GB2144377A - Truck body - Google Patents

Abstract

There is disclosed a truck body (12) having a base (22), a front wall (13), a rear wall (14) and side walls (15) defining a storage space for powered, granular or particulate material, and conveyor means (16) extending along the base towards a discharge point for the material at the rear wall (14) of the truck body. The base comprises two portions (22) arranged one on either side of the conveyor means (16) and each extending substantially horizontally outwardly to a corresponding upright side wall. At least one of the base portions (22) is movable from its substantially horizontal position suitable for transport of the material, to a discharge position which is upwardly and outwardly inclined with respect to the conveyor means (16) suitable for the gravity-feed of the material to the conveyor means. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Truck body This invention relates to a truck body of the kind having a base, a front wall, a rear wall, and side walls defining a storage space for powdered, granular or particulate material, and conveyor means extending along the base towards a discharge outlet for the material at the rearwall.

Truck bodies of this kind are used to deliver coal to an automatic loading arrangement at the discharge point, at which measured amounts of coal are delivered into sacks for subsequent delivery to a customer. The conveyor means comprises, in this case, an endless belt type conveyor which is housed in a longitudinal trough formed in the base of the truck body. In order to ensure steady flow of coal onto the conveyor under the action of gravity, the side walls of the truck body are inclined upwardly and outwardly from the base so as to form a funnel or hopper shape.

Truck bodies used in bulk road-gritting machines have a generally similar construction (namely a conveyor housed in a longitudinal trough in the base, and inclined side walls) though in this case the conveyor may be an endless belt or an auger. At the discharge point at the rear wall of the body, there is one or more discharge chutes and "spinner" for distributing the grit onto the road.

In both the coal delivery truck body and the grit delivery truck body the provision of inclined side walls reduces substantially the volume of material which can be transported, as compared with a construction of truck body having upright side wails.

Thus, the overall size of the trunk i.e. the cab and chassis, has to take into account maximum width of the body at the upper edges of the inclined side walls, and there is therefore a potentially usable volume in the triangular cross-sectional space defined between the underside of each inclined side wall and the chassis. However, if upright side walls should be erected on the chassis so as to increase the load-carrying capacity in truck bodies of this kind, there would then not be a satisfactory discharge of materials to the conveyor under the action of gravity alone, especially when the level of material falls below a critical level.

Accordingly, the present invention has been developed primarily with a view to increasing the carrying capacity of trunk bodies of the general kind referred to above, while still achieving a satisfactory gravity speed of the material to the conveyor.

According to the invention there is provided a truck body having a base, a front wall, a rear wall and side walls defining a storage space for powdered, granular or particulate material, and conveyor means extending along the base towards a discharge point for the material at the rear wall of the trunk body, in which: the base comprises two portions arranged one on either side of the conveyor means and each extending substantially horizontally outwardly to a corresponding upright side wall; and at least one of said base portions is movable from its substantially horizontal position suitable for transport of the material to a discharge position which is upwardly the outwardly inclined with respect to the conveyor means suitable for the gravity-feed of the material to the conveyor means.

It is preferred that the movable base portion is mounted on a chassis of the truck body for movement about a substantially horizontal pivotal axis extending generally fore and aft of the trunk body.

Any suitable means may be provided to pivot the base portion between its transport and discharge position, preferably being power operated, such as an hydraulic or pneumatic ram (s).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, each base portion extends outwardly by the same distance from a centrally mounted conveyor means, and has a respective ram (s) to pivot it between its transport and discharge positions. The base portions may extend outwardly substantially throughout the width of the chassis, and with upright side walls connected thereto, the carrying capacity of the chassis is maximised without any adverse affect on the discharge of materials under gravity to the conveyor means.

It is preferred that each side wall is rigidly connected to its corresponding base portion for joint movement between the transport and discharge position. Depending upon the volume of material being carried, initial operation of the conveyor means may be carried out while the base portions are in the horizontal transport position, and move menttothe discharge position may only be necessary when the material level has fallen by a certain extent.

While it is preferred that the side walls are rigidly connected to the respective base portions, it is not essential to this invention, and an arrangement is possible in which the side walls remain upright while the base portions move between the transport and discharge positions.

