Vehicle with selectively useable wheel sets
AssigneeSaturn Machine & Welding Co., Inc.
InventorsWilliam R. Baird, Billy C. Baird
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A mine supply car has fixed, rail-engageable wheels, and adjustable selectively useable road wheels mounted in elongate frames along the sides of the car. The road wheels are mounted on pivot arms for swinging movement between raised inoperative positions and lowered operative positions. The arrangement allows the car to be converted between rail and road use by relatively effortless manual movement of the road wheels.
Claims16
For use in a wheeled vehicle such as a mine supply car, to provide the vehicle with selectively useable wheel sets whereby the vehicle may be converted for use in alternative operating modes by raising and lowering one of the wheels sets between operative and inoperative positions, the combination comprising a frame means on each side of the vehicle for mounting the wheels of said one set, a pivot arm assembly for each wheel of said one set, an axle attaching each wheel of said one set to the respective pivot arm assembly, means pivotally mounting each pivot arm assembly on the frame means for swinging movement about a pivot axis, and a pair of releasable latch devices on the frame means for each pivot arm assembly, the respective latch devices being selectively engageable by the pivot arm assembly for retaining the assembly in selected positions, the latch devices being angularly displaced in relation to the pivot axis of the assembly and the wheel axle being offset from the pivot axis for providing vertical displacement of the associated wheel between the operative and inoperative positions by swinging movement of the pivot arm assembly from engagement with one of the latch devices into engagement with the other of the latch devices, wherein the latch devices of each pair are located in a substantially horizontal plane on opposite sides of the pivot axis of the associated pivot arm assembly, for the assembly to swing through substantially 180.degree. between positions engaging the respective latch devices each pivot arm assembly comprising a pair of pivot arms having pivot pins at one end thereof defining the pivot axis and pivotally connecting the arms to respective inner and outer side frame members of the frame means, a latch formation at the other end of the arms for engagement with the respective latch devices, and wherein the axle of the associated wheel is connected between the arms in vertically offset relation to the respective ends.
A vehicle such as a mine supply car having selectively useable wheel sets whereby the vehicle may be converted for use in selected operating modes by raising and lowering the wheels of one set between operative and inoperative positions, wherein the wheels of said one set are each carried by a pivot arm assembly which is mounted on the vehicle between inner and outer elongate horizontally extending side frame members for manual swinging movement in a vertical plane about a pivot axis between a first position and a second position, the associated wheel in one of said positions of the arm being in operative position below the level of the wheels of the other set and in the other position of the arm being in inoperative position above the level of the wheels of the other set, the vehicle further including means for releasably retaining each pivot arm assembly in the respective first and second positions, wherein the means for releasably retaining each pivot arm assembly in the respective first and second positions comprises first and second latch devices positioned in a substantially horizontal plane between the side frame members on opposite sides of the respective pivot axis, each pivot arm assembly being pivotally connected at one end thereof between the respective side frame members, having a latch formation at its opposite end for engagement with the respective latch devices, and mounting means for the respective wheel vertically offset between said ends, and each pivot arm assembly is adapted to swing substantially 180.degree. between the respective first and second positions, in each of such positions the arm being substantially horizontally disposed on opposite sides of said pivot axis, respectively.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.