and lowering the one end of the body again so that the legs lift the body clear of the deck (5) of the trailer. The trailer can then be withdrawn. The tilting can be accomplished by tipping the trailer. The arrangement is simple to construct and operate, and offers a high degree of flexibility in the use of the body and the trailer. The legs (7 and 8) can be extended manually, since no great force is required, and simply locked by pins passed through them. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Removable Load-Carrying Body for Vehicie and Vehicle Having Such a Body This invention relates to a removable loadcarrying body for a vehicle and to a vehicle having such a body.

A known type of vehicle having a removable load-carrying body is the flat road or rail vehicle upon which freight containers are carried. It is usual to transfer such containers from one vehicle to another, or to and from the ground, by means of a travelling crane or other lifting device. This usually limits the handling of containers to locations, such as inland container depots, having suitable container-handling facilities, and transfer of containers at other locations is only possible with the use of a relatively expensive container-lifting vehicle.

To overcome some of these problems, it has been proposed to use a container provided with hydraulic lifting rams extending legs to each side of the vehicle to lift the container off the vehicle, so that the vehicle can then be removed and, if desired, a different vehicle brought underneath to carry the container. The rams can be powered by a separate hydraulic pump unit, or by a pump mounted in or on the container and driven by a small internal combustion engine. This arrangement has not found wide use because the cost of the rams and the pump and engine is high, both to instal and to maintain, and because weight is added to the container, reducing the load that may legally be carried.The relatively large diameter of the rams increases the width of the container, and in some instances it is necessary to fit the rams to swinging arms so that they may be swung inboard of the vehicle when not required, to keep the width of the vehicle within the maximum legally permissible, or to permit the container to conform to the international standard size.

According to the present invention, a loadcarrying body for a vehicle comprises two extensible legs at each side thereof, the legs being spaced from the ends of the body such that when the body is located on a vehicle, one end of the body may be elevated relative to the other end and the legs may be extended whereby, when the said one end is lowered again, the legs engage the surface upon which the vehicle is standing and lift the body off the vehicle.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the body has elevating means such as a hydraulic ram or a mechanical screw jack at one end thereof serving to elevate and lower said one end of the body relative to the vehicle. Alternatively, the raising and lowering can be by means of a tipping surface on the vehicle.

The legs can each be extensible by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic ram, but this need not be sufficiently powerful to carry the weight of the container; the legs may be locked when extended, and the locking arrangement may carry the weight. In a simpler arrangement in accordance with the invention, each leg is telescopic and can be extended and retracted manually, and includes locking means to lock the leg in the retracted position or in any desired extended position. The legs may be locked by means of pins passed through aligned holes in two relatively slidable parts of the legs. The legs are preferably so positioned as to permit removal of the container from the vehicle using a relatively low angle of elevation, for example about 1 50, while maintaining stability when the vehicle is withdrawn.

The body may be of any desired form, for example open dumping truck, box or tanker, provided where necessary with a frame to enable it to rest on a flat surface of the vehicle. Where it is the vehicle surface which is tipped to elevate one end of the body, the surface may have at the elevating end means for engaging a hook on the body whereby the body is held on the surface during tipping. Clamps may be provided between the body and the tipping surface at the other end, and these clamps may be of conventional form for clamping containers on to vehicles.

The vehicle may be of the type having a flat load-carrying surface, for example such as is used for carrying freight containers, or an agricultural trailer. Thus, an agricultural product such as grain or sugar beet may be transported from the growing fields to mill processing factory in a single container, carried in the field on a farm trailer pulled by a tractor, for example, and transferred to a flat lorry or articulated trailer vehicle for conveyance by public road. The vehicle may alternatively be a rail vehicle.

The vehicle body of the invention is readily removable from the vehicle without the need for special container or other lifting gear. Removal and transfer of the body may therefore be effected at any desired location, for example on a farm.

The body is simple in construction and requires little maintenance. Existing removable bodies may be readily modified in accordance with the present invention. Where a ram is used for tipping, it can, if desired, be detachable for use on any number of different bodies, with its own pump, which can be manually operable.

Reference is made to the drawings, which illustrate two embodiments of the invention, and in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a trailer vehicle and body according to the first embodiment, in the travelling position; Figure 2 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 with the body elevated relative to the vehicle; Figure 3 is a view corresponding to Figures 1 and 2, with the body separated from the vehicle; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a trailer vehicle and body according to the second embodiment, in the travelling position; Figure 5 is a view corresponding to that of Figure 4, with the vehicle elevated to enable the body to be removed; and Figure 6 is a view corresponding to Figures 4 and 5, with the body separated from the vehicle.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 3, the trailer vehicle 1 has a detachable body 2 having on one end thereof a vertically-mounted hydraulic ram 3 which can be extended by a manually-operable hydraulic pump (not shown), for example. The ram 3 has at its lower end a wheel or roller 4 enabling the ram to run along the deck 5 of the trailer 1.

