Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02574568 2007-01-19
739/45512/441
INTEGRATED REAR IMPACT GUARD AND PINTLE HOOK ASSEMBLY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to an integrated pintle hook and rear impact guard
structure
which is secured to the rear underside of a dry freight van trailer in a
releasably securable
manner.
It is known in the prior art to have dry freight van trailers which include
pintle hooks and
rear impact guards, however, these pintle hooks and rear impact guards are
typically welded to
the dry freight van trailers for installation. Welding of the pintle hooks and
rear impact guards
requires substantial assembly time, fabrication effort and fabrication cost
and results in the pintle
hooks and rear impact guards being permanently secured to the trailer.
Therefore, it would be
desirable to have a pintle hook and rear impact guard structure which is
secured to the rear
underside of a dry freight van trailer in a manner other than welding. The
present invention
provides such a pintle hook and rear impact guard structure as it is
configured to be secured to
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the dry freight van trailer in a releasably securable manner such that
assembly time, fabrication
effort and fabrication costs may be substantially reduced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly, and in accordance with the foregoing, the invention provides an
integrated rear
impact guard and pintle hook assembly which can be releasably secured to the
rear underside of a
trailer by a plurality of fastening members. The rear impact guard and pintle
hook assembly is
secured to roadside and curbside slide rails and rear bumper brackets of the
trailer under the rear
door frame sill, preferably by bolts. No welding is required for securement of
the rear impact
guard and pintle hook assembly to the trailer. The rear impact guard and
pintle hook assembly
includes a rear impact guard which is formed of the rear bumper brackets and a
bumper which is
attached to the rear bumper brackets at their lower ends. The rear impact
guard and pintle hook
assembly further includes a pintle hook main channel which is connected at its
opposite ends to
the rear bumper brackets, a pintle hook mount which is connected to the pintle
hook main
channel at a center thereof, and a pintle hook mount plate which is secured to
the pintle hook
main channel. A pintle hook may be secured to the pintle hook mount and to the
pintle hook
mount plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are described in
detail
hereinbelow. The organization and manner of the structure and operation of the
invention,
together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood
by reference to the
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following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings
wherein like
reference numerals identify like elements in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tractor and a trailer;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a floor structure of the trailer of FIG. 1
connected to a
baserail of the trailer;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a rear impact guard and pintle hook assembly
which
incorporates features of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook assembly;
FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook
assembly;
FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook
assembly;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook assembly
secured to
a rear portion of the floor structure of the trailer;
FIG. 8 is an alternative perspective view to FIG. 7 of the rear impact guard
and pintle
hook assembly secured to a rear portion of the floor structure of the trailer;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook
assembly being
secured to a rear portion of the floor structure of the trailer;
FIG. 10 is an alternative perspective view to FIG. 3 of the rear impact guard
and pintle
hook assembly;
FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook
assembly;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook
assembly taken
along line 12-12 of FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the rear impact guard and pintle hook
assembly taken
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along line 13-13 of FIG. 11;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an intercostal;
FIG. 15 is a front elevational view of the intercostal;
FIG. 16 is a side elevational view of the intercostal;
FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a roadside bumper bracket utilized in the
rear impact
guard and pintle hook assembly;
FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the roadside bumper bracket;
FIG. 19 is a front elevational view of the roadside bumper bracket;
FIG. 20 is a side elevational view of the roadside bumper bracket;
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a curbside bumper bracket utilized in the
rear impact
guard and pintle hook assembly;
FIG. 22 is a top plan view of the curbside bumper bracket;
FIG. 23 is a front elevational view of the curbside bumper bracket;
FIG. 24 is a side elevational view of the curbside bumper bracket;
FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a spacer utilized in the rear impact guard
and pintle hook
assembly;
FIG. 26 is a front elevational view of the spacer;
FIG. 27 is a side elevational view of the spacer;
FIG. 28 is a perspective view of a pintle hook main channel utilized in the
rear impact
guard and impact hook assembly;
FIG. 29 is a front elevational view of the pintle hook main channel;
FIG. 30 is a side elevational view of the pintle hook main channel;
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FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a pintle hook mount utilized in the rear
impact guard and
impact hook assembly;
FIG. 32 is a front elevational view of the pintle hook mount;
FIG. 33 is a side elevational view of the pintle hook mount;
FIG. 34 is a perspective view of a pintle hook mounting plate utilized in the
rear impact
guard and impact hook assembly; and
FIG. 35 is a front elevational view of the pintle hook mounting plate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT
While this invention may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms,
there is shown
in the drawings and will be described herein in detail, a specific embodiment
with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an
exemplification of the principles
of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that as
illustrated.
An integrated rear impact guard and pintle hook assembly 20 is provided for
use on a rear
end of a trailer 22. The assembly 20 is formed as a separate unit from the
trailer 22 and can be
secured onto the trailer 22 after assembly in a releasably securable manner.
This reduces the cost
of providing a pintle hook 24 on the trailer 22 by reducing assembly time.
Fabrication effort and
cost are also reduced.
As best illustrated in FIG. 1, the trailer 22 includes a body formed from a
pair of
rectangular sidewalls 26, a front wall 28, rear frame 30 and the associated
doors (not shown), a
roof structure 32, and a floor structure 34. A pair of conventional slide
rails 36, see FIGS. 8 and
9, are attached beneath the floor structure 34 in a conventional manner. A
conventional slidable
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rear undercarriage assembly 38 is mounted in a conventional manner to the
slide rails 36. A
landing gear 40 is secured underneath the front of the floor structure 34. The
floor structure 34
and a lower portion of each sidewall 26 are secured to a respective baserail
42 which extends the
length of the trailer 22. The baserails 42 are preferably formed of aluminum,
which may be
extruded. The roof structure 32 and an upper portion of each sidewall 24 are
secured to a
respective top rail 44 which extends the length of the trailer 22. The top
rails 44 are preferably
formed of aluminum, which may be extruded. The trailer 22 can be connected to
a tractor 46 by
conventional means, such as a fifth wheel assembly, at its front end.
The baserail 42 is formed of a vertical wall 48 which has a generally
horizontal flange 50
extending perpendicularly therefrom. The sidewall 26 is attached to an upper
portion of the
baserail 42 by suitable means.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the floor structure 34 includes a plurality of
spaced apart cross-
members 52 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 2) attached to the baserail 42.
Each cross-
member 52 is mounted to the baserail 42 by an end clip 54 at the opposite ends
of the cross-
member 52. Each cross-member 52 is integrally formed from an I-beam that
includes an upper
horizontal wall 56, a lower horizontal wall 60 and a vertical bridge wall 58
extending between
the upper and lower walls 56, 60 at the midpoint thereof. Each cross-member 52
extends across
the width of the trailer 22 and a floor (not shown) generally sits on the
upper surface of the cross-
members 52.
The end clip 54 is a plate. As shown, the end clip 54 is square, but the end
clip 54 may
take other forms. Apertures are provided, such as by punching, through the end
clip 54 to allow
bolts to pass therethrough to connect the end clip 54 to the baserail 42.
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A floor seal 62 is attached to the baserail 42 by bolts, is mounted on top of
the cross-
members 52, and extends along the length of the trailer 22. The floor seal 62
captures an end of
the floor so that the floor is secured to the floor seal 62.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, four gussets 64 (only two of which are shown in the
drawings) are provided on each of the cross-members 52. Two gussets 64 are
provided along the
roadside of the trailer 22, and two gussets 64 are provided along the curbside
of the trailer 22.
The gussets 64 aid in preventing deflection of the cross-members 52 and
therefore provide
stability for the cross-members 52. As illustrated in FIG. 9, each gusset 64
is formed from a
vertical wall 66 which is attached to the respective vertical bridge wall 58
and an angled wall 68
which angles away from vertical bridge wall 58 and end adjacent to the outer
end of the lower
horizontal wall 52. The vertical wall 66 is welded or otherwise secured to the
vertical bridge
wall 58.
On each side of the trailer 22, an intercostal 70 is provided between the
gussets 64
mounted on the last two cross-members 52 which are the ones closest to the
rear frame 30. As
shown in FIGS. 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 rear edge. The front and
rear edges mirror the
shape of the gussets 64 and, therefore the front edge includes a front upper
vertical edge 76 and a
front lower angled edge 78, and the rear edge includes a rear upper vertical
edge 80 and a rear
lower angled edge 82. The ends of the upper horizontal edge 72 sit under the
upper horizontal
walls 56 of the adjacent cross-members 52, the front and rear vertical edges
76, 80 sit against the
vertical walls 66 of the adjacent gussets 64, the front and rear angled edges
78, 82 sit against the
angled walls 68 of the adjacent gussets 64, and the lower horizontal edge 74
sits on the upper
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surface of the upper end of the slide rail 36.
