GB2352712A - Leg deployment device between a demountable freight container and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A leg deployment device is provided to pivot, about a common axis, a pair of support legs 24 of a demountable freight container 22 from a stowed to an operative support position by hydraulic or pneumatic rams 37. The rams 37 maybe located on either the container or a road or rail vehicle. The actuating means comprises a ram 37, which engages a connector 34, connected between a leg shaft 30 and a stay shaft 33, which are slidably movable through bores on a fixed member 39, on the container 22. The leg shaft 30, is rotatable and has a shaped slot 31, in which is engaged a projection 35. In operation, the ram 37 moves the shaft connector 34 with respect to the fixed member 39, moving the projection 35, along the shaped slot 31, rotating the leg shaft 30 and raising or lowering the container leg 24. A ram 37 may be provided for each leg 24 or a double action ram used to actuate a pair of legs simultaneously. The leg deployment mechanism may be provided in a kit form. The container 22 is located on the wagon bed 21, using retractable guide means(Fig 10), locked in position, preferably using twist locks 23 and, preferably actuated remotely from the wagon. To transfer the container 22, the wagon is releasably coupled to another vehicle, the twist locks 23 released, and the air door or bellow assemblies, preferably actuated remotely from the wagon, used to lift the container 22, above the height of the railway wagon 20. The container legs 24, are then lowered by the actuating means on the wagon to support the container, preferably being operated remotely from the wagon.

Description

2352712 DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINER SYSTEM This invention relates to demountable

container or "swap body" systems for use in the transport industry.

Demountable container systems ("demounts") give vehicles the flexibility traditionally only given by articulated units and trailers whereby container loads can be easily picked up, dropped, stored and transferred from one vehicle to another.

Demounts have the advantage that no driver time is lost waiting for loading and unloading. This is particularly advantageous in multitrunking distribution from a central warehouse where significant cost savings can be made by eliminating the need to unload, store and reload freight between delivery by the bulk transfer vehicle and pick-up by the local delivery vehicles. The demountable containers are simply delivered to a swap body park where they can be picked up directly for onward distribution by local delivery vehicles.

Despite these advantages, conventional demountable container systems still have limitations when freight is to be transferred from road to rail transport or vice versa. The swap body must be lifted using conventional means, such as a f ixed- installation crane or grappler, on or off the railway wagon. This is disadvantageous since extra equipment, ie the crane or grappler, is required and since this is normally a fixed-installation, the number of locations where freight can be transferred from road to rail (or vice versa) is limited.

2 Existing demountable bodies from vehicles comprise three essential components involved in the supporting the body, and locating and fixing of the body with respect to a vehicle.

The f irst of these take the form of legs on which to support the demount body on the ground when it is demounted from the vehicle. In most present arrangements, the legs are long enough that the vehicle on which the body is to be carried can position itself under the body while it is supported on its legs and without the necessity of raising the body further. This implies also, since most bodies are as wide as the vehicle which carries it, that the legs are displaced sideways and are not immediately beneath the body. The legs must also be stowed when not in use, and this is normally achieved by some folding of the legs. However, since the body is usually as wide as a vehicle can be permitted within normal working envelopes, they will normally be stowed within the confines of the body, or at least immediately below it. Clearly the legs must be sufficiently rigid or braced, when deployed, in order to ensure adequate support for the body against inadvertent disturbance.

The second component comprises means to lock the body on the vehicle when it is positioned thereon. "Twistlocks" are the most common fixing means employed in the industry and this comprises simply an elongate aperture in a box element formed at specified locations on the body, which aperture is sized and shaped to fit over a correspondingly elongate locking tab which protrudes through the aperture and which is rotated through a right 3 angle to lock the body on the vehicle. Usually a separate twistlock is provided at each corner of the vehicle. It will be apparent from this that either the twistlocks must stand proud of the general support plane of the vehicle (on which the body is supported) or the box elements must depend below the general base plane of the body (through which the body is supported by the vehicle support plane). In fact, it us usual f or the former arrangement to be the case, because otherwise when the body is placed on a flat surface, even though this means that, on those occasions when the vehicle is used for some other purpose than carrying swap bodies, the twistlocks may get in the way. Accordingly, it is also desirable to provide a means of displacing the twistlocks on the vehicle so that they do not stand proud of the support plane.

Finally, the third component is a centring mechanism to avoid the necessity of having to position the vehicle absolutely precisely under the body to ensure mating of the twistlocks with the box elements. Such centring mechanism normally comprises an upstanding cone on the vehicle and a corresponding guide plate, in the form of a truncated hollow cone, on the body. Normally two cones are provided at spaced locations on the vehicle to ensure both accurate position and orientation of the body with respect to the vehicle. As the body is engaged with the vehicle (for example by lowering the body onto the vehicle), then as long as the guide plates engage their respective cones, the cones will guide the body into the required position for such precise engagement of the twistlocks and box elements. Indeed, the cones normally pass through the eye of the guide plate so that the 4 cones, as well as the twistlocks, provide support for the body on the vehicle in a horizontal plane while the vehicle is in motion. Again, it is the cones which are normally arranged to stand proud of the support plane of the vehicle and so again, it is desirable to provide means by which the cones can lowered to get them out of the way when not required and a f lat bed on the support plane is required.

