U.S. patent number 3,885,691 [Application Number 05/470,674] was granted by the patent office on 1975-05-27 for mobile home carrying trailer.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Knapp Corporation. Invention is credited to Maynard Bill Knapp.
United States Patent |
3,885,691 |
Knapp |
May 27, 1975 |
Mobile home carrying trailer
Abstract
A carrier for transporting mobile and modular homes which are
constructed without wheels and steel underframe, which carrier has
a stationary frame with two parallel longitudinally extending
hollow box beams connected together by fixed cross braces, and is
mounted on a plurality of wheel axles for both lateral movement in
the direction of the length of the axles and for vertical movement
relative to the axles. An adjustable frame having two parallel
longitudinally extending beams slightly smaller in cross-section
than the box beams of the stationary frame is mounted on the
stationary frame with the box beams of the adjustable frame
slidable into the box beams of the stationary frame. The beams of
the adjustable frame are connected by removable cross braces, which
are removed as the adjustable frame is telescoped into the
stationary frame. Outriggers are provided on the forward end of the
adjustable frame, and the adjustable frame is slidable laterally on
the outriggers when the outriggers are in the extended position and
support the adjustable frame on the ground, and is movable
vertically relative to the outriggers when the outriggers are in
the extended position.
Inventors: |
Knapp; Maynard Bill (Salisbury,
NC) |
Assignee: |
Knapp Corporation (Salisbury,
NC)
|
Family
ID: |
23868554 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/470,674 |
Filed: |
May 16, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
414/495;
280/43.22; 280/43.18; 280/43.23; 280/656 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62D
53/06 (20130101); B60P 3/32 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B62D
53/00 (20060101); B62D 53/06 (20060101); B60P
3/32 (20060101); B60p 001/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;214/500,512,515
;280/34R,34A,46,43,43.17,43.18,43.22,43.23,423R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Schonberg; David
Assistant Examiner: Schrecengost; R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A carrier for transporting a single-wide or half of a
double-wide mobile home or modular home constructed without wheels
and steel underframe, comprising a stationary frame having a pair
of parallel hollow box beams and fixed cross braces between them
securing them to each other, an adjustable frame comprising a pair
of parallel beams slidable telescopically in the stationary box
beams of the stationary frame and having removable cross brace
between them securing them to each other, lock means locking the
frames to each other in any of a plurality of positions, a
plurality of pairs of wheels and an axle extending between each
pair of wheels, a wheel chassis slidably mounted on said axles for
movement in the direction of the length of said axles, said
stationary frame being mounted on said wheel chassis for vertical
movement relative to said wheel chassis and extending transversely
to the direction of length of said axles, an outrigger housing
adjacent the end of the adjustable frame remote from the stationary
frame extending substantially parallel with said axles and having
outrigger support means depending therefrom for contact with the
ground beneath the carrier, outrigger slide means slidably mounted
on said outrigger housing, the adjustable frame being mounted on
said outrigger slide means for vertical movement relative to said
outrigger slide means and extending transversely to the direction
of length of said outrigger housing, raising and lowering means
between the wheel chassis and the stationary frame and between the
outrigger housing and the adjustable frame for raising and lowering
the frames together, and lateral shifting means between said axles
and said wheel chassis and between said outrigger housing and said
outrigger slide means for shifting the wheel chassis and the
outrigger slide means together in one or the other direction
transversely of the length of the frames, whereby the frames can be
shifted up and down relative to the wheels and the outrigger
housing and can be shifted laterally back and forth relative to the
wheels and the outrigger housing for adjusting the position of the
mobile or modular home or a part of it at the installation
site.
2. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which said raising and
lowering means and said lateral shifting means are both hydraulic
piston-cylinder means.
3. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which said wheel chassis
comprises a plurality of lateral sleeves beneath the box beams on
each side of the stationary frame, and frame members connecting the
lateral sleeves on one side of the stationary frame to each other,
and said lateral shifting means comprises a lateral shift cylinder
mounting frame secured to said axles and hydraulic piston-cylinder
mechanisms mounted on said mounting frame and having piston rods
extending therefrom to said frame members.
4. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which said outrigger housing
has a mounting frame thereon, said outrigger slide means comprise a
pair of outrigger slides one beneath each side frame, and said
lateral shifting means comprises hydraulic piston-cylinder
mechanisms mounted between said mounting frame and the respective
outrigger slides.
5. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which said wheel chassis
comprises a plurality of lateral sleeves beneath the box beams on
each side of the stationary frame, and frame members connecting the
lateral sleeves on one side of the stationary frame, a vertical
guide plate extending upwardly from each sleeve and engaging the
outside surface of the box beam thereabove, and pairs of vertical
telescoping sleeves, one vertical sleeve of a pair on each lateral
sleeve and the other of the pair on the box beam of the stationary
frame thereabove, said guide plates and pairs of vertical sleeves
guiding said stationary frame in its vertical movement on said
wheel chassis.
6. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which said outrigger slide
comprises two slide elements, one beneath each parallel beam of
said adjustable frame, and a vertical guide plate extending
upwardly from each slide element and engaging the outside surface
of the beam thereabove, and a pair of vertical telescoping sleeves,
one vertical sleeve of a pair on each slide element and the other
of the pair on the beam of the adjustable sleeve thereabove, said
guide plates and pairs of vertical sleeves guiding said adjustable
frame in its vertical movement on said outrigger housing.
Description
INTRODUCTION
This invention relates to a carrier, and more particularly to a
carrier for carrying mobile or modular homes or parts of such
homes, which homes or parts are made without wheels and a steel
underframe, from the fabrication site or retail sales lot to the
permanent installation site. The carrier of the present invention
can be extended or shortened in length for carrying the mobile or
modular homes or for being transported when empty, and can be
shifted laterally of its long dimension on the wheels on which it
rolls.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART
Mobile homes are so-called because they are usually fabricated on a
relatively expensive steel underframe with two or more sets of
axles and wheels on which the homes are transported over highways.
Either the complete home is built, in which case it is usually
limited to twelve feet in width, i.e. "single wide", the maximum
width of such homes usually permitted on a road, or the mobile home
is built in two halves, i.e. "double wide", each of which halves is
usually 12 feet wide and each of which has a permanently attached
steel underframe and axles and wheels. Once the mobile or modular
home arrives at the permanent site of the home and is placed on the
foundation, the wheels and axles are of no further use and the
steel underframe is unnecessary.
In the case of modular homes, the parts are commonly transported on
simple lumber trailers, Heretofore, since conventional trailers
have been used for these modular homes, there have been problems in
unloading the modular homes from the trailers at the permanent
installation site, where the ground is often uneven, so that it is
difficult to match the level of the bottom of the home with a
foundation or to match a part of a home on a trailer to a part
already in posiition on a foundation. Heavy equipment for handling
the modular homes is often not readily available at the permanent
installation site.
Although elimination of the steel underframes, wheels and axles in
mobile and modular home construction would greatly reduce the
manufacturer's cost, there has heretofore been no known vehicle by
which such a wheeless mobile or modular home could easily be
transported and delivered to the home site and from which the
vehicle the home could be placed on a foundation.
Prior to the present invention, the methods of placing double wide
mobile homes or parts of modular homes together caused frequent
and, in many cases, substantial damage to the walls, floor or roof
where the two halves rubbed longitudinally against each other due
to the pushing and pulling by the towing vehicle, and the manual
jacking, levering, and scooting of one section relative to the
other. The carrier of the present invention will, it is believed,
eliminate this type of damage and the cost thereof, by making it
possible to place the two halves of a double wide mobile home or
parts of a modular home together on the foundation gently and with
precision.
In the case of modular homes, the simple lumber trailers are
commonly transported back to the point of fabrication of the homes
in the same condition as they are used for hauling the modular
homes. Since the modular homes or the parts thereof are often quite
long, this involves trailing rather lengthy trailers over the roads
while they are empty.
OBJECTS AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier for
mobile or modular homes or a part thereof which can be extended for
use in transporting various lengths of homes from the point of
fabrication or retail sales lot to the permanent installation site,
and can be collapsed or telescoped in for being trailed in the
empty condition back to the retail sales lot or to the point of
fabrication of the homes.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a carrier
in which the carrier body is mounted on the wheels for movement
both up and down relative to the wheel axles, as well as in the
direction of the wheel axles, i.e. transversely to the length of
the carrier frame to aid in perfect matching of parts to be
assembled on the foundation.
