Modular trailer

Abstract

The modular trailer comprises a front frame A, a front end fence, a left side fence, a right side fence, a tail cross beam, a rear door structure and a bottom supporting beam. The left side fence and the right side fence are rectangular frame beams, the front ends of the left side fence and the right side fence are connected with the front end fence, the bottoms of the rear ends of the left side fence and the right side fence are connected with the tail cross beam, the middle parts of the left side fence and the right side fence are connected through a bottom supporting beam, and the rear door structure is arranged on the tail cross beam; the middle of the front frame A is connected with the lower end of the front-end fence, and the rear portion of the front frame A is connected with the bottoms of the left-side fence and the right-side fence.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of trailer technology, and more specifically to a modular trailer. Background Technology

[0002] To address the issues of bulky size, high transportation costs, and poor flexibility associated with monolithic trailer structures, some modular trailer designs have been disclosed in existing technologies. For example, patent CN202411532999.4 discloses a modular trailer kit and accessory system. However, this patent does not consider the connection between the guardrails and the vehicle body, and the track and transverse component track in this patent are interconnected using corner brackets, longitudinal brackets, and transverse component brackets to form the trailer frame, a relatively complex connection method. Patent US20220126935A1 also discloses a modular trailer, but the trailer structure includes a basic frame, which is a rectangular frame. Each vertical beam of the left, rear, and front guardrails needs to be individually connected to this basic frame, making construction cumbersome. Furthermore, since the basic frame is a single unit, it occupies a significant amount of transportation space, resulting in high transportation costs. However, disassembling the basic frame for transportation would reduce the efficiency of subsequent assembly.

[0003] In addition, most trailer connection structures currently use ordinary bolts or welding. Ordinary bolt connections are prone to loosening during long-term use, affecting the structural stability and safety of the trailer; while welded connections are difficult to disassemble, repair, and replace parts. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the technical problems existing in the prior art, this invention proposes a modular trailer that can... This ensures efficient assembly in the later stages and reduces transportation costs.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: This invention provides a modular trailer, including a front A-frame, a front guardrail, a left guardrail, a right guardrail, a rear crossbeam, a rear door structure, and a bottom support beam; the left and right guardrails are rectangular frame beams, with their front ends connected to the front guardrail, their rear bottom ends connected to the rear crossbeam, and their middle portions connected via the bottom support beam; the rear door structure is mounted on the rear crossbeam; the middle portion of the front A-frame is connected to the lower end of the front guardrail, and the rear portion of the front A-frame is connected to the bottom of the left and right guardrails.

[0006] As a further technical solution, the front A frame includes a first side beam, a second side beam, and three horizontally arranged connecting beams, which are used to connect the first side beam and the second side beam; wherein the first side beam and the second side beam are symmetrically arranged, and each includes an inclined section and a horizontal section.

[0007] As a further technical solution, the middle part of the inclined section of the first side beam and the second side beam is connected to the lower end of the front fence by Huck rivets, the horizontal section of the first side beam is connected to the bottom of the left fence by Huck rivets, and the horizontal section of the second side beam is connected to the bottom of the right fence by Huck structural rivets.

[0008] As a further technical solution, the front-end fence includes an upper crossbeam, a lower crossbeam, and angle steel. The upper and lower crossbeams are welded together by angle steel, and the upper and lower crossbeams are arranged in a staggered manner in the trailer height direction. A slot is opened on the inner side of the lower crossbeam, and a limit plate is welded at the slot.

[0009] As a further technical solution, the upper crossbeam is an L-shaped steel beam, and the lower crossbeam is a rectangular beam with a slot.

[0010] As a further technical solution, the ends of the left and right fences are inserted into the slots of the lower crossbeam, connected by HUCK bolts, and limited by a limiting plate. As a further technical solution, the left and right fences are connected to both sides of each support beam at the bottom of the trailer by HUCK bolts, and the front ends of the left and right fences are connected to the front fence by HUCK bolts.

[0011] As a further technical solution, the two ends of the tail beam are respectively connected to the rear ends of the left and right fences by HUCK bolts.

[0012] As a further technical solution, the rear door structure can be flipped relative to the tail beam. The rear door structure adopts a grid design and is equipped with a door lock device to ensure that the rear door will not be accidentally opened during transportation.

