AU2015100692A4 - A Vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle (10) which includes a cabin (12) that is displaceable 5 along a non-coextensive cabin displacement path (14) between a concealing position in which the cabin (12) conceals part of a rolling chassis (20) of the vehicle (10) and a revealing position in which the cabin (12) reveals that part of the rolling chassis (20). The vehicle (10) also includes a cargo body (16) having a protruding cargo body portion (18), in which the cargo body (12) is displaceable, when the cabin (12) is in the concealing position, between an .0 interfering position in which the protruding cargo body portion (18) interferes with the non coextensive cabin displacement path (14) and an avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion (18) avoids the non-coextensive cabin displacement path (14). The invention extends to a displacement assembly (22) that includes a cargo body support structure (26) and an actuator assembly (34), which when actuated, displaces the cargo body. ClDC Cl (

Description

1 A VEHICLE FIELD 5 The invention relates to a vehicle having a cabin and a cargo body. The invention also relates to a displacement assembly for displacing the cargo body relative to the cabin of the vehicle. The invention extends to a motorhome. BACKGROUND .0 There is an ongoing need to provide improvements in vehicles, for example motorhomes, that are useful, or to provide alternative vehicles having useful features, at least to provide users with a useful choice. SUMMARY .5 According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle which includes: a cabin that is displaceable along a non-coextensive cabin displacement path between a concealing position in which the cabin conceals part of a rolling chassis of the vehicle and a revealing position in which the cabin reveals that part of the rolling chassis; and a cargo body having a protruding cargo body portion, the cargo body being .0 displaceable, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between an interfering position in which the protruding cargo body portion interferes with the non-coextensive cabin displacement path and an avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion avoids the non-coextensive cabin displacement path. 25 The cabin may be displaceable along a non-coextensive displacement path that extends through a space above the cabin relative to the cabin when the cabin is in the concealed position, and the protruding cargo body portion may be displaceable, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between the interfering position in which the protruding cargo body portion extends overhead the cabin into the non-coextensive cabin displacement 30 path and the avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion avoids the non coextensive cabin displacement path. The protruding cargo body portion may protrude from the cargo body of the vehicle towards a forward end of the vehicle, and a forward most end of the protruding cargo body 35 portion may slant rearwards upwardly.

2 According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a displacement assembly for use with a vehicle as defined in the first aspect of the invention, the displacement assembly including: an actuating assembly that is mounted or mountable onto a chassis of the vehicle, in 5 which the actuation assembly is operable to displace the cargo body, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between the interfering position in which the protruding cargo body portion interferes with the non-coextensive cabin displacement path and the avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion avoids the non-coextensive cabin displacement path. .0 The actuating assembly may include a cargo body support structure onto which the cargo body is mounted and the cargo body support structure may be mounted onto a chassis of the vehicle in a manner that enables the cargo body to hinge about a lateral hinge axis towards a rear end of the chassis; and an actuator that is mounted onto the chassis of the vehicle and that interacts with the .5 cargo body, which, when actuated, displaces the cargo body, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between the interfering position and the avoiding position. The vehicle may be in the form of a motorhome. In that case, the cargo body may include a living space. .0 An embodiment of the invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 25 Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic drawing, in side elevation view, of a vehicle and a displacement assembly, in accordance with the first- and second aspects of the invention; Figure 2 shows a diagrammatic drawing, in side elevation view, of the vehicle in Figure 1 with a cabin and a cargo body of the vehicle displaced; Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic drawing, in a three dimensional view, of one part of 30 the displacement assembly in Figure 1; and Figure 4 shows a diagrammatic drawing, in three dimensional view, of another part of the displacement assembly in Figure 1. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 35 In Figure 1, reference numeral 10 refers to a vehicle, in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 is in the form of recreation vehicle, specifically a motorhome.