Thus when a vehicle carrying a swap body is to deliver the body, the following unloading procedure must be followed (for this purpose, assume that the vehicle is a lorry having suspension lowering means):

1. Position lorry where body is to be parked.

2. Actuate legs so that they depend from the body.

3. Unlock the twistlocks.

4. Lower vehicle suspension.

5. Displace the twistlocks and lower the cones.

6. Drive away This procedure involves two vehicle cabin entries and exits by the vehicle driver if he/she completes the process unaided.

The reverse procedure is as follows, and also involves two vehicle cab entries and exits for the driver:

1. Drive the vehicle under the parked swap body.

2. Put the twistlocks and cones in their operative positions.

3. Raise vehicle.

4. Lock twistlocks and stow legs.

5. Drive away.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a demountable container system, a vehicle and a 5 body which alleviates the above-described problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a demountable container system comprising a road vehicle and a swap body, the vehicle comprising: twistlocks, which are capable of displacement between an active and an inoperative position, as well as activation between a locked and an unlocked position; cones, which are also capable of displacement between an active and an inoperative position; and an actuating mechanism actuatable from a position on the vehicle; and the body comprising: guide plates for reception of said cones to guide the body with respect to the vehicle; box elements to receive and be locked by the twistlocks; and a leg arrangement to support the body on the ground, the leg arrangement being capable of adjustment between a stowed position and an operative position; wherein, when said body is on the vehicle and said twistlocks and cones are engaged with said box elements and guide plates respectively, said actuating mechanism is adapted to actuate at least one of said twistlocks, said cones and said leg arrangement.

Said twistlocks and cones may be integrated into the same mechanisim on the vehicle, in which event said box elements and guide plates are likewise integrated in said body.

Preferably, said actuating mechanism is adapted to 6 actuate all of said twistlocks, cones and leg arrangement. Said position is preferably in a driver's cab of said vehicle.

s Preferably, actuation by said actuating mechanism of the twistlocks both positions the twistlock in its active position as well as activates the twistlock to its locked position.

The invention also provides a road vehicle and railway wagon for use in such a system and a swap body for use in such a system, as well as kits of parts for converting existing swap bodies and railway wagons and road vehicles.

In a different aspect, the invention provides a leg deployment mechanism between a vehicle and a demountable swap body comprising: on the swap body, at least two pairs of legs, each pair being pivotally mounted about an axis between an operative position in which the legs can support the container on the ground and a stowing position in which the legs are movable along said axis into astowed position, and an actuating mechanism which, in use, moves said legs between the operative, stowing and stowed positions.

Preferably, said actuating mechanism is located on the vehicle. Alternatively, said actuating mechanism is located on the swap body. Preferably, said actuating mechanism is a ram means, and the ram means are hydraulic ram means. Alternatively, said ram means are pneumatic ram means.

7 Preferably the leg deployment mechanism further comprises:

a leg shaft, to which a leg is attached and which is 5 rotatable about said axis, the leg shaft having a shaped slot therein; and a fixed shaft connector, which is rotationally fixed with respect to said axis, and which includes a projection which locates in said shaped slot, whereby actuation of said actuating mechanism causes relative movement of said fixed shaft connector with respect to the leg shaft along said axis so that said projection moves along said shaped slot, the shape of the slot being such that the leg shaft, and hence the leg attached is thereto is rotated about said axis.

Preferably, said leg is rotated through substantially 90 degrees. Preferably, the axes of the legs of each pair are a common axis.

Preferably the leg deployment mechanism further includes an end stop to limit the rotation of said leg shaft.

Preferably the leg deployment mechanism further includes a latch which latches said leg shaft to said fixed shaft connector after rotation.

Preferably, said vehicle is a rail vehicle.

Alternatively, said vehicle is a road vehicle.

Preferably, said ram means comprises a double-acting cylinder which can actuate both legs in one of said pairs.

8 Alternatively, the ram means comprises the same number of cylinders as there are legs.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle having a support plane for a swap body and a cone which is displaceable between an active position and an inoperative position by pivoting about a cone axis near a base of said cone, the vehicle further comprising an actuating mechanism having a ram which, when actuated, pivots said cone to said active position by engagement thereof with said base until the ram is under said base and supports the cone against vertical loading.

Preferably said vehicle further comprises twistlocks, to lock a swap body to the vehicle. The ram is preferably withdrawn after a swap body has been locked on the vehicle.

