AU2012203226B2 - Loading apparatus and use thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

There is disclosed a loading apparatus attachable to a forklift vehicle, the loading apparatus comprising: a chassis, the chassis having ground-engaging wheels; a support extending forwardly from the chassis in a cantilever fashion to carry a load; lifting means, operable to raise and lower the support relative to the chassis; and an elongate coupling extending rearwardly from the support to couple the support to tines of the forklift vehicle, whereby raising and lowering of the support can be effected by raising and lowering, respectively, of the tines and operation of the lifting means, and such that the chassis and support are positioned forwardly of the tines whereby the load carried by the support is manoeuvrable by the forklift vehicle into the internal space of a shipping container without the forklift vehicle entering the container. 'I'll 0~*

Description

Australian Patents Act 1990 - Regulation 3.2A ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title "Loading apparatus and use thereof' The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: P/00/008b C1NRPortbl\DCC\AZM\4364005_ .DOC-31A5/24112 LOADING APPARATUS AND USE THEREOF The content of the specification of international patent application no. PCT/AU2006/001040, and thus Australian patent application no. 2006274491 (being the Australian national phase of that international application), as originally filed is 5 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The invention relates to loading and unloading of cargo. Enormous quantities of goods, including manufactured goods, produce and materials, are daily shipped around the world by land, sea and air in containers of various types. Standard shipping containers as used on seagoing ships, for example, are a familiar 10 sight at sea and on land. The loading of cargo items into such containers and their subsequent unloading, is a major activity involving much expenditure of labour and money. An important problem facing all those involved in shipping of goods is containing the cost of such loading and unloading. Much of the cost of loading and unloading arises from the need to secure cargo 15 items in their containers securely, to avoid damage in transit. Given the wide variety of goods that must be transported, this can be a skilled process consuming much time and effort. It is also important in many cases that cargo Items not move within their containers during transit. In sea transport, for example, any inadvertent shifting of cargo due to ship 20 motions can have adverse effects on ship stability and hence safety. Some cargoes comprising multiple discrete items that can be loaded in a container in layers also present a problem in that no number of complete layers closely matches the load carrying capacity of the container, yet partial layers can be difficult to secure against undesired movement. 25 Materials such as timber used to secure heavy loads in containers can present quarantine and disposal problems at their destinations. An issue widely recognised in the sea transport industry, at least, is that there can be a mismatch between cargoes and container sizes on particular journey legs, for example, where cargo movements are such that 40-foot containers arrive at a particular port in 30 numbers greater than are required for cargoes leaving that port, there can be excessive numbers of "dead legs" for such containers, i.e. journey legs where the containers are C:\NRPCnb\DCAZMT\4% . .. 1 -I DOC-1 1/)5/2012 -2 carried empty. Enhancing the ability of such containers to be loaded with other cargo items could in such a case lead to substantial cost savings by reducing dead legs. More generally, it is always desirable to enhance the flexibility of loading of containers. For example, making it easier to use a small container where a large one was 5 previously required, or vice versa, allows better matching of cargoes and container availability. In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loading apparatus attachable to a forklift vehicle, the loading apparatus comprising: a chassis, the chassis having ground-engaging wheels; 10 a support extending forwardly from the chassis in a cantilever fashion to carry a load; lifting means, operable to raise and lower the support relative to the chassis; and an elongate coupling extending rearwardly from the support to couple the support to tines of the forklift vehicle, whereby raising and lowering of the support can be effected 15 by raising and lowering, respectively, of the tines and operation of the lifting means, and such that the chassis and support are positioned forwardly of the tines whereby the load carried by the support is manoeuvrable by the forklift vehicle into the internal space of a shipping container without the forklift vehicle entering the container. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 20 loading method in which the support of an apparatus according to the first aspect is coupled, via said elongate coupling, to the tines of the forklift vehicle, and a load carried by the support is manoeuvred by the forklift vehicle into a space without the forklift vehicle entering the space. In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an 25 unloading method in which the support of an apparatus according to the first aspect is coupled, via said elongate coupling, to the tines of the forklift vehicle, and a load carried by Ihe support is manoeuvred by the forklift vehicle out of a space without the forklift vehicle having entered the space. The load may comprise a coil of strip material. eg steel.

