| CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V) comprising a ladder (22) attachable to the vehicle (V), the ladder (22) being formed from a resilient sheet (24) having at least one rung (26). 2. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 1 wherein the at least one rang (26) is integral with the sheet (24). 3. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 2 wherein the at least one rang (26) is selected from the group: a pocket (26P); a through-cut (26T); a slot (26S); an edge (26E); and a ridge (26R). 4. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sheet (24) has a curled portion (32) under no-load. 5. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 4 wherein the curled portion (32) includes a longitudinally curled portion (32L) with an axis of curl generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sheet (24). 6. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 4 wherein the curled portion (32) includes a transversely curled portion (32T) with an axis of curl generally parallel to the transverse axis of the sheet (24). 7. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of gussets (34) extending from the vehicle (V) to support the sheet (24) there between. 8. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of gussets (34) urges the sheet (24) away from the vehicle (V) for better presentation and access. 9. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 7 further comprising a baseplate (36) fixable to the vehicle (V) and adapted to receive the sheet (24) for attachment, the gussets (34) extending from the baseplate (36) to support the sheet (24). 10. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 9 further comprising a plurality of lugs (38) extending outwardly from the baseplate (36) and wherein the sheet (24) has a plurality of mounting holes (28) corresponding to the plurality of lugs (38), each of the plurality of mounting holes retaining a bushing (30). 1 1. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 10 further comprising a pressure plate (40) and a plurality of complementary fasteners (42) adapted to engage the plurality of outwardly extending lugs (38) and to cooperate together to urge the pressure plate (40) against the sheet (24) for attachment to the baseplate (36). 12. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 1 wherein the sheet (24) is formed from a recycled tire (44). 13. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 12 wherein the sheet (24) is formed from at least one of a sidewall disc (52) of the recycled tire (44) and a tread cylinder (54) of the recycled tire (44). 14. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 13 wherein the at least one of the sidewall disc (52) and the tread cylinder (54) is cut from the recycled tire (44). 15. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 14 wherein the at least one of the sidewall disc (52) and the tread cylinder (54) is cut from the recycled tire (44) while the tire (44) and a cutter (60) are rotated relative to one another. 16. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 13 wherein the at least one of the sidewall disc (52) and the tread cylinder (54) is conformed to a mandrel and the sheet (24) is cut there from. 17. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 16 wherein the sheet (24) is stamped from at least one of the sidewall disc (52) and the tread cylinder (54). 18. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 17 wherein a plurality of sheets (24) is stamped sequentially from at least one of the sidewall disc (52) and the tread cylinder (54). 19. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 17 wherein a plurality of sheets (24) is stamped simultaneously from the at least one of the sidewall disc (52) and the tread cylinder (54). 20. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an extension step (33) depending from the sheet (24). 21. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 20, wherein the extension step (33) is flexible. 22. An apparatus for mounting a vehicle (V), as set forth in claim 21, wherein the sheet (24) projects the extension step (33) beyond the side of the vehicle (V). |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention is directed to aids for mounting a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a resilient ladder for assisting a person to climb up to a vehicle, for example a cargo vehicle, a construction vehicle or a mining vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
[0002] Although passenger vehicles are sized for passenger comfort, including ease of entry and egress, work vehicles are sized for operating efficiency. Cargo vehicles tend to be taller, to ease cargo transfer at elevated shipping docks; constaiction and mining vehicles tend to be bigger, to move more material per load.
[0003] This larger scale can make it difficult for a person to climb into a cab or bed of a work vehicle. Often, some form of ladder is attached to the vehicle as a climbing aid.
[0004] Unfortunately, conventional ladders tend to have significant shortcomings.
In general, they can be quite expensive and either short-lived or ineffective. The short-lived ones are rigidly constaicted from metal rod stock, angle stock and flat stock, and function well until they become bent or broken through frequent collision. The ineffective ones are made flexible, for example as linked chain, to resist collision damage; however, they also tend to flex underneath the vehicle with the load of a person, much like a rope ladder hanging from a tree limb. [0005] There is another problem with work vehicles, though seemingly unrelated.
This problem is how to dispose of used tires economically and environmentally, particularly where the work vehicles are located at remote sites. For example, often tires from mining vehicles are left scattered about a mine site because they are too expensive to haul away compared to their salvage value. Left simply to decay, abandoned tires become a pollutant.
