GB2313094A

GB2313094A - A vehicle for transporting large sheets of board.

Info

Publication number: GB2313094A
Application number: GB9609945A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Mervyn Coombe
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-05-13
Filing date: 1996-05-13
Publication date: 1997-11-19
Anticipated expiration: 2016-05-13
Also published as: GB9609945D0; GB2313094B

Abstract

A van 1 has retractable supporting lugs 6 at spaced locations along the lower edge of a side wall of the van body. In the extended position the lugs form a stand for supporting a lower edge of a sheet of board material placed against the side wall of the vehicle body. A pair of restraining straps carried on a pair of spring-loaded reels are mounted on the side wall of the van and are passed horizontally over a sheet and the free ends of the straps are secured to the side wall of the van to hold the sheet against the side wall.

Description

"A Vehicle For Transporting Large Sheets of Board Material" THIS INVENTION relates to the transportation of large sheets of board material, such as plasterboard, and in particular to a vehicle for carrying sheets of board material externally of a body of the vehicle.

Transporting relatively small numbers of large sheets of board material from the premises of a supplier to the site where the board material is to be used poses a significant problem for small builders who do not have a vehicle which is sufficiently large to carry such boards within the body of the vehicle. Whilst it is possible to have such board material delivered to the site by the supplier, this adds to the cost and the builder usually has to await delivery at a time determined by the schedule of the supplier's delivery vehicle. A small builder will, therefore, often transport sheets of board material on the roof of his vehicle, but this involves awkward handling of the board material, is an inherently unsafe way of transporting the material and often results in the board material arriving at the site in a damaged condition.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle which is capable of safely transporting large sheets of board material carried externally of the vehicle.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a vehicle for transporting sheets of board material externally of a body of the vehicle, comprising supporting means mounted at a lower edge of a side wall of the vehicle body and movable between a retracted position in which the supporting means does not project significantly from the body of the vehicle and an extended position in which the supporting means forms a stand for supporting a lower edge of one or more sheets of board material placed against the side wall of the vehicle body, and restraining means mounted on the side wall of the vehicle body above the supporting means for holding a sheet or sheets of board material standing on the extruded supporting means captive against the side wall of the vehicle.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a van embodying the present invention, a side wall of the van body being provided with supporting means and restraining means for supporting and holding sheets of board material to be carried externally of the van against the side wall of the van body; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the van of Figure 1, showing support lugs of the supporting means in an extended position; Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of the van of Figures 1 and 2, showing the support lugs of the supporting means in more detail and illustrating an alternative form of supporting means employing a single elongate ledge member; Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the support lugs of Figure 3 together with a mounting bracket therefor; Figure 5 is a partial side view of the van embodying the invention, showing a first strap of the restraining means in a retracted position and a second strap of the restraining means in an extended position; Figure 6 is a schematic partial view of the interior of the body of the van embodying the present invention, showing the internal fixings of the restraining means; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of the van embodying the present invention carrying sheets of board material against the side wall of the vehicle body.

Referring to the drawings, a van 1 embodying the present invention comprises a body 2 having a side wall 3.

Supporting means 4 is mounted at the bottom edge of the side wall 3 and is movable from a retracted position in which the supporting means 4 does not project significantly from the vehicle body into an extended position in which the supporting means 4 forms a stand for supporting the lower edge of one or more sheets of board material placed against the side wall 3 of the van. A retractable restraining means 5 is mounted on the side wall 3 of the van spaced above the supporting means 4 and is extendible over a sheet or sheets of board material standing on the supporting means 4 to hold the sheet or sheets captive against the side wall 3 of the van.

As illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, one form of the supporting means 4 comprises a plurality, for example four, of retractable support lugs 6 mounted beneath the vehicle body 2 at spaced apart locations along the lower edge of the side wall 3.

As shown in Figure 4, each of the support lugs 6 comprises a cruciform metal member having a short longitudinal arm 6A, a longer longitudinal arm 6B and a pair of equally long transverse arms 6C and 6D. The free end of the longer longitudinal arm 6B of the support lug 6 is formed with an upstanding stop 6E. The support lug 6 is slidably mounted for movement in a horizontal plane by a Ushaped metal mounting bracket 7 secured to the van body and having a base 7A interconnecting a pair of parallel legs 7B and 7C. The support lug 6 is disposed between the legs 7B and 7C of the bracket 7 with the transverse arms 6C and 6D of the support lug 6 received in respective parallel guide slots 7D and 7E formed in the legs 7B and 7C of the mounting bracket 7 and the short longitudinal arm 6A of the lug 6 nearer the base 7A of the bracket. The support lug 6 is thereby guided for movement along the slots 7D and 7E between a retracted position in which the stop 6E of the support lug 6 is received against the side wall of the vehicle body and an extended position in which the longer longitudinal arm 6B of the support lug 6 projects through the open end of the mounting bracket 7 with the stop 6E spaced outwardly from the side wall of the vehicle body.

Figure 3 of the drawings also illustrates another form of supporting means 4A in the form of an elongate ledge member 8A formed with a stop bar 8B extending along an outer longitudinal edge of the ledge member 8A. At each end of its inner longitudinal edge, the ledge member plate 8A is provided with a cruciform mounting lug 8B, 8C which co-operates with a respective mounting bracket 7 secured to the van body to mount the ledge member 8 on the vehicle body for movement between a retracted position in which the stop bar 8B abuts the side wall of the van and an extended position in which the stop bar 8B is spaced from the side wall of the van.

