GB2188029A - Skip and handling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A transportable skip (14) of rectangular shape in which pairs of trunnions (16) are provided on the front and rear ends of the skip and axially aligned pivot bearings (17) are provided between each pair of trunnions. A handling vehicle is provided with lifting arms each connectable by slings to the associated pair of trunnions on the front or rear ends of the skip, and the arms are pivotable about a longitudinally extending axis at one side of the vehicle to effect unloading or loading of the skip to or from the side of the vehicle. The bearings are releasably engageable by jack operated spur members (12) on the vehicle either to locate the skip when loaded on the vehicle or to permit sideways tipping of the skip when it is being unloaded. The skip can have additional pairs of trunnions on the sides thereof to enable the skip to be loaded or unloaded rearwardly on a conventional handling vehicle. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A transport and loading skip and the road vehicle for handling it The present invention relates to a skip with a new method of transport and handling, and it also concerns a vehicle designed to carry out the handling of it.

By French Patent 1 010 863 the use of a skip provided in its upper part with four lateral trunnions for handling is known. Such a skip may be deposited on the ground to receive various objects. Once it is full, it is loaded by equipment specially provided on a lorry for this purpose: this equipment lifts the skip from the ground and loads it on to the carrying platform of the vehicle. It may thus be carried and be replaced.

The device provided for this purpose on the lorry is constituted by a swinging gantry. The upper cross-piece of this gantry is provided with two pairs of slings, chains or similar equipment from each of which a lifting shackle is suspended. It is known that, when the operator swings the lifting gantry towards the back of his vehicle, the shackles are lowered until it is just possible to attach each one to one of the trunnions on the skip. Then it is only necessary to lift the gantry again to raise the skip from the ground and deposit it on the carrying platform of the lorry.

The advantages of this arrangement are well known. Nevertheless an inconvenience results from the fact that the skip must pass between the two vertical arms of the gantry. The distance between these latter being restricted by the overall dimensional limits of the transport regulations, it is therefore necessary to reduce this authorised width limit by the thickness of the two gantry uprights, so that the overall width of the skip is necessarily very much smaller than that authorised by the transport regulations.

In addition, the known system makes it necessary to load and unload the skip to the rear of the lorry, to the exclusion of all sideways handling.

The present invention is intended to avoid these disadvantages by providing a handling device and corresponding skips which permit both: -the lateral unloading of a new type of skip of which the overall width may be closely equal to the overall width limit fixed by the transport regulations; -the handling likewise sideways, of a skip of smaller width which may be used also by a lorry of known type which loads and unloads rearwards.

A device according to the invention comprises on the one hand two pivoted lifting arms which project above the loading platform of a lorry, a pair of slings being suspended from the end of each of them, and on the other hand a rectangular skip carrying in its upper part, along the external wall, at least two opposed pairs of trunnions, each of which is able to receive the shackle of one of the slings, and it is characterised in that: -the two pivoted arms swing about a common geometrical axis arranged longitudinally near to one of the sides of the platform; -on the other hand, on the skip, the two pairs of trunnions are located along the short sides of the rectangle, that is to say respectively along the front and along the back of the skip.

Following another characteristic of the invention, between the two front and between the two rear trunnions the skip carries an external pivot, these two pivots lying along the same axis and able to receive a longitudinal locking spur, sliding longitudinally, carried in the corresponding zone of the swinging arm which is opposite the pivot when the skip rests in the transport position on the lorry platform.

According to another characteristic of the invention, each of the two longitudinal spurs is operated by a locking and unlocking jack carried on the corresponding swinging arm.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the overall width of the skip is closely equal to the legal maximum width allowed by the transport regulations.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the skip has both: -the reduced width of a known skip for handling between the lateral arms of a gantry swinging backwards and forwards on the lorry, whilst the two pairs of trunnions with which it is provided are arranged on its two longer sides, parallel to the longitudinal sides of the lorry platform; along the outside of its two transverse sides, front and back, two pairs of handling trunnions,. between each pair of which there is a latching pivot in order to swing the skip around its central longitudinal axis when the two pivots in question are locked.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the narrow skip also carries in the known way along its lower circumference pivots for tipping when it is on the lorry.

The attached drawings, given by way of non-limiting example, will allow the characteristics of the invention to be better understood.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a wide skip according to the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of a narrow skip according to the invention, Figure 3 shows a lorry of known type with a gantry swinging backwards and forwards when it is handling the narrow skip of Figure 2, Figure 4 shows this same narrow skip when it is on the platform of a lorry according to the invention designed for lateral loading, Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 when the lorry carries a wide skip according to Figure 1, Figure 6 is a rear view in the direction of the arrow VI (Figure 5), Figure 7 is a similar view when the device is tipping the skip to the side of the lorry, Figure 8 is a similar view when the device is unloading the skip to the side of the lorry, Figure 9 is an overall view showing diagrammatically how a narrow skip of the type shown in Figure 2 may be handled as required:: -either by a lorry according to the invention for lateral loading: -or by a lorry of the known type for loading and unloading rearwards.

On the drawings there is shown a lorry 1 according to the invention, which has a loading and transport platform 2. On the sides of this platform, around a geometrical axis 3 are pivoted two swinging arms 4 and 5. Each of them has an elbowed shape, formed by a base section 6 pivoting on the axis 3 and a lifting section 7. From the end of the latter are suspended two slings 8 each of which ends in a handling shackle 9.