[0006] What is needed is a cost-effective ladder for a work vehicle that presents itself to assist a person entering or exiting the work vehicle but that resists collision damage when not in use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND ADVANTAGES
[0007] The present invention is directed to such a solution.
[0008] One aspect of the invention provides for an apparatus for mounting a vehicle, comprising a ladder attachable to the vehicle and having a resilient sheet having at least one aing. At least one rung may be integral with the sheet, for example being formed as a cut- out from the sheet, the cut-out perhaps being a through-cut.
[0009] At rest and under no-load, the sheet might also have a curled portion, for example a longitudinally curled portion having an longitudinal axis of curl generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sheet and a transversely curled portion having a transverse axis of curl generally parallel to the transverse axis of the sheet.
[0010] There might also be a number of gussets extending from the vehicle to support the sheet there between. In fact, there might be a baseplate fixable to the vehicle and adapted to receive the sheet for attachment, the gussets extending from the baseplate to support the sheet. A number of lugs could extend outwardly from the baseplate to engage a pressure plate and a number of complementary fasteners adapted to engage the outwardly extending lugs and to cooperate together to urge the pressure plate against the sheet for attachment to the baseplate. In this case, the sheet would have a plurality of mounting holes corresponding to the plurality of lugs, and each of the plurality of mounting holes might retain a bushing to facilitate easier insertion of the corresponding lug and better wear.
[0011] The apparatus might also include one or more extension steps depending from the sheet, perhaps flexibly. In this regard, the sheet could project the extension steps beyond the side of the vehicle.
[0012] To help the environment while also lowering the cost of raw materials, the sheet may be formed from a recycled tire, and more particularly from either a sidewall of the recycled tire or a tread of the recycled tire.
[0013] More particularly, the sidewall or the tread may be sliced away from the recycled tire, for example as the tire and a cutter are rotated relative to one another. Thereafter, the sidewall or the tread may be conformed to a mandrel and the sheet cut there from, for example by stamping.
[0014] A number of additional sheets may be similarly stamped from the sidewall and the tread, either simultaneously or sequentially.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: [0016] Figure la is an oblique to -front-left view of a ladder formed from a resilient sheet according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] Figure lb is an oblique bottom-front-left view of a ladder formed from a resilient sheet according to an alternative first embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] Figure 2 is an oblique top -front-left view of a ladder formed from a resilient sheet according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] Figure 3 is an exploded oblique top-front-left view of the ladder of Figure
1 attachable to a vehicle, including via a baseplate;
[0020] Figure 4 is an exploded oblique top-front-left view of the baseplate of Figure 3;
[0021] Figure 5 is an oblique top-front view of a tire having two sidewall discs and a tread cylinder from which the resilient sheets of Figures 1 and 2 may be sliced respectively;
[0022] Figure 6 is an oblique top-front-right view of segment of the tire of Figure 5, the segment including two resilient sidewall sheets and one resilient tread sheet;
[0023] Figure 7 is an oblique top-front-right view of a resilient sidewall sheet sliced from the segment of Figure 6;
[0024] Figure 8 is an oblique top-front-right view of a resilient tread sheet sliced from the segment of Figure 6;
[0025] Figure 9 is an oblique top-front view of a sidewall disc sliced from the tire of Figure 5;
[0026] Figure 10 is an oblique top-front view of a tread cylinder sliced from the tire of Figure 5; [0027] Figure 1 1a is an oblique top-front-left view of a first embodiment of a portable cutting machine for cutting the sidewall of Figure 9 and the tread of Figure 10 from the tire of Figure 5, as the tire and a cutter rotate with respect to each other;
[0028] Figure l ib is an oblique top-rear-left view of a second embodiment of a portable cutting machine for cutting the sidewall of Figure 9 and the tread of Figure 10 from the tire of Figure 5, as the tire and a cutter rotate with respect to each other;
[0029] Figure 12 is an oblique top-front-left view of an embodiment of a portable sidewall stamping machine for stamping the ladder of Figure 1 from the sidewall disc of Figure 9 conformed to a mandrel; and
[0030] Figure 13 is an oblique top-front-left view of an embodiment of a portable tread stamping machine for stamping the ladder of Figure 2 from the tread cylinder of Figure 10 conformed to a mandrel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, an apparatus to assist a person mounting a vehicle V is generally illustrated at 20. The mounting apparatus 20 includes a ladder 22 attachable to the vehicle V.
