GB2312878A

GB2312878A - Roof support for a curtain sided vehicle.

Info

Publication number: GB2312878A
Application number: GB9609796A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Colin Fryett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-05-10
Filing date: 1996-05-10
Publication date: 1997-11-12
Anticipated expiration: 2016-05-10
Also published as: GB9609796D0; GB2312878B

Abstract

A roof supporting top rail 10 extending from front to back of the vehicle has welded to its end regions blocks 18, 20 for receiving the screw threaded ends of a rod 24 which is place under tension by nuts 27 28, and at least at the centre region of the rod a jacking means 26 acts between the tensioned rod and the rail to jack up the rail and prevent it from sagging. The rod may be comprised of more than one linked rod pieces and more than one jacking means may be provided.

Description

Roof Support for a Curtain-Sided Vehicle This invention relates generally to a roof support for a curtain-sided vehicle.

The roof of a curtain-sided vehicle is most commonly supported by top rails, often known as cant rails, extending from front to back on both sides of the vehicle between front and rear corner pillars.

These cant rails are often very long, up to about 20 metres say, and are generally unable to support the weight of the roof without sagging without assistance.

Commonly, therefore, approximately midway down the vehicle along the lateral centre thereof, a floor to roof post is provided to prop up the roof and reduce the load on the cant rails. This post is an encumbrance in the load space and can complicate loading and unloading procedures. An alternative to the centre post is the use of very substantial but heavy cant rails capable of talking the weight of the roof, possibly in conjunction with one or more equally substantial and heavy cross rails, without sagging. This alternative is contrary to the general aim of roof construction in a curtain-sided vehicle, which is to make the roof structure as light as possible.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a supporting system for the roof of a curtain-sided vehicle in which a roof supporting top rail extending from front to back of the vehicle has secured thereto the ends of a rod under tension, and at one or more points along the rod means are provided for jacking up the top rail relative to the tensioned rod.

With the system according to the invention, the roof supporting centre post in the vehicle can be dispensed with. Furthermore, in a vehicle under manufacture, the cant rails can be made less substantial and therefore lighter than is normal. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for supporting against sagging one or more top rails extending from front to back of a curtain-sided vehicle to support the roof, comprising a rod securable at opposite ends to opposite end regions of the or each top rail, means for tensioning the rod, and means located at one or more regions along the rod and rail for jacking up the top rail relative to the tensioned rod.

The invention is not only applicable to new vehicles but also to the modification of existing vehicles.

Thus, according to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of modifying the roof support of a curtain-sided vehicle according to which a rod is secured at opposite ends to opposite end regions of the or each top rail extending from front to back of the vehicle to support the roof, the or each rod is tensioned, and at one or more points along the rod and rail the rail is jacked up relative to the tensioned rod. When the modification has been carried out, any existing centre post can be cut away.

The ends of the tensioned rod are preferably fixed to the top rail as high as possible on said top rail. Thus, when the jacking means is operative, it will be appreciated that the rod will bow downwardly, and possibly the top rail upwardly, and it is desirable that the lowest point of the tensioned rod should not intrude, at least to any appreciable extent, into the clear space afforded beneath the top rail for loading and unloading purposes when the curtains are drawn back.

The rod is preferably tensionable by one or more screwthreaded devices, for example at opposite ends of the rod, where it may pass into or through apertured blocks fixed, as by welding, to the top rail. Analogously, the or each jacking means may be constituted by a screw threaded device which at one end "pushes" against the rod or on the top rail, preferably the latter.

The foregoing description refers to top rails which will usually be constituted hy the normally provided roof supporting cant rails of a curtain-sided vehicle, but in the case of a newly manufactured vehicle may include a rail extending from front to back of the vehicle along the lateral centre thereof, assuming that a fixing for such a centre rail is available at the back of the vehicle.

The invention is further desribed with reference to the accompanying drawing, the single figure of which diagrammatically illustrates a roof-supporting cant rail of a curtain-sided vehicle in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the front-to-back cant rail 10 on one side of a curtain sided vehicle is fixed between the top ends of front and back corner pillars 12, 14.

As illustrated, although this is not essential, the cant rail 10 is of an angle section, with a top web 16 facing inwardly of the vehicle.

In accordance with the invention, two apertured blocks 18, 20 are welded to the vertical web 22 of the cant rail immediately below the top web 16 near the ends of the cant rail 10. The ends of a rod 24 extend through these blocks to be tensionable by nuts 27, 28. Generally at the centre of the rod 24 and rail 10, a screw jack 26 is fixed to the rod 24, for pushing upwards against the underside of the top web 16 of the cant rail.

When the rod has been tensioned by the screwthreaded devices at its ends, the screw jack 26 is operated to jack up the cant rail 10 against sagging. The tensioned rod 24 will then be caused to bow downwardly, and possibly by reaction the cant rail will be caused to bow slightly upwardly, although this is not shown.

In fact, the bowing of the tensioned rod 24 is considerably exaggerated as depicted in the drawing, because the latter does not represent, relative to other dimensions, the true length of the cant rail 20 and rod 24 from front to back of the vehicle, which may be up to 20 metres or more. In practice, the maximum bowing of the tensioned rod is only a few centimetres over its total length.

The relatively lightweight "reinforcement" of the cant rail provided by the tensioned rod, when installed on each side of the vehicle, can enable the centre post commonly provided for roof support in curtain sided vehicles to be removed, and in new vehicle constructions the roof supporting structure to be made generally lighter. It is within the compass of the invention to provide two or more jacking points along the length of the tensioned rod. It is also obviously possible to provide the fixing for the or each jacking device on the cant rail, so that it pushes down on the tensioned rod. The latter may be made of several rod lengths interconnected by joining pieces and, if screwthreaded joining pieces are used, these may provide for tensioning of the rod instead of the end tensioning devices, or for supplementary tensioning.

Claims

1. A supporting system for the roof of a curtain-sided vehicle in which a roof supporting top rail extending from front to back of the vehicle has secured thereto the ends of a rod under tension, and at one or more points along the rod means are provided for jacking up the top rail relative to the tensioned rod.

2. A supporting system according to claim 1, wherein the ends of the tensioned rod are fixed to the top rail as high as possible on said top rail.

3. A supporting system according to claim 2, wherein, when the jacking means is operative to cause the rod to bow downwardly, said rod does not protrude to any appreciable extent into the clear space afforded beneath the top rail for loading and unloading purposes when the curtains are drawn back.

4. A supporting system according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rod is tensionable by one or more screwthreaded devices.

5. A supporting system according to claim 4, wherein the screwthreaded devices are located at opposite ends of the rod.

6. A supporting system according to claim 5, wherein the rod passes into or through apertured blocks fixed, as by welding, to the top rail.

7. A supporting system according to any of claims l to 6, wherein the or each jacking means is constituted by a screw threaded device which at one end "pushes" against the rod or on tIle top rail, preferably the latter.

8. A supporting system according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein, in the case of a newly manufactured vehicle, said system includes a rail extending from front to back of the vehicle along the lateral centre thereof, and a rod under tension and jacking means for said centre rail.

9. A device for supporting against sagging one or more top rails extending from front to back of a curtain-sided vehicle to support the roof, comprising a rod securable at opposite ends to opposite end regions of the or each top rail, means for tensioning the rod, and means located at one or more regions along the rod and rail for jacking up the top rail relative to the tensioned rod.

10. A method of modifying the roof support of a curtain-sided vehicle according to which a rod is secured at opposite ends to opposite end regions of the or each top rail extending from front to back of the vehicle to support the roof, the or each rod is tensioned, and at one or more points along the rod and rail the rail is jacked up relative to the tensioned rod.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein, when the modification has been carried out, any existing centre post is cut away.

12. A supporting system for the roof of a curtain sided vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.