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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cargo handling devices and more
particularly to devices for collecting a plurality of pieces of cargo
together in unit form for transportation as a unit from one point to
another.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the increased cost of labor and increasing volume of import and
export, many efforts have been made to minimize the labor required for
loading and unloading cargo from ships and for minimizing the lay time for
a cargo ship at dock. Such efforts have led to the containerization of
cargo wherein rigid or even collapsible containers are provided at the
plant of production and into which numerous different pieces of cargo are
unloaded for transportation to the dock to await loading on board ship.
When the cargo ship is ready to be loaded, the containers are moved into
position and loaded on board the ship and such containers, together with
the cargo contained therein, transported by ship to the new destination.
There the containers are unloaded from the ship and the cargo may then be
unloaded from the containers themselves and, if return cargo is not
available, the containers themselves may be shipped back to their port of
origin for subsequent use. The cost of conventional containers of this
type has become prohibitive for shipping certain cargo articles and the
space occupied thereby during shipment in their empty condition
significantly detracts from the economic feasibility of use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The load unitizer of the present invention is characterized by a pair of
upper and lower frames incorporating parallelly spaced apart corner
retainers which engage diagonally disposed corners of polygonal cargo
articles with such frames being connected together by coupling means. The
coupling means includes a pair of coupling arms pivotally connected on
their upper extremities to one side of the upper frame and formed on their
lower extremities with first hooks. Second hooks are mounted along one
side of the lower frame in spaced apart relationship for engagement with
respective first hooks and holding means is provided for holding the hooks
in engaged relationship.
The objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent
from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bottom frame incorporated in a load
unitizer embodying the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a plurality of
cargo articles positioned on the bottom frame;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the top frame
positioned over the cargo articles;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 but partially exploded and
depicting the top and bottom frames coupled together;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the load
unitizer ready for lifting on board ship;
FIG. 6 is a partial longitudinal sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken
along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5; and
FIG. 7 is a detail view, in enlarged scale, showing connection of the
connector arms to the upper frame.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 4, the load unitizer of the present invention includes,
generally, upper and lower frames 11 and 13 formed by parallel spaced
apart angle irons defining corner retainers 15, 17, 19 and 21. The upper
and lower frames 11 and 13 have their opposite sides connected together by
means of a pair of respective coupling arms 25 and 27 which are formed on
their lower extremities with coupling hooks 29 and 31 that selectively
engage with complementary hooks 33 and 35 formed on the bottom frame 13.
Holder brackets 37 and 39 are slidably received on the connector arms 25
and 27 for sliding downwardly into engagement with the connected hooks 29,
33, 31 and 35 to hold such hooks connected together.
Thus, generally rectangularly-shaped cargo articles 41 may be stacked in a
row as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the frames 11 and 13 assembled about the
top and bottom sides thereof to engage the respective corner retainers 15,
17, 19 and 21 with the diagonally opposed corners of such articles and the
hooks 29, 33, 31 and 35 connected together to retain such articles 41 as a
unit to be lifted on board a ship or the like.
The upper frame 11 is preferably formed by angle irons defining the corner
retainers 15 and 17 and such retainers are connected together by
transverse straps 43 and 45 which are bent downwardly at their opposite
extremities to form vertically downwardly projecting connector tabs 47 and
49. Formed in the connector tabs 47 and 49 are respective
rectangularly-shaped, vertically extending slots 51 and 53. The corner
retainers 19 and 21 of the lower frame 13 are likewise connected together
by transverse straps 55 and 57 and the opposite extremities of such straps
are bent upwardly and then turned back on themselves to form the
respective coupling hooks 33 and 35.
Referring to FIG. 7, the coupling arms 25 and 27 are formed by vertically
extending straps turned back at their lower extremities to form the
coupling hooks 29 and 31 and the upper extremities of such arms are formed
with vertically extending rectangular slots 61 and 63 for alignment with
the slots 51 and 53. Still referring to FIG. 7, the coupling arms 25 and
27 are connected to the coupling tabs 47 and 49 by means of pivot locks
65. The pivot locks 65 include short shafts 67 which are formed on one end
with circular heads 69 and on their opposite ends with transversely
extending rectangularly-shaped keys 71 which may be received through the
respective aligned slots 51, 61 and 53, 63 and then rotated 90.degree. to
lock into position.
