GB2200600A

GB2200600A - Improvements in and relating to vehicle floor systems

Info

Publication number: GB2200600A
Application number: GB08624111A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Donald B Stinson
Original assignee: Fruehauf Corp
Current assignee: Fruehauf Corp
Priority date: 1986-10-14
Filing date: 1986-10-08
Publication date: 1988-08-10
Also published as: FR2604966A1; GB8624111D0; FR2604966B1; NL8602814A

Abstract

A floor construction 10 particularly useful in cargo transport vehicles and containers 14. A floor panel comprises a corrugated elongate support member 16 having a wood board 42 nested therein. The floor panel 16 is typically interspaced between standard laminated wood floor boards 28 thereby reducing the percentage of floor area comprising laminated wood. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements in and relating to vehicle floor systems The present invention relates to a floor system for transport vehicles such as lorries and trailers or for cargo containers.

Many transport vehicles have floors of laminated hardwood supported in the vehicle upon frame members extending across the vehicle. A problem which occurs in manufacturing such vehicles is the fluctuating, generally high cost of laminated hardwood. In addition, extensive quality control procedures are necessary in manufacturing laminated hardwood floors suitable for freight vehicles since the floors must withstand years of hard use. Furthermore, many all-wood floors have lengthwise tongue and groove fittings between adjacent boards, which fittings increase the difficulty of removing and replacing individual boards for repair of the floor.

In view of the aforementioned difficulties, it has become desirable to construct floors in which at least some portions of the laminated hardwood in the floor are replaced by floor units that are made of readily available reasonably priced material and that are strong enough to function equivalently to the laminated hardwood portions. One approach to the aforementioned difficulties is suggested by U.S. Patent Specification No. 4,288,957 (Meehan) wherein rectangularly corrugated sheets having lateral flanges are placed in a vehicle side-by-side so as to form rectangular recesses accommodating beams which lie upon the flanges of the corrugated sheets.However, the Meehan composite floor requires steel reinforcing members welded within the downwardly opening corrugations of the corrugated sheets, thus adding fabrication and material costs to the manufacturing of the floor. In addition, the greater portion of the Meehan: floor's surface is made from a low traction material such as steel, which provides less resistance to skidding of fork lift trucks and the like than does a high friction material such as wood.

It is an object of the invention to provide a transport vehicle floor which alleviates the difficulties associated with an all-wood floor construction. The invention taught herein is a composite floor having longitudinal channeled panels of preformed sheet metal placed to run lengthwise in the trailer.

Between the channeled preformed panels are typical laminated wood boards. However, within an upwardly opening channel of each channeled preformed metal panel is a filler member which is made from unlaminated wood of lower grade than the laminated wood boards or from any other suitable material. Up to two-thirds of the relatively expensive laminated hardwood in a transport vehicle floor can be eliminated while retaining the high traction quality of a wood floor's surface.

The invention provides a floor comprising floor boards and at least one composite member lying between two floor boards, each said composite member forming a generally upwardly open central channel receiving a filler body therein, the said upwardlyopen channel being flanked on either side by a juxtaposed oppositely-opening channel between an inner sidewall extending along the central channel, an oxter sidewall extending along one of the said floor boards, and a web no more than five inches (125 mm) wide connecting the said sidewalls and forming an unsupported span therebetween.

The floor may be a floor for a cargo-carrying vehicle, and the invention also provides such a vehicle having a floor according to the invention.

One form of floor constructed in accordance with the invention, and a semi-trailer incorporating the floor, will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a semitrailer; Figure 2 is a plan view of a floor with the outline of a trailer body shown by phantom lines; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 2, to a larger scale than Figure 2; Figure 4 is a partly exploded sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 2, to a larger scale than Figure 3; Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 2, to a larger scale than Figure 3; Figure 6 is a lateral cross section of the composite floor showing the floor subjected to a load from a vehicle wheel; Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of a section of the composite floor; and Figure 8 is a sectional view of a channeled floor panel of the floor, showing in exaggerated manner the deformation under load of the panel with filler members and wood boards removed.

