GB2100199A - Auxiliary accommodation on vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

&cirf& The accommodation comprises a hollow member (3) shaped so as to reduce wind resistance and detachably mounted on a generally planar base member (1) having mounting members conforming to the shape of the vehicle on which it is to be mounted. When the auxiliary accommodation is not required, the member (3) is detached and the base member may then be used to carry loads. The accommodation is primarily intended for mounting on the roof of a commercial vehicle cab to provide sleeping accommodation for the driver. However, it may also be used on automobiles, trailers, or on the decks of boats. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Vehicles The present invention relates to means for providing additional accommodation on a vehicle, notably for overnight rest periods for drivers of long distance vehicles.

With the arrival of legislation which limits the number of hours a driver can drive between rest periods, operators of long distance haulage rdutes have been faced with the need to provide rest, e.g.

overnight, accommodation for their drivers. Whilst such accommodation can be found in hotels and the like, this is expensive and often impractical since the driver may be some distance from such accommodation when his rest period falls due.

There have been several proposals over the years for providing rest accommodation on the vehicle itself. However, these proposals have suffered from a number of disadvantages in that the majority of them require that the structure of the cab be modified permanently to accept the extra accommodation. Thus, it has been proposed to cut away the rear wall of the cab and to extend the cab rearwards to provide space for one or more bunk beds. However, this reduces the load carrying space on the vehicle chassis and it is often difficult and costly to carry out this modification on some forms of existing vehicles. It has been proposed to cut away part or all of the roof of the cab and to extend the cab upwardly to provide space for one of more bunk beds, see for example British Specification Nos. 2040238A, 2043555A and European Patent Application No.

33648A.

However, in all of these proposals the extensions to the cab are provided by permanently affixed structures which are entered directly from the cab. This results in vehicles which are irreparably committed to having the extra accommodation whether it is needed for a given journey or not. Also, it is necessary to heat the whole volume of the cab as well as the sleeping area during the rest period. This often places an excessive load on the heating means of the vehicle and the rest area can become unacceptably, and potentially lethally, cold during a winter's night.

We have now devised a form of demountable pod for mounting on a vehicle's cab roof which reduces the above problems. By having it demountable, the pod can readily be transferred from vehicle to vehicle, giving the operator greater flexibility in vehicle use planning than with the fixed extra accommodation of the earlier proposals. Also, the base unit on which the pod is mounted serves as a secondary load carrying surface when the pod is not in position.

Furthermore, since the pod can be formed as a self-contained, well insulated unit separate from the comparatively large uninsulated volume of the cab, the risks of death of the driver, due to hypothermia when the vehicle battery runs down are reduced.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a vehicle having mounted on the roof thereof a container adapted to serve as sleeping accommodation characterised in that the container comprises a first portion comprising a generally planar load-bearing base member having mounting members conforming to the shape of the roof; and a second portion removably mounted on the first portion which second portion comprises a hollow member adapted to provide the sleeping accommodation, the second portion being shaped in the proposed direction of travel so as to reduce the wind resistance of the container.

The invention also provides a container adapted to be mounted on the roof of a vehicle which comprises a first and second portions as defined above.

To aid understanding of the invention, it will now be described by way of reference to a preferred form as shown in the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the base portion on a vehicle cab; Figure 2 is a plan view from above of the base portion of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view along the line AA' of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the base portion of Figure 1 and its demountable pod; and Figure 5 is a detailed view of part of the pod of Figure 4.

The container of the invention can be mounted upon the roof of any type of vehicle, but it is of especial use on the roof of a lorry, notably one to carry loads in excess of 1.5 tonnes. The container may also be mounted on the roof of the tractor unit of an articulated lorry. For convenience the invention will be described in terms of a container to be mounted on a 3 tonne lorry which typically has roof plan measurements of from 1.5 to 2.5 metres by 1 to 2 metres.

The container of the invention has a first portion 1 fixedly mounted on the roof 2 of the cab so as to provide a substantially planar base on which the second portion 3 can be mounted. The fixed base portion conveniently takes the form of a fibre reinforced resin moulding, preferably incorporating reinforcing beams or sheets 10 of timber or metal so that it can bear the loads imposed by the second portion or pod 3. Typically, the base portion 1 is formed from cold moulded glass fibre reinforced resin into which a plywood or chipboard sheet 1 0, 1 to 5 cm thick, is imbedded.

The base portion 1 extends over the intended area of the pod 3, typically 1.5 metres by 2 metres, and is mounted upon the cab roof 2 by suitable bearers 11. These are moulded or shaped to conform to the roof of the cab of the vehicle and to spread the load. Conveniently, the bearers 11 take the form of wooden or other beams imbedded into the resin moulding of the base portion 1. If desired, the periphery of the base portion can be carried downwardly as shown in Figure 3 to engage in the gutter 21 usually found around the top edge of a cab roof 2. This not only closes off the space under the base portion to improve the airflow over the device, but can also transfer part of the load to another area of the cab structure.

The base portion is conveniently affixed onto the cab roof by means of bolts or clamps and with minimal structural alteration to the cab.

Specifically it is not necessary to cut access hatches in the cab roof.

The base portion can be modified in a number of ways to improve its secondary function as a loadbearing platform when the pod is not in position Thus, the planar surface of the base portion can be provided with ribs 12 to improve its rigidity; the front edge can be upturned to provide a name plate fascia 13 and side handles 14 can be provided for anchoring load securing straps or to act as hand holds for the driver when climbing onto the top of the kab or up to the pod entrance as described below. If desired, the periphery 1 5 of the base portion can be upturned to provide a baffle to inhibit ingress of rain into the pod and an internal seat against which the pod 3 bears when in position.