[0013] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention divides the trailer into a front A-frame, front guardrail, left guardrail, right guardrail, rear crossbeam, rear door structure, and bottom support beam structure, implementing modular assembly and disassembly. This method treats the front guardrail, left guardrail, and right guardrail as separate units, then connects them via the rear crossbeam and bottom support beam. This eliminates the need for a separate base frame structure, essentially distributing some of the base frame's components into the front, left, and right guardrails. Since the front, left, and right guardrails are prefabricated and assembled, upon arrival at the site, they are simply connected to the front A-frame, front, left, and right guardrails via the bottom support beam and rear crossbeam. This improves overall assembly efficiency. Furthermore, because the base frame is disassembled, it no longer occupies a large area of ​​transport space, allowing for more trailers to be loaded within a fixed transport area. This significantly reduces the cost of long-distance transportation and labor costs.

[0014] Furthermore, the tail beam, front guardrail, left guardrail, right guardrail, and front A frame of the present invention are connected by HUCK bolts and / or Huck rivets, making the entire device more securely connected; no matter how strong the vibration environment, it can provide a metal-to-metal connection and eliminate lateral vibration (compared to traditional nut and bolt connections). Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 Explosion-proof structural diagram of the present invention Figure 3 Partial structural schematic diagram of the present invention; Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the front A-frame module of the present invention; Figures 5(a), 5(b), and 5(c) are schematic diagrams of the front-end fence module of the present invention; Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the left-side fence module of the present invention; Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the right-side fence module of the present invention; Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the tail beam module of the present invention; Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the backdoor structure of this invention; Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the HUCK locking bolt connection of the present invention; Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the HUCK rivet connection of the present invention; Figure 12 A schematic diagram of the wire harness distribution in this invention; In the diagram: 1. Front A-frame; 2. Front guardrail; 3. Left side guardrail; 4. Right side guardrail; 5. Rear crossbeam; 6. Rear door structure; 7. Bottom support beam; 8. Axle; 9. HUCK bolt; 10. HUCK rivet; 11 First side beam; 12 Second side beam; 13 Connecting beam; 21 Upper crossbeam; 22 Lower crossbeam; 23 Angle steel; 24 Groove; 25 Limiting plate; 31 Upper longitudinal beam; 32 Lower longitudinal beam; 33 Angle steel; 34 Fasteners; 51 Upper crossbeam, 52 Lower crossbeam, 53 Connecting lug; Detailed Implementation It should be noted that the following detailed description is illustrative and intended to provide further explanation of the invention. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used in this invention have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains.

[0016] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of exemplary embodiments according to the invention. As used herein, unless otherwise expressly indicated by the invention, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. Furthermore, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof. It should be noted that "front" in the following text refers to the direction of travel, and extends to the left, right, and rear directions based on this. To overcome the shortcomings of traditional trailers in processing, disassembly, and transportation, this embodiment provides a modularly designed trailer to improve container loading rates, reduce long-distance transportation costs and labor operation costs, while ensuring the strength and stability of each module of the trailer, and taking into account the economy, efficiency, and environmental friendliness of the appearance treatment. Traditional trailers, due to their structural design not fully considering the needs of subsequent stages, generally have a high-cube container loading rate of less than 70%, and suffer from problems such as mismatched cargo shapes, heavy reliance on manual packing experience leading to increased gaps, and repeated loading and unloading. This invention solves the aforementioned problems of low transportation efficiency and high costs by modularly disassembling the trailer, while also addressing the potential issues of insufficient strength and stability caused by modular disassembly, as well as the problem of insufficient optimization of the appearance treatment process.

