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US 7,677,642 B2Granted
Butt joint for trailer side wall
AssigneeWabash National, L.P.
InventorAndrzej Wylezinski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A butt joint assembles side panels of a side wall of a trailer to the base rail of the trailer. The butt joint positions the side panels over the base rail and vertically aligns the outer surfaces of the side panels and the base rail, which provides for an improved trailer side wall.
Claims29
A sidewall of a trailer comprising:
- top and bottom rails;
- a side panel having outer and inner surfaces, said side panel extending downwardly from said top rail;
- a base rail having outer and inner surfaces, said base rail extending upwardly from said bottom rail;
- an inner member having an inner surface and an outer surface, said inner member being a separate component from said side panel and said base rail, and said inner member is spaced from said top and bottom rails, said inner member abutting said inner surfaces of said side panel and said base rail;
- an outer member spaced from said inner member, said outer member having a generally planar inner surface and an outer surface, said outer member being a separate component from said side panel and said base rail, said outer member is spaced from said top and bottom rails, said outer member abutting said outer surfaces of said side panel and said base rail;
- and
- a channel having upper and lower portions defined by said outer surface of said inner member and said inner surface of said outer member, said lower portion of said channel positioned beneath said upper portion of said channel, said side panel positioned within said upper portion of said channel and said base rail positioned within said lower portion of said channel, said outer surfaces of said base rail and said side panel being in vertical alignment.
4 more elements
A sidewall of a trailer comprising:
- top and bottom rails;
- a side panel having an outer surface and an inner surface and defining a predetermined width;
- a base rail having an outer surface and an inner surface and defining a predetermined width which is less than the width of said side panel;
- an inner member having an inner surface and an outer surface, said inner member being a separate component from said side panel and said base rail, and said inner member is spaced from said top and bottom rails, said inner member abutting said inner surfaces of said side panel and said base rail;
- an outer member spaced from said inner member, said outer member having a generally planar inner surface and an outer surface, said outer member being a separate component from said side panel and said base rail, and said outer surface spaced from said top and bottom rails, said outer member abutting said outer surfaces of said side panel and said base rail;
- and
- a channel having upper and lower portions defined by said outer surface of said inner member and said inner surface of said outer member, said lower portion of said channel positioned beneath said upper portion of said channel, a width of said upper portion of said channel is greater than a width of said lower portion of said channel, said side panel positioned within said upper portion of said channel and said base rail positioned within said lower portion of said channel, said outer surfaces of said base rail and said side panel being in vertical alignment.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.