PERFECTED LADDER FOR MOTOR VEHICLES AND ASSEMBLY METHOD THEREOF

A ladder includes a pair of uprights, directed along a prevailing vertical direction. The uprights are connected to each other by at least one cross member, perpendicular to the uprights, directed along a transverse direction, perpendicular to the vertical direction. The cross member acts as a step of the ladder in which the uprights include coupling portions at the upper fixing ends. The coupling portions have two horizontal planes and a vertical joining rib, to present overall a ‘C’ shape, and the coupling portions are provided with at least one fixing hole for inserting at least one fixing bolt of the ladder to an associable chassis.

FIELD OF APPLICATION

The present invention relates to a perfected ladder for motor vehicles, typically for motor vehicles for transporting goods such as, for example, trucks, lorries, trailer trucks, trailers and the like, and the related assembly method of said ladder.

BACKGROUND ART

As known, at the loading compartments or tipper dump bodies, motor vehicles are provided with a ladder to facilitate the climb up to the loading plane, by an operator.

Typically such ladders are provided with one or more steps and are welded to the chassis of the motor vehicle or its loading plane.

Fixed ladders of the prior art are subjected to notable wear and deterioration, also because they are fixed and therefore exposed to atmospheric agents throughout the use of the motor vehicle.

Therefore, with prolonged use, it often happens that one or more steps can get damaged or detached. In this event, the destructive disassembly of the ladder is necessary, which usually takes place by desoldering or cutting the walls of the ladder connected/welded to the chassis of the motor vehicle.

Therefore, in the prior art it was proposed to provide removable ladders that can be removed when not needed, so as to limit the wear and extend the useful life thereof.

However, ladders must be provided which can be assembled and disassembled very quickly, considering that the driver of the motor vehicle must be able to access the loading compartment repeatedly during the use of the vehicle and must not waste time in the ladder assembly and disassembly operations.

At the same time, the removable ladder solutions must also guarantee the necessary safety standards, despite the speed and assembly and disassembly simplicity.

Known solutions cannot guarantee fulfilment of the mentioned requirements for ease of use, assembly and disassembly speed, while complying with adequate safety standards.

PRESENTATION OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the need is felt to solve the drawbacks and limitations stated above with reference to the prior art.

Such a need is met by a ladder according to claim1.

The elements or parts of elements common to the embodiments described below will be indicated using the same numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the aforesaid drawings, a ladder is indicated by numeral4as a whole.

Said ladder4comprises a pair of uprights8,12, directed along a prevailing vertical direction Y-Y, wherein the uprights are connected to each other by at least one cross member16, perpendicular to the uprights8,12themselves.

The cross member16is directed along a transverse direction X-X, perpendicular to said vertical direction Y-Y; the cross member16acts as a step of the ladder4.

Preferably, the ladder4comprises one or two cross members16, i.e. one or two steps.

The uprights8,12comprise coupling portions24at the upper fixing ends20.

Said coupling portions24comprise two horizontal planes28,32and a vertical joining rib36, so as to present overall a ‘C’ shape.

The coupling portions24are also provided with at least one fixing hole40for inserting at least one fixing bolt44of the ladder4to an associable chassis48of a vehicle.

In particular, the coupling portions24are shaped to engage with a side member52of a floor56of an associable vehicle.

According to a possible embodiment, said coupling portions24are at least partially flexible in a vertical Y-Y direction, so as to allow coupling to a side member52of a floor56of an associable vehicle.

In general, the side members52may have various sections and the coupling portions24of the ladder are counter-shaped to said sections. Preferably, the side members have IPE sections, i.e. I-shaped or double T-shaped; alternatively, it is also possible to provide side members having different sections such as, for example, an I-shaped or rectangular section; in the latter case the coupling portions24are counter-shaped with respect to the base and height of said rectangular section.

Preferably, the coupling portions24are arranged symmetrically with respect to a centreline plane M-M of the ladder, perpendicular to said transverse direction X-X.

According to a possible embodiment, the coupling portions24are arranged in such a way as to have the respective vertical joining ribs36in an external position, on the opposite side of the centreline plane M-M, to the corresponding uprights8,12. Such conformation is suitable for chassis48in which the respective side members52are arranged at an enlarged pitch from each other, or anyway a greater pitch than the transverse width of the cross member16of the ladder4.

According to a further possible embodiment, the coupling portions24are arranged to present respective vertical joining ribs36in internal position, on the same side of the centreline plane M-M, as the corresponding uprights8,12. Such conformation is suitable for chassis48in which the respective side members52are arranged at a narrow pitch from each other, or a smaller pitch than the transverse width of the cross member16of the ladder4.

Preferably, said fixing hole40is arranged on each vertical joining rib36of the coupling portions24.

According to a possible embodiment, at least one of said horizontal planes28,32is provided with a recess60. Said recess60is preferably shaped so as to prevent any interference with projecting portions of the chassis48and/or of the side members52.

According to a possible embodiment, said uprights8,12are at least partially elastically flexible, in the transverse direction X-X, so to as allow elastic spreading or squeezing of the coupling portions24along said transverse direction X-X.

The ladder4may be made of any material; preferably it is made of metal material. According to a possible embodiment, the ladder4is made of hot galvanised carbon steel.

The assembly/disassembly of a ladder according to the present invention will now be described.

In particular, the assembly envisages juxtaposing said ladder4to the side members52of the floor56or chassis48of the vehicle, so as to engage each of said coupling portions24to a corresponding side member52.

This step envisages elastically spreading out or juxtaposing the coupling portions24to the side members52in such a way as to allow the ladder4to be fixed to the side members52by means of a shape coupling between the coupling portions24and said side members52and to allow the subsequent insertion of fixing screws or bolts44passing through the fixing holes40and corresponding holes made on the side members52or on parts of the chassis48of the motor vehicle that are adjacent to the side members52.

The juxtaposition ad elastic deformation of the uprights8,12and/or of the coupling portions enables the ladder4to be adapted to chassis48and/or to side members52of different sizes or anyway to consider the possible tolerances of the structures to which the ladder4is to be coupled.

As can be appreciated from the above description, the described solutions allow the drawbacks presented in the prior art to be overcome.

In particular, the ladder according to the present invention can be assembled and disassembled quite practically and quickly by a single operator, without using any specific tools.

The assembly/disassembly operation can be repeated various times during the use of the motor vehicle also on the same day, without this implying any significant slowing down of the loading/unloading of goods.

The ladder is therefore safe in relation to safety standards, while still being removable.

In the event of a step of the ladder breaking, the operator can easily replace the step by simply removing it from the chassis of the motor vehicle, without using any specific tools and without having to destroy/remove any welded parts.

For the purpose of meeting contingent and specific requirements, a person skilled in the art may make numerous modifications and variations to the solutions described above.

The scope of protection of the invention is defined by the following claims.