AU2695099A - Twistlock - Google Patents

Description

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P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

'c 9 b* w* 9* r Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT TURE NYHOLM TURE NYHOLM A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys GPO Box 772, Adelaide, SA 5001

TWISTLOCK

Details of Associated Provisional Application No.

PP3340 dated 5th May 1998 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:-

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'1 ,iT 2 This invention relates to a twistlock arrangement that permits removal of a twistlock from a load surface when not in use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Transport of goods has become considerably more standardised in recent times, with many goods being transported in shipping containers conforming to ISO (International Standards Organisation) standards. The use of such containers is beneficial in that the containers themselves can easily be handled and may be readily transferred from one vehicle to another and may thus be transported and fastened to a ship, train or an articulated road vehicle. The containers are readily lifted by a crane from one transport vehicle to another or for loading and unloading.

The containers have corner castings, which are hollow castings with apertures through 15 three exposed surfaces and which can engage fastening devices known as twistlocks. The °twistlocks can be used to fasten the containers to the surface of the transport vehicle or can °be used to fasten containers one on top of another when a stack of containers is formed.

Other fasteners such as lashings may be needed in addition to the twistlock if the conditions are likely to be unstable such as on a ship.

In many instances such as shipping, the transport vehicle is specifically designed to transport goods only in containers. Twistlocks may thus be fixed in position on the deck of a ship. In some instances, however the vehicle may need to be used for a number of purposes, for example, it may be required for loads other than containers and in those circumstances it is not possible to have the twistlocks fixed in position, because the twistlocks protrude above the usual loading surface and interfere with efficient stacking of the goods when not loaded in containers. It is thus practice to provide suitable castings on the surface of, for example, rail trucks which castings normally remain substantially flush with the load surface so that twistlocks can be fitted to the trucks and then containers may be loaded on and the twistlocks can fasten the containers to the trucks.

This latter practice is however quite time consuming and detracts from the efficiency of loading and unloading and also with interchange between transport vehicle. It is proposed by the present invention to provide a removable twistlock that can be maintained in position for use and that may be removed when its use is not desired, so that the vehicle can present a load bearing surface uninterrupted by the protrusion of a twistlock.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a twistlock that obviates or minimises any one of the above problems or at least provides the public with a useful choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a broad form but not necessarily the broadest or only form the invention could be said to reside in a removable twistlock arrangement for use in connection with a load surface, including a twistlock moveable within a course, said course being fixed relative to the load surface, the twistlock comprising a body portion, and a cone, said cone being rotatable relative to the body portion between an engaging position and a disengaging position, said cone positioned for engagement with a corner casting of a shipping container supported by S the load surface when in said engaging position and for co-alignment with a slot in the comer casting and release therefrom or inserted thereinto when in said disengaging position, said cone being biased to the engaged position, the course including a docking means, wherein the docking means permits docking of the twistlock in a docking position at a location suitable for engagement with a comer casting, said docking means including lift inhibiting means to inhibit lifting of the twistlock relative to the load surface, 20 the twistlock being moveable within said course between the docking position and a removal position such that in said removal position the twistlock can be moved away from .the load surface.

This then provides for a simple mechanism that permits ready removal and attachment of the twistlock to the load surface. When not in use the twistlock can be freed from the docking means and taken away from the load surface or moved to a storage position either below or to one side of the load surface and, provided that the load surface is otherwise relatively flat, will leave an unobstructed load surface.

In one form the body portion is generally flat and is in a plane substantially parallel to a plane of the load surface and the docking means comprises two guides engaging one on either side of the body of the twistlock.

In one form said two guides take the form of sidewardly open grooves extending along either side of the body portion of the twistlock and sides of the body portion having a protrusion extending sidewardly outwards so as to register into a respective one of said grooves to permit slidable movement along said grooves but to inhibit lifting of the twistlock relative to the load surface at least at the docking position. Generally it will be 4 desirable to fully inhibit lifting of the container under forces experienced under normal operating conditions, to prevent lifting of the container under those circumstances. It will be understood that where undue forces are exerted, it may be possible to tear the container from the docking means.

