Motor vehicles – Bodies – Movable cab or operator's station
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-21
2001-04-24
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Motor vehicles
Bodies
Movable cab or operator's station
C280S098000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220384
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle for the transportation and handling of various materials or operating units in rooms, which require a high mobility and wide maneuverability in narrow spaces and/or in the presence of obstacles, and impediments. In particular, these rooms are the insides of sheds, warehouses, deposits, airports, markets, deposit and/or maneuver areas for heavy means.
As is known, in industrial plants, warehouses, and deposits, it is necessary to handle various materials, that are often heavy and cumbersome due to their form and size. Often these materials must be handled in very narrow spaces or in the presence of obstacles and utilizing especially equipped self-propelled vehicles, which have to follow tortuous and obliged runs. For instance, in warehouses or deposits, it is necessary to arrange the various goods according to a pre-fixed order and to collect these goods when needed, by performing very precise maneuvers.
Instead, in other cases, it is necessary to transport operating units from one place to another place and to position them suitably and exactly, so then these units can perform their desired function.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For instance, it is known that in airports it is necessary to position near the departing aircraft an operating unit comprising the generator to start the engines. This operation requires a careful positioning maneuver which must take in due account the presence of the wings and the tail of the aircraft.
As is also known, in plants of the metallurgical, iron-metallurgical types, in foundries, it is necessary to handle various materials, often heavy and cumbersome due to the form and size, usually in very narrow spaces and utilizing suitably equipped self-propelling vehicles.
For instance, the plants for the electrolytic production of aluminum require the periodic replacement of anodes because of their wearing during the working in electrolysis cells. Both the worn anodes and the new ones are prepared by groups positioned on pallets, which are thereafter transported and handled by means of a particular type of self-propelling vehicle that can move in the inside of the plant, between the rows of electrolytic cells.
The present types of self-propelling vehicles are usually constituted by a tractor with two driving and steering wheels and by a trailer; the tractor is usually connected to the trailer through a vertical axis joint, suitable to allow the steering of the tractor with respect to the trailer according to an angle, relatively to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, which is always very limited because of the presence of the front part of the trailer, which is very approached to the tractor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle for the transportation and handling of various materials or operating units, so designed and structured as to obviate the structural complexity, the maneuverability and/or visibility limitations due to the reduced steering angle of the present vehicles for the handling of materials or transportation of operating units in the inside of plants, sheds, markets, and airports, and to allow the realization of all the necessary maneuvers in perfect conditions of visibility by the operator.
A further object of the invention is to provide a vehicle suitable for handling any produce and/or operating and/or service equipment in areas wherein a high maneuver capacity is needed, together with a full visibility of the operations to be performed.
Another object of the invention is to provide a self-propelling vehicle of the type specified hereinabove, so structured as to have longitudinal dimensions markedly smaller than those of the known vehicles—the dimensions of the loading or transportation structure being the same—with obvious advantages concerning its movement possibilities in very narrow areas and/or areas having obstacles, and encumbrances.
Another object of the invention is to provide a self-propelling vehicle of high reliability and easily drivable both in a forwards and in a reverse motion. These and still other objects, which will be more clearly stressed hereinafter are achieved by providing a self-propelling vehicle for the transportation and handling of various materials or operating units in rooms wherein a wide maneuver capacity and the utmost visibility are required in narrow spaces and/or in the presence of various obstacles and/or impediments, of the type that comprises a trailer and a draft-tractor. This vehicle according to the present invention comprises:
a trailer comprising a structure suitable to contain said materials or the operating or service units to be handled, and a front part or extension, provided with a circular through-hole or seat,
a driving and steering structure or tractor constituted by a revolving platform, a driver's cab, a driving and steering axle, provided with a couple of wheels integrally connected to the revolving platform by means of a tubular element freely rotatably housed in the circular through-hole or seat,
means for connecting the driving and steering structure and said front part of the trailer, suitable to allow the free endless rotation both in the clockwise and the anti-clockwise direction of the driving and steering structure relatively to said front part of the trailer,
driving means suitable to ensure the movement of the vehicle as well as the rotation of said driving and steering structure, so as to allow the operator to perform the translation of the vehicle and the rotation of said driving and steering structure from one only driving place.
More particularly, this means connecting this driving and steering structure and this front part are constituted by a fifth wheel having the lower part strongly connected to the driving and steering axle, and the upper part rigidly keyed on the lower plane of the front part of the trailer.
Besides, the driving means are associated to the platform or the axle, or else they can be associated to the trailer and transmit the motion to the axle by means of suitable hydraulic, pneumatic means passing through suitable uprights and tie-rods.
The operating part of the vehicle according to the invention is equipped with its own axle having two or more wheels.
The chassis of the vehicle portion contains a front part (extension), on whose lower surface a fifth wheel, revolving element, is installed, which is controlled by a special actuator and allows the rotation of the elements connected to it. More in detail, in the lower part of the fifth wheel, a driving axle is fastened, provided, as usual, with own engines, reducers, wheels and whatever else is necessary for the driving of a vehicle. By means of a tubular element that goes through the central hollow zone of the fifth wheel and the supporting front part of the trailer, as stated hereinabove, the driving axle rigidly supports a platform which, in this way, lies above the front part or extension and can freely rotate together with the driving structure.
The platform houses both the operator's cap (complete with seat, console, controls, pedals, accessories and whatever else is usually applicable), and the engine (which based on need may be either electrical or endothermic) may be installed, preferably, on the other side of the platform, together with all the necessary accessories such as tanks, pumps or other ones.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, this revolving platform contains a first transmission element integral with the tubular element, connected through suitable kinematic means, to a second transmission element suitable to rotate about its own vertical axis parallel to the rotation axis of the tubular element off-centered relative to the latter and supporting the driver's cab.
In this way, the driver's cab may be positioned, always associated to the driving and steering structure, but off-centered relative to the rotation axis of the same structure, so as to satisfy, for instance, particular visibi
Collard & Roe P.C.
Dickson Paul N.
Fleming Faye M.
Techmo Car S.p.A.
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