GB2135259A - Covering of load-carrying body - Google Patents
Covering of load-carrying body Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2135259A GB2135259A GB08404705A GB8404705A GB2135259A GB 2135259 A GB2135259 A GB 2135259A GB 08404705 A GB08404705 A GB 08404705A GB 8404705 A GB8404705 A GB 8404705A GB 2135259 A GB2135259 A GB 2135259A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- sheeting
- load
- carrying body
- track elements
- length
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60J—WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES
- B60J7/00—Non-fixed roofs; Roofs with movable panels, e.g. rotary sunroofs
- B60J7/02—Non-fixed roofs; Roofs with movable panels, e.g. rotary sunroofs of sliding type, e.g. comprising guide shoes
- B60J7/06—Non-fixed roofs; Roofs with movable panels, e.g. rotary sunroofs of sliding type, e.g. comprising guide shoes with non-rigid element or elements
- B60J7/061—Non-fixed roofs; Roofs with movable panels, e.g. rotary sunroofs of sliding type, e.g. comprising guide shoes with non-rigid element or elements sliding and folding
- B60J7/062—Non-fixed roofs; Roofs with movable panels, e.g. rotary sunroofs of sliding type, e.g. comprising guide shoes with non-rigid element or elements sliding and folding for utility vehicles
Abstract
A means for sheeting over a load-carrying body with a length of flexible sheeting. So that the sheeting can be drawn out very easily or stowed very easily by one man working alone, the sheeting (20) is carried by a plurality of hanger members (22) extending transversely of the body and being traversable, longitudinally of the body, along track elements (26) capable of being vertically adjusted. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Covering of load-carrying body
The invention relates to the covering of loadcarrying bodies, particularly tipper bodies for road vehicles.
Road vehicles with tipper bodies are used for the transport of bulk materials, that is to say powdered or granular materials, and also for carrying coal and the like. It is a legal requirement that loose loads on a motor vehicle or trailer must be sheeted over, if necessary, to ensure that no danger or nuisance to persons or property is caused by any part of the load falling or being blown from the vehicle or trailer. It is also necessary to sheet over a load of grain for example to prevent it from being damaged by rainwater. However, the fitting of a covering sheet to a vehicle body, and also the subsequent uncovering of the body, particularly in high winds and by one man working alone, is a considerable problem.It is a particularly accident prone activity in road transport, and since recent legislation which increases the allowable load-carrying capacity of road transport vehicles is likely to result in even higher sided vehicles, it is a problem which is likely to become more acute.
Various prior proposals have been made in order to deal with this problem but none have been entirely successful. For example, in one particular arrangement a flexible sheet has been wound upon a roller member extending longitudinally of the vehicle, mechanism being provided for traversing the roller member transversely across the vehicle body to lay the sheet across the body or to re-wind it upon the roller member. However, such an arrangement is heavy and suffers from the disadvantage that the presence of the roller member and control linkage along the side of the body when the body is being loaded interferes with the loading of the body from that side by, for example, a bucket loader or tractor shovel.
In another known arrangement a flexible sheet has been wound upon a roller member extending transversely across the vehicle body and mechanism which has been provided for traversing the roller member longitudinally of the body to lay the sheet along the body or to re-wind it upon the roller member has included a pair of arms pivoted substantially midway along the length of the body to move the roller member in an arc from the front end of the body to the rear end and back again. This arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that the presence of the pair of arms for carrying the roller member takes up a large portion of the maximum permitted vehicle width when used on public roads.
It is also though that the lifting of the roller member through a considerable height when sheeting over or uncovering the load in windy conditions must be a serious safety hazard.
The object of the invention is to provide a means for sheeting over a load-carrying body which will not be excessively costly and which will add relatively little to the tare weight of the body,
According to the invention, there is provided means for sheeting over a load-carrying body, said means including a plurality of hanger members for a length of flexible sheeting, said hanger members extending transversely of the body and being traversable, longitudinally of the body, along track elements extending longitudinally of the body, means being provided for vertically adjusting the track elements in position so that with said track elements in a vertically raised position the hanger members can be freely traversed longitudinally of the body to either extend the length of sheeting along the body or to locate the sheeting in a stowed condition, that is to say in zigzag folds, at one end of the body, and so that with the sheeting drawn out along the length of the body the track elements can be lowered to bring lateral edge portions of the sheeting into engagement with upstanding sealing members formed on or forming part of the side walls of the body.The hanger members will preferably be provided with downwardly extending brackets adapted to bear downwards on lengths of webbing connected to the sheeting when the track elements are lowered, the arrangement being such that a lateral tension can be produced in the sheeting when it has been drawn out along the length of the body and lowered into engagement with the sealing members.The track elements will preferably be capable of being pivotally adjustable by being carried by at least respective pairs of pivoted links, the arrangement being such that each track element is adjustable with parallelogram movement with respect to the adjacent body side wall. Manually operable means or hydraulically or pneumatically operable means may be provided for vertically adjusting the track elements in position, and means will preferably be provided whereby a single such means can be used to adjust both track elements' in position simultaneously. The means referred to may include a bell-crank lever pivotally connected to one of the track elements and, if the means referred to are manually operable, may include also screw means operable by means of an extraneous handle.
Each track element will preferably be constituted by a length of T-section bar, the adjacent end of each hanger member preferably being guided along the opposed flanges of the bar by at least a pair of co-operating rollers. An endmost one of the hanger members, that is to say a rearmost one of the hanger members when the load-carrying body is a tipper body, will preferably have at least two relatively widely spaced apart pairs of co-operating rollers at each end so that it will be maintained at right angles to the track elements.The length of flexible sheeting will preferably be connected intermediate its length to the hanger members from which it is suspended by resilient means such as strong rubber loops embracing the hanger members and riveted or otherwise secured to the sheeting at intervals across its width, but the rearmost edge of the sheet may be connected directly to the rearmost hanger member in a weather proof manner.
A rearmost portion of the body will preferably have a transverse cover piece with which the rearmost hanger member can co-operate in a weather proof manner when the sheeting has been drawn out to extend along the major length of the body.
The transverse cover piece will preferably be in the form of a metal bridge piece having a resilient sealing element on which the rearmost hanger member can seat itself, said bridge piece preferably being connected to a sheeting material capable of being secured to a rear door of the load-carrying body.
In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view at the front end of a tipper body for a road vehicle, the tipper body embodying the present invention,
Figure2 is a view similarto Figure 1 but showing the rear end of the body,
Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 in Figure 1, drawn to a somewhat larger scale than Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a view in the direction of arrow 4 in
Figure 3, and
Figures 5and 6 are views which are respectively similar to Figures 3 and 4 and which illustrate a possible modification which will be referred to.
Referring now to Figures 1 to 4 of the drawings, the tipper body there illustrated is of the kind having a plurality of upstanding pillars 10 on the outside of each side wall, the upstanding pillars being connected to horizontal top rails 12 of angle section.
However, for the purposes of this invention, it can be seen in Figure 3 that channel section members 14 have been welded along the upper portions of side sheets 16 to form substantial box section additional top rails lying within the effective load-carrying width of the body. Further longitudinal elements 18 welded to the members 14 constitute upstanding sealing members located within the effective overall width of the body.
The tipper body is provided with means for sheeting over the otherwise open top of the body with a length of flexible sheeting 20, said means including a plurality of hanger members 22 of channel section extending transversely of the body.
The length of flexible sheeting is connected at longitudinally spaced intervals to all except the rearmost one of the respective hanger members by resilient means, that is to say by strong flexible links 24 made of rubber, nylon or the like. However, the rearmost edge of the flexible sheeting is secured directly to the rearmost hanger member in a weather proof manner. A foremost edge of the flexible sheeting is riveted to the flanged top surface of a plate member 15 upstanding from a front wall 13 of the body (see Figure 1). At spaced points along the length of sheeting it is provided with laterally projecting lengths of webbing 17 which are connected as shown in Figure 3 to the lower ends of brackets 19 extending downwards from the hanger members 22.
The hanger members are provided at their opposite ends with downwardly inclined bracket members 23 and said bracket members are traversable, longitudinally of the tipper body, along track elements constituted by lengths of T-section bar 26, by pairs of co-operating rollers 28. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the inclined bracket members of all except the rearmost one of the hanger members are each provided with two closely spaced pairs of cooperating rollers 28.However, as shown in Figure 2, the rearmost one of the hanger members has inclined bracket members formed integrally with rearward extensions 25, each of these carrying a further pair of co-operating rollers 28 which are relatively widely spaced from the two pairs of rollers adapted to take the imposed vertical load, the further pair of rollers on each end of the hanger member acting to maintain said rearmost hanger member in the required transversely extending condition, at right angles to the track elements, for free movement forwardly or rearwardly of the body. A rearward portion of the body has a transverse cover piece in the form of a narrow bridge piece 27 having a resilient sealing element 29 on which the rearmost hanger member can seat itself in a weather proof manner when the sheeting 20 has been drawn out to extend along the major length of the body.The metal bridge piece 27 is connected to a relatively short length of flexible sheeting 21 which is capable of being secured in a weather tight manner to a rear door31 of the body.
Referring now in particular to Figures 3 and 4, means are provided for vertically adjusting the track elements, said means including a plurality of pivoted links 30 each of which is pivotally connected atone end to the respective track element by a pin 32 and pivotally connected at its other end to one of a plurality of hinge plates 34 secured to the respective top rail 12 of the body side wall. The means provided for vertically adjusting the track elements also include manually operable means including a bell crank lever 36 (see Figure 1) pivotally mounted at the front end of the body and pivotally connected to one end of one of the track elements so that the latter can be displaced longitudinally to adjust it vertically.The manually operable means also include screw means, generally indicated 37, mounted on the front wall 13 of the body, and connected to the bell-crank lever 36 by means of a drag link 39. The screw means can be operated by means of an extraneous handle (not shown) to lengthen or shorten the effective length of the drag link and thus to pivot the bell crank lever as required. The bell-crank lever 36 is connected by means of a shaft 38 to a pivoted link 40 connected to the other track element. In this way, the single manually operable means referred to is able to be used for adjusting both track elements in position simultaneously.
The arrangement is such that with the track elements in a vertically raised condition the hanger members can be freely traversed longitudinally of the body to either extend the length of sheeting along the body or to locate the sheeting in a stowed condition, that is to say, in zigzag folds at the front end of the body as shown in Figure 1 where the sheeting is shown only partialiy drawn out from the stowed condition. With the sheeting fully drawn out along the length of the body the track elements can be lowered to bring lateral edge portions of the sheeting into engagement with the upstanding sealing abutments constituted by the members 18.As the sheeting engages the rounded edges of the upstanding sealing abutments 18, further downward movement of the track elements causes the lateral tensioning brackets 19 to drag downwards on the lengths of webbing 17 and this causes the sheeting to be pulled more taughtly across the width of the body, although still having some downward inclination from the centre line of the sheet similarto the inclination of the hanger brackets.
A manually operable winch 42 is shown to be mounted on the front wall of the body this being for the purpose of traversing the hanger members towards the front of the body for the stowing of the flexible sheeting in zigzag folds. A length of cord or thin wire rope (not shown) will extend freely through guides at the centres of all but the rearmost hanger member; the latter will be secured to the end of the length of cord or wire rope to be pulled along the tracks by the operation of the winch. It is though that traversing the hanger members in the opposite direction will be less difficult.Consequently, no means are shown for effecting this although in practice it is proposed that the rearmost one of the hanger members will be provided with at least one length of rope, or have provision for the attachment of at least one length of rope whereby the rearmost hanger member can be pulled along the tracks; as it is pulled along, the flexible sheeting will act to pull the next hanger member and then the next and so on, the even pull of the sheeting along the whole length of each hanger member preventing "canting" of the hanger members on the tracks.
It has been found that the means described above for sheeting over a load-carrying body has been a considerable advance on any prior proposals which have been made. It can be operated very easily and in complete safety by one man working alone. High winds cause no problem.
Referring now to Figures 5 and 6, these illustrate a possible modification, this being the making of the hanger members of square section material instead of channel section. As shown in Figure 6, opposite end portions of the hanger members are provided with respective brackets 44 of "top hat" shape to which the downwardly inclined bracket members 23 and the brackets 19 are secured.
Various other modifications may be made. For example, the means for vertically adjusting the respective track elements in position need not necessarily include at least a pair of pivoted links; the track elements could be carried by brackets slidably adjustable by respective cam arrangements.
Similarly, the manually operable means for vertically adjusting the track elements need not include screw means but could include hydraulic or pneumatically operable means. However, if manually operable, it will probably be advantageous to arrange for spring assistance to be provided so that the weight of the sheeting and of the hanger members is taken partly be spring means. It is also thought that the manually operable winch 42 may not be essential and that the hanger members will be able to be pulled along quite easily by means of ropes for the stowing of the flexible sheeting in zigzag folds.
The metal bridge piece 27 could be connected to a relatively short length of rigid sheeting instead of flexible sheeting capable of being secured in a weather tight manner to the rear door 31 of the body.
It will of course be understood that the vehicle body may be constructed very differently from that illustrated by way of example in the drawings. It will also be understood that provision may be made for the fitment of new lengths of material constituting the longitudinal elements 18. The upper edges of those elements are prone to be damaged as the load-carrying body is loaded by means of a bucket loader or tractor mounted shovel; if this happens, the flexible sheeting is likely to be damaged when drawn tightly around the upper edges of the longitudinal elements. Consequently, it may be arranged for those lengths of material constituting the longitudinal elements to be clamped in position in a manner facilitating their replacement when worn.
Claims (13)
1. Means for sheeting over a load-carrying body, said means including a plurality of hanger members for a length of flexible sheeting, said hanger members extending transversely of the body and being traversable, longitudinally of the body, along track elements extending longitudinally of the body, means being provided for vertically adjusting the track elements in position so that with said track elements in a vertically raised position the hanger members can be freely traversed longitudinally of the body to either extend the length of sheeting along the body or to locate the sheeting in a stowed condition, that is to say in zigzag folds, at one end of the body, and so that with the sheeting drawn out along the length of the body the track elements can be lowered to bring lateral edge portions of the sheeting into engagement with upstanding sealing members formed on or forming part of the side walls of the body.
2. Means according to claim 1 for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which the hanger members are provided with downwardly extending brackets adapted to bear downwards on lengths of webbing connected to the sheeting when the track elements are lowered, the arrangement being such that a lateral tension can be produced in the sheeting when it has been drawn out along the length of the body and lowered into engagement with the sealing members.
3. Means according to either one of the preceding claims, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which the track elements are capable of being vertically adjustable by being carried by at least respective pairs of pivoted links, the arrangement being such that each track element is adjustable with parallelogram movement with respect to the adjacent body side wall.
4. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which manually operable means are provided for vertically adjusting the track elements in position.
5. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, whereby a single manually operable means can be used to adjust both track elements in position simultaneously.
6. Means according to either one of claims 4 and 5, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which the manually operable means referred to include a bellcrank lever pivotally connected to one of the track elements and include also screw means operable by means of an extraneous handle.
7. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which each track element is constituted by a length of T-section bar, the adjacent end of each hanger member being guided along the opposed flanges of the bar by at least a pair of co-operating rollers.
8. Means according to claim 7, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which an endmost one of the hanger members, that is to say a rearmost one of the hanger members when the load-carrying body is a tipper body, has at least two relatively widely spaced apart pairs of co-operating rollers at each end so that it will be maintained at right angles to the track elements.
