Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Top and side board securing devices
Patent
1989-10-16
1991-06-11
Focarino, Margaret A.
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Top and side board securing devices
B62D 2700
Patent
active
050226967
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a mechanism for locking and actuating a pivoted sideboard or the like pivotably supported about an axis generally in plane alignment with the associated vehicle floor. An actuating mechanism is secured to a non-pivoted board adjacent to the pivoted sideboard and an actuating member is connected to the pivoted sideboard at a point distant from the axis. A locking mechanism retains the sideboard in the closed position by locking it in both ends to adjacent non-pivoted boards or other means fixed in relation to the vehicle floor.
BACKGROUND ART
In previously known mechanisms of this kind it has been considered necessary to have one actuating mechanism at each end of the pivoted sideboard, and also a separate locking mechanism for each end of the pivoted sideboard. The known mechanisms of this kind do, however, suffer from considerable drawbacks relating to the installation thereof, since the work with installing two separate actuating mechanisms and two separate locking mechanisms, possibly together with the requisite remote-controlling equipment, demands a great effort of highly qualified personnel, which situation is not made more tolerable by the fact that in many cases the work has to be done out-of-doors during inclement weather. As to the functioning, the known mechanisms are relatively vulnerable, especially because one of the actuating mechanisms is placed in a highly exposed position at the rear of the vehicle in question, and both this mechanism, the associated locking mechanism as well as the remote-controlling equipment may easily be damaged under the rough operating conditions often encountered by vehicles of the kind presently referred to, namely during work on building and construction sites.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention there is but one actuating mechanism for each pivoted sideboard, that actuating mechanism being placed adjacent to one end of the sideboard. The locking mechanism includes a transmission member which transmits locking and unlocking movements from the one end of the sideboard to the opposite end.
The present invention is based on the recognition of the fact that the pivoted sideboards being used on modern vehicles of the kind presently referred to exhibit such a high torsional rigidity, that they may readily be actuated by means of one single actuating mechanism placed at one of its ends. The novel arrangement of the locking mechanism also makes it possible to place the remote-controlling means for the locking mechanism at the same end of the pivoted sideboard at which the actuating mechanism is situated, and in this way long and vulnerable remote-controlling leads to the opposite end of the pivoted sideboard are avoided.
With the actuating mechanism constructed as a ready made unit it is possible to achieve a further simplification of the installation work, since in many cases it will be sufficient to bolt or weld the mechanism to the part of the vehicle in question and connect the power supply leads and conduits to the vehicle's power supply system. The ready-to-install unit can include the hydraulic pump necessary for the functioning of the mechanism and the electric drive motor for this pump as well as electrically controlled valves for controlling the actuating mechanism and the locking mechanism or mechanisms. The work of making the connecting will solely consist in the connection of a number of electrical wires, which may be simplified further by using multi-contact plugs and sockets. The ready-to-install unit may in certain cases also include the locking mechanism or mechanisms and e.g. the hydraulic conduits for the actuating means for this mechanism or mechanisms.
In an embodiment using a lost motion connection between the actuating mechanism and the pivoted sideboard it is possible to omit special remotely controlled actuating means for the locking mechanism, since in this embodiment the locking mechanism is actuated directly from the actuating mechanism in the initial phase of the latter's
REFERENCES:
patent: 1740755 (1929-12-01), Wackerow
patent: 4826237 (1989-05-01), Socha
Focarino Margaret A.
Hoge Gary C.
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