Abstract: A tank for transporting liquids is provided. The tank includes a tank vessel having front and rear walls defining a longitudinal direction, opposing sidewalls defining a lateral direction and a floor and a top. An X-shaped baffle arrangement extends through the interior of the tank vessel in the longitudinal direction. The X-shaped baffle arrangement has a longitudinally extending chamber in the center thereof, two upper legs extending between the chamber and the top of the tank vessel and two lower legs extending between the chamber and the floor of the tank vessel. A plurality of longitudinally spaced pivotal baffles extending from either side of X-shaped baffle arrangement towards a respective one of the sidewalls. Each pivotal baffle being supported for pivotal movement on the X-shaped baffle arrangement between an open position wherein the pivotal baffle extends in the longitudinal direction and a closed position wherein the pivotal baffle extends in the lateral direction.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for diagnosing the state of health of a vehicle and for providing the operator of the vehicle with a substantially real-time indication of the efficiency of the vehicle in performing an assigned task with respect to a predetermined goal. A processor on-board the vehicle monitors sensors that provide information regarding the state of health of the vehicle and the amount of work the vehicle has done. In response to anomalies in the data from the sensors, the processor records information that describes events leading up to the occurrence of the anomaly for later analysis that can be used to diagnose the cause of the anomaly. The sensors are also used to prompt the operator of the vehicle to operate the vehicle at optimum efficiency.

Abstract: A tailgate assembly for a dump body is provided. The dump body has a pair of opposing sidewalls and an open rear end. The dump body is movable relative between a lowered transport position and a raised dump position. The tailgate assembly including a pair of opposing sidearms each of which is pivotally connected to a respective sidewall of the dump body and a center-rear portion supported between the sidearms. The sidearms and center-rear portion are movable between a closed position wherein the center-rear portion spans substantially between the opposing sidewalls of the dump body and encloses the open rear end of the dump body and an open position wherein the center-rear portion is positioned away from the open rear end of the dump body. Each of the sidearms includes an extended portion at an end thereof. The extended portions are curved inwardly toward each other in overlapping relation to at least a portion of the center-rear portion.

Abstract: A tailgate assembly for a dump body is provided. The dump body has a pair of opposing sidewalls and an open rear end. The dump body is movable relative between a lowered transport position and a raised dump position. The tailgate assembly including a pair of opposing sidearms each of which is pivotally connected to a respective sidewall of the dump body and a center-rear portion supported between the sidearms. The sidearms and center-rear portion are movable between a closed position wherein the center-rear portion spans substantially between the opposing sidewalls of the dump body and encloses the open rear end of the dump body and an open position wherein the center-rear portion is positioned away from the open rear end of the dump body. Each of the sidearms includes an extended portion at an end thereof. The extended portions are curved inwardly toward each other in overlapping relation to at least a portion of the center-rear portion.

Abstract: A tank for transporting liquids is provided. The tank includes a tank vessel having front and rear walls defining a longitudinal direction, opposing sidewalls defining a lateral direction and a floor and a top. An X-shaped baffle arrangement extends through the interior of the tank vessel in the longitudinal direction. The X-shaped baffle arrangement has a longitudinally extending chamber in the center thereof, two upper legs extending between the chamber and the top of the tank vessel and two lower legs extending between the chamber and the floor of the tank vessel. A plurality of longitudinally spaced pivotal baffles extending from either side of X-shaped baffle arrangement towards a respective one of the sidewalls. Each pivotal baffle being supported for pivotal movement on the X-shaped baffle arrangement between an open position wherein the pivotal baffle extends in the longitudinal direction and a closed position wherein the pivotal baffle extends in the lateral direction.

