WO2014118422A1

WO2014118422A1 - Lashing bar of a coupling means for locking containers on cargo ships

Info

Publication number: WO2014118422A1
Application number: PCT/FI2013/050106
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tapani Qvick
Original assignee: Macgregor Finland Oy
Priority date: 2013-01-31
Filing date: 2013-01-31
Publication date: 2014-08-07
Also published as: TW201502006A

Abstract

Elongated lashing bar (10) of a coupling means to be used for locking and supporting containers, more particularly containers to be transported on cargo ships, to the one end of which lashing bar a locking head (9) is connected for locking into a container. The invention is implemented in such a way that the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) differs from a circle in at least a part (10') of the length of the lashing bar.

Description

LASHING BAR OF A COUPLING MEANS FOR LOCKING CONTAINERS ON CARGO SHIPS

Background of the invention

The object of this invention is an elongated lashing bar of a coupling means to be used for locking and supporting containers, more particularly containers to be transported on cargo ships, to the one end of which lashing bar a locking head is connected for locking into a container.

Containers must be locked and supported during transportation so that excessive shifting, inclining or even toppling of containers is prevented when at sea. Containers are locked at their ends e.g. to lashing bridges or to some other structure of the ship with coupling means, which are fixed at one of their ends (locking head) to a corner of a container and at the other of their ends via a turnbuckle to a lashing bridge or alternatively to the deck of the ship or to other support structures. A coupling means thus comprises a turnbuckle, a lashing bar and a locking head hinged to the lashing bar. Generally two or four coupling means are fixed to the end of a container. By tightening the turnbuckles the locking can be made to be tight. A similar fixing is generally also on the opposite end of the container. The cross-section of a lashing bar is round in prior-art solutions for coupling means.

Known in the art for this purpose are many different coupling means, in which lashing bars are used. Some examples that can be mentioned are publications DE3525322 and DE3501109.

In earlier solutions, for avoiding collision of adjacent or crisscrossing lashing bars the distances between them must be arranged to be large e.g. by limiting the direction of the bars. For avoiding collision of the bars and for increasing the distance between them, there can be a need to also use connection pieces with long holes, in which case the position of a lashing bar in relation to a locking head varied within the limits permitted by the elongated hole.

Brief description of the invention

The aim of the coupling means according to the invention is to improve the solutions known in the art by, inter alia, facilitating installation. The aim is realized with the invention, which is characterized in that the cross-section of the lashing bar differs from a circle in at least a part of the length of the lashing bar.

In addition, the coupling means according to the invention is characterized by what is mentioned in the dependent claims 2-8 below.

The solution according to the invention now being presented has some significant advantages with respect to prior-art solutions. By using lashing bars according to the invention the supporting and locking of containers can be arranged in a smaller space, which enables more optimal overlapping alignment of the lashing bars with each other. Also the components, such as a locking head to be locked into a corner casting of a container, that are connected to lashing bars can be lighter and smaller. The structure of the lashing bar is simple and the fabrication of it is easy and inexpensive.

Brief description of the figures

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by the aid some embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, wherein;

Fig. 1 presents some coupling means fixed into the ends of containers. Fig. 2 presents a lashing bar of a coupling means and a locking head connected to it.

Fig. 3 presents a section of Fig. 2 along the line A-A.

Fig. 4 presents a section of Fig. 2 along the line B-B.

Fig. 5 presents various cross-sectional shapes A-D of a lashing bar.

Detailed description of the invention

Fig. 1 presents the principle for fixing the ends of containers 1-4 e.g. to a lashing bridge or to the deck of the ship or to some other support structure. The fixing occurs with the aid of coupling means. For each of the coupling means, a locking head 9 and a lashing bar 10 connected to it are presented. A coupling means also comprises a turnbuckle, which is not presented in the drawings.

Each container has four corner castings on one end, as is known in the art. Fig. 1 shows one corner casting 5-8 of each container 1-4. In Fig. 1 there are therefore four containers 1-4 and each of the corner castings 5-8 seen in Fig. 1 belongs to a different container. The corner castings 5 and 6 are the adjacent corner castings of two upper containers, and the corner castings 7 and 8 are correspondingly the adjacent corner castings of the two containers below them. Each corner casting, as is known in the art, has locking holes 5', 6', et cetera, for the locking heads 9. The lashing bars 10 are only presented in part, and they are connected in a manner known in the art to turnbuckles (not presented), by the aid of which the fixing is tightened. The turnbuckles are therefore attached e.g. to a lashing bridge or to the deck of the ship or to some other support structure. The lashing bars 10 are pulled "crosswise", i.e. the lashing bars fixed into the corner castings on the left-hand side cross the lashing bars 2 fixed to the corner castings on the right-hand side for achieving a more supportive fixing.

Fig. 2 presents a lashing bar 10 according to the invention and a locking head 9. The cross-section of a lashing bar according to the invention differs from a round shape at least on a part of the length of the lashing bar 10. In the embodiment presented in Fig. 2 the part 10' of the lashing bar 10 near the locking head 9 is essentially rectangular in cross-sectional shape (section B-B, Fig. 4), albeit with rounded corners. The part 10" of the lashing bar 10 following it is round in cross-sectional shape (section A-A, Fig. 3). The lengths of the parts 10' and 10" can vary according to need or the cross-section of the lashing bar can for the whole length of the lashing bar differ from round. In this context the part 11, with which it attaches to the locking head, is not included in the length of the lashing bar. The shape of it can, of course, vary according to need and it is not per se relevant to the invention.

The shape of the part 10' of the lashing bar 10 differing from round in cross-sectional shape can preferably be a square (Fig. 5A), a rectangle (Figs. 5C and 5D), an oval (Fig. 5B) or corresponding. Preferably the corners on them are rounded, as is evident. Fig. 5D presents a cross-section of rectangular shape. In it the height/thickness of the cross-section of the lashing bar 10 is b and the width is a. The dimension lines a and b are drawn only in Fig. 5D, but they could be marked with corresponding in the other cross- sectional shapes presented in the drawings. In all the drawings 5A- 5D, in the embodiments presented of the cross-section of a lashing bar a > b. This is generally advantageous in terms of space usage, but also other alternatives are possible depending on the dimensions and shapes of the lashing bars and the components to be connected to them and on their attitudes in relation to each other. When the cross-section is a square shape, a is of course equal to b.

Typically the width a is 1-10 times the thickness b. The section 10' of the lashing bar differing from a circular cross-section is typically situated at the top end of the lashing bar (i.e. near the end to be fixed into the container), but it can be situated e.g. for the whole length of the lashing bar.

Further, it is typical that the height/thickness b of the section 10' of the lashing bar with a cross-section differing from a circle is smaller than the diameter of the corresponding circular cross-section 10".

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the different embodiments of the invention are not limited solely to the examples described above, but that they may be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. The shape of the cross-section can vary at different points of the lashing bar and also cross-sectional shapes that are more complex in their geometry are possible according to need.

The characteristic features possibly presented in the description in conjunction with other characteristic features can if necessary be used separately to each other.

Claims

1. Elongated lashing bar (10) of a coupling means to be used for locking and supporting containers (1-4), more particularly containers to be transported on cargo ships, to the one end of which lashing bar a locking head (9) is connected for locking into a container, characterized in that the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) differs from a circle in at least a part (10') of the length of the lashing bar.

2. Lashing bar according to claim 1, characterized in that the section (10') of the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) differing from a circle is situated at the top end of the bar, i.e. closer to the locking head (9) to be locked into the container.

3. Lashing bar according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shape of the section (10') of the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) differing from a circle is a square.

4. Lashing bar according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shape of the section (10') of the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) differing from a circle is a rectangle.

5. Lashing bar according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shape of the section (10') of the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) differing from a circle is an oval.

6. Lashing bar according to any of claims 1-5, characterized

in that the width of the shape of the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) differing from a circle is a and the height/thickness of it is b, and in that a≥ b.

7. Lashing bar according to any of claims 1-6, characterized

in that the height/thickness b of the cross-section of the lashing bar (10) is smaller than the diameter of the corresponding circular cross-section (10"). Lashing bar according to claim 1, characterized in that for the whole length of the lashing bar (10) the shape of its cross-section differs from a circle.