C.NRPornb\DCC\AZM\4YA405_1 DOC-105/21012 -3 The load may have a weight which is more than 10% of a rated payload of a standard 20-foot or 40-foot shipping container. The load may have a weight which is more than 20% of the rated payload. The structure may comprise a cargo container carried on a land, sea or air transport 5 vehicle; in particular, the container may be adapted for movement by a seagoing vessel or define a cargo-carrying space of a waterborne vessel, and may comprise a standard shipping container. Alternatively, the invention may find application in transport modes where cargo items are contained by the structure of a carrying vehicle - for example where cargo items are carried between decks in ships, or in rail or road vehicles. 10 The term "standard shipping container" is in this specification to be taken to include in particular containers of the type used in large numbers for transport of goods by sea. The containers in question are the subject of International Standards Organisation (ISO) standards and are available in various sizes, of which common external sizes are: (a) length: 20 feet (6096 mm); width 8 feet (2438 mm); height 8 feet 6 inches 15 (2591 mm) or 9 feet 6 inches (2896 mm); (b) length: 40 feet (12192 mm); width 8 feet (2438 mm); height 8 feet 6 inches (2591 mm) or 9 feet 6 inches (2896 mm). Such shipping containers are of various types and in addition to general purpose containers, the invention is potentially applicable to suitable specific purpose and specific 20 cargo container types, for example refrigerated containers ("reefers"). Containers of this general type are available in a number of other different lengths and the invention may be practiced with such containers. A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a method of transporting cargo between a first location and a second location including the steps of: 25 at the first location, stowing cargo items via a method as defined above; moving the structure to the second location and unloading the cargo items and the spacers; submitting the spacers to a recycling process. In many destinations where cargo containers are sent, there is existing 30 infrastructure for the recycling of expanded plastics foams, including particularly polystyrene foam, without significant environmental nuisance.