The second portion or pod 3 comprises a hollow member which acts as the sleeping accommodation and is removably mounted on the base portion. The second portion can be a totally self-contained unit with floor, walls and roof.

However, it is preferred that it be an open bottomed unit which seats on the base unit to form a closed structure. Whilst the pod can be formed from a series of panels fixed to one another or to a rigid framework removably mounted on the base portion, we prefer to form the pod as an integrally moulded unit, notably as a cold moulded fibre reinforced resin moulding.

The pod has a base or basal rim 31 which cooperates with the base portion to provide a substantially watertight seal when the pod is mounted on the base portion. If desired, the pod and/or the base portion may be recessed or lipped to aid sealing engagement. Whilst the pod is to be removable from the base portion, clamps, belts or other securing means must be provided to hold the pod securely in place when the vehicle is in motion or the pod in use. It is preferred that such securing means be of the "quick release" type to facilitate removal of the pod.

The pod is shaped so as to reduce its wind resistance. Thus, the frontal face 32 of the pod is suitably curved and, if desired, is faired into the side walls. in order to further reduce the air resistance, it is preferred to provide the side walls and roof of the pod with airflow control vanes, e.g.

at the edges thereof. As shown in Figure 5, these conveniently take the form of an outswept edge 34 having mounted parallel thereto but spaced therefrom a correspondingly curved member 35 to provide a deflector plate at the periphery of the pod with an airflow slot 36 between it and the pod. This acts to smooth the flow of air over the body of the vehicle down-wind of the pod.

The pod is preferably of substantially the same plan dimensions as the base portion so as to provide the maximum accommodation area and has an overall height which is within 0.6 metres of the height of the down-wind portion of the vehicle, to aid flow of air over that portion of the vehicle.

Thus, the pod will typically have plan dimensions of 1.5 metres by 2 metres and a maximum height at its rear of from 1 to 2 metres.

The pod is provided with access means, typically with a door 37 in the nearside wall thereof, and with features such as lights, heaters, ventilators (which preferably cannot be closed) and other accessories, to suit the requirements of the individual operator for his drivers. If desired, the walls of the pod can be formed as a laminated construction incorporating reinforcing ribs and insulation. It will usually be desired to provide the pod with means for connecting the electrical installations thereof into the power supply of the cab, e.g. by means of a plus and socket or a flying lead.

In order to provide access to the entry to the pod, the cab can be provided with a ladder or foot and hand holds 21 and the pod can be providecr with external hand holds 38 to aid access to the entry and/or mounting of the pod.

In use, the base portion 1 is mounted upon the vehicle cab. The mounting members 11 of the base portion are shaped for each specific design of vehicle and the base portion thus becomes part of the permanent structure of the vehicle to which it is fixed. The base portion serves as a secondary load carrying area for the vehicle during normal runs and the upturned front 13 can carry a name plate or other insignia advertising the operator of the vehicle. When the operator decides to use the vehicle for a run on which overnight rest and accommodation are required, he merely fits a pod 3 onto the base portion 1 and provides the pod with appropriate bedding etc. When the run has been completed, the pod can be simply removed and transferred to another vehicle which is to be used on an overnight run.The invention thus enables the operator to have a number of vehicles capable of being used as needed for overnight runs without the need to provide sleeping accommodation on each one or having to reserve one vehicle only for overnight runs which may result in poor utilisation of that vehicle. Also, since no major structural alteration is required to mount the base portion on a cab, a vehicle fitted with a base portion can be as readily sold on the market as a conventional vehicle.

The invention has been described above in terms of a pod mounted on the roof of a commercial vehicle. However, it is within the scope of the present invention to mount the pod on the roof of other vehicles, e.g. a private car, and on other types of vehicle, e.g. on a trailer or on the deck of a boat, in which latter case the term 'roof' is to be construed herein as denoting the top surface of the vehicle.

Claims (10)

1. A container adapted to serve as additional accommodation on a vehicle characterised in that the container comprises a first portion (1) comprising a generally planar load-bearing base member having mounting members (11) conforming to the shape of the roof (2) of the vehicle on which it is to be mounted; and a second portion capable of being removably mounted on the first portion (1), which second portion comprises a hollow member (3) adapted to provide the additional accommodation on the vehicle, the second portion being shaped so as to reduce the wind resistance of the container in the proposed direction of travel of the vehicle on which it is to be mounted.

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the first portion comprises a substantially planar area having a dependent skirt adapted to engage with the roof of the vehicle on which it is to be mounted.

3. A container as claimed in either of claims 1 or 2 characterised in that at least part of the first portion is upturned.

4. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the second portion comprises an open bottomed unit which seats on the first portion in substantially watertight sealing engagement.

5. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the rear edges of the side and top walls of the second portion are provided with air flow control vanes (33).

6. A container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised In that the second portion is formed as a laminated construction incorporating a thermally insulating layer.

7. A vehicle having mounted thereon a container as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

8. A vehicle having mounted on the roof thereof a container adapted to serve as additional accommodation on the vehicle characterised in that the container comprises a first portion (1) comprising a generally planar load-bearing base member having mounting members (11) conforming to the shape of the roof (2); and a second portion removably mounted on the first portion (1), which second portion comprises a hollow member (3) adapted to provide the additional accommodation on the vehicle, the second portion being shaped in the proposed direction of travel of the vehicle so as to reduce the wind resistance of the container.

9. A container as claimed in claim 1 substantially as herein described.

10. A container as claimed in claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.