WO2005090125A1

WO2005090125A1 - A vehicle rack incorporating load restraining apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2005090125A1
Application number: PCT/AU2005/000399
Authority: WO
Inventors: Maurice John Matthews
Original assignee: Matthews International Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-03-22
Filing date: 2005-03-22
Publication date: 2005-09-29

Abstract

A load carrying rack (10) for a vehicle comprising a load carrying beam (12) comprising a normally horizontal member (13) and opposite leg portions (14) which extend downwardly from the member (13) and which terminate in mounting brackets (15). An elongated flexible load restraining webbing (38) extends along the beam (12) and at least one of the brackets (15) incorporates a winch for applying a tension to the webbing (38). Anchor roller assemblies (45) may be provided along the beam (12) for capturing the webbing (38) to the beam (12).

Description

A VEHICLE RACK INCORPORATING LOAD RESTRAINING APPARATUS

Technical Field This invention relates to load restraining apparatus and in particular to apparatus for restraining loads on vehicles. The apparatus has particularly but not exclusive application to use in or as a load carrying rack for a vehicle. Background Art Vehicles are commonly provided with load carrying racks upon which a load may be carried. Generally, the load is tied down to the racks by ropes or similar tie devices however the problem of safely and effectively securing a load requires the person to be competent in the basics of rigging, or at least have the ability to tie secure knots. To overcome the problems of tying knots, webbing tie-down devices are known which comprise webbing having hooks at each end and a ratchet-type tensioning device for tensioning the webbing over the load. For effective use of this device, strategic anchor points are required on the vehicle close to, or as near as possible to the load. In most instances this is not the case and the webbing passes over many surfaces, some having sharp edges and corners causing abrasive action and creating high friction contact areas, resulting in inefficient tensioning and/or tie-down failure. With the increasing number of load carrying utilities and trucks sharing the highways with the general public, this is a very dangerous situation with the potential of causing a serious accident with devastating consequences. The use of other unsuitable materials such as electrical cable, adhesive tape and the like, to tie down the load because of the unavailability of a suitable rope, webbing or chain at the pick-up loading site further adds to problem of effectively securing loads to racks. In the building industry, utilities, pickup trucks and other similar vehicles are commonly used for transporting building materials. In these vehicles, overhead racks commonly called ladder racks are usually fitted to the vehicle either being mounted to the vehicle tray or on or to the side panels which define the boundary of the vehicle tray. Overhead racks are typically built to a simple "H" frame design with little or no binding anchor points. Similar disadvantages to those described above are encountered in securing and restraining a load to these forms of racks. Summary of the Invention The present invention aims to provide load restraining apparatus which overcomes or alleviates one or more of the above disadvantages or which at least is an effective and useful alternative to the know load restraining apparatus. In a particularly aspect, the present invention aims to provide a load carrying rack for vehicles which incorporates means for restraining a load on the rack. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description. The present invention thus provides in a preferred aspect, a load carrying rack for a vehicle, said rack comprising a load carrying beam, said beam having a load carrying portion and downwardly extending opposite leg portions, mounting means at the free ends of said leg portions for mounting said load carrying beam to a vehicle, an elongated flexible load restraining element normally extending along said beam, and means at or adjacent at least one end said beam for applying a tension to said element to secure a load to said beam. Most preferably, the load carrying beam is of a generally inverted U-shape configuration with the base of the U forming the load carrying portion and the legs of the U forming the leg portions of the beam. The load carrying portion normally is disposed in a generally horizontal attitude and preferably the leg portions extend from the load carrying portion at an outwardly inclined attitude from the load carrying portion of the beam. Preferably, a channel extends along at least the load carrying portion and the flexible element is normally located within and extends along the channel. The channel suitably also extends along the leg portions so as to be continuous along the beam to receive the flexible element therein. Most preferably the load carrying portion and leg portions of the beam are formed integrally. Preferably, the beam has a substantially constant cross section along its length. The means at at least one end of the beam for applying tension to the load restraining element suitably comprise winch means to which the load restraining element is coupled. Preferably, the winch means are supported within or on at least one of the mounting means of the beam. The or each mounting means suitably comprises a mounting bracket in or on which the winch means is located. Preferably the mounting means include a chamber in which a winch is supported. The winch suitably includes a winch drum or spool which is rotatably supported in the chamber for rotation about an axis extending transversely of the beam and the load restraining element is wound on the drum or spool. Releasable ratchet means may be associated with the drum to normally permit the drum to move in a first rotational direction to allow release of the load restraining element from the drum or spool but prevent rotational movement of the drum in the opposite direction for example to maintain tension in the load restraining element. Preferably the ratchet means comprises a ratchet wheel rotatable with the drum and a releasable pawl engageable with the ratchet wheel. Means may be provided to rotate the winch drum or spool to tension the load restraining element. Most preferably, means are provided at or adjacent both ends of the load carrying beam for applying tension to each end of the load restraining element. Thus in this configuration opposite ends of the load restraining element are suitably coupled at each end to the tension applying