# US 2023/0056512 A1 · Dock bumper with integral lamp clearance

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- Number: US 2023/0056512 A1
- Document ID: US20230056512A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/888,923
- Filed: 2022-08-16
- Published: 2023-02-23
- Earliest claimed: 2021-08-19
- Assignees: STI Holdings, Inc.
- Applicants: STI Holdings, Inc.
- Inventors: Steven Paul Moore
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20230056512A1

## CPC

- B60R 19/023: {Details}
- B60R 19/56: {Fittings damping bouncing force in truck collisions, e.g. bumpers;} Arrangements on high-riding vehicles, e.g. lorries, for preventing vehicles or objects from running thereunder
- B65G 69/001: {Buffers for vehicles at loading stations}
- B60R 2019/026: {Buffers, i.e. bumpers of limited extent}
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)

## Abstract

A cargo vehicle includes a cargo area configured to receive a load of cargo for transport, and a plurality of wheels configured to support the cargo area above a road surface while the plurality of wheels roll along the road surface. A rear structure of the cargo vehicle includes a rear cross member located at a rear edge of the cargo area, and a first light array is located in the rear cross member. A first dock bumper is placed directly over a first lamp of the first light array on a first lateral side of the rear cross member, the first dock bumper including a through hole accommodating the first lamp to visually mark a first outboard edge of the cargo vehicle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A cargo vehicle comprising:
a cargo area configured to receive a load of cargo for transport;
a plurality of wheels configured to support the cargo area above a road surface while the plurality of wheels roll along the road surface;
a rear structure including a rear cross member located at a rear edge of the cargo area;
a first light array located in the rear cross member; and
a first dock bumper placed directly over a first lamp of the first light array on a first lateral side of the rear cross member, wherein the first dock bumper includes a through hole accommodating the first lamp to visually mark a first outboard edge of the cargo vehicle.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, wherein the cargo vehicle is a dry van, a reefer, a flatbed, or a straight truck.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first lamp is within 6 inches of the first outboard edge.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, wherein a concave recess in the first dock bumper converges toward the through hole, the concave recess providing line of sight to the first lamp from +/−45 degrees horizontal offset from directly rearward and +/−10 degrees vertical offset from directly rearward.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, wherein the through hole in the dock bumper has a circular cross-section.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first light array includes at least second and third lamps positioned inboard of the first lamp and configured to provide taillight, braking, and turn indicator functions, and wherein the first lamp has a smaller rearview area than each of the second and third lamps.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, wherein the first lamp is mounted to a forward-facing interior side of the rear cross member, and the first dock bumper does not touch or support the first lamp.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a second dock bumper placed directly over a second lamp of a second light array on a second lateral side of the rear cross member, wherein the second dock bumper includes a through hole accommodating the second lamp to visually mark a second outboard edge of the cargo vehicle.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The cargo vehicle of claim 8, wherein the first and second dock bumpers are mounted, respectively, directly above attachment points at which rear impact guard posts are attached to the rear cross member.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The cargo vehicle of claim 1, wherein a vertical rear panel of the rear cross member that accommodates the first light array and the first dock bumper has a height of less than 10 inches.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The cargo vehicle of claim 10, wherein a height of the first dock bumper is at least 33 percent of the height of the vertical rear panel of the rear cross member.

### Claim 12

A cargo vehicle comprising:
a cargo area configured to receive a load of cargo for transport;
a plurality of wheels configured to support the cargo area above a road surface while the plurality of wheels roll along the road surface;
a rear structure including a rear cross member located at a rear edge of the cargo area;
a first dock bumper placed within 6 inches of a left outboard edge of the cargo vehicle;
a first clearance lamp positioned within an outer profile of the first dock bumper when viewed from the rear of the cargo vehicle;
a second dock bumper placed within 6 inches of a right outboard edge of the cargo vehicle;
a second clearance lamp positioned within an outer profile of the second dock bumper as viewed from the rear of the cargo vehicle; and
a rear impact guard extending downward from and mounted to the rear cross member, wherein the first and second dock bumpers are mounted, respectively, directly above mounting portions of the rear impact guard that are secured to the rear cross member.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The cargo vehicle of claim 12, wherein the rear cross member includes a vertical rear panel to which both the first and second dock bumpers are attached with respective first fasteners, and wherein the mounting portions of the rear impact guard are secured to the rear cross member with respective second fasteners that extend parallel to the first fasteners through the vertical rear panel.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The cargo vehicle of claim 12, further comprising a rear frame header spaced above the rear cross member, the rear frame header having no clearance lamps.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The cargo vehicle of claim 12, wherein each of the first and second dock bumpers has a height that is at least 33 percent of a height of a vertical rear panel of the rear cross member.

### Claim 16 (depends on 12)

The cargo vehicle of claim 12, wherein the first and second dock bumpers include respective through holes accommodating at least a portion of the respective first and second clearance lamps.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The cargo vehicle of claim 16, wherein
a concave recess in the first dock bumper converges toward the through hole therein, the concave recess providing line of sight to the first clearance lamp from +/−45 degrees horizontal offset from directly rearward and +/−10 degrees vertical offset from directly rearward, and
a concave recess in the second dock bumper converges toward the through hole therein, the concave recess providing line of sight to the first clearance lamp from +/−45 degrees horizontal offset from directly rearward and +/−10 degrees vertical offset from directly rearward.

### Claim 18 (depends on 12)

The cargo vehicle of claim 12, wherein
the first dock bumper occupies a majority of the horizontal widthwise space between the left outboard edge of the cargo vehicle and a nearest adjacent lamp within the rear cross member that is not the first clearance lamp, and
the second dock bumper occupies a majority of the horizontal widthwise space between the right outboard edge of the cargo vehicle and a nearest adjacent lamp within the rear cross member that is not the second clearance lamp.

### Claim 19 (depends on 12)

The cargo vehicle of claim 12, wherein
the first clearance lamp is part of a left light array that includes at least a pair of additional lamps positioned inboard of the first clearance lamp and configured to provide taillight, braking, and turn indicator functions, and wherein the first clearance lamp has a smaller rearview area than each of the pair of additional lamps in the left light array, and
the second clearance lamp is part of a right light array that includes at least a pair of additional lamps positioned inboard of the second clearance lamp and configured to provide taillight, braking, and turn indicator functions, and wherein the second clearance lamp has a smaller rearview area than each of the pair of additional lamps in the right light array.

### Claim 20 (depends on 12)

The cargo vehicle of claim 12, wherein the cargo vehicle is a dry van, a reefer, a flatbed, or a straight truck.