WO1982000980A1

WO1982000980A1 - Vehicle-towed container transporting device

Info

Publication number: WO1982000980A1
Application number: PCT/FI1981/000072
Authority: WO
Inventors: Suomen Autoteollisuus Ab Oy
Original assignee: Vallinoja V; Fagerstedt N
Priority date: 1980-09-16
Filing date: 1981-09-15
Publication date: 1982-04-01
Also published as: FI802901A; GB2095648A; FR2490167B3; FR2490167A1; NL8120354A; DE3152330A1; IT1139172B; SE8202945D0; SE426221B; SE8202945L; IT8123985A0

Abstract

A vehicle-towed device for transporting containers, said device comprising a supporting beam (2) provided at its front end with connecting means (5) for connection to a traction vehicle and at its rear end with vertical support legs (3) carried by wheels (10) and adjustable in vertical planes. A container space (17) for a container to be transported is provided under the supporting beam. The supporting beam comprises two parts (2a, 2b) and is telescopically displaceable between a retracted and an extended position. Gripping means (15) for engagement with a container are fastened to both parts (2a, 2b) of the supporting beam. In the retracted position of the supporting beam the distance between the gripping means corresponds to the length of the shortest container to be transported, and in the extended position the distance between the gripping means corresponds to the length of the longest container to be transported.

Description

Vehicle-towed container transporting device

The present invention relates to a container trans¬ porting device towable by a vehicle comprising a transport frame movable on wheels, said frame providing a container space for a container to be transported and comprising a longitudinal supporting beam positioned above said con¬ tainer space, said beam at one end being provided with connecting means for connection to a traction vehicle and at its opposite end with vertical support legs provided with wheels adjustable in vertical planes, gripping means being mounted on said supporting beam for engagement with said container.

For transporting containers within terminal areas and also in so-called "roll on - roll off" use it is earlier known to use a so-called straddle carrier which is provided with its own power mechanism and driver's cabin and which thus operates as an independent vehicle. Such a straddle carrier has four legs provided with wheels between which a container space is provided for a con¬ tainer to be transported. For gripping the container a separate so-called toplift gripping device is used com¬ prising a lifting frame which is lowered upon the contai¬ ner to be transported and through which the straddle carrier lifts the container off the ground and transports it to another location, to a ferry wagon, or to a truck platform, or vice versa. However, an independently movable straddle carrier of this type involves very high initial costs. Towable container transporting devices developed as auxialiary means for terminal tractors are also known comprising an essentially horizontal U-shaped transport frame in which a container space for a container to be transported is provided between the horizontal legs of said frame. Each leg is provided with wheels which can be lifted and lowered in relation to the horizontal leg for lowering and, respectively, lifting of the transport frame. Necessary towing and connecting means are fastened to the web portion of the transport frame for connecting the frame to a tractor. Such a container transporting device is very low and intended to grip the container to be transported at locks provided at its lower corners by means of gripping means mounted on both horizontal legs of the transport frame. The gripping means engage the lower locks in the container either from the side or from beneath and this is the biggest disadvantage in the con¬ tainer transporting device described. Particularly in wintertime it has proved to be very difficult to guide the gripping means reliably in engagement with the often snow- or ice-covered lower locks in the containers. From the Finnish Patent Application No. 72/68,

COW & GATE LIMITED, Great Britain, is previously known a vehicle-towed container transporting device of the kind described in the first paragraph of the specification and comprising a longitudinal supporting beam located above the container. The support beam is at its rear end provided with supporting legs adjustable in a vertical plane and movable on wheels. The supporting beam is pro¬ vided with gripping means which grip the upper corners of the container and which are fastened to the supporting beam at a fixed distance from each other which corres¬ ponds to the length of the container to be transported. The supporting beam is completely fixed and the trans¬ porting device is suitable only for transporting contai¬ ners of a certain size. If the sizes of the containers to be handled vary, for example, 20, 30 or 40 feet, a separate container transporting device is required for each container size.

It is previously known to dimension the length of the supporting beam of the container transporting device according to the biggest container size and to provide the fixed supporting beam not only with gripping means corresponding to the biggest container size but also with additional gripping means corresponding to other container sizes. However, due to the great length of such a contai¬ ner transporting device, it is very difficult to align it exactly above the container to be lifted and to drive it in the often narrow loading locations. In addition, said additional gripping means for shorter containers must be turned aside when longer containers are transported by the device. It is an object of the present invention to pro¬ vide a container transporting device which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages. This object is achieved by means of a container transporting device according to the invention which is characterized in that said suppor- ting beam comprises two parts and is telescopic, and in that one part of said supporting beam is provided with gripping means for one end of a container and the other part is provided with gripping means for the opposite end of the container. According to the invention there is provided a simple container transporting device which is not only suitable for transporting containers of different sizes but also offers substantial advantages as far as manoeuvrability is concerned. The container transporting device can easily be modified for different container lengths by lengthening or shortening the telescopic supporting beam. Gripping means for only one container need to be fastened to the supporting beam because the distance between the gripping means is adjustable. Be- cause the container transporting device can be shortened to correspond to the actual size of the container to be transported, the driving comfort and manoeuvrability of the container transporting device are improved along with the shortening of the beam. When the container transporting device is driven empty, it is always shorte¬ ned to its shortest length. When the container transpor- ting device is backed over a container to be transported, the backing can be carried out with the supporting beam as short as possible so that the gap between the contai¬ ner sides and the inner sides of the wheels of the con- tainer transporting device can, due to the better preci¬ sion in manoeuvering be kept small, which reduces the driving width of the container transporting device. When a long container has been laid down on the ground, the supporting beam can first be shortened to a smaller length, whereby less free space is required in front of the tow- inσ vehicle for allowinσ said vehicle to drive away to¬ gether with the container transporting device.

