GB2262493A

GB2262493A - Telescopic wheel chock.

Info

Publication number: GB2262493A
Application number: GB9225277A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Olavi Maeenpaeae
Original assignee: TRANSTECH Ltd Oy
Current assignee: TRANSTECH Ltd Oy
Priority date: 1991-12-17
Filing date: 1992-12-03
Publication date: 1993-06-23
Anticipated expiration: 2012-12-03
Also published as: DE4241044A1; GB9225277D0; FI915938A0; GB2262493B; FI89694B; FI89694C

Description

226.'d'"-14,.33 1 Telescopic wheel chock The invention relates to a

telescopic wheel-chock structure in which the wheel chock comprises a tubular frame and a rod telescoPically retractable into it and ejectively springed in relation to it, and in which the wheel chock is locked at both its ends into locking holes in rails connected to at least the floor of the wagon/, the holes being located in rows parallel to the longitudinal direction of the wagon.

When automobiles are transported in railway wagons intended for their transport, the automobiles must he locked in place for the duration o--" the transport in order to prevent them from moving. This is done by means of wheel chocks which support the vehicle hy its wheels. There are numerous different types of such wheel chocks. one wheel-chock structure is made up of components forming a wedge-like member which is pressed against the automobile tyre and is support-ed in grooves transverse to the driving deck. These wheel chocks are relatively heavy, and therefore they are difficult to move and to handle. A wheel chock of another type is described in publication DE-3113707, and it is made up of a triangular piece which is on one side secured to a raill at the level of the railwaywagon floor but aside from the wheel track. These wheel chocks are pushed against the vehicle wheels by sliding them along the rail and by locking them in place. Since these wheel chocks serve as cantilevers, their weight is also relatively great and their sliding along the fastening rail may be difficult, for example, as %-hey become rusty with time. Publication FR-1503791 discloses a wheel chock which is made up of a tubular part and of telescopically retractable rods at its ends. Each edge of the driving deck of the railway wagon has longitudinal beams provided with holes, and the wheel chock is pushed into place in a hole in these beams in such a manner that one end of the wheel chock is pushed into a hole on one side, the length of the 2 wheel chock is reduced somewhat by taking advantage of its telescopic character, and the rod at the'other end is pushed into a hole on the other side. Such a telescopic rod extending from one side of an automobile to the other is long, relatively heavy, and its handling is cumbersome. For example, to move a rod this long from one place to another inside a railway wagon without denting the automobiles or the wagon, as well as to put the rod in place, is barely possible. Since the rod extends directly from one side of the automobile to the other, and since the longitudinal beams may have holes only at certain intervals, consequently the wheel chock cannot be tightened against the wheels of the vehicle, whereupon there is left some room for the automobile to move, in which case it will, upon a sudden change of speed, gain impetus and may break the wheel chocks and vehicles close by, and may also itself be damaged.

The object of the invention is to provide a wheel chock of low weight and small size and therefore easy to transfer to those places where it is required. Another object of the invention is a wheel-chock structure by means of which a vehicle can be secured tightly in place in order to effectively prevent it from moving. Another object of the invention is a wheel-chock structure the operation of which is not hampered by slight surface damage, impurities, or the like. A further object of the invention is a wheel-chock structure which is simple and economical in price.

The above disadvantages can be eliminated and the objects defined above can be achieved using a wheel-chock structure according to the invention, which is characterized in what is defined in the characterizing clause of Claim 1.

It is an advantage of the invention that by means of a wheel chock according to it an automobile can be locked tightly in place, whereupon it cannot move and become damaged or damage other automobiles. It is a further advantage of the invention 3 that this tight support can be achieved with relatively slight force and that the wheel chock is also otherwise easy to handle.

The invention is described below in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 depicts in general a taheel-chock pair, from one side of an automobile.

Figures 2A and 2B depict front and top views of one embodiment of the wheel- chock according to the invention.

Figures 3A and 3B depict front and top views of another embodiment of the wheel chock according to the invention.

Figure I shows a telescopic wheel-chock structure according to the invention, in use on the left side of an automobile. There is, of course, a corresponding wheel-chock structure on the right side of the automobile in order to prevent movement of the right-side wheels of the automobile. For the left-side wheels of the automobile there are thus at least two rows 6a and 6b of locking holes 5 in the longitudinal direction of the wagon. For the right-side wheels of the automobile there are also at least two similar rows 7a and 7b of locking holes 5, not shown in Figure 1. According to the invention, in both pairs of locking-hole rows the first rows of holes 6a and 7a are between the vehicle wheel tracks, i.e. between the rightside and left-side wheels of the automobile, and the second rows of holes 6b and 7b are located outwardly from the wheel tracks, i.e. in alignment with the sides of the automobiles or substantially outward from them. The actual wheel chock I is made up of a tubular frame 2 and of a rod 3 which is pushable into it and springed with a spring means 4, shown schematically in Figures 2 and 3, relative to the frame 2 in such a manner that the spring tends to eject the rod 3 telescopically outward 4 from the tube 2, but at the same time the rod 3 can be retracted, at least over some'distance, into the tube 2 against the spring force of the spring 4. The wheel chock 1 additionally has ends 8 and 9 the diameter of which is substantially greater than the diameter of the locking holes 5 in the hole rows 6a, b and 7a, b. Furthermore, the ends 8, 9 have pins 10, 11 which preferably project in parallel to the wheel chock and are thinner than it. The diameter of these pins 10, 11 for its part is clearly smaller than the diameter of the said locking holes 5 in such a manner that the pins 10 and 11 can push into the holes 5 and tilt in them so that the wheel chock lengthwise will form a substantial angle to the axes of the holes 5, as can be seen in Figures 2B and 3B. One preferred shape of the inner-end pin 10 is such that in the cylindrical pin the tip part is almost the size of the hole 5 and the base is thinner. The thin base will allow the pin to turn and, when in a tilted position, the thicker tip part will resist being pulled out.

The fitting of the wheel chock in place is carried out as follows. one end 8 or 9 of the wheel chock 1, or the pin 10 or 11 at this end, is most preferably pushed in the first hole row 6a or 7a into a hole 5 which is suitably adjacent to the automobile wheel P, as can be seen in Figures 2B and 3B. Thereafter the wheel chock 1 is turned in the horizontal plane against the automobile wheel P, preferably so that the tyre of the wheel will compress slightly at the wheel chock, as can be seen in Figures 2B and 3B. Thereafter the rod 3 of the wheel chock is pressed slightly inward and the other end 9 or respectively 8 of the wheel chock, or the pin 11 or respectively 10 at the said end, is pressed into the closest hole 5 at this point in the hole row 6b or 7b. The wheel chock can, of course, be fitted in place in a reverse order with respect to the hole rows, but that is more difficult. In this manner, wheel chocks are fitted in place against all four wheels of the automobile. Since the wheel chock can be placed at a position which is tilted more or less than shown in Figures 2B and 3B, or even in a position tilted in the opposite direction, each wheel of the automobile can be secured tightly in place, since there are for each wheel chock 1 a large number of hole combinations of the first and the second rows of holes. Therefore all the wheels of an automobile can also be locked tightly in place even if the automobile is driven to one side or into a diagonal position, or if its turning wheels are turned into a diagonal position.

