CA2203341C - Trailer rear door - Google Patents
Trailer rear doorInfo
- Publication number
- CA2203341C CA2203341C CA 2203341 CA2203341A CA2203341C CA 2203341 C CA2203341 C CA 2203341C CA 2203341 CA2203341 CA 2203341 CA 2203341 A CA2203341 A CA 2203341A CA 2203341 C CA2203341 C CA 2203341C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- door structure
- rear door
- doors
- vehicle
- outer frame
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60J—WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES
- B60J5/00—Doors
- B60J5/10—Doors arranged at the vehicle rear
- B60J5/108—Doors arranged at the vehicle rear for load transporting vehicles or public transport, e.g. lorries, trucks, buses
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)
- Lock And Its Accessories (AREA)
Abstract
A door structure for an opening defined at the rear of a vehicle such as a dumping type trailer, the opening being defined by a pair of vertical door posts, a header member and a lower sill. The rear door assembly includes an outer frame which defines a central open area, the outer frame being mounted to pivot in the rear vehicle opening about an upper horizontal axes. A pair of doors are connected to vertical side frame members of the outer frame by hinges to allow the doors to swing open about a vertical axes. The doors have a locking device to hold the doors in a closed condition for closing the central open area. The rear door structure has a separate locking device which holds the outer frame in a closed condition. Thus, when the separate locking device is unlocked but the first locking device is maintained locked, the rear door structure, with the doors closed, can swing about its horizontal axis to allow dumping of bulk material thereunder. Alternatively, when the second locking device is kept locked and the first locking device is unlocked, the doors may be opened to permit loading and unloading, such as at a loading dock.
Description
DESCRIPTION
This invention relates to a tail gate or rear door structure and more particularly to a rear door structure for use on a dumping type vehicle but which is equally suited for unloading such as when the vehicle is backed up to a loading dock.
It is common when hauling bulk material in a transport trailer type of vehicle to utilize a trailer which is of the tipper type. Accordingly, when the front of the trailer is raised the load is dumped through the rear opening of the trailer which is provided with a horizontal swing door. The swing door normally closes the rear opening of the trailer, but when released, swings about a horizontal axis at the top edge of the door. Thus, when the trailer is raised to a dumping position the bulk material pushes the door which swings upwardly and thereby allows the material to flow rearwardly under the door.
Alternatively, what is commonly called a barn door style structure is also provided to close the rear opening of a trailer type vehicle. This style of door structure consists of two side by side doors each of which are attached to the trailer at opposite outside edges thereof. This type of rear door structure is not generally used for a dumping type trailer, but is favoured when the trailer is to be loaded or unloaded from the rear, such as when it is backed up to a loading dock. Nevertheless, this type of door structure is also used for unloading bulk material onto the ground through the rear opening of the trailer when the trailer is provided with a self unloading system which may be in the form of a chain conveyor or a commercially available system known as a walking floor.
As suggested above, the barn door style structure is not satisfactory for use with a tipper type trailer because when dumping the doors may not have sufficient clearance to open. Also because an operator must go behind the trailer to unlock this type of door structure, safety becomes a problem. On the other hand, the horizontal hinged door structure not only does not allow loading at a docking structure, but it does not function properly with the above mentioned self unloading systems in that it exerts an unsatisfactory back pressure to the bulk material being moved rearwardly with such systems. Accordingly, the flexibility of the use of a trailer is impaired with currently provided rear door structures, and i 5 it is time consuming and expensive to change one door system to the other as the need arises.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a trailer rear door structure which is of simple design and allows a single structure to be utilized either as a horizontal swing door or as a barn door style structure.
According to the present invention there is provided a rear door structure of an opening of a vehicle, the opening being defined at the rear of the vehicle by a pair of vertical door posts, a header member and a lower sill member.
The rear door structure includes an outer frame formed by top and bottom horizontal frame members joined at opposite ends by vertical side frame members so as to thereby define outer dimensions of the rear door structure, the outer frame defining an open central area. Closure means are provided to occupy the open central area of the outer frame structure in a closed condition.