[0017] The present invention adopts the following technical solution: taking into account factors such as subsequent processing, disassembly and transportation at the initial stage of trailer design, the entire trailer is disassembled into front A frame 1, front guardrail 2, left guardrail 3, right guardrail 4, rear crossbeam 5, rear door structure 6, bottom support beam 7, etc., and modular disassembly and assembly are implemented. During the design process, the strength and stability of the modular parts are given special consideration. After rigorous stress analysis and calculation, each guardrail part is reinforced to ensure the load-bearing performance of each module. In terms of overall appearance treatment, powder coating process is adopted. Specifically, the modular trailer mentioned in this invention is a non-powered trailer that requires a tow vehicle. It mainly consists of the following modules, including a front A-frame 1, a front guardrail 2, a left guardrail 3, a right guardrail 4, a rear crossbeam 5, a rear door structure 6, a trailer bottom support beam 7, and an axle 8, etc. The disassembly and assembly method proposed in this invention sets the front A-frame 1, front guardrail 2, left guardrail 3, and right guardrail 4 as a single unit. These components are prefabricated in the factory and transported together with the rear crossbeam 5 and bottom support beam 7. Upon arrival at the destination, the rear crossbeam 5 and bottom support beam 7 connect the front A-frame 1, front guardrail 2, left guardrail 3, and right guardrail 4 together. This eliminates the need for a basic frame structure in the trailer, effectively integrating some of the longitudinal beams and end beams of the basic frame. The crossbeams are distributed across the front guardrail 2, left guardrail 3, and right guardrail 4. Since the front guardrail 2, left guardrail 3, and right guardrail 4 are prefabricated and assembled, once transported to the site, they are simply connected to the front A-frame 1, front guardrail 2, left guardrail 3, and right guardrail 4 via the bottom support beam 7 and rear crossbeam 5. This significantly improves overall assembly efficiency. Furthermore, because the basic frame is disassembled, it no longer occupies a large area of ​​transport space during transport, allowing for the loading of more trailers within a fixed transport space. This significantly reduces the cost of long-distance transportation and labor costs.

[0018] By adopting the above technical solution, the loading rate of high-cube containers is significantly improved by disassembling the entire trailer into multiple modules for modular assembly and disassembly. This allows more trailers to be loaded into the high-cube container, effectively solving the problem of low container space utilization in traditional trailer transportation and significantly reducing long-distance transportation costs and manual operation costs. Through rigorous stress analysis and reinforcement design of each module, the strength and stability of each module are guaranteed, and the overall stress distribution is uniform, which can meet the load-bearing requirements during use. Furthermore, this embodiment also uses a powder coating process to treat the overall appearance, which not only makes the coating uniform, with strong adhesion, wear and corrosion resistance, but also has high processing efficiency, good economic and environmental characteristics, comprehensively improving the overall performance and market competitiveness of the trailer.

[0019] The specific structure of each module is explained below: like Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the front A-frame 1 serves as a connecting and supporting component for the front end of the trailer. It is an "A"-shaped corner frame, including a first side beam 11, a second side beam 12, and three horizontally arranged connecting beams 13. The three connecting beams 13 are used to connect the first side beam 11 and the second side beam 12. The first side beam 11 and the second side beam 12 are symmetrically arranged, and each includes an inclined section and a horizontal section. During later assembly, the middle part of the inclined section of the first side beam 11 and the second side beam 12 is connected to the lower end of the front fence 2 through Huck rivets 10. The horizontal section of the first side beam 11 is connected to the bottom of the left fence 3 through Huck rivets 10, and the horizontal section of the second side beam 12 is connected to the bottom of the right fence 4 through Huck rivets 10. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 5(a), 5(b), and 5(c) of this embodiment, the front-end fence 2 includes an upper crossbeam 21, a lower crossbeam 22, and an angle steel 23. The upper crossbeam 21 and the lower crossbeam 22 are welded together by the angle steel 23, and the upper crossbeam 21 and the lower crossbeam 22 are arranged in a staggered manner in the trailer height direction. A slot 24 is provided on the inner side of the lower crossbeam 22, and a limit plate 25 is welded at the slot 24. During the later assembly, the ends of the left fence 3 and the right fence 4 are inserted into the slot 24 of the lower crossbeam 22 and connected by HUCK bolts 9.

[0020] Considering transportation, the front-end fence 2 in this embodiment is specifically designed. Conventional welding or bolting designs cannot meet the strength requirements of the entire module, nor can they meet the specific HUCK bolting connection requirements. Based on specific connection requirements, this embodiment designs an integral front-end fence 2 module, which has advantages such as good strength, strong load-bearing capacity, easy assembly, and saving labor costs. In the module, the upper crossbeam 21 and the lower crossbeam 22 are welded together by angle steel 23. The upper crossbeam 21 is drilled according to the position to be fixed, and in the vertical direction, the upper crossbeam 21 and the lower crossbeam 22 are arranged in a staggered manner, as shown in Figure 5(c). Along the vehicle's running direction, the upper crossbeam 21 is positioned forward relative to the lower crossbeam 22, and the lower crossbeam 22 is positioned backward. This ensures strength and maximizes the use of the module for plug-in bolting and fixing with other modules. It also leaves enough space for laying wooden boards and other flat surfaces inside the trailer, achieving a multi-functional design. The slotted opening in the lower crossbeam 22 effectively utilizes space, allowing it to be bolted to the left side railing 3 and the right side railing 4, while also serving as a limiting device. Its limiting plate 25 uses limiting angle steel, which effectively prevents the wooden planks from bouncing due to the trailer's bumps after they are installed, providing excellent locking.

