This application claims priority from Taiwanese invention patent application no. 106135152, filed on Oct. 13, 2017.
The disclosure relates to an eye plate unit for shipping containers, more particularly to a lashing eye assembly including the eye plate unit.
Generally, when containers are being transported in a cargo vessel or ship, the containers are stacked on the deck of the ship and secured by lashing rod assemblies in order to prevent undesired movement or toppling down of the stacked containers. The inventor of this application has proposed several such lashing rod assemblies, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,101,130B2, 7,422,400B2, 7,575,403B2, 9,499,237B1, etc.
As shown in
In
In addition, because the turnbuckle 4 may be undesirably turned relative to the conventional eye plate 1, the distance between two adjacent turnbuckles 4 may be greatly varied during tightening or untightening of the lashing rod assemblies 3, and thus to cause harm and injury to an operator.
DE 20 2017 0103 865 U1 also discloses a lasing rod assembly.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a novel eye plate unit and a lashing eye assembly including the same.
According to a first aspect of the disclosure, an eye plate unit for anchoring a pair of lashing rod assemblies on a mounting unit is provided. Each of the lashing rod assemblies has an upper end coupled to a corner casting of a shipping container, and a lower end opposite to the upper end in a lengthwise direction of the respective lashing rod assembly. The mounting unit includes a base mounted on a platform, a first lug member, a second lug member, and a pin axle. Each of the first and second lug members extends from an upper major surface of the base, and has an inside surface and an outside surface opposite to the inside surface in a direction of an axle axis. The inside surfaces of the first and second lug members are spaced apart from each other in the direction of the axle axis. The pin axle extends along the axle axis, and is interposed between the inside surfaces of the first and second lug members. The eye plate unit includes a first wing member, a second wing member, and a bridge member. The first and second wing members are angularly displaced from each other about the axle axis. Each of the first and second wing members has a body portion and a rim portion. The body portion is formed with a lashing eye which defines a central line, and is configured to couple the lower end of a corresponding one of the lashing rod assemblies. The rim portion extends about the central line, and has an inward region, an outward region, and a juncture region interconnecting the inward and outward regions. The bridge member is disposed between the first and second lug members, and extends to interconnect the juncture regions of the first and second wing members. The bridge member has an outer arcuate surface and an inner arcuate surface. The outer arcuate surface interconnects the outward regions of the first and second wing members. The inner arcuate surface extends in a circumferential direction about the axle axis to interconnect the inward regions of the first and second wing members, and is configured for the pin axle to bear on the inner arcuate surface such that the inward regions of the first and second wing members are spaced apart from each other by a gap, thereby permitting the first and second wing members to be yieldable in the circumferential direction to a jerking force exerted on the lashing eyes of the first and second wing members through the lashing rod assemblies as a result of a tilting movement of the shipping container.
According to a second aspect of the disclosure, a lashing eye assembly for anchoring a pair of lashing rod assemblies on a platform is provided. Each of the lashing rod assemblies has an upper end coupled to a corner casting of a shipping container, and a lower end opposite to the upper end in a lengthwise direction of the respective lashing rod assembly. The lasing eye assembly includes a mounting unit and an eye plate unit. The mounting unit includes a base mounted on the platform, a first lug member, a second lug member, and a pin axle. Each of the first and second lug members extends from an upper major surface of the base, and has an inside surface and an outside surface opposite to the inside surface in a direction of an axle axis. The inside surfaces of the first and second lug members are spaced apart from each other in the direction of the axle axis. The pin axle extends along the axle axis, and is interposed between the inside surfaces of the first and second lug members. The eye plate unit includes a first wing member, a second wing member, and a bridge member. The first and second wing members are angularly displaced from each other about the axle axis. Each of the first and second wing members has a body portion and a rim portion. The body portion is formed with a lashing eye which defines a central line, and which is configured to couple the lower end of a corresponding one of the lashing rod assemblies. The rim portion extends about the central line, and has an inward region, an outward region, and a juncture region interconnecting the inward and outward regions. The bridge member is disposed between the first and second lug members, and extends to interconnect the juncture regions of the first and second wing members. The bridge member has an outer arcuate surface and an inner arcuate surface. The outer arcuate surface interconnects the outward regions of the first and second wing members. The inner arcuate surface extends in a circumferential direction about the axle axis to interconnect the inward regions of the first and second wing members, and is configured to permit the pin axle to bear on the inner arcuate surface such that the inward regions of the first and second wing members are spaced apart from each other by a gap, thereby permitting the first and second wing members to be yieldable in the circumferential direction to a jerking force exerted on the lashing eyes of the first and second wing members through the lashing rod assemblies as a result of a tilting movement of the shipping container.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
Referring to
The mounting unit 10 includes a base 11, a first lug member 12, a second lug member 13, and a pin axle 25.
