Abstract:
A load restraining apparatus includes a retractable fabric membrane for retaining items in position inside a semi-trailer or shipping container. A membrane carrier is removably fastened to one interior wall of the trailer and a spring-biased retractable membrane is pulled across the width of the trailer and fastened to the other interior wall. A tensioning device tensions the membrane thereby securing the cargo during shipment and preventing shifting inside the shipping container or trailer. The fore and aft adjustability and the vertical adjustability of the load restraining apparatus permit it to effectively restrain cargo of diverse size and shape.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The current invention relates to apparatuses useful in restraining items of commerce and the like transported in semi-trailer trucks. Inadequately restrained cargo in the transport vehicles can cause damage to the transported cargo items and can result in injury to workers unloading the cargo. Load locks, or load restraining devices, such as expandable bar load locks and straps, lack the adjustability necessary to snug or firmly restrain stacked cargo against displacement during transport. Straps and bars also do not adequately restrain small articles or packages when these articles are stacked inside the semi-trailer. Larger load locks that provide the ability to restrain loose items are not able to snugly fit and conform to the articles restrained, are cumbersome to put in place, take up usable cargo space when not needed, and are incapable of vertically restraining articles. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The object of this invention is to provide a quick and secure means of vertically and or horizontally restraining loose and bulk articles within a container such as a shipping container or semi-trailer. More specifically, the invention enables a user to releasably fasten one end of a fabric membrane tensioning carrier to one semi-trailer interior side wall, releasably fasten the membrane tensioning carrier to the other semi-trailer side wall and then tension the membrane such that the membrane abuts and restrains the articles within a section of the trailer. 
         [0003]    The cargo restraining apparatus includes a carrier with a spool, biased by a tensioning mechanism and an inelastic flexible fabric membrane having one end attached to the spool. A grab bar is attached to the other end of the fabric membrane. Clips are connected to the grab bar and to the membrane tensioning carrier, or to the grab bar and a mounting bracket that is vertically-translatably and horizontally-rotatably connected to the membrane tensioning carrier. The tensioning mechanism of the membrane carrier is retractably biased so as to rotatably retract and coil the membrane around a spool which is rotatably supported by the carrier. A ratcheting lever and latching pawl in conjunction with a ratchet wheel connected to the spooling rod enables the tensioning of the membrane and locking the membrane in its tension position. 
         [0004]    To use the load lock apparatus, a user releasably mounts the apparatus to one side wall of a semi-trailer. This may be achieved by engaging the clips in apertures formed in mounting brackets, such as e-channels, commonly provided in interior side walls of semi-trailers. The user then fully opens the ratcheting lever, thereby disengaging the latching pawl, pulls the restraining membrane across the trailer, and releasably fastens it to the other side wall of the trailer. Ideally, the membrane will be abutting the articles to be restrained. 
         [0005]    A preferred embodiment of the invention includes a mounting bracket that permits vertical translation and rotation of the carrier about a transverse horizontal axis. Vertical translation of the carrier enables the membrane to restrain articles positioned low in the trailer, or alternatively enables the membrane to restrain articles positioned high in the trailer. Two load restraining assemblies may be used, one high, the other low, to restrain articles stacked the full height of the trailer. Another embodiment of the load restraining device possesses a vertical height that spans the entire height of the trailer. A ratcheting lever for tightening the membrane may be positioned on top of the carrier, or the carrier may be mounted in an inverted position with the ratcheting lever positioned on the bottom. 
