AU654053B2

AU654053B2 - Improvements in or relating to van or trailer bodies

Info

Publication number: AU654053B2
Application number: AU27478/92A
Authority: AU
Inventors: James Robert Curtis
Original assignee: MAXI CUBE Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Transtech Research Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1991-10-29
Filing date: 1992-10-29
Publication date: 1994-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 2012-10-29
Also published as: AU2747892A

Description

-il I -i I- i- -1- P/00/0011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 4 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

00 oo S0o Q 00 00 a 0 oo o 0 0 e0 o 0 0 1 o a 04 0 0 0 o a oo 0 00 Name of Applicant: MAXI-CUBE PTY LTD Actual Inventor(s): James Robert Curtis Address for service in Australia: CARTER SMITH BEADLE, Qantas House, 2 Railway Parade, Camberwell, Victoria, 3124, Australia.

Invention Title: "Improvements in or Relating to Van or Trailer Bodies" Details of Associated Provisional Applications: PK 9203 filed 29 October 1991 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: -2- IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO VAN OR TRAILER BODIES The present invention relates to a van or trailer body and more particularly to an enclosed body for transport vehicles which is adapted for ready conversion from one form of load carrying configuration to another.

The invention has particular utility in a van or trailer body which may be converted from a double loader cor;figuration wherein low height pallets are transported in upper and lower layers of pallets, to a single loader configuration in which the body can accommodate "full height" pallets, or in which meat is suspended from hangers close to the ceiling of the body.

It is known in refrigerated van or trailer bodies to provide removable S transverse cross-bars about mid-way up the height of the body to r° accommodate a first layer of low height pallets underneath the bars and support a second layer of such pallets on the bars. Removal of the crosso o o bars allows the body to accommodate "full height" pallets, or meat suspended i 15 from meat hanging rails supported on the underside of the ceiling of the body.

A disadvantage of such a refrigerated van or trailer body is that when the body is to be loaded with upper and lower layers of low height pallets, it is necessary for a fork lift loader to go into the body to move the pallets from the open, rear end of the body towards the closed, front end of the body and to lift the low height pallets onto the transverse cross-bars to form the upper layer of pallets. Likewise, fork lift loaders are required to go into the body to unload the low height pallets from the closed, front end of the body.

S* It is therefore desirable to provide a van or trailer body which, in at least 4 1 St a double loader configuration, facilitates loading aid unloading of the pallets.

It is also desirable to provide a van or trailer body which is readily convertible between double loader and single loader configurations.

According to one aspect of the invention there provided an elongate van or trailer body including guide means along the inside of each side wall of the body, the guide means being adapted to support a plurality of sliding or rolling assemblies and to guide the assemblies for longitudinal movement JRG:DMW\spe\#8565.cap 27 October 1992 _r -3along the side walls, wherein the guide means along each side wall of the body is provided at an intermediate height between the base and the roof of the body, whereby an upper layer of pallets can be supported on the sliding or rolling assemblies in the upper part of the body above the guide means, and a lower layer of pallets can be accommodated in the lower part of the body beneath the guide means.

Each sliding or rolling assembly is conveniently removable from the body so that the van or trailer can also adopt a single loader configuration with the body being able to accommodate either full height pallets or meat suspended from hangers close to the ceiling of the body.

In a preferred form of the invention, each sliding or rolling assembly comprises a trolley assembly having a pair of side members, each side member having guided runners, rollers or wheels engageable with guide rails o 0 on the side walls of the body, and a pair of transverse cross-members S:i* 15 extending between the side members of the trolley assembly.

Preferably, the transverse cross-members of a trolley assembly are detachable from the side members to facilitate storage of the trolley assembly when not in use.

0 A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in S which: Figure 1 is an external side view of a van or trailer body in accordance with the invention; 0 Figure 2 is a rear view of part of a trolley assembly supported by guide means on an internal side wall of the body; and I GN:KB:#I56S.mc 22 Auguslat 1994 ist

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-4- Figure 3 is a part perspective view showing the component parts of the trolley assembly of Figure 2.

