Patent Abstract:
A truck-trailer for easy changeability and wider range of applicability in simplified construction to increase transportation capacity and improve changeability and applicability having the front and the rear sections of the main deck each pivoted with a retractable slope; the rear end of the main deck being disposed of a multi-sectional access slope for the access by different types of vehicles; and an elevation deck set being provided on the main deck to cope with the load of various types of vehicles to increase loading capacity.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     (a) Technical Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention is related to a truck trailer, and more particularly to one for vehicle transportation in simplified construction for reduction of production cost allowing fast and diversified changeability depending on the load to increase its applicability and load volume.  
         [0003]     (b) Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     To transport semi-products of vehicles or vehicles pending issuance of license plate that are prevented from driving on the highway, a truck trailer for the transportation of those vehicles has been developed. To cope with the various types and sizes of vehicles, dedicated truck trailers are made available. However, those dedicated truck trailers fail to meet the needs of the transportation companies since the dispatch of a dedicated truck trailer just for the transportation of few vehicles would cost too much costs. Therefore, the transportation companies are always seeking for the type of truck trailer that can handle different types of vehicles and in larger transportation capacity for a single run.  
         [0005]     In order to improve changeability and capacity, the construction of the truck trailer has become more complicated, and caused operating difficulties to result in higher production cost and the problem of insufficient strength that significantly affect the safety of the truck trailer.  
         [0006]     The prior art as described above is generally found with the defectives of poor interchangeability, low applicability, difficult operation, higher production cost and low safety.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a truck trailer that offers convenient changeability to facilitate the operation by the user.  
         [0008]     Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a truck trailer that offers wider range of applicability to handle vehicles of different types.  
         [0009]     Yet another purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a truck trailer that is simplified in construction to lower the production cost of the truck trailer.  
         [0010]     Yet another purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a truck trailer that upgrades the structural strength and permits good positioning to better assure of driving safety.  
         [0011]     The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.  
         [0012]     Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing a layout of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a first slope and a main deck of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view showing a layout of the movement of the first slope of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3A  is an enlarged portion showing a layout of the movement of the first slope of the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a second slope and an elevation slope of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  are enlarged portions showing a second slope and an elevation slope of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view showing a layout of the movement of the second slope of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 5A  is an enlarged portion showing a layout of the movement of the second slope of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the elevation deck set of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIGS. 7 and 7 A are schematic views showing a layout of the movement of the elevation deck set of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of an access slope of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the access slope of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 10  is a layout of the movement of the access slope of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.  
         [0027]     The present invention is related to a truck trailer allowing easy changeability and wide range of applicability. Referring to  FIG. 1 , the trailer is essentially comprised of a main deck  10 , a first and a second slope  15 ,  20  with both retractable, an elevation deck set  30  provided over the main deck  10 , and an access slope set  7  related to a lane comprised of a front section  70 , a middle section  80  and a rear section  90  is provided to the rear end of the main deck.  
         [0028]     Also referring to  FIG. 2 , the main deck  10  for lowering its central gravity indicates concave in relation to front and rear wheels of the trailer. A front deck  11  extends laterally from the front end of the main deck  10  to provide more loading area for the main deck  10 . The rear end of the first slop  15  is pivoted to the front end of the main deck at where in relation to the rear wheels. The front end of the first slop  15  is connected to the main deck  10  with a lifting cylinder to operate the first slope  15  to extend at an inclination or retract horizontally in relation to the main deck  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . A plunging stud  17  is disposed on the side edge of the front end of the first slop  15 , an insertion hole  18  for positioning is disposed at the lower end of the plunging stud  17 . A retractable rod set  19  is disposed at the front end of the first slope  15  to merely when stretched out uphold the top of the plunging stud  17  or stick into the insertion hole  18 . Accordingly, when the first slope  15  extends or retracts, it is upheld and secured in position to improve its bearing capacity.  
