GB1583028A

GB1583028A - Trailer floors

Info

Publication number: GB1583028A
Application number: GB3302076A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Reed & Upton Inventions Ltd
Current assignee: Reed & Upton Inventions Ltd
Priority date: 1977-08-03
Filing date: 1977-08-03
Publication date: 1981-01-21

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO TRAILER FLOORS (71) We, REED & UPTON (INVENTIONS) LIMITED a British Company of Bay Quarry Works, Barton Mills, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention concerns trailers and the like vehicles and in particular an improved floor therefor.

It is known to provide box trailers for containing and transporting bulk materials such as harvested vegetables and with the increasing use of mechanical handling equipment on farms the loading of such containers typically involves the use of elevators and/or loaders. Fruit and vegetables as with many other commodities are liable to damage if dropped from any significant height and it has become an increasing problem with the use of larger and larger containers requiring higher and higher elevators to reduce the damage to fruit and vegetables when dropped from the upper end of a loading elevator into an open container or the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved trailer which whilst possessing all the design features of a known trailer additionally provides an improved floor whereby fruit or vegetables dropped from a loading elevator or the like into the trailer will not normally be damaged in the same way as hitherto.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a flooring which can be fitted within an existing trailer or the like container which will adapt the trailer or container to receive vegetables or fruit or other such commodities from a loading conveyor or the like and reduce the amount of damage which can arise when fruit and vegetables and the like are dropped into the trailer or container.

According to the present invention in a trailer or container having upright side members and floor within which a load such as harvested fruit or vegetables may be transported or stored, the floor member is moveable from an upper position near to the upper edge of the upright walls through intermediate positions to a lower position near the lower edge of the upright walls and the floor member is supported by resiliently extensible means such as coil springs which as the load on the floor member increases extend and allow the floor member to drop to accommodate the increasing load.

The invention allows bulk material such as harvested vegetables or fruit to be loaded into the container with the floor member in its upper position and as loading continues the floor member may be lowered so as to accommodate more of the load within the container walls until the floor reaches its lowermost position when the trailer or container can be loaded to capacity. By arranging that the chute or elevating conveyor or like loading means discharges at the level of the upper edge of the upright walls of the trailer or container so the fruit or vegetables or other bulk material discharged into the container will only fall by a matter of a few inches at any time during the loading sequence either onto the floor member at the start of the loading procedure or onto the uppermost layer of fruit or vegetables or bulk material as loading proceeds.

The floor member may be fully floating and supported for example at its four corners by cords or wires which terminate in extensible coil springs which as the load on the floor member increases extend and allow the floor member to drop to accommodate the increasing load.

The floor member may be the actual floor of the trailer or container but is preferably a false floor located within an otherwise conventional trailer or container. To this end the invention also provides an improved floor mechanism for mounting in a trailer or container or the like comprising a loadbearing platform similar in size and shape but slightly smaller than the floor of the trailer or container or the like into which it is to be fitted.

Whether the load is carried on the actual floor of the trailer or container which is raised or lowered relative to the remainder thereof or whether a false floor member or platform is incorporated within an existing trailer or container or the like, preferably sealing is provided around the edge of the floor member or platform to prevent particulate material or individual items of for example fruit or vegetables which have been harvested from slipping past the edges of the floor member or platform and entering the space therebeneath so as to either cause the mechanism for lifting or dropping the flooor member or platform to become jammed or damaged or in an advanced situation causing a sufficient build-up of particulate material or separate items of fruit or vegetables below the floor member or platform as to prevent the latter from reaching its lowermost position and thereby decreasing the true carrying capacity of the trailer or container.

Preferably stop means is provided for preventing the raising of the floor member or platform higher than a certain point relative to the upright side members of the trailer or container so that in a preferred arrangement a lip is always provided around the periphery of the floor member or platform even when the latter is in its uppermost position so that any load falling thereon from a loading conveyor or the like is prevented from rolling off the floor member or platform and so that also the floor member or platform cannot accidentally be raised beyond the level of the side walls of the trailer or container or the like so as to either cause damage to a loading conveyor or chute or the like or cause any load carried on the floor member or platform to spill over the sides of the trailer or conveyor from a great height or simply cause the floor member or platform to become out of alignment with the side walls of the container.

The invention is applicable to any form of trailer or conveyor but is particularly applicable to deep-sided trailers and conveyors adapted for storing and transporting in bulk vegetables or fruit or the like or particulate materials which can become damaged if dropped from a considerable height.