[0021] Furthermore, the left fence 3 and the right fence 4 are each as follows: Figure 6 , Figure 7 As shown, the left fence 3 and the right fence 4 are rectangular frame structures. During later assembly, the left fence 3 and the right fence 4 are respectively connected to the two ends of each bottom support beam 7 at the bottom of the trailer by HUCK bolts 9, and the front ends of the left fence 3 and the right fence 4 are connected to the front fence 2 by HUCK bolts 9. Furthermore, the left fence 3 and the right fence 4 have the same structure, each including an upper longitudinal beam 31 and a lower longitudinal beam 32. The upper longitudinal beam 31 and the lower longitudinal beam 32 are welded together by angle steel 33. The bottom support beam 7 fixing piece 34 is welded to the bottom of the lower longitudinal beam 32.

[0022] Furthermore, the structure of the tail beam 5 is as follows: Figure 8 As shown, it is also connected to the rear end of each support beam at the bottom of the trailer by HUCK bolts. The rear crossbeam includes an upper crossbeam 51, a lower crossbeam 52 and a connecting lug 53. The upper crossbeam 51 and the lower crossbeam 52 are welded together. The connecting lug 53 is welded on the upper crossbeam 51. During the later assembly, the two ends of the upper crossbeam 51 are connected to the rear end of the left side fence 3 and the right side fence 4 by HUCK bolts 9.

[0023] Furthermore, the back door structure 6, as Figure 9 As shown, it is installed on the rear crossbeam 5 of the trailer and can be opened and closed via a torsion spring or other connection method. The rear door structure 6 adopts a grid design, which not only ensures the obstruction of goods but also provides good visibility. When open, it can serve as a ramp for loading and unloading goods from the trailer. A door lock device is installed on the rear door structure to ensure that the rear door will not be accidentally opened during transportation.

[0024] Furthermore, the trailer bottom support beam 7 is a key structure for the trailer to carry goods. It can be designed into support beam modules of different specifications and shapes according to the trailer's load-bearing capacity and size requirements. These modules can be manufactured separately and then assembled to meet the needs of different users.

[0025] Furthermore, as a driving component of the trailer, the axle 8 can be equipped with a suitable axle module depending on the purpose and load capacity of the trailer, making it easy to install and replace.

[0026] Furthermore, this invention employs HUCK bolts 9 or HUCK rivets 10 as the main connecting components to achieve riveting connections between modules. It has a unique structure and working principle, comprising a bolt shank, a collar, and other parts. During installation, a specialized installation tool is used to manipulate the HUCK bolt 9, causing the collar to undergo plastic deformation and tightly grip the bolt shank, thereby achieving a tight connection between the two connecting components.

[0027] Furthermore, the Huck bolt 9 is a two-piece precision-designed fastening system that provides a secure, non-loosening fit once installed. It offers a metal-to-metal connection, eliminating lateral vibrations (compared to traditional nut and bolt connections), regardless of the intensity of the vibration environment. These locking bolts are designed for a variety of applications, providing superior connection strength, high shear strength, and tensile strength. The Huck rivet 10 is commonly used in applications involving single-sided material contact. With its enormous shear strength and high tensile strength, structural rivets can meet stringent installation requirements.

[0028] Furthermore, at the connection points of each module, there are dedicated mounting holes adapted to HUCK bolts 9 or HUCK rivets 10. By passing fasteners through these mounting holes and tightening them using HUCK mounting equipment, a reliable connection between the modules is achieved. See [link to documentation] for details. Figure 10 , Figure 11 .

[0029] Furthermore, in the structural connections of the trailer, the reliability of the fasteners directly affects driving safety and service life. The trailer in this embodiment is mainly used for short-distance transportation, often facing bumpy roads and frequent starts and stops. Traditional bolts are prone to loosening under long-term vibration, and repeated maintenance not only increases costs but also poses safety hazards. After comparative analysis of various fasteners, the inventors found that the existing HUCK bolts 9 and HUCK rivets 10 excel in vibration resistance, connection strength, and ease of installation. Specific load calculations and strength checks further verified that they are the optimal choice for the trailer.

