Adjustable load stabilizer method and apparatus

A method and apparatus for stabilizing cargo within a transport container. First and second tubular elements are provided having generally cylindrical bodies and bearing members at a terminal end which can react against opposing surfaces within the transport container and stabilize cargo within the container. An extension mechanism allows for the extension and selective translation between the first and second tubular members allowing the apparatus to extend and fill the space between opposing surfaces within the transport container and stabilize the cargo. A method for stabilizing cargo within a transport container includes providing an extensible load stabilizer having first and second tubular elements, each having a bearing member, positioning the load stabilizer between opposing surfaces within the transport container, and extending the tubular members with respect to each other, and stabilizing a surface of cargo against an opposing surface.

RELATED PATENTS

This application relates to U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,802 entitled “Cargo Restraint System for a Transport Container” issued on Jul. 18, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,779 entitled “Cargo Restraint Method for a Transport Container” issued on May 8, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,337 entitled “Cargo Restraint System” issued on Aug. 19, 2003; to U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,781 entitled “Adjustable Load Stabilizer Method and Apparatus” issued on Jan. 29, 2008 and to U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,443 entitled “Adjustable Load Stabilizer Apparatus Method and Apparatus” issued on Oct. 23, 2009 all of common inventorship and ownership with the subject application. The disclosure of application Ser. No. 11/127,193, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,281, and application Ser. No. 11/459,357, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,443, are hereby incorporated by reference as though set forth at length.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for stabilizing cargo during transportation. More particularly, this invention relates to a novel method and apparatus for stabilizing and restraining undesired movement of drums, boxes, rigid and flexible containers, palletized or not palletized, within the interior of a transport container or the like with respect to each other and/or with respect to the internal walls of the container.

Most shipments for transport are placed in enclosures such as ship cargo holds, intermodal containers, truck trailers, truck bodies, railroad box cars, and the like. Examples of cargo in containment enclosures include fifty five gallon closed head drums, super sacks or plastic reinforced bags, plastic wrapped bundles, cased goods, metal coils, specialty heavy paper rolls, plastic or metal containers mounted on pallets, etc. Although each individual component of cargo may be quite heavy and stationary at rest, the mass of a transport load can produce considerable momentum force as a ship, railroad car, truck trailer or truck body is placed in motion, stops, or changes direction.

During ocean shipping, cargo within cargo holds or intermodal containers are subjected to wave forces including: yaw, pitch, heave, sway, and surge. Depending upon weather conditions and the size of the vessel, cargo can experience various magnitudes of shifting forces throughout the course of a transoceanic voyage.

In another transport context, railroad trains are made-up by individual box cars being rolled together in a switching yard. When a railroad car is rolled into a stationary string of cars, the impact causes the car couplings to lock together with a jolt. This impact can apply a significant force to cargo within the rail car. Moreover, during transport, railroad cars and overland transport vehicles are subject to braking forces, bumps, centrifugal forces on curves, vibration, dips in the track or road, swaying, run-in or run-out forces, etc.

In overland truck/trailer transport there are frequent brake and acceleration forces imparted to the trailer and its contents, certrifical forces around curves, turning forces, uneven road surfaces, roadway transition junctions, roadway grades, etc.

Each of these forces has the potential to impart a substantial force to cargo during transport. When cargo contacts other cargo or the interior walls or doors of a container, the force necessary to reduce its momentum to zero must be absorbed by the goods and/or the container. Such forces can result in damage to the cargo, damage to the interior walls or doors of the container, damage to the cargo packaging, and may even create dangerous leaks if the cargo is a hazardous material. Accordingly, it is undesirable to permit cargo to gain any momentum independent of other cargo or a transport container. This can be accomplished by stabilizing the cargo within the container with respect to other cargo and/or the internal walls of the container so that the cargo and container are essentially united and operationally function as a single object during transport.

In order to stabilize cargo with respect to other cargo and the internal walls of a transport container or cargo hold, various forms of load containments, load spacers and void fillers have been used to fill the spaces between cargo and between cargo and the internal walls of an intermodal container, box car, cargo hold, truck trailer, etc. Often, load containment enclosures are secured to the floor or sides of the transport container and prevented from moving with respect to each other by specially fabricated wood or steel framing, floor blocking, rubber mats, steel strapping, or heavy air bags. A variety of dunnage materials and void fillers has been used to prevent the movement of cargo with respect to other cargo and the internal walls of the transport container. Each of these previously known systems has limitations associated with cost, lack of strength, amount of labor required for installation, time expended for installation, lack of flexibility, securement integrity, transportability and storage of spacer elements, etc.

Further to the above, in the past, various dunnage materials have been utilized within transport containers to eliminate unwanted movement or shifting of a load. Drums, boxes, or other containers have been restrained in several different ways. Primarily, cargo has been stabilized by the use of void fillers such as collapsible cardboard frames or cells. These systems use strips of corrugated cardboard configured and assembled to expand into solid rectangular frames or cells of various forms and sizes and incorporate honeycomb and/or diamond-shaped cells for space and strength considerations. These systems while useful for known rectangular voids can exhibit impaired performance due to size and/or dimension variance. Moreover curved surfaces can not be accommodated well with rectangular shaped void fillers. The difficulty in applying various rectangular units to irregular shapes and the on site adjustment for varying sizes of voids to be filled, the unsuitability of corrugated board to absorb strong compression forces, and the use of materials not fully resistant to moisture can impair use of this type of dunnage void filler system.

Other known means of restraint such as the use of inflatable dunnage bags used alone or in combination with collapsible void fillers have tended to exhibit the disadvantage that air bags are subject to rupturing, leakage and loss of air pressure, or simply contraction and securement loosening in low temperature environments.

In addition to the above, other restraining systems known in the past often required additional elements and equipment which tended to be cumbersome to store, arduous to handle and/or install, and often required a degree of skilled labor in application.

Finally, in certain instances wood block and bracing has been used in the past to fill voids and secure loads; however, wood bracing is somewhat time consuming to install and often requires skilled or semi-skilled labor which is often contracted out to third parties. In addition certain wood materials are not suitable for international transport without fumigation which increases the overall cost of the securement system.

Consequently, a need exists for securing cargo in cargo holds, transport containers, box cars, truck trailers and the like that is functionally effective, cost-efficient, and labor-efficient. Still further a need exists for load stabilization systems that have enhanced strength characteristics under a variety of environments, exhibit flexibility for loads of various types and sizes and limit cargo shifting within a container.

The problems suggested in the preceding are not intended to be exhaustive but rather are among many which may tend to reduce the effectiveness of load stabilizer methods and apparatus appearing in the past. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those presented above should be sufficient to demonstrate that load stabilizing systems appearing in the past will admit to worthwhile improvement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the invention comprises a method and apparatus for stabilizing cargo within a ship hold, transport container, box car, truck trailer, and the like with respect to other cargo and the internal walls of the container by the selective application of mutually extendible void filler cylinders. More specifically, stabilization is achieved by application of extension members, which are adjustable with respect to each other. Each extension member is coupled to a base which is designed to fit into an abutment or bearing member for direct or indirect positioning against a face of cargo or an internal wall of a transport container. Securement is achieved by extending the two extension members with respect to each other to fill in a void between the face of opposing cargo surfaces or an internal wall of a container and a cargo surface, or the like. A locking mechanism may be advantageously used to hold the two extension members in position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Context of the Invention

Turning now to the drawing wherein like numerals indicate like parts,FIG. 1shows an axonometric view of an operating environment100of the invention. In this, a railcar102is shown as a type of container that may be encountered. Railcars are used to transport a wide range of materials including many that must be protected from impact against the railcar walls as well as other cargo within the railcar. Cargo104must be protected from a variety of shifting forces during transit as noted above. One particular force encountered in railcars specifically is the impact force created when two railcars are “humped” or handled by a switching engine to in order to make up a train and secure a solid coupling connection as at106. In addition run-in and run-out forces occasioned over grades can be substantial. The form of container102shown here is merely illustrative and the subject invention can be used to advantage in ship cargo holds, intermodal containers, and the like.

