HK1118258A - Level lift trailer with detachable cargo bed - Google Patents

Description

Horizontal lift trailer with detachable cargo bed

Technical Field

This invention relates generally to the field of hauling cargo on public roads using motor vehicles, and more particularly to cargo carried using trailers.

Background

Traditionally, the load is carried on a flat plate above the chassis frame and tires. All of these situations require the cargo to be lifted onto the hauling platform. Many of the early designs attempted to alleviate this task. Lisota in US 2,485,300 uses an inclined and movable platform for loading or unloading trucks. Improvements in the method are used to move large cargo containers over the chassis of a truck. LaMoria in US 5,460,473 shows a system for hauling two sea or railway containers with trailers. On a smaller scale, Dixon in US 6,099,232 loaded small cargo pallets onto pickup trucks. Although these methods are currently widely used, they are not practical for bulk cargo and they cannot be used to load or unload live animals.

Haven describes a lift/lower trailer in US 2,230,014 using a cam and link system, and versecag uses cams, links and hydraulic cylinders to lift weights such as forklifts in US4,372,572. In the design proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 8, 5,630,693 to Sobina, an internal sliding telescopic guide (sliding telescopic guides) will keep the horizontal lift trailer bed aligned as it is lifted by the hydraulic cylinders at the four corners. In all of these devices, the cargo or load carrier is a permanent integral part of the trailer.

Pihlstrom in US4,930,799 can interchange cargo carriers by adding versatility to its own ramp trailer. But this system does not allow lifting of already loaded cargo carriers.

There is therefore a pressing need for a simple, reliable, high capacity, horizontal lift trailer system that can be removed from the cargo bed, or from an interchangeable bed in some other of a variety of configurations.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to a heavy horizontal lift trailer system wherein the cargo is always parallel to the ground, whether during lifting to a transport position or during lowering towards the ground. The same design is also applicable to lightweight systems.

Yet another novel feature of the present invention is the ability to disengage the cargo bed from the trailer. The cargo bed is therefore always loadable and restrained from restraining its load when it is moved over the ground off the trailer. Currently, a single trailer can move multiple cargo decks, whether loaded or unloaded. The system features are particularly suited to the shipping process of the manufacturer and the construction industry. The cargo planes need not all be identical, and the cargo being handled at one time may be wood, and the next time may be a lockable multi-door tool chest attached to a saw table and a pallet.

Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a safe, simple transport vehicle for live cargo such as horses. Loading and unloading horses at ground level eliminates all risks and risks of injury to these animals.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an alternative design that can be incorporated into a dedicated system for use where potential theft is highly prevalent. Where the equipment must remain unattended for long periods of time, the new transport and detachable trailer feature allows the use of inexpensive cargo decks customized to a single axle size. Thus, the trailer with tires and wheels is never exposed.

To achieve these objectives, the horizontal lift trailer of the present invention having multiple detachable cargo bed options includes a fully safe and economical cargo transfer or handling system.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the lift trailer of the present invention with the cargo bed lowered and partially removed.

Figure 2 is a side view of a cargo bed.

Figure 3 is a front end view of the cargo bed.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a lift trailer without a cargo bed.

Figure 5 is a rear end view of the trailer without the cargo bed.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 10-10 of fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 20-20 of fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a partial plan view of the lift trailer with the cargo bed lowered to the ground.

Figure 9 is a front cross-sectional view of the trailer of the present invention taken along line 30-30 of figure 8 with the cargo bed lowered to the ground.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 40-40 of fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 50-50 of fig. 9.

Figure 12 is a front cross-sectional view of the trailer of the present invention with the cargo bed raised to the transport position.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 60-60 of fig. 12.

FIG. 14a is a perspective view of an alternative portable road traffic light.

Fig. 14b is a perspective view of an alternative closed container.

Figure 14c is a perspective view of an alternative ground loading horse car.

Fig. 14d is a perspective view of an alternative discharge plate.

Fig. 14e is a perspective view of an alternative traffic speed sign.

Figure 14f is a perspective view of an alternative open cargo bed with casters.

Detailed Description

Referring to the drawings, fig. 1 illustrates in perspective view a trailer system 1 of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein a trailer assembly 2 and a cargo bed assembly 3 that moves on the ground 4 are shown, the cargo bed assembly 3 being partially detached from the trailer 2. The cargo space is defined by a plate 5, side walls 6, a front end 8 and a ramp 7. Two substantially 45-degree angled trough rails 12 are provided at the outer corners of the side walls 6 at the front end 8, and two additional angled trough rails 13 are provided at substantially parallel angles outside the side walls 6 at the opposite open end of the cargo bed. The grooved tracks are sized according to trailer lift rollers 34, 35.

Figure 2 shows another novel feature of the invention, horizontal slot extensions 14, 15 are provided at the side walls 6 of the cargo bed in order to receive and guide the lifting rollers from the front end 8 of the cargo bed and extend to the upper end of the angled lifting slots.

