Abstract:
An improved carrier which includes a hinged bed in order to decrease the load or approach angle on vehicle to be towed. The carrier also includes a lock which can hold the bed in a flat or planar position as a conventional straight deck, and a cable guide which directs the tow cable along the surface of the articulated bed to avoid contact with the vehicle to be towed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/057,797 filed Apr. 9, 1998, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/982,770 filed Dec. 2, 1997 and converted to a provisional application Apr. 9, 1998 which was a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/839,393 filed Apr. 11, 1997 and converted to a provisional application Apr. 1, 1998. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a carrier for transporting vehicles by placing a vehicle on a platform deck, or bed, and transporting that vehicle to a desired location.  
           [0003]    In some situations, it is desirable to carry a vehicle, as opposed to towing that vehicle in a conventional manner. These situations include when the vehicle to be towed is severely damaged and perhaps missing an axle or when the owner of an automobile wishes to transport the same over a greater than average distance. The carrier found in the prior art typically includes a platform deck or bed carried on a truck chassis. The bed is capable of moving rearwardly away from the chassis and can then incline down to the ground into a vehicle loading position. In the vehicle loading position, the bed forms a ramp onto which the vehicle can be winched, driven, or placed thereon by other conventional techniques.  
           [0004]    At the present time, there are several disadvantages associated with the prior art to which this patent application is addressed. For example, it is crucial that the angle between the bed and the ground be as small as possible. This angle is known as the approach or load angle. The lower the angle of incline on the bed, the easier it becomes to load a vehicle to be towed, especially given modern vehicles low ground clearance and the longer nose of older automobiles. Given the variety of different vehicle configurations, a lower bed angle, or approach angle, is desirable.  
           [0005]    In the past, carrier operators have solved the problem of approach angles with make-shift methods is such as ramps and wood planks. These are cumbersome and difficult to store.  
           [0006]    Another problem associated with the prior art is that the winch cable which may be used to pull the vehicle to be towed onto the bed is often undirected and given the variety of approach angles necessary, the winch cable may cause damage to the vehicle to be towed. Although hinged beds have been used in Europe primarily, they did not have the benefits of a conventional deck and caused severe damage with their cables should a tow hook not be provided on the automobile. Two hooks are uncommon on automobiles in the United States and damage is common with a winch cable. This problem is exasperated with the addition in modern automotive design of low profile automobiles having ground effects such as air dams which could interfere in the direction of the cable.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention is directed to a uniquely constructed carrier that overcomes the disadvantages associated with prior art devices. The present invention is a car carrier that includes a bed that is hinged or articulable such that the approach angle of the carrier is substantially minimized. Because the bed of the present invention is hinged, the rear plate of the bed can be moved to a position adjacent the vehicle to be towed in a lower angle than that found in the prior art. In addition, because the bed is hinged, a cable guide is provided that directs the cable along the bed, thereby eliminating any interference with ground effects of the vehicle to be towed. The bed can also be locked in a position for use as a conventional carrier. The carrier is outfitted conventionally to include a wheel lift or underlift for towing a second automobile and the advantages are achieved by means of a relatively simple and cost effective, reliable design. As a result, the carrier of the present invention provides damage free operation and is more versatile than known prior art carriers.  
           [0008]    It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a carrier whereby a vehicle to be towed may be loaded and moved so that no additional damage will result to the vehicle.  
           [0009]    Another object of this invention is to provide a carrier that includes a bed capable of reducing the load or approach angle when a vehicle to be towed is loaded.  
           [0010]    A further object of this invention is to provide a carrier with a cable guide so that winch cable used to load the vehicle to be towed onto the bed cannot cause further damage thereto.  