means. Most preferably, the tension applying means comprise winch means at opposite ends of the load carrying beam. The winch means suitably include winch drums and opposite ends of the load restraining element are wound on the respective winch drums. Preferably one or more anchor roller assemblies are adapted to be associated with the load carrying beam to anchor and guide the load restraining element at selected positions along the beam. Each anchor roller assembly is suitably adapted to be captured to or in the beam. Preferably the anchor roller assemblies are adapted to be held in a fixed position along the beam when tension is applied to the flexible load restraining element guided by the anchor roller assembly. Preferably, the tension applied to the flexible load restraining element serves to lock the anchor roller assembly in the fixed position. Preferably, the load carrying beam includes a plurality of teeth therealong with which the anchor roller assembly may cooperate to fix the position of the roller assemblies. The beam is suitably provided with at least one recess extending therealong and the anchor roller assembly include an arm which is located in the recess. Preferably, the recess is of re-entrant form whereby the arm is captured in the recess. The locking teeth are suitably provided along the recess and adapted to cooperate with one end of the arm, the end of the arm suitably being locatable between respective pairs of teeth. Preferably, the flexible element is passed under the roller of the roller assembly and the tension applied to the flexible element causes the roller assembly to pivot about the end of the arm to maintain the arm in cooperation with the teeth to securely lock the roller assembly in position. The teeth are suitably provided on a separate elongated element provided in the recess. Most suitably, a pair of recesses is provided on opposite sides of the beam for receipt of respective arms of the roller assembly. Each recess suitably includes the plurality of teeth most preferably provided on a band receivable in each recess. The elongated flexible load restraining element suitably comprises a webbing strap but may comprise any other form of flexible element such as cables, wires or ropes. Brief Description of the Drawings In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein: Figs. 1 and 2 are opposite perspective views of load carrying transportation racks according to an embodiment of the invention applied to a vehicle; Fig. 3 illustrates from the underside a mounting bracket for the racks of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 illustrates the mounting bracket of the rack of Figs. 1 and 2 on a side rail with the access door closed; Fig. 5 is an exploded view illustrating the mounting of the mounting bracket to a side rail of a vehicle; Fig. 6 illustrates the mounting bracket of Fig. 4 with the access door open; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the interior of the mounting bracket Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the winch; Fig. 9 illustrates in a sectional perspective view, the load carrying beam of the rack of Figs. 1 and 2 and associated anchor strips; Fig. 10 illustrates an anchor roller assembly for use with the rack; Fig. 11 illustrates the manner in which an anchor roller assembly is installed in the load carrying beam; Figs 12 and 13 illustrate typical applications of the rack on a utility or pickup truck; Fig. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view of the rack showing the engagement between an anchor roller assembly and track within the rack in securing a load to the rack; Figs. 15 illustrates the manner in which the webbing strap is guided around the load by an anchor roller assembly; and Fig. 16 illustrates the manner in which the tie down webbing strap of the rack is tightened to secure a load to the rack; Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a pair of load carrying racks 10 according to an embodiment of the invention mounted at spaced apart positions on a pick-up type vehicle 1 1. Each rack 10 comprises a load carrying beam 12 which is of a generally inverted U-shaped configuration and includes a top normally horizontal member 13 upon which a load may sit and integral side members or legs 14 which extend downwardly and at a slight outward inclination from the top member 13 of the beam 12 and which support the top member 13 of the beam 12 at each end. The load carrying beam 11 comprising the top member 13 and legs 14 has a constant cross section along its length and may be formed as an extrusion. Each side leg 14 is secured at its free end to a mounting bracket 15. For this purpose, each mounting bracket 15 includes a socket 16 (see Fig. 3) complementary to and for receipt of the free end of the leg 14 which is securable in the socket 16 by fasteners such as by bolts 17 (see Fig. 15) passing through aligned apertures in the sockets 16 and legs 14. The mounting brackets 15 are configured to allow mounting of the beam 11 in this embodiment to opposite horizontal rails 19 which are provided conventionally along the top of the side walls 20 of the vehicle 11 on opposite sides of the vehicle tray. As shown in Figs. 3 to 5, the mounting brackets 15 for this purpose are provided with channels 21 on their undersides of part-circular cross section which are complementary to the surface of the rails 19 and which are thus adapted to receive and mate with the horizontal rails 19. The brackets 15 are clamped and secured onto the rails 19 by U-shaped clamps 22 which locate on the underside of the rails and which are secured to the brackets 15 by bolts or screws Each bracket 15 as shown in Fig. 3 additionally includes a hollow chamber 23 to receive a winch drum or spool 24 (see Fig. 8) which is rotatably mounted via a central shaft passing through or formed integrally the drum 24 and supported in bearings or bushes in aligned bores 25 on opposite sides of the bracket 15 which intersect the chamber 23. The winch drum 24 is provided at one end with a ratchet wheel 26 coaxial with the axis of rotation of the winch drum 24 and adapted to cooperate with a releasable pawl 27 which prevents, unless released, rotation of the drum 24 in one direction. The shaft coupled to or formed with the drum 24 extends outwardly through one of the bores 25 and terminates in an outer end 28 which is of a suitable configuration to allow cooperation with a complementary tool such as a socket tool which allows the winch drum 24 to be rotated. The end 28 may include a square sectioned recess for cooperation with the tool. The beam 12 as shown more clearly in Fig. 9 includes on its outer side a channel

29 extending continuously along the top member 13 and legs 14 of the beam 12. A land 30 is provided centrally in the channel 29 and has an upper surface 31 below the outer surface of the beam 12. Secured to and extending along the upper surface 31 of the land

30 is a strip 32 of friction reducing material for example a plastics material such as nylon or PTFE. The strip 32 may be adhered in position or attached by mechanical fastening means. The beam 12 on opposite sides of the land 30 is provided with recesses 33 of reentrant form in cross-section defined by outwardly directed flanges 34 on the opposite side of the land 30 and opposite inwardly extending portions 35 of the beam 12. Provided along bottom surface of each recess 33 and extending therealong is an elongated narrow anchor band 36 which is provided with a plurality of regularly spaced apart transversely extending raised teeth 37. The band 36 may also be formed of a plastics material such as nylon or PTFE. The band 36 extends between the opposite mounting brackets 15 so as to be fixed against longitudinal movement. Alternate fixing means however may be provided to fix the band 36 in position. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6 and 7, a flexible load restraining element in the form of a webbing strap 38 is wound about the winch drums 24 at each end of the beam 12 and extends along the legs 14 and top part 12 of the beam 11 so as to be located in the channel 29 and to be normally juxtaposed with and seat on the strip 31. The beam 12 additionally includes as shown in Fig. 9, opposite inwardly directed upper flanges 39 which extend part- way over the recesses 33. The flanges 39 are provided on their upper sides with recesses 40 for receiving elongated wear strips. The flanges 39 at the free ends of the beam legs 14 and adjacent the brackets 15 are cut-away or otherwise removed to define slots 41 on opposite sides of the land 28 and at the junction of the legs 14 with the mounting brackets 15 as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The slots 41 define an entry into further recesses 42 defined beneath the flanges 39 above the recesses 33, the recesses 42 being bounded on their inner sides by the flanges 34 and on their outer sides by the inwardly directed portions 35 of the beam 12. A cover 43 is provided for each bracket 15 being pivotally mounted to the bracket 15 at 44 to be movable between a first closed position shown in Fig. 4 and an open position shown in Fig. 6 in which access is allowed to the winch drum 24 and slots 41. The cover 43 is provided with an integral latching arrangement to enable it to be latched releasably in the closed position of Fig. 4. Anchor roller assemblies 45 shown in Fig.10 are provided for use with the rack 10 where required for guiding and restraining the webbing strap 38. The roller assemblies 45 comprise a roller 46 mounted on an axle 47 for free rotation, the axle 47 being fixed at opposite ends to opposite brackets 48. Each bracket 48 includes an upstanding lug 49 to which an end of the axle 47 is fixed, the lugs 49 being fixed to or formed integrally with opposite longitudinally extending arms 50. Each arm 50 includes a first portion 51 from which the lug 49 extends substantially at right angles and a second portion 52 extending at an obtuse angle to the first portion 51 and terminating in downwardly extending stop end 53. The end 53 is of a thickness less than the distance between respective teeth 37 of the band 36 so that it can locate between teeth 37 to positively position the roller assembly 45 in the manner described further below. The arms 50 have a width slightly less than the width of the recesses 42 so that they can be slid longitudinally along the recesses 42. In use, and where loads 54, 55 and 56 are to be mounted to the racks 10 to be secured to the vehicle 11 as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the loads 54, 55 and 56 are laid on the top members 13 of the racks 10 to span pairs of racks 10. The pawls 27 of the ratchet wheels 26 of the winch drums 24 are released to permit the winch drums 26 to freewheel and allow the webbing strap 38 to be pulled from the opposite winch drums 24 and placed over and on top of the loads 54, 55 and 56. Anchor roller assemblies 45 are engaged with the beam 12 either before or after the loads are placed on the racks 10 by pivoting the covers 43 downwardly to the open position of Fig. 6 to provide access to the slots 41. The opposite arms 50 of a roller assembly 45 may then be located in the opposite recesses 42 by inserting the respective arms 50 initially into the opposite slots 41 as shown in Fig. 11 after which the roller assemblies 45 can be slid along the beam 12. When the roller assemblies 45 are moved past the slots 41, the arms 50 will be located beneath the flanges 39 of the beam 12 such that the roller assemblies 45 are captured to the beam 12 and cannot be removed unless moved back to the slots 41. Furthermore, the rollers 46 are positioned above the webbing straps 38. Roller assemblies 45 may be installed on both sides of the rack 10 in the manner described above. The covers 43 may then be pivoted to the closed position of Fig. 4. The roller assemblies 45 are moved along the side legs 14 and top member 13 of the beam 12 until they are positioned adjacent to and on opposite sides of the loads 54, 55 and 56 as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 such that the webbing strap 38 which passes under the rollers 46 is restrained to the beam 11 adjacent to and on opposite side of the loads by the rollers 45. In the embodiment of Fig. 12, four roller assemblies 45 are employed on each rack 10, two on each side of each load 54 and 55 whilst in the embodiment of Fig. 13, two roller assemblies 45 per rack are provided. In the required positions of the roller assemblies 45 adjacent the loads on the racks 10, the stop ends 53 of the arms 50 are located between a pair of adjacent teeth 37 of the bands 36 located in each recess 33 as shown in Fig 14. After the pawls 27 have been released to again engage the ratchet wheels 26, the winch drums 24 may then be rotated by means of a tool 57 as shown in Fig. 16 which is engaged with a complementary end 28 of the winch drum shaft. Usually both drums 24 are rotated so that the webbing strap 38 is wound in onto each drum 24 at each end of the beam 11 and thus is tensioned over the loads 54, 55 or 56 which are thus securely held to the rack beams 12. The tension in the webbing strap 38 will apply an upward force on the rollers 46 of the roller assemblies 45 tending to pivot the arms 50 upwardly about a fulcrum point defined by the ends 53 of the arms 50 located between the teeth 37 with the arm portions 51 abutting the undersides of the flanges 39. This will effectively lock the roller assemblies 50 in position due to a reactive downward force being applied to the ends 53 of the arms 50 to maintain them in position between respective teeth 37 of the band 36. Tension will be maintained in the strap 38 due to the cooperation between the pawls 27 and ratchet wheels 26 when the tools 57 are removed. The loads 54, 55 and 56 are thus held firmly in position by the webbing strap tension created by interaction of the opposing winches. To release the tension in the straps 38 to allow release of the loads 54, 55 and 56, the ratchet wheel pawls 27 are disengaged from the ratchet wheels 26 after tension in the webbing strap 38 is taken by tools 57 engaged with the winch drum ends 28. The webbing strap 38 may then be pulled from the drums 24 and from around the loads 54, 55 and 56 which can be then removed from the racks 10. The load carrying rack assemblies 10 may be mounted to many different types of vehicle other than vehicles 11 of the type illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus the mounting brackets 15 may be varied in design to suit the mounting required. Typically the beam 12 is of a streamlined cross sectional configuration as shown in Fig. 9 such as by being or an aerofoil cross-section so as to minimise wind drag. The beam 12 however may be of many different cross sectional configurations other than that illustrated. Further the winch assemblies for tightening the webbing straps 38 may be many different designs other than the arrangement described. The preferred element for securing loads to racks comprises a webbing strap however other forms of strap, flexible strip or other elongated flexible element may be used in place of the webbing strap. The terms "comprising" or "comprise" or derivatives thereof as used throughout the specification and claims are taken to specify the presence of the stated features, integers and components referred to but not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other feature/s, integer/s, component/s or group thereof. Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative embodiment of the invention, all such variations and modifications thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A load carrying rack for a vehicle, said rack comprising a load carrying beam, said beam having a load carrying portion and downwardly extending opposite leg portions, mounting means at the free ends of said leg portions for mounting said load carrying beam to a vehicle, an elongated flexible load restraining element normally extending along said beam, and means at or adjacent at least one end said beam for applying a tension to said element to secure a load to said beam.

2. A rack as claimed in claim 1 wherein said load carrying beam is of a generally inverted U-shape configuration with the base of the U- forming the load carrying portion and the legs of the U- forming leg portions of the beam.

3. A rack as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said load carrying portion is normally disposed in a substantially horizontal attitude and wherein said leg portions extend from the load carrying portion at an outward inclination.

4. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a channel extends along at least the load carrying portion and the flexible element is normally located within and extends along the channel.

5. A rack as claimed in claim 4 wherein said channel extends along the leg portions so as to be continuous along the beam to receive the flexible element therein.

6. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said load carrying portion and leg portions of the beam are formed integrally.

7. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said beam has a substantially constant cross section along its length.

8. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said tensioning means comprises a winch to which the load restraining element is coupled.

9. A rack as claimed in claim 8 wherein said winch is supported within or on at least one of the mounting means of the beam.

10. A rack as claimed in claim 9 wherein said mounting means comprises a mounting bracket, said bracket carrying a winch drum of the winch.

11. A rack as claimed in claim 10 wherein said mounting bracket includes a chamber in which said winch drum is rotatably supported for rotation about an axis extending transversely of the beam.

12. A rack as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11 and including releasable ratchet means associated with the drum to normally permit the drum to move in a first rotational direction but prevent rotational movement of the drum in the opposite direction.

13. A rack as claimed in claim 12 wherein said ratchet means comprises a ratchet wheel rotatable with the drum and a releasable pawl engageable with the ratchet wheel.

14. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said tensioning means is provided at or adjacent both ends of the load carrying beam for applying tension at each end to the load restraining element.

15. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and including one or more anchor roller assemblies associated with the load carrying beam to anchor the load restraining element at selected positions along the beam.

16. A rack as claimed in claim 15 wherein the or each anchor roller assembly is adapted to be captured to or in the beam.

17. A rack as claimed in claim 16 wherein each said anchor roller assembly is formed so as to be held in a fixed position along the beam when tension is applied to the flexible load restraining element to lock the anchor roller assembly in the fixed position.

18. A rack as claimed in claim 17 wherein said load carrying beam includes a plurality of teeth therealong with which the anchor roller assembly may cooperate to fix the position of the roller assembly.

19. A rack as claimed in claim 18 wherein said beam is provided with at least one recess extending therealong and wherein the or each anchor roller assembly includes an arm which is located in the recess and wherein said locking teeth are provided along the recess and adapted to cooperate with an end of the arm.

20. A rack as claimed in claim 19 wherein roller assembly includes a roller, said flexible element passing under said roller and wherein tension applied to the flexible element causes the roller assembly to pivot upwardly about said arm end to urge said arm end into a position between respective teeth.

21. A rack as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 20 wherein said teeth are provided on a separate elongated element located within said beam.

22. A rack as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 21 wherein a pair of recesses is provided on opposite sides of the beam for receipt of respective arms of the roller assembly.

23. A rack as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 22 wherein the or each said recess is/are of re-entrant form whereby the or each arm is captured in the recess or recesses.

24. A rack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said elongated flexible load restraining element comprises a webbing strap.