WO1993009006A1

WO1993009006A1 - Cargo container securing device

Info

Publication number: WO1993009006A1
Application number: PCT/GB1992/001994
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kenneth Reynard
Original assignee: Kenneth Reynard
Priority date: 1991-10-30
Filing date: 1992-10-30
Publication date: 1993-05-13
Also published as: GB2277122B; GB9123019D0; GB9407328D0; DE4293752T1; GB2277122A; ZA928388B; AU2806592A

Abstract

A cargo container securing device for securing the container to a support chassis, such as a trailer chassis, or for securing auxiliary equipment to the container, in which the securing device comprises a clamping device (10) to be mounted at a suitable anchor point on the chassis, and a recessed fitting (11) securable to the container e.g. as a corner fitting, with the fitting (11) having an entrance to a recessed interior (15) which receives a clamping portion of the clamping device (10) and also has a seating (18) forming a clamping face engageable with the clamping device, in which the clamping device (10) comprises: a mounting body (12), an actuator pin (13) rotatably mounted on the body (12), a spigot (14) mounted on the body (12) and arranged to be received by the entrance to the fitting (11), a clamping head (17) mounted on the actuator pin (13) and receivable by the recess (15) in the fitting and rotatable between an entry position in which it can pass through the entrance to the interior (15) of the fitting (11) and a clamping position in which it is engageable with the seating (18), a cam arrangement (47) operative to move the clamping head (17) relative to the body (12) in a direction parallel to the axis of the pin (13) upon rotation of the actuator pin in order to clamp the fitting (11) to the body (12), and a resilient element (19) arranged to bias the clamping head (17) in a direction towards the seating (17) and thereby assist the clamping action between clamping device (10) and fitting (11) when the head (17) is rotated to the clamping position.

Description

CARGO CONTAINER SECURING DEVICE

This invention relates to a cargo container securing device for securing the container to a support chassis, or for securing auxiliary equipment to the container, such as an unloading chute or a demountable refrigeration unit.

One known type of cargo container securing device is known as a twistlock securing device, and is used to secure a marine cargo container to a support chassis of a road vehicle e.g. a trailer, or of a rail waggon and the like. The container usually has corner fittings in the form of castings which receive an engaging part of the securing device (which is carried by the chassis) and which is rotated in order to draw the fitting into rigid clamping engagement with the chassis. Typically, a twistlock securing device comprises a body which is anchored to the chassis at a suitable anchor point, and which has a projecting spigot which is received in an entrance aperture to the respective corner fitting of the container. A shaped pin e.g.. a T or L shaped pin projects from the body and is rotated to engage within the corner fitting and thereby clamp the corner fitting to the chassis.

There is usually a clearance between the underside of the pin and an inner face or seating of the corner fitting to allow easy rotation of the securing device. However, if this clearance is not required, the pin is threaded and a nut is provided to produce a clamping arrangement.

However, existing designs of twistlock securing device are expensive to manufacture and difficult to maintain, and the invention therefore seeks to provide an improved design of cargo container securing device which is easy to operate and reliable in service.

According to the invention there is provided a cargo container securing device for securing the container to a support chassis, or for securing auxiliary equipment to the container, said securing device comprising a clamping device to be mounted on a first of the parts to be clamped together, and a recessed fitting securable to a second of the parts to be clamped together and having an entrance to the recessed interior of the fitting to receive the clamping device and also having a seating forming a clamping face engageable with the clamping device, and in which the clamping device comprises: a mounting body; an actuator pin rotatably mounted on or in the mounting body; a spigot mounted on the body and arranged to be received by the entrance to the fitting; a clamping head mounted on the actuator pin and receivable by the recess in the fitting, said clamping head being rotatable by the actuator pin between an entry position in which it can pass through the entrance to the interior of the fitting and a clamping position in which it is engageable with the seating in the fitting; a cam arrangement operative to move the clamping head relative to the body in a direction parallel to the axis of the pin upon rotation of the actuator pin; and, a resilient element arranged to bias the clamping head in a direction towards the seating and thereby assist the clamping force between the clamping head and the seating when the clamping head is in the clamping position.

Thus, a securing device according to the invention is readily able to take—up any clearance which may exist between the clamping head and the seating, by means of the resilient element, and in which the resilient element is also able to apply a clamping force to the clamping head in a direction towards the seating as the head is rotated to its clamping position. This makes the clamping together of the two parts e.g. a corner fitting of a container to a clamping device anchored to a trailer chassis more reliable and resistant to vibration.

The cam arrangement may comprise an inclined cam face on the underside of the clamping head, and which makes engagement with a plane seating, and which tends to move the clamping head and the actuator pin in a direction away from the seating thereby further compressing the resilient element which increases the clamping force. The tendency for the clamping head and the actuator pin to move in this direction actually results in the fitting and an anchor point on which the securing device is mounted to move rigidly into clamping engagement with each other.

