Container trailer

A container transfer apparatus comprising:

• means defining a main frame;
• means including a roller tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of parallel rollers journaled on said roller tray and having upper container supporting surfaces movable between a position tangent to a roll plane and a lower position, said roll plane remaining at a constant elevation;
• means including a caster tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of wheels journaled on said caster tray and having their axes of rotation intersecting an axis normal to said roll plane about which the container may be rotated, said wheels having upper container supporting surfaces movable between a position tangent to said roll plane and a lower position spaced from said roll plane;
• and
• tray moving means for moving said trays vertically between positions in which only said rollers are tangent to said roll plane, in which both said rollers and said wheels are tangent to said roll plane, and in which only said wheels are tangent to said roll plane, said rollers and said wheels being limited to movement by said tray moving means for moving said trays vertically between first positions wherein said container supporting surfaces are tangent to said roll plane and second positions wherein said container supporting surfaces are spaced below said roll plane.

A container transfer apparatus comprising:

• means defining a main frame;
• means including a roller tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of parallel rollers journaled on said roller tray and having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to a roll plane and a lower position, said roll plane remaining at a constant elevation;
• means including a caster tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of wheels journaled on said caster tray and having their axes of rotation intersecting an axis normal to said roll plane about which the container may be rotated, said wheels having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to said roll plane and a lower position spaced from said roll plane;
• and
• means for moving said tray vertically between positions in which only said rollers are tangent to said roll plane, in which both said rollers and said wheels are tangent to said roll plane, and in which only said wheels are tangent to said roll plane;
• a container being moved onto said transfer system with its lower surface supported by said rollers at said roll plane;
• said moving means being actuated to move said wheels tangent to said roll plane in supporting engagement with the container, and thereafter to lower said rollers out of said roll plane with the containers supported solely by said wheels permitting the container to be rotated about said normal axis.

A container transfer apparatus comprising:

• means defining a main frame;
• means including a roller tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of parallel rollers journaled on said roller tray and having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to a roll plane and a lower portion, said roll plane remaining at a constant elevation;
• means including a caster tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of wheels journaled on said caster tray and having their axes of rotation intersecting an axis normal to said roll plane about which the container may be rotated, said wheel having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to said roll plane and a lower position spaced from said roll plane;
• and
• means for moving said tray vertically between positions in which only said rollers are tangent to said roll plane, in which both said rollers and said wheels are tangent to said roll plane, and in which only said wheels are tangent to said roll plane;
• said moving means comprising a plurality of pairs of caster tray cams and roller tray cams journaled on said frame;
• a plurality of caster tray cam followers mounted on said caster tray and engaging the peripheral surface of said caster tray cams;
• a plurality of roller tray cam followers mounted on said roller tray and engaging the peripheral surfaces of the roller tray cams;
• said peripheral surfaces of each pair of cams having arcuate portions which maintain the wheels and rollers tangent to said plane;
• and including surfaces which allow said caster tray and said roller tray to move downwardly below the roll plane upon rotating the cams to different operative positions;
• and means for rotating said cams between said different operative positions.

A container transfer apparatus comprising:

• means defining a main frame;
• means including a roller tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of parallel rollers journaled on said roller tray and having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to a roll plane and a lower position, said roll plane remaining at a constant elevation;
• means including a caster tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of wheels journaled on said caster tray and having their axes of rotation intersecting an axis normal to said roll plane about which the container may be rotated, said wheels having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to said roll plane and a lower position spaced from said plane;
• means for moving said tray vertically between positions in which only said rollers are tangent to said roll plane, in which both said rollers and said wheels are tangent to said roll plane, and in which only said wheels are tangent to said roll plane;
• movable container stop means on each side of said main frame, resilient means urging said stop means upwardly above said roll plane, and first linkage means interconnecting said stop means to said means for moving said trays and responsive to movement of said caster tray upwardly for moving said stop means downwardly below said roll plane.

A container transfer apparatus comprising:

• means defining a main frame;
• means including a roller tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of parallel rollers journaled on said roller tray and having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to a roll plane and a lower position, said roll plane remaining at a constant elevation;
• means including a caster tray supported by said frame for vertical movement, a plurality of wheels journaled on said caster tray and having their axes of rotation intersecting an axis normal to said roll plane about which the container may be rotated, said wheels having upper surfaces movable between a position tangent to said roll plane and a lower position spaced from said plane;
• means for moving said trays vertically between positions in which only said rollers are tangent to said roll plane, in which both said rollers and said wheels are tangent to said roll plane, and in which only said wheels are tangent to said roll plane;
• and
• front and rear guide rails;
• linkage means pivotally connecting each guide rail to said roller tray;
• crank means pivotally connecting said linkage means to said means for moving said trays for pivoting said guide rails below said roll plane in response to the wheels moving upwardly tangent to said roll plane and the rollers moving below said roll plane, and for moving at least a portion of said guide rails above said plane in response to movement of, said rollers tangent to said roll plane and said wheels below said roll plane.

A method of selectively moving a container about an axis normal to a roll plane when supported at the roll plane by a plurality of rotatable wheels having their axes intersecting said normal axis and along a path when supported at the roll plane by parallel rollers comprising the steps of:

• Moving only container supporting surfaces of the rollers into position tangent to said roll plane for supporting the container at said roll plane;
• raising container supporting surfaces of said wheels into a position tangent to said roll plane for jointly supporting the container on the container supporting surfaces of said rollers and said wheels;
• and
• lowering said rollers below said roll plane for solely supporting said container on said container supporting surfaces of said wheels when tangent to said roll plane for permitting rotation of the containers about said axis, said rollers and wheels being limited to movement between first positions wherein said container supporting surfaces are tangent to said roll plane and to a second position wherein said container supporting surfaces are spaced below said roll plane.

A method of selectively moving a container about an axis normal to a roll plane when supported at the roll plane by a plurality of rotatable wheels having their axes intersecting said normal axis and along a path when supported at the roll plane by parallel rollers, and container stops positioned adjacent opposite ends of the path of movement between a position above or below said plane, said method comprising the steps of:

• moving only the rollers into a position tangent to said roll plane for supporting the container at said roll plane;
• raising said wheels into a position tangent to said roll plane for jointly supporting the container on said rollers and said wheels;
• lowering said rollers below said roll plane for solely supporting said containers on said wheels when tangent to said roll plane and for permitting rotation of the containers about said axis;
• and
• lowering the stops below said roll plane in response to raising the wheels into a position tangent to said roll plane.

An apparatus for supporting a flat bottomed article at a roll plane and for selectively allowing movement of the article about an axis normal to said roll plane and along a path parallel to said roll plane, comprising:

• a plurality of first rotatable means each having circular surfaces generated about an axis of rotation and adapted to have upper portions of said circular surfaces moving into article supporting position tangent to said roll plane;
• a plurality of second rotatable means each having circular surfaces generated about an axis of rotation that intersects said normal axis, said second rotatable means having upper portions of said circular surfaces movable into article supporting position tangent to said roll plane;
• and
• elevation changing means operatively connected to said first rotatable means and to said second rotatable means, said elevation changing means being effective to maintain said roll plane and the article supported thereon at the same elevation while selectively lowering said first rotatably means when said article is to be rotated about said normal axis and lowering said second rotatable means below said roll plane after first raising said first rotatable means to a position tangent to said roll plane for eliminating the need to lift the article.