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US 7,549,667 B2Granted
Trailer personnel lift with retractable axles
AssigneeBil-Jax, Inc.
InventorsJohn Joseph Busuttil, Steven Citron
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A trailer having retractable wheels. A lock-out mechanism is provided that prevents the trailer from being connected to a vehicle when the wheels are in the retracted position. The lock-out mechanism may also be configured to prevent movement of the wheels to the retracted position when the trailer is connected to a vehicle.
Claims23
A trailer, comprising:
- retractable wheels movable between a first, retracted position defining a first width between the outer surfaces of the retractable wheels, and a second, extended position defining a second width between the outer surfaces of the retractable wheels, the second width being greater than the first width;
- and
- a tongue lock-out mechanism moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position, movement of the tongue lock-out mechanism from the locked position to the unlocked position being directly affected by whether the wheels are in the extended or retracted position such that, when the wheels are in the retracted position, movement of the tongue lock-out mechanism in normal operation is limited to the locked position where the trailer is prevented from being connected to a vehicle as a result of the wheels being in the retracted position.
A trailer, comprising:
- retractable wheels movable between a first, retracted position defining a first width between the outer surfaces of the retractable wheels, and a second, extended position defining a second width between the outer surfaces of the retractable wheels, the second width being greater than the first width;
- and
- a wheel lock-out mechanism moveable between a retraction-blocking position and a retraction-permitting position, movement of the wheel lock-out mechanism from the retraction-blocking position to the retraction-permitting position being directly affected by whether the trailer is connected to a vehicle such that, when the trailer is connected to a vehicle, the wheel lock-out mechanism in normal operation is limited to the retraction-blocking position where the wheels are prevented from being moved to the retracted position as a result of the trailer being connected to a vehicle.
A trailer, comprising:
- retractable wheels movable between a first, retracted position defining a first width between the outer surfaces of the retractable wheels, and a second, extended position defining a second width between the outer surfaces of the retractable wheels, the second width being greater than the first width;
- and
- a lever connected to the retractable wheels and configured to move the retractable wheels between the first and second positions by transmitting a first force on the lever over a first distance to a second force on the wheels over a second distance, the second distance shorter than the first distance so as to provide a mechanical advantage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.