Abstract:
An adjustable cargo retaining system including a retaining member that is received by a retaining member support. A removable spacer urges the retaining member against the retaining member support.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/425,849 entitled “Cargo-Retaining Bar Support,” filed Nov. 12, 2002; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/433,929 entitled “Cargo-Retaining Bar Support,” filed Dec. 16, 2002; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/454,847 entitled “Cargo-Retaining Bar Support,” filed Mar. 14, 2003, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates generally to cargo-retaining systems, and more specifically, to a support for a retaining member that may be attached easily to a wall of a truck or similar cargo area. Examples of cargo-retaining bars, supports, and housings that may be attached to a wall are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,830,558; 4,932,817; 4,962,907; 5,219,251; 5,281,063; 5,494,389; and 6,086,299, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is directed to cargo retaining and positioning systems. In one embodiment, the system includes a retaining member that is received by a retaining member support, and a removable spacer that is insertable into the retaining member support and contacts adjacent edge surfaces of the retaining member. In some embodiments, the spacer is L-shaped to contact adjacent sides of the retaining member. In some embodiments, the system is adjustable to account for an unfilled or partially filled cargo area to prevent the cargo from shifting during shipping. This may be accomplished by selectively placing the system at any of a plurality of locations, including intermediate locations, within the cargo area. Furthermore, the disclosed retaining system may be configured to easily accommodate variations in retaining member dimensions. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary cargo compartment of a vehicle, including a cargo retaining system according to the present description. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of the cargo retainer assembly shown in  FIG. 1 , showing a cargo-facing side of the retainer assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the cargo retainer assembly of  FIG. 1 , depicting exemplary embodiments of a retaining member, retaining member support, spacer, and fastener according to the present description. 
         FIG. 4  shows a variation of the cargo retainer assembly, including a second flange to secure an additional fastener to the retaining member support. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  depicts a cargo positioning system according to the present description, as deployed in an exemplary cargo area. As shown, the system may include a retainer assembly  10 , which may be deployed within a cargo area  12  of vehicle  14 . Vehicle  14  may be a truck or semi-trailer having an internal cargo area or an exposed flatbed cargo area. Exemplary cargo area  12  has side walls  16  capable of retaining cargo  18 , such as boxes. The disclosed cargo retainer assembly is selectively removable, and may be reused and/or reinstalled in various locations within cargo area  12 . 
     Exemplary cargo retainer assembly  10  includes an elongate retaining member  20  that may be retained by at least one retaining member support  22 , as shown in FIG.  1 . Thus, the retaining member crosses the cargo area and restricts movement of the cargo past the position of the retaining member. One or more retaining member supports may be selectively positioned along side walls  16  to allow placement of the retaining member at any appropriate intermediate location. 
     Retaining member  20  may be a two-by-four wood board, as shown in the illustrative example of FIG.  1 . However, this disclosure is not limited to such a board and numerous other materials will suffice for use as a retaining member, such as metal bars, PVC piping, and the like. Additionally, the retaining member may be of any desirable cross-section or dimension, though it will normally be desirable that the retaining member be long enough to extend between opposing retaining member supports. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , and in further detail in  FIG. 3 , retaining member support  22  may be removably secured to walls  16  with an adhesive  24 , such as double-sided tape. Adhesive  24  typically is covered with a perforated backing paper  26 . The perforations may be arranged in rows or checkerboard patterns, to allow only a portion of adhesive  24  to be exposed at a time, for example in strip-like fashion, as depicted by dashed lines in FIG.  3 . Exposing only a portion of adhesive  24  allows multiple uses of retaining member support  22 . Any adhesive previously exposed may be left exposed, without impacting the use of the device, and fresh adhesive may be exposed to increase the holding power of adhesive  24 . Alternatively, it should be appreciated that many other suitable non-permanent methods may be used to secure the retaining member supports to the compartment, including VELCRO hook and loop fasteners, snaps, clips, and the like. 
     Retaining member supports  22  may take the form of a bracket, as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 . In such a configuration, retaining member support  22  includes a mount portion  28 , such as a plate, to which adhesive  24  adheres retaining member support  22  to wall  16 . Retaining member support  22  may be made from an injection molded thermoforming resin such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or high impact polystyrene (HIPS), although it should be appreciated that other materials may be used. 
     Typically, retaining member support  22  also includes a receiving region  30 , which may be formed by several wall sections  32 , as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . These wall sections form a pocket that receives an end of retaining member  20  and limits translation of retaining member  20 . Although the receiving region shown has a C-shaped cross-section, it should be appreciated that the pocket formed by receiving region  30  typically has an open side, regardless of the cross-section, to accommodate lateral insertion (e.g., perpendicular to the length of the retaining member) of retaining member  20 . Thus, receiving region  30  may be U- or L-shaped. Retaining member  20  generally rests against wall sections  32 , such as a top wall and a back wall, as shown in FIG.  2 . The open-sided construction of the retaining member support allows retaining member  20  to be engaged with the supports after the supports have been affixed to a desired location within the cargo compartment. 
     Although the components of retaining member support  22  are shown as being integrally formed, it is within the scope of this disclosure that the components be independent pieces held together by suitable fasteners, including screws, bolts, clasps, pins, and the like. 
     In some embodiments, cargo retainer assembly  10  includes at least one removable spacer  34 , such as a die-cut open cell foam insert, as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 . Spacer  34  is configured to fill unused space between retaining member  20  and retaining member support  22 . Spacer  34  is therefore typically made of a resilient elastic material so that spacer  34  may be compressed between retaining member  20  and retaining member support  22  while returning to its original configuration for subsequent use. In some embodiments, spacer  34  may be sized to substantially fill receiving region  30  between retaining member support  22  and retaining member  20  to maintain a snug fit therebetween. As depicted, spacer  34  is sized and shaped to contact retaining member  20  on two adjacent sides or edge surfaces to reduce gaps between retaining member  20  and wall sections  32 , which bound an define receiving region  30 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , spacer  34  may have contoured mating regions  36  that are configured to engage with the multiple sizes and shapes which retaining member  20  may take. The spacer shown is L-shaped so that each of the two legs of the “L” contacts the retaining member. In such a configuration, one leg supports the end of the retaining member while the other leg supports the bottom of the retaining member. In some embodiments, it will be desirable to provide each leg or segment of the spacer with a different size and/or contour. Different size retaining members can then be accommodated simply by rotating the spacer within the receiving region  30  of the retaining member support. For example, for boards having certain dimensions, it may be desirable to have a spacer with greater vertical dimensions, so as to take up more vertical space within the pocket defined by the retaining member support. For other board dimensions, less vertical spacing may be required. Spacer  34  can be configured as described to accommodate such dimensional variations. 
     Spacer  34  may include several separate pieces that assemble in a puzzle-like fashion, or be a single piece having multiple contours, the latter of which is shown in FIG.  3 . Alternatively, spacer  34  may be integrally formed with retaining member support  22  and may further include movable segments, such as spring-loaded buttons, capable of being depressed to adjust contour  36  of spacer  34 . 
     In some embodiments, at least one fastener  38  is used to secure retaining member  20 , support  22 , and spacer  34  together, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . Fasteners  38 , such as plastic or wire ties, may be provided together with cargo retainer assembly  10 , or as a separately purchased item, and may include any fastening mechanism adapted to fasten retaining member  20  and spacer  34  within retaining member support  22 . Fasteners  38  may include hinged clips that rotate to close the open portion of receiving region  30  and snap or latch to an opposite end of the opening. In the case of a U-shaped bracket, in which the opening faces upwards, fastener  38  may not be required. In some embodiments, spacer  34  may include a plate that snaps into locking engagement with bracket  30  so that fastener  38  and spacer  34  are integrally formed. 
     Although mounting of retaining member support  22  may occur so that the opening in the receiving region faces either away from or toward cargo  18 , it is generally preferable that the opening faces the cargo, as shown previously in FIG.  1 . Fasteners  38  may not otherwise be strong enough to withstand an impact to retaining member  20  should cargo  18  shift during transport. 
     In embodiments where fastener  38  takes the form of ties, as shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , retaining member support  22  may include reinforcing flanges  40  with apertures  42  to provide anchor points for fasteners  38  to prevent sliding of the ties off of retaining member support  22 . As shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , the fastener closest to side wall  16  passes through aperture  42 , thereby preventing fastener  38  from sliding away from mount portion  28  and off of retaining member support  22 . Although the flanges and apertures shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  are present on opposite edges of retaining member support  22 , it should be appreciated that only one flange and aperture is required for each fastener  38 , as shown in FIG.  4 . Additionally, there may be apertures provided for each of fasteners  38  used so that at least one of apertures  42  is spaced a distance away from mount portion  28 , also shown in FIG.  4 . 
     To facilitate removal of retaining member support  22  from vehicle  14 , retaining member support  22  may include gripping members, such as handles  44 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , handles  44  protrude from retaining member support  22  once it is mounted to walls  16  to provide sufficient space for a user to fit his or her fingers underneath at least a portion of retaining member support  22 . Thus, a user is able to easily pry or twist retaining member support  22  away from wall  16  to either remove, or adjust the position of, retaining member support  22 . Changing the support mounting location from a left to a right side wall of the vehicle is accomplished simply by rotating the support and spacer 180 degrees. 
       FIG. 4  depicts alternate embodiments of retaining member support  22  and spacer  34 . Support  22  has a smaller aperture  42  than in the previous examples. Additionally, an aperture is shown displaced away from mount portion  28 , as previously described. Although spacer  34  may be sized to match the receiving region dimensions, it is not necessary that all dimensions be matched. Also, because receiving region  30  protrudes from retaining member support  22 , a user may grip receiving region  30  to remove retaining member support  22  without using handles  44 . However, it will often be desirable that at least one handle  44  be used to limit fatigue at the junction between receiving region  30  and mount portion  28 . Thus, handles  44  may be located at the extremes of mount portion  28 , as previously shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     The following describes a typical installation procedure. First, a user determines where retaining member support  22  should be mounted after cargo compartment  14  has been loaded. For example, if the cargo compartment is only half full then retaining member support  22  should be mounted at an intermediate location, such as a half-way point, along the depth of the cargo compartment. Retaining member support  22  is therefore located adjacent to cargo  18 , as shown previously in FIG.  1 . The compartment width will determine the length of retaining member  20  required to span between supports  22 . Perforated backing paper  26  is removed from adhesive  24  and support  22  is mounted in the location desired on side wall  16 . Support  22  is typically mounted with handles  44  extending vertically. Spacer  34  is inserted into support  22  in an appropriate orientation to match the retaining member geometry. Next, retaining member  20  is inserted and the proper location on the opposing wall is marked or visually determined. Once a support has been mounted on the opposing wall, retaining member  20  and spacer  34  are secured with fasteners  38 . At least one of fasteners  38  may be inserted through apertures  42  to prevent sliding of fastener  38 . Thus, cargo  18  is ready for transport. 
     It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where any claim recites “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, such claim should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. 
     Inventions embodied in various combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed through presentation of new claims in a related application. Such new claims, whether they are directed to a different invention or directed to the same invention, whether different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter of the inventions of the present disclosure.