(19) TZZ Z_T (11) EP 2 974 906 A1 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION (43) Date of publication: (51) Int Cl.: 20.01.2016 Bulletin 2016/03 B60P 1/44 (2006.01) B60P 3/12 (2006.01) (21) Application number: 15176721.7 (22) Date of filing: 14.07.2015 (84) Designated Contracting States: (71) Applicant: Sassi, Ezio AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB 17019 Varazze (IT) GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR (72) Inventor: Sassi, Ezio Designated Extension States: 17019 Varazze (IT) BA ME Designated Validation States: (74) Representative: Karaghiosoff, Giorgio MA Alessandro Studio Karaghiosoff e Frizzi S.r.l. (30) Priority: 15.07.2014 IT GE20140067 Via F. Baracca 1R 4° piano 17100 Savona (IT) (54) DEVICE FOR LIFTING AND TRANSPORTING MOTORCYCLES AT THE BACK OF A MOTOR HOME (57) Device for lifting and transporting motorcycles position, wherein the lifting means are motorized and are (2) at the external back of a motor home (3), comprising such that in the lower loading position the tray (1) rests a tray (1) housing at least one motorcycle (2), means for on the ground, while in the lifted position the tray (1) is lifting the tray (1) from a lower loading position to a lifted firmly held. EP 2 974 906 A1 Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR) 1 EP 2 974 906 A1 2 Description [0014] In this embodiment, when the tray is in the load- ing position in contact with the ground the actuators work [0001] The present invention relates to a device for by lifting the load up to the "upper dead point" where it loading and safely transporting a motorcycle at the ex- is kept in position by closing the suitable raising control ternal back of a mobile home (motor home) according to 5 and mechanical lock valve. the preamble of claim 1. [0015] The load is lowered by gravity by unloading in [0002] Several devices for loading and transporting a controlled manner the valve mentioned above bringing motorcycles are known. the motorcycle at the ground level and thereby immedi- [0003] These devices all have in common a loading ately available for being used. tray on which the motorcycle is manually loaded by push- 10 [0016] In this embodiment the two linear actuators ing it. All the known loading trays are provided with a work in a mechanically independent manner they being channel section and some of them have raising periph- synchronized only from the oil-hydraulic point of view by eral walls along at least three sides of the tray plane. means of a flow divider valve. Moreover the horizontal surface supporting the motorcy- [0017] Therefore they can reach a different level with cle always has a wall substantially flat and with no inter- 15 respect to each other such to allow the tray to rest on the ruption on which the wheels of the motorcycle can freely ground automatically compensating for moderate irreg- rotate with no obstacles, therefore once the motorcycle ularities of the road or ground. is loaded it is substantially free to move and it has to be [0018] A different embodiment has been designed and somehow fastened to the structure. made by using two pivotable arms instead of the linear [0004] This type of arrangement causes the loading of 20 actuators present in the previous version. the motorcycle on the tray for lifting it in the transport [0019] In such solution the lifting means comprise two position to be uncomfortable and it requires difficult, quite pivotable arms such that the resulting movement trajec- long manoeuvres, and a considerable clear space at tory is no more a straight one but it follows an arc of least on one side of the vehicle to which the loading and circumference defined by the motion of the free ends of transporting device is associated. 25 the two arms. [0005] There are solutions such as for example the [0020] The movement arms are pivoted on the struc- document US 3,837,513 wherein the lifting tray is even ture at one end and they are brought upwardly by means pivoted about a vertical axis such to be brought perpen- of belts (straps) made of a suitable material and stiffness dicular to the rear side of the transport vehicle such to (for example safety belts of motor vehicles). overcome said drawbacks. 30 [0021] Such straps are engaged at the free end of the [0006] Besides the considerable complexity of the de- arms and are driven by a single gear motor operating on scribed device, however the need of having a maneuver- two winding spools (one on the left and another on the ing space at the side of the vehicle is simply transformed right) that wind the drive belts in the raising phase and into the need of having a maneuvering space at the back that unwind them when going down thus controlling the of the transport vehicle. 35 synchronization of the movement thereof. [0007] Other devices of the prior art require an auxiliary [0022] The straps are wound and unwound by revers- inclined ramp and however the loading of the motorcycle ing the rotation of the electric motor of the gear motor. on the tray is a difficult operation. [0023] Also in such version the arms work in a mechan- [0008] The aim of the present invention is to provide a ically independent manner with the consequent advan- device for lifting and transporting motorcycles at the back 40 tages already described in the straight trajectory solution, of transport vehicles and particularly of motor homes or related to the fact of independently reaching the loading the like that allows the drawbacks of the known devices position with the tray in contact with a moderately irreg- to be overcome by providing a reliable and very handy ular ground. system, besides being simple, strong and lightweight. [0024] A system for always keeping the tray horizontal [0009] The invention achieves the above aims by a de- 45 during the load movement is made which consists in a vice of the type according to the preamble of claim 1, and toothed belt and two toothed pulleys for each arm. that further has the characteristics of the characterizing [0025] A pulley rigidly fixed on the structure is placed part of claim 1. on the pivot axis of the arm (sun pulley) and a pulley, [0010] The device is composed of a lifting tray and of able to rotate, is mounted on the axis of the free end of means for lifting the tray. 50 the arm (planet pulley). [0011] More generally the lifting means can be of any [0026] On the planet pulleys a "boom" is engaged, the type. pins lifting the motorcycle carrier tray come out therefrom [0012] In a first non limitative embodiment the lifting with the characteristics already described for the straight means comprise two linear actuators connected to the trajectory version. tray by means of pins. 55 [0027] The tray intended to house the motorcycle has [0013] The actuators, in such case, have a single-act- a shape and essential features for achieving the technical ing oil-hydraulic operation and are driven by a suitable advantages and the aims of the present invention. motorized oil-hydraulic control unit. [0028] Several characteristics of the motorcycle carrier 2 3 EP 2 974 906 A1 4 tray are described below according to the present inven- ing the motorcycle from moving ahead or backwards tion that can be provided all or partially as an alternative along the tray. or in combination with each other. [0038] When the fork engaging the rear wheel is [0029] The traypreferably, butnot limitatively, isplaced present, the distance between said opening or openings along the direction perpendicular to the antero-posterior, 5 is selected such that with the rear wheel in the engaging or travel, direction of the motor home or of the transport and stop position within said fork, the motorcycle wheel vehicle. or wheels cooperate with the corresponding opening or [0030] The tray is composed of an L shaped cross- openings. section profile member, said profile member composing [0039] Still according to a further characteristic, when the horizontal wall of the tray and a vertical wall on the 10 two openings are provided for the front wheel and the side of the tray closer to the transport vehicle or motor rear wheel respectively, they are provided to be laterally home. misaligned with each other with respect to the longitudi- [0031] By such arrangement, the motorcycle is loaded nal axis of the motorcycle such that the position of the laterally of the tray, that is along the direction perpendic- rear wheel is not aligned with the one of the front wheel ular to the antero-posterior, or travel direction, of the mo- 15 when the wheels engage the corresponding slot upon tor home, by maneuvering the motorcycle in reverse, ac- lifting. cording to a movement that is substantially identical to [0040] Such arrangement causes the motorcycle not the one used for parking the motorcycle in the normal to roll longitudinally, or not to oscillate laterally anyhow conditions of use on the road. upon its vertical movement, thus guaranteeing absolute [0032] As an alternative to a completely L-shaped tray, 20 safe operation without using the parking brake of the mo- it is possible in a channel-like tray, namely having a U torcycle that the user may also forget resulting in a seri- shaped cross-section, for the lateral, longitudinal side far- ous danger.