PULLING-STYLE RESTRAINT FOR A PARKED SWAP BODY

Abstract: A pulling-style restraint for a swap body (20) container parked at a truck loading dock (22) includes an elongated member having a base at one end and a restraining member (32) at an opposite end. The base can be attached to the dock, while the restraining member is adapted to be connected to a leg or bottom fitting of the container. The elongated member can be a bar or an elongated pliable member such as a strap, chain, or cable. The elongated member can be tightened by a take-up device such as a reel, chain-binder, turnbuckle or combinations thereof. Additional features might include a light that indicates engagement, a twist-lock restraining member, and a firm landing pad on which the container legs may rest.

Description: PULLING-STYLE RESTRAINT FOR A PARKED Sλ\ ΛP BODY Field Of The Im ention The subiect invention generalh pertains to sw ap bod\ containers, and more specifically to a de\ ιce that restrains a parked sw ap bod> container Description Of Related Art Λ swap bod is typically a large freight container ha\ mg four retractable legs The legs are usualK retracted w hile the sw ap body is in transit on the bed of a truck, trailer, ship, or rail cai When parked at a truck loading dock, the legs are typically extended to support the container upon a drivew ay w ith the floor of the container generally aligned flush to the floor of the loading dock This allows a forklift to drive into the container for loading or unloading, yet allows the truck that delivered the container to leave While the legs provide a vertical/columnar support for the w eight of the container and its contents (and material handling equipment), the legs are not designed to resist substantial horizontal forces Substantial horizontal forces, however, can be exerted on the legs For example, if the forklift inside the container was to suddenly stop by applying the brakes or striking cargo, the hoπzontal reaction force would be transmitted to the container's legs Since a forklift can weigh thousands of pounds, and given the relatn e instability of the legs to resist horizontal movement, it is possible that an abrupt stop or collision could cause the container to move horizontally a ay from the dock, opening up a potentially hazardous gap between the container and the dock Further, such hoπzontal mo\ ement could place a torque or bending force on one or all of the legs, causing them to buckle, or fold up. or (in a worst-case scenario) to collapse altogethei Such an accident might seriously harm the forklift operatoi . others nearby, the cargo or surrounding structure Summary Of The Im ention In order to minimize undesirable horizontal mov ement of a sw ap body container, there is provided a pulhng-style restraint that includes an elongated member coupled to a base at one end and a restraining member at an opposite end The base is fixed relatn e to a dm ew av w hile the restraining member is adapted to engage a leg or bottom fitting of the sw ap body contamei. thereby restraining the container relation to the dm ew ay Such a restraint helps keep a sw ap body container from slipping too far away from the edge of the dock, thereby possibly avoiding creating a hazardous gap between the container and the edge of the loading dock and the related undesirable forces on the legs that could lead to their failure In some embodiments, a twist-lock connector inhibits the restraining member from inadvertently slipping out of the aperture of the sw ap body container's bottom fitting In some embodiments a spring return ratchet reel prov ides a self- tightening feature that allow s the container to shift toward the dock, but not away from it Brief Description Of The Drawings Figure 1 is a side view of a pulhng-style restraint with a close-up perspective view of one portion Figure 2 is another side view of the restraint with a close-up perspectiv e view of one portion Figure 3 is a left side view of another embodiment of a pulhng-style restraint Figure 4 is another left side view of the embodiment of Figure 3. but with the restraint locked Figure 5 is a partial lett end v iew of Figure 4 Figure 6 is a side v iew of vet another embodiment Figure 7 is another side v iew of the embodiment of Figure 6. but with a variation of the indicator light circuit Figure 8 is a side view of an alternate embodiment Figure 9 is a side view of another alternate embodiment Figure 10 is a side view of yet another alternate embodiment Figure 1 1 is a side view of a restraint where the elongated member is a Figure 12 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention Figure 13 is an end view of Figure 12 Figure 14 is a side view of the embodiment of Figure 12, but m a retracted position Figure 15 is an end view of view Figure 14 Description Of The Preferred Embodiment Figures 1 and 2 show side v iews of a swap bodv 20 parked upon a driveway of a truck loading dock area 22 Swap bodv 20 is primarily a relatively large freight container 24 that typically includes four legs 26 that extend downward to support the