Since, when the wheel chock 1 is being fitted in place, it serves as a single-arm lever in which the fulcrum point is formed in a hole in the first hole row 6a or 7a, and the wheel P serves in a manner as a load, and since the arm length from the wheel to the second hole row 6b or 7b is greater than from the first hole row 6a, 7a to the wheel, a greater force is obtained for tightening the wheel than with any previously known structure. According to the invention, this is implemented in such a manner that the first hole rows 6a and 7a are placed as close as possible to the wheel track R of the automobiles to be loaded, i.e. as wide apart as possible. In this case it is, of course, necessary to take into account the smallest gauge of the automobiles to be loaded, and the hole row in question is placed next to it. The second hole rows 6b and 7b, for their part, are placed as close to the outer edge of the wagon as possible, in which case the distance between the first hole row 6a or 7a and the wheel track R on the corresponding side is substantially smaller than the distance between the same wheel track and the second hole row 6b or 7b. it is clear that the ratio of these distances varies somewhat accordina to the gauges of the automobiles. but. nevertheless the lever effect is retained, since an automobile coming very close to the inner width of the wagon cannot be loaded and since the gauge is in any case clearly less than the total width of the automobile. ItC is clear that, if there are more wheels than four in an automobile or a vehicle combination, wheel chocks can be used at each wheel, depending on the situation.

6 Figures 2a, b and 3a, b depict embodiments of the invention slightly deviating from each other. In them the outermost, socalled second hole rows 6b and 7b, have been formed in the edge profile 14 of the raisable intermediate deck or in a U-profile 15 attached to this edge profile. Respectively, in the case of a fixed driving deck, these second hole rows can be formed either in a beam in the wall structure or in a U-profile or the like connected to the wall structures. The first locking-hole rows 6a and 7a can be shaped either directly on the wagon floor in a manner not depicted in the figures, for example, in a longitudinal elevation in the floor or, alternatively, in a longitudinal profile 12 or the like connected to the floor, as shown in Figures 2A and 3A.

In the longitudinal direction of the wagon the first and second rows may be either continuous or intermittent as in Figure 1. For vehicles of considerably varying sizes it is also possible to provide parallel first and/or second hole rows at different heights.

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Claims

Claims 1. A telescopic wheel-chock structure in which the wheel chock (1)

comprises a tubular frame (2) and a rod (3) telescopically retractable into it and ejectively springed relative to it, and in which the wheel chock is locked at both its ends to locking holes (5) in rails connected at least to the wagon floor, the holes being located in rows parallel to the longitudinal direction of the wagon, characterized in that for the left-side wheels of the vehicle there are at least two rows (6a, 6b) of locking holes (5) parallel to the longitudinal direction of the wagon, and for the right-side wheels of the vehicle there are also at least two rows of locking holes parallel to the longitudinal direction of the wagon, that in both pairs of locking-hole rows the first rows (6a, 7a) of holes are between the wheel tracks of the vehicles and the second rows (6b, 7b) are substantially outward from the wheel tracks, and that the locking holes (5) are sufficiently large to allow the ends (8, 9) of the wheel chock (1) to settle at a tilted position in a hole, whereupon the locking of the wheel chock is preferably effected by pushing its one end into a hole in the turning the wheel chock to press first hole row (6a, 7a), by t against a tyre of the vehicle, and by pushing its other end into a hole in the second hole row (6b, 7b).
2. A wheel-chock structure according to Claim 1, characterized in that for each vehicle there is provided at least four wheel chocks (1) of the said type.
3. A wheel-chock structure according to Claim 1, characterized in that from each end (8, 9) of the wheel chock (1) there projects a pin (10, 11) substantially parallel to the wheel chock and thinner than it, and that the diameter of the locking holes (5) is greater than the pin thickness but smaller than the wheel-chock thickness.

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4. A wheel-chock structure according to Claim 1, characterized in that the first locking-hole rows (6a, 7a) are shaped either directly in the wagon floor, for example in a longitudinal elevation in it, or in a longitudinal profile (12) connected to the floor.
5. A wheel-chock structure according to Claim 1, charac:terized in that the distance between a first hole row (6a, 7a) and the automobile wheel track (R) on the respective side is on average substantially smaller than the distance between the second hole row (6b, 7b) and the wheel track (R) on the respective side.

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