Lifting mechanism for a deck system
First Claim
1. A vehicle for transporting cargo comprising:
- an elongated structure including a floor and upstanding opposite side members;
a deck member supported within said structure for receiving and supporting cargo, such as automobiles, and movable relative to said floor of said elongated structure;
a lift mechanism for supporting said deck member in said elongated structure, said lift mechanism raising and lowering said deck member relative to said floor of said elongated structure, said lift mechanism being substantially horizontally arranged along an upper margin of each said side member such that when said cargo is loaded onto said deck member and said deck member is raised, said lift mechanism does not interfere with the space occupied by said cargo on said deck member in said elongated structure, and wherein said lift mechanism comprises a rotatably mounted screw member, a threaded member movable along said screw member upon rotation of the screw member, and a plurality of elongated flexible elements operatively interengaged with said threaded member and connected with said deck member for moving the deck member relative to the floor of the elongated structure, said screw member being horizontally arranged along the upper margin of one of the side members of the elongated structure and said flexible elements being vertically arranged and proximate to the side members of said elongated structure such that when an automobile having a roof is loaded onto said deck member and said deck member is raised, the screw member does not contact the roof of the automobile.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A trailer for hauling cargo, such as general freight, automobiles, small trucks and the like, has a deck element therein. The deck element is capable of being raised or lowered by a lifting assembly to a variety of positions within the trailer and can be secured to side walls of the trailer by cammed bracket members. A guide assembly is provided to prevent forward and rearward movement of the deck element during transportation of the trailer. The trailer can be tilted backwards until a back end of the trailer contacts the ground so that cargo can be easily loaded into the trailer. Cargo can be loaded onto the deck element and underneath the deck element on the floor of the trailer. The lifting assembly is substantially horizontally arranged along the top of the trailer so that when automobiles are loaded onto the deck element and the deck element is raised, the lifting assembly does not interfere with the space occupied by the automobiles.
50 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A vehicle for transporting cargo comprising:
- an elongated structure including a floor and upstanding opposite side members;
a deck member supported within said structure for receiving and supporting cargo, such as automobiles, and movable relative to said floor of said elongated structure;
a lift mechanism for supporting said deck member in said elongated structure, said lift mechanism raising and lowering said deck member relative to said floor of said elongated structure, said lift mechanism being substantially horizontally arranged along an upper margin of each said side member such that when said cargo is loaded onto said deck member and said deck member is raised, said lift mechanism does not interfere with the space occupied by said cargo on said deck member in said elongated structure, and wherein said lift mechanism comprises a rotatably mounted screw member, a threaded member movable along said screw member upon rotation of the screw member, and a plurality of elongated flexible elements operatively interengaged with said threaded member and connected with said deck member for moving the deck member relative to the floor of the elongated structure, said screw member being horizontally arranged along the upper margin of one of the side members of the elongated structure and said flexible elements being vertically arranged and proximate to the side members of said elongated structure such that when an automobile having a roof is loaded onto said deck member and said deck member is raised, the screw member does not contact the roof of the automobile. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
- an elongated structure including a floor and upstanding opposite side members;
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7. A vehicle for transporting cargo comprising:
- an elongated structure including a floor, a front member and upstanding opposite side members, each said side member having an upper margin;
a deck member supported within said structure for receiving and supporting cargo, such as automobiles, and movable relative to said floor of said elongated structure;
a lift mechanism for supporting said deck member in said elongated structure, said lift mechanism raising and lowering said deck member relative to said floor of said elongated structure such that said deck member can rest on said floor or can be raised to a variety of positions off of said floor including a position which is substantially proximate to said upper margins of the side members, said lift mechanism being substantially horizontally arranged along said upper margins of said side members and further being substantially proximate to said front member and said side members such that a central portion of said elongated structure is substantially unencumbered by said lift mechanism such that when said cargo is loaded onto said deck member and said deck member is raised, said lift mechanism does not interfere with the space occupied by said cargo on said deck member in said elongated structure, said lift mechanism comprising at least one rotatably mounted screw member, a threaded member movable along said screw member upon rotation of the screw member, and a plurality of elongated flexible elements operatively interengaged with said threaded member and connected with said deck member for moving the deck member relative to the floor of the elongated structure, said screw member being horizontally aligned along said top of the elongated structure and said flexible elements being substantially vertically aligned along the side members when said deck member is in a position other than proximate to said top, and wherein said flexible elements are substantially horizontally aligned along the top of the elongated structure when said deck member is proximate to said top.
- an elongated structure including a floor, a front member and upstanding opposite side members, each said side member having an upper margin;
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8. A vehicle for transporting freight comprising:
- an elongated structure including a floor and upstanding opposite side members;
a deck member supported within said elongated structure for receiving and supporting cargo, said deck member being movable relative to said floor of said elongated structure and movable to be proximate to an upper margin of said side members;
a lift mechanism for supporting said deck member in said elongated structure, said lift mechanism raising and lowering said deck member relative to said floor of said elongated structure; and
a plurality of brackets releasibly mounted on said side members for securing said deck member to said side members, said brackets being removable from said side members, wherein when said deck member is raised so as to be proximate to said upper margin of said side members, said side members of said elongated structure are generally unencumbered by any structure so that general freight can be easily loaded onto the floor of said elongated structure and said brackets are removed from said side members and stored on top of said deck member so as to leave the interior of said elongated structure unencumbered, said lift mechanism comprising at least one rotatably mounted screw member, a threaded member movable along said screw member upon rotation of the screw member, and a plurality of elongated flexible elements operatively interengaged with said threaded member and connected with said deck member for moving the deck member relative to the floor of the elongated structure, said screw member being horizontally aligned along the upper margin of one of said side members and said flexible elements being substantially vertically aligned along the side members of said elongated structure when said deck member is in a position other than proximate to said upper margin of said side members, wherein said flexible elements are substantially horizontally aligned along the upper margin of the elongated structure when said deck member is proximate to said upper margin of said side members of said elongated structure. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
- an elongated structure including a floor and upstanding opposite side members;
Specification