Abstract:
An adjustable chassis for transporting shipping containers of different configurations. The chassis comprises at least two spaced-apart frame members, with each frame member including an upper surface for supporting a shipping container. At least two conversion members are pivotally coupled to the chassis by at least two translation members. The conversion members are configured to translate from a storage position between the frame members to a deployed position resting on the upper surface of the frame members.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the present invention relates to skeleton frame chassis used for overland transport of shipping containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to an adjustable chassis used to transport shipping containers having different configurations. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Shipping or freight containers are often used for transporting goods by ship, rail and overland trucking. These containers are constructed in several different sizes and configurations often according to international standards. For overland trucking, the container is positioned on a chassis, with the chassis coupled to a tractor, truck, or other suitable towing vehicle. Generally the chassis couples to a fifth-wheel on the tractor. To accommodate overland trucking by chassis, most shipping containers have a tunnel located in a front bottom portion of the container. The tunnel is designed to extend over a forward section of the chassis. This forward section is generally referred to as the gooseneck section. The chassis gooseneck section is generally higher than the chassis rear portion because the kingpin that attaches the chassis to the tractor fifth wheel is located under the gooseneck. The container tunnel is designed to accommodate the higher gooseneck section so that the overall height of the container, as measured from the ground to the top of the container, stays within Federal highway transportation standards. 
     Today, there are generally two types of shipping containers in widespread use. The “standard” shipping container has a tunnel depth of about 4 ¾ inches and a more recent design, sometimes referred to as a “High-Cube” container, has a shallower tunnel depth of about 3 ¼ inches. The High-Cube container has a greater storage area than the standard container, permitting transportation of more goods. However, a High-Cube container placed on a chassis designed to fit a standard container will exceed Federal transportation height standards, because the top of the container is now about 1 ½ inches higher than allowed. This has forced transport companies to purchase and operate two different chassis, one configured for High-Cube containers and a second chassis configured for standard containers. 
     Variable, or convertible chassis have been developed in an effort to avoid the substantial logistical and financial expenditures associated with matching specific freight containers to specific chassis. These convertible chassis generally have variable height gooseneck supports made of moveable sections that can be configured to accommodate either type of container. However, these variable chassis have several shortcomings. For example, the conversion procedure necessary to covert the chassis from one configuration to the other requires the use of tools and considerable human effort, decreasing transportation efficiency and causing operator injuries. Because the moveable sections of the chassis are difficult to adjust from one configuration to another, operators sometimes transport a container with the chassis configured for a different type of container, resulting in a dangerous operating condition. 
     Another disadvantage is the moveable sections of the chassis do not extend along the entire length of the gooseneck. This adds stress to the container because only parts of the tunnel floor are supported by the gooseneck rails, causing deformation of the floor and subsequent fatigue failure of over-stressed containers. Full-length supports are not employed for a number of reasons, including the complexity of packaging the supports within the gooseneck, and the difficulty of designing a system that can easily rearrange full-length supports from one configuration to the other. This adds stress to the container because only parts of the tunnel are supported by the gooseneck rails, causing deformation of the container floor and subsequent fatigue failure of over-stressed containers. 
     Therefore, there exists a need for a variable height gooseneck chassis that can safely and efficiently accommodate containers having different tunnel heights. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to overcome the deficiencies with known, conventional shipping containers, a convertible chassis is provided. Briefly, the convertible chassis includes translation members coupled to the chassis that cooperate with conversion members. The conversion members are configured to be shifted by the translation members between a stored portion and a deployed position. 
     More specifically, one embodiment of the convertible chassis invention employs pivoting conversion members that are also pivotally coupled to the chassis. The conversion members are configured to be easily shiftable from a storage position between the chassis gooseneck frame members to a deployed position proximate to the chassis gooseneck frame members. 
