Pipe chock stick

A pipe chock stick used in stacking pipes. The chock stick comprises a longitudinal board having end slots, and one-way and two-way notch blocks slidably received and lockable within the slots.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
The following invention relates to chocks and in particular to chock sticks 
used in stacking pipes or the like in a multi-tier configuration. 
In the past, pipes or tubes have been unitized using wedge-block chock 
sticks. Such chock sticks generally include an elongate stacking board 
having triangular wedge blocks nailed near each end of the board. 
In using such a pipe stick a wedge block is nailed to one or both sides of 
the board at one end board before placing that board on the stacked pile. 
Then, after a row of pipes is stacked on that board a second wedge block 
is placed at one or both sides of the board the other end of the board, 
firmly against the end pipe, and nailed into the board. 
For a number of reasons, the above-described chock stick has not been 
entirely satisfactory. First, in at least one of the two end blocks, the 
nail must be driven inwardly against the outwardly-directed force of the 
pipes. As a result, the force of the pipes tends to work the inwardly 
nailed wedge block out of the board. This problem is aggravated when such 
pipes are being transported and constant pipe shifting is acting against 
the two wedge blocks. 
Secondly, chock sticks of the above-described type tend to split when a 
nail is driven through the blocks, or when the nailed blocks are subjected 
to periodic pipe shifting during transport. Customarily, the wedge blocks 
are not reusable because repeated nailing and removal of the nail 
increases the chance of such splitting. 
Thirdly, it is often desirable to affix supporting blocks to both top and 
bottom sides of the chock board. With the above-described chock sticks, 
nailing a wedge block to the lower side of a stack board is awkward, and 
further, may result in splitting of the board end by driving nails 
thereinto from opposing directions. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pipe chock for 
stacking pipes of the like which overcomes the above-described 
shortcomings of prior art pipe chock sticks. 
More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a pipe chock 
stick in which the end blocks are secured to the longitudinal board by 
nails engaging the board and blocks transversely. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a chock 
stick having board and block pieces which may be repeatedly assembled and 
disassembled without substantially weakening the board or block pieces. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a chock stick in 
which each end piece provides end support at the top and bottom surfaces 
of the chock board. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a chock 
stick in which the board may be assembled with a variety of different end 
blocks, depending on the desired use. 
To this end the present invention comprises a longitudinal board having end 
slots and one-way and two-way notch blocks slideably received within the 
end slots. The notch blocks are locked in the board slots at preselected 
positions by driving a nail or other suitable fastener into the board 
against a lateral surface of the block. 
Because the securing nails engage the block laterally, at right angles to 
the line of force of the pipes, the tendency of the pipes to work the 
notch blocks loose is greatly minimized. As a further advantage, the nails 
may be easily removed after use without danger of splitting the blocks. 
The notch blocks are so constructed that the sides of the blocks are firmly 
held between the sides of the board slots and bracing arm portions of the 
blocks engage the upper and lower end faces of the board. This partial 
interlock between the notch blocks and the board ends serves to transfer 
part of the force applied to the block to the board faces thus reducing 
the force applied directly to the securing nail. 
The interlocking construction of the present invention may be adapted to 
accommodate a variety of board sizes, slot widths, and block thicknesses, 
depending on the weight of the pipes supported and the degree of 
horizontal support desired. 
The following objects and features of the present invention will now be 
described more fully with reference to the following detailed description 
of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an end section of the pipe chock 
stick 10 of the present invention. The pipe chock comprises a longitudinal 
board 12, shown fragmentarily, having an end slot 14 at each end. 
Engageable within each end slot is a notch block 16a or 16b which 
interlocks with the board 12 to form a vertically-extending brace, or 
brace means at each board end. 
The notch blocks of this invention are of two types. The one-way block 16a 
illustrated in FIG. 2a, is designed for use with the lowermost board in a 
pipe stacking configuration, as shown in FIG. 5. The two-way block 16b 
shown in FIG. 2b, is used in combination with boards stacked above the 
first tier in a pipe stacking configuration (FIG. 5). 
Both one-way and two-way notch blocks are formed from substantially 
rectangular pieces of wood or other suitable material, notched as shown in 
FIGS. 2a and 2b. Each of the blocks includes a throat 18, integrally 
formed with one or more bracing arms 20, each arm having a longitudinal 
extension 22 with an upwardly tapered forward edge 24 thereon. The space 
coadjacent the throat and bracing arm extension(s) 22 is defined as the 
gullet region 26. 
As can be appreciated from FIG. 1, throat 18 of notch block 16 is slidably 
received within board end slot 14 and bracing arms 20 extend beyond one or 
both faces of the board to provide horizontal support for the stacked 
pipes. 
