Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
-
This invention relates to new and use~ul improvements
in ~lexible covers for truck boxes normally called tarpaulins
and where the term "tarpaulin" is used throughout the speci~i-
cation, it means any form of flexible cover used for this pur-
pose.
It is desirable, and in many locations required, that
open truck boxes be covered when transporting materials such
as gravel, feed, fertilizer, grain and the like, in order to
preven* same from blowing from the open upper side of a truck
box.
':
Conventionally, tarpaulin type covers are pulled manu-
ally over the top of the box and are lashed into position.
This is extremely time consuming and normally require~ two
men and in many instances wind engages under portions of the
cover with subsequent damage occuring to the cover, particu-
; larly when the truck is travelling at high speeds.
,
Attempts have been made to provide a power operatedcover and in many instances these are satisfactory, but once
again difficulty is encountered in the operation of such covers
and in sealing the side edges of the covers when in the extend-
ed position.
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~0609Z17
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes these disadvantages
by providing a cover assembly for open truck boxes which include
a pair of longitudinally extending sides, a front side and a
rear side; said cover assembly including a flexible cover for
the truck box, means adjacent one end of said truck box to store
said cover in a rolled up condition, means to extend and retract
said cover to selectively cover and uncover the open upper side
of the associated truck box and guide means on each side of the
associated truck box to guide said cover when extending and re-
tracting same and to maintain the side edges of said cover in en-
gagement with said guide means, said last mentioned means includ-
ing a flexible cable secured within each of the side edges of
said cover and an elongated guide member on each longitudinal
15 side of said truck box, each of said side edges of said cover to-
gether with cable secured therein, slidably engaging through one
of said guide members, said guide member comprising an elongated
; inverted U-shaped channel secured over the upper edge of each of
the longitudinally extending sides of the associated truck box, -~:
and a longitudinally extending substantially C-shaped cable-and-
cover-edge receiving portion formed on the upper side of said
channel with the open sides of C-shaped portions facing inwardly
towards one another, said receiving portions retaining said cable
and said side edge of said cover, against lateral displacement
from said channel, said means to retract said cover relative to
the associated truck box comprising a spring operated roller as-
sembly situated adjacent one end of the associated truck box and
extending across same, said roller assembly including a roller
journalled for rotation within said roller assembly, one end of
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~0609Z7
said cover belng secured to said roller, and spring means opera-
tively connected to said roller for normally urging said roller
to a cover retracted position.
A loose flat portion may be provided at one end of the
lower cover which can be lashed over the rear end of the truck
box thus completely sealing the open upper side there-
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10609~ t
of and preventing any of the contents from being blown
from the truck box by the wind or movement of air due to
the speed of the truck.
The device also permits partial covering of the
contents of the box if desired and although the preferred
embodiment utilizes a power operated winch, nevertheless a
hand-operated winch can be used if desired.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages
as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which
this invention relates as this specification proceeds, my
invention consists essentially in the arrangement and con-
~; struction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly des- -~
cribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in
which:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is an isometric view of a truck box
which is shown schematically, showing a cover partially
covering the open upper side of the truck box.
Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side eleva-
tion of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan view of Figure 2.
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106tl9~'7
Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side eleva-
tion of the roller assembly and cover per se.
Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of one
end of the roller assembly per se. ;
~' :
Figure 6 is a fragmentary view of the guide
roller per se.
Figure 7 is a fragmentary isometric view par-
tially sectioned, of the guide member per se.
:
Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevation of one end
of the source of power and winch assembly per se.
., ;.
'
Figure 9 is a fragmentary isometric schematic
showing the cover in the closed position at one end of the
truck box.
. . .
Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9, but
showing the cover partially opened. ~-
.
.
In the drawings like characters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
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1060~27
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Proceeding therefore to describe the invention in de-
tail, referénce should first be made to Figure 1 in which 10
illustrates schematically, a truck box including a pair of
longitudinally extending sides 11, a front side 12 and a rear
side 13 which, together with a floor or base 14, defines an
open topped truck box.
The invention collectively designated 15 includes a
roller assembly collectively designated 16 which, in this
embodiment, is situated transversely acrcss the truck box
at the front end 12 thereof. However, it will be appreciated
that positions can be reversed i~ desired so that the assem-
bly 16 can be situated at the rear end 13.
The spring assembly 16 is similar in operation to a
roller blind assembly with the exception that no latch means ;
are provided. It includes the main shaft 17, a coil spring
18, a bearing 19 and an end guide assembly 20. A roller 21
engages within a collar 22 which in turn is secured to part
20.
The sha~t 17 engages between a pair of end plates 23
and is supported therewithin. One end of the spring 18 is
anchored so that when the roller 21 is rotated in the direc-
``1060~7
tion of arrow 24 (see Figure 4) the spring is wound up
thus increasing the tension thereof. This means that the
spring is endeavoring to rotate the roller opposite to the
direction of arrow 24, the purpose of which will hereinaf-
ter be described.
The side plates 23 also support shroud 25 which
is shaped as shown in Figure 4 and this shroud extends
across the entire roller assembly thus protecting same from
; dust, dirt, moisture and the like.
