DE29719411U1 - Cover device for swap bodies and truck bodies - Google Patents

Description

Brigitte Rapolder Speicherseestrasse 16 85652 Landsham, DE RAP971001GDE-2/f 23.10.1997

COVERING DEVICE FOR SWAP BOXES AND TRUCK BODIES Description

The invention relates to a covering device for swap bodies and truck bodies where fixing by lashing is not possible.

Swap bodies are container-like or box-shaped structures or containers made of solid walls for storing loads that are placed on truck frames.

The walls of the superstructures are often labelled with information relating to the goods being transported, the haulage contractor, car rental companies or other company information.

If the lettering needs to be changed or if repairs are required on the walls of the truck bodies (for example due to rust or other damage), extensive work has to be carried out to change the lettering or to carry out the necessary repairs. For example, if the lettering needs to be changed using adhesive letters, the adhesive letters have to be removed and new letters have to be applied. Repair work often requires extensive repainting or repairs to the walls themselves, which often do not produce the desired positive optical result. For example, the paint under the film of adhesive lettering does not fade, so that the previously applied letters remain visible to a certain extent through the darker paintwork after removal.
In addition, swap containers often have side walls with a wavy wall structure for stability reasons, on which labels, for example, are difficult to read due to this structure.

A solution to these problems is known from D-U-296 06 957.4. However, this system can be used in all cases where

it is not possible to fix the tarpaulin under the truck frame or the truck support surface (semi-trailer). Furthermore, this system cannot be used with swap bodies, as it is not possible to fix the tarpaulin using tensioning straps under the swap body.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to create a covering device for truck bodies and swap bodies, which can be produced cost-effectively and can be securely mounted on the body while leaving the respective undersides exposed.

This problem is solved by the features of claim 1.

According to the invention, a covering device is provided which has a flexible tarpaulin that can be applied to at least three surfaces of the truck body or swap body. This is usually the ceiling wall and the long side walls of the body, which form the main visible surfaces. A fastening device is provided to fix the tarpaulin in place, which secures the tarpaulin to the truck body or swap body. In particular with swap bodies, the use of holding elements such as screw connections or rivets is harmless, even if they cannot be removed without causing damage, since, above all with swap bodies, replacing the tarpaulin is usually not necessary or desired.

This results in a number of considerable advantages.

Firstly, the tarpaulin is a component that is easy to manufacture and adapt to a wide range of different structures. It is inexpensive, easy to manufacture and handle and adds relatively little weight after assembly. The fastening device

The tarpaulin can be attached to the truck body without any structural changes and, if necessary, it is just as easy to remove the tarpaulin again.

With the covering device according to the invention, it is possible, for example, to very quickly attach and remove advertising lettering on vehicles, for example if the vehicle is to be provided with the advertising of various clients. After removing the advertising that is attached to the tarpaulin, the original condition of the vehicle is restored and, if necessary, a different advertising lettering can be attached in a simple manner by attaching a correspondingly differently designed tarpaulin.

Accordingly, the time required for attaching and removing different types of advertising or other labels is extremely short compared to previously known methods (adhesive letters, painting), since the installation of the covering device according to the invention requires only one hour, while removal is possible in about 20 minutes.

Furthermore, the covering device according to the invention provides significant advantages when repairing, in particular when dealing with minor and moderate damage to the case, as this only needs to be brought roughly into the original shape of the case structure by riveting metal sheets onto the outer walls, for example, which is no longer visible after the covering device according to the invention has been fitted. Here too, there are enormous advantages due to less time spent and less technical effort when carrying out the repair, as previously in such cases either complete sides or front parts had to be replaced and then the entire case structure had to be completely painted for optical reasons. This is

after fitting the cover device according to the invention, it is no longer necessary, with the additional advantage that at least almost 100% tightness is guaranteed.

Of course, repairs to purely visual defects can also be carried out in a much simpler and more cost-effective manner using the covering device according to the invention. In particular, the invention provides a time-saving and long-lasting alternative to previous repair methods, in which the entire container usually has to be sandblasted and then repainted to repair rust. In contrast, the solution according to the invention is much faster and more cost-effective.

