GB2290057A

GB2290057A - Road vehicle floors

Info

Publication number: GB2290057A
Application number: GB9416952A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Geoffrey John Bendall
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-06-01
Filing date: 1994-08-22
Publication date: 1995-12-13
Also published as: GB9416952D0; GB9410938D0

Abstract

The floor comprises boards 3 formed from material which comprises at least 50% thermoplastics material. Preferably the boards are formed by extrusion or moulding from a material which is predominantly polyethylene and/or polypropylene. The boards are supported by a metal framework formed of longitudinal and transverse members 5, 6, connected to the vehicle chassis. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION ROAD VEHICLE FLOORS Descrintion Technical Field The invention relates to road vehicle floors, and especially to the floors of vehicles designed to carry heavy loads.

Background Art In general road vehicles used for the transport of heavy loads have floors which are flat and formed from boards disposed on a metal framework forming or associated with the chassis of the vehicle. This is so whether the vehicle is self-propelled or a trailer.

Commonly the boards used for such floors are formed from hardwood planking or multi-ply plywood with a phenolic resin coating. It is also known to provide such boards with a metal, e.g. aluminium, skin.

However, with frequent loading and unloading such floors tend to wear rapidly. Boards of various hardwoods have shown better resistance to wear than plywood boards, but such materials are expensive and constitute a diminishing natural resource.

The invention is directed towards ameliorating these difficulties.

Disclosure of the Invention According to the invention a road vehicle floor comprises a plurality of adjacent boards formed from a material which comprises at least 50% by weight thermoplastics material.

Preferably the material of the boards comprises at least 80% by weight thermoplastics material. Polyolefines are particularly suitable, and advantageously the thermoplastics material may comprise polyethylene and/or polypropylene. In a particularly suitable construction the thermoplastics material comprises low density polyethylene, low density polypropylene and high density polyethylene. Additives may include cellulose and Masterbatch.

The boards may be formed by moulding or extrusion.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows in perspective part of a road vehicle provided with a floor according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of a board of the floor.

Figure 3 shows an end view of the board shown in Figure 2 to a different scale.

Modes for carrying out the invention An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Figure 1 a road vehicle 1, as shown a truck for the transport of heavy loads, is provided with a flat floor 2 formed from adjacent boards 3 running longitudinally of the vehicle. The vehicle has a chassis 4 to which are secured a pair of longitudinal metal runners of U-shaped cross-section which extend substantially the length of the floor 2. A plurality of metal bearer members 6, also of U-shaped cross-section, are transversely disposed at equal distances along the runners and secured thereto by bolts, welding or any other suitable means (not shown). The longitudinally disposed boards 3 are secured to the bearer members 6 by bolts or any other suitable means (not shown) to provide the flat floor 2. As best seen in Figures 2 and 3 the longitudinal edges of intermediate boards are rabbeted at 7 and 8 to provide for abutting half-lap joints 9.The outer boards 10 are rabbeted on one side only to provide plain edges. Clearly, the ends of the boards may be similarly rabbeted if two or more boards are required to be disposed in line.

The boards are formed by extrusion or moulding from a material which is at least 50% thermoplastics material. In a suitable composition a mix comprising 40 parts by wt. low density polyethylene, 40 parts by wt.low density polypropylene and 18 parts by wt. high density polyethylene is utlised, this mix comprisising at least 80% by weight of the finished material. To this mix additives such as fillers, colourants, hardeners, and catalysts may be added in suitable amounts. In particular cellulose as a hardener and Masterbatch may be incorporated. Furthermore, the thermoplastics material may be recycled thermoplastics material and hence environmentally advantageous.

Numerous modifications and variations of the embodiments described will be apparent to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A road vehicle floor comprising a plurality of adjacent boards formed from a material which comprises at least 50% by weight thermoplastics material.

2. A road vehicle floor as claimed in Claim 1 in which the material of the boards comprises at least 80% by weight thermoplastics material

3. A road vehicle floor as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the thermoplastics material is polyolefine material.

4. A road vehicle floor as claimed in Claim 3 in which the thermoplastics material is polyethylene and/or polypropylene.

5. A road vehicle floor as claimed in Claim 4 in which the thermoplastics material comprises low density polyethylene, low density polypropylene and high density polyethylene.

6. A road vehicle floor as claimed in Claim 5 in which the material of the boards includes cellulose.

7. A road vehicle floor as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5 in which the material of the boards includes Masterbatch.

8. A road vehicle floor as claimed in any preceding claim in which the boards are formed by moulding or extrusion.

9. A road vehicle floor as claimed in any preceding claim in which one or both longitudinal edges of the boards are rabbeted to provide for abutting half-lap joints.

10 A road vehicle floor as claimed in any preceding claim in which one or both ends of the boards are rabbeted to provide for abutting half-lap joints.

11. A road vehicle floor as claimed in any preceding claim in which the thermoplastics material is recycled thermoplastics material.

12. A road vehicle having a floor as claimed in any preceding claim.

13. A road vehicle floor substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.