GB2123355A

GB2123355A - Load carrier

Info

Publication number: GB2123355A
Application number: GB08215247A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Francis Boughton
Original assignee: SUTTON AND SON
Current assignee: SUTTON AND SON
Priority date: 1982-05-25
Filing date: 1982-05-25
Publication date: 1984-02-01

Abstract

A lorry trailer has a floor part (8) on which the load rests and a roof part (10). Two spaced rows (14, 16) of curtains extend along the length of the trailer approximately centrally thereof. Straps are bonded to the lower parts of the curtains and can be looped around U-shaped brackets pivotally mounted to the floor part (8). In this position, the curtains prevent a load on one side of the trailer coming into contact with a load on the other side of the container. For different loads, the straps of the curtains are freed from the brackets and lugs (42) carried thereby are engaged beneath the side raves (46) of the trailer (Figure 3). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Load carrier The present invention relates to carriers for loads and is particularly but not exclusively concerned with lorry trailers.

It is known to provide lorry trailers with side curtains which extend along both sides of the trailer from its roof to its floor. The advantage of using curtains instead of metal side panels is that curtains are lighter than metal panels and can be easily disconnected from the lower raves of the trailer and quickly folded back to expose a large space for loading and unloading goods.

It is common practice to carry pallets of cans on lorry trailers. Such pallets are often of standard size so that two rows of pallets extend side-by-side along the length of the trailer. One requirement may be that the cans carried by the pallets located at one side of the trailer should not touch the cans carried by the pallets located at the other side of the trailer.

In order to prevent these cans touching one another it is known to fix a vertically extending sheet of, for example, plywood, to extend centrally along the length of the trailer between the two rows of pallets.

If the trailer is to be used for carrying loads other than these pallets of cans which load may extend across more than half the width of the trailer the vertically extending sheet must be removed. This is a time wasting operation. Also if the trailer is to make two consecutive load carrying journeys one of which requires the use of the separating sheet and the other of which does not allow its use there is the problem of where to put the sheet during the second journey. If it is carried in the trailer it takes up useful room and if not it may be needed for the next journey.

According to the present invention there is provided a carrier comprising a floor for supporting a load, a roof spaced above the floor, and at least one curtain connected to the roof internally of the edges of the roof, the or each curtain being selectably connectible to the floor internally of the edges thereof or at or near the edges of the floor.

Preferably two rows of curtains are connected to the roof at a spacing from each other, each row being so selectably connectible to the floor that it either extends substantially vertically or extends to a respective lateral edge region of the floor.

A plurality of curtains may be provided which are spaced from each other along the length of the carrier.

The or each curtain may be connected to the floor internally of the edges thereof by way of a movable bracket which can be raised for connecting the curtain and lowered into a recess in the floor when the or each curtain is to be connected at or near the edges of the floor.

Preferably the brackets are U shaped and arranged in pairs along the carrier approximately centrally thereof, the free arms of the brackets being pivotally mounted within the recess. One of the brackets of a pair is preferably slightly smaller than the other one so that they can be pivoted down horizontally into the recess with one bracket lying partially within the other one.

The or each curtain may have straps in the form of lengths of webbing for example at its upper and lower ends to facilitate the connection of the curtain to the roof and floor of the carrier. The straps at the lower end of the or each curtain may be provided with buckles for adjusting the length of the straps.

When curtains are connected to the floor internally of the edges thereof the straps at the lower end of the or each curtain may be looped around a respective one of the U-shaped brackets to provide the connection between each curtain and the floor of the carrier and the ends of the straps may be connected in the region of the upper ends of the curtains.

When curtains are to be connected to the floor at or near the edges thereof the straps can be disconnected from the upper end regions of the curtains and from the brackets and connected to the floor laterally thereof. The brackets are then free to be lowered into their recesses. To compensate for the different strap length which may be required when connecting the curtains to the edges of the floor suitable adjustment can be made with the buckles.

The straps at the upper ends of the curtains may be connected to runners which are arranged to run along a slide affixed to the roof. Thus, the curtains may be slid back to one end of the carrier to allow free access to the entire load space defined within the carrier between the floor and the roof.

The or each curtain may comprise upper and lower curtain parts connected together by straps similar to those which may facilitate connecting of the curtain to the roof and floor of the carrier.

In addition to the or each internal curtain, the carrier may be provided with further outer curtains which extend along opposite sides of the carrier from the roof to the floor. These outer curtains can be similar to the conventional side curtains used on carriers such as lorry trailers.

The present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 schematically shows a side view of a lorry trailer embodying the present invention, Figure 2 schematically shows a rear view of the trailer shown in Figure 1 with curtains extending vertically and pallets of cans located along one side of the trailer, Figure 3 shows a rear view of the trailer shown in Figure 1 with the lower ends of the curtains connected to the lateral edge regions of the floor and a load extending across the entire width of the trailer, and Figure 4 shows an arrangement for connecting the curtains to the container floor as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1 shows a side view of a lorry half-trailer 2 the rear end of which is provided with road wheels 4 and the forward end of which is provided with props 6 for resting the trailer on the ground when it is disconnected from its lorry.

The trailer comprises a floor part 8 on which the load rests on a roof part 10. At each corner there is a vertical side frame member 12.

As best seen in Figures 2 and 3, along the length of the trailer are two curtain rows 14,16. Each row comprises nine curtains each 3ft wide and spaced from each other by 10 inches.

Each curtain comprises a lower part 18 and an upper part 20 spaced from the lower part 18. Each upper curtain part 20 is bonded to webbed straps 22 which are connected to runners mounted on a rail 24 as shown in Figures 2 and 3. Each upper curtain part 20 is also bonded to webbed straps 26 and each lower curtain part 18 is bonded to webbed straps 28.