         [0029]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 4A  and  4 B, the second slope  20  has its rear end pivoted to the middle section of the main deck  10 . Another lifting cylinder  21  is used to connect the front end of the second slope  20  to the main deck  10  to operate the second slope  20  to extend at an inclination or retreat horizontally in relation to the main deck  10  as illustrated in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 5B . Once the second slope  20  is upheld to its paramount, its top edge is coupled to the front deck  11  to facilitate the vehicles for the transportation to access to the front deck  11 . An extension rod set  23  is disposed at the front end of the second slope  20  while a plunging stud  24  is provided at the side edge of the extension rod of the second slope  20  and an insertion hole  25  for positioning is provided at the lower end of the plunging stud  24 . Accordingly, when the extension rod set  23  of the second slope  20  is stretched out, it merely upholds against the top of the plunging stud  24  or sticks into the insertion hole  25  for the second slope  20  when extending or retreating to uphold or secure in position to improve its bearing capacity.  
         [0030]     Now referring to  FIGS. 4, 5 , and  6 , the elevation deck set  30  provided over the main deck  10  is adapted each on both side edges of the front section of the main deck  10  at where close to the front deck  11  with a first rod  31  extending upwardly. The first rod  31  containing a telescopic rod  32  that slides up and down using a telescopic cylinder  33 . An upper front deck  40  extending forwardly is disposed between both tops of those two telescopic rods  32  and may be stacked inside the front deck  11  of the main deck as illustrated in  FIG. 7A . Furthermore, a bolting set  45  disposed at the rear end of the upper front deck  40  is used to lock up an upper deck  50  extending backwardly. The bolting set  45  has provided on both sides of the rear end of the upper front deck  40  each a bolting sleeve  46  adapted with an bolt  47 ,which slides laterally for positioning in relation to the bolting sleeve  46 . A corresponding insertion sleeve  48  is provided at the front edge of the upper deck  50  to receiver insertion of the bolt  47  to couple the upper front deck  40  and the upper deck.  
         [0031]     A first lifting cylinder  51  and a second lifting cylinder  52  are pivoted to the middle section of the upper deck  50 . Another ends respectively of the first and the second lifting cylinders  51 ,  52  are pivoted to the front and the rear sections of the main deck  10  for the upper deck  50  to elevate by the extension and retraction of both of the first and the second lifting cylinders as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 7 A. To position the upper deck  50  and to increase its bearing capacity for improved operation safety, a telescopic cylinder set  53  for positioning is provided to the outer tube, of the second lifting cylinder  52  and a series of corresponding insertion holes  54  for positioning are disposed on the inner tube of the second lifting cylinder  52 . An extension deck  55  capable of engaging internal and external slide is provided in the rear end of the upper deck  50 , and an active lifting cylinder  56  is provided between the extension deck  55  and the upper deck  50 . On both sides of the upper deck  50  at where closer to the first rod  31 , a mobile stud set  60  extending downwardly is each provided and fixed to an extension rod  61  on both sides of the upper deck  50 . The extension rod  61  is inserted with a second rod  62  and a lifting cylinder  63  to operate both of the extension rod  61  and the second rod  62  is disposed between the extension rod  61  and the second rod  62 . A lockset  65  to lock up the main deck  10  is provided at the lower end of the second rod  62 , and the lock set  65  is adapted with a bolting sleeve  66  provided with an insertion bolt  67  at the lower end of the second rod  62 . The insertion bolt  67  laterally slides for positioning purpose in relation to the bolting sleeve  66 . Another bolting sleeve  68  in relation to the bolting sleeve  66  is provided on the main deck for the user to operate the insertion bolt  67  for the control of the engagement or disengagement of the second rod  62  to or from the main deck  10 .  