The retaining brackets 37 and 39 are in the form of generally downwardly
opening U-shaped brackets with the base of the U being formed with
respective rectangular slots 71 and 73 through which the respective arms
25 and 27 are slidably received.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, angle-shaped side bars 77 and 79 are provided
for having one leg thereof received in the vertical slot formed between
adjacent cargo articles 41 with the top and bottom marginal edges of such
angle irons being received behind the vertical legs of the respective
corner retainers 15, 17, 19 and 21, as shown in FIG. 4.
Further, corner straps, generally designated 81, 83, 85 and 87 are provided
for retaining the respective four corners of the unitized load and are
also in the form of vertically extending angle irons with one leg of the
top and bottom extremities of such straps being cut away and the remaining
legs being bent inwardly at 90.degree. and then back on themselves to form
respective upper and lower hooks 91 and 93. Thus, the corner straps 81,
83, 85 and 87 may be slid onto the opposite ends of the respective corner
retainers 15, 17, 19 and 21 with the respective hooks 91 and 93 hooked
over the horizontal legs of such retainers to be held in place.
In operation, it will be appreciated that the upper and lower frames 11 and
13 may be formed by welding the cross straps 43, 45, 55 and 57 to the
respective corner retainers 15, 17, 19 and 21. The coupling arms 25 and 27
may then be formed and quickly assembled to the top frame by the lock pins
65 for pivotal movement of such arms.
When the load unitizer is to be utilized in unitizing a load, the bottom
frame 13 may be positioned on the deck as shown in FIG. 1 and seven rows
of cargo articles 41, two columns high, such as cartons for motorcycles,
assembled thereon and the side bars 77 and 79 brought into position with
the transverse legs thereof being received within the slot formed between
adjacent articles 41 and the bottom marginal edge thereof being received
behind the vertical leg of the bottom corner retainers 19 and 21. The top
frame 11 may then be brought into position on the top of the row of
articles 41 and the corner straps 81, 83, 85 and 87 quickly brought into
position with the hooks 91 and 93 received over the horizontal legs of the
respective corner retainers 15, 17, 19 and 21. The coupling arms 25 and 27
may then be quickly coupled to the top frame 11 by means of the lock pins
65 and the arms 25 and 27 rotated downwardly to engage the hooks 29 and 31
with the respective complementary hooks 33 and 35 and the holding brackets
37 and 39 then slid downwardly over the engaged respective hooks 29, 33,
31 and 35 to hold such hooks in position.
A lifting frame, generally designated 97, may then be suspended from a
loading boom with respective hooks 99 engaged beneath the vertical legs of
the top corner retainers 15 and 17 to lift the unitized load on board ship
for storage in the hold thereof. After the ship has been entirely loaded,
it may then leave port for its destination and, upon discharge of the
cargo at that destination, the unitized load may be unloaded by a boom in
a manner similar to loading thereof.
The unitized load may be disassembled at that point or at its final
destination by merely lifting upwardly on the holding brackets 37 and 39
and pivoting the coupling arms 25 and 27 about their lock pins 65 to
disengage the coupling hooks 29, 33 and 31, 35 to free the top frame 11
for removal from the cargo articles 41. The corner straps 81, 83, 85 and
87 may be withdrawn from the ends of the corner retainers 15, 17 and 19
and the side bars 77 and 79 removed. The cargo articles 41 and then free
for separation and transportation to their respective storage areas to
thus free the bottom frame 13. The entire unitizer may then be melted down
as scrap iron or a number thereof may be collected together in a small
package for return to their original source for subsequent use in
transporting more articles 41. Further, it will be clear that such
unitizer may be utilized to transport additional cargo back to the source
of such unitizer.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that the load unitizer of the
present invention provides an economical and effective means for unitizing
cargo articles for shipment thereof and that upon discharge of the cargo
articles, the unitizer may be quickly and easily disassembled and, if
desired, shipped back to the source in a relatively small package, thus
conserving shipping space. Further, due to the relatively inexpensive
nature of such load unitizer, the unitizer itself may be scrapped, thus
rendering it a one-way container. It will be appreciated that considerable
time will be saved over the individual handling of numerous different
articles and that unitization actually conserves storage space in the ship
hold and serves to protect the articles themselves.
Various modifications and changes may be made with regard to the foregoing
detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention.
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