Self-steering trailer
AssigneeHarley Murray, Inc.
InventorsHarley W. Murray, Howard P. Burnell, David H. Murray
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Self-steering trailer having an elongated main frame, the rear end of which is supported by a sub-frame and steering dolly. The dolly is connected to the main frame in such manner that the dolly is automatically turned relative to the main frame in response to lateral movement of the rear end of the main frame to steer the rear of the trailer in accordance with the lateral movement. The steering means comprises an A-frame connected to the dolly, and a steering arm which interconnects the rear of the main frame and the dolly. In some embodiments, a manually controlled actuator is connected between the main frame and the dolly to permit the rear of the trailer to be steered manually.
Claims17
In a self-steering trailer for use with a pulling vehicle:
- an elongated main frame pivotally connected toward the front end thereof in load supporting relation to the pulling vehicle, a subframe having ground engaging wheels toward one end thereof positioned toward the rear end of the main frame, means pivotally connecting the rear portion of the main frame to the subframe in load supporting relationship, a dolly having ground engaging wheels positioned toward the other end of the subframe, means pivotally connecting the subframe to the dolly in load supporting relationship, and steering means interconnecting the main frame and the dolly for automatically turning the dolly relative to the main frame in response to lateral movement of the rear end of the main frame to steer the rear of the trailer in accordance with said lateral movement, said steering means comprising an arm having two sections which can be shifted laterally of each other connected between the rear portion of the main frame and the dolly.
In a self-steering trailer for use with a pulling vehicle having a fifth wheel:
- an elongated main frame having a central deck section with forwardly and rearwardly extending goosenecks toward the ends of said frame, a front subframe having ground engaging wheels toward the rear thereof and a forwardly extending portion connected to the fifth wheel of the pulling vehicle, means pivotally connecting the forwardly extending gooseneck of the main frame to the front subframe whereby the front portion of the main frame is supported by the front subframe, a dolly having ground engaging wheels positioned to the rear of the main frame, a rear subframe having ground engaging wheels toward the front thereof and a rearwardly extending portion pivotally connected to the dolly in load supporting relationship, means pivotally connecting the rearwardly extending gooseneck of the main frame to the rear subframe whereby the rear portion of the main frame is supported by the rear subframe, an A-frame having a pair of arms connected to the dolly toward opposite sides thereof, and a steering arm interconnecting the A-frame and the rearwardly extending gooseneck of the main frame, said steering arm being deflected by lateral movement of said gooseneck to turn the dolly about the pivotal connection with the rear subframe and thereby automatically steer the rear of the trailer in the direction of the lateral movement, and said A-frame having a pair of laterally displaceable sections which permit adjustment of the lateral position of the A-frame arms relative to the steering arm.
In a self-steering trailer for use with a pulling vehicle:
- an elongated main frame pivotally connected toward the front end thereof in load supporting relation to the pulling vehicle, a subframe having ground engaging wheels toward one end thereof positioned toward the rear end of the main frame, means pivotally connecting the rear portion of the main frame to the subframe in load supporting relationship with the dolly being rotatable relative to the subframe about a vertically extending axis, steering means interconnecting the main frame and the dolly for automatically turning the dolly about the axis in response to lateral movement of the rear end of the main frame to steer the rear of the trailer in accordance with said lateral movement, and means including a manually controlled actuator for pivoting the dolly about the vertically extending axis to further steer the rear of the trailer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.