           [0011]    A still further object of this invention is to provide a carrier that can be use in a conventional manner, as well as in a hinged fashion. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the carrier of the present invention showing the bed extended and in the loading position.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a side elevation showing the carrier with the bed in the extended and loading position relative to a vehicle to be towed.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a side elevation taken from box  3 - 3  of the FIG. 2.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a side elevation showing the vehicle in an extended and loading position with the vehicle to be towed positioned on the first stage of the bed.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a side elevation showing the carrier having the bed in the extended position and the vehicle to be towed is located entirely on the bed.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a side elevation with the bed in the carrying position.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the cable guide found in the bed of the carrier.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7A is a side view of the cable guide.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the underside of the carrier showing one embodiment of the locking mechanism to prevent the bed from hingeable movement when desired. FIG. 8 shows the locking mechanism which has two independent locks, one on each side of the bed.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 9 is a view of the plunger lock from underneath the carrier. This plunger lock is used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 10 is a side sectional of the rear portion of the bed.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 11 is a close up view taking from circle  11 - 11  of FIG. 9.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIGS. 12 and 13 are underside views of the second embodiment of the locking mechanism. FIG. 12 shows the locking mechanism which has one handle for releasing both plunger locks.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 14 is an elevational exploded view of the present invention also shown in FIG. 12. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0026]    Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 2, the carrier  10  of the present invention includes a cab  12  and chassis  14 . It is anticipated that the invention is adaptable both to a single axle chassis (as shown in FIG. 1) as well as a multiple axle chassis (as shown in FIG. 2). The bed  16  is mounted on the chassis (on a sub-frame not shown) and is capable of movement horizontally as well as provided with a hydraulic tilt mechanism  18  which tilts the bed  16  about a pivot (not shown). The vehicle to be towed  20  is also shows on FIG. 2.  
         [0027]    Likewise, as in conventional carriers, carrier  10  is provided with an underlift or wheel lift  22  which is capable of towing a vehicle not positioned on bed  16 . Bed  16  includes a front section  24  and a rear section  26 . Bed  16  is also provided with a winch  28  and a cable  30 . Cable guide  32  directs cable  30  along the surface of an articulated or hinged bed  16 .  
         [0028]    The structure of the bed  16  is best shown in detail views contained in FIGS. 9 through 11. FIG. 9 shows the underside of bed  16 . As mentioned previously, the front section  24  of bed  16  and rear section  26  of bed  16  are connected by a series of hinges  34 , as best shown in FIG. 11. Hinges  34  are comprised of a front hinge bar  36  and a rear hinge bar  38 . Front hinge bar  36  is welded to the front section  24  of bed  16 . Rear hinge bar  38  is welded to rear section  26  of bed  16 .  
         [0029]    These hinge bars  36 ,  38  are positioned on the sections of the bed  24 ,  26  such that they line up as shown in FIG. 11. A bore is positioned at the end of each hinge bar  36 ,  38  so that a greasable hinge pin  40  will be positioned therethrough and provide an axis for hinged movement of the hinge bars  36 ,  38 . The hinge bars  36 ,  38  are rounded at the end through which the pin  40  passes. Pin  40  is provided with an internal bore- 42  adapted to receive a grease fitting. Bore  42  branches off and, when grease is applied into the fitting, bars  36 ,  38  are greased at their respective pivot points. Cotter pin  44  is positioned through pin  40  for securement. There are five of these hinges  34  disposed along the fold line  46  of the bed  16 .  
         [0030]    The support structure of the rear section  26  of bed  16  is best shown in FIG. 10. Bed  16  includes front side rails  48  and rear side rails  50 . Also included is front floor plate  52  and rear floor plate  54 . Support tubing  56  is attached thereto for added strength. Beam  58  is primarily attached to the rear section  26  of bed  16  and extends forward beyond hinges  34  so that when the bed  16  is in a flat or linear orientation, beam  58  contacts front section  24  of bed  16  to prevent rear section  26  from folding downwardly or beyond a planar relation between the front floor plate  52  and the rear floor plate  54 . Beam  58  also includes aperture  60  for receiving the cam lock means described below. A second coaxial aperture  62  is located in a fixed position on the front section  24  of bed  16 .  
         [0031]    The locking mechanism is best described by viewing FIGS. 8 and 9. In order to prevent the bed  16  from moving in a hingeable fashion when such movement is not desired, the present invention provides a plunger lock on each side of the bed to fix the bed in a conventional orientation. Lock  64  is comprised of a lock control rod  66  that has a handle  68  placed adjacent the front side rails  48  to enable an operator to actuate the locking mechanism. A cam lock  70  of the type known in the prior art is provided at the end of the lock control rod  64  opposite handle  68 . By turning lock control handle  68 , the cam lock pin  72  is retracted allowing the rear section  26  of bed  16  to pivot on its hinges  34 . Cam lock pin  72  extends into apertures  60  and  62  preventing movement when engaged.  
         [0032]    The cable guide  32  is disposed in the front floor plate  52  and is removably attached through a keyhole  74  in a housing box contained in the floor plate. The cable guide  32  is comprised of a pair of oppositely oriented hooks  76  welded to a T-shaped key  78 . The T-shaped key member  79  is adapted to be positioned through keyhole  74  and rotated to a operative position such that cable  30  would extend longitudinally along bed  16  when disposed through the hook  76 . Cable guide  32  remains rotatable within keyhole  74 , and can be removed by rotating cable guide  32  to line up the T-shaped member  78  with keyhole  74 , or 90 degrees. The cable guide  32  may be constructed from a single manufacture or by welding or otherwise joining the various elements together.  