A partially cut away portion ofFIG. 1depicts various size and shapes of cargo104, which are stabilized against each other and against the internal walls of the container102by load stabilizers108in accordance with the subject invention.

FIG. 2shows another operational context200of the invention. In this context, container204is secured to a trailer towed by tractor202. Cargo206is subject to a wide range of overland road forces that must be protected against. The braces208, in accordance with the subject invention, serve to provide both lateral and longitudinal securement of the cargo from impact with other cargo and with the walls of the container204.

Void Filler and Load Stabilizer

FIG. 3is a perspective view of one embodiment of the subject void filler invention300. In this tubular member302is a male member inserted into female tubular member304. Member302is externally threaded to match the internal threads of member304. Due to this threading, member302can be extended or retracted longitudinally by turning either or both of members302and304. In one embodiment, the tubular members302and304are double threaded and two rows of threads start in diametrically opposing positions. In another embodiment three threads can be started at the same time. Depending on the pitch of the threads and the coefficient of friction of the material and weight of the unit, the two members may be advantageously self separating by gravity. This means that the device300is turned on its end and the members302and304are cause to spin relative to one another, the bottommost member will continue to turn until disengaged with the topmost member without extra input of energy to maintain the spin.

Bearing members306comprise the surfaces that will directly or indirectly abut against or contact cargo or the walls of a transport container. These bearing members are selectively removable in one embodiment and are connected at point308to members302and304(connection point on member304not shown). The bearing member306is released from the tubular member302by sliding it out of securing slots that are detailed below. However, this is not the only attachment mechanism that may be used. The bearing members may be permanently affixed to members302and304by injection molding the entire void filler300. They also may be screwed or bolted into position or turned into position and locked with a ratchet type mechanism. Any securing method that reliably attaches the tubular member to the bearing member is appropriate. The outside of bearing member306shows contours310cut into the bearing member. These contours are present due to the injection molding process, they allow the bearing member to be broken from the form after cooling. Once extended, void filler309holds it position by being locked with locknut312. Locknut312is moved into position with a tool or by hand and secured against the female tubular member304to prevent further rotation and disengagement with cargo in a transport container.

When the detachable embodiment is used, then this invention provides the additional benefit of being easy to ship to its destination. For example, drop-down type cardboard void fillers can be shipped at approximately 100 pieces per pallet. The subject invention can be shipped at between 900 and 1000 pieces per pallet. This is due to its configuration and the ability to stack the bearing member elements and closely pack the tubular members.

FIG. 4is a side view of the void filler400of the subject invention. Tubular member402inserts into tubular member404and is selectively telescoped by turning the two members relative to one another. Bearing member406comes into contact with cargo and with the walls of a transport container to prevent damage of contents during shipping. Tubular member402attaches to base408by sliding into a slot at point408. Please note that as above, any type of connection mechanism could be used here including permanent attachment. As illustrated inFIG. 4, and confirmed inFIGS. 8,9and13, the longitudinal length of each of the male tubular member402and the female tubular member404has a length dimension that is less than the diameter of the bearing members406and the subject void filler unit300is relatively compact to fill spacing between opposing surfaces of cargo within a container or between a cargo container side wall surface and cargo within the container. Locknut412is used to secure the two tubular members at a particular extension. When the proper size of the void filler400is reached, locknut412is turned into place and tightened either by hand or using a tool and prevents further movement of the tubular members with respect to one another. Note that this nut may be any configuration to fit any type of tightening tool or to more easily be tightened by hand.

