The present invention relates to a covering for utility vehicle superstructures, and in particular coverings for lateral openings that can swing up when released. More particularly, the invention relates to utility vehicle superstructures having an opening to be covered with a tarpaulin.
Coverings for utility vehicle superstructures, in which a tarpaulin closes off a rear wall and is designed, in particular, as an extension of the tarpaulin cloth of the roof of the utility vehicle body, are known in practice. The tarpaulin is secured laterally by cords and, if appropriate, hooks and eyelets, and, after release of the lateral fastening, can be thrown onto the roof. It is disadvantageous in these known coverings that the closing of the tarpaulin along the lateral edges is complex and, moreover, the tarpaulin can, as a rule, only be thrown up with the aid of relatively long rods or the like, in order to completely free the opening of the vehicle body.
Coverings which automatically roll up and in which a series of spring bars in the tarpaulin are guided from the upper end of the tarpaulin to a tube provided approximately in the centre, are furthermore known in practice, the pretensioning of the springs permitting the tarpaulin to automatically coil up when the lateral connections of the tarpaulin are released, the tarpaulin, when coiled up, being brought together in the manner of a spiral. The tarpaulin can be moved down again, for example by a cord which is provided at a lower edge of the tarpaulin being pulled, the lateral and lower closure of the covering furthermore taking place via cords guided through eyelets or hooks. A disadvantage of a closed covering is that the spring forces in the tarpaulin are not eliminated, and so the covering is generally deformed outward in the region of the points at which the springs engage.
Coverings for utility vehicle superstructures, in which a tarpaulin is provided with a weather strip on the right-hand side and left-hand side, are furthermore known in practice, the tarpaulin having to be thrown by hand onto the roof of the utility vehicle body. To open up the tarpaulin, the lateral weather strips are clamped in each case in a pivoting strip, which can be pivoted in each case about a vertical axis, and the tarpaulin is closed by means of these as well. In this case, it is possible to secure the pivoting strip by an insertable lock or the like. A disadvantage of the known covering is that the throwing-up of the tarpaulin is complex and, moreover, the transported load is secured by the closed tarpaulin only to a limited extent. In addition, the locking pins are frequently lost.
In order to secure a load transported in the utility vehicle body, it is known in practice to diagonally fix tightening straps to the frame of the vehicle body and to the loading platform, the fixing of the tightening straps by hand being labor-intensive and having to take place in a separate working step before the covering is closed.