Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02214910 1997-09-08
LIGHT WEIGHT TRAILER WALLS WITH SMOOTH SURFACES
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Technical Field
The subject invention is related to light
weight panels that form the walls of a cargo trailer
and more particularly to extruded hollow panels that
are connected together to form an inside wall
10 surface in a continuous vertical plane and an
outside surface in a continuous vertical plane.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Trailers and cargo bodies mounted on
trucks have employed walls with a variety of
different constructions. The construction used has
been dependent on the material to be transported,
weight restraints, material available for wall
construction, cost, available fabrication equipment,
customer demand and other factors. Little or no
consideration has been given to repairability.
Purchasers do not expect to damage the walls of
their trailers and truck bodies so minimal
consideration has been given to repairability.
25 The walls of many trailers have internal
vertical frame members and an outside sheet metal
cover connected to the frame members. Where weight
is not a paramount consideration the inside can be
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lined with plywood. Plywood panels can be removed
and replaced as required. When weight is a
consideration, a sheet metal cover also lines the
inside of the frame. To reduce problems caused by
water leaks some manufacturers have installed metal
sheets that extend from the front to the rear on
both the inside and the outside. If one of the
outside metal sheets is damaged, it may be necessary
to remove all the rivets from an inside sheet to
obtain access to the rivets for the outside sheet,
replace the outside sheet and then reattach the
inside sheet. Removal and replacement of rivets is
a time consuming and costly process. Making sucr a
repair may exceed ten percent of a cost of a new
trailer and take several days to complete. The
rivets employed in wall construction can damage
cargo packages and cargo at times. With thin metal
panels, the heads of rivets cannot be countersunk.
There are trailers and truck mounted cargo
containers that have frame or stake members that are
exposed on the outside and have metal panels secured
to the inside surfaces. These trailers can be
repaired and are relatively light weight. However,
the exposed stake members create substantial wind
2~ resistance, reduce fuel mileage and increase
operating cost. A moisture leak around any of the
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rivets connecting the inside metal panels to the
stakes may lead to water damaged cargo.
The walls of trailers have also been made
from one piece fiberglass reinforced plywood (FRP)
panels. These panels have a plywood core encased in
a tough reinforced resin cover. Many of the
drawbacks of the above described trailer wall
constructions are eliminated by the FRP panels.
They have sufficient strength to eliminate stakes
and other reinforcing members. The surfaces of the
panels are smooth on the inside and outside.
Unfortunately FRP panels also have major
disadvantages. They are heavy, difficult to ship
and expensive. Special handling equipment is
required to assembly a trailer with wall panels that
can be over 8 feet high, 60 feet long, heavy, and
have slick surfaces. If an FRP panel is damaged and
has to be replaced it will most likely have to be
returned to the factory where it was built for
repair or at least to a facility that has equipment
similar to the equipment found in the factory.
SU~LMARY OF THE INVENTION
2S An object of the invention is to provide a
trailer with walls constructed from a plurality of
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interlocking panels. Another object of the
invention is to provide a trailer with walls
constructed from a plurality of panels that form a
smooth continuous inside surface and a smooth
continuous outside surface. A further object of the
invention is to provide a trailer with walls
constructed from interlocking panels which permit
disengagement and replacement of a damaged panel
while both ends of the wall remain secured to the
l0 trailer. A still further object of the invention is
to provide interlocking joints between wall panels
With double seals and an internal drain passage to
eliminate the passage of water between the panels.
The trailer has a frame with a plurality
of cross members. Bottom rails are attached to each
side of the frame and to the front of the frame. A
plurality of vertical interlocking panels are
secured to the bottom rails. Top rails are attached
to the top portions of the panels on each side of
the frame and on the front of the frame.
The vertical interlocking panels are
hollow extruded members. Each panel has an outside
wall, an inside wall, a first end wall and a second
end wall. A first vertical outside flange and a
first vertical inside flange are both integral with
the ffirst end wall. A second vertical outside
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flange and a second vertical inside flange are
integral with the second end wall. Two panels which
are interlocked and fastened together have the first
inside flange of one of the two panels between the
second outside flange and the second inside flange
of the other panel and have the second inside flange
of the other panel between the first inside flange
and the ffirst outside flange of the one panel.
