Tailgate for multiple compartment material container
AssigneeMcNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, Inc.
InventorsMichael J. Brown, Clifford A. Brekke, John G. Pecka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tailgate system is disclosed that relates generally to vehicles for collecting, transporting and unloading several sorted classes of materials, that may include recyclable materials, in which the truck body is in the form of a generally hollow container mounted on a truck chassis and having an internal volume partitioned into two or more horizontally extending compartments, each equipped to receive, store and discharge or eject materials. The tailgate system is a split system that enables totally separate operation of a tailgate door for each compartment, but which includes automatic latching and maintains a relatively low center of gravity with reference to the vehicle regardless of the position of the doors.
Claims14
A tailgate system for a multi-compartment rear-discharging collection body to be mounted on a vehicle chassis and having a forward end and a rearward end and having material receiving and storage volumes, the multi-compartment collection body further including a generally horizontal intermediate divider wall for separating the storage volumes into upper and lower storage compartments, the rearward end of each compartment having a discharge opening for the discharge of material contained therein, the tailgate system comprising:
- (a) an upper door associated with the upper compartment movably connected to an upper section of said collection body and operable for translating between a closed material retaining position and an open material ejection position;
- (b) a lower door associated with said lower compartment spaced vertically from said upper door and movably connected to a mid portion of said collection body, said lower door operable for translating between a closed material retaining position and an open material ejection position, wherein said lower door has a height less than that of said discharge opening and is spaced from said upper opening in said lower compartment defining a gap therebetween;
- (c) an auxiliary closure device normally closing the upper portion of said lower compartment with said lower door and operable between a closed material retaining position and an open material releasing position;
- (d) an upper operating mechanism for opening and closing said upper door;
- and
- (e) a lower operating mechanism for opening and closing said lower door.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.