Abstract:
A modular transport vehicle includes a plurality of dollies which are removably connected to a central spine. Because the components of the present invention may be disconnected, the transport vehicle may be readily disassembled and moved from location to location using conventional transportation means. The modularity also allows the width of the transport vehicle to be adjusted using different widths of connectors to accommodate road conditions and/or governmental regulations.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application claims the filing benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/383,554, filed May 24, 2002, which is included herein by reference. 

   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention pertains generally to multi-axle transport vehicles for moving heavy loads, and more particularly to a modular transport vehicle which can itself be readily transported, and which has an adjustable width. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Heavy hauling vehicles for moving transformers, cranes, boats, industrial equipment, and other heavy objects are well known in the art. An example of such a vehicle is given in U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,078 which discloses a heavy load hauler for traveling on conventional roadways for moving heavy construction equipment such as cranes or the like from one work site to another. The hauler includes a front tractor drawn carriage, a rear carriage, and a load unit between and carried by the carriages. The front carriage is supported upon a multiplicity of independent wheel and axle units. There is a first fifth wheel coupling at the leading end of the front carriage for connecting to the fifth wheel coupling of a tractor. A second fifth wheel coupling is spaced rearwardly. The load carrying rear carriage is also supported upon a multiplicity of independent wheel and axle units. There is a fifth wheel coupling intermediate the leading and trailing ends of the carriage. The load unit has forwardly and rearwardly projecting goosenecks. Each gooseneck has a fifth wheel coupling. The one on the forwardly projecting gooseneck connects to the fifth wheel coupling on the front carriage. The one on the rearwardly projecting gooseneck connects to the fifth wheel coupling on the rear carriage. The load unit may be either the crane itself or a flatbed upon which the crane is carried. At least some of the independent wheel and axle units are steerably mounted on their carriages. Each wheel and axle unit has its wheels supported by a hydraulic suspension. Hydraulic circuitry interconnects all of the suspensions so as to equally distribute the load among all of the wheel units. Steering of the independent wheel and axle units is interphased for the front and rear carriages by a pair of operatively associated interrelated inline valve cylinder units.  FIG. 12A  shows a valve  718  used in a power steering system which is coupled to a connecting link  703 . 
   Other heavy hauling vehicles are sold by Goldhofer Fahrzeugwerk G.m.b.H. of Memmingen, Germany; Nicolas of Champs Sur Yonne, France; and Talbert of Rensselaer, Ind. 
   Improved systems having automatic steering at all speeds and suspension systems that respond rapidly to the varying road conditions imposed by higher speeds would greatly reduce the time and effort required to move the vehicle to the load, move the load, and return the vehicle to storage. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a modular transport vehicle for carrying heavy loads and a method of using the vehicle. The modular transport vehicle includes one or more hauling carriages which may be (1) readily disassembled for transportation from location to location by conventional means, and (2) can be varied in width to accommodate road conditions and/or governmental regulations. The invention specifically teaches away from prior art transport vehicles by allowing the transport vehicle of the present invention itself to be moved from location to location using conventional transportation means. 
   In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a modular transport vehicle includes one or more hauling carriages each of which include a plurality of dollies, a central spine, and a corresponding plurality of connectors. Each dolly is removably connected to the central spine by a connector. 
   In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the connector includes a connecting member which connects the dollies to the central spine. Connecting members of different widths may be used to change the overall width of the transport vehicle. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the hauling carriage may be disassembled so that its components may be moved from location to location by conventional transportation means. 
