GB2532839A

GB2532839A - Improvements to transport goods trailer

Info

Publication number: GB2532839A
Application number: GB1515612.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Adams William
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-11-19
Filing date: 2015-09-03
Publication date: 2016-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 2035-09-03
Also published as: FR3028480A1; GB201420532D0; FR3028480B1; GB2532839B; GB201515612D0

Abstract

A trailer for the movement of goods therein is provided, the trailer having a cavity 18 for receipt of the goods. The cavity is defined by a roof 30, opposing side walls 26, 28, a front end 22 and an opposing, rear end 24, and first and second vertically spaced floors. The first and second floors are provided for a portion along the length of the trailer in which at least two of the first 8 and/or second floors 32 and/or roof 30 diverge.

Description

Improvements to Transport Goods Trailer The invention to which the application relates is a means for transport of goods and particularly, although not necessarily exclusively, transport means in the form of a trailer for location on and transport by a vehicle which is typically known as a tractor unit which includes the engine, the cab in which the driver sits and a coupling to connect the tractor unit to the trailer to allow the same to be pulled.

The trailer designs can differ and the design which the invention is particularly conceited with is a type which includes a cavity defined by a roof, floor, side walls a first end wall adjacent the tractor unit and an opposing end wall which includes doors which allow access into and out of the trailer for the movement of goods. The cavity is separated into two storage areas by a second floor which is spaced above the floor and below the roof such that the first and second floors are used to support the goods thereon. Typically, although not necessarily exclusively the goods are provided on pallets or more likely trolleys which are of a fixed height and which can be rolled along the floors to the required location on the appropriate floor as required.

In order to allow the coupling of the trailer to the tractor unit the first floor, at the front end, is provided with a raised, stepped portion. This means that in practice the trolleys or pallets cannot easily be loaded in a continuous movement onto the raised stepped portion and so, as a result of these difficulties, this area of space is very often not used for the storage of goods thereon even though there is a great demand for the available space to be used. If all of the available space could be used this would mean that there is an increased load on each trailer and so the number of deliveries, fuel used, and required infrastructure is reduced and ultimately provides economic savings. I lowever at present these demands are not being met due to the problems set out above.

A further problem is that the centre of gravity of the trailer tractor combination is preferably located so the weight distribution of the combination ensures adequate traction to the tractor unit drive axle as well as to make the same more stable and less susceptible to roll over when being driven. However as the stepped portion is located at the coupling and is not used to receive goods thereon so this tends to be the lightest part of the trailer which can be problematic. As a result of this, it is known for operators to locate additional weights such as concrete blocks on the stepped portion permanently which is unsatisfactory and again represents a waste of potentially valuable storage space.

Another way operators load the trailer, in order to ensure goods are loaded onto the stepped portion, is by means of curtain-sided trailers and loading the same directly from each side of the trailer. However, as this requires loading from both sides, the trailer effectively takes up three loading bays during the process, which is a waste of space and can also provide costly if other trailers have to therefore wait for loading bays to become available.

Furthermore, conventional trailers are generally provided with a stepped portion at the front end, which reduces the cavity space in that area of the trailer. This is due to the presence of the coupling mechanism, provided to join the trailer and the lorry together, and is located on the underside of the trailer. Such coupling mechanisms are often large and bulky, including numerous components in addition to the coupling pin. The reduction in cavity size in that portion of the trailer, as a consequence, means that double-deck loading is not possible or is significantly reduced in most circumstances.

An aim of the present invention is to provide an improved form of trailer which allows improved usage of the storage space and in particular makes available that portion of the storage space which previously could not be used or, at least, accessed in an efficient manner. This in turn increases the available storage space to be used throughout the trailer whilst also preferably ensuring that the centre of gravity of the trailer tractor combination is improved thereby improving the safety of the trailer and tractor in combination.

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a trailer for the movement of goods therein, said trailer having a cavity for receipt of the goods, said cavity defined by a roof, opposing side walls, a front end and an opposing, rear, end and first and second vertically spaced floors wherein the said floors are provided for a portion along the length of the trailer in which at least two of the first and/or second floors and/or roof diverge.

Typically the said divergence is provided to ensure that the area of the rear end of the trailer is greater than the front end of the trailer.

In one embodiment the said first and second floors both diverge from the roof along the said portion. In another embodiment the first floor and the roof diverge and the second floor is parallel with the roof.