It is not essential to provide a cam face on the clamping head, and other cam arrangements are possible, such as an arrangement of a plane engaging face on the underside of the clamping head to engage the seating, in which case the cam arrangement may comprise a cam face mounted on the actuator pin and operative to move the actuator pin axially relative to the body upon rotation of the pin, and thereby to move the clamping head axially relative to the body so that the fitting is moved into rigid clamping engagement with a part e.g. a support chassis on which the securing device is mounted.

In a preferred application of the invention, the securing device is used to hold down a corner fitting of a cargo container to a support chassis, such as a trailer chassis, in which case the corner fitting can be of any one of standard constructions. The securing device is mounted at a suitable anchor point on the chassis, and the clamping head is presented to the entrance to the corner fitting and moved into the interior of the fitting, and is then rotated in order to complete the clamping operation, which draws the corner fitting and the chassis rigidly together.

The spigot which is provided on the body and which is received within the entrance to the fitting is preferably of reduced length, so as to be shorter in length than the wall thickness of the corner fitting i.e. the depth of the entrance into which it fits. Preferably, the clamping head is formed on one end of the actuator pin, and its leading edge may be formed with a sloping face forming a cam face to make sliding contact with the seating provided within the corner fitting.

The resilient element provided in the securing device according to the invention may take any suitable form, such as a compression spring, although a preferred and simple arrangement comprises an annulus of resilient material which surrounds the actuator pin and which is provided between the body and the pin so as to be compressed against the body as . the actuator pin is rotated to the clamping position of the clamping head, thereby providing an increased clamping pressure.

To facilitate manual operation of the actuator pin, preferably an operating handle is connected to the actuator pin and projects laterally therefrom, to permit ready pivoting movement of the actuator pin between the entry and clamping positions of the clamping head. The operating handle may cooperate with any suitable latching arrangement to hold it in operating and retracted positions.

Preferred embodiments of cargo container securing device according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of a first embodiment of securing device, being used to hold down a cast corner fitting of a cargo container to an anchor point of an underlying support chassis;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Figure i;

Figure 3 is a perspective illustration of a. second embodiment of securing device;

Figure 4 is a front view of the device shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side view of the device shown in Figure

3;

Figure 6 is a side view of a third embodiment of securing device in an unlocked position ready to be presented to the entrance of a cargo container corner fitting;

Figure 7 is a view, similar to Figure 6, showing the device in the locked position within corner fitting; and,

Figure 8 is a detailed view of an alternative arrangement of actuator handle for use with any of the embodiments of securing device.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, there will be described a first preferred embodiment of cargo container securing device for securing the container to a support chassis, or for securing auxiliary equipment to the container such as an unloading chute or demountable refrigeration unit.

The cargo container is not shown in the drawings in detail, but may be any standard design of container, and which is provided with one or more corner fittings which are castings formed with recesses having entrances which allow an engaging portion of a securing device to be entered and then rotated into clamping engagement with a seating provided within the fitting.

-- In Figure 1, a typical corner fitting 11 is shown in dotted outline, and this can be of standard design. These fittings are usually provided at the corners of the container, although evidently can be located at any required positions along the base or sides of the container, and which will be lined-up with suitable anchorage points on the support chassis to which the fittings can be rigidly clamped by use of a securing device according to the invention.

The embodiment of securing device shown in Figures 1 and 2 is designated generally by reference 10 and which comprises a mounting body 12 which is mounted at any required anchor points on the support chassis (not shown in Figure 1 , but shown schematically by reference 26 in Figure 7) and which has an actuator pin 13 rotatably mounted thereon. A spigot 14 is mounted on the body 12 and is arranged to be received by an entrance to the interior 15 of the corner fitting 11. It will be noted from Figure 1 that the height of the spigot 14 is slightly less than the depth 16 of the entrance to the fitting 11. A clamping head 17 is mounted on the actuator pin 13 and is received by recess 15 of fitting 11 , the clamping head 17 being rotatable by the actuator pin 13 between an entry position shown in Figure 1, in which it can pass through the entrance to the interior 15 of the fitting, and a clamping position which is shown in Figure 2 in which it is engageable with a seating 18 forming a clamping face of the fitting 11.

A cam arrangement is provided which is operative to move the clamping head 17 relative to the body 12 in a direction parallel to the axis of the actuator pin 13 upon rotation of the actuator pin, thereby to clamp or unclamp the securing device. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cam arrangement comprises an inclined cam face 47 formed on the underside of the clamping head 17, and which makes sliding engagement with a plane clamping face of seating 18 and which tends to move the head 17 and actuator pin 13 in a direction away from the seating 18 which thereby moves the corner fitting 11 downwardly into clamping engagement with the body 12 of the securing device, and thereby to clamp the fitting to the anchor point on the chassis.

However, it is not essential to provide the cam arrangement on the clamping head, and an alternative arrangement is shown in Figures 6 and 7, which will be described in more detail below, in which a cam face is mounted on the actuator pin and is operative to move the actuator pin axially relative to the body, upon rotation of the pin, and thereby to move the clamping head axially towards the seating, and to rigidly clamp the underside of the corner fitting 11 to the body of the securing device.

