Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to telescopic container bodies
mountable on a truck frame and trucks having such container
bodies. In particular, this invention relates to a telescopic
container body which incorporates an ejection bulkhead and
in which the ejection bulkhead is retained so as to move
freely along the section in which it is driven by means
of a plurality of flexible connector lines which also apply
a telescoping drive to the container body.
PRIOR ART
British patent specification No. 760,130 describes
a telescopic container body which incorporates a moving bulkhead
which is drawn through the container body by flexible cables.
In both of the embodiments the cables are shown extending in
the container space. Experience has shown that to extend
cables in the container space limits the nature of the load
which can be carried by the container body to one which will
not adversely interfere with the movement of the cables there-
through and the working like of the cables. While in the
patent specification reference is made to the objective of
providing a transmission for moving the bulkhead which will
prevent substantial tilting of the bulkhead when subjected to
uneven resistance to transverse or uneven loading over its
surface, the double-acting pull/pull transmission system which
is disclosed is far from simple in that it requires a complex
array of pulleys in order to permit each cable to have one
end fastened to one face of the bulkhead and its other end
fastened to the other face of the bulkhead so that the cables
can pull the bulkhead to the discharge position and pull the
bulkhead in the opposite direction to the extended position.
It is b~eved that considerable difficulty would be experienced
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-in operating this mechanism to achieve the objective of
preventing tilting of the ~ulkhead as it is pulled along.
~he multiplicity of pulleys and lengths of cable which are
required are such that considerable difficulty would be
experienced in maintaining the mechanism in good working
order.
Russian Patent No. 274,057 discloses a telescoping
container body which has a movable bulkhead in which separate
power sources are provided for effecting the telescoping of
the container body and for effecting the movement of the
bulkhead. The duplication of power cylinders adds considerably
to the cost of the mechanism. The Russian patent also
discloses a complex telescoping guide mechanism for attempting
to maintain alignment of the moving bulkhead.
The mechanism of the preferred embodiment of the
present invention for effecting telescoping of the container
body and movement of the bulkhead i5 less expensive than
that of the Ru~sian patent in that the drive mechanism which
is used for movement of the bulkhead also effects a simultan-
eous movement of the container body to the contracted position,thereby eliminating one of the drive mechanisms of the Russian
patent. Furthermore, the drive mechanism while providing for
the simultaneous telescoping and movement of the bulkhead is
substantially less complicated than that of the British patent
described above in that all of the pulleys and cables required
for pulling the bulkhead in the British patent have been
elinated and replaced by an extensible hydraulic drive
mechanism.
It has been found that a most efficient vement of
the bulkhead is achieved by pushing the bulkhead and transverse
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alignment of the bulkhead can be maintained by connecting the
bulkhead to points at the front end of the outer section of
the telescoping body which are held stationary by extending
the cable around a guide which is carried by the front section
and moves with the front section so that movement of the
bulkhead and movement of the telescoping body occurs simul-
taneously.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Aacording to one aspect of the present invention,
a telescopic container body comprising an inner section and
an outer section, the inner section being mounted in the outer
section for movement with respect to the outer section between
an extended position and a contracted position, the inner
section and the outer section each having a front end and a
back end, the back end of the inner section opening into the
front end of the outer section, the back end of the outer
section having means or permitting a load to be discharged
therethrough, an ejection bulkhead mounted in said inner
section and extending transversely thereacross, said ejection
bulkhead being mounted for vement between a loading position
disposed adjacent the front end of said inner section and a
discharge position disposed adjacent the back end of said inner
section, an extensible hydraulic drive assembly having a
first end secured with respect to the front end of said inner
section and a second end secured to said bulkhead, first
guide means on said inner section adjacent the back end thereof,
flexible connector line means connected at a first end thereof
to said bulkhead and being secured at the other end thereof
against movement in response to telescoping movement of said
inner section with respect to said back section, said flexible
connector means extending from the ejection bulkhead toward
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the front end of said inner section, around said first guide
means and thereafter toward the front end of said outer
section to be retained at a point adjacent the front end of
said outer section whereby extension of said extensible
hydraulic drive assembly drive said bulkhead relative to said
inner section in a direction towards said discharge position
and thereby moves said one end of said flexible connector
means away from said first guide means to effect a simultaneous
movement of said inner section with respect to said outer
section in a direction toward said contracted position, and
means for moving the telescopic container body to the extended
position and simultaneously moving the ejection bulkhead
to the loading position.
According to a further aspect of the present inven- :
tion, a telescopic container body comprises an inner section
and an outer section, the inner 9ection being mounted in the
outer section for movement with respect to the outer section
between an extended position and a contracted position, the
inner section and the outer section each having a front end
and a back end, the back end of the inner section opening into
the front end of the outer section, the back end of the
outer section being adapted to open to permit a load to be
discharged therethrough, an ejection bulkhead mounted in said
inner section and extending transversely thereacross, said
ejection bulkhead having a leading face directed toward the
back end of said inner section and a trailing face directed
toward the front end of said inner section, said ejection
bulkhead being mounted for movement between a loading position
disposed adjacent the front end of said inner section and
a discharge position disposed adjacent the back end of said
inner section, said bulkhead having at least three alignment
anchor locations arranged at spaced points on said trailing
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face, imaginary lines drawn through adjacent spaced points
defining the perimeter of a push area which is located
inwardly thereof on said trailing face, an extensible hydraulic
drive assembly having a first end secured with respect to
the front end of said inner section and a second end secured to
said trailing face of said bulkhead in said push area, said
extensible hydraulic drive being operable to drive said bulk-
head to and fro between said loading and discharge positions
first guides on said inner section adjacent the back end
thereof, a plurality of flexible connector lines each having
a first end and a second end, said connector lines having
their first ends connected to said bulkhead, one at each anchor
point, said connector lines extending forwardly from their
associated anchor points and around one of said first guides
and thereafter extending rearwardly to be retained against
movement with respect to said front section at points in
the proximity of the position which the front end of the inner
section is to be located wherein the inner sectlon is in said
contracted pos:ition, whereby extension of said extensible
hydraulic drive assembly drives said bulkhead relative to
said inner section in a direction toward said discharge
position and the bulkhead draws the first ends of the flexible
connector lines away from said first guide means to effect
a simultaneous movement of said inner section with respect
to said outer section in a direction toward said contracted
position, said flexible connector lines being inextensible
such that they maintain the transverse alignment of the
bulkhead and thereby prevent bindi~g of the bulkhead with
respect to the inner section as it is driven therealong toward
said discharge position, and means for moving the telescopic
.
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container body to the ext~nded position to simultaneously
move the ejection bulkhead to th~ loading position.
PREFERRED EMBODIMæNT
The invention will be more clearly understood after
re~rence to the following detailed specification read in
conjunction with the drawings, wherein
Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a telescopic
container body showing a movable bulkhead in a loading
position;
Fig. 2 is a side view similar to Fig. 1 showing the
telescopic container body in an intermediate partially
telescoped position;
Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic side view similar to Fig.
2 showing the telescopic container body in the fully telescoped
position;
Fig, 4 is a pictorial side view of a container body
constructed in accordance with a further embodiment of the
present invention showing four flexible connector lines
connected to the bulkhead;
Fig. 5 is a front view of the trailing face of the
bulkhead showing four alignment anchor locations arranged
in a generally rectangular configuration;
Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig ! 5 showing three
alignment anchor locations arranged in a triangular
coniguration;
Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing three
alignment anchor locations arranged in a triangular configura-
tion;
Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic side view of a telescopic
container body illustrating an alternative guidance system
of the bulkhead;
Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic side view of the container
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body of Figure 8 showing the bulkhead in a second position; and
Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 showing
the bulkhead in the ejection position.
With reference to the drawings, the reference numeral
10 refers generally to a container body according to an
embodiment inven~ion. The telescopic container body is
mounted on the frame 12 of a road-going vehicle such as a
... .
truck and is preferably self-contained. The telescopic
container body consists of an inner section 14 and an outer
' ~ section 16. The inner section 14 forms the front end of
. . .
the container body when the container body is extended and
is movable with respect to the outer section 16 between the
extended loading position shown in Fig. 1 and the contracted
discharge position shown in Fig. 3. The outer section 16
is ~secured with respect to the frame 12 by any conventional
container body mounting structure. The inner section 14 has
a transverse support 18 at the front end thereof. The back
end 20 of the inner section 14 is open and ~ens into the
front end of the outer section 16. A tailgate 26 is located
20 at the back end 24 of the outer section 16. The tailgate
26 is hingedly mounted at its upper end to the back end 24
of the outer section 16 and serves to close the back end 24
of the outer section 16. The tailgate 26 is provided with
a conventional locking mechanism (not shown) for locking it
in the closed position~' The tailgate 26 is automatically
moved from the closed position to the open position by
engagement with lugs 25 which project rearwardly from the
back end of the inner section 14.
An ejection bulkhead 36 is mounted within the inner
30 section 14 and extends transversely thereacross. The ejection
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bulkhead 36 has an inclined leading face 38 and a trailing face
22. An extensible hydraulic drive assembly 60 has a front
section 62 mounted on the transverse support wall 18 so that
it is fixed with respect to the inner section 14 and an outer
section 64 connected to the trailing face 22 of the bulkhead
38. Expansion of the extensible hydraulic drive assembly 60
causes the bulkhead 38 to be moved from the retracted pOSition
shown in Fig. 1 to the extended pOsition shown in Fig. 3.
To avoid the necessity of providing a separate
powerful exten5ible hydraulic drive assembly for telescoping
the inner section 14 with respect tothe outer section 16 of
the container body, a plurality of flexible connector lines 50
are providea and extena forwardly from anchor points
54 on the trailing face of the bulkhead 38 around guide
pulleys 56 which are mounted on and movable with the inner ;~
section 14 at the front end thereof and thereaf~er the flexible
connector linec~ extend rearwardly to the front end of the
outer section 16 and are connected thereto at points 54. It
will be noted that in extending rearwardly from the pulleys
56 to the front end of the outer body section, the cables
extend out with the container space with the result that
at no time do any of the cables extend within the load carrying
space. It will also be noted that by reason of the fact that
the points 52 are mounted on the outer section, the entire --
container body can be mounted on the frame 12 merely by means
of conventional body mounting systems. Thus, it will be seen
that none of the mountings for the flexible connector lines
need be secured with respect to stationary frame members. It
will, however, be apparent that the points 52 could be located
on the frame 12 and may in fact be located rearwardly of the
~ront end of the outer section 16. It is, however, important
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that the connector lines 50 extend to a point in close proximity
to positi-on which the front end of the inner section 14 will
assume when the container body is telescoped to the pOSition
shown in Fig. 3 merely by the movement of the guide pulleys
56 resulting from the advancement of the bulkhead 38.
With particular reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings,
it will be noted that the flexible connector lines 50 extend
forwardly from the trailing face of the bulkhead and are
subjected to a tensile load greater tha~ that required to
move the inner section 14 with respect to the outer section
16. The flexible connector lines 50 act as a restraining
harness which prevents transverse misalignment of the bulk-
head as it is moved along the inner section.
If one side of the bulkhead 38 encountered a greater
resistance to forward movement than the other side, the flexible
connector lines 50 would not permit one side of the bulkhead
to move in advance of the other side because it i5 impossible
to extend one of the flexible connector lines 50 ahead of
its associated guide pulley 56 further than any of the other
flexible connector lines 50. To extend one flexible connector
line 50 beyond another flexible connector line would require
the inner section 14 of the container body to move out of
alignment with the outer section 16 so that the pulleys 56
on one side of the container body could be located closer to
their associated connecting points 52 on the front end of the
outer section. The fact that the container body consists of
only two long sections which are telescoped one within the
other prevents such an occurrence, particularly when the
sections are telescoped one within the other when moving from
th~extended position to the contracted position. Thus it will
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be seen that the simultaneous movement of the bulkhead and
telescoping of the container body contributes to the maintenance
Of transverse alignment of the bulkhead.
It will be apparent from t~e foregoing that the
extensible hydraulic assembly 60 is only useful for returning
the bulkhead 38 to the retracted position and in order to
return the container body to the extended position, a secondary
hydraulic drive cylinder 28 is proved. The secondary hydraulic
drive cylinder 28 is mounted on mounting lugs 30 which are
secured to the outer section 16 at the back end thereof. A
ram 32 projects from the outer end of the cylinder 28 and has
its outer end secured at 34 with respect to the front end of
the inner section 14. By activating the hydraulic cylinder 28
to extend the ram 32, the container body may be moved from ;~
the retracted position shown in Fig. 3 to the extended position
shown in Fig. 1 and the bulkhead 38 will automatically be
moved to the retracted position shown in Fig. 1, the hydraulic
drive 60 having been previously vented.
The flexible connector lines 50 may be in the form
of wire cables, rope belts or chains. If chains are used,
the pulleys 56 would be in the form of sprockets.
In use, the container body is positioned as shown
in Fig. 1 of the drawings to receive a load. The entire
container body then may be loaded with any material capable
of being discharged directly through the end of the container
body. The container body may be used to transport granular
materials or other semi-fluid materials.
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In order to discharge a load at a job site, the
tailgate locking mechanism is released and hydraulic fluid is
supplied to the extensible hydraulic drive 60. The hydraulic
drive 60 begins its extension and moves the bulkhead 38 rear-
wardly to displace the load toward the discharge end. Simul-
taneously the inner section 14 is telescoped with respect to the
outer section. The movement of the bul~head and the telescopins
continues until the container body is in ~eposi~on shown in Fig.