In a yet further aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle having a support plane for a swap body, and a twistlock which is capable of displacement between an active and an inoperative position, as well as activation between a locked and an unlocked position, and an actuating mechanism which, on actuation thereof, positions said twistlock in said active position and subsequently activates said twistlock to its unlocked position.

Preferably, on reverse actuation of said actuating mechanism, said twistlock is permitted to move to its locked position and then subsequently is permitted to move to its inoperative position. Preferably the 9 twistlock is locked by a spring, said actuating mechanism serving to tension said spring when actuated. (By "tension" here is meant deformation from its rest position). Preferably the twistlock is pivoted in the vehicle about a twistlock axis and said twistlock pivots to said inoperative position by gravity.

Preferably, said inoperative position is where said twistlock is entirely beneath said support plane.

According to a different aspect of the present invention there is provided a railway wagon for transporting a demountable swap body comprising raising and lowering means for selectively raising a swap body above the level is of the wagon bed or returning a raised swap body thereto.

Preferably, said raising and lowering means comprises an air door assembly.

Preferably, the railway wagon further comprises twistlocks for locking a swap body on the wagon.

Preferably, said raising and lowering means is actuatable remotely from said wagon.

Preferably, said twistlocks are actuatable remotely from said wagon.

Preferably, the railway wagon further comprises brakes 30 which are operatively connectable to a road vehicle, positioned adjacent said wagon, so that said brakes can be actuated from said road vehicle.

Preferably, said raising and lowering means, and/or said locking means are actuatable from a road vehicle positioned adjacent said wagon.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of transferring a demountable swap body from a railway wagon to a road vehicle comprising the steps of:

locating a rear end of a road vehicle adjacent one end of railway wagon substantially as described above, the railway wagon having a demountable swap body including a leg deployment mechanism substantially as described above located thereon; attaching said road vehicle to said railway wagon; raising the swap body above the level of the railway wagon bed using said raising and lowering means; actuating said leg mechanism and lowering said raising and lowering means so that the swap body is supported by ground-engaging legs; using said road vehicle to push the railway wagon out from under said swap body until said road vehicle is suitably positioned to receive said swap body; operating raising and lowering means on said road vehicle, in conventional fashion, to pick up said swap body and stow said legs; uncoupling said road vehicle and railway wagon so that said road vehicle can drive away.

In a further embodiment, the order of said method steps is reversed so that a swap body can be transferred from a road vehicle to a railway wagon.

Although terms like "twistlock", "cone" and "swap body" used herein are known in the art and have specific meanings, they are used herein not only in their everyday meaning, as used in the art, but also more generally. Thus, where the context permits, "twistlock" should be understood to mean locking mechanism, "cone', to mean guide device, and swap body to mean freight container.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are now more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure la is a top view of a conventional air door assembly; Figure lb is a sectional view of a conventional air door assembly on line A-A of Figure 1A; Figure 2 is a side view of a railway wagon embodying one aspect of the invention, together with a demountable swap body having its legs stowed; Figure 3 is an end view of the railway wagon shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a side view of a railway wagon embodying one aspect of the invention, together with a demountable swap body having its legs extended; Figure 5 is an end view of the railway wagon and swap body of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a top view of the leg deployment mechanism, with the leg in the stowed position; 12 Figure 6A is a schematic perspective view of the hydraulic cylinder and arm; Figure 6B is an alternative arrangement of the leg rotating mechanism; Figure 7 is a side view of a leg in the stowed position; Figure 8 is a top view of the leg deployment mechanism, with the leg in the operative position; Figure 9 is a side view of a leg in the operative position.

Figure 10 is a side view, partially in section, of a cone and guide plate arrangement; Figure 11 is a side view, partially in section of the cone /guide -plate arrangement mid-way between its normal position and its retracted position; Figure 12 is a side view, partially in section of the cone /guide -plate arrangement in its retracted position; Figure 13 is a schematic perspective view of a twistlock assembly; and Figure 14 is as schematic side view of the twistlock shown in figure 13.

In order to provide a railway wagon according to one aspect of the present invention, it is necessary to 13 provide raising and lowering means for selectively raising a swap body above or returning a raised body to the level of the railway wagon bed. A suitable raising and lowering means is shown in Figure 1. This is an air 5 door assembly 10 which operates in conventional fashion ie air bellows (not shown)are used to raise the top plate 11; on inflation of the bellows, the air door assembly 10 pivots about hinge pin 12, raising the top plate 11 and lifting tube 13. It is the lifting tube 13 which contacts the swap body and effects the raising and lowering thereof. At least two air door assemblies need to be employed to lift a swap body evenly and safely.

Figures 2-5 show a railway wagon 20 according to the present invention. The bed 21 of the railway wagon 20 is provided with at least two air door assemblies(not shown) which, when not operational, lie flush with the top surface of the bed 21. This enables the railway wagon also to be used to transport conventional (ie non- demountable) freight containers, as the air door assemblies do not interfere with the underside of a conventional container.

