GB2440675A

GB2440675A - A road vehicle with a demountable load carrier

Info

Publication number: GB2440675A
Application number: GB0715026A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Kelly
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-08-02
Filing date: 2007-08-02
Publication date: 2008-02-06
Anticipated expiration: 2027-08-02
Also published as: GB0715026D0; IES20070551A2; IE20070552A1; GB2440675B

Abstract

A road vehicle 1 has a wheeled chassis 2 with a load carrier 6 demountably secured on the chassis 2. The load carrier 6 has a mounting frame 7 for engagement with the chassis 2. A single ram operated mechanism 8 is operable to move the mounting frame 7 between a raised demounting position and a lowered chassis engaging position. A stand 10 is provided for supporting the load carrier 6 in a raised position thus facilitating change-over between different load-carriers 6. The ram operated mechanism is connected to a folding linkage mechanism comprising an inner link (15, figure 3) and an outer link (16), where the outer link slidably engages with an associated rubbing plate (26) on the underside of the mounting frame. Mounting brackets 41, 43, 45 may be provided on the mounting frame for engaging with corresponding pins 40, 42, 46 on the chassis.

Description

"A Road Vehicle"

Introduction

This invention relates to road vehicles.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention, there is provided a road vehicle having a wheeled chassis and a load carrier demountably secured on the chassis, the load carrier having a mounting frame for engagement with the chassis, ram means on the chassis, said ram means being operable to move the mounting frame between a raised demounting position and a lowered chassis engaging position, the ram means comprising a single ram operated mechanism on the chassis for engagement with the mounting frame intermediate a front end and a rear end of the mounting frame, and a stand for supporting the load carrier in the raised position.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the ram operated mechanism includes a ram which is operably connected to an associated folding linkage mechanism having an inner link and an outer link, each link having an inner end and an outer end, the inner end of the inner link being pivotally connected to the chassis, the outer end of the inner link being pivotally connected to the inner end of the outer link, the outer end of the outer link being engagable with the mounting frame, the ram having an inner end pivotally mounted on the chassis and an outer end pivotally connected to the outer link.

In another embodiment, a guide arm is pivotally connected to the outer link and extends to a pivot mount on the chassis.

In another embodiment, the inner end of the ram and the inner end of the inner link have a common pivot axis.

In a further embodiment, the ram is pivotally connected to the outer link intermediate the ends of the outer link.

In a further embodiment, a rear end of the mounting frame is pivotally engagable with a rear end of the chassis.

In another embodiment, a pair of downwardly depending mounting brackets are provided at a rear end of the mounting frame for engagement with complementary mounting pins which extend laterally outwardly at a rear end of the chassis below an upper support surface of the chassis upon which the mounting frame sits in the lowered position.

In another embodiment, the outer end of the outer link slidably engages an associated rubbing plate on the mounting frame.

In a further embodiment, rollers are provided at the outer end of the outer link for engaging the rubbing plate.

In another embodiment, the support stand comprises four legs, each having a ground-engaging upright post and an inwardly extending support arm, each support arm being slidably engagable with an associated socket on the mounting frame.

In another embodiment, the support stand has a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs, said rear legs being pivotally engagable with the mounting frame of the load carrier.

In another embodiment, each rear leg has a cylindrical support arm which is rotatably engagable with a complementary cylindrical socket on the mounting frame.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a road vehicle according to the invention, showing a load carrier of the vehicle in a demounted position; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view similar to Fig. 1 showing the load carrier in a partially lowered position on a chassis of the vehicle; Fig. 3 is a detail side elevational view showing a ram operated mechanism of the vehicle in use; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the ram operated mechanism; Fig. 5 is another perspective view of the ram operated mechanism; Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the ram operated mechanism; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the ram operated mechanism; Fig. 8 is an end elevational view of the ram operated mechanism; Fig. 9 is a detail elevational view of a rear pivot mount arrangement for the toad carrier; and Fig. 10 is a detail side elevational view showing a front mounting arrangement for the load carrier.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a road vehicle according to the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The road vehicle 1 has a chassis 2 mounted on wheels 3. An engine and driver's cab 4 are mounted at a front end of the chassis 2. A load carrier 6 associated with the chassis 2 is demountably secured on the chassis 2. The load carrier 6 includes a mounting frame 7 for engagement with the chassis 2. A ram operated mechanism, indicated generally by the reference numeral 8, is operable to move the mounting frame 7 between a raised demounting position, as shown in Fig. 1, and a lowered chassis engaging position in which the mounting frame 7 sits on top of the chassis 2 (Fig. 2 shows the mounting frame 7 partially lowered onto the chassis 2). A stand 10 is provided for supporting the load carrier 6 in the raised position as shown in Fig. 1.

The ram operated mechanism 8 includes a ram 14 which is operably connected to an associated folding linkage mechanism having an inner link 15 and an outer link 16.

An inner end 17 of the inner link 15 is connected by a pivot pin 18 to the chassis 2.

An outer end 19 of the inner link 15 is pivotally connected to an inner end 20 of the outer link 16 by a pivot pin 21. Rollers 25 are pivotally mounted at the outer end 23 of the outer link 16 and engage with a rubbing plate 26 on an underside of the mounting frame 7. A guide arm 28 is pivotally connected to the outer end 23 of the outer link 16 and extends to a pivot mount 29 on the chassis 2 spaced forwardly of the pivot mount 18. This guide arm 28 constrains the outer end 23 of the outer link 16 to move primarily in a vertical direction as the ram 14 is extended and retracted although the outer end 23 will of course move through an arc as the guide arm 28 pivots about the pivot mount 29.

The ram 14 has an inner end 32 pivotally connected to the pivot pin 18 on the chassis 2 and an outer end pivotally connected at 35 to the outer link 16 intermediate the inner end 20 and outer end 23 of the outer link 16. It will be noted from Fig. 4 that two pairs of links 15, 16 are provided with the ram 14 housed therebetween and operating both pairs of links 15, 16 together. Operation of the ram 14 moves the links 15, 16 between a folded stored position, as shown in Fig. 4, on the chassis 2 and an opened position as shown in Fig. 3 for raising and lowering the mounting frame 7 on the chassis 2.

Mounting pins 40 project laterally outwardly on opposite sides at a front end of the mounting frame 7. Each mounting pin 40 locates in an associated cradle 41 at a front end of the chassis 2. Similarly, central mounting pins 42 project laterally outwardly at opposite sides of the mounting frame 7 for engagement with associated intermediate cradles 43 on the chassis. At a rear end of the mounting frame 7, mounting brackets 45 are provided on each side of the mounting frame 7 for complementary engagement with associated mounting pins 46 which extend laterally outwardly at a rear end of the chassis 2 below an upper support surface 47 of the chassis 2 upon which the mounting frame 7 sits in the lowered position. Thus, the rear end of the mounting frame 7 is pivotally mounted on the chassis 2. Fig. 9 shows the arrangement in more detail. The mounting bracket 45 has an inverted U-shaped member 48 with an outwardly tapered mouth 49 for reception of the mounting pin 46 on the chassis 2. A locking pin 50 is engagable within associated through holes 51, 52 in the U-shaped member 48 to retain the pin 46 in engagement with the mounting bracket 45.

Fig. 10 shows the mounting arrangement between the front end of the chassis 2 and the front end of the mounting frame 7. The cradle 41 has a U-shaped receiver 55 with tapered inlet 56 for reception of the mounting pin 40 on the mounting frame 7. A locking pin 58 engages through holes 59 in the receiver 55 to lock the pin 40 in engagement with the receiver 55. The centre mount 42, 43 is of similar construction.

The support stand 10 comprises a pair of front ground engaging legs 60 and a pair of rear ground engaging legs 61. Each front leg 60 has an upright post 62 with an inwardly extending support arm which engages with a complementary receiver socket 63 on the mounting frame 7. Similarly, each rear leg 61 has an upright post 65 with a cylindrical support arm 66 at its upper end which engages within a complementary cylindrical socket 67 on the mounting frame 7, thus forming a pivot connection between the rear legs 61 and the mounting frame 7.

