Patent Publication Number: US-2021171129-A1

Title: Joint between sidewall and roof panel of trailer

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a trailer, container, or other transport vehicle and, more particularly, to a joint between a sidewall and roof panel of such a trailer, container or transport vehicle (referred to as a “trailer” hereinafter). The interior of a trailer is often refrigerated to keep perishable food cold, or heated to prevent certain products such as beverages and paints from being damaged from freezing. 
     A problem is that trailers are typically not well insulated, which adds to the heating and cooling cost. Although the floor of the trailer is sometimes insulated, the joints between the sidewalls and roof panel are not insulated because of the irregular geometry of the joint, which does not accommodate a sheet of planar insulation. In addition, the joint may not be airtight, and thus may allow heat transfer through the joint via convection as well as via conduction. Accordingly, a large amount of heat may exit a heated trailer at the joints between the sidewalls and roof panel, and a large amount of heat may enter a refrigerated trailer at the joints between the sidewalls and roof panel. 
     Another problem is that the joints between the sidewalls and roof panel include fasteners such as rivets or nuts and bolts jutting out of the sidewall and into the interior of the trailer. When a trailer is tightly packed with cargo, the cargo may be damaged by the sharp edges of these fasteners. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention may provide a joint between a trailer sidewall and a roof panel that is thermally insulated and better sealed (i.e., more airtight). More particularly, a board of thermal insulation may be positioned over the horizontally-oriented interface between the sidewall and the top rail, thereby reducing air flow through the interface and reducing heat transfer via conduction through the sidewall and top rail. An L-shaped bracket or cove includes a first leg that is horizontally-oriented and attached to the roof panel. A second leg is vertically-oriented and covers the board of insulation. A lower end of the second leg extends down beyond the lower edge of the board of insulation and angles laterally to abut the sidewall, where the lower end of the second leg is attached to the sidewall. 
     The invention comprises, in one form thereof, a trailer including a vertically-oriented sidewall, a horizontally-oriented roof panel disposed above the sidewall, and a top rail attached to the sidewall. At least a section of the top rail is disposed above the sidewall and below the roof panel. A substantially L-shaped cove has a horizontal leg attached to a lower surface of the roof panel, and a vertical leg attached to an inner surface of the sidewall. A board of thermal insulation includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion is disposed between the vertical leg of the cove and the section of the top rail, and the lower portion is disposed between the vertical leg of the cove and the sidewall. 
     The invention comprises, in another form thereof, a trailer including a vertically-oriented sidewall, a horizontally-oriented roof panel disposed above the sidewall, and a top rail attached to the sidewall. The top rail is disposed at least partially above the sidewall and at least partially below the roof panel. There is an air gap between the sidewall and the top rail. The air gap is fluidly connected to ambient air. A substantially L-shaped cove has a horizontal leg attached to a lower surface of the roof panel, and a vertical leg attached to an inner surface of the sidewall. The cove blocks air flow through the air gap between an interior of the trailer and an exterior of the trailer. A board of thermal insulation includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion is disposed between the vertical leg of the cove and the top rail. The lower portion is disposed between the vertical leg of the cove and the sidewall such that the board of thermal insulation covers the air gap. 
     The invention comprises, in yet another form thereof, a trailer including a vertically-oriented sidewall, a horizontally-oriented roof panel disposed above the sidewall, and a top rail attached to the sidewall. At least a section of the top rail is disposed above the sidewall and below the roof panel. A substantially L-shaped cove has a horizontal leg attached to a lower surface of the roof panel, and a vertical leg attached to an inner surface of the sidewall. A board of thermal insulation includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion is disposed between the vertical leg of the cove and the section of the top rail. The lower portion is disposed between the vertical leg of the cove and the sidewall. A first fastener is attached to the section of the top rail and juts from the section of the top rail toward an interior of the trailer. The board of thermal insulation and the vertical leg of the cove cover the first fastener. A second fastener is attached to the sidewall and juts from the sidewall toward an interior of the trailer. The board of thermal insulation at least partially covers the second fastener. The vertical leg of the cove covers the second fastener. 
     An advantage of the present invention is that the interior of the trailer is better thermally insulated, thereby reducing heat transfer into or out of the trailer. 
     Another advantage of the present invention is that the cove may improve support for the roof panels. 
     Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the cove may cover through fasteners that jut out horizontally from the interior surfaces of the sidewall and the top rail, thereby protecting cargo from damage from these fasteners, and reducing the thermal loss from the through fasteners that the cove covers. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an overhead plan view of one embodiment of a trailer of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a fragmentary front sectional view of the trailer of  FIG. 1  along line  2 -- 2 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a fragmentary side sectional view of the trailer of  FIG. 2  along line  3 -- 3 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of area  4  of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Although the drawings represent embodiments of the present invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated in order to better illustrate and explain the present invention. Although the exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of the invention, in several forms, the embodiments disclosed below are not intended to be exhaustive or to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention to the precise forms disclosed. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The embodiments hereinafter disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed in the following description. Rather the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize its teachings. 
     Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate like elements,  FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of a trailer  10  of the present invention. Trailer  10  includes a front wall  12 , a right sidewall  14 , a rear wall  16 , a left sidewall  18 , and a roof panel  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , trailer  10  further includes a floor hat  22 . Roof panel  20  includes screws  24  and washers  26  intermittently across its width to attach roof panel  20  to roof bows  28 . 
     A joint  30  in area  4  interconnects right sidewall  14  and roof panel  20 . A similar joint  30  interconnects left sidewall  18  and roof panel  20 , although this joint is not shown in its entirety in  FIG. 2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , roof bows  28  may be evenly spaced from each other along the length of trailer  10 , and may be parallel to each other. Roof bows  28  may provide structural support to roof panel  20 . 
     Joint  30  is shown in more detail in  FIG. 4 , and includes right sidewall  14 , a right top rail  32 , roof panel  20 , a board of thermal insulation  34 , and an L-shaped cove  36 . A nut  38  and bolt  40  attaches a sheet of flexible plastic insulation  42  to right top rail  32 . A rivet  44  attaches right sidewall  14  to right top rail  32 . Although not apparent in  FIG. 4 , rivets may be spaced apart along the lengths of right sidewall  14  and right top rail  32  such that ambient air may flow between rivets  44  and reach board of insulation  34  and cove  36 . However, insulation  34  and cove  36  may provide a substantially airtight seal to prevent the ambient air from entering the interior of trailer  10 . 
     Cove  36  includes a first leg  46  that is substantially planar, horizontally-oriented and attached to roof panel  20 . Cove  36  may provide substantial structural support of roof panel  20 . A second leg  48  is vertically-oriented and covers board of insulation  34 . 
     A lower end  50  of second leg  48  extends down beyond the lower edge of board of insulation  34  and angles laterally to abut sidewall  14 , where lower end  50  of second leg  48  is attached to sidewall  14 . Second leg  48  includes a proximal body  52  which is attached to distal end  50  and to first leg  46 . Both proximal body  52  and board of insulation  34  cover bolt  40  and protect cargo inside trailer  10  from being damaged by bolt  40 . 
     Lower end  50  includes an angled segment  54  and a distal tip  56 . Board of insulation  34 , proximal body  52 , and angled segment  54  conjunctively cover rivet  44  and protect cargo inside trailer  10  from being damaged by rivet  44 . Angled segment  54  may be oriented at an angle of approximately between 135 degrees and 165 degrees relative to proximal body  52 , and relative to distal tip  56 . In a particular embodiment, angled segment  54  may be oriented at an angle of approximately 150 degrees relative to proximal body  52 , and relative to distal tip  56 . Distal tip  56  may be parallel to proximal body  52 , 
     A set of first screws  58  are aligned along the length of cove  36  and attach first leg  46  to roof panel  20 . A set of second screws  60  are aligned along the length of cove  36  and attach distal tip  56  to right sidewall  14 . Although screws  60  may extend into the interior of the trailer, screws  60  do not bear as much weight load as nuts  38 /bolts  40  or rivets  44 , and thus may have a smaller profile jutting into the interior of the trailer. Also because of the smaller weight load, screws  60  may be less numerous than nuts  38 /bolts  40  or rivets  44 . 
     Board of insulation  34  may be adhered to proximal body  52  of cove  36 . Alternatively, board of insulation  34  may be sandwiched between proximal body  52  and the combination of right top rail  32  and right sidewall  14 . Angled segment  54  may support board of insulation  34  and maintain board  34  at a fixed vertical level. 
     An air gap  64  between top rail  32  and sidewall  14  may be fluidly connected to and in fluid communication with ambient air outside of trailer  10 . In another embodiment, insulation  62  may be blown into air gap  64 . Board of insulation  34  and cove  36  may secure insulation  62  and retain insulation  62  in place to ensure that none of insulation  62  breaks off and falls into the interior of trailer  10 . 
     While this invention has been described as having an exemplary design, the present invention may be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains.