Claims:
WE CLAIM:
1. A mounting arrangement (1000) for the cab (100) of a truck comprising:
• a pair of lateral members (200) of a chassis of said truck;
• a pair of brackets (300), each of said brackets (300) fixed at a substantially front portion of its corresponding lateral member (200);
• a shaft (110) passing through a front lower portion of said cab (100) and supported by said brackets (300);
wherein:
each of said brackets (300) comprises:
? a base plate (310) provided with at least two mounting holes (312) for fixing said bracket (300) onto said lateral members (200);
? a housing (315) configured on said base plate (310), said housing (315) configured to house said shaft (110); and
? at least one rib extending from an exterior surface of said housing (315) away along a surface of said base plate (310).
2. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in a side view, axis of said housing (315) is disposed in an operative front side of said mounting holes (312).
3. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 2, wherein, in a side view, the operative front edge (314) of said base plate (310) makes an angle ‘a’ ranging from 50°-60° with the horizontal axis.
4. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein an operative front and top surface of said housing (315) is provided with a nose (370).
5. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rib is bent.
6. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 5, wherein a rib (334) provided along an operative rear edge (316) of said base plate (310) is bent and said operative rear edge (316) is curved so as to define a gap between said rear edge (316) and said rib (334).
7. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 6, wherein, in a side view, lower part of said rib (334) makes an angle ‘ß’ ranging from 145°-155° with the horizontal axis.
8. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a flange mounting plate (350) is joined perpendicular to said base plate (310).
9. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 8, wherein said rib extends upto said flange mounting plate (350).
10. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 9, wherein a rib (332) is provided along an operative front edge (314) of said base plate (314), said rib (332) extends upto said flange mounting plate (350).
11. The mounting arrangement (1000) as claimed in claim 10, wherein an angular element (390) is joined between said rib (332) and said flange mounting plate (350).
, Description:
FIELD
The present invention relates to mounting arrangements for the cabin of trucks.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
Typically, a truck cabin is mounted on an operative front portion of the chassis of the truck and the trailer is mounted behind the cabin thereon. The engine may be on a front side or at the bottom of the cab. The driver of the truck sits inside the cabin, wherein the steering wheel, gear shifting rod and other controls are available for operation to the driver. When loaded upto its capacity or beyond, trucks become difficult to decelerate due to the high overall inertia. The cabin is, therefore, at a high risk of damage due to collision of the truck from the front side. This also puts life of the cabin occupants in danger. Truck accidents are very common on highways.
In a cab-behind-engine type of a truck, energy of a head-on collision may be absorbed to a large extent by the engine compartment, and thus prevent transferring of the impact to the cab. On the other hand, in a truck of cab-over-engine type, the cab is directly exposed to the collision. Strengthening components may be added within the frame of the cab so as to increase rigidity thereof and thus mitigate damage to the cab and risk to the occupant’s life. Such an addition of material only increases the inertia of the cabin, which ultimately requires compromise on the payload of the truck, to maintain good fuel efficiency of the engine of the truck.
Hence, there is need of an arrangement which protects occupants of the cab of a truck in a head-on collision and therefore ameliorates the aforementioned issues.

OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment satisfies, are as follows:
A primary object of the present disclosure is to provide a means for absorbing energy of a head-on collision in a truck.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a means for absorbing energy of a head-on collision in a cab-over-engine type truck.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a means for absorbing energy of a head-on collision in a cab-over-engine type truck, which allows provision of a light-weight cab.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a means for absorbing energy of a head-on collision in a cab-over-engine type truck, which is reliable.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a mounting arrangement for the cab of a truck. The mounting arrangement comprises a pair of lateral members of a chassis of the truck, a pair of brackets and a shaft. Each of the pair of brackets is fixed at a substantially front portion of its corresponding lateral member. The shaft is inserted through a front lower portion of the cab and is supported by the brackets. Each of the brackets comprises a base plate, a housing and at least one rib. The base plate is provided with at least two mounting holes for fixing the bracket onto the lateral members of the chassis. The housing is configured on the base plate. The housing is configured to house the shaft. The rib extends from an exterior surface of the housing away along a surface of the base plate.
In an embodiment, in a side view, axis of the housing is disposed in an operative front side of the mounting holes of the bracket. In a preferred embodiment, in a side view, the operative front edge of said base plate makes an angle ‘a’ ranging from 50°-60° with the horizontal axis.
In another embodiment, an operative front and top surface of the housing is provided with a nose.
In yet another embodiment, the rib is bent. In a preferred embodiment, a rib provided along an operative rear edge of the base plate is bent and the operative rear edge is curved so as to define a gap between the rear edge and the rib. In a preferred embodiment, in a side view, lower part of the rib makes an angle ‘ß’ ranging from 145°-155° with the horizontal axis.
