Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: DRUM RESTRAINING DEVI~E
INVENTORS: James Van Gompel and Jerry A. Hall
Specification
! Background of the Invention
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This invention relates to a cargo restraining device and,
in particular~ to a device for storing and restraining barrel-
shaped containers such as drums, to prevent damage during trans-
portation thereof.
Prior Art
In order to prevent damage during transport to containers
for explosive or hazardous materials, such as barrel-shaped con-
tainers or drums containing corrosive, volatile, or explosive
liquids, such containers have in the past been braced to prevent
movement of same. Where such containers ara transported via
railroad flat cars or truck trailers, procedures for installing
such bracing commonly involve the use of one or more bulkhead
boards which wedge t~e containers -- with the assistance of ten~
sioned steel strapping. Such procedures, however, are ~ery
~ime-consuming and costly to implement. Irrespective of such
laborious efforts, movement of the load tends to accur, and i
damage ensues, leakage o~ the hazardous liquid contents can lead
,to disasterous results.
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In United States Patent No. 4,317,645 dated March 2,
1982 in the name of a co-inventor herein, James Van Gompel,
which patent is commonly assigned witll the present application,
a device for restraining a cargo load has been described,
which includes anelongated floor contacting member provided
with an upwardly facing load bearing surface, and a generally
upright member secured to the floor contacting member in
spaced relation from the forward end of the floor contacting
member, for engaging with the cargo load. A floor pierc:ing
element is movably mounted on the floor contacting member
adjacent to the rearward end thereo, and is normally dis-
posed to pierce the floor when the floor contacting member
is under load, to restrain movement of the load during
transport,
Patent No. 1,142,088 in the name of Greene, dated June
8, 1915, describes a load supporting xack specifically designe~
for use with hand trucks and having an open frame base and
e.nd wall with diagonal braces joining the lower end of ~he
e:nd wall to the base.
Patent ~o. 1,559,827 in the name of Wittman, dated
November 3, 192S, descri~es a freight anti-creeping device
including a metal plate for supporting cargo, cleats on the
lower surface of the plate or yripping the floor, and a
projection or lug on the other surface to which the cargo
is secured.
Patent No~ 1,638,612 in ~e name of Baus, dated August
9, 1927, describes a cargo shipping device in which the
car~o is braced on a pla~orm and rigidly held in position.
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Patent No. 2,420,640 in the name of Acheson, dated
May 20, 1947, describes a demountable pallet crib ~or
storing and handling pallets. Essentially, the pallets
are enclosed in a frame which is assembled about the pallets.
Between each end frame and an adjacent cheek frame inter
locking means are provided so that the crib frame can neithex
bulge at the corners, nor collapse when heavily loaded.
Patent No. 4,014,435, in the name of Rawley et al,
dated March 29, 1977, describes a collapsible rack for glass
sheets, which has a base dekachably secured to a pair o~ L-
shaped supports, while a pair of struts is detachably secur~d
to ~ertical portions of the L-shaped supports to support the
articles in a vertical position. Banding is provided to
unitize the glass sheets and the L-shaped supports to provide
a stabilized rack.
None of the foregoing references provide a satisfactory
solution to the problem of preventing damage during shipment
to barrel-shaped containers or drums containin~ ha~ardous or
explosive materials.
Sum_ary of the Invention
In accordance with the present invention, a cargo
restraining device suitable for restraining barrel-shaped
containers or drums is provided, which includes a platform
at least the load-bearing part of which is flat, and which
is spaced from the underlying supporti~ surface or floor,
by horizontal supporting members which extend the length
of at least the flat portion of the platform, so as to
provide a raised deck for the containers. At one end o
the platorm, an upright or vertical frame is connec~ed
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to the supporting member~, to resstrain the containers from fall- ¦
ing from the platform. The other end of the platform can be
rounded over to define a snub-nose; or alternatively the other
ends of the horizontal supporting members can project beyond the
flat portion of the platform and be rounded into snub-nosed por-
tions. In consequence, should the drums shift or move, wh~reby
damage might ordinarily occur, the chimes or rims of the drums
tend to flow around the snub-nose tor snub-noses if defined at
the supporting members) without any significant damaye. Thus, I
the containers, instead of falling off when moved, gently slide
about and of:E the snub-nosed portion or portions; and no abrupt
discontinuous edges are encountered.
At both ends of at 1east the outermost of the horizontal
support members, floor piercing member~ are provided, which are
normally oriented to the floor piercing position, and ~irmly hold
the platform in place. .
In a further a~pect of the inventionr a strap may ~e placQd
around the.container~, and s~cured~a~ the~ends to the uprlgh~
frame, to further restrain movem~nt of the drums on the platform~
In the preferred mode o~ use of the present deYice, a plu~-
ality o~ drums may be verticalIy loa~ed into a truck trail~, box
. car, or the like, with the fir t loaded row being placed against
the front wall of the trailer. Plywood partition~ or the like
can be placed between ~ome or all o~ the successiYe roW~ to space
the rows and limit row-to-xow dxum ~ontact~ At the b~k end o~
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the trailer, one ~r more of the present drum restraining device~
are loaded with drums, and the resultant assembly or assemblies
positioned against the plywood sheet opposed to the last row of
drums. The devices are held in place by the floor-piercing mem-
bers gripping the floor. The containers are securely held, yet
some movement is permitted; and in the unlikely event of pro-
nounced movement, as when a strap breaXs, the containers can
gently slide over or "flow" about the rounded snub-nosed end or
ends of the restraining device without any serious damage to the
said containers.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to pro-
vide a cargo restraining deYice for the transport of barrel~shaped
containers, which requires no bracing, and which is otherwise
highly effective in use and easily installed~
It is a further object of the invention, to provide a cargo
estraining device for the transport of barrel-shaped containers, I
ich allows limited mov~ment of the contalners to occur without J
~onsequent damage to same.
A still fur-ther obejct of the invention is to provide a
~argo restraining device for the transport o~ drums containing
~azardous or explosive material3, which is easy to load and pre- 5
vents damage to the drum6 during transport.
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Another object of the invention is to provide a cargo re-
straining device for the transport of drums containing hazardous
or explosive materials, which requires no associated braces or
enclosures.
A further object of the invention is to provide a cargo re-
straininy device for the transport of drums containing hazardous
or explosive materials, which is easily transported, and readily
placed for further transport in a vehicle.
These and further objects and advantages of this invention
will appear from the description of the preferred embodiments,
which are exemplary only, the invention both in its parkiculars
and overall concept being defined in the claims ~ollowing thi
specification
~rief Description of the Drawin~ I
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In tha drawings~
FIGURE 1 i~ a sectional elevational view of a loaded truck
trailer showing a-drum restraining ~evice-in accordance with the
present invention in use; part o~ the drawing is schematic in
. nature;
FIGURE lA is a top plan view of the truck trailer o~ ~igure
l;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a drum restraining devi~e 1.
in accordance with the pres~nt invention;
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FIGURE 2A is a perspective view of a further embod.iment of
a drum restraining device in accordance with the present inven-
tion;
FIGURE 3 iq a view generally similar to that o~ Figure 2,
showing drums in place on the drum restraining device;
FIGURE 4 is a side ele~ational view o the drums held in
place on the drum restraining device, as shown in Figure 3, but
with the restraining strap in place;
FIGURE 5 is a detail view with parts ~roken away, o the
floor piercing element in Figure 4; the phantom lines shows the
toothed pivotal member in its retracted position relative to th~
floor; and
FIGURE 6 is a ~etail view taken generally along the li~e
6-6 of Figure 5.
Detailed Descr~tion of the Preferred Embodiments
Referring to the drawing~, the drum retaining devic~ 10 shown
i~ Figures 2 and 3 has a deck or platform 12 on whi ch drums 14
are pla~ed (Figure 3~
An upright or vertical ~rama 16 is ~oined to the rear end
of platform 12. This frame generally comprises a plorality o~
spaced posts 18 which extend upwardly frQm platform 1~ and are
-7- supported b rosa-brace members 20 and 22.
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Platform 12 i5 supported and spaced from the floor by a
plurality of horizontal stringer-like me~bers or legs 24 to
which the platform is attached. The orward ends of the legs
24, which project slightly rom platform 12, are rounded into
snub-nosed portions 26, as can be seen in Fi~ure-q 2, 3, and 4,
so that the drums, if moved, as by jarring frorn their secured
positions (packed against frame 16), can slide or "flow" about
the rounded portions 26, rather than encounter a sharp edge at
which damage could occur. The rounded portions 26 similarly
~end to protect drums not loaded on device 10 from being damaged.
The height of the legs 24, which determineæ the spacing of plat-
form 12 from the floor, is somewhat critical in that it must be
su~ficient to enable the drums to slide off the forward end of
the platform, rather than fall; and yet, should not be so large
that the drums would be damaged when they slide of. It has been
found that a heig~t of about 4 inches is preferable, which enables
the drums to slide off the rounded ends rather than Ealling o~f.
In Figure 2A, a further embodiment of the inven~ion appears.
The device lOa primarily differs from devica 10, in that instead
of including rounded portions 26 (as in Figure 1), the me~bers 24a
each terminate at forward ends 25/ and the platorm 12 is in this
instance formed into a rounded front portion 27 along its entira
fron~ edge. In this construction the rounded portion 27 is the~e-
fore continuous, and thus al l the advantageæ of the separate
rounded portions 26 are retained~ and indeed enhanced. The d~ice
lOa al30 differ3 from dev~cQ 10 in that an enlarg&d cro~8-mem~er
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29 replaces member 22 (Figure 1) to provide greater stability
and strength. In other respects dc-vice lOa is substantially
identical to device 10, and the ensuiny description may be
regarded as applicable to either embodiment.
