Storing and Tipping Apparatus

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a storing and tipping apparatus; in particular a storing and tipping apparatus that can be used with, and is easily removable from, a pick-up truck or other general purpose vehicle.

Background of the Invention

Specialist vehicles are often required in order to transport large loads to locations where a load needs to be dumped or quickly removed from the vehicle. An example of such a load is waste materials from a building site. The specialist vehicles used are referred to as "dump trucks" and usually have integral mechanisms for pivoting a tipper body, causing a load to slide off the vehicle.

There are circumstances in which it would be more convenient to use a general purpose vehicle instead of a specialist vehicle to transport and dump a load. However, it is difficult to quickly remove a heavy load from a general purpose vehicle. It would therefore be desirable to attach a tipping apparatus to a general purpose vehicle to quickly and easily remove a load at its destination. It would also be useful to remove the tipping apparatus from the vehicle when the vehicle is needed for other purposes.

A number of prior art documents describe removable tipping bodies that can be fitted to general purpose vehicles.

US3740097 (Parker) discloses a tipping apparatus that can be mounted in a conventional pick-up truck or other vehicle. It has a base and tipping body attached to the base by pivot pins. The base includes frame members that are secured to the truck, a hydraulic pump and an electric motor, which is connected to the electrical system of the truck. Two hydraulic cylinders are used

to tilt the tipper body. The apparatus is bolted to a truck, but can be removed by loosening the bolts.

US447361 (Phillips), US5836657 (Tilley) and US6676220 (Mistier) describe alternative tipping mechanisms that can be attached to trucks.

All of the aforementioned documents describe tipping devices that require some type of fixing mechanism to secure them to a truck. The arrangements described in the prior art would therefore be inconvenient, for example, if a particular load needed to be transported to a location and stored for a period of time, before being transported to another location for tipping. In each case, the fixing mechanisms would have to be removed before the tipping body, with the load inside it, could be detached from the truck.

US3740097 (Parker) teaches that the apparatus can be removed by sliding it out of the truck. This would clearly be very difficult if the tipping body was filled with a heavy load. The other prior art documents do not teach the reader how to remove a loaded tipping body from the truck.

EP0939001 (MacKrill) describes a mechanism for tipping a demountable skip unit, which also requires a hydraulic ram and chain mechanism to hoist the skip onto the truck.

US3871706 (Odom) discloses an apparatus for trucks with a tilt body and support frame, which is carried on a truck and "rides in the box of the pick-up truck". The tilt body of the apparatus described in the Odom document is lifted by a hydraulic pump. The weight of the apparatus and the centre of gravity of the tilt body are sufficient to retain the apparatus in the truck.

There are a number of disadvantages associated with these kinds of tipping bodies. All of the tipping bodies of the prior art require some modification to a general purpose vehicle. In the case of US3740097 (Parker), US6676220 (Mistier) and US447361 (Phillips), fastening elements such as bolts or clamps are required to secure the tipping apparatus to a truck. The

apparatus shown in Odom has a tailgate, and therefore the tailgate of the vehicle must be removed when the tipping apparatus is on the truck.

None of the known tipping bodies provide a transportable unit that can be used to store or tip a load and is easily removable from a vehicle.

It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved tipping apparatus.

Summary of the Invention

One aspect of the invention provides a storing and tipping apparatus as specified in Claim 1.

Preferred aspects of the invention are specified in the claims dependent on Claims 1 and the description.

The invention provides an improved storing and tipping apparatus that can be easily and safely carried on a general purpose vehicle such as a pick-up truck.

The apparatus can be easily lifted on and off a truck, even when it contains a load and requires no fastening devices or removal of the truck tailgate.

The apparatus further includes a power supply, which allows the tipping apparatus to function independently of the truck.

The provision of a cart allows the storing and tipping apparatus to be removed from and returned to the pickup with ease. Further, the cart can be moved around a site so that the storing and tipping apparatus can be located conveniently.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention, by way of example:

Figure 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of the storing and tipping apparatus;

Figure 2a shows a side view of the storing and tipping apparatus of Figure 1 with the tipping body of the storing and tipping apparatus in an elevated position;

Figure 2b shows a schematic representation of the storing and tipping apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of the storing and tipping apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 4a is a schematic illustration of a cart upon which the storing and tipping apparatus as illustrated in Figure 1 may be placed;

Figure 4b is a schematic illustration of the cart illustrated in Figure 4a from another direction;

Figure 5a is a schematic illustration of the cart illustrated in Figures 4a on which is mounted the storing and tipping apparatus illustrated in Figure 1; and

Figure 5b is a schematic illustration of the cart illustrated in Figure 5a from another direction.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

With reference to Figures 1 , a storing and tipping apparatus 1 has a tipping body 10 comprising a frame 2 and a container 3. The frame 2 is pivotally attached to a sub-frame 4 at a pivot point 5. The sub-frame 4 has a number of feet 6, which may stand on the back of a vehicle. The storing and tipping apparatus 1 is of a size and configuration that will fit onto the back of any conventional pick-up truck without the need to modify the truck in any way. For example, there is no need to attach fastening devices, remove the tailgate or to leave the tailgate open during transport of the storing and tipping apparatus 1.

