Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to commercial trucks and more specifically to landscape trucks used by landscaping professionals to haul equipment and supplies. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Landscape professionals have long used specialized trucks to haul equipment such as mowers, blowers, hand tools, and the like to a job site. These trucks, known as landscape trucks, generally are provided with a shallow flat bed sized to hold the equipment and a ramp system for driving or otherwise loading equipment into the bed. In one common design, the ramp system includes a rear extension of the bed that slopes downwardly toward and extends partially to the ground. A tailgate usually is hingedly mounted to the back edge of the rear extension. The tailgate can be swung on its hinges between a stowed position, wherein the gate extends upwardly for preventing equipment from falling out of the bed, and a deployed position wherein the gate extends from the back edge of the rear extension to the ground. When the gate is in its deployed position, the gate and the rear extension together form a ramp extending from the ground to the bed of the landscape truck. Mowers and other equipment can then be driven or pushed up the ramp into the bed, whereupon the gate is raised to its stowed position for transportation. 
     Landscaping professionals also have frequent need to deliver landscaping supplies such as fill dirt, mulch, topsoil, gravel, stones, bricks, and the like to a job site. When such a need arises, it is commonly necessary that a separate dump truck be commissioned for hauling the supplies to the job site and dumping it on the ground. Unfortunately, the landscape truck used to haul equipment generally is not suitable for hauling and dumping dirt and other supplies because the bed of the truck cannot be raised to dump the supplies. Even if the landscape truck was equipped with a bed raising mechanism, actual raising of the bed still would be precluded because the rear extension would quickly impact the ground. Thus, landscape professionals historically have used both a landscape truck and a dump truck when equipment and supplies must be delivered to a job. The necessity of using different types of trucks to haul different loads obviously results in increased costs of operation in the form of increased insurance, maintenance, fuel, and operation costs. Further, additional personnel are oftentimes required to operate two or more trucks, which increases payroll and related costs. 
     Thus, a need exists for a truck that can be used by landscape professionals to haul equipment to a job site in the customary manner and also to haul and easily dispense landscaping supplies such as dirt, mulch, gravel, and the like. Such a truck should include an easy-to-use ramp assembly for driving equipment onto the bed of the truck and, should also include a raiseable bed for dumping dirt and other supplies onto the ground. It is to the provision of such a truck that the present invention is primarily directed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly described, the present invention, in one preferred embodiment thereof, comprises an improved landscape truck that hauls equipment in the usual way and that doubles as a dump truck for hauling and dumping landscaping supplies. The truck includes a cab, behind which a truck bed is mounted. The bed has a floor, sidewalls, and a front wall and a hydraulic lifting assembly is provided for selectively raising the bed to a dumping position. An articulateable ramp assembly is mounted on pivot arms to the rear end portion of the bed. The ramp assembly includes a deck and a tailgate hingedly mounted to the back edge of the deck. The ramp assembly can be pivoted on its pivot arms by hydraulic cylinders between a lowered position, wherein the ramp assembly extends rearwardly from the bed in much the same configuration as in a standard landscape truck, and a raised position wherein the ramp assembly is positioned over the bed of the truck displaced from the rear end thereof. When the ramp assembly is in its lowered position, the deck of the assembly preferably slopes downwardly from the rear end of the truck bed and the tailgate can be deployed to form a ramp for driving equipment onto the bed. When the ramp assembly is in its raised position displaced from the rear end of the bed, the bed of the truck may be raised to dump its contents without the ramp assembly engaging the ground or otherwise being in the way. 
     Accordingly, an improved landscape truck is now provided that serves both the functions of a traditional landscape truck and a dump truck. The landscape professional may use the truck to haul equipment and also may use it to haul and dump dirt and other landscaping supplies at the job site. The requirement that two separate trucks be employed is therefore eliminated, as is the trouble and added expense of using two trucks. Indeed, the landscape professional may load the truck first with dirt or other supplies and then drive equipment onto the bed of the truck behind the dirt. At the job site, the ramp assembly is deployed for unloading the equipment from the bed, whereupon the ramp assembly can be moved to its raised position and the bed raised to dump the dirt on the ground. These and other features, objects, and advantages of this invention will become more apparent upon review of the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode known to the inventor of carrying out the invention is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a truck that embodies principles of the present invention in one preferred form and shown in its hauling configuration with the ramp assembly in its lowered position. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the truck of FIG. 1 with the ramp assembly in its raised position and the bed of the truck raised for dumping a load. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective showing the ramp assembly with its tailgate deployed to form a ramp for loading equipment onto the bed of the truck. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective partially phantomed view illustrating the hinged spring-loaded attachment of the tailgate to the back edge of the rear extension of the ramp assembly. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective partially phantomed view illustrating a preferred latching mechanism for latching the tailgate in its raised position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not meant as a limitation of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on another embodiment to yield yet another embodiment. It is intended that the present invention includes such modifications and variations. 
     Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates a truck that embodies principles of this invention. The truck  10  has a conventional frame and drive train and includes a cab  11  and a truck bed  12  mounted to the frame behind the cab. The bed  12  has a floor  20  from which side panels  16  and  18  and a front panel  19  upwardly extend. A tool rack  13 , which may take on any of a variety of configurations, may be mounted to the truck frame between the cab and the bed for receiving and holding tools such as rakes, shovels, and the like. Alternatively, the rack may be configured with shelves and closeable doors and may be used to carry smaller tools, maintenance gear, and the like. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 2, the bed  12  of the truck  10  is mounted to the truck frame in such a way that it can be raised by means of appropriate hydraulic actuators to a raised or dumping position. The mechanism for raising the bed is conventional and well understood by those of skill in the art and thus need not be discussed in detail here. 
     Ramp assembly, generally indicated at  14 , is mounted to the back end portion of the bed  12  on a pair of pivot arms  32  (only one of which is visible in FIG.  1 ). The ramp assembly includes a ramp deck  22  having forward, rear, and side edges. Side panels  40  and  42  extend upwardly from the side edges of the deck  22  and a tailgate assembly  24  is hingedly mounted to the back edge of the deck. A removable panel  25  preferably is disposed along the forward edge of the ramp deck  22  and extends between the two side panels  40  and  42 . When in place as shown in FIG. 1, the removable panel  25  closes the back end of the truck bed  12  to prevent items from sliding out of the bed. When removed, access from the ramp assembly to the bed is provided. As in a conventional landscape truck, the tailgate  42  can be hinged down to its deployed position as illustrated in FIG. 3, wherein the tailgate  42  and ramp deck  22  together form a ramp that extends from the ground upwardly to the bed  12  of the truck. In this configuration, mowers and other heavy equipment can be driven up the ramp and onto the bed of the truck for transport to a job site. 
     Ramp deck  22  may be provided if desired with surface modifications to provide traction and facilitate the loading and unloading of equipment into the bed of the truck  10 . For example, tread plates  44  with transversely extending treads may be installed on ramp deck  22 . Other types of friction enhancements such as, for example, serrated surface treatments may also be used, and all such surface modifications should be considered to be within the scope of the invention. It will be clear to those of skill in the art that when the truck  10  is configured as illustrated in FIG. 1, it functions in essentially the same way as a traditional landscape truck for loading, unloading, and transporting equipment and tools to a job site. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the truck of this invention configured for use as a dump truck for dumping loads carried within its bed onto the ground. The bed  12  is shown pivoted upwardly about the rear end of the truck frame by the conventional hydraulic lifting mechanism attached to the frame and the bottom of the bed. To allow the bed  12  to be pivoted to this raised position, and to permit the contents of the bed to slide uninhibited out of the bed and onto the ground, the ramp assembly  14  is pivoted upwardly to its raised position located generally above the bed and out of the way. More specifically, when it is desired to raise the bed  12  of the truck to its dumping position, hydraulic cylinders  38  are appropriately actuated to extend their cylinder rods  36  in a rearward direction with respect to the truck bed. The ends of the cylinder rods  36  are connected with a pivot pin to the ends of relatively short pivot blocks  34 , which are position on the inside of the lower bed frame beams  46 . The other or upper end of each pivot block  34  is welded or otherwise fixed to the interior end of a pivot shaft (not visible in FIG. 2) that extends through appropriate bearings or bushings in the frame beam  46  to an exterior end, which is welded or otherwise attached to the end portion of the corresponding pivot arm  32 . With such a configuration, it will be appreciated that the ends of the pivot arms  32  are pivotally mounted to the bed  12  and that movement of the pivots blocks  34  in a rearward direction causes the pivot arms  32  to rotate upwardly about their distal ends. This upward rotation of the pivot arms, in turn, causes the ramp assembly  14 , to which the pivot arms are fixed, to move upwardly to its raised position generally overlying the bed  12  of the truck. Thus, when the hydraulic cylinders  38  are actuated to extend their cylinder rods  36 , the ramp assembly  14  moves to its raised position, whereupon the bed  12  can be raised to its dumping position for dumping a load without the ramp assembly engaging the ground or blocking the back end of the bed. 
