Patent Document

CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/231,267 filed on Jan. 15, 1999, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,795 on Jul. 23, 2002. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the method of using an apparatus, a bar which is a beam to lash cargo to, herein called the cargo lash to bar, for fastening and restraining cargo to a transport vessel or vehicle, especially as used in lashing down mobile equipment to the deck of an intermodal cargo carrying roll-on/roll-off ocean going ship known as a RoRo, or for fastening to a tanker ship&#39;s weather deck. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The transportation of cargo is increasingly geared to intermodal and unitized handling. Most ships are equipped for intermodal shipping that consists primarily of freight containers that are eight feet high, eight feet wide, and twenty feet long. This standard is referred to as a TEU or twenty foot equivalent unit and is particularly evident in the international ISO 668 specification. Many variety of containers, and flatracks have been developed for transport of lumber and liquid tanks, and are just two examples of intermodal freight handling equipment that maintain the TEU although height of specialty containers frequently varies. The intermodal nature of freight containers makes them readily usable without adaptation or modification for transport over sea, over land by trucking, or by rail. Mobile equipment and other break bulk cargo are frequently transported on vessels designed to carry intermodal cargo. 
     Currently when an armored tank or other irregular shaped mobile equipment is loaded on the deck of a ship which is designed for a variety of cargo including intermodal freight containers, the mobile equipment will be chained down and connected to a socket in the deck. Current cargo restraint lashing rigging consists of D-rings welded to a ship&#39;s deck and D-rings welded to twist lock bases, breech bases, clover leaf bases, dovetail bases or other commercially available or proprietary locking mounting bases for mounting a lashing line to corresponding deck sockets. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,457,650 and 3,860,209 illustrate the styles of fastening rings, cavities, and sockets and the various bases types which are used to fasten to a ship&#39;s deck. All of these embodiments suffer from the same problem, that they mount and seat into the sockets built into the deck that are spaced too far apart for convenient, safe, and secure 
     Spacing of these sockets is usually substantially twenty feet (or forty feet) apart fore and aft and two adjacent eight feet across athwartship in a configuration reciprocal to the mounting of an intermodal freight container. As a result the cargomen who are stevedores, longshoremen, and ship&#39;s crew are frequently faced with the problem on the ship of inadequate tie down locations adjacent to the designated fastening points of most mobile equipment. The result is multiple chains being stretched at odd angles to reach a single mounting location on the deck. This aggravates the problems of lashing and can lead to lashing gear, D-ring, or deck sockets and bases breaking or tearing with the equipment dangerously coming loose at sea. Often the twist lock sockets or D-rings are covered by cargo or wheels or tracks of a piece of mobile equipment, which must be accommodated by lashing to a farther point and putting extra shear load on a neighboring D-ring or omitting a lashing entirely. 
     In some locations on ships, D-rings are welded to a ship&#39;s deck generating different problems. Welding to the deck is a permanent attachment which can be an encumbrance later on and be an obstruction for man and machines that causes a safety hazard. Also, dragging a welder and all of it&#39;s equipment around a ship&#39;s deck to weld down and retrofit individual D-rings or repair broken D-rings is slow and labor intensive. Welding is a severe optical hazard to ship&#39;s crew about the deck. Welding also heats the metal of the deck in excess of 3,000 degrees F., which causes localized changes in the crystal structure of the base metal making it brittle and reducing the strength. A ship&#39;s deck cannot be readily annealed. Weld on D-rings are not able to be welded to the lower deck of most ships because the bottom side of the lower deck is the fuel hold or fuel tank. To weld to the lower deck requires the costly procedure of evacuating the space with an inert gas or risking major fire or explosion. 
     The erectable secondary deck shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,935 of Jonasson using twist locks and taking advantage of the regular spacing of twist lock mounting apertures in the deck of a ship displays the practicality of the present invention to take advantage of the same regularly ordered twist lock socket apertures. 
     Folding flatracks of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,832 of Clive-Smith reveal the great need for versatile lashing of cargo so that cargo will securely endure a voyage aboard a waterborne vessel. Clive-Smith discloses an improved flatrack with d-rings for lashing cargo to keep a load fastened to the flatrack wherein the lashing chain begins, ends, and is brought taught by a binder as an internal force to the flatrack. That is to say that cargo native to the flatrack is held fast to the flatrack. The present invention on the other hand provides a new cargo lashing apparatus for lashing cargo to which has a completely different mode of functionality from Clive-Smith, wherein an external force is applied to the apparatus of the present invention and an object external to the cargo lash to bar is restrained to the deck of a ship. Clive-Smith is beneficial to the understanding of the great difficulty in facilitating the safe and secure arrival of cargo aboard the modern intermodal ships. These are new solutions to the broad array of challenges that shippers face in these days of intermodal cargo movement. 
     The versatility of the twist lock sockets apertures at their respective regular spacing as an erection attachment point is further evidenced by the novel portable hand rail of Bel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,153. As with the previous citation, the preponderance of examples show that the deck sockets can be utilized far beyond simple freight containers. All these however fail to grasp the enormity of the advantage to be gained in cargo fastening, restraining, and securing of the present invention. 
     People in the mobile equipment shipping industry are clear, there is a lot of money being spent shoreside for load preplanning and logistical processes to make efficient stowage but when mobile equipment cargo arrives onboard the ship it is not loaded according to the plan because of the impediments of the use of old style lashing gear exacerbating the problems of inadequate deck tie down lashing points. That serious difficulty of consistent, safe, and secure lashing of mobile equipment cargo is clearly enunciated in U.S. MTMCTEA Ref 97-55-22 Marine Lifting and Lashing Handbook on page 1-1, which says, “As we saw during Desert Shield/Storm, this often leads to inconsistent and excessive lashing procedures that wastes time, money, and manpower hours”. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The cargo lash to bar is a beam which is a continuous structural member that can be fastened and unfastened to a ship&#39;s deck and quickly handled aboard a ship to facilitate multiple convenient and accessible lashing point apertures along the length of the span of the member to ensure secure cargo lashing and restraining especially of irregular shaped loads. The key to the application of the present invention is the use of standard twist lock bolt connections. Such twist locks are commercially available in a variety of mounting base configurations. The cargo lash to bar is constructed to use a standard twist lock rotating locking bolt connections at each end of the bar for releasable locking to its mounting locking surface. These twist locks are an integral part of a RoRo ship&#39;s current inventory of lashing gear. The cargo lash to bar comes with the mounting apertures in its mounting locking surface on the bottom, that receive the twist lock body and rotating locking bolt. 
     The result is a versatile new piece of cargo lashing gear. Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are: a) the primary object of the cargo lash to bar invention is to provide to ships and other cargo transport vehicles or handlers a device that speeds up the loading and deployment of irregular shaped cargo and mobile equipment by aiding their task of securing a load by providing a structural member to attach to with lashing aperture locations heretofore unavailable along the entire length between typical deck mounting sockets, b) a further advantage to the use of the cargo lash to bar is that more D-rings and aperture holes for lashing makes for less overloaded rings which provides security from losing multiple pieces of mobile equipment at sea adding a safety benefit to the crew tasked with resecuring a loose load, c) a further advantage of the lash to bar is that if the lashings break loose on a piece of mobile equipment cargo by fraying or other means, the beam will act as dunnage to restrict movement reducing potential damage to a ship and adjacent cargo, d) a further advantage of the cargo lash to bar is the extensive use of D-rings which have a smooth contoured surface that can be used with chains, cable, hemp rope, or especially light weight and high strength nylon and kevlar synthetic fibrous straps or webbing, e) a further advantage to the use of the cargo lash to bar is that it allows the stevedores to make a more systematic approach to the deck location of mobile equipment and actually position equipment according to the shoreside prestowage plan, f) a further advantage is the simplification of load positioning for consistent repeatable lashing of mobile equipment, g) a further advantage is reclamation of deck space previously occupied by flailed lashings allowing a ship to carry more cargo, h) a further advantage to the use of the cargo lash to bar when it lays fore to aft across the twenty foot span of a ships deck spanning deck fastening twist lock sockets, mobile equipment can readily be loaded in between a pair of cargo lash to bars like driving a car into a stall in a striped asphalt parking lot since most mobile equipment is loaded on a RoRo fore and aft in the same orientation as a container, i) a further object of the cargo lash to bar is to provide a new means to assist the ordinary lashing of standard containers attached one on top of another by placing a cargo lash to bar under the end of a bottom container to lash the upper containers freeing up the valuable deck space which previously required using heavy and cumbersome lashing bars and associated lashing gear, j) a further advantage is to remove the hazard of welding on a ship&#39;s deck and facilitate welding repairs at a safe location, even by off-ship contractors, k) a further advantage is the ability to use the cargo lash to bar as a safe article on which to weld fasteners for restraining irregular cargo to the lower deck of a ship immediately above a fuel tank or a fuel soaked wooden deck, l) a further advantage of the cargo lash to bar is use as a shoring beam by itself or with multiple lash to bars stacked on top of the other, m) a further advantage of the cargo lash to bar is to use a pair of the apparatus for supporting or securing cargo above a clear span over a hatch or damaged portion of a ships deck, n) a further advantage is the ability to deploy a pair of cargo lash to bars to utilize space on top of a container, or stack of containers, or stowage flat rack even while the container is being drawn by a semi truck, or rail car, o) a further object of the cargo lash to bar is a lashing apparatus that can be readily stacked one on top of another for unitized storage when this is a desirable feature, p) a further object of the cargo lash to bar is a member that can be manipulated and moved securely and quickly by a fork lift truck, q) a further advantage of the lash to bar is the ability to keep mobile equipment cargo separated far enough apart for a person to walk between the mobile cargo especially during the stevedoring loading process to allow access from front to back of a ship to tend to cargo while a ship is at sea to access the distant areas of a loaded cargo hold in case of medical emergency or fire. 
     Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings, closely related figures have the same number but different alphabetic suffixes. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a section of a structure that is a ship&#39;s deck with two embodiments of the present invention arrayed as if in use. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two apparatus of the present invention with cargo restrained and secured accordingly alongside a container. 
     FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the bow of a ship showing the layout of deck sockets. 
     FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a twist lock and a corresponding deck mount socket, while FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the bottom of a deck and socket. 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the present invention attached to a structure. 
     FIG. 6A is a perspective view of two of the present invention sitting end to end along their length to show how they fit adjacent each other without interfering or contacting each other. FIG. 6B is a perspective view of two of the present invention sitting side by side also to show how they fit adjacent each other without interfering or contacting each other. FIG. 6C is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG.  6 D and FIG. 6E are perspective views of embodiments of the invention. 
     FIG. 7A is a plan view of crawler tractor type mobile equipment lashed to a ship&#39;s deck using previous lashing schemes of prior art, and FIG. 7B is a plan view of crawler tractor type mobile equipment lashed to a ship&#39;s deck using the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a container mounted to a ship&#39;s deck with the present invention installed on top of the container and cargo lashed to the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the present invention used as an adapter for mounting a container to a structure below the present invention. 
     FIG. 10A is a perspective view of a breech base deck socket in the structure of a ship&#39;s deck, and FIG. 10B is a front elevation view of a breech base twist lock mounted in a breech base socket. 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a piece of mobile equipment cargo being secured to two apparatus of the present invention which spans above a cargo hold opening of a ship&#39;s deck. 
     FIGS. 12,  13 ,  14 A, and  14 B are perspective views of alternate embodiments of the present invention. 
     FIG. 15 is a front elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention with a tightening wedging mechanism. 
     FIG. 16 is a bottom perspective view of the present invention showing a support collar properly installed. 