         [0033]    In operation, and when used as a hinged bed, bed  16  is lowered and moved to a position as shown in FIG. 2 adjacent the vehicle to be towed  26 . When the rear section  26  of the bed  16  is hinged, the approach angle is approximately 6 degrees.  
         [0034]    Cable  30  is then strung through cable guide (as shown in FIG. 1) and attached to a tow hook or other structure underneath the vehicle to be towed  20 . Without cable guide  32 , the dotted line  94  in FIGS. 2 and 3 shows the path that the cable would travel from the winch  28  to the vehicle to be towed  20 . Should the cable  30  not be threaded through cable guide  32  before attachment to the vehicle, it may be possible to damage the vehicle to be towed  20  due the relative angle of bed  16  and cable  30 .  
         [0035]    Once the vehicle to be towed  20  is attached to cable  30 , the vehicle to be towed  20  can be moved to a first position wherein its front wheels are located on the rear section  26  of bed  16 . At this point, cable guide  32  can be removed from grommet  74  (as shown in FIG. 4) and the vehicle to be towed  20  can be moved forwardly along bed  16  as shown in FIG. 5. Prior to movement of the vehicle to be towed forwardly, the bed is moved to a second position where, although still inclined, the angle between the rear section  26  and front section  24  is eliminated thereby providing a planar relationship between front section  24  and rear section  26  of bed  16 . At this point, bed  16  may be locked in this planar position. The vehicle can then moved forward to its foremost position.  
         [0036]    As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle to be towed  20  is in its foremost position. When it is safe and feasible, the bed can be lowered to this stored or carrying position and the vehicle to be towed  20  can be locked and secured to the bed. For example, the vehicle can be tied down by threading chains through eyelets  94  when fully secured, the vehicle  20  can be taken to its intended destination.  
         [0037]    An alternative and preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 12 through 14. In contrast with the first embodiment, shown best in FIGS. 8 and 9, which require that an operator go to each side of the bed in order to separately unlock the two independent lock control rods  64 , the second embodiment, best shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, requires that the operator only unlock a single handle located on the driver&#39;s side of the carrier bed. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the carrier  10  has two connected lock pins  100 ,  102 . Driver side lock pin  100  is connected by linkage  104  to clevis  106 . Clevis  106  is connected to the linkage control arm  108  in a pivotable fashion. Linkage control arm  108  pivots around point  110 .  
         [0038]    When actuated by an operator, control arm  108  travels about point  110  along path  112 . The linkage control arm  108  is also connected to the center linkage  114 . Movement of the linkage control arm  108  along path  112  to a disengaged position causes center linkage arm  114  to disengage the passenger side lock pin  102 . Center linkage arm  114  causes the passenger side linkage control arm  116  to disengage the passenger side lock pin  102  by pivoting the passenger side linkage control arm  116  about pivot point  118  by pulling linkage control arm  108 , as shown in FIG. 12, linkage control arm  116  is rotated counterclockwise about point  118  which pulls clevis  120  and linkage  122 , thereby disengaging the passenger side lock pin  102 .  
         [0039]    The disengagement of the passenger side lock pin  102  and the driver side lock pin  100  is accomplished at an approximate simultaneous time so that both lock pins are disengaged to allow the hinged portion of carrier bed  10  to pivot freely. The driver side linkage control arm  108 , when the lock pins  100 ,  102  are disengaged, sticks out from the side of the carrier  10  so as to be obviously unlocked and gives a visual signal by its location that the hinged bed is not locked in planar position. This position of the linkage control arm  108  is shown best in FIG. 13 as the unlocked or disengaged position. Position pin  124  is positioned and shaped to guide the driver side linkage control arm  108  to a locked position when the lock pins  100 ,  102  are engaged. Position pin  124  is guided on linkage control arm  108  in cutout  126 .  
         [0040]    Although the figures show both a single axle and tandem axle chassis, the invention is not limited to any particular chassis style or arrangement.  
         [0041]    Thus, an improved carrier is disclosed having a hinged bed capable of being locked in a planar orientation and provided with a cable guide to maximize the advantage of having an articulated bed without causing damage to the vehicle to be towed. From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be affected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concept of the present invention. It will be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiment illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred. The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used our terms of description now limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the future shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention now claimed.