A COVER FOR THE BODIES OF TRUCKS AND SIMILAR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Abstract: The body (1) of a truck is covered by a number of rigid sections (4, 5, 6) hinged one to the next and forming an assembly that attaches to the body by way of a system of rods, levers and links enabling movement between a closed position, in which the sections are rested flat on the top edges (3) of the body (1), and a fully open position in which the sections are folded back to the point where the the entire assembly (2) is removed outside of the boundary established by the top edges (3), leaving the overhead loading space totally unobstructed.

Description: The invention relates to a cover for the bodies of trucks and other commercial vehicles. Such a cover is intended specifically, though by no means exclusively, for the bodies of road vehicles assigned to the bulk transportation of pollutant matter, in particular the by-products and waste from livestock slaughter. Materials of the type in question are loaded loose into the body of the truck from above, using either crane type hydraulic loaders with which the trucks themselves are often provided, or on-site handling equipment such as lift trucks, buckets or scoops, or from silo hoppers, etc.. With loading effected in this manner, the truck must be provided with a body that affords a completely open top, at very least while the operation is in progress, whereas offloading generally involves tipping back the body and dumping the contents to the rear. Once loaded, at all events, the body must be fully covered over, though at the same time, coverings must be easily removable in view of the need to effect successive loading operations. US-A-4585266 (corresponding to the preamble of claim 1) shows a cover for commercial vehicles whereby it consists of a first section 246 and a second section 248 articulated one with the other and forming an assembly 202 permanently associated with the truck body by way of a folding system comprising: a rod 286, hinged by one end to the truck body 204 at a point on one side below the top edge 302, and fixed by its remaining end to the front of the first section 246 at a point on the edge opposite the articulated rearward edge; at least one actuator 292, by which the first and second sections 246, 248 are caused to rotate in relation to one other about their common axis of articulation 276; whereby the rod is proportioned and positioned in such a way as to enable moment of the entire cover assembly 202 between a closed limit position, in which the sections 246, 248 are unfolded and rest completely on the top edges 302 of the body 204, and a fully open folded position in which the entire cover 202 lies outside the boundary of described by the top edges of the body, and the space above the opening thus exposed is left totally obstructed. Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a simple and effective remedy to the problems outlined above. The stated object is achieved by the features of claim 1, i.e. by adoption of a cover, which is intended for truck bodies, in particular, and where by it consists in a first section and a second section articulated one with the other and forming an assembly permanently associated with the truck body by way of a folding system comprising: a rod, hinged by one end to the truck body at a point on one side below the top edge, and by its remaining end, to the rear of the first section at a point on the edge opposite from the articulated forward edge; a lever, hinged by a first end to the truck body at a point adjacent to the top edge, and pivotably connected at an intermediate distance along its own length to the first section, at a point near to the articulated forward edge; a link, hinged by one end to the remaining end of the lever, and by its other end, to the second section at a point set apart through a prescribed distance from the axis of articulation between the first and second sections; at least one actuator, through and by which the first and second sections are interconnected and caused to rotate in relation to one another about their common axis of articulation. According to the invention, the rod, lever and link will be proportioned and positioned in such a way as to enable movement of the entire cover assembly between a closed limit position, in which the sections are unfolded and rest completely on the top edges of the body, and a fully open folded position in which the entire cover lies outside the boundary described by the top edges of the body and the space above the opening thus exposed is left totally obstructed. The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which: fig 1 is a schematic illustration of the invention viewed in side elevation; fig 2 a is detail of the cover shown in fig 1 which illustrates an intermediate position assumed during operation; fig 3 is a detail of the cover of fig 1 showing the cover folded back completely and leaving the body of the truck fully open. With reference to the drawings, 1 denotes the body, in its entirety, of a truck for bulk transportation of abattoir by-products and waste. The truck body 1 consists substantially in a metal bin, provided with a vertical rear panel, or tailgate, that can be opened for dumping purposes. 2 denotes a cover, in its entirety, fashioned in such a way as to sit on the top edges 3 of the body and thus ensure a tight fit; to this same end, the edges 3 might be fitted with a suitable seal in flexible material. In the example illustrated, the cover 2 is embodied in three rigid sections articulated one with the next: 4 denotes the first section, 5 the second and 6 the third. Alternatively embodied (mainly where the dimensions of the truck body 1 so dictate), the cover 2 might comprise a different number of mutually articulated sections, for example a first section 4 and second section 5 only. The second section 5 articulates with the first section 4 by way of a hinge denoted 7, whilst the third section 6 articulates with the second 5 by way of a further hinge 8, the axis of which is disposed parallel to that of the first hinge 7. The entire cover assembly 2 is permanently attached to the body 1 of the truck by way of a system of rods and levers comprising (on each side) a rod 9, a lever 10, and a link 11. A first end of the rod 9 is bent, and hinged about a pivot 12 to the side wall of the body at a point below the top edge 3, whereas the remaining end is hinged to the rear edge of the first section 4, that is, the edge toward the rear of the body opposite from the edge with which the relative hinge 7 is associated. A first end of the lever 10 is also hinged to the side of the body by way of a pivot 13, though near to the top edge 3 and at a point distanced farther forward along the body than the pivot denoted 12. The lever 10 also articulates, at an intermediate point along its length, with the first section 4; the relative pivot is denoted 14, and located near to the forward edge of the section 4 with which the relative hinge 7 is associated. The remaining end of the lever 10, on the other hand, is hinged about a corresponding pivot 15 to the second end of the link 11, the first end of which is hinged by way of a further pivot 16 to the second section 5 at a prescribed distance from its rear edge, and more exactly, from the axis of the relative hinge 7. The cover further comprises at least one actuator, shown in the drawings as a hydraulic cylinder 17, installed in such a way as to produce rotation of the first section 4 and the second section 5 in either direction, the one in relation to the other; accordingly, the rear end of the cylinder 17 is hinged to a mounting 18 fastened to the top side of the first section 4, and the rod end to a similar mounting 19 fastened to the top side of the second section 5. 20 denotes a second hydraulic actuator installed and operating substantially in the same manner as the first cylinder 17, in this instance between the second section 5 and the third section 6 of the cover 2; thus, these two sections are rotatable likewise in either direction, one in relation to the other. The rear end of the cylinder 20 hinges with a mounting fastened to the top of the second section 5, and the rod end with a similar mounting fastened to the top of the third section 5. Accordingly, in operating the second cylinder 20, rotation of the third section 6 relative to the second section 5 is entirely independent of the rotation of the second section 5 relative to the first section 4. The mechanism thus connecting the first and second sections 4 and 5 to each other and to the truck body 1 affords freedom of movement between a closed position, in which the sections 4 and 5 lie flat in alignment on the top edges 3 of the body 1, and a fully open, folded position in which the selfsame sections 4 and 5 are rotated in relation to each other and to the truck, and stationed as in fig 3 outside the boundary defined by the top edges of the open body 1. Thus, not only is the open top of the bin left completely unobstructed, given that the sections fold away into space not occupied by the body 1, but in addition, the folded cover 2 projects only a short distance "h" (fig 3) above the plane occupied by the top edges of the body 1, so that loading is facilitated even further. The opening and closing movement of the cover 2 is brought about by operating the first cylinder 17, or an identical pair of cylinders 17 positioned in parallel, to work the first and second sections 4 and 5, and operating the second cylinder 20 to produce movement (independently) of the third section 6 in relation to the second section 5. In embodiments without the third section 6, hence without a second hydraulic cylinder 20, the opening and closing movement is produced entirely by the cylinder 17, or pair of cylinders 17, installed between the first and second sections 4 and 5. With the entire cover folded back into the position illustrated in fig 3 and projecting just a short distance "h" above the plane occupied by the top edges of the bin, several advantages are gained when loading: a) no obstruction when reversing the vehicle into position beneath silo hoppers; b) no obstruction in the way of boom arms, buckets, scoops etc.; c) no obstruction to loading operations effected with fork lift trucks, which will normally operate alongside the bin. Whilst the vehicle will generally offload with the cover 2 in its closed position, the facility also exists, according to the invention, of tilting the truck body and opening the tailgate with the cover folded back; such a facility is advantageous most especially when dumping bones, given the possible need to remove or shift obstructions impeding the offload operation, or in cases where the inside of the bin has to be hosed down in order to clear away residual waste. In the closed position of fig 1, a tight seal is ensured between the cover 2 and the bin. The invention provides the advantage of being uncomplicated in embodiment, whilst enabling a freedom of movement (clearly discernible from the drawings) between the fully open and fully closed positions that derives essentially from the simple rotation of the rod 9 and the lever 10 about their relative pivots 12 and 13. A special feature of the cover, deriving from the studied arrangement of the centres of articulation and the actuators, is that it lends itself readily to installation on trucks already in use without any need for modification to the longitudinal or transverse dimensions of the existing body or bin, and without upsetting the distribution of weight; in short, a truck already in service can be fitted with the cover and continue circulating on the public highway without contravening any regulations concerning the body specifications of commercial vehicles, hence without additional verification and updating procedures. Similarly, by virtue of the reasons already stated, when building new vehicle bodies with a covering according to the invention, the cover structure itself constitutes no obstacle to designers seeking to gain the maximum horizontal area permissible for the class of body (maximum length x maximum width).