3 Broadly the motorhome 10 includes a cabin 12, a chassis that includes elongated laterally spaced apart chassis beams 28 that extend in a forward-and-reward direction of the motorhome 10 and a rolling chassis 20 that includes an engine of the motorhome 10. 5 In Figure 1, the cabin 12 is shown in an operative upright position or concealing position in which the cabin 12 extends over part of the rolling chassis 20 in such a way that it conceals part of the rolling chassis 20. In Figure 2, the cabin 12 is shown in a revealing position in which the cabin 12 is in a tilted orientation. In particular, the cabin 12 is able to .0 hinge about a laterally extending hinge axis 30 that is towards a front end of the chassis. It follows that the cabin 12 is displaceable, by hinging, through a non-coextensive cabin displacement path 14 between the concealing position and the revealing position. By "non coextensive cabin displacement path 14" is meant a path through which the cabin 12 travels .5 when it is displaced and that at least part of that path is not initially occupied by the cabin 12 when in the revealing- or concealing position. The motorhome 10 also includes a cargo body 16 having a protruding cargo body portion 18. The protruding cargo body portion 18, as shown in Figure 1, protrudes from the 0 cargo body 16 towards a forward end of the motorhome 10 overhead the cabin 12 which is in the concealing position. In Figure 1, the cargo body 16 is shown in an interfering position in the sense that the underside of the protruding cargo body portion 18 extends proximate the cabin 12 so that the a lower part of the protruding cargo body portion 18 overlaps with or interferes with the non-coextensive cabin displacement path 14 of the cabin 12. As shown in 25 Figure 2, the cargo body 16 is displaceable to an avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion 18 avoids the non-coextensive cabin displacement path 14. A forward end, or leading end, of the protruding cargo body portion 18 slants rearwards upwardly. The underside of the protruding cargo body portion extends more-or-less parallel 30 with a roof of the cabin 12, when the cabin 13 is in the concealing position, and a lower front end corner of the protruding cargo body portion 18 extends adjacent an upper front end corner of the cabin 12. The motorhome 10, in accordance with the invention, includes a displacement 35 assembly, generally indicated by reference numeral 22, which is used for displacing the cargo body 16 to-and-from the interfering- and avoiding positions.

