GB2308509A

GB2308509A - Services-connections for trailer vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2308509A
Application number: GB9626085A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Paul Jones
Original assignee: ALLEN GROUP Ltd
Current assignee: ALLEN GROUP Ltd
Priority date: 1995-12-20
Filing date: 1996-12-16
Publication date: 1997-06-25
Anticipated expiration: 2016-12-16
Also published as: GB9526025D0; GB9626085D0; GB2308509B

Abstract

A services inter-connection comprising two service-lines 8, 9 that are coiled to provide for resilient expansion and contraction, the coils being nested with one another with the lines retained together side-by-side in abutment over a major part of their lengths. In one embodiment, the line 8 is of smaller coil diameter that the line 9 to nest within it, the lines being retained side by side by ties 12. In another embodiment (Figure 3), the coil-diameters are the same as one another with the lines (18, 19) retained side by side in lateral nesting abutment with one another within the coiling. The inter-connection is used between towing vehicles and trailers, and may be pneumatic or electrical.

Description

Services-Connections for Trailer-Vehicles This invention relates to services-connections for trailer-vehicles, and is concerned in particular with establishing services interconnections between towing vehicle and trailer in trailer-vehicle combinations.

The services interconnections between towing vehicle and trailer of semi-trailer and towed-trailer combinations, in particular for braking and lighting operations of the trailer, are conventionally made via individual coiled service-lines in the form of pipes and cables that extend across the gap between the towing vehicle and the trailer. Each coiled line is suspended across the gap and has plugs at either end that are mated with sockets on a rear wall of the tractor or other towing vehicle, and the front wall of the trailer, so as to establish the relevant pneumatic, electrical or other interconnection.

The coiled, suspended form of the service-lines allows for turning manoeuvres of the trailer-vehicle combination, the lines extending and contracting resiliently to whatever extent is required as the towing vehicle and trailer are turned out of, and then back into, normal alignment with one another. There is, however, always the possibility of the coiled lines becoming entangled with one another such that the freedom for individual extension and contraction is impaired.

This is especially so when large angles of turn, for example of ninety degrees, are involved, and the resulting entanglement can result in the lines being held partly extended when alignment of towing vehicle and trailer is restored. There is consequently the danger that the service-lines will catch or snag on other parts of the towing vehicle and trailer to give rise to wear and a lack of overall integrity and effectiveness in accommodating turning; in the latter regard, the servicelines may even be broken and the plugs at either end pulled from their sockets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a form of services interconnection for trailer-vehicle combinations that may be used to reduce the problem described above.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a services interconnection across a gap between an intercoupled towing vehicle and its trailer in a trailervehicle combination, comprises two service-lines that are coiled to provide for resilient extension and contraction of the interconnection during turning manoeuvres of the trailer-vehicle combination, wherein the coiled lines are nested with one another with the lines retained together side by side in abutment with one another throughout at least a major part of their lengths within the coiling across the gap.

The unextended coil-diameter of a first of the two service-lines may be smaller than that of the second so that the coiled first line nests radially within the second; the nested-fit may be tight, but the possibility of using a fit that allows for a measure of relative movement is not excluded. As an alternative, the coil diameters may be substantially the same with the servicelines retained side by side in lateral, rather than radial, nesting abutment with one another within the coiling.

The service-lines, which may include pneumatic or other fluid-supply pipes, and/or electrical and/or fibre-optic cables, may be retained together using, for example, ties, clips, bands or discrete lengths of tubing.

According to another aspect of the present invention an assembly of service-lines for providing a services interconnection across a gap between an intercoupled towing vehicle and its trailer in a trailer-vehicle combination, comprises two or more lines which are for extending across the gap and which are coiled to allow for resilient extension and contraction of the interconnection during turning manoeuvres of the trailervehicle combination, wherein the coiled lines are nested with one another with the lines retained together side by side in abutment with one another throughout at least a major part of their lengths within the coiling.

A services interconnection between a tractor and a trailer of a semi-trailer combination, in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of the intercoupled tractor and semi-trailer showing an assembly establishing services interconnection between them in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section of the servicesinterconnection assembly of Figure 1, the section being taken on the line II-II of Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows, partly in longitudinal section, a portion of an alternative services-interconnection assembly according to the invention.

The services interconnection in the example to be described comprises two pneumatic and two electrical connections, the pneumatic connections being made via two pipes and the electrical connections via two electrical cables. The two pipes are combined together in one assembly according to the invention, and the two electrical cables in another. The constructions of the assemblies in the two cases are essentially the same, and for simplicity only one assembly, that of the two pipes for pneumatic connection, is illustrated in the drawings and will be described.

Referring to Figure 1, the pneumatic-services connection is made via a coiled-pipe assembly 1 that is suspended from two pneumatic connection-sockets 2 (only one shown) that are located side by side with one another on the back-wall 3 of the cab of the tractor 4. The assembly 1 is suspended from the sockets 2 to extend to two corresponding pneumatic connection-sockets 5 (only one shown) which are located side by side with one another on the front-wall 6 of the semi-trailer 7 (the sockets 5 are located lower down than the sockets 2 in this example, but this is not necessarily the case).

The assembly 1 comprises two individual pipes 8 and 9 having pneumatic-connection plugs 10 and 11 at opposite ends (although plugs are used, screw connections may be used instead). The plugs 10 plug and lock into individual ones of the pneumatic sockets 2 on the backwall 3 of the tractor-cab. Similarly, the plugs 11 plug and lock into individual ones of the pneumatic sockets 5 on the front-wall 6 of the trailer 7, thus completing the pneumatic services interconnection of the tractor 4 and trailer 7.

As with a conventional services interconnection of this kind, each pipe 8 and 9 is coiled throughout its length except near its ends where the plugs 10 and 11 are connected. In the conventional situation, the pipes 8 and 9 would be coiled to the same diameter as one another with the same hand and to the same helical pitch, and apart from any undesired entanglement between them, would hang freely of one another across the gap between the walls 3 and 6 of the tractor-trailer combination.

However, in the present case, as illustrated most clearly in Figure 2, the pipe 8 although of the same crosssectional diameter, hand and helical pitch, as the pipe 9, is of a smaller coil diameter, and is fitted or nested coaxially within the coiled pipe 9.

The coiled pipe 8 is retained nested within the coiled pipe 9 by ties 12. The ties 12, which are spaced from one another at intervals of some 120 degrees of the helical coiling, secure the two pipes 8 and 9 together in abutment with one another side by side throughout substantially their full lengths. A positive abutment is maintained by tightness of the ties 12 in holding the pipes 8 and 9 and their respective coil-turns hard together. The relative diameters of the coil-helices are chosen in conjunction with the resilience of the walls of the pipes 8 and 9, to the same end; by way of example, in the case of pipes 8 and 9, which are each of thermoplastics material and have an external diameter of 12 mm, the internal diameters of the helical coiling may be 110 mm and 90 mm.

It may be found preferable to allow a degree of relative movement between the tubes 8 and 9, and to this end the ties 12 could be slack, rather than tight as described above. The ties 12 might in this regard allow some longitudinal and radial movement of the tubes 8 and 9 relative to one another. Furthermore, it may be possible to provide adequate retention using ties only at the ends of the tubes 8 and 9.

By combining the two pneumatic pipes 8 and 9 nested together in the unitary coiled assembly 1, the likelihood of them becoming entangled with one another is eliminated. The assembly 1 can extend and contract to accommodate turning manoeuvres in essentially the same way as each of the coiled pipes 8 and 9 individually, but without the disadvantages of entanglement with one another. Clearly, further pipes could be accommodated coaxially or otherwise within the assembly in extending the pneumatic services covered.

The pipes of the assembly 1 of the services interconnection of Figure 1, need not be of different coil diameter from one another. As illustrated in Figure 3, the pipes 18 and 19 of the assembly in this case, are retained in lateral, rather than radial, nesting abutment with one another along their lengths within the coiling.

Cables for the electrical services interconnection could be formed into an assembly corresponding to the assembly 1, using the principles of either Figure 2 or Figure 3, to eliminate the likelihood of them becoming entangled with one another. Moreover, the same principles could clearly be extended where appropriate to the combination of lines for pneumatic, electrical and other services, into a unitary coiled assembly.

Although in the above examples, ties are used for retaining the coiled service-lines together, these may be replaced by clips or bands. As an alternative, tubing may be used to encase the lines over discrete lengths; the tubing may, for example, be in lengths of from 20 mm to 100 mm.

Claims

Claims:

1. A services interconnection across a gap between an intercoupled towing vehicle and its trailer in a trailervehicle combination, comprising two service-lines that are coiled to provide for resilient extension and contraction of the interconnection during turning manoeuvres of the trailer-vehicle combination, wherein the coiled lines are nested with one another with the lines retained together side by side in abutment with one another throughout at least a major part of their lengths within the coiling across the gap.

2. A services interconnection according to Claim 1 wherein the unextended coil-diameter of a first of the two service-lines is smaller than that of the second service-line, and wherein the coiled first line nests radially within the second line.

3. A services interconnection according to Claim 2 wherein the first line is a tight nested-fit within the second line.

4. A services interconnection according to Claim 1 wherein the coil diameters of the two service-lines are substantially the same as one another, the two lines being retained side by side in lateral nesting abutment with one another within the coiling.

5. A services interconnection according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the service-lines are retained together using ties, clips, bands or discrete lengths of tubing.

6. An assembly of service-lines for providing a services interconnection across a gap between an intercoupled towing vehicle and its trailer in a trailervehicle combination, comprises two or more lines which are for extending across the gap and which are coiled to allow for resilient extension and contraction of the interconnection during turning manoeuvres of the trailervehicle combination, wherein the coiled lines are nested with one another with the lines retained together side by side in abutment with one another throughout at least a major part of their lengths within the coiling.

7. An assembly according to Claim 6 wherein the service-lines have different unextended coil-diameters and nest radially within one another.

8. An assembly according to Claim 7 wherein the service-lines nest tightly within one another.

9. An assembly according to Claim 6 wherein the coil diameters of the service-lines are substantially the same as one another, and the lines are retained side by side in lateral nesting abutment with one another within the coiling.

10. An assembly according to any one of Claims 6 to 9 wherein the service-lines are retained together using ties, clips, bands or discrete lengths of tubing.

11. An assembly of service-lines for providing a services interconnection across a gap between an intercoupled towing vehicle and its trailer in a trailervehicle combination, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, or Figure 3, of the accompanying drawings.

12. A services interconnection across a gap between an intercoupled towing vehicle and its trailer in a trailervehicle combination, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, or Figure 3, of the accompanying drawings.