Patent Publication Number: US-2020300028-A1

Title: Trailer Door System

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/646,031 filed on Mar. 21, 2018. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A. Field of the Invention 
     This invention is related to a set of doors on a trailer that are capable of opening on more than one axis. The doors may alternatively be provided on a utility vehicle as well. 
     B. Prior Art 
     Traditionally, trailer doors provided on trailers swing open either on a vertical axis or on a horizontal axis. In other words, the doors of the trailer would open either similar to barn doors or open downward onto the ground to then be used as a ramp. However, the two options are restrictive for users that require multiple uses of a trailer. For example, while doors that fold down to be used as a ramp is useful with driving a lawnmower on and off of the trailer or offloading items by hand, the ramp must be removed when using a forklift to offload pallets of items such as sod. Consequently, if an individual requires the use of a forklift, then the trailer must provide barn doors for forklift accessibility or provide a ramp that is removeable from the trailer. The removeable ramp can be helpful, but is cumbersome and awkward for one person to install or remove from the trailer. Furthermore, due to a ramp being removeable, it can be unintentionally left or forgotten. 
     Additionally, traditional trailer doors often restrict the length of an object that can be carried on the trailer. The device described in the present application, allows for each door to work in unison or work independently of one another. For example, one of the trailer doors could be folded down, while the other is completely closed. Alternatively, a door could be closed in an upright position, while the other door is completely open or entirely removed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The device described herein door system that can be installed on a trailer. Although this invention is described as being installed on a trailer, it is anticipated that the door system may also be installed on a utility vehicle. This door system provides a first door and a second door. The first and second doors are attached to the trailer and can operate independently of one another by utilizing a plurality of hinges with quick-release pins. Each hinge assists with attaching a door to either the trailer or to the other door, thereby allowing the first and second doors of the door system to operate independently of one another or in unison with one another. 
     It is important that the hinges provide removeable quick-release pins that lock within the hinge to prevent the hinge from separating, but also enable the user to quickly and easily remove the hinge pins to open one of doors. It is anticipated that the trailer or utility vehicle can provide an area for holding one or more hinge pins when they are not in use. 
     Accordingly, a user may open the trailer doors as if they are barn doors or as a ramp. A user may connect the trailer doors together to then open or lower the two doors as one large door. The removeable hinges also enable a user to choose which direction to open the doors as one large door, which can be helpful in restrictive areas. 
     Moreover, this invention allows for placing a variety of different doors on the back of a trailer. For example, an individual may install one door that is a bi-fold door while the other door is designed to allow for securing tools, lengthy poles, or other equipment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of the first embodiment of the trailer door system showing a pair of doors in an upright closed position. 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of the first embodiment of the trailer door system showing the pair of doors in an upright closed position. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the first embodiment of the trailer door system showing the pair of doors in an upright closed position. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the first embodiment of the trailer door system showing the pair of doors lowered into a ramp position. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the first embodiment of the trailer door system showing the pair of doors with the first door in a lowered ramp position and the second door in an open barn door position. 
         FIG. 6  is a back view of the first embodiment of the trailer door system showing the first door and second door in an open barn door position. 
         FIG. 7  is an isometric view of first embodiment of the trailer door system showing one of the plurality of hinges where the quick-release hinge pin is removed. 
         FIG. 8  is a rear view of the second embodiment of the trailer door system showing the first door and second door in an upright closed position while also attached together with a plurality of connectors. 
     
    
    
     NUMBERING REFERENCE 
     
         
           5 —Device 
           10 —First door 
           15 —Second door 
           20 —Barn door hinge 
           25 —Ramp door hinge 
           30 —Ramp extension 
           35 —Quick-release hinge pin 
           40 —Hinge pin holder 
           45 —Trailer 
           50 —Door connector 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     This present device  5  is a trailer assembly that provides rear access door system, where each door is capable of opening independently and alternate between hingedly rotating on a horizontal axis or on a vertical axis. Although this device is described as being used on a trailer, it is anticipated that it may also be utilized on a van or other utility vehicle. 
     First Embodiment 
     This first embodiment is comprised of a first door  10 , a second door  15 , a plurality of barn door hinges  20 , a plurality of ramp door hinges  25 , a plurality of ramp extensions  30 , a plurality of quick-release hinge pins  35 , and a plurality of hinge pin holders  40 . The first door  10  provides a first side, a second side, a top side and a bottom side. The first side of the first door  10  is attached to the trailer with a plurality of barn-door hinges  20 . The bottom side of the first door  10  is also attached to the trailer with a plurality of ramp-door hinges  25 . 
     The second door  15  provides a first side, a second side, a top side, and a bottom side. The first side of the second door  15  is attached to the trailer with a plurality of barn-door hinges  20 . The bottom side of the second door is attached to the trailer with a plurality of ramp-door hinges  25 . 
     A removeable quick-release hinge pin  35  is provided for each barn-door hinge  20  and for each ramp-door hinge  25 . Each removeable quick-release hinge pin  40  may be used in either the barn-door hinge  20  or the ramp-door hinge  25 . 
     Accordingly, when the quick-release hinge pins  35  are provided in every barn-door hinge  20  and in every ramp-door hinge  25 , the first door  10  and second door  15  are in a locked position. To open the first door  10  and second door  15  in a barn-door configuration, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the quick-release hinge pins  35  must be removed from the plurality of ramp-door hinges  25 . When a hinge pin  35  is removed, it can be placed within a hinge pin holder  40  provided on the trailer  45 . 
     To open the first door  10  and second door  15  such that they each can be utilized as a ramp, all quick-release hinge pins  35  should be removed from the plurality of barn-door hinges  20 . This allows the first door  10  and second door  15  to rotate along the ramp-door hinges  25 , which is shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     This door system additionally provides a ramp extension  30 , which allows for a relatively smooth transition between the ground and the doors when they are in a ramp configuration. Once the door or doors are lowered to operate as a ramp the ramp extension  30  may be rotated as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     While this door system provides a user with the choice of utilizing a trailer with a barn-door configuration or a ramp configuration, it additionally allows an individual to use the trailer  45  by only opening one of the doors as a barn-door and lowering only one of the doors to be used as a ramp. For example, as shown in  FIG. 5 , this door systems allows a user to lower the first door  10  to be used as a ramp and then open the second door  15  as a barn-door. 
     Second Embodiment 
     This second embodiment is comprised of the first embodiment with the addition of a plurality of door connectors  50 . This door system may additionally allow for connecting the second side of the first door  10  to the second side of the second door  15 . Consequently, the two doors can then operate as a single door if desired. Therefore, a user will have more options to access the rear of a trailer with the present door system. This can be accomplished with the use of a connection device  50  which provides to two cylindrical parts. A first cylindrical part that is affixed to the second side of the first door  10  and a second cylindrical part that is affixed to the second side of the second door  15 . A quick-release hinge pin  35  is then inserted through the first and second cylindrical parts to then connect the second side of the first door  10  to the second side of the second door  15 . Although  FIG. 8  shows two connectors  50  being used to attach the first door  10  to the second door  15 , it is anticipated that more connectors  50  may be added. 
     While the embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, certain modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to modify the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.