GB1589125A - Vehicle flooring - Google Patents

Description

(54) VEHICLE FLOORING (71) I, JAN MLLER, a Danish citizen, of 34 Birkendalen, Greve Strand, Denmark, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The invention relates to vehicles having flooring sections, especially of wood e.g. for lorries. Such flooring is subject to strong wear and tear as the lorries are used to carry goods of a varying nature, as for instance bulk goods, or crates and containers with sharp edges.

The hitherto known flooring of this type consists of boards attached to the vehicle chassis by means of carriage bolts. This kind of flooring is difficult to replace, as it is attached by means of innumerable bolts.

Furthermore, these carriage bolts are in themselves a source of wear and tear as they contribute to making the flooring uneven, be they countersunk or not.

British Patent number 662,763 describes flooring made up of metal sections, the edges of which are profiled to permit fastening by means of T-shaped profiled iron bars, but this type of flooring entails a considerable increase in the weight of the vehicle. Furthermore, replacing such specially designed sections will be quite costly.

The invention relates to vehicle flooring consisting of several sections, preferably of wood, in particular plywood, and the object is to provide a lorry flooring that is much easier to replace than is the case with flooring known to date, and preferably also providing an entirely flat flooring without unevenness that could lead to increased wear.

According to this invention we provide a vehicle having flooring, assembled of sections, wherein adjacent edges of adjacent sections are held by a pair of profiled iron bars extending parallel to the said edges, the one profiled iron bar of said pair being fixed to the frame of the vehicle while the other profiled iron bar is clamped to the first one, and the two profiled iron bars have horizontally extending flanges in between which said edges of the sections are tightly held.

This construction makes it possible easily to replace all or part of the flooring sections, each section being held by a small number of bolts.

In a special embodiment of the invention, the fixed profiled iron bar has a U-shaped cross-section with flanges extending perpendicularly to the limbs of the U-shape at the free edges thereof, upon which flanges the said edges of the sections rest, whilst the other profiled iron bar extends down within the inside of the first profiled iron bar and is provided with a flat bar the upper part of which is an unbroken flush surface the width of which is large enough to overlap the horizontally lying flanges on the first profiled iron bar, A constructional form of the invention is described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows, in exploded view, a section of a flooring made in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 shows a section of the assembled parts of the flooring.

A flooring consists of a frame and supporting lateral girders 1. The flooring is made up of sections 2, e.g. of plywood, fastened by means of several pairs of profiled iron bars.

Figure 1 shows details of the profiled iron bars with an upper loose profiled bar 3 and a lower fixed profiled bar 4, these bars extending parallel to the adjacent edges of the flooring sections 2. The free ends of the limbs of the U-shaped bar 4 are bent outwards to form horizontal flanges 5 upon which the edges of the sections 2 rest. The profiled bar 4 is positioned in recesses in the longitudinal girders 1 and is welded to the girders and to the frame at both ends.

The loose profiled bar 3 consists of a Ushaped bar 6 upon which a flat bar 7 is welded, closing the profile and overlapping to form flanges, one on each side. The adjacent edges of adjacent sections 2 are clamped between the flanges of the bar 7 and the flanges 5. Inwardly turned lips 8 are formed in the bottom of the U-shaped bar 6, and in the T-shaped track 9 thus obtained, there is room for the head of a bolt 10 that through a hole 11 in the bottom of-the U-shaped bar 4 can be tightened by means of a nut 12.

In order to obtain a fully plane flooring surface, the lateral edges of the sections 2 have a recess 13 for receiving the edges of the flat bar 7, so that the upper face of the flat bar is flush with the upper face of the sections 2, as shown in the assembled state in figure 2.

Assembling of the flooring is very simple.

At suitable intervals the sections 2 are placed on the girders 1, and such that their edges rest on the flanges 5 of the two adjacent profiles 4. The heads of the bolts 10 are introduced into the T-tracks 9 on the profile 3 at a distance corresponding to the distance between the holes 11 in the bottom of the U-profile 4. Thereafter, the profiles 3 are placed between the sections, the bolts 10 going through the holes 11, and the nuts 12 are screwed on the bolts 10 and tightened.

The clamping devices may also be designed in another manner. The flange parts 5, for instance, can be bent inwards.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A vehicle flooring, assembled of sections, wherein adjacent edges of adjacent sections are held by a pair of profiled iron bars extending parallel to the said edges, the one profiled iron bar of said pair being fixed to the frame of the vehicle while the other profiled iron bar is clamped to the first one, and the two profiled iron bars have horizontally extending flanges in between which said edges of the sections are tightly held.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the fixed profiled iron bar has a U-shaped cross-section with flanges extending perpendicularly to the limbs of the U-shape at the free edges thereof, upon which flanges the said edges of the sections rest, whilst the other profiled iron bar extends down within the inside of the first profiled iron bar and is provided with a flat bar the upper part of which is an unbroken flush surface the width of which is large enough to overlap the horizontally lying flanges on the first profiled iron bar.

3. A vehicle according to the claims 1 and 2, characterized in that each of the sections along said edges have at the top a recess and the edges of the flat bar of the loose profiled iron bars is accommodated in these recesses.

4. A vehicle as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein a bolt engages in a bolt hole in the fixed bar with its head in a T-shaped track in the bottom of the upper bar.

5. A vehicle having a flooring substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

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

Claims (5)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. bolt 10 that through a hole 11 in the bottom of-the U-shaped bar 4 can be tightened by means of a nut 12. In order to obtain a fully plane flooring surface, the lateral edges of the sections 2 have a recess 13 for receiving the edges of the flat bar 7, so that the upper face of the flat bar is flush with the upper face of the sections 2, as shown in the assembled state in figure 2. Assembling of the flooring is very simple. At suitable intervals the sections 2 are placed on the girders 1, and such that their edges rest on the flanges 5 of the two adjacent profiles 4. The heads of the bolts 10 are introduced into the T-tracks 9 on the profile 3 at a distance corresponding to the distance between the holes 11 in the bottom of the U-profile 4. Thereafter, the profiles 3 are placed between the sections, the bolts 10 going through the holes 11, and the nuts 12 are screwed on the bolts 10 and tightened. The clamping devices may also be designed in another manner. The flange parts 5, for instance, can be bent inwards. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A vehicle flooring, assembled of sections, wherein adjacent edges of adjacent sections are held by a pair of profiled iron bars extending parallel to the said edges, the one profiled iron bar of said pair being fixed to the frame of the vehicle while the other profiled iron bar is clamped to the first one, and the two profiled iron bars have horizontally extending flanges in between which said edges of the sections are tightly held.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the fixed profiled iron bar has a U-shaped cross-section with flanges extending perpendicularly to the limbs of the U-shape at the free edges thereof, upon which flanges the said edges of the sections rest, whilst the other profiled iron bar extends down within the inside of the first profiled iron bar and is provided with a flat bar the upper part of which is an unbroken flush surface the width of which is large enough to overlap the horizontally lying flanges on the first profiled iron bar.

3. A vehicle according to the claims 1 and 2, characterized in that each of the sections along said edges have at the top a recess and the edges of the flat bar of the loose profiled iron bars is accommodated in these recesses.

4. A vehicle as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein a bolt engages in a bolt hole in the fixed bar with its head in a T-shaped track in the bottom of the upper bar.

5. A vehicle having a flooring substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.