Land vehicles – Wheeled – Articulated vehicle
Patent
1990-05-18
1992-01-21
Bertsch, Richard A.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Articulated vehicle
280496, B60D 100
Patent
active
050823051
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising a delivery trailer.
The invention thus relates to the very general problem of delivery by motor vehicle, particularly in towns, of objects of various volume and weight (packets, parcels, mail) sent to diverse purchasers or consumers.
The problem of delivery in towns is to a great extent linked with this diversity of shape and weight of the objects to be delivered, as well, of course, as with the traffic, parking and loading of the delivery vehicles.
Various solutions have been proposed for the delivery vehicles which are generally compromises between two contractictory necessities, namely that linked with the transport of voluminous objects which requires a cumbersome vehicle and that linked with the facility of circulation, particularly in a town, which requires vehicles which are all the easier to handle as their dimensions are more reduced.
The present invention has for its object a novel type of motor vehicle ensuring transport of voluminous parcels and which is at the same time particularly easy to handle and easy to load.
The present invention thus has for its object a motor vehicle comprising a front towing unit provided with a driver space, of which at least the rear part is substantially of revolution and tiable to a towed unit, characterized in that the lower rear part of this driver space comprises a space communicating freely with the outside, in which are housed, on the one hand, at least one rear wheel, coplanar with the vertical front/rear symmetry plane of the vehicle and, on the other hand, an articulated coupling member on the towed unit, located close to the substantially vertical axis of the driver space.
Such an arrangement thus makes it possible to have available a vehicle comprising a trailer of minimum length, since the point of coupling is displaced as near as possible to, and below, the driver space of the towing unit of the vehicle and the front part of the trailer, or towed unit, may be located near the rear part of the driver space.
On the other hand, the location of the point of coupling, the shape of the driver space and the median position of the rear wheel or wheels make it possible to orient the towing unit of the vehicle with respect to its trailer with a small angle, this giving the vehicle a minimum radius of lock.
Moreover, in a preferred embodiment, where the drawbar of the trailer is fixed beneath the towing unit of the vehicle, production of trailers whose loading platform is located at a low level with respect to the ground, which facilitates the loading operation, is rendered easier.
The present invention also makes it possible to apply the force transmitted by the drawbar of the trailer near the axis of the driver space, which improves the stability of the vehicle and adherence thereof.
Finally, by reason on the one hand of the shape substantially of revolution of the rear part of the driver space, and of the coplanar position of the rear wheel or wheels with the vertical front/rear symmetry plane of the vehicle, it is possible, by providing a notch in the lower rear part of the doors, to slide the latter rearwardly in order to pass them from a position of closure to a position of opening. Such an arrangement makes it possible considerably to increase the facility of use of the vehicle, all the more so as the present arrangement may be employed on doors of vehicles of which the lower part descends sufficiently low to promote maximum access thereof.
In a particularly interesting variant of the present invention, the notch provided in the lower rear part of the doors is such that it merges with the lower rear wall of the driver space, adjacent the space communicating freely with the outside.
Two embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1 and 2 are views respectively in elevation and in plan of an embodiment of the invention, shown schematically.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are views respectively in ele
REFERENCES:
patent: 2635891 (1953-04-01), Cook
patent: 3734536 (1973-05-01), Dever et al.
patent: 4077645 (1978-03-01), Dortch et al.
patent: 4511155 (1985-04-01), Galloway
patent: 4610457 (1986-09-01), Harmon
Fritsch Antoine
Le Bihan Louis
Bertsch Richard A.
Finlay Tamara L.
Le Bihan Louis
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