Vehicle body loading and unloading mechanism

Claim 1

Apparatus for loading and unloading containers onto and off of a vehicle body comprising a tilting frame mounted on the vehicle body for vertical pivotal movement about the rear of the vehicle body, and including at least two spaced, substantially parallel, frame members, a guide member mounted on the inside of each of the frame members, a support member extending between the guide members and movably supported by the guide members for movement along a portion of the length of the tilting frame, a sheave concentrically mounted on and rotatable about the support member, a hydraulic cylinder positioned between the frame members, extending substantially parallel thereto, having a first end secured to the support member so that movement of the hydraulic cylinder causes the support member and the sheave to move forward and backward along the tilting frame, and having a bracket located at a second end thereof wherein the bracket defines a hole, a rear cross member extending widthwise across the rear of the tilting frame, a hydraulic cylinder mounting means located substantially at the rear of the tilting frame for supporting the second end of the hydraulic cylinder, and including a yoke secured to and extending outward from the rear cross member, and having a pair of arms wherein the arms define a pair of aligned holes, and a disengageable pin extending through the hole defined by the bracket and the holes defined by the arms of the yoke for disengageably securing the second end of the hydraulic cylinder to the tilting frame, a cable having a first end secured to the tilting frame beneath the hydraulic cylinder, and having a second end extending around the sheave and toward the rear of the tilting frame so that movement of the sheave causes movement of the second end of the cable, and means on the second end of the cable to attach the cable to a container to be loaded onto the vehicle, and wherein the guide members extend to a point short of the rear of the tilting frame and are open at their rear end so that the support member can be removed from the rear of the guide members after the second end of the hydraulic cylinder is disengaged from the tilting frame to remove the hydraulic cylinder from the tilting frame.