Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates generallx to truck bodie~ and
more particularly, to a detachable truck bc~y havin~ support ~ega for
maintaining the truck body in an elevated horizontal ~osition.
ere are seyeral pre~iously known truck bodies which are de-
t~chably mounted to the bed of a truck. When these previously knc~n truck
badies are detached fram the truck bed, the truck bcdies typically rest
on their base on the ~round supporting surface. Thus, in order to reattach
the truck body to the truck bed, the truck bcdy must be el vatecl onto the
truck bed and there have heen several previously knc~n means for so ele-
vatiny the truck bcK~.
~ One such means for elevating the truck body camprlses a crane
; separate from both the truck body and the truck. With this system, the
c~ane mechanlcally lifts the truck body frc)m and onto the truck bed. The
disadvantage of this sy~am, however, is that the crane is not only expensive
to obtain but also to operate. ~oreover, the crane is typicall~ sta~lon~ry
so that the truck kodies may be detached and attached to the truck bed only
at a single location ~hich limits the flexibility o~ the detachable truck
~ body
With a still further type of detachable truck body sysbem, a
detachable txuck body is slidably attached to a rail and a dump actuator
` selectively tilts the rail ~it~ the attached truck body. Thus, in order
to detaeh the truck bc1dy frc~n the truck ked, the dump actuator is extended
SQ that the truck body slides rear~ardly off the rail and onto the ground
supporting surface. In order to reattach the truck body to the truck bed,
a po~er actuatecl sling engages the bottom of the truck body and drags the
truck body up onto the rail and hence onto the truck bed.
Th~s type of detachable truck body systen, hcwever, is ~isadvan-
tageous in several respects. Cne disadvantage is that the dump actuator,
rail and po~er sling cqmponents on the txuck not only increase the overall
cost Q~ the tr~ck b~t also re ~ re Eeriodic nalntenance~ M~reover, a
fail~re c~ the hydraulic system for eit~er the pow~r sling or the dump
ac~uator no~ onl~ may be ha~ardous but also prohib~ts the subs~quent detach-
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ment or attachment of the truck body until the hydraulic
system is repaired.
A still further disadvantage of the previously known
detachable truck body systems of the latter type is that both
the detachment and attachment of the truck body from and to the
truck bed is a time consuming and tedious operation.
The present invention solves the above-mentioned dis-
advantages of the previously known detachable truck body systems
by providing a detachable truck body which may be attached to
and detached from a truck bed without the necessity of a crane
to lift the truck body onto the truck bed and without the
necessity of equipping the truck bed with complex and expensive
hydraulic dump actuators and power slings.
In brief, the detachable truck body of the present
invention comprises a substantially horizontal base adapted for
attachment to t~e bed of a truck and having a plurality of
support legs. Each support leg is secured to the base adjacent
each corner thereof by an interdigital articulated hinge and is
pivotal between a first and second position. In their first
pivotal position the support legs extend downwardly and laterally
outwardly from the base of the truck body to engage a ground
supporting surface and maintain the base, and hence the truck
body, in an elevated position while bracing the truck body base
against lateral movement. In their second position the support
legs are in a substantially horizontal position adjacent and
underneath the base of the truck body so that the truck body can
be transported and carried by the truck without interference from
the support legs. Locking means are provided for locking the
support legs in either their first or second pivotal position.
The present invention also includes a detachable truck
body adapted to be mounted onto the bed of a truck comprising a
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substantially horizontal base, a plurality of support legs,
and any means for pivotally securing the support leg to the
base such that the pivot means is parallel to the plane of the
base but intersects the longitudinal axis of the truck body in
an acute angle whereby the longitudinal axis of the support leg
is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the truck
when the support leg is in its second pivotal position in which
a support leg is in a substantially horizontal position adjacent
and underneath the base. In its first pivotal position each of
the support legs extends downwardly and laterally outwardly from
the base to engage a ground supporting surface to maintain the
base in an elevated position.
With the support legs in their first pivotal position,
the support legs maintain the truck body in an elevated posi-
tion so that the bed of a truck may be positioned beneath the
base of the truck body. ~ydraulic actuators on the truck bed
extend upwardly, contact and lift the truck body slightly from
the ground. With the truck body so elevated, the load on-the
support legs is relieved so that the support legs may be moved
from their first to their second position horizontally under-
neath the base of the truck
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body. The truck body is then lowered by the hydraulic actuators on the
truc~ bed u,ntil the truck ,body sits on the truck bed. ~hereupon the truck
with the attachecl truck body is transported to the desired location.
When detachmRnt of the truck body frqm the truck body bed is
desired, the hydraulic actuators of the truck bed. again e~tend and lift
th,e truck bcdy vertically upwardly frc~n the truck ,bed. With the truck body
eleyated, the suppc)rt legs are mov?cl to their ~irst or dc~nwardly extending
pivotal position and loc~ed into place. As the hydraulic actuators on the
truck bed are retracted, the support legs contact the ground supporting
surface and maintain the truck body in an eleyated position. After the ~ `
truck is driyen away, the truck,kod~,,remains statir.~nary in its elevated
position and ready for sub~e~uent attachment to the same or a di~ferent
; tru,ck bed.
A better und,erst,anding of the present invention will be had upon
reference to the follrJwing detailed description when read in conjunction
~ith the aoc~mpanying draw m g ~herein like reference characters reer to
like parts of the sr~veral views and in which:
FI~. 1 is a side plan diagrammatic view showing a first ~tep in
attaching the detachable truck body of the present ~nvention onto the bed
of a truck;
: FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view similar to FIG. 1, but sho~ing a
second step thereo~;
FIG. 3 is a diagra~matic View similar to both FI~S. 1 and 2 but
, sho~ing a still further step thereof;
FI¢. 4 is a side plan view showlng one support leg of the de-
tachable truck body o~ the present invention and enlarged for clarity;
FI~. 5 is a f,ront plan view shcwing one ,support leg of the de-
tachable truck body of th~ present invention;
FIG. 6. i$ a kottam, plan vle~ of one support leg of the detachable
3Q tr~ck kcdy of the present inv,ention taken s~stantially along line 6-6 in
FI,~. 5;
FIG. 7 is a frag~enta,ry perSpective y~iew $hcwing Qne support leg
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locking mechanism for the detachable truck body of the present invention;
and
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the other
support leg locking mechanism for the detachable truck body of the present
invention.
The invention is a detachable truck body adapted to be mounted
onto the bed of a truck comprising a substantially horizontal base, at
least one support leg, means for pivotally securing said support leg to
said base between a first and second pivotal position, wherein in said
first pivotal position, each of said support legs extends downwardly and .
laterally outwardly from said base to engage a ground supp~rting surface
to maintain said base in an elevated position, wherein in said second .
position, each of said support legs are in a substantially horizontal posi-
tion adjacent and underneath said base, first means for locking each of
said support legs in said first pivotal position, and second means for
locking each of said support legs in said second pivotal position.
The detachable truck body 10 of the present invention is illus- :
trated in FIGS. 1-3 and comprises a generally horizontal rectangular base
12. The truck body 10 may include side walls 14, shown in fragmentary
form, as desired or demanded by the cargo (not shown) transported by the
truck body 10.
Still referring to FIGS. 1-3, the base 12 is supported in a
horizontally elevated position by four downwardly extending support legs
16 (only two of which are shown) with two support legs 16 secured to each
lateral side of the truck body base 12. With the base 12 supported in an
elevated position as shown in FIG. 1, the bed 18 of a truck 20 may be posi-
tioned underneath the base 12 without moving the truck body 10. In addi-
tion, preferably the truck bed 18 is similar to the truck system described
in U. S. Patent No. 4,071,274 that was issued on January 31, 1978 to
Dalton et al, and which is of common ownership with the present invention.
As such, the truck bed 18 includes vertical hydraulic actuators 22 with
pistons 24 which extend vertically upwardly from the bed 18 upon actuation
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of the hy~raulic actuators 22.
Each of the support legs 16 is substantially identical to the
other support legs 16 so that only one support leg 16 will be descrlbed in
detail for the sake of brevity. Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the sup-
port leg 16 comprises an upper leg section 26 constructed of square tubu-
lar steel and a lower leg section 28 also constructed of square tubular .~.
steel and which is slidably received within the interior of the upper leg
section 26. A conventional foot 30 is secured across the outwardly extend-
. ing end of the lower leg section 28 by welds 32 or the like and is adapted
to engage a ground supporting surface 34 as shown in FIGS. 1-3.