The description herein is directed to the construction of a composite floor in a semi-trailer.

However, various changes in detail and arrangement may be made to the composite floor to render it suitable for use in any cargo storage device or cargo transport vehicle, such changes depending on the particular application desired by the user of the composite floor.

Referring now to the drawings, and initially to Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 7, a composite floor 10 is shown supported in a semi-trailer 14 upon cross members 12 extending across the semi-trailer at intervals of typically one foot (30 cm). Channeled floor panels 16 are positioned extending along the semitrailer 14 and supported upon the cross members 12, spaced apart by a distance "A" (as seen in Figure 7) from each other. As best seen in Figures 4 and 7, each channeled floor panel 16 has a central, upwardly opening channel 18 flanked on either side by downwardly opening channels 20.The downwardly opening channels 20 have horizontal webs 24 in which are formed longitudinal reinforcing ribs 26 which tend to resist local buckling of the horizontal webs when a load is placed on the channeled floor panel 16, Extending laterally from either side of the channeled floor panel 16 are engagement flanges 22, preferably bent upward as shown in Figure 4 in their free state.

Channeled floor panels 16 are typically roll formed from 16 gauge steel having a yield strength between 70,000 D.5.1. and 130,000 p.s.i. (between 500 and 900 MN/m2 Placed upon the cross members 12 in the spaced intervals "A" (shown in Figure 7) between adjacent channeled floor panels 16 are laminated hardwood boards 28, which are fixed to the cross members by means such as floor screws (not shown) and which fit between the channeled floor panels so that longitudinal edges 32 of the boards are adjacent to outer sidewalls 30 of the channeled floor panels 16, there typically being a gap of .010 inches to .090 inches (0.25 to 2.3 mm) between edges 32 and the outer sidewalls 30 to allow for swelling of the laminated hardwood boards 28 due to moisture absorption.Also placed on the cross members 12, and located at the lateral edges of the composite floor 10, are laminated side boards 58, which are adjacent to the outer sidewalls 30 of the two channeled floor panels 16 nearest to the sides of trailer 10, there again typically being a gap of .010 to .090 inches (0.25 to 2.3 mm) between the laminated side boards 58 and the outer sidewalls 30 to allow for swelling of the laminated side boards due to moisture absorption.

Once in place, the laminated hardwood boards 28 and the laminated side boards 58 lie upon and depress the engagement flanges 22 of the channeled floor panels 16. The engagement flanges 22, which bend upwardly in their free state, press upwardly and tightly against the laminated hardwood boards 28 and the laminated side boards 58 to form a leak resistant engagement between the channeled floor panels 16 and the respective boards. A further sealing means is provided by elastically depressable sealing strips 34 on the engagement flanges 22. The engagement flanges 22 and the sealing strips 34 fit into rabbets 36 and seal chamfers 38 on the bottom of the laminated hardwood boards 28, as shown in Figure 4.

In view of the foregoing discussion, it will be appreciated that the laminated hardwood boards 28 and the laminated side boards 58 receive vertical support not only from the cross members 12, but also from the channeled floor panels 16 by means of the engagement flanges 22 upon which the laminated hardwood boards 28 and the laminated side boards 58 lie.

Since the channeled floor panels 16 provide part of the vertical support for the laminated boards 28 and 58, it is preferred that the flexural rigidity, or resistance to bending, of the channeled floor panels 16 be greater than that of the laminated boards 28 and 58. Thus when the laminated hardwood boards 28 and the laminated side boards 58 are subjected to longitudinal bending between the cross members 12 due to a vertical load, the longitudinal bending is limited by the channeled floor panels 16.In one composite floor constructed in accordance with the invention, the flexural rigidity of the channeled floor panel 16 was 186 percent of the flexural rigidity of the laminated boards 28 and 58, the flexural rigidity of the laminated boards being 394,000 lb in2 per inch of board width (045 NM2 per cm) and the flexural rigidity of the channeled floor panels 16 being 734,000 lb in2 per inch of panel width (830 NM2- per-cm).