In use, Fig. 1 shows the mounting frame 7 supported on the support stand 10. The chassis 2 is reversed in under the mounting frame 7, as shown in Fig. 1. The ram 14 is operated to engage the rubbing plate 26 on the underside of the mounting frame 7 with the lifting mechanism 8. It will be noted that the rollers 25 engage the rubbing plate 26 on the front half of the mounting frame 7. As the rollers 25 move upwardly, the mounting frame 7 pivots about the socket 67 which engages the rear leg 61, lowering the rear mounting bracket 45 into engagement with the pins 46 on the chassis 2. The locking pins 50 are then inserted to pivotally secure the rear end of the mounting frame 7 on the chassis 2. The rear mounting legs 61 are then removed, pivoting the mounting frame 7 upwardly further, if required, to enable their removal. By retracting the ram 14, a front end of the mounting frame 7 pivots downwardly about pins 46 and the front legs 60 can be removed. Further retraction of the ram 14 lowers the mounting pins 40, 42 on the mounting frame 7 into their associated cradles 41, 43 on the chassis 2. After lowering the ram 14 fully, the mounting pins 40, 42 are secured in their cradles 41, 43 by the locking pins 58.

Removal of the load carrier 6 from the chassis 2 is the reverse of the above-mentioned procedure with the exception that the front legs 60 are mounted on the mounting frame 7 after the rear legs 61.

It will be appreciated that any suitable load carrier may be provided on the mounting frame 7. In the illustrations, a mixer bottle for cement has been shown. However, other types of load carriers may be provided, for example, a tipper body or a block body may alternatively be provided on a suitable mounting frame 7. Thus, advantageously the vehicle can be used for a number of different functions by simply changing the load carrier 6 as required.

Advantageously only a single ram is required to allow changing of the load carriers on the vehicle chassis. The system is relatively simple allowing cheap manufacture and simple reliable operation in use.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A road vehicle having a wheeled chassis and a load carrier

demountably secured on the chassis, the load carrier having a mounting frame for engagement with the chassis, ram means on the chassis, said ram means being operable to move the mounting frame between a raised demounting position and a lowered chassis engaging position, the ram means comprising a single ram operated mechanism on the chassis for engagement with the mounting frame intermediate a front end and a rear end of the mounting frame, and a stand for supporting the load carrier in the raised position, the ram operated mechanism including a ram which is operably connected to an associated folding linkage mechanism having an inner link and an outer link, each link having an inner end and an outer end, the inner end of the inner link being pivotally connected to the chassis, the outer end of the inner link being pivotally connected to the inner end of the outer link, the outer end of the outer link being engagable with the mounting frame, the ram having an inner end pivotally mounted on the chassis and an outer end pivotally connected to the outer link.

2. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein a guide arm is pivotally connected to the outer link and extends to a pivot mount on the chassis.

3. A road vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a rear end of the mounting frame is pivotally engagable with a rear end of the chassis.

4. A road vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the outer end of the outer link slidably engages an associated rubbing plate on the mounting frame.

5. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 4 wherein rollers are provided at the outer end of the outer link for engaging the rubbing plate.

6. A road vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the support stand comprises four legs, each having a ground-engaging upright post and an inwardly extending support arm, each support arm being slidably engagable with an associated socket on the mounting frame.

7. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 6 wherein the support stand has a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs, said rear legs being pivotally engagable with the mounting frame of the load carrier.

8. A road vehicle as claimed in claim 7 wherein each rear leg has a cylindrical support arm which is rotatably engagable with a complementary cylindrical socket on the mounting frame.

9. A road vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a pair of downwardly depending mounting brackets are provided at a rear end of the mounting frame for engagement with complementary mounting pins which extend laterally outwardly at a rear end of the chassis below an upper support surface of the chassis upon which the mounting frame sits in the lowered position.

10. A road vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the inner end of the ram and the inner end of the inner link have a common pivot axis.

11. A road vehicle as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the ram is pivotally connected to the outer link intermediate the ends of the outer link.

12. A road vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.