The objects are achieved by a carrier having a stationary frame
with two parallel and longitudinally extending hollow box beams
connected together by fixed cross braces, and mounted on a
plurality of wheel axles for both lateral movement in the direction
of the length of the axles, and for vertical movement relative to
the axles. The wheels on which the carrier rests and moves are
mounted at the ends of the axles. An adjustable frame comprised of
two longitudinally extending box means slightly smaller in
cross-section than the box beams of the stationary frame is mounted
on the stationary frame with the box beams of the adjustable frame
slidable into the box beams of the stationary frame. The beams of
the adjustable frame are connected by removable cross braces, which
are removed as the adjustable frame is telescoped into the
stationary frame. Outriggers are provided on the forward end of the
adjustable frame, and the adjustable frame is slidable laterally on
the outriggers when the outriggers are in the extended position and
support the adjustable frame on the ground, and is movable
vertically relative to the outriggers when the outriggers are in
the extended position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The invention will now be described in connection with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the carrier for transporting mobile
and modular homes according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the carrier of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on
line 3--3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, taken on line 4--4 of FIG.
1;
FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on
line 5--5 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken on lines 6--6 of FIG.
5;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale taken on line 7--7
of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a partial sectional elevation view on an enlarged scale,
taken on line 8--8 of FIG 1;
FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view taken on line 9--9 of FIG.
8;
FIG. 10 is a partial sectional plan view, on an enlarged scale,
taken on line 10--10 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a partial transverse sectional view on an enlarged
scale, taken on line 11--11 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 12 is a schematic view of the hydraulic system of the carrier
of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The carrier for transporting mobile or modular homes constructed
without steel underframes and wheels according to the present
invention comprises a stationary frame 20, which has two parallel
and longitudinally extending hollow box beams 21 generally
rectangular in cross-section with the greater dimension in the
vertical direction. These longitudinal beams 21 are joined by fixed
cross braces 22 secured to the sides of the longitudinal beams 21,
for example by welding, as shown in FIG. 4. In FIGS. 1 and 2, this
frame has been shown as broken, and in actual practice, the rear
portion extends considerably to the rear of the wheels and the
overall length of the stationary frame is on the order of 30 feet
and the overall width is on the order of 4 feet.
Mounted on the front of the stationary frame 20 is an adjustable
frame 23 which has two longitudinally extending hollow box beams 24
having an exterior cross-sectional size slightly smaller than the
interior cross-sectional size of the hollow box beams 21 of the
stationary frame. These longitudinal beams 24 are joined by
removable cross braces 25 on the ends of which are welded mounting
plates 26 which are removably secured to the sides of the beams 24
by bolts 27, as shown in FIG. 3.
On the front of the adjustable frame 23 is a hitch frame, generally
indicated at 28, having two angle legs 29 diverging from a hitch
30, and terminating in straight parallel hitch legs 31 of a size
which will fit within the hollow longitudinal beams 24 of the
adjustable frame. Transverse holes (not shown) in the hitch frame
legs 31 are aligned with corresponding holes in the walls of the
beams 24, and lock pins 32, shown on each of the inside walls of
the longitudinal beams 24, are provided, which extend into the
holes in the hitch legs 31 and beams 24 for securing the hitch
frame 28 on the front of the adjustable frame 23.
It will be seen that the hitch frame 28 is thus removable from the
adjustable frame 23 by actuating the lock pins 32 to disengage them
from the hitch frame legs, and the hitch frame 28 can be inserted
into the hollow beams 21 at the rear of the stationary frame and
secured by corresponding lock pins 32 thereat.
As with the stationary frame 20, the adjustable frame has been
broken, and in its fully extended position, it projects some 30
feet forward of the front end of the stationary frame. However, it
can, by the removal of all but the frontmost removable cross braces
25 be telescoped almost completely into the box beams 21 of the
stationary frame, in which position it projects only about 9 feet
forwardly of the stationary frame 20.
Mounted on the inside of the box beam 21 at the front of the
stationary frame are two pluralities of lock pins 32, one set on
the inside of each of the longitudinal beams 21. These pins extend
through corresponding holes (not shown) in the longitudinal beams
21 and engage in corresponding holes which are provided at
appropriate intervals along the box beams 24 of the adjustable
frame. Thus, the adjustable frame can be positioned at a large
plurality of positions relative to the stationary frame 20 by
sliding the adjustable frame out of the stationary frame until it
reaches the desired position and then setting the lock pins 32 in
the appropriate holes in the beams 24 of the adjustable frame.
Details of the lock pins are shown on an enlarged scale in FIG. 7.
The lock pin shown is one of the lock pins on the box beams 21 of
the stationary frame 20. A housing 33, which is generally
cylindrical in shape, is welded in the inner wall of the hollow box
beam 21, and the free end is closed by a cap 33a threaded into the
end of the housing 33, the cap having an aperture therethrough. The
housing further has slots 34 on opposite sides thereof. Extending
through the aperture in the cap 33a is a pin 35 having a turn
handle 36 on the free end thereof outside of the housing 33. In the
position shown, in which the pin 35 is in the locking position, the
other straight end of the pin extends through aligned apertures in
the inner wall of the hollow beam 21, the inner wall of hollow beam
24, the outer wall of hollow beam 24, and the outer wall of hollow
beam 21. The end of the pin is held in an aperture in a retaining
plate 39 welded to the outer wall of the hollow beam 21.
Extending through the pin 35 is a guide pin 38, the ends of which
slide in the slots 34 in the housing 33. Positioned between the
guide pin and the threaded cap 33a is a return spring 37.
It will thus be seen that when a force is exerted in the left-hand
direction in the figure on the handle 36, the pin 35 is withdrawn
from the aligned apertures in the beams, the guide pin 38
compressing the spring as it moves to the left along the slots 34
in housing 33. The box beam 24 is then free to move longitudinally
within the box beam 21 until a different set of holes therein is
aligned with the holes in the box beam 21. At this point, the
handle can be released and the force of the compressed spring 37
will force the pin 35 through the aligned holes until the end of
the pin is in the hole in the reinforcing plate 39.
In order to permit the box beams 24 of the adjustable frame to move
freely into the box beams 21 of the stationary frame, roller means
generally indicated at 40 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided at the
forward end of each of the hollow longitudinal beams 21 of the
stationary frame. It is, of course, possible to provide additional
roller means at various points along the length of the beams 21 of
the stationary frame, such as just to the rear of the pins 32, as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and also approximately 14 or 15 feet from
the rear of the stationary frame. Details of these roller means are
shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
Welded to the exterior side walls of the hollow box beam 21 of the
stationary frame are roller mounting plates 41, the ends of which
project above and below the top and bottom walls of the hollow box
beam 21. Extending between the projecting ends of the plates 41 at
each of the ends of the plates 41 is a shaft 42 which is held in
position by nuts 43 threaded on the ends thereof and lock washers
44. Fixed on each of the shafts 42 is a bushing 45 on which is
rotatably mounted at roller 46 by means of bearings 47 at each end
thereof. Ball bearings are shown in the present embodiment, but
roller bearings may be substituted therefor. The diameters of the
rollers are sufficiently large for the peripheries of the rollers
to extend through roller apertures 48 in the top wall and the
bottom wall of the beam 21 of the stationary frame for engagement
with the top wall and the bottom wall of the beam 24 of the
adjustable frame. Thus, the longitudinal beams 24 of the adjustable
frame are held in rolling engagement within the hollow beams 21 of
the stationary frame between the opposed pairs of rollers 46 so
that the beams 24 can be rolled easily into the beams 21.
The carrier of the present invention has a plurality of pairs of
wheels 52, there being three pairs in the embodiment shown. These
are mounted in a conventional way on the ends of axles 51, which
are here shown as being square in cross-section. The stationary
frame 20 is mounted on the axles on a wheel chassis, generally
indicated at 50. As shown in detail in FIGS. 8-10, the wheel
chassis 50 comprises a plurality of lateral sleeves 53 which are
slidably mounted on the square axles 51. These sleeves 53 are
joined by longitudinally extending braces 55 and 55a, there being a
pair of such braces on each side of the chassis substantially
directly under the longitudinally extending box frames 21.
Triangular corner plates 76 between the braces 55 and sleeves 53
stiffen the chassis 50. Vertically mounted on each sleeve 53 is an
inner vertical sleeve 56, and on the vertical sleeve 56 is slidably
mounted an outer vertical sleeve 57. To the upper end of the outer
vertical sleeve 57 is secured a top plate 58, the one end of which
is secured to the inner wall of the adjacent longitudinally
extending box beam 21 of the stationary frame. Within the inner
vertical sleeve 56 is a frame raising hydraulic piston-cylinder
mechanism 60 having one end secured on the lateral sleeve 53 and
the other end, preferably the piston rod end, secured to the top
plate 58. Mounted on the outer end of each sleeve 53 is a vertical
brace 61 which is comprised of a vertical guide plate 62 and a
brace place 63, substantially perpendicular thereto. The inner
surface of the vertical guide plate 62 is in slidable contact with
the outer wall of the hollow box beam 21.
Conventional leaf spring means are provided for the front and rear
axles. Leaf springs 64 have the free ends mounted in spring
shackles 65 secured to the bottom wall of the box beam 21 and the
center of the leaf springs 64 is secured to the top of the sleeve
53 on the end axles by U-bolts 66. A rubber bumper 67 is also
attached to the top surface of the springs.
