TRUCK BOX

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a haul truck body arranged to have a specific nominal payload capacity. The haul truck body includes an outer load carrying structure which has a front wall, two opposing side walls, and a bottom. The haul truck body further includes an inner load carrying structure arranged at inner surfaces of the outer load carrying structure, wherein neither the outer load carrying structure nor the inner load carrying structure alone is arranged to carry said specific nominal payload.

Claims

1-17. (canceled)

18. A haul truck body arranged to have a specific nominal payload capacity, said haul truck body comprising: an outer load carrying structure comprising a front wall, two opposing side walls, and a bottom; and an inner load carrying structure arranged at inner surfaces of said outer load carrying structure, wherein said inner load carrying structure comprises a lining surface for the haul truck body and a plurality of inner load carrying structure elements and wherein said inner load carrying structure comprises a polymer, wherein neither said outer load carrying structure nor said inner load carrying structure alone is arranged to carry said specific nominal payload, further wherein a thickness of the plurality of inner load carrying structure elements varies between the bottom of the truck bed and the sides of the truck bed.

19. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein said outer load carrying structure comprises a steel structure.

20. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein said inner load carrying structure comprises a lining surface for said haul truck body.

21. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein said inner load carrying structure is made of a material having a lower density than steel.

22. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein said polymer is rubber.

23. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein said polymer is a polyurethane.

24. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein the thickness of said outer load carrying structure is less than 15 mm.

25. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein the thickness of said inner load carrying structure is at least 30 mm.

26. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein a thickness ratio of said inner load carrying structure to said outer load carrying structure is at least 3:1.

27. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein a thickness ratio of said inner load carrying structure to said outer load carrying structure is in the range of 25:1 to 3:1.

28. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein a thickness ratio of said inner load carrying structure to said outer load carrying structure is in the range of 13:1 to 4:1.

29. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein a thickness ratio of said inner load carrying structure to said outer load carrying structure is in the range of 10:1 to 6:1.

30. The haul truck body according to claim 18, wherein said inner load carrying structure comprises a plurality of inner load carrying structure elements.

31. The haul truck body according to claim 30, wherein the thickness varies between different inner load carrying structure elements.

32. A method of constructing a haul truck body, comprising: designing an outer load carrying structure having a designed thickness to accommodate a desired payload; determining an additional amount of strength provided by an inner load carrying structure which can be arranged at inner surfaces of said outer load carrying structure, wherein said inner load carrying structure comprises a lining surface for the haul truck body and a plurality of inner load carrying structure elements, wherein the thickness of the plurality of inner load carrying structure elements varies between the bottom of the truck bed and the sides of the truck bed and wherein said inner load carrying structure comprises a polymer; determining a reduced thickness for the outer load carrying structure based on the additional strength provided by the inner load carrying structure, wherein the reduced thickness is less than the designed thickness; and manufacturing the haul truck body having the reduced thickness.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the inner load carrying structure is made from a polymer.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein the polymer is a rubber or a polyurethane.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The invention will be described in more detail and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0028] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a haul truck according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a truck haul body according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0030] The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplifying embodiments of the invention are shown. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided for thoroughness and completeness, and to fully convey the scope of the invention to the skilled addressee. Like reference characters refer to like elements throughout.

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a haul truck body 100 according to the invention. The haul truck body 100 comprises an outer load carrying structure 1 having a bottom 3, opposing side walls 4, 5, a front wall 6 and a canopy 7. Generally, the outer load carrying structure 1 comprises a steel structure. Arranged on an inner surface of the outer load carrying structure 1 is an inner load carrying structure 2, here arranged in the form of a plurality of lining elements 8 attached to the inner surface of the outer load carrying structure 1. More particularly, the inner load carrying structure 2 is arranged at the inner surfaces of the bottom 3, side walls 4, 5 and front wall 6 of the outer load carrying surface. The lining elements 8 can be made from one of a plurality of different materials, e.g. rubber, polyurethane, other polymers etc. Combinations of materials are also conceivable and reinforcements from e.g. steel or other metals can be arranged on or within the lining elements 8.

[0032] The inner load carrying structure 2 can be arranged at the inner surface of the outer load carrying structure 1 by any means suitable for the purpose. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, removable fastening elements 9 are used to attach the lining elements to the outer load carrying structure 1. Using such removable fastening elements provides an advantage when it comes to replacement of parts of the inner load carrying structure 2 which have been worn out, such as for example lining elements located at the bottom 3 of the haul truck body 100, generally subjected to higher wear from e.g. impact during loading and abrasive wear during transportation and unloading of material.

[0033] The inner load carrying structure 2 may furthermore be made of a material having a lower density than steel, such as for example a plastic material. In an embodiment of the invention, the plastic material is a polymer. In a preferred embodiment, the polymer is rubber. The skilled person understands, however, that other polymers, such as for example polyurethane, can be used for the inner load carrying structure 2.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A indicated in FIG. 1. As can be seen, the lining elements 8 are arranged at an inner surface of the outer load carrying structure 1. It has surprisingly been found that it is possible to take into consideration a structural strength component from the inner load carrying structure 2 when dimensioning the haul truck body 100 for a given nominal payload capacity. Thus, in contrast to prior art solutions, where the outer load carrying structure is dimensioned to carry the given payload capacity on its own, the current invention is based on the realization that the inner load carrying structure 2, e.g. a layer of lining elements 8 will contribute to the payload capacity in a substantial manner. Thereby, in the case where the outer load carrying structure 1 is intended to be used with such inner load carrying structure 2, e.g. a lining layer, the outer load carrying structure 1 can be dimensioned accordingly, i.e. as such having a reduced nominal load capacity. This has a major advantage in that the weight of the haul truck body can be substantially reduced, thereby increasing the payload capacity, i.e. the amount of material that the truck can transport. Calculations have shown that the weight of the haul truck body 100 can be reduced by 20-30% without affecting the structural integrity of the same. Therefore, a higher load can be carried by the haul truck body, allowing for an increase in payload capacity of at least 5-8% with maintained total truck weight.

[0035] The outer load carrying structure 1 has a thickness t, and the inner load carrying structure 2 has a thickness T. More particularly, for the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, comprising a plurality of inner load carrying structure elements 8, the thickness T varies between the different elements 8. Generally, the thickness t of the outer load carrying structure 1 is less than 15 mm. As an example only, the thickness t can be as low as approximately 8 mm. This represents a reduction by more than 50% of the load carrying structures currently used, which typically have a minimum thickness of 16 mm.

[0036] The thickness of the inner load carrying structure is generally at least 30 mm. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the thickness T of the lining elements 8′ in the corners is larger than the thickness of other lining elements 8. Generally, and to be taken as examples only, the thickness of the lining elements arranged at the bottom 3 of the outer load carrying structure 1 and in the corners is from 50 to 150 mm, whereas the thickness of the lining elements 8 arranged at the sides 4, 5 and the front wall 6 is between 30 and 130 mm.

[0037] The skilled person realizes that a number of modifications of the embodiments described herein are possible without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.