The upper restraining means 5 comprises retractable restraining lines in the form of a pair of webbing straps 9 and 10 which are normally held in a stored condition on vertically spaced apart spring-loaded reels 11 and 12 mounted within the body 2 of the van at one end of the body on the side wall 3. An end portion of each of the straps 9 and 10 passes through a respective vertical outlet slit 14, 15 in the side wall 3 of the van body and is provided with a tag 16, 17 outside the van body, whereby the strap can be extended from the reel 11, 12 horizontally along the body of the van and passed back into the interior of the van body through a respective inlet slit 18, 19 and the tag 16, 17 then secured to fixings within the van body.

In use of van 1 to support large sheets of board material outside the van, the support lugs 6 are first moved from their retracted position to the extended position shown in Figures 2 and 3 whilst the straps 9 and 10 remain in their stored condition. One or more large sheets of board material 20, 21 (see Figure 7) may then be supported on the projecting portions of the arms 6B of the support lugs 6, the boards being prevented from slipping off the lugs by the stops 6E. The boards are then strapped to the side wall 3 of the van 1 by extending the restraining straps 9 and 10, passing the straps over the outermost board supported on the support lugs 6 and then passing the tags 16 and 17 at the free ends of the straps through the slits 18 and 19 into the vehicle body where they are secured to their fixings. In this way, as shown in Figure 7, the sheets 21, 22 are supported at their lower edges on the support lugs 6 and are held captive against the side wall 3 of the van by the spaced-apart restraining straps 9 and 10.

It is envisaged that the support means 4 and the restraining means 5 could be provided on one side only of a van or, as shown in the drawings, on both side walls of the van to increase the board carrying capability of the van.

Claims

1. A vehicle for transporting sheets of board material externally of a body of the vehicle, comprising supporting means mounted at a lower edge of a side wall of the vehicle body and movable between a retracted position in which the supporting means does not project significantly from the vehicle body and an extended position in which the supporting means forms a stand for supporting a lower edge of one or more sheets of board material placed against the side wall of the vehicle body, and restraining means mounted on the side wall of the vehicle body above the supporting means for holding a sheet or sheets of board material standing on the extruded supporting means captive against the side wall of the vehicle body.

2. A vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein the supporting means comprises a plurality of movable support lugs mounted at spaced apart locations along the lower edge of the side wall of the vehicle body.

3. A vehicle according to Claim 2, wherein each support lug is mounted on a respective mounting bracket secured to the vehicle body for sliding movement between the said retracted and extended positions.

4. A vehicle according to Claim 3, wherein each mounting bracket is U-shaped and comprises a base interconnecting a pair of parallel legs extending transversely of the lower edge of the side wall of the vehicle body.

5. A vehicle according to Claim 4, wherein each support lug is a cruciform member having a pair of longitudinal arms and a pair of transverse arms, the support lug being disposed between the legs of the mounting bracket with the transverse arms of the support lug received in respective parallel guide slots formed in the legs of the mounting bracket, sot that the support lug is slidable from a retracted position within the mounting bracket into an extended position in which one of the longitudinal arms thereof projects from the bracket between the free ends of the legs of the bracket.

6. a vehicle according to Claim 5, wherein the one longitudinal arm of the support lug is formed with an upstanding stop at its free ends.

7. A vehicle according to Claim 5 or 6, wherein the one longitudinal arm of the support lug is longer than the other longitudinal arm of the lug.

8. A vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein the supporting means comprises an elongate ledge member extending parallel to the lower edge of the side wall of the vehicle body and slidably mounted for movement between the said retracted and extended positions.

9. A vehicle according to Claim 8, wherein one longitudinal edge of the ledge member is formed at each end thereof with a mounting lug which is slidably mounted on a respective mounting bracket secured to the vehicle body.

10. A vehicle according to Claim 9, wherein each mounting bracket is U-shaped and comprises a base interconnecting a pair of parallel legs extending transversely of the lower edge of the side wall of the vehicle body.

11. A vehicle according to Claim 10, wherein each mounting lug is cruciform in shape and is received between the legs of the mounting bracket with transverse arms of the mounting lug received in respective parallel guide slots formed in the legs of the mounting bracket.

12. A vehicle according to any one of Claims 9 to 11, wherein the other longitudinal edge of the ledge member is formed with an upstanding stop.

13. A vehicle according to any preceding claim, wherein the restraining means comprises a retractable restraining line which is extendible from a stored condition over a sheet or sheets of board material placed on the supporting means, a free end of the restraining line being securable to the vehicle body in the extended condition of the line.

14. A vehicle according to Claim 13, wherein the restraining line is received on a spring-loaded reel in its stored condition.

15. A vehicle according to Claim 14, wherein the reel is mounted on the side wall of the vehicle body within the vehicle body and passes out of the vehicle body through an outlet opening in the side wall of the vehicle body.

16. A vehicle according to Claim 15, wherein, in the extended condition of the restraining line, the free end of the line is passed through an inlet opening in the side wall of the vehicle body and is secured to the side wall within the vehicle body.

17. A vehicle according to any one of Claims 13 to 16, wherein the restraining line is a strap having a tag at its free end.

18. A vehicle according to Claim 17, wherein the restraining strap is made of webbing.

19. A vehicle according to any one of Claims 13 to 18, wherein the restraining means comprises a pair of vertically spaced restraining lines.

20. A vehicle for carrying sheets of board material externally of a body of the vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.