As seen most clearly in FIG. 10, there is secured to the central
portions of each of the axles a frame 70 having annular frame
portions 70a between each pair of adjacent axles, as shown in FIG.
1. Mounted in each annular frame portion is a pair of hydraulic
piston-cylinder mechanisms.
In FIG. 10, the right-hand hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanism 71
is a left lateral shift hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanism and has
the piston rod 72 thereof extending outwardly and bolted to the
longitudinal side plate 55 between adjacent lateral sleeves 53. The
other hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanism, and the piston rod 74
thereof, shown in FIG. 1, extending to the longitudinal side plate
55 on the other side of the wheel chassis 50. The ends of frame 70
are bolted to the end axles 51 by bolts 75, and the intermediate
portion of the frame 70 is likewise bolted to the intermediate axle
51 by similar bolts 75.
It will be seen that with this construction, by the actuation of
the frame raising hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 60, the
stationary frame 20 can be raised and lowered by the exertion of
the force on the top plates 58, the beams 21 being guided in
vertical movement by the outer vertical sleeve 57 sliding on the
inner vertical sleeve 56, and the outer wall of the box beam 21
sliding on the vertical guide plate 62. Likewise, the entire
stationary frame can be shifted to the left or the right, relative
to its length, along the axles 51 by actuating the lateral shift
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 71 and 73. To shift the
stationary frame 20 to the left (downwardly in FIG. 1 and in FIG.
10) the hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 71 are actuated to
extend the piston rods 72 while the hydraulic piston-cylinder
mechanisms 73 are actuated to draw the piston rods 74 in. This
exerts a force on the wheel chassis 50 which slides it along the
axles 51 on the sleeves 53, thereby carrying with the sleeves 53
the entire stationary frame 20.
The outriggers, one of which is shown in detail in FIG. 11, are
normally carried within the outrigger housing 80 which is a hollow
sleeve extending transversely of the adjustable frame 23 near the
front thereof. Each outrigger has an outrigger hinge member 81
slidable within the housing 80 and has a hinge pin 82 to which is
hinged the outrigger stand 83 having on the bottom thereof the
outrigger foot plate 84 threaded into the bottom of the outrigger
stand 83. The outrigger hinge 81 is mounted on the end of a piston
rod 85 of one of the pair of oppositely-oriented outrigger
extending hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 86, which are within
the housing 80 near the center thereof. With the piston rod 85
extended, the outrigger hinge is at the end of the housing 80, so
that the outrigger stand can extend downwardly from the hinge 81
and the footplate 84 can rest on the ground to support the forward
end of the frame 23. It will be understood that a like outrigger is
provided on the other end of the housing 83. When the piston rods
85 are withdrawn into the piston-cylinder mechanisms 86, the hinge
pins are drawn into the housing, and the outrigger stands are
thereby swung upwardly around the pins 82 and the outrigger stands
are drawn into the housing 80, thereby leaving exposed only the
footplates 84.
When the outrigger is in the position as shown in FIG. 11 with the
outrigger stands at both ends of the housing 80 in position, the
footplates 84 resting on the ground and the forward end of the
adjustable frame 23 being supported thereon, the frame 23 can also
be adjusted vertically relative to the outrigger housing 80 and can
be adjusted laterally along the outrigger housing 80.
Laterally adjustable frame sleeves 87 are slidably mounted on the
outrigger housing 80, and an inner vertical sleeve 88 is mounted on
each lateral sleeve 87, and slidable on the outside of each inner
vertical sleeve 88 is an outer vertical sleeve 89. A top plate 90
is secured to the top of each outer vertical sleeve 89, and the
ends of the top plates 90 are secured to the inner walls of the
hollow box beams 24 of the adjustable frame. A hydraulic
piston-cylinder mechanism 99 is mounted within each inner vertical
sleeve 88. Also mounted on each lateral sleeve at the outer end
thereof is a vertical brace 91 comprised of a vertical guide plate
92 against which the outer wall of the hollow box beam 24
thereabove slides, and a brace plate 93 secured to the vertical
guide plate 92.
As seen in FIG. 1, a lateral shift mounting frame 94 is secured to
the center of the outrigger housing 80 between the longitudinally
extending hollow box frames 24 and mounted on the frame 94 are two
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms, a left lateral shift
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanism 95 and a right lateral shift
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanism 96. The piston rod 95a of the
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanism 95 is secured by means of a
connecting plate 97 to the lateral slide 87 on the left side of the
adjustable frame 23 and the piston rod 96a of the hydraulic
piston-cylinder mechanism 96 is secured to the lateral slide 87 on
the right side of the adjustable frame 23 by a connecting plate
98.
