Patent ID: 6227788
Filing Date: 2001-05-08
Classification: B60P

Abstract:
A side loading apparatus to carry a wheeled vehicle, said wheeled vehicle having a furthest forward wheel and a furthest rearward wheel, the distance between the axis of said furthest forward wheel and said furthest rearward wheel being the wheelbase of the wheeled vehicle, the path of each wheel or aligned set of wheels of said wheeled vehicle being a wheel path, said apparatus comprising:a) two side edges, being a loading edge and a far edge;b) wheels on said apparatus for moving said apparatus along the ground in a direction of travel of the apparatus; andc) a plurality of load-bearing ramps, each load-bearing ramp corresponding to a wheel path of the wheeled vehicle and being hingably attached at a hinge point along its length to the loading edge of the apparatus perpendicular to said loading edge, wherein the end of said load-bearing ramp to the outside of the loading edge is the loading end, and the opposite end is the far end, the section of each load-bearing ramp between the hinge point and the loading end being the outboard section and the section between the hinge point and the far end being the inboard section of said load-bearing ramp;wherein the outboard section of each load-bearing ramp is at least as long as the wheelbase of said wheeled vehicle;and wherein each load-bearing ramp can hingably move between a transport position resting on top of the side edges and a loading position wherein said load-bearing ramp is tilted down at its loading end to the ground or loading surface;wherein the movement of the weight of the wheeled vehicle between the inboard and outboard sections of the load-bearing ramps causes the tilting of the load-bearing ramps between the transport and loading positions.