Claims:
WE CLAIM:
1. A system (100, 200, 300) for controlling the operation of a lift-axle of a multi-axle truck, said lift-axle fitted with at least two load-bellows and at least two lift-bellows, said system (100, 200, 300) comprising:
a. a pressure-drop sensor to detect a leakage in a load-bellow;
b. a signal-receiver for receiving the sensed signal from said pressure-drop sensor; and
c. a lift-axle control valve (140a or 140b) configured to co-operate with said receiver to deflate all load-bellows associated with said lift-axle and to simultaneously inflate all the lift-bellows associated with said lift-axle.
2. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pressure-drop sensor is selected from the grouping consisting of electrical pressure sensor, electronic pressure sensor, and pneumatic pressure sensing valve.
3. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sensed signal is a pneumatic pressure signal.
4. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sensed signal is an electrical signal.
5. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said lift-axle control valve (140a, 140b) is an electro-pneumatic valve comprising a solenoid coil and a spool.
6. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each valve of said lift-axle control valve (140a, 140b) is a pressure actuated valve comprising a spool configured to move in response to a pressure signal received from a safety device.
7. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 1, includes an indication means to alert and inform the driver regarding the automatic lifting of a lift-axle.
8. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said indication means include at least one indication to notify the driver regarding the lifting of a corresponding lift-axle due to leakage.
9. The system (100, 200, 300) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said indication means is selected from the group consisting of lights, display, voice information, and beep alarm.
Dated this 18th day of October, 2019

MOHAN RAJKUMAR DEWAN
of R.K. DEWAN & COMPANY
IN/PA-25
APPLICANT’S PATENT ATTORNEY

TO,
THE CONTROLLER OF PATENTS
THE PATENT OFFICE, AT MUMBAI
, Description:
FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of multi-axle vehicles having at least one lift-axle.
DEFINITIONS
As used in the present disclosure, the following terms are generally intended to have the meaning as set forth below, except to the extent that the context in which they are used indicate otherwise.
Lift-axle - The term “lift-axle” hereinafter refers to a multi-axle truck, wherein the “lift-axle” is capable of deployment and retraction as and when needed.
Load-bellow - The term “load-bellow” hereinafter refers to an air spring that is simply a flexible but sufficiently strong rubber and/or plastic bag inflated to a certain pressure and height to mimic a coil/leaf spring. The “load-bellow” is configured to support the load on the lift-axle when the lift-axle is in a deployed state.
Lift-bellow - The term “lift-bellow” hereinafter refers to an air spring that is simply flexible but sufficiently strong rubber and/or plastic bag inflated to a certain pressure and height to mimic the coil springs. The “lift-bellow” is configured to raise/retract the lift-axle when the lift-axle is not needed.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
Multi-axle trucks or vehicles are widely used in the transportation industry. Further, the multi-axle trucks are provided with a lift axle mechanism(s) to facilitate varied load carrying capacity as and when needed.
A single air reservoir is used to supply pressurized air to each lift axle mechanism. Each of the lift-axle is arranged in series or each of the lift axles consumes air from same reservoir. Many a times an air-spring, which is supporting the load corresponding to a single lift-axle, gets leaked/puncture. Any failure or leakage in the pneumatic circuit of any of the lift-axle mechanism will reduce the air pressure in the entire pneumatic circuit as they are interconnected. Thus the failure of one lift-axle will also affect the functioning of the other lift-axle(s) which is/are in an operative configuration. This will jeopardize the safe and efficient operation of the truck. Further, the truck will not be able to carry the expected load in intended performance and durability. In such a case it becomes important to protect the other lift-axle(s) from failure.
There is, therefore, felt a need of a system for controlling the operation of lift axles of a multi-axle truck that alleviates the above mentioned drawbacks.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for controlling the operation of lift axles of a multi-axle truck.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system which will identify which pneumatic circuit is getting failed.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system which will isolate the failed circuit from the other circuits.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system that will lift the lift-axle of which pneumatic circuit is subjected to failure/leakage.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system which will protect other aggregates such as axles, chassis and suspension springs in the event of an air-spring failure.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system which will isolate the main air-spring/bellow/load spring from the failed circuit.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure is about a system for controlling the operation of a lift-axle of a multi-axle truck. The lift-axle is fitted with at least two load-bellows and at least one (some lift axle may have one air spring as lift bellow) lift-bellow. The system includes a pressure-drop sensor for detecting a leakage in any of the load-bellow, a signal-receiver for receiving the sensed signal from the pressure-drop sensor, and a lift-axle control valve which is configured to co-operate with the receiver to deflate all load-bellows associated with the lift-axle and to simultaneously inflate all the lift-bellows associated with the lift axle.