First hinge means connects an outer side edge of the closure means to at least one of the side frame members of the outer frame for allowing pivoting of the closure means to an open condition about a vertical axis. Second hinge means connects the top horizontal frame of the outer frame to the header member for pivotal movement of the rear door structure to an open condition about a horizontal axis adjacent the top frame member. The rear door structure is further provided with first and second lock means, the first lock means releasably secures the closure means in the closed condition, and the second lock means releasably secures the rear door structure in a closed condition. The closure means is swingable about its vertical pivot axis upon release of the first lock means from the closed condition of the closure means to a position for opening the central area of the rear door structure, and the rear door structure is swingable from the closed condition to the open condition of the rear door structure upon release of the second lock means, thus allowing dumping of contents from the vehicle through the rear opening of the vehicle.
In one embodiment of the invention, the closure means includes a pair of doors having juxtaposed inner edges and outer~~edges one each adjacent the vertical side frame members of the outer frame .
More specifically the first hinge means may include hinges along each of the outer edges of the doors pivotally connecting the doors one each to each vertical side frame member so that a vertical axis of swing of each door is 1.0 disposed immediately inward of the vertical door posts of the vehicle. The second hinge means may include a plurality of hinges pivotally connecting said top horizontal frame member of said outer frame to said header member.
In the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment of the invention, by way of an example, Figure 1 is a rear view of a trailer, which may be used for hauling bulk material or alternatively cargo which requires unloading by a fork-lift or at a dock, and showing a rear door structure of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side view of a rear portion of the trailer shown in Figure 1 and in which the rear door structure is swung partially to an open position about a horizontal axis;
Figure 3 is a side view similar to Figure 2 but wherein one of the doors of the closure means is swung to an open position;
Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view as seen from the line 4--4 of Figure 1.;
Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view as seen - from the line 5--5 of Figure l.; and Figure 6 is an enlarged cross section view as seen from 5 the line 6--6 of Figure 1.
Referring to Figure 1. of the drawings where reference characters used therein are the same as used in the description, the reference characters 1.0 and 11 denote 1.0 generally the rear of a vehicle and the rear door structure of one embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
The rear of the vehicle, which may have the form of a trailer of a type utilized in combination with a tractor for highway travel, is provided with a rear opening generally of the dimensions of the cross section of the interior of the trailer, the rear opening normally being fully closed by the rear door structure 1.1. As best seen from Figures 4 - 6 the rear opening of the vehicle is defined at the sides by a pair of horizontal spaced vertical side rear door posts 12, at the top by a horizontal trailer header 1.3, and at the bottom by a horizontal bottom sill member 14. The door posts 12, header 13 and bottom sill member 1.4 are normally all part of the trailer structure. The rear door structure of the present invention includes an outer frame 20 formed of top and bottom horizontal frame members 15 and 1.6 and vertical side frame members 17, 1.7, all of which are in the form of metal angle members. The frame members are fastened at their outer ends to thus form the hollow outer frame 20 which provides an open centre area. The angle member forming the top frame member 15 includes a web portion 15' which is disposed below the bottom of trailer header l3 and a flange portion 15 " which is disposed adjacent a rear surface of the trailer header 13 when the rear door structure 11. is in a closed condition (Fig. 5). The angle member forming the bottom frame member 16 has a web portion 1.6' which is disposed slightly above the top of the bottom sill member 14 and a flange portion 1.6 "
which overlies the rear face of the bottom sill member 14 when the rear door structure 1.1. is in the closed condition (Fig. 6). The angle members forming each of the side frame members each includes a web portion 1.7' which is disposed within the inside surface of the door post 1.2 and a flange portion 17 " which is disposed against the rear surface of the door post when the rear gate structure is in a closed condition (Figure 4).
The outer frame 20 has the central open area thereof normally closed by closure means 21. in the form of a pair of doors 28, 28 of a type commonly termed barn doors which can be locked in a closed condition so that the overall rear door structure completely closes the rear opening of the trailer.
However, the outer frame 20 and thus the overall rear door structure is connected to the trailer header for swinging about a horizontal axis so that the rear door structure can open as shown in Fig. 2 to permit a bulk cargo to flow thereunder. This swing action is permitted by a hinge means shown in the form of a plurality of hinges 22 each of which has one.portion 23 thereof affixed to the flange 1.5 " of the top frame member of the outer frame 20 and another portion 24 thereof affixed to the trailer header 1.3. The hinges include pins 25 pivotally connecting portion 23 to portion 24 of each hinge so that together the hinges 22 provide the horizontal.
axis of pivot for the rear door structure 1.1.
The rear door structure 1.1. includes a locking means for normally holding it in a closed condition and which can be operated from a position beside the trailer. The locking means includes an elongated bar 27 of circular cross-section which extends across the rear of the trailer and is mounted for rotation in brackets 30 affixed to the bottom sill member 14. An operator's handle 31. is attached to one end of the bar 27 so that as it is turned upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 2, the rear door structure is unlocked. The bar 27 has a plurality of lugs 32 affixed thereto, the lugs engaging the bottom frame member 16 of the outer frame 20 and holding the rear door structure 11 closed when the handle is secured in the position shown in Fig. 3 by a securing means 32 which prevents the handle from moving from the position shown in Fig. 2.
The pair of doors 28, 28 which form the closure means 21 for the outer frame 20 may be of identical shape and size.
This invention relates to a tail gate or rear door structure and more particularly to a rear door structure for use on a dumping type vehicle but which is equally suited for unloading such as when the vehicle is backed up to a loading dock.
It is common when hauling bulk material in a transport trailer type of vehicle to utilize a trailer which is of the tipper type. Accordingly, when the front of the trailer is raised the load is dumped through the rear opening of the trailer which is provided with a horizontal swing door. The swing door normally closes the rear opening of the trailer, but when released, swings about a horizontal axis at the top edge of the door. Thus, when the trailer is raised to a dumping position the bulk material pushes the door which swings upwardly and thereby allows the material to flow rearwardly under the door.
Alternatively, what is commonly called a barn door style structure is also provided to close the rear opening of a trailer type vehicle. This style of door structure consists of two side by side doors each of which are attached to the trailer at opposite outside edges thereof. This type of rear door structure is not generally used for a dumping type trailer, but is favoured when the trailer is to be loaded or unloaded from the rear, such as when it is backed up to a loading dock. Nevertheless, this type of door structure is also used for unloading bulk material onto the ground through the rear opening of the trailer when the trailer is provided with a self unloading system which may be in the form of a chain conveyor or a commercially available system known as a walking floor.
As suggested above, the barn door style structure is not satisfactory for use with a tipper type trailer because when dumping the doors may not have sufficient clearance to open. Also because an operator must go behind the trailer to unlock this type of door structure, safety becomes a problem. On the other hand, the horizontal hinged door structure not only does not allow loading at a docking structure, but it does not function properly with the above mentioned self unloading systems in that it exerts an unsatisfactory back pressure to the bulk material being moved rearwardly with such systems. Accordingly, the flexibility of the use of a trailer is impaired with currently provided rear door structures, and i 5 it is time consuming and expensive to change one door system to the other as the need arises.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a trailer rear door structure which is of simple design and allows a single structure to be utilized either as a horizontal swing door or as a barn door style structure.
According to the present invention there is provided a rear door structure of an opening of a vehicle, the opening being defined at the rear of the vehicle by a pair of vertical door posts, a header member and a lower sill member.
The rear door structure includes an outer frame formed by top and bottom horizontal frame members joined at opposite ends by vertical side frame members so as to thereby define outer dimensions of the rear door structure, the outer frame defining an open central area. Closure means are provided to occupy the open central area of the outer frame structure in a closed condition.
First hinge means connects an outer side edge of the closure means to at least one of the side frame members of the outer frame for allowing pivoting of the closure means to an open condition about a vertical axis. Second hinge means connects the top horizontal frame of the outer frame to the header member for pivotal movement of the rear door structure to an open condition about a horizontal axis adjacent the top frame member. The rear door structure is further provided with first and second lock means, the first lock means releasably secures the closure means in the closed condition, and the second lock means releasably secures the rear door structure in a closed condition. The closure means is swingable about its vertical pivot axis upon release of the first lock means from the closed condition of the closure means to a position for opening the central area of the rear door structure, and the rear door structure is swingable from the closed condition to the open condition of the rear door structure upon release of the second lock means, thus allowing dumping of contents from the vehicle through the rear opening of the vehicle.
In one embodiment of the invention, the closure means includes a pair of doors having juxtaposed inner edges and outer~~edges one each adjacent the vertical side frame members of the outer frame .
More specifically the first hinge means may include hinges along each of the outer edges of the doors pivotally connecting the doors one each to each vertical side frame member so that a vertical axis of swing of each door is 1.0 disposed immediately inward of the vertical door posts of the vehicle. The second hinge means may include a plurality of hinges pivotally connecting said top horizontal frame member of said outer frame to said header member.
In the accompanying drawings which show one embodiment of the invention, by way of an example, Figure 1 is a rear view of a trailer, which may be used for hauling bulk material or alternatively cargo which requires unloading by a fork-lift or at a dock, and showing a rear door structure of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side view of a rear portion of the trailer shown in Figure 1 and in which the rear door structure is swung partially to an open position about a horizontal axis;
Figure 3 is a side view similar to Figure 2 but wherein one of the doors of the closure means is swung to an open position;
Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view as seen from the line 4--4 of Figure 1.;
Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view as seen - from the line 5--5 of Figure l.; and Figure 6 is an enlarged cross section view as seen from 5 the line 6--6 of Figure 1.
Referring to Figure 1. of the drawings where reference characters used therein are the same as used in the description, the reference characters 1.0 and 11 denote 1.0 generally the rear of a vehicle and the rear door structure of one embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
The rear of the vehicle, which may have the form of a trailer of a type utilized in combination with a tractor for highway travel, is provided with a rear opening generally of the dimensions of the cross section of the interior of the trailer, the rear opening normally being fully closed by the rear door structure 1.1. As best seen from Figures 4 - 6 the rear opening of the vehicle is defined at the sides by a pair of horizontal spaced vertical side rear door posts 12, at the top by a horizontal trailer header 1.3, and at the bottom by a horizontal bottom sill member 14. The door posts 12, header 13 and bottom sill member 1.4 are normally all part of the trailer structure. The rear door structure of the present invention includes an outer frame 20 formed of top and bottom horizontal frame members 15 and 1.6 and vertical side frame members 17, 1.7, all of which are in the form of metal angle members. The frame members are fastened at their outer ends to thus form the hollow outer frame 20 which provides an open centre area. The angle member forming the top frame member 15 includes a web portion 15' which is disposed below the bottom of trailer header l3 and a flange portion 15 " which is disposed adjacent a rear surface of the trailer header 13 when the rear door structure 11. is in a closed condition (Fig. 5). The angle member forming the bottom frame member 16 has a web portion 1.6' which is disposed slightly above the top of the bottom sill member 14 and a flange portion 1.6 "
which overlies the rear face of the bottom sill member 14 when the rear door structure 1.1. is in the closed condition (Fig. 6). The angle members forming each of the side frame members each includes a web portion 1.7' which is disposed within the inside surface of the door post 1.2 and a flange portion 17 " which is disposed against the rear surface of the door post when the rear gate structure is in a closed condition (Figure 4).
The outer frame 20 has the central open area thereof normally closed by closure means 21. in the form of a pair of doors 28, 28 of a type commonly termed barn doors which can be locked in a closed condition so that the overall rear door structure completely closes the rear opening of the trailer.
However, the outer frame 20 and thus the overall rear door structure is connected to the trailer header for swinging about a horizontal axis so that the rear door structure can open as shown in Fig. 2 to permit a bulk cargo to flow thereunder. This swing action is permitted by a hinge means shown in the form of a plurality of hinges 22 each of which has one.portion 23 thereof affixed to the flange 1.5 " of the top frame member of the outer frame 20 and another portion 24 thereof affixed to the trailer header 1.3. The hinges include pins 25 pivotally connecting portion 23 to portion 24 of each hinge so that together the hinges 22 provide the horizontal.
axis of pivot for the rear door structure 1.1.
The rear door structure 1.1. includes a locking means for normally holding it in a closed condition and which can be operated from a position beside the trailer. The locking means includes an elongated bar 27 of circular cross-section which extends across the rear of the trailer and is mounted for rotation in brackets 30 affixed to the bottom sill member 14. An operator's handle 31. is attached to one end of the bar 27 so that as it is turned upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 2, the rear door structure is unlocked. The bar 27 has a plurality of lugs 32 affixed thereto, the lugs engaging the bottom frame member 16 of the outer frame 20 and holding the rear door structure 11 closed when the handle is secured in the position shown in Fig. 3 by a securing means 32 which prevents the handle from moving from the position shown in Fig. 2.
The pair of doors 28, 28 which form the closure means 21 for the outer frame 20 may be of identical shape and size.
As shown in Fig. 1, the doors 28, 28 have outer edges each adjacent the side frame member 17, 1.7 of the outer frame 20, and juxtaposed inner edges. A rectangular outer frame 34 of each door consists of a pair of side frame members 35, a top frame member 36, and a bottom frame member 37 which are connected, as by welding, at the four corners of the outer frame 34. The outer frarne 34 may also be provided with a plurality of transverse frame members 38 to strengthen the overall structure. The frame members 35, 36, 37 and 38 may all be formed of steel square tubular members. The frames 34 of the doors are closed by way of a panel or screen material as shown at 40 when the trailer is adopted to haul bulk material such as wood chips.
Each door 28 has hinge means 41 at its outer edge to allow the door to swing about a vertical axis. The hinge means includes a plurality of vertically spaced individual hinges 42. One part 44 of the hinge 42 is welded to the door 28 and the other part 43 is affixed to the flange 1.7" of the side frame member 17 of_ the outer frame 20, the parts 43 and 44 of the hinge being connected by a pin 45 to permit the pivoting about the vertical axis. Thus, when the doors 28 are in an unlocked condition, they can each swing about a vertical axis which is adjacent one each of the door posts 12 to the position shown in Figure 3 or even further until they are against the outside of the sides of the trailer box.
When in the closed position the doors 28,28 are affixed to the outer frame 20 of the rear door structure 11. so as to provide a complete and integral closure for the rear opening of the vehicle. The doors are locked in a closed condition by a locking means 46 which maybe of the conventional type utilized for locking barn door type closure commonly used in applications described above. The locking means includes two vertical bars 47,47 one each affixed to the outside of one of the doors adjacent its inner edge and interlocking members 50 attached to the top and bottom frame member 15,1.6 of the outer frame 20. The locking members 50 are aligned with the bars 47,47 at opposite ends of the bars. The bars 47,47. have outer end portions 51.,52 which extend above and below the top and bottom edges of the doors. The outer end portions 51.,52 are adopted to enter the interlocking members 50 which are in 1.5 the form of hollow receptacles. The bars are affixed to the outer surfaces of the doors 28,28 by brackets 48 which allow the bars to rotate and when the bars 47,47 are rotated, the outer end portion 51.,52 lock within the interlock member 50.
Each bar 47 has a handle 53 manually utilized to turn the bar 47 back and fourth between its locked and unlocked condition.
The handle 53 when moved to the locked condition is lowered into a clip member 54 attached to the door for retaining the bar 47 in its locked condition, i.e., with the outer ends 51,52 turned into locking .engagement within the respective interlocking members 50.
As is readily apparent from the rear door structure 1.1.
1. 0 of the present invention- as described, it can be permanently mounted within the rear opening of a vehicle, such as a dumping type trailer. If the trailer is used for hauling bulk material, when it is desired to unload the trailer, the operator manipulates handle 31 to unlock the rear door structure 1.1 so that as the trailer is raised towards a dumping position the load flows backward towards the rear door structure 11. and is free to flow thereunder as the rear door structure swings about its horizontal axis as depicted in Figure 2. Once the dumping is completed and the trailer is lowered to its normal position, the door swings under its own weight to a closed position where it is locked shut by the handle 31. being, operated to the position shown in Figure 3. It may be seen that the manipulating of the handle 31.
does not require the operator to pass behind the rear door structure 11..
