Vehicle construction

An enclosure adapted for use on a trailer or a vehicle flat bed comprising at least two panels on each side of the trailer, one end of the first panel of each side being hingedly connected to the trailer, or an extension therefrom, the panels being hingedly connected to each other, the other ends of the second panel of each side being connected to a frame assembly which extends across the width of the trailer, the frame assembly being adapted for selective movement along the trailer whereby the panels can be moved from a first position, where they are located along the side of the trailer, to a position where the panels on each side extend across the trailer and are in face to face relationship.

This invention relates to a vehicle construction and, particularly, to 
enclosures for use on trailers or vehicle flat beds. 
There are applications where it is essential that a trailer or vehicle flat 
bed, hereinafter for convenience called a trailer, needs to be enclosed. 
Two specific areas are when the trailer is to be used as a stock crate, 
where the animals being transported have to be securely enclosed, or, when 
it is to be used as a bulk grain bin. Another use can be when it is to be 
used as an enclosed goods carrying vehicle. 
Heretofore, when trays were to be used for these purposes they were 
normally dedicated to the purposes. Thus, if, say, a trailer was to be 
used as a stock crate, and this example will be used throughout the 
remainder of the specification but without in any way limiting the 
generality of the application of the invention, then it was normally set 
up permanently as a stock crate. This was quite satisfactory, of course, 
when it was loaded with animals, but, when, say, the animal cargo has been 
discharged, it was difficult, if not commercially infeasible, to load the 
vehicle with any other goods as the only way of loading was through the 
rear and this prevented, say, loading of pallets from the side. 
Thus, on most occasions, crates, when not carrying animals, were driven 
empty and it will be appreciated that, on occasions, this could mean 
travelling hundreds or thousands of kilometers with no load whatsoever. 
Such crates were, on occasions, removeable, particularly where used on 
smaller vehicles, but this did not basically overcome the problem, 
although it did enable the owner of the vehicle to remove the stock crate 
and use the trailer as a flat tray vehicle. However, if the vehicle was 
any distance from its depot, it would still, of course, be necessary to 
travel empty as the crate must, normally, be returned to the depot. 
It is the principal object of this invention to provide an enclosure for a 
trailer which enables the conventional use of the trailer but which can 
readily be resited to permit at least a substantial part of the total area 
of the trailer to be used as a tray vehicle. 
A further object is to provide a vehicle fitted with such an enclosure. 
The invention, in its broadest sense, provides an enclosure adapted for use 
on a trailer or a vehicle tray comprising at least two panels on each side 
of the trailer, one end of the first panel of each side being hingedly 
connected to the trailer, or an extension therefrom, the panels being 
hingedly connected to each other, the other ends of the second panel of 
each side being connected to a frame assembly which extends across the 
width of the trailer, the frame assembly being adapted for selective 
movement along the trailer whereby the panels can be moved from a first 
position, where they are located along the side of the trailer to a 
position where the panels on each side extend across the trailer and are 
in face to face relationship. 
Preferably one of the panels connected to the trailer or tray has its 
connection in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the trailer or 
tray forwardly or rearwardly of the other and the other panel of each pair 
is connected to the frame assembly rearwardly or forwardly of the other, 
whereby, when the panels are in the second position, the panels fold so 
that they do not foul or come into contact with each other. 
Preferably the frame assembly is provided with a wheel assembly on each 
side thereof, the wheel assembly being adapted to be constrained to move 
along a track on the trailer or tray and being moveable from a first 
position where the wheel is in contact with the track and can rotate 
relative thereto, to a second position where it is out of such contact and 
the frame assembly is fixed. 
Preferably there are a number of frame assemblies between each pair of 
which there are two panels on each side, the panels being moveable, as 
described hereinbefore. 
The invention also relates to a vehicle having an enclosure of the type 
hereinbefore described located thereon. 
In order that the invention may be more readily understood, we shall 
describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, one particular form 
of trailer made in accordance with the invention and certain possible 
modifications thereof.

