GB2142595A

GB2142595A - Side guards for vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2142595A
Application number: GB08416320A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Schotel
Original assignee: AE PLC
Current assignee: AE PLC
Priority date: 1983-06-28
Filing date: 1984-06-27
Publication date: 1985-01-23
Also published as: DE3423542A1; IT8448455A0; GB8416320D0; GB2142595B; FR2548112A1; GB8317462D0

Abstract

A side guard (16) for a trailer (12) of a lorry comprising a pair of inverted F-shaped members (21,22) made of square sectioned steel tubing. The front member (21) consists of a front upright (23), a bottom part rail (24) and a middle part rail (25), while the rear member (22) comprises a rear upright (26) a central upright (29) and two forwardly extending part rails (27,28). The front part rails (24,25) are received within the rear part rails (27,28) telescopically so that the overall length of the guard (16) can be adjusted. Further diagonal struts (32) may be hydraulic rams. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Side guards for vehicles The present invention relates to side guards for vehicles, in particular, lorries, trucks and trailers.

It is conventional for long goods vehicles to employ side guards on each side, extending downwards almost to road level. These guards are located forward of the leading rear wheel set and terminate a little short of the front wheels or, in the case of a trailer, short of the front support. The guards may comprise three uprights, a bottom rail and a centre rail, all of box sectioned steel and are generally bolted to the vehicle sides in order to prevent pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, animals and other obstacles passing beneath the vehicle and being run over by the rear wheels.

Recent legislation has increased the maximum allowable load for road transport load for road transport from 32.5 tonnes to 38 tonnes provided effectively that this is supported by three rear axles. In order to capitalise on this increase in payload, it has become the practice to add a third rear axle to long goods vehicles, previously having two, sometimes, by moving the existing axles forward, and locating the third rearwards of these two and sometimes by moving the forward rear axle forward and adding an extra axle between the original pair.In order to avoid fouling the wheels, the side guards, which are obligatory with the new high-load vehicles, must then be shortened, however, since there are no definite guidelines for the repositioning of the axles, the effective length of the side guard required will vary from case to case, particularly since the lengths of trailers etc. are not themselves standard. In practice, this has meant cutting and welding operations which are relatively costly and time consuming. Legislation demands that the side guard has to capable of withstanding a force of 2k N (4 cwt) with the reference test condition being an application perpendicular to any part of the surface by a ram, the face of which is circular and not more than 220mm in diameter.

No part of the guard which is less than 250mm (9.8") from its rearmost part is permitted to deflect by more than 30mm (1.2"). A deflection of up to 1 50mm (5.9") is allowed on any other part of the sideguard.

As far as size and shape are concerned, every outward facing part of the side guard has to be smooth and either flat or horizontally corrugated which effectively rules out tubing.

The dimensional requirements are illustrated in Figure land given in Table I.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a form of side guard which can be produced simply and cheaply and which can be used on a large range of long goods vehicles.

According to the invention, a side guard for a vehicle comprises a first and second member each consisting of an upright, a part bottom rail, and a part centre rail, the two part rails of each member extending generally perpendicularly to the respective upright, the two part rails of the first member being hollow, open-ended and so dimensioned as to receive the two part rails of the second member telescopically.

Thus, the relative spacing of the two uprights, and therefore the effective length if the guard can be adjusted. The guard can be welded (or bolted) at the required length and fixed in position on the vehicle.

This arrangement has the clear advantage that it can be used for a large range of vehicle sizes, regardless of any axle modification. In addition, the arrangement is convenient for use with unmodified vehicles, since these do not conform to any standard sizes. Furthermore, at the middle part of the rails, where they are under most stress, the two pairs of part rails will overlap, thereby providing increased strength.

The arrangement also has a third advantage in that it is easier to transport, to store and to deliver in "kit" form. In the case of non-adjustable guards these are made up to 5 metres in length, however, to provide a guard of this length in accordance with the invention the two members need only be a little over 2.5 metres in length which when fully "telescoped" together result in a construction which is less than 3 metres long.

Preferably, the first member has a second upright spaced from the first upright. This would have the effect of bracing the guard as a whole and also maintaining the configuration of the part rails of the first member thus aiding in the relative sliding of the two pairs of part rails. Preferably, the side guard is fabricated from box-section or C-section steel members, preferably of flat cross-sectional form so that any bolting necessary may be carried out from underneath the vehicle, leaving no bulges protuberances extending on the outside of the side guard in accordance with the legal regulations.

The side guard may be hingedly connected to the trailer and preferably includes diagonal struts extending upwards and inwards from the bottom of the guard. These struts may be hydraulic rams.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways and one embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to Figures 2 to 4 of the accompanying drawings in which Figure 2 is a side view of an articulated lorry showing a side guard in position; Figure 3 is a side view of a side guard in accordance with the invention to a larger scale; and Figure 4 is an isometric sketch of the guard.

The articulated lorry shown in Figure 1 comprises a cab 11 and a trailer 12. The trailer has three rear axles 13, 14, 15, and on each side a side guard 16 bolted to the trailer 12 in front of the leading rear axle 13. The side guard 16 terminates short of the rear wheels of the cab 11.

As shown more clearly in Figure 2, the guard 16, comprises a pair of inverted F-shaped members 21, 22 each made up of square section steel tubing. The front member 21 consists of a front upright 23, a bottom part rail 24 and a middle part rail 25, all 4 inches (10mm) square in cross-section. The two part rails 24, 25 extend rearwards perpendicular to the front upright 23.

The rear member 22 is similar in shape to the front member 21, having a rear upright 26 and two forwardly extending part rails 27, 28, all of square section, however, the rear member 22 carries a central upright 29 near the ends of the part rails 27,28 and located inboard of the part rails. In addition, the part rails 27,28 have a larger cross-sectional dimension and open ends. Thus when the guard 16 is assembled, the front part rails 24, 25 are received within the rear part walls 27, 28 telescopically so that the overall length of the guard 16 can be adjusted.

The two members 21, 22 also have diagonal struts 32 (Figure 4) which extend upwards from the bottom of the uprights 23,26,29, inwards to the underneath of the trailer.

When the guards 16 are to be fitted to each side of a trailer 12, two F members 21,22 for each side are fitted to one another, adjusted to the correct size and the two members 21, 22 in each case are bolted to the trailer 12, between the most forward rear wheels on the trailer and the position of the rearmost wheel af the cab. If the side rail 16 is to be reused, the weld joints can be unwelded and the two members 21, 22 re-adjusted and then re-welded.

Each assembly 21, 22 is then welded around the mouth of the rear parts 27, 28 at the position indicated at 31.

The assembly 21,22 may be fitted to the trailer by the use of short box section steel members 33 which are first welded to the trailer, and then serve as location points for the uprights 23, 26, 29.

TABLE I Designation Length A 4.5m (min) B 3.0m (max) C 250mm (Max) D 300mm (Max) E 550mm (max) F 300mm (max) G 100mm (min) H 350mm (max) Dimensions as laid down by the Department of Transport.

Claims

1. A side guard for a vehicle comprising a first and second member each consisting of an upright, a part bottom rail and a part centre rail, the two part rails of each member extending generally perpendicularly to the respective upright, the two part rails of the first member being hollow, open ended and so dimensioned as to receive the two part rails of the second member telescopically.

2. A side guard as claimed in Claim 1 in which the first member has a second upright spaced from the first upright.

3. A side guard as claimed in Claim 1 or Calim 2 fabricated from box section or C-section steel members.

4. A side guard as claimed in any preceding claim further including diagonal struts extending upwards and inwards from the bottom of the guard.

5. A side guard as claimed in Claim 4 in which the struts are hydraulic rams.

6. A side guard for a vehicle constructed and arranged substantially as herein specifically described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

7. A trailer for a lorry fitted with a side guard as claimed in any preceding claim.

8. A trailer as claimed in Claim 7 in which the side guard is attached to the trailer by means of short box section steel members which are first welded to the trailer and then serve as location points for the uprights.