Material or article handling – Self-loading or unloading vehicles – Separable load rack
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-10
2003-06-24
Keenan, James W. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Self-loading or unloading vehicles
Separable load rack
Reexamination Certificate
active
06582176
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention, in general, relates to a change-over support for facilitating the transfer of a load between a parking or storage position and a transport vehicle and, more particularly, to a change-over support of the kind which permits moving the load between low and high positions with relatively small forces.
2. The State of the Art
The invention is based upon a change-over support of the kind described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/051,328 which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. The object of the apparatus disclosed by U.S. application Ser. No. 09/051,328 is to enable a person at any location and without special devices, such as cranes or fork lifts, to move a load from a vehicle to a storage or parking position. The apparatus provides for a lifting and lowering device, including four distributed points of engagement, for synchronously lifting and lowering a load . Also proposed is a combination of an engaging funnel and centering cone for grasping and pushing the load under its own weight as well as for a defined placement thereof on the loading bed. The lifting and lowering device comprises four hydraulic cylinders mounted on a frame and energized from a hydraulic pump by a control. Lifting and lowering of a container or of a pallet or any kind of load takes place substantially vertically of the frame rather than to the ground. The container, for instance, is moved to a desired location by a motorized vehicle and lifted off the frame by a lifting and lowering device of short stroke of about 8 to 12 inches, and ground posts are then used in a vertical disposition. The four cylinders are thereafter retracted with the container being placed on the ground posts at the same time. The height of these ground posts is somewhat greater than three feet. Thereafter, the vehicle may withdraw from the supports without the container. The operation is reversed for loading the container onto a vehicle. Such containers have proven themselves in practical applications. To place a container at a loading site takes about one minute. Following loading, the container may be moved to another site for unloading and subsequent removal to yet another location. Changing of all or part of the loaded goods from a vehicle onto a floor, rather than from the vehicle onto a support structure, would in many applications be of advantage. It should also be possible without crane or fork lift to lift a platform or container from its low position to an elevated position for loading onto a vehicle. One way of accomplishing this is by hydraulic struts of the kind disclosed, for instance, by U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,598. Pallets or containers are usually structured in a cost-efficient manner and function independently of a vehicle and as a rule without their own power supply. Any motor and its handling devices are usually mounted on the vehicle. The four hydraulic struts may be supplied with pressure fluid from the vehicle. This would, however, require connecting and disconnecting hydraulic hoses for each operation. Each time there is a potential for loss of hydraulic fluid into the environment. One of the main purposes of containers is to provide transport space which is as large and inexpensive as possible and which while being of low tare weight accommodates a maximum net weight. Hydraulic cylinders which are strong and long and which do not buckle suffer from the drawback of being quite heavy. Hydraulic cylinders used as support struts have not been widely accepted.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION.
It is an object of the invention to make it possible without ancillary hoisting equipment to move loaded goods, whether on platforms such as transport structures, pallets or containers, into elevated or lowered positions relative to ground. Primarily, but by no means exclusively, the hoisted position is to be useful for mounting on or dismounting from a vehicle, and the lowered position is to serve as short or long term storage or parking at a given location. A further task of the invention is in a simple manner to combine the transition between a parking position and a vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
In accordance with the invention the change-over support comprises a force arm extending as a pulling lever upwardly from a joint shaft and constituting a lever variable relative to the ratio of the length between load arm and force arm, the load arm being relatively shortened for overcoming situations of maximum tractive forces.
A first experimental mechanism has demonstrated as an important aspect of the invention, an interaction of movement of favorable lever ratios not hitherto used in practical applications. The interaction is the result, on the one hand, of the joint function and, on the other hand, it is the mechanical advantage of the lever transmission. In an actual embodiment three primary concepts may be realized at relatively little complexity:
Structuring the change-over support as a rolling rail or skid in an idealized form;
Structuring the change-over support as a knee joint;
Structuring the change-over support as a multiple joint.
In each case, it is possible with little material expenditure to facilitate the lifting and lowering of a load relative to ground by means of the mechanical advantage derived from a lever transmission. With relatively small force, heavy weights may thus be lowered to ground and lifted again to an elevated position by means of a traction device of the vehicle. It has been possible with the novel apparatus by the interaction of forces between vehicle and load to make use of the lever principle in a particularly advantageous manner. As is well known, all lever shears systems require extremely large forces in extreme positions. By contrast, the novel arrangement optimizes the ratio of load arm to force arm in the least favorable dispositions in terms of force. Forces and loads are optimally taken into consideration on the part of the vehicle.
A large number of embodiments are possible in accordance with the invention. Preferably, the change-over supports are structured as struts or rocker arm supports with one or more knee or toggle joints. It is particularly advantageous to align the shafts of the joints parallel to the axles of the vehicle. In this manner traction forces acting in the driving direction of the vehicle may generate, or be converted to the requisite pivoting or tilting forces. Consequently, for purposes of the vertical movement, the motor vehicle need no longer be placed under the loading structure, in contrast to the lifting and lowering device in accordance with U.S. application Ser. No.: 09/051,328 referred to supra. Advantageously, every knee joint support consists of at least two arms connected by a joint. The internal knee angle of the load arm may be limited by abutments to angles larger than 90°. Moreover, each strut may be provided with two or more joints with each knee angle of the load arm being limited by abutments. The change-over of the load from a parking or storage position to the vehicle may be carried out in the manner disclosed by U.S. application Ser. No.: 09/051,328. By contrast, however, complete or partial lowering of the load to ground is carried out in accordance with the invention in the manner to be described.
As previously mentioned, the change-over supports may in an idealized case be structured as a rolling rail or skid provided with a traction arm which is extensible beyond the connecting joint of the structure. The rolling rail structure offers the advantage that during lowering and lifting movement the forces are changing continually and subject the drive system to a uniform load. The knee support or joint is advantageous in that the struts may be folded to the shortest possible dimension. This is of utmost importance in respect of the vehicle. To this end, the joints are structured to be collapsible in a direction opposite to the tractive force. The forces from the pivoting devices may be transmitted in many different ways as, for instance, by hand winches, lever spann
Hormann Karl
Keenan James W.
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