GB2354744A

GB2354744A - A vehicle trolley

Info

Publication number: GB2354744A
Application number: GB0023804A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Pierre Riche
Original assignee: Prat & Cie Ets
Current assignee: Prat & Cie Ets
Priority date: 1999-09-30
Filing date: 2000-09-28
Publication date: 2001-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 2020-09-28
Also published as: ITTO20000909A0; DE10048754A1; DK200001440A; DE10048754B4; GB2354744B; SE519348C2; ES2187251A1; ITTO20000909A1; IT1320678B1; FR2799172A1; ES2187251B1; SE0003457L; FR2799172B1; SE0003457D0; GB0023804D0

Abstract

A trolley comprises a framework (1) which may be equipped at the front with a drive unit (2) driving a drive wheel (21) and at the rear with support wheels (41). The framework comprises two side arms (33), each of which is equipped with a support roller (34) which form a resting place for the front of the wheels (R) of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn. The arms (33) are spaced apart in accordance with the distance (L) between the wheels (R) of the vehicle. A crossbeam (4) which is of less width than the distance (L) has a pivoting member (42) in the form of a roller at each end. Jacks (44) are used to swing the pivoting members (42) round behind the wheels (R) of the vehicle after insertion of the trolley under the vehicle. Then a jack (45) is used to pull two sets of rollers (34, 42) together to slightly lift the vehicle off the ground to enable the vehicle to be moved around by the trolley.

Description

2354744 Vehicle troll The present invention is concerned with a trolley

for partially raising a vehicle by two wheels and for pulling the vehicle along for the purposes of parking or moving manoeuvres, which trolley comprises a framework equipped at the front with a drive unit having a drive wheel which is also a steered wheel and with a manoeuvring and steering linkage, and equipped to the rear with support wheels.

A trolley of this kind is used mainly to move cars as they come off the production line. At that moment, the vehicles coming off the production line have to be removed very quickly, without the vehicle being entered or its engine being turned on. The parking operations in a car park are then carried out using a trolley of this type. This trolley preferably takes the vehicle by the steered wheels so as to pull the vehicle along and park it in the place provided.

Furthermore, this trolley can also be used for the manoeuvring of vehicles generally when it is necessary to move them without having to start up their engine (car parks, garages, repair workshops, etc..) Trolleys of the type defined hereinabove are in existence, e.g. according to EP 0 442 874, which, on either side of the framework, substantially at a distance from the wheels of the vehicle to be transported, comprise a support member in the form of an inclined flat surface which usually starts close to the ground for receiving the wheel which corresponds to each wheel of the vehicle and which is pushed from behind by an actuating member.

When the wheel has rolled over the support surface, it leaves the ground, and the vehicle is then able to be transported.

Manufacture of the trolley is relatively complex and difficult precisely because of the surface in the form of a ramp which is needed to receive a vehicle wheel on each side. Moreover, the positioning of the wheel is relatively difficult because the wheel slips rather than rolls onto the slope-like support.

2 An aspect of the present invention is to address these problems, and it proposes the development of a vehicle trolley of the type defined hereinabove for manoeuvring and garaging operations, which permits easy positioning on the trolley of the vehicle which is to be transported.

To that end, the invention is concerned with a trolley having a framework comprising:

- two side arms, each one of which is equipped with a support which forms a front resting place for a wheel of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn, these side arms being distanced in accordance with the distance between the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn, a crossbeam which is less in width than the distance between the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn, and which has a pivoting member at each end, these two pivoting members being movable between a retracted position in which they are close enough together to pass into the gap between the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn and an active position which is parallel to the position of the supports of the side arms, in order to go behind the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn, an operating gear which is associated with the pivoting members for the purpose of pivoting them between their retracted position and their active position, - an operating gear which controls the moving together or moving apart of the crossbeam and of the side arms in order to raise the wheels of the vehicle or lower them to the ground.

The moving apart of the side edges and crossbearn with the pivoting members is controlled by the associated operating gear:

The side arms can be fixed and the pivoting members perform translatory movement. The reverse is also possible: the side arms being movable and the pivoting members being fixed in respect of translatory movement.

According to one advantageous feature, the crossbearn is movable telescopically in relation to the part of the framework which carries the side arms, and it is connected to the operating gear which is itself connected to a fixed point on the framework for the purpose of controlling the telescopic movement of the crossbeam in relation to the framework, by controlling the 3 coming together of the pivoting members which are placed behind the two wheels of the vehicle on the framework.