9. Means according to any one of the preceding claims, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which the length of flexible sheeting is connected intermediate its length to the hanger members from which it is suspended by resilient means but the rearmost edge of the sheet being connected directly to the rearmost hanger member in a weather proof manner.
10. Means according to claim 9, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which a rearmost portion of the body has a transverse cover piece with which the rearmost hanger member can co-operate in a weather proof manner when the sheeting has been drawn out to extend along the major length of the body.
11. Means according to claim 10, for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which the transverse cover piece is in the form of a metal bridge piece having a resilient sealing element on which the rearmost hanger member can seat itself.
12. Means according to claim 11 for sheeting over a load-carrying body, in which the metal bridge piece is connected to a flexible sheeting material capable of being secured to a rear door of the load-carrying body.
13. Means for sheeting over a load-carrying body, constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described, with referpence to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08404705A GB2135259B (en) | 1983-02-23 | 1984-02-22 | Covering of load-carrying body |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB838305080A GB8305080D0 (en) | 1983-02-23 | 1983-02-23 | Covering of load-carrying body |
| GB08404705A GB2135259B (en) | 1983-02-23 | 1984-02-22 | Covering of load-carrying body |
Publications (3)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB8404705D0 GB8404705D0 (en) | 1984-03-28 |
| GB2135259A true GB2135259A (en) | 1984-08-30 |
| GB2135259B GB2135259B (en) | 1986-06-18 |
Family
ID=26285329
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB08404705A Expired GB2135259B (en) | 1983-02-23 | 1984-02-22 | Covering of load-carrying body |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2135259B (en) |
Cited By (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2145681A (en) * | 1983-08-24 | 1985-04-03 | Obrien Stephen | Stowable cover |
| GB2268718A (en) * | 1992-07-18 | 1994-01-19 | Kleanthis Pavlou | Covering for open-topped vehicles |
| US6595573B1 (en) * | 1998-12-03 | 2003-07-22 | Edscha Lkw-Schiebeverdecke Gmbh | Bow configuration |
| EP2186666A1 (en) * | 2008-11-13 | 2010-05-19 | Marcolin S.r.l. | Skid for tarpaulin support centering |
| FR3027568A1 (en) * | 2014-10-22 | 2016-04-29 | Equipements Vehicules Ind - E V I | DEVICE FOR DISPLACING TANK FOR UTILITY VEHICLE TANK AND BENCH PROVIDED WITH SUCH A DEVICE. |
| FR3065918A1 (en) * | 2017-05-03 | 2018-11-09 | Societe Industrielle D'applications Mecaniques | ROOF BENCH IN TWO PARTS |
-
1984
- 1984-02-22 GB GB08404705A patent/GB2135259B/en not_active Expired
Cited By (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2145681A (en) * | 1983-08-24 | 1985-04-03 | Obrien Stephen | Stowable cover |
| GB2268718A (en) * | 1992-07-18 | 1994-01-19 | Kleanthis Pavlou | Covering for open-topped vehicles |
| GB2268718B (en) * | 1992-07-18 | 1995-09-20 | Kleanthis Pavlou | Improvements relating to transport vehicles |
| US6595573B1 (en) * | 1998-12-03 | 2003-07-22 | Edscha Lkw-Schiebeverdecke Gmbh | Bow configuration |
| EP2186666A1 (en) * | 2008-11-13 | 2010-05-19 | Marcolin S.r.l. | Skid for tarpaulin support centering |
| FR3027568A1 (en) * | 2014-10-22 | 2016-04-29 | Equipements Vehicules Ind - E V I | DEVICE FOR DISPLACING TANK FOR UTILITY VEHICLE TANK AND BENCH PROVIDED WITH SUCH A DEVICE. |
| FR3065918A1 (en) * | 2017-05-03 | 2018-11-09 | Societe Industrielle D'applications Mecaniques | ROOF BENCH IN TWO PARTS |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB8404705D0 (en) | 1984-03-28 |
| GB2135259B (en) | 1986-06-18 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |