Material or article handling – Traversing hoist type – Tow truck type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-14
2001-09-18
Bratlie, Steven A. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Traversing hoist type
Tow truck type
C414S494000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290449
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a vehicle carrier and more particularly to a vehicle carrier that can attach, lift and transport a four-wheel automobile from a fixed position completely immobile without manual assistance by the carrier operator.
Tow trucks or towing vehicles have been around for a long time and probably have existed since the invention of the automobile. In the early days of the automobile, due to their unreliability of operation for whatever reason requiring mechanic's assistance, being wrecked and inoperable required towing to the nearest repair garage. The first tow trucks as such were probably draft horses or the like. The use of horses was followed by automobiles using chains and the like to tow disabled automobiles. Later trucks with lift booms were used. Little effort was made to prevent damage to the vehicle being towed. In modern times, impounding of automobiles by the legal establishment and repossessing of automobiles required even additional requirement for tow trucks.
Modern day tow trucks are designed for ease of operation, safety and to prevention of damage to the vehicle being towed. Some of these modern tow trucks include the following:
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,279 Inventor Richard W Hill teaches a boom accessory for a flat bed tow truck that includes a frame that is lockable onto a power underlift hoist of a truck by retraction of a ram of the hoist against the truck frame. The frame includes a base for engagement on the ram, an upwardly and rearwardly extending boom member, and optionally, a rearward facing trailer hitch socket for permitting trailers to be towed with the boom accessory in place. A sleeve assembly is pivotally mountable atop the boom member for engaging a hook cable extending from a winch unit of the truck, the accessory extending the utility of the tow truck by enabling retrieval of disabled vehicles without significant modification of the truck. A method for hoisting a load by the flatbed tow truck includes the steps of providing the boom accessory, extending the ram, resting the base on the ram, retracting the ram for clamping the base between the head portion of the ram and the leg member, threading the cable over the sheave, connecting the cable to the load and activating the winch for moving and hoisting the load, the cable being movably supported by the sheave. All of the past and present tow trucks require that considerable manual labor to prepare the disabled vehicle for towing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,279 Inventor Richard W Hill teaches a boom accessory for a flat bed tow truck that includes a frame that is lockable onto a power underlift hoist of a truck by retraction of a ram of the hoist against the truck frame. The frame includes a base for engagement on the ram, an upwardly and rearwardly extending boom member, and optionally, a rearward facing trailer hitch socket for permitting trailers to be towed with the boom accessory in place. A sleeve assembly is pivotally mountable atop the boom member for engaging a hook cable extending from a winch unit of the truck, the accessory extending the utility of the tow truck by enabling retrieval of disabled vehicles without significant modification of the truck. A method for hoisting a load by the flatbed tow truck includes the steps of providing the boom accessory, extending the ram, resting the base on the ram, retracting the ram for clamping the base between the head portion of the ram and the leg member, threading the cable over the sheave, connecting the cable to the load and activating the winch for moving and hoisting the load, the cable being movably supported by the sheave. The use of this device is very labor intensive.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,797,057; 4,678,392 and 5,662,453 teach additional versions of wheel lifts for a tow truck. These patents like Hill above require considerable manual labor from the tow truck operator for their manipulation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,662,453; 5,133,633 and 4,929,142 teach various renditions of vehicle carriers with tilt beds that tilt downward in the rear of the carrier to the same elevation as the vehicle to be transported and the vehicle a cable is attached by the vehicle carrier operator and the vehicle to be transported is pulled upon the tilted bed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The vehicle carrier of the present invention employs a tilting “I” beam centered on the rear of a truck type carrier. First and second wheel carriers are carried by the “I” beam. The wheel carriers are translatable along the “I” beam. The first wheel carrier engages and lifts the wheels of the vehicle to be transported that are located adjacent to the back of the carrier vehicle. The first wheel carrier is carried by the upper surface of the “I” beam and the second wheel carrier for the engaging and lifting the wheels remote from the back of the carrier vehicle is carried by the lower surface of the “I” beam.
The first and second wheel carriers have “U” shaped yokes pivotally attached at each distal end of a cross member that is positioned normal to the longitudinal center line of the “I” beam. The yokes are spring biased toward the front of the vehicle to be carried so that one of the yoke arms first engages the front of a wheel and pivots around that wheel capturing the wheel as the wheel carrier is translated rearwardly away from the carrier vehicle.
The distal end of the “I” beam is angled to conform with the street or support surface that is at the level of the carrier vehicle and the vehicle to be transported. The “I” beam is rotated by a pair of hydraulic rams to position the rear distal end of the “I” beam to street level. The first wheel carrier is translated rearwardly along the “I” beam to engage the wheels adjacent to the back of the carrier vehicle. After engagement, the “I” beam is rotated away from the ground level lifting the first wheel carrier and engaged end of the vehicle carried by the support. The first wheel carrier is then translated toward the front of the carrier vehicle and the second wheel carrier is translated rearwardly of the carrier vehicle passing under the first wheel carrier. The second wheel carrier operates the same as the first wheel lift engages the remaining pair of wheels of the vehicle while translating rearwardly. After engagement, both the first and second wheel carriers are translated simultaneously toward the front of the carrier vehicle to equalize the weight of the carried vehicle on the vehicle carrier and the “I” beam is further rotated to a stowed position substantially horizontal to the carrier vehicle frame and support surface.
After loading, the carried vehicle can be transported to a desired location and unloaded from the carrier vehicle by reversing the above detailed loading procedure.
Unlike the prior art carrier vehicles, the operator of the carrier vehicle of the instant invention is not required to perform any manual labor to either load or unload the carried vehicle and does not even have to leave the cab of the carrier vehicle while loading or unloading a carried vehicle.
The principle object of this invention is to provide a carrier vehicle as described above that does not require any manual labor to load or unload a carried vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to provide a vehicle carrier that does not cause damage to the carried vehicle during loading, unloading or transport.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an economically inexpensive vehicle carrier that provides ease of loading and unloading a carried vehicle.
Other objects and advantages will become obvious when taken into consideration with the following drawings and specifications.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4149643 (1979-04-01), Skala et al.
patent: 4555214 (1985-11-01), Morton
patent: 4761111 (1988-08-01), Brown
patent: 5013209 (1991-05-01), DeMichele et al.
patent: 2212615 (1973-07-01), None
patent: 2821436 (1978-05-01), None
patent: 1230886 (1986-05-01), None
patent: 1553421 (1990-03-01), None
Bratlie Steven A.
Harms Donn K.
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