The subclaims contain advantageous further developments of the invention.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the tarpaulin has at least three cover surfaces that are connected to one another in one piece. In this case, one cover surface is usually provided for the ceiling wall of the box body, while the two cover surfaces that are connected to this cover surface in one piece cover the side surfaces.

In principle, it is of course also possible to provide a fourth covering surface, for example for the front wall of the box body facing the driver's cab. In a further, particularly preferred embodiment, a fifth covering surface can of course also be provided, which covers the rear front wall. In this case, it is possible to weld the fourth (and possibly fifth) covering surface to the side wall covering surfaces, so that a hood is formed which can, for example, be put over the usually dimensionally stable swap bodies.

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In order to hold the fourth cover surface securely in the assembled state, detachable holding devices are also possible, with the help of which the fourth cover surface can be attached to the narrow sides of the two cover surfaces for the side walls (instead of the previously mentioned welding) of the box body. There are a variety of options for the design of this holding device. Particularly preferred embodiments are buckle fasteners, which are designed as belt straps to be inserted into the buckles, so that a tight, snug fit of the cover surfaces is ensured by appropriate tightening and fixing in the fixing holes of the holding straps. In principle, however, other types of holding devices, for example Velcro fasteners, lace fasteners, elastic band fasteners or similar, are also conceivable.

The fastening device of the covering device according to the invention has at least two flat irons that are inserted into loops on the longitudinal edges of the tarpaulin (preferably over their entire length). To fix the tarpaulin to the truck body or swap body, holding elements are then passed through the material of the loop and through the flat iron located in the loop and inserted into the area of the respective wall of the swap body or truck body adjacent to the flat iron. The entire loop, the flat iron arranged in it and the adjacent area of the wall of the swap body or truck body must therefore be drilled through. The holding element, such as a rivet or a screw connection, is then passed through the corresponding hole so that fixing is possible.

Further details, features and advantages of the invention emerge from the following description of an embodiment based on the drawing.

Show it

Fig. 1 is a schematically highly simplified representation of a plan view of a covering tarpaulin of a covering device according to the invention, with all covering surfaces shown folded into the plane of the drawing;

Fig. 2 is a schematically simplified front view of a truck body in the form of a box body with a mounted cover device;

Fig. 3 is a side view corresponding to Fig. 2 of one of the cover surfaces for covering a side wall of the box body;

Fig. 4 shows a detail marked "X" in Fig. 2 in an enlarged view; and

Fig. 5 is a representation of the rear view of a swap body corresponding to Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1, a simplified schematic representation of an embodiment of a covering device 1 according to the invention is provided, which can be used in particular for swap bodies of trucks. The box body is indicated in Fig. 1 by a dashed line with the rectangle designated by the letter K in order to make it possible to distinguish between the individual covering surfaces of a tarpaulin 3 of the covering device 1. The box body K is shown in Fig. 2 in front view and is additionally identified there with the reference symbol 2.

In the particularly preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the tarpaulin 3 has four cover surfaces 8, 9, 10 and 11. The cover surface 8 covers (see also Fig. 2) the ceiling wall 4 of the box body 2 in the assembled state. The cover surfaces 9 and 10 cover the side wall surfaces 5 and 6 of the box body 2 in the assembled state. The

Cover surface 11 is the fourth cover surface, which in the example case is intended to cover the front surface of the box body facing the driver's cab of the truck (not shown).

The covering device 1 according to the invention further comprises a fastening device 7 visible in Fig. 2, with the aid of which the tarpaulin 3 can be fixed to the swap body 2.

Fig. 1 shows, by means of the illustration folded into the plane of the drawing, that the cover surfaces 8, 9, 10 and 11 form a one-piece cover tarpaulin 3. The shape of the cover tarpaulin 3 naturally depends on the truck body or swap body to be covered, but is usually rectangular in plan view with regard to the cover surfaces 8, 9 and 10 and square or rectangular with regard to the cover surface 11.

