Trailer floor having extruded panels
AssigneeSamuel, Son & Co., Limited
InventorsRichard M. Balaz, William A. Willsher, Emad Fakhry Habib Assaad
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Abstract
A trailer floor assembly includes a pair of longitudinally extending side rails supporting a plurality of self-mating transverse panels. The plurality of transverse panels includes extruded aluminum panels interspersed with roll-formed steel panels at locations where extra strength is desired (e.g., king pin, landing dollies, and rear door). The extruded panels include T-shaped slots in a bottom wall thereof to allow the extruded panels to be fastened to the side rails by fasteners engaging the bottom wall of the panel but not the top wall the panel. The assembly eliminates transverse cross-beams used to support longitudinal panels in the prior art, and thereby provides improved aerodynamics.
Claims20
A trailer floor assembly comprising:
- a left side rail and a right side rail extending parallel to a longitudinal axis of the trailer floor assembly;
- a plurality of extruded metal panels supported by and extending transversely between the left and right side rails, each of the plurality of extruded metal panels having a top wall and a bottom wall connected by a front wall and a rear wall;
- wherein each of the plurality of extruded metal panels is attached to the left and right side rails by fasteners engaging the bottom wall of such panel but not the top wall of such panel;
- and
- at least one roll-formed steel panel interspersed with the plurality of extruded metal panels.
A panel comprising an elongated monolithic body formed of extruded metal, the body including a top wall and a bottom wall connected by a front wall and a rear wall, wherein the bottom wall includes at least one T-shaped slot defining a pair of upwardly facing shoulder surfaces, wherein the T-shaped slot is spaced from the top wall, the panel further comprising at least one internal partition connecting the top wall and the bottom wall, wherein a plurality of internal compartments are defined, and wherein the at least one internal partition consists of exactly four internal partitions cooperating with the front and rear walls to define exactly five internal compartments.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.