A demountable swap body 22 is positioned on the railway wagon 20 in Figure 2, ready for transport to another location. The container 22 is held in position on the railway wagon 20 by a plurality of twistlocks 23.

The swap body 22 is provided with four extendable legs 24 (two visible in each of Figures 2-S) and these legs are moveable between a stowed position (shown in Figures 2 and 3) and an operative position (shown in Figures 4 and S). The leg deployment mechanism which moves the legs 14 between these positions is described in more detail below.

By providing raising and lowering means on a railway wagon, it is possible to transfer demountable freight containers (swap bodies) relatively straightforwardly from a road vehicle to a rail vehicle or vice versa without the need for additional apparatus, for example a f ixedinstallation crane or grappler, thus saving cost and time.

A swap body is transferred from a railway wagon to a road vehicle as described below.

The swap body is, initially, on a railway wagon 20 as shown in Figure 2. The railway wagon needs to be standing on a level surface which is also suitable for road vehicles, for example a "level crossing" type arrangement comprising packers between the rails, such as would be found in a freight distribution yard. A portable arrangement of timber packers which can be attached to railway sleepers is also envisaged, enabling the below-described process to take place at any convenient location.

A road vehicle backs up to one end of railway wagon 20 and a coupling device (not shown) is attached from the rear of the road vehicle to the railway wagon draw bar. An air connection is made from the road vehicle to the railway wagon so that the railway wagon brakes can be released and/or applied from the road vehicle cab.

The twistlocks 23 which retain the swap body 22 on the railway wagon bed 21, are automatically disengaged from the swap body by rotating them through 90 degrees.

The raising and lowering means of the railway wagon is 5 actuated to raise the swap body 22 above the level of the railway wagon bed 21. The container legs 24 are extended using the leg actuating means described below so that the legs 24 are fully extended as shown in Figure 4. The raising and lowering means is then deactuated, or lowered, leaving the swap body supported entirely by the extendable legs 24.

The driver of the road vehicle then reverses his vehicle towards the swap body, pushing the railway wagon 20 (with its brakes now released) out from the opposite end of the swap body. The road vehicle raising and lowering means can then operate as normal ie elevating the swap body slightly, unlatching the locking means which locks the legs in the extended position, moving the legs from the extended to the stowed position, lowering the swap body onto the road vehicle, and engaging the twistlocks so as to retain the swap body on the road vehicle.

The brakes on the railway wagon (still connected to the road vehicle) are then reapplied and the road vehicle disconnected from the rail wagon, allowing the road vehicle to drive away with the swap body for onward delivery.

These operating steps can be reversed to allow the loading of a swap body f rom a road vehicle to a railway wagon.

16 If any of these steps are not capable of being effected from inside the cab of the road vehicle, then the driver will have to dismount between successive operations which would render the process less efficient. Thus it is preferred that, once the road vehicle is hooked up to the railway vehicle, the operations of: raising the air doors; releasing the twistlocks; deploying the legs; lowering the normal ride height of the road vehicle; manoeuvring the railway vehicle from under the swap body and the road vehicle under the swap body; raising the road vehicle above normal ride height; engaging the twistlocks of the road vehicle with the swap body; stowing the legs; and finally lowering the road vehicle to normal ride height, should all preferably be effected from within the cab. However, even if only some of these steps are capable of effecting from the cab, this will still have a marked effect on operational efficiency.

The operation of the leg deployment mechanism is now described in relation to one of the four extendable legs 24, as shown in Figures 6-9. The leg deployment mechanism shown in Figure 6 is a top-view, with the leg 24 in its stowed position (ie corresponding to the position of the leg shown in Figures 2 and 7) The leg deployment mechanism comprises a leg shaft 30 to which the leg 24 is rigidly attached. The leg shaft 30 is rotatable about an axis C-C which is common to the corresponding leg on the opposite side of the swap body (see, for example Figure 3) The leg shaft 30 has a shaped slot 31 therein which is described in more detail below.

17 A stay shaft assembly, shown generally by reference numeral 32, comprises a stay shaft 33 and a shaft connector 34 which joins the stay shaft 33 to the leg shaft 30 as shown in Figure 6. The stay shaft 33 comprises an outer tube and a moveable pin 33a located therein. The stay shaft assembly is not rotatable with respect to axis C-C and the shaft connector 34 is therefore rotatably mounted on the leg shaft 30.

A fixed shaft connector 39 is mounted on the underside of swap body 22. Bores at either end of the f ixed shaft connector 39 receive, at one end (via a leg shaft bearing 47), the leg shaft 30 and at the other end, the stay shaft 33. Both shafts are slidably moveable, with respect to fixed shaft connector 39, in direction X. The leg shaft bearing 47 includes a projection 35 which, as shown in Figure 6, locates slidably in the shaped slot 31 of the legshaft 30, allowing relative movement of the projection and shaped slot along axis C-C.

