Motor vehicles – Special wheel base – With means for changing number of supporting wheels – or for...
Patent
1991-07-23
1992-12-01
Rice, Kenneth R.
Motor vehicles
Special wheel base
With means for changing number of supporting wheels, or for...
180321, 180342, 280704, B62D 6112, B66F 1104, E01D 1910
Patent
active
051672952
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
The invention relates to a vehicle, in particular a chassis of a bridge-underside inspection apparatus, having a frame and road-vehicle wheels. This arrangement starts from a vehicle which moves on public roads approximately at the speed of a truck.
In the case of so-called self-erecting bridge-underside inspection apparatuses or similar heavy special apparatuses having a wide projection, it is known to convert the chassis used for the road transport into an operational chassis before the same is put into working service, which operational chassis has greater stability than a conventional sprung and pneumatic-tired road vehicle. Further typical features of the equipment of an operational chassis are a remote-controlled slow drive and remote-controlled or automatic steering. In a bridge-underside inspection apparatus, the slow drive serves to move the apparatus during working service on a bridge. The steering requires only slight angles of lock in order to be able to accurately follow a predetermined track.
For example, it is known from German Offenlegungsschrift 3,305,384 to convert a road-transport chassis into an operational chassis by supports provided with running rollers being extended down from the frame onto the roadway, which supports take up most or all of the vehicle weight. In this known chassis the running rollers can be driven slowly and are steerable. So that the supports can be extended, it is known to attach them to the frame in a telescopic, hinged or displaceable manner, hydraulic lifting pistons being provided as a drive for the movement.
However, these supports and their operating mechanisms require considerable expediture, especially as the number of supports and running rollers should be as large as possible in the interest of reducing the maximum concentrated loading on the bridge surface.
On the other hand, vehicles, in particular trucks, having pneumatically actuated rear axles, in particular pneumatically sprung rear axles, are generally known. These axles are mounted on the frame by means of two longitudinal links in such a way as to be pivotable up and down and are supported on the frame via two sets of air bellows or cylinder arrangements. By reducing the pressure in the bellows or cylinders, the frame, with or without the load, can be lowered so far that it sits on unsprung stops of the axles. Conversely, by increasing the pressure, the frame can be lifted again and the spring-suspension behavior required for the road journey can be restored. It is known that this change in height is utilized in order to carry out a quick change of load, for example to pick up or set down a container standing on stilts.
The object of the invention is to propose a vehicle which performs both the function of a road-transport chassis and the function of an operational chassis, requires relatively low investment costs and can be changed over quickly and simply from one type of operation to the other.
This object is achieved according to the invention by a vehicle according to patent claim 1.
The essential difference between this vehicle and known convertible chassis for bridge-underside inspection apparatuses or similar appliances is that the unsprung auxiliary wheels, at least under load, are not vertically adjustable on the frame; on the contrary, the frame is lowered until these auxiliary wheels come in contact with the ground. Likewise in contrast to the prior art, the frame is not lowered by means of devices which are allocated to the auxiliary wheels but with the aid of the pneumatically sprung axle unit. Standard axle units which are on the market can be used, which standard axle units are relatively inexpensive, and special lifting devices on the auxiliary wheels are unnecessary.
The maximum lift of pneumatically actuated height-adjustment devices of standard truck axles is normally only about 12 cm. But that is sufficient, for the same rubber-tired wheels as in the pneumatically sprung axle units are also conveniently used as auxiliary wheels. Therefore if the auxiliary wheel
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patent: 676409 (1901-06-01), Berger
patent: 1005291 (1911-10-01), Owen
patent: 3502165 (1970-03-01), Matsukata
patent: 4318451 (1982-03-01), Liggett
patent: 4846581 (1989-07-01), Osterlund et al.
patent: 4886290 (1989-12-01), Pourchon et al.
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