   Other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of a prior art multi-axle transport vehicle for moving heavy loads; 
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the vehicle of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of a second prior art transport vehicle; 
       FIG. 4  is a partial enlarged top plan view of the vehicle of  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged top plan view of a hauling carriage of a modular transport vehicle in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a simplified enlarged top plan view showing the dollies, central spine, and connectors of the hauling carriage; 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged fragmented top plan view of area  7  of  FIG. 6 ; 
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged top plan view of area  8  of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged side elevation view along direction  9  of  FIG. 7 ; 
       FIG. 10  is an enlarged top plan view of the first and second flanges of  FIG. 8 ; 
       FIG. 11  is an enlarged top plan view showing the installation of a wider connecting member; 
       FIG. 12  is an enlarged top plan view of the dollies and central spine with the wider connecting member; 
       FIG. 13  is a top plan view of the hauling carriage showing the dollies removed from the central spine; 
       FIG. 14  is a top plan view of the dollies loaded on an external carrier; 
       FIG. 15  is a top plan view of the central spine loaded on an external carrier; and, 
       FIG. 16  is an enlarged side elevation view of a dolly. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate side elevation and top plan views, respectively, of a prior art multi-axle transport vehicle  500  for moving heavy loads. The vehicle  500  has a front dolly  502  and a pair of rear dollies  504  upon which a load  506  rests. Dollies  502  and  504  are permanently attached to the bed of the transport vehicle. The front dolly  502  and rear dolly  504  each have two axles  505  with four tires  507 . Axles  505  are rotatable about a vertical pivot axis  509  thereby allowing the axles  505  and tires  507  to turn to the right or left. The axles  505  are connected to the frames of the dollies  502 ,  504  by a suspension system which controls the vertical movement of the axles  505 . A towing vehicle  508  such as a tractor pulls transport vehicle  500  using a tow bar  510 . 
     FIGS. 3 and 4  are side elevation and partial enlarged top plan views, respectively, of a second prior art transport vehicle  600 . Transport vehicle  600  includes front hauling carriage  602  and rear hauling carriage  604 . Each hauling carriage has a plurality of dollies  606  such as the six shown. The tops of the dollies  606  are connected to a bed  607 . Each dolly  606  has two rotatable axles  608  each having four wheels  610 . Axles  608  are rotatably mounted to an axle beam  612 . The dollies  606  are mechanically linked together by turning struts  615  which cause the axles  608  to rotate in a desired manner as transport vehicle  600  turns. A load bed  614  is attached to two goosenecks  616  which rotatably connect to hubs  618  of hauling carriages  602  and  604 . A heavy load  700  such as a large transformer is carried by load bed  614 . 
     FIG. 5  illustrates an enlarged top plan view of a hauling carriage of a modular transport vehicle in accordance with the present invention, generally designated as  20 . Two such hauling carriages  20  are typically utilized in a configuration such as shown in  FIG. 3  connected by two goosenecks and a load bed. However, one carriage  20  could be used by itself for some loads. Hauling carriage  20  includes a plurality of dollies  22  such as the six in the embodiment shown. Each dolly  22  has two axles  50  and  52  with four wheels  54 ,  56 ,  58  and  60  fitted on each axle as shown in  FIG. 5 . An elongated central member  28  connects the two axles  50  and  52  together. Dollies  22  are removably connected to a central spine  24  by a corresponding plurality of connectors  26 . Six dollies  22  and connectors  26  are used in the embodiment shown. Each dolly  22  is removably connected to central spine  24  by one connector  26 . The component identified as the central spine  24  in  FIGS. 5–13  herein is hereinafter typically referred to as the spine  24  for ease of reference and simplicity. However, it should be understood that a recitation of the spine  24  in this specification is to be interpreted as the central spine  24 . 
     FIG. 6  is a simplified enlarged top plan view showing the dollies  22 , central spine  24 , and connectors  26  of the hauling carriage  20 . 
     FIG. 7  is an enlarged fragmented top plan view of dollies  22 , spine  24 , and connectors  26 .  FIG. 8  is an enlarged top plan view of area  8  of  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 9  is an enlarged side elevation view along direction  9  of  FIG. 7 . Connector  26  comprises a plurality of components which are shown in  FIGS. 7 ,  8 , and  9 . Each dolly  22  has an elongated central member  28  having a vertical side  30  (also refer to  FIG. 16 ) and a middle portion  32 . A pair of first flanges  34  are disposed on vertical side  30  of dolly  22  at middle portion  32  of elongated central member  28 . Spine  24  has a vertical side  36 . A pair of second flanges  38  are disposed on vertical side  36  of spine  24 . A connecting member  40  connects first flanges  34  of dolly  22  to second flanges  38  of spine  24 . The connection is effected by pins  42 . The connecting members  40  have a width w which determines the overall width W of hauling carriage  20  as is depicted in  FIG. 7 . That is, wider connecting members  40  will result in a wider transverse wheel base W. 
