Patent Application
20220126888
The present disclosure relates generally to vehicles and more specifically to vehicles with in which a platform is movable relative to a chassis.
Railroad car moving vehicles are used for moving railroad cars without the need for locomotives. Such vehicles are capable of operating both on the railroad track for the moving of railroad cars or on the ground for moving the railroad car moving vehicle between railroad tracks. Such a vehicle is sometimes referred to as a rubber-rail car. When the railroad car moving vehicle is operated on the railroad track, the rubber-tired ground wheels are retracted to a position above the rails on each side of the vehicle. When the track wheels are no longer required, the ground wheels are lowered and locked in place so that the vehicle can travel over the ground.
The present disclosure provides for a platform lifting apparatus. The platform lifting apparatus may include a platform lifting cylinder operatively coupled between a chassis and a platform. The platform lifting apparatus may include a locking leg positionable between an extended position and a stowed position, the locking leg preventing lowering of the platform when in the extended position.
The present disclosure also provides for a railroad car moving vehicle. The railroad car moving vehicle may include a chassis, a platform, and a platform lifting apparatus. The platform lifting apparatus may include a platform lifting cylinder operatively coupled between the chassis and the platform. The platform lifting apparatus may include a locking leg positionable between an extended position and a stowed position, the locking leg preventing lowering of the platform when in the extended position.
The present disclosure also provides for a method. The method may include providing a platform of a railroad car moving vehicle and a chassis of a railroad car moving vehicle. The method may include mechanically coupling the platform to the chassis by a platform lifting cylinder. The method may include extending the platform lifting cylinder to move the platform from a lowered to a raised position, moving a locking leg from a stowed position to an extended position, and maintaining the platform in the raised position.
The present disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
In some embodiments, platform 28 may be coupled to chassis 12 by platform lifting apparatus 100 as shown in
In some embodiments, platform lifting apparatus 100 may be configured such that the raised position is at least 18″ higher than the lowered position. Thus, when platform 28 is in the raised position there is at least 18″ of vertical space between the bottom of platform 28 and the equipment below platform 28. The vertical clearance may be sufficient to allow maintenance access to the equipment below platform 28 without requiring personnel to be beneath the equipment and without requiring removal of platform 28 from chassis 12.
In some embodiments, platform lifting apparatus 100 may include four platform lift cylinders 101 arranged in a rectangular pattern about chassis 12, as shown in
In some embodiments, platform lifting apparatus 100 may include pump on/off control 206. Pump on/off control 206 may, in some embodiments, be operatively coupled to hydraulic pump 205 such that activation of pump on/off control 206 by an operator is necessary for hydraulic pump 205 to operate. In some embodiments, pump on/off control 206 may be an electric switch operatively coupled to the power supply or control system of hydraulic pump 205. In some embodiments, pump on/off control 206 may be a momentary, normally open switch such that continuous activation of pump on/off control 206 may be necessary for the operation of hydraulic system 200.
In some embodiments, hydraulic system 200 may include one or more counterbalance valves 211a-d. In some embodiments, each platform lift cylinder 101a-d may include a corresponding counterbalance valve 211a-d. In some such embodiments, each counterbalance valve 211a-d may be coupled to cap end port 101a′-d′ such that counterbalance valves 211a-d hold pistons 103a-d in the extended position until retraction is commanded by directional control valve 201. In such an embodiment, platform 28 may be held in the raised position against gravity by counterbalance valves 211a-d without requiring continuous hydraulic fluid supply by hydraulic pump 205 and while allowing directional control valve 201 to return to the neutral position.
In some embodiments, as shown in
Locking legs 121 may be manually pivotable. In some embodiments, platform lifting apparatus 100 may include at least two locking legs 121. Each locking leg 121 may be separately operable. In some embodiments, two or more locking legs 121 may be electronically or mechanically coupled such that movement of one locking leg 121 causes a corresponding movement of the locking leg(s) 121 that are coupled to it. Thus, by way of example, in a system with four locking legs, manual rotation of a locking leg on one side of platform 28 into the extended position may cause the locking leg on the opposite side of platform 28 to also pivot into the extended position, thus allowing all four locking legs 121 to be pivoted into the extended position by an operator on one side of the chassis.
In some embodiments, platform lifting apparatus 100 may include an electronic safety lockout system coupled between locking legs 121 and pump on/off control 206. The safety lockout system may be configured such once locking legs 121 have been moved into the extended position and subsequently moved into the stowed position, hydraulic lowering of platform 28 is prevented until the safety lockout system is manually re-set.
In some embodiments, with reference to
The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that a person of ordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure. Such features may be replaced by any one of numerous equivalent alternatives, only some of which are disclosed herein. One of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. One of ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
This application is a nonprovisional application which claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 63/104,873, filed Oct. 23, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63104873 | Oct 2020 | US |