Mechanical fasteners that pass through the first and
second outside flanges hold a surface of the first
outside flange in a plane that includes an outside
surface of each of the two panels and holds a
surface of the second outside flange in a plane that
includes an inside surface of each of the two
panels. When two panels are secured together as
described the first inside flange is spaced from the
second inside flange and a passage is formed between
the first and second inside flanges and the adjacent
first and second end walls. This passage provides a
discharge channel for any foreign matter that enters
the joint between two adjacent panels and protects
cargo carried in the trailer. The fasteners that
pass through the first and second outside flanges of
two adjacent panels have ends that are fully
received in countersuAk bores in the outside
flanges. With the fastener heads in countersunk
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bores, inside and outside surface of the panels are in
parallel spaced apart planes. The surface of each plane is
flat smooth and essentially continuous.
The normally spaced apart inside flanges allow
panels to pivot about vertical axis relative to each other
when fasteners are removed from three or more adjacent
panels. Removal of the fasteners from several panels will
allow sufficient movement to release one or more panels for
replacement or repair.
A broad aspect of the invention provides a wall
for a trailer having an inside surface in a first vertical
plane and an outside surface in a second vertical plane
comprising a plurality of interconnected panels each of
which is a hollow extruded member with an inside wall having
an inside wall surface in said first plane, an outside wall
having an outside wall surface in said second vertical
plane, a first vertical end wall integral with a first edge
of the inside wall and a first edge of the outside wall, a
second vertical end wall integral with a second edge of the
inside wall and a second edge of the outside wall, a first
outside flange integral with the first end wall, a first
inside flange integral with the first end wall, a second
outside flange integral with the second end wall, a second
inside flange integral with the second end wall, and wherein
the first inside flange of a first panel is positioned
between the second inside flange and the second outside
flange of a second panel, the second outside flange of the
second panel is positioned between the first inside flange
and the first outside flange of the first panel, and a
plurality of mechanical fasteners passing through the first
outside flange of the first panel and the second inside
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flange of the second panel and holding a surface of the
second inside flange in the first plane and holding a
surface of the first outside flange in the second plane and
wherein the first inside flange and second outside flange
are spaced apart.
Another broad aspect of the invention provides a
trailer having a frame supported by at least one axle
assembly; a least one bottom rail attached to the frame; at
least one top rail supported by the frame; and a plurality
of vertical panels secured to said at least one bottom rail
and to said at least one top rail; each of said panels
comprising an inside wall, an outside wall parallel to and
spaced from the inside wall, a first vertical end wall
integral with a first side of the inside wall and the
outside wall, a second vertical end wall integral with a
second side of the inside wall and the outside wall; a first
outside flange integral with the first vertical end wall and
having an outside surface in a common plane with an outside
surface of the outside wall, a second inside flange integral
with the second vertical end, wall and having an inside
surface in a common plane with an inside surface of the
inside wall, a first inside flange integral with the first
end wall and having an inside surface in a vertical plane
that is parallel to and spaced from an inside vertical plane
containing the inside surface of the inside wall, a second
outside flange integral with'the second end wall and having
an outside surface in a vertical plane that is parallel to
and spaced from an outside vertical plane containing the
outside surface of the outside wall, and wherein the space
between the first outside flange and the first inside flange
exceeds the thickness of the first inside flange in a
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direction transverse to the inside and outside vertical
planes, and wherein the space between the second outside
flange and the second inside flange exceeds the thickness of
the second outside flange in the direction transverse to the
inside and outside vertical planes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other advantages of the present invention will be
readily appreciated as the same become better understood by
reference to the following detailed description when
considered in connection with the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a semi trailer
having walls constructed from hollow extruded panels;
Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of
the trailer shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a
trailer wall taken along line 3-3 in Figure 1
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showing a panel and a portion of a panel secured to
each edge of the panel;
Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to
Figure 3 with the fasteners removed from one of the
joints between two adjacent panels.
Figure 5 is an enlarged section view of a
trailer wall taken along line 5-5 in Figure 1; and
Figure 6 an enlarged side elevation view
with parts broken away showing the connection
between wall panels and the bottom rail.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The trailer 10 as shown in Figure 1 is a
semi trailer with a frame 12 supported by two axle
assemblies 14 and 16 at the rear. The front part of
the frame 12 is supported by a landing gear assembly
18 as shown. While transporting cargo, a vertical
king pin (not shown) under the frame 12 and forward
of the landing gear assembly 18 is attached to a
fifth wheel on a towing vehicle. The towing vehicle
supports the front of the trailer and the landing
gear assembly 18 is retracted.
The frame 12 includes a plurality of I-
beam cross members 20-shown in Figures 2 and 5. The
trailer 10 has a right side wall 22, a left side
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wall 24 and a front wall 26 supported by the frame
12. A door frame 30 is supported by the frame 12 at
the rear of the trailer 10. Hinges 32 pivotally
attach a right door 34 to the door frame 30. Hinges
36 pivotally attach the left door 38 to the door
frame 30. The doors 34 and 38 are in an open
position f or unloading as shown in Figure 1. The
floor assembly 40 of the trailer 10 as shown in
Figures 1 and 2 is a reciprocating floor conveyor
assembly 42.
Reciprocating floor conveyor assemblies 42
as shown in Figure 2, include a plurality of fore
and aft extending guide tubes 44 fixed to the cross
members 20. Bearings 46 are attached to the guide
tubes 44. Floor slats 48 are slidably supported by
the bearings 46. Every third floor slat 38 is an A
group slat and is attached to the first drive beam
50. Floor slats 48 in the B group are attached to
the second drive beam 52. Floor slats in the C
group are attached to the third drive beam 54.
Hydraulic cylinders (not shown) move all three drive
beams 50, 52 and 54 to the rear simultaneously to
. move all floor slats 48 to the rear and carry cargo
supported by the slats to the rear f or discharge.
The floor slats 48 are in a rear position as shown
in Figures 1 and 2. The third drive beam 54 is then
52435-1
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moved forward and away from the door frame 30 while
the first and second drive beams 50 and 52 remain
ffixed. Cargo supported by the floor slats 48
remains f i~;ed with the stationary slats in the A and
S B groups. A second drive bar 58 is then moved
forward taking the B group floor slats to the front
while the A and C groups remain stationary. The
first drive bar 50 is then moved forward along with
the attached A group of floor slats 48 while the B
and C group floor slats remain fixed. The three
drive beams 50, 52, and 54 are then ready to be
moved to the rear simultaneously taking all the
floor slats 48 and cargo with them and starting the
conveying cycle over. The conveying cycle continues
until the trailer 10 is unloaded. Operation of the
hydraulic system for driving the first, second and
third drive beams and the attached floor slats a8 is
a}:plained in my U.S. Patent No. 5,301,798.
The cargo supported by the floor slats 48
is moved in the desired direction by friction
between the floor slats and the cargo. The inside
surfaces of the side walls 22 and 24 must be flat
and smooth to ensure that they do not hold cargo
when the floor slats 48 are moved to the rear as
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described above. It is also desirable for the
inside surfaces of the walls 22, 24 and 26 to be
smooth and flat to prevent damage to cargo when it
is being transported between a loading station and
an unloading station.
A mounting plate 56 is provided with
integral connector plates 58 as shown in Figure 5.
The connector plates 58 are secured to the ends of
cross members 20 by huck bolts 60. The mounting
plate 66 can be a single plate extending the full
length of the trailer 10 or it can be a series of
short plates extending between cross members 20.
If the mounting plate 56 is a single plate, the
connector plates 58 can be welded to the mounting
plates or attached by mechanical fasteners. If the
mounting plate 56 is a series of short plates
extending between cross members 20, the connector
plates 58 can be bent at 90° angles from each end of
each short plate. A mounting plate 56 extends the
full length of each side of the trailer l0 and
across the front of the trailer.