[0032] Referring first to Figures la, lb, and 2, the ladder 22 is formed from a resilient sheet 24 and has at least one aing 26. The aing 26 may be integral with the sheet 24, for example taking the form of a pocket 26P in the sheet 24, perhaps even a through-cut 26T, an open-sided slot 26S in the sheet 24, an edge 26E of the sheet 24, or a ridge 26R on a surface of the sheet 24, for example. A aing 26 may preexist in the sheet 24 or else it may be created for the ladder 22.
[0033] The ladder 22 may include one or more mounting holes 28 for mounting the ladder 22 to the vehicle V, as will be more fully described below. The ladder 22 may further include bushings 30 (Figure 2) within the mounting holes 28 to ease installation and improve wear. The bushings might be of simple and readily available constaiction, such as pieces of pipe.
[0034] At rest and under no-load, the sheet 24 may have a curled portion 32. The curled portion 32 might include a transversely curled portion 32T having an axis of curl generally parallel to the transverse axis of the sheet 24 to either draw the sheet 24 in toward the vehicle V for protection from collision or to urge the sheet 24 outward away from the vehicle V for better access. The curled portion 32 might include a longitudinally curled portion 32L having an axis of curl generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the sheet 24 to provide bracing and to urge a user's feet toward the centre of the sheet 24.
[0035] The ladder 22 may further include one or more extension steps 33 depending from the bottom of the sheet 24, to assist in situations where the position of the vehicle V relative to the surrounding terrain pitches the ladder 22 too high off the ground for comfortable or practical use. The ladder may be of flexible constaiction, such as a conventional rope or chain ladder such that it can swing or be placed out of the way when not needed. The generally short length of the extension steps 33 and the shape of the sheet 24 such that it projects out from the vehicle V and thus shifts the user's centre of gravity outward as well both help to resist the conventional problem that flexible ladders retreat under the vehicle V when loaded. [0036] Referring next to Figures 3 and 4, a number of gussets 34 may extend from the vehicle V to support the sheet 24 there between. More particularly, a baseplate 36 may be fixed to the vehicle— for example by welding— and adapted to receive the sheet 24 for attachment, the gussets 34 extending from the baseplate 36 to support the sheet 24. In so supporting the sheet 24, at least one of the gussets 34 may urge the sheet 24 away from the vehicle V for better presentation and access.
[0037] There might also be a set of lugs 38 that extend outwardly from the baseplate 36 and, together with a pressure plate 40 and a set of complementary fasteners 42 adapted to engage the plurality of outwardly extending lugs 38, cooperate to urge the pressure plate 40 against the sheet 24 for attachment to the baseplate 36.
[0038] Referring now to Figure 5, suitable resilient sheets 24 may be formed, for example, from a tire 44, even recycled from a discarded tire 44, and in particular from its sidewalls 52 and its tread 54. Such use is advantageous because it can be difficult to find economically practical uses for discarded tires 44 and so they tend to be left at job sites, polluting the site because they are typically not cost effective to remove for recycling or reuse. Rubber, including tire rubber, provides convenient slip-resistant surfaces that are also reasonably gentle in collision, providing improved opportunities for safety, as compared to slippery, sharp metal steps for example.
[0039] Referring to Figures 6, 7 and 8, to illustrate the effectiveness of this recycling, one tire segment 46, of perhaps 30 degrees, could yield three such resilient sheets 24 suitable for forming ladders 22, namely two sidewall sheets 24S and one tread sheet 24T, thereby both producing three new products and reducing the volume and mass of refuse. As shown in Figures la and lb, either the outside surface or the inside surface respectively of the tire 44 may be used as the front of the ladder 22. One advantage of using the inside surface as the front of the ladder 22 (as shown in Figure lb for example) is that braiding and belting reinforcements are presented to support the user, whose weight urges the unreinforced outside surface into benign compression instead of tearing tension, providing an opportunity for extended use.
[0040] Referring to Figures 5, 9 and 10, for larger-scale production, one might cut resilient sheets 24 not from tire segments 46, but from whole sidewall discs 52 and tread cylinders 54 cut from tires 44. In this regard, it may be desirable to bring dedicated portable equipment, for example carried on a taick or trailer T, to a jobsite to perform these operations.
[0041] Referring to Figure 1 1a, one might use a portable cutting machine 56 to cut two sidewall discs 52 and a tread cylinder 54 whole from a tire 44. The cutting machine 56 has a tire mandrel 58 for retaining the tire 44 for cutting. The cutting machine 56 also has a cutter 60 that can be positioned to cut the tread cylinder 54 from the tire 44, thus dissecting the tire 44 into the tread cylinder 54 and at least one sidewall disc 52. Either the cutter 60 may revolve around the tire mandrel 58 or else the tire mandrel 58 may rotate past the cutter 60, such that the tire 44 and a cutter 60 revolve with respect to each other.
[0042] Referring to Figure 1 lb, one might use an alternatively configured cutting machine 56 to cut two sidewall discs 52 and a tread cylinder 54 whole from a tire 44. The alternatively configured cutting machine 56 has a tire mandrel 58, including at least one tire mandrel driver 58d and at least one tire mandrel idler 58i for retaining and rotating the tire 44 between them for cutting. At least one tire mandrel driver 58d and tire mandrel idler 58i can be configured to slide to allow the tire mandrel 58 to accept differently sized tires 44. The alternatively configured cutting machine 56 also has a cutter 60 that can be positioned vertically and horizontally to cut the tread cylinder 54 from the tire 44 as it rotates past the cutter 60, thus dissecting the tire 44 into the tread cylinder 54 and at least one sidewall disc 52.
[0043] One might then use a portable stamping machine 62, for example a sidewall stamping machine 62S and a tread stamping machine 62T, for stamping ladders 22 from sidewall discs 52 and tread cylinders 54, respectively.
[0044] The sidewall stamping machine 62S includes a sidewall mandrel 64S for retaining the sidewall disc 52 for stamping. The sidewall mandrel 64S may include a suction capability to draw the sidewall disc 52 flat during stamping. The sidewall stamping machine 62S further includes a sidewall die 66S for stamping into the sidewall disc 52 against the sidewall mandrel 64S to stamp out a ladder 22. The sidewall die 66S and the sidewall mandrel 64S may rotate with respect to each other such that a plurality of ladders 22 is stamped sequentially from the sidewall disc 52. The sidewall die 66S may stamp a plurality of ladders 22 simultaneously from the sidewall 52, and should the sidewall die 66S sufficiently cover the sidewall disc 52, then it is unnecessary for the sidewall die 66S and the sidewall mandrel 64S to rotate with respect to each other.
[0045] Similarly, the tread stamping machine 62T includes a tread mandrel 64T for retaining the tread cylinder 54 for stamping. The tread mandrel 64T may include a suction capability to draw the tread cylinder 54 flat during stamping. The tread stamping machine 62T further includes a tread die 66T for stamping into the tread cylinder 54 against the tread mandrel 64T to stamp out a ladder 22. The tread die 66T and the tread mandrel 64T may rotate with respect to each other such that a plurality of ladders 22 is stamped sequentially from the tread cylinder 54. The tread die 66T may stamp a plurality of ladders 22 simultaneously from the tread cylinder 54, and should the tread die 66T sufficiently cover the tread cylinder 54, then it is unnecessary for the tread die 66T and the tread mandrel 64T to rotate with respect to each other.
[0046] The foregoing describes a fully field-manufacturing process; however, those skilled in the art will recognize that other arrangements might be suitable in various circumstances. Part of the process might occur in the field and part of process in a factory. For example, cumbersome tires 44 might be divided in the field into more easily transportable sidewall discs 52 and tread cylinders 54 or portions thereof for more convenient transport to a factory for manufacture. Alternatively, there may be situations where it is convenient to transport tires 44 to a factory for complete manufacture.
[0047] Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of the appended claims. In addition, the reference numerals in the claims are merely for convenience and are not to be read in any way as limiting.
[0048] While the invention has been described as having application to tracks, those skilled in the art will recognize other beneficial applications within the spirit of the invention. For example, the mounting apparatus 20 could be used on boats and docks to provide similar benefits, its anti-slip and resilient surfaces providing convenient and safe passage for users without damaging boats (and in fact protecting them much as a bumper), its construction providing durability in often harsh marine environments.
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