C N'RPo,,bN)C( AZM\45640K05_D I OC-31IA5/2012 -4 The invention has as its purposes and benefits easier, quicker and cheaper packing and unpacking of shipping and other transport containers, with efficient use of available space and avoidance of movement of cargo items within the container, than is available conventionally. Surprisingly, certain plastics foam materials can be used for the support of 5 cargo items of significant weight. The term "cargo item" could refer to a single item or several items secured to or on a support or handling element such as a crate or a pallet. As will be clear from the following detailed description, the term "closely adjacent to" shall be taken to mean "in contact with" or "close to but slightly clear of'. 10 The present invention will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to ones of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure I is a perspective view of a cargo support according to one example, supporting a coil of steel strip (shown in phantom lines); Figure 2 is a side view of four cargo supports as shown in Figure 1, in use in the 15 interior of a container (shown in phantom lines); Figure 3 is a perspective view of two coils of steel strip on pallets and (in phantom lines) a cargo support according to another example; Figure 4 is a set of three views of the cargo support shown in Figure 3, namely (a) side elevation, (b) end elevation, (c) view from below; 20 Figure 5 is a perspective view of five cargo supports and coils as shown in Figure 3. in use in the interior of a container (shown in phantom lines); Figure 6 is a set of three views of a cargo support according to example namely (a) side view, (b) bottom view, and (c) (left half) an end view and (right half) a cross sectional view, the spacer element being shown in views (b) and (c) covering loads of plate 25 material on stillage elements; Figure 7 is a perspective view of two spacers which are used to form, with cargo supports, a packed arrangement in a shipping container, in accordance with one example (the spacers being shown in phantom lines); Figure 8 is a plan view of a possible packing arrangement for a layer of cylindrical 30 cargo items in a container in accordance with one example; C \NRPonblDCC\AZM\436405_ I DOC-31/0512012 -5 Figure 9 is a plan view of a load of cargo items and spacer elements, in accordance with one example, in the interior of a container (shown in phantom lines); Figure 10 is a side view of a part of the load of cargo items and of the spacer elements as shown in Figure 8, the part shown being the containers between planes marked 5 "P" and "Q" in Figure 8; Figure I1 is a perspective view of a shipping container interior space (represented by phantom lines) with coil-type cargo items stowed therein, according to one example; Figure 12 is a perspective view of the shipping container interior space shown in Figure 11, now with one only of the three cargo items shown in Figure 11 in place; 10 Figure 13 is a side view of a forklift vehicle, portion of a container and an apparatus for assisting in loading the container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 14 is a plan view of a container internal space containing three cargo items, shoring timbers and spacers. 15 Figure i shows a cargo support I according a first example. Cargo support I is generally rectangular, having end faces 2, side faces 3, a bottom face 4 and a top face 5. An upwardly-facing recess 6 has the form of a half-cylinder. Shown in phantom lines in Figure 1 is a coil 7 of strip steel that is received and supported in recess 6. Coil 7 is an example only of a cargo item able to be supported by cargo support 1. Cutouts 8 are 20 provided to provide access to a central hole 9 of coil 7 for an elongate "sting" (not shown) as is typically used by material handling equipment for lifting and moving coils of steel strip. Also, longitudinal recesses 15 extend along the length of bottom face 4 and are spaced and sized to enable tines of a forklift (or the like; not shown) to lift the cargo support I and contained coil 7 together. 25 Figure 2 shows a side view of four spacer elements I and coils 7 positioned, in the interior of a standard shipping container 12. Container 12 is represented schematically in Figure 2 by showing in phantom lines only the edges of its internal surfaces, so that only the container's interior space is shown. Cargo supports 1 are sized so that four of them snugly fit in container 12, being 30 restrained from longitudinal movement by the inner end surfaces 13 and from lateral movement the inner side surfaces 14 of container 12. Such movements may be caused by 3NRIcnbM)C(OAZM\4(405 I DOC-l/5/2012 -6 ship motions at sea and need to be resisted for ship stability and safety. The width between side faces 3 of cargo support 1 is close to the width between inner side surfaces 14 and the length of the four cargo supports 1 in combination is close to the length between inner end surfaces 13. With this mode of stowing the heavy and unwieldy cargo items 7, it is quicker 5 and easier to load a shipping container and to unload it, with no need for lashing the items 7 to the interior of the container 12 itself. The cargo supports I are formed integrally from a foamed cellular plastics material such as, for example only, "RMAX Geofoam" polystyrene foam, available under the name "Isolite EPS" in Australia from a division of Huntsman Chemical Company Australia Pty 10 Ltd. This rigid cellular polystyrene material is available in a range of six density classes, with different compressive strengths, and is manufactured to Australian Standard AS1366 Part 3-1992. Grades used by applicants to date are "SL" (nominal density I I kg/cubic metre and 70kPa compressive stress at 10% deflection) and "M" (nominal density 15 19 kg/cubic metre and 105kPa compressive stress at 10% deformation). However, it is of course desirable to use a material with a suitable density for the particular application, having regard to the cargo item weights and sizes, likely movements of the container, and the like. Selection does not of itself require inventive effort. Forming of the cargo supports I is preferred to be by foaming in a simple mould 20 (not shown), and more preferably this is done on or close to the site where the coils 7 are to be loaded in container 12. This could be at a steel warehouse or at a container loading facility. Alternatively, the polystyrene foam can simply be purchased in blocks from the manufacturer and cut to shape using suitable known methods (eg hot wire cutting). Cargo supports I may be reinforced - where necessitated by the load to be carried 25 by providing at appropriate points inserts (not shown) of material(s) more resistant to deformation from concentrated loads than foamed plastics. For example, the recesses 15 could be defined and their surfaces reinforced by inverted channel sections formed from sheet metal placed in the mould before foaming. However, it has surprisingly been found that in many practical cases, and with suitable choice of material, no such reinforcement is 30 needed even for heavy loads.

