GB2359530A - Securing wheels of a vehicle supported on a trailer - Google Patents

Abstract

A wheel support, e.g. for securing each of a pair of the wheels of a vehicle on a trailer towed by a recovery vehicle, comprises a base plate 20 on which the wheel 24 rests, and front and rear pivoted tubular securing bars 26, 27 which are brought into engagement with the front and rear of the wheel to hold it in position. The pivots incorporate ratchets 11 to prevent the bars pivoting away from the wheel. A securing strap 23 may also be used to further secure the wheel.

Description

2359530 1 SUPPORT The present invention relates to a support, and in

particular to a support for a wheel. The invention is of particular use when supporting a vehicle by its wheels, for example on a trailer for recovery of a broken down vehicle.

Various vehicle recovery trailers and hoists are known which support the front or rear wheels of a broken down vehicle above the ground, allowing the vehicle to be towed. In each of these, a platform or wheel pan is provided to support the wheels of the vehicle. The other wheels of the broken down vehicle remain on the road surface. Conventionally, such wheel pans include a generally flat or slightly depressed plate on which the wheels of the vehicle sit. Especially as the wheels of the vehicle are generally free to turn, which must usually be the case as some of the wheels of the vehicle run on the road surface, there is a risk that the wheels will roll off the wheel pan. Therefore, it is usual to provide a strap over the top of the wheel that is tightened, for example using a ratchet mechanism, to hold the wheel in place. However, it is not satisfactory to rely on such a strap to hold a vehicle in place.

It is also possible to provide wheel pans having an increased depth depression such that the wheel sits deeper in the wheel pan. In this case, for the wheel to turn out of the wheel pan, the weight of the vehicle must be overcome, making this arrangement more secure. A strap can also be used to help hold the wheel in place.

This arrangement does have some disadvantages. Due to the increased depth of the wheel pan, additional force is required to pull the vehicle onto the recovery trailer so the wheel can sit in the depression in the pan, and additional force is required to remove the vehicle from the trailer after it has 2 been recovered, due to the need to lift the wheels over the edge of the depression. Furthermore, for some applications the additional height of the wheel pans required to permit the additional depth within which the wheels sit is disadvantageous. In our earlier British Patent Application No. 0000890.4, we disclose a recovery vehicle in which the trailer is stowed in the body of the vehicle, and which is deployed when required. In this case, the trailer must be as small as possible so as not to take up too much room within the vehicle. In particular, the trailer must be sufficiently small that it can be retracted under the main storage area of the vehicle. In such applications, the increased height required to provide a deep depression for receiving a wheel may not be available.

Although one of the main uses of the present invention lies in the support of wheels of recovered vehicles, the support has many other applications. For example, the wheel support may be used on the back of a lorry, truck or other vehicle on which a smaller vehicle is to be carried to support the wheels of the carried vehicle whilst ensuring that the carried vehicle remains securely in place. For example, the support may be provided on the back of a lorry for carrying smaller machinery, such as a lift truck, tractor or excavator, or on a car transporter.

According to the present invention, a wheel support comprises a base plate, a front contact member mounted towards the front of the support and a rear contact member mounted towards the rear of the support, such that, in use, the wheel is positioned on the base plate and at least one of the front and rear contact members is moved to contact the front or rear of the wheel respectively, and a locking means arranged to lock the front and rear contact members in contact with the wheel.

3 With the arrangement according to the present invention, the contact members may be moved, preferably pivoted, away from the base plate when the wheel is to be positioned on the support. In this way, the wheel is able to roll onto a generally flat surface, therefore requiring minimum effort to move the wheel onto the support. Then, one or both contact members can be pivoted into contact with the front and rear of the wheel, and locked in position. This ensures that the wheel cannot move within the support. When the wheel is to be removed, the contact members may be unlocked and pivoted away from contact with the wheel, allowing the wheel to freely roll from the base plate without requiring additional effort to lift the wheel over a lip. Pivoting of the contact members is preferred as this allows the members to contact the wheel irrespective of the size of the wheel.

Preferably, both the front and rear contact members are pivotally connected to the support, allowing both of them to pivot into contact with the wheel. It is advantageous that the rear contact member is able to pivot to allow the wheel to roll onto the base plate without-being impeded by the contact member. It is advantageous for the front contact member to be able to pivot as this ensures this does not contact the front underside of the body of a vehicle on which the wheel is provided as the vehicle is moved onto the support. It is preferred that both the front and the rear contact members are able to pivot as this allows the wheel support to lie flat when not in use, thereby taking up the minimum space.

The front and rear contact members are preferably in the form of elongate bars extending substantially across the width of the wheel support, and mounted by arms to a pivot. In this case, the elongate bars are able to contact the wheel across its entire width to help hold this in place. The elongate bars are preferable formed from tubular metal which ensures the 4 bars are strong and lightweight, yet due to their shape do not damage the supported wheel.