     FIG. 17 is an elevation view of a section of a ship showing several apparatus of the present invention, a container, cargo, and the approximate scale relative to a person. 
     FIG. 18 is a perspective view of four of the present invention in a configuration for shoring and support for irregular cargo. 
     FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the present invention used for shoring and lashing with adapter end fittings and mounted to the walls of a vehicle above a floor surface. 
     FIG. 20A is an elevation view of the present invention mounted atop a container in an over the road application. FIG. 20B shows an elevation view of the present invention and a perspective view of the cargo as it would be attached if the cargo and the present invention were attached to the container chassis, and a truck and container chassis in the unloaded and empty configuration, wherein the arrow indicates that the load must be attached to the chassis. FIG. 20C is an elevation view of a truck, container chassis, the present invention, and two containers installed. 
     FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the present invention installed vertically onto a bulkhead and a cargo net attached to the present invention. 
     FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a container showing the present invention installed inside a container. 
     FIG. 23 is an elevation view of three containers stacked on top of the present invention and the assembly attached to a ship&#39;s deck. 
     FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment and is shown as an exploded view. 
     FIG. 25 is an elevation view of the present invention with a man shown in the view for scale and function. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the present invention, cargo lash to bar assembly  34  shown in FIG. 6C, is a beam which is an elongated structural steel tubing member  60  that spans from one twist lock  50  to another twist lock  50 , for mounting athwartship or fore to aft on a ship&#39;s deck  82 , having indexed lock mounting apertures  41  in the bottom mounting and locking surface of structural member  60  toward each end to receive the insertion of twist locks  50  in member  60 , that match the spacing of a commercially available freight container  83 , to facilitate removable connection of lash to bar  34  to a pair of ISO type twist lock mounting sockets  40  attached to a ship&#39;s deck  82 . The cargo lash to bar  34  has several D-rings  46  attached to member  60  along the length through which a strap, cable, or chain herein called a lashing  48  may pass for lashing or restraining cargo to. A D-rings  46  consists of any lashing ring  68  and a lashing ring restraining mounting saddle  69  wherein lashing ring  68  is free to pivot, or pivot and rotate, or may be rigidly fastened especially by welding. The lashing ring  68  preferably has a smooth contoured surface to prevent abrasion of the web strap lashings  48  and wire rope lashings  48 . The lash to bar  34  has slot  49  or a plurality of slots  49  through the member  60  to facilitate lifting with lift truck&#39;s forks. Fork slots  49  are also a hole through which a lashing  48  may be strung for securing and restraining cargo as shown in FIG.  2 . There are additional mounting apertures  41  in an opposite parallel surface in the top of member  60  like those in the bottom of member  60  that allow multiple cargo lash to bars  30  or  34  to be mounted and removably connected on top of one another with stacking twist locks  50  for storage or shoring as shown in FIG.  17 . This opposite parallel top surface at each end is parallel and noncoplanar to the opposed major mounting surface on the bottom directly below in such a manner that a rotational axis of a twist lock is in line and coaxial with the centerline of the lower and upper noncoplanar mounting apertures. Mounting aperture  41  can also be a hole for lashing through as shown in FIG.  2 . Aperture  66  located in the end of end fitting  77  of the lash to bar  30  or  34  is a load bearing and alignment aperture for carrying lash to bar  34  on semi trailer container chassis  95  shown in FIG. 20B, and a lifting point for shipboard and dockside container lifting and handling equipment for lash to bar  34 . The secondary use of the aperture  66  is as a hole for lashing through when the lash to bar  34  is fastened to the ships deck  82  as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     For description purposes the mounting points of each end of container  83  are herein referred to as an end cell (2259 millimeter twist lock centers) or side cell (5853 millimeter twist lock centers). FIG. 3 illustrates ship  80  and deck  82  laid out with ISO type twist lock mounting sockets  40 . Container  83  is also illustrated. A single athwartship end cell is represented by a line labeled  98 , and a single transverse side cell is represented by a line labeled  99 . 
