U.S. patent application number 09/985276 was filed with the patent office on 2002-05-30 for portable decking for vehicles.
Invention is credited to Matthews, Thomas Joseph Alfred.
Application Number | 20020062605 09/985276 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 9902477 |
Filed Date | 2002-05-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020062605 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Matthews, Thomas Joseph
Alfred |
May 30, 2002 |
Portable decking for vehicles
Abstract
A deck for dodgems (bumper cars) to form part of a travelling
fair has a central portion intended to be fixed to a road trailer.
Hinged to each major side of the central portion is a pair of
hinged leaves each intended to form part of the deck when in their
unfolded, coplanar, positions. To permit the major axis of the deck
to be longer than usual, but without raising the height of the
hinged leaves to an impermissible value for travel along roads, the
length of at least the outer leaf of each pair is made adjustable.
Each outer leaf includes a series of parallel stringers that are
effectively of adjustable length, the stringers bearing three deck
plates, of which two are fixed to the stringers, while the central
one is movable relative to the other two between a coplanar
position and a stacked position. This arrangement of the plates
permits the distance between the inner and outer plates to be
altered to shorten or extend the effective width of the respective
leaf. When all the leaves are in their shortest-width condition,
and moved so that the hinged leaves extend transversely to the
central portion, the height of the leaves is less than the legal
limit for road travel.
Inventors: |
Matthews, Thomas Joseph Alfred;
(Redhill, GB) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HOFFMAN WASSON & GITLER
2361 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY
SUITE 522
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
|
Family ID: |
9902477 |
Appl. No.: |
09/985276 |
Filed: |
November 2, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/143 ; 52/64;
52/69 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63G 25/00 20130101;
B60P 3/0252 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/143 ; 52/69;
52/64 |
International
Class: |
E04B 001/346; E04B
007/16; E04H 001/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 3, 2000 |
GB |
00 26864.9 |
Claims
1 A portable deck for vehicles, comprising a rectangular central
strip extending across the full width of the deck, the central
strip having a pair of hinged leaves pivotally attached to each of
its side edges, in which at least one of the hinged leaves is of
adjustable width in the direction transverse to the hinge axis; in
which each adjustable-width leaf carries metal deck plates in
electrical contact with each other, the plates being divided into
an outer plate movable with the outer part of the leaf; an inner
plate fixed relatively to its inner part, and an intermediate plate
movable relatively to its adjacent plates between a work position
in which the three plates are coplanar, and a travel position in
which two of the plates are parallel to, and in contact with, each
other.
2 A deck as claimed in claim 1, in which the deck has a framework
including stringers extending in parallel with the longitudinal
axis of the deck, the stringers being adapted to contact the
under-surfaces of deck plates either directly or through conductive
strips which connect adjacent plates together electrically, the
stringers of the or each adjustable leaf being in two parts which
are slidable relatively to each other to accommodate the movement
of the outer part of the leaf between its work and travel
positions.
3 A deck as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the deck has edge
barriers secured to its framework, the barriers of each adjustable
leaf extending parallel to the stringers having hollow outer
portions in which smaller inner portions are movable
telescopically, to permit the lengths of the barriers to be altered
while maintaining their mechanical integrity.
4 A deck as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the
intermediate or outer plates are movable laterally of their
stringers to permit one plate to slide over the other when the
plates are moved between their work and travel positions.
5 A deck as claimed in any of claims 1-3, in which the intermediate
and outer plates are hinged together to permit one to be folded
about the hinge axis to move between their work and travel
positions.
6 A deck as claimed in claim 3 or any claim dependent therefrom, in
which the smaller barrier portions of each adjustable leaf are also
hollow, and in which the two parallel side barriers house hydraulic
rams by means of which the outer part of each adjustable leaf is
able to be moved between its work and travel positions.
