Motor vehicles – Portable carrier supports motor vehicle in toto and is...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-25
2001-07-10
Olszewski, Robert P. (Department: 2167)
Motor vehicles
Portable carrier supports motor vehicle in toto and is...
C280S124111
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257361
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a high clearance converter for converting a road vehicle, e.g. a pickup truck, to a high clearance vehicle, for example for agricultural use.
BACKGROUND
High clearance sprayers are becoming increasing popular for agricultural spraying. These units are quite expensive and have a limited utility so that for much of the year a large investment remains idle.
To address this problem, it has been proposed to use a high lift vehicle frame for raising road vehicles to a height suitable for use as a high clearance sprayer. One such proposal is disclosed in Meiners U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,805, issued Dec. 17, 1991.
The frame disclosed in the Meiners patent is a rigid frame on which a pickup truck rests with its road tires. The front tires fit into rotatable sockets linked to wheel carrying front legs on the frame for steering purposes. The rear tires rest on rollers, which are connected to rear drive wheels carried on rear legs of the frame. In the preferred embodiment, the truck frame is fastened to the frame by a single hold-down anchor. A second embodiment uses a more positive drive with gear boxes and drive shafts to drive the rear frame wheels from the rear vehicle wheels. With this system, the rigid frame will not allow the ground wheels of the converter to follow uneven ground contours, making both driving and steering problematic on an uneven surface.
The present invention relates to certain improvements in converters of this type.
SUMMARY
According to the present invention there is provided In combination a high clearance converter and a vehicle having a body, two front wheel assemblies, two rear wheel assemblies and a resilient suspension supporting the body on the wheel assemblies, the converter comprising:
a front frame component with two upright front legs;
two ground wheels mounted on the respective front legs;
front vehicle mounts mounting the front wheel assemblies of the vehicle on the front frame component;
a rear frame component with two upright rear legs;
two ground wheels mounted on the respective rear legs;
rear vehicle mounts mounting the rear wheel assemblies of the vehicle on the rear frame component; and
flexible couplings coupling the front and rear frame components for relative rolling movement with respect to one another.
The term “wheel assemblies” is intended as a general term to mean the components of the vehicle that are not supported directly or indirectly on the suspension springs, including wheel hubs and axles.
The use of two frame components coupled to roll with respect to one another, and mounting of the two frame components on the unsprung wheel assemblies allows the vehicle's suspension to accommodate the uneven ground conditions that may be expected on an agricultural field.
The front and rear frame components preferably include front and rear transverse beams and respective laterally spaced longitudinal side rails. The side rail of the front component is coupled to the rear component by a flexible coupling, which may be a ball joint or a rubber joint at the rear, while the side rail of the rear component is coupled to the front component by a flexible coupling at the front.
With a rigid axle, for example a solid rear drive axle, the axle may be mounted directly on the frame transverse beam with axle mounting brackets. This leaves the wheel hubs free for connection to drive connections to the frame drive wheels. These drive connections are, in the preferred embodiment, chain drives inside the frame legs, with the legs serving as chain cases.
For independent suspension systems, the mounts are designed to accommodate realignment of the vehicle wheels as they travel on the suspension from the neutral position. This may be achieved with resilient mounts for the mounting brackets.
Non-driving wheel hubs are preferably mounted on the frame transverse members by brackets that connect to the hubs using the conventional wheel lugs.
Steering wheels at the front of the frame may be connected by a tie rod and coupled to the Pitman arm of the vehicle steering box by a drag link. Thus, the front steering wheels of the vehicle are locked up and the vehicle steering system operates directly on the frame wheels.
The frame can be modified for four wheel drive using drive from the steering hubs by including constant velocity (CV) joints in the drive linking the vehicle wheel hubs and the front steering wheels of the converter frame. The frame to wheel assembly mounts will then connect the frame component to non-rotating parts of the wheel assemblies.
The frame may be made to suit vehicles with a range of wheel bases and tracks. A single adjustable length frame with laterally adjustable hub mounts and axle mounts may be used to achieve this objective.
The frame may be equipped with running board brackets and running boards that may be removed and used as ramps at the back end of the frame for loading or unloading the vehicle.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1356474 (1920-10-01), Schofield
patent: 3306175 (1967-02-01), Ferwerda
patent: 3584892 (1971-06-01), Moore
patent: 4289214 (1981-09-01), Spence
patent: 4749206 (1988-06-01), Delery et al.
patent: 4988115 (1991-01-01), Steinke
patent: 5039129 (1991-08-01), Balmer
patent: 5072805 (1991-12-01), Meiners
patent: 5129477 (1992-07-01), Hurlburt
patent: 5597172 (1997-01-01), Maiwald et al.
patent: 6021861 (2000-02-01), Dickson
Battison Adrian D.
Hytrux Ltd.
Jasmin Lynda
Olszewski Robert P.
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