At least the outer pair of legs 24 (i.e. the leg 24 and
24a) have at each end a floor piercing element 28 similar to
those described in aforementioned U. S. Patent No. 4,317,645.
In particular, each of the said outer supporting members are
formed as channel section members which open inwardly in
facing relation as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4. At either
end of the outer supporting members adjacent to the upright
post 18, a filler plate 28 extends across the channel to form
a box section portion 30, as best shown in Figure 6.
~ ach ~ox section portion 30 of the respective outer leg
24 supports a pair of spaced pivotal members 32 to thus pro-
vide a total of eight (8) such members on the drum restrain-
ing davice 10. The pivotal members 32 are each disposed on
the legs 24 intermediate the leg and an outer support member
34 secured to the leg 24. The member 32 is pivotally dis-
posed on a pin or bolt 36 which extends transversely throughaligned holes in the box section 30 and the outer support
members 34. An inverted, generally J~shaped bolster plate
38 is secured on each side of leg 24 between the leg and
corresponding outer support member 3~ in radial alignment
with the corresponding pivotal member 32.
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The pivotal member 32 includes an upper arcuate portion 40
which is at a given radial distance from the pivot axis and i5
rotatable relative to the bolster plate 38, and a diametrically
opposed toothed portion 42 which is at a substant.ially greater
radial distance from the pivot axis. Diametrically opposed, par-
allel portions 44 and 46 extend between the arcuate portion 40
and the toothed portion 42. Due to the generally larger size and
greater radial distance from the pivot axis, the toothed portion
42 will normally assume a downwardly disposed position as gener-
ally shown in Figure 5.
The leg 47 of the bolster plate 38 generally precludes
counter-clockwise movement of the pivotal member 32, as viewed
in Figure 5. As generally shown by ph~ntom lines in Figure ~,
pivotal member 32 is clockwise rotatable at least until the
straight portion 34 makes contact w:Lth the corner projection 4~
of the bolster plate 38. It should be understood that the piY-
otal mem~er 32 on the opposite side of the leg 24 is orientea a~
a mirror image on the pivot a~is and would ~e reversely m~vable
for a similar result.
In the normally assumed position for the pivotal member 3~,
the teeth 50 of portion 46 proj~ct downwardly ~Figure S). ~hen
subjected to the weight of the load o the drums, the teeth 50
are driven to penetrate or pierce a wood floor 52. When the drum
retainer dev~ce is seated on the floor and out of ~ervica, th~
pivotal members 32 may be caused to as~ume t~e phantom line posi-
tion of Figure S~
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With further reference to Figure 5, it wi].l be observed
that in the normally as~umed position of the pivotal members 32,
the rearwardly facing edge of the te~th 50 extends vertically or
nearly so. Under the severe demands imposed upon a loaded truck
trailer 52 mounted for piggy-back service on a railroad car as
shown in Figure 1, the trailer and its cargo of drums may be sub-
jected to impacts from the front and baek, part.icularly durin~
bumping or freight car sorting operations. Accordingly, a strap
54 is wrapped ~round the drums, the ends 56 of which are secured
to posts 18 (Figure 4) which restrain the drums from movement.
(For simplicity strap 54 is not shown in Figure 3~.
Moreover, in the case of frontal impact, the teeth 50 with
vertical or near ver~ical rearwardLy facing edges, will substan-
tially maintain position to Xeep the drums from mQVing toward
the rear -- the tee~h 5Q will thus kaep the device 10 from movin~
toward the right in Fi~ure 4. In the event of a rear impact on
the trailer/ howaver, the ~eeth 50 can more readily be diRlodged
forw~rdly to assume a new position, ~hu~, whlle some movement
of the drums on the platform is permitted, the d~ck i~ firmly
held. Should the strap breaX or not be fastened, shi~ting of
the drums rssults in their sliding over the round fvrward ends
of the leg~ 26 (or over the round~d ed~e 27 of tha platform in
Figure 2A~ without engaginy any sharp edge which could damage the
drum~.
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In the use of the drum retaining device 10, a fork lift unit
is generally used and initially seats -t~ae drums on the retaining
device Erom the front. After the drums are properly seated on
the drum retaining device 10, the device with the drums thereon
is pick~d up from the rear and moved into location. For the load-
ing illu~trated in Figures 1 and lA, a pair of retaining devices
58 and 59 loaded with drums are seated in the trailer to secure
the integrity of all drums in the orward direction between the
retaining devices and the front end 51 of the trailer 52. A~
previously mentioned, one or more plywood or other temporary
separating wall~ 53 are mounted between rows of dr~s to assure
proper spacing and minimize the possibility of damage in the
: tightly packed drums. When necessary and/or desired, r~tainers
10 may also be usQd to generally preclude lateral movement as
well.
While th~ present invention has been especially de~cribed
in terms of specific embodiment~ thereof, it will be understood
that numerous modifications will be apparent to those skilled in
the art without departing significantly from the invention~ Ac-
cordingly, the invention i8 to be broadly construed and limited
only by the following claims.
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