The slide rails 36, shown in FIG. 8, are connected to the underside of the
cross-members
52 at spaced apart positions, and extend generally along the length of the
trailer 22. As is known
in the art, the slide rails 36 are elongated members with a plurality of
spaced apart apertures 79
therethrough. This allows the undercarriage assembly 38 to be secured to the
slide rails 36 at a
variety of positions as is known in the art.
At the rear end of the trailer 22, the rear frame 30 forms a rectangular
opening into which
the rear doors (not shown) are provided. As is known in the art, the rear
frame 30 includes an
elongated horizontal sill 84, a pair of vertical posts (not shown) that extend
upwardly from the
opposite ends of the sill 84, and an elongated horizontal top member (not
shown). The posts are
connected to the respective sidewalls 26 by known means. The opposite ends of
the sill 84 are
connected to the respective baserails 42 by known means. The opposite ends of
the top member
are connected to the respective top rails 44 by known means.
As is known in the art, the sill 84 has an fantail 86 and a base plate 88
attached to the
underside of the fantail 86. The fantail 86 has a vertical rear wall 90, a
vertical front wall 92, a
top wall 94 which connects the upper ends of the rear and front walls 90, 92,
and a lower wall 96
which connects the lower ends of the rear and front walls 90, 92. The top wall
94 is formed of 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 front wall 92, and a vertical
wall 102 which
connects the rear wall portion 98 to the front wall portion 100. The front
wall portion 100 is
stepped downwardly from the rear wall portion 98. Along a center portion of
the fantail 86, the
bottom wall 96, and the lower ends of the rear and front walls 90, 92 are
cutaway to form an
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offset with the remainder of the fantail 86. On each end of the fantail 86,
the base plate 88 is
attached to the underside of the bottom wall 96 and follows the contour
thereof. In the center
portion of the fantail 86, the base plate 88 is attached to the bottom end of
the rear wall 90 and
follows the contour thereof. Along the sides and rear of the trailer 22, the
base plate 88 extends
outwardly from the perimeter of the fantail 86.
Proximate to each side of the cutaway in the fantail 86, a vertical bumper
support member
104 (only one of which is shown) extends downwardly from the horizontal sill
88, thereby defining
a roadside bumper support member and a curbside 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 sidewalls
connecting the rear and front walls. On one side of the trailer 22, the
gussets 64 are aligned with
the roadside vertical bumper support member 104; on the other side of the
trailer 22, the gussets
64 are aligned with the curbside bumper support member.
The integrated rear impact guard and pintle hook assembly 20 is best
illustrated in FIGS.
3-13 and 17-35 and generally includes a rear impact guard 106, a pintle hook
main channel 108,
a pintle hook mount 110, and a pintle hook mount plate 112. The assembly 20 is
formed as a
separate unit from the trailer 22 and is mounted on the trailer 22 after
assembly. The assembly
has very few parts and is easy to assemble. The components are formed of
metal.
The rear impact guard 106 includes a pair of spaced apart vertical bumper
brackets 114
and a horizontal bumper 116 which is mounted to the lower ends of the bumper
brackets 114.
20 As illustrated in FIGS. 17-24, each bumper bracket 114 is formed from a
rear wall 117,
an end wall 118 which extends forwardly from a first side of the rear wall 117
and terminates in a
free end, a rear sidevvall 120 which extends forwardly from the second
opposite end of the rear
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wall 117, an angled wall 122 which extends from the opposite end of the rear
sidewall 120 to a
forwardly extending front sidewall 124. The front sidewall 124 terminates in a
free end. The
rear wall 117, the end wall 118 and a rear portion of the rear sidewall 120
form a recess into
which the respective bumper support member 104 is mounted. The rear wall 117
has apertures at
its upper end provided therethrough which allow fastener members 125, such as
bolts, to pass for
attachment to the rear wall of the bumper support member 104.
The front sidewall 124 has apertures at its upper end provided therethrough
which allow
fastener members 127, such as bolts, to pass for attachment to the respective
slide rail 36 by a
spacer 126. The spacer 126 is provided between the respective slide rail 36
and the front portion
of the front sidewall 124 to reduce the size of the apertures 79 provided
through the slide rail 36
for proper mating with the front sidewall 124. As illustrated in FIGS. 25-27,
the spacer 126 is a
generally rectangular plate with a plurality of spaced apertures 128 therein.
The spacer 126
mates with the respective slide rail 36 and with the respective front sidewall
124. On each side
of the trailer 22, the front sidewall 124 extends forwardly such that the
intercostal 70 is provided
above the forward end of the front sidewall 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, the end wall 118 and a rear portion of
the rear sidewall 120
by suitable means, such as welding.
As illustrated in FIGS. 28-30, the pintle hook main channel 108 is generally
formed as a
"hat" shape and is connected at its ends to a forward portion of the rear
sidewall 120, the angled
wall 122 and the front sidewall 124 of the bumper bracket 114. The cutaway in
the sill 84 forms
a clearance to allow the pintle hook main channel 108 to be mounted at the
appropriate position.
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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 lower horizontal wall 136
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 defmed by the
upper horizontal
wall 132, the intermediate vertical wall 134, and the lower horizontal wall
136. A pair of spaced
apart recesses 142a, 142b are provided through the upper vertical wall 130 and
the upper
horizontal wall 132, equidistantly spaced from the center of the channel 108.
As illustrated in FIGS. 31-33, the pintle hook mount 110 is formed as a
generally U-
shaped member having a rear wall 144 and a pair of sidewalls 146a, 146b which
extend
forwardly from opposite sides thereof. A rearward portion 145a, 145b of the
sidewalls 146a,
146b have an upper edge which angles downwardly to a front portion 147a, 147b
which has an
upper edge that is horizontal. As shown, the rear wall 144 has a large central
aperture 150 and
four smaller apertures 152 proximate to the central aperture 150. The front
portions 147a, 147b
seat within the groove 139 of the pintle hook main channel 108 such that the
forward edge of the
mount 110 abuts the intermediate vertical wall 134. The rearward portion 145a,
145b extends
through the recesses 142a, 142b provided in the pintle hook main channel 108.
As a result, the
pintle hook mount 110 is positioned at the centerpoint of the pintle hook main
channel 108 and is
secured thereto by suitable means, such as welding.
As illustrated in FIGS. 34 and 35, the mounting plate 112 is a flat plate that
has apertures
154, 156 which mirror the apertures 150, 152 provided in the rear wall 144 of
the pintle hook
mount 110. The mounting plate 112 is attached at its upper and lower ends to
the upper and
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lower vertical walls 130, 138 of the pintle hook main channel 108 such that
the apertures 154,
156 align with the apertures 150, 152 through the pintle hook mount 110. A
conventional pintle
hook 24, for example the Premier 270 pintle hook, is mounted to the mounting
plate 112 by bolts
which extend through the pintle hook 24, through the apertures 156 in the
mounting plate 112
and through the apertures 152 in the pintle hook mount 110.
While specific apertures 150, 152, 154, 156 are shown through the pintle hook
mount 110
and the mounting plate 112, it is to be understood that different aperture
arrangements may be
provided to accommodate different pintle hooks which are to be mounted
thereto.
A safety hook loop 158 is also provided in the assembly 20. The safety hook
loop 158 is
a steel member which is used to hook to safety chains as is known.
Because the integrated rear impact guard and pintle hook assembly 20 is formed
as a
separate sub-assembly and then bolted onto the trailer 22, there is no welding
to attach the pintle
hook 24 to the trailer 22. This makes the assembly of the trailer 22 and the
pintle hook 24 very
easy.
The assembly 20 also has a number of other advantages. The assembly 20 can
accept
both Premier 270 and Premier 470 pintle hooks. Premier 270 pintle hooks use
four bolts for
mounting while the Premier 470 pintle hooks use eight bolts for mounting. The
assembly 20 also
meets all requirements of the TTMA RP 6-01 and SAE J849 Standards. The
assembly 20 further
= as mounting locations for electrical 7-way connector and air system
gladhand mounting. The
assembly 20 further incorporates a new trailer rear underride structure that
meets all requirements
of the Canadian CMVSS 223 Safety Standard. All components of the assembly 20
are also
optimized for minimum self weight.
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Agent Ref: 102506/00007
CA Appl: 2,574,568
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set
forth in the
examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the
description as a whole.
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