Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Top and side board securing devices
Patent
1998-06-09
2000-06-27
Johnson, Blair M.
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Top and side board securing devices
160188, 160210, B62D 2700
Patent
active
060797622
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a side wall for the body of a vehicle, for example, a lorry, freight trucks or the like, having at its upper longitudinal edge an upper wall portion pivotably connected via a first horizontal pivot pin to the vehicle body, and a lower wall portion which at its upper longitudinal edge is hingeably disposed via a second pivot pin parallel with the first pivot pin on the lower longitudinal edge of the upper wall portion, while a lifting arm engages (via one of its arms) with at least one of the two lateral edges of the upper wall portion, preferably adjacent its lower longitudinal edge, and is articulated by its other end to the upper transverse frame portion of the vehicle body via a third pivot pin which is parallel with the first pivot pin and the second pivot pin and which can be pivoted by means of a drive preferably formed by a hydraulic piston and cylinder unit, the two wall portions forming in one of their end positions a vertical plane wall for closing a loading opening of the vehicle body and in their other end position occupying a location above the roof of the vehicle body which completely opens up the loading opening.
The term "side wall" covers all accessible sides, including the rear side of the vehicle body. Fixed coverings of a vehicle body--i.e., coverings other than tarpaulins--must be removed pivoted or displaced for the purpose of loading or unloading. The displacement of side walls in the side wall plane as is, for example, customary with freight trucks, requires a lot of space in addition to the actual loading opening, which can therefore occupy only a portion of the total side wall length. With lorries also, this variant can be used only for very long sides, where guides can be provided for the displacement of the side wall. Moreover, it is impossible for the vehicle to be driven safely with side wall portions open and more particularly displaced in the direction of the drivers cab. Again, the pivoting of complete side walls requires a lot of space laterally of or above the vehicle, so that this variant is unsuitable for the opening of a vehicle body in practice. Due to the considerable torque, actuation would also be too costly and complicated.
A remedy was sought in dividing the side walls. However, just like sliding doors, vertically divided pivotable side walls--i.e., substantially horizontally pivotable doors--offer no protection against the effects of weather during loading and unloading. The possibility of travelling with the body open depends on the position of the open side wall or side wall portion. Horizontally divided side walls in which a side wall portion is hinged downwards also prevent travel with the side wall open, since it scrapes or knocks against the ground or the vehicle.
DE 26 38 972 A1 discloses a box body for lorries wherein the wall takes the form or a folding flap consisting of at least two hingeably interconnected individual portions, the upper wall portion being hingeably connected to the vehicle body. In its lower edge zone the lower wall portion is provided with rollers which engage in guides in the vehicle body. The construction disclosed in DE 31 02 891 A1 is characterised by a door flap divided in two, the lower portion of the door flap being moved upwards by a pivoted lever. In these two constructions the wall can be hinged upwards only by 90.degree. or somewhat more, and can therefore provide protection against the weather during loading and unloading. However, the upwardly hinged wall forms an obstacle to stacking personnel and means that the vehicle can be manoeuvred only to a limited extent.
The loading wall of a lorry as disclosed in DE 29 19 608 A1 is subdivided into an upper and lower wall portion and can be hinged upwards by means of a cable pull which engages with the lower edge zone of the lower side wall portion. Complete upward hinging is made possible by an upwardly hingeable roof portion. However, the mechanism required for this purpose is very expensive and moreover cable pulls present a risk in comparison with
REFERENCES:
patent: 2238181 (1941-04-01), Morgan
patent: 2334749 (1943-11-01), Burr
patent: 3864875 (1975-02-01), Hewitt
patent: 4268084 (1981-05-01), Peters
patent: 4793398 (1988-12-01), Hoff et al.
LandOfFree
Side wall for a vehicle body does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Side wall for a vehicle body, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Side wall for a vehicle body will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1777728