Reference in this specification to a trailer or container includes within the ambit of those words a railway wagon, a selfpowered lorry or wagon, a trailer or wagon which is adapted to be trailed behind a lorry or a driving section of an articulated lorry combination as well as trailers for use on roads and agricultural trailers and containers adapted to be carried by railway wagons, on boats or on suitable low-loading road haulage vehicles.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side view in cross-section through a known form of a trailer in which lifting of the floor is effected by hydraulic rams.

Fig. 2 is a similar view through a trailer embodying the invention.

Fig. 1 is a cross-section through a conventional road or agricultural trailer having four wheels arranged in two pair of either side thereof, the near side pair 10 and 12 being visible in Fig. I despite the fact that the remaaitier of the trailer is in crosssection.

The trailer is of the steep-sided variety having a front end 14, a rear end 16 and two sides of which the remote side 18 can only be seen, the near-side wall having been removed by virtue of the cross-sectional view.

The trailer includes a conventional floor 20 and load-bearing subframe 22 having a forward extension 24 adapted to be connected to a towing vehicle or the like (not shown) and having a parking foot 26.

Within the walls 14, 16 and 18 of the trailer is located a false floor or platform 28 which is a sloppy fit within the walls 14, 16 and 18 and includes rubber or leather or like material strips such as 30 and 32 along its peripheral edges which engage with the inside surfaces of the walls 14, 16 and 18 to prevent particulate material, dust, or dirt, from slipping to the region on the underside of the platform 28 thereby causing jamming or damage or causing a build-up so that the platform 28 cannot settle to its lowermost position.

The platform 28 provides a load-bearing floor on which a load of vegetables or particulate material or the like can be loaded as denoted by the diagrammatic load shown at 34.

In Fig. 1, the platform 28 is assumed to be rectangular as is also the cross-section of the trailer when viewed from above and the four corners of the platform 28 are joined by a pair of scissors struts 36 and 38 on the far side of the trailer as viewed in Fig. 1 and by a similar set of struts (not shown) on the nearside of the trailer as viewed in Fig. 1. The struts 36 and 38 slide in slots 40 and 42 on the base of the trailer 20 and slide in similar slots 44 and 46 provided on the underside of the platform 28.

At the point of intersection of the scissors struts they are pivotally joined at 48.

The two pairs of scissors struts provide guides for the platform 28 so that as the latter is raised or lowered within the walls of the container it maintains a correct attitude relative to the trailer.

A known device for raising and lowering the platform comprises one or more appropriately mounted hydraulic rams such as 50 pivotally joined at opposite ends on the one hand to the floor 20 and on the other hand to the underside of the platform 28 as at 52. By pressurising the ram 50, the platform 28 will be raised and by depressurising the ram in a controlled manner, the platform 28 can be caused to drop under the weight of the load 34 carried thereon.

In use, with the trailer empty, the ram 50 is fully extended so as to raise the platform 28 to its uppermost position determined by stops 54 and 56 and particulate material or vegetables or fruit or the like is loaded into the trailer from a loading position which is adjusted to be just above the height of the platform 28 when the latter is in its raised position. As the load falls onto the platform 28 so the weight of the latter increases and by sensing the increasing load either visually or automatically and releasing the pressure within the ram 50 in appropriate increments the platform 28 can be lowered under the action of the weight of the load acting thereon so as to accommodate more and more of the load on the platform and within the four walls of the trailer or container until the platform 28 is at its lowermost position. Loading then ceases and the trailer is available for transportation or storage.

Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the invention incorporating a trailer which is basically similar to Fig. 1 and in which similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description of Fig. 1 is referred to for the description of these parts.

The invention lies in the means for suspending the platform 28 within the four walls of the container or trailer. To this end the four corners of the platform 28 which is assumed to be rectangular as in Fig 1, are attached by means of cords or wires of which the furthest two can be seen in Fig. 2 because of the cross-sectional view and which are denoted by reference numerals 58 and 60. The wires or cords pass over pulleys at the four corners near the upper edges of the walls of the container 14, 16 and 18 and the two remote pulleys 62 and 64 can be seen in Fig. 2.

After passing over the pulleys the wires or ropes extend downwards into a protective sheath or housing denoted by reference numerals 66 and 68 respectively each of which contains a coil spring 70 and 72 respectively the lower end of which is anchored to the base of the trailer.

The coil springs are selected so as to have a characteristic such that when the platform 28 is unloaded the springs when in their fully retracted position will just balance the weight of the platform 28. As load shown at 34 is added to the platform 28 so the springs 70 and 72 will extend and the platform will drop until it reaches the bottom of the container walls and rests on the floor 20 when the container is fully loaded.

