Freight accommodation on freight carrier – Load lashing retainer or load lashing adjunct – Wraparound
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-05
2001-06-12
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Freight accommodation on freight carrier
Load lashing retainer or load lashing adjunct
Wraparound
C410S100000, C024S0680CD
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244803
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a barrier net to restrain cargo positioned in an aircraft or the like. More particularly, this invention relates to such a net which is lightweight, but strong, and which is provided with a variety of unique hardware items to attach the net to the interior of the aircraft.
BACKGROUND ART
Cargo barrier nets which restrain cargo carried in an aircraft are known in the art. Such are particularly prevalent in freighter aircraft, which have been converted from passenger aircraft, to prevent the intrusion of cargo into the crew area in the event of a severe forward load on the aircraft. Most of these known nets are fabricated of high-elongation materials such as nylon or polyester strap webbing. However, such materials are quite heavy, having a low strength-to-weight ratio. In order to add strength to these nets, additional strands of webbing to resist stretching are required, but such only compounds the weight problems already existent in these nets. As such, most manufacturers allow maximum stretching of these nets which has the disadvantage of not being able to utilize all available space for cargo, the space rather being used to accommodate the stretching of the net.
A net woven of thread sold under the trademark KEVLAR® would be a solution to the aforementioned problems in that this material is lighter weight, having a much higher strength-to-weight ratio, and exhibits a very low stretch at failure. However, to date, no one has been able to develop a cargo barrier net of KEVLAR® in that fabricating such a net with sufficient accuracy to prevent unbalanced loads on individual web members is extremely difficult. Thus, the need exists for a cargo barrier net fabricated of a high strength-to-weight ratio material such as KEVLAR®.
The webbing or straps which form cargo barrier nets, fabricated of any known material, usually intersect at approximately right angles and are conventionally box stitched or otherwise attached at their intersection. However, for high strength-to-weight materials, such as KEVLAR®, such attachment could well represent areas for failure, and known stitching would not accommodate other than right angle intersections.
In addition, the hardware utilized to attach the periphery of prior art cargo barrier nets to the aircraft is not without its problems. Such hardware is quite heavy and expensive and has, in the past, been permanently attached to the fabric. As such, when the fabric wore out or otherwise failed and had to be replaced, either the hardware had to be replaced as well or the hardware had to be cut off the fabric, sent back to the manufacturer, and reattached to the new fabric. Moreover, the fabrication of a net with the hardware attached thereto is much more difficult in that the hardware adds significant weight to the already heavy fabric, rendering the maneuverability of the net during the fabrication thereof and subsequent unwieldy shipment thereof expensive.
Finally, for loading and/or unloading cargo on an aircraft, at least the top, bottom and one side of the peripheral net attachments must be disconnected from the aircraft and then reattached when the cargo is in place. When utilizing a material for the net having a high strength-to-weight ratio, because there is minimal elongation at load, the net must be fabricated to be preformed in the shape of its loaded condition so that any force thereon is in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft. Thus, the top net attachments are not readily within reach and therefore, when using these materials, an alternative and simpler manner of moving the net out of the way of the cargo being loaded and/or unloaded is required.
In short, the need exists for a lightweight, high strength aircraft cargo barrier net. But in order to accomplish such, specialized attachment of the intersecting webbing as well as unique hardware devices is desirable, if not required.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net for an aircraft which is fabricated of a lightweight, low-stretch material having a high strength-to-weight ratio.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, which enables the maximum amount of cargo space in the aircraft to be utilized.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, in which the intersections of the webbings or straps forming the net are not all at ninety degrees.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, in which the intersections of the webbings are provided with a unique stitching pattern to provide omnidirectional strength to the net at those intersections.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, in which the fabric may be replaced without replacing the hardware which attaches the periphery of the fabric to the aircraft.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, which is easy to manufacture.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, in which the hardware is easy to utilize to attach the net to the aircraft.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, with a connecting link between the top and bottom of the net to enable cargo to be placed in or removed from the aircraft without having to disconnect the top of the net from the aircraft.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a cargo barrier net, as above, in which the link can be operated with one hand and provides a visual indication as to whether it is in an open or closed position.
These and other objects of the present invention, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
In general, a net made in accordance with the present invention includes a plurality of spaced first straps intersecting with a plurality of spaced second straps. The intersections of the straps are at a plurality of angles relative to each other. A stitching pattern is applied to the straps at the intersection to connect the first and second straps. The stitching pattern includes a plurality of lines of stitches oriented such that at least one of the stitch lines will be approximately normal to the direction of any force applied to any intersection.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a net includes a plurality of straps having ends. A hook member is attached to a plurality of the ends and includes a hook assembly adapted to be attached to a portion of an aircraft or the like. A slide member carries an end of each strap and is moveable relative to the hook member to allow the end of the strap to be removed from the slide member.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a net includes a plurality of straps having ends and a bracket member is attached to a plurality of the ends. Each bracket member includes a plate assembly adapted to be attached to a portion of an aircraft or the like, and a pivot member which is moveable relative to the plate assembly to allow the end of the strap to be removed from the pivot member.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a net includes a plurality of straps, some of which are interrupted to form opposed interrupted ends. A releasable link member is provided to selectively join the interrupted ends.
A preferred exemplary cargo barrier net incorporating the concepts of the present invention is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings without attempting to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied, the invention being measured by the appended claims and not by the details of the specification.
REFERENCES:
patent: 188101 (1877-03-01), Campbell
patent: 449870 (1891-04-01), Buckingham et al.
patent: 1175437 (1916-03-01), Grotz et al.
patent: 1565392 (1925-0
Genovese David E.
Parish James M.
Phillips, II Ronald W.
Sudekum John H.
Carpenter Scott
Dayoan D. Glenn
Renner Kenner Greive Bobak Taylor & Weber
SMR Technologies, Inc.
LandOfFree
Aircraft cargo barrier net does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Aircraft cargo barrier net, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Aircraft cargo barrier net will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2439491