Placed in the upwardly opening channels 18 of the channeled floor panel 16 is a filler body 42, which is typically made from unlaminated hardwood but can also be made of any. suitable material such as high density urethane foam. As will now be explained in conjunction with Figure 8, the filler body 42 functions to reduce the deflection under load of the portion of the channeled floor panels 16 located between the cross members 12. Figure 8 shows a section between two cross members 12 of the channeled floor panel 16 without the filler body 42 and shows the channeled floor panel 16 being bent in exaggerated fashion under a vertical load.The side of the channeled floor panel 16 facing towards the vertical load is in a state of compression, causing sidewalls 44 that separate the channels 18 and 20 to be bent inwardly with respect to gap B (shown in Figure 8), which offers no resistance to compressive forces. The filler body 42 is fitted within the upwardly opening channel 18 to act as a solid filler in the gap B to inhibit bending of the sidewalls 44, thereby reducing the compression and attendant lateral bending of the channeled floor panel 16.

It is noted that a solid filler such as the filler body 42 is not the only means to prevent the sidewalls 44 from bending inwardly with respect to the upwardly opening channel 18. The filler beam 42 can be replaced, for example, by struts or braces extending transversely within the upwardly-opening channel 18 between the inner sidewalls 44 of the upwardly-opening channel.

It is preferable that the upper, load bearing surfaces 46 of the filler beams 42 as well as the upper, load bearing surfaces 40 of the laminated hardwood boards 28 extend between .08 inches and .25 inches (between 2 and 6 mm) above the horizontal webs 24 of the channeled floor panel 16. It is also preferable that the width of each of the horizontal webs 24 be between 2 inches and 5 inches (between 75 and 125 mm) which is narrower than the typical 7 inch (175 mm) width of a fork lift wheel. Thus, as seen in Figure 6, the load from such a wheel 48 is shared across laminated hardwood boards 28, downwardly opening channels 20, and filler beams 42.Thus the load from the wheel 48 is not completely borne by the downwardly opening channels 20 or by the horizontal webs 24, which therefore require no special reinforcing means in order for the composite floor 10 to bear the load from the wheel 48.

As shown in Figures 2, 3 and 6, the upper surface 46 of the filler body 42 and the upper surfaces 40 of the laminated boards 28, together with the upper surface of the side boards 58 and the webs 24 form the load bearing surface of the floor 10. The ratio of the sum of the upper surface areas of the boards 28 and 58 and the filler bodies 42 to the sum of the upper surface areas of webs 24 is greater than 1. In this way, the majority of the upper surface area of the floor 10 comprises wood having a higher coeffient of friction than the webs 24, which are made of metal.

Additionally, as is shown in Figure 4, a channeled floor panel 16 and its filler body 42 constitute a composite floor member 56 extending between adjacent floor boards 28. The width of each composite floor member 56 is substantially the same as the width of one of the floor boards 28.

The foregoing discussion describes the construction of a composite floor 10 of channeled floor panels 16, laminated hardwood boards 28, and filler beams 42. It is preferable that the composite floor 10 include also means to reinforce the channeled floor panels 16 at portions of the composite floor receiving the hardest use. Such a hard-used portion of composite floor 10 would be, for example, any floor area next to a door of a trailer, such as a rear floor area 50 (Figure 2), where fork lift trucks strike the composite floor 10 upon entering the semitrailer 14 from a loading dock floor (not shown) higher than the level of the composite floor.

Referring now to Figure 5, the aforementioned reinforcing means is embodied in reinforcing members 52, which typically are 34 inch (850 mm) long unlaminated hardwood boards. The reinforcing members 52 here typically extend longitudinally into the semi-trailer 14 from the aft end and fit between the inner sidewall 44 and the outer sidewall 30 of each downwardly opening channel 20 of the channeled floor panel 16. The cross members 12 underlie and support the reinforcing members 52, which in turn provide beam support against vertical loading of the channeled floor member 16.

