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EP-4063243-B1 - INLOADER TRAILER

EP4063243B1EP 4063243 B1EP4063243 B1EP 4063243B1EP-4063243-B1

Inventors

  • Tang, Morten

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210324

Claims (11)

  1. An inloader trailer (2) having a longitudinal axis (D) and comprising a chassis (32) having a front portion (14) and two longitudinal members (12, 12') extending parallel to each other and being connected at the front portion (14) by a connection portion (16), wherein the chassis (32) comprises one or more pairs of rotatably mounted ground engaging wheels (4, 6, 8, 10), wherein the wheels of each pair of wheel pair are rotatably mounted on different non-connected mounting structures (22, 22'), wherein the mounting structures (22, 22') are not directly connected so that a space (3) without connection structures connecting the wheel pairs extends between the wheels (4, 6, 8, 10) of each pair, wherein the inloader trailer (2) comprises a kingpin (18) arranged at the front portion (14), wherein one or more of the pairs of wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') are turnably arranged by means of a steering assembly (40, 40') that is arranged and configured to actively change the driving direction (Y) of the turnably arranged wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') by rotating (and hereby turning) the turnably arranged wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') about a basically vertical axis so that the driving direction (Y) of the turnably arranged wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') differs from the direction of the longitudinal axis (D) of the inloader trailer (2), characterised in that the that the steering assembly (40, 40') of each of the turnably arranged wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') is arranged above the turnably arranged wheel (8, 8', 10, 10'), wherein the steering assembly (40, 40') comprises: - a steering spindle (24), - an arm portion (26) that is attached to the steering spindle (24) and - an actuator (28) that is arranged and configured to rotate the steering spindle (24) about its longitudinal axis (Z) that corresponds to its rotational axis.
  2. An inloader trailer (2) according to claim 1, characterised in that each of the turnably arranged wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') are attached to the chassis (32) by means of its own steering assembly (40, 40'), wherein each steering assembly (40, 40') comprises an actuator (28, 28') arranged to turn the turnably arranged wheel (8, 8', 10, 10').
  3. An inloader trailer (2) according to claim 2, characterised in that the inloader trailer (2) comprises a control unit (30) arranged and configured to control the actuator (28, 28') on the basis of one or more sensor signals.
  4. An inloader trailer (2) according to claim 3, characterised in that the inloader trailer (2) comprises a sensor (20) arranged and configured to detect the angle between a towing truck (when the towing truck is towing the inloader trailer) and the inloader trailer (2).
  5. An inloader trailer (2) according to claim 4, characterised in that the sensor (20) is arranged at the kingpin (18).
  6. An inloader trailer (2) according to claim 3, characterised in that the inloader trailer (2) comprises a sensor (38) arranged and configured to detect the angle (α) between the driving direction (Y) of the turnably mounted wheel (8, 8', 10, 10') and the direction of the longitudinal axis (D) of the inloader trailer (2).
  7. An inloader trailer (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control unit (30) is configured to synchronise the turning of each wheel of the one or more pairs of turnable wheels (8, 8', 10, 10').
  8. An inloader trailer (2) according to one of the claims 2-7, characterised in that the actuator (28, 28') is hydraulically driven.
  9. An inloader trailer (2) according to one of the claims 2-7, characterised in that the actuator (28, 28') is electrically driven.
  10. An inloader trailer (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each of the turnably arranged wheels of the pairs of wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') are mounted on an elongated mounting structure (22, 22') that is mechanically connected to a rotatably mounted upright steering spindle (24, 24') that is attached to an arm portion (26, 26'), wherein an actuator (28, 28') is arranged to rotate the steering spindle (24, 24') about its vertical axis of rotation (Z).
  11. An inloader trailer (2) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the inloader trailer (2) comprises a hydraulic lock configured to maintain the driving direction (Y) of the turnably mounted wheels (8, 8', 10, 10') parallel to the longitudinal axis (D) of the inloader trailer (2) for velocities above a predefined level (V 1 ).

