AU637979B2 - Apparatus and method for a utility extension of an off-road vehicle having a dump body. - Google Patents

Description

!UOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATEL4TS ACT I952 CO0M PL ET E _SP ECQIF ICQA TIO N FOR OFFICE USE: Application Number:Cls n.as Lodged: *Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: 0* Published: *Priorityt Related Art: Vame Of Applicant: LEROY G. HAGBENBUCH Address of Applicant: 4602 North Rosemead, Peoria, Illinois ***61604P United States of America Actual Inventor: LeRoy G. Hagenbuch *:Address for Service: SHELSTON WATERS, 55 Clarence Street, Sydney Complete Specification for the Invention entitled: "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR A UTILITY EXTENSION OF AN OFF-ROAD VEHICLE HAVING A DUMP BOY The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- -1I- TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention generally relates to heavy-duty, off-road vehicles, and more particularly relates to such vehicles having dump bodies pivotably mounted to the vehicle frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVVNT1ON Heavy-duty, off-road vehicles such as a UD-1200M by Romatsu or a Volvo BM A25 are typically used to transport earthen loads in work areas such as open I pit mines and the like. Such work areas vary in condition, depending primarily upon the geographic features of the land, the local climate and day-today changes in weather. Although heavy-duty, offroad vehicles are designed to operate over a wide variety of terrain and under all types of climatic conditions, it is not unknown for the vehicles to lose traction and require assistance, To free a 0e*S vehiole, a chain or cable can be rigged to the vehicle for pulling it from the area causing the problem. Although this approach may ultimately prove so-ccessful in freeing the vehicle, it is a timeconsuming and sometimes dangerous operation. In part because of the foregoing reasons, rigging a chain to the vehicle is often not done; instead, a bulldozer or similar type vehicle is used to push the stuck vehicle from behind, This necessarily results in the bulldozer pushing on the body since the frame is not accessible from the back* The dump bodies of heavy-duty, off-road vehicles are not designed to accept the application of horizontal forces from the rear of the body whic64 naturally results from pushing on the body. Besides damage to the bed of the body, the pivot assemblies la joining the body to the frame experience forces which are generally transverse to the direction of the force they are designed to withstand. Such transverse forces can cause significant damage to the pivot assemblies.

Pushing on the rear of the dump body could be avoided if the frame of the vehicle extended to the same posterior area as occupied by the end of the body. In this connection, bumper-type extensions of the frame have traditionally been viewed as unpractical since it is necessary that the area under the dump body and to the rear of the pivot for the body be clear so as to allow rotation of the body during dumping of a load. If rear bumper-type extensions are impractical, front burmpers are of little value since it is highly unlikely for two vehicles to collide head-on. Operation of off-road, heavy-duty vehicles without bumpers, however, does represent a significant danger. Specifically, the relatively high elevation of the dump body and the overhang of the posterior portion of the body past the 0* 20 frame can damage the cab of a vehicle which collides with the back of another vehicle. Moreover, the end of the body can be at the level of the operator and possibly cause serious physical injury.

SUMMARY OF THE_ INVENTION 25 It is an object of the present invention to provide a method applicable to heavy-duty, off-road vehicles which overcomes, or at least ameliorates, the h disadvantages of the prior art.

S- 2- 0S 00 0 0 0 *0 0 0O 0s

C

@0.0 0* em *0 @000 0 0000

C

0 0000 00 00 @0 0 0 *000 0S S. S 0 5000

C

0000 0 @000 0 0000 0 @00000

C

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following summary of the invention and from the following detail description of the preferred embodiments taken with the accompanying drawings.

The present invention provides a method of mitigating serious injury to the operators of heavy-duty, off-road vehicles resulting from collisions between a most posterior portion of a ducktail-type dump body of a 10 first vehicle and any portion of a second vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: providing a bumper assembly that is pivotally secured to a frame of the first vehicle such that a free end of the bumper assembly is positioned proximate to a first vert,,'ca. plane including the most posterior portion of the ducktaii1-type dump body when the dump body is in a lowered position; colliding the first and second vehicles; conducting a force resulting from the collision along at least one rigid horizontal bar of the bumper assembly and directly to the frame, wherein the horizontal bar provides an unyielding barrier between the most posterior portion of the ducktail-type dump body of the f~ast vehicle and any portion of the second vehicle; preventing the most posterior portion of the ducktail-type dump body of the first vehicle from damaging the second vehicle, regardless of which vehicle Sis moving towards the other vehicle; and 10 3mechanically linking the dump body and the bumper assembly such that when the dump body is rotated into a raised position the free end is forward of a second vertical plane including a most posterior portion of a S bed of the dump body and at or above the plane of the surface suipporting the first vehicle.

06 0 00 0 0 4 I Depending upon the primary use of the bar assembly, the beams which are pivotably mounted to the frame may extend past the vertical plane including the most posterior portion of the dtmp body. For example, if the primary use of the bar assembly is as a back bumper for a vehicle, the bar assembly should extend slightly past the vertical plane. It cannot, however, extend so far past the vertical plane that it cannot be rotated to a position where it is entirely forward of th, plane when the body dumps. Also, the transverse beam of the bar assembly may be extended to provide a vehicle balancing function during the dumping of a load. In rotating the bar assembly to an out-of-the-way .1 position during dumping, the transverse beam is brought to a position proximate to the ground, In such a position, side-to-side tilting of the frame can be tempered stnoe too much tilting of the frame will cause one end of the transverse beam to contact *20 the ground surface and limit further tilting so as to 0" reduce the possibility of vehicle tipping while dumping.

0o 0 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE I is a perspective view from the rear of an exemplary heavy-duty, off-road vehicle incorporating a utility extension according to a first embodiment of the invention mounted to the frame of the vehlc.e and coupled to the dump body of the vehicle for rotation in response to rotation of the dump body; FIG. 2 Is a perspective view from the tear of the exemplary heavy-duty, off-road vehicle of FIGURE I incorporating a utility extension according to a second embodiment of the Invention; FIG. 3 is a plan view taken along the lines 2-2 in FIG. 1 of a bar assembly of the utility extension which serves as tho primary member for transferring fo-rees to and from the frame of the vehiclej FIG. 4 is a plan view taken along the lines 4-4 in FIG. 2 of a bar assembly for the second embodiment of the utility extension which serves as the primary member for transferring forces to and from the frame of the vehicle; and FIG. 5 is an enlarged and partial side view of ,the heavy-duty, off-road vehicle of FIG. I, showing the alternative positions of the utility extension with the dump body of the vehicle in either its fully lowered position (solid line) or its fully raised position (dashed line).

ft WhIle the invention will be described in connection with several preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the following detailed **description is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments Illustrated. On the contrary, it is applicant's intention to cover all alternatives and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims, eee ft e0* DETAILED DESCRXPTION OF THE PREPFERRED L0D11'"NTS Turning to the drawings and referring first to FIGURE I, an exemplary heavy-duty, off-road vehicle 11 is illustrated, having a frame 13, dump body and cab 17, The frame Is vipported over a rear axle 19 by suspension oylinders 21 (only one is illustrated). Typically, these vehicles are very largo, with tirea 23 having diameters that can exceed ten feet. To pivot the dump body IS, it is mounted to the frame 13 by way of pivot assemblies 25 and 27. A hydraulic piston 29 is coupled between the frame 13 and body 15 on each side of the vehicle 11 for rotating the body between lowered and raised positions.

As In all dump body vehicles, the pivot assemblies 25 and 27 are located at the end of the frame 13. Typically, the bed of the dump body extends rearwardly beyond the end of the frame. in the illustrated embodiment, the bed 31 of the dump 9 body 15 extends substantially beyond the end of the frame. This overhang of the bed 31. ensures the load carried by the vehicle Is dumped clear of the rear axle 19 and tires 23. Also, the overhang helps in distributing the load on the frame, The overhang, however, also prevents easy access to the frame for pushing or pulling the vehicle. rurthermore, the overhang is dangerous In that a collision with P: another vehicle may result in the rear edge 33 of the 999 p body damaging a cab of another vehicle in an area too which can be very expensive to repair. In effect, 406060 the rear edge 33 of the body 15 acts as a bumper for the posterior of the vehicle 11, but its high elevation causes It to meet the cab of another S vehicle ia an area that Is relatively unprotected and 9000 fragile.

in accordance with the invention, a utility extension I.s coupled to the frame 13 of the vehicle 11. so as to effectively extend the frame to a posterior area of the vehicle which is proximate to a vertical plane passing through the rear edge 33 of the bed 31 of the dump body 15, The utility extension, is pivotable In response to the rotation of the dump body 15 tor moving to an out-of-the-way position which does not interfere with the rotation of the I dump body and the dumping of a load. In its in-use position, the utility extension has a number of applications, hence the name "lutility"s extension.

For example, the extension may be used as a push bar to free a vehicle from a no-traction area. It can be used as a tow bar for pulling or backstop for dumping. if used for pulling, a hitch assembly (not Ahown) may be added to the extension. Also, the utility extension can serve as a bumper by itself or In conjunction with an extension of the frame on the front of the vehicle. The utility extension can also find application as an outrigger for aiding in the maintenance of the balance of the vehicle 11 during dumping.

Primarily comprising the utility extension is a bar assembly having at least one bar rotatably mounted at one end to the frame 13 of the vehicle 11, and the second end extending posteriorly to an area proximate to a vertical plane including the rear edge 60002D 33 of the dump body 15. A second bar is connected to the second end of the first bar so as to be substantially transverse to the first bar. This second bar presents a relatively flat face for appl.ication of a force to the assembly, if thot length of the second bar is sufficient, the ase;embly may serve as an outrigger which aids in the side-toside stability of the vehicle 11 as it dumps a load since the second bar is lowered close to the .grottnd surface as the dump body rotates to its fully raised position as explained hereinafter.

F IGOS. I and 2 Illustrate utility assemblies and 37# respectively, of slightly different constructions. in FIG, 1# the bar assembly comprises two bars 39 and 41 as beat seen in FIG. 3 which extend from the frame 13 along converging paths. The transverse bar connecting their second ends is a plate 43 which presents a flat vertical surface for applying a pushing force. The relatively small area og the face of the plate 43 of the bar /,ssembly in FIGS. 1 and 3 is believed to be adequatz if the utility extension 35 is used primarily or exclusively as a push bar. In contrast to the embodiment of FIGS, 1 and 3, FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrate a bar assembly compriaing two bare 45 and 47 extending from the frame 13 along paths which are diverging. The 9 'I second ends of the bars 45 and 47 are spaced so as to provide a broad support for a long transverse bar which is illustrated as a flat plate 49 joining the two ends 51 and 53. In practice, applicant believes it may be preferred to employ a tubing in place of Poo: the flat plate 49 because of the tubing's superior strength characterstics. The relatively large facial area of the plate 49 (or a tubing) in the ,o embodiment of the bar assembly in FIGS. 2 and 4 is 2b believed to be best suited if the utility extension !Is primarily intended to function as a bumper or out- 9* rigger.

in order to rotatably mount each of the bar assemblies of FIGS. 1-4 onto the frame 13, a hollow :tube 55 is received by aligned bores (not shown) in the first ands of the bars 45,47 or 39,41. The tube is welded In place and support flanges 57 or 59 may be added to increase the structural Integrity of the junctions between the bars and tube. A pair of brackets 61 and 63 are weldod to the sides of the frame 13, and they each include a bore (not thown) for receiving a pivot pin 65. The pivot pins 65 are inserted into the ends of the hollow tube 55 in order to compete the mounting of the bar assembly to the ftame In order to ensure the pivot pins stay in -09- I place, bolts 67 are passed through aligned bores in the bars 45,47 or 39:41, tube 55 and pivot pins and a nut (not shown) is secured to the end of each bolt extending oat of the bore.

By comparing the mountings of the bar assemblies in FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be appreciated that the mountings for the bar assemblies of the two illustrated embodiments are exactly the same.

Accordingly, the brackets, tubing and pivot pins of both embodiments have been described together and identified by the same numerals, 'P *Horizontal forces to or from the frame 13 are directed along the length of the bars 39 and 41 of the first illustrated embodiment and bars 45 and 47 of the second illustrated embodiment so as to effectively extend the frame to the same posterior region as the end 33 of the body 15, Not only must the mounting brackets 61 and 63 and the tubing allow for the rotation of the bar assemblies, they 0 '20 must also provide for the transfer of a force between e' the bar assemblies and the frame 13. Therefore, the brackets 61,63, tubing 55 and pivot pins 6S must be of sufficienL gauge or thickness to ensure that the magnitudes of fotrces expected to be transferred will not cause high stress and resulting yielding at any area, In keeping with the Invention, the bar assemblies are maintained in an approximately horizontal, position which is parallel to the ground by a multijointed linkage coupling the bar assemblies to the underside of the bed 31 of the dump body 15. An a practical matter, any force applied to or taken from the frame 13 via the bar assemblies will include a vertical component that transfers to the dump body via the multi-jointed linkage. However, the magnitudes of the vertical component of the force (F) can be expected to be nominal. Also, the body 15 and Its pivot assemblies 25 and 27 are designed to accommodate some vertical forces that typically originate from the weight of a load. As contemplated, the linkage may be realized by a roller assembly which allows for relative movement of the utility extension and the body 15 during dumping.

Such a roller assembly would include a rigid bar extending down from the body 15 and mating with the bar assembly via top and bottom rollers. Alternatively# a simple pivot linkage may suffice.

ago** Because of its simplicity, applicant prefers the 0"15 latter approach.

*000 In the illustrated embodiments, the multijointed pivot linkage is realized by a unitary bar 69 spanning two bracket asasemblies 71 and 73. In the 0* embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 3, only a single linkage is needed, whereasthe embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 4 requires two linkages. To provide a welding base for 0 0 s the bracket assembly 73 secured to the bar assembly, a plate 75 spans the two bars 39 and 41 in FIG, 3, Similarjy, each of the bars 45 and 47 in FIG. 4 is assoclak.ed with a plate extension 77 that provides a ~.base for the bracket assembly 73. The other bracket assembly 71 in a pair forming a linkage is welded to the underside of the bad 31 of the body 15 so as to be in the plane of rotation of the unitary bar 69.

The axes of rotation defined by pivot pin 65 and brackat assemblies 71 and 73 art -parallel In order to allow for a non-binding rotations in response to the rotation of the dump body the multi-jointed linkage allows the bar assembly to rotate about an axis of rotation corresponding to the axis of pivot pin 65. Because the axes of rotations of the bar assembly and the dump body 15 are distinct, relative movement occurs between the bar assembly and body. To account for this relative movement, the unitary bar 69 of the multi-jointed l.inkage rotates in its bracket& 71. and 73 as can be seen in FIG, 5# Specifically, as the bar assembly rotates in one direction, the bar 69 of the multijointed linkage in the illustrated embodiment rotates in the opposite direction relative to each of the bracket assemblies 71. and 73. if the axis of 0 0' rotation for the bar assembly is above the axis of *0401 rotation for the dump body, the direction of rotation for the bar 69 may be different than that il~lustrated.

In the illustrated embodiments, the plates 43 and 49 extend beyond a vertical piane Y including the end 33 of the bed 31 of the body 15 when the body is in its fully lowered position. In the fully raised or dumped position shown in Phantom line in Fig. S, the bar assembly and Its plate 43 or 49 have been J 0* too rotated to a position wherein they are entirely forward of the vertical plane Y including the end 33 of the bed 31 of the bo~4y 15, Rotating the entirety 25 of the bar assembly to a position forward of the end 00 33 of the bed 31 is an important feature of the invention since it ensores that the utility extension does not interfere with the dumping function. When rotated into its out-of-the-way position shown in phantom line in FIG. 5, the plate 49 may be rotated close to the ground, depending oft the mounting positions of bracket assemblies 71 and 73. If rotated close to the ground, the plate 49 may be utilized as an outrigger for stabilizing uide-to-side tilting of the vehicle 11 ao It dumps.

-12- From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the invention provides~ a utility extension which essentially brings the frame 13 of the vehicle 1].

back to the same posterior area occupied by the end 33 of the body 15 and does so without Interferring with the dumping process or modifying the pivot axis of the body. The extension is pivotable in response to rotation of the dump body so that it Is automatically moved to an out-of-the-way position when the body is raised to dump a load. The extension can be easily retrofitted onto conventional off-road, heavy- C duty vehicles without necessitating modification of the existing frame, Furthermore, the design for the utility extension does not require complex gearing or electromechanical aids for rotation. In this connection, it is highly reliable and requires very s ee: little maintenance.

-213-

Claims (5)

1. A method of mitigating serious injury to the operators of heavy-duty, off-road vehicles resulting from collisions between a most posterior portion of a ducktail-type dump body of a first vehicle and any portion of a second vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: providing a bumper assembly that is pivotally secured to a frame of the first vehicle such that a free end of the bumper assembly is positioned proximate to a **first vertical plane including the 'Arost posterior portion of the ducktail-type dump body whea~ the dump body is in a lowered position; colliding the first and second vehicles; oo* conducting a force resulting from the collision along at least one rigid horizontal bar of tho bumper assembly and directly to the frame, wherein the horizontal bar provides an unyielding barrier between the most posterior portion of the ducktail-type dump body of the first vehicle and any portion of the second vehicle; preventing the most posterior portion of the ducktail-type dump body of the first vehicle from 0 damaging the second vehicle, regardless of which vehicle is moving towards the other vehicle; and mechanically linking the dump body and the bumper assembly such that when the dump body is rotated into a raised position the free end is forward of a second vertical plane including a most posterior portion of a !~14 bed of the dump body and at or above the plane of the surface supporting the first vehicle.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said force is transferred to said frame from a vehicle pushing on or colliding with said bumper assembly.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the bumper assembly includes a flat plate affixed to the free end of the bumper assembly, whereby the flat plate receives the force from the collision.

4. A method as set forth in any one of the preceding claims wherein, when said dump body is in said raised position, the free end of the bumper assembly engages the ground.

5. A method substantially as herein described with reference to the accompany drawings. DATED this 13th day of April 1993 LEROY G. HAGENBUCH 4B Attorney: PETER HEATHCOTE Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of SHELSTON WATERS 15