The width of the throat region of the notch block is slightly less than the 
width of the board slot, allowing the slot throat to be slidingly received 
within the slot. The vertical dimension of the gullet region is slightly 
greater than the thickness of the board, allowing an end portion of the 
board to be slidingly received within the gullet region of a two-way slot 
block, as the block is moved inwardly along the board slot. The block is 
thus partially interlocked with the board in vertical and transverse 
directions. 
FIG. 3 shows a heavy duty block 30 designed to provide additional interlock 
between board and block. The heavy duty block, which may be a one-way or 
two-way block, differs from standard blocks 16a or 16b described above in 
that the sides of the blocks are grooved at 30a, such that the bracing 
arms have a greater thickness than the throat. As shown in FIG. 3, the 
portions of the bracing arm which extends transversely beyond the throat 
region overlap the faces of the board, providing additional interlock 
between board and block. Block 30 may be grooved on both sides, as shown, 
or on one side only, as indicated by the block formed between the visible 
grooved block face and the dotted line. 
Yet another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 6. Here a 
longitudinal board 32 has a pair of end slots 14 and internal slots 34 for 
receiving blocks 16 therein. Internal slots 34 have transverse dimensions 
slightly greater than the width of the notch blocks to be received 
therein. The spacing between the edges 34a of the slots is slightly 
greater than the longitudinal dimension of bracing arms 20, which, in 
turn, is roughly twice the distance between the edges 18a of the block 
throat. This embodiment is particularly useful in stacking large pipes 
where it is advantageous to support individual or pairs of pipes from both 
sides. 
The board used in practicing this invention is preferably a conventional 
lumber board having longitudinal slots 14a and 14b at its ends. Slot 14a 
has a length approximately equal to the longitudinal dimension of notch 
block throat 18 and is defined as the fixed end slot. Slot 14b has a 
length approximately twice that of the longitudinal dimension of throat 18 
as is defined as the variable end slot. 
In stacking pipes, two or more such boards are initially preassembled by 
inserting one-way blocks 16a into fixed end slots 14a. The blocks are 
locked in the slots by driving a nail or other suitable fastener into the 
board against one or both faces of each block throat. Preferably, the 
blocks are so locked by a nail 36 which extends through the slot and 
throat region of the block, as shown in FIG. 4a. 
Two or more such preassembled boards are then arranged in parallel, spaced 
apart fashion and a horizontal row of pipes, such as pipes 38, are placed 
on the boards. With the pipes arranged to abut the block at fixed end 14a, 
a one-way block is then inserted into each slot 14b until edge 24 of the 
block firmly abuts the adjacent pipe. This end block is then anchored 
longitudinally by similarly fastening the board transversely to the block 
throat. It can be appreciated that the variable slot 14b allows the notch 
block at the associated board end to be longitudinally positioned to abut 
the end pipe. This degree of longitudinal variation allowed by slot 14b is 
sufficient to accommodate small variations in pipe diameter normally 
present. 
After the initial layer of pipes have been stacked, a second tier of pipes 
is then added, as shown in FIG. 5, by placing two or more parallel chock 
sticks on top of the first row of pipes. The second tier chock sticks are 
partially preassembled, analogous to the first tier of pipe chocks, by 
initially securing a two-way block to the fixed position end 14a of the 
board. After the second tier of pipes has been added, a two-way notch 
block is then inserted into each slot 14b and nailed therein so that the 
blocks at opposite ends of each board firmly abut the stacked pipes. 
Additional layers of pipe can be added similarly. 
In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the two end slots are preferably fixed 
position slots, each having a longitudinal dimension approximately equal 
to the longitudinal dimension of throats 18. Internal slots 34, which have 
a longitudinal dimension roughly twice that of the block throats, are 
variable position slots. In use, the chock stick of FIG. 6 is partially 
preassembled by initially securing a one-way or two-way block in the board 
end slots and stacking the pipes on the board. A block 16b is then 
inserted to an associated intermediate slot 34, vertically aligned 
therein, as shown in FIG. 6, slidably moved in a longitudinal direction to 
produce a desired spacing between an end block and an associated 
intermediate block and secured at such position by a nail 36, as described 
above. It can be appreciated that the extent of the sliding adjustment 
permitted each block 16b within slot 34 is slightly less than the 
longitudinal dimension of the block gullet region, shown at 26 in FIG. 2b. 
Thus, a pipe chock stick for stacking pipe or the like which is easily 
assembled, sturdy and which has interchangeable, reusable pieces, has been 
shown. Although specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and 
described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various 
modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the 
invention. In particular, the width of the board slots and the notch 
blocks, the longitudinal dimensions of the slots and the block throats, 
and the dimensions of the board may be varied according to the 
application.