weight of container 16 when parked However, when swap body 20 is in transit on. for example, the trailer bed of a truck, legs 26 are typically repositioned for storage by being folded up underneath container 24 When a truck delivers swap body 20 to loading dock area 22, extending legs 26 allows the truck to leav e. while container 24 may be loaded or unloaded bv a forklift 28 Movement of lift truck 28 inside the container, particularly quick stops and quick starts, results in forces F (Figure 2) being exerted on the container As legs 26 support container 24 in place, these forces F are transmitted to the legs, and can lead to torques and stresses within the legs that could lead to their failure Use of a container restraint as disclosed herein helps restrain the container to minimize its mov ement aw ay from the dock, and thus minimize harmful stresses on the legs Accordingly, this problem is minimized by providing a restraint that limits the movement of container 24 aw ay from an adjacent structure, such as a loading dock, by engaging a leg or bottom fitting of the s ap body coπtamei This is generally accomplished by a pulhng-style restraint 32 that includes an elongated member 46 coupled to a base 48 at one end and a restraining member 34 at an opposite end. Base 48 is mounted in a fixed orientation in relationship to driv ew ay 23 by being mounted to a stationary structure adiacent the loading area Examples of a stationary structure w ould include but not be limited to a loading dock wall, or a vertical stanchion that is anchored to the driveway 23 Restraining member 34 is adapted to engage a leg 26 or bottom fitting 40 of container 24 To accommodate various size containers whose legs or bottom fittings may be at different locations relative to the upper platform of dock 22. a take-up unit 52 adjusts the distance between restraining member 34 and base 48. One exemplary embodiment of such a restraint is shown in Figures 1 and 2 For this particular example, a restraint 32a includes a restraining member 34a that is adapted to engage one of two oblong apertures 36 or 38 of fitting 40 It should be noted that swap body containers typically have four such fittings (e.g. see European Standard No. EN 284:1992 E) that are used to couple the bottom of a swap body atop a trailer bed of a truck. However, at loading dock 22, fitting 40 is open and available for engagement by a restraining member to help stabilize container 24 For example, restraining member 34a includes an oblong plug 42 of a size and shape adapted to mate with aperture 36 or 38 of fitting 40 Once mated, restraining member 34a can be rotated (e.g., 90 degrees) to engage an inteπor surface 44 of fitting 40. thereby providing a positive connection. An elongated member, such as a strap 46a, secures restraining member 34a to base 48, which in turn is anchored to loading dock 22 and is thus fixed lelatn e to dπvewav 23 It should noted that the elongated member does not necessanlv have to be a strap, but could be any one of a variety of elongated membets including, but not limited to. a chain, cable 01 even a bar To minimize the distance that container 24 can move awav from the upper platform of dock 22, this restraint draws strap 46a taut bv vvav of an exemplarv take-up member 52. such as a winch 52a (explained further m reference to Figure 8) For a restraint that engages a container s leg rather than a bottom fitting refer to Figures 3 - 5 In this embodiment, the elongated member is a chain 46b, the take-up member is a chain-binder 52b, and the restraining member is a portion of chain 46b The portion of chain 46b that could be considered as the restraining member is referred to as chain portion 34b Instead of engaging fitting 40, chain portion 34b wraps around a laterally extending section 54 of leg 26 In this example, a chain hook 56 engages an intermediate link of chain 46b to take up much of the slack of chain 46b, while chain-binder 52b further tightens chain 46b to draw the back face of container 24 up against a bumper 58 of dock 22 It should be noted that a chain-binder, sometimes referred to as a "load-binder," is a conventional toggle locking over center device well known to those skilled in the trucking industry In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, shown in Figures 6 and 7 a restraint 32c is comparable to those just discussed, however, chain- binder 52b has been eliminated, and an elongated plug 42' of a restraining member 34c engages side aperture 38 instead of bottom aperture 36 (although engaging either aperture would work) A chain 46c couples restraining member 34c to a base 48'. and a chain segment 60 connects chain hook 56 to restraining member 34c To restrain a container, an operator inserts plug 42' into aperture 38 (or 36), then manually pulls most of chain 46 tightly away from base 48' Cham segment 60 and the portion of chain 46c closest to base 48' is then kept taut by having hook 56 engage an intermediate link of chain 46c Foi additional safety and conv enience, an indicator light system can be added to any of