GB2145040A - Closure means for a vehicle body - Google Patents

Abstract

A side or other wall of a vehicle body, comprises a suspended foldable partition having a plurality of sub-partitions eg 30,31 hinged to one another by a member 50 such that the partition can be translated from a first mode in which it is substantially planar to a second mode in which it assumes a concertina shape comprised of a plurality of folds disposed in an outwards direction with respect to said wall of the vehicle body (Fig. 9). The pairs of subpartitions are interconnected by slideable posts 35,36,37,38 suspended from a cant rail 22. The panels may be made of aluminium skins and the hinges of aluminium extrusions. A spring biassing arrangement may be provided to urge the wall into the open position on release of the end post 34. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Closure means for a vehicle body and vehicle bodies having such means This invention relates to closure means for a vehicle body and vehicle bodies having such means; it is applicable, for example, to motor vehicle bodies of the urban delivery type.

During recent years there has come into prominence motor vehicle bodies of the van type, for example those used for urban deliveries, having as their side closure means a flexible curtain adapted to be opened by sliding it along the respective side of the vehicle body. The curtains used in this construction are conventionally of flexible plastics material such as P.V.C. Although these curtains have the advantage of being both flexible and light in weight, they suffer from the disadvantage that they can readily be cut by thieves who can thereby gain access to the interior of the body and remove its contents.

There is now provided according to the present invention a closure means for vehicle bodies which is not only resistant to entry of the type referred to above but which can readily be opened and closed and which, when in the fully open position, provides ready access for loading and unloading the body.

Accordingly, the present invention provides in one aspect a closure means for a wall of a vehicle body, comprising:- a plurality of elongate panels having parallel side edges and arranged in pairs, the members of each pair being hingedly connected to each other along one of their side edges, and the other side edges of the panels of each pair being hingedly connected to supports located for slideable movement along said wall of the body.

In the second aspect the invention provides a vehicle body having in one side or end thereof closure means according to the first aspect of the invention.

The closure means of the invention can be regarded as a foldable partition comprising a plurality of sub-partitions being so disposed to one another that the partition can be translated from a first disposition in which it is substantially planar to a second or subsequent disposition in which, by virtue of the subpartitions changing their respective disposi- tions to one another, the partition assumes a concertina shape comprised of a number of like folds all disposed in an outwards direction with respect to the wall of the vehicle body in which the partition is mounted, thereby preventing the partition from fouling the contents of the vehicle body.

In a preferred form of the invention the panels or other sub-partitions are all of the same width and fold outwardly to form a plurality of folds extending outwardly from the vehicle body to the same extent.

The panels are conveniently pivotally connected to the adjacent panel or support by means of hinges of the lift-off type.

Although the invention is described with particular reference to motor vehicle bodies, it is applicable, for example, to railway vehicles and to stationary containers.

There is now described, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying informal drawings, a closure means for a vehicle body according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention and a road vehicle body including the closure means, according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the invention.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a front elevation of one side of the vehicle body showing the closure means in its closed position; Figure 2 is an elevation corresponding to Fig. 1 but showing the closure means in the fully open position; Figure 3 is a section on the line A-A of Fig.

1 showing the suspension means for one of the slideable posts of the closure means; Figure 4 is a section on the line B-B of Fig.

1 showing the guide means for said slideable post; Figure 5 is a section of a line C-C of Fig. 1 showing hinge means pivotally connecting one of the slideable posts to adjacent panels; Figure 6 is a section of the line D-D of Fig.

1 showing hinge means connecting together a pair of panels constituting, in the open position, a fold of the closure means; Figure 7 is a section on the line E-E of Fig.

1 showing a slideable end post of the closure means and the hinge means connecting it to the adjacent panel; and Figures 8, 9 and 10 correspond respectively to Figs. 5, 6 and 7 but taken on the closure means in the fully open position shown in Fig'. 2; Figure 11 is an elevation of the post guide means of Fig. 4 seen in the direction of arrow A; and Figure 12 is an elevation of the post suspension of Fig. 3 seen in the direction of arrow B.

The vehicle body described below with reference to the drawings is of the van type having a base, four corner posts upstanding therefrom to define an elongate structure having two parallel sides and two ends. The views of Figs. 1 and 2 are of one of the sides of the vehicle. In that side corner posts 20, 21 are interconnected at their upper ends by a cant rail 22 and at their lower ends by a side rave 23. A pelmet extends between corner posts 20, 21 immediately beneath cant rail 22 and acts as a protection for the several suspension means of the slideable posts.

The side closure means includes 1 8 like elongate panels arranged in pairs of which four pairs are numbered respectively in Fig. 1, 24 and 25, 26 and 27, 28 and 29 and 30 and 31. Each pair of panels, for example 30 and 31, are pivotally interconnected at their adjacent vertical edges by hinge means 32.

The panels are supported by a plurality of posts slideably disposed in the side of the vehicle. These posts comprise end posts 33, 34 and eight slideable intermediate posts of which four are numbered in Fig. 1 as 35, 36, 37 and 38. Each of the posts (including the two end posts) are slideably mounted on cant rail 22 by means of the suspension means shown in Fig. 3 and the guide means shown in Fig. 4. The means by which the outer edges of each pair of panels is pivotally connected to the two adjacent slidable posts is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 8.

Panel 27 of one pair of panels and panel 28 of a second pair of panels are shown pivotally connected by means of lift-off hinge means to intermediate slideable post 36. Slideable post 36 comprises a flat, rectangular plate 40 having formed at opposed edges thereof like slotted tubes 41, 42. The slots in these tubes are of a width such that the sector defined between the opposed edges of the slot subtends an angle of 2704. Plate 40 and tubes 41, 42 are in the form of an integral member in aluminium and obtained by extrusion. Panels 27, 28 carry at their edges adjacent post 36 right angle brackets 43, 44 formed with tube extensions 45, 46 connected to the bracket by webs 47, 48.

Bracket 43, tube 45, and web 47 are in the form of an integral member in aluminium and obtained by extrusion. In order to simplify the extrusion tube 45 is formed with an elongate slot though this is not necessary for the function of the hinge.

Each of the panels comprises inner and outer skins of aluminium or other suitable petal or other material resistant to cutting.

~i!rilarly/ the hinge assemblies are formed as P integral member in aluminium by extru ion It will be seen from Fig. 5 that when the closure means is in its closed position the outer face of panels 27, 28 are in line with plate 40, and the panels and slideable posts shown in Fig. 1 present a substantially planar surface. As webs 47, 48 are formed parallel with the outer portions 43.1, 44.1 of brackets 43, 44, and as the angle subtended by tubes 41, 42 is 270 , then pivotal movement of panels 27, 28 with respect to hinge plate 40 is limited to a 90 angle bounded by the positions shown respectively in Figs. 5 and 8.

Therefore, the panels are able to move from their in-line position shown n Fig. 5 when the closure means is in the closed position of Fig.

1 to the position shown in Fig. 8 where the panels are at right angles to the sides of the vehicle and parallel to each other.

Figs. 6 and 9 illustrate the means by which the members of pairs of panels are pivotally interconnected. Panels 30 and 31 are interconnected by hinge means 50. The two panels carry at their adjacent vertical edges an extruded aluminium member. For example, the member carried by panel 30 comprises right angled bracket 51 circular tube 53 having an elongate slot formed therein and web 55 connecting together the bracket and the tube. The member carried by panel 31 similarly comprises sub-members 52, 54 and 56.

Leaf 57 of hinge 50 is an elongate aluminium extrusion comprising two parallel tubes each having formed therein an elongate slot such that the angle subtended by the sector defined by the parallel edges of the slot is 270'.

For the reasons explained above with reference to hinge 39, panels 30 and 31 are thus able to pivot with respect to a hinge leaf 57 through an angle of no more than 90 the limit of angular movement being defined by the position shown in Fig. 6 (in which the closure means is in its closed position and the panels form a substantially planar surface) and the position shown in Fig. 9 (in which the closure means is in the fully open position of Fig. 2 and the panels of each pair are disposed at a right angle to the side of the vehicle and parallel to each other).

It will be appreciated that the angles subtended by the outer tubes of the lift-off hinges of Figs. 5 and 6 need not be 270 but the latter angle is used in preferred embodiment of the invention so as to provide stability both in the fully open and closed positions of the closure means. However, in any event where lift-off hinges of the type described above are used, the size of the elongate slot of the outer tube member of the hinge must not be so great as to lead to a risk of the inner tube or other inner member of the hinge escaping in a radial direction from the outer tube.

End posts 33, 34 are each provided with an over-centre catch (and preferably provided also with a padlock facility) by means of which slideable end posts 33, 34 can engage corner posts 20, 21 respectively.

In a normal construction the two sides of the vehicle body will be of the same construction. Further, if desired, the same construction can be used for an end of the vehicle.

In order to avoid the possibility of the panels jamming in their "in-line" position they can be provided with means to urge them outwardly of the vehicle body. For example, one or both panels of each pair of panels can have a compression spring or other biassing means to urge the panels in a direction outwardly of the vehicle side, whereby once an end post has been released from the respective corner post the panels move outwardly, at least to a slight extent, thereby facilitating the action of the compressive force exerted when the released end post is pushed towards the open position.

