WO1999028148A1

WO1999028148A1 - A cargo restraint device

Info

Publication number: WO1999028148A1
Application number: PCT/NZ1998/000177
Authority: WO
Inventors: Filip Van Den Hout
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-12-02
Filing date: 1998-12-02
Publication date: 1999-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2000-06-02

Abstract

A cargo restraint device is disclosed which includes a base portion (12), a corner formed by wall elements (11) and a plurality of protrusions (14) on the underside of the base portion (12) to engage, for example, a carpeted surface. In use the device restrains an article by abutting with a corner of the article while in transit. Preferably two or more of the devices are used in conjunction with one another.

Description

A CARGO RESTRAINT DEVICE

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cargo restraint device for

restraining movement of cargo whilst in transit.

When loading articles into vehicles (ie. into a car or van

boot (trunk) ) said articles can have a tendency to slide

around when in transit if not secured in position. Methods

to secure domestic luggage and other articles in recent years

have included the use of elastic cords with hooks at either

end to wrap around the object and hold it securely in place.

These products can be awkward to use and cannot be applied to

all situations as a suitable site onto which to hook the cord

is not always present.

Make shift methods of packing equipment into a storage space

(such as wrapping blankets around articles) are commonly

employed to ensure articles do not slide around the back of a

vehicle crashing into one another and causing damage to the

equipment and the interior finish of the vehicle. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple

restraint device applicable to a wide range of vehicle

configurations which will restrain articles when in transit from moving.

In one broad aspect of the invention there is provided a

cargo restraint device including a base portion and wall

element (s), there being attachment means such that the device

can be removably attached to the floor of a storage space of

a vehicle which restrains an article when abutting said

device from sliding during transit.

Preferably two or more restraint devices are provided and are

positioned to abut each with a corner of an article in transit .

Preferably the method of removably attaching the brackets is

by way of a hooked pile surface which upon contact with a

carpeted surface of a vehicle storage space couples to the carpeted surface. According to another preferred embodiment the attachment

means comprises a plurality of pointed projections extending

from the base portion. In one preferred arrangement the

pointed projections are formed integrally with the base portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a general view of the restraint device

according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a general view of the underside of the

restraint device,

Figure 3 is a pictorial view of the restraint device in

use,

Figure 4 is a pictorial view of the restraint device

according to a second embodiment of the invention, and

Figure 5 is an underside plan view of the restraint

device as shown in Figure 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE

INVENTION

In the preferred embodiment of the restraint device according

to the invention the device is in the form of a bracket 10

comprised of two sidewalls 11 (forming a substantially 90°

angle at the abutting corner 11a) and a base portion 12.

The bracket 10 may be formed from any suitable hard wearing

and substantially rigid material. The height of the

sidewalls may vary depending on the application.

On the underside U of the substantially wedge shaped bracket

10 is located (in this preferred embodiment) an attachment or

gripping means in the form of, for example, a hooked Velcro^®

type surface 13. The purpose of the hooked surface 13 is to

couple the bracket 10 to a carpet surface such as is found in

the majority of modern domestic vehicles. The hooked surface

13 may be a separate component piece which is glued or

otherwise permanently attached to the underside U of base 12.

Alternatively, surface 13 may be integrally formed with the

bracket 10 in a moulding operation. A number of other gripping means may be employed to allow the

bracket 10 to be removably attachable to a floor surface.

Velcro^® is considered the best gripping means for this

application because it allows the bracket 10 to be constantly

repositioned on a carpeted surface without substantial damage

to the carpet .

Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings show a second embodiment of

the invention, this embodiment being distinguished from the

previously described embodiment by providing an alternative

form of gripping means . As can be more clearly seen in

Figure 5, the gripping means comprises a plurality of pointed

projections 14 which project from the underside of the base

12. Different arrays of projections 14 can be used but in

the illustrated form two lines of projections 14 generally

follow the line of the sides of the bracket 10 and the base

of a generally triangular opening 15 formed in the base 12.

