JP7801943B2 - Swap Body - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a swap body that is detachable from a truck chassis and includes a frame with a luggage compartment formed on the upper side and multiple support legs that rotate relative to the frame and protrude below the frame.

An example of such a swap body is known, as shown in Patent Document 1. This swap body stands on its own when performing loading and unloading operations by causing multiple support legs to protrude below the frame. The swap body is then attached to the truck chassis when transporting cargo. Furthermore, when loading and unloading operations are performed at the destination, the swap body is separated from the truck chassis and stands on its own by causing multiple support legs to protrude below the frame.

In this way, using a swap body has the advantage that trucks and drivers are not needed during loading and unloading operations, thereby increasing the operational efficiency of the trucks and drivers. In the swap body described in Patent Document 1, the longitudinal length of the frame and the longitudinal length of the luggage compartment are the same.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-024431

In recent years, with the increasing demand for transporting cargo in a frozen or refrigerated state, it has become necessary to equip such swap bodies with air-blowing devices such as freezers. In this case, the swap body must be able to accommodate the air-blowing devices while maintaining the longitudinal length and strength of the frame so that it can be attached and detached from conventional trucks.

The swap body of the present invention is a swap body that is attached to and detached from a truck chassis and includes a frame with a luggage compartment formed on the upper side and multiple support legs that rotate relative to the frame and protrude below the frame. The longitudinal length of the frame is longer than the longitudinal length of the luggage compartment, and the luggage compartment is formed toward the rear end of the frame in the longitudinal direction. A blower capable of blowing cool air into the luggage compartment is located between the front end of the frame in the longitudinal direction and the luggage compartment.

The swap body of the present invention allows a blower to be installed while maintaining the longitudinal length and strength of the frame.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a free-standing swap body and a truck. FIG. FIG. FIG. 10 is a right side view showing the swap body on which the decorative panel is arranged. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a swap body on which a decorative panel is arranged.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Here, in Figures 2 to 4, the left side will be referred to as the "front side" and the right side will be referred to as the "rear side." In other words, in the truck 10, the driver's seat 11 side is the "front side." In addition, in the truck 10, the vehicle length direction will be referred to as the "longitudinal direction," and the vehicle width direction will be referred to as the "transverse direction."

As shown in Figure 1, the truck 10 has a driver's seat 11 at the front and a chassis 12 at the rear. A swap body 20 is attached to the top surface of this chassis 12. The swap body 20 includes a frame 30, a luggage compartment 40, and multiple support legs 50.

As shown in Figure 2, the frame 30 has multiple vertical beams 31 and multiple horizontal beams 32. The multiple vertical beams 31 are arranged in the longitudinal direction and are parallel to each other in the short direction. The multiple horizontal beams 32 are arranged in the short direction and are parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction. The vertical beams 31 and horizontal beams 32 intersect at right angles to form a grid pattern.

As shown in FIG. 1, a luggage compartment 40 is formed above the frame 30. The luggage compartment 40 is a rectangular box (van type) with a front wall 41 at the front, a rear wall 42 at the rear, a right side wall 43 on the right side when viewed from the front, a left side wall 44 on the left side when viewed from the front, a ceiling 45 above, and a floor panel 46 below. A door 42a is provided on the rear wall 42 for entering the interior of the luggage compartment 40. A door 43a is also provided on the right side wall 43 for entering the interior of the luggage compartment 40.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a plurality of support legs 50 are provided on the frame 30. The support legs 50 rotate relative to the frame 30, changing from a horizontal position to a vertical position and protruding below the frame 30. In this example, six support legs 50 are provided at both ends of the frame 30 in the short direction: support legs 50, 50 at the front end in the longitudinal direction (hereinafter also referred to as "front legs"), support legs 50, 50 at the center in the longitudinal direction (hereinafter also referred to as "middle legs"), and support legs 50, 50 at the rear end in the longitudinal direction (hereinafter also referred to as "rear legs").

The upper end of each support leg 50 is fixed to a horizontal shaft 51. The horizontal shaft 51 extends in the short direction and is supported on the underside of the frame 30 so that it can rotate around its central axis.

Referring to Figure 1, the attachment and detachment of the swap body 20 and chassis 12 will be explained. First, when loading cargo, the multiple support legs 50 are rotated together with the horizontal shaft 51 to a vertical position so that the swap body 20 can stand on its own. In this vertical position, the support legs 50 are placed on leg base plates 52 to prevent indentations from the support legs 50 from being made on the loading area.

Next, when transporting cargo, the air suspension of the truck 10 is deflated to lower the height of the chassis 12, the truck 10 is moved backward, and the chassis 12 is positioned below the swap body 20. In this state, the height of the chassis 12 is raised by inflating the air suspension of the truck 10, causing the upper surface of the chassis 12 to come into contact with the lower surface of the frame 30, and the lower ends of the multiple support legs 50 are raised above the leg base plate 52. The chassis 12 and frame 30 are then fastened together with lock bolts. The multiple support legs 50 are then rotated together with the horizontal shaft 51 to a horizontal position. The horizontal support legs 50 are movable inward in the short direction, and this movement prevents them from protruding beyond the width of the frame 30. In this way, the swap body 20 is attached to the chassis 12, and by lowering the air suspension of the truck 10, the truck 10 with the swap body 20 attached can be driven.

