Back to results
US 2014/0210228 A1Published application
Drive units for tarpaulin cover systems
AssigneeCramaro Tarpaulin Systems, Inc.
InventorMichael Cramaro
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeCramaro Tarpaulin Systems, Inc.
InventorMichael Cramaro
Estimating the term…
Various configurations of drive units for tarpaulin cover systems, particularly for use on vehicle bodies, are disclosed. Exemplary drive units include a gear arrangement configured to attach to an upper perimeter section of an open-top structure and at least one motion initiating device coupled to the gear arrangement. The gear arrangement can include a left spur gear attached to a left cable holder/pulley and a right spur gear attached to a right cable holder/pulley. A motion initiating device is configured to impart a force that initiates rotation of the left spur gear and the right spur gear in opposite directions and movement (i.e. retraction and extension) of a tarpaulin coupled to the gear arrangement. The motion initiating device can be either a crank, which is driven manually, or a motor, which is driven electrically. In other configurations, at least two bevel gears or at least one secondary spur gear are coupled to the motion initiating device.
1-22. (canceled)
A drive unit for a tarpaulin cover system, comprising a gear arrangement configured to attach to an upper perimeter section of an open top structure, the gear arrangement including a left spur gear attached to a left cable holder/pulley for a left cable mounted to a tarpaulin cover, a right spur gear attached to a right cable holder/pulley for a right cable mounted to the tarpaulin cover, the left spur gear and the right spur gear being mounted on parallel axles and intermeshing with each other, a first bevel drive gear mounted coaxially to one of the spur gears for rotating that spur gear, a second bevel drive gear mounted to an axle perpendicular to the axle of the first bevel gear, the second bevel gear intermeshing with the first bevel gear, and a motion initiating device coupled to the gear arrangement and configured to impart a force that initiates rotation of the bevel drive gears and the spur gears to rotate the spur gears in opposite directions for simultaneously moving the left and right cables to thereby move the tarpaulin cover.
A drive unit for a tarpaulin cover system, comprising a gear arrangement configured to attach to an upper perimeter section of an open top structure, the gear arrangement including left spur gear attached to a left cable holder/pulley for a left cable mounted to a tarpaulin cover, a right spur gear attached to a right cable holder/pulley for a right cable mounted to the tarpaulin cover, the left spur gear and the right spur gear being mounted on parallel axles and intermeshing with each other, a secondary spur gear intermeshing with one of the left spur gear and the right spur gear and rotatable in the same direction as that spur gear, and a motion initiating device coupled to the secondary spur gear and configured to impart a force that initiates rotation of the secondary spur gear and the left spur gear and the right spur gear to rotate the left and right spur gears in opposite directions for simultaneously moving the left and right cables to thereby move the tarpaulin cover.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.