AU783007B2

AU783007B2 - A side coaming rail for curtainside trailer

Info

Publication number: AU783007B2
Application number: AU18671/02A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Liangfu Xie
Original assignee: China International Marine Containers Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: China International Marine Containers Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2001-09-21
Filing date: 2002-02-26
Publication date: 2005-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 2022-02-26
Also published as: AU1867102A; CN2509048Y

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT China International Marine Containers (Group) Ltd Liangfu Xie A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys GPO Box 772, Adelaide SA 5001 A Side Coaming Rail for Curtainside Trailer The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- A SIDE COAMING RAIL FOR CURTAINSIDE TRAILER FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the structure of trailers, and more particularly to the structure of the side coaming rails for curtainside trailers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In prior art, most of side coaming rails of curtainside trailer are made from I-steel oeooo beam or channel steel. When the curtains are tensioned with a buckles device, the curtains directly contact with the top and bottom flange plates of 1-steel beam or channel steel as shown in Fig.5. During driving, the trailers twist and strain resulting in relative movement between the curtains and the right-angled edges on the top and bottom flange plates of side coaming rails. This wears and tears the curtains, shortens their working life, requiring labor to repair. Further more, the weight of I-steel beam or channel steel is too great for economical operation.

e• OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general object of the present invention is to provide a structure of side 20 coaming rails for curtainside trailer to protect the curtains from abrasion, lengthen their working life, lighten the deadweight of side coaming rails, and increase the carrying efficiency of trailers.

In accordance with the invention, there is provided a structure of side coaming rails for curtainside trailer; wherein said side coaming rails are in arcuate shape at the conjunction with said curtains; said side coaming rail comprises a top pressed plate and a vertical pressed plate under said top pressed plate; the outer side of said top pressed plate bends down to form a arc edge, and the inner side of said top pressed plate first bends down and then bends inwardly to form a horizontal edge for connecting with the trailer floor; the top surface of said vertical pressed plate connects with the bottom of said top pressed plate, and the lower side of said vertical pressed plate first bends outwardly and then bends down to form a arcuate edge at the same vertical plane with said arc edge at the outer side of the top pressed plate.

According to the present invention, when the curtains of a trailer are tensioned, the curtains contact with the smooth arc edges of the top pressed plate and the vertical pressed plate, which can reduce abrasion between the curtains and side coaming rails during trailers driving, lengthening the working life of curtains.

Simultaneously, the simple structure of side coaming rails decreases the weight of themselves greatly and increases the carrying efficiency of trailers.

:•'"-BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS rr 10 Detailed description of the present invention will be given below by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 shows a side view of a curtainside trailer using the side coaming rail of the present invention.

S"Fig.2 shows the A-A sectional view in Fig.1.

Fig.3 shows the B direction view in Fig.2.

Fig.4 shows the top view of side coaming rail shown in Fig.3.

shows a sectional view of the side coaming rail using I-steel beam for a traditional curtainside trailer.

Fig.6 shows a sectional view of the structure of the side coaming rail in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERED EMBODIMENT As shown in Fig. 1, a curtainside trailer comprises front wall I, roof 2, gate 3, sliding post 4, rear door 5, chassis 6, landing gear 7, curtains 8, and other parts, such as axles, air suspension and tyres. There are curtains on the both sides of the trailer, the tracks of curtains is fixed to the top of the trailer. The curtains roller assembly connects with the top side of the curtains and moves together with the curtains in the tracks. The lower side of said curtains reach over said side coaming rails and is tensioned by traditional buckle assemblies. The rear end of said curtains is put into the rear corner post and fixed there. The front end of said curtains is connected with curtain poles. Thus said curtains can be tensioned in front and back direction.

As shown in Fig.5, a traditional side coaming rail of curtainside trailer is made from I-steel beam. The side coaming rail comprises top flange plate 53, vertical plate 52 and bottom flange plate 51. The floor 54 of the trailer is connected with the top flange plate 53. The crossmember 55 of the floor 54 is connected with the crossmember 56 of the trailer chassis. The curtains 8 contact with the edge of said top flange plate 53 and bottom flange plate 51, whereby the curtains will be frayed by the edges of the I-steel beam during the trailer driving and the working life of the •curtains will be shortened. Although there are round edges on I-steel beam and channel steel acting as side coaming rail, the curtain will also be frayed by the edges o:o0 10 of the beam over long term use. Further more, the tare weight of standardized I-steel beam or channel steel is greater than that of the pressed steel member at the same dimension, which is not good for reducing the tare weight of trailer.

o. As one example of the present invention shown in Fig.6, the side coaming rail 63 for a curtainside trailer comprises a top pressed plate 66 and a vertical pressed plate 64 under said top pressed plate 66; the outer side of said top pressed plate 66 bends down to form an arcuate edge 65, and the inner side part of said top pressed plate 66 first bends down and then bends inwardly to form a horizontal edge 67 for connecting with trailer floor; the top end of said vertical pressed plate 64 connects with the bottom surface of said top pressed plate 66, and the lower part of said vertical pressed plate 64 first bends outwardly to form a horizontal part 62 and then bends down to form an arcuate edge 61 at the same vertical plane with said arcuate edge 65 at the outer side of the top pressed plate 66. In this way, the side coaming rail 63 contacts the curtains 8 at smooth arc 65 and arc 61. The upper surface of said horizontal edge 67 is connected with trailer floor 69. The lower surface of the horizontal edge 67 is connected with the crossmember 68 of the floor 69. The inner surface of said vertical pressed plate 64 is connected to the crossmember 60 of the trailer chassis. The structure of the side coaming rail in the present invention is simpler than that of the traditional side coaming rail made from I-steel beam. Thin steel plate can be chosen to make the side coaming rail in the present invention while the overall size of the side coaming rail keeps the same as the traditional one, therefore, the side coaming rail in the present invention is lighter than that in the prior art.

As shown in Fig.2, the bottom surface at the right side of the top pressed plate 66 of the side coaming rail 63 is connected to the crossmember 68 of the floor. The upper surface at the right side of the top pressed plate 66 is connected to the floor 69 by welding. The crossmember 60 of the chassis is connected to the side coaming rail 63 by welding. The left side of the side coaming rail 63 contacts with curtains at smooth arcs.

o 10 Fig.3 shows the longitudinal structure of the side coaming rail in the present invention. As is shown, connecting plates 31 are welded with the top pressed plate 66 and the horizontal part 62 at the outer side of the vertical pressed plate 64 to increase the strength of the side coaming rail and keep the gate 3 from turning over when the posts of gate 3 are inserted into the holes on the side coaming rail.

Fig.4 shows a top view of side coaming rail. As is shown, some rectangle holes 41 on said top pressed plate 66 are provided for inserting the posts of the gate 3.

To sum up, the present invention has overcome the shortcoming that great abrasion between the curtains and the side coaming rail causes the curtains to wear S"and tear quickly when adopting the traditional side coaming rail structure. The weight of the side coaming rail in the present invention is lighter than that in prior art, so the carrying efficiency of the trailer according to the present invention has been improved.

Claims

1. A side coaming rail for a curtainside trailer, characterized in that, one side of said side coaming rail has arcuate curtain contacting surfaces wherein said side coaming rail comprises: a top pressed plate (66) and a vertical pressed plate (64) under and connected to said top pressed plate outer sides of said top pressed plate (66) and said vertical pressed plate (64) have arcuate construction to provide said arcuate surfaces.

2. A side coaming rail as defined in claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of rectangle holes (41) through said top pressed plate (66).

3. A side coaming rail as defined in claim 2, wherein a plurality of connecting plates are distributed with uniform interval at the outer side of said vertical plate (64).

4. A side coaming rail as defined in claim 1, wherein the outer side of said top So pressed plate (66) bends down to form an arcuate edge and the inner side of said S top pressed plate (66) first bends down and then bends inwardly to form a horizontal edge the lower side of said vertical pressed plate (64) first bends outwardly and then bends down to form an arcuate edge (61) at the same vertical plane with said arcuate edge (65) at the outer side of the top pressed plate (66). A side coaming rail as defined in claim 4, wherein said top pressed plate arc edge (65) and horizontal edge (67) are formed from one pressed steel member.

6. A side coaming rail as defined in claim 4, wherein said vertical pressed plate (64) and arc edge (61) are formed from one pressed steel member.

7. A side coaming rail as defined in claim 4, wherein the upper surface of said horizontal edge (67) is connected with the trailer floor (69) of the trailer; the lower surface of the horizontal edge (67) is connected with the crossmember (68) of the floor the inner surface of said vertical pressed plate (64) is connected with the crossmember (60) of the trailer chassis.

8. A side coaming rail substantially as disclosed herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 18th day of July 2005 f China International Marine Containers 15 (Group) Ltd !By their Patent Attorneys A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys S..e *w