Granted Patent B1

US 12,570,363 · App. 18/829,761 · Granted Mar 10, 2026

Inventors: Donald L. Wires (Loveland, OH); Max Lupfer (Sharonville, OH); Ryan Doll (Sharonville, OH)

Assignee: Workhorse Group Inc.

B62D33/044B60R22/18B62D33/06

Abstract

Claims (73)

1 . A land vehicle comprising:

a frame structure including an operator cage that at least partially defines an operator cabin and a rear compartment positioned rearward of the operator cage in a longitudinal direction;

a plurality of wheels supported by the frame structure; and

a body supported by the frame structure that includes a first sidewall arranged on one side of the vehicle and second sidewall arranged on another side of the vehicle opposite the first sidewall,

wherein:

at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a side panel having a side panel length in the longitudinal direction and a wall frame assembly mounted to an interior surface of the side panel that at least partially defines an interior space of the rear compartment,

the wall frame assembly includes a plurality of trusses each defining at least one triangular form and a plurality of crossbars each extending in the longitudinal direction across the plurality of trusses,

the plurality of crossbars include a first crossbar having a first length in the longitudinal direction and a second crossbar spaced from the first crossbar in a vertical direction that has a second length in the longitudinal direction,

each of the first crossbar and the second crossbar extends in the longitudinal direction beyond the plurality of trusses, and

each of the first length and the second length is less than the side panel length.

2 . The land vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:

the plurality of trusses includes a first truss defining a first triangular form and a second truss defining a second triangular form,

the first truss is disposed rearward of the second truss in the longitudinal direction, and

each of the first truss and the second truss is at least partially defined by one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly.

3 . The land vehicle of claim 2 , wherein:

the first truss is defined by a first vertical bar of the wall frame assembly, a first horizontal bar of the wall frame assembly, and the one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, and

the first triangular form is a right triangle.

4 . The land vehicle of claim 3 , wherein:

the second truss is defined by the one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, a second oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, and one of the plurality of crossbars of the wall frame assembly, and

the second triangular form is an acute triangle.

5 . The land vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:

the plurality of trusses includes a first truss defining a first triangular form, a second truss defining a second triangular form, a third truss defining a third triangular form, and a fourth truss defining a fourth triangular form,

the first truss is disposed rearward of the second truss in the longitudinal direction,

the second truss is disposed rearward of the third truss in the longitudinal direction, and

the third truss is disposed rearward of the fourth truss in the longitudinal direction.

6 . The land vehicle of claim 5 , wherein each of the third truss and the fourth truss is at least partially defined by one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly.

7 . The land vehicle of claim 6 , wherein:

the third truss is defined by a pair of vertical bars of the wall frame assembly, a third horizontal bar of the wall frame assembly, and the one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, and

the third triangular form is a right triangle.

8 . The land vehicle of claim 7 , wherein:

the fourth truss is defined by the one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, a fourth vertical bar of the wall frame assembly, and one of the plurality of crossbars of the wall frame assembly, and

the fourth triangular form is a right triangle.

9 . The land vehicle of claim 1 , wherein:

the plurality of crossbars includes a third crossbar and a fourth crossbar spaced from the third crossbar in the vertical direction, and

each of the third crossbar and the fourth crossbar does not extend in the longitudinal direction beyond the plurality of trusses.

10 . The land vehicle of claim 9 , wherein each of the third and fourth crossbars includes one or more rack mounts for shelving.

11 . A land vehicle comprising:

a frame structure including an operator cage that at least partially defines an operator cabin and a rear compartment positioned rearward of the operator cage in a longitudinal direction;

a plurality of wheels supported by the frame structure; and

a body supported by the frame structure that includes a first sidewall arranged on one side of the vehicle and second sidewall arranged on another side of the vehicle opposite the first sidewall,

wherein:

at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a side panel having a side panel length in the longitudinal direction and a wall frame assembly mounted to an interior surface of the side panel that at least partially defines an interior space of the rear compartment,

the wall frame assembly includes a plurality of trusses each defining at least one triangular form and a plurality of crossbars each extending in the longitudinal direction across the plurality of trusses, and

the plurality of trusses extend over a truss length in the longitudinal direction that is less than the side panel length.

12 . The land vehicle of claim 11 , wherein:

the plurality of trusses includes a first truss defining a first triangular form and a second truss defining a second triangular form,

the first truss is disposed rearward of the second truss in the longitudinal direction,

each of the first truss and the second truss is at least partially defined by one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, and

the one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly extends to an upper edge of the side panel.

13 . The land vehicle of claim 12 , wherein:

the first truss is defined by a first vertical bar of the wall frame assembly, a first horizontal bar of the wall frame assembly, and the one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, and

the first triangular form is a right triangle.

14 . The land vehicle of claim 13 , wherein:

the second truss is defined by the one oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, a second oblique bar of the wall frame assembly, and one of the plurality of crossbars of the wall frame assembly, and

the second triangular form is an acute triangle.

15 . The land vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the second oblique bar of the wall frame assembly extends to the upper edge of the side panel.

16 . The land vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of crossbars include a first crossbar having a first length in the longitudinal direction and a second crossbar spaced from the first crossbar in a vertical direction and having a second length in the longitudinal direction.

17 . The land vehicle of claim 16 , wherein:

each of the first crossbar and the second crossbar extends in the longitudinal direction beyond the plurality of trusses, and

each of the first length and the second length is less than the side panel length.

18 . A land vehicle comprising:

a frame structure including an operator cage that at least partially defines an operator cabin and a rear compartment positioned rearward of the operator cage in a longitudinal direction;

a plurality of wheels supported by the frame structure; and

a body supported by the frame structure that includes a first sidewall arranged on one side of the vehicle and second sidewall arranged on another side of the vehicle opposite the first sidewall,

wherein:

at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a side panel having a side panel length in the longitudinal direction and a wall frame assembly mounted to an interior surface of the side panel that at least partially defines an interior space of the rear compartment,

the wall frame assembly includes a plurality of trusses each defining at least one triangular form and a plurality of crossbars each extending in the longitudinal direction across the plurality of trusses, and

each of the plurality of trusses is defined by at least oblique bar of the wall frame assembly that extends to an upper edge of the side panel.

19 . The land vehicle of claim 18 , wherein:

the plurality of crossbars include a first crossbar having a first length in the longitudinal direction and a second crossbar spaced from the first crossbar in a vertical direction and having a second length in the longitudinal direction,

each of the first crossbar and the second crossbar extends in the longitudinal direction beyond the plurality of trusses, and

each of the first length and the second length is less than the side panel length.

20 . The land vehicle of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of trusses extend over a truss length in the longitudinal direction that is less than the side panel length.

Assignments (3)

References Cited (113)