US2442266A - Cargo tie-down - Google Patents

Description

May 25, 1948. s 2,442,266

CARGO TIE-DOWN Filed April 9, 1945 IN I/111 1/01,

' INVENTOR. fx'm/wr-l. flaws mwk UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARGO TIE-DOWN Frank L. Davis, College Point, N. Y.

Application April 9, 1945, Serial No. 587,340

2Claims.

justed and adapted to the load and to particular surrounding conditions, which will be entirely safe such as might be occasioned by the settling of a load.

Other desirable objects and the novel features by which the purposes of the invention are attained are set forth or will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates certain present embodiments of the invention. Structure, however, may be modified and changed as regards these particular illustrations, all within the true intent and broad scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

Fig. 1 in the drawing is a broken front or face view of one of the tie-down units;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding edge view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken sectional view as on substantially the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged broken and part sectional view of the length adjusting and slack take-up buckle construction;

Fig. 5 is a broken sectional view of a modified form of the buckle structure.

The unit shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a single length of strap or webbing I having a hook I or other means for anchoring it at one end, said strap extending about a pulley roll 9 on a hook or other attaching means ill and having the free end held in a special length adjusting and slack take-up buckle ,l i.

This buckle is shown as made up of a flat back or base plate i2 with upturned parallel flanges i3, it, along the opposite longitudinal edges. These flanges stiffen the plate and provide bearings for a pin or stud i5 riveted or otherwise rigidly secured in said flanges parallel to the face of plate l2. On this pin the lever i6 is pivotally mounted, said lever having an eccentric cam face i1 opposed to the adjoining face of the back plate. These opposed surfaces of back plate and cam may be roughened or corrugated substantially as 2 indicated at I8 to more firmly grip the length of webbing extending between the same.

A spring is shown at i9, Fig. 4, connected between the cam lever and the adjoining edge flange i4, rocking this lever in a direction to carry the cam gripping surface of the lever convergently toward the companion gripping face of the back plate, thus to cause the lever to automatically grip and hold the strap as the free end of the strap is pulled upwardly through the buckle.

To enable the buckle being set in different posi-.

tions along the length of the strap, the back plate is shown as having two parallel slots 29, 2|,

through the same adjacent one end and a single transverse slot 22 therethroughadjacent the other end, and the strap is shown threaded through these slots to produce an inner bight 22 and an outer bight 24, the first held at 25 by the overlying stretch of webbing extending down the back of the plate and forwardly through slot 22 and the second held at 26 by the overlying tensioned length of webbing 1.

Upon freeing the webbing of tension the buckle may be slipped along the webbing by pulling the two reversely extending loops of webbing through the slots and when the desired positioning of the buckle on the webbing is efiected it can be immediately and positively secured in that position by simply putting the webbing under tension again.

This enables the units to be made up in certain standard lengths and then adjusted at the point of use to suit any particular requirements.

In practice the end hook 8 may be'caught to a ring or other hold-down fixture and the strap be pulled out over the piece to be secured to a point where the pulley hook in can be caught to another hold-down anchorage or other holding member, the buckle ll then being adjusted along the strap one way or another, if need be, to leave enough of a take-up loop in that doubled portion of the strap 21 extending about the pulley roll 9 for tightening and slack take-up purposes.

The roll 9 being freely rotatable on the cross stud 28, operates as a, free turning pulley sheave providing purchase suflicient for tightening the webbing over any ordinary load by simply pulling upward on the free end of the webbing at 29 exposed at the upper end of the. buckle above th cam lever. This free end may be doubled or otherwise thickened, as shown at 28, to prevent it from slipping through beneath the cam lever, in case 'of accidental release of the latter.

Accidental release of the cam lever may be guarded against by providing a safety catch, such as indicated at 30, for retaining the lever in the strap holding position.

If greater leverage than that provided by a,

single pulley sheave is desired. one or more addi- The carrying of the webbing down over the back of the buckle plate leaves the front of this plate clear for threading and for the easy adjustment of the free end of the webbing.