4 Broadly, the displacement assembly 22 includes a cargo body support structure 26 onto which the cargo body 16 is mounted and an actuator assembly 34 for displacing the cargo body support structure 26 and the cargo body 16. 5 More specifically, the cargo body support structure 26 includes laterally spaced apart cargo support beams 26 that rest on associated chassis beams 28 when the cargo body 16 is in its interfering position. The cargo support beams 26 are attached, towards their rear ends, to the chassis beams 28 with a hinging assembly 24 that permits the cargo support beams 26, and hence the cargo body 16, to be hinged about a laterally extending hinge axis 32. .0 Referring to Figure 4, the hinging assembly 24 includes a rectangular plate member 66 that is positioned so that it overlaps lateral outer surfaces of an associated chassis beam 28 and cargo support beam 26 face-to-face. Towards an upper end of the plate member 66 it is bolted to the cargo support beam 26 with two bolts 62, and towards its lower end it is .5 attached to the chassis beam 28 with a hinge pin 64. The hinge pin 64 is in the form of a bolt and nut 64 that passes its associated bolt hole with a working clearance, so as to permit hinging of the cargo support beam (see arrow 60). The actuating assembly 34, with reference to Figure 3, broadly includes an actuator 0 36, 38 that is mounted onto an actuator support structure 56, and is directly or indirectly attached to the cargo support structure 28 operatively to displace the cargo body 16. The actuator support structure 56 includes a cross-beam 50 that extends laterally between the cassis beams 28 at a position between the cabin 12 and the cargo body 16. At 25 each end of the cross-beam 50 is a foot piece that includes a downwardly projecting stub beam that terminates in a flange 54 that is used for bolting the support structure 56 onto the chassis beam 28. A cleat 48 projects upwardly from an intermediate position of the cross beam 50. 30 The actuator is in the form of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 36 and ram 38. One end of the cylinder 36 includes a clevis 46 having a clevis pin 58 for attaching the cleat 48 to the clevis 46. Through holes of the clevis 46 and the cleat 48 are dimensioned such they are able to hinge about the clevis pin 58. The clevis pin 58 is in the form of a bolt and nut. 35 Further, the actuating assembly 34 includes a pair of cleats 44 that are mounted spaced apart face-to-face to either the body (or with a link to the cargo support structure 26) and project toward a forward end of the vehicle, so as to form a clevis 44 for joining, with a 5 clevis pin 42, to an eye provided at an end of the ram 38 with a clevis pin 42. The clevis pin 42 is in the form of a bolt and nut and is shaped and sized to permit hinging of the ram 18 relative to the clevis 44. 5 In this example, the cargo body 16 includes a frame, indicated by dotted lines 45, to support walls of the cargo body 16. The frame 45 can be part of a sub assembly of the cargo body 16 configure to transfer a load of the cargo body to the cargo body support structure 26. The frame 45 can be of steel or some other material of suitable strength. The cleats 44 can be welded or bolted to the frame 45. It is to be understood that the cleats 44 could be replaces .0 with some other arrangement to allow connection to the cargo body 16. For example, the cargo body 16 may not require a frame for support, such as when the walls are of a composite material. An example of such a material would be fibre glass. In such a case, a bonded plate or plate bolted through the wall would be suitable. .5 Figure 1 shows the vehicle 10 with the cabin 12 and cargo body 18 in their concealing position and interfering position respectively for ordinary use of the vehicle 10. In use, if a rolling chassis 20 of the vehicle 10 is to be revealed for maintenance or repairs, then the actuator 36, 38 is activated. The actuator 36, 38, displaces the cargo body 16 in a manner that causes the cargo body support beams 26 to hinge about the hinge axis 32. The cargo 0 body 16 is displaced until the protruding cargo body portion 18 is out of the non-coextensive cabin displacement path 14 in the avoiding position. Thereafter, the cabin displacement path 14 of the cabin 12 is free from obstruction or interference, and tilted by hinging about the hinge axis 30 towards the revealing position. 25 Embodiments, in accordance with the invention, are useful, in the sense that they enable a cargo body that includes a protruding cargo body portion that can be used with a cabin of the kind that is displaceable to reveal a rolling chassis of a vehicle. Specifically, the embodiment described is useful in that the protruding cargo body 30 portion 18 adds to an interior space of a cargo body 16 of the motorhome 10, whilst still enabling displacement of the cabin 12 when required. The addition interior space provided by the protruding cargo body portion 18 can be used for additional storage space, a sleeping berth, or the like. 35 The protruding cargo body portion 18 provides additional interior space while still allowing a front end of the protruding cargo body portion 18 to be slanted rearwards upwardly, which is useful for reducing drag of the motorhome. In an embodiment in which the vehicle is 6 a cargo vehicle, the body portion provides extra interior length for long cargo (in the case of a cargo truck, not motorhome) without the increase in a standard square box body that would be required. 5 The displacement assembly 22 is formed in a manner such that it is relatively lightweight, yet of sufficient integrity and durability. Variations of the above embodiment of the invention are envisaged. For example, the actuating assembly 34 can include more than one actuator (not shown). .0 The actuator can be in the form of a rack-and-pinion, worm-screw, linear motor, or the like (not shown). The actuator could also be a winch and pulley assembly. Also, the displacement assembly 22 can include only one, or more than two, hinge .5 assemblies (not shown). The bolts used in the displacement assembly 22 can be high tensile bolts, and the nuts can be nylon lock nuts (not shown), or the like. .0 In view of the above paragraphs, the following points should be noted: 1. The cargo body is a purpose-designed product and not simply a body bolted on to an existing tipper or tilt-tray vehicle. 2. The vehicle effectively includes an integral purpose built sub-chassis with a lifting point at the front of the cargo body and a pivot point at the back of the cargo body. 25 3. The chassis is sufficiently stiff enough on a lateral line of the body to enable lifting from the front and pivoting from the back without sagging under the load of the body. This is achieved partially by transferring some of the bending moment to perimeter walls of the cargo body. 4 The actuator is fitted to engage a sub frame of the body so that the body itself 30 need to bear the stress associated with operation of the actuator. 5. The vehicle can be configured to have a weight and size that complies with the requirements for a standard light vehicle driver's licence. 6. The vehicle can have any number of uses, including, but not limited to, use as a motorhome, a cargo vehicle or "truck" or "lorry". 35 7 In the specification, including the claims, where the context permits, the term comprising" and variants thereof such as "comprise" or "comprises" are to be interpreted as including the stated integer or integers without necessarily excluding any other integers. 5 It is to be understood that the terminology employed above is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The described embodiments are intended to be illustrative of the invention, without limiting the scope thereof. The invention is capable of being practised with various modifications and additions as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. .0 Various substantially and specifically practical and useful exemplary embodiments of the claimed subject matter, are described herein, textually and/or graphically, including the best mode, if any, known to the inventors for carrying out the claimed subject matter. Variations (e.g., modifications and/or enhancements) of one or more embodiments described .5 herein might become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this application. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the claimed subject matter to be practiced other than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, as permitted by law, the claimed subject matter includes and covers all equivalents of the claimed subject matter and all improvements to the claimed 0 subject matter. Moreover, every combination of the above described elements, activities, and all possible variations thereof are encompassed by the claimed subject matter unless otherwise clearly indicated herein, clearly and specifically disclaimed, or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. 25 The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate one or more embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of any claimed subject matter unless otherwise stated. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed subject matter as essential to the practice of the claimed subject matter. 30 The use of words that indicate orientation or direction of travel is not to be considered limiting. Thus, words such as "front", "back", "rear", "side", "up", down", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "forwards", "backwards", "towards", "distal", "proximal", "in", "out" and synonyms, antonyms and derivatives thereof have been selected for convenience only, unless the context 35 indicates otherwise. The inventor envisages that various exemplary embodiments of the claimed subject matter can be supplied in any particular orientation and the claimed subject matter is intended to include such orientations.

