Long-Distance Truck Cabin

The present invention relates to a long-distance truck cabin having a bin arranged above the windshield or windscreen in the angular space between the roof and the front wall. This bin is confined by a horizontal bottom and a rear end wall, and has a sliding curtain arranged at the front wall and the side walls to cover the side windows and the windscreen. The curtain is suspended in a continuous runner.

While it has long been a common practice to arrange curtains in long-distance truck cabins to cover the windscreen and the side windows, such long-distance truck cabins normally serving as sleeping cabins as well, no practical provision has yet been found for stowing the curtain when not in use, i.e., when it is not intended to cover the window panes. Such stowing provisions would nevertheless be welcome for a number of reasons. It is very annoying, e.g., to have the curtain, which has considerable width, flutter about in a draft in the cabin when drawn back. Another disadvantage is that the curtain will soon become dirty when continuously allowed to hang in the open.

It is an object of the present invention to provide long-distance truck cabin of the above generic category such that is has provision for stowing the curtain when not in use. The curtain is to be folded into the stowing device and withdrawn from it, with a minimum of delay.

It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a truck cabin where a compartment opening to below is arranged in a recess in the horizontal bottom of the storage bin in approximately the center of the cabin. The compartment is to be closed by a cover pivotally supported by horizontal hinges. A runner is to extend across the opening section of this compartment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of the foregoing character which is substantially simple in construction and may be economically fabricated.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement, as described, which may be readily maintained and serviced and which has a substantially long service life.

The objects of the present invention are achieved by providing that to stow the curtain in a simple manner in the compartment arranged in the storage bin, it is gathered in the center in front of the opening section of the compartment, rolled up neatly, and inserted into the compartment, after which the cover is closed. In the process, the curtain remains engaged in the runner.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the cover takes the shape of a bulging cylindrical shell. This shape enables the curtain, when rolled up for stowing, to be placed in the bulging cover, which is then folded upwards.

In a further arrangement of the present invention the curtain parts vertically in about the center of the cabin. This makes it possible to cover one side window and half the windscreen with one curtain and leave the other one stowed in the compartment.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

A portion of a long-distance truck or trailer cabin seen in oblique view from the lower left-hand side, in accordance with the present invention.

The roof of the cabin is indicated by the numeral 1, a windscreen by 2, and a right-hand side window by 3. A dashboard 4 and steering wheel 5 are outlined below the windscreen. A storage bin is formed by a horizontal bottom 6 and a vertical rear end wall 7 in the angular space between the roof 1 and a front wall extending vertically upwards from the upper edge of the windscreen 2 to the roof. Such a storage bin is commonly provided in the cabins of long-distance trucks and serves to accommodate compartments covered by hinged doors as outlined by the flaps 8 and 9 in the driver and co-driver areas. In the center of the storage bin a compartment 10 opening downwards is arranged in the horizontal bottom 6. The compartment is closed by a cover 13 pivotally supported by horizontal hinges 11, 12 and a curtain runner 14 extends across its opening section. Suspended in the runner 14 continuing across the entire front wall above the wind screen 2, and across the side walls, is a sliding curtain 15 held by means of standard curtain hooks 16.

The curtain 15 shown here is one of two curtains provided. A second curtain provided for the driver side of the truck cabin has been omitted for clarity of presentation. The curtain 15 can be gathered in front of the opening section of the compartment 10, rolled up, and inserted into the cupped cover 13. The cover 13 is then folded upwards and held in the horizontal bottom 6 by means of a suitable latch 17. The cover 13, together with the compartment 10, provides just enough space for stowing the curtain 15 and a second curtain of equal length for the driver's side of the cabin.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.