WO2007070988A1

WO2007070988A1 - A power dolly and a multicombination vehicle including a power dolly

Info

Publication number: WO2007070988A1
Application number: PCT/AU2006/002011
Authority: WO
Inventors: James W. Cooper
Original assignee: Cooper James W
Priority date: 2005-12-21
Filing date: 2006-12-21
Publication date: 2007-06-28

Abstract

The present invention seeks to overcome difficulties associated with existing road trains by providing for a powered dolly that can support a separate source of motive power to that of the prime mover, provide sufficient cooling therefor, and be able to be controlled whilst coupled to a trailer, whether that trailer be powered or un-powered. Such a powered dolly also enables the use of rear axle, belly dump trailers. The present invention also provides that such a power dolly may be used in a multicombination vehicle which may include multiple trailers both un-powered and powered, and multiple dollies both powered and un-powered, for use on public and/or private road networks.

Description

A power dolly and a multicombination vehicle including a power dolly

The present invention is directed to a power dolly and a multicombination vehicle incorporating such a dolly. In particular the power dolly is the type that does not support a load but rather includes a source of motive power and a coupling enabling trailers and the like to be coupled, to the power dolly which itself is typically coupled to a vehicle such as a truck or trailers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Operators of mines are constantly searching for ways to reduce the costs associated with mined products. One of the most significant costs in operating a mine is transporting the mined material from the ore face to a processing plant. This is exacerbated when the mined payload is of low grade, that is, the desired mineral or metal is only a small percentage by weight and/or volume of the mined ore so that substantial amounts of ore have to be handled to extract a small percentage of desired material. A further problem that occurs is where the ore has to be handled several times.

There are several ways that ore can be transported from the ore face to the processing plant, depending on the type and configuration of the mine.

Underground mines typically have a central lifting or winding shaft to bring the mined ore to the surface. These shafts require a dedicated receival point. To get the ore to that point mines typically have a dedicated rail system that is level and route specific. Underground mine haulage or dump trucks are used to transport the ore from various mining levels both above and below the rail haulage level to the dedicated rail system that then transports the ore to the lifting shaft receival point. The trucks are always a single unit that is either rigid or pivot steer. This type of arrangement has a number of distinct disadvantages.

The dump trucks cause a significant amount of hot air, per ton of ore hauled, to be exhausted into the mine. Cold ventilation air has to be continually pumped into the mine via ventilation shafts, and one of the major costs in establishing underground mines is the construction and drilling of ventilation shafts. Because of the limitation of currently known dump trucks, the time that they can operate underground is limited, particularly due to excess heat they produce. To reduce the heat, the dump trucks have to move relatively slowly. A railway system, especially one underground, is relatively expensive to install and operate due to the cost of acquiring the locomotive and installing the fixed railway system and the associated maintenance costs. Furthermore the underground railway system being route- specific is not flexible to changes in route without incurring the expense of installing additional railway tracks. As each new mining area opens, it is necessary to incur the cost of installing new track for the railway system, or use the dump trucks as described above whose efficiency decreases with increasing distances they have to travel.

The central lifting or winding shaft is quite expensive, the cost running into tens of millions of dollars and is of a fixed location. As the mine expands the distance from the ore face to the central shaft becomes important in the cost of operating the mine.

In some instances mines have utilised conveyor belts instead of the railway system and/or the lifting shaft. The difficulty with conveyor belts is that once again they are route specific, are quite expensive to install and maintain. Miners are also concerned that the belts may catch fire which would starve the area of oxygen.

In some instances the dump trucks may be used to transport the ore directly above ground. Because of the limitations described above, especially low speed and the heat they produce, and with the inclination within underground mines generally being constant, the depth of a mine that can be realistically accessed by these dump trucks is limited, typically to a depth of hundreds of metres.

When the ore has been transported to the surface, or in the case of an above ground mine, it is then necessary to transport the ore to a central processing plant.

One of the ways that this may be accomplished is by using conventional off-highway dump trucks than can either be a single rigid, pivot steer unit or an articulated vehicle consisting of a very short wheelbase earthmoving type or tractor unit coupled to a single hauled or carrying unit, and is virtually job specific. These units are designed to be a link in the chain of the actual mining, digging or producing of the/any product. Their main function is to move product literally from the ore face to a receival point through the shortest possible distance, not route- specific. The shorter the route the more economical they are, and conversely, their tonne of ore transported per distance costs increase dramatically over longer routes. They are therefore not suitable for hauling ore great distances, thereby limiting the distance that ore can be transported at a reasonable cost. As such, these tracks are not suitable when there may be satellite mines, that is, mines that are some distance away from the processing plant.

An alternate way of transporting the ore to a central processing plant includes conventional type transportation system such as conveyor belts and rail systems, both routes being captive. Problems with these have been discussed above.

Another way of transporting the ore is using highway type road vehicle combinations or multi-combination vehicles. These vehicles are limited by their horsepower, tractive or braking efforts/capacities, manufacturer componentry ratings, directional stability behaviour, swept path characteristics, gradability and startability.

As a result, currently known systems for the extraction of ore from mines set limits on the commercial usefulness of mines simply due to the cost of transporting the ore.

As discussed above multi-combination vehicles, such as over-the-road vehicles are known and include a truck coupled to a plurality of trailers and converter dollies. Until recently these vehicles have included a single power source, generally a diesel engine, with the vehicles being limited to a payload of some 170 tonnes, and a gradient not exceeding 5%. These multicombination vehicles, commonly referred to as "road-trains" have been in use for some time, particularly in Australia, for the purpose of hauling mined products, or the commodities of other industries, over aboveground roadways. Conventional aboveground road-trains are typically designed for use at relatively high speed and on relatively flat ground. They are subject to the abovementioned limitations and accordingly have limited uses for operation in mines.

There is a practical limit to the payload of the multi-combination vehicle with a single truck. Since the cost of haulage is determined mainly on weight, if one can increase the total haulage that can be moved by a single vehicle that does not require additional operators, the cost benefit is substantial. This is especially so if ore can be hauled directly from within a mine to a processing plant without needing to be reloaded onto another transport system.

In order to improve multi-combination vehicles and provide even greater advantages to the operators using these vehicles, multi-combination vehicles have been developed by the applicant which utilise a truck and an additional motive power source advantageously located within the chassis of a trailer, and including a unique cooling system that enables operation of the multi-combination vehicle at low speeds, on steeper gradients, and with a greater payload than previously known. International Patent Application No. PCT/AUOl/01154, expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses a multi-combination vehicle including a power trailer having an engine that overcomes the foregoing problems of traction and cooling of such multi-combination vehicles.

Whilst the above inventions have greatly improved upon the current systems of hauling ore, there are still some limitations in different circumstances. Firstly, it may be desirable to have additional sources of motive power to pull a load up steeper gradients. In addition it is important that in a multi-trailer type road-train the stability of the trailers is maximised. Further in some cases it is necessary for the trailer to be a bottom dumping one, that is, where instead of side-tipping the trailer one opens bottom flaps on the trailer that therefore release their cargo, typically onto a conveyor belt. This is usually the method of dumping when the material is fairly loose and free flowing.

The present invention seeks to overcome the above-mentioned difficulties by providing for a powered dolly that can support a separate source of motive power, provide sufficient cooling therefor and be able to be controlled whilst coupled to a trailer, whether that trailer be powered or un-powered. Such a powered dolly also enables the use of existing trailers that only have a rear axle group and require a converter dolly to be able to be used.

The present invention also provides for such a power dolly may be used in a multi- vehicle combination that may include multiple trailers both un-powered and powered and multiple dollies, both powered and un-powered for use on public and/or private road networks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore in one form of the invention there is proposed a dolly for use in a multicombination vehicle having a powered towing unit used to transport a product over roadways, said dolly characterised by: a chassis; at least one wheeled axle supporting said dolly for movement over said roadways wherein at least one of said wheeled axles comprises a driving axle, said dolly further including a source of motive power mounted on said chassis and means for transmitting torque from said source of motive power to said at least one driving axle. Preferably said powered towing unit includes a chassis, a forward, wheeled steering axle suspended from said chassis and a rear axle assembly, said wheeled axles supporting the powered towing unit for movement over the roadways, wherein at least one of said wheeled axles comprises a driving axle, said powered towing unit further including a primary source of motive power to said at least one driving axle.

In preference said dolly engine includes a protective cover located above said engine.

In preference said cover is easily removable to provide for easy access to the engine for maintenance.

Preferably said powered towing unit is a rigid body truck and said source of motive power is an internal combustion engine and said means for transferring torque includes a transmission.

In preference said dolly source of motive power is an internal combustion engine and said means for transferring torque includes a transmission.

Preferably said dolly motive source of power and said towing unit motive source of power each include a control means.