In still another embodiment, a flange mounting plate is joined perpendicular to the base plate. In a preferred embodiment, the rib extends upto the flange mounting plate. In another embodiment, a rib is provided along an operative front edge of the base plate, wherein the rib extends upto the flange mounting plate. In yet another embodiment, an angular element is joined between the rib and the flange mounting plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a mounting arrangement for the cab of a truck according to the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a front view of mounting arrangement of Figure 1;
Figure 3 illustrates an isometric view of a mounting bracket according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a side view of the mounting bracket of Figure 4;
Figure 5 illustrates a zoomed-in view of the mounting bracket of Figure 5;
Figure 6 illustrates a side view of the mounting bracket of Figure 4 with markings for characteristic angles; and
Figure 7a and 7b of Figure 7 illustrate before-collision and after-collision states of the bracket of Figure 4.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
1000 cab mounting arrangement
100 cab
110 shaft
115 shaft stopper
200 lateral member of chassis
300 bracket
310 base plate
312 mounting point of base plate
314 operative front edge of base plate
315 housing
316 operative rear edge of base plate
332 front rib
334 rear rib
336 middle rib
350 flange mounting plate
352 mounting point of flange mounting plate
370 nose
390 angular element
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “including” and “having” are open-ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The particular order of steps disclosed in the method and process of the present disclosure is not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance as described or illustrated. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element is referred to as being “mounted on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or ‘coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.
The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.
Terms such as “inner”, “outer”, “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.
A truck with a cab-over-engine-type arrangement requires the cab (i.e., cabin) to be mounted on a pair of brackets which are fitted on lateral members of the chassis of the truck. The chassis may be a ladder-type chassis having the pair of lateral members which extend along the operative front-rear direction of the truck and support cross-members therebetween. A shaft is inserted through the base of the cab and is further inserted in housings formed in the brackets. Thus, the cab can be rotated about the bushings’ axis in order to access the engine compartment underneath.
Such a cab of a cab-over-engine type truck being directly exposed on the front side, in case of a head-on collision, the cab and therefore the occupants seated therewithin are at a higher risk than in a truck of a cab-behind-engine type. When a head-on collision happens, the conventional mounting brackets of the cab sheer off, and the entire cabin is subject to the force of the collision. There is another possibility of a component actually impacting with the bracket skidding off the surface of the bushing housing, resulting in the impact energy not being transferred through the brackets. Hence, there is need of a modification in the structure of the cab including the mounting arrangement which would bring about absorption of the energy of the impact and reduce the risk to the occupants seated in the cab.
The present disclosure envisages a mounting arrangement 1000 for mounting the cab 100 of a truck, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Particularly, the truck is of cab-over-engine type. The mounting arrangement 1000 of the present disclosure comprises a pair of lateral members 200 of a chassis of the truck, a pair of brackets 300 – an LH bracket and a RH bracket – fixed at a substantially front portion of the lateral members 200 and a shaft 110 passing through the front lower portion of the cab 100 of the truck, wherein the shaft 110 is supported by the brackets 300. The shaft 110 is held from sliding out in its axial direction by means of shaft stoppers 115, as shown in Figure 7. The shaft 110 is inserted into the front lower portion of the cab 100. Each of the brackets 300 of the present disclosure, illustrated through Figures 3 to 6, comprises a base plate 310, a housing 315 and at least one rib. The base plate 310 is provided with at least two mounting holes 312 for fixing the bracket 300 onto the lateral members 200. The base plate 310 is mounted on an operative lateral surface of the corresponding lateral member 200, using threaded fasteners or any similar method. The housing 315 is joined with the base plate 310. In another embodiment, the housing 315 is integral with the base plate 310. Ends of the shaft 110 are housed in the housings 315 of the brackets 300. The ribs extend from an exterior surface of the housing 315 away along a surface of the base plate 310.
The housing 315 of the shaft is cylindrical-shaped. The housing 315 is further provided with a bushing. The bushing is lubricated and allows rotation of the shaft within its inner surface.
As shown in Figures 3-6, one or more ribs are provided along a surface of the base plate 310. Each of the ribs is attached to the base plate 310 with its surface perpendicular to the plane of the base plate 310. The operative top edges of the ribs are attached to an exterior surface of the housing 315, preferably by welding.
In an embodiment, as seen in the side view of Figure 6, axis of the housing 315 provided in the brackets 300 is disposed at an operative front side of the mounting points 312 of the bracket 300. In this configuration, a front impact due to a head-on collision of a truck is first received by the housing 315, which deforms first and thereafter the impact energy transfers to the ribs 332, 334, 336 which bend consequently, thereby absorbing a significant portion of the impact energy. Figure 7 illustrates before-impact and after-impact states of the bracket 300 of the present disclosure. Preferably, the front edge 312 of the base plate 310 of the bracket 300 makes an angle ‘a’ ranging from 50°-60° with the horizontal axis in a side view, as shown in Figure 6.
