TRANSPORTABLE TRAILER WITH SELECTIVELY POSITIONABLE WHEELS

REMORQUE AVEC ROUES PIVOTANTES

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
In a transportable concrete, mortar or plaster mixer
of the trailer type having a mixing drum which is tiltable
about a longitudinal axis for discharging its contents to one
side, the trailer wheels are mounted on support structure
pivotally connected to the underside of the trailer adjacent
to its rear end. The support structure can be swung about its
pivot to bring the wheels from a normal transporting position
to a rearward position at which they are well clear of the drum
so as not to interfere with discharge of the contents. The
support structure can be locked in each of its operative
positions.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In a transportable mixer of the type comprising a
two-wheeled trailer having a longitudinally extending frame
having front and rear ends, a rotary mixing drum having
a frusto-conical discharge section with a restricted opening
therein through which the contents of the drum may be
discharged, a support cradle upon which the drum is rotatably
mounted, pivotal support means on said frame defining a
longitudinal axis, the support cradle being supported by
said pivotal support means and tiltable about said long-
itudinal axis for discharging the contents of the drum
to one side of the trailer, and drive means mounted on the
trailer and operatively coupled to the mixing drum for
rotating the drum, the improvement comprising:
a wheel support structure pivotally connected to
the underside of the trailer frame adjacent its rear end for
pivotal movement about a transverse axis,
an axle carried by the free end of said wheel support
structure,
a pair of road wheels mounted on the axle,
the support structure being pivotally movable
between a first position at which the wheel axle extends
beneath a mid-region of the trailer and a second position
at which the wheel axle extends rearwardly of said rear
end,
first means for locking the support structure in its
first position, and
second means for locking the support structure in
its second position.
2. A transportable mixer as claimed in claim 1, the
support cradle comprising a substantially U-shaped member
partially embracing the mixing drum and providing a pair

of cradle arms connected to said pivotal support means.
3. A transportable mixer as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the first and second locking means comprise a pair of
longitudinally spaced apertured keeper members mounted on
said frame, the wheel support structure having an aperture
therein which is registrable with the apertures of the
keeper members in the first and second positions of the
wheel support structure, respectively, and a locking pin
engageable with the registering apertures for securing the
wheel support structure in each of said first and second
positions.
4. A transportable mixer as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the wheel support structure is pivoted to the trailer
frame at a position nearer to the rearward one of said
keeper members than to the forward keeper member, whereby
the trailer frame is raised as the wheel support structure
is moved from the first to the second position.
5. A transportable mixer as claimed in claim 4, wherein
the frame provides stanchion means at its front end for
supporting said front end of the frame from the ground
when the trailer is detached from a towing vehicle.
6. In a transportable mixer of the type comprising a
two-wheeled trailer having a longitudinally extending frame
having front and rear ends, a mixing drum carried by the
frame and pivotal support means for the drum defining a
longitudinal pivotal axis about which the drum is tiltable
for discharging the contents of the drum to one side of the
trailer, the improvement comprising:
a wheel support structure pivotally connected to
the underside of the trailer frame adjacent its rear end for
pivotal movement about a transverse axis,

an axle carried by the free end of said wheel support
structure,
a pair of road wheels mounted on the axle,
he support structure being pivotally movable
between a first position at which the wheel axle extends
beneath a mid-region of the trailer and a second position
at which the wheel axle extends rearwardly of said rear
end,
first means for locking the support structure in its
first position,and
second means for locking the support structure in
its second position.
7. A transportable mixer as claimed in claim 6, wherein
the first and second locking means comprise a pair of
longitudinally spaced apertured keeper members mounted on
said frame, the wheel support structure having an aperture
therein which is registrable with the apertures of the
keeper members in the first and second positions of the
wheel support structure, respectively, and a locking pin
engageable with the registering apertures for securing the
wheel support structure in each of said first and second
positions.
8. A transportable mixer as claimed in claim 7, wherein
the wheel support structure is pivoted to the trailer
frame at a position nearer to the rearward one of said
keeper members than to the forward keeper member, whereby
the trailer frame is raised as the wheel support structure
is moved from the first to the second position.
9. A transportable mixer as claimed in claim 8, wherein
the frame provides stanchion means at its front end for
supporting said front end of the frame from the ground
when the trailer is detached from a towing vehicle.

