Area Of the Invention

The present invention relates to load carrying vehicles and in particular to load restraining devices used in association with tautliner truck and trailer bodies and a means for facilitating the removal and replacement of such load restraining devices.

Background to the Invention Many truck trailers are provided with curtain type sides (tautliners) which can act as load restraining systems. These flexible sides act to reduce frictional drag when the truck is in motion and also permit loading of the tray bed from the sides of the vehicle rather than only from the rear as is the case with rigid sided vehicles.

it has been found in practice that such side curtains can be inadequate as load restraining systems and can also be damaged by the loads carried. For this reason it is commonplace for a series of metal gate devices to be installed along the sides of a truck tray. When access is required to the truck cargo these gates have to be manually lifted out of the receptor into which they slot and later have to be manually lifted and repositioned. The removal and replacement of these gate devices is very difficult for a person on the ground to achieve as the standard truck tray is generally well above ground and also the gate devices can be of the order of 2 metres high and at least the same width if not more.

Outline of the Invention It is an object of the invention to provide a means of limiting the lifting and facilitating the subsequent movement of a trailer gate for a truck tray in a manner that is not as labour intensive as has previously been the case.

The invention is a trailer gate mobilisation device which includes a slide device adapted to run along an elongate mount on at least one side of a roof of a truck trailer, said slide device being associated with a gate support member connected to the an upper edge of a trailer gate.

It is preferred that the slide device be mounted in a channel member under the roof of a truck trailer.

It is preferred that the slide means be a wheel carriage device which having wheels adapted to run inside the channel. It is further preferred that the wheel carriage device have two adjacent pairs of opposing wheels mounted on a body member, the arrangement being such that the wheels are adapted to run along the interior of either side of the channel member. It is further preferred that the body member be provided with a downwardly directed rod member adapted to moveably engage with the gate support member. It is further preferred that the rod member be threaded such that the height of the gate support member is adjusted by means of a nut located below the gate support member.

It is further preferred that the connection means to the top of a trailer gate be cable means extending between attachment points on the trailer gate and the gate support member.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood we will describe by way of non limiting example a specific embodiment of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawing Figures Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the invention with a single channel track: Fig. 2 shows a cross-section through the track of Figure 1 ; Fig. 3 is a perspective drawing of the embodiment of Figure 1 ; Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the invention depending from an open channel section; Fig. 5 shows a cross-section through the track of Figure 4; Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the track of Figure 5; Description of an Embodiment of the Invention The invention is a trailer gate mobilisation device 10 which supports a trailer gate 100 while it is being lifted from its base mount and permits it to slide laterally while depending from a channel device 20 mounted in the side of a truck tray roof.

The mobilisation device described here includes a wheel carriage device 30 which includes a body member 31 and wheels 32 such that the wheel carriage device can securely run along a channel member..

The body member 31 is provided with a downwardly directed rod member 33 which is screw threaded and over which a support component 40 for a trailer gate can pass. The height then of the support component on the rod member can be adjusted by means of a nut 34 located below the support member.

In this embodiment of the invention cables 50 extend from either side of the support component and are attached at either side of the top of a trailer gate to eye bolts 51 mounted thereon.

With the device of the invention a trailer gate can be lifted from its base mounting and then otherwise be supported by the device. The gate can then be slid out of an operator's way by means of the wheels of the device of the invention moving in the channel to provide access to the trailer tray and its load. There is therefore no need for any person to physically lift the gate and remove it completely from the trailer. When the gate is to be replaced it is simply slid back into position and placed back into its base mount.

Figures 1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the invention where the wheel carriage device 30 has four wheels 32 with two on either side of body 31 such that the carriage can run inside the channel shown with rod 33 passing through a lengthwise aperture in the lower face of the channel.

A further embodiment of the invention is shown in Figures 4 to 6 wherein the body of the carriage device is a tubular component having two wheels on either side of it which can run within the channel 20 shown. In this case rod 33 depends from a U shaped member having an upper face attached to an upper surface of the body and passing around a side of the channel as shown. The latter embodiment is desirable for retro-fitting the invention to an existing truck roof.

Clearly the concept of the invention can be implemented in different ways. The invention basically provides a support device for a trailer gate which permits the trailer gate to be lifted a small distance vertically and moved horizontally along the roof of a truck trailer. By this means it removes the need for the difficult action of an operator totally supporting a gate while lifting and replacing the gate in its mounted position on the tray. As the cables are detachable from the gate it is also a simple matter to remove a gate from a truck.

Additionally the materials used to construct the device are not restricted in the invention and neither are the precise form of its components. For example while it is preferred here that a four wheel carriage device be used any appropriate slide means could be used including perhaps a single wheel or object which can slide in an upper mount.

The support component for the gate also can be of any shape or material desired. It is however preferred, from a stability viewpoint, that the support component be connected to either side of the top of a trailer gate.

While we have described herein one specific embodiment of the invention it is envisaged that other embodiments of the invention will exhibit any number of and any combination of the features of those previously described and it is to be understood that variations and modifications in this can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.