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying draw-- ings in which

Figures 1 and 2 show one preferred embodiment of a container transporting device according to the inven¬ tion in a side and top view, respectively, in the loading position, Figure 3 shows the container transporting device in a side view in the transport position, and

Figure 4 shows a front view of the container transporting device.

The container transporting device shown in the drawings comprises a transport frame 1 movable on wheels and comprising a horizontal supporting beam 2 and a U- shaped vertical trailing support having two shanks form¬ ing vertical support legs 3. To the front end of the supporting beam is fastened a vertical support leg 4 having a lower end provided with known connecting means 5 by means of which the transport frame is connected to a fifth wheel 7 of a towing vehicle 6.

Articulated arms 9 provided with wheels 10 are pivotally mounted at the lower ends of the supporting legs by means of pivot shaf 8. A pressure fluid cylin¬ der 11 is mounted to act between a fastening point 12 in the articulated arm and a fastening point 13 at the upper end of the support leg. The pivot shafts are perpendicular to a vertical plane passing through the supporting beam so that the articulated arms together with the wheels turn in vertical planes parallel with the supporting beam. The supporting beam 2 is telescopic and comprises two with respect to each other axially displaceable parts 2a, 2b. The hydraulic cylinders by means of which the parts are displaced are denoted by the reference numeral 18. The support leg 4 is likewise telescopic and comprises two parts 4a, 4b which are axially displaceable with respect to each other by means of operating means (not shown) .

To the supporting beam is fastened a horizontal transverse girder 14 provided with a first pair of grip¬ ping means 15 for engagement with a container to be trans¬ ported. A second pair of gripping means 15 is fastened to the horizontal transverse girder 16 of the U-shaped support legs 3. The construction described is dimensioned so that, under the supporting beam 2 and between the supporting legs 3, is provided a container space 17 having a height which, when the wheels are turned up, is somewhat bigger than the height of the container to be transported and width is only somewhat bigger than the width of the con¬ tainer. The distance between the pairs of gripping means corresponds, when the supporting beam is retracted to its shortest length, to the length of the shortest con¬ tainer to be transported (container space 17) and, when said beam is extended to its longest length, to the length of the longest container to be transported (container space 17').

When a container shall be transported, the length of the supporting beam 2 is by means of the hydraulic cylinders 18 adjusted so that the distance between the gripping means corresponds to the length of the container

O PI to be transported. Hereafter the container transporting device is backed over the container so that the gripping means 15 are located substantially vertically above the locks in the upper corners of the container. By means of the pressure fluid cylinders 11 , the articulated arms are turned upwards around the pivot shafts 8, while at the same time the support leg 4 is telescopically shorte¬ ned and the fifth wheel 7 of the vehicle is lowered so that the supporting beam 2 is lowered down while essen- tially maintaining its horizontal position. In the lowe¬ red position, the gripping means are positioned in the container locks and can be locked in engagement with them by means of mechanisms known per se. Hereafter, the arti¬ culated arms 9 are turned downwards, the support leg 4 is lengthened, and the fifth wheel 7 of the vehicle is raised at least so as to leave a sufficient ground clearance under the container. Figure 3 illustrates the container transporting device when lifted to the uppermost trans¬ port position. At the desired unloading location the opera- tions are repeated in the opposite order for releasing the container from the container transporting device.

It will be noted that, due to the telescopic construction of the supporting beam, the length of the container transporting device is simply adjustable accor- ding to the size of the container to be transported and that the rear wheels of the container transporting assembly can be kept as close as possible to the towing vehicle, which improves the precision in driving and reduces the space required for driving. The drawings and the description related thereto are only intended to illustrate the idea of the inven¬ tion. In its details, the container transporting device according to the invention may vary considerably within the scope of the claims. Although it is shown in the drawings that the transverse girders 14, 16 are rigidly secured to the supporting beam 2, it may be advantageous to secure one or each of the transverse girders to the supporting beam so that the transverse girders are adjus¬ table in the direction of their longitudinal axes with respect to the supporting beam. The gripping means of the transverse girders can thus be displaced outside the lateral plane of the towing vehicle which improves the driver's visibility and, accordingly, facilitates precise positioning of the gripping means at the container locks when backing the container transporting device over a container.

Claims

Claims :

1. A container transporting device towable by a vehicle, comprising a transport frame (1) movable on wheels, said frame providing a container space (17) for a container to be transported and comprising a longitudi¬ nal supporting beam (2) positioned above said container space (17) , said beam at one end being provided with connecting means (5) for connection to a traction vehicle (6) and at its opposite end with vertical support legs (3) provided with wheels (10) adjustable in vertical planes, gripping means (15) being mounted on said suppor¬ ting beam (2) for engagement with said container, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said supporting beam (2) comprises two parts (2a,2b) and is telescopic, and in that one part (2a) of said supporting beam is provided with gripping means (15) for one end of a container and the other part (2b) is provided with gripping means (15) for the opposite end of the container.

2. A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that said supporting beam (2) is dis¬ placeable between a retracted position, in which the distance between said gripping means (15) corresponds to the shortest length of the container space (17) , and an extended position, in which the distance between said gripping means (15) corresponds to the longest length of the container space (17*) .

3. A device according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e¬ r i z e d in that said gripping means (15) are fastened to a horizontal transverse girder (14) supported by said supporting beam (2) and to a horizontal transverse web (16) of the U-shaped support legs (3) .

4. A device according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e¬ r i z e d in that said transverse girder (14) and said _Web (16) are supported by said supporting beam (2) adjust¬ ably in the transverse direction of said supporting beam.