In another embodiment, an operative front and top surface of the housing 315 is provided with a nose 370. The nose 370 is an angular element, with the corner of the angle pointing outward and the ends fixed onto the surface of the housing 300 in an operative configuration. The nose 370 is joined to the housing preferably by welding. The purpose of providing the nose 370 is to ensure that the component of the vehicle that comes into contact with the bracket 300 during a head-on collision does not skid over the curvature of the housing 315 of the bracket 300 which would preventing any deformation of the bracket 300 and resultant absorption of impact energy. More particularly, if the component of the vehicle chassis or the cabin that hits the bracket 300 from the front side at a point which is above the axis of the housing 315, the likelihood of skidding increases. Due to such a skidding, the impact energy is directed partly in the vertical (Z) direction. The nose 370 is configured on the bracket 300 to avoid such a skidding of the impacting component.
In an embodiment, at least one of the ribs is bent, as shown in Figures 3-6 in a pre-collision state. This ensures that the rib undergoes further bending deformation at the bent portion as the impact energy partly transfers from the housing 315 into the rib as the housing 315 further pushes over the rib during a collision. In a preferred embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the bracket 300 is provided with three ribs – a front rib 332, a middle rib 336 and a rear rib 334, out of which all of the ribs are bent, the bends being provided in the central portion along the length of the ribs. In another embodiment, the operative rear edge 314 of the base plate 310 is curved so as to define a gap between the rear edge 314 of the base plate 310 and the rear rib 334, as illustrated in the zoomed-in view of Figure 5. In a side view, the lower part 334b of the rib, as shown in Figure 6, i.e., the part operatively below the bent portion, makes an angle ranging from 145°-155° with the horizontal axis.
In another embodiment, a flange mounting plate 350 is provided on the base plate 310, as illustrated in Figure 3. The flange mounting plate 350 is joined perpendicular to the base plate 310. The joining is preferably done using welding. The flange mounting plate 350 is also provided with at least two holes 352 for mounting the bracket 300 on an operative top surface of the corresponding lateral member 200, using threaded fasteners or any similar method. In an embodiment, all the ribs, including the front rib 332, which is provided along an operative front edge 312 of the base plate 310, extend upto the flange mounting plate 350. The lower ends of the ribs are joined with the flange mounting plate 350, preferably by welding. In another embodiment, another angular element 390 is joined between the front rib 332 and the flange mounting plate 350, as shown in Figure 3. The outer faces of the sides of the angular element 390 are joined to the front rib 332 and the flange mounting plate 350, preferably by welding. The angular element 390 is also bent to subtend an angle ‘a’ ranging from 50°-60° with the horizontal axis in a side view, as shown in Figure 6. The purpose of the angular element 390 is to provide additional rigidity to the construction of the bracket 300, so that the bracket 300 undergoes deformation only at higher magnitudes of load generated by a head-on collision. The desired load at which the bracket 300 of the present disclosure is designed to deform is in the order of tonnes. The angular element 390 thus protects against any premature deformation of the brackets 300 (i.e., ribs of the brackets) at lower magnitudes of loads.
All elements of the bracket are made out of high-strength steel or a similar material. However, different elements are made out of different grade of the steel, so that the only the ribs 332, 334 undergo bending deformation first, i.e., at a lower magnitude of load, and rest of the elements of bracket 300 would deform later, i.e., at a higher magnitude of load. Thus, as illustrated in Figure 7b, the housing 315 and the ribs 332 and 334 are deformed, while the base plate 310 is not.
Thus, the bracket 300 of the present disclosure ensures that the energy of impact in a head-on collision is significantly absorbed due to the deformation of the brackets, particularly due to the deformation of the ribs like the ribs 332, 334, 336 provided on the brackets 300. The constructional features of the bracket 300 ensure that the energy of impact is reliably transferred through the bracket without the impacting component skidding over the bracket after contact. Overall, the mounting arrangement for the cab of a cab-over-engine type of a truck, as envisaged by the present disclosure, enhances occupant safety in an event of an unlikely head-on collision. Also, requirement for addition of strengthening components to the cab for increasing its rigidity is made redundant by the mounting arrangement, particularly the brackets of the present disclosure. Hence, a light-weight cab can be used for the truck.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a mounting arrangement for the cab of a truck, which ensures:
• a safer cabin for occupants;
• less damage in case of collision;
• cost advantage due to low weight of cabin; and
• more payload due to low weight of cabin.
The foregoing disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.