AUTOMOBILE HOLD-DOWN DEVICE

• US 3,709,155 A
• Filed: 03/22/1971
• Issued: 01/09/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pullman Standard, Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: William L. Pringle
• Inventors: Pringle, William L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoffman, Drayton E.
• Application Number:
  US05/126,820
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• Field of Search: 105/366C,368R,368B,368T,369A 248/119R,361A 280/179A 296/1A
• US Class Current: 410/7
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 3/073 Vehicle retainers specially adapted for fixing semi-trailers on railway vehicles B61D45/004

Abstract

An automobile hold-down device for use on a railway vehicle and having hook members operatively attached to rotating arm members and movable automatically in a vertical direction from a below deck inoperative position upon horizontal movement of an interconnected yoke member and said hook members movable in a transverse direction to locking engagement with the automobile frame in response to operation of a rotating cam means connected with the hook members to securely fastened the automobile during transport. A series of such hold-down devices are locked and unlocked by longitudinally extending cables which are driven by manually actuated drive means.

Claims

1. A hold-down device for securing an automotive vehicle to a transporting vehicle, said device including:

support bracket plates joined by a connecting shaft and pivoted plate members being connected with and rotatable about the connecting shaft;

a support shaft joining said plate members;

pivoted hook members being engageable at their upper ends with the associated automotive vehicle and connected at their lower ends to the support shaft carried by pivoted plate members and said plate members rotatable to produce substantially vertical movement of the hook members;

an operating yoke means having shaft portions engaging the pivoted plate members for actuating the pivoted plates to thereby raise and lower the hook members;

a cam means engaging the hook members and being positioned on and rotatable about said support shaft to move the hook members pivotally into position with the automotive vehicle whereby pivotal upward movement of the plate members to raise the hook members is followed by operation of the cam means to urge the pivoted hook means into position with the automotive vehicle and final downward pivoted locking movement of the plate members to fixedly secure the automotive vehicle to the transporting vehicle;

drive cylinder means being connected to the yoke means to move yoke means horizontally and connected to the cam means to rotate same.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and:

the pivoted plate members each including a slot means having interconnected vertically spaced and horizontally spaced portions;

the operating yoke means movable horizontally and the yoke shaft portions extending through the slot means in a respective pivoted plate member and movable through the spaced slot portions to thereby rotate the respective plate member.

3. The invention according to claim 1, and:

the hook members including pivoted follower means to operatively engage the cam means;

said cam means being rotatable in a forward direction to drive the follower means and produce pivotal movement of the hook members;

said cam means being rotatable in a reverse direction;

said hook members including a biasing means to maintain contact between the cam means and the follower means when the cam means is rotated in the forward direction;

said biasing means disengaging the hook members from the automotive vehicle when the cam means is rotated in the reverse direction.

4. The invention according to claim 1, and:

a fixed plate member positioned outboard of the yoke means and including a horizontally extending slot;

said shaft portions extending into the horizontally extending slot to confine and guide the yoke means.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and:

cable means connecting with the yoke and with said cam means;

the drive cylinder means including rack and pinion members adapted to be mouNted on said transporting vehicle and operatively connected by the cable means to move the yoke means horizontally to thereby lower the hook members;

said drive cylinder means operatively connected by the cable means to rotate the cam means to move the hook members into position for engagement with the automotive vehicle.

6. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said drive cylinder means including a first power cylinder and a second power cylinder with each cylinder having an associated rack gear member and pinion gear member operatively connected thereto;

each pinion gear rotatable in a forward and in a reverse direction;

a pawl positioned adjacent and engaging each pinion gear to permit pinion gear rotation in a forward direction as each associated power cylinder operates;

cable members each having opposed end portions operatively connected at one end to an associated power cylinder and extending lengthwise of the transporting vehicle to operate the hold-down device;

a pair of spring biased spools;

each of said cable members being attached at its opposite end portion to a respective spring biased spool;

the operation of the power cylinders securing the hold-down device to the automotive vehicle and each pawl engaging the associated pinion gear preventing release of the hold-down device by preventing reverse rotation of the pinion gear; and

each pawl manually disengageable from its associated pinion gear to permit the spring biased spools to gather the cable members and to assist in disengaging the hold-down device from the automotive vehicle.

7. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said transporting vehicle having a deck supporting the automotive vehicle;

the hold-down device positioned below the deck in the inoperative position to permit unobstructed loading of the automotive vehicles on the deck.

8. The invention according to claim 1, and:

said drive cylinder means having a first cable member in communication with the yoke means and a second cable member in communication with the cam means;

the first and the second cable members each having a collar and spring connection with the respective yoke and cam means to transmit operating forces from the cable members into the yoke means and into the cam means.

9. A hold-down device for securing an automotive vehicle to a transporting vehicle comprising:

hook means being mounted on the transporting vehicle and being adapted for engagement with and tying down of an associated automotive vehicle to the transporting vehicle;

support shaft means on said transporting vehicle for pivotally carrying said hook means and rotatable arm means supporting said support shaft means for upward movement of the hook means toward the automotive vehicle;

a drive yoke having coupling means cooperative with said arm means for raising and lowering rotation of said arm means attendant to raising and lowering said support shaft means; and

drive cam means rotatably mounted on said support shaft means and spaced laterally of said hook means and engageable with said hook means attendant to forced pivoting said hook means outwardly for locking engagement with said automotive vehicle.