In another form the docking means includes a stop against which a first end of the flat portion of the body of the twistlock bears to thereby limit the extent to which the twistlock slides beyond the load support. When in the docking position movement of the twistlock is restricted to a sliding movement, and the direction of the sliding movement is determined by the guides. Generally in use, the location at which the twistlock will dock within the docking means will be determined by the configuration of the container relative to the load support. Thus two opposed twistlocks on either side of a carriage will be positioned in their respective docking means dependent upon the precise distance between the respective :comer casting of the container that is being held in place. The first end of the twistlock 15 may therefore not necessarily abut with the stop of the docking means, but the stop of either of the two opposed docking means will limit the extent to which the container can move laterally of the carriage, and the lateral movement will be limited depending on the extent to which the container complies with ISO standards.

o 20 In a further embodiment a removable second stop is provided, which stop bears against a second end of the flat portion of the body of the twistlock to thereby limit the extent to which the twistlock slides within the docking means. Thus the twistlock may be slid into the docking position and the second stop may then be put into place adjacent the second end of the flat portion of the body to thereby retain the twistlock in the docking position.

In a second aspect the invention could be said to reside in a removable twistlock as described previously wherein the course includes a docking means and an additional rotation portion, the rotation portion including a guiding shaft positioned under the load surface and fixed relative to the load surface, the guiding shaft engageable with the body portion of the twistlock, and an access aperture through the load surface positioned to permit rotation of the twistlock around the guiding shaft from an upright position to a stored position below the load surface when said twistlock is positioned at said removal position so as to be in a rotatable position, when in the upright position the twistlock is slidable between the docking position and the rotatable position.

This then provides an additional mechanism that permits ready rotation of the twistlock from below the load surface into the upright position and from there it can be slid into the docking position. When not in use the twistlock can be slid to the rotatable position and then rotated into the stored position, and provided that the load surface is otherwise relatively flat will leave an unobstructed load surface.

The sliding of the twistlock may be guided by the guiding means when proximal to the docking means and guided by the guiding shaft when proximal to the rotation position.

Preferably when the twistlock is in said docking position, the twistlock is disengaged from said guiding shaft. This then provides for a position at which rotation of the twistlock can occur which is quite separate from the position at which engagement and disengagement with the comer casting of a container can occur. Accordingly any load lateral to the guiding shaft that might occur during loading or unloading will therefore not impact on the 15 guiding shaft, which will consequently not be subjected to potentially deforming forces.

In preference a first of the guides extends from the docking position to the rotation position, a second of the guides extends from the docking position, but stops short of the rotation position to permit rotation of the twistlock through the rotation aperture the rotation of the twistlock intersecting the axis of the second of the guides.

Preferably at least a first groove of said first guide is tapered inwardly from bottom to top, so that on rotation of the twistlock from the stored position to the upright position the protrusion on the body can engage the first groove whilst swinging in its arc of rotation from the retracted position, and a second groove on said second guide is engaged when the twistlock is slid from the rotatable position towards the docking position.

The body of the twistlock for use in the second aspect of the invention preferably includes a central flat portion which when the twistlock is in the upright position is supported by the load surface, a slot engaging portion extending from the flat portion, and a leg that extends downwardly from a first end of the flat portion of the body, said leg including means for slidably engaging the guide shaft. More preferably the means for engaging the guide shaft is an aperture which encircles the guide shaft radially when engaged therewith.

In one form the twistlock is an automatic twistlock such as described with reference to the body and cone of the twistlock described in earlier Australian patent application No.

28443/95 also by the present applicant.

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The invention may also be said to reside in a vehicle whether towable, such as a railway carriage, or self motive, such as with a truck, with a removable twistlock arrangement of the above invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding, the invention will now be described with reference to a preferred illustrated embodiment wherein, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the twistlock showing the manner in which the twistlock arrangement can be received by a corner casting of a container, Figure 2 is a plan view from above of the twistlock showing the cone in a 15 position for engagement with a corner casting of a container, Figure 3 is a plan view from above showing the twistlock in the docking position, 20 Figure 4 is a part cross sectional view from the side, showing the twistlock in the docking position, Figure 5 is a plan view from above, showing the twistlock removed from the docking means, Figure 6 is a part cross sectional view of a second embodiment of twistlock, Figure 7 is a part cross sectional view showing the manner in which the twistlock arrangement of the second aspect of the invention is fixed to the load surface of a carriage and shows the manner in which the upright twistlock can be slid into a position so that it can be received by a corner casting of a container, Figure 8 is a part cross sectional view from the side, showing the direction of the sliding motion when in the upright position, and the direction of the rotational motion about the guiding shaft to provide retraction of the twistlock, Figure 9 is a part cross sectional view from the side showing the position of the twistlock when in the stored position, Figure 10 is a part cross sectional end view showing the direction of rotation of the twistlock about the guiding shaft at the rotation position, Figure 11 is a part cross-sectional end view showing the twistlock when fully rotated from the stored position shown in Figure 9 through to the upright position at the rotation position, and Figure 12 is a plan view from above showing the layout of the twistlock arrangement.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of 15 the drawings.

Dimensions of certain of the parts as shown in the drawings may have been modified and/or exaggerated for the purposes of clarity of illustration.

a. 20 The illustrated embodiment shows a removable twistlock arrangement in connection with a load surface. The removable twistlock arrangement includes a twistlock which comprises a body portion and a cone The cone is rotatable relative to the body portion between an engaged position and a disengaged position. When in the disengaged position the cone is aligned with a slot in a corner casting of a shipping container 25 such as one conforming to ISO standards. When in the engaged position it is angled relative to the slot, an indication of the angle being given by the angle of the cone shown in Figure 2. The cone is biased to the engaged position so that the twistlock will have a tendency to be maintained engaged with a corner casting unless specifically released. This biasing, and alignment of the cone and twistlock is known, for example from earlier Australian patent specification 28443/95.

The course through which the twistlock moves includes a docking means which is provided to dock the twistlock in a docking position at a location suitable for engagement with a corner casting. The docking means also includes lift inhibiting means to inhibit lifting of the twistlock relative to the load surface. In the illustrated embodiment it can be seen that inhibition of lifting is full inhibition.

Turning now in detail to construction of the illustrated embodiment.

The construction of the twistlock is similar to that disclosed in Australian application 28443/95 in the name of the present inventor, which specification is incorporated herein by reference. One major difference is the manner in which the earlier twistlock is anchored to the load surface.

The twistlock comprises therefore a body portion and a cone The cone is formed on an exposed end of a shaft, which shaft is journalled into the body so that the cone can rotate as indicated by arrow (Figure The cone is generally elongate and is bevelled at (10) and (11) so that sides (12) of the elongate slot in the container corner casting when lowered thereonto can bear thereagainst to rotate the cone and shaft from the engaging position to the disengaging position. The cone is biased into the engaging position by reason of an internal rubber block spring acting on the shaft. The rubber spring is flat being keyed to the shaft, and secured to the body of the twistlock by a release pin, which is operable by pulling release pin handle The result of the release of the release pin is that the rubber spring is freed from the body of the twistlock, and the cone can rotate freely between its normal rotational limits and the cone and shaft can be withdrawn from the body of the twistlock An alternative construction is shown in Figure 6 wherein the rubber spring is retained in place using a base plate (14) which may be screwed or otherwise attached to an underside :of the twistlock body.

As indicated above the illustrated embodiment is a fully automatic twistlock so that the 25 lower portion of the twistlock is also bevelled such as at (15) so that when the cone is in the upper corner casting, sides (12) of the elongate slot in the corner casting can bear thereagainst to rotate the cone and shaft from the engaging position to the disengaging position. The extent of the bevel (15) is matched with the bias exerted by the rubber spring to provide sufficient resistance to rotation to prevent the container being dislodged during normal use, but there is not sufficient resistance to rotation to prevent the contain being lifted by a crane from the load surface. The precise angle of the bevel will depend on the nature and strength of the biasing means and may be empirically determined. The biasing means provides the majority of this resistance. This fully automatic configuration of twistlock is best suited to forms of transport that give a relatively steady ride such that vertical forces are not over a certain limit, so that this form is preferably used with rail or road transport, but it may not be ideal for use with ships unless additional fastening devices are used to supplement the resistance to lifting off of the container, otherwise the containers may unintentionally be worked loose. A semi-automatic system whereby the bottom surface of the twistlock is not bevelled, but a lever or cable is manually or otherwise operated to turn the cone into the disengaged position before the container is lifted is also contemplated by the invention. Various semi-automatic arrangements are known in the prior art WO 92/05093 and US 5012560.