8 Thus, regardless of the content of any portion (e.g., title, field, background, summary, description, abstract, drawing figure, etc.) of this application, unless clearly specified to the contrary, such as via explicit definition, assertion, or argument, or clearly contradicted by 5 context, with respect to any claim, whether of this application and/or any claim of any application claiming priority hereto, and whether originally presented or otherwise: a. there is no requirement for the inclusion of any particular described or illustrated characteristic, function, activity, or element, any particular sequence of activities, or any particular interrelationship of elements; .0 b. no characteristic, function, activity, or element is "essential"; c. any elements can be integrated, segregated, and/or duplicated; d. any activity can be repeated, any activity can be performed by multiple entities, and/or any activity can be performed in multiple jurisdictions; and e. any activity or element can be specifically excluded, the sequence of activities can .5 vary, and/or the interrelationship of elements can vary. The use of the terms "a", "an", "said", "the", and/or similar referents in the context of describing various embodiments (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly 0 contradicted by context. The terms "comprising," "having," "including," and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. Moreover, when any number or range is described herein, unless clearly stated 25 otherwise, that number or range is approximate. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value and each separate subrange defined by such separate values is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. For example, if a range of 1 to 10 is described, that 30 range includes all values there between, such as for example, 1.1, 2.5, 3.335, 5, 6.179, 8.9999, etc., and includes all subranges there between, such as for example, 1 to 3.65, 2.8 to 8.14, 1.93 to 9, etc. Accordingly, every portion (e.g., title, field, background, summary, description, 35 abstract, drawing figure, etc.) of this application, other than the claims themselves, is to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive, and the scope of subject matter 9 protected by any patent that issues based on this application is defined only by the claims of that patent.

Claims (5)

1. A vehicle which includes: a cabin that is displaceable along a non-coextensive cabin displacement path between 5 a concealing position in which the cabin conceals part of a rolling chassis of the vehicle and a revealing position in which the cabin reveals that part of the rolling chassis; and a cargo body having a protruding cargo body portion, in which the cargo body is displaceable, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between an interfering position in which the protruding cargo body portion interferes with the non-coextensive cabin .0 displacement path and an avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion avoids the non-coextensive cabin displacement path.

2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, in which the cabin is displaceable along a non coextensive displacement path that extends above the cabin relative to the cabin when the .5 cabin is in the concealed position, and the protruding cargo body portion is displaceable, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between the interfering position in which the protruding cargo body portion extends overhead the cabin into the non-coextensive cabin displacement path and the avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion avoids the non coextensive cabin displacement path. .0

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the protruding cargo body portion protrudes from the cargo body of the vehicle towards a forward end of the vehicle, and a forward most end of the protruding cargo body portion slants rearwards upwardly. 25

4. A displacement assembly for use with a vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, the displacement assembly including: an actuating assembly that is mounted or mountable onto a chassis of the vehicle, in which the actuation assembly is operable to displace the cargo body, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between the interfering position in which the protruding cargo body portion 30 interferes with the non-coextensive cabin displacement path and the avoiding position in which the protruding cargo body portion avoids the non-coextensive cabin displacement path.

5. A displacement assembly, as claimed in claim 4, in which the actuating assembly includes 35 a cargo body support structure onto which the cargo body is mounted, the cargo body support structure being mounted onto a chassis of the vehicle in a manner that enables the cargo body to hinge about a lateral hinge axis towards a rear end of the chassis; and 11 an actuator that is mounted onto the chassis of the vehicle and that interacts with the cargo body, which, when actuated, displaces the cargo body, when the cabin is in the concealing position, between the interfering position and the avoiding position. 5