Abstract:
A method of loading cargo includes the steps of providing a lower frame, supporting the cargo on the lower frame, positioning a plurality of vertical posts in spaced apart manner about the lower frame and exterior to the cargo, supporting an upper frame above the posts, and securing the lower frame, the posts and the upper frame around the cargo.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field Of The Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to cargo shipping assemblies that save storage space in containers, and which minimize the cost of labor, while effectively protecting the cargo stored therein. 
         [0003]    2. Description Of The Related Art 
         [0004]    The shipping of cargo has becoming increasingly important in today&#39;s business environment. Shipping is usually carried out by truck, air or sea. The cargo is typically loaded on to pallets, which can be stored in containers for shipping. Alternatively, the cargo can be loaded loosely (without a pallet) into a container for shipping. 
         [0005]    Unfortunately, both pallet-loading and loose-loading of cargo suffer from drawbacks. Pallets take up a lot of space in a container. On the other hand, loose-loading is very labor-intensive because laborers will be needed to slowly load the cargo into a container at the embarkation point, and to slowly unload the cargo from the container at the destination. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    It is an objective of the present invention to provide a cargo shipping assembly that saves storage space in containers. 
         [0007]    It is another objective of the present invention to provide a cargo shipping assembly which minimizes the cost of labor. 
         [0008]    The objectives of the present invention can be accomplished by providing a method of loading cargo, which includes providing a lower frame, supporting the cargo on the lower frame, positioning a plurality of vertical posts in spaced apart manner about the lower frame and exterior to the cargo, supporting an upper frame above the posts, and securing the lower frame, the posts and the upper frame around the cargo. 
         [0009]    The cargo assembly of the present invention includes a lower frame, cargo supported on the lower frame, a plurality of vertical posts positioned in spaced apart manner about the lower frame and exterior to the cargo, and an upper frame supported above the posts. The lower frame, the posts and the upper frame are secured around the cargo, and can be provided in separate pieces. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is an perspective view of a cargo shipping assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the cargo shipping assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0012]    The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
         [0013]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cargo shipping assembly  10  of the present invention has a bottom flat board  20 , a lower frame  30 , four vertical support posts  40 , an upper frame  50 , and a top flat board  60 . 
         [0014]    The bottom flat board  20  has a planar sheet  21  of material with four border edges  22 ,  23 ,  24  and  25  provided along each edge of the planar sheet  21 . The bottom flat board  20  can be made from paper board, cardboard, plastic sheets, metal sheets, wood board or similar materials. 
         [0015]    The lower frame  30  has four bars  31 ,  32 ,  33  and  34  that are connected together to form a four-sided (rectangular or square) frame that defines a periphery, with each bar  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34  corresponding to one of the border edges  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25 . The lower frame  30  can be made from metal, wood, paper board, cardboard, plastic or any similar strong material. The lower frame  30  is placed on the planar sheet  21 , with the border edges  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25  of the bottom flat board  20  extending around the bars  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 , respectively. The lower frame  30  can then be secured within the bottom flat board  20  by strapping bands or sealing tapes (e.g., see  70  in  FIG. 1 ) that are wrapped around the assembly  10  after the entire assembly  10  has been put together, as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0016]    The top flat board  60  is similar to the bottom flat board  20 , and the upper frame  50  is similar to the lower frame  30 , and interact in the same manner. The top flat board  60  has a planar sheet  61  of material with four border edges (only two edges  62 ,  63  are shown) provided along each edge of the planar sheet  61 . The top flat board  60  can be made from paper board, cardboard, plastic sheets, metal sheets, woodboard or similar materials. 
         [0017]    The upper frame  50  has four border bars  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54  that are connected together to form a four-sided (rectangular or square) frame that defines a periphery, with each border bar  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54  corresponding to one of the border edges  62 ,  63  of the top flat board  60 . In addition, two crossing bars  55  and  56  extend within the interior space defined by the four border bars  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 , with the crossing bar  55  having ends connected to the border bars  51  and  53 , and the crossing bar  56  having ends connected to the border bars  52  and  54 . The bars  51 - 56  of the upper frame  50  can be made from metal, wood, paper board, cardboard, plastic or any similar strong material, and function to reinforce and maintain the upper frame  50  in its proper shape to support loads that may be exerted from other assemblies  10  that may be stacked on top of this assembly  10 . The planar sheet  61  is positioned over the upper frame  50 , with the border edges (e.g.,  62 ,  63 ) of the top flat board  60  extending around the bars  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 . The upper frame  50  can then be secured within the top flat board  60  by strapping bands or sealing tapes (e.g., see  70  in  FIG. 1 ) that are wrapped around the assembly  10  after the entire assembly  10  has been put together, as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0018]    Each of the four vertical support posts  40  has opposing ends that are fitted to opposing corners of the upper frame  50  and the lower frame  30 . Each support post  40  can be made from any strong yet lightweight material, such as but not limited to metal or plastic. Each support post  40  can have any desired cross-sectional configuration, including L-shaped (as shown), square, triangular, rounded, etc. 