In one embodiment the first and second floors are provided at different angles along said portion.

In one embodiment the rear end of the trailer includes one or more doors to allow selective access to the cavity for the movement of goods to and from the cavity.

In one embodiment the respective floors of the trailer are angled downwardly towards the surface on which the wheels of the trailer are located so as to create the divergence in the said portion of the trailer.

The first and second floors act to split the cavity into a lower cavity and an upper cavity and in one embodiment, the height of the openings into the respective lower and upper cavities at the rear end of the trailer are substantially the same and preferably are equal.

In one embodiment, the first and second floors are each defined by first and at least a further portion. Typically, said first and second floors are substantially parallel along the length of the first portion of the trailer. Further typically, the roof is also parallel with the first and second floors. In one embodiment, at least two of said first and/or second floors and/or roof diverge along the length of the further portion of the trailer.

In one embodiment, a kink is located in the first floor. Typically, said kink is provided to separate the first and a further portion of the length of the trailer. Further typically, at least two of the first and/or second floors and/or roof diverge along the length of the further portion of the trailer from the said kink In one embodiment, a second kink is located on the second floor. Typically, said second kink is provided hi a similar form and has a similar purpose as the first kink in the first floor.

In one embodiment the height of the respective lower floor to the floor above and from that floor to the roof above are substantially the same along the first portion of the trailer, and preferably are the same.

In one embodiment the said heights are at least the same as that of a goods storage trolley of a predetermined dimension.

As a result of the invention there is provided a trailer of a type which can still achieve and provide the required spaced for coupling to a tractor unit in a conventional manner yet does not require the trailer lower floor to include a stepped portion to do so. As a result of this, the whole of the lower portion is equally accessible and, as such, the available effective storage space of the cavity is increased such that all of the cavity is effectively usable and, furthermore the heights of the cavity between respective floors and the floor and the roof is such that goods trolleys can be accommodated therein.

Typically the provision of the configuration of the first portion extends from the front of the trailer towards the rear for a distance which is at least that which is required to accommodate the coupling mechanism for connection of the trailer to the tractor unit which is to be used to pull the trailer and transport the goods thereon.

In one embodiment the provision of the use of the cavity on the floor above the coupling unit means that there is a significant weight of goods located thereon and the loading of die goods can he selected to thereby ensure that the centre of gravity of the trailer and tractor unit combination is located to ensure correct weight distribution and thereby improve the safety of operation of the tractor and trailer combination when moving.

In one embodiment, a coupling mechanism for connection of the trailer to the tractor unit is provided, said coupling mechanism comprising component parts located substantially within the tractor unit base between the first floor and an underside of said first floor. Typically, a single component of said coupling mechanism protrudes out from the underside of the tractor unit first floor. Further typically, said single component is a pin assembly.

In one embodiment, said coupling mechanism includes plates and reinforcement members, which are enclosed within the first floor of the tractor unit, and a pin assembly, which protrudes out from the underside of the tractor unit.

In one embodiment, a pin assembly is provided forming a component of a coupling mechanism for connection of the trailer to the tractor unit, said pin assembly being the only component of the coupling mechanism protruding out from an underside of the tractor unit.

Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings; wherein, Figure 1 illustrates a tractor and trailer combination of the type to which the invention relates; Figure 2 illustrates a cross sectional elevation of the trailer along line C-C in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figures 3a and b illustrate cross sectional end elevations of the trailer of Figure 2 along lines AA and 13B respectively; and Figure 4 illustrates a cross sectional elevation of the chassis of the trailer in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 there is illustrated a trailer 2 and tractor 4 combination of the type to which the current invention is particularly suited. The tractor unit can be of any conventional a form and is coupled to the trailer 2 via a coupling mechanism 6, which is discussed in further detail below..

The coupling mechanism 6 is located below the first floor 8 of the trailer and space 10 is required to be provided to allow the coupling mechanism 6, rear part of the tractor unit 12 and wheels 14 to be accommodated between the underside of the floor 8 of the trailer and the surface, such as a road, 16 along which the trailer is pulled.