: As best shown in FIG. 5, with the support leg 16 in its down-
wardly extending position, the support leg 16 also extends laterally out-
wardly from the truck body base 12. The support legs thus act as a brace
and effectively prevent lateral movement of the truck body 10.
With reEerence to FIGS. 4-6, a flanged lateral.support 40 is
secured to the upper end of the upper leg section 26 by ribs 42 and abuts
: against the bottom surface 38 of the truck body base 12 when the support
leg 16 is in its downwardly extending pivotal position. One side of an ~.
. articulated interdigital hinge 44 is secured to one rib 42 on the flange
40 by support ribs 42 while the other side of the hinge 44 is secured by
support ribs 46 to the bottom surface 38 of the truck body base 12. The
support ribs 46 are preferably attached by welds 48 to the truck body base
12 and to the hinge 42 while likewise the support ribs 45 are attached by
welds 50 to the hinge 44 and support ribs 42. Each support leg 16 is thus
pivotally attached to the truck body 'oase 12 by the hinge 44 and movable
between a first, or downwardly extending, pivotal position illustrated in
FIG. 1 and a second or horizontal pivotal position adjacent and underneath
the truck body base 12 as shown in FIG. 3. Moreover, as best shown in
FIG. 6, the axis of the hinge 44 intersects the longitudinal axis of the -
truck body base 12 by an angle X so that with the support leg in its
second positlon, the axis of the support leg 16 is substantially parallel
to the axis of the truck body base 12.
With the support leg 16 in its first, or downwardly extending,
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pivotal position, the upper surface of the flange 40 abuts against the
lower surface 38 of the truck bod~ base 12. m e flange 40 with the attached
ribs 42 thus not only increases the rigidity of the support le~s 16 but
also limits the rotational travel of the support legs 16. Conversely~ the
support legs 16 may be piv,oted around the hinge 44 to a generally horizontal
position such that the support leg 16 is generally horizontal to and under-
neath the lcwer surface 38 of the base 12 as previously described. A spring
50 under tension is secured at one end by a tang 52 to the flange 40 and at
its other end by a hook 54 to the truck body base 12. m e spring 50 urges
the support leg ~6 from its first to its second rotational position for a
purpose which will be later described.
Locking means 56, best shown in FIGS. 5-7, are provided to retain
the support leg 16 m its first or down~ardly ex~ending pivotal position.
m e locking means 56 cQmprises a housing 58 having one side portion 60
secured to the upper leg section 26. m ree spaced and ~arallel members 62,
64, and 66 extend generally pe~ ndicularly o~twardly frcm the side portion
60 of the housing 58. Registering bores 68, 7Q, and 72 are for~ed perpendicu-
larly through the members 62, 64, and 66, respectively, and recei,ve a pin 74
therethrough. A helical spring 76 under compression is disposed ar,ound the
pin 74 between the members 62 and 64 and urges a stop pin 78 transversely
disposed through the pin 74 against the menber 64~ The'stop pin 78 thus not
only limdts the travel of the pin 74 within the housing 58 but also acts
-~ as a spr~ng stop for the spring 76. A handle 80 is attached to the outwardly
extending portion of the pin 74 and provides a means whereby the pin 74 may
ke manually retracted from the aperture 72 in the nember 66.
A dbhnwaldly extending longitudinal flange 82 is secured by welds
84 to the bottcm surface 38 of the truck ~ody base 12. The flange 82 is pre-
f,erably r,einforced by a l~teral supporting flange 86 attached by ~elds 88
~F~G, 51 to the ~irst ~lange 82 and by ~elds 9Q to the bottom surface 38 of
t~he ~ody ~ase 12, Re,~errin~ to, FIG. 7, an apert~re 92 is provlded thrcugh
the l~wer dependlng end 41 of the flange 82. As the support leg 16 is moved
; tCward its downwardly extending position and with the pin 74 retracted from
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the aperture 72, the lower depending end 91 of the flange 82 is received
between the mEmbers 64 and 66 respectively. The handle 80 of the pin 74
is then released and the spring 76 urges the pin 74 through the apertures
92 and 72 in the support flange 82 andq~ber 66 to thereby lock the
support by 16 to the flange 82 in its dow~wardly extending position.
Referrlng to FIG. 8, to lock the support leg 16 in its second
or horizontal position, a hanger 94 is secur~d to the upper section 26 of -
the support leg 16 on the side opposite from the locking means housing 58.
The hanger 94 engages and cooperates with a hook 96 pivotally mounted by
a pin 98 to a framing member 99 on the truck body base.l2. With the hook
96 engaging the hanger 94, as shown in FIG. 8, the hook 96 retains the
support leg 16 underneath and adjacent the truck body base 12.
The previously described spring 90 urges the support leg 16
toward its horizontal position since, in practice, it has been found to
be easier for an operator to move the support leg 16 from the horizontal
to the dcwnwardly extending vertical position against the spring 50 bhan
vice versa. The spr mg 50 in effect offsets the weight of the support
leg 16.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the lcwer section 28 o~ the support
legs 16 is pr~ferably axially adjustable within the upper section 26 of
the support lag 16. To achieve this, a plurality of axially spaced trans-
; verse bores 102 are form~d through the lower section 28. The bores 102
sequentially reglster with regis-tering t~ansverse bores 104 formed through
the upper section 26 of the support leg 16 as the lcwer section 28 is slid-
ably adjusted in the upper section 26. When the lower leg section 28 is
adjusted to the desired axial position within the support leg upper section
26, a pin 106 having an enlarged head 108 is inserted ~hrough the register-
ing ores 104 to lock the upper section 26 to the lower section 28. A
spring clip 110 is secured to the head 108 of the pin 106 and hookingly
engages the opposite end of the pin 106 to thereby retain the pin 106
- within the bores 104.
In operation assuming tha~ the support legs 16 are in their first
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or downwardly ~xtending posltion and supporting the base 12 in an elevated
horizontal position, the bed 18 o~ the truck 20 is fi,r,st positioned under-
neath the truck kody base 12 as shown in FIG. 1. The hydraulic actuators
22 are then actuated extending the pistons 24 vertically upward. The pis-
tons 24 engage and lift the base 12 off f m m the ground supporting surface
34. ~With the feet 30 of the support legs 16 elevated, the pin 74 ~n each
of the locking means 56 is retracted and the support legs 16 are swung up-
wardly with the aid of the spring 50 to their second, or horizontal position.
Each leg 16 ls locked into its second position by the hook ~6 as has been
previously described. m e hydraulic actuators 22 are again actuated thus
retracting the pistons 24 and lowering the truck body lQ ontQ the t,ruck bed
18 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. m e truck body 10 is locked onto the truck
bed 18 by any appropriate means such as that described in the aforementioned
patent application and the truck body 10 is thereafter transported to the
desired destination.
}~ detachment o~ the truck body 10 frcm the tru,ck bed 18 is desired,
the hydraulic actuators 22 are again actuated thus extending the pistons 24
upwardly. The pistons 24 contact and lift the base 12 of the truck ,body
vertically upward from the truck bed 18. With the base 12 elevated, each
support leg 16 is unlocked from the hook 96 and swung to its first or down-
wardly and laterally outwardly extending position and locked to the flange 82
by the looking means 56 as hss been previously described.
With each support leg 16 locked in its downwardly extend,ing posi-
:tion the hydraulic pistons 24 are then retracted until the support legs 16
engage the graund supporti~ng surface 34. As the pistons 24 are further re-
tracted, the support legs 16 mainta m the truck kody 10 in an elevated posi-
tion and ~race the truck b,ody 10 against lateral m,oVement so that the truck
20 may be dri~en a~ay frcm underneat~ the tr~ck bcdy lQ. The subsequent
attachment of the truck bcdy 10 to the truck ~ed 18 has been pre~iously des-
cr,ibed.
It can thus, be seen th~t the detachable tr~ck body lq of the preseht
invention provides a novel and yet inexpensive ~eans ~or detachably ~Lunting
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a truck body onto the bed of a truck. In particul æ , the pre~iously known
separate crane to lift the detached truck body 10 upon the truck bed 18
is rendered unnecessary. Moreover, the truck body 10 of the pxesent in-
yention renders unnecessary the previously known tr~ck beds with hydraulic
dump actuators and power slings which drag a detached truck body up onto the
bed of the truck. In addition, the adjustability o~ the longitudinal length
of the support legs permits use of the detachable truck body 10 of the pre-
sent invention with a wide v æ iety of different truck beds.
Having thus described my invention many modifications thereto will
become apparent to those skilled in the art to which itspertains without
dev~ation from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the
appended claims.
What is clai~ed is:
