Patent US1916002A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3836769A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Retractable walls
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1972-11-09
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Granted: 1974-09-17
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Expires: 1992-11-09
Abstract
Abstract Retractable side walls for a flat bed semitrailer comprising panels which can be mechanically raised to form the trailer walls, as needed, and subsequently retracted to convert the trailer back into a flat bed vehicle. Each of these panels is flexible enough for rolling around a core drum, to which one end is affixed, and there is a separate core drum for each of the panels rotatably mounted in a housing situated at an edge of the truck bed. This housing has a space for in-and-out movement of the panel to permit lowering and raising of the truck walls. Within the housing, there is a mechanism for causing the panel to unwind from its core drum, or wind onto the drum, when driven by an air impact wrench. Anchored in pockets around the outer edge of the trailer bed are a number of relatively flat upright stakes. The stakes are positioned so that there is one in the space between each pair of adjacent panels. The edges of the stakes have grooves of V-shaped cross section, and the panels have male edges of V-shaped cross section to slide matingly in the grooves of the stakes. The panels are thus guided upwardly, between the stakes, as they are unwound from the core drums, to form the trailer walls.
Inventors
- 👤 W Wilson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 19:43
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60J; B60J5/00; B60J5/04; B60J5/06; B60J5/08; B60P; B60P3/00; B60P3/42; B62; B62D; B62D53/00; B62D53/04; B62D53/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
428 words
Retractable wall means primarily suitable for use in providing temporary walls for flat-bed trailers, comprising: a plurality of panels, each panel being flexible enough for rolling around a core but of transversely rigid character and comprising a plurality of slats arranged with side edges adjacent and pivotally joined to render said panel flexible; rotatable core means including a core for each of said panels and means rotatably supporting same; holding means for anchoring one end of each of said panels to said core so that the panel winds around said core when the latter is rotated in the proper direction to permit this; panel actuating means associated with each of said panels and said rotatable core means, said panel actuating means serving to urge the panel away from its core and in an upward direction for wall forming purposes, or downward and around said core for wall retracting purposes, when a properly directed powering force is applied thereto; and receiving and guiding means for receiving and guiding the edges of each of said panels to hold the panel straight and guide it, when it is being moved upwardly for wall forming purposes, or downwardly for wall retracting purposes; said retractable wall means including a plurality of housings for said panels, each at least partially enclosing a separate one of said rotatable core means and its associated panel actuating means, said housings being adapted for installation at the edges of a flat-bed trailer, the outer wall of each of said housings having an outer and an inner partition, separated by a space, the inner partition depending partway to the bottom from the top of said housing; each flexible panel being wound on a separate one of the cores so that its leading edge unrolls to thread under the inner partition, and then upwardly through the space separating the inner and outer partitions of said outer wall of one of said housings, to upward extension therefrom for trailer wall formation when said panel is being moved upwardly for wall forming purposes; the receiving and guiding means for said panels comprising a plurality of stakes positionable around the edges of the bed of said flat-bed trailer so that their side edges engage the side edges of adjacent panels and help guide these panels upwardly as said panels are being unwound from their cores for wall forming purposes, the edges of said stakes and said panels being shaped for sliding interfit so that the stakes and panels remain engaged as the panels are rolled upwardly or downwardly by said panel actuating means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
428 words
Retractable wall means primarily suitable for use in providing temporary walls for flat-bed trailers, comprising: a plurality of panels, each panel being flexible enough for rolling around a core but of transversely rigid character and comprising a plurality of slats arranged with side edges adjacent and pivotally joined to render said panel flexible; rotatable core means including a core for each of said panels and means rotatably supporting same; holding means for anchoring one end of each of said panels to said core so that the panel winds around said core when the latter is rotated in the proper direction to permit this; panel actuating means associated with each of said panels and said rotatable core means, said panel actuating means serving to urge the panel away from its core and in an upward direction for wall forming purposes, or downward and around said core for wall retracting purposes, when a properly directed powering force is applied thereto; and receiving and guiding means for receiving and guiding the edges of each of said panels to hold the panel straight and guide