It will be seen that by the appropriate operation of the
piston-cylinder mechanisms 99, the hollow frame members 24, and
thus the adjustable frame 23, can be raised and lowered relative to
the outrigger housing 80, and by appropriate operation of the
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 95 and 96, the adjustable
frame 23 can be shifted to the left and to the right relative to
the outrigger housing 80.
As seen in FIG. 12, the various piston-cylinder mechanisms are
connected in a more or less conventional hydraulic system. The
raising and lowering piston-cylinder mechanisms 60 and the raising
and lowering piston-cylinder mechanisms 99 are connected in
parallel to a four-way valve 100 which in turn is connected by a
hydraulic fluid supply line 101 to a pump 102 through a relief
valve 103 and a gauge 104, the pump 102 drawing hydraulic fluid
from reservoir 105. A hydraulic return line 106 is also connected
between the four-way valve 100 and the reservoir 105.
Likewise the right and left shifting hydraulic piston-cylinder
mechanisms 71 and 72 and 95 and 96 are connected in parallel to a
four-way valve 107, and through the four-way valve to the pump 102
and reservoir 105. Finally, the outrigger hydraulic piston-cylinder
mechanisms are connected in parallel to the four-way valve 108 and
through the four-way valve 108 to the pump 102 and the reservoir
105.
When the four-way valve 100 is actuated for movement in the up
direction, hydraulic fluid is supplied to the hydraulic
piston-cylinder mechanisms 60 and 99 to raise the stationary frame
20 and the adjustable frame 23 at the same rate, and when the valve
100 is actuated for movement in the down direction, the frames are
lowered. When the four-way valve 107 is actuated for movement in
the right direction, the hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 73
and 96 are actuated to force the wheel chassis 50 and outrigger
slides 87 in the right direction and the mechanisms 71 and 95 are
actuated to draw the wheel chassis 50 and the outrigger slides in
the right direction. When the four-way valve 107 is actuated for
movement in the left direction, the respective hydraulic
piston-cylinder mechanisms are actuated in the opposite directions.
When the four-way valve 108 is actuated in the out direction, the
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 86 are actuated to move the
outriggers to the outer positions as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 11,
while when the four-way valve is actuated in the direction, the
hydraulic piston-cylinder mechanisms 86 are actuated to draw the
outriggers into the outrigger housing 80.
There has thus been provided a carrier in which the frame is
adjustable not only in length, the adjustable frame being
telescopable into the stationary frame, but in which the frame can
be adjusted both vertically relative to the wheels and an outrigger
supporting the front of the frame and laterally of the frame
relative to the wheels and the outrigger. Thus, when a mobile or
modular home reaches a permanent installation site, the carrier can
be moved into position as close to the foundation as is convenient,
and then the frame of the carrier can be raised or lowered and
shifted laterally back or forth until the frame is lined up exactly
level with the foundation. Thereupon the mobile or modular home can
be placed gently and directly onto the foundation. Where the second
half of a double-wide mobile or modular home is being transported
to be attached to the first half already located at the permanent
installation site, the carrier can again be moved into position
close to the already positioned part of the home and again the
frame can be raised or lowered and shifted laterally with precision
until the part of the home on the carrier is in position to be
attached to the part already on the foundation.
After the mobile or modular home or part thereof has been installed
at the permanent site, the carrier of the present invention can be
shortened by telescoping the adjustable frame into the stationary
frame so that a relatively short carrier is trailed back to the
assembly point or retail sales lot.
While specific structures have been shown and described for the
various elements of the carrier of the present invention, it will
be clear to those skilled in the art that other equivalent
structures can be substituted therefor. For example, it is not
necessary to use box beams for the longitudinal beams of the
adjustable frame, although these are preferred. Other locking means
could be used for the locking pins 32, for example a simple pin
attached to the beam by a chain so that it would not be lost. Other
equivalent actuating systems, such as a pneumatic system or a
combined pneumatic and hydraulic system could be substituted for
the hydraulic system shown. A system of reversible electric motors
could be used.
It is thought that the invention and its advantages will be
understood from the foregoing description, and it is apparent that
various changes may be made in the form, construction and
arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the
form hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings being
merely a preferred embodiment thereof.
* * * * *