Description

Field of invention The present invention relates to an inloader trailer having two or more pairs of ground engaging wheels. Prior art Inloader trucks are used for transporting structures as flat pallets, glass packages (e.g. panes of glass) and prefabricated concrete parts. A typical inloader truck comprises a chassis having two longitudinal members extending parallel to each other and being connected at one end by a connection structure such as a cross member. Two or more pairs of ground engaging wheels are typically rotatably attached to the chassis hereby enabling the trailer to be towed by a truck. The truck is equipped with a fifth-wheel configured to be connected to the kingpin of the inloader trailer. It is, however, difficult to drive the trailer around a sharp curve. When the trailer is very long, it can be impossible to drive the trailer around a sharp curve. EP 3 299 260 A1 discloses an inloader trailer comprising a chassis having a front portion and two longitudinal members extending parallel to each other and being connected at the front portion by a connection portion. The chassis comprises a plurality of pairs of rotatably mounted ground engaging wheels that are turnably arranged by means of a steering assembly that configured to change the driving direction of the turnably arranged wheels. The steering assembly of each of the turnably wheels are, however, designed in a manner that takes up a lot of space. Therefore, the inloader trailer is not suitable for transporting wide objects and at the same time complying with the road traffic regulations in many countries. Thus, there is a need for an inloader trailer which reduces or even eliminates the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art. Summary of the invention The object of the present invention can be achieved by an inloader trailer as defined in claim 1. Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent subclaims, explained in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The inloader trailer according to the invention is an inloader trailer having a longitudinal axis and comprising a chassis having a front portion and two longitudinal members extending parallel to each other and being connected at the front portion by a connection portion, wherein the chassis comprises one or more pairs of rotatably mounted ground engaging wheels, wherein the wheels of each pair of wheel pair are rotatably mounted on different non-connected mounting structures, wherein the mounting structures are not directly connected so that a space without connection structures connecting the wheel pairs extends between the wheels of each pair, wherein the inloader trailer comprises a kingpin arranged at the front portion, wherein one or more of the pairs of wheels are turnably arranged by means of a steering assembly that is arranged and configured to actively change the driving direction of the turnably arranged wheels by rotating (and hereby turning) the turnably arranged wheels about a basically vertical axis so that the driving direction of the turnably arranged wheels differs from the direction of the longitudinal axis of the inloader trailer, wherein the steering assembly of each of the turnably arranged wheels is arranged above the turnably arranged wheel, wherein the steering assembly comprises: a steering spindle,an arm portion that is attached to the steering spindle andan actuator that is arranged and configured to rotate the steering spindle about its longitudinal axis that corresponds to its rotational axis. Hereby, it is possible to drive the trailer around a sharp curve and transport wide standard elements having a width up to 150 cm. By the term "turnably arranged" is meant that the turnably arranged wheels are arranged in such a manner that the driving direction of the turnably arranged wheels can be changed by rotating the turnably arranged wheels about a basically vertical axis so that the driving direction of the turnably arranged wheels differs from the driving direction of the inloader trailer. By the term "actively change" is meant that the steering assembly actively changes the driving direction of the turnably arranged wheels by rotation. This means that the steering assembly comprises a structure that generates a force that changes the driving direction. In one embodiment, the inloader trailer comprises two pairs of rotatably mounted ground engaging wheels. In one embodiment, the inloader trailer comprises three pairs of rotatably mounted ground engaging wheels. In one embodiment, the inloader trailer comprises four pairs of rotatably mounted ground engaging wheels. Since the wheels of each pair of wheel pair are rotatably mounted on different non-connected mounting structures a space without connection structures extends between the wheels of each pair. Hereby, it is possible to load the inloader trailer with flat pallets, glass packages (e.g. panes of glass) and prefabricated concrete parts. By having one o