Preferably the towing unit control means and the dolly control means are synchronised so that when the torque of the towing unit primary source of motive power is increased, so is proportionally the torque of the dolly source of motive power.

In preference said dolly further includes a cooling means mounted on said chassis and in fluid communication with said motive power source.

Preferably said cooling means is so mounted so that air flowing through said cooling means is directed away from said source of motive power.

In preference said dolly chassis includes a forward and rear end, said at least one driven axle being suspended from the rear end of the dolly chassis.

In preference the overhang of the rear end of the chassis over the rearmost wheeled axle is minimal. Overhang is minimised because of the increased length of the dolly to accommodate the engine and associated components, and also to allow for an attached belly dump trailer to open its bottom flaps. In preference said rear end of the chassis includes a turntable to which a king pin of a wheeled unit located at the rear of the dolly is removably attached, and said forward end of the chassis includes a king pin adapted to be removably attached to a turntable of a wheeled unit located at the front of the dolly.

Preferably said cooling means is located above the forward end of the chassis and rearwardly from said king pin.

In preference said dolly further includes a fuel tank located in front of said cooling means.

In preference said dolly includes two driven axles.

In a further form of the invention there is proposed a multicombination vehicle characterised by: a powered towing unit having a chassis, wheeled steering axle suspended from said chassis and a rear axle assembly having at least one wheeled axle and suspended from said chassis by a rear suspensions system, 'said wheeled axles supporting the powered unit for movement over the roadways, wherein at least one of said wheeled axles comprises a driving axle, said powered towing unit further including a source of motive power mounted on said chassis and means for transmitting torque from said source of motive power to said at least one drive axle; a plurality of trailers and a plurality of dollies mechanically coupled to said powered towing unit whereby each of said trailers and dollies includes a chassis having a front end and a rear end, a king pin suspended from said front end, a turntable located above said rear end, and at least one wheeled axle including at least one driven axle suspended from said rear end, said dollies and trailers being removably connected to one another in a preferred configuration by way of engagement of said king pins and turntables; and at least one of said dollies including a source of motive power mounted on said chassis and means for transmitting torque from said source of motive power to said at least one driven axle, said powered dolly being of a longer construction to the others to thereby accommodate said source of motive power and a cooling means in fluid communication with said source of motive power.

In preference each source of motive power is in the form of an internal combustion engine including a control means. Preferably the prime mover control means and the dolly control means are synchronised so that when the torque of the prime mover engine is increased, so is proportionally the torque of the dolly engine.

Advantageously at least one of said plurality of trailers is a belly dump type trailer.

Preferably at least one of said plurality of trailers is also powered.

In preference transfer of information to and from said prime mover engine control means and said dolly engine control means is wireless.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is schematic side view of a multi-combination vehicle including a plurality of trailers and power dollies;

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of a power dolly and a trailer attached thereto; and

Figure 3 is a schematic side view of a power dolly embodying the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Although the description includes exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts.

Dollies are known and typically include a front A-frame coupling attached to the rear tow coupling or Ringfeder of a truck or trailer. Typically the dolly further includes a turntable that is adapted to engage a king pin from a trailer. The dolly thus acts to provide both a connector between the truck and the trailer but also a support for the front of a trailer that has only a set of rear axles. Such dollies are typically used on road trains that have two or more trailers pulled behind a prime mover. With reference to the present invention there is provided a dolly including its own source of motive power driving at least one axle. The invention further provides for a multicombination vehicle having a number of trailers and dollies, some of which are powered.

Thus referring to the Figures there is illustrated in Figure 1 a typical multi-combination vehicle 10 incorporating a truck 12, a first trailer 14, a non-powered dolly 16, a second trailer 18, a powered dolly 20, a third trailer 22, a second non-powered dolly 24, a fourth trailer 26, a second powered dolly 28, a fifth trailer 30, a third non-powered dolly 32, and a sixth trailer 34. The reader will therefore appreciate that in between each source of motive power there are located two trailers that each include a bin 36 for hauling of freight such as ore. The bins 36 are typically those that include bottom flaps 38 for dumping of the cargo or freight. The number of trailers disposed in between sources of motive power will of course depend on the power of the engine, the size of the trailers and the type of ore that is indeed being transported. Thus mined ore that is very heavy will require that there be only two trailers in between say the truck and the powered dolly. However when transporting lighter freight such as grain it may indeed be that there can be three or more trailers between a truck and a powered dolly.

Shown in Figure 2 is the end of the second trailer 18, the powered dolly 20, the third trailer 22, and the front of the second non-powered dolly 24. The following description applies to power dolly 20 however it is to be understood that the description applies equally well to powered dolly 28. The powered dolly 20 includes a chassis 40 having two I-beams and other general configuration that is well known in the art. Suspended between the chassis 40 is an engine 42, generally a diesel engine including a protective cover 44 and a support frame 46. The cooling to the engine is provide by a radiator 48 located on top of the chassis 40, with a fuel tank 50 located in front of the radiator 48. Extending below the front end 52 of the chassis 40 is a king pin 54 that is adapted to engage a turntable or fifth wheel 56 on the rear end 58 of either the prime mover or trailer chassis 60. Four rear axles 62 are located below the rear end 58 of either the prime mover or trailer chassis 60, however the configuration may indeed have two or three axles.

The dolly 20 itself includes a turntable 64 located generally centrally on its rear end 66₉ below which there is located a set of rear axles 68. Although three axles are illustrated, once again, the configuration may indeed have two or even four axles. The turntable 64 is adapted to be engaged by a king pin 70 located at the front end 72 of a towed trailer 22. The trailer 22 also includes a rear fifth wheel 56 that allows a further trailer, dolly or powered dolly to be attached thereto.

Engine 42 powers at least one of the rear axles 68 through a drive train (not shown), thus providing the additional motive power force to the multi-combination vehicle 10. In contrast to known dollies that are relatively short and provide a simple A-frame coupling, the dolly 20 of the present invention provides for an elongate frame 40 that is able to support an engine 42 and drive train (not shown) between the chassis 40, house a cooling means 48 which is removed from the engine 42, and provide for a fuel tank 50. The dolly 20 includes a king pin 54 and is adapted to be attached to another trailer 18 or a truck 12 through a fifth wheel 56. The applicant is unaware of any other type of powered dolly that couples to a fifth wheel and itself provides a turntable or fifth wheel for connecting to another trailer or dolly.

This dolly configuration allows trailers having only a group of rear axles to be used, because the driven dolly effectively acts as the front driven wheels of each trailer towed there behind, eliminating the need for powered trailers in the multicombination vehicle. To minimise the length of the powered dolly 20, that is longer than a standard one, the rear overhang of the chassis 40 over the rearmost of the axles 68 is minimised.

The control of the dolly 20 follows the control of the power trailers (not shown) as envisaged in the applicants other patent applications. The control of the engine 42 of the power dolly 20 may be achieved by several different means depending on whether the transmission system of the truck is an automatic or manual one, and only one example will be provided herein.

Control may be achieved using a synchronisation control that synchronises the power output of the power dolly 20 to the prime mover 12. This is most appropriate when the prime mover 12 and the power dolly 20 have automatic transmissions. The horsepower of an engine is calculated as the torque multiplied by the revolutions per minute (rpm) divided by a constant. Torque is simply the a function of the total fuel that the system is provided with. It is therefore possible to synchronise the engines by the torque of the power dolly engine following the torque produced by the primary engine. The reader is urged to refer to the applicant's other relevant patent applications for more information about other types of control systems including a dual- pot accelerator pedal or by manual control in the truck cab.

Communication between the prime mover engine and the engine associated with a powered dolly requires the use of hard wiring between components along the road train. However, it may also be that the control is wireless eliminating the need for wiring along the length of the road-train.

The advantages of the present invention should therefore now be clear. A multicombination vehicle could well include a number of powered powered dollies which would provide an additional source of motive power to pull loads up steeper angles, or to haul heavier loads. As mentioned in the preamble of the invention, some trailers are configured to be bottom dumped, that is, where instead of side-tipping the trailer, bottom flaps open and thereby release the cargo, typically onto a conveyor belt. Those skilled in the art would realise that in multicombination vehicles having powered trailers, this is not possible because there is an engine positioned beneath the trailer chassis. Use of powered dollies therefore provides the known benefits of having an additional source of power in a multicombination vehicle, but also allows bottom dumping rear axle trailers to be used. Trailer stability is also important, and in having a rear axle trailer couped directly behind a powered dolly provides for maximum support, similar to that which is achieved by a powered trailer. It is however to be understood that such powered dollies could also be used in combination with powered trailers.

Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the present invention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention has been shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

In any claims that follow and in the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Dated this 21^st day of December 2005

James W Cooper By his Patent Attorneys LESICAR PERRIN

Claims

1. A dolly for use in a multicombination vehicle having a powered towing unit used to transport a product over roadways, said dolly characterised by: a chassis; at least one wheeled axle supporting said dolly for movement over said roadways wherein at least one of said wheeled axles comprises a driving axle, said dolly further including a source of motive power mounted on said chassis and means for transmitting torque from said source of motive power to said at least one driving axle.

2. A dolly as in claim 1 wherein said powered towing unit includes a chassis, a forward, wheeled steering axle suspended from said chassis and a rear axle assembly, said wheeled axles supporting the powered towing unit for movement over the roadways, wherein at least one of said wheeled axles comprises a driving axle, said powered towing unit further including a primary source of motive power to said at least one driving axle.

3. A dolly as in claim 2 wherein said dolly engine includes a protective cover located above said engine.

4. A dolly as in claim 3 wherein said cover is easily removable to provide for easy access to the engine for maintenance.

5. A dolly as in any one of claims 2-4 wherein said powered towing unit is a rigid body truck and said source of motive power is an internal combustion engine and said means for transferring torque includes a transmission.

6. A dolly as in any one of the above claims wherein said dolly source of motive power is an internal combustion engine and said means for transferring torque includes a transmission.

7. A dolly as in any one of claims 2-6 wherein said dolly motive source of power and said towing unit motive source of power each include a control means.

8. A dolly as in claim 7 wherein the towing unit control means and the dolly control means are synchronised so that when the torque of the towing unit primary source of motive power is increased, so is proportionally the torque of the dolly source of motive power.

9. A dolly as in any one of the above claims wherein said dolly further includes a cooling means mounted on said chassis and in fluid communication with said motive power source.

10. A dolly as in claim 9 wherein said cooling means is so mounted so that air flowing through said cooling means is directed away from said source of motive power.

11. A dolly as in any one of the above claims wherein said dolly chassis includes a forward and rear end, said at least one driven axle being suspended from the rear end of the dolly chassis.

12. A dolly as in claim 11 wherein the overhang of the rear end of the chassis over the rearmost wheeled axle is minimal.

13. A dolly as in claim 11 or claim 12 wherein said rear end of the chassis includes a turntable to which a king pin of a wheeled unit located at the rear of the dolly is removably attached, and said forward end of the chassis includes a king pin adapted to be removably attached to a turntable of a wheeled unit located at the front of the dolly.

14. A dolly as in claim 13 wherein said cooling means is located above the forward end of the chassis and rearwardly from said king pin.

15. A dolly as in any one of claims 9-14 wherein said dolly further includes a fuel tank located in front of said cooling means.

16. A dolly as in any one of the above claims wherein said dolly includes two driven axles.

17. A multicombination vehicle characterised by: a powered towing unit having a chassis, wheeled steering axle suspended from said chassis and a rear axle assembly having at least one wheeled axle and suspended from said chassis by a rear suspensions system, said wheeled axles supporting the powered unit for movement over the roadways, wherein at least one of said wheeled axles comprises a driving axle, said powered towing unit further including a source of motive power mounted on said chassis and means for transmitting torque from said source of motive power to said at least one drive axle; a plurality of trailers and a plurality of dollies mechanically coupled to said powered towing unit whereby each of said trailers and dollies includes a chassis having a front end and a rear end, a king pin suspended from said front end, a turntable located above said rear end, and at least one wheeled axle including at least one driven axle suspended from said rear end, said dollies and trailers being removably connected to one another in a preferred configuration by way of engagement of said king pins and turntables; and at least one of said dollies including a source of motive power mounted on said chassis and means for transmitting torque from said source of motive power to said at least one driven axle, said powered dolly being of a longer construction to the others to thereby accommodate said source of motive power and a cooling means in fluid communication with said source of motive power.

18. A multicombination vehicle as in claim 17 wherein each source of motive power is in the form of an internal combustion engine including a control means.

19. A dolly as in claim 18 wherein the prime mover control means and the dolly control means are synchronised so that when the torque of the prime mover engine is increased, so is proportionally the torque of the dolly engine.

20. A multicombination vehicle as in any one of claims 17-19 wherein at least one of said plurality of trailers is a belly dump type trailer.

21. A muticombination vehicle as in any one of claims 17-20 wherein at least one of said plurality of trailers is also powered.

22. A multicombination vehicle as in any one of claims 18-21 wherein transfer of information to and from said prime mover engine control means and said dolly engine control means is wireless.