Preferably the base plate is generally flat to allow the wheel to be easily rolled onto and off the support. However, the base plate may include a small depression to assist in the centring of the wheel on the support. The base plate is preferable inclined slightly to the horizontal, with the front end raised higher than the rear end, thereby assisting in the removal of the wheel from the support.

It is preferred that the locking means is such that it permits movement of the 10 contact members towards the wheel, but prevents movement of the contact members away from the wheel when in the locked condition.

The locking means is preferably in the form of a ratchet that allows the contact members to pivot towards the wheel, but prevents the contact members pivoting away from the wheel. In this way, it is simple to pivot the contact members to contact the wheel and hold this in place, but prevents accidental loosening of the support of the wheel. In this case, to remove the wheel, the catch engaging the teeth of the ratchet may be moved out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet, allowing the contact members to be pivoted away from the wheel.

It is preferred that a strap is provided over the wheel. This helps hold the wheel in place, as is known in the art. Additionally, the strap can act on the contact members to pull these into contact with the wheel, especially in the case where the locking means permits movement of the contact members towards the wheel. The strap can be attached to the rear contact member, to extend over the wheel and the front contact member, and be fixed to the front of the support. The strap may be tightened by any conventional means.

It is preferred that, when not in use, the front and rear contact members may be pivoted to lie on the base plate. In this way, when not supporting a wheel, the support is generally flat and has a small depth, making it suitable for storage in confined or limited spaces.

The wheel support is advantageously used on a trailer or other vehicle support for a recovery vehicle. In this case, it is preferred that the trailer.includes two supports, one for each of the two front or rear wheels of a vehicle to be recovered.

Especially in the case of a trailer, where the wheel supports are themselves supported on a wheeled frame above ground level, a ramp is provided from the ground level to the base plate of the wheel support. In this case, the ramp may be attached to the rear contact member, or the pivot used to support the rear contact member.

An example of the present invention will be described in accordance with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a vehicle recovery trailer to which the support of the present invention may be applied; Figure 2 shows a side view of an example of the present invention supporting a wheel; Figure 3 shows a front view of the support of Figure 2; and, Figure 4 shows an enlarged view of a ratchet locking system for use with the present invention.

6 As shown in Figure 1, the wheel support of the present invention may be used on a trailer for the recovery of broken down vehicles, such as that disclosed in our co-pending British Patent Application 0000890.4. The support may be used with other trailers or hoists for vehicle recovery, or for other purposes 5 where wheels, especially vehicle wheels, need to be supported.

In the example shown in Figure 1, the trailer is of a generally T-shape. The stem of the T-shape forms a towing member 1 that is retractable and fixable to the towing vehicle. The cross-member 2 of the T-shape includes a wheel 3 at either end, and wheel supports 4 to receive the wheels of a broken down vehicle that is to be recovered.

The wheels 3 and wheel supports 4 are each mounted to a member 5 that is mounted telescopically on the cross-member 2 of the trailer, allowing the relative distance between the wheels 3 and the relative distance between the wheel supports 4 to be varied. This is advantageous as it allows the trailer to be used to recover vehicles of different widths. For vehicles of different widths, the space between the front wheels of the vehicle will be different. Therefore, by varying the width between the wheel supports 4 of the trailer that support the wheels of the vehicle during recovery, different width vehicles may be recovered using the same trailer. Without this feature, it would be necessary to increase the width of the wheel supports 4 to allow these to align with the wheels of the vehicle, therefore increasing the size and weight of the trailer.

Each wheel 3 is connected to the member 5 by a pivotal coupling 6 that enables the wheels 3 to self-steer. The longitudinal plane of the wheels 3 are angled inwardly at a small camber angle to help reduce wear of the tyres, and to assist with the self-centring of the wheels. Each wheel 3 is mounted on an axle that is supported by a first support 10 of the pivotal coupling 6. This is coupled to a second support 11, provided co- axially with the first support 10, 7 and attached thereto by a king pin, allowing relative rotational movement between the first and second supports 10, 11. The second support 11 is fixed to the member 5. The axis of the pivotal connection between the first and second support 10, 11 is angled outwardly. This arrangement is similar to the self-centring arrangement of vehicles, such as lorries.

The wheel support 4 is shown in greater detail in Figures 2 and 3. The support 4 includes a generally flat base plate 4 that is slightly inclined to the horizontal. A front contact member 21 is pivotally mounted on a pivot 25 towards the front of the support, and a similar rear contact member 22 is pivotally mounted towards the rear of the support. Each of the front and rear contact members 21, 22 includes a tubular cross bar 26, 27 connected to the pivot 25 by bent arms. As shown best in Figure 2, when a wheel 24 is rolled onto the base plate 20, the contact members 21, 22 are pivoted about the respective pivots 25 so the support bars 26, 27 contact the front and rear of the wheel 24 respectively.

