Patent ID: 11945529
Assignee: PLASAN SASA LTD.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. A modular slave vehicle articulatable at one end thereof to another slave vehicle and at another end thereof to an independently driven master vehicle having a coupling portion, simultaneously, said modular slave vehicle comprising:
a body including a driving system for driving said modular slave vehicle;
a slave structural frame supporting said body, having a rear end and a front end;
a master coupling system in the form of a mechanical stress absorbing coupling mechanism mounted to said front end, said master coupling system being detachably articulatable to said coupling portion of the master vehicle so as to constrain, at least partially, all translational DOF of the vehicles relatively to each other, and leave at least one rotational DOF at least partially unconstrained;
at least one first slave coupling device mounted to said front end distal from the master coupling system;
at least one second slave coupling device mounted to said rear end;
wherein said first and second coupling devices, when mounted to two adjacent slave vehicles intended to be articulated to each other, are detachably connectable to each other to form a tandem coupling configured to constrain all DOF therebetween;
wherein said master coupling system is configured to maintain an offset distance between said slave vehicle and said master vehicle when the two are articulated thereby, and wherein said slave coupling system is configured to maintain a second offset distance between said structural frame of said slave vehicle and a structural frame of said another slave vehicle, when the two are articulated thereby, said second offset distance being smaller than said first offset distance;
wherein said master coupling system comprises a shaft mounted to said front end such that it permanently protrudes axially therefrom, said shaft having a length defining said first offset distance; and
an accommodation space closer to said rear end than said front end, configured to accommodate at least said shaft of said another slave vehicle, when the latter is articulated thereto.