Land vehicles: dumping – Tilting – Operating mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2003-07-29
2004-08-31
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: dumping
Tilting
Operating mechanism
C701S028000, C348S118000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06783187
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to trucks, and, more particularly, to haulage/dump trucks that are used for large capacity applications, such as at surface mines or quarries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Before self-propelled haulage vehicles, the transport of aggregates, ore, waste and fill, was performed by a mule or horse drawn two-wheeled cart, led by a driver using a short harness. Through repetition, the animals quite often learned to make the journey to and from the load and dump locations on their own, without the need of a driver. Turning the cart around for dumping, and positioning the cart for loading however, still required a driver's attention.
The tractive effort of the horse and mule was replaced by the internal combustion engine driving the rear axle of the haulage/dump truck. The driver uses a steerable front axle to guide the travel to and from the load and dump areas. While the performance advantages of speed and payload have grown with the development of larger and larger engines, transmissions, and tires, the basic design of the haulage vehicle remains the same. Material is loaded into a box largely supported by a single axle that is driven by a power plant, and guided by a driver through a steering front axle. The haulage cycle also remains the same as it was before the advent of mechanical power.
More specifically, a conventional haulage cycle can be described as follows. The vehicle backs into its loading position, travels to the dump area where it turns around and dumps its load, then travels back to the loading area where it again turns around and is ready for the next cycle. More specifically, conventional large haulage vehicles have grown into behemoths with payloads of hundreds of tons driven by power plants of thousands of horsepower (see PRIOR ART FIG.
1
). Yet, such large haulage vehicles still follow the path of the horse drawn cart. They are loaded, travel to the dump area, turn around and dump, then return to the loading area, turn around and position themselves for loading, ready for the cycle to repeat. Be it overburden and ore at a mine site, aggregate and fill for road building, or one of the many other applications of the large capacity haulage trucks, the haulage cycle remains the same. There is no escaping the need to turn around every time a haulage cycle is completed. Be it a long turn-around that brings the vehicle directly under a loading mechanism, or the more common, come to a complete stop, then reverse into position to be loaded or dump, there is no escaping the absolute fact that the truck must make two 180 degree turn-arounds per cycle. In addition to making a 360-degree turn, conventional haulage trucks must also reverse into position for dumping, and depending on the loading procedure, must also stop and reverse into position for loading.
In view of the above, it would be desirable if a haulage vehicle were provided that does not need to utilize a conventional haulage cycle as described above.
A further analysis of haulage cycles for two conventional haulage trucks is provided below, with reference to PRIOR ART
FIGS. 1 and 2
. The first conventional truck is a 60-ton capacity mechanical-drive class, truck as represented by the Terex TR-60 (Terex, 1998). The second conventional truck is a 400-ton capacity electric drive truck as illustrated by the Liebherr T282 (Liebherr, 2002). Both conventional haulage trucks have the following common design. A rear axle with four tires is driven by a power plant either through a mechanical transmission or through electric wheel motors. The front axle, made up of two independently suspended tires and wheels largely supports the power plant, and is steered by a driver sitting above the axle facing forward. The payload is deposited into a dump box that is behind the driver and that is then hinged to discharge the load. Since the orientation of the driver changes and reverses direction as the truck goes through the conventional haulage cycle, such as conventional haulage truck is vector sensitive.
The TR-60 (Terex, 1998) has a 650 hp engine, located above the front axle, driving a single rear axle through a mechanical transmission. Four tires on the drive axle carry 52% of the vehicle weight when the vehicle is empty, and 66% of the vehicle weight when it is fully loaded. The drive axle is connected to the main frame by a variable rate nitrogen/oil cylinder, with “A-frame” linkage and lateral stabilizer bar (Terex, 1998). The front axle is comprised of steerable King-pin type suspensions, and steerable rubber-tired wheels that combined carry 48% of the vehicle weight when the vehicle is empty, and 34% of the vehicle weight when the vehicle is fully loaded. Overall dimensions for the TR-60 are (as shown in PRIOR ART FIG.
1
B): length is 9.2 m (30′-4″); width is 4.4 m (14′-6″); height is 4.4 m (14′-6″) with a minimum outside turning radius of approximately 9.9 m (32′-8″). The driver sits above one of the front wheels facing forward. The payload is loaded into a dump bucket with a heaped capacity of 35 cubic meters (46 yrd
3
) that is hinged on the rear frame.
PRIOR ART
FIG. 2A
shows the distance and estimated time required to make two 180 degree turns, one empty and one loaded, and back into a loading and dumping position for the Liebherr T282. It is assumed that the turn maneuver starts at a speed of 12.8 km/h (8 mph) empty and 8 km/h (5 mph) loaded, and uniformly decelerates to a complete stop after 180 degrees of turn, then reverses and uniformly accelerates to 12.8 km/h (8 mph) empty and 8 km/h (5 mph) before uniformly decelerating to a dead stop. The calculated time to complete this maneuver is the estimated time a TR-60 spends per haul cycle turning around and backing up, which is 1.6 minutes.
With respect to the Liebherr T282 (Liebherr, 2002), this haulage truck has a 2700 hp engine, located over the front axle, driving a single rear axle through an electrical drive system. The rear drive axle is connected to the main frame with a three bar linkage that is suspended on nitrogen/oil cylinders (Liebherr, 2002). Four tires on the drive axle carry 55% of the vehicle weight when the vehicle is empty, and 66% of the vehicle weight when the vehicle is fully loaded. The front axle is compromised of two steerable, independently suspended King-pin type structures that combined carry 45% of the vehicle weight when the vehicle is empty, and 34% of the vehicle weight when it is fully loaded. Overall dimensions for the Liebherr T282 are (as shown in PRIOR ART FIG.
1
A): length is 14.8 m (48′-10″); width is 8.8 m (28′-7″); height is 7.5 m (24′-7″) with an outside estimated turning radius of 16.2 m (53′-1″). The driver sits above one of the front wheels facing forward. The payload is loaded into a dump bucket with a heaped capacity of 183 cubic meters (240 yrd
3
), that is hinged on the main frame. The Liebherr T282 dump truck is another vector sensitive haulage truck.
PRIOR ART
FIG. 2B
shows the distance and estimated time required to make two 180 degree turns, one empty and one loaded, and back into a loading and dumping position, for the Terex TR-60. It is assumed that the turn maneuver starts at a speed of 12.8 km/h (8 mph) empty and 8 km/h (5 mph) loaded, and uniformly decelerates to a complete stop after 180 degrees of turn, then reverses and uniformly accelerates to 12.8 km/h (8 mph) empty and 8 km/hr (5 mph) before uniformly decelerating to a dead stop. The calculated time to complete this maneuver is the estimated time a T282 spends per haul cycle turning around and backing up, which is 2.4 minutes.
As stated above, both the Liebherr T282 dump truck and the Terex TR-60 dump truck provide a vector sensitive haulage/dump truck. That is, the orientation of the driver changes during the haulage cycle. In contrast, it is contemplated by the inventor herein that a vector neutral truck is desired. That is, with a vector neutral t
Chenevert Paul
Dayoan D. Glenn
Towsend Marvin S.
LandOfFree
Vector neutral truck does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vector neutral truck, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vector neutral truck will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3290091