Description

~L~4949~L
This invention relates to transportable mixers of the
trailer type such as, for example, concrete, mortar
and plaster mixers. The invention is particularly concerned
with transportable mixers of the type comprising a two-wheeled
trailer having a longitudinally extending frame having front and
rear ends, a mixing drum carried by the frame and pivotal support
means for the drum defining a longitudinal pivotal axis about
which the drum is tiltable for discharging the contents of
the drum to one side of the trailer. In the case of a concrete
mixer the mixing drum is rotatably mounted and is typically
carried by a U-shaped support cradle partially embracing the
drum.
One problem with this type of mixer is that the road
wheels of the trailer, to facilitate towing of the trailer,
have to be placed at a position at which they are inconveniently
near to the drum and tend to interfere with discharging from
the drum to one side of the trailer. On the other hand, if
the wheels are positioned clear of the drum so as not to
interfere with discharging operations, the weight distribution
of the trailer is necessarily such as to make towing difficult
or unsafe.
According to the present invention these difficulties ~ -
are overcome without unduly complicating the trailer
construction by mounting the road wheels of the trailer
on an axle carried by the free end of support structure
which is pivotally connected to the underside of the trailer
frame adjacent its rear end for pivotal movement about a
transverse axis, the support structure being pivotally
movable between a first position at which the wheel axle
extends beneath a mid-region of the trailer, such that the
road wheels are suitably positioned for transportation, and
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second position at which the wheel axle extends rearwardly
of the rear end of the trailer, such that the road whe~ls are
well clear of the mixing drum. First and second locking
means are provided for lockiny the wheel support structure
in each of its first and second operative positions.
One embodiment of the invention, as applied to a
transportable concrete mixer of the type re~Eerred to, will
now be described by way of example with reference to the
accompanying drawings. In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the mixer;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view showing the mixer
in its towing position; and
Figure 3 is a side elevational view showing the mixer
set up at a site and ready for use.
Referring to the drawings, the transportable concrete
mixer comprises a trailer having a longitudinally extending
frame 10. At the forward end of the trailer frame is a
hitch member 11 for coupling to a tractor, and extending
from the rear end of the trailer frame is a shelf 12 on
which is mounted a motor 13 for driving a mixing drum 14.
The mixing drum 14 is of the conventional type, being
rotatable about its axis and having a frusto-conical dis-
charge section 15 with a central discharge opening 16. The
mixing drum 14 is encircled by a ring gear 17 by which drive
is imparted for rotating the drum about its axis. The drum
is supported by, and rotatably mounted upon, a substantially
U-shaped cradle 18 which partially embraces the drum. The
upper ends of the legs of U-shaped cradle are journalled
on respective coaxial stub axles 19, 20l as illustrated at
21 and 22. These stub axles extend from respective bearing
blocks 23, 2~ at the upper ends of vertical frames 25, 26
on the trailer frame 10. Thus the stub axles 19, 20 define
a horizontal, longitudinal axis about which the U-shaped
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~9494
cradle 18 may be tilted to bring the mixing drum 14 from
the upright position shown to a dumping position. The motor
13 is coupled to the stub axle 19 by a belt and pulley drive
27, the stub axle carrying at its inner end a bevel gear 28
which is in engagement with the ring gear 17. The motor 13,
being mounted on the trailer, is thus operatively coupled
to the mixing drum for rotating the drum.
The trailer has a pair of road wheels 29, 30
mounted on a transverse wheel axle 31 carried by a wheel
support structure 32. The wheel support structure 32 is
pivotally connected at 33 to the underside of the trailer
frame 10 adjacent to the rear end of the trailer frame. The
arrangement is such that the wheel support structure can
be swung between two operative positions, namely the normal
towing position shown in Figure 2 and the normal "in use
on site" position shown in Figure 3. It will be seen from
the drawings that, when the wheel support structure 32 is
swung to the latter position, the road wheels 29, 30 are
moved rearwardly so as to clear the drum and thereby fac-
ilitate dumping, and in addition the trailer is raised tobring the drum to a convenient working height. In this
connection it should be mentioned that, for road transportation,
the centre oE gravity of the assembly should be as low
as possible, whereas it is desirable that the mixing drum
be raised for working on site.
The wheel support structure can be ~ocked in each
o its two operative positions. For this purpose front
and rear keeper members 34, 35 are provided on the trailer
frame 10, these keeper members having holes 36, 37 which
align with respective suitably positioned holes 38, 39
in the wheel support structure in each of its two operative
positions. A locking pin 40, engageable with the aligned
sets of holes, is provided to secure the wheel support structure
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1~49494
as required.
The front vertical frame member 26 includes a
stanchion which extends below the trailer frame 10 and has
a foot 41 at its bottom end. As illustrated in Figure 3,
the front end of the mixer is supported when in use on site
by the foot 41, which has a wide base enabling it to rest
on any suitably improvised support, such as a set of blocks
42~
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