To compensate for variations of density depending on different materials which are to be loaded into the container, the springs 70 and 72 are rendered adjustable as by altering the usable length or initial tension in the springs so that different weights when partially and fully loaded can be compensated for as appropriate.

It will be seen that as the load is removed from the spring loaded platform 28 so the latter will rise.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A trailer or container having upright side members and floor within which a load such as harvested fruit or vegetables may be transported or stored, in which the floor member is movable from an upper position near to the upper edge of the upright walls through intermediate positions to a lower position near the lower edge of the upright walls and in which the floor member is supported by resiliently extensible means such as coil springs which as the load on the floor member increases extend and allow the floor member to drop to accommodate the increasing load.

2. A trailer or container as claimed in claim I in which the resiliently extensible members are attached to the floor member through inextensible cords or wires which pass over pulleys.

3. A trailer or container as claimed in either of the preceding claims in which the floor member is the actual floor of the trailer or container.

4. A trailer or container as claimed in claim I or 2 in which the floor member is a false floor situated within an otherwise conventional trailer or container.

5. A trailer or container as claimed in any of the preceding claims further comprising sealing means between the edge of the floor member or platform to prevent small items and particulate material from slipping past the edge of the floor member or platform and entering the space therebeneath.

6. A trailer or container as claimed in any of the preceding claims further comprising stop means for preventing the rais ing of the floor member or platform higher than a certain point relative to the upright side members of the trailer or container.

7. A trailer or container as claimed in claim 6 in which the stop means is situated

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. as 50 pivotally joined at opposite ends on the one hand to the floor 20 and on the other hand to the underside of the platform 28 as at 52. By pressurising the ram 50, the platform 28 will be raised and by depressurising the ram in a controlled manner, the platform 28 can be caused to drop under the weight of the load 34 carried thereon. In use, with the trailer empty, the ram 50 is fully extended so as to raise the platform 28 to its uppermost position determined by stops 54 and 56 and particulate material or vegetables or fruit or the like is loaded into the trailer from a loading position which is adjusted to be just above the height of the platform 28 when the latter is in its raised position. As the load falls onto the platform 28 so the weight of the latter increases and by sensing the increasing load either visually or automatically and releasing the pressure within the ram 50 in appropriate increments the platform 28 can be lowered under the action of the weight of the load acting thereon so as to accommodate more and more of the load on the platform and within the four walls of the trailer or container until the platform 28 is at its lowermost position. Loading then ceases and the trailer is available for transportation or storage. Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the invention incorporating a trailer which is basically similar to Fig. 1 and in which similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description of Fig. 1 is referred to for the description of these parts. The invention lies in the means for suspending the platform 28 within the four walls of the container or trailer. To this end the four corners of the platform 28 which is assumed to be rectangular as in Fig 1, are attached by means of cords or wires of which the furthest two can be seen in Fig. 2 because of the cross-sectional view and which are denoted by reference numerals 58 and 60. The wires or cords pass over pulleys at the four corners near the upper edges of the walls of the container 14, 16 and 18 and the two remote pulleys 62 and 64 can be seen in Fig. 2. After passing over the pulleys the wires or ropes extend downwards into a protective sheath or housing denoted by reference numerals 66 and 68 respectively each of which contains a coil spring 70 and 72 respectively the lower end of which is anchored to the base of the trailer. The coil springs are selected so as to have a characteristic such that when the platform 28 is unloaded the springs when in their fully retracted position will just balance the weight of the platform 28. As load shown at 34 is added to the platform 28 so the springs 70 and 72 will extend and the platform will drop until it reaches the bottom of the container walls and rests on the floor 20 when the container is fully loaded. To compensate for variations of density depending on different materials which are to be loaded into the container, the springs 70 and 72 are rendered adjustable as by altering the usable length or initial tension in the springs so that different weights when partially and fully loaded can be compensated for as appropriate. It will be seen that as the load is removed from the spring loaded platform 28 so the latter will rise. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A trailer or container having upright side members and floor within which a load such as harvested fruit or vegetables may be transported or stored, in which the floor member is movable from an upper position near to the upper edge of the upright walls through intermediate positions to a lower position near the lower edge of the upright walls and in which the floor member is supported by resiliently extensible means such as coil springs which as the load on the floor member increases extend and allow the floor member to drop to accommodate the increasing load.

at a point such that even when the floor member or platform is at its highest point, there is still a lip formed by the upper edges of the upright walls above the floor member or platform.

8. A trailer or container as claimed in claim 1 constructed arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Fig.

2 of the accompanying drawings.