Abstract:
A device for stabilizing a vehicle has a container which is substantially closed and has a size adapted to a corresponding available compartment of a vehicle, the container having walls bounding an inner space, and a body of non-particulate material which fills the inner space of the container to provide a ballast for the vehicle and therefore to stabilize the vehicle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a device for stabilizing a vehicle, and a vehicle provided therewith.  
           [0002]    It is known to stabilize a vehicle by placing on a vehicle a ballast, which usually is filled with sand. The ballast is placed in the back of the vehicle, it takes away a part of a cargo room, and sometimes breaks making a mess. Some solutions related to the devices of the above mentioned general type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,902,038, 4,339,142, 4,971,356 and 5,330,227. It is believed to be advisable to improve the devices for stabilizing of vehicles of this type.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for stabilizing a vehicle, as well as a vehicle provided with such a device, which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.  
           [0004]    In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of present invention resides, briefly stated, in a device for stabilizing a vehicle which has a container which is substantially closed and has a size adapted to a corresponding available compartment of a vehicle, said container having walls bounding an inner chamber; and a body of non-particulate material which fills said inner chamber of said container to provide a ballast for the vehicle and therefore to stabilize the vehicle.  
           [0005]    It is another feature of the present invention to provide a vehicle which has a vehicle part; and a device for stabilizing said vehicle part, said stabilizing device including a container which is substantially closed and has a size adapted to a corresponding available compartment of a vehicle, said container having walls bounding an inner chamber; and a body of non-particulate material which fills said inner chamber of said container to provide a ballast for the vehicle and therefore to stabilize the vehicle.  
           [0006]    When the device is formed and vehicle is provided with the device in accordance with the present invention, they avoid the disadvantages of the prior art.  
           [0007]    The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a stabilizing device in accordance with the present invention;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIGS. 2 and 3 are a perspective view and a transverse cross-section of the inventive device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIGS. 4 and 5 are views showing a perspective view and a cross-section of the device for stabilizing in accordance with still a further embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 6 and 7 are a plan view of the inventive device for stabilizing and a cross-section of one of its partitions;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 8 is a further modification of the inventive device for stabilizing; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 9 is a view showing a vehicle provided with the inventive stabilizing device.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]    A device for stabilizing a vehicle in accordance with the present invention has a container which is identified as a whole with reference numeral  1 . The container  1  can be composed for example of ultraviolet stabilized low density polyethylene, or another material. It has a plurality of walls including a top wall, a bottom wall, and a plurality of peripheral walls which together bound an inner empty space  2 . The stabilizing device further has a body of a non-particulate material which fills the inner space  2 . The non-particulate material can be a liquid, such as for example water. In winter water will simply freeze and forms a substantially rigid body inside the container  1 . In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the body of the particulate material can be concrete which is rigidified inside the inner space  2  of the container  1  so as also to form a substantially rigid body.  
         [0015]    The container  1  can be composed of a transparent material, and provided with a marking line  4  which indicates a desirable filling level of the container. Thereby, a part of the inner space  2  of the container  1  remains empty and allows expansion of the non-particulate material when for example the particulate material is liquid and it is frozen and increases its volume.  
         [0016]    The stabilizing device described herein above, is shown in FIG. 1. It can be used for all available vehicles, such as for example automobiles, recreational vehicles, vans, trucks, etc.  
         [0017]    As can be seen from the drawings, the container  1  is provided with a filling inlet  5 , which can be formed as a throughgoing opening, a nipple, a line, etc. The container  1  is further provided with a draining outlet  6 , which also can be formed as the draining opening, a nipple, a draining line, etc. The non-particulate material is supplied into the inner space  2  of the container  1  through the filling inlet  5  and can be drained from the inner space  2  through the draining outlet  6 .  
         [0018]    The container  1  is provided with means for attaching the container to a vehicle. The attaching means can be formed for example by a plurality of grommets  7  having openings  8 , through which corresponding fasteners can be passed so as to fixedly connect the stabilizing device to a floor or another part of the corresponding vehicle. The grommets  7  are distributed over the periphery of the container  1 .  
