Reel trailer

Claim 2

A carrier adapted to be coupled to a towing vehicle for transporting reels and the like and adapted for effecting reel transfer from a support surface onto the carrier and from the carrier to a support surface comprising, a main support frame, a tongue pivotally connected to and extending forwardly of said main frame to normally lie in a substantially horizontal plane for connection to a towing vehicle, wheel assembly means including axle means secured to said main frame, a pair of laterally spaced uprights secured to said main frame for supporting the axle shaft of a cable reel thereon, releasable locking means normally retaining said main support frame and said tongue in a generally horizontal plane, and resilient means on said carrier for initially urging pivotable displacement of said main support frame and said tongue relative to each other in response to release of said locking means to initiate tilting of said main frame and said uprights rearwardly about said wheel assembly means.

Claim 3

A carrier for transporting reels as recited in claim 1, each of said pair of uprights having a trackway extending longitudinally of said carrier and engageable by the reel shaft for rolling displacement therealong, said trackways having stop means at the forward and rearward ends thereof, said stop means at the forward ends of said trackways being positioned forwardly of the axle means of said wheel assembly means.

Claim 4

A carrier for transporting reels as defined in claim 1, said wheel assembly means including a pair of spaced wheel units, one unit being positioned beneath each of said pair of uprights, and stabilizing means for resiliently securing said units to said main frame.

Claim 5

A carrier for transporting reels as defined in claim 1, and further including means connected to said main support frame and said tongue for controlling the rate of pivotable displacement of said main support frame relative to said tongue when a reel has been positioned upon said uprights.

Claim 6

A carrier for transporting reels and the like and adapted for effecting reel transfer from a support surface onto the carrier and from the carrier to a support surface comprising a main support frame, a tongue extending forwardly of said main frame to normally lie in a substantially plane for connection to a towing vehicle, wheel assembly means secured to said main frame, a pair of laterally spaced uprights secured to said main frame for supporting the axle shaft of a cable reel thereon, and means for facilitating pivotable displacement of said main frame about said wheel assembly means to effect reel transfer between a support surface and said pair of uprights, said means for facilitating pivotable displacement of said main frame about said reel assembly means including means pivotably connecting said main frame and said tongue and a braking system, adapted to be actuated from a towing vehicle for controlling the rotation of said wheel assembly means, said pivotable connecting means and said braking system cooperating to tilt said main frame and said uprights rearwardly about said wheel assembly meanS upon rearward displacement of said tongue by a towing vehicle.

Claim 7

A carrier for transporting reels and the like and adapted for effecting reel transfer from a support surface onto the carrier and from the carrier to a support surface comprising a main support frame, a tongue extending forwardly of said main frame to normally lie in a substantially plane for connection to a towing vehicle, wheel assembly means secured to said main frame, a pair of laterally spaced uprights secured to said main frame for supporting the axle shaft of a cable reel thereon, and means for facilitating pivotable displacement of said main frame about said wheel assembly means to effect reel transfer between a support surface and said pair of uprights, said means for facilitating pivotable displacement of said main frame about said reel assembly means including means pivotably connecting said main frame and said tongue and a braking system, adapted to be actuated from a towing vehicle for controlling the rotation of said wheel assembly means, said pivotable connecting means and said braking system cooperating to tilt said main frame and said uprights rearwardly about said wheel assembly meanS upon rearward displacement of said tongue by a towing vehicle.

Claim 8

A carrier for transporting reels as defined in claim 5, and further including locking means for normally retaining said main frame and said tongue longitudinally aligned, and means for urging displacement of said tongue relative to said main frame upon release of said locking means.

Claim 9

A carrier for transporting reels as defined in claim 6, said means for urging displacement of said tongue relative to said main frame including a spring.

Claim 10

A carrier for transporting reels as defined in claim 6, and further including means for controlling the rate of pivotable displacement of said main frame relative to said tongue.

Claim 11

A carrier for transporting reels as defined in claim 2, and further including releasable lock means cooperating with said forward stop means for securing a reel to said uprights.

Claim 12

A carrier for transporting reels as recited in claim 1, said main frame extending rearwardly of said support surface to limit pivotable displacement of said main frame about the axis of said wheel assembly means.