     Twist lock  50  is a commonly known commercially available locking bolt devise used in all branches of intermodal shipping. FIG. 4A show twist lock  50  and FIG. 4B shows deck mounting socket  40  that receives the insertion of twist lock  50 . Twist lock  50  has a rotary bolt  51  on one end or both that operates turning rotary locking bolt  51  by means of a hand operated lever  55  ninety degrees relative to a pedestal  57  which is a rigid part of the twist lock body  59  from an unlocked to a locked position. Lash to bar  30  in FIG. 5 is secured to deck  82  removably connected and locked by twist lock  50 . This elevation view indicates the contiguous relationship of twist lock  50  resting on deck  82  which is a rigid structure, and inserted and removably connected into twist lock deck socket  40  with lash to bar  30  resting on the twist lock  50  which is inserted in mounting aperture  41  in the lower planar surface of lash to bar  30  and locking bolt  51  of twist lock  50  rotated to the locked position, lash to bar  30  now being held fast to ship&#39;s deck  82 . Likewise a cargo lash to bar  34 , just as a shipping container  83 , is unlocked and released by turning hand lever  55  and returning rotary bolt  51  back in alignment with pedestal  57  to the unlocked and free position. Twist locks  50  are versatile and easy to use and come in a variety of deck and bottom base mounting configurations including ISO type base mounting socket  40  of the preferred embodiment, a breech base, and a dove tail base. On semi trailer chassis  95  shown in FIG. 20B, twist locks  50  are a part of the weldment built into the rear of chassis  95 . 
     End cell  98  cargo lash to bars  30  described above are compact and fit adjacent another lash to bar  30  or  34 , shown in FIG. 7B, and are used end to end on ship&#39;s deck  82  occupying two adjacent cells athwartship shown in FIG. 6A, or mounted adjacent fore and aft shown in FIG. 6B also occupying two end cells  98  always providing enough clearance to prevent adjacent lash to bars  30  from contacting each other. End cell cargo lash to bars  30  generally mount athwartship starboard to port on ships  80  with the deck  82  built for twist locks  50  and containers  83 . Single side cell  99  cargo lash to bar  34  shown in FIG. 6C in twenty foot length configuration is adjacent container  83  in FIG.  2 . Apertures  47  in lash to bar  35 FIG. 14A are lashing holes. Special deck cell displacement  98  and  99  lash to bars  30  or  34  are for large and unique cargo and other special configurations. 
     Lash to bar  34  gives the shipper more cargo room per square foot of deck space by allowing a tighter pack of mobile equipment cargo  84 , and cargo  88  in FIG.  2 . FIG. 7B shows the gain of deck space from closer cargo  84  proximity using lash to bars  30  and  34  contrasted with problematic traditional lashing scenario shown in FIG. 7A having D-ring twist locks  52  for lashing to deck  82 . With lash to bars  30  or  34  each lashing line  48  fastens to an individual D-ring  46  or mounting aperture  41 . 
     The preferred embodiment of lash to bar  34  in side cell mounting  99  orientation, lays fore to aft along the twenty or forty foot span of ships deck  82  between deck twist lock mounting sockets  40  in FIG.  1 . With a pair of cargo lash to bars  34  in FIG. 2 in this orientation, mobile equipment  84  is readily loaded in between a pair of cargo lash to bars  34  like driving a car into a line in a striped asphalt parking lot leaving a completely clear path of travel in between the pair of lash to bars  34 . Using lash to bars  34  as a pair also supports irregular cargo  88  on top of container  83  in FIG. 8, especially on top of a stack of containers  83  loaded in the hold of a container ship. 
     The structural steel members  60 ,  61 ,  62 , and  63  comprising lash to bars  30 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37  are fabricated using shapes of square and rectangular tubing, I, or angle steel as per customer preference and as the application dictates. The strongest lash to bars are fabricated from high tensile steel plate and formed or welded into the aforesaid shapes. T or L shaped member  62  is used above deck and does not fill up with rain water or sea water that comes over the deck  82  in rough seas. Structural member  60 , or  62  is a continuous beam or weldment of steel or other metal that is fitted with several D-rings  46 , and apertures  41 ,  47 ,  49 , and  66  or just D-rings  46  or just the aforesaid apertures on or through lash to bar  30 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 , or  37 . Lash to bar  34  is fabricated from a continuous member of square structural steel tubing  60  in FIG. 6C, and indexed apertures  41  are cut into the aforesaid tube. Structural member  63  of a lash to bar  36  in FIG. 12 is a weldment comprised of a length of I beam oriented longitudinally along the elongated longitudinal axis of the lash to bar  36  and a section of structural tubing  77  from which the apertures  41  are cut out of the top and bottom forming an end fitting, that is welded perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of lash to bar  36 . The same procedure using a rectangular tubing member  61  longitudinally along the axis of the lash to bar  30 , is welded to commercially available container corner castings  78 , which are end fittings, shown welded to lash to bar  30  in FIG.  13 . It is foreseen that alternate materials and metals could be employed for satisfactory performance especially extrusions of odd shapes. The present invention foresees any such utilization. 
     Hand winches  43  are shown in FIG.  13  and are pivoting apertures for lashing to using web strap type lashing lines  48 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, some applications of cargo lash to bar  30  desire tight removable connection between the ship deck  82  and lash to bar  30  that minimize the clearances inherent to the loose dimensional tolerances of twist lock  50  between lash to bar  30  and deck  82  a device is employed for this purpose in FIG.  16 . The bottom of cargo lash to bar  30  is equipped with optional load transfer brace  76  in FIG. 16 which partially encapsulates twist lock  50  to restrain and inhibit rocking of lash to bar  30 , transferring the imposed load into deck  82  rather than a rocking and reversing load on the iron twist lock center pin. FIG. 16 shows a bottom perspective view of lash to bar  30  with load transfer brace  76  installed. Load transfer brace  76  is a collar that is welded to end piece  77  which is a part of the weldment of structural member  60 . This collar is a simple stand and is usually fabricated of 1¼″ plate or flat bar which is permanently attached. FIG. 6C shows cargo lash to bar  30  equipped with support brace  76  installed, removably connected by means of twist lock  50  to ship&#39;s deck  82  wherein load transfer brace  76  impedes rocking action of lash to bar  30  while providing adequate clearance for the use of twist lock  50  and provides room for the locking and releasing hand lever  55  tightening means to function. 
     Use of the preferred embodiment in the trucking side of the intermodal shipping industry is shown in FIG. 20A where lash to bar  34  is carried on top of container  83  to a customer&#39;s destination, then mounted to container chassis  95  so that truck  94  and bare chassis  95  can be used for back haul loads further expanding the economic potential for truck  94 , truck driver, and trailer chassis  95  and makes semi trailer  95  available to valuable back haul loads of irregular shaped cargo  88  shown in FIG.  20 B. Lash to bar  34  is removably connected to chassis  95  at the front on holding pins  67  into load bearing holes  66  and at the rear by means of chassis mounted twist lock  50  on the bottom planar surface of lash to bar  34 . Aboard ship  80  cargo lash to bar  30  is shown under the end of containers  83  in FIG. 23 where containers  83  are held in place by stacking cones  58 , twist locks  50  and restrained and secured with lashings  48  from the bottom of each container  83  in an X pattern for secure lashing resulting in the reclamation of deck space for hauling more containers  83 , mobile equipment  84 , or cargo  88  as compared to the older lashing schemes. 
     An alternate use of the preferred embodiment is to use the lash to bar  30  as a shoring beam in FIGS. 17 and 18, and stacked one on top of another in FIG. 17 near the area of the sloping side of a ship, or stacked in this configuration for compact storage. 
     What is mentioned for lash to bars  30  and  34  is not intended to be exclusive and may be applicable to alternate forms of the preferred embodiments  34 ,  35 ,  36 , and  37 . 
     The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.

Technology Category: 7