GB2156746A - Dump apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A base frame (1) is removably mounted on a rear body (2) of a truck etc., a loading box (4) is rotatably mounted on the base plate, and an inflatable bag (11) provided between the loading box (4) and the base plate and a hose (17) for feeding exhaust gas from an engine into the bag to inflate the same and tip the loading box by the inflation of the bag. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Dump apparatus This invention relates to a dump apparatus for tipping a loading box of a motor truck etc. by utilizing an exhaust gas pressure of the motor truck etc.

A conventional dump apparatus for tipping a loading box of a motor truck etc. is, in general, originally built in the truck to provide a dump truck. The dump apparatus of this kind has its own driving means, such as a hydraulic driving means or a mechanical driving means for tipping the loading box of the truck, so that the dump apparatus should inevitably be rendered complicated in structure and bulky in size. In addition, the level of the loading box is raised by the driving means mounted under the loading box, which results in lowering the workability of the dump apparatus. Above all, the conventional dump apparatus has a fatal shortcoming that it cannot be easily applied to a normal motor truck.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a dump apparatus which is capable of tipping a loading box by a simple driving means utilizing an exhaust gas pressure of the truck without using a special driving means provided for the dump apparatus.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a dump apparatus which is capable of lowering the level of the loading box and improving the workability of the dump apparatus.

It is a third object of the present invention to provide a dump apparatus simple in structure and light in weight which is capable of being easily and removably mounted on an ordinary motor truck or tractor.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a dump apparatus comprising a base frame removably mounted on a rear body of a motor truck; a loading box which is rotatably mounted, at an end portion of the bottom thereof, on said base frame; an upper member rotatably mounted, at an end thereof, on the bottom of said loading box; a lower member provided on said base frame in association with said upper member; an inflatable bag provided between said upper and lower members; a hose communicating, at an end thereof, with the interior of said bag and having, at the opposite end thereof, a coupler for an exhaust tube of the truck; and flexible strut members provided between said upper and lower members for restricting the inflation of the bag.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of a dump apparatus according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the dump apparatus of Fig. 1; Figures 3(a) and (b) are cross sectional views of a first and a second form of a bag usable in the present invention, respectively; Figure 4 is a partially sectional view of a safety valve employable in the present invention; and Figure 5 is a partially sectional view showing the coupling of a hose to an exhaust tube of a truck etc.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2, there is illustrated one form of a dump apparatus according to the present invention. Numeral 1 designates a base frame which is removably fixed to a floor of a rear body 2 of a motor truck or a motor tractor by a fixing means 3 such as a bolt. Numeral 4 designates a loading box which is provided, at the bottom thereof, with a frame 5 corresponding to the base frame 1. The frame 5 is pivotally connected, at an end portion thereof, to an end portion of the base frame 1 by a hinge 6. 7 is a lower member generally formed in a square and rotatably mounted, at an end thereof, on the base frame 1 by a hinge 8. 9 is an upper member which is also formed generally in a square and rotatably mounted, at an end thereof, on the frame 5 at a position corresponding to that of the lower member 7 by a hinge 10.

11 is an inflatable bag which is fixed at its top and bottom to the upper member 9 and the lower member 7, respectively. The bag 11 is made for example of a material composed of neoprene and nylon fiber and has a heat resistance of about 1 30 C and a pressure resistance of about 0.8 kg/cm2. The bag 11 is for example 540 mm in diameter and 570 mm in length. Figs. 1, 2 and Fig. 3(a) illustrate one form of the bag in which the top and the bottom of the bag 11 are fixed to the upper member 9 and the lower member 7 by an adhesive, respectively.Fig. 3(b) illustrates another form of the bag 11, in which the bag 11 is made of a tubular material and the upper opening and the lower opening thereof are fixed to the upper member 9 and the lower member 7 by locking rings 14 and bolts 1 5 through an upper auxiliary member 1 3 and a lower auxiliary member 12, respectively. The dump apparatus employing the first form of bag is suitably applied to a light truck and the dump apparatus incorporating the second form of bag therein is suitable for a truck having an engine of larger displacement.

Flexible strut members 1 6 having the same length are provided between the upper member 9 and the lower member 7 at the corners thereof so as to extend in parallel with each other when the strut members 1 6 are brought into upright positions. The flexible strut mem bers 1 6 are made for example of a wire, a wire rope, chain, etc. and they are contractile into a compact form when the dump apparatus is in the inoperative condition and capable of being set upright when the dump apparatus is operated. The strut members 1 6 function to restrict excessive inflation of the bag 11 in the forward or rearward direction (leftward or rightward direction in Figs. 1 and 2) and control the inflation of the bag 11 so as to expand equally in the forward and rearward directions.Additional flexible strut members 1 6 are further provided on the side of the bag 11 so as to extend diagonally between the upper and lower members 9 and 7 as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 for restricting the excessive expansion of the bag 11 in the lateral direction.