The closure means described above with reference to the drawings can be operated as follows. Assuming that the closure means is in the closed position shown in Fig. 1, any padlock or other lock at the end of the closure means to be opened is unlocked and the overcentre catch released. For present purposes it is assumed that the end post to be released is that numbered 34 in Fig. 1. When the catch has been released manual pressure is applied to end post 34, preferably to the centre portion thereof, thereby causing the overhead trolley supporting it on cant rail 22 to move towards corner post 20.Owing to the geometry of the side closure means this sideways motion of the end post exerts a compressive force throughout the array of panels (having first taken up any slight amount of slack that might exist) and the trolleys of the suspension means supporting all the other intermediate posts begin to move toward corner post 20.

End slideable post 33 remains stationary. As the intermediate posts move the compressive force (assisted, where appropriate, by biassing means) forces outwardly from the side of the vehicle the hinges 50 of each respective pair of panels. Further leftward movement of end post 34 and the intermediate slideable post results in further outward displacement of hinges 50 drawing with them the panels and permitting the slideable posts to move closer together. When the closure means is fully opened (Fig. 2) all of the pairs of panels have assumed the position shown in Fig. 9 and the closure means now occupies only a small proportion of the total length of the vehicle side permitting ready access to the interior of the body.

In the embodiment described above the closure means can similarly be detached from corner post 20 and moved towards corner post 21, or both end posts 33, 34 can be detached from the respective corner posts and the closure means opened so that it assumes a position intermediate between corner posts 20. 21 leaving two access bays, one at each end of the opened closure means.

It will be appreciated that in the lift-off hinges the inner member, which is usually cylindrical, need not bp tubular but can, for example, be a solid pin. Although, in the embodiments described with reference to the drawings the inner and outer members of the hinges have cross-sections that are concentric circles, other arrangements can be used. For example, one of said members can have a cross-section which is, in whole or part, circular and the other can be otherwise, for example polygonal. However, the axes of rotation of the two members will normally be coincident.

Where the supports for the closure means comprise suspension and/or guide means they can be, for example, one of those disclosed in our U.K. Patent Application 82 03221.

Use of the closure means of the present invention results in a substantial increase in the storage space in the vehicle body com- pared with that available in bodies of conventional design.

The hinges referred to herein as 'lift-off hinges" can also be referred to as "slide-off hinges" or "tube hinges" In the description above with reference to the accompanying drawings the principal purpose of the pelmet is as a weather guard especially to exclude rain and snow from the vehicle body interior. Reference has been made, by way of example, to angular movement in the several hinges of 90 and to a sector angle in the hinges of 270 . Both these values can, for example, be 90 + 5" and 270 + 5" respectively.

Claims (11)

1. A closure means for a side or other wall of a vehicle body, comprising a foldable partition including a plurality of sub-partitions being so disposed to one another than, in use, the partition can be translated from a first mode in which it is substantially planar to a second or subsequent mode in which, by virtue of the sub-partitions changing their respective dispositions to one another, the partition assumes a concertina shape comprised of a number of the like sub-partition folds disposed in an outwards direction with respect to said wall of the vehicle body.

2. A closure means for a side or other wall of a vehicle body, comprising: a plurality of elongate panels having parallel side edges, the panels being arranged in pairs, the members of each pair being hingedly connected to each other along one of their side edges, and the other side edges of the panels of each pair being hingedly connected to supports located for slidable movement along said wall of the body.

3. A closure means according to Claim 2, in which the elongate panels are all of the same width and, in use, fold outwardly to form a plurality of folds extending outwardly from the vehicle body to the same extent.

4. A closure means according to Claim 2 or 3, in which the members of each pair of elongate panels are hingedly connected to each other by a slide-off hinge.

5. A closure means according to Claim 4, in which the slide-off hinge extends the full length of the adjacent side edges of the panels.

6. A closure means according to any of Claims 2 to 5, in which said other side edges of the panels are hingedly connected to said supports by means of slide-off hinges.

7. A closure means according to Claim 6, in which the slide-off hinges extend the full length of each of the said other panel edge and the connected support.

8. A closure means according to Claim 1, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A closure means for a wall of a vehicle body, substantially as described herein and substantially as shown in the accompanying drawings.

10. A vehicle body having in one side or other wall thereof a closure means as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9.

11. A vehicle body of the van type having a base and four corner posts upstanding therefrom to define an elongate structure having two parallel side walls and two end walls having in one or more wall of the vehicle body a closure means as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 9.

1 2. A vehicle body according to Claim 10 or 11, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.