FR2670173A2 - Trailer with combined centring and hitching means - Google Patents

Abstract

The trailer (1) according to the invention includes a main hitching means (2) moving up and down, sliding fore and aft with respect to the road-going position of the said trailer (1), the said hitching means (2) being combined with a device for flexibly fixing the front part (5) of the said trailer (1) onto the roof of the said towing vehicle using a transverse and vertical centring means sliding fore and aft on slideways, the operation of immobilising the sliding taking place, for driving along, via a bolt (95), the said operation being made automatic by a wedging piece (114) moving at the moment of the main hitch (2) sliding aft.

Description

This addendum relates to main patent No. 89
1636 of December 7, 1989, and its addition NO 9012086 of September 27, 1990, which relate to a trailer comprising an articulated main coupling means integral with said trailer and hanging on the rear of the towing vehicle on a usual ball hook, integral of said vehicle and usable with any other conventional trailer, according to international road regulations, while retaining very rapid coupling and uncoupling possibilities of said trailer with said towing vehicle, despite the combined use of a flexible fixing device of the front part of said trailer on the roof of said vehicle by a centering means
transverse and vertical integral with said trailer, with sliding front / rear and possibility of fixing said means, as desired, before or after that of the main coupling of the trailer at the rear of said vehicle.

To achieve this goal the trailer is mainly characterized in that
The main coupling means of said trailer, object of the invention, consists of the following elements
A - a coupling head in which the ball of said towing vehicle is housed.

 B - a body in which the brake system piston can be housed.

 C - one or two articulated arms connecting said body to a rotation shaft allowing said coupling head to move up or down.

 D - one or more springs, at the ends integral with the main coupling, the other with the chassis or the body of the trailer, optionally mounted to damp said up or down movements.

E - a means of sliding said articulation shaft of the hitch consisting of lights of elongated shapes or of slideways with rollers or ball bearings or else made of self-lubricating material for example or, according to a VARIANT, the subject of the present Additive: a sliding means, consisting of metal plates or runners sliding in rails allowing the displacement forwards or backwards of said articulation shaft of the coupling at the ends of which
said plates or pads are connected, this displacement entered
at the same time, the displacement of the coupling head
either on a plane perpendicular to the axis of the axle (s), or at an angle, more to the right or more to the left, this device
of mobility allowing, with the movement of ascent or descent
described in C, extremely easy hooking of said coupling head on the ball of said towing vehicle.

F - blocking of the sliding of the articulation shaft
of the coupling in the road position, after realignment of the trailer and the towing vehicle in the median vertical plane,
can be secured by a screw fitted with a nut holding firmly in rear stopper perpendicular to the longitu axis
dinal of said trailer, said coupling while authorizing
the upward or downward movement of the head, described in C
ALTERNATIVE subject of the previous Addendum: a blockage
made up of transverse or vertical locks held by springs, immobilizes the sliding of the rotation shaft
in its road position; unlocking is carried out by operating a pedal or a handle.

IN ADDITION, the subject of this Addendum, the locks
are kept in the unlocked position by a wedging piece, sliding or pivoting, driven by a spring.

When said pad or plate comes into sliding stop
on the rear safety end caps securely attached to the rails,
said wedging piece is pushed back by the metal pad
or self-lubricating, or else the roller plate secured to a
end of hitch rotation shaft, with stretch
said retaining spring and automatic release of the qai locks then block the sliding of said shaft
the main coupling in its road position.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the present Additive to the invention NO 8916367, and its ADDITION NO 9012086, complete the plates.
1 and 2 of the invention, 1 of the addition, and represent -6sentenùdes examples, non-limiting, of VARIANTS AND COMPLEMENTS of realizations described on -PLATE 1 of this additive
- Figure 1 shows a detailed view of the hitch
main, its sliding and locking system.

According to Figure 1 the main coupling (2) consists of a coupling head (3) secured to a body (13) connected to a rotation shaft (21) by two arms (20); the means for sliding the shaft (21) of articulation up and down of the main coupling (2) is here represented by two C-rails (89) secured to the frame (27), one in the example on the right in which rollers (90) slide two by two fixed on plates (91), the other in the example in the left in which slides a shoe (113), the rotation shaft (21) integral with the arms (20) also being made integral with the plates (91) right example, or pads (113) left example, by crossing the arms (20) the plates (91) and the rollers (90) at its ends (92).

The main coupling (2), shown trailer (1) and towing vehicle (11) in line on their median axis (6), the plates
(91) and pads (113) abutting on the rear safety end caps (93) securely fixed to the rails (89), will be maintained in the road position by latches (95) which will pass through both the plates (91) , the rails (89), in the right example presented, they will also cross the rear roller (96) in the left example they will cross the pads (113), effectively blocking the sliding movement towards the front of the main coupling (2), said coupling (2) can in no case leave the rails (89) to which it is secured by the installation of additional safety end caps before (94).

The locks (95) connected together by a rod (97) sliding in yokes (98) integral with the rails (89) and the chassis (20) are pulled strongly and held in the locked position by a tension spring (99) fixed on one side to the latches (95) and on the other to the chassis (20).

The unlocking of the main coupling (2) is carried out manually by raising a handle (100) acting on levers (101/102), articulated on axes (103/104) connected to the chassis (20), of which l action removes locks
(95) of their hitch locking position (2) for the road; the lever operating and articulation system
(101/102) can be reversed, to replace the lifting of a handle (100) by the lowering of a pedal causing at the end of the race the unwinding of the sliding of the coupling (2)
As soon as the sliding of the coupling (2) is unlocked manually, and the plate (91) or the shoe (113) slightly advances the handle (100) can be released, a wedging piece (114) moving at the same time, by pivoting on the axis (115) under the traction of a spring (116) by preventing the latches (95) from crossing the rails (89), and by authorizing the sliding on the right as on the left of the coupling main (2) in order to facilitate detachment or attachment of the coupling head (3) to the ball of the towing vehicle
The main hitch (2) is locked, automatically thereafter, when by sliding the hitch (2) backwards, the plate (91) or the shoe (113) abuts by its end (117) on the rear safety end piece (93) and at the same time bears on the wedging piece (114) by stretching the spring (116) holding said piece (114) which moves and causes the transverse displacement of the latches (95) in the road blocking position of the coupling (2) under the effect of the spring (99) for positioning said latches (95.

Claims (2)

1 - Trailer according to claims 1 of main patent NO 8916367 of the type in which the means for sliding forwards or backwards of the shaft (21) and articulation up and down of the arms ( 20) of the main coupling (2), is produced by two longitudinal rails (89) in which elements integral with the rotation shaft (21) slide, characterized in that after the sliding of the coupling has been unlocked main (2), once the handle (100) released after a slight advance of the plate (91) or the shoe (113), a wedging piece (114) moves by pivoting or sliding under the effect of a spring (116) and prevents the latches (95) from crossing the rails (89), which allows sliding on the right as on the left of the main coupling (2) in order to facilitate the detachment or the attachment of the head d hitch (3) on the towing vehicle ball. 2 - Trailer according to claim 1 characterized in that the locking of the main coupling (2) takes place automatically when, by sliding the coupling (2) rearward, the plate (91) or the pad ( 113) abuts by its end (117) on the rear safety end piece (93) and at the same time comes to rest on the wedging piece (114) by stretching the spring (116) for holding in the wedging position of said part (114) which then moves and causes the transverse displacement of the latches (95) in the road blocking position of the coupling (2) under the effect of the spring (99) for positioning said latches (95).