Unitized bus vehicle roof

Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Passenger bus body

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C296S210000, C296S203030

Reexamination Certificate

active

06502895

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
This invention relates to school and transit bus roofs. More specifically, the invention involves an improvement to roofs for these mobile vehicles for the purpose of reducing moisture intrusion into the vehicles. The new roof is essentially a single integral sheet installed without the need for multiple holes and rivets.
PRIOR ART
Owners of school and commercial or transit buses have sometimes experienced leakage of moisture or water into the bus body passenger compartments. The nearly one thousand rivets and numerous joined parts in the traditional bus roof may result in leaks, high labor, and part costs.
FIG. 1
shows such a prior art commercial bus
201
. The prior art design bus body
202
roofs consisted of multiple sheets
203
a,
203
b,
203
c,
and
203
d
of metal to comprise the roof. This prior art design called for expanding sealant between skin panels and the interior structure. The rivets
205
and
207
were installed between the sheets
203
a,
203
b,
203
c,
and
203
d
and the interior structure at the overlapping edges
204
and
206
. After the bus has been painted, workers apply additional sealant along the edges
204
and
206
of the joints. The large number of rivets
205
and
207
and the process and lack of easy access to properly apply the rivets
205
and
207
directly and perpendicular to the rivet holes increases the probability of leakage at the rivet holes and associated joints. A relatively large amount of original manufacturer rework is associated with this work. Variances in the amount of sealant applied also contribute to the leakage issues. The roof structure did not take advantage of incorporating upper body cowl
210
and window
208
and
209
installation into its construction. What has not been previously suggested is having an integral unitized roof structure for a school or commercial bus that reduces or eliminates the opportunity for leakage by replacing rivets with adhesive or adhesive tape as the joining force between the roof skin and supporting structure and by decreasing the number of potential leakage points by decreasing the number of parts making up the roof from many overlapping panels to what is effectively a single sheet.
SUMMARY
The roof and mounting structure of this invention and a school or commercial bus vehicle with these components installed satisfy the primary objective of this invention as follows. The roof is an integral unitized roof structure that reduces or eliminates the opportunity for leakage by replacing rivets with adhesive or adhesive tape as the joining force between the roof skin and supporting structure and by decreasing the number of potential leakage points by decreasing the number of parts making up the roof from many overlapping panels to what is effectively a single sheet. This single unitized roof may actually be comprised of two strips of metal welded together or crimped together along a seam.


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patent: 5018781 (1991-05-01), Kumasaka et al.
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patent: 6350048 (2002-02-01), Stanton et al.
patent: 2001/0033096 (2001-10-01), Hanyu
patent: 2002/0005656 (2002-01-01), Seifert

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