In an embodiment, the pressure-drop sensor is selected from the grouping consisting of electrical pressure sensor, electronic pressure sensor, and pneumatic pressure sensing valve.
In another embodiment, the signal from the safety device is pneumatic pressure signal.
In yet another embodiment, the signal from the safety device is an electrical signal.
In an embodiment, the lift-axle control valve is an electro-pneumatic valve comprising a solenoid coil and a spool.
In another embodiment the lift-axle control valve is a pressure actuated valve comprising a spool configured to move in response to the pressure signal received from the safety device.
In yet another embodiment, the system includes an indication means to alert and inform the driver regarding the automatic lifting of a lift-axle.
In still another embodiment, indication means include different indications to notify regarding the exact lift-axle which is lifted due to leakage.
In an embodiment, the indication means is selected from the group consisting of lights, display, voice information, and beep alarm.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
The system for controlling the operation of lift axles of a multi-axle truck of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a system, for controlling the operation of lift axles, which uses an electro-pneumatic safety device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a system, for controlling the operation of lift axles, which uses a pneumatic safety device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 3 illustrates a system, for controlling the operation of lift axles, which uses a pneumatic safety device, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS USED IN DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND DRAWING
100, 200, 300 – System for controlling the operation of lift axles of a truck
101a – Pusher lift-axle
101b – Tag lift-axle
AT-1, AT-2, AT-3, AT-4 – Air tank
125a – First relay valve for pusher-axle lift bellow/s
125b – Second relay valve for tag-axle lift bellow/s
126a – Third relay valve for pusher-axle load-bellow/s
126b – Fourth relay valve for tag-axle load-bellow/s
135 – Load sensing valve
140a, 140b – Lift axle control valve of pusher and tag respectively
145 – Pressure limiting valve/s
150a – Load-bellow/s of pusher lift axle
150b – Load-bellow/s of tag lift axle
160a – Lift-bellow/s of pusher lift axle
160b – Lift-bellow/s of tag lift axle
170 – Ignition switch
191 – Battery
195 – T-joints
210 – Pneumatic safety device
210a – Pusher-Master safety device
210b – Pusher-Slave safety device
210f – Pilot operated pneumatic valve (Safety device)
210d –Tag-axle master safety device
210e - Tag-axle slave safety device
240 - Normally open solenoid operated pneumatic valve
250 – Non-return valve
1m, 2m, 3m, 4m – Ports of pusher-axle master safety device
1s, 2s, 3s, 4s – Ports of pusher-axle slave safety device
1f, 2f, 3f, 4f – Ports of pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f
310 – Pneumatic safety arrangement
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms "a,” "an," and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," “including,” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element is referred to as being "mounted on," “engaged to,” "connected to," or "coupled to" another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
Terms such as “inner,” “outer,” "beneath," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
It is observed in conventional vehicles that main axles of a multi-axle truck having at least one lift axle is subjected to a severe overload condition, when a lift axle circuit gets leaked or failed. There are a plurality of load-bellows and lift-bellow present in the truck. The trucks (which may also include other multi-axle land vehicles) currently available in the market are not provided with a mechanism to detect such leakages or failures, and are not capable to take corrective action(s). There is no system currently available in the market which can automatically monitor load bellow (or air-spring) failures/leakages in real time and prevent the loss of compressed air.
This becomes even more critical in the multiple lift axle vehicle, since all the lift axles operate on same pneumatic circuit. In the event of failure/leakage of any one of the load-bellows, the other lift axles will also loose axle reaction. This will adversely affect functionality and drivability of the vehicle.
The present disclosure will address the above issue and avoid compressed air loss by the use of at least one fail safe device and hence the overloading and consequential damage to the vehicle.
When compressed air from the load-bellow start leaking the pneumatic circuit and other reservoirs are starved of compressed air as the compressed air is continuously released to the atmosphere.
A system (100) of the present disclosure includes at least one set of load-bellows (150a or 150b), at least one lift-bellows (160a and/or 160b), at least one first relay valve 125a for pusher lift-bellow/s, at least one second relay valve 125b for tag lift-bellow/s, at least one third relay valve 126a for pusher load-bellow/s, at least one fourth relay valve 126b for tag load-bellow/s, at least one air-tank (AT-1, AT-2, AT-3, AT-4), at least one pressure limiting valve (PLV) 145, at least one load sensing valve (LSV) (135), at least one load sensing valve 135, at least one lift axle control valve (LACV) (140a, 140b), at least one electrical/electronic fail safe device (190a, 190b), a plurality of fluid lines fluidly connecting different components of the system, a plurality of T-joints 195, and a battery 191 , through ignition switch 170.
In another embodiment the electrical fail safe device (190a, 190b) is replaced by a pneumatic safety device 210.
Each of the load bellows (150a, 150b) is configured to support the load in the vehicle and each of the lift bellows (160a, 160b) is configured for raising the corresponding lift axle. The lift axle receives pressurized air from at least one of the air tanks (AT-1, AT-2, AT-3, AT-4).
In an embodiment, each lift-axle is fitted with at least two load-bellows and at least one lift-bellows. A pressure-drop sensor for detecting a leakage in any of the load-bellow is used. A signal-receiver for receiving the sensed signal from the pressure-drop sensor is also provided. Further, a lift-axle control valve (say 140a or 140b) is configured to co-operate with the signal-receiver to deflate all load-bellows associated with the lift-axle (whose load-bellow are leaked) and to simultaneously inflate all the lift-bellows associated with the lift axle.
In an embodiment, the pressure-drop sensor is selected from the grouping consisting of electrical pressure sensor, electronic pressure sensor, and pneumatic pressure sensing valve. The functioning of the system is different type of sensing and control means is explained in detail in this disclosure.
Each of the pressure limiting valves (PLV) 145 maintains the air pressure at a required pressure value. In an embodiment, the PLV 145 reduces the air pressure to 6.6 bars or any other required operating pressure values as per lift axle pressure requirement. Air at an operating pressure (of 6.6 bars in this case) is supplied to a load sensing valve (LSV) 135.
A safety mechanism is incorporated in the system 100 which is configured to automatically detect failure/leakage in the load-bellow (150a or 150b) (or the pneumatic circuit) and to trigger necessary action as described below to avoid major vehicle level damages.
The LSV 135 modulates the pressure signal at the output of the LSV 135. The pressure signal generated by the LSV 135 is supplied to the LACV (140a, 140b).
In an embodiment, the lift axle control valve (LACV) (140a, 140b) is an electro-pneumatic valve that is configured to decide whether to supply pressurized air to the lift-bellow (160a, 160b) circuit or the load bellow (150a, 150b) circuit. In accordance with an embodiment, there are two LACV (140a and 140b) to control the two lift-axles which include a pusher lift-axle 101a and a tag lift-axle 101b. It is to be noted that the system 100 of the present disclosure is capable of being adapted to be used in a truck having a single or any number of lift-axles.
Both the LACV (140a and 140b) operate on different or same pressure setting. For example, the LACV 140a of a pusher lift axle 101a has a 6 bar pressure value for deployment of the lift-axle and a 4 bar value for lifting of the pusher-lift-axle 101a. Whereas, the LACV 140b of the tag lift-axle 101b has a 5 bar pressure value for deployment of the tag-lift axle 101b and a 3 bar value for lifting of the tag-lift axle 101b or vice a versa or same operating pressure.
In an embodiment, a separate load sensing valve (LSV) sends a signal to each of the LACV (140a and 140b).
A lever of the LSV gets actuated during the loading operation of the truck and increases the lever angle which thereby increases the output pressure of the LSV. This continues till the loading gets completed.
When the vehicle is being loaded, a rise in pressure air is sensed by the LACV (140a, 140b). When the pressure reaches to 5 bars, the tag lift-axle 101b gets lowered, and when the pressure reaches to 6 bars the pusher lift-axle 101a gets lowered or vice a versa or both lift axles can be lowers at same operating pressure.
When the vehicle is in a loaded condition, both the lift axles remain in a deployed state. In the deployed state, the load-bellows (150a and 150b) are filled with compressed air, with a pressure ranging from 5 bars to 7 bars.
Override switches (not specifically shown in figures) are provided in the driver cabin for enabling the lifting of any of/both the lift-axle(s). In an embodiment the override switches may be located on the outside of the cabin, on the chassis, or where space is available. The override switch sends an electrical signal to a solenoid coil (not specifically shown in figures) of a corresponding LACV (140a or 140b), wherein the solenoid coil operates the corresponding LACV, and lifts the corresponding lift-axle (101a or 101b) by sending a pressure signal either to a regulating valve inflate the lift-bellows (160a or 160b) of the corresponding lift-axle, and by exhausting the load-bellow (150a or 150b).
In an embodiment, a truck with multiple lift-axles is provided with separate switches to operate each lift axle individually.
The system 100 is configured to initiate automatic lifting of a lift-axle in the event of:
i. load-bellow failure; and
ii. leakage of a load-bellow circuit.
Let’s consider for the simplicity of understanding and explanation, that the load-bellow 150a, lift-bellow 160a, and LACV 140a correspond to the pusher lift-axle 101a, and the load-bellow 150a gets leaked. A pressure drop in the load-bellow 150a and its peripheral circuit is detected by the electrical fail safe device 190a. The electrical fail safe device 190a can be selected from the group of consisting of a normally-closed (NC) pressure operated electric switch when pressure signal is not there, an equivalent electro-pneumatic, and a pneumatic fail safe device, which gets automatically operated/activated. When load bellows/air springs are pressurized or inflated electric signals are not sent to LACV. The switch generates an electric (or a pneumatic) signal when a pressure drop because of leakage or bursting of air spring and/or peripheral pneumatic/fluid line is detected. This signal from the electrical fail safe device 190a is sent to the lift-axle control valve 140a which will block the air supply to the load-bellow 150a and the peripheral pneumatic circuit. The pusher-LACV 140a will simultaneously pressurize the lift-bellows 160a, such that the lift-bellows 160a lift the corresponding lift-axle 101a (pusher lift axle or a lift-axle in which the failure has occurred). This auto detection of drop in pressure is expected to be in vehicle operating condition hence the electric supply from battery 191 is routed through ignition switch 170 such that electric signals will be sent to the fail safe device 190a when vehicle ignition is on, this will also allow filling of load air spring when vehicle ignition is off in healthy condition.
The automatic lifting of the pusher lift-axle 101a by the system will be communicated to the driver inside by triggering an indication or light on the instrument cluster and/or by generating beep/sound. The driver will thus be alerted about the lifting of the pusher lift-axle 101a. The driver will drive the vehicle safely to a nearest service station for resolving the issue.
A similar set of actions will be applied when a tag lift axle 101b gets leaked.
The above described automatic lifting action can be done in a multiple ways.
Electronic/electrical safety device:
For in one embodiment, wherein an electronic/electric safety (or an electro-pneumatic) device is used, the working of the system 100 is illustrated with the help of Figure 1. When the vehicle is running in laden condition the load-bellow (or main air spring) remains filled with compressed air and the pressure inside the load-bellow is maintained at a constant value. In the event of a malfunction such as a leakage or a failure of the load-bellow 150a and/or the peripheral circuit leaks of the load-bellow 150a, a sudden drop in pressure is sensed by the electrical fail safe device 190a (or the fail safe device). The electrical fail safe device 190a which is an electro-pneumatic device of this embodiment senses the drop in the air pressure of the load-bellow 150a and sends an electric signal to a solenoid coil of the lift-axle control valve (LACV) 140a. Once the solenoid coil is energized, it will control the flow of pressurized air such as to inflate the lift-bellow 160a and to stop the supply of air to the leaked load-bellow 150a. This will result in lifting of the lift-axle 101a. This auto detection of drop in pressure is expected to be in vehicle operating condition hence the electric supply from battery 191 is routed through ignition switch 170 such that electric signals will be sent to fail safe device 190a when vehicle ignition is on; this will also allow filling of load air spring when vehicle ignition is off in healthy condition.
A similar set of actions will be applied when a tag lift axle 101b gets leaked.
As the air supply to the load-bellow 150a and the peripheral circuit is blocked, the loss of compressed air to the atmosphere is stopped. The system pressure is maintained and the air supply to the other lift-axles gets regularized. Further, the functioning of other lift-axle won’t get affected.
Pneumatic safety device:
A system 200 in accordance with a second embodiment is illustrated with the help of Figure 2. The system 200 includes a pneumatic safety device 210. The pneumatic safety device 210 comprises a pusher-axle master safety device 210a, a pusher-axle slave safety device 210b, and a tag-axle master safety device 210d, a tag-axle slave safety device 210e. The working of the system 200 is illustrated bellow with the help of Figure 2.
In laden (or loaded) condition of the truck the load-bellows 150a remain filled with compressed air. When any of the load-bellow 150a and/or the corresponding peripheral circuit leaks/fails, there is a sudden drop in pressure. This drop in pressure is sensed via port-4m of the pusher-axle master safety device 210a which is a pilot pressure operated pneumatic valve. The pusher-axle master safety device 210a will sense a drop in the pressure at port-4m and then connect an input port-1m of the safety device 210a with an output port-2m of the pusher-axle master safety device 210a. An exhaust port-3m of the pusher-axle master safety device 210a is blocked.
