GB2350821A

GB2350821A - Cargo retention apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2350821A
Application number: GB9913160A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David A Buckley; John G Davies; Clive Dingle
Original assignee: BOALLOY IND Ltd
Current assignee: BOALLOY IND Ltd
Priority date: 1999-06-08
Filing date: 1999-06-08
Publication date: 2000-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 2019-06-08
Also published as: GB9913160D0; GB2350821B

Abstract

A cargo retention apparatus for substantially cylindrically shaped cargo comprises a cargo platform 2 enclosed on two opposed sides by rigid bracing members 9, and elongate flexible members 15 on each side that traverse the bracing members and are tensionable so as to apply a force to the bracing members so as to direct them inwards towards the cargo area. Each bracing member has at least one saddle (10 in figure 5) which defines a surface (12) for abutting the cargo. The bracing members 9 may be removably retained to the sides of the cargo platform 2, and the tensioning means 18 may be located beneath said platform. The saddles may be arcuate shaped so as to more securely locate on the cylindrical cargo, and may have a high friction surface. The cargo platform may be located in a road vehicle, railway freight wagon, or a container transportable by road, rail or sea.

Description

2350821 CARGO RETENTION APPARATUS The present invention relates to cargo

retention apparatus and more particularly to apparatus used to retain cargo in the form of drums, barrels or the like in a vehicle body.

The term "vehicle body" is used hereinafter in the claims and the description to mean a structure defining a cargo-holding space on a road vehicle (trailer or selfpropelled), on a railway freight wagon or a container transportable by road, rail or sea.

Drums or barrels are generally loaded in a vehicle body from the front to rear and are arranged in a plurality of rows that each extend between the two sides of the vehicle body. The drums are stacked one on top of the other so that each row may comprise several tiers. The cargo is held in the vehicle body between the curtain sides and retaining straps positioned between adjacent rows at spaced locations along the vehicle length.

During transportation the drums tend to move relative to one another both laterally and rotationally. Such movement often causes damage to the drum itself. Although the damage may only be superficial denting or marking it has been known for recipients in certain industries where quality assurance is paramount to return damaged drums.

One known cargo retention system uses inflated air bags inserted between the roof of the vehicle body and the top tier of drums. This arrangement reduces the tendency of the top tier of drums to separate from the supporting tier but still does not provide satisfactory prevention of damage caused by lateral and rotational drum movement.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the aforesaid disadvantages.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a cargo retention apparatus for substantially cylindrically shaped cargo, the apparatus comprising a cargo platform enclosed on at least two opposed sides by a plurality of rigid bracing members so as to define a cargo area, each member having at least one saddle projecting into the cargo area and defining a surface for abutting an item of 2 cargo, and elongate flexible members on each side that traverse the bracing members and are tensionable so as to apply a force to the bracing members so as to direct them inwards towards the cargo area.

The elongate flexible members, for example, straps thus pull the bracing members on each side of the cargo area inwards towards the cargo so as to ensure good supporting contact between cargo and saddles. The cargo is thus compressed between the bracing members and the tendency for relative movement is drastically reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle body having cargo retention apparatus as defined above.

The elongate flexible members preferably pass over the outside of the bracing members outside of the cargo area. Alternatively the elongate flexible member may pass inside at least one bracing member through a loop facing the cargo area and disposed on the bracing member. The loop may be disposed inside a saddle.

Preferably the elongate flexible member is tensioned by a mechanism disposed under the platform, the elongate flexible member passing through an aperture in the platform. The mechanism may incorporate a ratchet.

The elongate flexible member preferably depends from a track or mounting on a roof disposed above the cargo area. The track and the aperture in the platform may be disposed in-board of the bracing members.

The surface of the saddle is preferably arcuate and may be coated with a friction material such as rubber or the like.

The bracing members may be removably retained in brackets on pillars that extend between the roof and platform.

Alternatively, the bracing members may be attached to an internal surface of a vehicle body wall.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure I is a side view of a vehicle body fitted with cargo retention apparatus according to the present invention; 3 Figure 2 is a plan view of the vehicle body with roof removed to show a third tier of loaded cargo; Figure 3 is view of the loaded cargo of figure 2 from the front; Figure 4 is a side view of a bracing beam of the cargo retention apparatus, with plan views of saddles shown separately; Figure 5 is a close up view of part of figure 3 showing saddles of the beams; and Figure 6 is a schematic end view showing retention straps of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, figure I depicts a vehicle body in the form of a wheeled trailer I having a floor 2 and a roof 3 supported above same by a front wall or bulkhead 4, a rear bulkhead 5 mounting a pair of hinged doors (not shown) and, at each open side of the vehicle body, a plurality of longitudinally spaced pillars 6.

The parallel open sides of the vehicle body are closable by plastics curtains (not shown) suspended by runners and moveable along an overhead track. The sides are shown open in figure I to reveal a cargo-carrying interior generally indicated in the figures by arrow 7.

Each pillar 6 has three pairs of vertically spaced support brackets 8 each of which defines a slot for receiving an end of a rigid bracing beam 9 that extends perpendicularly between adjacent pillars 6. The beams 9 are removable and may be stored, for example, as illustrated by beams 9a in figure 1. Each bracing beam 9, shown in detail in figures 4 and 5, has a plurality of laterally spaced saddles 10 that project into the cargo area and are designed in use to abut the cargo being carried. Each saddle 10 comprises an approximately channel-shaped member with laterally extending flanges I I by which it is attached to the bracing beam 9. A cargo abutting face 12 of the saddle 10 is arcuate so as to be roughly complementary to the surface of the cargo and may be coated in friction material 13 such as rubber or the like that serves both to grip the cargo and as a protective cushion. The saddle 10 may be symmetrical or asymmetrical and examples of each are shown in the figures.

4 The cargo is also constrained by a plurality of horizontally spaced elongate retention straps 15 that depend from a track 16 or mounting in the roof 3. As illustrated in figure 6 the straps 15 pass downwardly around the outside of the bracing beams 9 and through an aperture 17 in the trailer floor 2 where they are tensioned by a ratchet tensioner 18 of conventional construction. It will be understood that any appropriate form of tensioning mechanism may be used. The track 16 in the roof 3 and the aperture 17 in the floor 2 are disposed in-board of the bracing beams 9 so as to ensure that the beams 9 are directed inwardly when the straps 15 are tensioned.

Cargo in the form of drums or barrels 20 is loaded into the cargo carrying area 7 through the rear aperture and with the bracing beams 9 in place. In the exemplary embodiment shown in figures 2 and 3 the drums 20 are arranged into alternate rows of three and four, each row extending across the floor 2 between the beams 9. For large loads the drums 20 are also stacked vertically on top of one another as shown in figure 3. Rows of four drums are stacked directly on top of a lower row of three drums and vice versa. It will be seen from figures 3, 4 and 5 that the rows of four drums are positioned so that the outermost of the drums 20 of each are immediately adjacent a saddle 10 of a beam 9.

When loading is complete the retention straps are tensioned by the ratchet mechanism 18 so as to urge the bracing beams 9 inwardly towards the cargo carrying area and to bring the saddles 10 into secure abutment with the outermost drums 20. Although the beams 9 are rigid they are designed to permit limited flexing to fulfil the purpose of the present invention. The curtains may then be closed in the usual manner to complete retention. It will be understood that the loading or unloading process can be performed without opening or closing the curtains.

The cargo retention apparatus effectively compresses the drums together and limits their tendency to move laterally or rotationally relative to one another.

It will be appreciated that numerous modifications to the above described design may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, in an alternative embodiment the retention straps may pass through a loop disposed on the inside face of at least one bracing beam, for example, inside the saddle. This would urge that particular beam inwardly by means of a pulling force. Moreover, the saddles may be constructed from any appropriate material, such as for example, moulded plastics. In addition, it is to be understood that the arrangement is not limited to the curtain-sided vehicle body shown in the figures. The arrangement may also be used on solid-sided vehicle bodies in which case the bracing members are supported in brackets attached to the internal surface of the side wall.

6

Claims

1. Cargo retention apparatus for substantially cylindrically shaped cargo, the apparatus comprising a cargo platform enclosed on at least two opposed sides by a plurality of rigid bracing members so as to define a cargo area, each member having at least one saddle projecting into the cargo area and defining a surface for abutting an item of cargo, and elongate flexible members on each side that traverse the bracing members and are tensionable so as to apply a force to the bracing members so as to direct them inwards towards the cargo area.

2. Cargo retention apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elongate flexible members pass over the outside of the bracing members outside of the cargo area.

3. Cargo retention apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elongate flexible member passes inside at least one bracing member through a loop facing the cargo area and disposed on the bracing member.

4. Cargo retention apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the loop is disposed inside a saddle.

5. Cargo retention apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the elongate flexible member is tensioned by a tensioning mechanism disposed under the platform, the elongate flexible member passing through an aperture in the platform.

6. Cargo retention apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the aperture is disposed in-board of the bracing members.

7 7. Cargo retention apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the elongate flexible member depends from a track or mounting on a roof disposed above the cargo area.

8. Cargo retention apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the track or mounting is disposed in-board of the bracing members.

9. Cargo retention apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the surface of the saddle is arcuate.

10. Cargo retention apparatus according to any preceding claim 9, wherein the surface of the saddle is coated with friction material.

11, Cargo retention apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the bracing members are removably retained in brackets on pillars that extend between the roof and platform.

12. Cargo retention apparatus according to any one of claims I to 10, wherein the bracing members are removably retained in brackets attached to side walls of the vehicle body.

13. A vehicle body having cargo retention apparatus according to any one of claims I to 12.

14. Cargo retention apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15, A vehicle body substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.