Claims

What we claim is

1. A floor comprising floor-boards and at least one composite members" lying between two floor boards, each said composite member forming a generally upwardly open central channel receiving a filler body therein, the said upwardly-open channel being flanked on either side by a juxtaposed oppositelyopening channel between an innder sidewall extending along the central channel, an outer sidewall extending along one of the said floor boards, and a' web no more than five inches (125 mm) wide connecting the said sidewalls and forming an unsupported span therebetween.

2. A floor as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said web is at least three inches (75 mm) wide.

3. A floor as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the said floor boards and the said filler means are made of a material or materials having a higher coefficient of friction than said web.

4. A floor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the accumulated sum of the upper surface areas of said floor boards and said filler means is greater than the sum of the upper surface areas of said webs.

5. A floor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each said composite member is substantially the same width as one of the said floor boards.

6. A floor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the said floor boards are of laminated wood.

7. A floor as claimed in claim 6, wherein the said floor boards are of laminated hardwood.

8. A floor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the filler means is of unlaminated wood.

9. A floo-r as claimed in claim 8, wherein the filler means is of hardwood.

10. A floor comprising: a multiplicity of laminated wood boards having interspaced therebtween a composite member, the said composite member comprising frame means including a central, upward-opening channel flanked on either side thereof by a first and a second juxtaposed downward-opening channel, the central, upwardopening channel having positioned therein a nonlaminated wood board, such that the surface of the floor comprises a repeating pattern of a laminated wood board, a web of a first downward opening channel,. a nonlaminated wood board, a web of a second downward opening channel, and a laminated wood board.

11. A floor as claimed in claim 10, wherein the web of each said downward-opening channel is less than five inches (125 mm) in width.

12. A floor as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the said first and second downward-opening channels have positioned therein non-laminated wood boards extending under hard-used portions of the floor.

13. A floor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 and in any one of claims 10 to 12.

14. A structure for bearing a load, comprising: an integral longitudinal panel preformed into a plurality of channels, one of the said channels being open towards said load and adjacent to a second said channel that is open away from said load; and a filler bodyçwithin one channel and fitted against first sidewalls thereof whereby the said first sidewalls of that one channel are blocked from bending.

inwardly with respect to said one channel.

15. A structure as claimed in claim 14, comprising a plurality of said longitudinal panels spaced at a selected interval from one another whereby a wood panel may be placed between an two of the said longitudinal panels.

16. A structure as claimed in claim 14, wherein a web joining second sidewalls of the second channel is recessed into the structure with respect to the said filler body and the said wood panel, the web being narrower than wheels of a selected width and being adjacent to and between the said filler body and the said wood panel, whereby a wheel placed upon that web is supported at least in part by the said filler body or the said wood panel.

17. A structure as claimed in claim 15 or claim 16, comprising flanges extending laterally from the said longitudinal panels and supporting the said wood panels.

18. A structure supported on the frame of a freight transport vehicle for bearing a load, comprising: a preformed panel supported on the frame of the said freight transport vehicle comprising a central channel open towards said load flanked on either side by companion channels open away from said load, each companion channel sharing a companion channel sidewall with the central channel; and means in the central channel for preventing lateral compression of the structure on the load-facing side thereof, whereby cross-sectional bending under load of the structure is inhibited.

19. A structure as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 18, which is a floor.

20. A floor as claimed in claim 13 and claim 19.

21. A floor substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

22. A floor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, or claim 20, or claim 21, which is a floor for a cargo-carrying vehicle.

23. A floor as claimed in claim 22, wherein the said laminated boards and the said composite members extend longitudinally from the front to the rear of the vehicle.

24. A floor as claimed in claim 23, wherein the non-laminated boards positioned within said first and second downward opening channels of said composite member extend from the rear of said vehicle floor formed for a distance of approximately thirty-four inches (865 mm).

25. A cargo-carrying vehicle having a floor as claimed in any-one of claims 22 to 24.

26. A vehicle as claimed in claim 25 which is a semi-trailer.

27. A semi-trailer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.