Patent Application
20160257351
The present disclosure relates to a truck compartment attachment assembly and method, and more particularly, an attachment assembly that couples truck compartments constructed of nonmetallic materials to a metal frame of a truck.
There exists a need to attach storage compartments to heavy-duty automobiles, heavy-duty trucks, service body trucks, dump body trucks, chip body trucks; and other vehicles, (collectively hereinafter “trucks”). An example showing such compartments on a light-weight truck can seen in U.S. Design Pat. No. D342.930 that issued on Jan. 4, 1994 (hereinafter “the '930 Patent”). The '930 Patent is owned by the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Conventional storage compartments are made of metal such as aluminum or steel. Today, there is a desire to reduce weight of components on trucks and automobiles in order to increase fuel economy. One possible solution is to make the storage compartments from lightweight polymeric material, such as plastic, polypropylene, and the like. Additionally, such lightweight material is typically less expensive than the conventional metal storage compartments.
One example embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method and attachment assembly for securing a polymeric compartment arrangement to a cross channel of a truck bed. The attachment assembly includes a body member transversely extending from a support flange. The support flange comprises first and second slots for engaging a cross channel of a truck bed. The body member includes a plurality of apertures for receiving fasteners for securing the body member to a compartment arrangement. The body member is manufactured from a first material and the support flange is manufactured from a second material. The first material is different from the second material.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to one skilled in the art to which the present invention relates upon consideration of the following description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts unless described otherwise throughout the drawings and in which:
present disclosure;
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
Referring now to the figures generally wherein like numbered features shown therein refer to like elements throughout unless otherwise noted. The present disclosure relates to a truck compartment attachment assembly and method, and more particularly, an attachment assembly that couples truck compartments constructed of nonmetallic materials to a metal frame of a truck.
The compartment arrangements 20, 22 comprise a plurality of storage areas 30. Each of the storage areas have unlimited shapes and sizes. For illustrative purposes, the storage areas 30 do not have doors, but it would be appreciated that doors would be added later in the assembly process. In the illustrated example embodiment, the compartment arrangements 20, 24 are made from a polymeric material such as plastic, polypropylene, and the like. In another example embodiment, the compartment arrangements 30 are made from molded polypropylene. The compartment arrangements 20, 24 each comprise a respective wheel well 32. in an alternative example embodiment (not shown), the compartments sit directly above the axles and tires such that a wheel well is not provided.
The truck bed 10 is constructed such that it would be attached to a motorized vehicle, having an engine, cab, and body, as would be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art. The truck bed 10 is further adapted to attach to heavy-duty automobiles, heavy-duty trucks, service body trucks, dump body trucks, chip body trucks, and other vehicles, (collectively hereinafter “trucks”).
Referring now to
The frame rails 42, 44 can extend the entire length of the bed 16 and
protrude out the front end 12. Alternatively, the frame rails 42, 44 could be coupled by welding or fasteners to extension rails 4213 and 44B, as illustrated in
Because the storage compartment arrangements 20, 22 are molded from polymeric material such as polypropylene, the thermal coefficient of thermal expansion is very high relative to the thermal coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal cross channels 46-52. It is not unusual for the truck beds 10 to be exposed to geographical areas that have variations in temperature in excess of one hundred degrees Fahrenheit (100° F.). In the illustrated example embodiment, the compartment arrangements 20, 22 are each molded as a single piece, in an alternative example embodiment (not shown), the compartment arrangements 20, 22 comprise several individual storage boxes coupled together. Under either compartment arrangement 20, 22 construction, such range in temperature is problematic, since the compartments would expand or contract at significantly different rates than the expansion of the metal longitudinal rails 40, 42 and the metal cross channels 46-52. As such, the compartments would be subject to extreme buckling and/or fracturing. Dimension in the example embodiment of
This problem of buckling and/or fracturing from dissimilar materials is advantageously resolved by an attachment assembly 100 (see
The attachment assembly 100 comprises a body member 102 formed by two gussets 104, 106 spaced by a support flange 108, collectively connected to a support plate 110. The support flange 108 transversly extends from the body member 102. In the illustrated example embodiment, the support flange 108 is orthogonal to the support plate 110.
Additionally making up the attachment assembly 100 are first, second, and third flange plates 111, 112, 114, locking plates 116, and a backing plate 118. The body member 102, the gussets 104, 106, the backing plate 118, and the locking plate 116 are all made from metal, such as steel or aluminum and accordingly provide strength to the attachment assembly 100. The support flange 108 and the flange plates 111, 112, and 114 are all manufactured from polymeric material having a same coefficient of thermal expansion as the compartment arrangements 20, 22, thus allowing for thermal expansion and contraction of the compartment arrangements 20, 22 relative to the cross channels 46-52.
Also allowing for the differences in the expansion rates is the orientation of slots 120 located in the support flange 108 and the first second, and third flange plates 111, 112, and 114, During assembly the slots 120 are substantially concentrically aligned between the support flange 108, and the flange plates 111, 112, and 114, The slots 120 are u-shaped or elliptical slots that extend in the direction of the longitudinal axis X. The slots 120 and polymer material of the support flange 108 and the flange plates, 111, 112, and 114 provide for relative expansion and contraction of the compartment arrangements 20, 22 over the longitudinal axis X in severe temperature changes, eliminating buckling and fracturing of the compartment arrangements 20, 22. Stated another way, as the steel portions of the truck frame expand and contract at a much greater rate than the plastic compartments, 20, 22. The attachment assemblies 100 dual-material construction and design allow for greater movement in the steel frame and steel components without requiring the same degree of movement in the the plastic components formed in the assemblies.
The support flange 108 in one example embodiment is made from rigid plastic and is secured to the gussets 104 and 106 and body member 102 by conventional
fasteners (not shown). It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the support flange 108 can be held by other forms of attaching polymers and metal together, such as, welding and heat-forming with or without the addition of fasteners.
Expansion of the compartment arrangement 20, 22 along the lateral axis Y is also accommodated (although at a lesser degree) with the polymeric material forming the support flange 108, and the flange plates 111, 112, and 114 in combination with u-shaped slots 122 located in the cross channels 46-52 that extend substantially parallel with the lateral axis Y.
The backing plate 118 is secured to the support plate 110 through a plurality of fasteners 124, as illustrated in
As can be seen, for example in
In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present teachings.
The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. The disclosure is defined solely by the appended claims including any amendments made during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising, ” “has”, “having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”, “approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In one non-limiting embodiment the terms are defined to be within for example 10%, in another possible embodiment within 5%, in another possible embodiment within 1%, and in another possible embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein is defined as connected or in contact either temporarily or permanently, although not necessarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.
To the extent that the materials for any of the foregoing embodiments or components thereof are not specified, it is to be appreciated that suitable materials would be known by one of ordinary skill in the art for the intended purposes.
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
The following application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/126,763 filed Mar. 2, 2015 entitled TRUCK COMPARTMENT ATTACHMENT ASSEMBLY AND METHOD. The above-identified application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62126763 | Mar 2015 | US |