When the trunk body is intended for use in the transport and discharge of coal, the conveyor means will usually comprise an endless belt arrangement housed in a longitudinal trough below the general level of the base portion. When the truck body is intended to serve for transport and discharging grit, the conveyor means may comprise an endless belt or an auger. The endless belt and auger are preferably of the type used in the constructions of coal transport bodies made by the applicants and sold under the name Charrold Autobagger or the Charrold Bulk Gritting Machine.

One embodiment of truck body according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a truck body mounted on a chassis of a coal transport and discharge lorry; Figure 2 is a schematic rear view of one half of the truck body; Figure 3 is a view, similar to Figure 2, but enlarged and showing more detail; Figure 4 is a perspective view towards the rear of the truck body, along one side thereof; FigureS is a perspective view along the rear of the truck body; and Figure 6 is a rear view of the truck body.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a lorry for transporting and delivering bulk coal and comprising a chassis 10, a cab 11 and a truck body 12 mounted behind the cab 11 on the chassis 10. The truck body 12 has a front wall 13, a rear wall 14 and a pair of opposed upright side walls 15. Together with a base of the trunk body (described in more detail below with reference to Figures 2 and 3), the walls 13 to 15 define a storage space for coal, though other powdered, granular or particulate material may also be transported by the truck body. Conveyor means in the form of an endless conveyor belt 16 is provided along the base and extends to a discharge point 17forthe material atthe rearwall 14.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, the chassis 10 comprises a pair of standard longitudinal channel beams 18, one of which is shown in Figure 2, and a supporting structure 19 mounted on the longitudinal beams 18 in order to support the base of the truck body. The endless conveyor belt 16 is preferably of conventional construction and is located centrally of the base of the truck body, and extends longitudinal ly from the front watl 13 to the discharge point 17 adjacent to the rear wall 14. It will be noted from Figure 3 that the endless conveyor belt 16 is housed in a longitudinal trough 20 below the general level of the base of the truck body. A standard wedge 21 is mounted above the conveyor belt 16 in order to preventtheformation of "bridges" of material during discharge onto the conveyor belt 16.

As indicated above, the endless conveyor belt 16 is located centrally of the base of the truck body 12, and a pair of base portions 22 are arranged one on either side of the conveyor belt 16 and each extends substantially horizontally outwardly to a corresponding one of the upright side walls 15. This horizontal position of each base portion 22 represents the transport and storage position of the base portion for the trunk body. The provision of the substantially horizontal base portion of the truck body, in conjunction with the arrangement of upright side walls 15, ensures maximising use of the storage capacity of the truck body provided by the chassis 10 and supporting structure 19.However, in order to promote discharge of the material onto the conveyor belt 16, especially when the material level begins to fall, it is arranged that at least one of the base portions 22 should be movable from substantially horizontal position suitable for transport and storage of the material to a discharge position which is upwardly and outwardly inclined with respect to the conveyor belt 16. The discharge position is shown in dash dot lines in Figure 2, and is suitable for the gravity-feed of the material to the conveyor belt. The manner by which one of the base portions 22 is mounted on the chassis is shown in Figures 2 and 3, and preferably the other base portion 22 (which is not shown) is similarly mounted.

The base portion 22 is pivotally mounted on the supporting structure 19 for movement about a substantially horizontal pivotable axis which extends generally fore and aft of the truck body and which is provided by pivot arrangement 23 provided adjacent to the inner edge of the base portion 22 i.e. the edge located adjacent to the conveyor belt 16. Any suitable means (not shown) may be provided to pivot the base portion 22 between its transport and discharge positions, being preferably power operated, such as an hydraulic or pneumatic ram (s). A longitudinally extending sealing plate 24 is provided between the inner edge of the base portion 22 and the upper run 25 of the endless conveyor belt 16.The sealing plate 24 promotes the discharge of the material from the base portion 22 to the upper run 25, and prevents the material from becoming lodged between the conveyor belt and the inner edge of the base portion 22 or falling into the trough 20. The sealing plate 24 carries out these functions, both in the transport and the inclined discharge position of the base portion 22.

Rubber or other stoppers 26 are provided along the outer edge of the supporting structure 19 in order to support the base portion 22 in transport position.

In the illustrated embodiment, each sidewall 15 (which is upright in the transport and storage position of the truck body) is rigidly connected to its corresponding base portion 22 for joint movement therewith. However, if desired, the side walls 15 may be arranged to remain upright while the corresponding base portion 22 moves between its transport and discharge positions.

