Abstract:
Construction system for providing load support in the transportation of goods in containers having a floor and a ceiling. The system includes at least one supporting beam and at least two telescopic bar organs, each having a first end disposed on the floor of the container and a second end expandable to the ceiling of the container, pressing thereby against the floor and the ceiling. The bar organs extend through the at least one supporting beam at end areas, and include a plurality of longitudinally disposed holes for locking a bar organ to a supporting beam at a predetermined height by means of a latch pin.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a construction system for providing a load support against substantially horizontal forces, particularly with regard to transportation of goods in containers, trucks etc. 
     When transporting goods in containers, trucks or other transport situations, it is preferable, or even neck, to ensure that the loaded goods are kept steady during sea or road transportation, especially when there may be powerful sideways movement of the transportation craft, in order to avoid damage of the goods and the environment. 
     This problem is especially serious in the case of ammunition transport, partially because of the character of the goods and partially because of the ground where such goods often are transported, that is poor roads and terrain. 
     Until now, stabilization has been achieved by woodwork support. However, there are many disadvantages: large consumption of materials and nails, assembly and disassembly are time consuming, bad flexibility and a large waste problem at the destination end. Also, woodwork is exposed to vermin transfer. 
     From Norwegian design registration no. 75145, there is known a supporting frame, which is adapted for us in transportation of goods according to these requirements. The known supporting frame is approximately rectangular, that is, mainly a two dimensional frame comprising two beams and two cross beams connecting the beams to each other. Here, the dimensioning acid the application areas are not flexible enough to meet requirements. 
     From U.S. Pat. No. 3,054,099 (Robertson 1960) it is known to build up horizontal “ladders” in different levels in a loading room, with the possibility of regulating the positions of the individual supporting cross elements. This solution has several disadvantages, e.g. lack of ability regulate precisely and lack of flexibility to make different supporting devices in different parts of a loading room. 
     From U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,464 (Shock 1961), it is known to assemble movable supports on the vertical parts of a storing shelf. This proposal is not suitable for containers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main object of the present invention is to provide a construction system for load support, intended for use in the transportation of goods, which offers a safe support of goods against the solid parts of the container and/or other types of load supports, containers, vehicles etc. Also powerful shaking and/or influences from mainly horizontal directed displacement forces during the transport must be considered. 
     Further, it is an object to provide a load support which is flexible, easy to assemble and disassemble, which can be used again and again having low re-usage costs and which in the same way does not cause any pollution. 
     The versatility is required with regard to both dimensions and in usage. The system has to be adaptable to different ranges in all directions; in height, to adapt the load support to different ceilings under assembly; horizontally, to adapt the load support to different widths of containers or loading rooms and; depth, to provide the essential flexibility, that is to be able to support goods or load occupying different parts of the container or loading room. 
     The construction system has to be able to resist the horizontal forces or displacements which may occur between the areas of goods/walls supporting each other, and without the risk of damage or even destruction of the load support. 
     The construction system should be made as a modular system, having simple parts to be fixed set together rapidly and disassembled rapidly as well. 
     The construction system according to the invention gives, as opposed to known load supports, a mutual support between goods, respectively between the goods and the wall of the container, and respectively the vehicle, on more than two points and thereby practically over a whole surface. The surface is set by the orientation in space of the actual narrow sides and through the length of the poles meant to connect the beams with each other. Accordingly, a safer and more long-lasting support is achieved, compared to known supporting frames. 
     The invention offers the ability for rapid and versatile configuration of supporting constructions having different dimensions in three directions. A height regulation may be set by different headrooms in containers and loading during assembly. Width regulation may be set according to different cross dimensions and wall structures. And most important is that an adaption to an arbitrary empty room in the length direction may be achieved, either by adjustment of the spreader bars, by using a joint element and/or by placing several load supports after each other. 
     The system covers most types of loads. It is suitable to fill up almost every empty space in a container etc. All forces are transmitted to the stronger parts of the support. The system can be built up from one beam to numerous beams in a vertical direction, and in three dimensions. This means a function as a wall or as a volume filler. It is the characteristics of the load (weight, number of levels, volume) that sets the parameters for the design of the securing device. In a case where the load requires two levels of support to give a satisfactory securing, there are two levels of supporting beams assembled. In a case where the load requires six supporting levels, there are six levels of supporting beams assembled. The system is extremely versatile, as it is almost steplessly adjustable in width (across the container), and in length (depth of the container) in steps of approximately 20 mm and with the possibility to assemble an extension element and additional supporting frames. Consequently, local construction of load support can be performed with ease, without the use of tools. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, where 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a supporting frame having four supporting beams intended to be placed in a container, 
     FIG. 2 shows the end of a supporting frame with associated elements, 
     FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a covering plate, which is to be fastened to a supporting beam, 
     FIG. 4 shows a spreader bar as shown in FIG. 1, while 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an extension sleeve. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In FIG. 1, there is shown a supporting frame  11  comprising four mutual parallel supporting beams, where two lower supporting beams  12  and  13  are arranged side by side on a lower level, and two upper supporting beams  14  and  15  are arranged directly over the lower. A sleeve  16  extends perpendicularly at each end of the supporting beams  12 - 15 , such that they are vertically orientated in the drawing, four supporting bars are extending in the following way: 
     Two supporting bars  17  and  18  extend through the sleeves  16  at the ends of the two supporting beams  12 ,  14  lying in the same vertical plane. Two supporting bars  19  and  20  extend through the sleeves  16  at the ends of the two other supporting beams  13 ,  15 . 
     The sleeves  16  are overdimensionated relative to the diameter of the supporting bars  17 - 20 , such that the beams can be lead in their place over locking clamps on the supporting bars (described further below). In an alternative embodiment a through-going sleeve can be installed simplifying the fastening of the beams. The sleeves  16  are placed at the ends, outside the telescopic beam area described below. 
     The supporting bars  17 - 20  each comprise an exterior, tubular main part  21 , extending up to approximately half of the height of the container space, and an inner, telescopic regulation part  22 . Both are provided with a longitudinal row of holes  23 . To lock these two parts  21  and  22  together, there are locking pins  24  with a securing clip. Both the main part  21  and the regulation part  22  have an end shoe  25  of plastic or rubber, which can be lead through the hole  16 . 
     The end of the inner, tubular telescopic part carries a welded nut  26  or has internal threads. In the nut  26  a threaded bolt  27  is inserted having a pressure head  28  corresponding to the end shoe  25 , and which can be pressed against a container ceiling or the ceiling of another load carrier. 
     In this way, the supporting bars  17 - 20  can hold the supporting beams  12 - 15  in position both in the height direction and sideways direction. The supporting beams  12 - 15  are held in position on the supporting bars  17 - 20  by means of latch pins  30 , which can go through both the main tubular part  21  and/or the regulating part  22 . If the latch pins  30  are going through both the tubular parts, they give an additional securing of the beams when they are assembled. The latch pins, which can be of known design, can be loose or fixed to the supporting beams. 
     The supporting beams  12 - 15  are each comprised of an exterior part  29  (FIG. 2) with a U-profile, closed with a cover plate  35  (FIG. 3) and an inner, telescopic part  31  with a U-profile, both with a bent edge flange  32  and longitudinally bent slot  33 . This construction strengthens the supporting beams. In the inner part  31 , there is placed a correspondingly profiled strengthening part  31 A. Each of the two parts  29  and  31  are provided with a sleeve  16  at their free end as described above. Also, each of them are provided with a row of holes  23  having little distance between, for example 5 cm, to allow mutual locking with short regulation steps. The ends are closed by an end plate  34 . The holes in the inner beam  31  and outer beam  29  have different mutual distances apart, for example 2.5 cm and 2.0 cm. Accordingly, the regulating interval will be less than the entire distance. 
     On each end plate  34  at the ends of the supporting beams, there is fastened, for example by welding or as an integrated part, an outwardly projecting rib  36  of a square profile, extending in the vertical direction in the drawing. The ribs  36  can, by use of the supporting frame  11  in a usual container, be lead out against the side walls and in engagement with reciprocal slots, especially at a door frame. In this way, the supporting frame can be locked against displacement in the longitudinal direction relative to a container or another loading space. 
     Two of the supporting beams  12  and  14 , lying on the same supporting bars  17  and  18 , are provided with supporting blocks  37  at each end projecting broadwise out relative to the supporting beam. The supporting blocks  37  are rectangular, and can be manufactured of plastic. The intention of these is to avoid the beams  12 - 15  bearing against the container wall, but transmitting force to the structure of the container which is not lying in the same plane as the wall, but retracted. Because the horizontal distance from the inner corrugation to the supporting structure varies, the supporting blocks can be provided in two parts. The block can vary in thickness, such that the beam is lying at the optimal distance from the container wall. In this way the broadwise load arising during use can be transmitted from the supporting frame  11  to the structure of the container. 
     Between the two sets of supporting beams  12  and  13 ,  14  and  15  respectively (being at the same height) a couple of spreader bars  38  and  39 ,  40  and  41  respectively are inserted, placed at the outer parts, up to the ends. Each spreader bar  38 - 41  comprises a threaded stem  42 , having a left threaded and a right threaded part with two grip surfaces  43  for a wrench or a handle mounted in between (see FIG.  4 ). The threaded stem  42  engages at each end in a reciprocal thread in a sleeve  44  mounted on a construction plate  45  with a through-going hole. The sleeve  44  projects into the inside of the supporting beams  12 - 15 . In FIG. 4 a more detailed example of a spreader bar  38 , having sleeves  44  mounted thereon, is shown. 
     Turning of the threaded stem  42  with a wrench or a handle will either push the beams away from each other, or pull them together. In the sleeve  44 , a screw ( 46  in FIG. 4) is fastened that, when screwed in, engages with the threaded stem  42  and prevents it from rotation. In this way the beams can be locked at the correct distance when the necessary regulation is done. 
     In FIG. 3 the covering plate  35  is shown, intended for welding and the like on the outer U-profile of a supporting beam. The covering plate  35  has a long opening  47  with two opping sides  48  engaging against the corresponding flanges  49  on the inner part of the sleeve  44  (FIG.  4 ). On the upper edge and on the lower edge, a tongue or pin  50 ,  51  serves to fix the end of a spreader bar as described further below. Each supporting beam will have two covering plates  35 , one at each end, for engagement of the two spreader bars connected to each supporting beam. 
     In FIG. 4, a spreader bar  38  is shown with associated fastening equipment: sleeves  44  at each end of an oppositely threaded part, a lock screw  46  in each sleeve  44 , a construction plate  45  on each sleeve  44 , intended to provide support against a covering plate  35 , and an outwardly projecting end  52  with flattened opposite sides  49  corresponding to the opening in the covering plate  35 . 
     On each construction plate  45  with an upwardly projecting and a downwardly projecting end, a U-shaped, bent clamp spring  54  is fastened having eccentric support of the end leg in the opposite sides of the construction plate, such that it can be swung over the tongue  50  or  51  of cover plate  35  lying up to it. The eccentric support creates a pre-tensioning against the out-swung locking position. In this way the spreader bar  38  is held together with the supporting beam. 
     In FIG. 5, an extension element is shown in the shape of a connection coupling  55  for mounting on the free end of a sleeve  44 , to fill up a larger empty space than possible using the fully unscrewed threaded stem. The connection coupling comprises a central, tubular trunk  56 , one end of which fits overin on the outwardly projecting end  52  and where one end has a flange plate  57  corresponding to the construction plate  45  and can be fastened to this, for example by means of screws in holes  58 . 
     At the opposite end, the extension element  55  is provided with a stop piece  59  and an outwardly projecting end  60 , like the spreader bar of FIG.  4 . In this way, the end of the extension element  55  can be fastened to a supporting beam in the same way as the spreader bar in FIG.  4 . 
     Because the holes in the cover plates  35  are oval in the horizontal plane, the spreader bars  38 - 41  can have an angle relative to the beam in those cases where the end of one beam meets the outer corrugation in the adjacent container wall, while the end of the other beam meets the inner corrugation of the same wall. Then, the holes will be displaced approximately 37 mm relative to each other. 
     The supporting bars  17 - 20  can be attached to an arbitrary number of supporting beams and associated spreader bars, to support and to give stop for an arbitrary load composition. 
     Range of application 
     The supporting frame  11  shown in this example, can be inserted at the end of a container or loading space, as a support against goods which do not entirely fill the disposable room. It can also be placed within a cargo, between two parts of the load. The number of levels having supporting beams  12 - 15  can be adjusted according to need, practically up to 15 levels. The grip organs or the ribs  36  can be lead to engagement to slots at the door opening and the supporting blocks  37  can be put up against one of the corner posts of the container. 
     Threaded stems and extension elements can be made with different lengths, such that the system can be adapted to different distances between the pair of beams and therefore for different ranges of application. 
     Modifications 
     The shown construction of a load support is only an example which can be modified in different ways. In some cases, the load support can be used as a wall without substantial dimension in the longitudinal direction. In this case, only two supporting bars and a suitable number of supporting beams, mounted on these, are required.