Freight accommodation on freight carrier – Load bearer accommodation – Wheeled load bearer accommodation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-21
2002-06-18
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Freight accommodation on freight carrier
Load bearer accommodation
Wheeled load bearer accommodation
C410S052000, C410S067000, C410S077000, C410S080000, C414S494000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06406231
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to trailers and trailer accessories and, more particularly, to trailer and trailer accessories for loading, transporting, and off loading rectangular, International Standard Organization (ISO) containers having ISO corner fittings.
In preferred forms, this invention relates to container lockdown devices and wheel assemblies and, more particularly, to container lockdown devices which secure containers to trailers with the wheel assemblies attached to the trailers and methods for loading and unloading the containers therewith.
BACKGROUND
Containers constructed with dimensions according to the International Standards Organization (ISO containers) are commonly transported by tractor trailers. ISO containers typically come in lengths of twenty and forty feet, and each container has eight corners with each corner including a corner fitting. The corner fittings include an opening on each of the three exposed faces. Various components are attached to the corner fittings to lift, move, load, lockdown, and off-load the ISO containers. These components are generally bulky, complex, expensive to manufacture, and difficult to use requiring several people, or the addition of extensive equipment, to perform a task such as loading. Further, the ground surface over which containers are being loaded or off-loaded is sometimes damaged. It is also necessary during loading and unloading to remove and replace many of these components thereby increasing the labor required and time necessary to load and unload ISO containers. Further, the frequency of use and kinds of uses for ISO containers are continually increasing. For example, ISO containers are now used for anything from typical transportation and storage to mobile office space. Hence, the disadvantages of these components are becoming more acute and have a greater cost impact every day.
Trailer loading and off loading components are of special significance. Containers are frequently loaded onto trailers when oriented at an angle to the trailer. The various trailer accessories currently available lack the ability to align ISO containers with the trailer, so that loading and off loading are overly time consuming and require two or more people to complete the task. Conventionally, trailers are provided with a single winch fixed at a central location near the front of the trailer. The single winch lacks the ability to align the container during loading and is unable to aide in performing other functions such as off loading. Substantial advancements have been made in tilting trailers to load/unload containers by shifting the undercarriage of the trailer as taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,211,413 and 5,013,056 and trailer side shifting for alignment to payload as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,261 which are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference. However, these references generally do not address alignment problems that occur while loading/unloading ISO containers from the trailer bed.
Another problem is presented when loading two twenty foot containers on the same trailer. When the front twenty foot container has been loaded onto a trailer, the centrally located winch is not positioned to efficiently pull the rear twenty foot container onto the trailer behind the front container.
When loading and unloading ISO containers without the aid of a crane, it is standard to attach wheel assemblies to the lower corners of the containers.
However, it is typically necessary to remove the wheel assemblies from the containers during transport. Wheel assembly removal is necessary because of their bulk and the space constraints on the trailers and because the wheel assemblies make it more difficult to safely and efficiently secure the ISO containers to the trailers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one important object of the present invention is to provide an improved winch assembly having an increased ability to align containers as they are loaded.
It is an additional important object of the present invention to provide improved methods of loading and off loading containers which reduce time and labor for loading and off loading.
It is also an important object of the present invention to provide an improved wheel assembly for loading and moving containers.
It is also an important object of the present invention to provide an improved method for raising and lowering containers on wheel assemblies.
It is another important object of the present invention to provide improved off loading pulleys for use with a winch assembly to off-load containers.
It is still another important object of the present invention to provide an improved off-load foot for off loading containers.
It is a further important object of the present invention to provide an improved cable guide for aligning containers as they are loaded.
It is a still further important object of the present invention to provide improved container guides for aligning containers as they are loaded and off-loaded.
It is yet another important object of the present invention to provide an improved lockdown mechanism for holding containers in place after they are loaded.
In carrying out the foregoing and other objects, the present invention contemplates an improved trailer with an improved trailer winch assembly having a movable winch apparatus. A winch transport assembly operates to move the winch apparatus to a desired position, and a control mechanism is provided to operate the winch apparatus and control mechanism.
In a preferred embodiment, the winch transport assembly comprises an extendable arm with the winch apparatus attached to the winch arm adjacent an outer end of the winch arm. The winch arm is slidably received in a guide shell centrally located on the deck of the trailer. Preferably, a second winch apparatus is provided on a second winch arm slidably received in the guide shell to move the second winch assembly preferably in an opposite direction relative to the first winch assembly.
The present invention also contemplates an improved method for loading containers onto trailers. The winch apparatus is moved to a desired position, and a winch cable is connected to a front corner of the container. The winch apparatus is then activated to pull the deck under the container.
In a preferred embodiment, moving the winch apparatus comprises moving the winch apparatus beyond the side of the trailer deck. Also, a second winch apparatus is preferably moved by the transport assembly beyond the other side of the trailer deck. To load a second container, the winch cables of the two winch apparatus are connected to the front corners of the second container. With the winch apparatuses extended beyond the sides of the trailer deck, the cables extend beside the first container to pull the second container onto the trailer deck without interference from the first container. To further enhance the loading process, the trailer is initially rolled underneath the container which remains substantially stationary until it is almost entirely on the trailer.
The present invention further contemplates an improved wheel assembly for attachment to the corner fittings of ISO containers. The wheel assembly comprises a rigid wheel frame and a wheel rotatably and slidably supported in the wheel frame. The wheel frame slides between lowered and raised positions relative to the wheel, and an attachment assembly is utilized to attach the wheel frame to the corner fitting of the ISO container.
In a preferred embodiment, the wheel assembly includes a jack plate spaced apart from the wheel to define a jack receiving area between the wheel and the jack plate. The preferred embodiment also includes a lock block which is received into a lock slot of the wheel frame to hold the wheel frame in the raised position. The attachment assembly includes an attachment block onto which the wheel frame is slidably mounted for quick removal of the wheel frame from the attachment block.
The present invention still further contemplates an improved method for raising ISO containers with a jack and the wheel assembly.
Gunter Sterling W.
Landoll Donald R.
Vacha Keith
Gordon Stephen T.
Hovey & Williams, LLP
Landoll Corporation
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