On the two facing surfaces of the two arms 4 and 5 there are mounted between the sections 6 and 7 two latching jacks 10 and 11 facing each other. Each of these jacks has a horizontal latching spur 12 which it can move longitudinally as shown by the double arrows XIII (Figure 5).

On the side of the platform 2, on the same side as the pivoting axis 3, there are preferably provided two stabilising legs 13 fitted with known means to withdraw them as required inwards on to the lorry 1, or on the contrary to extend them to bear on the ground as shown in Figure 9.

A skip 14 according to the invention is in the form of a rectangular skip of the known type, and it presents the particular attribute of having an overall width 15 closely equal to the width limit fixed by the transport regulations. In addition, this skip carries: -at the front a pair of handling trunnions able to take the shackles 9 of the arm 4, and an external tubular bearing 1 7 able to receive the latching spur 12 of the front jack 10; -at the rear, in a similar way, a pair of trunnions 16 arranged one on each side of a longitudinal bearing 17 are provided to be able to receive the latching spur 12 of the rear jack 11.

The operation is as follows: When the skip 14 is placed on the ground beside the lorry 1 (Figure 8), the driving means provided for the swinging arms 4 and 5 are operated to pivot the arms laterally as far as the position shown by 18 in Figure 8.

The user may then attach the two pairs of shackles 9 to the two pairs of trunnions 16, while the slings 8 remain slack. Then it is only necessary to raise the arms 4, 5, then the legs as shown diagrammatically by arrow 19, to deposit the skip 14 on the platform 2. The assembly then occupies the position shown in Figure 6, and may be carried by road without exceeding the width limits of the transport regulations.

The latching in the transport position is completed by operating the jacks 10 and 11 so as to extend their latching spurs 12, each of which engage in the corresponding bearing 17 of the skip 14.

If on the other hand the user wishes to tip, that is to say to swing the skip 14 to empty it to the side of the lorry 1, (the case of Figure 7), it is sufficient to operate the swinging arms 4 and 5 whilst leaving the skip 14 locked by the spurs 12 in the bearings 17, during which the slings 8 remain in place.

The invention likewise concerns a skip 20, similar to the skip 14, but with this difference: -on the one hand the width 21 of the skip 20 is very much smaller than the width 15 cited above; -on the other hand along its two larger sides, the skip 20 carries two pairs of trunnions 22 similar to the trunnions 16 mentioned above.

In a general way, the width 21 of this skip 20 is identical to that of the skips of known type which it is known are handled by lorries similar to the lorries 23 of Figure 9. Such a lorry 23 of known type comprises a swinging gantry 24 carried by two arms 25 which swing in vertical planes about a transverse axis 26 carried by the lorry. The gantry 24 is fitted in the known way with two pairs of slings 8 on which are suspended shackles 9.

On the other hand, at the front, as at the back, the skip 20 is similar to the skip 14; like it, it carries two pairs of trunnions 16 and two tubular latching bearings 17.

It will be understood that a skip 20 according to the invention has the advantage of being able to be handled: -equally well in the known way by a lorry 23 of a likewise known type Isee, for example, Figure 3 in which the skip 20 passes between the arms 25 of the gantry); -as by a lorry 1 according to the invention (in which case, the skip 20, hanging from the shackles 9 of the swinging arms 4 and 5, is handled laterally in relation to the platform 2 of the lorry-(see Figure 8).

It will be appreciated that the skip 20 can equally well carry, in its lower part, front and rear bearings 27 of conventional type for tipping operations towards the rear of a lorry 23 (as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings).

Claims (9)

1. A transportable skip of substantially rectangular shape in plan view having on the external walls thereof at least two opposed pairs of trunnions each of which trunnions is capable of being connected to a shackle of a handling sling, wherein one pair of trunnions is mounted on the front transversely extending edge of the skip and one pair of trunnions is mounted on the rear transversely extending edge of the skip, and external pivot bearings are provided one being located between the front pair and one being located between the rear pair of trunnions, said external pivot bearings lying along the same axis and each being adapted to receive a longitudinally sliding latching spur member which is provided on a handling vehicle.

2. A transportable skip according to Claim 1, wherein the width of the skip is equal to or substantially equal to the maximum width of load allowed under transport regulations.

3. A transportable skip according to Claim 1, wherein the skip is of a width which allows the skip to pass between the arms of a gantry pivotally movable backwards and forwards on a conventional skip transporting vehicle; two pairs of trunnions are mounted on the exterior of the longitudinally extending sides of the skip; two pairs of trunnions are mounted on the exterior of the front and rear transversely extending sides of the skip and between each pair of trunnions on the front and rear sides of the skip there is provided the external pivot bearings for enabling the skip to be pivoted about its longitudinal medial axis when the bearings are connected to the handling vehicle.

4. A transportable skip according to Claim 3, wherein bearings are provided on the lower surface of the skip about which the skip can be tipped when the skip is mounted on a conventional skip handling vehicle.

5. A vehicle for the transportation and handling of a skip according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a loading platform, two pivotable lifting arms which project above the platform, and a pair of slings suspended from each arm having a shackle at the end of each sling, wherein the two lifting arms are pivotable about a common axis which extends longitudinally of the platform adjacent to one side thereof.

6. A vehicle according to Claim 5, wherein a latching spur member slidable longitudinally of the vehicle is provided on each lifting arm, and each spur member is operated by an associated jack carried by the associated arm.

7. A vehicle according to Claim 6, wherein each of the lifting arms is of an elbow shape formed by two sections which meet at a levei corresponding to the position of the jack which operates the associated spur member.

8. A transportable skip constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.

9. A vehicle constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.