The van or trailer body 10 shown in Figure 1 has an internal loadcarrying compartment defined by a closed, front wall 12, elongate side walls 14, a rear door 16, a floor 18, and a roof 20. The load-carrying compartment of the body may be used for transporting pallets either in a double loader configuration or in a single loader configuration, and it may be refrigerated with hangers provided beneath the roof of the body for supporting meat. If the compartment is to be refrigerated, the walls, floor and roof are preferably formed from foam reinforced panels. The body 10 is supported on a chassis r 22 to which wheels 24 and other substructure 26 are affixed.

A plurality of support brackets 28 are secured along the inside of each o, t side wall 14 at an intermediate height about mid-way between the floor 18 i.I t and the roof 20 of the body 10. On each side wall 14 of the body an elongate 15 guide member 30 extending longitudinally from the front wall 12 to the rear door 16 is attached to the brackets 28 by means of attachment plates 32 and rivets or studs 34. As shown in Figure 2, each guide member 30 is formed from a hollow, square-section metal bar and a longitudinally extending guide rail 36 in the form of a circular metal rod is welded to the upper surface of the guide member 30. The guide rail 36 on each side of the body is adapted to support a respective side member 42 of a removable trolley assembly 40; the construction of each trolley assembly being described below with particular reference to Figures 2 and 3.

Each trolley assembly 40 essentially comprises a pair of opposed side members 42 of angle section (only one of which is shown in Figures 2 and 3), and a pair of detachable cross-bars 48 extending between the side members 42 for supporting a pallet thereon. Each side member 42 carries a pair of front and rear rotatablk :llers or wheels 44 which cooperate with a respective guide rail 36 to guide the trolley assembly for longitudinal movement along the guide rail 36. Channel brackets 48 are provided at the front and rear ends of JRG:DMW\spc\#8565.cap 27 October 1992 r

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I 4t 4 Ii I'4 4'',f I It A Ir rrr the side members 42 on their inwardly facing surfaces, each channel bracket 48 being adapted to receive an end of a respective cross-bar 46 formed of a square or rectangular metal section. Retaining means, for instance in the form of retaining pins 50 receivable in holes 52 extending through the sides of the channel brackets 48 and holes 54 extending through the sides of the cross-bars 46, are provided to retain the cross-bars 46 securely within the channel brackets 48. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the retaining pins 50 are provided on the end of chains 56 secured to cylindrical element 58 extending inwardly from the side members 42 of the trolley assembly 40. The cylindrical elements 58 may also have holes 60 extending therethrough for receiving the retaining pins 50 when the cross-bars 46 are detached from the side members 42 of the trolley assembly It will be appreciated that the van or trailer body as described with reference to the drawings can be readily used in a double loader configuration by first loading a lower level of low height pallets on the floor of the trailer and then loading a plurality of low height pallets onto trolley assemblies 40 from the rear of the vehicle and rolling the trolley assemblies 40 with pallets thereon along the guide rails 36 towards the front wall 12 of the body thereby forming an upper layer of low height pallets in the upper part of the body.

Also, it is a relatively simple operation to roll the trolleys 40 forwardly or rearwardly within the body, and so it is not necessary to use fork lifts or the like within the body to place low height pallets on the upper level at the front end of the elongate body or to remove loaded pallets therefrom.

Furthermore, the van or trailer body can be readily converted into a 25 single loader configuration by removing the trolley assemblies from the body so that the body can accommodate full height pallets or meat suspended from the ceiling when hangers are provided adjacent the roof of the body.

When the trolley assemblies 40 are not in use, they can easily be dismantled by detaching the cross-bars 46 from the side members 42 and storing the cross-bars and side members within a storage compartment 27

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-4 t 4 IL L It I I 4 I JRG:DMW\spe\#8565.cap 27 October 1992 V 'f i -e a~ i liL__ II ;L L -6on the underside of the chassis 22.