A bottom rail 62 is secured to each
mounting plate 56. The bottom rail 62 as shown in
Figure 5 is an extruded member with a small
positioning flange 64-that sits on top of the
mounting plate 56. A top flange 66 is connected to
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the floor assembly 40 to provide an edge seal
between the wall 22, 24 or 26 and the floor
assembly. The connection between the top flange 66
and the floor assembly 40 depends upon the floor
construction used. A floor with slats 48 as
described above will have a portion of a floor slat
attached to the top flange 66. A trailer 10 with a
wood floor will have screws or other fasteners
passing through the flange 66 and into the wood.
Trailers 10 with fixed metal floor assemblies 40 may
have the top flange 66 welded to the floor.
The bottom rail 62 also has an outwardly
extending bottom flange 68. The bottom flange 68
supports the walls 22, 24, and 26 of the trailer 10.
In addition to providing support, the bottom flange
68 also protects the bottoms of the walls 22, 24 and
26 and helps keeps liquid from damaging cargo
transported in the trailer 10.
The walls 22, 24, and 26 of the trailer 10
are made from a plurality of vertical extruded
panels 70 shown in Figure 3 and 4. Each panel 70 is
hollow and has an outside wall 72, and inside wall
74 a first end wall 76 and a second end wall 78.
Intermediate walls 81 an 83 interconnect the outside
wall 72 and the inside wall 74 between the first and
second end walls 76 and 78. The intermediate walls
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81 and 83 reinforce the outside and inside walls 72
and 74 and increase the strength of each panel 70.
The number of intermediate walls 81 and 83 employed
can be decreased or increased as required depending
upon the width of each panel 70.
A first outside flange 80 and a first
inside flange 82 are integral with the ffirst end
wall 76. The first outside flange 80 extends from a
bottom 84 to a top 86 of each panel 70 and has an
outside surface 89 in a common plane with the
outside surface 88 of the outside wall 72. The
first inside flange 82 is spaced from and parallel
to the first outside flange 80.
A second outside flange 90 and a second
inside flange 92 are integral with the second end
wall 78. The second outside flange 90 extends from
the bottom 84 to the top 86 of each panel 70 and has
an outside surface 94 in a common plane with the
outside surface 96 of the inside wall 74. The
second inside flange 92 is spaced from and parallel
to the second outside flange 90.
The vertical panels 70 are attached to
each other by rivets 98 as shown in Figures 3 and 4.
The first inside flange 82 is positioned between the
2~ second outside flange-90 and the second inside
flanges 92. The second inside flange 92 is
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positioned between the first outside flange 80 and
the first inside flange 82. The rivet 98 holds the
first outside flange 80 against the second inside
flange 92 and holds the outside surface 89 of the
first outside flange in a common plane with the
outside surf ace 88 on an adjacent vertical panel 70.
The rivet 98 also holds the first inside flange 92
against the second outside flange 90 and holds the
outside surf ace 96 of the inside wall 74 in a plane
with the outside surface 94 of the second outside
flange 90. In the position described there is a
substantial space between the first and second
inside flanges 82 and 92 that in combination with
the adjacent first and second end walls 76 and 78
forms a passage 99 that extends from the top 86 to
the bottom 84 of two adjacent panels 70.