Should the trailer be used for hauling goods to be loaded and unloaded manually or by fork truck through the rear opening of the trailer, the doors 28,28 are opened by manipulating the handles 53 so that the doors can swing about the vertical axis provided by hinge means 41.,41 to open positions, while the outer frame 20 of the rear door assembly remains in its locked condition. Should the trailer be provided with a walking floor system or the like and is loaded with bulk material, the pair of doors 28,28 can again be opened as described above and the material discharged in 11.
the usual manner by such a system, the material flowing through the central open area of the rear door structure.
While a single embodiment of the invention has been shown arid described, various modifications within the spirit S of the invention as defined in the appending claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Each door 28 has hinge means 41 at its outer edge to allow the door to swing about a vertical axis. The hinge means includes a plurality of vertically spaced individual hinges 42. One part 44 of the hinge 42 is welded to the door 28 and the other part 43 is affixed to the flange 1.7" of the side frame member 17 of_ the outer frame 20, the parts 43 and 44 of the hinge being connected by a pin 45 to permit the pivoting about the vertical axis. Thus, when the doors 28 are in an unlocked condition, they can each swing about a vertical axis which is adjacent one each of the door posts 12 to the position shown in Figure 3 or even further until they are against the outside of the sides of the trailer box.
When in the closed position the doors 28,28 are affixed to the outer frame 20 of the rear door structure 11. so as to provide a complete and integral closure for the rear opening of the vehicle. The doors are locked in a closed condition by a locking means 46 which maybe of the conventional type utilized for locking barn door type closure commonly used in applications described above. The locking means includes two vertical bars 47,47 one each affixed to the outside of one of the doors adjacent its inner edge and interlocking members 50 attached to the top and bottom frame member 15,1.6 of the outer frame 20. The locking members 50 are aligned with the bars 47,47 at opposite ends of the bars. The bars 47,47. have outer end portions 51.,52 which extend above and below the top and bottom edges of the doors. The outer end portions 51.,52 are adopted to enter the interlocking members 50 which are in 1.5 the form of hollow receptacles. The bars are affixed to the outer surfaces of the doors 28,28 by brackets 48 which allow the bars to rotate and when the bars 47,47 are rotated, the outer end portion 51.,52 lock within the interlock member 50.
Each bar 47 has a handle 53 manually utilized to turn the bar 47 back and fourth between its locked and unlocked condition.
The handle 53 when moved to the locked condition is lowered into a clip member 54 attached to the door for retaining the bar 47 in its locked condition, i.e., with the outer ends 51,52 turned into locking .engagement within the respective interlocking members 50.
As is readily apparent from the rear door structure 1.1.
1. 0 of the present invention- as described, it can be permanently mounted within the rear opening of a vehicle, such as a dumping type trailer. If the trailer is used for hauling bulk material, when it is desired to unload the trailer, the operator manipulates handle 31 to unlock the rear door structure 1.1 so that as the trailer is raised towards a dumping position the load flows backward towards the rear door structure 11. and is free to flow thereunder as the rear door structure swings about its horizontal axis as depicted in Figure 2. Once the dumping is completed and the trailer is lowered to its normal position, the door swings under its own weight to a closed position where it is locked shut by the handle 31. being, operated to the position shown in Figure 3. It may be seen that the manipulating of the handle 31.
does not require the operator to pass behind the rear door structure 11..
Should the trailer be used for hauling goods to be loaded and unloaded manually or by fork truck through the rear opening of the trailer, the doors 28,28 are opened by manipulating the handles 53 so that the doors can swing about the vertical axis provided by hinge means 41.,41 to open positions, while the outer frame 20 of the rear door assembly remains in its locked condition. Should the trailer be provided with a walking floor system or the like and is loaded with bulk material, the pair of doors 28,28 can again be opened as described above and the material discharged in 11.
the usual manner by such a system, the material flowing through the central open area of the rear door structure.