     FIG. 10  is an enlarged top plan view of first flanges  34  and second flanges  38  of  FIG. 8  with connecting member  40  removed. 
     FIG. 11  is an enlarged top plan view showing the installation of a wider connecting member  40  having a width w 1  which is wider than the width w of  FIG. 8 . 
     FIG. 12  is an enlarged top plan view of dollies  22  and spine  24  similar to  FIG. 7  but with the wider connecting members  40  of  FIG. 11  installed. The resulting width of hauling carriage  20  is W 1 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, multiple sets of connecting members  40  are provided having different widths. A desired width of hauling carriage  20  may be established by selecting a set of connecting members  40  of a particular width (e.g. w 1  vs. w). 
     FIG. 13  is a top plan view of the hauling carriage  20  showing the dollies  22  removed from spine  24 . The removal is typically effected by supporting spine  24  with jacks and removing connecting members  40 . 
     FIG. 14  is a top plan view of dollies  22  loaded on a conventional external carrier  800  such as a truck and flat bed trailer. Other carriers  800  could also be utilized such as a railroad car. 
     FIG. 15  is a top plan view of central spine  24  loaded onto an external carrier  900 . By loading dollies  22  and central spine  24  onto conventional external carriers, the components of the transport vehicle may be more conveniently moved between job sites using only one lane of a highway rather than the two lanes which are typically needed to move the assembled transport vehicle. It may be appreciated that the goosenecks and load bed of the transport vehicle may be similarly moved in a disassembled state. 
     FIG. 16  is an enlarged side elevation view of a dolly  22  showing central member  28  having vertical side  30  and first flanges  34  disposed at middle portion  32 . Dolly  22  stands by itself and is movable by itself on its four wheel sets. Top views of dollies by themselves and not connected to the spine are shown in  FIG. 15 . 
   In terms of use, a method of establishing a width of a transport vehicle, includes:
         (a) defining a desired width W of the transport vehicle (for example to comply with governmental regulations);   (b) providing a hauling carriage  20  including:
           a plurality of dollies  22 ;   a spine  24 ;   a corresponding plurality of connecting members  40 , connecting members  40  having a width w, the width w of connecting members  40  selected to result in desired width W of the transport vehicle;   wherein each dolly  22  is removably connected to spine  24  by connecting members  40 ; and,   
           (c) connecting dollies  22  to spine  24  using connecting members  40  having selected width w.       

   The method may further include: 
   in step (b), each dolly  22  including an elongated central member  28  having a vertical side  30  and a middle portion  32 ; 
   in step (b), a pair of first flanges  34  disposed on vertical side  30  of dolly  22  at middle portion  32  of elongated central member  28 ; 
   in step (b), central spine  24  having a vertical side  36 ; 
   in step (b), a pair of second flanges  38  disposed on vertical side  36  of central spine  24 ; and 
   in step (c), connecting member  40  connecting first flanges  34  of dolly  22  to second flanges  38  of central spine  24 . 
   In another use of the present invention, a method of transporting a hauling carriage  20  of a transport vehicle includes:
         (a) providing at least one external carrier  800 ;   (b) providing a hauling carriage  20  including:
           a plurality of dollies.  22 ;   a spine  24 ;   a corresponding plurality of connectors  26 ; and,   wherein each dolly  22  is removably connected to spine  24  by a connector  26 ;   
           (c) removing the plurality of dollies  22  from spine  24 ;   (d) loading the plurality of dollies  22  and spine  24  onto the at least one external carrier  800 ; and,   (e) using the at least one external carrier  800  to move the plurality of dollies  22  and spine  24  to a new location.       

   The method of transporting may further include: 
   prior to step (a), determining that the number of miles to be traveled in step (e) is greater than a predetermined number. That is, if the number of miles is great, for example 500, then it may be more cost effictive to move the disassembled transport vehicle on conventional external carriers. However, if the number of miles is small, for example 10, then it is probably more cost effective to move the assembled transport vehicle. 
   The preferred embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations, and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve an equivalent result, all of which are intended to be embraced within the scope of the appended claims.