         [0019]    [0019]FIGS. 2 and 3 show a further embodiment of the present invention. The device for stabilizing further, has a liner which is identified as a whole with reference numeral  1 . The liner is designed so as to form a false floor in a vehicle, for example the floor of a pickup box of a pickup truck, etc. The liner  11  includes a substantially horizontal part  12  which is placed on a top surface of the container  1  and a plurality of side walls  13  extending upwardly from the upwardly from the part  12 . The vertical walls  13  are formed so as to extend substantially along the vertical walls of the vehicle, for example of the pickup box of a pickup truck. The liner  1  composed of the substantially horizontal part  12  and the substantially vertical walls  13  can be formed as a one-piece element. It can be composed of high or low density polyethylene or polypropolyne. The liner can be fixedly attached to the container  1 , for example by glueing, welding, etc.  
         [0020]    As can be seen from FIG. 1, the container  1  is provided with a recess means for accommodating corresponding projecting parts of a vehicle. In particular, in FIG. 1 the recess means are formed as two recesses  14  provided at opposite sides of the container  1  for receiving a wheel well parts of the vehicle. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the liner  11  has similar recess  15  substantially corresponding to the recesses  14 . As can be seen from FIG. 3, the liner  11  has a fillng inlet  16  substantially corresponding to the filling inlet  5  of the container  1 , for filling the non-particulate material into the inner space  2  of the container  1 .  
         [0021]    In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the device for stabilizing further has a substantially hard cover element which is identified with reference numeral  21 . The cover element  21  has a substantially horizontal part  22  and a plurality of peripheral walls  23  defining an inner space therebetween, substantially corresponding to the dimensions of the container  1 . The cover element  21  can be composed of ultraviolet stabilized high density polyethylene, or another material. The peripheral walls  23  extend downwardly from the substantially horizontal part  22 . The cover element  21  is provided with filling inlet means  24  and draining outlet means  25 , substantially corresponding to the filling inlet means  5  and the draining outlet means  6  of the container  1 , for filling and draining of the non-particulate material. The cover element  21  snugly embraces the container  1 . Its substantially horizontal part  22  forms a false floor of a vehicle. The cover element  21  also has cavities  26  substantially corresponding to the cavities  14  of the container  11  for receiving corresponding projections of the vehicle.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIGS. 6 and 7 show another embodiment of the present invention. Here the device of stabilizing is provided with a plurality of partitions which are identified with reference numeral  31 . The partitions  31  subdivide the inner space  2  of the container  1  into a plurality of compartments  32 . The partitions  31  can be formed as transverse walls  33  each provided with a plurality of openings  34 . The non-particulate material, for example a liquid can pass through the openings  34  from one compartment  32  to the other, so as not to accumulate in one area of the container  1 , but instead to be uniformly distributed over the whole inner space of the container. The walls  33  of the partitions  31  can be composed of a same material as the material of the container  1 . Also, the walls  31  can be made of one-piece with the container  1 .  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 6 shows the container  1  which is formed for a long box pick-up, and in the container  1  the recesses  14  are displaced to the front or left side of the container. The container  1  shown in FIG. 8 is designed for a long box truck, or a vehicle with a different location of the wheel well parts. In particular here the recesses  14  are offset toward the rear or the right side of the container  1 . Also, the partitions  31  in FIG. 6 extend a mutually perpendicular directions, while the partitions  31  in FIG. 8 extend only in a transverse direction.  
         [0024]    As can be seen from FIG. 9, the container  1  of the inventive device for stabilizing is placed in a simple manner, for example in a pick-up box  41  of a pickup-truck  42 . In the same fashion, the container  1  of the device for stabilizing in accordance with the present invention, with or without the liner  11  and/or the cover element  21 , can be placed in any other vehicle.  
         [0025]    It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.  
         [0026]    While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in device for stabilizing a vehicle, and a vehicle provided therewith, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0027]    Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.