Truck cover

A truck cover for use with an open top truck body and which can be furled in an open position at the forward end of the body and unfurled into a position covering the open body top. A cover sheet of flexible material is secured at its forward edge to a motor driven assembly disposed at the forward end of a truck body and having a rotatable shaft. The rearward edge of the cover sheet is secured to a spring-loaded frame which normally urges the cover into a rearward position covering the open body top. A plurality of cables are disposed along spaced parallel paths extending the full length of the cover sheet and are slidably attached to the cover sheet by a plurality of rings. The cables are secured at one end at the spring-loaded frame and at the other end to the rotatable shaft. Upon rotation of the shaft in a first direction, the cables are wound onto the shaft, causing the cover sheet to be drawn forward into a furled position. Upon rotation of the shaft in an opposite direction, the cables are unwound from the shaft and the cover sheet unfurled into its position covering the open body top.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to truck covers and more particularly to an improved 
cover for an open box-type truck body. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In trucks having open box-type bodies, such as dump trucks for carrying 
particulate or discrete materials which can fall out of or be blown from 
the open body, truck covers are often employed to enclose the open body 
top to prevent such spillage and litter of the truck contents onto the 
highway and adjoining land. Government regulations often mandate the 
covering of open truck bodies for control of litter. Truck covers are 
generally known, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,515,428, 
3,549,197 and 3,549,199, in which a cover is retractably installed on a 
truck body and movable into open and closed positions. In the truck covers 
of the type shown in the above-noted patents, a cover sheet is rolled onto 
a shaft rotatable by a hand crank. The rearward edge of the cover is 
attached to a spring-loaded frame and upon unwinding of the shaft the 
frame draws the cover over the open truck top. The cover is composed of a 
canvas or other flexible sheet material and is supported only at the 
forward and rearward edges with the result that the cover can flap, 
especially in a strong wind, and can billow upward with the possibility of 
uncovering the truck top and permitting spillage of the truck contents. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In brief, the present invention provides a truck cover of improved 
construction and operation and which remains under controlled tension 
during furling and unfurling and which is secured along its entire length 
in both the furled and unfurled position. The invention comprises a cover 
sheet of canvas or other suitable flexible sheet material of a size and 
configuration to cover the open top of a truck body with which it is 
associated, the cover sheet being slidably attached to a plurality of 
cables extending along spaced parallel paths along the length of the cover 
sheet. An assembly is disposed at the forward end of the truck body and to 
which the forward edge of the cover sheet is attached. This usually 
includes furling means such as a motor driven rotatable shaft to which the 
forward ends of the cables are attached. The rearward ends of the cables 
and cover sheet are attached to a spring loaded frame pivotally attached 
to the truck and operative to urge the cover sheet to a rearward position 
covering the open body top. The cover sheet is slidably attached to the 
cables by a plurality of rings or grommets extending from the underside of 
the sheet. 
In order to open the cover to expose the open body top, the motor driven 
shaft is operated in a first direction to coil the cables onto the shaft 
and draw the cover sheet into a furled position at the forward end of the 
truck body against the urging of the spring-loaded frame. To move the 
cover into its closed position over the body top, the motor driven shaft 
is caused to rotate in its opposite direction to uncoil the cables wound 
therearound and permit the unfurling of the cover sheet under the spring 
action of the frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
The novel truck cover is shown installed on a truck body in FIG. 1 and the 
constructional details of the truck cover are shown in FIGS. 2-5. With 
reference to FIG. 1, the invention comprises a flexible sheet 10 of canvas 
or other suitable material affixed at its forward edge to an assembly 12 
which is attached to the forward end of the box-type truck body 14 
adjacent to the cab 16, and its rearward edge to a frame or bail 18 which 
is pivotally attached to the truck body or chassis and spring loaded to 
draw the sheet rearward over the open top of the body. The forward edge of 
cover sheet 10 is attached in any convenient manner to assembly 12 such as 
by fasteners 20 secured to housing 22 of assembly 12. The rearward edge of 
cover sheet 10 is attached to the horizontal member 24 of frame 18 by any 
suitable means. In its fully rearward position, the cross arm 24 of frame 
18 is disposed generally at the upper rear edge of the truck body. The 
cover 10 is sized to fully close the top of body 14. 