The cavity 18 defined in the trailer has a front end 22, a rear end 24 which is typically formed by one or more doors which can be opened to allow access to the cavity from the rear and allows the movement of goods into and from the cavity 18. Side walls 26,28 extend along the length of the trailer between the front and rear 22, 24 as does the roof 30. The trailer is provided with an internal cavity 18 which is divided into a lower cavity 20 and an upper cavity 20' by the provision of a second floor 32 which is spaced vertically above the floor 8 and, in this embodiment, is provided in a fixed position. This therefore means that goods can be stored on both floors 8, 32 and thereby improve the usage of the storage capacity of the trailer.

In accordance with the invention the length of the cavity is split into at least two portions, a first portion 34 which is located adjacent the front end 22 and above the coupling mechanism, and a second portion 36 which extends from the first portion to the rear of the trailer.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3a-b the trailer in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is shown in greater detail and in cross section. In the first portion 34 of the trailer which extends to the broken line 38, the floors 8 and 32 are parallel with the roof and define upper and lower cavities with a height X which is equal and which, in one embodiment, the height X is in the region of 1730-1740rrma in order to be sufficiently high to receive goods carrying trolleys which are of a known height. This therefore allows 211 of the storage space at the portion 34 to be used, including that on the lower floor 8. In the second portion 36 of the trailer 2, which extends from the line 38 to the rear 24 of the trailer the roof 30 continues in the same line and substantially parallel to the surface 16. However, both the floors 8, 32 are set at an angle to the roof, in this case a 1 degree downward slope for the floor 32 and a 2 degree downward slope for the floor 8. This means that the height Y from the floor 8 to the underside of the floor 32 for lower cavity 20, and the height Z for the floor 32 to the roof 30 for the upper cavity 20' both increase along the portion 36 of the trailer so that both heights are significantly greater than heights X at the portion 34. This means that the at the rear 24, in this embodiment, the heights Y and Z are each 1900mm as opposed to the height of 1738mm, at the first portion. The provision of the trailer as herein described means that the desired available space of the cavities at the loading and goods movement location at and adjacent to the rear end 24 of the trailer can still be provided to thereby ensure that safety and light are not concerns and, at the same time allows the storage space in the first portion 34 of the cavity and especially that on the lower floor 8 to all be made available for the location of goods thereon, and yet further, to allows goods carrying trolleys to be moved directly to and from all parts of the floors 8, 32 of the trailer as the need for the conventional stepped portion towards the front of the lower floor 8 to accommodate the coupling mechanism to the tractor unit is eliminated Retelling now to Figure 4 the trailer 2 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention there is shown the chassis or first floor 8 which is provided with a kink or ramp 40 at a point that separates the first portion 34 from the second portion 36. The kink 40 is provided in order to create the divergent path of the first floor 8 from the second floor 32 and/or the roof 30. Thus, the floor 8 in the first portion 34 is substantially parallel with the surface 16 on which the trailer 2 is located, and the floor 8 in the second portion 36, after the kink 40, is provided at a slight incline with respect to the surface 16. An operator may therefore load the first floor 8 from the rear of the trailer and the kink 40 will only present a minor obstacle, which may be simply overcome by rolling the good thereon over the kink 40 substantially to the end 22 of the trailer 2, thereby utilising all the available space in the lower cavity 20. A similar arrangement may also be provided on the second floor 32, such that the floor 32 diverges by a predetermined amount along the length of the second portion 36. Thus, in one embodiment, the trailer 2 may be provided such that the first floor 8, second floor 32 and roof 30 are all substantially parallel along the length of the first portion 34, but subsequently diverge from each other along the length of the second portion 36 towards the rear end 24.

This therefore means that, for example, whereas conventional designs of this type of trailer will only practically allow a maximum of 18 pallets or trolleys with goods, equivalent to say 18 tonnes, to be transported due to the inability and/or difficulty of loading the pallets onto the stepped portion of the lower floor of the conventional trailer, in the invention as herein described, 26 pallets or trolleys with goods, equivalent to 26 tonnes, can be carried, as all of the floor area is accessihl;e and usable without the need to provide additional loading apparatus within the trailer.

Furthermore, the trailer provided in the present invention allows an operator to load the entire trailer from the rear, thus only using a single loading bay in the process. This is as opposed to the loading methods employed with curtain-sided trailers, which require three loading bays as the trailer is loaded from each side. This provides more space in the loading area for more trailers to be loaded at the same time, increasing the efficiency of loading several trailers.

In an attempt to address the issues associated with bulky coupling mechanisms as described above in the prior art, in one embodiment of the present invention, and referring now to Figures 5 and 6, the coupling mechanism 6 is provided such that the coupling pin 48 is the only component of the coupling mechanism 6 that extends under the trailer and below the first floor 8, protruding through the underside 44 of the tractor unit. The coupling mechanism 6 includes further components, though these are located substantially within the tractor unit base, enclosed between the first floor 8 and the underside 44 of the first floor 8. The enclosed components of coupling mechanism include plates and reinforcement members, though it is only the coupling pin 48, which protrudes out from the underside 44 of the tractor unit. The reduced amount of components of the coupling mechanism 6 that now occupy the space 10 are particularly advantageous in that it ensures the cavity 18 of the trailer at the front end 22 in the region of the first portion 34 is still large enough to accommodate double-deck loading of goods into that portion of the trailer.

Thus the present invention allows increased goods transport capacity to he achieved, improves the ease of movement of goods to and from the storage cavity and allows increased safety of the trailer and tractor combination in use as the goods can be located at and adjacent to the coupling mechanism between the trailer and tractor unit.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A trailer for the movement of goods therein, said trailer having a cavity for receipt of the goods, said cavity defined by a roof, opposing side walls, a front end and an opposing, rear end, and first and second vertically spaced floors wherein the said floors are provided for a portion along the length of the trailer in which at least two of the first and/or second floors and/or roof diverge.
2. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein said divergence is provided to ensure that the area of the rear end of the trailer is greater than the front end of the trailer.
3. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein said first and second floors both diverge from the roof along the said portion.
4. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the first floor and the roof diverge and the second floor is parallel with the roof.
5. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the first and second floors are provided at different angles along said portion.
6. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the rear end of the trailer includes one or more doors to allow selective access to the cavity for the movement of goods to and from the cavity.
7. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the respective floors of the trailer are angled downwardly towards a surface on which wheels of the trailer are located so as to create the divergence in the said portion of the trailer.
8. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the first and second floors split the cavity into a lower cavity and an upper cavity.
9. A trailer according to claim 8, wherein the heights of openings into the respective lower and upper cavities at the rear end of the trailer are substantially the same.
10.A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the first and second floors are each defined by a first and at least a further portion.
11. A trailer according to claim 10, wherein said first and second floors are substantially parallel along the length of the first portion of die trailer.
12. A trailer according to claim 11, wherein at least two of said first and/or second floors and/or roof diverge along the length of the further portion of the trailer.
13.A trailer according to claim 10, wherein a kink is located in the first floor, separating the first and a further portion of the length of the trailer, such that at least two of the first and/or second floors and/or roof diverge along the length of the further portion from the said kink
14. A trailer according to claim 1, wherein the height of the respective first, lower floor to the floor above and from that second floor to the roof above are substantially the same along the first portion of the trailer.
15. A trailer according to claim 14, wherein the said heights are at least the same as that of a goods storage trolley of a predetermined dimension.
16.A trailer according to claim 10, wherein the provision of the configuration of the first portion extends from the front of the trailer towards the rear of the trailer for a distance which is at least that which is required to accommodate a coupling mechanism for connection of the trailer to the tractor unit which is to be used to pull the trailer and transport the goods thereon.
17.A trailer according to claim 16, wherein the provision of the cavity on the floor above the coupling mechanism ensures a significant weight of goods located thereon and the loading of the goods is selectable to thereby ensure that the centre of gravity of the trailer and tractor unit combination is located at or close to the coupling and thereby improve the safety of operation of the tractor and trailer combination when moving.
18.A trailer according to claim 1, wherein a coupling mechanism for connection of the trailer to the tractor unit is provided, said coupling mechanism comprising component parts located substantially within the tractor unit base between the first floor and an underside of said first floor, and wherein a single component of said coupling mechanism protrudes out from the underside of the tractor unit first floor.
19.A trailer according to claim 18, wherein said coupling mechanism includes plates and reinforcement members, which are enclosed within the first floor of the tractor unit, and a pin assembly, which protrudes out from the underside of the tractor unit.
20.A trailer according to claim 1, wherein a pin assembly is provided forming a component of a coupling mechanism for connection of the trailer to the tractor unit, said pin assembly being the only component of the coupling mechanism protruding out from an underside of the tractor unit.