As shown, there are two lines of projections which can be

aligned and/or staggered or a combination of projections

which are aligned and staggered.

In the preferred form of the invention the bracket 10 is of a

moulded plastics construction, therefore the projections 14 can be integrally moulded with the base 12. As illustrated,

the projections 14 can be of a sharp conical shape^" though

other shapes including angular or pyramidal shapes can be

employed. With the illustrated arrangement, the conical

shaped projections 14 can be of a height of between l-8mm and

a cone angle of less than 90°. The projections 14 are, however, preferably not too sharp that they can readily break

but not too blunt that gripping of the carpet, felt or the

like is ineffective. Also, it is preferable that the length

of the projections is not too long as this can result in the

bracket sitting on top of the carpet and the lack of grip can

result in the bracket rocking and thereby not providing a

stable platform or retention for the article of cargo.

Figure 3 illustrates the use of the invention where carpeted

floor C of a car boot extends toward the backrest B of a

seat. A plurality of brackets 10 may be employed to securely

restrain an article A (which in Figure 3 is a suitcase) .

In this example the backrest B of the seat is used as a wall

to abut suitcase A against. Brackets 10 are then placed at

the front corners of a suitcase A and then firmly pressed against and grip onto carpet C by virtue of the underside

hooked surface (not seen in Figure 3) .

The weight of the suitcase A ensures the hooks of Velcro^® surface 13 remain embedded in carpet C.

As can be seen in Figure 3 the suitcase A is effectively

restrained from all lateral movement in a simple manner by

brackets 10. Brackets 10 may then be removed and

repositioned as necessary for use with different sized articles.

A wedge shaped corner bracket 10 is applicable to most common

uses of the invention (because luggage, cartons etc are

usually square) , however, other shapes may be utilised for

more specialised applications . Curved or other angles of

walls 11 may be formed dependant on these applications.

A wedge in the form of bracket 10 can be used for any size of

article because generally only the corners will be held down

by a gripping means. Further brackets may be supplied with a

simple L-shaped cross section for stabilising the sides of an article, still utilising a Velcro^® or like underside as

previously described to grip to the floor surface.

Extra strapping may be employed for particularly rough trips

to prevent articles bouncing out of brackets 10 (or use

higher walls 11) . Generally the bracket as illustrated will

be sufficient for domestic and even commercial use.

The transport bracket according to the present invention thus

provides a simple versatile construction which can be applied

to most common vehicle types and will restrain articles while

in transit.

Claims

1. A cargo restraint device including a base portion (12)

and wall element (s) (11), there being attachment means

(13) such that the device can be removably attached to

the floor (C) of a storage space of a vehicle which

restrains an article when abutting said device from

sliding during transit.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the attachment means (13)

includes a hook pile surface which upon contact with a

carpeted floor of the storage space couples to the

carpeted surface.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the attachment means (13)

includes a plurality of pointed projections (14)

extending from the base portion (12) .

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the pointed projections

(14) are formed integrally with the base portion (12) .

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the base portion (12) is

triangular with two wall elements (11) extending

therefrom.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the attachment means (13)

is located on the opposite side of the base portion (12)

to that which the wall elements (11) extend.

7. The device of claim 5 or 6 wherein the two wall elements

(11) form substantially a 90° at an abutting corner.

8. The device of claim 3 wherein two lines of projections

(14) are formed with generally conform to the shape of

the base portion (12) .

9. The device of claim 3 wherein the pointed projections

(14) are formed in staggered arrays.

10. The device of claim 3 wherein the pointed projections

(14) are formed in aligned arrays.

11. The device of claim 2 wherein the hook pile surface (13)

is Velcro .

12. The device of claim 3 wherein the pointed projections

(14) are sharp and conical.

13. A cargo restraint system incorporating the device of

claim 1 wherein two or more of said devices are provided

and positioned to abut each with a corner of an article in transit.