Patent Application
20080112771
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shipping deck for installation upon cargo bars which spans a shipping container used to transport cargo in a multi tier manner.
2. Background Art
Cargo is commonly transported in a variety of containers such as a semi-truck trailer, an enclosed truck box, a shipping container, a rail car or the like. Frequently, it is not possible to stack cargo or pallets of cargo due to the nature of the goods. When the cargo is light, the floor space of the cabin is filled but load capacity has not been reached. In order to increase the amount of cargo that can be transported without damage, cargo bars are used to span the container to stack multiple tiers of cargo. Conventionally, plywood deck boards are placed atop the cargo bars to form a shelf-like structure.
The present invention provides a shipping deck which is used to transport cargo within a shipping container. One embodiment of the shipping deck is intended to be installed upon three or more adjacent horizontally spaced apart cargo bars which span the container. The shipping deck is a generally rectangular tile member formed of a plastic material. The tile member of the shipping deck has a substantially planar upper surface for supporting cargo placed thereon. The tile member also has a lower surface spaced below the upper surface. The lower surface provides a plurality of contact regions adapted to rest upon each of the three or more adjacent cargo bars. On the lower surface, a plurality of downwardly projecting legs extend proximate the contact regions in order to limit the movement of the tile member in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the cargo bar. When not in use, the shipping deck may be stacked with the legs of a second shipping deck nested within corresponding recesses in the upper surface of the shipping deck therebelow resulting in a low height, stable stack.
In another embodiment, a method of storing shipping decks in a stack arrangement within a container used to transport cargo is provided. The method provides nesting the legs of a second tile member within the legs of a first tile member. The first and second generally rectangular tile members are formed of a plastic material and each have a plurality of downwardly projecting legs extending from a lower surface.
The above embodiments, and other embodiments, objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to utilize the present invention.
Referring now to
The shipping deck 32 is supported by three cargo bars 26, 28, 30 which are equally spaced. Although equally spaced cargo bars 26, 28, 30 are illustrated, varying distances between cargo bars are contemplated within the scope of the present invention when a shipping deck is created according to the present invention which is able to rest on the cargo bars. The lower surface of the shipping deck 32 comes into contact with the cargo bars 26, 28, 30. The upper surface of the shipping deck 32 supports cargo. Additionally, cargo may be stored underneath the shipping deck 32. This increases the amount of cargo a shipping container may hold.
The shipping deck 32 is a tile member having a generally rectangular shape. Of course the invention contemplates any number of generally rectangular shapes within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additional shipping decks 32 may be placed on additional cargo bars throughout the shipping container 18 to form a generally planar surface wherein each shipping deck 32 serves as a tile member. Additionally, the shipping deck 32 has multiple legs 34 which extend downwardly from the lower surface of the shipping deck 32. The multiple legs are generally located on opposing sides of each of the cargo bars 26, 28, 30 to limit the horizontal movement of the shipping deck 32 within the shipping container 18.
With reference now to
With reference now to
The shipping decks 36, 36′ are supported by three cargo bars 38, 40, and 42. The shipping decks have legs 44, 46 which limit the horizontal movement of the shipping decks 36, 38 within the shipping container. There are perimeter legs 44 which are located near the perimeter of the shipping decks 36, 38. The perimeter legs 44 are located to receive a cargo bar 38, 42 therebetween. Additionally, there are central legs 46 which are generally located in the transverse and longitudinal center of the shipping deck 36. The central legs 46 are sized to receive a cargo bar 40.
Referring now to
With reference now to
The shipping deck 66 may be manufactured through a variety of methods such as injection molding, or vacuum forming. Of course any suitable process to create a plastic shipping deck is contemplated within the spirit and scope of the invention. These are automatic processes which allow for mass production of the shipping decks 66.
The thermoplastic shipping deck 66 has an upper surface 68 and a lower surface 70. The upper surface 68 supports the cargo and is generally planar. The upper surface 68 may be a unitary surface. The upper surface 68 may have a series of holes in it, which form a grate as illustrated. This design allows for air and liquid to pass through the shipping deck 66. In the prior art, a plywood shipping deck absorb liquid, which may cause the plywood shipping deck to become moldy or have a foul odor. Thus, having a plastic shipping deck 66 which does not absorb liquids and may easily be cleaned with water and allowed to self dry is ideal. Handle holes 71 are molded into the deck 66 at convenient locations.
The upper surface 68 of the shipping deck 66 may also have with a series of local depressions 69 formed therein. The local depressions 69 formed in the upper surface 68 are generally located above the multiple legs 72, 74.
The multiple legs 72, 74 extend downwardly from the lower surface 70. The legs 72, 74 have a generally cup shape and are tapered so as to have a larger opening at the top than at the bottom. Local depressions 69 formed in the upper surface 68 are located generally above the legs 72, 74. The local depressions 69 may be sized to receive legs of a second shipping deck, which makes the shipping decks nestable, and adds an incremental thickness when stacked upon the first tile member. The incremental thickness may be one to three inches. Adding an incremental thickness of less than two inches is preferred. This allows for easy storage of a large amount of shipping decks when they are not in use. This is an improvement over the prior art shipping decks because they are not stackable in a stable manner. The prior art shipping decks also take up a great deal of space when not in use.
The legs 72, 74 have at least one hole in their respective surfaces. This allows for liquid to pass through the legs 72, 74 so that the liquid does not accumulate inside the legs 72, 74. The legs 72, 74 are generally located in two different areas. There are perimeter legs 72 which are located near the perimeter of the shipping deck 66. The perimeter legs 72 may be located near a corner of the shipping deck 66. There are also central legs 74 which are generally located near a longitudinal and transverse center of the shipping deck 66. At least two central legs 74 are provided and up to four central legs 74 are contemplated within the scope of the invention. When at least two central legs 74 are provided, the central legs 74 may be located across a longitudinal axis or a transverse axis or both.
Near the perimeter of the shipping deck 66 at least two hand holes 76 are provided. A series of hand holes 76 is illustrated around the entire perimeter of the shipping deck 66. Locating the handle holes 76 near the perimeter of the shipping deck 66 allows for easy handling of the shipping deck 66.
The shipping deck 66 may be square as illustrated. The shipping deck 66 may have a length of four feet with a width of four feet.
Referring now to
Now referring to
The shipping deck 86 may be twin sheet thermo formed from extruded sheet. The shipping deck may be formed with a top layer 94 and a bottom layer 96. The top layer 94 and bottom layer 96 may be held together by using an edge flange 100 and posts 102, which join the top layer 94 and the bottom layer 96 via a weld or an adhesive joint. The top layer 94 and bottom layer 96 have a hollow cavity 98 therebetween.
In summary, the present invention provides shipping decks used within a storage system to transport cargo which are stackable when not in use, light in weight, easy to clean, easy to manufacture, and provide sound structural integrity.
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
