GB2166692A - Load retention means - Google Patents

Abstract

A load retention means in or for a vehicle, for example to prevent stacks of trays 50 of bread from moving or perhaps collapsing within the vehicle, comprises an assembly of a guide 16, 17, a slide 21 slidable longitudinally relative to the guide and a latch 24, movable as a result of relative movement between the guide and slide between a retracted, inoperative, position and an extended, latching, position for engagement with an article, e.g. a tray 50, to be secured. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Load retention means Description of invention This invention relates to a load retention means in or for a vehicle.

It is frequently necessary to secure articles to be transported to the vehicle, for example stacks of trays of bread, to prevent the stacks from moving or perhaps collapsing within the vehicle.

One means used hitherto to retain trays in a vehicle comprises a plurality of vertical posts provided at locations spaced longitudinally of the vehicle along the sides thereof and each post carrying a plurality of sleeves with a hook fixed to each sleeve. In use, each sleeve is moved manually individually lengthwise of its associated post and manipulated to engage the hook with an appropriate part of a tray. Such a system is very time consuming and inconvenient to use and occupies a relatively large amount of space at the sides of the vehicle.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved load retention means in or for a vehicle which overcomes or reduces the disadvantages of previously used systems.

According to the present invention, we provide a load retention means in or for a vehicle comprising an assembly of a guide means, a slide means slidable longitudinally relative to the guide means and a latch means, movable as a result of relative movement between the guide and slide means between a retracted, inoperative, position and an extended, latching, position for engagement with an article to be secured.

Means may be provided to permit of control of movement of the slide means from a position remote from the assembly.

The load retention means may include a linkage between the slide means and a drive member by which the slide means may be caused to move relative to the guide means on movement of the drive member.

The drive member may be manually movable.

The linkage may comprise a lever pivotally mounted for movement of an end part of the lever in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal direction of the guide means, said end of the lever being connected to the slide means by a connecting means which permits of relative movement between the slide means and lever in a direction transverse to said longitudinal direction but transmits movement of the lever in a direction longitudinally of the guide means to the slide means.

A plurality of latch means may be provided at positions spaced longitudinally of the guide means.

The or each latch means may be mounted on the slide means and engage a part of the guide means so that longitudinal movement of a part of the latch means mounted on the slide means causes movement of the latch means between said inoperative and latching positions.

The longitudinal movement of said part of the latch means mounted on the slide means may cause pivotal movement of the latch means about a pivot by which the latch means is mounted on the slide means to cause said movement between said inoperative and latching positions.

The or each guide means may be of generally channel configuration, the base of the channel facing towards an article to be secured and the latch means projecting through apertures formed in the base of the channel, the internal surface of the base and the side walls of the channel providing a guide to guide the slide means for sliding movement longitudinally relative to the guide means whilst the walls of the apertures formed in the base through which the latch means project provide guide means for causing said pivotal movement of the latch means as a result of longitudinal movement of the slide means.

The mouth of the channel opposite to said base may be closed by fixing the guide means to a wall of the vehicle or by providing a closure member therefor either attached to the remainder of the guide means or by being formed integrally therewith, in which case the guide means would be of generally rectangular tubular configuration. The guide means may be provided with outwardly projecting oppositely directed flanges by which the guide means may be fixed to a vehicle.

A vehicle may be provided with a plurality of such assemblies at spaced positions on the sides of the vehicle.

The guide means may extend generally vertically in which case the assemblies are provided one at each of a plurality of positions spaced longitudinally of the vehicle.

Preferably, an assembly is provided at each of two opposite sides of a load carrying platform part of the vehicle and a plurality of such pairs of assemblies are provided at spaced positions longitudinally of the load carrying platform.

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of part of a vehicle embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevation partly broken away showing part of the load retention means of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, showing another part of the load retention means of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4; and Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated part of a vehicle, in the present example a bakery van, although it should be appreciated that the invention may be applied to any other vehicle to carry any other suitable load. The vehicle comprises a load carrying platform 10 of rectangular configuration, a front bulkhead 11 and spaced parallel side walls, one of which is shown at 12, extending along opposite longitudinally extending sides of the platform 10, one of which is shown at 13. The vehicle is also provided with a door at the rear (not shown) which may be a roller door or any other desired type of door.

Secured to the walls 12 at longitudinally spaced positions, chosen to suit the size and configuration of the article or articles to be transported so that adequate securement is achieved, are load retention means comprising assemblies 14, only one of which is shown in Figure 1. All the assemblies 14 are identical and hence it is necessary to describe only one.

The assembly 14 comprises a guide means 15 comprising a top-hat section extrusion providing a channel configuration having a base 16 and side walls 17 provided with outwardly oppositely extending flanges 18 by which the guide means is secured to the wall 12 of the vehicle. The open mouth 19 of the channel is closed by a closure plate 20 secured to the flanges 18. If desired however, the guide means 15 may be of other construction or configuration. For example, the closure member 20 may be extruded integrally with the remainder of the guide means.

Slidable within the guide means is a slide means in the form of a bar 21 of rectangular cross-section.

Fixed to the bar 21 are a plurality of mounting blocks 22 providing arms 23 of a clevis connection provided by a pin 25 to latch means 24. In the present example, six latch means 24 are provided arranged in three spaced pairs. It should be appreciated however that any desired number of latch means may be provided at any desired spacing.

The latch means 24 as best shown in Figure 2 are of generally hook-like configuration and extend through rectangular openings 28 formed in the base part 16 of the guide means.

Sliding movement of the slide means longitudinally of the guide means causes pivotal movement of the latch means 24 about their pivotal connection to the parts 23 of the blocks 22 provided by the pins 25, between a retracted, inoperative position, shown in dotted line in Figure 2, and an extended latching position shown in full line in Figure 2.

In order to move the slide means 21 longitudinally of the guide means, a manually engageable handle 30 is provided on a link 31 pivoted about an axis 32 provided by means of a bracket 33 fixed to the wall 12. The bracket 33 includes a gate 35 having a downwardly facing abutment shoulder 36 and there being a leaf spring 37 provided to bias the lever 31 away from the wall 12 so as to engage the lever beneath the shoulder 36 when the lever is in its lower position, as shown in Figures 1 and 6, in which the latch means 24 are in their latching position as a result of the slide means 21 being moved upwardly by the lever 31.

Pivotal movement of the lever 31 about the axis 32 is transmitted to the slide means 21 to cause longitudinal reciprocation thereof by engagement of an end part 34 of the lever 31 between a pair of rollers 38 rotatably mounted on the slide member 21 on pins fixed at one end to the slide means 21 and at their other end to a bracket 36 fixed to the member 21, for example by welding as shown at 36a.

The configuration of the end part 34 of the lever and of the rollers 38 is such that the motion of the part 34 transverse to the longitudinal axis of the slide means is permitted and not transmitted to the slide means, whilst the motion thereof in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slide means is transmitted thereto.

Movement of the slide means 21 in an upwards direction is limited by engagement of a part 39 of the lever 31 with the bottom edge 40 of the gate 35, whilst movement of the slide means 21 in a downwards direction is limited by engagement of a part 41 of the lever 31 with the upper end 42 of the gate 35 and an end part 43 of the lever 31 with the lower edge 44 of slots 45 formed in the guide means 15, as well as engagement of the bottom end of the slide means with the floor of the vehicle or with a stop provided within the guide means.

In use, when a vehicle is to be loaded, the handles 30 of each assembly are moved into an upper position in which they are retained by friction afforded by the leaf spring 37 so that the latch means 24 are moved to their retracted inoperative positions. Articles are then loaded onto the vehicle, such as trays 50, and the handles 30 are then moved downwardly to extend the latches 24 to their latching position in which they hook over edge parts 51 of three of the trays in a stack. It has been found that latching three trays in a stack gives adequate security. Of course, if desired, a greater number of latches or lesser number of latches may be provided in each stack depending upon the nature of the articles to be secured.In the present example, where the trays are rested on a pallet, the upper latch means 24 of each pair engages a tray, but where the trays are positioned directly onto the floor of the vehicle, then the upper of each pair of latch means is used.