Referring now to the Figures the enclosure of the invention is effectively 
modular and we shall first describe the fitting and location of a first 
module 20 to a trailer 10 and then the location of further modules. 
Whilst the first module 20 will be stated to be at the front 21 of the 
trailer, it will be appreciated that the invention can equally well be 
applied if the first module terminates at the rear of the trailer, or it 
would be possible, but we believe possibly not commercially satisfactory, 
to have the effective connection point in the centre of the trailer. 
At the forward end of the trailer we provide a frame 22 which can be 
permanently or removeably connected to the front of the trailer. As this 
frame has to bear load forces, we prefer to make it of a truss, the cord 
23 of which effectively terminates along the front of the trailer, with 
the remainder 24 extending forwardly therefrom. 
We may prefer to provide extensions from the forward end of the trailer to 
which this truss is connected so as to provide a strut or restraint 
against turning moments. 
This frame 22 may be made of metal components sheathed with a sheeting 
material, for example of angle iron with metallic sheet attached thereto, 
but, as will be described hereinafter, different forms of construction are 
perfectly satisfactory. 
This frame 22 is adapted to have a panel 30, 31 hingedly connected, each to 
one side thereof, the panels 30, 31 being first of a pair of panels, the 
other panels of the pair being panels 32, 33. 
The panels of each pair are hingedly connected together, at 34, 35 and the 
free end of the second panels are, in turn, hingedly connected to a frame 
assembly 40. The actual construction of the panels is not critical to the 
invention but they may be of metal rods, bars or the like or be metal 
framed and have a sheathing. 
On one side of the front member, the hinge 36 to which the adjacent panel 
is connected can be considered effectively at the inner forward edge of 
the member, whereas, on the other side, there is rearwardly directed 
extension 37, to the free end of which a hinge 38 is connected. 
The length of the extension 37 is such as to be slightly longer than the 
thickness of two panels when they are sandwiched one against the other, as 
will be described more fully hereinafter. 
At the point of connection to the frame assembly 40, the panel 33 on the 
side which has the extension 37 at the front member is connected by hinge 
42 to the inner surface of the frame assembly, whereas the panel 32 on the 
other side is connected by hinge 43 to a forward extension 41 from the 
frame assembly, which extension 41 is of the same length as the rearward 
extension 37 from the other side of the front member. It will be seen 
thus, that the arrangement, in plan, is rectangular with the hinges 36, 42 
on one diagonal being at the corners and the hinges 38, 43 on the other 
diagonal being spaced rearwardly and forwardly from the adjacent corner by 
the same amount. 
This arrangement is such that, inward movement of the panels about their 
centre hinges 34, 35, causes the frame assembly 40 to move forwardly, and 
this forward movement is continued so that each pair of the panels 30, 32 
and 31, 33 move about their connection hinges 34, 35 towards each other in 
such a way that movement continues until the panels 30, 32 on the side 
where they are directly pivotally connected to the front member 23 assume 
a position where the inner surface of the first panel 30 effectively abuts 
the front member 23 and the second panel 32 abuts what was the outer 
surface of the first panel 30 and the panels 31, 33 on the other side 
adopt a similar position but spaced rearwardly of the first panels 30, 32 
because of the rearward extension 37 to which the forward hinge 38 is 
connected. 
The frame assembly 40 also adopts a similar, but mirror image, position 
relative to the panels, that is that the two sets of panels are located 
one ahead of the other with the rearward panel 33 abuts the frame assembly 
40 and its adjacent panel 31 and the other panels 30, 32 being spaced 
therefrom with this being achieved by the forward extension 30, 32 on the 
frame assembly 40. 
This position is best illustrated in FIG. 5 and it can be seen that the 
frame assembly 40 is in a position spaced from the front member by a 
spacing which is of the order of thickness of the four panels. 
