Dual purpose vehicle
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
InventorIsaac Sands
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A jammer which eliminates the need for a bobtail in a forward deployment. The jammer has an outwardly extending boom with a table at the distal end of the boom. The table can mount upwardly extending cradles suitable for temporarily holding cargo, such as a munition, during transport and positioning on the underside of an aircraft wing. The table also holds an upstanding pintle hook. The pintle hook provides for attachment of the jammer to a trailer for towing. Using the jammer for both towing of a trailer and positioning of cargo using the boom eliminates the need for a bobtail, conserving both cargo space and payload weight during deployment.
Claims20
A vehicle suitable for loading/unloading a munition to/from an underside of an aircraft wing and comprising:
- an articulable boom cantilevered from a proximal end to a distal end remote therefrom;
- a table juxtaposed with said distal end of said boom, said table being configured to have an upwardly extending cradle mounted thereto;
- and
- an upwardly extending pintle hook joined to said table.
A table removably mountable to a distal end of a boom of a vehicle at four pivot points, said boom defining a longitudinal direction, said table comprising:
- a generally horizontal top table surface and a bottom table surface opposed thereto, said top table surface defining an XY plane and a Z direction perpendicular thereto, said table having four pivot points, said pivot points being disposed in two pairs on opposed sides of said table;
- and
- a pintle hook attached to said horizontal top table surface and extending upwardly therefrom in said Z direction, whereby said pintle hook is vertically and upwardly oriented when said table is horizontally mounted onto said boom of a said vehicle.
A method of repositioning a trailer without the use of a bobtail, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a vehicle having an outwardly extending boom, said boom extending from a proximal end to a distal end remote therefrom;
- extending said boom to a position ergonomically suitable for attaching accessories thereto;
- attaching a table to said boom, whereby said table is juxtaposed with said distal end of said boom;
- attaching a pintle hook to said table;
- driving said vehicle to a trailer, said trailer being disposed at a first location;
- attaching said trailer to said pintle hook;
- and
- without using a bobtail, driving said vehicle to a second location while towing said trailer behind said vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.