The buckle plate may be adjusted to a point on the webbing where it will be most convenient for tightening and taking up any slack. The pulley connection at this end provides a powerful means available at any time to apply more tension and to take out any looseness that may have developed during transportation. The full advantage of the pulley may be applied by pulling with both hands on the free end of the webbing. The cam lever, constituting a one-way holding element, yields to this tightening pull on the webbing and catches and holds the webbing as it is tensioned. While this spring action, automatic gripping lever form of cam is desirable, it is contemplated that other forms of wedging or web gripping devices may be employed.

To prevent release of the lever by an accidental outward pull on the free end of the strap, this portion of the strap may pass upward out of the buckle beneath a guard rod or bar 35.

The reversely facing, overlapping bights in the webbing, when loosened, permit the buckle to be readily slipped over the webbing one way or the other, but these automatically look upon each other as soon as the webbing is put under tension,

firmly anchoring the buckle in the position to which it has been adjusted and where it then serves in effect as a fixed end of the webbing with a pulley connection extending therefrom for tensioning and tightening the overall extent of the complete unit. These tie-down units may be made up in any length and be used singly, connected end-to-end, or made up in various parallel, diagonal or cross patterns, according to the nature of the load and the transporting carrier.

While hooks such as shown at 8 and constitute practical and usually desirable end connections, it is appreciated that other forms of end attaching means may be employed. In the illustration the hooks shown are duplicates, each having a pulley roll 9 so that they may be used interchangeably in the relations shown.

The tie-down unit disclosed is light in weight, occupies but small space and when not in use can be rolled up compactly into a, small bundle. The body of the buckle may be made up from a single piece of sheet metal with the edges rolled up to form the side flanges. These brace and stiffen the piece against bending and in addition to serving for the mounting of the cam lever and other parts, they serve as side guards protecting this lever against accidental release.

The entire unit is free or objectionable projecting parts.

While usually sufllcient to have the pulley take-up connection only at one end, it is sometimes desirable to have these pulley connections at both ends of the tie-down, particularly in cases where it may not be certain which end will be available or convenient for tightening and taking up slack or where it may be desirable to have take-up sections of diflerent length at the opposite ends of the tie-down.

while flat webbing has many advantages and the invention contemplates particularly the use -1. A cargo tie-down comprising an elongated flat plate having substantially parallel edge flanges providing a strap guiding channel therebetween and having two parallel spaced slots extending across the same between said flanges near one end and a single slot extending across the same between the flanges near the opposite end, a strap clamping member supported between the edge flanges at an intermediate point in the length of the plate between the cross slots near the opposite ends of the same, and a strap of a width to enter and be guided between the edge flanges, said strap extending over the face of the plate between said edge flanges, through the inner of the two slots first mentioned to the opposite side of the plate, thence through the outer of the two slots to the first side of the plate beneath the portion of the strap at that side, thence to the back of the plate and over that portion of the strap at the back of the plate and through the slot at the opposite end of the plate to the front side of the plate, and said strap then being doubled in a return loop and the end portion of the same extending over the front side of the plate between the slotted portions and beneath and adjustably held by said clamping member.

2. A cargo tie-down comprising a single length of webbing usable up to substantially its full longitudinal extent, means attached to one end of said webbing for detachably connecting that end of the webbing with an anchorage, a selflocking buckle slidably engaged on said webbing between the opposite ends of the same and having means for automatically locking the same in positions to which it may be adjusted lengthwise of the webbing, a second means for detachable connection with a second anchorage, said second connecting means having a pulley forming element, the opposite end portion of said webbing being looped about said pulley forming element and doubled back to where said buckle is locked in position on the single length portion of the webbing and adjustable take-up means on said self-locking buckle for securing said last mentioned end of the webbing in the position to which it may be drawn tight over said pulley forming element.

FRANK L. DAVIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 330,213 Deweese Nov. 10, 1885 332,107 Rankin Dec. 8, 1885 705,629 Abbee July 29, 1902 984,941 Larkins Feb. 21, 1911 1,038,000 Schaefer Sept. 10, 1912 1,208,667 I Sammel Dec. 12, 1916 1,212,622 Gilberthorpe Jan. 16, 1917 2,271,133 Thoresen Jan. 27, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 26,793 Great Britain 1913 144,888 Switzerland Apr. 16, 1931

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