GB2218383A - Cargo restraining linings for load carrying vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

A cargo restraining fitting 4 comprises an arm 6 movable between a first, raised position in which it can retain a load such as a trolley 2, and a second, lowered position in which the trolley may be wheeled over the arm for unloading from the vehicle. The fittings may be positioned where desired on tracks 3 in the vehicle, studs 17 on the fitting engaging in apertures in the track. A retaining fitting 20 holds the fitting 4 in position in the track. The arm 6 is spring biassed into the raised position, and a hook 29 is used to retain the arm in the lowered position. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Improvements in or relating to a cargo restraining fitting.

THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a cargo restraining fitting and more particularly to such a fitting intended for use in vehicles such as delivery vans or lorries.

For ease of transportation certain goods are stored in baskets which can be loaded into wheeled trolleys for delivery by road to retail outlets. In particular, bakery products such as bread, rolls, buns and cakes tend to be transported in this way. The wheeled trolleys are loaded into delivery vans which take the goods to the retail outlets. If it is necessary for the delivery van to park on a hill when making a delivery then the trolleys can roll or slide to the back of the van.

Consequently upon opening the rear doors of the van there is a danger of the trolleys, and their contents falling out of the back of the delivery van thereby rendering the goods useless, and possibly injuring the person opening the doors of the van. Many other items are also transported on trolleys which are loaded into delivery vans, and similar problems exist with all such trolleys.

The present invention seeks to provide a cargo restraining fitting which overcomes the above-mentioned problems.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a cargo restraining fitting, said fitting comprising an arm movable between a first, raised position and a second, lowered position; means for retaining the arm in said first, raised position; and means for mounting the fitting in a vehicle.

Preferably the fitting is designed for use with a track said arm being mounted upon a shoe; the mounting means comprising means for rele-asably attaching the shoe to the track so that it may slide along the track and for retaining the shoe at least one selected position axially along the track; at least part of the arm being raised relative to the shoe when the arm is in said first position.

In use the arrangement is such that part of the arm will engage a cargo item, such as a trolley, when in the first position, thereby restraining movement of the item, but will not engage the cargo item when in the second position and will allow unrestricted movement of the item when in said second position.

Conveniently said arm is mounted upon said shoe by means of a pivot pin so that the arm may pivot between said first and second positions.

Advantageously said means for retaining the shoe at at least one selected position along the track comprise a spring biassed retaining fitting having a member biassed to engage part of the track in order to retain the shoe at a predetermined position along the track, the track defining a plurality of points at which the biassed member may engage the track, thereby enabling the shoe to be retained at any one of several different positions along the track. Said retaining means may be releasable by way of a foot-operated mechanism.

Preferably the means for releasably attaching the shoe to the track comprise one or more studs depending from the underside of the shoe, the studs being receivable within a channel defined by the track.

Convenienty said means for retaining the arm in said first position serve to permanently bias the arm to said first position. The retaining means may comprise a spring.

Advantageously the arm has an upstanding handle formed at one end thereof.

Preferably the fitting further comprises means for releasably retaining said arm in said second position.

Conveniently said means for retaining the arm in said second position are formed on the handle at one end of the arm.

Advantageously said means for retaining the arm in said second position comprise a hook member formed on said handle, the hook member being adapted to engage a part of the mounting means. The means for retaining the arm in said second position may be releasable by way of a foot-operated mechanism.

The present invention also provides a combination of a fitting as described above and a track, the track comprising an elongate element defining a channel, the channel having wide base section and a relatively narrow open top section, the open top section defining, at positions spaced along the length thereof, widened regions or apertures by way of which part of the shoe of said fitting may be introduced into the channel so as to allow the shoe to slide along the track, said part of the shoe only being introducible into and removable from the track channel via said apertures or via open end of the channel, the means for retaining the shoe at at least one position along the track being received within one or more of said apertures and engaging the edges thereof so as to prevent axial movement of the shoe along the track.

The invention further provides a vehicle incorporating a combination of a fitting and a track as described above.

The invention additionally provides a delivery vehicle, said delivery vehicle incorporating means for engaging a trolley received in the vehicle, said means being in the form of a fitting comprising an arm movable between a first, raised position in which at least part of the arm engages the trolley and a second, lower position in which the trolley may be moved over the arm without engaging the arm.