As more particularly shown in FIGS. 2-5, the cover 10 has a plurality of 
rings or grommets 26 disposed along spaced parallel paths extending along 
the length of the cover. A steel cable 28 or other cord of suitable 
strength is slidably threaded through the rings 26. The rings typically 
are D-shaped with the flat side fastened to the cover 10. In the 
illustrated embodiment a first cable 28a is disposed in a generally 
U-shaped path with the free ends affixed to a rotatable shaft 30 of 
assembly 12, and the opposite end of the cable being threaded through 
rotatable pulleys 32 attached to frame member 24. A second cable 28b is 
similarly affixed at its ends to the shaft 30 and threaded through rings 
26 and pulleys 32 affixed to frame member 24. It will be appreciated that 
the number of parallel cable paths can very and will depend upon the 
length and width of the particular cover. 
The assembly 12 at the forward end of the truck cover includes a motor 
drive 29, typically a reversible electric motor, coupled to rotatable 
shaft 30 which is rotatable within bearings provided at the respective 
ends of the assembly housing. The assembly 12 includes a horizontal 
support member 34 which is attached to the forward end of the truck body 
by verticle support posts 36. 
The frame 18 includes horizontal cross member 24 to which the rearward edge 
of cover 10 is attached, and downwardly extending legs 38 and 40 on 
respective opposite sides of the truck body. The lower ends of legs 38 and 
40 are pivotally attached to respective brackets 42 affixed to body 14 or 
to the truck chassis. A spring assembly 44 is attached to the pivotally 
connected end of each leg 38 and 40 and is operative to urge the frame to 
a full rearward position. The spring assembly 44 is itself of well known 
form and can be of adjustable tension to suit the particular cover 10. 
In operation, the motor 29 can be operated in a forward or reverse 
direction to furl and unfurl the cover 10 over the open top of the truck 
body. The motor can be operated by an appropriate switch provided for 
example in the cab of the truck. During forward rotation of the motor, the 
shaft 30 is caused to rotate in a forward direction causing the cables 28 
to be coiled onto the shaft and causing the cover to be drawn to the 
forward end of the truck body. The frame assembly 18 remains rearwardly 
urged by the spring assemblies 44 to maintain tension on cables 28 and 
cover 10 as it is being furled. The cover can not flap or otherwise become 
unwieldy during the furling operation by reason of the controlled tension 
on cables 28. As the cover is being furled, the cables 28 pass through 
slots 38 provided in the housing of assembly 12, the slots being of a 
width to prevent passage of rings 26 such that the cover 10 tends to form 
a series of folds 40 over the housing, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. 
In order to unfurl cover 10 into its position covering the open top of body 
14, the motor 29 is operated in its reverse direction, causing rotation of 
the shaft in a reverse sense and causing uncoiling of cables 28 wound 
therearound, the rearward edge of the cover being drawn toward the rear of 
the truck body by the spring action of frame 18. During unfurling of the 
cover, the spring loaded frame again maintains tension of the cover such 
that the cover is smoothly and efficiently drawn rearward into its covered 
position over the open body. When fully unfurled, the cover sheet is 
retained throughout its length by the longitudinally extending cables 28 
and associated rings 26 to prevent any significant flapping or bulging of 
the cover. 
It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made in 
implementing the invention without departing from the true scope of the 
invention. For example, the assembly 12 can include a shaft rotatable by 
different means, such as a hand crank, than the electric motor drive 
illustrated. Similarly, the spring loaded frame can assume a variety of 
forms for securing the rearward edge of the cover sheet. The frame need 
not necessarily be spring loaded but can be drawn rearward in order to 
unfurl the cover by a manually applied force on the frame or rearward edge 
of the cover sheet. Accordingly the invention is not to be limited except 
as indicated in the appended claims.