US3023918A

US3023918A - Transferable load containers

Info

Publication number: US3023918A
Application number: US822369A
Authority: US
Inventors: Penman John Semple
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-06-24
Filing date: 1959-06-23
Publication date: 1962-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1979-03-06

Description

March 6, 1962 J. s. PENMAN TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 23, 1959 March 6, 1962 J. s. PENMAN 3,023,918 TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS Filed June 23. 1959 7 sheets-sheet 2 March 6, 1962 J. s. PENMAN 3,023,918

TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS Filed June 23. 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 sf l MarchAG, 1962 J. s. PENMAN TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 25, 1959 7 Imm March 6, 1962 J. s. PEN MAN 3,023,918

TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS Filed June 23. 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 6, 1962 J. s. PENMAN TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 23, 1959 INVENTOR PII IIIIIIIIIIII John Semple Penman ATTORNEY March 6, 1962 1. s. Px-:NMAN

TRANSFERABLE LOAD CONTAINERS 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed June 23, 1959 IIII. IL

KHIMUHIIIIIH:

rNvENToR John Semple Penman BY wmgwm ATTORNEYS 3,023,918- TRANSFERABLELOAD CONTAINERS John Semple Penman, Qneensberry Motor'Works,

Dumfries, Scotland Filed -Jun23,- 1959, Ser. VNo. 822,369 Claims priority, application Great BritainJune .24, 1958.

Claims. (Cl. 214-.-38).

This invention rela-tes to a transferablenload.container of the type havingat least -two pairs. of; longitudinally spaced followers adapted to projectfrom. both sides of.

for ease of transferring the container from aplatformed motor vehicle to a'at 4rail truck and vviceversa.

In the specification yand in the claims, all referencesto frontv and rear as applied tothe container relate t- Ithe container as viewed in thenormal direction` of travel of the container when mounted on a vehicle or on a railtruck.

A transferable load container, of the` type referred to, according to the invention isprovided at the front and at the rear with a flap pivoted about a horizontal axis to the underside of the container, and a` lever operatively connected to eachliap land operable to cause the. associated llap to swing about its pivot from a position in which the ap is substantially horizontal to a position in which the flap is Vinclined downwardly. from the base of the container and vice versa.

Two forms of transferable load container, of the type referred to, according'tothe invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1f is a side elevation of the iirst form of container which is of the type used for transporting goods by a rail truck.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the rst form.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of ramps lfor receiving the container.

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation, drawn toa larger scale, than the preceding iigures, of one of the aps and its associated operating mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section on the line 6 6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section on the line 8 8 of FIG. l.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the second form of contaiuer which is of the type used for transporting goods by a motor vehicle.

FIG. 10 is an end view of the second form of container.

FIG. 1l is a side elevational View showing a flat bottomed motor vehicle in the loading bay between the ramps and a transferable load container located on the ramps above the motor vehicle, the load container being in the position either in which it has been moved onto the ramps from the motor vehicle or in which it is ready to be moved off the ramps onto the motor vehicle, by backing the motor vehicle.

FIG. l2 is an end view partly in section taken from the left in FIG. 1l, with certain parts of the container omitted.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals denote like parts, 11 denotes the body of the container. 12 denotes each of two pairs of longitudinally spaced fol- States Patent lowers having rollers. 20,.(=FIG. 8) and adapted to project from andto be retracted into bothvsides of the container 11 at the front and at the rear of the container 11 inv such wise asto engage a pair offequi-spaced o r parallel ramps the underside ofthe container \11. One end of each tube` 18 is operatively connected to a cranked lever 19- located exteriorly of the container 11 and movableto cause the associated.ap 17'toswing about its pivot-18,from a.

position in which the .base of .the-nap 17.is substantially horizontal Yto a position in which the ilap -is inclined downwardly. fromthe base ofthecontainerll and vice versa.

Eachlever19 ismovable through a .preselected arc in a guidef21 (FIG. 5) 'secured to the. associated .side ofthe container'll. The lever. 19. is arranged, Whenthe associated ilap 17 is in the raised position, to-be engaged byV a.,catch22xon the .associatedside of vthefcontainer 11 and, .when Ydepressed and moved sideways slightly clearof the catch .22, to spring clear of the catch y22. The. aps 17, when the associ-ated levers 19 =are disengagedffrom theV catches 22, are, normally `freemto swing downwardly under their ownweight.

Eachilap 17 extends for slightly less than the width of the container 11.

When, the iiaps- 17 are, inclined downwardly from the.

container 11, the `front ilap. 17 is inclinedtowardsthe the followers 12'are projected from the container 11Y'and. 'the flaps 17 are located with their bases in horizontall positions adjacent to the underside of the container. The vehicle is reversed or backed along la rail track, which may be provided with guides for the vehicle wheels, to one end of the loading bay where the rollers 20 on the rear followers 112 engage the adjacent inclined portions 16 of the

ramps

13 and 14. The lever 19 toward the front of the vehicle is actuated to release it from the catch 22 and permit the associated ap .17 to tilt downwardly and rest on the platform of the motor vehicle.

Now, with the motor vehicle in position to be moved between the ramps and the rollers` 20 at the rear respectively engaging the adjacent portions 16 of the ramps, continued reverse movement of the vehicle between the ramps causes the container 11 and the ilap 17 at the front to slide along the vehicle platform until the flap 17 engages the front of the body of the vehicle above the platform or a rail 24 provided for that purpose. This engagement stops the sliding of the container on the vehicle platform and the rollers 20 at the rear roll respectively up adjacent the inclined portions 16 o-f the

ramps

13 and 14. This movement is then continued until -both pairs of rollers 20 are rolled onto and along on the ramps until they rest on the horizontal portions 15. This operation raises the container `11 clear of the vehicle platform so that its entire weight is supported by the

ramps

13 and 14. The vreleased lever 19 toward the `front of the vehicle is then actuated to raise the associated ap 17 and the lever is placed under the latch 22.

The motor vehicle is now driven away from between the

ramps

13 and 14 anda flat rail truck is then moved to a position between the ramps under the container 11. The appropriate lever 19 is then -actuated to lower the associated flap 17 onto the Hat rail truck so that it is in position to engage -a stop or rail on the truck for the Patented- Mar. 6,` 1962.

purpose of rolling the container in the direction of movement of @the truck, when the truck is shunted out from between the

rails

13 and 14. As the rollers 20 move along the ramps, they in turn roll down the inclined portions 16 at the end, in the direction of movement of the rail truck until the container 1 1 is clear of the

ramps

13 and 14 and is supported by the rail truck. The released ilever 19 is then actuated to raise the associated ap 17.

It will be understood that the inclined portions 16 ait the respective ends of the

ramps

13 and 14 are provided so that a vehicle or rail truck may enter or leave from either end and so that a container may be rolled on or olf from either end of the ramps. It will furthermore be understood that iiaps 17 are provided `at both endsof the container so that it may be actuated from either end to move it onto or off the ramps.

The above described process is repeated when it is desired to transfer the container from a rail truck to a platformed vehicle, such as the motor vehicle 23.

It is to be understood that any desired number of containers may be transferred from vehicles to the loading bay and removed by a corresponding number of trucks, or a plurality of containers transferred from rail trucks to the loading bay may be removed singly by` motor vehicles.

What is claimed is:

1. A transferable elongated load container having longitudinally spaced followers at both sides of said container, means for projecting said followers from said sides to a position for engaging a pair of parallel spaced ramps, a member mounted transversely of the underside of the container at each end portion thereof for turning movement about a horizontal axis, a. ap mounted on each of said members and extending therefrom', and a lever connected to each of said members and operable to turn said member on said axis and swing the associated flap from a position in which the flap is substantially horizontal to a position in which the flap is inclined downwardly from the underside of said container and from a position in which said tiap is inclined downwardly from said underside to a position in which said ap is substantially hor- .izont'alf Y 2. A transferable container as claimed in claim 1, in which the member mounted transversely of the underside of the container at each end portion thereof comprises a tube journaled for turning movement about a horizontal axis, one end of said tube projecting from a side of said container, and said lever being connected to the projecting end of said tube for eifecting the turning movement of the tube and 4the swinging of the flap.

3. A transferable container as claimed in claim 1, in which each of said levers is cranked, land a catch on the side of the container located in a position for engagement by :the lever when the associated flap is in its substantially horizontal position.

4. A transferable container as claimed in cla-im l, in which each flap extends substantially the width of the container.

5. In a transferableelongated load container of the type to be transferred from the platform of fa vehicle to a pair of spaced ramps between which the Vehicle moves during the transfer and in which the container is provided with rollers at each side at each end for engaging the ramps, the improvement comprising a member mounted transversely of the underside of `the container at each end portion thereof for turning movement about a horizontal axis, a ap mounted on each of said members extending therefrom in the direction of the end of the container -at which the flap is located, each ilap also extending substantially the width of the container, and a lever connected to each of said members -at the side of the container and operable to turn said member on said axis and swing the associated ap from and to a position in which the flap `is substantially horizontal to and from a position in which the flap is inclined downwardly from the underside of the container.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS