Anti-jacknife apparatus
OwnerRodney Hortoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device that tends to retard or impede the articulating movement between a truck tractor and its associated trailer to thereby reduce the likelihood of the vehicle jacknifing which is especially possible when there are wet or icy road conditions. The tractor and trailer are intercoupled by a conventional fifth wheel assembly comprised of upper and lower fifth wheel plates. The movement impeding device is preferably mounted from the tractor and is pneumatically operated. The device comprises a piston having a resilient end, means for supporting the piston for movement normal to the upper fifth wheel plate, and means for operating the piston so that the resilient end is selectively engaged with the lower surface of the upper fifth wheel plate thereby retarding relative rotation between the trailer and tractor.
Claims14
An anti-jacknifing apparatus for use in association with a fifth wheel assembly of a tractor-trailer vehicle comprising;
- contact means including rigid support means and resilient pad means mounted over the rigid support means,
- said trailer having plate means with its lower surface positioned for contact by the contact means,
- said fifth wheel assembly including a lower fifth wheel on the tractor,
- means for supporting the contact means from the tractor with the rigid support means of the contact means being moveable in a generally vertical direction, and the resilient pad means being disposed outside of the outer periphery of the lower fifth wheel,
- and means coupled to the rigid support means of the contact means for actuating the contact means to move the resilient pad means of the contact means to engage the plate means for restricting relative swinging motion between the tractor and trailer.
An anti-jacknifing apparatus for use in association with a fifth wheel assembly of a tractor-trailer vehicle comprising;
- contact means including rigid support means and pad means mounted over the rigid support means,
- said trailer having plate means with a lower surface positioned for contact by the contact means,
- said fifth wheel assembly including a lower fifth wheel on the tractor,
- means for supporting the contact means from the tractor with the rigid support means of the contact means being moveable in a generally vertical direction toward and away from the plate means,
- said pad means being disposed outside of the outer periphery of the lower fifth wheel,
- and means coupled to the contact means for actuating the contact means to move it to engage the plate means for restricting relative swinging motion between the tractor and trailer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.