Tip-up trailer and method for loading the same
OwnerTom Hastingsinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tip-up trailer includes an ICC bumper that has been structurally enhanced to support the entire load of a loaded shipping container jointly with the rearward-most axle of the trailer. The bumper includes a rotatable bearing on a lower member, which permits the lower member to travel along the ground as the tipped-up trailer is lowered after loading. The method of the invention includes the initial step of connecting a container to a tip-up trailer with the doors of the container oriented towards the forward end of the trailer. The doors are opened and the forward end of the trailer is raised. The container is then loaded with bulk material. Once the container doors are closed, the forward end of the trailer is lowered while bearings on the bumper roll on the ground.
Claims4
A tip-up trailer, comprising:
- an elongated, generally horizontal frame with an upper support surface, and forward and rearward ends:
- a wheelset connected to the frame proximal the rearward end, having at least one axle and a wheel on opposing ends of the axle:
- a rigidly affixed ICC bumper mounted on the rearward end of the frame and depending in a rigid and fixed position from the frame, said bumper including a generally horizontal lower member;
- and
- a rotatable bearing operably mounted on the lower member for rotation on an axis coaxial with a longitudinal axis of the lower member, said bearing having a diameter sufficient to project beyond the lowest extent of the ICC bumper;
- said wheelset including a plurality of axles, and wherein a rearward axle and the bumper are structurally designed to support the entire weight of the trailer and a loaded container supported on the trailer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.