     While the just described hydraulic mechanism for raising the ramp assembly is preferred and represents the best mode known to the inventor of carrying out the invention, it nevertheless will be understood that a variety of other mechanisms might be substituted with comparable results. For example, a jack screw arrangement might be substituted for the hydraulic cylinder or the hydraulic cylinder may be positioned to act directly on the pivot arm  32  rather than on a pivot block connected to the pivot arm. Any mechanism or means for selectively displacing the ramp assembly from the rear of the bed and out of the way to facilitate dumping is considered to be within the scope of the present invention. However, the illustrated embodiment is preferred for its simplicity and reliability and because the hydraulic cylinders that raise the ramp assembly are disposed out of the way beneath the truck bed, where they are somewhat protected and do not interfere with normal use of the truck. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates the rear end portion of the truck of this invention with the ramp assembly in its lowered position and tailgate  24  pivoted downwardly to its deployed position to form a ramp from the ground to the bed of the truck. The tailgate  24  is seen to be formed as a welded-together frame of steel bars that preferably are covered with a heavy steel mesh cloth to provide a light yet strong surface that can bear the weight of mowers and other equipment driven or pushed up the ramp. The tailgate  24  is hingedly attached to the rear edge of the ramp deck  22  in any appropriate traditional manner that allows free movement of the tailgate between its stowed and deployed positions. Conventionally, when it is desired to load equipment such as mowers into the bed  12  of the truck, the removable rear panel  25  is slipped upwardly out of its brackets as indicated by the arrows in FIG.  3  and the equipment is driven or pushed up the ramp and into the bed. The removable panel  25  is then replaced in its brackets to block the back of the bed and prevent equipment from rolling or sliding out of the bed accidentally. In this regard, the removable panel  25  also captures loads such as dirt and mulch from spilling out of the bed when the truck is being used to haul such loads. With the equipment loaded, the tailgate is raised and locked in its stowed position (FIG. 1) and can be transported in the usual way to a job site. Of course, the equipment loading procedures are simply reversed for unloading equipment from the truck. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred hinge arrangement for hingedly attaching the tailgate  24  to the rear edge  48  of the ramp deck  22 , although many types of hinge mechanisms may be substituted within the scope of the invention. The bottom rail  53  of the tailgate  24  is provided with a spaced pair of depending hinge tabs  51 , which preferably are welded to the bottom rail. Each of the tabs  51  is provided with a hole and the holes in the tabs are aligned with each other. The rear edge  48  of the ramp deck is provided with a corresponding spaced pair of hinge tabs  50 , which project rearwardly from the rear edge  48  and are provided with aligned holes. The spacing between the hinge tabs  50  is slightly larger than the spacing between the hinge tabs  51  such that the hinge tabs  51  fit between the hinge tabs  50  with all of the holes of the hinge tabs aligned with each other. A hinge pin  52  extends through the aligned holes of the hinge tabs to connect the tabs together and to form a hinge about which the tailgate may pivot between its stowed and deployed positions. A torsion spring  23  preferably is provided in a conventional configuration to bias the tailgate toward its stowed position and to bear part of the weight of the tailgate when it is manually raised. Of course any number of hinge assemblies such as that shown in FIG. 4 preferably are provided along the width of the tailgate, four such hinge assemblies being illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a preferred locking assembly for releasably locking the tailgate in its stowed position for transport. It will be understood that a variety of locking assembly designs might well be substituted for the illustrated assembly within the scope of the invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the side rail  54  of the tailgate  24  is provided with a tubular locking sleeve  47 , which preferably is welded to the side rail. The back edge of the side  40  of the ramp deck is provided with a corresponding locking sleeve  28 , which preferably also is welded to the back edge. The locking sleeves  28  and  47  are positioned such that they align with each other in end-to-end relationship as shown when the tailgate is raised to its stowed position. A locking pin  26 , which preferably is tethered to the side  40  by means of a chain  27  and eye  29 , is sized to be inserted through the aligned locking sleeves to lock the tailgate secured in its stowed position. For lowering the tailgate, the locking pins are simply removed by pulling them up out of the locking sleeves, whereupon the tailgate is lowered as described above. 
     The invention has been described herein in terms of preferred embodiments and methodologies, which represent the best mode known to the inventor of practicing the invention. It will be understood by those of skill in the art, however, that a variety of modifications and substitutions may be within the scope of the present invention. 
     For example, while the ramp assembly of the present invention has been illustrated as mounted to a truck bed attached to a conventional frame and including a cab, other embodiments are contemplated to be within the scope of the invention. For example, another embodiment comprises a ramp assembly disposed on a bed mounted on a trailer chassis, which can be pulled by a truck or other vehicle. 
     Although a traditional downwardly sloping ramp deck at the back of the bed has been illustrated and is common, landscape trucks with ramp assemblies that do not slope downwardly from the rear of the bed are also quite common. While the tendency of the ramp assembly to drag the ground when the bed is raised is reduced in such configurations, the ramp assembly still must be moved away from the back of the bed to allow material in the bed to be dumped onto the ground. Accordingly, the invention is equally adaptable to landscape truck designs with non-sloping ramp assemblies. 
     The words used herein are words of description rather than of limitation. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged both in part and in whole. These and other additions, deletions, and modifications to the illustrated embodiments may well be made by those of skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Technology Category: 7