As illustrated, the length of each of the panels is more than half the 
width of the trailer and, in order to ensure that the folding operation is 
controlled, instead of hinge 35 between panels 31, 33 being a simple 
hinge, we prefer to make it a composite hinge having links 45 which are 
hingedly connected between the end of panel 31 and part way along the 
length of panel 33. 
The hinge 34 between panels 30, 32 is a simple hinge. 
This arrangement permits the panels 30, 32, on movement about their hinge 
34, to move inwardly prior to the inward movement of the panels 31, 33 as 
these panels can initially adopt a position which is delayed forward 
movement because of the movement of the link 45. 
The various stages of movement can be seen from the chain-dashed lines on 
FIG. 4. 
When the panels are completely folded, as illustrated in FIG. 5, it will be 
seen that the panels 31, 33 closely abut and the hinge 46 is inwardly 
directed. The hinge 47 and the link 45 lie parallel with the panel 33. 
If the length of each panel is less than half of the width of the vehicle, 
which for a semi-trailer normally be between 2.4 and 2.5 meters, being the 
maximum allowable width, the arrangement can be as illustrated in FIGS. 6 
and 7 and is such that the panels, in fact, can be located side by side 
rather than one behind the other. In this case the hinges 34, 35 can both 
be simple hinges and it will be seen that there is no necessity for the 
provision of the rearward extension 37 from the frame 22 or the forward 
extension 41 from the frame assembly 40. 
If the effective length of the panels between adjacent frame members is to 
be longer than that illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, we may use an assembly 
similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. 
In this arrangement the forward panel 30 is formed of two panels 50, 51 
which are hingedly connected together at 52, whilst the panels 31, 33 are 
effectively identical to those panels as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, as is the 
hinge and link connection used therebetween. 
In this construction the frames 22, 40 are, of necessity, provided with 
extension members 37, 41. 
As can be seen from FIG. 8, the folding movement of this form of 
construction is relatively complex but, nevertheless, the front face of 
the components comprising panel 30 terminate in a position abutting the 
front member 23 and the final position, illustrated in FIG. 9, can be seen 
to be effectively identical to the arrangement shown in FIG. 5, with the 
exception that the degree of overlap of the panels is substantially 
greater than in the earlier figure. 
It will be seen from consideration of the three different embodiments that 
the invention is basically flexible in the spacing between frame members 
along the length of a semi-trailer. 
It will be appreciated that, in some applications, it is preferred to have 
these frame members more closely located than in other applications and 
the required spacing, once determined, determines the actual form of 
panels to be adopted. 
Whilst we have described herein the physical movement of the components, it 
will, of course, be appreciated that, in order to effect this, the frame 
assembly 40 must be able to move relatively freely along the length of the 
trailer. At the same time, the assembly must be stable in both the 
extended and closed or folded position, and easy to move between these 
positions. 
FIGS. 10 to 13 illustrate the arrangement adopted. 
We provide, along the coaming 60 of the vehicle, on each side, a rail 61, 
and, at the lower side of the frame, we prefer to provide an angle member, 
one flange 62 of which, when at rest, abuts the top of the rail and the 
other flange 63 inside wall 64 thereof. 
It will be appreciated that as the two sides of the frame assembly are 
effectively identical, the two downwardly directed flanges 63 of the angle 
members prevent undesired lateral movement of the frame. 
In order to permit easy movement of the frame, we provide a cam member 70 
above the angle member which comprises an inner cylindrical member 71 of a 
first, larger, diameter, journalled in the frame and adapted to be 
rotatable therewith and which has extending outwardly therefrom a smaller 
diameter cylindrical member having its axis displaced from the axis of the 
larger member. 
This smaller diameter member carries a guide wheel assembly 75 which may 
have a downardly directed flange 76 on its outer surface and which is 
adapted to rest on the top of the rail 61 with the flange 76 extending on 
the outer side thereof. 
