Glass transport trailer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A trailer for carrying plate glass, comprising:
- an elongated deck defining a surface at an upper major side of the deck;
an elongated rigid beam extending longitudinally in parallel with a longitudinal axis of the deck;
a plurality of wheels attached to at least one of the deck and the beam at a first end of the elongated deck at or below a lower major side of the deck opposite the upper major side so that the plurality of wheels are rotatable about at least one axis transverse to the longitudinal axis;
a coupler for coupling to a wheeled rear end of a towing vehicle, the coupler being attached to at least one of the deck and the beam and disposed at a second end of the deck opposite the first end;
wherein the beam extends higher than at least a portion of the deck and is attached to the deck so that the beam transfers load from the deck to the plurality of wheels and the coupler; and
at least one generally planar receiving surface that is defined by or attached to the beam higher than the at least a portion of the deck so that a portion of the beam that extends higher than a highest portion of the deck between the coupler and the plurality of wheels supports at least one glass plate received by the receiving surface in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A trailer for carrying plate glass has an elongated deck and an elongated rigid beam that extends above the deck. The beam supports plate glass transported by the trailer. The deck and the beam may be made from aluminum.
17 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A trailer for carrying plate glass, comprising:
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an elongated deck defining a surface at an upper major side of the deck; an elongated rigid beam extending longitudinally in parallel with a longitudinal axis of the deck; a plurality of wheels attached to at least one of the deck and the beam at a first end of the elongated deck at or below a lower major side of the deck opposite the upper major side so that the plurality of wheels are rotatable about at least one axis transverse to the longitudinal axis; a coupler for coupling to a wheeled rear end of a towing vehicle, the coupler being attached to at least one of the deck and the beam and disposed at a second end of the deck opposite the first end; wherein the beam extends higher than at least a portion of the deck and is attached to the deck so that the beam transfers load from the deck to the plurality of wheels and the coupler; and at least one generally planar receiving surface that is defined by or attached to the beam higher than the at least a portion of the deck so that a portion of the beam that extends higher than a highest portion of the deck between the coupler and the plurality of wheels supports at least one glass plate received by the receiving surface in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 32)
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13. A trailer for carrying plate glass, comprising:
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an elongated deck defining a surface at an upper major side of the deck; an elongated rigid beam extending longitudinally in parallel with a longitudinal axis of the deck, the beam comprising a top section comprising a flange and a web extending between the flange and the deck; a plurality of wheels attached to at least one of the deck and the beam at a first end of the elongated deck at or below a lower major side of the deck opposite the upper major side so that the plurality of wheels are rotatable about a plurality of axes, each axis of the plurality of axes corresponding to at least two wheels of the plurality of wheels, transverse to the longitudinal axis; a coupler for coupling to a wheeled rear end of a towing vehicle, the coupler being attached to at least one of the deck and the beam and disposed at a second end of the deck opposite the first end; wherein the web extends higher than a highest portion of the deck between the coupler and the plurality of wheels and is attached to the deck so that the beam transfers load from the deck to the plurality of wheels and the coupler; and at least one generally planar receiving surface that is defined by or attached to the beam higher than at least a portion of the deck so that the beam supports at least one glass plate received by the receiving surface. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33)
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34. A trailer for carrying plate glass, comprising:
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an elongated deck comprised of at least one deck segment defining a surface at an upper major side of the deck; an elongated rigid beam extending longitudinally in parallel with a longitudinal axis of the deck; a plurality of wheels attached to at least one of the deck and the beam at a first end of the elongated deck at or below a lower major side of the deck opposite the upper major side so that the plurality of wheels are rotatable about at least one axis transverse to the longitudinal axis; a coupler for coupling to a wheeled rear end of a towing vehicle, the coupler being attached to at least one of the deck and the beam and disposed at a second end of the deck opposite the first end; wherein, the beam is attached to the deck so that the beam transfers load from the deck to the plurality of wheels and the coupler, the elongated deck comprises a first said deck segment, a second said deck segment, and a third said deck segment, the first, second, and third deck segments define respective portions of said surface at the upper major side that are parallel to each other, the third deck segment is between the first deck segment and the second deck segment, the respective surface portion of the third deck segment is offset below the respective surface portions of the first deck segment and the second deck segment, and the beam defines a height, from a bottom of the beam to a top of the beam directly vertically above the third deck segment, that is at least twice as great as respective vertical offsets between the third deck segment and the first deck segment and between the third deck segment and the second deck segment; and at least one generally planar receiving surface that is defined by or attached to the beam higher than at least the third deck segment so that the beam supports at least one glass plate received by the receiving surface in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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36. A trailer for carrying plate glass, comprising:
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an elongated deck comprising an upper major side of the deck; an elongated rigid beam extending longitudinally in parallel with a longitudinal axis of the deck; a plurality of wheels attached to at least one of the deck and the beam at a first end of the elongated deck at or below a lower major side of the deck opposite the upper major side so that the plurality of wheels are rotatable about at least one axis transverse to the longitudinal axis; a coupler for coupling to a wheeled rear end of a towing vehicle, the coupler being attached to at least one of the deck and the beam and disposed at a second end of the deck opposite the first end; wherein the beam extends higher than the first end of the elongated deck and is rigidly attached to the deck so that the beam transfers load from the deck to the plurality of wheels and the coupler; and at least one generally planar receiving surface that is defined by or attached to the beam higher than the first end of the elongated deck so that the beam supports at least one glass plate received by the receiving surface in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
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Specification