Novel Demountable Body System for U.K.
Page 51
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ACAPSTAN-AND-HAWSER mechanism and a twin-ram link-type tipping gear are features of the Auto-Speed selfdemountable body system, which is now to be manufactured by Speedy and Eynon Ltd., Warstone Lane, Birmingham 18, under licence to AB Inter-Cemex of Stockholm, Sweden, for sale in the United Kingdom. Although the system is new to this country, it has been produced by the Swedish company for a number of years and applied to interchangeable bodies of all types, including platform and tipper bodies, bulk-refuse containers, boxvans and so on. Engineering Services Ltd., Enser Works, Wolverhampton New Road, Oldbury, Birmingham, are the main distributors.
A powerful reversible hydraulic motor, centrally located at the front of the lifting frame, drives two ontrigged capstans, and the hawsers are hooked to brackets at the forward end of the body sub-frame, the main members of which act as skids for demounting and loading. To unload the body, the lifting frame is raised through an angle of about 20 degrees. locking pins are released and the body is moved rearwards and downwards by gravity under the control of the hydraulic motor. A full-width roller is fitted to the rear of the body sub-frame on the underside, and when this contacts the ground rearwards movement continues until the front of the body passes over the ends of the frame runners. At this point in the operation, the hawsers contact pulleys mounted on the vehicle frame on the axes of the hinge pins and with further payout of the hawsers the front of the body is lowered vertically to the ground guided by angle-iron uprights, attached to the front of the body, which contact drumtype extensions of the pulleys. The ends A the hawsers are then unhooked from the body brackets and the vehicle can be ised to pick up another body of the same mdifferent type. Loading follows the >ame procedure in reverse.
The capstans can also be used to winch a load on to a demounted body, or which purpose the capstans are disengaged from the drive shafts, so that the hawsers can be pulled rearwards by hand over the top of the body and hooked to the load without operation of the motor. Handles on the capstans facilitate the operation, , Loading and unloading can be performed by one man in about 3-5 min., arid fully loaded bodies can readily be handled. A demonstration unit is based on a Thames forward-control 3-ton lorry
and it is claimed that the system is applicable to all makes of chassis. Standard bodies and containers are available in the various forms mentioned in the first paragraph, and special containers can be supplied to the customer's specification.
The thrust of the link member of the tipping gear is relayed to the lifting frame by rollers which move in channels incorporated in the frame. Fluid is supplied to the horizontal rams from a p.t.-o.-driven pump which is also used to drive the hydraulic motor. In this case the fluid is fed to the motor through pipes that run the length of the vehicle frame to flexible sections in the area of the hinge pins and forward along the lifting frame to connections on the motor. The hooks for the hawsers are mounted on cushioned slide blocks, whilst the locking pins are operated hydraulically. In the lowered position, the body is supported amidships on eight rubber blocks, fitted to two brackets on each side, and at the front by two bracket-mounted pads.