In tasks requiring welding, it is sometimes necessary to keep a supply of both oxygen and acetylene fuel nearby. These components are usually stored in bottles, often at high pressure. These oxygen and acetylene bottles are heavy and dangerous. They are difficult to load\move, awkward and wayward if mishandled, and subject to considerable hazard and risk if some type of puncture or leak or mis-use occurs. These devices are sometimes referred to as “torch carts”.
Conventional torch carts used for welding tasks such as cutting steel with oxy/fuel are designed for use in shops, and for transport of bottles only over short distances. if one wants to take bottles or carts to the field such as a construction site, it is typically necessary to load the bottles or carts up on to the back of a truck-bed which requires a strong person, using a dolly or a forklift or a fork-truck.
In the embodiment where a truck-bed is employed, the truck-bed is then more or less occupied and cannot be moved from the job site without interrupting or eliminating the original welding task which required the bottles.
The approaches described u this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:
In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.
As stated, oxygen and fuel bottles are heavy and dangerous. They are difficult to load, awkward and wayward if mishandled, and subject to considerable hazard and risk if some type of puncture or leak or misuse occurs. To address these and other problems, the system 300 facilitates easier loading of heavy bottles through use of a swing ramp 404 (
Meanwhile, a distance ‘d’ between a ground surface and the bottle resting place in trailer system 300 is manufactured to be relatively small, because this aids in the bottle loading process. The boundaries of the distance ‘d’ are thus that the system 300 has a ground clearance sufficiently high enough to maintain a status of street-legal according to the Department of Transportation (DOT), yet the ground clearance still being sufficiently low to keep the distance ‘d’ relatively small.
As mentioned earlier, in a conventional environment, the heavy bottles may be transported using a pickup truck. During their use, the bottles may or may not be removed from the truck, which could result in the truck, being forced to remain on the construction premises and thus not used for its maximum utility. To address this, the trailer system 300 can towed to a job site then dropped off, thereby freeing up the towing vehicle. This is because the trailer system 300 can be moved short distances by hand.
The optional hose spool\reel 308 may vibrate in the wind and gets jarred around going down the road. A specialized durable mount (not shown), connected to a mounting tube, acts to prevent this problem.
As shown in
The system 300 is light enough to be handled by a person of average strength partly at least because of the tires 408. As such, the trailer system 300 can be rolled without difficulty by a person of average strength, even on uneven ground such as is typical of a construction\welding site.
The interior compartment of the trailer system 300 is architected during loading, such that the various bottles are forced to be balanced over the wheel axle connoted by the dotted line ‘a’ (for axle). This feature helps both in loading and in handling of the trailer system 300.
Further, in the embodiment where pneumatic wheels are employed, separate wheel chocks 416 can be implemented as shown in
Moving on to
In an embodiment, a special neoprene caster replaces the plastic caster that comes with the wheel 312. These are more durable and allow for the system 300 to be easier to roll around by hand.
As shown in
In an alternate embodiment, the hose reel 308 can be mounted on the fire barrier or divider 406 shown in
In an embodiment, the system 300 further comprises Department of Transportation (DOT) trailer-rated wheels, so that the trailer system 300 is legally towable on public roads. This embodiment in shown in
As shown in
Within
As an alternative to the specific arrangement shown in
Within
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A farmer can have the system 300 sifting in a barn, ready to use at anytime. This would eliminate the need to go get bottles, load them into a truck, then drive out to where his equipment is broken or needs a torch for some other reason. Similarly, a hospital or restaurant may employ a version of the system 300.
In an embodiment, the system 300 is customized to accommodate smaller bottles and spacing, such as congested areas such as restaurants that also have smaller doors. One potential limit might be that such a customization might jeopardizes the stability of the system 300 when being pulled down the road. To address this, additional stabilizing mechanisms (not shown) are included. This embodiment might not fit through a human-sized door, but will fit through almost any overhead door.
In an embodiment, the system 300 is also equipped with various sensors, strategically located, which in conjunction with a first mobile device can send e.g. a text message to another mobile device that <something is wrong, bottles are way too hot, explosion imminent> or <possible theft is occurring>, or some other important message regarding status. This is valuable when the system 300 is stored at a remote location lacking immediate visibility. Further, in an outdoor-storage environment, the mobile device would be equipped with a 72 degree jacket or temperature preserver, for ensuring proper operability of any sensor, mobile device, or GPS-tracker that is attached thereto.
Potential purchasers of the trailer system 300 could include but are not limited to industrial maintenance companies, government maintenance crews and companies within, farmers working on farm equipment, and mobile welding and cutting services.
The trailer system 300 can be manufactured with standard steel construction, and may or may not have a painted finish, although this disclosure should not be considered as limited exclusively thereto. Further options would include steel that is galvanized steel or stainless steel which offer greater protection from rust in corrosive environments. Aluminum construction would offer corrosion protection and allow the trailer system 300 to be lighter and easier to handle. The types of materials used can include A36 Steel.
In building the system 300, it is possible to start with a 4′×8′ sheet of 3/16″ A36 steel. One can shear or torch the main box size out of this A36 plate, then bend it into shape using a predetermined “break to” size. Then, 2″×2″ square tubing is positioned around the bottom of the box to act as a frame and to support the wheel hubs, and also act as the tongue of the system 300. Once the tubing frame is in place, custom machined steel mounting blocks are located on the end of the 2″ tubing (which at this point is acting like an axle). Once the blocks are welded on, the hubs are bolted to these. Then, a tailgate is bent out of steel plate material, including but not limited to the original 3/16″ material that the initial box was made from.
A stainless piano hinge has one side being welded to the box and the other side mounted to the tailgate 304. Upper tabs are welded to the tailgate 304 and to the box so that they slip over one another for a pin to be placed, in order to hold the tailgate closed.
A hole is placed within the bent box to use for strapping the bottles with a tie strap, e.g. bottle securing device 1104, or other mechanism. Because this hole is placed therein, the bent box may be slightly more prone to mechanical fatigue. To address this small 3/16″ thick stiffeners (not shown) are placed in the upper corners of the bent box to not only give it strength, but also to prevent such fatigue.
A piece of flatbar is rolled to be close to a diameter of each bottle. This flatbar is welded inside the box, to help the bottle place itself in the cart. These pieces of flatbar are welded to the outer side of the box on one side and to the inner divider or firewall depending on the option or model. The 2″ tubing tongue is then drilled for holes to match with eventual placement of a connector. The connector/hitch is then bolted on with safety chains also being attached with one of the two connecting bolts. A small plate is fabricated with tapped holes, and then welded to the tongue 316. This plate allows for the jack to be directly bolted to the tongue 316.
Regarding the types of welds that can be used during the assembly of the system 300, at least butt-welding and MiG-welding are suitable. However, this disclosure should not be considered as limited exclusively thereto. Other types of welds may also be employed.
In an embodiment, plates are located on the box for the lights 708 to mount onto. These plates also are used for attaching and strengthening the fenders 704. As shown in
Once a single unit of the system 300 is assembled, it is stripped down of all parts that can be unbolted (e.g. jack, hitch, wheels) and sent for sand-blasting and then painting. After the various metal surfaces are prepped by sand-blasting the system 300 can be coated with 1-2 coats of macropoxy paint (e.g. black, safety yellow, red, bright orange, or another color customized to customer choice). The paint is very durable and tolerates axle-grease and road-salt without breaking down. The macropoxy paint may be cured by drying at room temp for 24 hours. The paint-solution also contain a rust-inhibitor, or other thing to make the overall invention last longer and not break down.
Accordingly, the foregoing descriptions of several embodiments and alternatives are meant to illustrate, rather than to serve as limits on the scope of what has been disclosed herein. The descriptions herein are not intended to be exhaustive, nor are they meant to limit the understanding of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that modifications and variations of these embodiments are reasonably possible in light of the above teachings and descriptions.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/065,794, filed Oct. 20, 2014, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62065794 | Oct 2014 | US |