The base 11 is mounted on the platform 200. In this embodiment, the base 11 has an upper major surface 110, a first minor surface 111 a second minor surface 112, a third minor surface 113, and a fourth minor surface 114. The first and second minor surfaces 111, 112 are opposite to each other in a direction of an axle axis (A). The third and fourth minor surfaces 113, 114 are opposite to each other in a direction transverse to the axle axis (A). The second minor surface 112 has two flat surface regions 120 that form an obtuse angle. Each of the flat surface regions 120 defines a second juncture line (L2) together with the upper major surface 110 of the base 11.
Each of the first and second lug members 12, 13 extends from the upper major surface 110 of the base 11 to terminate at an end surface 124, and has an inside surface 121 and an outside surface 122 opposite to each other in the direction of the axle axis (A). The first and second lug members 12, 13 are disposed in proximity to the first and second minor surfaces 111, 112, respectively. The inside surfaces 121 of the first and second lug members 12, 13 are spaced apart from each other in the direction of the axle axis (A). In this embodiment, each of the first and second lug members 12, 13 has a lug hole 125 and two lateral surfaces 123. The lug hole 125 extends from the outside surface 122 to the inside surface 121. The lateral surfaces 123 are opposite to each other in the direction transverse to the axle axis (A). The inside surfaces 121 of the first and second lug members 12, 13 are parallel to each other. The upper major surface 110 of the base 11 and the inside surface 121 of each of the first and second lug members 12, 13 define a first juncture line (L1) therebetween.
In addition, as shown in
The pin axle 25 extends along the axle axis (A), and interposed between the inside surfaces 121 of the first and second lug members 12, 13.
In this embodiment, the mounting unit 10 includes a tubular shaft 20 and a fastener 26. The tubular shaft 20 has an enlarged head 21, a shaft end 22 opposite to the enlarged head 21, and an intermediate segment 23. The enlarged head 21 has a dimension larger than the lug hole 125. The intermediate segment 23 is disposed between the enlarged head 21 and the shaft end 22, and has two retained regions 24 such that when the tubular shaft 20 is inserted through the lug holes 125 of the first and second lug members 12, 13 to leave the enlarged head 21 and said shaft end 22 outboard of the first and second lug members 12, 13, the retained regions 24 are respectively retained in the lug holes 125 of the first and second lug members 12, 13, so as to permit a remaining part 25 of the intermediate segment 23 between the retained regions 24 to serve as the pin axle 25.
Referring back to
The first and second wing members 32, 33 are angularly displaced from each other about the axle axis (A). Each of the first and second wing members 32, 33 has a body portion 301 and a rim portion 303.
The body portion 301 is formed with a lashing eye 302 which defines a central line (C), and which is configured to couple the lower end 401 of a corresponding one of the lashing rod assemblies 3 (see also
The rim portion 303 extends about the central line (C), and has an inward region 304, an outward region 305, and a juncture region 306 interconnecting the inward and outward regions 304, 305.
As shown in
The outer interconnecting surface 307 interconnects the outward regions 305 of the first and second wing members 32, 33. In an embodiment, the outer interconnecting surface is an arcuate surface.
The inner interconnecting surface 308 extends in a circumferential direction about the axle axis (A) to interconnect the inward regions 304 of the first and second wing members 32, 33, and is configured to permit the pin axle 25 to bear on the inner interconnecting surface 308 such that the inward regions 304 of the first and second wing members 32, 33 are spaced apart from each other by a gap 309, thereby permitting the first and second wing members 32, 33 to be yieldable in the circumferential direction to a jerking force exerted on the lashing eyes 302 of the first and second wing members 32, 33 through the lashing rod assemblies 3 as a result of a tilting movement of the shipping container 6 (see also
Although the eye plate unit 30 is made from a rigid material, the eye plate unit 30 is constructed to permit the first and second wing members 32, 33 to be yieldable in response to the jerking force. Once the jerking force ceases, the eye plate unit 30 is permitted to return to its original shape.
In a process for mounting the mounting unit 10 on the platform 200, as shown in
When the ship is subjected to an impact to greatly shift in a rightward direction, the shipping containers 6 tend to tilt leftwardly as shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, as best shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
As shown in
Referring to
In this embodiment, the elastomeric spacer 40 has two opposite surfaces 41, 42 which are positively locked with the inward regions 304 of the first and second wing members 32, 33, respectively.
In this embodiment, the opposite surfaces 41, 42 of the elastomeric spacer 40 are formed with a plurality of protrusions 411, 421, respectively, and the inward regions 304 of the first and second wing members 32, 33 are formed with a plurality of recesses 310 configured to permit the protrusions 411, 421 to be positively locked therewith.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
106135152 A | Oct 2017 | TW | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
7101130 | Hsieh | Sep 2006 | B2 |
7422400 | Hsieh | Sep 2008 | B2 |
7575403 | Hsieh | Aug 2009 | B2 |
9499237 | Hsieh | Nov 2016 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
4033704 | Apr 1992 | DE |
202017103865 | Jul 2017 | DE |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190112010 A1 | Apr 2019 | US |