     The convertible chassis of the present invention affords its users with a number of distinct advantages. First, unlike prior adjustable gooseneck chassis, the adjustable support sections of the present invention extend substantially along the entire length of the gooseneck frame members, thereby supporting the container tunnel floor. In addition, adjustment of the chassis from a High-Cube container configuration to a standard container configuration can be quickly accomplished by hand, without the use of any tools. Further, a disclosed embodiment of the present invention can be installed on existing High-Cube chassis, removing the need to operate and maintain specific chassis for specific freight containers. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The nature, goals, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals identify like elements throughout and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a freight container mounted on a chassis employing features of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the chassis illustrated in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gooseneck section of the chassis illustrated in FIG. 2, with the tunnel converters of the present invention depicted in a deployed position; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the gooseneck section illustrated in FIG. 3, with the tunnel converters of the present invention depicted in a deployed position; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line  5 — 5  in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention employing I-beam gooseneck frame members; and 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line  7 — 7  in FIG.  5 . 
    
    
     It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following paragraphs, the present invention will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the attached drawings. Throughout this description, the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than as limitations on the present invention. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a chassis  5  with a removable shipping or freight container  10  positioned thereon is illustrated. The chassis  5  comprises a rear frame assembly  20  that includes a conventional wheel assembly  25 , and a conventional strut assembly  30  positioned forward of the rear frame assembly  20 . The chassis  5  also has conventional locking devices (not shown) for securing the container  10  onto the chassis  5 . It will be appreciated that several different types of shipping containers can be coupled to the chassis  5 , such as “High-Cube” or “standard” containers. 
     Illustrated in FIG. 1, the container  10  includes a recessed tunnel section  15  located on the front lower portion of the container  10  and extending rearward from the front of the container  10 . The tunnel section  15  has a tunnel floor  17 . The tunnel section  15  has a depth of about 3 ¼ inches for a High-Cube container and a depth of about 4 ¾ inches for a standard container. It will be appreciated that the container  10  can also have tunnel depths other than the standard or High-Cube tunnel depths. 
     Shown in FIG. 4, the tunnel floor  17  of the tunnel section  15  of the container  10  engages a gooseneck assembly  35  that is connected to the rear chassis assembly  20 . The gooseneck assembly  35  is raised relative to the rear chassis frame members  21  to accommodate the kingpin  40  that couples to a tractor fifth wheel (not shown). The container tunnel section  15  fits over the raised gooseneck assembly  35 , keeping the height of the container  10 , measured from the ground, within Federal transportation standards. 
     Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the gooseneck assembly  35  comprises two main gooseneck frame or beam members  50 . It will be appreciated that the gooseneck frame members  50  can have a tubular, I-beam, or other suitable configuration. The gooseneck frame members  50  are joined to the rear frame members  21  and to the front bolster  45 . Cross-braces  59  attach the gooseneck frame members  50  to each other and include substantially vertical webs  60 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the kingpin  40  is attached to a cross-brace. It will be appreciated that the kingpin  40  may be attached to the chassis by other suitable methods. The gooseneck frame members  50  have an upper surface  51  that supports the container tunnel floor  17  when the container  10  is positioned on the chassis  5 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 3-6, tunnel converters  65  are movably positionable in the gooseneck assembly  35 . Accordingly the tunnel converters  65  may be positioned in a deployed position  95  on the gooseneck beams  50 , or in a storage position  99  between the gooseneck beams  50 . The tunnel converters  65  are pivotally mounted to the frame members  50  by pivot blocks  70  and tunnel converter pivots  80 . The pivot blocks  70  can be directly attached to the gooseneck beams  50 , or they can be mounted on pivot block support plates  71 . It will be appreciated that alternative embodiments of the invention can mount the pivot blocks  70  on the cross braces  59 , or on other suitable surfaces. The pivot blocks  70  and tunnel converter pivots  80  can use roller bearings, tapered roller bearings, bushings or other suitable rotation elements. It will be apparent that other rotational elements may be used. For example, the rotational element may be sealed roller bearings  72 . Alternatively, the pivot blocks  70  and tunnel converter  65  may be configured to pivot by using a pin and tube arrangement, similar to door hinges. Another embodiments may employ nylon, brass or other types of suitable bushings to minimize pivot resistance and hinge wear. 