The wheel, or the two wheels, of the vehicle are simply gripped between each front resting place and the respective pivoting member, thereby producing a slight swinging movement of the wheels around the front resting place, resulting in them leaving the ground. That leaving the ground is sufficient for the manoeuvring operations. In a particularly advantageous way, the front resting place is constituted by a roller, thereby facilitating the pivotal movement of the tyre which becomes slightly embedded on that resting place as a result of the thrust of the pivoting member which has been pulled along by the crossbeam which has been moved by its operating gear.

It is also advantageous if the pivoting members comprise rollers which are preferably movable on their axis.

It is particularly worthwhile if the operating gears, both for the pivoting members as well as for the crossbeam, are hydraulic jacks, and if the drive unit is equipped with a hydraulic unit, but it can also be equipped with electric jacks or mechanical back-geared motors.

To withstand the thrust which can be exerted by the crossbeam against the back of the wheels of the vehicle which is to be raised, the arms of the front supports are connected to the framework by struts in the form of tubes which are inclined and at the same time form a guard and a member for protecting the person accompanying the trolley who is controlling the trolley using its linkage. In particular, these protection tubes prevent the trolley from damaging the heels of the operator.

Advantageously, each pivoting member is equipped with its operating gear, and the two operating gears are controlled synchronously. These operating gears simply control the pivotal movement of the pivoting members. They can therefore be relatively small in size because at the end of the trajectory when the pivoting members are in their active position they simply apply a torque in order to hold the pivoting members in that position whilst the raising force is being applied by the operating gear which acts on the crossbeam.

4 In order that the raising movement is performed in as simple a way as possible and with a force which is reduced to the minimum, it is worthwhile if the crossbearn is carried by two telescopic guide tubes associated with the framework.

There will now follow a more detailed description of a non-limiting preferred embodiment of the present invention, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figures IA, 1B and IC each show, respectively, a view in plan of the trolley according to the invention, in the position in which the trolley is engaging under the vehicle, in the position in which the wheels of the vehicle are engaged, and, finally, in the position in which the wheels of the vehicle are being raised, - Figures 2A and 2B are side views of the trolley according to the invention, corresponding to Figures 1 B and I C respectively.

According to Figures 1A, 2A, the vehicle transporter trolley is composed of a framework I which is equipped. at the front, with a drive unit 2, not shown in detail, with a drive wheel 21 which is also a steered wheel, and with a linkage 22 for guiding and controlling the drive unit and the various functions of the trolley. To the rear, the framework I is connected by means of telescopic guide tubes 3 to a crossbeam 4, which, for its part, is carried by wheels 41. Figure 2A shows a vehicle wheel R which is intended to be gripped by the trolley. In Figure 2A, the wheel R is still resting on the ground S, whereas in Figure 2B the wheel R is raised.

Figure 1A shows the tubular structure of the framework I with its two telescopic tubes formed by a fixed longitudinal tube 31 belonging to the skeleton of the framework and by a tube 32 which slides into the fixed tube. This arrangement is repeated symmetrically on each side of the plane surface or central axis XX of the trolley, like the other members of the trolley.

The framework comprises symmetrical side arms 3'), each one of which carries a front support 34 which is intended to abut on a wheel R of the vehicle. The side arms 33 are complemented by struts 35 which form at the same time protective tubes. These struts connect the end of each arm 33 to a front part of the framework in such a way that they are inclined relative to the longitudinal axis XX. These protective tubes 35 also offer protection to the operator of the trolley who may possibly be walking alongside the trolley while it is moving. At the front, the trolley also comprises two elastic abutments 23. These elastic abutments also allow the apparatus to be used secondarily as a vehicle pushing device by bearing upon the vehicle bumpers without damaging them.

To the rear, the crossbeam 4 is formed by a tubular frame which is connected to the two telescopic tubes 32. This crossbeam 4 is supported by the two wheels 41. The width L of the crossbeam is less than the distance between the wheels of the vehicles which are to be transported.

At the rear end on either side, the crossbeam 4 is equipped with a pivoting member 42 which is movable about a hinge 43 and is controlled by an operating gear 44, one end of which is connected substantially to the centre of the crossbearn 4, and the other end of which acts upon a lug 421 of the pivoting member 42.

Figure 1 A shows the pivoting members 42 in the position of rest, that is to say aligned parallel to the central plane XX of the trolley. In that position, the pivoting members 42 do not exceed the width of the crossbearn 4.