C'NRPorbhDCCkZM\4364m)_ I )OC-31/)3/202 -7 Other suitable expanded plastics foam materials may be used, and spacer elements with the functionality of elements I may even be fabricated from several components in suitable cases. The clearances to be provided between the elements I and the inner surfaces 13 5 and 14 of container 12 are chosen by suitable trial to suit the weights of the cargo items involved, the skill of the persons stowing and unloading the containers, and the equipment available to them. Figure 3 shows two coils 16 of steel strip, each secured on a suitable pallet 17. each coil 16 and its pallet 17 comprising a cargo item 18. Shown in phantom lines is a further 10 cargo support 19 that can facilitate the stowage of cargo items 18 in shipping containers. Cargo such as cargo items 19 are commonly required to be loaded into shipping containers and are sometimes referred to as "top hats", due to their shape. Figure 5 shows five cargo supports 19 being used to stow ten cargo items 19 in a shipping container interior space 20 (whose edges are shown in phantom lines, just as in 15 Figure 2). As with cargo supports 1, cargo supports 19 are sized and shaped so as to fit snugly (i.e. with clearances small enough to sufficiently limit load movement under likely ship motions and large enough for easy loading and unloading) between inner side surfaces 21 of container interior 20 and so that five in combination fit snugly between inner end surfaces 22 of interior 20. 20 Figure 4 shows cargo support 19 in three views. Cargo support 19 is generally in the form of a rectangular prism and has two holes 23 within which coils 16 are received, and a rectangular recess 24 within which pallets 17 are received. In use, and by contrast to cargo support 1 whose load is lowered into recess 6, cargo support 19 is lowered over two cargo items 18 from above and partially surrounds items 18. Cargo support 19 thereafter 25 maintains the desired relative positions of the items 18. A forklift (not shown) can pass its tines into recesses 25 in the base of cargo support 19 to access pallets 17 and lift the complete combination of items 8 and cargo support 19 for placement into container interior 20. As with cargo supports 1, cargo supports 19 are conveniently formed from an 30 expanded foam plastics material, which may be lightweight, but without implying any limitation to this material type or construction.

C:\NRPonbrDCC\AZM\4364005_ .DOC.-1/ 05 12 It is not essential that the cargo items 18 protrude through the top of cargo support 19. This arrangement simply happens to economise on the material used to form cargo support 19. A similar cargo support (not shown) could simply cover the items 19 completely (except at the bottom), if required. 5 Figure 6 shows a cargo support 30 that is also open-bottomed and in use lowered over a cargo item 31 from above. Cargo item 31 comprises three layers 32 of flat material (eg metal plates or billets for hot rolling) supported on stillage elements 33 in known manner. Cargo support 30 is generally rectangular in overall form, having opposing side faces 33, end faces 34, a top face 35 and a bottom face 36. A recess 37 is formed in bottom 10 face 36 and is shaped and sized for close-fitting containment of cargo item 31 as shown. Recesses 38 are provided also in bottom face 36 for tines of a forklift or the like, so that once cargo support 30 has been positioned over and lowered onto cargo item 31 the complete combination of cargo support 30 and cargo item 31 can be lifted and conveniently loaded into and unloaded from, a shipping container. The side faces 33 are 15 spaced apart so as to fit between opposing inner side faces of a shipping container (not shown) with clearances small enough to limit undesired movement during transit of the container. Similarly the end faces are spaced so that a specified number of cargo supports 30 can be placed longitudinally in the container with sufficiently small clearance to resist undesired movement in transit. 20 From the above descriptions of cargo supports 1, 19 and 30, it will be apparent that a very wide variety of cargo items - beyond the specific items used as examples - can be conveniently stowed in containers so as to resist undesired movement therein during transit of the containers. By making the cargo supports at the point of loading, especially by the use of lightweight foamed plastics, an efficient stowing and restraining system can be 25 provided. Cargo supports 1, 19 and 30 all partially surround their respective cargo items 7, 18 and 31 in use. Figure 7 shows another possibility. A container interior 40 is partially filled with spacers 41, which in this embodiment are provided as spacer elements each comprising single block of substantially rigid expanded plastics foam, so that cargo 30 spaces 42 and 43 are defined by the spacers 41 and the interior surfaces of the container interior 40. This arrangement permits cargo items, taking up only part of a container C.\NRPohDC0AZM\4W4AM _I DOC-1/(.5/21112 -9 interior to be stowed in such a way that their potential movement in the container is limited by the inner sides, floor and (if desired) roof surfaces and (in the longitudinal direction) by the container inner end surfaces and the spacers 41. In this case, the general principle is again followed of substantially filling gaps between opposing inner surfaces of the 5 container is followed, so as to limit undesired cargo movement, but without actually surrounding the cargo items by the spacers 41. In this embodiment, each spacer 40 comprises side faces which are spaced apart to bear against inner surfaces of the container interior 40. Spacers 41 have recesses 44 for tines of handling equipment to ease the task of 10 locating them in the container interior 40. Spacers 41 are solid blocks in this embodiment, but could be provided with openings (not shown), where the nature of the particular cargo items permits, to minimise weight and usage of expanded, plastics foam in the spacers 41, to provide for airflow (especially in the case of refrigerated containers), etc.. 15 One possible variation, not shown, is to bevel, round off, or taper upright corner edges of cargo supports 1, 19, 30 and/or spacers 41 to ease the process of passing them through close fitting load openings (eg doors) in containers, some care in alignment being needed. Figure 1I shows three large coils 100, 101 and 102 (eg of steel strip) stowed in a 20 shipping container internal space 103 in another example. Internal space 103 is represented by chain-dotted lines as before. The coils are stowed with their axes longitudinally oriented in space 103. They are supported from below on cargo supports 104, 105 and 106 which are cut away to closely conform with the cylindrical shapes of coils 100-102 and which closely fit the gap between opposing sidewalls 107 and 108. Four spacers 109, 110, 111 25 and 112 are provided firstly to separate coils 100 and 101 and 101 and 102 and secondly to separate coils 100 and 102 from respective end walls 113 and 114. The entire assembly of coils 100-102, spacers 109-112 and cargo supports 104-106 is closely confined between end walls 113 and 114. No separate restraint of coils 100-102 is provided. Figure 12 is a similar view of container internal space 103 partly loaded, through 30 end doors 115. Spacer 109 and cargo support 104 are in position, and spacer 110 is being moved longitudinally (as shown by arrow 116) towards its final position. Coil 100 has CNRPonbl\DCAZM\4(4O5_ I DOC.I 11&2112 -10 been placed on cargo support 104, by means described below, after placement of cargo support 104 in position. Similarly, coils 101 and 102 will be placed on their respective supporting cargo supports 105 and 106 in the same way, after placement of spacers 105 and 106 in space 103. 5 The polystyrene cargo supports and spacers have the unexpected advantage of surprisingly high friction when in contact with container interior surfaces. Thus, lateral forces on coils 100-102 would be transmitted to the floor 133 of space 103 by shear in cargo supports 104, 105 and 106 and friction at their contacts with floor 133, as well as by direct bearing of end faces such as faces 134 on walls 107 and 108. Generally clearances 10 between cargo supports such as 104-106 and opposing walls such as 107 and 108 should be as small as practicable, even to the extent of actual contact between the cargo supports and the walls on both sides. However, the effect of friction where cargo items such as coils 100-102 are supported from below is to alleviate any ill effects of positive clearances. Clearances can if desired or found necessary be closed by sliding any suitable thin laminar 15 material between spacer elements and walls. An important point of difference among the various cargo supports described herein is that some are used to resist both the weight of