10 A cover collectively designated 26 is manufac-
- tured of canvas in the form of a tarpaulin or the like and
is substantially rectangular when viewed in plan. Although
a canvas tarpaulin type cover is preferred, nevertheless it
will be appreciated that other materials such as flexible '
plastic may be used.
One end 27 of the cover is secured to the outer
surface of roller 21 so that the cover may be rolled up upon
the roller as shown in phantom in Figure 4.
A flexible reinforcing and operating cable 28
is secured within each side edge 29 of the cover and extends
the entire length of the side edges thus forming a bead and
continuing beyond the rear end 30 as will hereinafter be
described.
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1~609~:7
The method of securing the cable 28 within
the edges 29 is conventional and preferably includes longi-
tudinally extending stitching 31.
Guide means are provided for the reinforced side
edges of the cover, said guide means comprising an inverted
U-shaped member shown in detail in Figure 7 and identified
by reference character 32. This inverted U-shaped member
extends the full length of the upper side edges of the truck
box and engages over same to be secured thereto by means of
screws (not illustrated) or other means. This is illustra-
ted in Figure 7 and in this regard inwardly extending flan-
ges 33 are provided to locate the guide members 32 as shown.
A C-shaped channel 34 is formed on the upper
planar surface 35 of the guide member 32 with the open side
35 of each of the channels 34, facing inwardly towards one
another and the reinforced edges 29 of the cover 26, slid-
ably engage within these C-shaped channels as shown in
Figure 7, but are prevented from lateral displacement be-
cause the distance between the jaws of the C-shaped channel
is less than the cross sectional diameter of the cables and
the cover surrounding same. Because these guide members 32
are secured to the upper longitudinally extending edges of
the truck box, the cover is in a sealed relationship with
the upper open side of the truck box, when the
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106(~9~,7
cover is extended.
Means are provided to extend the cover over the open
upper side of the box, said means being shown in detail in
Figures 3 and 8.
, .
A cross shaft 36 is journalled for rotation within
bearings 37 si~uated on one end 12 of the truck box and winch
drums 38 are secured to shaft 36, one at each end thereof. A
source of power in the form of an electric motor 39 is secured
to the end 12 of the truck box and a chain and sprocket assem-
bly 40 operatively connects the drive shaft 41 of the electric
motor, with the shaft 36.
As mentioned previously, the cables 28 secured within
the side edges of the cover, extend beyond the end 30 of the
cover and are shown in phantom in the accompanying drawings and
are identified by reference characters 28A.
A rear sheave or pulley 42 is journalled for rotation
within the rear end of each of the guide members 32 and a
similar sheave or pulley 43 is journalled for rotation adjacent
each front end of the guide members 32.
The extending portions 28A of each of the cables 28,
10609Z~
extend around the rear pulleys 42, through the guide means
32 between the upper side edge of the box and the channel
34, over the front pulleys 43 and are secured to the winch
drums 38 on each end of shaft 36 as indicated by reference
character 44 in Figure 3.
In operation, the cover 26 is normally wound up-
on the roller 21 as illustrated in phantom in Figures 4 and
2.
When it is desired to extend the cover, the mo-
tor 39 is operated so that shaft 36 together with winchdrums 38 rotate in the direction of arrow 45 (see Figure 2).
This pulls the cover along the open upper side of the truck
box in the direction of arrow 46 and as shown in Figure 1,
with the side edges of the cover being guided by the chan~
nels or beads 34 as hereinbefore described. As the cover
is being extended, the roller 21 is rotated thus tighten-
ing up spring 18 and increasing the tension thereof. This
maintains the cover taut together with cables 28A.
The motor can be stopped at any position so that
the cover can partially enclose the box or can fully cover
the open upper side thereof. These two positions are shown
schematically in Figures 9 and 10. If fully covered, the
end flap 47 of the cover can be lashed to the rear end 13
of the truck box as shown schematically by reference charac-
ter 48 in Figure 9.
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1~60g~7
When it is desired to retract the cover, the motormay be operated in the reverse direction or, alternatively,
may be al~owed to free wheel under which circumstances, the
opposite
spring loaded roller 21 will rotate in the/direction of arrow
24 thus winding up the cover as it is retracted and when fully
retracted, the cover is fully enclosed within the shroud 25.
It is desirable to guide the side edges of the cover
into the channels 34 and in this connection, a transverse
roller assembly is provided, shown in Figure 6 and identi~ied ~ -
by reference character 49. It consists of a stationary shaft
50 engaged between the side plates 23 and having a tube or
roller 51 journalled thereon for free rotation. This roller
and guide assembly is situated just rearwardly of the roller
assembly adjacent the rear ends 52 of the shroud sides 23 as
illustrated in the drawings.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a
cover assembly is provided which remains taut at all times
and which may be extended or retracted to the degree required.
Furthermore, means are provided to maintain an efficient seal
between the side edges of the cover and the sides of the truck
thus enabling the load to be enclosed in a sealed condition
when desired.
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)9Z7
Since various modifications caLn be made in my inven-
tion as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely dif-
ferent embodiments of same made withi~ the spirit and scope of
the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is
intended that all matter contained in the accompanying speci~i-
cation shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a
limiting sense.