Returning now to the description of the first embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, a resilient element is arranged to bias the clamping head 17 towards the seating 18 and thereby assist the clamping force between them when the head is in the clamping position shown in Figure 2. The resilient element may comprise a compression spring, but in the illustrated embodiment comprises an annulus 19 of resilient material which is mounted on the actuator pin 13, and is located between a thrust plate 20 and a top flange 21 of body 12, and which exerts downward biasing force on the actuator pin 13 and clamping head 17. The resilient element therefore enables any clearance readily to be taken up, and as it is compressed while the clamping head 17 is rotated, it causes exertion of an increased clamping force between the underside of the clamping head 17 and the seating 18, thereby forming a rigid coupling of the fitting 11 to the body 12 of the device 10.

To facilitate the actuation of the pin 13, a handle 22 is coupled with the actuator pin 13, and can be readily manipulated in order to rotate the clamping head 17 between the entry position and the clamping position.

There has been described above the securement of corner fitting 11 to an anchor point on a trailer chassis, but evidently the device 10 and a cooperating recessed fitting may be mounted on respective first and second parts which are to be joined together in other situations with regard to cargo containers. For example, they may be used in order to attach auxiliary equipment to cargo containers, such as unloading chutes and demountable refrigeration units.

Referring now to Figures 3 to 5, this shows a further embodiment, and parts corresponding with those already described are given the same reference numerals, but with the addition of the letter a. This shows a robust body 12a which will be mounted on the chassis at a suitable anchor point, and clamping head 17a will be rotated into clamping engagement with a plane seating in a corner fitting, by engagement with sloping cam face 47a. The corner fitting is not shown in Figures 3 to 5, but will be generally similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring now to Figures 6 and 7, and as referred to briefly above, this shows an alternative cam arrangement, and parts corresponding with those already described are given the same reference numerals as in Figures 1 and 2, but with the addition of the letter b. In this embodiment, the clamping head is designated by reference 23, and has a plane seating face which engages planar seating 18b, but in this embodiment the clamping together of the two parts is achieved by a pair of coacting cam faces 24 and 25 which occupy an -8- unlocked position shown in Figure 6, and a locked position shown in Figure 7 in which the actuator pin 13b and clamping head 23 are moved downwardly relative to body 12b in order to clamp the corner fitting 11b rigidly with the body 12b of the securing device 10b. Figure 7 shows schematically the attachment of the securing device 10b to part of a chassis structure 26.

Finally, referring to Figure 8, this shows an alternative arrangement of actuator handle 27 which is pivotally connected to the lower end of an actuator pin 28 via an over-centre turnbuckle 29. Figure 8 is a detail view only, and the upper end of actuator pin 28 and associated clamping head are omitted, but can be as shown in any of the previous embodiments. Resiliently deformable element 30 acts between thrust plate 31 and a lower plate 32 of the body of the device in order to exert the required downward biasing force on the clamping head.

Claims

1. A cargo container securing device for securing the container to a support chassis, or for securing auxiliary equipment to the container, said securing device comprising a clamping device (10) to be mounted on a first of the parts to be clamped together, and a recessed fitting (11) securable to a second of the parts to be clamped together and having an entrance to the recessed interior (15) of the fitting (11) to receive the clamping device (10) and also having a seating (18) forming a clamping face engageable with the clamping device (10) and in which the clamping device comprises: a mounting body (12); an actuator pin (13) rotatably mounted on or in the mounting body (12); a spigot (14) mounted on the body (12) and arranged to be received by the entrance to the fitting (11); a clamping head (17) mounted on the actuator pin (13) and receivable by the recess (15) in the fitting (11), said clamping head (17) being rotatable by the actuator pin (13) between an entry position in which it can pass through the entrance to the interior (15) of the fitting (11) and a clamping position in which it is engageable with the seating (18) in the fitting (11); a cam arrangement (47) operative to move the clamping head (17) relative to the body (12) in a direction parallel to the axis of the pin (13) upon rotation of the actuator pin; and, a resilient element (19) arranged to bias the clamping head (17) in a direction towards the seating (18) and thereby assist the clamping action between the fitting (11) and the securing device (10) when the head (17) is in the clamping position.

2. A cargo container securing device according to Claim 1, in which the resilient element (19) comprises an annulus (19) of resiliently deformable material mounted on the actuator pin (13).

3. A cargo container securing device according to Claim 2, in which the annulus (19) is located between a thrust plate (20) and a fixed portion (21) of the body (12).

4. A cargo container securing device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, including an actuator handle (22) coupled with the actuator pin (13), and operative to pivot the latter between the entry position and the clamping position of the clamping head (17).

5. A cargo container according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the cam arrangement comprises an inclined cam face (47) on the underside of the clamping head (17), and which is engageable with the plane face of seating (18) of the fitting (11).

6. A cargo container according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the cam arrangement comprises cooperating cam faces (24, 25) mounted on the actuator pin (13b).

7. A cargo container according to Claim 6, in which the underside of the clamping head (23) is plane to engage with seating (18b) of the fitting (11b).

8. A cargo container according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, in which the spigot (14) is shorter in length than the depth of the entrance (16) to the interior (15) of the recess in fitting (11 .