DE20217288U1 - Device for securing load in load space of vehicle has at least one plate-form load support floor at predetermined distance from load bearing surface of vehicle and movable relative to it - Google Patents

Abstract

The device for securing a load in the load space of a vehicle has at least one plate-form load support floor (24) at a predetermined distance from the load bearing surface (16) of the vehicle and which is movable relative to it. An additional load support floor may be located at a second distance away from the load bearing surface, with both load support floors connected to a support unit or slide-in framework. The parallel load support floors are connected to a framework by retaining rods.

Description

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Device for securing a load in a loading compartment of a

Vehicle

The present invention relates to a device for securing a load in a loading space of a vehicle, in particular a truck, with retaining rails provided on the side walls of the loading space -- each having an undercut longitudinal groove with a series of holes -- for the detachable attachment of load securing units.

Such devices are known and have been marketed by the applicant for a long time. For example, reference is made to the applicant's DE 198 51 392 A1; it shows so-called airline rails, which are used to attach load securing devices of various types and designs.

A device for securing cargo on the loading area of a vehicle in the form of a beam-like profile with at least one insert profile mounted on one end, to which a swivel head with a channel-like cross-section with a latch bolt mounted so as to be movable relative to it as a connecting element for counter-elements on the loading area - or on a box structure associated with it - is articulated by means of an axle bolt, is disclosed in the applicant's document DE 201 01 838 Ul. The swivel body of this device is provided with an insert element which can be moved relative to it for a locking recess as a counter-element, which is designed as a latch body and is fixed to the swivel body by means of its own cross bolt. A free end of the latch body is connected to a lashing strap by means of a pin passing through it.

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DE 44 12 067 C by the applicant describes a pair of guide rails provided approximately horizontally on the vehicle side walls at a distance from the loading area, to which end connecting elements of a support profile running between them in the operating position are connected; this support profile is connected to a strand-like guide rod by a joint at a distance from one end of the profile and the guide rod is fixed in place at the other end by means of a further joint. This support profile can be folded around its joint and the guide rod around the further joint from an operating position to a rest position and can be attached to one of the guide rails by means of the end joint.

The state of the art also includes so-called roller conveyors, namely rollers that can be lowered -- in particular using compressed air from the vehicle system -- and which offer a simple transport path for palletized goods by pushing a corresponding pallet or container on the rollers. After the rollers have been lowered, a flat support surface remains for the load on top.

However, in particular in connection with two-wheelers -- motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, etc., and structurally comparable units with double wheels, for example, are to be understood as "two-wheelers" in the following -- conventional packaging and load securing systems prove to be problematic and disadvantageous. On the one hand, it is known to pack bicycles and motorcycles upright in suitably sized boxes and transport them in this way; with regard to a stable fixation of the relatively heavy two-wheeler, especially in problematic transport conditions, a satisfactory solution has not yet been found. Concepts examined to date are very complex. In addition, -- given the weight of the load -- boxes with two-wheelers packed in them can only be stacked to a limited extent, so that the loading space of a truck is limited when transporting a large number of

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cannot be optimally utilized by packaged two-wheelers.

In view of these circumstances, the inventor has set himself the goal of improving fastening devices for loads in the loading area of a lorry or truck, in particular of creating a load securing unit for two-wheelers which takes into account the special transport conditions for two-wheelers as cargo in terms of weight, load, stackability and optimizing the use of loading space. In addition, since such a special transport problem requires flexible upgrading and conversion of the truck loading area, flexibility in the structural implementation of such devices is to be encouraged.

The teaching of the independent claim leads to the solution of this problem; the subclaims specify advantageous developments of the invention. In addition, all combinations of at least two of the features disclosed in the description, the drawing and/or the claims fall within the scope of the invention.

According to the invention, at least one plate-like support floor for the load is arranged at a predetermined distance from the loading area floor or the loading surface and is provided so as to be displaceable relative to the loading surface. The support floor should advantageously have at least one further support floor assigned to it at a distance from the loading surface and be connected to it - preferably by vertical lateral support rods - to form a support unit or a slide-in frame.

Especially for the transport of two-wheelers -- especially motorcycles -- it has proven to be advantageous to connect two approximately parallel supporting floors in such a way that the lower one runs close to the loading area and the upper one about halfway up the loading area.

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Within the scope of the invention, at least the lower supporting floor of the slide-in scaffold is equipped on both sides with at least one downward-pointing strip or longitudinal foot, which serves as a sliding element for the slide-in scaffold designed to be axially displaceable on the loading surface; this is because the loading surface should be provided with a roller track at least on its two edge areas parallel to its longitudinal axis, with the axes of the rollers running transversely to the longitudinal axis of the loading surface. The slide-in scaffold is placed on the rollers with its lower strips or longitudinal feet and can thus be easily moved. If there are no roller tracks on the loading surface, wheel or rolling elements on the slide-in scaffold can serve as a replacement.

Once the carrier unit or the slide-in frame has reached its final transport location on the loading area, it is secured to the holding rails in the loading area. These holding rails are preferably so-called airline profiles of a known type with holes to which locking bolts or similar connecting elements of the slide-in frame can be assigned.

In order to solve the problem discussed above, it is essential that the supporting floor of the slide-in scaffolding for accommodating two-wheelers -- in particular motorcycles -- is equipped with clamping or holding elements for these approximately in its longitudinal center.

According to the invention, the tensioning or holding element has at least one strip-shaped pulling element which is mounted displaceably relative to the supporting base and contains a gripping element at one end. This gripping element should be curved in a hook shape and preferably designed to interact with a locking element which protrudes laterally from the bicycle; the latter is part of a footrest, a pedal section or the like on the bicycle, but can also be attached separately.

According to another feature of the invention, the pulling element guided in a housing of the tensioning or holding element is designed to be transferable to a locking position in the pulling direction towards the supporting base. The pulling element can also be articulated to a pivoting device and guided by this in a linear path of the housing. The pivoting device should be articulated in the housing and arranged to be guided against a force accumulator by means of an integrated lever.

According to the invention, the tension member is designed as a channel profile with an undercut longitudinal groove and holes arranged in this, and is guided on a profile of the pivoting device running in the undercut space. The tension member can therefore be designed, for example, in the manner of a known airline profile.

It has proven to be advantageous that the lever is guided in the housing by means of a slot provided in the cover plate.

According to another feature of the invention, the housing has a laterally projecting profile with which it can be secured to the supporting floor. In an embodiment according to the invention, at least six clamping or holding elements should protrude from the latter, between which grooves advantageously run parallel to one another in the supporting floor as holding parts for the tires of the two-wheelers.

In one embodiment according to the invention, the clamping or holding elements rising from the supporting floor should be aligned with one another in a transverse row, i.e. a row of parallel two-wheelers is transported here. Another embodiment is characterized by two rows of clamping or holding elements, with each row defining a transverse line and both transverse lines running at a distance from one another. The gripping elements of the clamping or holding elements of both transverse lines can point towards one another or - in another

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arrangement - also directed away from each other. These designs allow, for example, five two-wheelers to be mounted on the support floor in the same direction and between these four two-wheelers to be mounted in opposite directions.

In an advantageous manner according to the invention, the elongated carrier units, which can be detachably attached to a retaining rail and act as roller tracks, make it possible to offer roller tracks for the load using the proven and advantageous retaining rails, which can be detachably attached and have variable heights - and thus for optimal use of the truck loading space - and thus the advantageous conveyor technology with lowerable rollers known from loading space floor technology can be expanded flexibly and potentially to multiple levels for a wide variety of transport applications in a loading space - especially for motorcycles and similar two-wheelers. While the retaining rails allow the carrier units to be arranged at variable, suitably selected heights, the assignment of the carrier units to the roller tracks simultaneously enables even heavy loads to be easily moved and positioned in the loading space by simply pushing them.

While the use of wider carrier units -- i.e. those that take up a significant part of the loading space width -- is conceivable in principle, a preferred area of application of the present invention is the use of narrow carrier units whose width is less than half the loading space width -- in particular less than a quarter of the loading space width. In practical operation, however, the width of such carrier units is only between ten and twenty centimeters.

These support units are preferably provided in pairs and parallel to each other and extending horizontally, so that - when the load is suitable as a support or attachment - the support units each have an intermediate

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create a sloping floor with the beneficial effect of a roller conveyor.

Particularly suitable in connection with the fastening device according to the invention by the carrier units as a roller conveyor, but in principle also independent of these, it is provided within the scope of the present invention to use load carriers for the special fastening and securing requirements of two-wheelers, which on the one hand hold the two-wheelers in the area of their front or rear wheels, but on the other hand ensure that the two-wheeler is securely fastened by engaging or engaging in a chassis or drive area of the two-wheeler. According to the invention, fastening means are provided for this purpose which have a displaceable engagement section and -- in turn -- are realized by means of a rail construction having a longitudinal groove and widenings.

A locking pawl enables the fastening means to be fixed in place in a suitable manner, whereby - particularly suitable for the safe transport of loads - the spring effect of the damping means already present on a two-wheeler, such as the telescopic fork or the shock absorber, can also be used in that the fastening means clamp the two-wheeler against the load carrier against their restoring force. For this purpose, a locking direction of the fastening means is particularly advantageous, i.e. this clamping and holding effect can be achieved by simply moving the fastening means, e.g. manually, and then released again by operating the locking pawl.

With regard to the locking pawl and the rail construction, the content of the applicant's German utility model application 202 12 820.2 is to be considered as part of the invention. The airline rail described here has also proven to be particularly suitable for the realization of the load securing unit according to the invention, where

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in particular the movable and locking holding element.

In particular, if a plurality of the load securing devices according to the invention are connected to one another so firmly that a block-shaped unit is created, such an arrangement is particularly suitable for optimizing the use of the loading space of a truck while at the same time optimizing the securing of each individual two-wheeler, even in demanding transport tasks, such as transport on poor roads or tipping of the loading space.

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Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the following description of preferred embodiments and from the drawing, which shows in:

Fig. 1: a schematic side view of a truck with a loading area and holding rails running vertically therein and support units attached horizontally thereto for two-wheelers, in particular for motorcycles, secured to clamping or holding elements;

Fig. 2: an enlarged detail of Fig. 1 with a pair of clamping or holding elements in side view;

Fig. 3, 4: a different arrangement of the clamping or holding element(s) compared to Fig. 2;

Figs. 5, 6,

7: Side view, front view or top view of a load securing unit consisting of several load carriers firmly connected to one another, which can be moved horizontally as a block in the loading space according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 8: an enlarged detail of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9: a side view of a motorcycle on a pair of clamping or holding elements according to Fig. 3, approximately corresponding to the illustration in Fig. 1, 4;

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Fig. 10 to

12: Side view, front view or top view of an embodiment of the clamping or holding element;

Fig. 13: an oblique view of the clamping or holding element;

Fig. 14: the clamping or holding element of Fig. 13 with individual parts separated from each other;

Fig. 15: an oblique view of a so-called airline rail as a holding profile for load securing units.

A truck 10 is equipped behind its driver's cab 12 with a box body 17 -- resting on a chassis 14 with wheels -- spanning its loading area 16; in its loading space 20, which is delimited by side walls 18 and transverse walls 19, four vertically extending holding rails 22, _22a for supporting floors 24 of length a, which are horizontally attached to them -- at a distance h from the loading area 16 -- can be seen in Fig. 1. This distance h corresponds approximately to half the height hi of the loading area 20. Tensioning or holding elements 30 for two-wheelers indicated at 28 protrude from the supporting floors 24 and from supports 26 of the loading area floor or the loading area 16 approximately in the longitudinal center B of that length a. As Fig. 7 in particular makes clear, these are preferably arranged in opposite directions in parallel, so that two rows of clamping or holding elements 30 are required, each of which determines a transverse line Q. Both transverse lines Q run at a distance i from one another (Fig. 7).

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The design of the clamping or holding elements 30 used here can be seen in particular in Figs. 10 to 14. An almost cuboid-like housing 32 with a width b of 40 mm, a length c of 80 mm and a height e of 210 mm is equipped on one of its side walls 34 with a holding rail 46 with a U-shaped cross-section, a cantilever width f of 42 mm and a height ei corresponding to the housing width b. This holding rail 46 is stiffened towards the side wall 34 by a fin profile 47 that protrudes centrally from it.

At the top, the side walls 34 and the cross walls 36, _36a connecting them - which have different heights - are connected by a cover plate 40. A section of the latter runs downwards towards the shorter cross wall _36a , and this desk surface 41 is equipped with a central slot 43 extending from the shorter cross wall _36a ; an end section 42 of the cover plate 40 provided parallel to the housing base 38 offers an edge cutout 44.

A so-called airline profile 50 with a length g of approximately 150 mm is inserted into the edge cutout 44; holes 54 provided in an undercut longitudinal groove 52 of the profile 50 point towards the desk surface 41. A guide profile 56 with a T-shaped cross section of a pivoting device 58 - containing a force accumulator 57 - runs in the undercut space 53 of the longitudinal groove 52. An airline profile is described as an example in Fig. 15; although it has a different cross section than the profile 50, this disclosure is expressly referred to here - to avoid repetition.

When a lever 60, which is connected to the swivel device 58 by means of a bolt 59 and guided in the slot 43 of the console surface 41, is actuated in the closing direction x, the airline profile 50 is lowered in the direction of arrow y into a clamping position. In this position, the outer holding

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ken 48 of the airline profile 50 onto a lateral locking pin 29 of the two-wheeler 28 - formed for example by a footrest, pedal sections or the like - and clamp the latter firmly to the supporting floor 24 or to the support 26.

Fig. 2 and 3 compare two arrangements of the two rows of clamping or holding elements 30. On the one hand, two adjacent clamping or holding elements 30 can be arranged next to each other at the end; they then run between the locking pins 29 (Fig. 3) which are at a distance ii from each other. Otherwise, as Fig. 2 shows, the two holding elements 30 are outside the zone delimited by the locking pins 29 - the outer hooks 48 face each other. As described further below, the partners of these pairs of holding elements 30 can each be assigned to a two-wheeler 28 if the two two-wheelers are arranged in opposite directions to each other. The embodiment in Fig. 4 contains only one transverse line G with clamping or holding elements 30 for motorcycles 28.

The motorcycle 28 is fixed in Fig. 5, 6 on a carrier unit or a slide-in frame 70 made up of two support floors 24 connected by four lateral support rods 23 at a distance h ₂ ; the latter are equipped with downwardly projecting strips or longitudinal feet 25 on the sides. The strips or longitudinal feet 25 of the lower support floor 24 can be placed on roller conveyors -- integrated into the loading area 16 on both sides parallel to the side walls 18, indicated at 66 -- and can be moved effortlessly in the loading space 20 thanks to the latter. The axes R of the rollers 68, which are rotatably -- and if necessary lowerably -- mounted in rectangular recesses 67 of the roller conveyor 66, also run transversely to the longitudinal axis A of the vehicle 10, which is indicated in Fig. 7.

In Fig. 6, 8, grooves 64 in the support floors 24 -- for receiving the tires 27 of the motorcycles 28 -- can be seen and between these the clamping or holding elements 30. In addition, Fig. 7 makes it clear that the motorcycles 28 are

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and alternately in opposite directions. Fig. 7 also shows that a pair of mutually associated holding elements 30 usually grips two locking pins 29 of different motorcycles 28.

The counter-rotation of two-wheelers 28 standing next to each other is also illustrated in Fig. 9 using two two-wheelers 28 as well as two clamping or holding elements 30 associated with them.

For reasons of clarity, Fig. 1 merely indicates that the side walls 18 are designed with vertical airline profiles as holding rails 22, _22a , to which the described insertion frames 70 can be secured after they have entered the loading space 20 on those lateral roller conveyors 66. Fig. 15 merely shows a section of an airline profile 80 with a width η of, for example, 60 mm, which has been extruded from a light metal alloy.

The airline profile 80 has an undercut longitudinal groove 86 with a mouth width q of, for example, 12 mm and a cross-sectional width ni of the undercut area 87 of 20 mm in a center strip 82 to which wing-like longitudinal strips 84 are formed on both sides. In this undercut area 87 of the longitudinal groove 86 there are desk surfaces 88 as lower surfaces of molded ribs 89, which run between holes 90 and span the undercut areas 87.

The longitudinal groove 86 is provided with said holes 90 at distances ζ of approximately 25 mm from its center lines M; the hole diameter d is slightly shorter than the transverse hole width ni. Such airline profiles 80 are - as mentioned - attached to the inner surfaces of the side walls 34 and, thanks to their unity of undercut longitudinal groove 86 and its holes 88, accommodate holding devices not shown in Fig. 15, for example locking bolts of the insertion frames 70.

Claims (24)

1. Device for securing a load in a loading space of a vehicle, in particular a truck, with holding rails provided on the side walls of the loading space, each having an undercut longitudinal groove with a row of holes for the detachable attachment of load securing devices, characterized in that at least one plate-like supporting floor ( 24 ) for the load ( 28 ) is arranged at a predetermined distance (h) from the loading space floor or the loading area ( 16 ) and is provided so as to be displaceable relative to the loading area. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one further support floor is assigned to the support floor ( 24 ) at a distance (h ₂ ) from the loading surface ( 16 ) and both support floors are connected to form a support unit or a slide-in frame ( 70 ). 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the approximately parallel supporting floors ( 24 ) are connected to the slide-in frame ( 70 ) by holding rods ( 23 ). 4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the lower of two supporting floors ( 24 ) runs close to the loading area ( 16 ) and the upper supporting floor ( 24 ) runs approximately halfway up the height (h ₁ ) of the loading space ( 20 ). 5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least the lower support floor ( 24 ) of the slide-in frame ( 70 ) is provided on both sides with at least one downwardly pointing strip or one longitudinal foot ( 25 ) as a sliding element for the slide-in frame designed to be axially displaceable on the loading surface ( 16 ). 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the loading surface ( 16 ) is provided with a roller conveyor ( 66 ) at least on its two edge regions parallel to its longitudinal axis (A), and the axes (Q) of the rollers ( 68 ) thereof run transversely to the longitudinal axis of the loading surfaces. 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the carrier unit or the slide-in frame ( 70 ) is designed to be fixable to holding rails ( 22 , 22a ) of the loading space ( 20 ). 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the holding rail ( 22 , 22a ) is formed by a so-called airline profile ( 80 ), the bores ( 90 ) of which are assigned to locking bolts of the slide-in frame ( 70 ). 9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the supporting floor ( 24 ) of the slide-in frame ( 70 ) for receiving two-wheelers ( 28 ), in particular motorcycles, is provided approximately in its longitudinal center (B) with clamping or holding elements ( 30 ) for these. 10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the tensioning or holding element ( 30 ) has at least one strip-shaped pulling element ( 50 ) which is mounted displaceably relative to the supporting base ( 24 ) and contains a gripping element ( 48 ) at approximately one end. 11. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the gripping member ( 48 ) is curved in a hook shape and is preferably designed to cooperate with a locking element ( 29 ) projecting laterally from the two-wheeler ( 28 ). 12. Device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the pulling element ( 50 ) guided in a housing ( 32 ) of the tensioning or holding element ( 30 ) is designed to be transferable into a locking position in the pulling direction (y) towards the supporting base ( 24 ). 13. Device according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the pulling element ( 50 ) is articulated to a pivoting device ( 58 ) and is displaceably guided by the latter in a linear path ( 44 ) of the housing ( 32 ). 14. Device according to claim 13, characterized in that the pivoting device ( 58 ) is articulated in the housing ( 32 ) and is arranged to be guided against a force accumulator ( 57 ) by means of a lever ( 60 ). 15. Device according to one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that the pulling element ( 50 ) is designed as a channel profile with an undercut longitudinal groove ( 52 ) and bores ( 54 ) arranged therein and is guided on a profile ( 56 ) of the pivoting device ( 58 ) running in the undercut space ( 53 ). 16. Device according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the lever ( 60 ) is guided in the housing ( 32 ) by means of a slot ( 43 ) of the cover plate ( 40 ) thereof. 17. Device according to at least one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that the housing ( 32 ) has a laterally projecting profile ( 46 ) with which it is held fixably on the supporting base ( 24 ). 18. Device according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that at least six clamping or holding elements ( 30 ) protrude from the supporting base ( 24 ). 19. Device according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the clamping or holding elements ( 30 ) projecting from the supporting base ( 24 ) are aligned with one another in a transverse straight line (Q) ( Fig. 4). 20. Device according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized by two rows of clamping or holding elements ( 30 ), each row determining a transverse line (Q) and both transverse lines extending at a distance (i) from one another. 21. Device according to claim 20, characterized in that the gripping members ( 48 ) of the clamping or holding elements ( 30 ) of both transverse lines (Q) point towards each other ( Fig. 2). 22. Device according to claim 21, characterized in that the gripping members ( 48 ) of the clamping or holding elements ( 30 ) of both transverse lines (Q) are directed away from each other ( Fig. 3). 23. Device according to one of claims 1 to 22, characterized in that the supporting base ( 24 ) is provided between the clamping or holding elements ( 38 ) projecting from it with mutually parallel groove-like depressions ( 64 ) for the tires ( 27 ) of the two-wheelers ( 28 ). 24. Device according to one of claims 20 to 23, characterized by a design of the support base ( 24 ) such that five two-wheelers ( 28 ) can be fixed in the same direction and between these four two-wheelers in opposite directions.