Patent Application
20130247351
This invention relates to a hand tool for opening a shipping container, and more particularly to a leverage tool for opening a cargo container.
Cargo containers are used for shipping freight on commercial transport carriers such as cargo ships, railcars and trailers. The cargo containers are made of metal according to the ISO (International Standards Organization) specifications which ensure that the containers are inter-operable with compatible carriers, or intermodal. One feature of the ISO container is a door that is locked with padlocks, called “high security seals” in the shipping industry. This lock has its bar passed through holes in two metal pieces on the right door that hold down the door handle and prevent the door from being opened.
To open a conventional cargo container door, the user needs to rotate the top piece that the lock passed through upwards (it is attached on a bearing) to provide a space for the door lever. Then, the user needs to hold the rotating piece up while pulling the door lever up until it is clear of the fixed lower piece of the locking mechanism. The door lever is then pulled toward the user until it is at a 90-degree angle to the door surface. The rotating piece of the locking mechanism is then released and allowed to fall back into place. Moving the door lever toward the user pulls in the door's locking pins, located at the top and the bottom of the right door. Ideally, it should move freely once they are pulled in, and allow the left door to be opened. The left door may also have manual pins holding it to the top and bottom of the container. These pins need to be pulled out of their slots and twisted sideways to keep them raised and lowered. This will allow the door to move freely.
While this process appears to be relatively simple, the reality is such that the door levers are often rusted and require considerable strength to pull and pivot.
The present invention contemplates provision of a hand tool that can be used for opening lever doors of cargo containers.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a tool for opening cargo containers, such as intermodal shipping containers.
It is another object of the invention to provide a leverage tool for amplifying a lever arm for opening cargo containers having lever handles and other applications.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved through a provision of a tool for opening doors of a cargo container provided with a latch mechanism having locking brackets and pivotal levers engaged with the locking brackets. The tool has an elongated tool handle and an engaging member configured for engaging the pivotal arm of the cargo container. The engaging member has a tubular body secured to a proximate end of the tool handle an acute angle of about thirty-seven degrees.
The tubular body has a through opening of an oval cross section to facilitate application of the pivotal force to the lever handle of the C-container. A U-shaped cutout is formed in the tubular body to about one-half width/length of the tubular body to allow a portion of a free end of the pivot lever to extend when aligning the engaging member and positioning the engaging member over the lever handle.
Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein
Turning now to the drawings in more detail, numeral 10 designates the hand tool according to the present invention. The hand tool 10 comprises an engaging member 12 and an elongated tool handle 14 affixed to the engaging member 12. The engaging member 12 comprises a hollow generally tubular body having a through opening extending through entire length of the engaging member 12. The through opening formed in the engaging member has a sufficient size to allow the engaging member to slide over a lever of a cargo container, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.
The engaging member 12 comprises a first open end 16 and a second open end 18. The engaging member 12 has a generally oval cross section, as shown in
In one aspect of the invention, the engaging member 12 is about 4-5 inches long, while the oval is about 1-1.5 inches long and about 0.9-1.1 inches wide. The cutout 22 can be formed to about one-half cross-sectional width of the engaging member 12, and the distance between the arcuate shoulders 22 and 24 can be about 2-3 inches. It will be understood that the above dimensions are exemplary and other dimensions can be employed when manufacturing the engaging member 12. For instance, the orientation of the oval engaging member 12 can be changed such that it is oriented vertically, that is the cutout is formed in its cross-sectional length rather than its cross-sectional width, as for instance shown in
The tool handle 14 can be attached to the engaging member by welding or other suitable mechanical means. As can be seen in
The tool handle 14 comprises a proximate end 30 and a distant end 32. An angled cut is formed in the proximate end 30 to secure the engaging member and the tool handle 14 together. The line of attachment of the engaging member 12 to the tool handle 14 starts adjacent the first end 16 of the engaging member 12. In one aspect of the invention the line of attachment starts at a point “b” at about 0.025-0.3 inches from the first end 16.
In one aspect of the invention, the tool handle is formed as a cylindrical body, which can be tubular and formed from a metal pipe stock. The tool handle can be about 36-40 inches long and about 1 inch thick. If desired a protective sleeve 34 can be positioned on the tool handle 14. The sleeve 34 can be made of pliable material, such as plastic to make it more comfortable for the user to grip the tool handle 14 during use. The sleeve 34 may or may not encase the entire tool handle 14. The drawings illustrate the sleeve 34 being somewhat less in length than the tool handle 14.
Referring to
Usually two rotating rods are provided for each door 42, 46. The rotating rods 43, 44 and 47, 48 function as locking bars locking and releasing locking cams (not shown) at the top and bottom of the locking bars when the locking bars are rotated by a lever or handle 50, 51, 52, and 53.
A portion of a container door 46 and the door latch assembly 60 of the cargo container 40 is shown in detail in
Reference will now be made to
The user then pivots the handle 53 in the direction of arrow 70 shown in
Some containers 40 have latching rods 43, 44 and 47, 48 positioned very close to each other, such that the free end 54 of the lever 53 is positioned a small distance from the adjacent parallel latching rod on the same door. This situation is illustrated in
The steps of pivoting the lever 53 and releasing the lever 53 from the bracket 62 are then performed until the lever 53 is disengaged from the bracket 62. The tool 10 can then be withdrawn from the lever 53 and the steps described above repeated for all levers. Conventionally, the right door 46 of the cargo container 40 overlaps the left door 42. Therefore, the order of opening the levers of the cargo container 40 can start with the right door 46 and end with the left door 42.
The leverage tool of the present invention increases the lever arm of the container handles and makes it easier to move the pivotal container handles. The locking of the cargo container can be facilitated by using the tool 10 in moving the container levers into a locked position with their respective locking brackets. It is envisioned that the tool of this invention can be used for other situations, where an enhanced leverage force is required and longer lever arm is beneficial.
Many changes and modifications can be made in the design of the tool of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I, therefore, pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
