Land vehicles – Wheeled – Articulated vehicle
Patent
1980-08-28
1984-02-07
Pekar, John A.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Articulated vehicle
280474, B60D 114
Patent
active
044298943
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a coupling device for a trailer.
The invention relates also to a trailer, in particular of the caravan type, comprising such a coupling device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Known coupling devices comprise, mostly, a jib or draft bar fixed rigidly to the trailer and whose free end is designed to be hooked to the rear of a towing vehicle.
It is generally very difficult to manoeuver in reverse, a trailer coupled to the towing vehicle by means of the aforesaid device. If the trailer is not initially perfectly aligned with the towing vehicle, as soon as the latter starts to move back, the trailer has a tendency to pivot with respect to the towing vehicle, thereby departing from the path desired by the driver. Through this fact, manoeuvres rearwards can only be carried out for very short distances.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome this drawback by producing a coupling device for a trailer enabling movement in reverse to be carried out easily without spoiling the ease of forward driving of the towing vehicle to which the trailer is coupled.
According to the invention, the coupling device for a trailer is characterised in that it comprises two crossed arms each including an end hinged to the trailer and an end designed to be hooked to the rear of the towing vehicle and in that locking means are provided to maintain these two arms in a symmetrical position with respect to the longitudinal middle plane of the trailer when moving rearwards. To manoeuvre the trailer rearwards, it suffices to lock the locking means of the arms, so that the trailer no longer pivots with respect to the towing vehicle. To move forward, the driver disengages the locking means, so that the arms can be oriented independently of one another according to the respective paths of the towing vehicle and the trailer.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the locking means comprise an orifice formed in each of said arms at the point where the latter cross when the towing vehicle and the trailer are aligned, and a bolt removably engaged in these two orifices.
In this embodiment, once the bolt is in place in the two opposite orifices, the two crossed arms are held in a position such that the vehicle and the trailer are aligned. The positioning of the bolt is particularly easy when one of the orifices is of oblong cross-section.
The invention also relates to a trailer comprising the aforesaid coupling device. This trailer is characterised in that its wheels are fixed to its chassis by means of slightly inclined pivots (when the trailer is placed on horizontal ground), the axis of each pivot not cutting the axis of the corresponding wheel and said axis of each pivot being substantially situated in the longitudinal plane of the tread of the corresponding wheel.
Thus, to carry out rearward movement along a curved path, the crossed arms of the coupling device are locked, as explained above. In the course of the rearward movement, the wheels of the trailer pivot around their respective pivot to be spontaneously oriented along the path desired by the driver of the towing vehicle, which path is defined by the orientation of the front wheels of this vehicle. Since the pivots are inclined, the trailer follows the path of the towing vehicle in forward movement faithfully.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the present invention will emerge also from the following description. In the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting example:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view in perspective of the coupling device according to the invention,
FIG. 2 is a side elevation with parts torn away of a trailer comprising a coupling device according to the invention and coupled to a towing vehicle,
FIG. 3 is a view on a large scale with a part torn away of a wheel pivot of the trailer according to FIG. 2,
FIG. 4 is a plan view, with part torn away, of the trailer, showing the mounting of the wheel,
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the trailer coupled to
REFERENCES:
patent: 2313235 (1943-03-01), Grove et al.
patent: 4127202 (1978-11-01), Jennings et al.
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