10. The invention according to claim 9, and drive means connecting with the cam means and with the yoke means, and the cam means and the yoke means each having sequential drive structure connecting with said drive means for imparting sequential movement to the hook means whereby the hook means is elevated and then pivoted laterally into locking engagement with said automotive vehicle.

11. The invention according to claim 10, and said drive means comprising:

sequential power means operatively connected with the yoke means attendant to lowering the hook means and operatively associated with the cam means to move the hook means laterally outwardly;

yoke biasing means operatively connected with the yoke and opposing the power means and thereby storing Energy in the yoke biasing means;

yoke energy locking means operatively connected with the yoke means and yoke biasing means for storing energy in the yoke biasing means during the power stroke of the power means;

cam biasing means operatively connected with the cam means and opposing the power means and thereby storing energy in the cam biasing means;

cam energy locking means operatively connected with the cam means and the cam biasing means for storing energy in the cam biasing means during the power stroke of the power means;

the operation of the power means securing the hold-down device to the automotive vehicle and each energy locking means cooperatively preventing release of the hold-down device and being released to permit its respective biasing means to cause disengagement of the hold-down device from the automotive vehicle.

12. The invention according to claim 11, and:

cable means connecting with the drive yoke means and with said drive cam means;

said sequential power means including a drive cylinder means having a rack and pinion gear means adapted to be mounted on said transport vehicle and operatively connected by the cable means to move the drive yoke means horizontally to thereby lower the hook means;

said drive cylinder means operatively connected by the cable means to rotate the drive cam means to move the hook members laterally outward into position for engagement with the automotive vehicle.

13. The invention according to claim 12, and:

said cable means having opposed end portions and operatively connected at one end to the drive cylinder means and extending lengthwise of the transporting vehicle to operate the hold-down device;

yoke biasing means including a spring biased take-up means for the cable means;

said cable means being attached at its opposite end portion to the spring biased take-up means;

said pinion gear means rotatable in a forward and in a reverse direction;

cam biasing means including spring biased take-up means for the cable means;

a pawl means positioned adjacent and engaging the pinion gear member to permit pinion gear rotation in a forward direction as the power cylinder means operates;

said yoke energy locking means including pawl means positioned adjacent and engaging the pinion gear means to permit pinion gear means rotation in a forward direction as the power cylinder means operates;

the cam energy locking means including a pawl means positioned adjacent and engaging the pinion gear means to permit rotation of the pinion gear means in a forward direction as the power cylinder means is operated.

14. A hold-down device for securing an automotive vehicle to a transporting vehicle and including:

hook means being mounted on the transporting vehicle and being adapted for engagement with and tying down of an associated automotive vehicle to the transporting vehicle;

hook support means rotatably mounted on said transporting vehicle and including a pair of spaced guide arm means and including a support shaft joining said guide arms and said hook means pivotally mounted on said support shaft;

hook drive means operatively positioned on said support shaft and engageable with the hook means for powered transverse movement of said hook means;

a first power guide means operatively connected with the hook support means for imparting rotational and generally vertical displacement of the support means and the associated hook means; and

, a second power drive means operatively connected with the hook drive means to thereby produce said powered transverse movement of said hook means into locking engagement with said automotive vehicle.

15. The invention according to claim 14, and said first power drive means including an operating yoke means having portions engaging the pivoted arm means for actuating the pivoted arm means to thereby raise and lower the hook means.

16. The invention according to claim 14, and said hook drive meAns including a cam means engaging the hook means to move the hook means pivotally into position with the automotive vehicle whereby raising of the guide means is followed by operation of the cam means to urge the hook means into position with the automotive vehicle.

17. The invention according to claim 15, and said spaced guide arm means positioned outboard of the hook means and each guide arm means including a slot means;

the operating yoke means having arm actuating portions engaging the slot means of the guide arm means for pivoting and rotating the arm means to thereby raise and lower the hook means;

the operating yoke means movable horizontally and the arm actuating portions of said yoke extending through the slot means in a respective arm member and movable through the slot portion to thereby rotate the respective arm member.

18. The invention according to claim 14, and a drive cylinder means being connected to the first power drive means and being connected to the second power drive means;

said drive cylinder means including a first power cylinder and a second power cylinder with each cylinder having associated rack member and pinion gear member operatively connected thereto;

each pinion gear member rotatable in a forward and in a reverse direction;

a pawl positioned adjacent and engaging each pinion gear to permit pinion gear rotation in a forward direction as each associated power cylinder operates;

first cable member and second cable member associated with the respective first and second power cylinders each having opposed end portions and operatively connected at one end to an associated power cylinder and extending lengthwise of the transporting vehicle to operate the hold-down device;

a pair of spring biased spools spaced along the length of the transporting vehicle from the drive cylinder means;

each of said first cable and second cable members being attached at its opposite end portion to a respective spring biased spool;

said first cable member in communication with first power drive means and said second cable member in communication with said second power drive means.

19. The invention according to claim 18, and the first and the second cable members each having a collar and a spring connection with the respective power drive means to cushion the transmission of operating forces from the cable members into said power drive means.