cargo items and lateral forces arising from motions during transport of the cargo container, whereas others resist only the latter type of forces. Cargo supports 1 and 104 - 106, for example, support the weight of 20 cargo items (respectively items 7 and 100 - 102 ) and also restrain movement of those cargo items in generally horizontal directions in their containers, which movements can arise from dynamic forces associated with motion in a seaway for shipping containers or cornering and acceleration loads in land applications. By contrast, cargo supports 19 primarily restrain cargo items against generally horizontal forces, as do spacers 109-112, 25 while the weight of the cargo items is taken directly by the floors of their respective containers. A difficulty with stowing in the way shown in Figure 12 is that it can be impossible for a suitably sized forklift to enter space 103. Figure 13 shows a way in which this problem can be overcome. A wheeled apparatus 121 according to a preferred embodiment 30 of the present invention can be attached to a forklift vehicle 120 and has a chassis 123, the chassis 123 being mounted on wheels 124, and a support in the form of an elongate C\NRPonblDCCaZM436405 I DOC-31/05/2012 - 11 sting 122 that can pass through coils such as coil 100. The chassis has a lifting means, in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 125, whereby sting 122 can be raised and lowered (as shown by arrow 126). A rearwardly-extending elongate coupling, in the form of a beam 127, is mounted to sting 122, in this embodiment at a pivot 128, and is coupled at its 5 opposite (rear) end to a counterweight 129. Coupling of beam 127 to counterweight 129 allows a degree of relative movement between them. Counterweight 129 is adapted to be raised and lowered by forklift 120, which extends its tines 130 into cooperating openings (not shown) in counterweight 129. Hydraulic power for operating cylinders 125, and in this embodiment a cylinder 131 that allows some relative pivoting of beam 127 about 10 sting 122, is taken from forklift 120. Accordingly, raising and lowering of the support 122 can be effected by operation of the tines 130 and the cylinder 125. As shown in Figure 13, the chassis 123 and support 122 are positioned forwardly of the tines 130 to be manoeuvrable by the forklift vehicle 120, whereby the apparatus 121 can be used to lift heavy weights such as coil 100 and manoeuvre them into (or out of) a 15 container 132 without the forklift vehicle 120 itself having to enter container 132. Apparatus 121 allows the use of a forklift smaller than would otherwise be necessary for placement of coil 100 into container 132, counterweight 129 reducing the weight to be lifted by forklift 120 when handling coil 100, with wheels 124 acting as a fulcrum. This is very helpful, because many dock facilities do not have such large machines. 20 Further, loads may be restrained against horizontal movement in a cargo container in one direction only or in two perpendicular directions. In Figures 2, 5 and 11, container spaces 12, 20 and 103 are shown as being completely filled except for space above the loads, so that both lateral and longitudinal movements are resisted by the cargo supports 1, 19 and 104-106 and spacers 109-112. However, it is possible in principle that 25 only movements in one direction be resisted by the cargo supports including expanded foam materials, with other means being provided to resist movement in a perpendicular direction. In Figure 14, heavy cargo items 150, 151 and 152 are shown in a container internal space 153 (represented by chain-dotted lines) and are secured against longitudinal movement (i.e. in the direction of arrow 154) by timbers 155. However, they could still 30 move laterally to some degree, and so are restrained against lateral movement by cargo supports 156. Any or all of the cargo items 150-152 could of course have their weight C \NRPorbl\DCC\AZM4364O.)5 DOC-31/052012 - 12 supported by cargo supports. Figure 14 is meant primarily to illustrate the above point rather than necessarily being a practical and preferred implementation. Further examples, in which the cargo items are not necessarily surrounded, will now be described. 5 Figure 8 is a plan view of a container interior 60 (shown in phantom lines) with a single layer of 65 drum-type cargo items 61 therein. A problem of this arrangement is that the layer of items 61 is not constrained sufficiently by the interior surfaces of the container interior 60 to fully prevent movement of items in transit, with the possibility of damage or leakage. There is a space 62 into which cargo items 61 can move, but which cannot be 10 neatly filled by one or more extra containers 61. A further problem that often arises with cargoes of this type is that one layer does not fully utilize the weight carrying capacity of the container, whereas two full layers would exceed that capacity. Figures 9 and 10 show how these problems may be avoided. Figure 9 is a similar view to Figure 8, showing how the container interior 60 can be 15 stowed with an extra 25 cargo items to make 90 cargo items in all, all constrained against excessive movement during transit. Figure 10 shows this cargo as seen in side elevation looking in the direction of arrow "R" in Figure 9, although for clarity only those cargo items between planes "P" and "Q" are shown. To prevent movement within the space 62, a suitably shaped and sized spacer element 63 is positioned therein bearing against some of 20 the cargo items 61 and inner end surface 64. (A spacer element 63, positioned in a designated position as a first step in loading a layer of cargo items 61, has the additional advantage of guiding the building up of the layer with each item in its correct position, so that an intended or designed arrangement and number of items 61 in the layer is achieved.) In Figure 9, circles without letters indicate cargo items 61 of the bottom layer. 25 Circles with the letter "Y" indicate cargo items 61 that are raised partly out of the bottom layer by being positioned on top of suitably shaped and sized spacer elements 65, of which four are shown in this case. A partial layer of 25 additional cargo items 61, marked "X", is then stacked on top of items 61 of the bottom layer. Undesired movement of the items 61 labelled "X" is prevented by the inner side surfaces 66 of container interior 60 and end 30 barriers formed by the partly-raised cargo items 61 labelled "Y".