         [0032]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the access slope set  7  relates to a whole-piece of a lane comprised of front, middle, and rear sections  70 ,  80 , and  90  that can be relative extended and retreated. The front section  70  is comprised of a lip-rounding steel frame  71  provided with multiple partitioning plates  72  arranged at equal spacing to define three open ways  75  to be engaged to the middle section  80 . A guide plate  73  is each provided to the lip-rounding steel frame  71  and each partitioning plate  72 , and a rolling rod  76  is provided to the bottom edge of the outlet of each open way  75  of the lip-rounding frame  71  to permit smooth slide by the middle section  80  of the lane. The front section  70  has a limiting insertion hole  77  provided on one side of the lip-rounding steel frame  71  for securing both of the middle section  80  and the rear section  90  of the lane in position when retreated.  
         [0033]     The middle section of the lane  80  is comprised of three pieces of lip-rounding steel  81  in relation to those three open ways  75 from the front section  70 . All three pieces of lip-rounding steel  81  are kept at a proper spacing among one another for easy slide into their respective open ways  75  from the front section  70  of the lane. Two partitioning plates  82  at equal spacing are provided inside each piece of lip-rounding steel  81  and one open way  83  is provided to each piece of lip-rounding steel  81  for the rear section  90  of the lane to slide in. A square frame  84  is used to confine the front ends of three pieces of lip-rounding steel  81  to improve their strength. A first lifting cylinder  85  is provided between the middle section  80  and the front section  70  of the lane to operate the extension or retraction of the middle section  80  against the front section  70  of the lane. Multiple casters  86  in relation to the bottom edges of the guides in the lip-rounding steel frame  60  of the front section  60  of the lane are provided to the rear end of each of those three pieces of lip-rounding steel of the middle section  80  to improve the smooth engagement of both of the middle and the front sections  80 ,  70  of the lane. An insertion hole  87  is provided on the farthest side of the middle section  80  to facilitate securing the middle section  80  to the front section  70 .  
         [0034]     The rear section  90  of the lane is comprised of nine pieces of lip-rounding steel  91  in relation to those open ways  83  from each piece of lip-rounding steel of the middle section  80  of the lane. All nine pieces of lip-rounding steel  91  are kept at proper spacing to facilitate engagement into those open ways  83  from the middle section  80  of the lane. A caster  92  is provided to the top edge of the terminal of each piece of the lip-rounding steel  91  to help achieve smooth slide into those open ways  83  from the middle section  80 . A fixation steel plate  93  is used to lock up the front ends of all nine pieces of the lip-rounding steel  91  to improve their strength. The lower surface of the tip of the fixation steel plate  93  is provided with a ramp  94  flushed against the ground as illustrated in  FIG. 10  to increase the stability of the rear section  90  of the lane. A second lifting cylinder  95  is provided between the rear and the middle sections  90 ,  80  of the lane to operate the contraction and extension of the rear section  90  against the middle section  80  of the lane. A limiting insertion hole  96  is provided on the farthest side of the rear section  90  to be inserted with a limiting insertion pin  100  when aligned with the limiting insertion holes  87 ,  77  respectively from the middle and the front sections  80 ,  70  of the lane as illustrated in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0035]     In practice as illustrated in  FIGS. 1, 9 , and  10 , the limiting insertion pin  100  in the access slope set  7  is first removed, and both of the first lifting cylinder  85  from the middle section  80  of the lane and the second lifting cylinder  95  from the rear section  90  of the lane are operated to allow both of the middle and the rear sections  80 ,  90  of the lane to extend while having the ramp  94  of the rear section  90  of the lane flushed against the ground to significant increase its stability. Whereas all the front section  70 , the middle section  80 , and the rear section  90  are connected by engaging those pieces of lip-rounding steel, they provide excellent structural strength and facilitate the access of the vehicles to the trailer.  
         [0036]     In case of any vehicle in extra long body is loaded on the main deck  10 , the chassis may be stuck when the front wheels have entered on the main deck  10  and the rear wheels of the vehicle have not yet climbed on the access slope set  7 . To avoid this problem, the first slope  15  will be lifted at a certain inclination as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3  to let down the first slope  15  only until the rear wheels have climbed on the access slope set  7 . The first slope  15  may be also lifted up in the event that the vehicle in transition has to enter on the upper deck  50  of the elevation deck set  30 . When the first slope  15  is lifted at a certain inclination, the extension rod set  19  upholds the top of the plunging stud to improve the bearing capacity of the first slope  15 .  