The straps 26 and 28 are connected to each other by rings 30. Each lower curtain part 18 is also bonded to webbed straps 32 which, when the curtains are arranged as shown in Figure 2, are looped around U-shaped brackets 34 and through sleeves 36 which prevent wear in the straps. Each strap 32 is connected to another strap 38 by means of a buckle 40 for adjusting the tension in the curtain. Each strap 38 extends upwardly parallel to the lower curtain part 18 and is connected to the ring 30 by means of a lug 42 which is fixed to the upper end of the strap 38.

This arrangement provides a 10 inch space extending along the length of the trailer and when pallets of cans are loaded on both sides of the trailer prevents the cans on one side touching those on the other.

When the load to be carried does not permit the use of the curtain arrangement shown in Figure 2 the curtain rows can be arranged as shown in Figure 3.

To achieve this arrangement from that shown in Figure 2, the lugs 42 are disconnected from the rings 30 and the straps 32 and 38 passed through the brackets 34 and held away from the load space. The brackets are lowered into a recess 44 in the floor part 8 and the load shown in Figure 2 can be loaded onto the trailer. The straps and the upper and lower curtain parts 18, 20 are then lowered over the sides of the load and the lugs 42 located beneath the side raves 46. The buckles 40 are then adjusted to regulate the tension in the curtain rows.

CLAIMS (Filed on 23rd May 1983) 1. A carrier comprisng a floor for supporting a load, a roof spaced above the floor, and at least one curtain connected to the roof internally of the edges of the roof, the or each curtain being selectably connectible to the floor internally of the edges thereof at or near the edges of the floor.

2. A carrier as claimed in Claim 1,wherein a plurality of curtains are spaced from each other along the length of the carrier.

3. A carrier as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein two rows of curtains are connected to the roof at a spacing from each other, each row being so selectably connectible to the floor that it either extends substantially vertically or extends to a respective lateral edge region of the floor.

4. A carrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the or each curtain is connnectible to the floor internally of the edges thereof by way of a movable bracket which can be raised for connecting the curtain and lowered into a recess in the floor when the or each curtain is to be connected at or near the edges of the floor.

5. A carrier as claimed in Claim 4 when appended to Claim 3, wherein a plurality of brackets are provided and are arranged in pairs along the carrier approximately centrally thereof, each of said brackets being substantially U-shaped and being pivotally mounted within the recess by way of its free arms.

6. A carrier as claimed in Claim 5, wherein one of the brackets of each pair is slightly smaller than the other one so that the pair of brackets is pivotable into the recess with one bracket lying partially within the other one.

7. A carrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the or each curtain has straps at its upper and lower ends to facilitate the connection of the curtain to the roof and floor of the carrier.

8. A carrier as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the straps at the lower end of the or each curtain are provided with buckles for adjusting the length of the straps.

9. A carrier as claimed in Claim 7 or 8, wherein the straps are formed by lengths of webbing.

10. A carrier as claimed in any of Claims 7 to 9, wherein the straps at the upper end of the or each curtain are connected to runners which are arranged to run along a slide affixed to the roof.

11. A carrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the or each curtain comprises upper and lower curtain parts connected together by straps.

12. A carrier as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising outer curtains extending along opposite sides of the carrier from the roof to the floor.

13. A carrier as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the carrier is a lorry trailer.

14. A lorry trailer 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

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. As best seen in Figures 2 and 3, along the length of the trailer are two curtain rows 14,16. Each row comprises nine curtains each 3ft wide and spaced from each other by 10 inches. Each curtain comprises a lower part 18 and an upper part 20 spaced from the lower part 18. Each upper curtain part 20 is bonded to webbed straps 22 which are connected to runners mounted on a rail 24 as shown in Figures 2 and 3. Each upper curtain part 20 is also bonded to webbed straps 26 and each lower curtain part 18 is bonded to webbed straps 28. The straps 26 and 28 are connected to each other by rings 30. Each lower curtain part 18 is also bonded to webbed straps 32 which, when the curtains are arranged as shown in Figure 2, are looped around U-shaped brackets 34 and through sleeves 36 which prevent wear in the straps. Each strap 32 is connected to another strap 38 by means of a buckle 40 for adjusting the tension in the curtain. Each strap 38 extends upwardly parallel to the lower curtain part 18 and is connected to the ring 30 by means of a lug 42 which is fixed to the upper end of the strap 38. This arrangement provides a 10 inch space extending along the length of the trailer and when pallets of cans are loaded on both sides of the trailer prevents the cans on one side touching those on the other. When the load to be carried does not permit the use of the curtain arrangement shown in Figure 2 the curtain rows can be arranged as shown in Figure 3. To achieve this arrangement from that shown in Figure 2, the lugs 42 are disconnected from the rings 30 and the straps 32 and 38 passed through the brackets 34 and held away from the load space. The brackets are lowered into a recess 44 in the floor part 8 and the load shown in Figure 2 can be loaded onto the trailer. The straps and the upper and lower curtain parts 18, 20 are then lowered over the sides of the load and the lugs 42 located beneath the side raves 46. The buckles 40 are then adjusted to regulate the tension in the curtain rows. CLAIMS (Filed on 23rd May 1983)

1. A carrier comprisng a floor for supporting a load, a roof spaced above the floor, and at least one curtain connected to the roof internally of the edges of the roof, the or each curtain being selectably connectible to the floor internally of the edges thereof at or near the edges of the floor.