An actuation mechanism in the form of a hydraulic ram is provided on the railway wagon (on the air doors so that it has a constant positional relationship with the swap body, regardless of the elevation of the air doors). The ram means comprises a cylinder 36 and an arm 37. In operation, the cylinder 36 can move arm 37 in the direction X indicated in Figure 6. Alternatively, pneumatic ram means could be used. In a further alternative embodiment, the ram means may be operated manually.

In use, an upper region of arm 37 locates in a slot 38 in the underside of shaft connector 34. Arm 37 also holds a 18 latch lifter 48 which in turn, supports a latch 44 in a sufficiently raised position to allow the latch to pass over a latch keeper 45. (see Figure 6). Actuation of the hydraulic ram means causes movement of the arm 37 in direction X, which in turn causes movement in the same direction of shaft connector 34, stay shaft 33, and leg shaft 30 with respect to fixed shaft connector 39 and the swap body 22.

During this movement, the projection 35 is located in slot 31. As the leg shaft 30 moves with respect to the projection 35 (which is fixed relative to fixed shaft connector 39) the slot 31 moves past the projection 35 which remains engaged therein. The slot 31 has a curved is profile as shown in Figures 6 and 8, which means that, since the projection 35 is effectively fixed, the whole leg shaft 30 has to rotate about axis C - C according to the path of the slot.

The rotation of the leg shaft 30 means that leg 24, to which it is attached, also rotates through substantially 90 degrees, until it reaches the orientation shown in Figures 8 and 9. In Figure 8, the leg 24 is pointing downwardly of the page. When the air doors on the railway 25 wagon are lowered, the leg as shown in Figure 9, is contacting the ground so as to support the swap body. it will be appreciated that the leg 24 comprises a ground engaging main support 24a and a stay bar 24b. These are shown most clearly in Figure 9.

As the projection 35 reaches the end of its travel in shaped slot 31, end stop pin 40 on the leg shaft 30 park in a pair of leg shaft keeper slots 46 in the end of the 19 bearing 47 and prevent subsequent rotation of the leg shaft. Additionally, rocker 41 engages with rocker keeper 42 to pivot about axle 41a on plate 41b connected to stay shaft 33. The pin 33a is connected to rocker 41 by pivot pin 41c. Thus when rocker 41 engages keeper 42 in the last movement of the ram 36, rocker 42 shoots pin 33a through slide sleeve 43 into engagement with an eye 24c in the stay bar 24B (as shown at 33b in Figure 6).

This further prevents the leg shaft 30 from rotating now that the leg is in the operative position.

Although a slot 31 in the leg 30 is shown cooperating with a pin 35 disposed in the bearing sleeve 47, it will of course be appreciated, (and this may in fact be preferred), that the slot could be formed in the sleeve 47 and a pin be disposed through or in the leg shaft 30 to achieve an exactly equivalent function. The latter arrangement may indeed be preferred to avoid the necessity of machining the leg shaft, the slot being cut in a plate which is subsequently bent to form the sleeve.

Alternatively, a separate plate 31a may be provided (see Figure 6B) having a helical slot 31, in which a bearing wheel 351 rotationally fixed on the leg shaft 301 runs.

In this arrangement, the pin 40 is dispensed with, the roller 351 finally docking with the key 461. The advantage of this arrangement, apart from the avoidance of machining the leg shaft, is that the plate 31a can be adjustably fixed relative to the fixed shaft connector 39. This enables its rotational position, at least when the leg is in the stowed position, to be adjusted, so that a pin 39c, also fixed relative to the fixed shaft connector 39, can always accurately locate with an eye 24D in the side of the leg 24 at its end. In this way, the leg can be supported at its end when stowed and to relieve the strain on the roller 351.

The raising and lowering means of the railway wagon can now be used to lower the cylinder 36 from the swap body, disengaging the upper part of the arm 37 from the slot 38 in the underside of shaft connector 34. This causes sufficient downward movement of latch lifter 48 to release latch 44 so as to engage it into latch keeper 45, as shown in Figure 8. This final latching not only inhibits further movement of the leg shaft 30 in direction X, but also movement in the opposite direction to direction X.

The reverse operation can now be effected to lower the swap body onto the road vehicle, which has a support plane for a swap body similar to the railway wagon. it also has its own actuating mechanism (not shown) in the form of an equivalent ram and arm to those 36,37 of the wagon. Indeed, the road vehicle, when separated from the wagon can be employed to transportthe swap body to any location and to park the swap body on its redeployed legs, either for pickup of the body by a railway wagon, or another road vehicle, or simply for loading and unloading thereof.