Abstract: A top-dumping container handling vehicle for receiving, carrying and dumping at least one container having at least one locking slot is provided. The container handler has a frame which has an attached support structure. At least one container cradle for receiving and holding the container is supported by the support structure for movement between a centered position and at least one dump position. The container cradle includes at least one hooking or locking assembly that is movable between a hooked or locked position, wherein the locking assembly does not interfere with the loading of the container into the container cradle, and an unhooked or unlocked position, wherein the locking assembly engages the corresponding locking slot on the container, thereby preventing movement or shifting of the container relative to the container cradle. The container handling vehicle also has a dumping assembly which moves the container cradle between the centered and the dump position.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for moving and transporting materials utilizing specialized transporting containers. These containers, which can be transported over land utilizing specialized haulage equipment such as tractor-trailers or railroad "rail-trucks," can be floated and moved on water either as single units or as a large tow whereby a tugboat can move these containers on inland waterways and a short distance off shore into larger bodies of water where these containers would be loaded onto self-loading oceangoing transport ships for transport to some distant point for off-loading. Utilizing containers as floating transport vessels eliminates the need for extensive dockage and port facilities. Specifically, the process of the present invention may be employed wherever loaded containers can be put into the water, or alternatively loaded while they are in the water, and moved by tugboat to an oceangoing transport ship where the containers can be loaded onto oceangoing transport ships.

Abstract: An assembly which automatically opens the tailgate of a container when the container is tilted from a transport position to a dump position for rear dumping by a container transport vehicle is provided. The tailgate having a pair of side arms each of which is pivotally connected to a respective one of the side walls of the container such that the tailgate can rotate relative to the container between open and closed positions. The assembly of the present invention includes a counterbalance assembly which is pivotally connected to the frame of a container transport vehicle. The assembly also includes a hook member which is pivotally connected at one end thereof to the side arm of the tailgate and which has a free end. The counterbalance assembly including a hook pin and the free end of hook member being configured to engage the hook pin.

Abstract: An apparatus for processing data derived from the weight of a load carried by a haulage vehicle including a sensor processing unit for receiving data from pressure transducers and, in response thereto, detecting a change in the weight of the load and formulating data indicative of hauling conditions of the vehicle. Pressure data and indications of changes in the data are used by the sensor processing unit to establish a historical data base from which various hauling parameters may be monitored either by the sensor processing unit itself or by a remotely located central station linked to the on-board processing unit. Preferably, additional sensors are added to the vehicle to provide additional data that, when taken with the weight data, provides a historical data base which more completely reflects vehicle operating conditions.

Abstract: A load-carrying body for a truck is provided that includes a tailgate assembly positionable between in-service and out-of-service positions for hauling materials of different densities while maintaining a controlled distribution of the weight of the load on a chassis of the truck. Preferably, the body and the tailgate assembly are designed so that the centers of gravity or centers of mass of normal loads for both low and high density materials are located to achieve a desired weight distribution for both materials. Physical parameters of the body and tailgate are adjusted in accordance with the invention in order to place the fore-aft locations of the centers of mass for normal loads of both the low and high density materials at locations that result in the desired weight distribution on the truck chassis.

Abstract: A top-dumping container handling vehicle for receiving, carrying and dumping at least one container having at least one locking slot is provided. The container handler has a frame which has an attached support structure. At least one container cradle for receiving and holding the container is supported by the support structure for movement between a centered position and at least one dump position. The container cradle includes at least one hooking or locking assembly that is movable between a hooked or locked position, wherein the locking assembly does not interfere with the loading of the container into the container cradle, and an unhooked or unlocked position, wherein the locking assembly engages the corresponding locking slot on the container, thereby preventing movement or shifting of the container relative to the container cradle. The container handling vehicle also has a dumping assembly which moves the container cradle between the centered and the dump position.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for diagnosing the state of health of a vehicle and for providing the operator of the vehicle with a substantially real-time indication of the efficiency of the vehicle in performing an assigned task with respect to a predetermined goal. A processor on-board the vehicle monitors sensors that provide information regarding the state of health of the vehicle and the amount of work the vehicle has done. In response to anomalies in the data from the sensors, the processor records information that describes events leading up to the occurrence of the anomaly for later analysis that can be used to diagnose the cause of the anomaly. The sensors are also used to prompt the operator of the vehicle to operate the vehicle at optimum efficiency.