         [0006]    The load restraining apparatus places the membrane as close as possible to the articles to be restrained. This is achieved by using a left or right hand version of the apparatus, or by mounting the carrier in an inverted position. When the load restraining device is used in a semi-trailer having vertical e-channels, horizontal adapter brackets with horizontally spaced vertical connection slots may be releasably attached to the e-channels which allow fore and aft adjustment of the position of the membrane, thereby providing a close fit of the membrane to the articles to be restrained. The carrier may be connected to an interior side wall of the semi-trailer by an adapter affording vertical position adjustment and pivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis and the distal end of the membrane may be connected to the opposite semi-trailer side wall by a centrally positioned clip on a grab bar on the distal end of the membrane. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is an lateral partial-cutaway prior art view showing loose articles that have been inadequately restrained and present a fall hazard to an individual opening the rear doors of a semi-trailer; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a cutaway lateral view of a typical prior art semi-trailer with vertically oriented e-channels to which transverse cargo restraining components are mounted; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is an interior side view of a prior art semi-trailer with horizontally oriented e-channel mounting strips; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective of the membrane and carrier of the invention with the membrane in an extended position; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a cross section view of the carrier with the membrane in a retracted position; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective of the carrier and its ratcheting mechanism with parts broken away for illustration purposes. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a cutaway lateral view of a semi-trailer side wall with vertical e-channels, releasably attachable horizontal adapters, and short and long variations of the cargo restraining apparatus; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a partial perspective view of a releasably attachable horizontal adapter attached to a vertical e-channel; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is section taken on line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 8  showing the internal releasable locking mechanism of the horizontal adapter and a clip; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is section taken on line  10 - 10  in  FIG. 8  showing the internal releasable locking mechanism of a clip; 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is a cutaway lateral view of a semi-trailer with horizontally oriented e-channel adapters; 
           [0019]      FIG. 12A  is a perspective of an embodiment of the invention showing a carrier supported on a rotatable and translatable mounting bracket attached to a pair of horizontal adapters; 
           [0020]      FIG. 12B  shows the carrier raised on the mounting brackets; 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  is a rear view of the mounting bracket illustrating rotation about the translatable and rotatable joint with a partial cutaway showing the translatable and rotatable joint between the carrier and the mounting bracket; 
           [0022]      FIG. 14  is a top view of the carrier showing the ratcheting mechanism and the translatable and rotatable mounting bracket; and 
           [0023]      FIG. 15  is a perspective of the membrane and carrier with a cutaway showing the rotation and slide joint and a translation locking pin. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0024]    Current shipping practices, such as just in time delivery, require goods to be shipped in containers, both in bulk palletized form and also as loose packages placed within a larger container, such as a truck, shipping container, or, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a semi-trailer  1 . Carefully stacked packages  2 , may shift during transit, such as packages  3 . Shifting merchandise not only increases transit costs due to damaged goods, but also presents a fall hazard  4  to unsuspecting personnel  5  opening the doors  6  to the semi-trailer  1 .  FIGS. 2 and 3  are a cutaway views of a typical prior art semi-trailer  1 . Current semi-trailers possess vertical brackets  7  or horizontal brackets  8  possessing a series of elongated rectangular apertures  9  to which straps or rods may be releasably affixed. These brackets  7 ,  8  are commonly referred to as e-channel brackets or simply e-channels. Vertical e-channels  7  possess an advantage of allowing numerous vertical placement positions; but, as shown in  FIG. 2 , allow horizontal gaps  10  between transverse restraining rods  104  and the packages  2 . Horizontal e-channels  8  possess the inverse advantages and disadvantages. 
         [0025]      FIGS. 4 through 15  of the drawings illustrate load restraining apparatus that enables a user to quickly releasably fasten the membrane carrier  12  to one semi-trailer interior wall, releasably fasten the distal end of the membrane  11  to the opposite semi-trailer wall and then tension the membrane  11  so that the membrane abuts and contains articles within a section of the trailer. 
         [0026]    The embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 4 , shows a cargo restraining apparatus which includes an inelastic fabric membrane  11  between 0.2 and 3.1 meters wide and of sufficient length to extend the width of standard semi-trailer or applicable shipping container. The proximal end of the membrane  11  is attached to a spool  15  which is retractably biased by a tensioning mechanism  50  on a membrane carrier  12  having a ratching or tensioning lever  16 . End plates  26 A and  26 B together with the cylindrical part of the carrier  12  constitute a support frame rotatably supporting the spool  15 . A rod or grab bar  13  is attached to the distal end of the fabric membrane  11 . An aperature  51  is provided at the distal end of the membrane  11  inermediate the upper and lower side edges of the membrane  11  to facilitate hand gripping the grab bar  13 . A pair of vertically spaced clips  14  are connected to the grab bar  13  and a second pair of vertically spaced clips  14  are connected to the carrier  12 . The clips  14  are adapted to releasable fasten to vertically elongated openings in the e-channels. The clips  14  attached to the carrier  12  and the rod  13  are aligned vertically and spaced to engage slots in either a vertical e-channel or a horizontal e-channel. The proximal end of the membrane  11  is securely fastened to and spooled around a spool  15  which is rotatably mounted in opposite ends of a housing  12 A of the carrier  12 . A vertical slot  17  in the housing  12 A, provided for the ingress and egress of the membrane  11 , is positioned approximately 135 degrees from the clips  14  secured to the housing  12 A so as to minimize the space between the articles  2  to be restrained and the membrane  11 . 