GB2302851A - Container cover with winding pole guided by endplates. - Google Patents

Abstract

The cover 10, fixed to the container at one end 14, has a winding pole 12 secured inside a pocket in the cover such that rotation of the pole causes the cover to furl. The pole is guided by discs 15, 16 on its ends extending down the outside of the container. A support pole 13 is secured inside a pocket at the free end of the cover, the support pole having lugs 17 or discs perpendicular to its axis to guide it and prevent the pole from falling into the container.

Description

CONTAINER COVER Field of the Invention The invention relates to covers suitable for covering open top containers or vehicle bodies.

Background to the Invention There is a well-established requirement to cover certain loads during transportation by road or rail. As legislation becomes tighter many more loads need to be covered. This applies particularly to skip-type vehicles or containers. For both health and safety reasons semi-automatic sheeting systems for open top/high sided/bulk bodied lorries have been devised.

These enable a protective sheeting cover to be moved into position and removed without the operator having to climb up to the top of the load to carry out this manoeuvre. Examples of this type of cover are described in US3 423 126 (Galvin) and GB2 084 241 (Neville). A typical example of a commercial product of this type is the CLEAR SPAN (TM) cover as sold by Dawbarn & Sons Limited but this is only one of a range of covers available for a wide variety of road and rail vehicle bodies.

These covers have a number of inherent disadvantages, especially when it comes to covering open-top skips or the like. Firstly, to operate successfully, the winding pole must extend along the length of the container body. This means that the furled cover rests along one edge of the container where it is particularly prone to damage. Secondly, the hoop supports or roller slots are prone to damage and/or limit access to the container. Thirdly, this type of cover is relatively complex and therefore expensive to manufacture and to repair.

The object of the present invention is to provide a container cover which overcomes some or all of these disadvantages and which would be particularly suitable for covering open-top skips.

Summarv of the Invention According to the present invention, in its broadest sense there is provided a cover assembly suitable for covering an open top container or vehicle body comprising: - i) a flexible cover; ii) a rotatable member which extends substantially entirely across the flexible cover and which in use is supported on two opposite edges of the container or vehicle body, the said member being so arranged as to wind or furl thereon the flexible cover as it is rotated; iii) means for effecting rotation of the rotatable member; characterised in that the rotatable member incorporates a first guide means at each end of the member, the guide means being adapted to maintain the rotatable member substantially perpendicular to the edges of the container on which it is supported.

This arrangement means that it is possible to dispense with the hoops and/or roller slots. It is also possible to roll the cover from end to end rather than edge to edge; the furled cover being less prone to damage in the end location.

Preferably the assembly further comprises a support member mounted substantially at one end of the flexible cover, and which in use is supported on two opposite edges of the container, the ends of the support member incorporating second guide means adapted in use to maintain the said member substantially perpendicular to the edges of the container on which it is supported.

By incorporating a rigid support into one or both ends of the cover, the end(s) of the cover is also supported by the edges of the container body. The second guide means maintains the whole cover in alignment with the container during the furling and unfurling process.

In a particularly preferred embodiment when the cover assembly is in its covered position, the rotatable member occupies an intermediate position relative to opposite end or edge positions of the cover, the member being rotatably moveable from the intermediate position towards one of said end/edge positions and being arranged so as to wind thereon a first part of the cover from one side of the member in superimposition on a second part of the cover at the opposite side of the member.

Preferably the first guide means comprises two plates, one plate being located on each end of the rotatable member.

These plates extend down and alongside the container body and ensure that the cover rolls up evenly. They also prevent the rotatable member from falling into the container body.

Preferably the second guide means comprises lugs extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support member and adapted to extend down each external side of the container body.

Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein: Figure 1 shows in a diagrammatic sequence a cover mounted on a skip container being furled and unfurled.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments The present embodiments represent currently the best ways known to the applicant of putting the invention into practice. But they are not the only ways in which this could be achieved. They are illustrated, and they will now be described, by way of example only.