Claims: A cover for the bodies (1) of trucks and similar commercial vehicles of the type comprising a first section (4) and a second section (5) articulated one with the other and forming an assembly (2) permanently associated with the truck body by way of a folding system comprising at least one actuator (17), through and by which the first and second sections (4,5) are connected and caused to rotate in relation to one another about their common axis of articulation; a rod (9), hinged by one end to the truck body (1) at a point on one side below the top edge (3), whereby the rod (9) is proportioned and positioned in such a way as to enable movement of the entire cover assembly (2) between a closed limit position, in which the sections (4, 5) are unfolded and rest completely on the top edges (3) of the body (1), and a fully open folded position in which the entire cover (2) lies outside the boundary described by the top edges of the body, and the space above the opening thus exposed is left totally obstructed, characterized in that the rod (9) is hinged by its remaining end, to the rear of the first section (4) at a point on the edge opposite from the articulated forward edge; a lever (10), is hinged by a first end to the truck body (1) at a point adjacent to the top edge (3), and pivotably connected at an intermediate distance along its own length to the first section (4), at a point near to the articulated forward edge; a link (11), is hinged by one end to the remaining end of the lever (10), and by its other end, to the second section (5) at a point set apart through a prescribed distance from the axis of articulation (7) between the first and second sections (4, 5); whereby the lever (10) and the link (11) are proportioned and positioned in the same way as the rod (9). A cover as in claim 1, wherein the actuator (17) consists in at least one hydraulic cylinder, of which the rear end is hinged to a mounting made fast to the top side of the first section (4), and the rod end hinged to a similar mounting made fast to the top side of the second section (5). A cover as in claim 2, further comprising: a third section (6) articulated with the second section (5) by association with the edge opposite from that articulating with the first section (4); at least one hydraulic cylinder (20) hinged by its rear end to the second section (5) and by its rod end to the third section (6), serving to bring about rotation of the third section in relation to the second section.

Inventors: TODARO, MASSIMO
Applicants: NUOVA TECNOCAR S.N.C. DI TORRICELLI & C.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B60P7
IPC codes: B60P7