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , a tensioning mechanism  50  provided on the upper end of the housing  12 A is operably connected in torque transmitting relation to the spool  15  to retract the membrane  11  around the spool  15 ; the spool  15  being rotationally supported in aligned annular openings in upper and lower end plates  26 A and  26 B of the housing  12 A. In a preferred embodiment, a coil spring  18 , disposed within the hollow spool  15 , has its lower end non-rotatably secured to the carrier and its upper end fixedly attached to the spool  15 . Alternative means to rotatably bias the spool  15  include, but not limited to, a coil spring wound external to the spool  15  or a clock type spring wound external to the spool  15 . The tensioning mechanism  50  includes a ratcheting lever  16 . In the preferred embodiment of the tensioning mechanism  50 , a ratcheting pawl  19  is connected to the ratcheting lever  16  by a pivot pin  20  and engages a ratchet wheel  21 . A spring  22  biases the ratcheting pawl  19  to engage the ratchet wheel  21 . Ratchet wheel  21  is fixedly attached to a vertically slotted upper end  51 ′ of the spool  15 . A latching pawl  23  is rotatably connected to a mounting plate  26  by a pin  24 . A spring  25  biases the latching pawl  23  to engage the ratchet wheel  21 . The mounting plate  26  is welded to an annular end plate  26 A which in turn is secured as by welding to the upper end of the housing  12 A of the carrier  12 . The annular openings in the plates  26 ,  26 A serve as bearings for the upper end of the spool  15  and an annular opening in the lower end plate  26 B serves as a bearing for the lower end of the spool. Movement of the ratcheting lever  16  in one direction engages the ratcheting pawl  19  and ratchet wheel  21  thereby rotating the spool  15  and tensioning the membrane  11 . A stop  27  engages the ratcheting pawl  19  preventing further movement of the ratcheting lever. Movement of the ratcheting lever  16  in the opposite direction engages the latching pawl  23  and ratchet wheel  21  allowing the ratchet wheel  21  to return to its original position without the corresponding movement of the spool  15 . 
         [0028]    Membrane tension is released by disengaging ratcheting pawl  19  from the ratchet wheel  21  by manually applying pressure to the ratcheting pawl lever  28 . The ratcheting lever  16  is then rotated such that the ratcheting pawl  19  passes stop  27 . The cammed surface  29  of the ratcheting lever  16  subsequently engages the latching pawl  23  thereby disengaging the latching pawl  23  from the ratchet wheel  21 . This preferred sequence of disengagement of the ratcheting and latching pawls  19 ,  23  from the ratchet wheel  21  helps prevent unanticipated rotational acceleration of the ratcheting lever  16  and aids to prevent subsequent injury or merchandise damage. 
         [0029]    In using the load restraining apparatus, the user releasably mounts the carrier  12  on one wall of the semi-trailer. This may be achieved by engaging the clips  14  into apertures  9  formed in mounting brackets, such as e-channels  7 ,  8 , commonly found on semi-trailers  1 .  FIG. 7  shows a cutaway view of a trailer  1  having vertical e-channels  7  on which horizontal adapter brackets  30  are mounted  FIG. 7  also shows a load restraining apparatus  111  of greater height with a membrane at least twice as wide as membrane  11 . 
         [0030]      FIGS. 8 and 9  show a channel shaped horizontal adapter bracket  30  releasably mounted to an e-channel  7  by a releasable clip  14 ′, which is of the same construction as clip  14 , except its parallel side walls  31 A,  31 B are welded to a vertical bracket  30 A welded in turn at its top and bottom to the flanges  30 A and  30 B of the bracket  30 . In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  10  the exterior surfaces of the clips  14 ,  14 ′ roughly define rectangular prismatic shapes with two indentations  32 ,  33  in each of its two side walls  31 A,  31 B, respectively. The upper indentation  33  is slightly deeper than the lower indentation  32 . A spring biased pivoted latch or locking lever  36  includes a mechanical stop  34 , shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . The user inserts the upper indentation  33  in the e-channel slot  9  in the web of the bracket  30  with the lever pivoted to remove the stop  34  from alignment with the upper notch. The lower indentation  32  of the clip  31  then is inserted into the e-channel slot  9  and lowered. The pivot lever  36  is then released to place the stop  34  in the slot  9 . Upward movement of the clip  14  is prevented by abutment of stop  34  against the upper edge of slot  9 . A spring  35  biases the lever  36  to a latching position in which the stop  34  is in the e-channel slot  9 , thereby locking the clip  14 ′ to the e-channel  7 . The protruding release lever  36  enables the user to engage it for removal and installation of the clip  14  or  14 ′. It should be understood that the adapter bracket  30  is attached to an adjacent e-channel in the same manner as illustrated in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 11  shows two restraining apparatuses  12 A and  12 B positioned vertically adjacent to each other. The carriers  12  may be placed in either a normal upright position or an inverted position. Preferably when the carrier is placed in a high position, the carrier  12  is in an inverted position to allow easier access to the ratcheting handle  16 . The high position of the membrane  11  keeps it in close proximity to the upper most articles being restrained. The carrier  12 , and its tensioning mechanism  50 , may also be mirrored resulting in a left handed carrier or a right handed carrier so as to enable placement of the left handed carrier on the left side of the semi-trailer with the lever in the upright position and the membrane close to the load to be restrained and placement of the right handed load lock on the right side of the semi-trailer with the lever in the upright position and the membrane close to the load to be restrained. A series of apertures  37  adjacent to the upper and lower edges of the membrane  11  allow placement of a tamper evident tag  37 ′ between the two vertically adjacent membranes  11 . 
         [0032]    An alternate embodiment of the invention, shown in  FIGS. 12A ,  12 B,  13 ,  14  and  15 , includes a mounting bracket  38  that permits the carrier  12 C to rotate about a horizontal axis  42 A of a pin  42  rigidly secured to the carrier  12 C and allows vertical translation of the carrier  12 C. The mounting bracket  38  has a rectangular section tubular shape with a vertical height longer than it&#39;s width or depth. This embodiment is advantageously used to achieve vertical height adjustment of the membrane  11  when the semi trailer is equipped with horizontal e-channels  8 . This embodiment of the invention enables the membrane  11  to restrain articles positioned low in the trailer, or alternatively enables the membrane  11  to restrain articles positioned high in the trailer. The vertically adjusted position of the carrier  12 C is effected by use of a lock pin  39  inserted through one of a series of vertically spaced apertures  40  located in the side of the mounting bracket  38 .  FIG. 12A  shows the carrier  12 C in a neutral or normal position, while  FIG. 12B  shows the carrier  12 C in an extended or raised position. Two carriers  12 C may be used, one high, the other low, to insure restraint of articles stacked the full height of the trailer. The carrier  12 C may be mounted with the ratcheting lever  16  positioned on top, or may be mounted in an inverted position with the ratcheting lever  16  positioned at the bottom. 
         [0033]      FIG. 13  shows the carrier  12 C and the mounting bracket  38  with a part of the mounting bracket  38  broken away. The mounting bracket  38  includes a slot  41  through which a pin  42  passes. The pin  42  secures the carrier  12 C to a slidable mounting block  43  received within the mounting bracket  38 . The pin  42  is rotatably secured to the mounting block  43 . Rotation of the carrier  12 C permits adjustment of the membrane  11  to vertically secure articles within the semi-trailer  1  and to also accommodate articles that possess irregular shapes. The mounting block  43 , is allowed to vertically translate within the mounting bracket  38  and its position relative to the mounting bracket  38  is established by insertion of the pin  39  through one of the openings  40  in the bracket  38  and into one of the openings  45  in the block  43 . A plurality of clips  14   a,    14   b,    14   c  are attached to the rear of the mounting bracket  38 . The upper clips  14   a,    14   b  are positioned a sufficient distance apart so as to engage two adjacent slots  9  in the horizontal e-channel  30  simultaneously, or alternately engaging two slots so as to leave a third slot between them empty. The lower clip  14   c  is slidably attached to the mounting bracket  8  so as to adjust vertically relative thereto. Preferably the clip  14   c  is secured within a vertical slot  44  enabling the slidable connection. The slot  44  is of sufficient length to permit the carrier  12 C and the mounting bracket  38  to be attached to a variety of horizontal e-channels  8  or brackets  30  spaced at various vertical distances from one another.  FIG. 14  shows a top view of the carrier  12 C with its tensioning mechanism and the mounting bracket  38 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 15  is a perspective rear view of the carrier  12 C with a partial cutaway of the mounting bracket  38 . The mounting block  43  is vertically secured to the mounting bracket  38  by a lock pin  39 . The mounting block  43  possesses a plurality of apertures  45  adapted to receive a lock pin  39 . The lock pin  39  prevents vertical translation of the carrier  12 C when simultaneously received within one of the series of apertures  40  in the mounting bracket  38  and one of the apertures  45  in the mounting block  43 . The locking levers  36 A of the upper clips  14 A,  14 B are rigidly secured to a shared shaft  46  which extends beyond one lateral side of the mounting bracket  38  terminating in a lever arm  47  which when turned causes release rotation of the release levers  36  of the clips  14   a,    14   b.  A similar shaft  46 ′ is provided for the low clip  14 C. A flexible inelastic the strap  48  is connected to the membrane  11 ′ by wrapping around the grab bar  13 ′ at the aperature  51  and securely fastening to itself. A clip  14   f  is fastened to the distal end of the strap  48 . Clips  14   d,    14   f  are rotatably attached to the grab bar  13 ′ near opposite ends to enable the grab bar  13 ′ to be attached vertical or horizontal e-channels  7  or  8 . The clips  14   d,    14   e  may also be slidably attached to the grab bar  13 ′ to enable attachment to a variety of horizontal e-channel brackets spaced apart various distances.