In an alternative embodiment, not shown, additional guide rails may be provided along the sides of the body at a height above and/or below the intermediate guide rail. For instance, guide rails provided at a level just below the ceiling could support slidable or rollable trolley assemblies with hangers of the like provided on the cro3s-bars of the trolley assemblies, the hangers or the like being suitable for suspending goods such as meat from the crossbars. Alternatively or additionally, guide rails for receiving trolley assemblies just above the floor of the body could be used to move low height or full height pallets from the rear of the body towards the front of the body, thereby eliminating the need for goods handlers to use pallet trucks within the body for moving pallets to and from the front of the body.

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Claims

1. An elongate van or trailer body comprising a base, side walls, a roof, and guide means along the inside of each side wall of the body, the guide means being adapted to support a plurality of sliding or rolling assemblies and to guide the assemblies for longitudinal movement along the side walls, wherein the guide means along each side wall of the body is provided at an intermediate height between the base and the roof of the body, whereby an upper layer of pallets can be supported on the sliding or rolling assemblies in the upper part of the body above the guide means, and a lower layer of pallets can be accommodated in the lower part of the body beneath the guide means.

2. A van or trailer body according to claim 1 wherein each sliding or rolling assembly is removable from the body. A: 0

3. A van or trailer body according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the guide means extending along each side wall of the body comprises at least one °guide rail to guide and support a side member of a sliding or rolling assembly. :e.j

4. A van or trailer body according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the sliding or rolling assemblies comprise trolley assemblies having side members with guided runners, rollers or wheels engageable with the 20 guide means along the side walls of the body and transverse cross-members 00 4 extending between the side members.

A van or trailer body according to claim 4 wherein the transverse cross- members are detachable from the side members of the trolley assembly.

6. A van or trailer body according to claim 5 wherein the side members are provided with brackets to receive and support the ends of the transverse cross-members.

7. A van or trailer body according to claim 6 wherein the ends of the cross-members are releasably secured to the brackets on the side members by retaining means.

8. A van or trailer body according to claim 7 wherein removable retaining S JRGNB:S565.spc 22 August 1994 i n V~~ -8- pins are receivable in holes extending through the brackets and the cross- members to retain the cross-bars securely in the brackets.

9. A van or trailer body according to any one of the preceding claims further including guide means along each side wall of the body at a level just below the roof to support sliding or rolling assemblies provided with hangers or the like.

A van or trailer body according to any one of the preceding claims further including guide means at a level just above the base of the body to support sliding or rolling assemblies.

11. A van or trailer body substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. *r 000 4.l 0 0 0 0 0r *4 0 4* 4 1( DATED: 22 August 1994 CARTER SMITH BEADLE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: MAXI-CUBE PTY LTD V 4 RG:NB: 565.spc "bn 22 August 1994 (s 1 rT ABSTRACT Improvements in or Relating to Van or Trailer Bodies An elongate van or trailer body (10) is provided with guide rails (30,36) extending longitudinally along the side walls (14) of the body. The guide rails (30,36) support side members (42) of trolley assemblies (40) which are guided for longitudinal movement reiative to the body by rollers or wheels (44) provided on the side members (42) and engageable with the guide rails (30,36). The guide rails (30,36) may be provided at an intermediate height about mid-way between the floor (18) and the roof (20) of the body (10) so that the body (10) can be loaded with two levels of pallets or the like. The trolley assemblies (40) are removable from the rear door (16) of the body to enable the body (10) to be loaded with full height pallets or goods suspended from the roof Guide rails may also be provided either just below the roof (20) to support trolley assemblies with hangers or just above the floor The trolley assemblies (40) have detachable cross-bars (46) which facilitate storage of the assemblies when removed from the body 0 t 4 000 6400 U a0 0 0 j 00 0 00 o4 0 0 0W S 00 0 S Bo Or, JRG:DMW*sp\'8s65,cap 27 October 1992 L II I. t-