The crossbeam 4 is equipped with an operating gear 45 which bears upon the front of the framework. This operating gear 45 is able to move the crossbeam 4 along the two-directional arrow A between a retracted position, shown by a solid line in Figure 1A, and a protruding position, shown by a broken line. The operating gears 44, 45 are hydraulic jacks which are supplied separately from a hydraulic unit of the trolley. This hydraulic unit is not shown.

Starting from the position shown in Figure IA, in order to move a vehicle one commences with a reversing manoeuvre, the trolley being between the wheels of the vehicle which is to be transported. To that end, the crossbearn 4 is moved back, and the crossbeam is engaged with the trolley underneath the vehicle until the front supports 34 are abutting on the wheels R of the vehicle. The pivoting members 42 are then acted upon in order to bring them into an active position by the jacks 44 (arrow B). This position can be seen in Figure 1B. The pivoting members 42 are then placed behind the two wheels of the vehicle. Conventionally, each wheel R is shown by a rectangle. In fact, the rectangle corresponds simply to the horizontal section of the wheel which is substantially level with the resting place 34 and the 6 pivoting member 42. In reality, the large horizontal diameter of the wheel passes beyond the members 34, 42 to the front and back.

In that position, the front supports 34 are usually in a resting place on the front of the wheels R since the trolley has been brought into position thus. However, in this reference position of the trolley, the pivoting members are not necessarily already bearing against the front of the wheels R. This depends upon the diameter of the wheels. By retracting the jack 45 (arrow C), the pivoting members 42 are advanced by means of the crossbeam 4 in order to bring the crossbeam 4 into the position shown in Figure I C. In that position, the pivoting members 42 are sufficiently close to the front supports 34 to raise each wheel R. That raising is performed by a sort of swinging or pivotal movement of a load about the front resting place 34 and/or about the rear resting place formed by the pivoting members 42.

The vehicle can then be moved.

After that manoeuvre, the trolley is released by firstly pushing the crossbeam 4 with the hydraulic jack 45 in order to place the wheels R on the ground. Then, the pivoting members 42 are retracted, thereby making it possible to withdraw the trolley from beneath the vehicle.

Claims

7 CLAIMS

1. A trolley for partially raising a vehicle by two wheels and for pulling it along for the purpose of parking or moving manoeuvres, wherein the trolley comprises a framework equipped at the front with a drive unit having a drive and steered wheel with a manoeuvring and steering linkage, and equipped towards the rear with support wheels, the framework comprising: two side arms each one of which is equipped with a support which forms a front resting place for a wheel of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn, these side arms being spaced apart in accordance with the distance between the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolleydrawn, a crossbeam which is of less width than the distance between the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn, and which has a pivoting member at each end, these pivoting members being movable between a retracted position in which they are close enough together to pass into the gap between the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn and an active position which is generally parallel to the position of the supports of the side arms, in order to go behind the wheels of the vehicle which is to be trolley-drawn, a first operating mechanism which is associated with the pivoting members for the purpose of pivoting them between their retracted position and their active position, and a second operating mechanism which controls the moving together or moving apart of the crossbeam and of the side arms in order to raise the wheels of the vehicle or lower them to the ground.

2. A trolley according to claim 1, wherein the crossbearn is movable telescopically in relation to the part of the framework which carries the side arms, and is connected to the second operating mechanism which is itself connected to a fixed point on the framework for the purpose of controlling the telescopic movement of the crossbeam in relation to the side arms.

3. A trolley according to claim I or 2, wherein the crossbearn is equipped with the support wheels.

4. A trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein the supports of the side arms are rollers.

8

5. A trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein the pivoting members comprise rollers.

6. A trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein the operating mechanisms are hydraulicjacks.

7. A trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein the ends of the side arms are connected to a front part of the framework by struts which are inclined, in a plane which is generally horizontal, relative to the longitudinal axis of the trolley.

8. A trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein the crossbeam is connected to the main part of the framework by means of two telescopic guide tubes.

9. A trolley for lifting a vehicle at a first end of the vehicle via a pair of laterally spacedapart wheels of the vehicle, comprising: a trolley base having a first pair of laterally spaced-apart wheel rests for supporting front sides of the vehicle wheels when the trolley is inserted under the first end of the vehicle, and a second pair of laterally spaced-apart wheel rests pivotable from an inboard configuration which permits their insertion past the wheels to a deployed outboard configuration for supporting rear sides of the vehicle wheels; and mechanism means for pivoting the second wheel rests from the inboard to the deployed outboard configuration and moving the first and second wheel rests closer together to lift the wheels of the vehicle off the ground.

10. A trolley substantially as herein described with reference to, or with reference to and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.