it, when it is being moved upwardly for wall forming purposes, or downwardly for wall retracting purposes; said retractable wall means including a plurality of housings for said panels, each at least partially enclosing a separate one of said rotatable core means and its associated panel actuating means, said housings being adapted for installation at the edges of a flat-bed trailer, the outer wall of each of said housings having an outer and an inner partition, separated by a space, the inner partition depending partway to the bottom from the top of said housing; each flexible panel being wound on a separate one of the cores so that its leading edge unrolls to thread under the inner partition, and then upwardly through the space separating the inner and outer partitions of said outer wall of one of said housings, to upward extension therefrom for trailer wall formation when said panel is being moved upwardly for wall forming purposes; the receiving and guiding means for said panels comprising a plurality of stakes positionable around the edges of the bed of said flat-bed trailer so that their side edges engage the side edges of adjacent panels and help guide these panels upwardly as said panels are being unwound from their cores for wall forming purposes, the edges of said stakes and said panels being shaped for sliding interfit so that the stakes and panels remain engaged as the panels are rolled upwardly or downwardly by said panel actuating means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
Retractable wall means in accordance with claim 1 in which the edges of the stakes and panels are of V-shaped cross section, the stakes having female, and the panels male, edge configurations, to permit said sliding interfit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
187 words
Retractable wall means in accordance with claim 1 in which each of said panels has an inner surface with transverse ridges and grooves and in which said panel actuating means comprises a primary drive shaft, a secondary drive shaft connected through gear means to said primary drive shaft, sprocket drive means operative from said secondary drive shaft for rotating said core, gear drive means mounted on said secondary drive shaft and positioned and adapted to mesh with the ridges and grooves of said inner surface of said panel where the latter extends upwardly into the hollow space in the front wall of said housing, so as to impart upward driving force to the panel when said panel actuating means is powered to unwind said panel from said core, and slip drive means associated with said core adapted to permit slippage of the core on said means rotatably supporting same when said panel actuating means is powered to wind said panel onto said core and the panel take up speed of the core would otherwise exceed the speed with which the panel is being fed to said core.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
133 words
Retractable wall means in accordance with claim 3 in which said primary drive shaft is a shaft having a worm gear around a portion of its length and a socket for an air impact wrench at one end; said gear means connecting the secondary and primary drive shafts comprises a spur gear mounted on the secondary drive shaft in meshing relationship with said worm gear; said sprocket means comprises a drive sprocket mounted on said secondary drive shaft in coactive relation with said spur gear, a driven sprocket positioned to turn said core when driven by said drive sprocket, except when the core is permitted to slip by said slip drive means, and a drive chain interconnecting the drive and driven sprockets for the transmission of power from the former to the latter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
51 words
Retractable wall means in accordance with claim 4 in which said panel is made up of slats of extruded material having corrugated inner surfaces and in which said gear drive means mounted on said secondary drive shaft comprises a plurality of laterally spaced gears which turn coaxially with said spur gear.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
80 words
Retractable wall means in accordance with claim 2 in which said stakes between which the panels are disposed in their unwound positions have feet which fit snugly into pockets extending outwardly from the outer walls of said housings, when the latter are installed at the edges of said flat bed trailer, and in which said feet have snap fasteners adapted to fit through openings in the walls of said pockets to hold the stakes firmly in position in the pockets.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
Retractable wall means in accordance with claim 6 in which said stakes have cable guides secured to their outer surfaces, said cable guides being positioned to receive cable meaNs in encirclement of the trailer walls for wall bracing purposes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
65 words
Retractable wall means in accordance with claim 7 including corner members for the trailer walls, each comprising a dihedral structure with a pair of stake members connected to its side edges, each of said stake members having an outer edge adapted to engage an edge of one of said panels similarly to the way the edges of said stakes engage the edges of the panels.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-09-16 | 1978-03-18 | 1978-09-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-09-16 | 1982-03-18 | 1982-09-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-09-16 | 1986-03-18 | 1986-09-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |