DONAHUE JIFFY ROLLER DUMPER AND EXTEND-A-BOX

BENNE BASCULANTE RAPIDE ET RALLONGE DE PLATEAU DONAHUE

English Abstract

Running gear consisting of a track and carriage is installed on the bed of a pick-up truck
or on a flat bed trailer in such a manner as to allow a hopper or cargo box to be attached to it.
The hopper rides on the carriage assembly which runs along two parallel channel rails
attached to the truck bed. The hopper and its cargo are pulled out manually until a point of
equilibrium is reached. As the hopper and load are pulled out past the point of equilibrium, a
break in the top of the channel rails allows the rear axle on the carriage to rise up out of the
track, and because the carriage and hopper are now over balanced, the hopper tilts up
thereby dumping the load behind the truck.
The carriage may also be used as a truck bed extender by removing the hopper from the
carriage assembly and extending the carriage to its maximum position and locking it in place.
This would then support loads longer than the length of the bed of the truck.

Claims

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THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Track Assembly 1, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, as shown in figures 1, and 2.
2. The Carriage Assembly 4, 5A, 5B, 5C, 6, 7, 9 as shown in figures 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Description

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Disclosure For The Donahue JifFY Roller Dumper And Extend - A - Box
This invention provides for a simple, reliable, inexPensive, and safe way to dump loads
for a pick-up truck or flat-bed trailer. At present, there are electric and hydraulic dumping
systems available for pick-up trucks. However these have the d~ ' of being very
expensive, cull,, ' ' d, and dfflicultto install. The Donahue JifFy Roller DumperAnd Extend
- A - Box is a c~ll",l~t~ly manual system (there are no manual dumping systems currently
available on the market), that is i"~xpel~iv~, very reliable with very few parts, easy to install,
and adaptable to any size and make of pick-up truck. A" "" .l-'ly, it is adaptable for use as a
truck bed extender for carrying long loads.
The invention consists of running gear consisting of a track and a carriage being installed
on the bed of a pick-up truck or flat bed trailer in such a manner as to allow a hopper or cargo
box to be attached to it. The carriage holding the hopper is pulled out manually along the
track until a point of equilibrium is reached. As the carriage is pulled past the point of
equilibrium, the rear axle of the carriage is released through an opening in the track allowing
the carriage to tilt up and dump the load.
The track ffigure 1.) consists of two parallel channel rails (1) placed so that the inner
track portion of each rail faces the other at a ~ d~ ed distance. The rails are welded to

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two cross members of flat iron (2) which extend a short way past each rail. A bolt hole (2A) is
bored through the ends of the flat iron cross members so that the rail assembly can be bolted
(2B) to the truck bed ffigure 2.). In order to be bolted four matching bolt holes are bored
through the truck bed (figure 2.).
The carriage consists of two parallel channel rails (4) of a size smaller than the track rails
placed so that the inner track portion of each rail faces the other at a ~ d~. ",i"ed distance.
The rails are welded to three axles (5A 5B 5C) which are placed at right angles to the rails
passing through the rails as shown in figure 3. Steel rollers (7) are attached to the ends of
each axle. The steel rollers fit inside and ride along the inside of the two track channel rails
enabling the whole carriage assembly to ride back and forth along the track. Three (or more)
cross members are attached to the top of the carriage channel rails at right angles to the rails
at a ~,~d~t~.",i"ed distance from each other (6). The hopper or cargo box (8) is attached to
the cross members (6) of the carriage ffigure 4.).
A slot or opening (3) is cut into the top of each track channel rail (1) at a ~ d~L~""i"ed
distance along the length of the rail. As the carriage and hopper are pulled manually along
the rails out the back of the truck the carriage and hopper reach a point of equilibrium where
half the load is out the back of the truck balanced by the other half of the carriage and hopper
which is still resting in the bed of the truck. As the carriage and hopper is pulled past the

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point of equilibrium, the carriage and hopper will want to tilt to the ground due to gravity
because the load is now more off the truck than is on the truck. However, the load can not tilt
to the ground yet because the steel rollers (7) of the rear axle of the carriage (5A) are riding
along the upper inside portion of the track channel rails (1) keeping the carriage and hopper
level with the truck bed. When the steel rollers (7) of the rear axle (5A) reach the slot or
opening (3) in the top of the track channel rails (1), the rollers (7) of the rear axle (5A) are
released to come free of the track channel rails (1), allowing the carriage and hopper to pivot
on the middle axle (5B). The carriage and hopper tilt up due to gravity and the load is
dumped on the ground (figure 5.).
Two wire preventors (9) attaching the ends of the middle axle (5B) to the bolts (2A) on
the flat iron cross member (2) closest to the cab of the truck are of such a length that they
keep the carriage assembly from coming out of the track and falling to the ground.
To create a truck box extender, the hopper or cargo box is detached from the hopper is
set aside. The carriage is then extended to its maximum length and locked in place. The
extended carriage locked to the rail assembly which is bolted to the truck bed will support a
load longer than the length of the truck bed and allow it to be carried safely ffigure 6.).

Representative Drawing