     Translation arms  75  couple the pivot blocks  70  to the tunnel converter pivots  80 . The translation arms  75  extend beneath the tunnel converters  65  when in the stored position between the gooseneck beams  50 , shown in phantom in FIGS. 5 and 6. When the tunnel converters  65  are deployed to be positioned atop the gooseneck beams  50 , the translation arms  75  extend through translation arm openings  77  in the side of the tunnel converters  65 , shown in FIG.  7 . This configuration keeps the translation arms  75  from contacting the container  10 , thereby avoiding any damage to the container  10  or to the translation arms  75 . In this embodiment, the translation arm  75  is coupled to the tunnel converter  65  by a pin  82  and a tube  84  arrangement. The translation arms  75  can be made of metal, metal alloys, aluminum alloys, plastics or other suitable materials. 
     Illustrated in FIGS. 4-6, cross-brace cutouts  66  in the tunnel converters  65  are aligned with the cross-brace webs  60  so that the tunnel converters  65  can lie substantially between the gooseneck beams  50 . Hand-holds  67  located on the tunnel converter  65  upper surface  61  allow the tunnel converters  65  to be hand-operated between the storage position  99  and the deployed position  95  atop the gooseneck beams  50 , and vice-versa. Alternatively, the hand holder  67  can be handles that are fastened to the tunnel converters  65 . 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate conversion of a chassis  5  configured for carrying High-Cube containers to a chassis  5  configured to carry standard containers. When configured to transport a High-Cube container, the gooseneck tunnel converters  65  are positioned in the stored location  99  located substantially between the gooseneck beams  50 . In this configuration the variable height gooseneck chassis of the present invention has a gooseneck height  85  of about 3 ¼ inches, when measured from the gooseneck beam upper surface  51  to the rear frame member upper surface  22 , shown in FIG.  4 . This substantially matches the height of a High-Cube container tunnel  15 . The tunnel converter cross-brace cutouts  66  fit over the cross-brace vertical webs  60 , permitting the tunnel converters  65  to fit between the gooseneck beams  50 . In this position the gooseneck tunnel converters  65  do not interfere with the loading of a High-Cube container on the variable height chassis  5 . 
     When configured for a standard container  10  having a 4 ¾ inch high tunnel  15 , the gooseneck tunnel converters  65  are shifted from the storage position  99  to a deployed position  95  atop the gooseneck beams upper surface  51 . This operation may be performed manually by an operator or other individual. The operator engages the tunnel converters  65  using the hand-hold openings  67  and translates or shifts the tunnel converters  65  to a position resting on the gooseneck beam upper surface  51 . During the translation process the tunnel converters  65  engage in a substantially non-rotational displacement from the storage position  99  to the deployed position  95 . This translation movement occurs because each gooseneck tunnel converter  65  pivots simultaneously about the tunnel converter pivots  80  and the gooseneck pivot blocks  70 . This substantially non-rotational displacement permits operation of the tunnel converters  75  in an uncomplicated and safe manner, minimizing any risk of operator injury. Although the described example is manually operated, it will be appreciated that automatically controlled hydraulic, pneumatic, gear driven or other suitable systems may be used to automate the deployment and storage of the tunnel converters  65 . 
     When the tunnel converters  65  are positioned adjacent to the gooseneck beam upper surface  51  the variable height gooseneck chassis of the present invention has a gooseneck height 90 of about 4 ¾ inches, when measured from the gooseneck beam upper surface  51  to the rear frame member upper surface  22 . This substantially matches the height of a standard container tunnel  15 . Moreover, the tunnel converters  65  of the present invention extend substantially from the front bolster  45  to the rear chassis frame member  21 , providing full-length gooseneck beam  50  support for the tunnel floor  17  of the container tunnel  15 . 
     As shown in FIG. 6, operation of the tunnel converters  65  of the present invention is identical for chassis  5  constructed with I-beam type gooseneck beams  55 . The tunnel converters are stored substantially between the gooseneck beams  55  when transporting High-Cube containers, and deployed atop the gooseneck beams  55  for supporting the tunnel floor  17  of tunnel  15  of standard containers. Translation or shifting from the stored position to the deployed position, and vice-versa, is accomplished as described above, with the operator using the hand-hold openings  67  or other operating handles. 
     One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the preferred embodiments which are presented in this description for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claims that follow. It is noted that equivalents for the particular embodiments discussed in this description may practice the invention as well.