The body of the twistlock comprises essentially two parts, one such part is a central flat portion (16) which is supported by the load surface. Extending from the flat portion (16) is slot engaging portion which is shaped so as fit into the slot of the corner casting. The slot engaging portion has a height which fits into the slot to such an extent whereby the lowermost surface (18) of the cone clears the thickness of the corner casting and accordingly can rotate to the engaging position when inside the hollow of the corner casting. The configuration of the slot engaging portion, and its relative position to the lowermost portion of the cone, and thickness of the wall of the corner casting is well o: known with various configurations of twistlocks. It will be understood that the flat rubber 15 spring is positioned within the flat portion of the body of the twistlock.

The body of the twistlock is made in the normal manner, and is generally cast in two parts which are then bolted or otherwise joined together. The cone is generally forged, and irreversibly fixed with the shaft. The materials and methods of forming the twistlock are 20 relatively standard, or may be as stated in Australian application 28443/95, in relation to the biasing spring.

The course through which the twistlock can move is between two distinct positions the docking position and the removal position as shown in Figures 3 and 25 respectively.

The docking position that the twistlock assumes is defined by the docking means The docking means comprises a stop (19) against which a first end (20) of the flat portion of the body of the twistlock bears to thereby limit the extent to which the twistlock slides beyond the load support. The docking means includes a surface support to support the lower surface of the flat portion of the twistlock body. As already referred to when in docking position movement of the twistlock is restricted to a sliding movement, and the direction of the sliding movement is determined by guides (21, 22). The guides are formed as grooves located between the load surface which in the illustrated embodiment is in the form of a steel top of a railway carriage, and a casting fastened thereto. As can best be seen in Figure 4 both of these grooves are tapered inwardly from bottom to top, so that there is an overhang. Both sides of the flat portion (16) of the twistlock body are shaped with what might be called protrusions (23, 24) to engage within the groove. The protrusions in the illustrated embodiment take the form of bevelled sides of the flat portion (16) of the twistlock body. It can be seen from the figures that there is a close fit between the surface of the bevels (23, 24) and the corresponding downwardly facing surface 26) of the grooves (21, 22). Thus there is not a great deal of play, which might otherwise lead to a greater inertia build-up to impact with greater force to damage the twistlock arrangement. The overhang thus acts as a means to inhibit lifting of the twistlock and this fully inhibits lifting under the normal forces that can be expected during transport.

Generally in use, the location at which the twistlock will dock within the docking means will be determined by the configuration of the container relative to the load support. Thus two opposed twistlock on either side of a carriage will be position in their respective docking means dependent upon the precise distance between the respective corner casting of the container that is being held in place. The second end of the twistlock may therefore not necessarily abut with the stop (19) of the docking means, but the stop of either of the "15 two opposed docking means will limit the extent to which the container can move laterally of the carriage, and the lateral movement will be limited depending on the extent to which o .o the container complies with ISO standards.

It can be seen in Figure 5 that a first guide (21) is shorter than a second guide (22) and there is a gap (27) through which it is possible manipulate a release pin handle (13) whereby if the twistlock is jammed, the rubber spring can be released and thus the cone •and connected shaft can be withdrawn from the body of the twistlock.

The extent to which the twistlock is able to slide free of the guides (21) and (22) may be limited by a second stop (28) (Figure 3) which protrudes above the load surface at a position adjacent a second end (29) of the flat portion of the body. With the second stop so protruding movement of the twistlock within the docking means is restricted and the twistlock can only be removed after the second stop has been retracted or removed.

The docking means and both guides can be provided by use of a base plate (30) which may be integrally cast, and fastened to the load surface appropriately, perhaps by bolting or more permanently by welding.

To bring the twistlock to the docking position the twistlock is placed in the removal position and the twistlock is then slid towards the docking position supported by grooves (21, 22). When slid into the docking position the twistlock is ready for use in the normal manner when in the docking position.

A second embodiment is illustrated in Figures 7 to 12 and shows a twistlock which is moveable through a course including a docking means and a rotation portion The docking means is as illustrated in Figures 1 to The rotation portion (31) includes a guiding shaft (32) positioned beneath the load surface the guiding shaft being fixed relative to the load surface and engageable with the body portion of the twistlock. The rotation portion also includes an access aperture (34) through the load surface which is positioned to permit rotation of the twistlock around the guiding shaft from the upright position above the load surface shown in Figures 8 and 11 to a stored position shown in Figure 9. When in the upright position the twistlock is slidable between the docking position D and the rotatable position R, as indicated on Figures 7 and 8.

i: •The body of the twistlock comprises essentially three parts, a central flat portion (16), 15 which when the twistlock is in the upright position, is supported by the load surface.

Extending from the flat portion (16) is a slot engaging portion The third part of the body of the twistlock is in the form of a leg As can be seen, the leg extends downwardly from a second end (29) of the flat portion (16) of the body. The leg comprises the substantially cross hatched portion as shown as (36) in Figures 8 and 9. As can be seen the leg extends below a level at which the guiding shaft (32) is positioned, and includes a shaft engaging aperture (37) which encircles the shaft radially when engaged therewith. The operation of the aperture and guiding shaft will be described in more detail below.

25 It can be seen in Figure 12 that the stop (19) does not extend completely across the first end of the twistlock body, there is a gap (27) through which it is possible manipulate the release pin handle (13) whereby if the twistlock is jammed, the rubber spring can be released and thus the cone and connected shaft can be withdrawn from the body of the twistlock.

It can be seen from Figure 12 that the two guides (21, 22) extend backwards from the docking position to a differing degree. A first guide (21) of the two guides extends backwards fully over the course of the travel of the twistlock when in the upright position, whereas the second guide (22) of the two guides extends backwards only partly and not to the rotation portion. Thus when the twistlock is in the docking position the protrusions (23, 24) are both captured within the grooves (21, 22), as can partly be seen in Figure 11, whereas when the twistlock is in the rotation position only one of the protrusions (23) is captured within one of the grooves as is perhaps best seen in Figures 10 and 11.

The guiding shaft (32) extends outwards from the rotation portion under the load surface, towards the docking means. It can be seen from Figure 8, that the twistlock is clear of the guiding shaft when in the docking position, but that the shaft engaging aperture (37) engages the guiding shaft (32) when in the rotation position. The twistlock can be moved between the docking position and the rotational position by a slidable motion and when proximal to the docking position the sliding motion is guided by the interaction of the protrusions with the grooves. When the twistlock is proximal to the rotation position, the sliding motion is guided by the interaction of the shaft engaging aperture (37) with the guiding shaft as well as the interaction of the first protrusion (23) with the first groove (21).

S 15 The load surface is cut, in part, to form access aperture as well as a slot which is only partially visible in Figure 12 and permits the leg to slide past the rotating position The access aperture is cut out and is on the same side as guide As a result of the absence of the guide and the presence of the access aperture it will be understood that the twistlock is somewhat unstable when in the rotating position, and as soon as the second protrusion (24) clears the load surface and groove (22) the twistlock can be swung from the upright position in the rotation position (Figure 8) through to the stored position as shown in Figure 9. It will be appreciated that the dimensions of the access aperture are sufficiently large to permit clearance for the top of the cone as perhaps is best illustrated in Figure 10. In the stored position the twistlock cannot move off of the shaft because the 25 second end (29) will hit the outer sole bar (39) of the carriage if it slides outwards along the guiding shaft although an appropriate clip may be put into place to retain the twistlock in position. The guiding shaft is mounted on a shaft hanger (40) appropriately fastened to the underside of the load surface, and this could be bolted, so that the twistlock can be removed.

To bring the twistlock to the docking position the twistlock is manually rotated from the stored position to rotation position about the guiding bar until the protrusion (23) is brought to rest on the load support within groove The latter maintains the twistlock relatively level. The twistlock is then slid towards the docking position, initially supported by groove (21) and the guiding bar (20) until protrusion (24) engages with groove When slid into the docking position the leg (36) of the twistlock body clears the guiding shaft and is supported in position solely by both guides (21, 22) as can 13 be seen in Figures 7 and 8. The twistlock is ready for use in the normal manner when in the docking position.