While a single embodiment of the invention has been shown arid described, various modifications within the spirit S of the invention as defined in the appending claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Claims (7)
1. A rear door structure for an opening of a vehicle, said opening being defined at the rear of said vehicle by a pair of vertical door posts, a header member and a lower sill member, said rear door structure comprising:
an outer frame including top and bottom horizontal frame members joined at opposite ends by vertical side frame members and thereby defining outer dimensions of said rear door structure, said outer frame defining an open central area, closure means occupying said open central area of said outer frame structure in a closed condition, first hinge means connecting an outer side edge of said closure means to at least one of said side frame members for pivoting said closure means to an open position about a vertical axis, second hinge means connecting said top horizontal frame member to said vehicle for pivotal movement of said rear door structure to an open condition about a horizontal axis adjacent said top frame member, first lock means for releasably securing said closure means in said closed condition, second lock means for releasably locking said rear door structure in a closed condition, said closure means being swingable about said vertical axis upon release of said first lock means from said closed condition of said closure means to a position for opening said central area of said rear door structure, said rear door structure being swingable from said closed condition to said open condition of said rear door structure upon release of said second lock means for allowing dumping of contents from said vehicle through said opening at the rear of said vehicle.
an outer frame including top and bottom horizontal frame members joined at opposite ends by vertical side frame members and thereby defining outer dimensions of said rear door structure, said outer frame defining an open central area, closure means occupying said open central area of said outer frame structure in a closed condition, first hinge means connecting an outer side edge of said closure means to at least one of said side frame members for pivoting said closure means to an open position about a vertical axis, second hinge means connecting said top horizontal frame member to said vehicle for pivotal movement of said rear door structure to an open condition about a horizontal axis adjacent said top frame member, first lock means for releasably securing said closure means in said closed condition, second lock means for releasably locking said rear door structure in a closed condition, said closure means being swingable about said vertical axis upon release of said first lock means from said closed condition of said closure means to a position for opening said central area of said rear door structure, said rear door structure being swingable from said closed condition to said open condition of said rear door structure upon release of said second lock means for allowing dumping of contents from said vehicle through said opening at the rear of said vehicle.
2. A rear door structure as defined in claim 1 wherein:
said closure means includes a pair of doors having juxtaposed inner edges and outer edges one each adjacent said vertical side frame members of said outer frame.
said closure means includes a pair of doors having juxtaposed inner edges and outer edges one each adjacent said vertical side frame members of said outer frame.
3. A rear door structure as defined in claim 2, wherein said first hinge means includes hinges along each of the outer edges of said doors pivotally connecting said doors one each to each of said vertical side frame member whereby a vertical axis of swing of each door is disposed immediately inward of said vertical door posts of said vehicle.
4. A rear door structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said second hinge means includes a plurality of hinges pivotally connecting said top horizontal frame member of said outer frame to said header member.
5. A rear door structure as defined in claim 3, wherein said first lock means includes a lock mechanism one each adjacent said juxtaposed inner edges of said doors and disposed for locking engagement with said top and bottom horizontal frame members of said rear door structure.
6. A rear door structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said second lock means includes;
a transverse rod mounted for rotation adjacent said lower sill member, a handle affixed to one end of said rod for manual rotation of said rod between a locked condition of said rear door structure and an unlocked condition of said rear door structure, and means for selectively securing said rod in said locked condition.
a transverse rod mounted for rotation adjacent said lower sill member, a handle affixed to one end of said rod for manual rotation of said rod between a locked condition of said rear door structure and an unlocked condition of said rear door structure, and means for selectively securing said rod in said locked condition.
7. A rear door structure as defined in claim 6, wherein said rod has a plurality of tabs affixed thereto along the length thereof, said tabs being located to engage said bottom horizontal frame member when said rod is rotated to said locked condition.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2203341 CA2203341C (en) | 1997-04-22 | 1997-04-22 | Trailer rear door |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2203341 CA2203341C (en) | 1997-04-22 | 1997-04-22 | Trailer rear door |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2203341A1 CA2203341A1 (en) | 1998-10-22 |
| CA2203341C true CA2203341C (en) | 1999-12-07 |
Family
ID=4160488
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2203341 Expired - Lifetime CA2203341C (en) | 1997-04-22 | 1997-04-22 | Trailer rear door |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2203341C (en) |
-
1997
- 1997-04-22 CA CA 2203341 patent/CA2203341C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CA2203341A1 (en) | 1998-10-22 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKEX | Expiry |
Effective date: 20170424 |