U.S. patent application number 10/241269 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-18 for dolly for transporting prefab homes and the like.
Invention is credited to Stanley, Jerry W..
Application Number | 20040052616 10/241269 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 31991157 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040052616 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stanley, Jerry W. |
March 18, 2004 |
Dolly for transporting prefab homes and the like
Abstract
A wheeled dolly for transporting prefab homes or the like and
having at least two outboard wheel means spaced apart a distance
for normal road travel, and further having at least two inboard
wheel means on opposite lateral sides of a longitudinal axis of the
dolly whereby when a narrow roadway is encountered the operator can
position the inboard wheel means thereon such that either or both
of the outboard wheel means may actually be suspended off the sides
of the roadway until the roadway regains a normal width, and
wherein a steering mechanism is provided to synchronously pivot all
said wheel means thru a steering angle whereby the dolly and load
can be steered straight ahead or in sideways angular directions to
avoid obstacles and to allow maneuvering of a long load around
corners which are too sharp for conventional transport means.
Inventors: |
Stanley, Jerry W.;
(Abingdon, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Jerry W. Stanley
16273 Spring Valley Rd.
Abingdon
VA
24210
US
|
Family ID: |
31991157 |
Appl. No.: |
10/241269 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
414/10 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62D 61/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
414/010 |
International
Class: |
G21C 001/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A wheeled dolly structure comprising base means having a
longitudinal axis and being of heavy, strong steel construction
capable of carrying 5 to 30 or more tons of load and transporting
the same over difficult roadways wherein girder means are provided
on the dolly and are adapted to be connected to supporting beam
means of a load, a plurality of axle means mounted on said base
means on lateral axes normal to said longitudinal axis and lying on
opposite lateral sides thereof, outboard wheel means mounted on
outboard axle means and spaced from each other a distance of at
least about eight feet, inboard wheel means mounted on inboard axle
means each of which is laterally spaced from said longitudinal axis
a distance of at least about one foot, whereby when a narrow
roadway is encountered the operator can position the inboard wheel
means thereon such that either or both of the outboard wheel means
may actually be suspended off the sides of the roadway until the
roadway regains a normal width, and wherein a steering mechanism is
mounted on said base means for synchronously pivoting all said
wheel means thru a steering angle whereby the dolly and load can be
steered straight ahead or in sideways angular directions to avoid
obstacles and to allow maneuvering of a long load around corners
which are too sharp for conventional transport means.
2. The dolly structure of claim 1 wherein said outboard wheel means
are spaced from each other on said lateral axis a distance of at
least about nine feet, and wherein said inboard wheel means are
spaced from each other on said lateral axis on opposite sides of
said longitudinal axis a distance of at least about two and one
half feet.
3. The dolly structure of claim 1 wherein each wheel means
comprises single or dual wheels mounted on the same axle.
4. The combination of the dolly structure of claim 1 mounted on and
affixed to supporting beam means of a manufactured home.
Description
FIELD
[0001] This invention concerns a unique dolly construction for
carrying large, heavy and cumbersome structures such as prefab
homes, or the like over difficult roadways, particularly where the
roadway changes in width, e.g., from about 12 ft. or more to about
7 ft. or less.
PRIOR ART
[0002] Heretofore, prefab home structures such as a half of a
double wide prefab home, or a manufactured small mountain log cabin
or the like generally have been mounted on wheel assemblies such as
the common two wheel tandems or double or triple axle wheel units,
or on specially built carriages such as that shown, e.g., in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 2,896,909; 5,012,879; and 6,129,495, the disclosures of
which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their
entireties. The home structures are then secured to the wheel
assembly or carriage for transportation to the lot site where,
e.g., each half, in turn, is to be placed on a more permanent
foundation. In such wheel assemblies, typically, the distance
between the wheels is at least about 8 ft.
[0003] The transportation of such structures which can weigh up to
20 tons or so, is often made impossible where the roadway narrows
down, especially such as over narrow country bridges or roads which
often are only about seven or eight feet in width and can barely be
negotiated by automobiles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In brief summary, the invention comprises a wheeled dolly
having a longitudinal axis and being of heavy, strong steel
construction, wherein a plurality of axle means are provided on the
dolly, at least two outboard wheel means and at least two inboard
wheel means are mounted on said axle means, whereby when a narrow
roadway is encountered the operator can position the inboard wheel
means thereon such that either or both of the outboard wheel means
may actually be suspended off the sides of the roadway until the
roadway regains a normal width, of, for example 12 ft. or more, and
wherein a steering mechanism is provided to synchronously pivot all
said wheel means thru a steering angle whereby the dolly and load
can be steered straight ahead or in sideways angular directions to
avoid obstacles and to allow maneuvering of a long load around
corners which are too sharp for conventional transport means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The invention will be further understood from the following
description and drawings wherein the depictions are not to scale
and wherein certain structural portions are enlarged out of
proportion or broken away or sectioned for clarity, and
wherein:
[0006] FIG. 1 is a top down plan view of the present dolly
structure with frame portions and auxiliary wheels (for bringing
the dolly to the manufactured home to be transported) shown by
dotted line and general area lines;
[0007] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the axle and wheel
means with a tandem steering linkage affixed;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a partially cross-sectioned view of a wheel
mounting structure taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in the direction
of the arrows;
[0009] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of
FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows;
[0010] FIG. 5 is a rear view of a loaded dolly travelling on a
narrow bridge;
[0011] FIG. 6 is a rear view as in FIG. 5 of the dolly travelling
over a narrow country road; and
[0012] FIG. 7 is a top view of a portion of a four wheel tandem
steering mechanism.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] With reference to the claims and drawings, the present dolly
comprises base or frame means generally designated 10 having a
longitudinal axis 12 and being of heavy, strong steel construction
capable of carrying 5 to 30 or more tons of load 13 and
transporting the same over difficult roadways. Laterally spaced
girder means 14, preferably about six or more feet in length, are
provided on the dolly and are adapted to be connected to laterally
spaced longitudinal supporting beam means 16 of the load. The
equivalent of 14 and 16 are shown as 42, 44, 46 and 48 in the
aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,495. Also shown in this patent
are several devices for attaching the load to girders 14, which
devices can also be used with the present dolly. In this regard a
bolt attachment device is shown in FIG. 5 as item 17. It is noted
that the beam means of the load can run longitudinally, angularly
or laterally, or any combination thereof, depending on the
construction of the load.
[0014] A plurality of axle means such as 18,20,22,24 are provided
on the dolly, preferably on a common lateral axis 26 normal to said
longitudinal axis 12 and lying on opposite lateral sides thereof.
Outboard wheel means 28,30 are mounted on the outboard axle means
18,24 and are spaced from each other a distance preferably of at
least about eight feet as measured from the centerlines "c" of the
wheels. Inboard wheel means 32,34 are mounted on the inboard axle
means 20, 22, each said wheel means being laterally spaced from
said longitudinal axis a distance preferably of at least about one
foot also as measured from the centerline "c" of the wheels. A
preferred steering mechanism generally designated 36 is provided to
synchronously pivot all said wheel means thru a steering angle such
as ".alpha.".
[0015] It is noted that any number of axles and wheels may be used
on the present dolly, and any number of dollies may be employed,
e.g., two or three for long loads, however, for transport of
typical moderate size manufactured homes, the arrangement as shown
in the drawings is highly preferred.
[0016] The preferred axle structure shown in FIGS. 1-4 for mounting
the wheels comprises an axle 38 on which a bearinged wheel is
rotatably mounted. Each axle 38 is integral with a steering knuckle
40 which is pivotally mounted on a portion of frame 10 by a pin
42.
[0017] The preferred steering mechanism 36 comprises a steering arm
44 connected by a ball joint or the like 46 to an arm 48 which is
pivotally connected as shown in FIG. 4 to a T member 50 pivotally
mounted on frame 10 by pin 52. As shown in FIG. 1 a tie rod 54 is
pivotally connected by pins 56 to the T members 50. A cylinder 58
which is manually or electrically operated air or hydraulic, is
pivotally mounted on frame 10 by pin 60 and its piston rod 62 is
pivotally connected by pin 64 to tie rod 54. In operation,
actuation of 58 will steer all wheels synchronously in the same
direction thru the same angle ".alpha.".
[0018] As shown in FIG. 7, the steering means is simplified in that
the steering arms 44 are integral with the axles 38 and tie rod 54
is pivotally connected to each individual steering arm 44 such that
a T member 50 is eliminated. In place of rod 54 a rack and pinion
type of power likeage, and also electrical motor steering power
means may be employed.
[0019] As shown and described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No.
6,129,495 auxiliary wheels such as 97 which are readily placed on
and removed from frame means 10 are employed to bring the present
dolly to the home and position it thereunder for attachment of the
dolly to the home.
[0020] This invention has been described in detail with particular
reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be
understood that variations and modifications will be effected
within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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