Land vehicles – Wheeled – Extensible
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-15
2001-04-17
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Extensible
C280S005300, C280S043140, C280S006155, C280S043170, C280S043240, C180S024020
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217044
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a carriage for a mobile vehicle, and more particularly, to a carriage for a compact mobile crane. The carriage includes a plurality of retractable and extendable wheel assemblies each including a multi-mode steering system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Mobile cranes and other utility vehicles with wheels are well known in the prior art. The wheels provide such vehicles with support, mobility, and steering. When the vehicle includes a crane, some additional type of jacking system is generally attached to the carriage of the vehicle in order to lift the carriage in an upward direction until the wheels are no longer in contact with a support surface. This action provides a secure support footing for the crane to prevent the crane from sliding or rolling along the support surface when a load is lifted. In the prior art, separate steering and jacking systems have been employed to provide such mobile vehicles with steering and jacking capabilities. Unfortunately, the steering and jacking systems of the prior art tend to be highly complex, expensive to produce and maintain, and difficult to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to overcome the above deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a multi-purpose wheel assembly for a mobile crane or other utility vehicle. Although described in detail below in conjunction with a mobile crane, it should be readily apparent that the wheel assembly of the present invention can be employed in a wide variety of other types of utility vehicles.
The wheel assembly of the present invention combines multi-mode steering and wheel retraction and extension in one assembly that can be easily attached to the carriage of a mobile crane. Unlike the prior art, separate jacking devices are not required to jack the carriage of the mobile crane in an upward direction. Rather, the wheel assembly includes a wheel retraction apparatus for retracting and extending the wheels of the wheel assembly relative to the carriage, and a fixed length king pin support housing. When the wheels are retracted by the wheel retraction apparatus, the carriage is lowered toward a support surface until a support pad on the king pin support housing contacts the support surface. As the wheels are retracted further, the wheels leave contact with the support surface, and the carriage is fully supported by the support pad and the king pin housing support. Conversely, when the wheels are extended downward by the wheel retraction apparatus beyond the support pad, the wheels contact the support surface and support the carriage, thereby allowing the carriage to be easily steered and moved along the support surface.
Three modes of wheel positioning can be selected using a single control element. A first mode of wheel positioning provides all wheel steering. In the present invention, at least two wheels can be selected for the all wheel steering mode. Regardless of the actual number of wheels that are selected, this first mode of wheel positioning will hereafter be referred to as “four wheel steering.” A second mode of wheel positioning provides fixed independent wheel directions allowing carriage travel parallel and/or perpendicular to the edge of a building, carriage travel in predetermined directions, and rotatable motion about the center of the carriage. A third mode of wheel positioning allows each wheel assembly to freely swivel in any direction. The control element also allows the wheel positioning mode of each wheel assembly to be independently selected from any of the three wheel positioning modes described above. For instance, if the carriage includes four of the wheel assemblies, the four wheel steering mode can be selected for two of the wheel assemblies, while the free swiveling mode can be selected for the other two wheel assemblies.
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Beeche Gregory L.
Scrafford Roy
Avery Bridget
Beeche Systems, Corp.
Dickson Paul N.
Schmeiser Olsen & Watts
LandOfFree
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