7 A portable deck for vehicles substantially as described herein
with reference to, and as shown in FIGS. 1-5, or FIGS. 1, 2, and
6-8, of the accompanying drawings.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to portable decking for vehicles in
general, and in particular to a portable deck for dodgems for
travelling fairs. Dodgems are usually important components of
fairgrounds, which can be either fixed or mobile (travelling
fairs). The usual size of a dodgems' deck is 60.times.40 feet (c.
12.times.18 m), although the longer axis may be up to 70 feet (c.
21 m). A structure of this general type is disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,522,390.
[0002] U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,351 discloses a structure for mobile
living quarters, of which one room can be extended in area by
sliding one wall outwardly, the floor for the room being in two
sections, of which one is fixed and the other is movable between a
stacked position and a coplanar position. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,316
discloses a building module that is collapsible for transport,
comprising at least one floor section hinged to a rigid core
structure. The hinged section comprises several telescopic struts
connected to a wall extending perpendicularly to the struts. The
lengths of the struts can be controlled to vary the area of the
surface extending between the wall and the hinge axis.
[0003] To permit a deck for dodgems to be transported along roads,
it is necessary for the deck to be subdivided into manageable
portions, each as long as the width of the deck when in use, i.e.
about 40 feet (12 m) long. It is known to subdivide the length of
the deck into a central section seven feet (2 m) wide; two pairs of
hinged leaves each c. 11 feet (3.4 m) wide, and a terminal leaf c.
five feet (1.6 m) wide. This suffers from the disadvantage that the
means whereby the three leaves on each side of the central section
are moved between their coplanar work positions and their
folded-for-travel positions are complicated and time-consuming.
[0004] The present invention aims at overcoming this disadvantage
by providing a dodgems' deck comprising a central section with
flanking pairs of folding leaves, of which the width of at least
the outermost leaf can be altered to facilitate handling. When in
their work positions, the terminal leaves are c. 15 feet (4.5 m)
wide, but they can be shortened to c. 11 feet (3.4 m) for travel.
When so folded, the need for a third leaf is obviated. The height
of 15 feet from the bed of the trailer on which the deck is
transported would bar the trailer from being towed on most roads.
However, reducing the height of the outer leaves to 11 feet makes
the overall height of the trailer acceptable for towing.
[0005] Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable deck
that is as claimed in the appended claims.
[0006] The present invention will now be described by way of
example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a dodgems' deck of this invention,
with the right-hand part showing the structure of the support
framework with the deck plates removed;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic end view of a dodgem trailer
carrying the deck of this invention in its folded (travel)
position;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of one embodiment
of this invention, showing a terminal leaf of the deck in its work
position;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a section along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3, showing
the relative positions of the three deck plates of the terminal
leaf;
[0011] FIG. 5 is a view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 in its
retracted (travel) position;
[0012] FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a second
embodiment of this invention, similar to FIG. 3;
[0013] FIG. 7 is a section along the line VII-VII of FIG. 6,
showing the three deck plates, and
[0014] FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the deck of the
second embodiment, in its travel position.
[0015] In the drawings, those parts that are common to several
Figs. retain their original references.
[0016] In the deck 2 shown in plan in FIG. 1, a central section 4
intended to function as the bed of a road trailer is about seven
feet (2 m) wide, and is about 40 feet (12 m) long. Hinged to its
longer sides are two inner leaves 6, each about 11 feet (3.3 m)
wide. Hinged to the outer edges of the inner leaves 4 are two outer
leaves 8 in accordance with this invention. In one embodiment of
this invention, the maximum width of each outer leaf 8 is c. 15
feet (4.58 m), but it can be retracted for travel to a length of c.
11 feet (3.3 m). For this purpose, the outer leaf has its deck
surface formed of three plates, of which the inner plate 10 is
fixed and is c. five feet (1.5 m) wide. The intermediate plate 12
next to it is c. four feet wide, and it is intended to be movable
to a travel position in which it overlies the outer plate 14, which
is c. six feet wide. The reader will appreciate that these
dimensions add up to a deck having a major length of c. 59 feet (18
m). When it is desired to increase this major dimension, it is
within the purview of this invention to make the inner leaf 6 of
the folding pair also of the extensible construction discussed
below. In such a case, the overall length of the deck would be 67
feet (20.5 m). However, it will be appreciated that this invention
does not reside in the particular dimensions of the deck or
component leaves, but in the general shape and construction.
[0017] All the deck plates are bounded by a box border 16 to act as
a barrier preventing the dodgem cars from running off the deck. In
the region of the intermediate plates, the border has
smaller-sectioned parts 18 that are in telescopic engagement with
at least one of the contiguous border parts 20. The parts 18 are
also hollow, and cooperate with the adjacent parts to house a
hydraulic ram (not shown) having its ends secured to the respective
parts 20 so that, when the ram is operated to reduce its length,
the outer plate and associated border are translated towards the
fixed inner plate 10. The converse takes place when the deck is to
be moved into its work position. The movement of the intermediate
plate to accommodate this movement will be discussed below.
[0018] As can be seen from the right-hand part of FIG. 1, the
support framework includes an array of parallel stringers 22. The
stringers may be fitted with electroconductive strips (not shown)
on which the deck plates rest, so that the plates are all in
electrical contact with each other through the strips. Each
stringer for the outer leaves 8 is in two parts in slidable
engagement with each other, so that the upper surfaces of the
stringers remain in the same plane, while the axial lengths of the
stringers of the leaf are changed to accommodate the retraction and
extension of the leaf. The manner in which the two lengths of
stringer are secured together to permit relative movement does not
form part of the subject-matter of this invention, and so will not
be described herein in any further detail.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, the deck is intended to be mounted on a
road trailer 24 for transport. The trailer has a chassis (not
shown) on which the central section 4 of the deck is secured. By
means which are known, the inner leaves 6 are folded about the axes
of their hinges 26 until they are upright. Prior to this, the outer
leaves 8 are moved to their contracted positions, in which they are
virtually the same width as the inner leaves. The outer leaves are
secured to the inner leaves through hinges 26. When both pairs of
outer leaves are in their folded, `travel`, position, they form
between them, as is known, a space 28 for housing all the
associated dodgem cars and other equipment (not shown).
[0020] FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of this invention, in which the
intermediate plates 12 are slidable relative to the outer plates
14. The outer plates are secured to their underlying stringers, in
known fashion, but the intermediate plates are secured to the
stringers only in the region of their contact with the inner plates
10. They are secured by means of spring-loaded bolts (not shown)
which prevent the plates from moving longitudinally over the
sliders, but which permit the plates to lift off the stringers and
fall back on to them. As shown in FIG. 4, the facing side faces of
the plates 12 and 14 are chamfered, with the direction of slope
being such that, when the opposing faces are forced into contact
with each other by operation of the hydraulic rams, the leading
edge of the intermediate plate rides up on to the top of the outer
plate. As the retraction movement continues, the intermediate plate
comes to lie in parallel with the outer plate, and continues to
slide over it until the outer leaf reaches its minimum width, in
which the overall width of the outer leaf is c. 11 feet. FIG. 5
shows the outer leaf in this position. In both FIGS. 3 and 5, parts
of the plates have been removed to show the underlying
structure.
[0021] In the embodiment of FIGS. 6-8, the principal difference is
that the intermediate and outer plates are secured together by
means of hinges 30. When the outer leaf is to be moved to its
travel position, the intermediate plate 12 is folded about its
hinges until it comes to lie on top of the outer plate. While the
plate 12 may be pivoted manually, because of its mass it would
usually be moved by some suitable temporary lifting device (not
shown). As will be obvious, all these movements are reversed when
the deck is to be unfolded into its work position. The need to
provide means for lifting these relatively-massive plates under
control through 180.degree. in both directions adds to the expense
of this embodiment.
[0022] Accordingly, it will be seen that the present invention
provides a dodgems' deck of simplified construction that offers
significant advantages over existing portable decks for travelling
fairs.
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