US3592019A

US3592019A - Quick lock assembly for refrigerator unit

Info

Publication number: US3592019A
Application number: US854203A
Authority: US
Inventors: Maurice Beaudet
Original assignee: Galt Equipment Ltd
Current assignee: Galt Equipment Ltd
Priority date: 1969-05-28
Filing date: 1969-08-29
Publication date: 1971-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 1988-07-13
Also published as: GB1250539A

Abstract

A device for locking a refrigeration unit into a recessed end of a shipping container. The novel feature comprises a special locking arrangement which is entirely activated by means of the forks of a forklift truck. The locking arrangement includes (a) at least one actuating arm pivotally mounted on the bottom of a refrigeration unit, said actuating arm being spring biased in a normally downward position and including at least one lateral locking projection adapted to engage a catch in the shipping container when the actuating arm is in the downward position and prevent either upward or outward movement of the refrigeration unit with respect to the container and further adapted to release from the catch only by an inward and upward push of the actuating arm against the resistance of the spring and (b) interengaging elements on the refrigeration unit and shipping container recess which normally prevent outward movement of the refrigeration unit and which disengage only by lifting the refrigeration unit with respect to the container, so that the refrigeration unit can be released from the container only by forcing the actuating arm inwardly and upwardly to disengage the lateral projection from corresponding catch while simultaneously lifting the refrigeration unit to disengage the locking elements.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Maurice Beaudet St. Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, Canada [21] Appl. No. 854,203

22 Filed Aug. 29, 1969 [45] Patented July 13, 1971 [73] Assignee Galt Equipment Ltd.

Candiac, Quebec, Canada [32] Priority May 28, 1969 [33] Great Britain [54] QUICK LOCK ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR UNIT 1 1 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 62/298, 62/297, 62/239 [51] Int. Cl F25d 19/00 [50] Field of Search 62/298, 299, 77, 297, 239

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,902,837 9/1959 Willis 62/239 2,968,933 II] 961 Pfeifer 62/298 Primary Examiner-William J. Wye Attorney-Fetherstonhaugh & Co,

ABSTRACT: A device for locking a refrigeration unit into a recessed end of a shipping container. The novel feature comprises a special locking arrangement which is entirely activated by means of the forks of a forklift truck.

The locking arrangement includes (a) at least one actuating arm pivotally mounted on the bottom of a refrigeration unit, said actuating arm being spring biased in a normally downward position and including at least one lateral locking projection adapted to engage a catch in the shipping container when the actuating arm is in the downward position and prevent either upward or outward movement of the refrigeration unit with respect to the container and further adapted to release from the catch only by an inward and upward push of the actuating arm against the resistance of the spring and (b) interengaging elements on the refrigeration unit and shipping container recess which normally prevent outward movement of the refrigeration unit and which disengage only by lifting the refrigeration unit with respect to the container, so that the refrigeration unit can be released from the container only by forcing the actuating arm inwardly and upwardly to disengage the lateral projection from corresponding catch while simultaneously lifting the refrigeration unit to disengage the locking elements.

PATENTED JUL I 3 I97! SHEET 1 BF 5 PATENT AGENTS PATENTED Jun 3 I97! SHEET 2 BF 5 FIG.5

INVENTOR M. BEAUDET PATENTEDJULIBIQ?! 3 '59? 019 saw u or s INVENTOR M. BEAUDET PATENT AGENTS INVENTOR M. BEAUDET PA 'I'ENT AGENTS PATENIED JUL 1 3 l97l SHEET 5 [1F 5 FIG. 9

FIG. K)

FIGH

QUICK LOCK ASSEMBLY FOR REFRIGERATOR UNIT This invention relates to a device for locking a refrigeration unit into a recessed end of a shipping container.

It is now a widely accepted practice to ship perishable goods in refrigerated shipping containers having a refrigeration unit fitted in a recessed end of the container. Such containers are used for transporting goods by road, rail or ship and the refrigeration units are normally removed from the containers when they are not being used to transport perishable goods.

In the shipping container, one end wall is moved inwards a suitable depth to receive a refrigeration unit and it has been the usual practice to bolt the refrigeration unit into place in the recess. The insertion and removal of these bolts makes in stallation and removal of the refrigeration units very time con suming and, at the same time, the bolts can be easily removed so that there has been a problem of tampering and theft in association with these refrigeration units. Attempts to overcome this have been made by the use of padlocks, but these can, of course, be easily broken by the use of a metal bar, hacksaw, hammer etc.

It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide a quick and safe means for inserting and locking a refrigeration unit into a recessed end of a standard shipping container.

According to this invention at least one actuating arm is pivotally mounted on the bottom of the refrigeration unit. This actuating arm is spring biased in a normally downward position and includes at least one lateral projection adapted to engage a catch in the shipping container when the abutment plate is in the downward position and to prevent either upward or outward movement of the refrigeration unit with respect to the container. It is further adapted to release from the catch only by an inward and upward push of the actuating arm against the resistance of the spring.

Interengaging locking elements are further provided on the refrigeration unit and shipping container recess which also normally prevent outward movement of the refrigeration unit with respect to the container and which disengage only by lifting the refrigeration unit with respect to the container.

The refrigeration units are heavy devices which are normally lifted and transported by means of a forklift truck. By arranging the actuating arms such that they can be engaged by the forks of the forklift truck, the locking device provides an extremely simple arrangement for inserting and removing a refrigeration unit.

Thus, to remove a refrigeration unit from a container, the forks of a forklift truck are pushed under the unit, contacting the actuating arms and forcing them inwardly. This disengages the projections from the catches and then by raising the forks the refrigeration unit is lifted so that the interengaging locking elements are also disengaged. Finally, the refrigeration unit is pulled out of the recess in this raised position.

When a refrigeration unit is to be installed in a container recess, the unit is simply picked up by a forklift truck with the forks engaging the actuating arms as described above. It is then inserted into the recess by means of the forklift truck and lowered so that the locking elements interengage. Then, the forks are pulled out from beneath the unit, releasing the actuating arms which snap down under the force of the springs causing the projections to engage the catches.

It will be evident that this represents a very simple method for the insertion and removal of the refrigeration unit. Moreover, it provides a very safe locking device. The reason for this is that the actuating arms can be provided with very strong springs so that they can only be pivoted against the force of these springs by means of a very heavy device, such as a forklift truck. This combined action of forcing the actuating arms against the resistance of the strong springs and lifting the refrigeration unit while forcing the arms in the above manner represents a very effective locking arrangement. Since this combined operation can only be accomplished in practice by using a heavy machine such as a forklift truck, in order for an unauthorized person to tamper and/or remove the refrigeration unit he must not only have access to a forklift truck but also be familiar with the unlocking procedure that must be followed when using the forklift truck.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the floor of the shipping container recess is provided with a pair of spaced-apart guides which are disposed longitudinally of the container. The bottom of the refrigeration unit is also provided with a pair of guides which are complementary to the guides in the container recess. The actuating arms and associated projections are pivotally mounted on the bottom wall of the refrigeration unit for engagement with slots in the sidewalls of the guides in the container recess.

According to a particularly preferred feature of the inven tion, a pair of actuating arms are mounted inside U-shaped guides on the bottom of the refrigeration unit, these guides serving to protect the actuating arms and also to receive the forks ofa fork lift truck.

The invention is illustrated by the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one end of the container and of the refrigeration unit aligned for engagement with each other;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the recessed end of the container with the refrigeration unit fitted in place;

FIG. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view similar to FIG. 5 taken along the line 66 of FIG. 2 but with the refrigeration unit removed;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical transverse section through one of the guide units showing the pivoted locking device;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the assembly shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational section taken along line 99 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 5 showing the pivotal lock engaged in a slot in the guide;

FIG. 11 is a partial plan view of the upward facing surface of the bottom wall of the refrigeration unit taken on the line 11-11 of FIG. 2, showing one of the pivotal locking devices; and

FIG. I2 is a perspective elevational view of the side locking members on the sidewalls of the container and refrigeration unit.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the container 5 is of the type used for shipping goods in bulk by road, rail or ship, and has an open recess 6 formed in one end thereof, having a rear wall 7, top and bottom walls 8 and 9 and sidewalls I0 and II.

The refrigeration unit 12 is of an overall size to conveniently fit within the recess 6 of the container 5 and is provided with a pair of U-shaped guides 13 on its underside 14. These guides 13 provide suitable slots to receive the forks 15 of a forklift truck whereby the refrigeration unit can be lifted into and out of the recess 6 in the container.

A pivotally mounted actuating arm 16 is located within each of the guides 13 and is mounted on a torsion bar 17, one end of which is anchored on the inner face 18 of the bottom wall of the refrigeration unit 12. The guides 13 are adapted to slide on the guides 19 of the bottom floor 9 of the container recess 6.

As shown in greater detail in FIGS. 7 and 8, a torsion bar 17 is pivotally mounted on actuating arm 16 by means of brackets 30. The torsion bar 17 is also provided with a loop 31 which is held in place on the actuating arm 16 by means of bracket 32 and is pivotally mounted on the bottom of the refrigeration unit 18 by means of brackets 33. It is then finally anchored to the bottom wall 18 by means of the angular portion 34 which is fixed in bracket 35.

Adjacent to the lower edge of actuating arm 16 is fixed a rod 20 having projecting ends forming locking pins 200. Each U-shaped guide 13 has bevelled sides [30 and these bevelled sides have arcuate slots 22 within which the locking pins 200 move.

The guides 19 in the container, as shown in FIG. ll0, are reinforced by plates 41 and both the guides and plates are provided with

arcuate slot

21 and 42 respectively, which are in register with slots 22 when the refrigeration unit is in place in the recess. As can be seen from FIGS. 9 and 10, when the locking pins 20a are in the locked position they are at their lowermost position A, in which they project through all three

slots

22, 21 and 42. As the forks 15 move into U-shaped guides 13, they contact actuating arms 16 and force them to position B. This effectively disengages the locking pins 20a from the

slots

21 and 42 and then when the forks are raised, the actuating arms are raised still further to position C. A bracket 40 is provided on the bottom of the refrigeration unit to limit the movement of actuating arms 16.

Additional locking elements are provided in the form of projecting blocks 23 on the outer sidewalls 24 of the refrigeration unit 12 and projecting blocks 25 on the inner sidewalls l and 11 of recess 6 in the container 5. The general arrangement of these projecting blocks can be seen from FIG. 1, while details of the blocks in interengaging relationship are shown in FIG. 12.

Thus, it will be seen, that in removing the refrigeration unit, when the forks are in U-shaped guides 13 and are then raised, they hold the locking pins 20a in position C out of locking engagement with

slots

21 and 42 while at the same time the unit 12 is lifted within recess 6 until the bottoms of blocks 23 horizontally clear the tops of blocks 25. The refrigeration unit is then moved horizontally out of recess 6.

To insert a refrigeration unit into the recess in the end of the container, the actuating arms 16, which normally block the guides 13, are forced by the forks of the lift truck from a position A to a position C (FIG. 9) against the resistance of the torsion springs 17. At the same time, the angled surfaces of the blocks 23 wipe on the angled surfaces of the blocks 25, excluding the need for the fork truck operator to vertically position the refrigeration unit in the recess 6 of the container. in other words, the refrigeration unit can be rammed in until the unit is pressing against the rear wall 7 of the recess. This is achieved by the combination of the actuating arms 16, against which the fork truck arms push, with a proper entrance slope of the surfaces on the

blocks

23 and 25.

After the refrigeration unit is moved into the recess and against the rear wall 7 and the blocks 23 drop behind the blocks 25, the actuating arms 16 will take a position B (FIG. 9). Next the forks are moved out of the U-shaped guides 13, allowing locking pins a to assume position C under the force of torsion bar 17.

The refrigeration unit 12 is operatively connected to shipping container 5 via openings 26 and 27 in the rear wall 7 of recess 6. These openings are surrounded by sealing gaskets 28. When the refrigeration unit is locked in position in the recess, it presses against the gaskets FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) to prevent leakage of gases between the refrigeration unit and the interior of the container. The opening 26 connects with the gas delivery from the refrigeration unit while the opening 27 provides for the return flow of gases from the interior of the container to the refrigeration unit in the usual manner.

The embodiments of the invention in which I claim an exclusive property or privilege are defined as follows:

1. A device for locking a refrigeration unit into a recessed end of a shipping container, comprising (a) at least one actuating arm pivotally mounted on the bottom of a refrigeration unit, said actuating arm being spring biased in a normally downward position and including at least one lateral locking projection adapted to engage a catch in the shipping container when the actuating arm is in the downward position and prevent either upward or outward movement of the refrigeration unit with respect to the container and further adapted to release from the catch only by an inward and upward push of the actuating arm against the resistance of the spring and (b) locking elements on the refrigeration unit adapted to engage corresponding locking elements in the shipping container recess to normally prevent outward movement of the refrigeration unit and which disengage only by lifting the refrigeration unit with respect to the container, so that the refrigeration unit can be released from the container only by forcing the actuating arm inwardly and upwardly to disengage the lateral projection from corresponding catch while simultaneously lifting the refrigeration unit to disengage the locking elements.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the actuating arm is fixed to a torsion bar.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein a pair of U-shaped guides are mounted on the bottom of the refrigeration unit forming channels to receive the forks of a forklift truck and an actuating arm with lateral locking projections is mounted within each said channel.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein said lateral locking projections move within arcuate lots in bevelled sidewalls of said U-shaped guides.

5. A device according to claim 3 wherein said lateral projections move into arcuate slots in bevelled sidewalls of said U shaped guides to lock the said refrigeration unit within the container and are moved out of said arcuate slots when the said actuating arm is displaced against the resistance of the said spring.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein bevelled guide surfaces are also provided in the shipping container recess, which are in register with the bevelled sidewalls of the U- shaped guides, said bevelled guide surfaces also having arcuate slots which are in register with the slots of the U-shaped guides and which engage the locking projections of the actuating arms when the refrigeration unit is in position in the recess.

7. A device according to claim 5 wherein the interengaging elements are in the form of projecting blocks on sidewalls of the recess and sidewalls of the refrigeration unit.

8. A device according to claim l in which the refrigeration unit has a gas outlet and a gas inlet, and the adjacent end wall of the recess in the shipping container has corresponding registering apertures, compressible gaskets surrounding the apertures in the container end wall, said gaskets being compressible to seal the gas outlet and gas inlet in the refrigeration unit when the said refrigeration unit is in locked position within the container recess.

9. A device according to claim 1 wherein a pair of U-shaped guides are mounted on the'bottom of the refrigeration unit forming channels to receive the forks of a forklift truck, and an actuating arm with lateral locking projections mounted within each of said channels, said lateral locking projections being movable within arcuate slots in bevelled sidewalls of said U-shaped guides, bevelled guide surfaces also being provided in the shipping container recess which are in register with the bevelled sidewalls of the U-shaped guides, said bevelled guide surfaces also having arcuate slots which are in register with the slots of the U-shaped guides and which engage the locking projections of the actuating arms when the refrigeration unit is in position in the recess.

10. A device according to claim 1 wherein the interengaging elements are in the form of projecting blocks on sidewalls of the recess and sidewalls of the refrigeration unit.

11. A device according to claim 1 wherein a pair of U- shaped guides are mounted on the bottom of the refrigeration unit forming channels to receive the forks of a forklift truck, and an actuating arm with lateral locking projections mounted within each of said channels, said locking projections being movable within arcuate slots in bevelled sidewalls of said U- shaped guides, the interengaging elements being in the form of projecting blocks on sidewalls of the recess and sidewalls of the refrigeration unit.

Claims

5. A device according to claim 3 wherein said lateral projections move into arcuate slots in bevelled sidewalls of said U-shaped guides to lock the said refrigeration unit within the container and are moved out of said arcuate slots when the said actuating arm is displaced against the resistance of the said spring.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein bevelled guide surfaces are also provided in the shipping container recess, which are in register with the bevelled sidewalls of the U-shaped guides, said bevelled guide surfaces also having arcuate slots which are in register with the slots of the U-shaped guides and which engage the locking projections of the actuating arms when the refrigeration unit is in position in the recess.

8. A device according to claim 1 in which the refrigeration unit has a gas outlet and a gas inlet, and the adjacent end wall of the recess in the shipping container has corresponding registering apertures, compressible gaskets surrounding the apertures in the container end wall, said gaskets being compressible to seal the gas outlet and gas inlet in the refrigeration unit when the said refrigeration unit is in locked position within the container recess.

9. A device according to claim 1 wherein a pair of U-shaped guides are mounted on the bottom of the refrigeration unit forming channels to receive the forks of a forklift truck, and an actuating arm with lateral locking projections mounted within each of said channels, said lateral locking projections being movable within arcuate slots in bevelled sidewalls of said U-shaped guides, bevelled guide surfaces also being provided in the shipping container recess which are in register with the bevelled sidewalls of the U-shaped guides, said bevelled guide surfaces also having arcuate slots which are in register with the slots of the U-shaped guides and which engage the locking projections of the actuating arms when the refrigeration unit is in position in the recess.

11. A device according to claim 1 wherein a pair of U-shaped guides are mounted on the bottom of the refrigeration unit forming channels to receive the forks of a forklift truck, and an actuating arm with lateral locking projections mounted within each of said channels, said locking projections being movable within arcuate slots in bevelled sidewalls of said U-shaped guides, the interengaging elements being in the form of projecting blocks on sidewalls of the recess and sidewalls of the refrigeration unit.