In Fig. 1, a narrow side or upper edge 12 is shown in dashed lines to illustrate the attachment of the cover surface 11, which is assigned to the cover surface 8 and along which the cover surface 11 is attached to the cover surface 8. In the assembled state, the dashed line 12 thus symbolizes the fold line between the surfaces 8 and 11.

Along the longitudinal edges 13 and 14, which in the example form the long sides of the rectangle made up of the surfaces 8, 9, 10, loops 15, 16 are arranged, which are also visible in Fig. 2. The loops 15, 16 run over the entire length of the longitudinal edges 13 and 14. They serve to hold flat irons 27, 28 (or flat rods made of other suitable materials), which form part of the fastening device 7 and which are described in more detail below with reference to Figs. 2 and 4.

Finally, the covering device 1 according to the invention is

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Fig. 1 at its "lower" end or rear end with a seam 35 which extends along the entire length of the rear end. The seam 35 accommodates further flat irons (not shown), the function of which will be described later.

Fig. 1 also shows a holding device 17, which serves to fix the fourth cover surface 11 to the narrow sides 18 and 19 of the cover surfaces 9 and 10 in the assembled state. The embodiment shown in a simplified representation in Fig. 1 is a buckle fastener, which, by way of example, has two tabs 23 and 24 each provided with holes on a side edge 20 of the cover surface running perpendicular to the narrow side 18.

11 and buckles 25 and 26 provided with fixing pins on the narrow side 18 of the cover surface 11. On the other side 21 or narrow side 19, corresponding fasteners are provided, which, however, are constructed identically and therefore are not provided with reference symbols again.

In the assembled state, the cover surface 11 is around the narrow side

12 is placed on the corresponding front surface of the truck body 2 and folded over and can be securely and tightly fixed using the holding device 17.

The front side 22 of the cover surface 11, which is also indicated in Fig. 1, therefore does not have to be provided with further fixing elements, but can be equipped with such fixing elements if these should be necessary in one case or another.

Alternatively, it is possible to weld the cover surface 11 and the cover surface 9, 10 together on their respective narrow sides 20, 21 and 18, 19, so that a hood is formed that can be put over the interchangeable case. Furthermore, Fig. 1 shows on the edge 36 arranged opposite the edge 12 a divided into three separate sections 37', 37'',

3 7 ''' divided tarpaulin flap 3 7 with three associated loops 38', 38'' and 38 ^II! . This tarpaulin flap 37 is an option and is used when it is necessary to provide an additional fixed connection at the rear of a swap body, for example. To do this, flat irons are inserted into the loop 38', 38'', 38'·' and the fixed connection is created, for example, by screwing or riveting the tarpaulin flaps 37', 37'', 37' ¹ ' folded through 90° to the flat irons contained therein at the rear upper end and the rear sides of the swap body (see also Fig. 5). This ensures that when the swap body is placed on the trailer with the rear wall facing forward, the wind cannot inflate the tarpaulin, as it cannot penetrate between the swap body and the tarpaulin due to the folded-down tarpaulin flaps 37', 37'', 37' ¹ '.

Fig. 2 shows in a simplified schematic form the assembly state of the cover device 1 on the swap body 2. For reasons of clarity, a free space was deliberately drawn between the surfaces A, 5, 6 of the body 2 and the corresponding cover surfaces 8, 9, 10 of the tarpaulin 3 in order to be able to show both parts clearly in the drawing. In actual use, the corresponding surfaces 8, 9, 10 of the tarpaulin 3 naturally lie completely on the corresponding surfaces of the body 2.

Fig. 2 particularly illustrates the fixing of the tarpaulin 3 with the aid of the fastening device 7. The flat irons 27 and 28 inserted into the loops 15 and 16 are fixed to the box body 2 in the assembled state, for example with the aid of rivets or screw connections, as can be seen from Fig. 2 and in particular from Fig. 4.