As shown in detail in Figure 4, each pivot rod 25 is provided with a ratchet wheel 11, including a series of circumferential teeth 16, 17. A catch 12 is mounted pivotally about a pivot point 13, and includes a detent 15 to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 11. The catch 12 is biased by a spring 14 into engagement with the teeth 16, 17. In the example shown in Figure 4, the ratchet wheel 11, and therefore the pivot rod 25 and contact member (not shown in Figure 4) attached thereto, are able to freely rotate anti- clockwise (direction A as shown in Figure 4). In this case, the detent 15 on the catch 12 merely rides along the gently inclined surface 17 of the teeth. However, rotation in the opposite direction (direction B as shown in Figure 4) is prevented, since the detent 15 engages the sharp surface 16 of the teeth in this direction. Therefore, rotation of the ratchet wheel 11, and therefore pivoting of the contact member in one direction is prevented. To release the ratchet wheel 11, and allow movement of the contact member in the opposite 8 direction, the catch 12 is pulled out of engagement of the teeth 16 of the ratchet wheel, against the bias of the spring 14, allowing rotation of the ratchet wheel 11 in either direction. It will be appreciated that the direction in which the ratchet wheel 11 is able to turn is dependent upon the orientation of the teeth, and the positioning of the catch 12.

In use, the front and rear contact members 21, 22 are pivoted to a position below the base plate 20 of the support 4. A ramp 30 is hooked over the pivot 25 of the rear contact member 22 using a hook 31. The wheels 24 of the vehicle are then rolled onto the base plate 20. When the front of the vehicle has passed over the front contact member 21, this can be pivoted about the axis 25 until the cross bar 26 contacts the front of the wheel 24. The ratchet mechanism prevents the cross bar 26 moving away from contact with the wheel 24. In some cases, where the vehicle has a sufficiently high ground clearance, the front contact member 21 may be raised into position before the vehicle is rolled onto the support. The rear contact member 22 is similarly pivoted until the contact bar 27 is in contact with the rear of the wheel 24. Again, the ratchet mechanism ensures that the contact bar 27 remains in contact with the wheel 24. The ramp 30 may then be removed. A strap 23 is clamped to the rear cross bar 27, and passes over the top of the wheel 24 to the front of the support. The strap 23 is tightened, for example using a ratchet mechanism. This strap 23 helps hold the wheel 24 in place, and also pulls the rear contact member 22 into tighter contact with the wheel 24.

When the vehicle is to be removed, the strap 23 is removed and the catches 12 of the front and rear ratchet mechanisms are moved against the bias of the respective springs 14, disengaging the detents 15 from the teeth of the ratchet wheels 11. This allows the contact members 21, 22 to be pivoted away from the wheel 24, and allows the vehicle to be rolled off the support.

1 9

Claims (12)

1. A wheel support comprising a base plate, a front contact member mounted towards the front of the support and a rear contact member mounted towards the rear of the support, such that, in use, the wheel is positioned on the base plate and at least one of the front and rear contact members is moved to contact the front and rear of the wheel respectively, and a locking means arranged to lock the front and rear contact members in contact with the wheel.

2. A wheel support according to Claim 1, in which both the front and rear contact members are pivotally connected to the support, allowing both of them to pivot into contact with the wheel.

3. A wheel support according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the front and rear contact members are in the form of elongate bars extending substantially across the width of the wheel support.

4. A wheel support according to Claim 3 when dependent upon Claim 2, in which the elongate bars are mounted by arms to a pivot.

5. A wheel support according to Claim 3 or Claim 4, in which the elongate bars are formed from tubular metal.

6. A wheel support according to any one of the preceding Claims, in which the locking means permits movement of the respective contact member towards the wheel, but prevents movement of the respective contact member away from the wheel when in the locked condition.

7. A wheel support according to Claim 6, in which the locking means is in the form of a ratchet that allows the respective contact member to pivot towards the wheel, but prevents the respective contact member from pivoting away from the wheel.

8. A wheel support according to any one of the preceding Claims, in which a strap is provided which, in use, may extend over the wheel supported by the support.

9. A wheel support according to Claim 8, in which the strap can act on one or both contact members to pull the respective contact member into contact with a wheel supported by the support.

10. A wheel support substantially as shown in or as described with respect 10 to any of the accompanying drawings.

11. A trailer for towing or supporting a vehicle, including one or more wheel supports according to any one of the preceding Claims.

12. A trailer substantially as shown in or as described with respect to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.