ASSEMBLY WITH SAFETY HOOK AND INTEGRATED BACK IMPACT PROTECTION DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to a structure with a rear impact protection and an integrated safety hook, which is secured to the rear underside of a dry cargo trailer in a form that can be reached and released. It is known in the prior art that dry cargo trailers including safety hooks and rear impact protections are available, however, these safety hooks and rear impact protections are typically welded to dry cargo trailers for installation. The welding of the safety hooks and the rear impact protections requires a substantial assembly time, manufacturing effort and manufacturing cost resulting in the safety hooks and the rear impact protections permanently secured to the trailer. Therefore, it is desirable to have a safety hook and a rear impact protection structure which are secured to the rear underside of a dry cargo trailer in a manner other than welding. The present invention provides such a safety hook and subsequent impact protection structure in accordance with
it is configured to be secured to the dry cargo trailer in a form that can be reached and released, such that the assembly time, manufacturing effort and manufacturing costs can be substantially reduced. Specifically, and in accordance with the foregoing, the invention provides an assembly with a rear impact protection and an integrated safety hook that is secured in a form that can be released to the rear underside of a trailer by a plurality of clamping members. The rear impact protection and safety hook assembly is secured to internal lateral and lateral side slide rails and trailer bumper clamps below the rear door frame sill, preferably by bolts. No welding is required to secure the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook to the trailer. The rear impact protection and safety hook assembly includes a rear impact protection that is formed from the rear bumper clamps and a bumper that attaches to the rear bumper clamps at their lower ends. The rear impact protection and safety hook assembly also includes a main safety hook channel that connects at its opposite ends to the bumper clamps
Subsequently, a safety hook support is connected to the main safety hook channel in a center thereof, and a safety hook support plate is secured to the main safety hook channel. A safety hook can be secured to the safety hook support and to the safety hook support plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The characteristics of the invention that are considered as new are described in detail in the following. The organization and form of the structure and operation of the invention, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, can be better understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which similar reference numbers identify similar elements in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tractor and a trailer; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a floor structure of the trailer of Figure 1 connected to the base rail of the trailer; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a rear impact protection assembly and safety hook, which incorporates characteristics of the invention; Figure 4 is a top plan view of the rear impact protection and hook assembly
Figure 5 is a front elevation view of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook; Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook; Figure 7 is a perspective view of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook secured to a rear portion of the trailer floor structure; Figure 8 is a perspective view alternate to Figure 7 of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook secured to a rear portion of the trailer floor structure; Figure 9 is a side elevational view of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook that is secured to a rear portion of the trailer floor structure; Figure 10 is a perspective view alternate to Figure 3 of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook; Figure 11 is a bottom plan view of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook;
Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook taken along line 12-12 of Figure 11; Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook taken along line 13-13 of Figure 11; Figure 14 is a perspective view of an intercostal; Figure 15 is a front elevation view of the intercostal; Figure 16 is a side elevational view of the intercostal; Figure 17 is a perspective view of an external side bumper clamp used in the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook; Figure 18 is a top plan view of the external side bumper clamp; Figure 19 is a front elevation view of the extended side bumper bracket; Figure 20 is a side elevational view of the external side bumper bracket; Figure 21 is a perspective view of a
internal side bumper clamp used in the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook; Figure 22 is a top plan view of the internal side bumper clamp; Figure 23 is a front elevation view of the internal side bumper clamp; Figure 24 is a side elevational view of the internal side bumper clamp; Figure 25 is a perspective view of a spacer used in the rear impact protection and safety hook assembly; Figure 26 is a front elevation view of the spacer; Figure 27 is a side elevational view of the spacer; Figure 28 is a perspective view of a main safety hook channel used in the rear impact protection and safety hook assembly; Figure 29 is a front elevational view of the main safety hook channel; Figure 30 is a side elevational view of the main safety hook channel; Figure 31 is a perspective view of a
safety hook support used in the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook; Figure 32 is a front elevational view of the safety hook support; Figure 33 is a side elevational view of the safety hook support; Figure 34 is a perspective view of a safety hook support plate used in the rear impact protection assembly and safety hook; and Figure 35 is a front elevation view of the safety hook support plate. Although this invention may be susceptible to being represented in different forms, it is shown in the drawings and will be described in detail herein., a specific embodiment with the understanding that the present description will be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that illustrated. A rear impact protection assembly 20 and integrated safety hook 20 is provided for use at the rear end of a trailer 22. The assembly 20 is formed as a separate unit from the trailer 22 and can be secured to the trailer 22 after it is assembled into the trailer. a form that can be reached and released. This reduces the
cost of providing a safety hook 24 on the trailer 22 by reducing the assembly time. The effort and manufacturing costs are also reduced. As best illustrated in Figure 1, the trailer 22 includes a body formed from a pair of rectangular side walls 26, a front wall 28, a rear structure 30 and the associated doors (not shown), a roof structure 32 and a floor structure 34. A pair of conventional slide rails 36, see Figures 8 and 9, are fixed below the floor structure 34 in a conventional manner. A conventional sliding rear frame assembly 38 is mounted in a conventional manner to slide rails 36. A landing platform device 40 is secured below the front of the floor structure 34. The floor structure 34 and a lower portion of each side wall 26 are secured to a respective base rail 42 which extends the length of the trailer 22. The base rails 42 are preferably formed of aluminum, which can be extruded. The roof structure 32 and an upper portion of each side wall 24 are secured to a respective upper rail 44, which extends the length of the trailer 22. The upper rails 44 are preferably formed of aluminum, which can be extruded. The trailer 22 can be connected to a tractor 46 by conventional means, such as a disk assembly.
articulation, at its front end. The base rail 42 is formed of a vertical wall 48 having a generally horizontal flange 50 extending perpendicular therefrom. The side wall 26 is fixed to an upper portion of the base rail 42 by suitable means. As illustrated in Figure 2, the floor structure 34 includes a plurality of spaced crosspieces 52 (of which only one is shown in Figure 2) attached to the base rail 42. Each cross member 52 is mounted to the base rail 42 by a end fastener 54 at the opposite ends of the crosspiece 52. Each crosspiece 52 is integrally formed of a beam I that includes an upper horizontal wall 56, a lower horizontal wall 60 and a vertical altar 58 extending between the upper walls 56, 60 and lower in the center of them. Each cross member 52 extends along the width of the trailer 22 and a floor (not shown) usually sits on the upper surface of the crosspieces 52. The end fastener 54 is a plate. As shown, the end fastener 54 is square, but the end fastener 54 can take other shapes. Openings, such as perforations, are provided through the end fastener 54 to allow the bolts to pass therethrough to connect the end fastener 54 to the end fastener 54.
base rail 42. A floor sealer 62 is fixed to the base rail 42 by bolts, is mounted on the top of the cross members 52 and extends along the length of the trailer 22. The floor sealer 62 captures an end of the floor so that the floor is secured to the floor sealer 62. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, four struts 64 (of which only two are shown in the drawings) are provided on each of the struts 52. Two struts 64 are provided along the outer side of the trailer 22 and two struts 64 are provided along the inner side of the trailer 22. The struts 64 help prevent the deflection of the struts 52 and thus provide stability to the struts 52. As illustrated in Figure 9, each sill 64 is formed from a vertical wall 66 which is fixed to the respective vertical altar 58 and an angled wall 68 that faces away from the vertical altar 58 and an end adjacent to the outer end of the lower horizontal wall 52. The vertical wall 66 is welded or secured in another way to the vertical altar 58. An intercostal 70 is provided on each side of the trailer 22 between the struts 64 mounted on the last two struts 52 which are closest to the rear structure 30. As shown in Figures 14-16, the
intercostal 70 is formed from a plate having an upper horizontal edge 72, a lower horizontal edge 74, a front edge and a trailing edge. The front and rear edges have the same shape of the tornapuntas 64 and, therefore, the front edge includes a front vertical top edge 76 and a front lower angled edge 78, and the trailing edge includes a rear upper vertical edge 80 and a rear edge 80 lower angled edge 82 posterior. The ends of the upper horizontal edge 72 sits below the upper horizontal walls 56 of the adjacent struts 52, the vertical and rear vertical edges 76, 80 sit against the vertical walls 66 of the adjacent struts 64, the angled edges 78, 82 rear and front face are seated against the angled walls 68 of the adjacent struts 64, and the lower horizontal edge 74 is felt on the upper surface of the upper end of the slidable rail 36. The slide rails 36, shown in Figure 8, are connected to the bottom of the crosspieces 52 in separate positions and extend generally along the length of the trailer 22. As is known in the art, the slide rails 36 are elongate members with a plurality of openings 79 spaced therethrough. This allows the frame assembly 38 to be secured to the slide rails 36 in a variety of positions that are
they know in the technique. At the rear end of the trailer 22, the rear structure 30 forms a rectangular opening in which rear doors (not shown) are provided. As is known in the art, the rear structure 30 includes an elongated horizontal hearth 84, a pair of vertical columns (not shown) extending upwardly from the opposite ends of the hearth 84, and an elongated horizontal upper member (not shown). ). The columns are connected to the respective side walls 26 by known means. The opposite ends of the hearth 84 are connected to the respective base rails 42 by known means. The opposite ends of the upper member are connected to the respective upper rails 44 by known means. As is known in the art, the sill 84 has a slab 86 and a base plate 88 fixed to the bottom of the slab 86. The slab 86 has a vertical rear wall 90, a vertical front wall 92, an upper wall 94 connecting the upper ends of the rear and front walls 90, 92 and a lower wall 96 connecting the lower ends of the rear and front walls 90, 92. The upper wall 94 is formed from a rear wall portion 98 which is connected to the upper end of the rear wall 90, a front wall portion 100 which is connected to the upper end of the wall
92, and a vertical wall 102 that connects the back wall portion 98 to the front wall portion 100. The front wall portion 100 moves downward from the rear wall portion 98. Along a central portion of the slab 86, the lower wall 96 and the lower ends of the rear and front walls 90, 92 are cut to form a displacement with the rest of the slab 86. On each side of the slab 86 , the base plate 88 is fixed to the lower part of the lower wall 96 and follows the contour thereof. In the central portion of the vault 86, the base plate 88 is fixed to the lower end of the rear wall 90 and follows the contour thereof. Along the sides and back of the trailer 22, the base plate 88 extends outwardly from the perimeter of the slab 86. Next to each side of the cutout in the slab 86, a vertical bumper support member 104 (of which only one is shown) extends downward, thereby defining an outer side bumper support member and an internal side bumper support member. Each vertical bumper support member 104 is generally formed as a tube having a rear wall, a front wall and a pair of side walls connecting the rear and front walls. On one side of the trailer 22, the struts 64 align with the member 104
of external lateral vertical bumper support; on the other side of the trailer 22, the tailstock 64 aligns with the inner side bumper support member. The assembly 20 with integrated rear impact protection and safety hook is best illustrated in Figures 3-13 and 17-35 and generally includes a rear impact protection 106, a main safety hook channel 108, a support 110 of safety hook and a safety hook support plate 112. The assembly 20 is formed as a separate unit from the trailer 22 and is mounted on the trailer 22 after it is assembled. The assembly 20 has very few parts and is easy to assemble. The components are formed of metal. The rear impact protection 106 includes a pair of separate vertical bumper clamps 114 and a horizontal bumper 116 which is mounted to the lower ends of the bumper clamps 114. As illustrated in Figures 17-24, each bumper clamp 114 is formed from a rear wall 117, an end wall 118 extending forward from a first side of the rear wall 117 and ending at a free end. , a rear side wall 120 extending forwardly from the second opposite end of the rear wall 117, an angled wall 122 extending from the opposite end of the side wall 120
back to a front side wall 124 that extends forward. The front side wall 124 terminates at a free end. The rear wall 117, the end wall 118 and a rear portion of the rear side wall 120 form a recess in which the respective bumper support member 104 is mounted. The rear wall 117 has apertures at its upper end provided therethrough which allow fastening members 125, such as bolts, to pass to attach to the rear wall of the bumper support member 104. The front side wall 124 has apertures at its upper end provided therethrough which allow fastening members 127, such as bolts, to pass to be secured to the respective slide rail 36 by a spacer 126. The spacer 126 is provided between the respective slidable rail 36 and the front portion of the front side wall 124 for reducing the size of the openings 79 provided through the sliding rail 36 for proper engagement with the front side wall 124. As illustrated in Figures 25-27, the spacer 126 is a generally rectangular plate with a plurality of openings 128 spaced therein. The spacer 126 engages the respective slide rail 36 and the respective front side wall 124. On each side of the trailer 22, the front side wall 124 extends forwardly of
so that the intercostal 70 is provided on top of the front end of the front side wall 124. The horizontal bumper 116 is formed as a closed end tube. The bumper 116 is secured to the lower ends of the rear wall 117, to the end wall 118 and to a rear portion of the rear side wall 120 by suitable means, such as welding. As illustrated in Figures 28-30, the main safety hook channel 108 is usually formed as a "hat" shape and is connected at its ends to a front portion of the rear side wall 120, to the wall 122 angled to the front side wall 122 of the bumper bracket 114. The cutout in the hearth 84 forms a clearance to allow the main safety hook channel 108 to be mounted in the proper position. The channel 108 has an upper vertical wall 130, an upper horizontal wall 132 extending from the lower end of the upper vertical wall 130, an intermediate vertical wall 134 extending from the front edge of the upper horizontal wall 132, a wall 136 lower horizontal extending from the lower end of the intermediate vertical wall 134, and a lower vertical wall 138 extending from the rear end of the lower horizontal wall 136. An open groove 139 is defined by the upper horizontal wall 132, the wall
134 intermediate vertical and the bottom horizontal wall 136. A pair of recesses 142a, 142b are provided separated through upper vertical wall 130 and upper horizontal wall 132, spaced equidistantly from the center of channel 108. As illustrated in the figures, safety hook holder 110 it is formed as a generally U-shaped member having a rear wall 144 and a pair of side walls 146a, 146b extending forward from opposite sides thereof. A backward portion 145a, 145b of the side walls 146a, 146b has an upper edge that faces down towards a front portion 147a, 147b having an upper edge that is horizontal. As shown, the rear wall 144 has a large central opening 150 and four smaller openings 152 near the central opening 150. The front portions 147a, 147b sit within the groove 139 of the main safety hook channel 108 so that the leading edge of the support 110 butts the intermediate vertical wall 134. The backward portion 145a, 145b extends through the holes 142a, 142b provided in the main safety hook channel 108. As a result, the safety hook support 110 is placed in the center of the main safety hook channel 108 and secured thereto by suitable means, such as welding.
As illustrated in Figures 34 and 35, the support plate 112 is a flat plate having openings 154, 156 that are equal to the openings 150, 152 provided in the rear wall 144 of the safety hook holder 110. The support plate 112 is fixed at its upper and lower ends to the upper and lower vertical walls 130, 138 of the main safety hook channel 108 so that the openings 154, 156 align with the openings 150, 152 through the 110 support of safety hook. A conventional safety hook 24, for example the Premier safety hook 270, is mounted to the support plate 112 by bolts extending through the safety hook 24, through the openings 156 in the support plate 112 and through the openings 152 in the safety hook holder 110. Although specific openings 150, 152, 154, 156 are shown through the safety hook support 110 and the support plate 112, it will be understood that different opening arrangements can be provided to accommodate different safety hooks to be mounted thereto. A secure safety hook 158 is also provided in the assembly 20. The secure safety hook 158 is a steel member that is used to engage secure chains as known.
Because the integrated rear impact protection assembly and safety hook 20 is formed as a separate sub-assembly and then bolted to the trailer 22, there is no welding to secure the safety hook 24 to the trailer 22. This makes the assembly of the trailer 22 and the safety hook 24 very easy. The assembly 20 also has a number of other advantages. The assembly 20 can accept both the Premier 270 and Premier 470 safety hooks. The Premier 270 safety hooks use four bolts for mounting, while the Premier 470 safety hooks use eight bolts for mounting. Assembly 20 also meets all the requirements of the TTMA RP 6-01 and SAE J849 Standards. Assembly 20 also has mounting locations for 7-way electrical connectors and assembly of hose connections for air system. The assembly 20 also incorporates a rear trailer frame structure that meets all the requirements of the Canadian CMVSS 223 Safety Standard. All components of assembly 20 are also optimized for minimum self-weight. Although a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described, it is contemplated that those skilled in the art may design several
modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the aforementioned description, the attached drawings and the appended claims.