         [0037]     The changeability of the second slope  20  can be done to compromise the type of the vehicle to be loaded on the deck. For example, upon loading a small car, the second slope  20  is lifted up to permit the car to enter onto the front deck  11 . Alternatively, in case of loading a large car or the elevation deck set  30  must be lowered, the second slope  20  is lowered and retreated onto the main deck  10 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the lifting cylinder  21  operates the second slope  20  to rise at an inclination for allowing the front edge of the second slope  20  aligned to the rear edge of the front deck  11  to permit the car to access to the front deck  11  while the extension rod unit  23  upholds the top of the plunging stud  24  as the second slope  20  is rising at a certain inclination so to improve the bearing capacity of the second slope  20 . When the second slope  20  must be lowered, the extension rod set  23  is retreated and the lifting cylinder  21  is also retreated to allow the second slope  20  stack up on the main deck  10 . The extension rod set  23  is then extending once again and inserted into the insertion hole  25  for positioning to give the better positioning results for the second slope  20 .  
         [0038]     Furthermore, as illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 6 , and  7  when the service of the elevation deck set  30  is required, the positioning telescopic cylinder set  53  of the second lifting cylinder  52  is retracted to free the second lifting cylinder. The extension rod  32  of the first rod  31  and the first and the second lifting cylinders  51 ,  52  are synchronously retracted to descend the upper deck  50  and the upper front deck  40  on the elevation deck set  30  thus for the rear end edge of the upper deck  40  aligned to the first slope  15  rising at a certain inclination to facilitate the access of the car to the elevation deck set  30 . Upon completing the access, the extension rod  32  and the first and the second lifting cylinders  51 ,  52  uphold synchronously while allowing the positioning telescopic cylinder set  53  on the second lifting cylinder  32  to once against constrict the slide of the second lifting cylinder  52  for facilitating the access of the car to the main deck  10  on the lower deck, thus to improve its bearing capacity. In case of a car with a longer body or as required, the lifting cylinder  56  in the upper deck  50  is operated to extend the extension deck  55  at the rear of the upper deck  50  to permit more loading space and to increase the changeability of the upper deck  50 .  
         [0039]     If a car of extra height is directly loaded on the lifted elevation deck set  30 , it may violate against the height limit on the general highway, and the car is prevented from being placed at where between the main deck  10  and the upper deck  50 ; simply lower the upper front deck  40  and the upper deck  50  of the elevation deck set  30  until the upper front deck  40  is completely stacked upon the front deck  11  of the main deck  10 , and have the insertion bolt  67  at the lower end of the second stud  62  of the mobile stud set  60  to be placed into the insertion sleeve  68  of the main deck. Accordingly, the mobile stud set  60  is coupled to the main deck  10 . The insertion bolt  47  of the bolting set  45  located between the upper deck  50  and the upper front deck  40  is pulled away from the insertion sleeve  48  to disengage the upper deck  50  from the upper front deck  40 . Meanwhile, the extension rod  61  of the mobile stud set  60 , and both of the first and the second lifting cylinders  51 ,  52  remain retreated to stack the upper deck  50  upon the top of the main deck for making possible for the trailer to take up excessively high vehicle to significantly improve the applicability of the present invention.  
         [0040]     On the contrary, to return to the original status, operate the extension rod  61  of the mobile stud set  60  and both of the first and the second lifting cylinders  51 ,  52  in opposite direction to lift the upper deck  50  up to where in align with the upper front deck  40  to lock up the bolting set  45  and separate the bolting set  65  of the mobile stud set  60  from the main deck  10 , thus to rise synchronously the upper front deck  40  and the upper deck  50  of the elevation deck set  30  using both of the first and the second lifting cylinders  51 ,  42  and the extension rod  32  of the first rod  31 .  
         [0041]     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.  
         [0042]     While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1