the embodiments herein to prov ide an indication of whether container 24 is effect ely restrained Such an indication may be valuable to a dock worker, a forklift truck dm er that is loading or unloading the container. or the dm er of the tiuck that hauls the s ap body Λs in Figures 6 and 7. the light indication can be provided bv a simple series cncuit of electrically conductiv e components comprising a light system 62 which could include a senes of inside and outside red and green lights, an electrical power source 64 (e g , 24 volts), a metal landing pad 66. leg 26. fitting 40. restraining member 34c, chain 46c. and a base 48', as shown in Figure 6 The connection between restraining member 34c and fitting 40 serves as an electrical switch adapted to complete the circuit to turn light system 62 on and off Pad 66 can peihaps serve an addition purpose of providing a firm level landing pad upon hich leg 26 can rest, thereby establishing a reliable vertical reference datum that accurately and repeatedly aligns the inside floor of container 24 to upper platform of dock 22 Wires 68 and 70 allow light system 62 to be installed at most any desired location As a slight v ariation to the embodiment of Figure 6. two restraints 32c are used one at each side of container 24 engaging both rear legs In this example, light system 62 is connected in seπes with power source 64, both restraints 32c, and container 24 itself Light system 62 would turn on upon current passing in seπes through power source 64. left restraint 34c, left fitting 40, container 24, right fitting 40, right restraint 34c. and light system 62 In this arrangement, pad 66 can be omitted Another variation of the indicator light circuit is shown in Figure 7 In this embodiment, a circuit 72 renders retaining member 34c as a touch- sensitive switch responsive to electromagnetic energy, such as radio wave signals received and conducted by container 24 \\ ire 74 conveys the signal to an input of an amplifier 76, which dπves a transistor 78 to turn light system 62 on and off Circuit 72 is schematically illustrated to represent the mynad of conventional touch-sensitiv e circuits that may include numeious other electrical components that might provide the circuit w ith a threshold that is sufficient to distinguish between contact with a large container 24 and the touch of dock vv orkei or chain 46c. itself To take up the slack m an elongated member 46 or tighten it sufficiently to draw the back face of container 24 tightly up against dock 22 or bumper 58, various take-up members 52 can be used, as shown in Figures 8 - 10 For example, winch 52a of Figure 8 (also used in the embodiment of Figure 2) includes a manually opeiated lever, e g , a crank 80. that rotatably drives a ratchet heel 82 fixed to a rotating member, e g , a drum 86. about w hich elongated membei 46 wraps Ratchet 82 m conjunction with a repositionable pawl 84 selectively provides bi-directional or unidirectional rotation of drum 86 With pawl 84 in a release position (as shown m phantom m Figure 8), drum 86 freely pays out or draws in elongated member 46 Wlien pawl 84 engages ratchet 82, the rotation of ratchet drum 86 is generally unidirectional with multiple stop positions for drum 86 at each tooth of ratchet 82 Pawl 84 engaging ratchet 82 allows drum 86 to take up elongated member 46 and then hold its position even after releasing crank 80 In operating the restraint of Figure 8, pawl 84 is released to unwind elongated member 46 so restraining member 34 can reach out to engage fitting 40 Once member 34 is engaged, pawl 84 is moved to engage ratchet 82. and crank 80 is turned (manually in this example) to rewind elongated member 46 about drum 86 and draw the back face of container 24 tightly up against dock 22 or bumper 58 In an alternate embodiment, manually operated crank 80 is replaced by a torsional recoil spπng (schematically represented by arrow 88), as shown in Figure 9 Spnng 88 urges drum 86 to take up and maintain elongated member 46 taut. To operate, pawl 84 is disengaged from ratchet 82 to unwind elongated member 46, so restraining member 34 can reach out to engage fitting 40 Once member 34 is engaged, pawl 84 is moved to engage ratchet 82 Spring 88 keeps elongated member taut while pawl 84 engaging ratchet 82 prevents elongated member 46 from unwinding, which in turn prevents container 24 from pulling aw av from the platform of dock 22 As container 24 is loaded or unloaded, some initial shaking of the container may occur The pawl and ratchet allow the container to shift toward the dock's bumper 58 but limits the container from shifting aw av Such an arrangement provides a self- tightening effect m that as container 24 shifts back towaid the bumper, the ratchet may index (depending on the extent of the shift and the resolution of the ratchet) to hold the container at its new position closer to bumper 58 For the take-up member of Figure 10. a reversible motor 90 (e g , electric, hydraulic or pneumatic) driv es the rotation of drum 86 to selectively take up or pay out elongated member 46 