The invention also provides a method of retaining trolleys in a delivery vehicle, said method comprising the steps of mounting a fitting in the vehicle, said fitting comprising an arm movable between a first, raised position in which at least part of the arm engages the trolley and a second, lower position in which the trolley may be moved over the arm without engaging the arm; and moving the arm to said first position.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood and so that further features thereof may be appreciated the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a fitting in accordance with the present invention when mounted in a delivery van (only part of which is shown); FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of an end portion of a track with which the fitting is intended to be used; FIGURE 3 is a side view of a fitting in accordance with the present invention; and FIGURE 4 is a view of the left hand end of the fitting of Figure 3 on an enlarged scale and with parts omitted for clarity of illustration.

With reference to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates part of the rear end of a delivery van 1. A wheeled trolley 2 is shown in the van. It is intended that three rows of such trolleys may be loaded into the van. Each trolley 2 may comprise a set of shelves upon which baskets carrying goods such a bakery products may be received. A series of three tracks 3 are mounted in the floor of the van, each track being aligned with one row of trolleys. Such tracks are commonly used in cargo restraint systems and will be described in more detail hereinafter. A fitting 4 may be mounted at any desired position along each of the tracks 3. The fitting is adapted to engage the rearmost trolley in the respective row to prevent it rolling out of the delivery van when it is parked on a slope, but may be disengaged from the trolley to permit the trolley to be wheeled out of the van when desired.

Each fitting 4 comprises a shoe 5 which is mountable upon the track 3 and which carries a pivotable arm 6. The arm 6 is moveable between a raised position as illustrated in Figure 1, in which the trolley 2 may not pass over the fitting 4 since the free end of the arm 6 would engage the end of the trolley, and a lowered position in which the arm 6 lies adjacent the shoe 5, which allows the trolley to pass freely over the fitting 4. Thus the fitting 4 serves, when necessary, to restrain the trolley 2 from moving towards the rear of van 1.

Dealing with each of the components in turn, the track 3 is shown most clearly in Figure 2 of the drawings. The track 3 comprises a relatively shallow, wide upper portion 7 and a narrower, rectangular depending portion 8 located centrally beneath the upper portion 7. The lower portion 8 is intended to be recessed in the floor of the van 1 so that only the relatively shallow upper portion 7 stands proud above floor level. The edges of the upper portion 7 may include bore holes by way of which the track may be screwed to the floor. In cross-section the track 3 defines a substantially inverted T-shaped channel 9 with a base section 10 of the channel corresponding to the head of the T and narrower upper section 11, which is open at the top, corresponding to the stem of the T.The narrower upper section 11 of the channel 9 is defined between opposed projections 12 located above the edges of the widened base section 10 of the channel. At intervals along the length of the track 3, the upper section 11 of the channel 9 is provided with circular apertures 13, which provide access to the widened base section 10 of the channel 9. Each aperture 13 has a diameter substantially equal to the transverse width of the base section 10 of the channel 9.

The fitting 4 comprises a U-sectioned channel member 14 forming a shoe, having a base 15 and opposed upstanding walls 16. Provided centrally on the underside of the base 15 are two spaced apart depending studs 17, by way of which the shoe 14 may be mounted in the track 3.

Each stud 17 comprises a relatively narrow cylindrical shank 18 and a wider circular head member 19 formed integrally with the shank. The shank 18 is secured to the underside of the base 15 of the shoe 14. The studs 17 are dimensioned to be received in the channel 9 in the track 3. Thus, the diameter of the head member 19 is slightly less than the width of the base section 10 of the channel 9 while the depth of the head member 19 is slightly less than the depth of the base section 10. The diameter of the shank member is accordingly slightly less than the width of the upper section 11 of the channel 9.

The spacing of the studs 17 along the shoe 14 corresponds to the spacing between a predetermined number of circular apertures 13, so that the studs may be aligned with two apertures 13 and may then be introduced into the channel 9 via the apertures 13. Once the studs 17 have been inserted in the channel 9 the shoe may be slidden along the track to any desired location. Once the studs are no longer aligned with a pair of apertures 13 the shoe 14 may not be removed from the track 3.

A retaining fitting 20 is mounted on the shoe 14 adjacent one end thereof and serves to retain the shoe in position at a selected position along the track. The retaining fitting 20 comprises an upstanding post 21 mounted centrally on the upper surface of the base 15 of the shoe. A track engaging member 22, comprising a substantially horizontal portion 23 carrying, at opposed edges, depending legs 24, is mounted upon the post 21.

The post 21 passes through a bore in the horizontal portion 23 of the track engaging member 22, with the legs 24 extending through appropriately dimensioned apertures in the base 15 so as to project from the underside of the shoe 14. The track engaging member 22 is biassed to the position illustrated in Figure 3, i.e. the position in which the legs 24 project beneath the shoe 14, by way of a spring mounted over the post 21. The lower end of the spring engages the upper surface of the horizontal portion 23, whilst the upper end of the spring engages a ring 25 which passes through a tranverse bore adjacent the upper end of the post 21. The track engaging member 22 may be pulled upwardly against the spring bias so that the legs 24 do not project beyond the base 15. A pair of upstanding lugs are provided at the edges of the horizontal portion 23 to facilitate grasping of the member 22.

With the track engaging member in the raised position where the legs do not project beyond the base 15, the studs 17 may be inserted into the channel 9 by way of the apertures 13. The shoe can be moved along the track to a desired location, with the track engaging member 22 still in the raised position. When the desired location is reach the track engaging member 22 may be released, whereupon the legs 24 will each project into a respective aperture 13 in the track 3 under the bias of the spring provided and will engage the projections 12 thereby preventing axial movement of the shoe along the track. Thus the fitting 20 serves to retain the shoe in position on the track. The relative location of the studs 17 and the fitting 20 is such that when the legs 24 project into adjacent apertures 13, the studs 17 are not aligned with any of the apertures 13.

The pivoting arm 6 is mounted upon the shoe 14 at the end thereof which is remote from the stud fitting 20.

The arm 6 is of inverted U-section and is pivotally mounted within the U-section of the shoe 14 by means of a pivot pin 26 which extends through aligned bores in the walls 16 of the shoe and sides of the U-sectioned arm 6.

The pin 26 may be retained in position by any appropriate means, such as circlips. A wire spring 27 extends around the pivot pin 26 and engages both the arm 6 and the shoe 14. The spring 27 biases the arm 6 to a raised position, as illustrated in Figure 3. Upward movement of the arm 6 may be limited by a stop or by the engagement of the end of the arm with the base of the shoe 14.

The end of the arm 6 remote from the pivot pin carries an upstanding handle 28. The arm 6 may be depressed against the bias of the spring 27 by pushing downwardly on the handle 28. The handle 28 is provided with a downwardly projecting hook member 29. When the arm 6 has been depressed to a lower position in which the arm lies substantially within the shoe 14, the hook member 29 can be hooked into the ring 25 in order to retain the arm 6 in the lowered position. It will be appreciated that the ring 25 has been illustrated as lying in the plane of the paper in Figure 3 for illustrative purposes only and would, in practice, be 0 rotated about a vertical axis through 90 relative to the position illustrated so that the hook member 29 could engage the ring.

In use, vans intended to convey trolleys 2 are provided with tracks 3 mounted in the floor of the van at positions which correspond approximately to the position of the centre of a row of trolleys when loaded in the van. Thus, in the example shown in Figure 1 the van is intended to carry three rows of trolleys side by side, each row consisting of several trolleys. A fitting 4 is mounted upon each track 3, above which trolleys are received, at a position adjacent the end of the track at the rear of the van in the manner described above. With the arm 6 in the raised position the fittings 4 may be slidden along their respective tracks 3 until the upstanding handle 28 at the free end of the arm 6 engages the edge of the rear most trolley 2. At this position the fitting 4 is secured in place on the track by way of the fitting 20 as described above. The upstanding handle 28 on the arm 6 will now prevent the trolleys from moving towards the rear of the van.

When it is desired to unload trolleys from the van the arm 6 may be pushed down against the spring bias and retained in the lowered position by means of the hook member 29 engaging the ring 25. When the arm 6 is in the lowered position the trolleys 2 may pass freely over the fitting 4, with the fitting 4 being of lesser overall height when the arm 6 is lowered than. the clearance between the underside of the trolleys 2 and the floor of the van. When the required number of trolleys have been removed from the van the arm 6 may be raised again simply by disengaging the hook member 29 from the ring 25. If necessary the fitting 4 may be moved along the track 3 further into the van so as to engage the edge of the next trolley thereby preventing that trolley from rolling towards the rear of the van.

It may desirable for the fitting 4 to be footoperated, in which case the track engaging member 22 may be attached to a pivotable pedal mounted on the shoe 14 which would enable the track engaging member to be raised by pressing the pedal. The track engaging member would lowered by means of the above-described spring bias. The arm 6 may carry a foot plate on the handle 28 and the handle may further incorporate a catch arrangement so that the arm 6 is automatically retained in the lowered position by means of a latch mechanism. A foot pedal may be provided on the latch mechanism to release the arm 6 from the latched position so that it may again return to the raised position.

It will be appreciated that various modifications and alterations may be made to the above-described embodiment of fitting without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (20)

CLAIMS:

1. A cargo restraining fitting, said fitting comprising an arm movable between a first, raised position and a second, lowered position; means for retaining the arm in said first, raised position; and means for mounting the fitting in a vehicle.

2. A fitting according to Claim 1 for use with a track, said arm being mounted upon a shoe; the mounting means comprising means for releasably attaching the shoe to the track so that it may slide along the track and for retaining the shoe at at least one selected position axially along the track; at least part of the arm being raised relative to the shoe when the arm is in said first position.

3. A fitting according to Claim 2, wherein said arm is mounted upon said shoe by means of a pivot pin so that the arm may pivot between said first and second positions.

4. A fitting according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein said means for retaining the shoe at at least one selected position along the track comprise a spring biasssed retaining fitting having a member biassed to engage part of the track in order to retain the shoe at a predetermined position along the track, the track defining a plurality of points at which the biassed member may engage the track, thereby enabling the shoe to be retained at any one of several different positions along the track.

5. A fitting according to Claim 4, wherein said retaining means are releasable by way of a foot-operated mechanism.

6. A fitting according to any one of Claims 2 to 5, wherein the means for releasably attaching the shoe to the track comprise one or more studs depending from underside of the shoe, the studs being receivable within a channel defined by the track.

7. A fitting according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said means for retaining the arm in said first position serve to permanently bias the arm to said first position.

8. A fitting according to Claim 7 wherein said retaining means comprise a spring.

9. A fitting according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the arm has an upstanding handle formed at one end thereof.

10. A fitting according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fitting further comprises means for releasably retaining said arm in said second position.

11. A fitting according to Claim 10, as dependant upon Claim 9, wherein said means for retaining the arm in said second position are formed on the handle at one end of the arm.

12. A fitting according to Claim 11 wherein said means for retaining the arm in said second position comprise a hook member formed on said handle, the hook member being adapted to engage a part of the mounting means.

13. A fitting according to any one of Claims 10 to 12, wherein the means for retaining the arm in said second position are releasable by way of a foot-operated mechanism.

14. A combination of a fitting in accordance with any one of claims 2 to 13 and a track, the track comprising an elongate element defining a channel, the channel having a relatively wide base section and a relatively narrow open top section, the open top section defining, at positions spaced along the length thereof, widened regions or apertures by way of which part of the shoe of said fitting may be introduced into the channel so as to allow the shoe to slide along the track, said part of the shoe only being introducible into and removable from the track channel via said apertures or via an open end of the channel, the means for retaining the shoe at at least one position along the track being received within one or more of said apertures and engaging the edges thereof so as to prevent axial movement of the shoe along the track.

15. A vehicle incorporating a combination of a fitting and a track in accordance with Claim 14.

16. A delivery vehicle, said delivery vehicle incorporating means for engaging a trolley received in the vehicle, said means being in the form of a fitting comprising an arm movable between a first, raised position in which at least part of the arm engages the trolley and a second, lower position in which the trolley may be moved over the arm without engaging the arm.

17. A method of retaining trolleys in a delivery vehicle, said method comprising the steps of mounting a fitting in the vehicle, said fitting comprising an arm movable between a first, raised position in which at least part of the arm engages the trolley and a second, lower position in which the trolley may be moved over the arm without engaging the arm; and moving the arm to said first position.

18. A cargo restraining fitting substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

19. A combination of a cargo restraining fitting and a track substantially as herein described, with reference to and as shown in the the accompanying drawings.

20. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.