Figure 1A shows a typically waste skip container with a cover assembly 10 drawn across the open top. The assembly consists of a flexible cover 11 made of conventional materials, a winding pole 12 and a support pole 13. In this version one end 14 of the cover is fixed to one end of the container. It is possible to arrange for both ends of the cover to be releasable such that the cover can be rolled up to either end of the container.

The winding pole 12 is secured inside a pocket formed in the flexible cover.

The pole is secured in so much as it is not free in normal use to slide along the pocket and therefore maintains a constant alignment with respect to the cover. Rotation of the pole automatically furls the cover, the two halves of the cover being rolled up simultaneously.

A disc-shaped plate 15, 16 is located at each end of the winding pole 12 and these discs extend down the outside edge of the container sufficiently such that the pole is constrained approximately at rightangles to the two edges of the container on which the pole rests. This arrangement is not dissimilar to locomotive wheels running along a railway track. This ensures that firstly the winding pole remains on top of the container at all times and secondly that the cover cannot roll up unevenly.

The support pole 13 is similarly located within a pocket at one end of the cover. Projections 17 located at each end of the pole extend at rightangles to the longitudinal axis of the pole. In this example the projections take the form of lugs but they could equally well be discs similar to 15 and 16. Their function is to maintain the orientation of the pole with respect to the sides of the container and ensure that the pole, and thus the end of the cover, cannot fall in.

This specification is intended to cover any mechanical equivalent of this or other features. The plates 15, 16 particularly can take a variety of forms. As illustrated they are flat circular discs but they could equally well be polygonal-sided items. The discs can also be shaped in a cupped or bevelled fashion (not shown) such that they can accommodate variations in the width of the container along its top edge. More importantly, the plates can be mounted onto the winding pole 12 in a spring loaded fashion such that they can positively accommodate such variation. In this way they can be adapted to ride over irregularities or material which would otherwise cause the cover to stick.

In operation one end of the cover is released and a winding handle 18 is inserted into the end of the winding pole 12 (see Figure 1B). Rotation of the handle furls the cover towards the secured end (Figure 1C) to eventually uncover the entire container (Figure 1D).

Straps or ropes 20 are provided to draw the cover back across the container as shown in Figure 1E.

It is not essential to locate the winding pole in an intermediate position. It could equally well be located at one end of the cover. In this case intermediate support poles may be required. These are simply gathered up as the cover is furled.

Conventional means can be used to secure the cover around the edge of the container and to keep it taut. It is also possible to have the winding pole running from end to end, rather than edge to edge, of the container so that the cover rolls to one side. This arrangement may be more convenient for certain applications.

It will be appreciated that this type of cover does not require the top of the container to be level or all in one plane. Angled portions, such as those found on conventional waste skips, are easily accommodated as are curved features. Providing the container has a discrete edge portion to support the winding pole then this invention will be effective.

Claims (6)

ClAIMS

1. A cover assembly suitable for covering an open top container or vehicle body comprising: i) a flexible cover; ii) a rotatable member which extends substantially entirely across the flexible cover and which in use is supported on two opposite edges of the container or vehicle body, the said member being arranged so as to wind or furl thereon the flexible cover as it rotates; iii) means for effecting rotation of the rotatable member; characterised in that the rotatable member incorporates a first guide means at each end of the member, the guide means being adapted to maintain the rotatable member substantially perpendicular to the edges of the container on which it is supported.

2. A cover assembly according to Claim 1 wherein the assembly further comprises a support member mounted substantially at one end of the flexible cover, and which in use is supported on two opposite edges of the container, the ends of the support member incorporating second guide means, adapted in use to maintain the said member substantially perpendicular to the edges of the container on which it is supported.

3. A cover assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein, when the cover assembly is in its covered position, the rotatable member occupies an intermediate position relative to opposite end positions of the cover.

4. A cover assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the first guide means comprises two plates, one plate being rotated on each end of the rotatable member.

5. A cover assembly according to any of Claims 24 wherein the second guide means comprises lugs extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support member and adapted to extend down each external side of the container body.

6. A cover assembly substantially as herein described with reference and as illustrated in any combination of the accompanying drawings.