Motor 90 in conjunction with a brake (if deemed necessary) can also serve to lock the drum in position, rather than using a pawl and ratchet arrangement With this restraint, motor 90 dnves drum 86 to unwind elongated member 46 so restraining member 34 can reach out to engage fitting 40 Once member 34 is engaged, the rotational direction of motor 90 is rev ersed to tighten elongated member 46 and restrain the container Figure 1 1 illustrates a container restraint, wherein the elongated member is a πgid bar 46d In this embodiment, bar 46d pivots at one end about a base 48' that is anchored to dock 22 At a generally opposite end, a restraining member 34d is selectively pinned to vaπous discrete stops 92 (e g , holes) by way of a p 94 This allows the restraining member 34d to be s dmgly positioned along the length of bar 46d for rough alignment with a hole 36 or 38 in fitting 40 A take-up member, e g , a conventional turnbuckle 52d, can provide additional adjustment of the bar s effective length and can also serve to tighten the restraint, l e , draw container 24 toward bumper 58 Figures 12 - 15 illustrate yet another exemplary embodiment of a pivoting brace 128 adapted to engage and restrain at least one leg, e g , leg 26, of swap body 20 In this example, the restraining member is a two-prong clamp 34e that slides along a elongated member 46e (e g . a cylindrical rod) that pivots at an anchor point 135 of a base 48" attached to the dock wall or in some other vvav fixed in relation to the driv eway Once member 46e is pivoted to the position shown in Figure 12. the effective length of member 46e can be changed That is restraining member 34e can be mov ed toward base 48" until member 34e engages the leg 26 In a locked position, as shown in Figures 12 and 13, prongs 136 and 138 straddle leg 26 to prev ent restraining member 34e from slipping off of leg 26 With dimension 140 of restraining member 34e being significantly longer than a width 142. restraining member 34e tends to clamp onto elongated member 46e with a fπctional binding force 133 that proportionally opposes force F in an action comparable to that of a co entional pipe clamp or adjustable tent pole A sliding ram 134 can be added to help release clamp 130 For example, to release the clamp, ram 134 can be rapidly slid along elongated member 46e in a direction away from base 48" and rammed against restraining member 34e It should be noted that this embodiment is schematically illustrated to encompass the countless variety of other well-known clamping strategies that could be used to hold restiammg member 34e to elongated member 46e (e g , the pin and hole design of Figuie 1 1 ) Regardless of which clamping design is used, once released and in the retracted position, as shown in Figures 14 and 15, brace 128 can be left hanging downward with restraining member 34e and ram 134 resting at the end 137 of rod 46e when brace 128 is not in use Although the embodiments just described have some structural vaπation, they share a common operational sequence that includes anchoπng a base in a fixed relationship to the dπveway, connecting a restraining member to the base by way of an elongated member, attaching the restraining member to a container's bottom fitting or a laterally extending section of the container's leg, and adjusting the elongated member ' s effectiv e length (I e , the length of the portion of the restraining member that extends between the base and the restraining member) although the inv ention is desciibed ith respect to a preferred embodiment, modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art Theiefore. the scope of the invention is to be detemuned by reference to the claims that follow We claim

Claims: C L A I M S 1 A restiamt for limiting the movement of a swap body parked on a driveway at a loading area, the swap body having a leg that includes a laterally extending section coupled to a bottom portion of the swap body and a downward extending section adapted to support the swap body upon the driveway, also coupled to the bottom portion is a fitting having at least one oblong aperture, the lestra t comprising a base adapted to be coupled to stationary structuie adjacent the loading area. a restraining member adapted to selectively engage at least one of the laterally extending section and the fitting, and an elongated member that couples the restraining member to the base, the elongated member providing a variable length between the restraining member and the base 2 The restraint as recited in claim 1 , wherein the stationary structure is a loading dock wall 3 The restraint as recited in claim 1 , wherein the elongated member is an elongated pliable member 4 The restraint as recited in claim 3, wherein the elongated pliable member is a strap 5 The restraint as recited in claim 3, wherein the elongated pliable member is a cable 6 The restraint as recited claim 3 vv herein the elongated pliable member is a chain hav mg one end connected to the restraining member and an opposite end connected to the base 7 The restraint as recited in claim 6 further compπsing a hook having a first end coupled to one of the restraining member, the chain, and the base, the hook having a second end adapted to removably engage the chain at an intermediate point between the one end and the opposite end of the chain 8 The restraint as recited in claim 3. further compπsing a take-up member coupled to tighten the elongated pliable member 9 The restraint as recited in claim 8, wherein the take-up member includes a toggle 10 The restraint as recited claim 3. further comprising a rotating member that selectively pays out and rewinds the elongated pliable member 1 1 The restraint as recited in claim 10. wherein the rotating member includes a plurality of intermediate stop positions at which the rotating member can selectiv ely resist paying out the elongated pliable member 12 The restraint as recited in claim 1 1 , further comprising a lever coupled to manually rotate the rotating member, and a ratchet coupled to the rotating member to provide the plurality of intermediate stop positions 13 The restraint as recited in claim 1 1 , further compπsing a motor coupled to rotate the rotating member 14 The restraint as recited in claim 10 furthei comprising a spring coupled to urge the rotating member to rewind the elongated pliable member 15 The restraint as recited in claim 8 furthei comprising an indicator light system that turns on to indicate that the restraining member may be engaging at least one of the laterally extending section and the fitting 16 The restraint as recited in claim 14 wherein the restraining member engaging at least one of the laterally extending section and the fitting serv es as an electrical switch that turns on the indicator light 17 The restraint as recited in claim 1 wherein the elongated member is an elongated bar pivotally connected to the base 18 The restraint as recited in claim 17, wherein the elongated bar includes a plurality of discrete stops at which the restraining member is selectively repositioned along the elongated bar 19 The restraint as recited in claim 17. herein the restraining member clamps onto to the elongated bar by exerting a frictional binding force in reaction to the leg pushing against the restraining member 20 The restraint as recited in claim 1. vv herein the restraining member is adapted to releasably lock to the fitting upon rotating the restraining member after the restraining member is protruding through the aperture 21 The restraint as recited in claim 20, wherein the restraining member includes an oblong plug that is adapted to fit through the oblong aperture and subsequently engage an inteπor surface of the fitting upon rotating the oblong plug 22 A restraint for limiting the movement of a swap body parked at a driveway, the s ap body hav ing a leg that includes a laterally extending section coupled to a bottom portion of the swap body and a downward extending section adapted to support the swap body upon the driveway, also coupled to the bottom portion is a fitting having at least one oblong aperture, the restraint compπsing a base adapted to be fixed in relation to the dm eway, a restraining member adapted to selectively engage at least one of the laterally extending section and the fitting, and an elongated pliable member coupling the restraining member to the base, a rotating member coupled to the base, the rotating member selectively paying out and rewinding the elongated pliable member to provide a vaπable length between the restraining member and the base; and a plurality of mteπnediate stop positions at which the rotating member can selectively resist paying out the elongated pliable member. 23 A method of limiting the movement of a swap body parked on a dπveway, the swap body having a plurality of legs each with a laterally extending section coupled to a bottom portion of the swap body and a downward extending section adapted to support the swap body at the truck loading dock, also coupled to the bottom portion is a fitting having at least one oblong aperture extending to an mtenor surface of the fitting, the method compπsing anchoπng a base in a fixed orientation relative to the dπveway, connecting a restraining member to the base by way of an elongated member; attaching the restraining member to at least one of the laterally extending section and the fitting; and adjusting an effective length of the elongated member 24 The method of claim 23. wherein the sw ap body is parked adjacent a receiv ing edge of a truck loading dock and further compπsing the step of pulling the swap body substantially horizontally against the receiving edge of the truck loading dock 25 The method of claim 23, further compπsing turning an indicator light system on upon completing all of the anchoπng, the connecting, the attaching, and the adjusting

Inventors: HAHN NORBERT, HARTER ROBERT J, SANDER REINHARD E, HAHN, NORBERT, HARTER, ROBERT, J., SANDER, REINHARD, E.
Applicants: RITE HITE HOLDING CORP, RITE-HITE HOLDING CORPORATION
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65G69
IPC codes: B65D88, B65D90, B65G69