Referring now to Figures 10-12, it is possible to facilitate the alignment of the swap body when being lowered onto the wagon or road vehicle using the illustrated arrangement. Figure 10 shows a "cone" 50, which comprises a cone-tipped substantially cylindrical body, pivotally attached at pivot 51 to the railway wagon or road vehicle bed/support plane 21. The swap body (not 21 shown in Figure 10) has a guide plate 52 in the form of a truncated hollow cone attached to the base thereof.

As the swap body is lowered onto the bed of the wagon 21 (by the air door assembly 10, described above with reference to Figure 1), or onto the bed of the road vehicle, the open base of the guide plate 52 on the swap body engages with the protruding cone 50 on the wagon bed as shown in Figure 10. Any slight misalignment of the cone and guide plate is corrected by the cone 50 which, as the guide plate 52 descends, guides the plate 52 into the correct, centralised, position shown in Figure 10.

More than one cone and guide plate arrangement may be provided, for example two guide plates on the swap body and two cones on the road vehicle or wagon bed. That ensures accurate horizontal position and orientation of the swap body.

It would be undesirable to have the cone(s) 50 protruding f rom the wagon bed 21 when no swap body is present on the wagon. The cone 50 is therefore retractable into the wagon bed as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

The cone 50 is supported in its normal position, protruding from the wagon bed 21, by a ram 53. The ram 53 has a curved leading edge 54. When the ram 53 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in figure 11, the base of the cone 50 follows the curved edge 54 so that the cone pivots about pivot 51, ending in a retracted position, shown in Figure 12, in which the cone is fully contained within the wagon bed 21. It is possible to employ the ram 36, or arm 37 or an extension 22 thereof to operate cone 50. In this event, when ram 36 is operated to deploy legs 24, ram 53 is pressed under cone 50. The swap body is then raised from the bed 21. When another swap body is lowered onto bed 21, cone 50 requires the vertical support provided by ram 53 to guide guide plate 52. Once locked into aperture 52a, however, ram 53 can be withdrawn (as legs 24 are stowed) and cone 50 will stay in position shown in Figure 10 held by aperture 52a. Furthermore, if aperture 52a is a close fit on the cylindrical surface 50a of the cone, the cone will continue to locate the swap body by restricting movement in all horizontal directions by virtue of its connection to the wagon/vehicle through the pivot 51.

The operation of twistlocks 23 will now be described in more detail, with reference to Figures 13 and 14.

In its locked position, (not as shown in Figure 13), the twistlock 23 locks a swap body to the wagon on which it is mounted by engagement of a lock tab 60 with an eye 58 of a box element 59 on the underside of the swap body (not shown). The twistlock is biased with a torsion spring 61 towards a locked position in which a shaft 62 and lock tab 60 are rotated 900 about axis A with respect to the illustrated position.

The twistlock is held, against the spring's bias, in the unlocked position (60 in Figures 13,14 - the locked position is shown as dotted lines 601) by engagement of a finger 63 with a protrusion 64 on the twistlock. The f inger 63 is attached to a ram 65 which can be moved in the direction indicated by the arrow B in Figure 14.

23 The twistlock assembly 23 also includes a housing 66 which nests with and inside a complementary housing 67 on the wagon or vehicle. The housing 67 is provided with two apertures - a substantially circular aperture 68 and an elongate angled slot 69. The twistlock housing 66 includes two pins 70 and 71 which protrude into the apertures 68 and 69 respectively. The pin 70 is-a close fit in aperture 68. Pin 71 is normally supported in the upper region of slot 69 by ram 65, as shown in Figure 14.

As the ram 65 is retracted in the direction of arrow B in Figure 14, pin 71 follows the profile of the curved trailing edge 72 of the ram and drops to the lower region of slot 69. Thus the whole twistlock assembly, including its housing 66, pivots about pin 70 and drops away from the upper surface of the housing 67, in the direction indicated by arrow C in Figure 14. That upper surface is contiguous with the, bed 21 of Figures 10-12, the support plane of the wagon or vehicle, as the case may be. Thus the twistlock can free the bed surface 21,67 from obstruction. Moving the ram 65 back in the direction of the arrow B only releases twistlock assembly 23 to pivot about axis 70 if lock tab 60 has not f irst locked with a box element 59. If it has, then the twistlock will 25 remain held up in the position shown by the box element. Should a swap body be in position, but nevertheless the twistlock fail to lock into a box element, then of course the twistlock can fall. A detection device may be 30 employed to warn of this. In any event, a handle 64a can be employed to lift the twistlock and turn it to manually engage with the box element 59.

24 From the foregoing, it will he apparent that the ram 36, arm 37 or an extension thereof (not shown) can also be employed to operate the twistlock. The ram 65 thus supports the twistlock and unlocks it from the box element as the legs 24 are deployed. Likewise, when the legs are stowed, the lock is held in position in engagement with the box element and permitted to lock (by actuation of the spring 61) before release of pin 71 from ram 65.

The hydraulic rams utilised in the leg deployment mechanism, air door assembly, twistlocks and cones/guide plate arrangements can all be centrally and, optionally, remotely controlled. Thus it is possible for a driver to operate all of the means necessary to load and unload a swap body container from his vehicle's cab, which offers considerable time savings and convenience as the driver does not need to leave the cab. Furthermore, it may also be possible to operate all of the means necessary to transfer a swap body from a road vehicle to a railway wagon or vice versa, subject to first coupling hydraulic or pneumatic lines to the wagon from the road vehicle and releasing any hand brake the railway wagon may have on.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to swap bodies, road vehicles and railway wagons, it is contemplated that kits of parts may be employed to retrofit the invention to existing bodies, vehicles and wagons. Such kits of parts will essentially comprise the components described above mounted in a frame which is attachable to the bodies, vehicles or wagons, as the case may be. Indeed, in the case of railway wagons, the kit may be incorporated in air doors.

Claims (45)

1 A leg deployment mechanism between a vehicle and a demountable swap body comprising on the swap body, at least two pairs of legs, each pair being pivotally mounted about an axis between an operative position in which the legs support the swap body on the ground and a stowing position in which the legs are moveable along said axis into a stowed position, and an actuation mechanism which, in use, moves said legs between the operative, stowing and stowed positions.

2. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said actuation mechanism is located on the vehicle.

3. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein said actuation mechanism is located on the swap body.

4. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said actuation mechanism is a ram means, preferably hydraulic ram means.

5. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said actuation mechanism is a ram means, preferably pneumatic ram means.

6. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any preceding claims further comprising:

a leg shaft, to which a leg is attached and 26 which is rotatable about said axis; and a fixed shaft connector, which is rotationally fixed with respect to said common axis, one of the leg shaft and connector having a shaped slot therein and the other including a projection which locates in said shaped slot, whereby actuation of said ram means causes relative movement of said fixed shaft connector with respect to the leg shaft along said axis so that said projection moves along said shaped slot, the shape of the slot being such that the leg shaft, and hence the leg attached thereto is rotated about said axis.

7. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in claim 6 wherein said leg is rotated through substantially 90 degrees.

8. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7 further including an end stop to limit the rotation of said leg shaft.

9. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8 further including a latch which latches said leg shaft to said fixed shaft connector after rotation.

10. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9 wherein said vehicle is a rail wagon.

11. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9 wherein said vehicle is a road vehicle.

27

12. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9 wherein said actuating mechanism comprises a double-acting cylinder which can actuate both legs in one of said pairs, said axis being common to each pair.

13. A leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the actuating mechanism comprises the same number of cylinders as there are legs.

14. A leg deployment mechanism substantially as described herein with reference to any appropriate combination of Figures 2 to 9.

15. A railway wagon or road vehicle, for transporting a demountable swap body including a leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, comprising raising and lowering means for selectively raising a swap body above the level of a support bed plane of the wagon or vehicle, or returning a raised swap body thereto.

16. A railway wagon or road vehicle as claimed in claim further comprising a twistlock for locking a swap body on the wagon or road vehicle.

17. A railway wagon as claimed in claim 16-wherein said twistlock is actuatable remotely from said wagon.

18. A railway wagon or road vehicle as claimed in claim 15 or 16, further comprising a cone co-operable with 28 a guide plate on a swap body to align the wagon with a swap body being lowered thereon.

19. A railway wagon or road vehicle as claimed in claim 18 wherein said cone is selectively retractable substantially within said bed plane.

20. A railway wagon as claimed in claim 18 or claim 19 wherein said cone is actuatable remotely from said wagon.

21. A railway wagon as claimed in any of claims 15 to 20 wherein said raising and lowering means comprises an air door assembly.

22. A railway wagon as claimed in any of claims 15 to 21 wherein said raising and lowering means is actuatable remotely from said wagon.

23. A railway wagon as claimed in any of claims 15 to 22 further comprising brakes which are operatively connectable to a road vehicle, positioned adjacent said wagon, so that said brakes can be actuated from said road vehicle. 25

24. A railway wagon as claimed in any of claims 15 to 23 wherein said raising and lowering means, said leg deployment means and/or said twistlocks and/or said cones are actuatable from a road vehicle positioned 30 adjacent said wagon.

25. A railway wagon substantially as described herein with reference to any appropriate combination of 29 Figures 2-14.

26. A method of transferring a demountable swap body from a railway wagon to a road vehicle comprising the steps of:

locating a rear end of a road vehicle adjacent one end of railway wagon as claimed in any of claims to 25, the railway wagon having a demountable swap body including a leg deployment mechanism as claimed in any of claims 1-14 located thereon; attaching said road vehicle to said railway wagon; raising the swap body above the level of the railway wagon bed using said raising and lowering means; actuating said leg mechanism and, lowering said raising and lowering means so that the swap body is supported by ground-engaging legs; using said road vehicle to push the railway wagon out from under said swap body until said road vehicle is suitably positioned to receive said swap body; operating raising and lowering means on said road vehicle, in conventional fashion, to pick up said swap body and stow said legs; uncoupling said road vehicle and railway wagon so that said road vehicle can drive away.