Various features of the invention have been particularly shown and described in connection with the exemplified embodiment of the invention, however, it must be understood that these particular arrangements merely illustrate and that the invention is not limited thereto and can include various modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (19)

1. A removable twistlock arrangement for use in connection with a load surface, the twistlock arrangement including a twistlock moveable within a course said course being fixed relative to the load surface, the twistlock comprising a body portion, and a cone, said cone being rotatable relative to the body portion between an engaging position and a disengaging position, said cone positioned for engagement with a corer casting of a shipping container supported by the load surface when in said engaging position and for co-alignment with a slot in the corer casting and release therefrom or inserted thereinto when in said disengaging position, said cone being biased to the engaged position, the course including a docking means, wherein the docking means permits docking S. of the twistlock in a docking position at a location suitable for engagement with a corer casting, said docking means including lift inhibiting means to inhibit lifting of the twistlock 15 relative to the load surface, the twistlock being moveable within said course between the docking position and a removal position such that in said removal position the twistlock can be moved away from the load surface. 20

2. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the docking means comprises two guides engaging one on either side of the body of the twistlock.

3. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 2 wherein the two guides take the form of sidewardly open grooves extending along either side of the body portion 25 of the twistlock.

4. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 3 wherein either side of the body portion has a protrusion extending sidewardly outwards so as to register into a respective one of said grooves to permit slidable movement along said grooves but to inhibit lifting of the twistlock relative to the load surface at least at the docking position.

A removable twistlock arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the docking means includes a stop against which a first end of the body of the twistlock bears to thereby limit the extent to which the twistlock slides beyond the load support.

6. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 5 wherein a second stop is provided, which stop bears against a second end of the body of the twistlock to thereby limit the extent to which the twistlock slides within the docking means.

7. A removable twistlock arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the body portion is generally flat and is in a plane substantially parallel to a plane of the load support.

8. A removable twistlock arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the course includes the docking means and an additional rotation portion, the rotation portion including a guiding shaft positioned under the load surface and fixed relative to the load surface, the guiding shaft engageable with the body portion of the twistlock, and an access aperture through the load surface positioned to permit rotation of S. the twistlock around the guiding shaft from an upright position to a stored position below 15 the load surface when said twistlock is positioned so as to be in a rotation position, when in the upright position the twistlock is slidable between the docking position and the rotation position.

9. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 8 wherein the sliding of the 20 twistlock is guided by the guiding means when proximal to the docking means and guided by the guiding shaft when proximal to the rotation position.

A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 9 wherein the rotation position is separate from the position at which engagement and disengagement with the 25 comer casting of a container can occur.

11. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 10 wherein when the twistlock is in said docking position it is disengaged from said guiding shaft.

12. A removable twistlock arrangement according to any one of claims 8 to 11 wherein the body of the twistlock comprises a central flat portion which when the twistlock is in the upright position is supported by the load surface, a slot engaging portion extending from the flat portion, and a leg that extends downwardly from a first end of the flat portion of the body, said leg including means for slidably engaging the guide shaft.

13. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 12 wherein the means for engaging the guide shaft is an aperture which encircles the guide shaft radially when engaged therewith.

14. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 13 wherein the guiding shaft is mounted on a shaft hanger that is fastened to the underside of the load surface.

A removable twistlock arrangement according to one of claims 8 to 14 wherein a first of the guides extends from the docking position to the rotation position, a second of the guides extends from the docking position, but stops short of the rotation position to permit rotation of the twistlock through said access aperture in the load surface, the rotation of the twistlock intersecting the axis of the second of the guides. 0 *00

16. A removable twistlock arrangement according to claim 15 wherein at least a first 15 groove of said first guide is tapered inwardly from bottom to top, so that on rotation of the ::twistlock from the stored position to the upright position the protrusion on the body can engage the first groove whilst swinging in its arc of rotation from the stored position, and a second groove on said second guide is engaged when the twistlock is slid from the rotatable position towards the docking position.

17. A removable twistlock arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying Figures 1 to 6.

18. A removable twistlock arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with I 25 reference to the accompanying Figures 6 to 12.

19. A vehicle with a removable twistlock arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims. Dated this 5th day of May 1999 TURE NYHOLM By his Patent Attorneys A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys