Quick tie load binding system

An improved system for quickly securing a load to a flat bed vehicle. Rotatable main shafts are secured on opposite sides of the load with each of the main shafts having a gear box. An access shaft couples the two main shafts together through worm gearing so that actuating the access shaft from either side of the truck actuates both main shafts. This causes the main shafts to rotate in opposite directions and pulls the binding tight across the load. A ratchet may be provided on the main shafts to also secure a position of the main shafts and allow effective motion in one direction only. The binding may be removed from the load by releasing the ratchet and rotating the main shafts in an opposite fashion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention described and claimed herein relates generally to load 
binding systems for cargo vehicles, and in particular, cargo vehicles with 
flat beds used in the trucking and cargo carrying industries. Truckers 
commonly use several spaced apart ropes or straps strung across the load 
to secure loads to a flat bed vehicle. These ropes or straps are then 
individually tightened by a human operator using a series of knots, 
trucker's hitches or "come-along" tightening devices. This can be a very 
time consuming operation because it requires the operator to individually 
tie the ropes or straps on both sides of his truck. These methods cause 
the load to shift precariously due to the unequal tension applied by 
having the ropes or straps initially secured to only one side. This is 
especially a problem for high profile loads consisting of numerous stacked 
items. Unsecured ropes or straps may spring loose while the vehicle is 
underway which also imperils other vehicles on the roadway. 
Also, once the cargo needs to be unloaded, additional time is lost because 
each of the knots or tightening devices must be individually released to 
remove the cargo. Other systems that use chains, complex levers and locks 
may also loosen an unacceptable amount while the vehicle is underway 
because of unsecured cargo. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention provides an improved system of securing loads to cargo 
vehicles. The system utilizes a pair of rotatable main shafts attached to 
a cargo vehicle and positioned on the sides of the flat bed cargo portion 
of the vehicle. Each main shaft is provided with a gear box and separate 
access shaft spans between the main shafts. The access shaft is coupled to 
each main shaft by a worm gearing located at the junction of the access 
shaft and the main shafts within the gear boxes. 
The main shafts are comprised of multiple binding pegs, multiple slotted 
openings or U-bolt clamps. This greatly facilitates the attachment of a 
binding over the load. The binding pegs and U-bolt clamps may be 
releasably attached and removable if, for example, a full complement is 
not needed. This system allows a single binding, either a rope or other 
strapping material to secure a load to the vehicle in the following 
manner. The binding is initially attached at one end to one of the main 
shafts and is then criss-crossed over the load while being alternately 
secured to the main shafts by either the binding pegs, the slotted 
openings or the U-bolt clamps. The binding is then tightened by hand. 
The operator then secures the load to the vehicle by actuating the access 
shaft by manual operation such as with a hand crank or by remote 
operation, such as with an electric motor. The access shaft may be 
actuated from either side of the cargo vehicle by the conventional hand 
crank. The rotation of the access shaft then actuates each of the main 
shafts causing them to simultaneously rotate in opposite directions to 
secure the binding to the load. A ratchet may be provided on each of the 
main shafts to allow effective rotation of the main shafts in one 
direction only. The binding on the load may also be released from a single 
point by simply reversing the rotation of the access shaft after releasing 
the ratchet. The binding may be removed in seconds using this invention 
compared to up to a half an hour or more with the conventional methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the Figures, a vehicle 10 is shown in FIG. 1 with a flat 
bed 12. The load 14 may consist of numerous items and be of varying 
heights which may require a binding 16 of considerable length. The main 
shafts 18 are positioned on opposite sides of the load 14 and span the 
length of the flat bed 12 of the vehicle 10. These main shafts 18 may be 
secured to the vehicle 10 by a plurality of mounts 20 as shown in FIG. 1 
and as illustrated in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 1, each main shaft 18 is 
comprised of a gear box 22 which is located intermediate to the ends of 
the main shafts 18 and which can be located near the cab of the vehicle 10 
along each main shaft 18. FIG. 2 shows the gear boxes 22 positioned at the 
front end of the main shafts 18 in even closer proximity to the cab 
portion of the vehicle 10. Each of the main shafts 18 comprise a plurality 
of binding pegs 24 and multiple slotted openings 26 placed between each 
pair of binding pegs 24. The binding pegs 24 may be held in place by 
friction onto the main shafts 18. If fewer binding pegs 24 are needed, 
they may be removed as shown in FIG. 3. The slotted openings 26 are used 
to secure a flat strap 17 as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, U-bolt clamps 
28 may be positioned on the main shafts 18 in place of the binding pegs 24 
to secure a binding 16 which is substantially flat, such as a strap 17 as 
shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. In the preferred embodiment, the binding pegs 24 
can be spaced 8 inches center to center. The U-bolt clamps 28 are placed 
onto the main shafts 18 in place of the binding pegs 24 and then may be 
secured onto the main shafts 18 by lock nuts 28a as shown in FIG. 3. 
The access shaft 30 is coupled to each main shaft 18 within the gear box 22 
and the access shaft 30 may extend out beyond the gear boxes 27. The 
preferred coupling between the main shafts 18 and the access shaft 30 is 
by a gear means or conventional worm gearing 32 as shown in FIG. 4. A worm 
gearing 32 is desirable when the access shaft 30 is in a generally 
perpendicular relationship to the main shafts 18. This allows the worm 
gearing 32 to transmit or impart the rotation of the access shaft 30 to 
the main shafts 18. As shown in FIG. 4, the worms 34a and 34b are 
positioned on the access shaft 30 to couple to the gear teeth 36 on each 
of the main shafts 18. 
To secure the load 14 to the flat bed 12, the binding 16 is first secured 
to one of the main shafts 18 and then pulled across a portion of the load 
14 to one of the binding pegs 24. The remaining portion of the binding 16 
is then drawn back across another portion of the load 14 to another 
binding peg 24 on the other main shaft 18. One such criss-crossing method 
is shown in FIG. 1. This "criss-crossing" of the load 14 is repeated for a 
substantial portion of the useful length of the binding 16. The other end 
of the binding 16 is then also secured on one of the main shafts 18. The 
access shaft 30 is then actuated by a hand crank 38 from either side of 
the load 14 at either one of the gear boxes 22. The rotation of the access 
shaft 30 is transmitted through the worm gearing 32 to the main shafts 18. 
This also simultaneously actuates the main shafts 18 causing them to 
simultaneously rotate in opposite directions. 
FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention with the 
gear boxes 22 and the access shaft 30 located at the other end of the main 
shafts 18 at the rear of the vehicle 10. A conventional ratchet 40 is 
positioned on each of the main shafts 18 for securing the main shafts 18 
with the binding 16 in a tightened position. The ratchet 40 is illustrated 
in a detailed view in FIG. 5a. As shown in FIG. 5a, the ratchet 40 may be 
comprised of a ratchet wheel 42 and a pawl 44. The wheel 42 is comprised 
of inclined teeth into which the pawl 44 drops to allow effective motion 
in one direction only. The ratchet 40 may be comprised of more than one 
wheel 42 and the ratchet may be reversible whereby it may prevent a main 
shaft 18 from rotating in either a clockwise or counterclockwise 
direction. To release the binding 14, the ratchet 40 may be disengaged 
from the main shaft 18 and thereby allow the main shafts 18 to rotate in a 
direction to release the binding 14. 
While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and 
described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more 
modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts 
herein. The invention therefore is not to be restricted except in the 
spirit of the appended claims.