The sub-frame 4 includes a platform 7, which supports a pump 8. The pump may be a hydraulic pump such as a 12V hydraulic power pack or a manual pump. The pump 8 may be connected to a power source, such as a battery, for example a 12V deep cycle battery. The battery or power source may be recharged by connecting it to the cigarette lighter or other socket on a vehicle.

As illustrated in Figures 2a and 2b the pump 8 is connected to a ram 9. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ram 9 is a double acting hydraulic ram. The ram 2 is connected at one end to the sub-frame 4 and at the other end to the base of the frame 2. When the pump 8 is activated by a user the ram 9 extends and lifts the base of the frame 2 so that the frame 2 and the container 3 are pivoted at the pivot point 5.

Although the extent of lifting by the ram 9 may be manually controlled, it is configured so that the tipping body 10 is tipped to a limited angle, ensuring that the sub-frame 4 never pivots under the weight of the loaded tipping body 10. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the storing and tipping apparatus 1 is configured so that the tipping body 10 may be pivoted by an angle of no more than eighty nine degrees from horizontal.

In alternative embodiments of the invention, the apparatus may include more than one ram or other lifting device.

Referring now to Figure 3, the sub-frame 4 includes locators 11 , which may be in the form of openings extending through the full length of the sub-frame. These locators 11 are of a width and spaced apart so that the forks of any conventional fork lift truck can be located in the openings, in order to lift the storing and tipping apparatus 1. This means that even when fully loaded, the storing and tipping apparatus 1 can be easily and safely picked up by a fork lift truck and transported to another location or from one truck to another.

The storing and tipping apparatus 1 may be used independently of a vehicle and therefore it can be removed from a truck and used as a stationary tipping apparatus. In this use,

it could be tipped to such a degree that the contents slide to the front of the container 3 so that they are readily accessible to users while stored in the container 3.

A cart 20 is illustrated in Figures 4a to 5b. The cart 20 comprises a chassis 21 mounting a forklift assembly. The forklift assembly comprises a pair of forks 22 mounted in a cross- member 22a, the ends of which are mounted within respective uprights 23. The ends of the cross-member 22a are slidably mounted on rods 25, which are mounted in openings 25. The forklift assembly can be raised and lowered by extending or retracting actuators 26, which extend between a cross member 21a of the chassis and the cross-member 22a of the forklift assembly. As can be appreciated from Figures 4a to 5b, extending or retracting actuators 26 causes the cross-member 22a to slide up or down on the rods 25, the extent of movement of the forklift assembly being limited by the ends 24a and 24b of the openings 24. The chassis 21 is supported by wheel assemblies to the front and rear of the chassis 21. The wheel assembly to the rear of the chassis 21 comprises an axle 28. The axle 28 extends between and is mounted in the lower ends of the uprights 23. A wheel 27 is mounted on each end of the axle 28. The front wheel assembly comprises an axle 28'. The axle 28' extends between and is mounted in brackets 30 extending downwards from cross-member 29. A wheel 27' is mounted on each end of axle 28'. As can be seen from Figures 4a to 5b, the front wheel assembly is narrower than the rear wheel assembly, which provides for the front portion of the cart 20 to be driven under a pick-up truck in which a storing and tipping apparatus 1 is mounted. To demount the apparatus 1 , the hydraulic rams 26 are extended until the forks 22 are aligned with the openings 11. The cart 20 is then driven forwards (which may consist of one or more workers pushing the cart 20 forwards) so that the forks 22 are pushed into the openings 11. In completing this operation the front portion of the cart passes under the pick-up truck. The hydraulic rams 26 are then raised so that either the cart 20 mounting the apparatus 1 can be pulled away from the vehicle, or the vehicle can be driven away from the cart 20 and apparatus 1 mounted thereon. The hydraulic rams 26 may then lowered to lower the centre of gravity of the cart and its load.

The wheels 27 and/or 27' may be powered.

Referring in particular to Figures 5a and 5b, the storing and tipping apparatus 1 is mounted on the forks 22 of the cart 20. The provision of the cart allows the storing and tipping apparatus to be removed from and placed in a vehicle in a straightforward manner, without the need for a specialist vehicle on the building site. The cart 20 allows the storing and tipping apparatus 1 to be moved about on the building site to where it is required and the height of the said apparatus 1 to be adjusted using hydraulic rams 26 as needed.

Whilst not illustrated in Figures 4a to 5b, a hydraulic pump of the type described with reference to the tipping apparatus 1 is typically provided on the cart, in order that the forks 22 may be raised and lowered without the requirement to connect up to an external hydraulic fluid supply.

Hydraulic operation of both the tipping mechanism and the fork lifting mechanism may be replaced by other suitable actuators, such as winches, and/or electric motors.

The apparatus may be formed from any suitable material, for example steel, aluminium, plastics or any combination thereof.