It will be appreciated that because manual access is not required to the latch means, the space between the side of the stack of articles and the side of the vehicle can be made relatively smali, namely the minimum necessary to provide the slide means and guide means, this is because the latches are moved between their inoperative and latching positions by the handles 30 which are provided at a position remote from the latch means, that is a position behind the rear side of the stack, so that a first stack of articles can be latched into position even when closely adjacent the front and one side wall of the vehicle. Thereafter another stack of articles is loaded onto the vehicle and can be positioned closely adjacent the first stack and to the adjacent side wall, and again secured in position by operating a further lever 30 for the set of latches provided for the second stack. In this way, the vehicle can be filled with articles which can be disposed closely to the sides of the vehicle.

If it is desired to provide two load retention assemblies for each article or stack of articles, then a single operating lever may be provided to actuate both assemblies from a position at which an operator can gain access to the operating lever, even when the articles are disposed closely adjacent to the side of the vehicle provided with the assembly.

If desired, means other than manually operated mechanical means may be provided to move the slide means, for example a hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical means.

Although in the present example the handles have been described as being positioned adjacent the top of the vehicle so that the brackets can be mounted on the cant rail which provides a strong point to mount the bracket, if desired, the handles may be mounted at other positions on the vehicle.

The guide means may be bonded to the side panels of the vehicle to add extra strength thereto.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, or a class or group of substances or compositions, as appropriate, may, separately or any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (19)

1. A load retention means in or for a vehicle comprising an assembly of a guide means, a slide means slidable longitudinally relative to the guide means and a latch means, movable as a result of relative movement between the guide and slide means between a retracted, inoperative, position and an extended, latching, position for engagement with an article to be secured.

2. Load retention means according to claim 1 wherein means are provided to permit of control of movement of the slide means from a position remote from the assembly.

3. Load retention means according to claim 2 wherein a linkage is provided between the slide means a drive member by which the slide means may be cause to move relative to the guide means on movement of the drive member.

4. Load retention means according to claim 3 wherein the drive member is manually movable.

5. Load retention means according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the linkage comprises a lever pivotally mounted for movement of an end part of the lever in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal direction of the guide means, said end of the lever being connected to the slide means by a connecting means which permits of relative movement between the slide means and lever in a direction transverse to said longitudinal direction but transmits movement of the lever in a direction longitudinally of the guide means to the slide means.

6. Load retention means according to any one of the preceding claims when a plurality of latch means are provided at position spaced longitudinally of the guide means.

7. Load retention means according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the or each latch means is mounted on the slide means and engages a part of the guide means so that longutudinal movement of a part of the latch means mounted on the slide means causes movement of the latch means between said inoperative and latching positions.

8. Load retention means according to claim 7 wherein the longitudinal movement of said part of the latch means mounted on the slide means causes pivotal movement of the latch means about a pivot by which the latch means is mounted on the slide means to cause said movement between said inoperative and latching positions.

9. Load retention means according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the guide means is of generally channel configuration, the base of the channel facing towards an article to be secured and the or each latch means projecting through an aperture formed in the base of the channel, the internal surface of the base and the side walls of the channel providing a guide to guide the slide means for sliding movement longitudinally relative to the guide means, the walls of the aperture formed in the base through which the or each latch means projects providing guide means for causing said pivotal movement of the or each latch means as a result of longitudinal movement of the slide means.

10. Load retention means according to claim 9 wherein the mouth of the channel opposite to the base is closed by fixing the guide means to a wall of the vehicle.

11. Load retention means according to claim 9 wherein the mouth of the channel opposite to the base is closed by providing a closure member therefor either attached to the remainder of the guide means or being formed integrallly therewith.

12. Load retention means according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the guide means is provided with outwardly projecting oppositely directed flanges by which the guide means may be fixed to a vehicle.

13. Load retention means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

14. A vehicle having load retention means according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A vehicle according to claim 14 wherein a plurality of assemblies are provided at spaced positions on the sides of the vehicle.

16. A vehicle according to claim 14 or claim 15 wherein the or each guide means extends generally vertically, the assemblies being provided one at each of a plurality of positions spaced longitudinally of the vehicle.

17. A vehicle according to claim 15 or claim 16 wherein an assembly is provided at each of two opposite sides of a load carrying platform part of the vehicle and a plurality of such pairs of assemblies are provided at spaced positions longitudinally of the load carrying platform.

18. A vehicle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

19. Any novel feature or novel combination of features hereinbefore described and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.