Figure 3 shows the front end 8 of the cargo bed and the horizontal slot extensions 14 and 16 on both side walls 6 of the cargo bed.

Referring now to fig. 4, fig. 4 illustrates yet another feature of the present invention. Tongue 23 is connected to terminal structure 24 and provides side structure beams 17/21 and 18/22 separated by open space 16. The lifting rollers are arranged at the opposite inner edges of the side structure beams, and the front rollers 35 are vertically installed at a height lower than the rear rollers 34. The engine block, hydraulic pump, oil tank and valves are installed at the space 36.

In fig. 5, the front roller 35 is vertically mounted at a lower elevation than the rear roller 34, both mounted within the open space 16, as viewed into the open rear end of the trailer 2. Fig. 6 and 7 show that a quarter-axis (rotator axis)25, leaf springs 32 and their brackets 33 are mounted under the side structural beams to maintain the open space 16. The quarter shaft 25 is fitted with a pivot tube 26 and journaled (journal) to the side structural beam to maintain alignment of a tire 28 mounted on a brake shaft (break spindle)27 connected at the opposite end of the quarter shaft.

Fig. 8 shows the position at section line 30-30 through the roller and the angled lifting slot. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the tablet when resting on the floor 4. A hydraulic cylinder 37 is connected to the tongue 23 and extends to a maximum stroke to engage the cargo plate 3 at the plate fitting 38.

Fig. 10 shows the roller 34 connected to the side structure 17/21 and simultaneously engaging the horizontal extension 15 mounted on the side wall 6.

Figure 12 is a front cross-sectional view of the trailer 2 of the present invention wherein the cargo bed 3 has been raised to a transport position spaced 39 from the ground. The hydraulic cylinder 37 is in a retracted position and is connected to the cargo plane 3 at a plane fitting 38.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged portion of the open lock assembly 41 mounted on the inclined slot track 12 with the spring loaded latch pin 42 locked in an open position on the hook 43.

Turning now to the latch closed, fig. 13 is an enlarged portion of the cargo plate 3 that has been raised with the front roller 35 in the angled slot track 12 and the spring loaded latch pin 42 locked through the slot so that the cargo plate 3 can be supported without relying on hydraulic pressure on the cylinder 37.

The following perspective views show alternative designs of the cargo bed.

Fig. 14a is a portable road traffic light.

Fig. 14b is a multi-door, multi-bin, enclosed cargo box.

Figure 14c is a horse ground load compartment.

Figure 14d is the discharge plate.

Fig. 14e is a traffic speed sign.

Figure 14f is an open cargo platform with clamp rings and off-highway casters to facilitate movement within the shop.

While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. A detachable horizontal lift trailer system comprising:

a) a cargo platform that can be loaded while being translated to the ground, separate from the trailer, the cargo platform having a mechanism for engaging the trailer; and

b) the trailer includes a central open frame structure having a mechanism for engaging and horizontally lifting the cargo bed.

2. The detachable horizontal lift trailer system of claim 1,

a) the cargo bed may be loaded while being translated to the ground, separate from the trailer, the cargo bed having at least four inclined slot tracks disposed on four outside corners of the side walls, the tracks sized according to the lift rollers, and

b) said trailer having a central open frame structure with leaf springs suspended on a quarter axle carrying pneumatic tires, said axle not spanning the trailer frame, said frame having at least four lift rollers disposed on opposite inside corners thereof, said rollers at the open end of the trailer being vertically offset and at a height above the rollers at the closed end of the trailer for engagement with said inclined channel tracks on the cargo bed, and

c) a horizontal pulling cylinder connecting said trailer and said cargo bed, for horizontally lifting said cargo bed to a transport height for loading and then placing it in another location by pulling said cargo bed upwardly along said inclined slot track of said cargo bed.

3. The trailer system of claim 2, wherein the spring loaded latch locks of the two inclined slot tracks across the cargo bed hold the cargo bed in an upper position without hydraulic cylinder pressure.

4. The trailer system of claim 2, wherein alternatively the lifting rollers at the open rear end and the closed front end of the further trailer are mounted on the same vertical level.

5. A cargo bed for a horizontal lift trailer system having at least four inclined lift slot tracks at substantially 45 degrees, parallel to each other and mounted at each outer corner of the cargo bed, each inclined lift slot track having a horizontal slot extension disposed at a side of the cargo bed to receive and guide lift rollers of the trailer from a front end of the cargo bed and extending to an upper end of the angled lift slots.

6. The cargo platform of claim 5, wherein the trough extensions are flared vertically outward to have a larger opening at the front end of the platform than at the trough ends to facilitate engagement with the trailer's rollers even when located on uneven ground.

7. The cargo bed of claim 5, wherein alternatively one horizontal trough extension is provided on either outer side of the cargo bed to receive and guide a single horizontal lift roller of a trailer and extends from the front end of the cargo bed and connects to both upper ends of the inclined lift trough rails at a 45 degree angle.

8. The cargo platform as recited in claim 5, wherein off-highway utility casters facilitate placement of the cargo platform both loaded and unloaded without the trailer.