Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to tubing for
constructing walls of boxes for trucks and trailers
and a method of constructing said walls. More
specifically, this invention relates to boxes of
trucks and trailers that are used to transport farm
animals.
Boxes of trucks and trailers are presently
made from aluminum flats or strapping that are welded
or riveted to a frame or support. Usually, for a
wall, the frame members are vertical supports but they
could be both vertical and horizontal. These aluminum
boxes have disadvantages in that a large amount of
skilled labour is required to construct the boxes; or,
the completed wall has no insulation value; or, an
exterior surface is not smooth as the flats or
strapping do not fit together smoothly; or, an
interior surface is not smooth and is interrupted by
the pre-existing frame or supports; or, each piece of
strapping or flat must be welded in place as the wall
is constructed and weld marks are visible throughout
the completed wall; or, if the aluminum is anodized,
the anodization is removed on the outer surface of the
wall at each weld.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide tubing that can be used to construct a box for
a truck or trailer where the wall can be assembled
without the use of pre-installed vertical supports.
It is a further object to provide a method of
constructing such a wall.
A box for trucks and trailers includes an
elongated hollow body having a base, top and two
sides, the top having a longitudinal ridge located
thereon and said base having a longitudinal channel
locating therein, said ridge and channel corresponding
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to one another, with the channel being slightly larger
than said ridge so that a ridge of one piece of tubing
can fit within a channel of another piece of tubing,
said tubing being arranged with one piece on top of
another piece in succession to form a wall, each piece
of tubing having two ends, a plurality of walls
forming a box, said walls being freestanding except
for support means at an end of each piece of tubing.
A method for constructing walls of boxes for
trucks and trailers having a peripheral frame uses
numerous pieces of tubing having an elongated hollow
body with a base, top and two sides. The top has a
longitudinal ridge located thereon and the base has a
longitudinal channel located therein. The ridge and
channel correspond to one another so that a ridge of
one piece of tubing can fit within a channel of
another piece of tubing. The method comprises the
steps of:
(a) placing a first tube along one edge of said
peripheral frame with one of the ridge and
channel resting on said frame;
(b) afflxlng the first tube to the frame in that
posltlon;
(c) placing a second tube on top of said first
tube with a ridge and channel that two tubes
engage with one another;
(d) repeating the placement of successive tubes
until a wall is constructed of desired size;
and
(e) providing support means at an end of each
piece of tubing.
In the drawings:
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Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of
one embodiment of a trailer having walls made of
tubing;
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of
two pieces of tubing that are aligned with one
another; and
Figure 3 is an end view of two pieces of
tubing that are joined to one another.
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In Figure 1, a trailer 2 has a peripheral
frame 4 with cross-supports 6 and two wheels 8 on each
side. The trailer 2 is a goose-neck type that is
designed to be used with a pickup truck. Connecting
means (not shown) is conventional and is located in a
cantilevered front portion 10. The trailer has a
front wall 12, a floor 14, a roof 16 and a rear wall
(not shown) that are all conventional. The trailer
also has two side walls 18, 20 that are constructed of
numerous pieces 22 of tubing in accordance with the
present invention. Each of the walls 18, 20 has vents
24, 26 respectively located therein. It can be seen
that a portion of the wall 20 shown in Figure 1 has
nine pieces of tubing stacked vertically on top of one
another up to the vent 26. There is also one piece of
tubing located above the vent 26.
A rear portion of the trailer is partially
cut- away to better expose an interior of the trailer
and the construction of the side walls. The vents 24,
26 contain vertical supports 28. While the vents are
iocated near the top of each wall, they could be
located further down the wall or there could be two or
more vents located in each wall. At a front of the
wall 20, there is located a doorway 30. The doorway
is conventional as is the door (not shown), which has
been omitted to expose an interior.
The front wall 12 extends only partially up
towards a roof 16 and is made up of aluminum strapping
connected to vertical supports (not shown). The welds
or rivets are depicted by "X"s. The strapping is
welded or riveted to the vertical supports. An
interior 32 of the cantilevered front portion 10 can
be seen above the wall 12. The two lowermost pieces
of tubing on each of the walls 18, 20 are cut-away to
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allow for wheel wells 34, 36. The third lowermost
piece of tubing is partially cut-away. To conserve
tubing, two separate pieces can be used for the
lowermost piece that is welded to the frame leaving a
space in the area where the wheel well is to be
located. The same could be done for the second
lowermost piece.
At a rear of the wall 18, there is located a
U-shaped bracket 38. The bracket 38 is cut off at the
vent 24 but, in a completed trailer, would actually
extend up to the roof 16. The bracket 38 is welded to
an end of the wall 18. A rear frame 40 (only
partially shown) is welded around a rear of the
trailer 2 to provide a basis for the rear wall (not
shown). At a front of the side wall 20, adjacent to
the doorway 30, there is located another U-shaped
bracket 38. Another bracket 38 is located at the
front of the wall 18. A fourth bracket 38 would be
located at the rear of the wall 20 if that wall were
completed. The roof 16 is supported by horizontal
supports 42.
A first (or lowermost) piece 22 of tubing
for each of the walls 18, 20 is preferably welded to
the peripheral frame 4 by welds 44. When the first
piece of tubing is properly welded into position,
successive pieces of tubing can be placed on top of
one another without the use of pre-installed vertical
supports.
In Figures 2 and 3, a first piece 46 of
tubing is located beneath a second piece 48 of tubing.
It can be seen that each piece of tubing has a top 50,
a base 52 and two sides 54, 56. Each piece has a
generally rectangular cross-section with the two sides
being parallel to one another. A longitudinal ridge
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58 is located in the top 50 and a longitudinal channel
60 is located in the base 52. The ridge and channel
correspond to one another and the channel is slightly
larger than said ridge so that the ridge of one piece
of tubing can be inserted into the channel of another
piece of tubing when the pieces are mounted on top of
one another as shown in Figure 3. Both the ridge and
the channel are centrally located, the ridge being
approximately one-third of the width of the top and
the channel being approximately one-third of the width
of the base. Along each ridge, there is located a
bead 62 of caulking. When two pieces of tubing are
mounted on top of one another as shown in Figure 3,
the caulking is compressed to a thin shape, which is
shown in somewhat exaggerated form in Figure 3. While
only two pieces of tubing are shown in each of Figures
2 and 3, additional pieces could be added successively
in the same manner as the two pieces shown to
construct a wall of desired height. Preferably, the
tubing is made from extruded aluminum.
A wall can be constructed in accordance with
the present invention by unskilled labour. Though
other materials are suitable, the tubing is preferably
made from extruded aluminum and unskilled labour can
be used. Space for the wheel wells is preferably cut
from the tubing using a plasma-arc cutting torch. As
the wall is heated to a high temperature, that part of
the wall that is being cut must be well-clamped in
position or, alternatively, aluminum strips can be
welded to an interior of the wall above the wheel well
so that the wall does not buckle or move during the
cutting process.
A wall constructed in accordance with the
present invention has a relatively smooth inner and
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outer surface compared to previous walls with no
rivets. Also, the air space within each piece of
tubing provides an insulative factor, which can be
advantageous in both summer and winter. The caulking
keeps the moisture out of each joint between adjacent
pieces of tubing. The aluminum tubes can be anodized
to protect them from road salt. When anodized
aluminum tubing is welded, the anodizing will wear off
on an outside of the wall being welded. When the
tubing of the present invention is welded, the outside
of each wall being welded is actually located inside
each piece of tubing. Thus, the marks caused by
welding of the anodized tubing are located within the
tubes themselves and are not visible to users of the
~railer.
Since the side walls of a trailer
constructed in accordance with the present invention
are very simple to build, very few mistakes are made
and very little material is wasted. Compared to prior
art trailers of the same size, the labour input to
construct a trailer in accordance with the present
invention is much less.
Tubing of various sizes can be used but a
cross-sectional size of 1" x 6", excluding the ridge,
has been found to be suitable. The fact that the
tubing is hollow provides an insulation factor in the
wall both in hot and cold weather. Trucks and
trailers constructed with the tubing are usually used
to transport farm animals. A preferred caulking is
SILOPREME, a trademark, but other types of caulking,
for example, silicone caulking, are also suitable.
The caulking is not visible in Figure 1 as it would be
IOO small to be noticeable. However, when the wall is
constructed, usually some of the caulking has oozed
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out of each joint along an exterior and an interior ofthe wall. That caulking can simply be wiped away.
The caulking prevents moisture build-up within the
joint and also adds strength to the joint. While it
is preferable to construct a wall with the base of the
tubing at the bottom, the tubing can be inverted so
~hat a wall is constructed with the ridge extending
along the base and the channel extending along the
top.
The wall can be constructed without first
installing vertical supports. When constructed, the
wall has surprising strength even before U-shaped end
brackets are welded into place. The wall presents a
smooth surface both inside and outside. The smooth
surface facilitates the painting of signs or the
attachment of decals in addition to presenting a
pleasant appearance.
