DE20021171U1 - Box body for vehicles, in particular for vehicle trailers - Google Patents

Description

Augsburg, 8 December 2000 Reference number: UN.4801

Unsinn Vehicle Technology GmbH

Rainer Street 23

86684 Holzheim

Box body for vehicles, especially for vehicle trailers

The invention relates to a box body for vehicles, in particular for vehicle trailers.

Conventional box bodies are manufactured using a frame and panel construction, i.e. the side walls, front wall or front walls and roof wall are designed as panels that are connected to one another by vertical corner profiles for connecting the side and front walls and horizontal corner profiles for connecting the side and front walls to the roof wall or to the floor, whereby the vertical and horizontal corner profiles together form a load-bearing frame to which the side and front walls as well as the roof wall and doors are attached.

In contrast, the object of the invention is to create a new construction for box bodies which offers manufacturing advantages and allows greater design freedom with regard to the shape of the box body.

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This object is achieved according to the invention by the arrangement specified in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the subclaims.

According to the invention, the two side walls and at least the front end wall are made of one piece and are each pulled upwards onto the roof surface and can

each be connected to a separate roof wall section or at least partially form the roof wall.

Details of the construction are presented below in connection with the embodiment.

The advantages of the invention are that the vertical corner profiles between the side and front walls as well as the horizontal corner profiles between the side and front walls and the roof wall are eliminated, that rounder shapes and thus better aerodynamics as well as a more attractive appearance can be produced, whereby a point can be formed above the drawbar in box bodies for trailers, and that without additional construction effort, greater freedom in terms of design variety of shapes is possible, which can be realized with little individual effort.

An embodiment of the invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 a floor plan of a suitcase

construction according to the invention,

Fig. 2 a top view of a head

structure according to the invention,

Fig. 3 a longitudinal section through the

Box body along the line

III-III in Figure 1 and Figure 2,

and

Fig. 4 a development of the one-piece

Side wall-front wall complex of the arrangement according to the figures

to 3.

Figures 1 to 4 show a box body for a vehicle

trailer. The drawings are schematic; they do not show any details of the trailer, nor its chassis, nor even its floor, but only the construction of the box body.

The wall construction of the box body with side walls and front bulkhead is practically formed in one piece from a single, continuous wall body. This is shown in Figure 4 in a developed view. It consists of a middle segment 1, which forms the front bulkhead of the box body, and two end segments 2 and 3, which are connected in one piece to it and form the right and left side walls of the box body respectively. Segments 2 and 3 are shown broken off to make it easier to draw them on the sheet format. The middle segment 1 and the two end segments 2 and 3 each have a projection at the top, namely the middle segment 1 has a projection 4, and the other two segments 2 and 3 each have a projection 5 and 6 respectively. These upper projections 4, 5 and 6 are formed into transition arches in the roof wall. The transition areas between the middle segment 1 and the other two segments 2 and 3, which can be seen in the drawing according to Figure 4 through the gaps between the upper extensions 4, 5 and 6, form transition arches between the front wall and the side walls of the box body formed from this wall complex. There is no rear front wall, since the rear wall of the box body is formed by doors (not shown).

Figure 1 shows the box body in plan view (section I-I in Figure 3) with the wall complex formed into a U-shaped wall structure according to Figure 1 with the segments 1, 2 and 3, which form the front wall and the two side walls, whereby the transition arches 7 and 8 between the middle segment 1 forming the front wall and the two other segments 2 and 3 forming the side walls are also visible.

Figure 2 shows a top view of the box body, where

the upper extensions 4, 5 and 6 of the three segments 1, 2 and 3, which are bent inwards and thus form transitions to the roof wall, are also shown, and an inserted roof wall is also shown. Attached caps 11 and 12 close the rounded corner areas in the area of the transition arches 7 and 8 and the roof wall 9.

Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section through the box body according to the section line III-III in Figures 1 and 2.

In Figures 1 and 3 it is also visible that the wall complex consists of an outer skin and a grid frame 12 connected to it for reinforcement. The outer skin can consist of glass fiber reinforced plastic, aluminum sheet, steel sheet or plastic material. The grid frame can be made of aluminum, steel or plastic. The connection between the outer skin and the grid frame can be made for example by gluing or riveting or spot welding, depending on the materials used.

The front end wall formed by segment 1 of the wall complex does not have to be straight, as shown in the embodiment, but can also form a wedge-shaped rounded point, a semicircular, basket-arch-shaped or otherwise curved or shaped end wall section.

Depending on the height and width of the box body, it is also possible to make the upper extensions 5 and 6 of the side wall segments so large that they not only form transitions to the roof wall but also the roof wall itself. The construction described and shown can in principle also be used if there is also a rear bulkhead and doors are provided in one or both side walls, in which case the side wall segments can be extended by adding segments that form the rear bulkhead.

Claims (8)

1. Box body for vehicles, in particular for vehicle trailers, with at least one front bulkhead, side walls and a roof wall, characterized in that at least the wall construction complex of the box body comprising the front bulkhead and the side walls is designed as a one-piece construction with a wall segment ( 1 ) forming the front bulkhead and with wall segments ( 2 , 3 ) forming the side walls, which are connected by transition regions ( 7 , 8 ) forming transition arches, and wherein at least the wall segments ( 2 , 3 ) forming the side walls are designed with projections ( 5 , 6 ) formed on the top to form transition arches to the roof wall ( 12 ). 2. Box body according to claim 1, wherein the wall segment ( 1 ) forming the front wall is also formed at the top with a projection ( 4 ) for forming a transition arch to the roof wall ( 12 ). 3. Box body according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wall complex is formed from an outer skin and a grid frame connected thereto. 4. Box body according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the upper lugs ( 5 , 6 ) of the wall segments ( 2 , 3 ) forming the side walls are dimensioned such that they not only form the transition arches to the roof surface but also the roof wall together. 5. Box body according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the front end wall is designed as a wedge-shaped rounded point, semicircular, polygonal or otherwise curved. 6. Box body according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein open corner regions of the transition arches between the wall complex and the roof wall ( 12 ) in the front wall region are closed by filler pieces or caps. 7. Box body according to claim 3, wherein the material used for the outer skin is glass fiber reinforced plastic, aluminum sheet, steel sheet or plastic, and the material used for the lattice frame is aluminum, steel or plastic. 8. Box body according to claim 3 or 7, wherein the connection between the outer skin and the grid frame is made by gluing, riveting or spot welding.