Once the port-2m of the pusher-axle master safety device 210a is pressurized, it sends a pneumatic signal to a port-4s of the pusher-axle slave safety device 210b. After the port-4s of the pusher-axle slave safety device 210b is pressurized, port-1s and port-2s of the slave safety device 210b are disconnected and the port-2s then gets connected with a port-3s of the slave safety device 210b which is an exhaust port. After the port-2s of the pusher-axle slave safety device 210b gets connected to the exhaust port-3s, the pressure in the load-bellow 150a drops to zero. This reduced (or zero) pressure is sensed by the LACV 140a. After sensing zero pressure, the LACV 140a inflates the lift-bellow 160a and blocks the air supply to the load-bellow 150a and the corresponding peripheral pneumatic circuit. As the air supply to the load-bellow 150a and peripheral circuit is blocked, the loss of compressed air to the atmosphere stops. Therefore, the drop in pressure of air in the system is prevented. As the system-pressure is maintained, the air supply to other lift-axles gets regularized and hence the functioning of other lift-axles won’t get affected.
The other lift-axle which can be a tag-lift axle 101b will be lifted in a similar manner when the tag-axle load-bellow 150b gets leaked.
Pneumatic safety device with initial filling arrangement:
In accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a system 300 with a pneumatic safety arrangement 310 is shown in Figure 3. The system 300 comprises the pneumatic safety arrangement 310 which further comprises a pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f (which hereinafter is also referred to as a safety device 210f), a normally open solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240, and a non-return valve 250. An ignition switch 170 and the battery 191 are connected to the pneumatic safety arrangement 310. The working of the system 300 of Figure 3 is explained below.
In a laden (or loaded) condition of the truck the pusher load-bellows 150a remain filled with compressed air. When any of the load-bellows 150a and/or the corresponding peripheral circuit fails or gets leaked, there is a sudden drop in pressure. This drop in pressure is sensed via port-4f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f which is a pilot pressure operated pneumatic valve. The pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f will sense a drop in the pressure at port-4f and disconnects an input port-1f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f with an output port-2f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f. An exhaust port-3f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f is blocked at this time.
The solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 disconnects the input port 1d of the solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 with the output port 2d of the solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 when an electric signal is provided from the battery 191 through the ignition switch 170. When no electric signal is being received, the input port 1d of solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 is connected with the port 2d of the solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240. Thus, the solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 will ensure filling of load bellows 150a when ignition is ‘OFF’ to ensure initial filling of the load bellows when no pressure is present in the load bellow/s 150a. A non-return valve 250 will ensure that the pressurized air routed through the solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 does not get exhausted through port 3f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f, but will allow pressurized air from out port 2f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f to flow to the LACV 140a.
When ignition is on port 1d and 2d of solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 are disconnected hence during vehicle operating condition air supply will not flow from solenoid operated pneumatic valve 240 and will only flow from the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f.
When vehicle is operated ignition is on. In laden (or loaded) condition of the truck the load-bellows 150a remain filled with compressed air. When any of the load-bellow 150a and/or the corresponding peripheral circuit leaks/fails, there is a sudden drop in pressure. This drop in pressure is sensed via port-4f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f which is a pilot pressure operated pneumatic valve. The pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f will sense a drop in the pressure at port-4f and disconnects an input port-1c of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f with an output port-2f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f. An exhaust port-3f of the pilot operated pneumatic valve 210f is blocked.
Therefore, the drop in pressure of air in the system is prevented. As the system-pressure is maintained, the air supply to other lift-axles gets regularized and hence the functioning of other lift-axles won’t get affected.
The other lift-axle which can be a tag-lift axle will be lifted in a similar manner when the load-bellow 150b gets leaked.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCES AND ECONOMICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a system for controlling the operation of lift axles of a multi-axle truck that:
• automatically detects any failure in pneumatic circuit or of a load spring;
• prevents loss of compressed air;
• alerts the driver regarding any malfunction;
• eliminates the risk of overloading of main axles;
• eliminates the chances of vehicle roll;
• increases vehicle level safety;
• increases vehicle level reliability; and
• avoids a panic situation of the driver in case of lift-axle failure.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveals the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, or step, or group of elements, or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, or step, or group of elements, or steps.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.