Appeal No. 2002-2084 Page 7
Application No. 09/016,740
open-section members rigidly secured to the T-beams in an orthotropic design. Top
flanges 38 of adjacent pans 34 provide a continuous deck panel extending the length of
the T-beams 28. A pair of elongated side channel members or rub rails 52, each
having a substantially C-shaped cross-sectional configuration, are fitted over the ends
of pans 34.
The detailed construction of the trailer bed lower support structure is best
understood by referring to Figures 7 and 8. The front of the trailer is supported
independently of the tractor on a conventional telescoping landing gear 62. A series of
spaced apart lightening holes 64 are punched through web 30 of each T-beam
rearward of the landing gear. Each lightening hole 64 is formed by bending the metal
surrounding it away from the plane of flange 30 to work-harden the steel and thereby
provide additional strength for the T-beams. Moreover, each lightening hole 64
provides a substantial weight savings. Two series of holes 64 are formed in the wide
intermediate portion of web 30, with a single series of the holes being formed
in the narrower front and rear portions of the web. Alternatively, a single
series of wider holes 65 (shown in Figure 1) may be formed in webs 30, although
Loeber prefers to use a large number of smaller holes, as shown in Figure 7,
because the additional working of the steel provides greater work-hardening and
therefore a stronger structural member.
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