Depending on the position of the larger diameter member relative to the 
smaller diameter member, so the effective height of the smaller diameter 
member above the base of the frame assembly varies and the arrangement can 
be such that, when this height is at its maximum, as illustrated in FIGS. 
12 and 13, the wheel 75 is not in contact with the rail 61 and the frame 
assembly 40 is located. 
If, however, the cam member is rotated, the effective height of the axis of 
the wheel drops, the wheel 75 comes into load bearing contact with the 
rail 61 and lifts the frame assembly 40. When this is done on each side, 
the frame 40 is then free to move along the rail and is prevented from 
untoward axial movement by the flanges 63 of the angle members 62 on the 
inner surfaces and the flanges 76 of the wheels 75 on the outer surface. 
Thus, by simple rotation of the two cam members 70 associated with the 
frame assembly 40, so the frame assembly can be put into a condition where 
it can be freely moved either forwardly, to cause a folding movement of 
the panels, or rearwardly, to cause the panels to unfold. 
In each case, when the frame has reached its required position, further 
rotation of the cam assembly causes the frame to seat on the rail 61 and 
the wheel 75 to be moved out of contact therewith. 
At this time, by use of bolts, clamps or the like, not illustrated, the 
assembly can be locked. 
As previously stated, the construction of a single module was described to 
enable ascertainment of the method of operation of the invention but it 
will be appreciated that these modules can be repeated with the rear of 
the frame assembly 40 being effectively the same as the front member, and 
so on. This can readily be seen from FIG. 4. 
Over the length of a semi-trailer we may, as illustrated, provide four 
individual modules or pens each, say, 3 meters long, giving a total length 
of crate of approximately 12 meters. 
In this case, in order to fold the crate it is only necessary to release 
the retaining means which hold the units to the trailer, rotate the cam 
members 70 associated with each pair of panels and commence to move the 
whole assembly forwardly. Each pair of panels then folds as described in 
respect of the single module. 
We have found that this folding operation can readily be done by users. 
When each of the frame members has been moved forwardly and the folding 
completed, the whole of the crate is compressed into a substantially small 
volume having a base length, say, of the order 1.2 to 1.5 meters. This is 
well illustrated in FIG. 3. The assembly can then be locked. 
This then leaves the remainder of the tray of the trailer free to able to 
be loaded from either side, thus overcoming the previous disadvantage of 
being effectively unable to back load with stock crates. 
Also, because the amount of space occupied when in the folded condition is 
relatively small, it may well be economic to leave the crate in situ on 
most occasions and, thus, should a stock load become available for back 
loading, it is only necessary to reform the crate by unfolding the panels. 
The frame assemblies 40 may take any required form. 
For example, they could be open or, if required, could be closed and be 
provided with gates so that animals can be held in relatively restricted 
areas. This, of course, is most desirable if only a partial load is being 
carried. 
Also, it may be desirable to provide means whereby the enclosure is 
stabilised when in its extended condition. 
Several different methods may be used for this. 
The first is to provide bow members which are adpated to extend across the 
width of the trailer and, preferably, these can fit into sockets provided 
adjacent the hinge pins of the panels, whereby each individual pair of 
panels is held at a required position against either outward or inward 
movement. One such bow member 80 is shown in FIG. 2. 
Any such bow members must be removed before the assembly is closed, but as 
they have a width equivalent only to the width of the vehicle they can 
readily be stored. 
In an alternative arrangement we may provide tension wires or the like, for 
example, to provide a triangle associated with each compartment defined 
between two frame assemblies with direct interconnection between the 
sides. 
These would give the required stability against outward movement but would 
basically not have to be removed when the assembly is being folded. 
Another way of ensuring stability is to provide a catwalk, or catwalk 
lengths, which can connect over the top of the panels to serve a dual 
purpose of ensuring that the panels are retained in their extended 
position but, at the same time, permitting the operator ready access for 
inspection of the interior of the trailer. One such catwalk length 81 is 
shown, for exemplification, in FIG. 2. 
Further, whilst we said that it was basically feasible for users to close 
and open the enclosure of the invention, it may be preferred that a hand 
or power winch be provided which can effect both the opening and closing 
operation and it will be appreciated that by using a winch this could 
readily be done by one person. 
If required, it would be feasible to provide a second sheep deck, or even a 
second cattle deck, by providing the deck members in a removeable or 
hinged form, the decks being removed or folded before the enclosure is 
folded. If such an arrangement was provided, it may be necessary to modify 
the assembly so as to provide storage space for the deck members. 
For example, it would be feasible to slightly extend the forward and 
rearwardly directed members to provide additional space for the stowage of 
the deck components. 
FIG. 14 shows a modified form of panel arrangement which is particularly 
applicable for some applications. 
For example, it may be required that the contents of the trailer, when it 
is used for back loading, should be surrounded, say to permit the location 
of a tarpaulin or the like thereover, or, and more particularly, it may be 
necessary to meet the requirements of the law, that the contents be 
surrounded. This is specifically the case where, if a trailer is being 
used to carry bricks, as bricks are not, at the present time, permitted to 
be exposed when being transported. 
To now, it has been necessary to provide removeable gates to encompass such 
loads but, by modification of the embodiment previously referred to, it is 
possible to fully load the trailer whilst, at the same time, using the 
stock crate as a surround. 
This is done by permitting the panels of at least the forward module to be 
able to be alternatively hinged, as described earlier herein, or for the 
hinges 34, 35 to be alternatively disconnected to permit the panels to be 
hinged outwardly about the hinges 36, 38, 42, 43. This possibility is 
shown in chain-dash lines in FIG. 14. 
If this can be done, it will be seen that it would be possible to load the 
trailer of the vehicle, when it is in the condition shown in FIG. 3, 
provided the loading effectively commences behind the point marked 100. 
That is effectively three-quarters of the trailer of the vehicle could be 
loaded with material on pallets or the like. 
When loading is completed, the stock crate is then formed by moving the 
frame members 40 rearwardly which, in turn, causes the panel members to 
open out until the condition illustrated in FIG. 1 is achieved. 
At this time, then, the load is fully surrounded by the stock crate but the 
front quarter of the trailer is empty. 
If, however, the forward panels 30, 31, 32, 33 are rotated outwardly by 
disconnection at their hinges 34, 35, then the forward 25% of the trailer 
can be loaded from the side by a fork lift or the like and, when this is 
loaded, then the panels are returned to their hinged condition previously 
described. 
When the trailer is to be unloaded, it is necessary that the operation be 
reversed, that is that the forward panels are swung open so that the 
forward portion of the trailer can be unloaded, at which time, the normal 
closing operation can be effected. Once this is done, the other 
three-quarters of the load is exposed and can be removed. 
It will be appreciated that, if required, the various pairs of panels can 
be permitted to open in this way so that, when the crate is about the 
trailer but general cargo is required to be removed from the trailer, then 
any required panel pair can be opened to give access to the trailer. 
As indicated earlier in this specification, the particular materials of 
construction are not part of the invention. 
Whereas steel angles and other components are satisfactory, the assembly 
could be fabricated from steel pipe or it could be fabricated from sheet 
material without framing, and this method is the most likely one if 
aluminium is to be used. These sheet members would need to be folded and 
provided with means whereby the hinge member assemblies could be connected 
and this, of course, is a conventional working of such materials in the 
art. 
The invention could also be applied to foldable containers in applications 
other than on vehicles. For example, if a grain bin was occasionally 
required in a building or stock pens were on occasions required in an area 
where permanent yards would be undesirable, the enclosure of the invention 
could be used. 
Whilst we have illustrated, for example in relation to FIGS. 5, 7 and 9, 
pluralities of identical panels, it will be appreciated that the types of 
panels can be mixed on the one vehicle, providing the opposite pairs of 
panels are the same.