Freight accommodation on freight carrier – Load bearer accommodation – Retainer
Patent
1989-12-19
1991-03-05
Bucci, David A.
Freight accommodation on freight carrier
Load bearer accommodation
Retainer
410 82, B63B 2528
Patent
active
049973266
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
An arrangement for locking loading units by means of a latching plate is known from EP-A-189,054 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,923. A problem arising with this arrangement is that the locking point is substantially aligned with the front edge of the loading unit so that the latter is insufficiently secured against tilting about the front edge due to decelerations of the transport vehicle. Additional measures are required to prevent such tilting.
The known arrangement further provides that every single loading unit is arrested on two twistlocks or other locking members by means of a corresponding pair of latching plates. In the case of containers whose length as measured in the direction of travel is less than the distance between successive pairs of locking members, this means that the available loading area cannot be used in an optimum way because there remains some space between every single loading unit and the next loading unit.
The present invention is based on the object of further improving the known arrangement in such a way that, while the overall effort is reduced, any tilting of the locked loading units is impossible and at the same time the respective available loading area can be better utilized.
The solution of the specified object as provided by the invention includes providing an arrangement wherein the latching plate is symmetrically designed and is movable between a storage position at one loading unit to a latching position extending across adjacent corner openings of two loading units. The symmetrically designed latching plate permits joint coupling of two loading units disposed in back-to-back relationship to a common locking member. Apart from the fact that the total of required latching plates is reduced and handling during locking is facilitated thereby, the locking point is shifted towards the centre of the overall arrangement due to the joint coupling of two loading units, whereby the overall arrangement is protected from tilting about either transverse edge.
Furthermore, two respective loading units are disposed directly back-to-back so that, other conditions being similar, double-sized spaces remain between successive pairs of loading units which spaces can be better utilized for accommodating other cargo.
The further development of preferred embodiments of the invention involves a latching plate which can be stowed in an I-section framework member of one of the loading units. This is advantageous in respect of handling, because the latching plate can be completely pushed into the framework member of a container. In a particularly simple design of the corner region, the web portion necessary for hooking the loading unit to the latching plate is constituted by the corner fitting itself. The design of preferred embodiments of the latching plate is advantageous when twistlocks are used as locking members, because the upper surface of the latching plate extends in parallel to the loading area; at the same time the latching plate is suitably strengthened in the outer region of the recess encompassing the locking member. A further improvement of the invention offers the advantage that the latching plate can be inserted after the two loading units have been pushed together and can be secured, to the locking member by pivoting, whereby mutual coupling of the two loading units is brought about at the same time.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the contiguous corner portions of two mutually aligned back-to-back containers on a loading area provided with a twist lock,
FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through FIG. 1 showing the latching plate in the outwardly pivoted position, and
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view along the line III--III in FIG. 1, with the twistlock being omitted.
The contiguous corner portions of two containers 10, 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 are respectively provided with a corner fitting 11 and 21 of the type known from EP-A-97,269 corres
REFERENCES:
patent: 3159111 (1964-12-01), Gutridge
patent: 3701562 (1972-10-01), Carr
patent: 3722714 (1973-03-01), Morris et al.
patent: 4505402 (1985-02-01), Gerhard
patent: 4648764 (1987-03-01), Pavlick
patent: 4682923 (1987-07-01), Gerhard
Bucci David A.
Slavin Craig
Westerwaelder Eisenwerk Gerhard GmbH
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