27. A method according to claim 26 wherein the order of said method steps is reversed so that a swap body can be transferred from a road vehicle to a railway wagon.

28. A method of transferring a demountable swap body from a railway vehicle to a road vehicle substantially as described herein with reference to and/or as illustrated in any of figures 2 to 9.

29. A demountable container system comprising a road vehicle and a swap body, the vehicle comprising:

twistlocks, which are capable of displacement between an active and an inoperative position, as well as activation between a locked and an unlocked position; cones, which are also capable of displacement between an active and an inoperative position; and an actuating mechanism actuatable from a position on the vehicle; and the body comprising:

guide plates for reception of said cones to guide the body with respect to the vehicle; box elements to receive and be locked by the twistlocks; and a leg arrangement to support the body on the ground, the leg arrangement being capable of adjustment between a stowed position and an operative position; wherein, when said body is on the vehicle and said twistlocks and cones are engaged with said box elements and guide plates respectively, said actuating mechanism is adapted to actuate at least one of said twistlocks, said cones and said leg arrangement.

30. A system as claimed in claim 29, in which said twistlocks and cones are integrated into the same mechanisim on the vehicle, in which event said box elements and guide plates are likewise integrated in said body.

31 31. A system as claimed in claim 29 or 30, in which said actuating mechanism is adapted to actuate all of said twistlocks, cones and leg arrangement.

32. A system as claimed in claim 29, 30 or 31,in which said position is in a driver's cab of said vehicle.

33. A system as claimed in any of claims 29 to 32, in which actuation by said actuating mechanism of the twistlocks both positions the twistlock in its active position as well as activates the twistlock to its locked position.

34. A vehicle for use in a system as claimed in any of claims 29 to 33.

34. A swap body for use in a system as claimed in any of claims 29 to 33.

35. A kit of parts comprising a frame for fixing to the underside of a swap body, the kit comprising a leg mounted on the end of a leg shaft disposed in the frame for restricted rotation about, and restricted sliding movement along, its axis and a deployment 25 mechanism for moving the leg from a stowed position in which said leg is in one axial and rotational disposition with respect to the frame to an operative position having a different axial and rotational disposition with respect to the frame, 30 the deployment mechanism comprising means to convert a stroke in one direction of a shaft connector into axial and rotational movement of said leg shaft to translate said leg from one position to another.

32

36. A kit as claimed in claim 35, in which said shaft connector is connected to the other end of said leg shaft, the leg shaft being a sliding fit in a leg shaft bearing sleeve fixed in the frame, one of the leg shaft and frame having a shaped slot therein and the other including a projection which locates in said shaped slot, slot, whereby actuation of said deployment mechanism moving said leg shaft axially in said sleeve causes said projection to move along said shaped slot, the shape of the slot being such that the leg shaft, and hence the leg attached thereto is rotated about said axis.

37. A kit as claimed in claim 36, in which slot is formed in a plate formed into a part-cylindrical surface disposed in the frame adjacent said leg shaft in which said projection is formed.

38. A kit as claimed in claim 37, in which the position of the plate in the frame is adjustable so that the final angular position of the leg with respect to the frame in the operative and/or stowed position can be adjusted.

39. A kit as claimed in claim 38 in which a pin is formed on one of the f rame and the end of the leg, and an eye is formed on the other, the plate being adjustable to determine the angular position of the leg in its stowed position, in which said pin seats in said eye and supports the leg on the f rame.

33

40. A kit as claimed in any of claims 35 to 39, in which said stroke is provided by a ram means disposed in the frame.

41. A kit of parts comprising a frame for fixing to a motor vehicle or railway wagon and defining a support plane, the frame comprising: cones and twistlocks for location and locking respectively of a swap body on the vehicle or wagon; a leg deployment mechanism for deploying and stowing legs on the swap body; and actuation means which serve to actuate one or more of:

a) the cones to displace them between an active and an inoperative position, in which inoperative position they are within the frame beneath said support plane; b) the twistlocks to displace them between an active and an inoperative position, in which inoperative position they are within the frame beneath said support plane, as well as between a locked and an unlocked position; and c) said leg deployment mechanism.

42. A kit of parts as claimed in claim 41, in which each of the cones and twistlocks are displaceable and said actuation means actuates all of said cones, twistlocks and leg deployment mechanism.

43. A kit of parts as claimed in claim 42, in which said actuation means comprises a ram having a single stroke.

44. A kit of parts as claimed in any of claims 41 to 43 34 in which said frame comprises part of an air door assembly for mounting in a railway wagon.

45. A kit of parts as claimed in claim 44, further 5 comprising selectively couplable power connection means on said actuation means.