Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Body shell
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-09
2001-01-16
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Body shell
C296S183100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06174022
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention is in a cargo van and more particularly in a cargo van with a door in a side wall for elongated cargo.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Van type vehicles are used for transporting cargo that needs to be protected from the elements as well as cargo that needs to be secured to prevent pilferage. Normally cargo vans have one or more rear doors that open substantially the entire rear wall for receiving and discharging cargo. These vans can receive palletized cargo, boxed cargo, containers or loose cargo. However, they are generally not suitable for transporting heavy elongated articles.
Heavy elongated articles are generally transported on flatbed vehicles or vehicles with an open top. The open top allows heavy elongated articles to be loaded and unloaded with cranes where suitable cranes are available. Some protection from the elements can be provided by canvas covers on flatbed vehicles and on vans with open tops. In situations where cranes are not available, the usual method of unloading elongated articles from a flatbed vehicle is with a forklift. Forklifts with adequate size, that are equipped for rough terrain use, can unload elongated cargo from flatbed trucks or trailers at construction sites and other locations. Forklifts are generally not capable of lifting and unloading elongated cargo from cargo vans.
Cargo, such as conduit pipe used by electricians and plastic pipe and copper pipe used by plumbers, is generally banded together in bundles that are up to about four feet wide, as long as the pipes and any desired height. These elongated bundles can be loaded and unloaded from flatbed vehicles with forklifts. However, very few construction sites need a truck or trailer load of such pipe at one time. Plumbers and electricians also need supplies such as wire, switches, couplings, valves and solder that come in cardboard boxes. These parts and the boxes must be kept dry. The usual procedure employed to protect such parts from moisture is to transport them in enclosed vans.
There are two common alternative systems for delivering cargo that includes elongated items and other items that are to be kept dry. The elongated articles can be delivered by a flatbed vehicle and the other cargo can be delivered in an enclosed van or the bundles of pipe or other elongated cargo can be broken apart for manual loading and unloading. Both of these alternatives substantially increase the cost of delivering the cargo suggested above and other related cargo to construction sites. cargo vans and semi-trailers are available that have an enclosed front portion and a flatbed rear portion. These units can protect the cargo that requires a dry enclosure and simultaneously transport elongated articles that can be loaded on and unloaded from the side of the flatbed portion. The major drawback of these cargo transporters is that they tend to be longer than required. The extra length may complicate movement into and around construction areas. Another drawback is that in many cases such transporters will be only partially loaded.
A less common system for delivering general cargo is to use a van with soft sides. The soft sides are a canvas type material with reinforcement. Different arrangements are provided for opening the soft side of a cargo van. Some of these systems open the side for loading and unloading cargo including elongated cargo. The cargo transported in vans with soft sides must be secured to the van floor to hold it away from the canvas material. Securing cargo to a van floor can be difficult and time consuming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a cargo van with a side door that permits the insertion and removal of elongated cargo with a forklift. Another object of the invention is to provide a cargo van with a rigid side door that keeps water out. A further object of the invention is to provide a cargo van with a side door that does not interfere with the movement of cargo into and out of the van through a rear door.
The cargo van has a van frame and a floor that is supported by a truck frame and chassis or by trailer wheels. Side walls, a front end wall and a roof are supported by the van frame. The rear wall is a rear door assembly that can open substantially the entire rear end of the van. The rear door assembly can include two door sections each of which is pivotally attached to a side wall for pivotal movement about a generally vertical axis. The rear door assembly can also be an overhead type door held by a track assembly.
The side door opening in one of the side walls extends upward from the van floor about one meter and can extend from near the front end wall to near the rear end wall. The upper portion of the side wall extends upwardly from the top of the side door opening to the roof. The side door opening is closed by one or more side door sections. The one or more side door sections are pivotally attached to the van frame for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis. The door can be divided into two or more door sections to reduce the weight that has to be lifted to close the door or a door section. The side door is limited to a vertical height of about one meter so that the door can be opened to a position in which it extends substantially vertically downward from the hinges. If the vertical height of the side door opening is too large, the door section may contact the ground and prevent the door sections from opening fully.
The side door only needs to extend along the length of the cargo van a distance that exceeds the length of the longest elongated cargo that is to be transported.
A latch assembly is pivotally attached to the cargo van and has a pair of flat plate portions. One flat plate portion contacts the inside surface of the fixed upper side wall when the latch assembly is in a closed and latched position. The other flat plate portion contacts the outside surface of the side door when the door is closed and latched. Seals are provided as required. During movement of the vehicle along a roadway, the cargo van floor tends to flex up and down with the load. This causes vertical movement of the side door relative to the upper portion of the side wall. The latch assembly and the seals accommodate the vertical movement of the doors relative to the fixed upper side wall. Latch handles secure the latch assembly plate portions in a latched position.
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Coletta Lori
Dayoan D. Glenn
Reising Ethington, Barnes, Kisselle, Learman & McCulloch, P.C.
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