GB2431630A

GB2431630A - Tipping trailer with ramp

Info

Publication number: GB2431630A
Application number: GB0612309A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Samuel Hughes
Original assignee: REDROCK ENGINEERING Ltd
Current assignee: REDROCK ENGINEERING Ltd
Priority date: 2005-06-21
Filing date: 2006-06-21
Publication date: 2007-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-21
Also published as: GB2431630B; IES20050415A2; GB0612309D0; IE20060467A1

Abstract

A trailer 1 comprises a body portion 2 a container portion having a floor 10 and walls 8, 9 defining a storage area mounted on the body portion 2 and pivotable relative thereto to enable tipping of a load from a rear end of the container portion and a floor extension 11 extending rearwardly from the container portion and moveable between a first position (figure 2) defining, with the walls 8, 9, the storage area and a second position forming at least a portion of a ramp facilitating access to the storage area. The body portion 2 may have a stepped section 4 at the rear of the trailer above which the floor extension 11 may be pivotally mounted. The ramp may be increased in length by the attachment of a further section 15. The floor extension may be moved by hydraulic rams 13. Trailer is suitable for use as a low loader with floor extension 11 in the second position (figure 3), a flat bed trailer with floor extension 11 in a third position coplanar with floor 10 (figure 4) and a rear tipping dump trailer with floor extension 11 in the first position (figure 2).

Description

A TRAILER

The invention relates to a trailer and in particular to a multi-purpose trailer for use in transporting and unloading materials and machinery.

Conventional dumping or tipping trailers generally comprise a container portion with fixed front and side walls. Material stored in the container portion is typically discharged from the rear of the trailer. Such tipping trailers usually have a rear scow end to increase the rear height of the container allowing stockpiling of material within the container and preventing accidental discharge of material during transportation. A scow end is essentially an open end having an enlarged edge extending upwardly and outwardly from the base of the container. With the container in a horizontal position, the scow end effectively closes the rear of the container. A drawback of the scow end is that due to the height of the enlarged edge it prevents rear loading of wheeled or tracked equipment. It is not practical to use a ramp assembly in association with a scow end as smooth alignment between the ramp assembly and container base is prevented due to the incline of the scow end.

It is well known for tipping trailers to have rear doors which are pivotally mounted to the container portion of the trailer. Typically, such rear doors are hingeably connected to the upper or rear edges of the container portion and are arranged to pivot outwardly of the trailer. Means for actuating the rear door to an open position may be provided by hydraulic, pneumatic or other suitable means. One problem associated with such doors is that they can be prevented from closing fully by any material which projects beyond the rear end of the trailer. Furthermore, if it is desired to have full open access to the rear of the container, removal of the rear door and any actuating means is usually required which is a complicated and time consuming process.

EP 1256485 Al discloses a tipping trailer having a rear scow end from which material is unloaded by upwardly and rearwardly tipping the container of the trailer. A front wall of the trailer's container portion disposed opposite to the scow end is movable between a first position forming the front wall of the container portion, and a second position forming a ramp allowing access to the container by wheeled or tracked equipment when the trailer is unhitched from a towing vehicle.

EP 0956996 A2 discloses a rear dump trailer having a mouth for discharging a load contained in the trailer and a closure member for closing the mouth. Means for selectively actuating the closure into a closed state in response to movement of the container portion of the trailer into a horizontal position are provided.

Tipping trailers are limited in what they can carry as they are normally loaded by a loading vehicle which drops the load from a height above the trailer. In the case of heavy loads this can result in damage to the trailer. Low loaders are purpose built trailers used to transport steel or rubber tracked excavators off-site. Such trailers have ramps located at the rear of the trailer which are lowered to allow loading of an excavator. Flat bed trailers are a widely used trailer type and are flexible in the load type they can carry as loading is performed from an open rear end of the trailer. Commonly, a number of trailers are required to perform specific functions on a building site. A trailer providing the functionality of a low loader, a flat bed trailer and a rear tipping dump trailer is desirable.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved multi-purpose trailer which overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior art mentioned above.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved trailer suitable for carrying a variety of loads and functioning as a low loader, a flat bed trailer and a rear tipping dump trailer.

Accordingly, the invention provides a trailer comprising, a body portion and a container portion having a floor and walls for defining a storage area, the container portion being mountable on the body portion and pivotable relative thereto such as to enable unloading of the storage area from a rear end of the container portion; wherein the trailer further comprises a floor extension extendable from the container portion and moveable between a first position defining, with the floor and walls of the container portion, a storage area, and a second position forming at least a portion of a ramp facilitating access to the storage area.

The floor extension is disposable at any angle between the first and second positions.