FIG. 5is a detailed schematic of the apparatus bearing member500with the side shown facing in toward the tubular members fromFIG. 4. Tubular members, such as402and404, attach to the bearing member590in position502. The tubular member is placed over ramp504, then it can be slid down into position502by ensuring that the edge of the tubular member, to be detailed below, fits under slot508on each side. Once in position, ramp504ensures that the tubular member will not inadvertently slide out of its attachment with the bearing member. Dimple506is slightly raised and gives additional security to the attachment of the tubular member.

For added strength, the bearing member500is reinforced. Reinforcement rings510and512provide circumferential reinforcement by being placed around the outside of the bearing member as well as in a position between the outside of the bearing member and the center of the bearing member, as512. There is no limit to the number of rings that may be used, the more rings, the greater the ability of the bearing member to withstand outside stresses. Additionally, reinforcement elements514provide radial reinforcement. Again, there can be any number of reinforcement elements depending on the desired strength. Elements510,512and514are made of the same material as the remainder of the bearing member but are thicker and provide greater support. Nail holes516allow the bearing member to be secured to any surface into which nails can be driven. These may be actual holes, or they may be portions of the bearing member that are thin with respect to the rest of the bearing member and allow nails to be easily driven through.

The subject invention may be constructed of a wide range of materials. In one embodiment, the tubular members are molded from a high density polyethylene and the bearing members are constructed of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS.) The subject invention can be constructed of any one, or any combination of the following materials: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ABS, polyethylene, and polystyrene. This lists is not meant to be exhaustive, any material that provides the requisite strength and reliability for protecting cargo may be used to advantage.

FIG. 6shows a side view of a bearing member600such as the one shown inFIG. 5. Tubular members such as402and404fit in slot606and are held in place by ramp610. Dimple608also helps to hold the tubular member securely in place. They are released by slightly bending the bearing member to slide the tubular member over ramp610. Nail hole604is shown extending only partially through bearing member600. A nail can be driven through this and into a surface. Optional adhesive element612allows the bearing member to be adhered to a container wall or opposing cargo so it can be easily extended into place by one person. Typically, this adhesive will be on a bearing member attached to a male tubular member so the female member is free to turn into position.

FIG. 7shows an opposite side of a bearing member700such as the one shown inFIG. 6. Surface702is smooth and contacts either the container wall or a surface of cargo in the container. Dimple704and holes706are products of the injection molding process and are not required for the function of the void filler although dimple704does provide extra security for the inserted tubular member on the opposite side as described above. The primary requirement for this surface is that is not have protrusions extending out that would damage the cargo. However, in another embodiment, the user may require a mechanical connection with the cargo and damage is not an issue, in this case, protrusion off the bearing member could be used to secure the bearing member to the surface. Optional adhesive element708allows the bearing member to be removeably affixed to either a cargo surface or a container wall.

FIGS. 8 and 9show two side views of a female tubular member such as element404. InFIG. 8, a male tubular member is inserted at point802and extends and retracts from that point. Contours804allow the female member800to be turned and tightened into position. Lip808is slid into place under the slots of the bearing member such as those shown as element508inFIG. 5. These slots fit into space810and hold the member800in position. Optional lip806rests above the bearing member slots and provides additional security to the attachment. InFIG. 9, a male tubular member is inserted at point902and extends and retracts from that point. Contours904allow the female member900to be turned and tightened into position. Lip908fits into the rounded portion of space502inFIG. 5. It may alternatively rest next to ramp504thus holding the tubular member in place. The shape of lip908allows it to be inserted in a bearing member and prevents any turning that may result from a circular type arrangement. Optional lip906rests above the bearing member slots and provides additional security to the attachment.

FIG. 10is a cross sectional view of a female tubular member1000such as the ones shown inFIGS. 8 and 9. Outer surface1002may have contours to assist in hand tightening when extending the tubular members with respect to one another. Threads1004are designed to correspond to threads on a male tubular member and in one embodiment, are set at a pitch to make the device self driving when an initial turning force is applied. As shown above, slots on the bearing member fit in at space1006to hold the tubular member in place.

FIG. 11is an end view of a female tubular member1100such as the ones shown inFIGS. 8 and 9. In one embodiment, the tubular member is double threaded as shown at point1102. Lip1104rests above the slots in the bearing member as described above.FIG. 12is a view from the opposite end of a female tubular member such as the one shown inFIGS. 8 and 9. In one embodiment, this is double threaded as shown at point1202. Lip1204fits into a bearing member such as the one shown inFIG. 5. The flat sides of this lip1204correspond to the flat sides in area502. This configuration causes the tubular member to fit in place and prevents any turning of the tubular member with respect to the bearing member. Lip1206is circular and adds stability to the void filler by resting on top of slots508of a bearing member.

FIG. 13is a perspective view of a male tubular member1300such as element402ofFIG. 4. Threads1302extend along the body of the tubular member and correspond to threads in a female tubular member such as element404. In one embodiment, both tubular members are double threaded. In another embodiment, these threads are set at a pitch that allows the tubular members to be self driving when the void filler is assembled and a turning force is applied. Lip1306slides into place on a bearing member as described above in the description of the male member. The slots of the bearing member fit in space1308and lip1304rests on top of the bearing member slots for additional stability.

FIG. 14shows a cross-sectional view of a male tubular member1400such as the one designated as element402inFIG. 4. Threads1402correspond to the internal threads of a female tubular member. Lip1406fits into slots on a bearing member as described above and lip1404rests on the slots on a bearing member for stability as described above.

FIG. 15shows a view of the same member shown inFIG. 14but turned 90°. This view of a male tubular member1500shows threads1502as well as lips1504and1506. The slots on the bearing member fit into spaces1508. This view shows that the lip1506has flat sides to allow for fitting into the bearing member as described above.

FIG. 16shows a top view of male tubular member1600. This corresponds to the top view of female tubular member1200inFIG. 12. Threads1602fit into a female tubular member and lips1604and1606fit into a bearing member as described above.

FIG. 17is a perspective view of a locknut1700such as the one labeled412inFIG. 4. Threads1702correspond to the threads of a male tubular member, such as element402. Contours1704allow the locknut to turned into place by hand and may take a variety of forms. The locknut may also be shaped to correspond to a turning tool and tightened into place with that tool.

FIG. 18is a cross sectional side view of the same locknut, labeled1800. Threads1802and contours1804correspond to those described above regardingFIG. 17.

FIG. 19is another view of a locknut1900such as the one illustrated inFIGS. 17 and 18. Threads1902and contours1904correspond to those described above regardingFIG. 17.

FIG. 20is a cross sectional view of a locknut2000such as the one shown in previous figures. Threads2002and contours2004correspond to those described above regardingFIG. 17. Note reinforcing spines radiating out to provide additional stability and strength for the locknut2000.

A method is detailed in which to use the use the subject invention. There is no particular order implied in the steps of the method and they can be performed in any suitable order. In one embodiment, the base member attached to a male tubular member is placed flush with a piece of cargo or another surface in the transport container. While this is held in place, the female tubular member with attached base is turned in relation to the male tubular member. This extends the female tubular member toward another surface or cargo in the transport container. The female tubular member is turned until the second base member is in contact with the opposing surface and tightened sufficiently. A locknut on the male member is then turned into position to secure the void filler at the desired length.

This method is not exhaustive and can be practiced on any of the embodiment described above. The void filler will be extended using the selected extension mechanism and held in place.

The preceding description has been presented only to illustrate and describe the invention and some examples of its implementation. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to any precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible and would be envisioned by one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above teaching.

The various aspects were chosen and described in order to best explain principles of the invention and its practical applications. The preceding description is intended to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and aspects and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims; however, it is not intended that any order be presumed by the sequence of steps recited in the method claims unless a specific order is directly recited.