3 in which the entire load has been discharged.
Various modifications of the structure illustrated in
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings will be apparent to those skilled
in the art. Fig. 4 illustrates an alternative construction in
which the flexible connector lines extend around guides 56a and
are disposed in an outwardly overlying relationship with respect
to the siae walls-of the container body and are secured at
connecting points 52a to the sides of the back section lG. It
will be noted that the points 52a are spaced 8 ~ubstantial dis-
tance rearwardly from the front end of the outer section 16,
the important point being that the cables extend from the guides
56a at least as far as the front end of the outer section 16.
To ensure that the connector lines 50 operate
efficiently to retain the transverse alignment of the bulkhead,
the moving end of the hydraulic cylinder unit 60 is connected to
the trailing face 22 of the bulkhead in a pushing area 70 which
lies within the confines of imaginary lines 72 drawn between
adjacent anchor points 54, as sho~m in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 of the
drawings. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the
anchor points 54 are arranged in a generally rectangular configur-
ation so that the pushing area 70 is also of a generally rect-
ang~lar configuration_ ~hile the connector lines 50 will be
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effective when the hydraulic drive assembly is connected at
any point within the confines of the pushing area, the
outer end portion 64 of hydraulic cylinder 60 is preferably
connected to the bulkhead at a level below half the height
of the bulkhead. Fig. 6 shows an alternative arrangement
wherein the anchor locations 54 are arranged in a generally
triangular configuration with two of the connections being ~ ;~
located toward the lower edge and one location being located
toward the upper edge of the bulkhead. Fig. 7 shows a
further alternative wherein the anchor connections 54 are
; located two on one side and one on the other side of the
hydraulic cylinder arm 64.
Figures 8 to 10 serves to illustrate an alternative
drive mechanism which does not employ the preferred
arrangement of anchor points. In this embodiment only
two anchor points 54 are provided and these anchor points
are arranged on adjacent each side of the movable bulkhead.
While the preferred form of mounting of the anchor points
has proven to be particularly advantageous, the arrangement
shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10 of the drawings will operate
~atisfactorily. In applications where the load which is
to be discharged i5 easily discharged from the container
body no additional guidance is required for the bulkhead.
In other applications, however, additional guidance may be
provided in the form of the preferred arrangement of anchor
points and cables.
Various other modifications will be apparent to
those skilled in the art without depar~ing from the scope
of the invention. For example, while ~n the container body
';-scribed in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the body
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is provided with a tailgate 26 it will be understood that
the ejection mechanism of the present invention is applicable
to container bodies which do not have a tailgate and are open
at the back end and to bodies which have alternative forms
of discharge openings at the back end thereof. Furthermore,
it will be understood that while the bulkhead is illustrated
as having an inclined leading face, the mechanism of the
present invention is capable of moving the bulkhead over
the full length of the inner section with the result that the
leading face may be vertically oriented or may have any
preferred configuration which will assist the discharging
of the load. In a further modification the hydraulic cylinder
28 which is used for the purpose of extending the container
body may be replaced by a power operated winch or the like
which may be connected by means of a cable to the front end
of the inner section of the container body. In addition, it
will be noted that while only one main hydraulic cylinder 62
is shown as providing the main drive for moving the bulkhead
to the discharge position this one cylinder could be replaced
by two or more cylinders. Furthermore, the main drive
cylinder or cylinders need not be arranged to extend on
a longitudinal axis of the container body but may articulate
during their extension and contraction. The cylinders may
have one end hinged at points arranged on opposite sides
of the front end of the container body and their other end
connected to the bulkhead at points spaced inwardly from
the side edges thereof. The cylinders will then articulate
when expanded and contracted and in the contracted configu-
ration they may extend substantially parallel to the bulkhead
thereby avoiding the necessity of providing a large gap
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between the front end of the front section of the container
body and the cab of the vehicle.
Furthermore, it should be noted that while the
container body of the present invention isi~lustrated as
being mounted on the frame of a truck or the like, the body
might also be of a frameless construction. A rameless
construction would be achieved by extending the outer section
16 so that it extends over substantially the full extended
length of the container body, that is to say, to a point
adjacent the front wall 18 of the inner section 14 when
the container body if arranged in the position illustrated
in Figure 1 of the drawings. In such an application ground
engaging wheels may be mounted directly on the underside of
the outer section 16 so that the container body is frameless.
~hese and other modifications of the illustrated embodiments
will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
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