Abstract: An apparatus is described for determining and recording a location of a vehicle and a hauling status of a load carried by the vehicle. Information describing the location of the vehicle is derived from an electromagnetic network that grids a work area of the vehicle. A device on-board the vehicle provides information regarding the hauling status of a load. Electronics on-board the vehicle determines the status of the vehicle's load at a particular location in the work area with respect to time. This information is stored as a historical event by correlating the status of the load with the location and time the status was determined. The electromagnetic network is created by a remotely located satellite-based or land-based system. In a particular embodiment of the invention, a weight of the load carried by the vehicle is reported to a remote site along with the location of the vehicle and the vehicle's identification code.

Abstract: A system is provided in which data from two or more sensors on-board a vehicle are used to determine an amount of work the vehicle performs. A historical record of the work is maintained in a memory. A transmitter is on-board the vehicle and in communication with an on-board processor, which receives the data from the sensors. The transmitter transmits information to a remote location. Preferably, one of the sensors is a weighing device for providing weight data. The other sensor is typically a complementary sensor such as an inclinometer, a sensor detecting the distance the vehicle has traveled or a sensor detecting the location of the vehicle. The transmitter is preferably a transceiver that establishes a bi-directional electromagnetic link with the remote location for communicating the information. The information may be used to dispatch the vehicle to sites in a working area.

Abstract: The invention is directed to an apparatus and method for monitoring a load of material carried by a vehicle wherein weight data is associated with data from either an inclinometer or a sensor that senses the status of the vehicle's drive train. The resulting data is time stamped and recorded to a database containing historical values of the weight of the load. The recording of the time-stamped data to the memory may be selective and responsive to one or more events such as the lapse of a predetermined time period, a change in the weight of the load or a change in the status of the drive train of the vehicle. The apparatus and method of the invention may also include downloading the time-stamped weight data from the memory to a remote site.

Abstract: A haulage vehicle is described that includes a mechanism for loading material from a container into the haulage vehicle while the vehicle remains stationary. A sensor mounted to the vehicle retrieves from the container a machine-readable code when the material from the container is collected by the vehicle. An electronic processor collects the code retrieved by the sensor, time stamps the code and compiles a historical record identifying the container and a time when the material from it was collected. Preferably, the vehicle includes a weighing device for determining a weight of the material collected from the container. The weight of the material is included in the historical record.

Abstract: An apparatus on-board a haulage vehicle interrogates a device having a machine-readable code, retrieves the code in conjunction with a loading event, senses the change in the load and generates data indicative thereof. The apparatus includes an electronic processor on-board the vehicle that collects the data and the machine-readable code. The data and code are correlated and compiled by the processor into a historical record of the loading events for later use. A memory is in communication with the electronic processor for containing the historical record. Preferably, the apparatus includes a mechanism for adding material to the load hauled by the vehicle, which brings the device having the machine-readable code into close proximity with a sensor. The sensor successfully retrieves the code only in conjunction with the adding of material to the load. In the illustrated embodiment, the material added to the load is from a container to which is secured the device having the machine-readable code.

Abstract: An apparatus for processing data derived from the weight of a load carried by a haulage vehicle including a sensor processing unit for receiving data from pressure transducers and, in response thereto, detecting a change in the weight of the load and formulating data indicative of hauling conditions of the vehicle. Pressure data and indications of changes in the data are used by the sensor processing unit to establish a historical data base from which various hauling parameters may be monitored either by the sensor processing unit itself or by a remotely located central station linked to the on-board processing unit. Preferably, additional sensors are added to the vehicle to provide additional data that, when taken with the weight data, provides a historical data base which more completely reflects vehicle operating conditions.