C \NRPosbPDC('AM\JM4S16.X5OC-l DI I5/23 2012 - 13 Each of spacer elements has the form of two cylinders 67 (that each sit under one cargo item 61) joined by an intermediate section 68. However, this is optional. It will be clear to skilled persons that many other shapes would be possible. Another possibility is to provide spacer elements (not shown) that instead of lifting some cargo items partially out 5 of one layer to form a barrier to movement of items in another layer, are held within one layer and also extend out of that layer to form a barrier against undesired movement of items of another layer. For example, elements having a shape that is a combination of the shape of elements 67 and the cargo items 61 shown above them in Figures 9 and 10 could be used as an alternative to elements 67 to restrain movement of items 61 of the upper 10 layer. As with the arrangement of Figure 7, the arrangement of Figures 9 and 10 involves a cargo being constrained against undesired movement by a combination of interior surfaces of a container and by spacer elements placed in the container. Many variations and enhancements may be made without exceeding the spirit or 15 scope of the invention. Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or 20 steps.

Claims (24)

1. A loading apparatus attachable to a forklift vehicle, the loading apparatus comprising: 5 a chassis, the chassis having ground-engaging wheels; a support extending forwardly from the chassis in a cantilever fashion to carry a load; lifting means, operable to raise and lower the support relative to the chassis; and an elongate coupling extending rearwardly from the support to couple the support 10 to tines of the forklift vehicle, whereby raising and lowering of the support can be effected by raising and lowering, respectively, of the tines and operation of the lifting means, and such that the chassis and support are positioned forwardly of the tines whereby the load carried by the support is manoeuvrable by the forklift vehicle into the internal space of a shipping container without the forklift vehicle entering the container. 15

2. A loading apparatus according to claim 1, including a counterweight provided at a rear end of the elongate coupling and configured to be supported by the tines.

3. A loading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the elongate coupling is 20 pivotable with respect to the counterweight.

4. A loading apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the elongate coupling is pivotable with respect to the counterweight about a transverse axis. 25

5. A loading apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the elongate coupling is pivotable with respect to the counterweight about an upright axis.

6. A loading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elongate coupling is pivotable about a substantially horizontal axis. 30

7. A loading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the elongate coupling comprises a beam. H:\sb ntenvovc,\NRPoribl\DCC\SBT\7522179_ ldox-3/03/2015 - 15

8. A loading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lifting means is configured to be hydraulically powered by the forklift vehicle. 5

9. A loading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support is receivable through an opening in the load to engage the load.

10. A loading apparatus according to claim 9, being an apparatus for carrying a load which is configured as a coil having a central opening through which the support is 10 received so that the load hangs from the support.

11. A loading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, being configured such that, when the support is coupled, via said elongate coupling, to the tines of the forklift vehicle, the chassis and support are manoeuvrable by the forklift vehicle into the 15 internal space without the forklift vehicle entering the container.

12. A loading apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, being configured such that the load is able to weigh more than 10% of a rated payload of a standard 20-foot or 40-foot shipping container. 20

13. A loading apparatus according to claim 12, being configured such that the load is able to weigh more than 20% of the rated payload.

14. A loading apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the 25 accompanying drawings.

15. A loading method in which the support of an apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims is coupled, via said elongate coupling, to the tines of the forklift vehicle, and a load carried by the support is manoeuvred by the forklift vehicle into a space without 30 the forklift vehicle entering the space. H:\shlntwoven\NRPortbl\DCC\SBT\7522179_I.doex-3/03/2015 -16

16. A loading method according to claim 15, wherein the chassis and support are manoeuvred by the forklift vehicle into the internal space without the forklift vehicle entering the space. 5

17. An unloading method in which the support of an apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14 is coupled, via said elongate coupling, to the tines of the forklift vehicle, and a load carried by the support is manoeuvred by the forklift vehicle out of a space without the forklift vehicle having entered the space. 10

18. An unloading method according to claim 17, wherein the chassis and support are manoeuvred out of the space without the forklift vehicle having entered the space.

19. A method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the support is received through an opening in the load whereby it engages the load. 15

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the load is configured as a coil having a central opening through which the support is received so that the load hangs from the support. 20

21. A method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, wherein the load weighs more than 10% of a rated payload of a standard 20-foot or 40-foot shipping container.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the load weighs more than 20% of the rated payload. 25

23. A method according to any one of claims 15 to 22, wherein the space is the internal space of a shipping container.

24. A method according to any one of claims 15 to 23 substantially as hereinbefore 30 described with reference to the accompanying drawings.