         [0019]    Four side walls  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86  are provided to enclosed the sides of the assembly  10 . Each side wall  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86  is fitted inside and between two adjacent posts  40 , and between a bar of the upper frame  50  and a bar of the lower frame  30 . For example, the side wall  86  is fitted inside and between two posts  40 , and between the bars  51  and  31  of the frames  50  and  30 , respectively. 
         [0020]    The assembly  10  can be assembled, and the cargo loaded, in the following manner. First, the bottom flat board  20  is placed on the ground, and one or more strapping bands  70  are placed below of the planar sheet  21 . The bars  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34  of the lower frame  30  are then placed on the sides of the planar sheet  21 , with the border edges  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25  surrounding the corresponding bars  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 , and then the cargo (e.g., products or boxes) is placed on top of the planar sheet  21  and stacked to a desired height. A protective sheet (e.g., such as a stretched film) can be used to wrap the exterior of the stacked cargo so as to protect the cargo from scraping with the side walls  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86  during shipment. The side walls  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86  are then placed around the four sides of the stacked cargo, and then the four posts  40  are positioned around the four corners of the stacked cargo, with each post  40  securing an edge of two adjacent side walls  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86 . In addition, the bottom end of each post  40  is inserted into a corner defined by two adjacent bars (e.g.,  31  and  32 ) of the lower frame  30 . Then, the upper frame  50  is placed over the stacked cargo, with the top end of each post  40  inserted into a corner defined by two adjacent bars (e.g.,  51  and  52 ) of the upper frame  50 . The top flat board  60  is now placed on top of the upper frame  50 , with the border edges (e.g.,  62 ,  63 ) surrounding the corresponding bars  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 . The entire assembly  10  is then secured by strapping bands or sealing tapes (e.g., see  70  in  FIG. 1 ) that are wrapped around the completed assembly  10 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0021]    The assembly  10  can be disassembled, and the cargo unloaded, in the following manner. First, the strapping bands  70  are cut, and then the top flat board  60 , the upper frame  50 , the posts  40 , and the side walls  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86  are removed (in this order). The protective sheet (if any) is then removed, and then the cargo can be unloaded. Depending on the nature of the cargo (and if necessary), the lower frame  30  can also be removed (and the corners between the border edges  22 ,  23 ,  24 ,  25  can be cut), to facilitate convenient removal of the cargo. 
         [0022]    During the loading of the cargo, all the components of the assembly  10  (i.e., the bottom flat board  20 , the lower frame  30 , the vertical support posts  40 , the upper frame  50 , the top flat board  60 , and the side walls  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86 ) are fitted together without the need for them to be positively attached or otherwise connected to each other. The application of strapping bands or sealing tapes (e.g., see  70  in  FIG. 1 ) that are wrapped around the completed assembly  10  is sufficient to secure the loaded cargo inside the assembly  10 . This feature enables the cargo to be loaded (i.e., the assembly  10  put together) or unloaded (i.e., the assembly  10  to be taken apart) quickly and conveniently, thereby minimizing labor and shipping costs. 
         [0023]    The bottom flat board  20 , the lower frame  30 , the four vertical support posts  40 , the upper frame  50 , and the top flat board  60  together function to contain and protect the cargo loaded inside. In addition, the upper frame  50  functions to divide the force from the upper load (from another assembly  10  placed on top of the top flat board  60 ) evenly to its four corners, so that each corner picks up a divided share (in this case, one-fourth) of the entire upper load force, and then transfers this force to the support post  40 . Each support post  40  picks up a divided share (in this case, one-fourth) of the entire upper load force, and then transfers this force to the corresponding corner of the lower frame  30 , which subsequently transfers this force (via the bottom flat board  20 ) to the floor or another assembly  10  positioned below. 
         [0024]    While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.