An embodiment of the invention has been described with reference to the drawings, in the form of a lorryfortransporting and discharging measured amounts of bulk coal. Although not shown, suitable bag-filling apparatus may be provided at the discharge point 17. However, the features of the invention are applicable to other truck bodies of the same general kind (base, front wall, rear wall, and side wall defining a storage base for powdered, granular or particulate material, and conveyor means extending along the base towards a discharge point for the material at the rear wall), such as a "gritter" lorry. In such event, the conveyor may comprise an endless belt or auger housed in a longitudinal trough below the level of the base, which conveys the grit to a discharge chute and "spinner" at the rear wall of the truck body.

In order to guide the pivotal movement of each side wall 15 between its transport and discharging positions, a guide arrangement may be provided at one, or both ends of the side wall for engagement with the adjacent (front or rear) end wall of the truck body.

A guide arrangement is shown at one end of one of the side walls 15 in Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings, designated generally by reference 30. The guide arrangement is shown, for the purposes of illustration only, at the end of one of the side walls 15 adjacent to the rear end wall 14 of the truck body. The guide arrangement 30 comprises a bracket 31 which is bolted to the rear end of an inclined top flange 32 of the side wall 15, and carries a downwardly projecting guide roller 33. The roller 33 is rotatably mounted on the bracket 31 and preferably has a resilient covering e.g. by having a rubber or other resilient cylindrical cover four engage ment with a guide surface of the end wall.

The guide roller 33 is movable along a top rail 34 of the end wall 14 during movement of the side wall 15 between its vertical transport position and its inclined discharging position, and forms a running surface therefor.

The guide arrangement 30 facilitates proper guiding movement of the side wall, while maintaining sufficiently close engagement between the upright edge of the end wall and the adjacent inner surface of the end wall to prevent escape of any appreciable amount of material contained in the truck body during movement of the side wall to the discharging position.

It is preferred that there is a guide arrangement 30 at each end of each of the side walls 15, so that there will be a total of four guide arrangements 30 i.e. two guide arrangements at the rear wail 14, and two guide arrangements at the front wall or "headboard" 13 of the truck body.

Figure 4 is a perspective view towards the rear of one of the side walls 15 of the truck body, whereas Figure 5 is a perspective view towards the top left hand corner of the rear wall of the truck body. Figure 6 is a rear view of the rear wall of the truck body and the guide arrangement engaging therewith.

Claims (13)

1. A truck body having a base, a front wall, a rear wall and side walls defining a storage space for powdered, granular or particulate material, and conveyor means extending along the base towards a discharge pointforthe material at the rear wall ofthe trunk body, in which: the base comprises two portions arranged one on either side of the conveyor means and each extending substantially horizontally outwardly to a corresponding upright side wall; and at least one of said base portions is movable from its substantially horizontal position suitable for transport of the material to a discharge position which is upwardly and outwardly inclined will respect to the conveyor means suitable for the gravity-feed of the material to the conveyor means.

2. A truck body according to claim 1, in which the movable base portion is mounted on a chassis of the trunk body for movement about a substantially horizontal pivotal axis extending generally fore and aft of the truck body.

3. A truck body according to claim 2, including power means for pivoting the movable base portion between its transport and discharge positions.

4. A truck body according to claim 3, in which the power means comprises a hydraulic or pneumatic ram.

5. Atruck body according to claim 4, in which each base portion is pivotally mounted on the chassis and extends outwardly by the same distance from a centrally mounted conveyor means, and has a respective ram to pivot it between its transport and discharge positions.

6. A truck body according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the base portions extend outwardly substantially throughout the width of the chassis, and have upright side walls connected thereto.

7. Atruck body according to claim 6, in which each side wall is rigidly connected to its respective base portion for joint movement between the transport and discharge positions.

8. A truck body according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the conveyor means is housed in a longitudinally extending trough arranged below the level of said base portions.

9. A truck body according to claim 8, in which the conveyor means comprises an endless belt arrangement or an auger.

10. A truck body according to claim 6, or any one of claims 7 to 9 when appendant to claim 6, in which each movable side wall has a respective guide arrangement which is engageable with the rear wall in order to guide the movement of the side wall and its respective base portion.

11. A truck body according to claim 10, in which the guide arrangement comprises a roller carried by the side wall and engageable with a running surface provided on the outer face of the rear wall.

12. A truck body according to claim 11, in which the running surface comprises a top rail of the rear wall.

13. A truck body according to claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.