US3762341A

US3762341A - Roll-in bulkhead

Info

Publication number: US3762341A
Application number: US00145830A
Authority: US
Inventors: F Adler
Original assignee: Pullman Transport Leasing Co
Current assignee: PULLMAN LEASING Co A DE CORP; Pullman Transport Leasing Co
Priority date: 1971-05-21
Filing date: 1971-05-21
Publication date: 1973-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-02

Abstract

A manually positioned and rollable bulkhead including ratchet type restraining strap takeup devices to secure the bulkhead between the side walls of a railway vehicle so as to confine and restrain a load.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Adler 1 1 Oct. 2, 1973 [54] ROLL-IN BULKHEAD 2,752,864 7 1956 McDougal, s1. filal 105 376 1,833,016 11 1931 Ch dl 105 369 s [75] Inventor: Franklin P. Adler, M1ch1gan Guy, 3 559 591 2x97] ji 05/369 D 3,290,010 12 1966 Holmes 105 369 A 3,477,392 11 1969 Loomis 61a]. 105 369 D [73] Asslgnee' gullman 229 i 'l' 2,226,373 12/1940 Frear 105 369 A 2,738,204 3 1956 Ibey 105 369 A 22 il M 21 1971 3,428,331 2/l969 Morgan et al. 105/369 A 3,508,502 4/1970 Sims 105/369 A [21] Appl. No.: 145,830

US. Cl .105/376, 105/369 A, 105/369 5 1111. C1 860p 7/14 Field of'Search 105/369 A, 369 D, 105/376 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1958 Tobin 105/369 A Primary ExaminerDrayton E. Hoffman Attorney-Hilmond O. Vogel and Richard J. Myers ABSTRACT 6' Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FIG.2

' INVENTOR.

FRANKLIN P. ADLER PATENT AGENT Pmzmeuw' 3.762.341

SHEET 3 [IF 3 FRANKLIN P. ADLER a 4 BY (2 ull PATENT AGENT 1 ROLL-IN BULKHEAD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION heads which are used to restrain the cargo within a railway freight car.

2. Description of the prior art Prior art load bracing and dividing devices or bulkheads are generally large and bulky and require auxiliary mounting and supporting devices within the railway vehicle. Also, portable bulkheads have had the effect of being expensive and heavy,'therefore requiring additional positioning and lifting devices to move the bulkhead into its operative position. The present invention provides a lightweight portable bulkhead which may be manually lifted and rolled into position on existing freight cars without the addition of any customized auxiliary mounting or bracing equipment being added to the interior of a freight carrying vehicle.

, SUMMARY The nature of this invention pertains to a portable bulkhead which may be placed in a box car as a load divider and 'restrainer. The edges of the bulkhead are provided with takeup devices which include straps attachable to anchors recessed within the inner sides of the car. Rollers attached at the bottom portion of the itate lifting the bulkhead from a trackside position into the railway vehicle a pair of openings are provided in the bulkhead to permit insertion of lifting arms of a forklift truck which may be used to lift the bulkhead onto the car. v v It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable rolling bulkhead having securing devices at its outer edges.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable bulkhead mounted on rollers to facilitate moving the bulkhead into position on the railway vehicle.

Additionally it is an object of the present invention to provide a bulkhead having ratchet type takeup devices at its outer edges which receive straps extending from strap anchors inthe walls of the vehicle and which are then tensioned by gathering of the strap onto a spool.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bulkhead whichis manually positionable and includes lifting and holding. portionsto facilitate, ease of handling.

' These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from reference to the following description, attached drawings and appended claims.

the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a pictorial of the bulkhead of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view taken transversely of the railway vehicle and showing wall mounted anchor and the ratchet takeup mechanism involved in the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view with parts in section of the device illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along lines 66 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to FIG. 1 where there is illustrated a portion of the railway freight car employing the present invention, it is noticed that the railway vehicle 10 includes the usual floor 12, side wall units 14 and roof structure 16. A center sill 18 extends between truck members 20 and functions in a supportive manner. The side wall units 14 are of a double thickness comprising an inner side wall 22 and an outer side wall 24. The inner and

outer side walls

22, 24 respectively generally comprise a thin metallic sheet type of construction which is light in weight and durable while providing an integrally sound and strong side wall unit. The inner side wall 22 includes a plurality of cutouts 26 which are conveniently spaced along the side wall unit and provide mounting and access means for a lading holddown strap anchor assembly 28 which is accessed through the cutout 26. 2 a

I The strap attaching anchor assembly 28 includes a mounting plate 30 as best illustrated in FIG." 6. The plate 30 includes openings 31 into which a filler metal is placed for securing the plate 30 to the outer side wall 24 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Also included in the lading strap anchor assembly 28 is a strap guide member 32 which aids in securing-the bulkhead tie down strap33. A retainer cord 33a is fastened to the rivet type securing member 33b and to the end of loop 'portion 33c. As illustrated in FIG. 6 when the strap 33 is threaded around and under the U-shaped tie down member 34 having leg portions 36, the rivet 33b is inserted into the loop 33c-to secure the strap in the strap anchor assembly 28.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the portable bulkhead40 of the present invention is positioned transversely of the railway' vehicle 10 and functions to divide and restrain cartons 42 within the freight vehicle to protect the cartons from shifting which. can result in their damage. The bulkhead 40 comprises preferably a pair of adjacent sheets of plywood 44 spaced from one another to permit manual handling of the bulkhead after final assembly. The plywood sheets 44are attached toand supported by the reinforcing members 46 which extend substantially the entire width of the members 44 and include at their end portions accumulating and tensioning means 48 which gather an associated tie down strap 33. 7

As indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the portable bulkhead may include a second set of plywood sheets 44a which are positioned after the bulkhead is secured into posi- I tion. The sheets 44a are used to provide a smooth surface for abutting lading since irregular surfaces have been known to cause lading to become caught or hung up and damaged. Sheets 44a may contain openings 44b to make them lesssubject to pilferage.

The accumulating or tensioning means 48 includes a strap gathering assembly having a movable spool 50 with a central portion 52 about which is gatheredthe strap 33. Extending parallel with and spaced from the central portion 52 is a securing bar 56 which is used to initially secure the strap 33 to the spool of the ratchet member. A shaft extension portion 58 extends upward from the spool 50 through a slot 59 in the reinforcing members 46. The top portion of the extension 58 includes a head 60 which may be conveniently sized to receive a socket or a wrench for turning the spool to gather and tension the strap 33.

The spool 50 is mounted in and carried by the hatshaped mounting unit 62 which comprises a plate member contoured to fit between vertically spaced reinforcing members 46 and is retained in position by the screw fasteners 64 which may include a locknut 64a as best illustrated in FIG. 5. Vertically spaced of the spool 50 are a pair of

flat plate washers

66,68. A round bar wear reducing member 57 is positioned at the outer margin of the mounting unit 62 (as best illustrated in FIG. 4) and spaces the strap from any sharp edges which would cause it to fray and produce early failure.

A ratchet gear 70 forms one end of the spool 50 and includes a plurality of ratchet teeth which are engaged by the pivoted detent 72 so as to allow one way locking rotation of the spool as the strap 33 is tightened. The detent 72 is pivoted at 73 and biased by the helical spring 74 which is positioned by the-spring retainer 76 which is secured to the mounting unit 62. The spring 74 is received within a socket portion 78 of the detent 72 to hold the spring in position as the ratchet gear 70 is rotated. It is evident from the portion described and illustrated in FIG. 4 that to release the detent 72 from engagement with the ratchet gear 70 the spring force is overcome by pushing on the release portion 79 of the detent 72 causing the detent to pivot out of engagementwith the ratchet gear 70 and thereby releasing tension from the strap 33.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it is noticed that the bulkhead 40 is mounted on a roller or wheel assembly 80 which includes wheels 82 mounted on a caster or framing unit 84 which is secured to a block unit 85 for attachment of the wheel assembly 80 to the bulkhead 40. The roller assembly 80 permits ease of handling and makes the bulkhead truly portable since it may be moved and positioned manually. As also illustrated in FIG. 2, the bulkhead includes a pair of spaced openings 86 reinforced by the framing members 88 which openings are provided for insertion of the lift members of a fork lift truck for lifting the bulkhead from trackside onto the railway freight car.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A cargo restraining device for a railway freight vehicle and positionable transversely of the vehicle, said vehicle also having side walls extending between spaced floor and roof units and having tie down anchor means contained therein, said restraining device ineluding attaching strap means and associated strap accumulating ratchet members, the improvement comprising:

sheet means forming bulkhead wall portion and also including a plurality of vertically spaced and horizontally extending reinforcing framing members arranged in pairs and fixedly attached to said sheet means; said restraining device having end edge portions and mounting plate means attached thereto thereby providing a mounting and attaching means for said strap accumulating ratchet members; said strap means being positioned adjacent the end edge portions and including flexible tie down strap means having connecting portions receivable within said wall mounted tie down anchor means for fixedly securing the restraining device in said transport vehicle; said strap accumulating ratchet members including spool means operatively and rotatably connected to attaching strap means, and a spool rotating extension protruding through an adjacent horizontally extending reinforcing member and having an actuating head portion; said strap gathering spool means having a ratchet gear portion and having a locking pawl means en- 'gageable with said ratchet gear of the spool means to thereby provide unidirectional strap tightening rotation of said spool means. 2. The invention according to claim 1, and: said mounting plate means having a hat shaped cross section and including mounting leg portions attached to the framing members thereby affixing the strap accumulating ratchet members flush with the associated reinforcing framing members. 3. The invention according to claim 27, and: said ratchet member including a ratchet gear positioned within the mounting plate means and forming an end of said spool means; resilient biasing means urging said locking pawl into engagement with said ratchet gear of the spool means. 4. The invention according to claim 1, and: said strap means having a free end loop portion and an associated retainer member insertable into said loop to thereby lock the strap means onto the anchor means of an adjacent vehicle side wall. 5. The invention according to claim 1, and: roller support means attached to said restraining device and rotatable about an axis transverse to the length of said restraining device to thereby permit rolling positioning of the restraining device within the transport vehicle. 6. The invention according to claim 1, and: said restraining means having a pair of spaced openings positioned between a pair of reinforcing framing members to thereby provide points for power lifting of the restraining means.

Claims

1. A cargo restraining device for a railway freight vehicle and positionable transversely of the vehicle, said vehicle also having side walls extending between spaced floor and roof units and having tie down anchor means contained therein, said restraining device including attaching strap means and associated strap accumulating ratchet members, the improvement comprising: sheet means forming bulkhead wall portion and also including a plurality of vertically spaced and horizontally extending reinforcing framing members arranged in pairs and fixedly attached to said sheet means; said restraining device having end edge portions and mounting plate means attached thereto thereby providing a mounting and attaching means for said strap accumulating ratchet members; said strap means being positioned adjacent the end edge portions and including flexible tie down strap means having connecting portions receivable within said wall mounted tie down anchor means for fixedly securing the restraining device in said transport vehicle; said strap accumulating ratchet members including spool means operatively and rotatably connected to attaching strap means, and a spool rotating extension protruding through an adjacent horizontally extending reinforcing member and having an actuating head portion; said strap gathering spool means having a ratchet gear portion and having a locking pawl means engageable with said ratchet gear of the spool means to thereby provide unidirectional strap tightening rotation of said spool means.

2. The invention according to claim 1, and: said mounting plate means having a hat shaped cross section and including mounting leg portions attacheD to the framing members thereby affixing the strap accumulating ratchet members flush with the associated reinforcing framing members.

3. The invention according to claim 27, and: said ratchet member including a ratchet gear positioned within the mounting plate means and forming an end of said spool means; resilient biasing means urging said locking pawl into engagement with said ratchet gear of the spool means.

4. The invention according to claim 1, and: said strap means having a free end loop portion and an associated retainer member insertable into said loop to thereby lock the strap means onto the anchor means of an adjacent vehicle side wall.

5. The invention according to claim 1, and: roller support means attached to said restraining device and rotatable about an axis transverse to the length of said restraining device to thereby permit rolling positioning of the restraining device within the transport vehicle.

6. The invention according to claim 1, and: said restraining means having a pair of spaced openings positioned between a pair of reinforcing framing members to thereby provide points for power lifting of the restraining means.