Seals are created wherein an edge 100 of
the first outside flange 80 contacts the second end
wall 78 of an adjacent panel 70. ~ seal is also
created where the first outside flange 80 contacts
the second inside flange 92 of the adjacent vertical
panel 70. Seals are also created at the contact
between the first end wall 76 and the edge 102 of
the second outside flange 90 and between the first
inside flange 82 and the second outside flange 90 of
an adjacent vertical panels 70. Over hundreds of
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thousands of miles of travel over rough roads and
the application and release of forces against the
inside walls 74 by cargo, some of the four seals
described above may leak. If there is leakage, it
will be carried away by the passage 99. The bottom
flange 68 of the bottom rail 62 covers the exit to
the passages 99 but does not create a seal. Any
liquid in the passages 99 will leak out. The bores
106 and 108 through the first outside flange 80 and
the first inside flange 82 are in alignment and have
a countersunk portion 110 in the first outside
flange. The bores 112 and 114 through the second
outside flange 90 and the second inside flange 92
are in alignment and have a countersunk portion 116
in the second outside flange. The heads 118 and 120
of the rivets 98 are fully contained in the
countersunk portions 110 and 116 and have surfaces
that are in the plane of the outside surfaces 88 or
96 of the outside wall 72 or the inside wall 74.
The vertical wall panels 70 are attached
to the bottom rail by Huck bolts 122. These buck
bolts 122 are adjacent to the intermediate walls 81
and 83 and the large heads 124 of the huck~bolts
overlap the intermediate walls so that they can be
tightened and not deform the walls 72 or 74 of the
panels 70. If desired spacers could be provided
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between the inside wall 74 and the outside wall 72
f or the passage of buck bolts 122. With spacers,
the buck bolts 122 would not be limited to positions
adjacent to the intermediate walls 81 and 83. The
hock bolts 122 pass through the bottom rail 62 as
well as the mounting plate 56 to provide maximum
strength and to facilitate removal of panels 70 for
repair or replacement. Hock bolts 126 are
preferably used in place of the rivets 98 to connect
to panels 70 to each other and to the bottom rail 62
below the top of the I-beam 2o to facilitate the
removal for replacement or repair of a panel 70.
A top rail 130 is attached to the top 86
of the panels that form the sidewalls 22 and 2Q and
the front wall 26 of the cargo compartment of the
trailer 10. The top rail 13D is attached to the
vertical panels 70 by hock bolts 132 as shown in
Figure 5. These buck bolts 132 are placed adjacent
to the intermediate walls 81 and s3 and pass through
the interlocked first and second outside and inside
flanges 80, 90, 82, and 92 like the buck bolts 122,
and 1~6 that connect the panels to the bottom rail
62. A lip 13~ on the top rail 130 covers the top 86
of the panel 70 and closes the upper end of the
passages in each pane. The top rails are also
attached to the door frame 30. Corner sections are
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provided f or connection of the side walls 22 and 24
to the front wall 26.
A damaged panel 70 can be removed by
removing the buck bolts 122, 126, and 132 and the
rivets 98 from at least three of the panels 70. The
spacing between the ffirst inside flange 82 and the
second inside flange 92 permits one panel to be
angled relative to an adjacent panel as shown in
Figure 4. Angling between three and six panels 70
will provide sufficient space to disengage the
inside and outside flanges 80, 82, 90 and 92 at one
connection between two adjacent panels. Then one or
more of the panels 70 can be removed and replaced by
new panels. The rivets 98 and the Huck bolts 122,
126 and 132 can be replaced and the trailer walls
will be in new condition again. With this system, a
damaged panel 70 can be replaced with minimal tools
and equipment to return the trailer to like new
condition in a few hours or less rather than a few
days.
The panels 70 are preferably extruded
aluminum. Each panel 70 is up to l0 feet or so long
and 8 to 16 inches wide. However, the primary
limitations on panel width 70 is the capacity of the
extruding machine that makes the panels. The hollow
spaces formed in the panel 70 could be filled with a
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foam like insulation material if desired_ The foam
would increase panel strength and provide some
thermal protection for cargo. Additional cargo
protection could be provided by attaching a top to
the top rail 130 if an open top is not required for
loading.
The panels 70 could also be extruded from
a reinforced resin if desired. Some resin
reinforced with carbon fibers or other high strength
l0 fibers have substantial strength and would be
suitable for trailer walls. It is possible to
extrude a panel 70 from a plastic material and
provide a foam type core at the same time.
Obviously, many modifications and
variations of the present invention_are possible in
light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to
be understood that within the scope of the appended
claims the invention may be practiced otherwise then
as specifically described.
