The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for bracing cargo in a container for transport. More particularly, the present invention pertains to apparatus and methods for securing cargo in a vehicle, such as the cargo bed of a truck or trailer.
When cargo is loaded into a truck or trailer but does not entirely fill the cargo space, it needs bracing to prevent it from shifting about and being damaged when the vehicle is in motion, and particularly when the vehicle makes a sharp turn, accelerates, or comes to an abrupt stop. There is a need to provide bracing apparatus that will accommodate the myriad of items that people haul in trucks or trailers: rectangular boxes, cylindrical articles such as barrels and drums, lumber, furniture, appliances, mattresses, machines, household goods, tools, equipment, yard waste and the like. If items are stacked on top of other items, it may be difficult to secure them.
A number of adjustable length bracing devices are known and disclosed in the prior art. The majority of these are telescoping. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,578 to Barnes is for a load stabilizer for a truck which comprises horizontal telescoping poles biased against the sidewalls of a truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,056 to Hunt discloses another telescoping pole brace with mounting brackets that pivot on the ends of the brace so that it may be mounted at various angles with the side walls. It also provides a T-connector and second pole perpendicular to the first pole which can be biased against another wall or against the floor of the transport container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,599 to Gordon is for yet another pole-like device of adjustable length having two arms extending from a connecting sleeve. Its mounting brackets are suction cups which engage opposing side walls of a truck.
A load-retaining attachment for freight cars is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 969,002 to Teachout. The device is a telescoping beam that attaches to the side walls of the freightcar by means of sharpened spurs at each end thereof which penetrate the walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,840,927 to Woodruf is for an adjustable bar of a pair of bar sections aligned end to end, the outer ends of the bar having hooks to engage the upper rimedges of the sides walls of a freight car, and the inner ends terminating in threaded rods coupled by a turnbuckle.
These telescoping bar or pole devices are useful for restraining a single layer of boxes or other items but are not capable of restraining multiple layers of thin items such as a mattress or a stack of lumber or other narrow items.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,136 discloses a collapsible extendable enclosure structure for covering the open bed of a land or marine vehicle. The structure includes an end gate assembly selectively positionable and releasably securable at various locations on the truck bed, independently of the movable rear section of the enclosure. A system of cables and sheaves directs the force needed to retract or extend the structure by sliding its sections along tracks mounted at the top edges of the side walls of the vehicle. This invention is extremely complicated in structure and deployment, and the end gate assembly, being part of an enclosure, is solid, making it heavier than is needed for a simple restraint.
Accordingly there is a need for an uncomplicated, adjustable cargo restraint that is adaptable to a variety of loads, including loads of stacked small loose items, and that is lightweight and easy to position. Additionally it should provide tie-down capability for items that might otherwise slide around or off the truck bed.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable cargo gate system for a bed or floor of a pick-up truck or trailer for restraining objects being transported from sliding or moving when the vehicle accelerates, decelerate, or makes sharp turns.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cargo restraint that is lightweight, easy to set up and easy to remove or store flat, and that can be deployed in a variety of positions athwart the bed of the vehicle.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a cargo restraint to which tie-down means can be attached.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a cargo restraint of adjustable width so that it can be narrowed to fit between wheel wells, and widened to fit diagonally across corners as well as from side to side at the widest dimension.