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Fig. 4 shows the detail marked "X" in Fig. 2. From Fig. 4 it is clear that the flat iron 28 inserted into the loop 15 is penetrated by a holding element 29 (for example a rivet or screw connection) and also penetrates the adjacent wall 30 of the swap body 2. To do this, the loop 15 (i.e. its two tarpaulin pieces) as well as the flat iron 28 arranged in the loop 15 and the adjacent wall area 30 are drilled through beforehand. The suitable holding element, such as the rivet 29 in Fig. 4, is then inserted into this hole in order to complete the fixation.

Fig. 3 shows a side view of Fig. 2, from which it can be seen that, depending on the application, a plurality of holding elements 29 are attached over the entire length of the tab 15, whereby in Fig. 3 a holding element is designated representatively for the others with the reference number 29.

By providing the flat iron or a flat support bar made of another material, an even distribution of force over the entire length of the tarpaulin is preferably achieved, which prevents tearing due to stress peaks and also wrinkles.

The fastening of the covering device 1 to the rear end can be achieved by means of flat irons and holding elements inserted in the surrounding seam 35. In this case, too, the holding elements can be, for example, screws or rivets, which are inserted through the seam 35, the flat iron arranged therein, and the adjacent wall areas of the truck body or swap body, in accordance with the description explained above, in particular Fig. 4.

Finally, it should be noted that the 4-sided design is preferred because it is suitable for vehicles whose rear end is formed by a standing tail lift (or a roller door for swap bodies).

tet. Vehicles without such a tail lift usually have rear wing doors. In this case, a possible solution would be to make the side panels longer and "pull" them around the rear end edge in order to cover the rear doors accordingly; the doors would then need to be attached with aluminum strips and rivets.

Claims (12)

- 13 protection claims 1. Cover device (1) for truck bodies and swap bodies - with a flexible tarpaulin (3) that can be attached to at least three sides (4, 5, 6) of the truck body or swap body (2), which has two longitudinal edges (13, 14) with loops (15, 16); and - with a fastening device (7) for fixing the tarpaulin (3) to the truck body or swap body (2), wherein the fastening device (7) has fixing elements (27, 28) that can be inserted into the loops (15, 16), characterized in that - that the fixing elements (27, 28) are designed as flat rods (for example flat iron) and - that the fastening device (7) further comprises holding elements (29) which, in the assembled state, extend through the loops (15, 16) and through the flat rods (27, 28) arranged in them into the truck body or swap body (2) for securing the tarpaulin (3) to the truck body or swap body (2). 2. Cover device according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding elements (27, 28) are designed as screw connections. 3. Cover device according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding elements are designed as riveted connections. 4. Covering device according to one of claims 1 to 3, - 14 - 4. Covering device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the tarpaulin (3) has at least three cover surfaces (8, 9, 10) connected to one another in one piece, which comprise a cover surface (8) for a ceiling wall (4) and two cover surfaces (9, 10) for the corresponding side walls (5, 6) of the truck body (2). 5. Covering device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the tarpaulin (3) has a fourth covering surface (11) which is arranged on a narrow side (12) of the covering surface (8) for the ceiling wall (4) of the truck body (2). 6. Cover device according to claim 5, characterized in that the fourth cover surface (11) can be fixed with a detachable holding device (17) in the assembled state to two narrow sides (18, 19) of the cover surfaces (9 or 10) for the side walls (5 or 6) of the box body (2). 7. Cover device according to claim 6, characterized in that the holding device (17) has a plurality of buckle closures (23, 24, 25, 26). 8. Cover device according to claim 5, characterized in that the fourth cover surface (11) is welded at the edge to the cover surfaces (9, 10) of the side walls. 9. Cover device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that an additional flat tab (37) is arranged on the edge (36) of the cover surface (8) opposite the fourth cover surface (11). 10. Cover device according to claim 9, characterized in that the additional flat tab (37) has a loop (3 8) for receiving a further flat support rod - 15. 11. Covering device according to claim 10, characterized in that the tarpaulin flap (37) is divided into three sections (37 ^!, 37'' and 37''') which, after being folded over by 90°, can be fastened to the rear end of the swap body in its upper and lateral edge regions. 12. Cover device according to claim 11, characterized in that holding elements in the form of rivets or screw connections are provided for fastening.