Conveniently, the floor extension is disposable in a horizontal position, substantially co-planar with the floor of the container portion. Thus, the trailer can function as a flat-bed trailer for long loads requiring support over an extended proportion of their length.

Thus, the trailer of the invention provides an advantage in that a multi-purpose trailer suitable for use as a low loader, a flat bed trailer and a rear-tipping dump trailer is provided.

A dump trailer is traditionally built with an upward sloping or raised scow' at the rear to retain the load. A ramp trailer is traditionally built with a downward sloping beaver tail' at the rear to aid loading. The trailer of the invention combines the features of a traditional dump trailer with those of a traditional ramp trailer to provide the advantageous 3 in 1 functionality mentioned previously (low loader, flat bed trailer and rear-tipping dump trailer). It is also possible to have a trailer according to the invention with 2 in 1 functionality, namely a combined flat bed trailer and rear-tipping dump trailer.

Advantageously, the body portion includes a stepped section disposed at a rear end of the trailer. This allows movement of the floor extension to a second position forming at least a portion of a ramp facilitating access to the container storage area.

Preferably, the floor extension is pivotally mounted to a section of the floor of the container portion above the stepped section. The floor extension extends rearwardly from the container portion above a lower half of the stepped section.

Preferably, the floor extension, when in the first position, forms a rear wall of the container portion. Thus, the trailer can function as a rear-tipping dump trailer.

Optionally, a ramp assembly is attachable to the trailer with the floor extension in the second position. Thus, the trailer can function as a low loader.

Advantageously, the length of the floor extension is alterable.

Conveniently, means for pivoting the container portion relative to the body portion is provided by hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, mechanical or other suitable means.

Similarly, means for pivoting the floor extension relative to the floor of the container portion and between positions is provided by hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, mechanical or other suitable means.

Advantageously, raising or lowering the floor extension during tipping varies the tip height of the trailer by the height of the sides of the container portion.

The invention will hereinafter be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example only, one embodiment of a multi-purpose trailer for use in transporting and unloading materials. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a trailer according to the present invention in a first position; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the trailer of Figure 1 with a floor extension disposed in a first position; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the trailer of Figure 1 with the floor extension disposed in a second position; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the trailer of Figure 1 with the floor extension disposed in a third position; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the trailer of Figure 4 is a tipping/unloading position; and Figure 6 is a cross sectional side view of the trailer of Figure 3 in which a ramp assembly is attached to the trailer.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figures 1 and 2 there is illustrated a trailer according to the present invention indicated generally by reference numeral 1. The trailer comprises a body portion in the form of a bottom chassis 2, a top chassis 3 and a stepped section 4 connecting the bottom and top chassis at the rear of the trailer. The bottom chassis 2 is adapted for engagement with a vehicle (not shown) by means of a draw bar 5. The stepped section 4 is pivotally mounted at a tipping axis 6 with the bottom chassis 2. A container portion 7 is mounted to the top chassis 3 and acts as a receptacle, into which materials are loaded for transport by the trailer 1. The container portion 7 comprises a front wall 8, side walls 9 and a floor in the form of a base 10.

A floor extension 11 extends outwardly from the base 10 at the rear of the trailer and is moveable between a first position as illustrated in Figure 2 and a second position as illustrated in Figure 3. In the first position, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the floor extension 11 extends to the top of side walls 9 forming a rear wall 12 of the container portion oppositely disposed to the front wall 8. In the second position, as shown in Figure 3, the floor extension 11 extends from the base 10 to a point above the tipping axis 6 of the trailer and rests substantially against the incline of the stepped section 4. In a third position, as shown in Figure 4, the floor extension 11 is disposed in a horizontal position, substantially co-linear with the base 10. A drive means in the form of a ram 13 is adapted and arranged to move the floor extension 11 between the positions detailed above. In a preferred embodiment the ram 13 is powered by a hydraulic circuit. However, it is to be understood that any other suitable means apart from a ram employing hydraulics can be used to raise and lower the floor extension between positions.

A further drive means in the form of a tipping ram 14 is adapted and arranged to raise the top chassis 3 from a transport position as illustrated in Figure 2, in which the bottom chassis 2 is adjacent to the top chassis 3, and a tipping position as illustrated in Figure 5, in which the top chassis 3 is at an angle with respect to the bottom chassis 2.

The floor extension 11 is operable to move between positions at the same time as the tipping ram 14 is acting to move the container portion 7 of the trailer into a tipping position.

As a result the tip height of the trailer can be controlled by selectively raising or lowering the floor extension between positions during tipping. This is particularly useful when tipping on uneven ground where it is important to keep the tipping angle as small as possible. Lowering the floor extension 11 to the second position before activating the tipping ram 14 to raise the container portion ensures that material will flow out more readily.