[0030] Furthermore, simulations verified that the overall deformation of the front fence 2, left fence 3, and right fence 4 is relatively small, indicating that the structure possesses good rigidity and stability. When subjected to external forces, the deformation of the front fence 2, left fence 3, and right fence 4 is mainly concentrated in certain specific areas, where the deformation is relatively large, but still within an acceptable range. This demonstrates that the design of the front fence 2, left fence 3, and right fence 4, while ensuring overall structural stability, also considers the issue of local stress concentration. Through reasonable structural design and material selection, stress is effectively dispersed, avoiding excessive local deformation.

[0031] Meanwhile, the stress distribution of the front fence 2, left fence 3, and right fence 4 is relatively uniform, with no obvious stress concentration. The stress values ​​at each location on the front fence 2, left fence 3, and right fence 4 are all within a reasonable range, without excessively high stress values. This indicates that the structural design of the front fence 2, left fence 3, and right fence 4 effectively distributes external forces evenly throughout the entire structure, avoiding excessive local stress and thus ensuring the overall strength and stability of the fence.

[0032] Furthermore, this embodiment also improves the integrated wiring harness of the trailer. Existing trailers typically twist the brake lights, marker lights, and controller leads together, requiring cutting and tape application every time they are disassembled, which is time-consuming and prone to loose connections. This invention categorizes all functional wires of the same diameter and color and presses them into a single integrated wiring harness, sheathed with a wear-resistant corrugated tubing, and uniformly designing the front end as a plug-in connector. The male end is fixed to the towing arm, and the female end is hidden in the bottom beam of the guardrail. Disassembly and assembly are completed in three seconds with a simple "click," eliminating the need for insulating tape even in rainy weather. The wiring harness itself is pre-embedded along the bottom sides of the front guardrail 2, left guardrail 3, and right guardrail 4, and secured to the beams with detachable clips, 20 mm off the ground, avoiding cement splashes and saving cargo space (see details). Figure 12 When parking, simply unplug the connector, and the entire wiring harness will smoothly roll into the groove of the fence, looking as neat as if it had never been installed. During maintenance, simply unplug the connector and replace the entire harness, and you can be back on the road in a very short time, saving the trouble of disassembling the circuit board.

[0033] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A modular trailer, characterized in that, It includes a front A-frame, a front fence, a left fence, a right fence, a rear crossbeam, a rear door structure, and a bottom support beam; the left and right fences are rectangular frame beams, with their front ends connected to the front fence, their rear bottom ends connected to the rear crossbeam, and their middle portions connected via the bottom support beam; the rear door structure is mounted on the rear crossbeam; the middle portion of the front A-frame is connected to the lower end of the front fence, and the rear portion of the front A-frame is connected to the bottom of the left and right fences.

2. The modular trailer as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The front-end fence includes an upper crossbeam, a lower crossbeam, and angle steel. The upper and lower crossbeams are welded together by the angle steel, and the upper and lower crossbeams are staggered in the height direction of the trailer. A slot is provided on the inner side of the lower crossbeam, and a limit plate is welded at the slot.

3. The modular trailer as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The upper crossbeam is an L-shaped steel beam, and the lower crossbeam is a rectangular beam with a slot.

4. The modular trailer as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The ends of the left and right fences are inserted into the slots of the lower crossbeam and connected by HUCK bolts, and are limited by a limiting plate.

5. The modular trailer as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The front A frame includes a first side beam, a second side beam, and three horizontally arranged connecting beams. The three connecting beams are used to connect the first side beam and the second side beam. The first side beam and the second side beam are arranged symmetrically, and each includes an inclined section and a horizontal section.

6. The modular trailer as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The middle part of the inclined section of the first and second side beams is connected to the lower end of the front fence by Huck rivets. The horizontal section of the first side beam is connected to the bottom of the left fence by Huck rivets. The horizontal section of the second side beam is connected to the bottom of the right fence by Huck structural rivets.

7. The modular trailer as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The left and right fences are respectively connected to both sides of the support beams at the bottom of the trailer by HUCK bolts, and the front ends of the left and right fences are connected to the front fence by HUCK bolts.

8. The modular trailer as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The two ends of the tail beam are connected to the rear ends of the left and right fences respectively via HUCK bolts.

9. The modular trailer as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rear door structure can be flipped relative to the rear crossbeam; the rear door structure adopts a grid design and is equipped with a door lock device to ensure that the rear door will not be accidentally opened during transportation.

10. The modular trailer as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes control harnesses, which are classified and then pressed into a single integrated harness, covered with a wear-resistant corrugated tube, and have plug-in ends.

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