Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CARGO CONTAIMMENT STRAP
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cargo
restraining strap.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are presently available a host of
different types of restraining straps used to restrain
cargo during transport of the cargo. One of the most
common types of restraining strap is one that is
stretchable to accommodate different cargo sizes. The
problem with a stretchable cargo strap is that it generally
has too much give and therefore does not provide sufficient
restraint. Another type of cargo strap is one which
includes a buckle or some other similar type of fastening
means at one end of the strap. This type of securing strap
can be awkward to apply and has very little capacity to
accommodate different sizes of cargo.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a cargo
restraining strap which overcomes the difficulties
encountered in prior art restraining straps as described
above.
More particularly, the present invention
provides an elongated cargo restraining strap which is thin
and of a uniform or at least substantially uniform width
over the entire length of the strap. The strap has inside
and outside surfaces, both of which are provided with
VELCRO securing components such that the strap, when
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wrapped around a cargo, secures back on to itself. The
strap includes hook means at one end for securing to while
wrapping around the cargo. The strap is made from a
flexible non-stretchable material thereby providing an
unyielding restraint on the cargo.
The hook means, in combination with the thin,
relatively lightweight of the strap, make it very easy to
apply the strap to the cargo. The VELCRO securing
components are each of an extended length along the body of
the strap thereby making the strap fittable to different
sizes of cargo.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above as well as other advantages and
features of the present invention will be described in
greater detail according to the preferred embodiments of
the present invention in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view o~ a cargo being
fitted with a cargo restraining strap according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure la is a perspectivew view of an
individual carton from the cargo of Figure l;
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of one
end of the cargo restraining strap shown in Figure l;
Figure 3 is a perspective view in sections of
the cargo restraining strap o Figure l;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of one end of an
alternate hook means for a cargo restraining strap
accordlng to a further preferred embodiment of the present
nventlon;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a cargo
restraining system including both a cargo restraining strap
and vertical support members according to still a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
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Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the
vertical support members from the cargo restraining system
of Figure 5.
DETAILED DE~CRIPTTON OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Figure 1 shows a cargo load generally indicated
at C. This cargo load is formed by a plurality of cartons
C1 best seen in Figure la. These cartons include handle
openings H and have small downwardly extneding legs L which
provide and interlock between cartons when they are stacked
atop a pallet as shown. A wrap around strap generally
indicated at 1 is used to hold or restrain the cargo on the
pallet.
The details of the cargo restraining strap 1 are
best shown having reference to Figure 3 of the drawings.
In Figure 3, the strap is broken for drawing purposes and
the figure does not show full length of the strap. The
strap should be long enough to wrap around a cargo on a
standard sized pallet with overlap to the strap. Although
there is no limitation as to the length of the strap, a
typical strap length would be in the order of 15 to 20
feet. Obviously, other strap lengths could be used.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention,
the strap is made from flexible plastic e.g., nylon strands
woven to form a flexible substantially non-stretchable
belt-like structure. For ease of handling, the belt will
have a typical width of anywhere from 1 to 3 inches,
preferably in the order of about 2 inches. Generally
speaking, anything narrower than one inch provides
excessive pressure points which could damage the cargo and
anything greater than 3 inches makes the belt quite
unwieldly. Eor both handling and manufacturing purposes,
the belt is uniform or at least substantially uniform in
width over its entire length.
Belt or strap 1 is provided to both its inner
and outer surfaces with extended length VE~ICRO securing
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regions, namely regions 5 and 7 as shown in Figure 3.
Again, according to a preferred embodiment, each of the
VELCRO strips 5 and 7 extend from 2 to 3 feet along the
length of the strap.
Hook means is provided to one end of the strap.
This hook means is used to hold the strap while wrapping
around the cargo. The hook means is not designed to
provide penetration into the cargo but rather is simply a
locator which holds the one end of the strap in a fixed
position while tension is placed on the strap as it is
being wrapped around the cargo.
In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 through 3, a
hook member 9 is fitted at the end of the strap. This hook
member includes a base loop 11 and a U-shaped hook portion
13. ThiS particular hook as best seen in F~igure 2 of the
drawing has a small diameter relatively sharp end which can
be used for example, in hooking to plastic containers or
the like which are formed with openings or recesses into
which the hook fits without damaging the container. With
the hook fitted to the container opening H as shown in
Figure 1, the main body 3 of the strap is wrapped around
the overall cargo with the hook holding the one end of the
strap to the cargo. The strap as shown in Figure 1 is of
sufficient length to fully encircle the cargo and is then
secured back onto itself by means of the VELCRO securing
components 5 and 7 provided on the opposite sides and
towards opposite ends of the strap. Since each of the
VELCRO securing regions is of an extended length, the exact
position to which the strap wraps upon itself is not
critical, i.e., the extended length of the VELCRO securin~
regions provides a tolerance or allowance as to the
location that the strap needs to wrap back upon itself. It
should be noted that the hook, although not needing to be
completely flat, is sufficiently flat or small that it does
not interfere with the strap as it wraps outwardly around
the hook.
Figure 1 shows a particularly good setup for the
containment of milk cartons having a construction as shown
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in Figures 1 and 2. these cartons are usually stacked five
high and three across. The strap hook is fitted in the
handle of the middle carton, second row from the top. this
row interlocks with the carton rows above and below. the
weight of these three rows interlocked with one another
bears down on the interlocked rows of cartons below so that
the entire load is effectively stabilized on the pallet.
As will be appreciated this is only a preferred
setup and other positions of the strap on the cargo can
also be used.
The woven plastic or nylon construction of the
strap has very little if any give and therefore provides an
extremely tight non-yielding restraint around the cargo.
Eurthermore, the VELCRO securing components 5 and 7 have
more than sufficient securing capacity to eliminate any
slippage between the two components along the length of the
belt. To further add to the security provided by the belt
is the fact that the VELCRO components adhere to one
another over an extended length rather than at a single
point location. The VELCRO components can of course be
easily released from one another by pulling outwardly on
the overlapped belt end which is much more separable in
this direction than it is in the shear direction along the
line of the belt.
Figure 2 shows a further preferred feature of
the present invention in which the hook end of the belt or
strap is formed with a releasably secured belt end portion
which is generally indicated at 15. This belt end portion
includes VELCRO securing components 19 and 17 on the same
side of the belt and spaced from one another by a small gap
18. The belt end is fitted through the loop-like base 11
of hook 9 and reverses upon itself so that the two VELCRO
components 19 and 17 are secured to one another. The loop
or base of the hook through which the strap passes before
it loops upon itself is trapped at the strap area 18
between the secured VELCRO component 17 and 19.
Figure 4 shows the strap being fitted with a
different type of hook 9a. This hook is in the form of a
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plate-like structure having first and second flat legs lla
and 13a bent at 90 relative to one another. Leg lla
includes a strap receiving opening through which the end of
the strap is looped and secured back on itself as shown in
Eigure 4 of the drawings. As will be appreciated from the
releasably secured nature of the strap end, hooks 9 and 9a
are easily interchangeable with one another. Hook 9a is
used when the strap is fitted to, for example, cardboard
boxes or the like, where the leg 13a of the hook can be
located between two of the boxes as shown in Figure 5 of
the drawings. The cardboard is sufficiently rough to hold
the hook in position without sliding down between the boxes
while the strap is wrapped under tension around the cargo.
Hook 9a is not, however, generally acceptable for use on
plastic cartons or the like because these have such a low
coefficient of friction that they generally will not hold a
plate-like hook against slipping down along the side of a
plastic container. The plate-like hook 9a, on the other
hand, is much better suited for use with cardboard boxes or
the like because it does not have a sharp end which could
penetrate and damage a cardboard box.
Figure 5 shows a cargo load generally indicated
at C1 again seated atop a standard pallet. The difference
between this and the load C shown in Figure 1 is that in
the Figure 5 set up, boxes B1 are short and each box
therefore does not extend the entire height of the cargo.
Accordingly, one strap wrapped around the cargo might not
positively secure all of the boxes over the entire height
of the cargo. Therefore, four vertical support members
generally indicated at 21 are used in combination with
cargo support strap 1. Each of these vertical support
members is in the form of a bracket comprising first and
second legs 23 set at right angles to one another and
fitted with a top or end cap 27. The bottom end 29 of the
support member is open between the two legs 23 and 25.
As will be seen in Figure 5, the four support
members 21 are located at the four corners of the cargo
where the end caps 27 sit atop the upper four corner boxes.
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The restraining strap 1 is then wrapped around the four
vertical support members which in turn hold all of the
vertically stacked boxes in a restrained position. The
boxes in the centre of the pallet which are not directly
contacted by the vertical support member are held in
position simply by the pressure applied by the boxes around
them.
It will now be seen how a cargo restraining
strap and a combination cargo restraining strap and
vertical support member arrangement of the present
invention is quickly and easily used for restraining
different types of cargos. The strap, although being
simple in design, is extremely efficient in its use.
Although various preEerred embodiments of the
preSent invention have been described herein in detail, it
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that
variations ~ay be made thereto without departing from the
spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended
claims.
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