Referring now to Figure 6 a ramp assembly 15 is shown attached to the rear of the trailer 1. Before attaching the ramp assembly the floor extension 11 is disposed in the second position as shown in Figure 3. The ramp assembly 15 is aligned and secured to the free end 16 of the floor extension forming a smooth transition between the ramp assembly 15, the floor extension 11 and the base 10. This allows easy access into (he container portion 7 of the trailer by wheeled or tracked equipment. When loading equipment on uneven ground, the tipping ram 14 may be activated to raise the top chassis 3 slightly before lowering the top chassis into a transport position when the piece of wheeled or tracked equipment has been moved substantially onto the ramp assembly and floor extension.

The trailer will now be described in use.

With the floor extension 11 in the first position the trailer is operable as a conventional dump trailer. The floor extension 11 acts as the rear wall 12 or tail door and the trailer is suitable for carrying loose loads such as stone and sugar beet without risk of spillage.

Material can be loaded into the container portion 7 from a height above the trailer.

Alternatively, in the case of heavy loads, the floor extension is lowered to the third position and is disposed horizontally. The load is set directly on the floor extension 11 and the base 10. By raising the floor extension slowly, the heavy load moves further into the container portion 7 minimizing the risk of damage to the trailer.

Similarly, in the case of building materials having a length greater than that of the trailer such as scaffolding and pipes, these materials can be loaded with the floor extension 11 in a horizontal position. The materials can be secured for transport by subsequently raising the floor extension to a suitable height.

By maintaining the floor extension in the third position, the trailer can function as a conventional flat bed trailer suitable for carrying any number of different load types which can be readily loaded from the rear of the trailer.

With the floor extension 11 in the second position as shown in Figure 3 and the ramp assembly 15 secured at the rear of the trailer, the trailer is operable as a low loader for use in transporting wheeled or tracked equipment or machinery offsite. Such equipment or machinery can be driven directly into the container portion 7 of the trailer along the ramp assembly 15. The ramp assembly 15 is removed and the floor extension 11 is raised to the transport position when the equipment is in the container portion 7 of the trailer.

From the above discussion, it is clear that the trailer of the invention uniquely provides three modes of operation: Mode 1 The floor extension 11 is set in the first position (see Figure 2) and acts as a tail gate or rear wall to prevent load in the container spilling out. This enables the trailer to be safely loaded with and to transport loose loads.

Mode 2 The floor extension 11 is set in the third position (see Figure 4) and acts as an extension to the fixed floor of the container portion. This enables the trailer to be safely loaded with and to transport long loads, providing support to loads over a greater proportion of their length.

Mode 3 The floor extension 11 is set to the second position (see Figure 3) and acts as an extension to the removable ramps supplied with the trailer. This enables the trailer to be safely loaded with and to transport wheeled or tracked machines, providing a strong ramp of reduced gradient, the floor extension 11 acting as the upper portion of the ramp.

Variations and other modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A trailer comprising, a body portion; and a container

portion having a floor and walls for defining a storage area; the container portion mountable on the body portion and pivotable relative thereto such as to enable unloading of the storage area from a rear end of the container portion; wherein the trailer further comprises a floor extension extendable from the container portion and moveable between a first position defining, with the floor and walls of the container portion, a storage area, and a second position forming at least a portion of a ramp facilitating access to the storage area.

2. A trailer according to Claim 1, wherein said body portion includes a stepped section disposed at a rear end of the trailer.

3. A trailer according to Claim 2, wherein the floor extension is pivotally mounted to a section of the container portion floor above the stepped section.

4. A trailer according to Claim 3, wherein the floor extension extends rearwardly from the container portion above a lower half of the stepped section.

5. A trailer according to any preceding claim, wherein the floor extension is disposable at any angle between the first and second positions.

6. A trailer according to any preceding claim, wherein the floor extension, when in the first position, forms a rear wall of the container portion.

7. A trailer according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein a ramp assembly is attachable to the trailer with the floor extension in the second position.

8. A trailer according to any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the floor extension is disposable in a horizontal position, substantially co-planar with the floor of the container portion.

9. A trailer according to any preceding claim, wherein the length of the floor extension is alterable.

10. A trailer according to any preceding claim, including means for pivoting the container portion relative to the body portion and means for pivoting the floor extension relative to the floor of the container portion.

11. A trailer according to Claim 10, wherein the means for pivoting are hydraulic or pneumatic.

12. A trailer according to Claim 10, wherein the means for pivoting are electrical or mechanical.

13. A trailer according to Claim 6, especially a dump trailer.

14. A trailer according to Claim 7, especially a low loader.

15. A trailer according to Claim 8, especially a flat bed trailer.

16. A trailer, substantially in accordance with any of the embodiments herein described with reference to and/or as shown in the accompanying drawings.