The body 2 is an open rectangular container suitable for holding loose materials such as grain or sugar beet. On each side of the body 2 are attached two box section steel members 6, spaced from the ends of the container. A steel leg 7 or 8 is slidably mounted within each member 6, the front legs 7 having at their lower ends ground engaging pads 9, whilst the rear legs 8 have wheels 10. The legs 7 and 8 each have a series of holes therethrough, and the members 6 each have one hole through opposed walls adjacent to the lower ends thereof to permit a locking pin to be inserted through the member 6 and the leg 7 or 8 together to lock the leg at any desired extension.

A stop bar 11 is fixed to the deck 5 of the trailer 1 at the rear end thereof to prevent the end of the body 2 sliding off the deck 5 during elevation or lowering. It will be understood that the body may be located on the trailer with the ram 3 to the rear, and that a second stop bar may therefore be necessary at the front edge of the trailer deck.

Figure 1 shows the body 2 in its travelling position on the trailer 1. When it is desired to remove the body 2 so that the trailer may be used on its own, or with another body, the body 2 is elevated by about 1 50 on the trailer deck using the ram 3. The rear legs 8 are then released by withdrawing the locking pins and drawn down until the wheels 10 engage the ground. The pins are reinserted to lock the legs at this extension, and the front legs 7 are extended to the same length and locked, as shown in Figure 2.

The ram 3 is then retracted, lowering the body 2 and causing the rear end of the body to lift off the trailer 1 as the body 2 pivots about the wheels 10. When the ram 3 is fully retracted, the body 2 is resting on its legs 7 and 8 clear of the trailer 1, which can be towed away.

It will be seen that it is necessary for the legs to project beyond the sides of the trailer. Where this requirement imposes an unreasonable limitation on the width of the trailer usable or, conversely, requires too great a width of container, the legs can be mounted so as to be extensible and retractable laterally, for example mounted on pivoting support arms.

The vehicle body shown in Figures 4 to 6 is similar to that of Figures 1 to 3, and similar reference numerals are used in these Figures to denote similar parts. The trailer vehicle 20 has a flat tipping deck 22, which may be elevated by hydraulic rams in conventional manner.

The container body 21 is held on the trailer 20 by a hook 23 on the container body which engages a bar 24 on the leading edge of the trailer, and by conventional container clamps (not shown) at the rear end of the vehicle.

Figure 4 shows the container body 21 in its travelling position on the trailer 20. When it is desired to remove the body 21 so that the trailer may be used on its own, for example for transporting straw bales, the trailer is elevated by about 1 50, the legs being spaced relative to the pivot. The rear clamps are released and then the rear legs 8 are released, by withdrawing the locking pins, and drawn down into engagement with the ground. The pins are then reinserted to lock the legs at this extension. The front legs 7 are then extended to the same length and locked, as shown in Figure 5.

During the lowering of the trailer 20, the rear end of the body 21 is lifted off the trailer by the legs 8. The hook 23 remains engaged with the bar 24 initially and the wheels 10 on the legs 8 permit the necessary rearward movement of the legs 8. As the front legs 7 engage the ground, the hook 23 disengages the bar 24, releasing the body from the trailer, which in its fully lowered position can be towed away, as shown in Figure 6.

Although wheels are shown on the rear legs 8, to allow for relative longitudinal movement of the vehicle and body during lowering, in some conditions the use of pads may be preferable, e.g.

on soft or uneven ground, the vehicle being moved as necessary to avoid movement longitudinally of the body relative to the ground.

Claims

1. A load-carrying body for a vehicle, comprising two extensible legs at each side thereof, the legs being spaced from the ends of the body such that when the body is located on a vehicle, one end of the body may be elevated relative to the other end and the legs may be extended whereby, when the said one end is lowered again, the legs engage the surface upon which the vehicle is standing and lift the body off the vehicle.

2. A body according to Claim 1, comprising elevating means at one end thereof serving to elevate and lower said one end of the body relative to the vehicle.

3. A body according to Claim 2, wherein the elevating means comprises a hydraulic ram.

4. A body according to Claim 2, wherein the elevating means comprises a mechanical screw jack.

5. A body according to any preceding claim, wherein the legs are each extensible by means of a hydraulic or pneumatic ram.

6. A body according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein each leg is telescopic and can be extended and retracted manually, and includes locking means to lock the leg in the retracted position or in any desired extended position.

7. A body according to Claim 6, wherein the locking means comprises a series of holes through relatively slidable parts of the telescopic leg and a pin insertable into aligned holes through the parts.

8. A body according to any preceding claim wherein the legs are positioned on the body such that when the body is elevated to an angle of about 1 50 to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the lower legs adjacent to the end of the body nearest to the surface upon which the vehicle is standing are extended to contact said surface, the other legs are extended to the same length as the lower legs, and the body is lowered so that said other legs contact said surface, the body is thereby lifted from the vehicle, permitting removal thereof.

9. A load-carrying body for a vehicle substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

10. A vehicle comprising a removable loadcarrying body according to any preceding claim.