Finally, when unloading at the destination, the truck 10's air suspension is raised, the horizontal support legs 50 are moved outward in the short direction so that they extend beyond the width of the frame 30, and the multiple support legs 50 are rotated to a vertical position, and the lock bolts fastening the chassis 12 to the frame 30 are removed. In this state, when the truck 10's air suspension is lowered, the support legs 50 touch the ground, allowing the swap body 20 to stand on its own, separating the chassis 12 and swap body 20. The truck 10 can then be driven away, leaving the swap body 20 at the loading and unloading location.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, in the swap body 20 of this embodiment, the longitudinal length of the frame 30 is longer than the length of the luggage compartment 40. The luggage compartment 40 is formed toward the longitudinal rear end of the frame 30. The refrigerator 60 is disposed between the longitudinal front end of the frame 30 and the luggage compartment 40.

Hereinafter, the portion of the frame 30 where the luggage compartment 40 is formed will be referred to as the luggage compartment installation section 30b. Furthermore, the portion of the frame 30 between the longitudinal front end of the frame 30 and the luggage compartment 40, i.e., the portion where the luggage compartment 40 is not formed, will be referred to as the refrigerator installation section 30a. The length of the refrigerator installation section 30a needs to be slightly longer than the length of the refrigerator 60 in the front-to-rear direction. In other words, the front wall 41 of the luggage compartment 40 is formed between the front legs and the middle legs. This allows the length of the luggage compartment installation section 30b, i.e., the length of the luggage compartment 40 in the front-to-rear direction, to be maximized.

The refrigerator 60 is an example of an air blower, capable of blowing cool air into the luggage compartment 40. The refrigerator 60 is arranged both inside and outside the luggage compartment 40 in a hole formed in the upper part of the front wall 41 of the luggage compartment 40, with the condenser 60a located outside and the evaporator 60b located inside.

In a swap body in which the longitudinal length of the frame and the longitudinal length of the luggage compartment are the same, as described in Patent Document 1, if the refrigerator is positioned so that it protrudes forward from the front end of the luggage compartment, when the swap body is standing on its own, the weight of the refrigerator causes an excessive rotational moment to be exerted on the front legs, causing the swap body to become unstable.

However, in the swap body 20 of this embodiment, the longitudinal length of the frame 30 is longer than the length of the luggage compartment 40, the luggage compartment 40 is formed toward the longitudinal rear end of the frame 30, and the refrigerator 60 is positioned between the longitudinal front end of the frame 30 and the luggage compartment 40. Therefore, the weight of the refrigerator 60 does not cause excessive rotational moment on the front legs, and the posture of the swap body 20 does not become unstable.

Furthermore, if the longitudinal length of the frame 30 is made the same as the longitudinal length of the frame in a conventional swap body, it can be attached and detached to a conventional truck, maintaining compatibility. Furthermore, if the longitudinal length of the frame 30 is made the same as the longitudinal length of the frame in a conventional swap body, the strength of the swap body 20 can be maintained even when the refrigerator 60 is installed. Furthermore, since the front wall 41 of the luggage compartment 40 is formed between the front legs and the middle legs (i.e., the front legs are located in front of the front wall 41), the refrigerator 60 can be positioned stably.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, a ladder unit 61 having a ladder 61a, a fuel tank 63, a battery 64, and the like can be arranged in the refrigerator installation section 30a of the frame 30. Decorative panels 62, 62 can be arranged on both short sides of the ladder unit 61, and decorative panels 62, 62 can also be arranged in front of the ladder unit 61. By arranging these decorative panels 62, the fuel tank 63 and battery 64 arranged in the refrigerator installation section 30a can be shielded from view, creating an appearance that is integrated with the luggage compartment 40, thereby improving the aesthetics.

This decorative panel 62 is an example of a shielding material and can be made of resin, metal, wood, or a combination of these. The height of the decorative panel 62 is set so that the fuel tank 63 and battery 64 located in the refrigerator installation section 30a are not visible, but is not particularly limited.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the door 43a need not be provided on the right side wall 43 of the luggage compartment 40. Also, the number of support legs 50 may be four instead of six. When there are four support legs 50, there are front legs at the front end and rear legs at the rear end, and the front wall 41 of the luggage compartment 40 is formed between the front legs and rear legs.

Furthermore, the freezer 60 does not have to be entirely located within the freezer installation area 30a, and part of it may be located outside the freezer installation area 30a. The air blower may be a refrigerator instead of the freezer 60. Furthermore, the ladder unit 61 and decorative panel 62 may be omitted in part or in whole.

10... Truck 12... Chassis 20... Swap body 30... Frame 40... Luggage compartment 50... Support leg 60... Refrigerator 62... Decorative panel

Claims (3)

A swap body that is detachable from a truck chassis and includes a frame having a luggage compartment formed on the upper side and a plurality of support legs that rotate relative to the frame and protrude below the frame,
The length of the frame in the longitudinal direction is longer than the maximum length of the luggage compartment in the longitudinal direction,
The luggage compartment is formed toward the rear end of the frame in the longitudinal direction,
A swap body in which a blower capable of blowing cool air into the interior of the luggage compartment is disposed above a portion of the frame that protrudes forward from the front wall of the luggage compartment and does not overlap with the luggage compartment . The swap body according to claim 1,
the plurality of support legs include front legs provided at a front end of the frame in the longitudinal direction, a middle leg provided at a central portion of the frame in the longitudinal direction, and a rear leg provided at a rear end of the frame in the longitudinal direction,
The front wall of the luggage compartment is formed between the front leg and the middle leg. The swap body according to claim 1 or 2,
a fuel tank is disposed on the portion of the frame that protrudes forward beyond the front wall of the luggage compartment;
A swap body in which a shielding material is arranged between the front end of the frame in the longitudinal direction and the luggage compartment to shield the fuel tank so that it cannot be seen from the outside .