ARRANGEMENT IN LORRY DROPSIDES

Abstract: The invention relates to a lorry dropside which at the short side engaging with a platform stanchion in the raised position of the dropside has a bolt (14) which is fixed in a channel and movable between a retracted position and a position in which it engages with the platform stanchion, while simultaneously pivoting an eye (22) between a swung-in inoperative position and a swung-out position in which it is adapted to receive a so-called TIR rope. The bolt (14) and the eye (22) are so interconnected (at 18, 19, 25) that neither the bolt nor the eye can move independently of the other, which means that the bolt cannot be moved out of engagement with the stanchion as long as the TIR rope extending through the eye (22) prevents the eye from swinging.

Description: ARRANGEMENT IN LORRY DROPSIDES The present invention relates to an arrangement in lorry dropsides swingable between a lowered position and a raised position, in the latter position with a portion along each short side of the dropside resting against an abutment flange on the inside of platform stanchions or the like arranged on both sides of the dropside, at least one locking device being mounted on an attachment plate adjacent to each of said short sides and movable into a locking position in which a locking means engages with the adjacent platform stan¬ chion, and an inoperative position in which said locking means is out of engagement with the platform stanchion, yokes or eyes being provided for receiving a fastening rope, a so-called TIR rope. Lorries in international traffic often carry their pay-load under a canvas cover supported by platform stanchions with canvas cover-supporting posts. The canvas cover can be pulled down over the raised dropsides resting against the platform stanchions, and eyelets provided in the canvas cover near the lower edge thereof are slipped over projecting eyes on the dropsides and stan¬ chions, whereupon a TIR rope is passed through all the eyes around the platform and sealed. Under the TIR Con¬ vention, some eyes must be so connected to the mechanism locking the dropsides to the platform stanchions that the dropsides cannot be disengaged from the stanchions as long as the TIR rope stays in the eyes. A variety of eye constructions have been developed for this purpose. In the design most frequently used, the locking eyes are pivotally mounted in the platform stanchions and so connected with the dropside locking device on the stanchions that the locking device cannot be operated as long as the TIR rope extending through the eyes prevents the eyes from being pivoted into the stanchion. This construction usually functions well enough but has the disadvantage of being fairly expensive. Besides, special stanchion dimensions are required. The object of the present invention is to provide a less expensive and, above all, a more universally useful construction by placing the eyes not on the stan¬ chions, but on the dropsides. The invention is thus characterised in that a yoke or eye for receiving the TIR rope is mounted on the attachment plate and movable between a rope-receiving position and an inoperative position by means of said locking device via a coupling which prevents movement between the said positions of said yoke or eye independently of said locking device, and vice versa. The invention will now be described in more detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings illus¬ trating embodiments. Fig. 1 is a lateral view of the arrangement according to the invention in a first posi¬ tion, and Fig. 2 is a similar view of the arrangement in a second position. Figs 3 and 4 show the main parts of the arrangement. Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line V-V in Fig. 1, and Figs 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views along lines VI-VI, VII-VII and VIII-VIII, respec¬ tively, in Fig. 2. in the embodiment shown in Figs 1 and 2, the ar¬ rangement according to the invention is in the form of a sliding bolt. The bolt has two main parts, viz. an attachment plate 10 adapted to be anchored to the dropside adjacent to the short side thereof, and a bolt 14 slidable on said attachment plate (Figs 3 and 4). The attachment plate 10 comprises a sheet metal member with step-like flanged longitudinal edges 11, as is best seen from Figs 7 and 8. The attachment plate 10 has openings 12 for receiving attachment means, and a U-shaped groove 13 which is formed with upwardly flanged edges and whose end portions are bent at right angles first in a direction away from one another and then in a forward direction so that they will again extend parallel to the U legs, as shown in Figs 4 and 6. The bolt 14 also is in the form of a sheet metal member with flanged longitudinal edges 15 adapted to be pushed over the upwardly flanged edges 11 of the attachment plate 10, as will appear from Figs 7 and 8. One end of the bolt 14 is bent out of the bolt plane (Figs 3, 5 and 6) to form a handle 16. The bolt has an approxi¬ mately central opening 17 with three straight sides and one side in the form of a circular arc and located adjacent to the handle 16. Two elongate openings 18, 19 are formed on both sides of the opening 17 and on the side of the opening opposite to the handle 16. In the center of the short side opposite to the handle 16, the bolt 14 has a slot 20 directed towards the opening 17 and adapted to center a pin 21 which forms a latch bolt and is welded to the wall portion surrounding the slot 20, as will appear from Figs 1 and 2. A further essential part of the arrangement according to the invention is the eye 22 which is in the form of a U-shaped yoke 23, the leg end portions 24 of which are bent away from one another in the plane of the U, as shown in Figs 7 and 1. The ends 25 of these portions 24 are bent in the same direction out of the plane of the U (perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in Figs 1 and 7 ) . On mounting, the yoke 23 is inserted between the attachment plate 10 and the bolt 14 after the latter has been partly pushed onto the former, and the yoke ends 25 bent in the same direction now project through the openings 18, 19 in the bolt 14 when the U-shaped portion lies in the groove 13 and the portions 24 lie in the groove portions facing away from one another, as is shown in Fig. 1. Since the openings 18, 19 are elongate, the bolt 14 can be moved into the position shown in Fig 1, in which it covers most of the yoke 23 forming the eye 22. In this manner, the eye 22 will be safely protected and prevented from swinging out unintentionally. The position of the bolt relative to the attachment plate 10 as shown in Fig. 1, is the re¬ tracted bolt position from which it can be pushed toward the right in Fig. 1. First, the bolt opening 17 is moved in over the yoke 23 into register therewith so that the ends of the openings 18, 19 adjacent to the opening 17 abut against the upwardly projecting yoke ends 25, and the yoke 23 is positively pivoted out of the opening 17 into a position perpendicular to the front side of the bolt 14. The yoke 23 is now turned about the oppo¬ sitely bent end portions 24 in the oppositely directed portions of the groove 13 (Fig. 4), and the yoke ends 25 are turned down into the end portions of the groove 13 which are perpendicular to the oppositely directed portions of the groove 13 and extend parallel to the U legs of the groove 13. The bolt 14 is now locked, the yoke 23 forming the eye 22 extending perpendicular therefrom, as shown in Fig. 2. If the yoke 23 is not locked, it can be pivoted back into initial position adjacent to the attachment plate 10 by pulling the locking bolt 14 in the opposite direction, whereby the straight forward end edge of the opening 17 will be urged against the yoke 23 which then is pivoted downwardly, simul- taneously as the ends are swung upwards out of the end portions of the groove 13 and into the openings 18, 19 of the bolt. As will ' appear from Figs 5 and 6, the arrangement according to the invention is mounted in a channel 34 or recess formed in the platform dropside 26 adjacent to the short side thereof which, throughout its vertical extent, is provided with an abutment section 28 adapted to engage with a flange on the platform stanchion 29 when the dropside 26 has been raised. The arrangement is fixed to the bottom of the channel or recess by means of screws or rivets 27, such that there are no parts sticking out, and the entire arrangement thus lies within the outer boundary plane of the dropside. Moreover, the arrangement is mounted at such a distance from the abutment section 28 that the locking pin 21 in the re¬ tracted position of the bolt 14 is inside the hollow space of the section 28, and the dropside 26 can be lowered. When the bolt is moved into the locking position, the pin 21 enters the stanchion via an opening 35 in the stanchion wall. Now the yoke 23 is swung out, as has been described before, and its dimensions are such that it will also project out of the channel 34 by a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the TIR rope which then is passed through the yoke. After the rope has been passed through the eye 22, the eye cannot by pivoted by means of the edge of the opening 17, and consequently also the locking pin 21 cannot be disengaged from the stanchion 29. Although this is not the main object of the in¬ vention, it is, of course possible to make the end of the locking pin 21 projecting into the stanchion act upon a locking device mounted in the stanchion and locking the dropside 26 to the stanchion 29, for example in that the pin 21 prevents any relative movement of an operating handle on the stanchion and the stanchion locking lugs engaging with the dropside 26. It will be appreciated that the arrangement according to the invention can be modified in many ways, in par¬ ticular the connection of the eye 22 with the bolt 14; the essential thing is that both of these parts cannot be displaced independently of one another so that the rope extending through the eye effectively prevents disengagement of the bolt from the stanchion. Locking devices other than sliding bolts may also be used, for example a rotatable disc with peripherally projecting locking members.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An arrangement in lorry dropsides (26) swingable between a lowered position and a raised position, in the latter position with a portion (28) along each short side of the dropside resting against an abutment flange on the inside of platform stanchions (29) or the like arranged on both sides of the dropside (26), at least one locking device (14) being mounted on an attachment plate (10) adjacent to each of said short sides and movable into a locking position in which a locking means (21) engages with the adjacent platform stanchion (29), and an inoperative position in which said locking means (21) is out of engagement with the platform stanchion (29), yokes or eyes (22) being provided for receiving a so-called TIR rope, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that a yoke or eye (22) for receiving the TIR rope is mounted on the attachment plate (10) and movable between a rope-receiving position and an inoperative position by means of said locking device (14) via a coupling (18, 19, 25) which prevents movement between the said positions of said yoke or eye independently of said locking device, and vice versa. 2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i s e d in that the attachment plate (10) with the locking device (14) is replaceably mounted on the bottom of a channel (34) or recess in the dropside (26) within the outer flat side plane of the dropside, and that but a portion of the yoke or eye (22) protrudes from the channel (34) when the yoke is in the protruding rope-receiving position. 3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the locking device (14) is in the form of a bolt movable towards and away from the adjacent platform stanchion (29), and the locking means (21) is a latch bolt fixedly connected to said bolt, c h a r a c t e r - i s e d in that the eye (22) is formed by a U-shaped portion whose end portions are flanged at right angles away from each other in the plane of the U, said end portions having outer ends bent in the same direction out of the plane of the U, said eye being positioned in a groove (13) in the attachment plate (10) with the flanged ends (25) projecting upwardly through openings (18, 19) in the bolt (14) to be actuated by the walls defining said openings (18, 19) in order to swing the eye (22) upon displacement of the bolt (14). 4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 3, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i s e d in that the bolt (14) is formed with a through opening (17) which has the same shape as the eye (22) and which, when the bolt is moved toward the locking position, can be made to register with and to project through the eye (22), and which, when the bolt (14) is moved in the other direction, is adapted with one edge to push and swing the eye (22) toward the posi¬ tion along the attachment plate (10), the openings (18, 19) adapted to receive the ends of the eye (22) which are bent out of the plane of the U, being elongate such that the bolt (14) can be pulled in over the eye (22), after the latter has been swung down into the position along the attachment plate (10). 5. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the platform stanchion (29) has a dropside locking lug operable by means of a handle, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i s e d in that the bolt locking pin (21), in the posi¬ tion in which it engages with the platform stanchion (29), is adapted to prevent any relative movement of the handle and the locking lug.

Inventors: ANDERSSON RAGNVALD, ANDERSSON, RAGNVALD
Applicants: ARMATON AB
Application year: 1988
Main classification: B62D27
IPC codes: B60J7