1 7 is a hose for feeding an exhaust gas from an engine of the truck etc. to the bag 11 which is made of a material having heat and pressure resistance as of the bag 11. In the first form of bag as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3(a), the hose 1 7 communicates, at its end, with the interior of the bag 11 through an opening of the bag 11 formed on the side thereof. In the second form of bag as illustrated in Fig. 3(b), the hose 17 communicates, at an end thereof, with the interior of the bag 11 through the lower auxiliary member 1 2. Another end of the hose 1 7 is provided with a conical coupler 1 8 made for example of a heat-resistant rubber etc.This conical coupler 1 8 is applicable to an exhaust tube 1 9 of the truck etc. having a diameter of about 25 mm to 40 mm. The hose 1 7 has, at its intermediate position, a safety valve 20 having a function of a check valve. The safety valve 20 is so formed that a valve member 21 thereof is opened when a pressure of 0.6 kg/cm2 or more is applied thereto. The safety valve 20 further has, a check valve 22 for passing only the exhaust gas fed from the coupler 18. One end of the safety valve 20 is firmly connected to the hose 1 7 by a band 25 and another end of the safety valve 20 is connected to the hose 1 7 by a disengageable joint 23 through a packing 24.

The dump apparatus having the arrangement as described above operates in a manner as will be described below.

First, the dump apparatus is fixed to the rear body 2 of the motor truck or motor tractor by the bolt 3. The dump apparatus may be left fixed to the rear body 2 in case the dump apparatus is used continually. To tip the loading box 4, the engine of the truck is driven in an idling state and the coupler 1 8 of the hose 1 7 is fitted to the exhaust tube 1 9.

Then, the exhaust gas having a pressure of about 0.5 kg/cm2 is gradually fed into the bag 11 to expand the bag 11. The bag 11 is first expanded at the forward portion thereof and the loading box 4 is tilted at a certain angle (Fig. 1). When the exhaust gas is further fed into the bag 11, the forward strut members 1 6 is extended to its full length and the upward expansion of the forward portion of the bag 11 is stopped. Thereafter, the rear portion of the bag 11 begins to expand upwardly until the upper member 9 is brought into a position where it is in parallel with the lower member 7 (Figs. 2, 3(a) and (b)) to tilt the loading box 4 at an angle of about 75" for dumping operation.After completion of the dumping operation, the hose 1 7 of the bag side is disengaged from the joint 23 to let the gas in the bag 11 be released into air and lower the loading box 4.

When the loading box 4 is being lowered, the frame 5 is guided by positioning means 26 provided on opposite sides of the base frame 1 so as not to be offset relative to the base frame 1. After the loading box 4 is lowered to its normal position, the frame 5 and the base frame 1 are locked by a locking means (not shown) so that the loading box 4 may not vibrate even if the truck runs.

Although the exhaust gas from the engine is utilized for the driving means in the foregoing embodiments, when a vehicle to which the dump apparatus of the present invention is applied has a compression air supplying means, a pneumatic pressure may be utilized for the driving means.

As described above, according to the present invention, a bulky and complicated driving means specially provided for a dump apparatus in the conventional dump truck etc.

is not needed, and a simplified driving means utilizing exhaust gas from an engine can be used to tip a dump apparatus. As the special driving means may be omitted, the dump apparatus can be made compact and can be removably mounted on an ordinary truck or tractor. In addition, the level of a loading box can be lowered to improve the workability owing to the omission of the special driving means.

Claims (5)

1. A dump apparatus comprising a base frame removably mounted on a rear body of a motor truck; a loading box which is rotatably mounted, at an end portion of the bottom thereof, on said base frame; an upper member rotatably mounted, at an end thereof, on the bottom of said loading box; a lower member provided on said base frame in association with said upper member; an inflatable bag provided between said upper and lower members; a hose communicating, at an end thereof, with the interior of said bag and having, at the opposite end thereof, a coupler for an exhaust tube of the truck; and flexible strut members provided between said upper and lower members for restricting the inflation of the bag.

2. A dump apparatus as claimed in claim 1, which further comprises a safety valve functioning as a check valve which is provided at an intermediate portion of the hose.

3. A dump apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said upper and lower members are formed in squares of substantially the same size and said flexible strut members are substantially the same in length and each provided between the corner of the upper member and the corresponding corner of the lower member, respectively.

4. A dump apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said safety valve is coupled to the hose of the bag side through a disengageable joint.

5. A dump apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.