Fruehauf Corporation

Stephen J Ringe

Michael J Keeler

Tara N Banerjea

Richard A Abott

Edmund A Stanczak

A plate wall cargo vehicle construction is disclosed comprising a multiplicity of light weight laminated panels. Each panel comprises a resinous core material having a metal skin adhesively bonded to each planar surface thereof.

Cargo vehicle wall construction

Disclosed herein is a landing gear assembly having legs extending downward from the underframe of a trailer and having a sand shoe at the ground engaging end thereof. The shoe is articulately joined to the ground engaging end of the leg by a collar circumscribing the ground engaging end of the leg. Compressed between the base of the leg and the bottom of the shoe is a wedge-shaped resilient member biasing the shoe into a tilted position relative to the plate.

Sand shoe

A double pivot or toggle action hinge action and a latching or keeping function are combined in a single entity for the purpose of hinging a door as well as serving as the mechanism to lock the door in a closed position. The combined assembly includes a shaft defining a first pivot axis and interdigitated hinge members on the shaft and on the associated door which are pivotally joined about a second axis parallel to the first axis and a handle is connected to the shaft to control the toggling action of the hinge and, finally, the door is provided with a latch or keeper which is adapted to capture and retain the handle whereby positively to hold the assembly in door-closed position.

Double pivot door for cargo vehicles

A hollow keeper housing is secured to the header or sill of a door of a truck trailer for receiving a generally arcuate camming finger disposed at the end of a rotatable vertical lock rod. The camming finger and keeper housing are designed so that when force is applied against a latched door, a relatively flat surface of the camming finger is tangent with the inner camming surface of the hollow keeper housing at a point located a distance from a plane parallel to the line of force and passing through the axis of rotation of the lock rod, the distance providing a torque in a latching direction.

Door hardware with positive torque

A trailer having a front undercarriage assembly including lower members or 'feet' that are adapted to automatically retract when the trailer is coupled to a tractor. Direct mechanical linkages are provided throughout the retracting mechanism to insure positive operation of the apparatus. In addition, a novel latching mechanism is disclosed that is adapted to automatically lock the vehicles in the coupled position and permit convenient disengagement of the trailer from the tractor.

Automatic supports

A combination door header and rain gutter for a trailer is disclosed. A generally U-shaped section having vertically oriented leg portions of different height extends across the top of a door opening of the trailer. A substantially Z-shaped closure member is secured to the upper edges of the leg portions on the U-shaped section. The forward portion of the Z-shaped member defines a rain gutter and provides for attachment of the roof skin of the vehicle and the rearward end of the Z-shaped member forms a drip cap.

Door header construction

A generally arcuate camming finger is disposed at each end of a vertical lock rod which is rockable about its axis and which extends above and below the edges of a door of a cargo vehicle body such as an enclosed freight-hauling semi-trailer, or a large container for cargo. The lock rod has a horizontally extending operating handle that locks against the outer surface of the door in the conventional manner. As the door completes its closing movements, each finger enters an opening in a hollow keeper housing secured to the header or sill of the door opening, and when the lock rod is rotated exerts a camming force by engagement with a keeper pin to produce the final movement of the door to closed and locked position. The door has a reinforcing rib which carries one half of an anti-rack mechanism the other half of which is associated with a keeper housing which carries the keeper pin.

Growing community of inventors

Detroit, MI, United States of America

Stephen J Ringe